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Cornell University Library 
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 Portrait and biographical record of Winn 
 
 3 1924 028 806 185 
 
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Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028806185 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF 
 WirJNEBAGO AND BOONE COUNTIES, ILLINOIS 
 Containing Biographical Sketches of 
 Prominent and Representative Citizens, 
 together with Biographies of all the 
 Governors of the State and of the 
 Presidents of the United States, 
 Chicago, Biographical Publication 
 Company, 18^92 , 
 
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FIRST PRESIDENT. 
 
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 HE Father of our Country was 
 born in Westmorland Co., Va., 
 Feb. 2 2, 1732. His parents 
 were Augustine and Mary 
 (Ball) Washington. The family 
 to which he belonged has not 
 been satisfactorily traced in 
 England. His great-grand- 
 father, John Washington, em- 
 igrated to Virginia about 1657, 
 and became a prosperous 
 planter. He had two sons, 
 Lawrence and John. The 
 former married Mildred Warner 
 and had three children, John, 
 Augustine and Mildred. Augus- 
 tine, the father of George, first 
 married Jane Butler, who bore 
 him four children, two of whom, 
 Lawrence and Augustine, reached 
 maturity. Of six children by his 
 second marriage, George was the 
 eldest, the others being Betty, 
 Samuel, John Augustine, Charles 
 and Mildred. 
 Augustine Washington, the father of George, died 
 in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his 
 eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on 
 the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, 
 and to George he left the parental residence. George 
 received only such education as the neighborhood 
 schools afforded, save for a short time after he left 
 school, when he received private instruction in 
 mathematics. His spelling v/as rather defectiv«. 
 
 I 
 
 Remarkable stories are told of his great physica- 
 strength and development at an early age. He was 
 an acknowledged leader among his companions, and 
 was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair- 
 ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. 
 
 When George was T4 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 immense estate of Lord Fairfax. In 
 this business he spent three years in a rough frontier 
 life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very 
 essential to him. In 1751, though only 19 years of 
 age, he was appointed adjutant with the rank of 
 major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for 
 active service against the French and Indians. Soon 
 after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother 
 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 Mount Vernon was given to George. 
 
 Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was 
 reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- 
 tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to 
 Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this 
 a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- 
 cepted, which others had refused. This was to pro- 
 ceed to the French post near Lake Erie in North- 
 western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed 
 was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, 
 and the journey was to be made Nvithout military 
 escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. The 
 
GEORGE WASHINGTON. 
 
 irip was a perilous one, and several times he came near 
 losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished 
 a full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment 
 of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- 
 mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington w^s 
 commissioned lieutenant-coloael. Active war was 
 then begun against the French and Indians, in which 
 Washington took a most important part. In the 
 memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad- 
 dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer 
 of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the 
 day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock 
 were disabled early in the action, and Washington 
 alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter 
 to his brother he says : " I had four bullets through 
 my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped 
 unhurt, though death was leveling my companions 
 on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was 
 not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken 
 direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit 
 him. 
 
 After having been five years in the military service, 
 and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he 
 took advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the 
 expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, 
 CO 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 ParUament had closed the port 
 ■^f Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces 
 that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." 
 It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- 
 gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- 
 delphia,Sept. 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties, 
 peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- 
 ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the 
 Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of 
 England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- 
 cord and Lexington had been fought. Among the 
 first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- 
 mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and 
 responsible office was conferred upon Washington, 
 who was still a memberof the Congress. He accepted 
 it on June 19, but upon the express condition that he 
 receive no salary. He would keep an exact account 
 of expenses and expect Congress to pay ,them and 
 nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to 
 trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the 
 fortunes and liberties of the people of this country 
 were so long confided. The war was conducted by 
 him under every possible disadvantage, and while his 
 forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every 
 obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion 
 and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest 
 nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in 
 n parting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his 
 
 commission as commander-in-chief of the army 10 
 to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He 
 retired immediately to Mount Vernon and resumed 
 his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunnmg all 
 connection with public life. . 
 
 In February,i789, Washington was unanimously 
 elected President. In his presidential career he was 
 subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a r^ew 
 government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part 
 of other governments; trials from want of harmony 
 between the different sections of our own country ; 
 trials from the impoverished condition of the country, 
 owmg to the war and want of credit; trials from the 
 beginnings of party strife. He was no partisan. His 
 clear judgment could discern the golden mean ; and 
 while perhaps this alone kept our government from 
 sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to 
 attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and 
 very annoying. 
 
 At the expiration of his first term he was unani- 
 mously re-elected. At the end of this term many 
 were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely 
 refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 
 1797, at the expiraton of his second terra as Presi- 
 dent, 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 of the armies. He chose his sub- 
 ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- 
 ters in the field, which he superintended from his 
 home. In accepting the command he made the 
 reservation that he was not to be in the field until 
 it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations 
 his life was suddenly cut off. December 12, he took 
 a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling 
 in his throat, produced inflammation, and terminated 
 fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- 
 teenth his body was borne wi'h military honors to its 
 final resting place, and interred in the family vault at 
 Mount Vernon. 
 
 Of the character of Washington it is impossible to 
 speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- 
 miration. The more we see of the operations of 
 our government, and the more deeply we feel the 
 difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, 
 the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- 
 ent and character, which have hfn able to challenge 
 the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na- 
 tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits 
 of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will 
 be as lasting as the existence of man. 
 
 The person of Washington was unusally tan, erect 
 and well proportioned. His muscular strength was 
 great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry. 
 He commanded respect without any appearance o* 
 haughtiness, and ever serious without bemg dull. 
 
' \* 
 
 m 
 
SECOND PRESIDENT. 
 
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 OHN ADAMS, the second 
 .President and the first Vice- 
 ' President of the United States, 
 was born in Braintree ( now 
 Quincy ),Mass., and about ten 
 miles from Boston, Oct. 19, 
 1735. His great-grandfather, Henry 
 Adams, emigrated from England 
 about 1640, with a family of eight 
 . sons, and settled at Braintree. The 
 parents of John were John and 
 Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His 
 father was a farmer of limited 
 means, to which he added the bus- 
 iness of shoemaking. He gave his 
 eldest son, John, a classical educa- 
 tion at Harvard College. John 
 graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the 
 school in Worcester, Mass. This he found but a 
 ■'school of affliction," from which he endeavored to 
 gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the 
 study of law. For this purpose he placed himself 
 under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He 
 had thought seriously of the clerical profession 
 but seems to have been turned from this by what he 
 termed " the frightful engines of ecclesiastical coun- 
 jils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature,'' 
 of the operations of which he had been a witness in 
 his native town. He was well fitted for the legal 
 profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being 
 ready and fluent of speech, and having quick percep- 
 tive powers. He gradually gained practice, and in 
 1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, 
 and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his 
 marriage, (1765), the attempt of Parliamentary taxa- 
 tion turned him from law to politics. He took initial 
 steps toward holding- ". town meeting, and the resolu' 
 
 tions he offered on the subject became yery populat 
 throughout the Provmce, and were adopted word for 
 word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos- 
 ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous 
 and prominent advocatesof the popular cause, and 
 was chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg- 
 lislature) in 1770. 
 
 Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates 
 from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, 
 which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himselt 
 by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- 
 vocated the movement for independence against the 
 majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved 
 and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonic^' 
 should assume the duties of self-government. H& 
 was a prominent member of the committee of nve 
 appointed June 11, to prepare a declaration of inde- 
 pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but 
 on Adams devolved the task of battling it through 
 Congress in a three days debate. 
 
 On the day after the Declaration of Independence 
 was passed, while his soul was yet warm with tha 
 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 wil 
 be decided among men. A resolution was passed 
 without one dissenting colony, ' that these United 
 States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde- 
 pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of 
 July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history 
 of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated 
 by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary^ 
 festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of 
 deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty 
 God. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows 
 
24 
 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations 
 from one end of the continent to the other, from this 
 time forward for ever. You will think me transported 
 with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of 
 the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to 
 maintain this declaration, and support and defend 
 these States; yet, through all the gloom, I can see the 
 rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is 
 worth more than all the means ; and that posterity 
 will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I 
 hope we shall not." 
 
 In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a 
 ddegate to France^ and to co-operate with Bemjamin 
 Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in 
 the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money 
 from the French Government. This was a severe trial 
 to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, 
 compelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- 
 posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- 
 ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17, 
 1779. In September of the same year he was again 
 chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- 
 ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce 
 with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet 
 might be found willing to listen to such proposels. He 
 sailed for France in November, from there he went to 
 Holland, where he negotiated important loans and 
 formed important commercial treaties. 
 
 Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed 
 Jan. 21, 1783. The re-action from the excitement, 
 toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed 
 threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- 
 tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he 
 was advised to goto England to drink the waters of 
 Bath. While in England, still drooping and despond- 
 ing, he received dispatches from his own government 
 urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to 
 negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was 
 delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through 
 storm, on sea, on horseback and foot,hemade 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 re- 
 garded him as a traitor. As England did not 
 condescend to appoint a minister to the United 
 States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accom- 
 plishing but little, he sought permission to return to 
 his own country, where he arrived in June, r788. 
 
 When Washington was first chosen President, John 
 Adams, rendered illustiious by his signal services at 
 home and abroad, was chosen Vice President. Again 
 at the second election of Washington as President, 
 Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash- 
 ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was 
 elected President,though not without much opposition. 
 Serving in this office four years,he was succeeded by 
 Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. 
 
 'JVhile Mr. Adams was Vice President the great 
 
 French Revolution shook the continent of Euroi)e, 
 and it was upon this point which he was at issue with 
 the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson. 
 Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people 
 in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their 
 power of self-government, and he utterly abhored 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 or- 
 iginated the alienation between these distinguished 
 men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ- 
 ized, Adams at the head of the one whose sympathies 
 were with England and Jefferson led the other in 
 sympathy with France. 
 
 The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more 
 moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the 
 old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling 
 had died away, and he had begun to receive that just 
 appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till 
 after death. No one could look upon his venerable 
 form, and think of what he had done and suffered, 
 and how he had given up all the prime and strenj^th 
 of his life to the public good, without the deepest 
 emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar 
 good fortune to witness the complete success of the 
 institution which he had been so active in creating and 
 supporting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled 
 to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest 
 station in the gift of the people. 
 
 The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half 
 century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the 
 signers of that immortal instrument left upon the 
 earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is 
 well known, on that day two of these finished their 
 earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as 
 to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. 
 Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning 
 of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from 
 his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the 
 customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed " In- 
 dependence FOREVER." When the day was ushered 
 in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, 
 he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew 
 what day it was? He replied, "O yes; it is the glor- 
 ious fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." 
 In the course of the day he said, " It is a great and 
 glorious day." The last words he uttered were, 
 " Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re- 
 signed his spirit into the hands of his God. 
 
 The personal appearance and manners of Mr. 
 Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, 
 as his portrait manifests,was intellectual ard expres- 
 sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and hik 
 manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteous. 
 He had neither the lofty dignity of Washington, nor 
 the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked 
 the manners and address of Jefferson. 
 
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 •^^^?2^ 
 
THIRD PRESIDENT. 
 
 »7 
 
 HOMAS JEFFERSON was 
 born April 2, 1743, at Shad- 
 'well, Albermarle county, Va. 
 
 His parents were Peter and 
 Jane ( Randolph) Jefferson, 
 the former a native of Wales, 
 and the latter born in Lon- 
 don. To them were born six 
 daughters and two sons, of 
 whom Thomas was the elder. 
 When 14 years of age his 
 father died. He received a 
 most liberal education, hav- 
 ing been kept diligently at school 
 from the time he was five years of 
 age. In 1760 he entered William 
 end Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat 
 of the Colonial Court, and it was the obode of fashion 
 and splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then 17 
 years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine 
 horses, and much caressed by gay society, yet he 
 •was earnestly devoted to his studies, and irreproacha- 
 able in his morals. It is strange, however, under 
 such influences,that he was not ruined. In the sec- 
 ond year of his college course, moved by some un- 
 explained inward impulse, he discarded his horses, 
 society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had 
 previously given much time. He often devoted fifteen 
 hours a day to hard study, allowing himself for ex- 
 ercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out 
 of tHe city and back again. He thus attained very 
 high intellectual culture, alike excellence in philoso- 
 phy and the languages. The most difficult Latin and 
 Greek authors he read with facility. A more finished 
 scholar has seldom gone forth from college halls; and 
 
 there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a 
 more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man. 
 
 Immediately upon leaving college he began the 
 study of law. For the short time he continued in the 
 practice of his profession he rose rapidly and distin- 
 guished himself by his energy and accuteness as a 
 lawyer. But the times called for greater action. 
 The policy of England had awakened the spirit of 
 resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged 
 views which Jefferson had ever entertained, soon led 
 him into active political life. In 1769 he was chosen 
 a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 
 1772 he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very beauti- 
 ful, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow 
 
 Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shadwell, there 
 was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which 
 commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and 
 beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected for his new 
 home ; and here he reared a mansion of modest yet 
 elegant architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon 
 became the most distinguished resort in our land. 
 
 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 committees, 
 and was chairman of the one appointed for the draw- 
 ing up of a declaration of independence. This com- 
 mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, 
 Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. 
 Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed 
 to draw up the paper. Franklin and Adams suggested 
 a few verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- 
 gress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made 
 in it by Congress, and it was passed and signed July 
 4, 1776, What must have been the feelings of that 
 
28 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 
 
 tnan — what the emotions that swelled his breast — 
 who was charged with the preparation of that Dec- 
 laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of 
 America, was also to publish her to the world, free, 
 Boverign and independent. It is one of the most re- 
 markable papers ever written ; and did no other effort 
 of the mind of its author exist, that alone would be 
 sufficient to stamp his name with immortality. 
 
 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 
 Moniicello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five 
 minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of Mr. Jef- 
 ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- 
 sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never 
 very good, was much injured by this excitement, and 
 in the summer of 1782 she died. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. 
 Two years later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- 
 tentiary to France. Returning to the United States 
 in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State 
 in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned 
 Jan. I, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- 
 dent, and four years later was elected President over 
 Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In 
 1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, 
 and George Clinton, Vice President. 
 
 The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- 
 tion was disturbed by an event which threatened the 
 tranquility and peace of the Union ; this was the con- 
 spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election 
 to the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled 
 ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a 
 military expedition into the Spanish territories on our 
 wuthwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there 
 a new republic. This has been generally supposed 
 was a mere pretext ; and although it has not been 
 generally known what his real plans were, there is no 
 doubt that they were of a far more dangerous 
 character. 
 
 In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for 
 which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined 
 to retire from political life. For a period of nearly 
 forty years, he had been continually before the pub- 
 lic, and all that time had been employed in offices of 
 the greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus de- 
 voted the best part of his life to the service of his 
 country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his 
 decHning years required, and upon the organization of 
 the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare- 
 well forever to public life, and retired to Monticello. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole 
 families came in their coaches with their horses, — 
 fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and 
 nurses, — and remained three and even six months. 
 Life at Monticello, for years, resembled that at a 
 fashionable watering-place. 
 
 The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver- 
 
 sary of the Declaration of American Independence, 
 great preparations were made in every part of th« 
 Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and 
 the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity 
 of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer, 
 and one of the few surviving signers of the Declara- 
 tion, to participate in their testivities. But an ill- 
 ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and 
 had been continually increasing, compelled him to 
 decline the invitation. 
 
 On the second of July, the disease under which 
 he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced 
 state that his niedical attendants, entertained nc 
 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 third of July, he expressed the earnest wish tha'; 
 he might be permitted to breathe the air of the fiftieth 
 anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose 
 dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, 
 burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- 
 ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble 
 life ! To dTe on that day, — the birthday of a nation,- - 
 the day which his own name and his own act had 
 rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and 
 festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, 
 as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, 
 was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life. 
 
 Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- 
 dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear 
 him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. 
 Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of 
 freedom ; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- 
 ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and 
 animated their desponding countrymen; for half a 
 century they had labored together for the good of 
 the country; and now hand in hand they depart. 
 In their lives they had been united in the same great 
 cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not 
 divided. 
 
 In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather 
 above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes 
 were Hght, his hair originally red, in after life became 
 white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore- 
 head broad, and his whole courtenance intelligent and 
 thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as 
 well as personal courage ; and Lis command of tem- 
 per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends 
 never recollected to have seen him in a passion. 
 His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- 
 affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that 
 all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- 
 sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic ; and 
 his language was remarkably pure and correct. He 
 was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is 
 discernable the care with which he formed his style 
 upon the best models of antiquity. 
 
/ (ZAyU^'^ zA^ ,',t_ML^-( i?'k 
 
FOURTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 31 
 
 AMES MADISON, "Father 
 of the Constitution," and fourth 
 ^President of the United States, 
 was born March 16, 1757, and 
 died at his home in Virginia, 
 June 28, 1836. The name of 
 James Madison is inseparably con- 
 nected 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 emigrants to the New World, 
 landing upon the shores of the Chesa- 
 peake but 15 years after the settle- 
 ment of Jamestown. The father of 
 James Madison was an opulent 
 planter, residing upon a very fine es- 
 tate called " Montpelier," Orange Co., 
 Va. The mansion was situated in 
 the midst of scenery highly pictur- 
 esque and romantic, on the west side 
 of South-west Mountain, at the foot of 
 Blue Ridge. It was but 25 miles from the home of 
 Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and . 
 political attachment existed between these illustrious 
 men, from their early youth until death. 
 
 The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted 
 mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of 
 18 he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. 
 Here he applied himself to study with the most im- 
 
 prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but three 
 hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so 
 seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor 
 of constitution. He graduated in 177 1, with a feeble 
 body, with a character of utmost purity, and with a 
 mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning 
 which embellished and gave proficiency to his subsf " 
 quent career. 
 
 Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of 
 law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. 
 This educational course, the spirit of the times in 
 which he lived, and the society with which he asso- 
 ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong 
 love of liberty, and to train him for his life-work ot 
 a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of 
 mind, and his frail health leading him to think that 
 his life was not to be long, he directed especial atten- 
 tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mind 
 singularly free from passion and prejudice, and with 
 almost unequalled powers of reasoning, he weighed 
 all the arguments for and against revealed religion, 
 until his faith became so established as never to 
 be shaken. 
 
 In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he 
 was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to 
 frame the constitution of the State. The next year 
 (1777), he was a candidate for the General Assembly. 
 He refused to treat the whisky-loving 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 remained 
 member of the Council ; and their appreciation of his 
 
32 
 
 JAMES MADISON. 
 
 intellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not 
 a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year 
 1780, he was elected a member of the Continental 
 Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in 
 our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of 
 the most conspicuous positions among them. 
 
 For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- 
 gress, one of its most active and influential members. 
 In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was 
 elected a member of the Virginia Legislature. 
 
 No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the 
 utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- 
 tional government, with no power to form treaties 
 which would be binding, or to enforce law. There 
 was not any State more prominent than Virginia in 
 the declaration, that an efficient national government 
 must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison 
 carried a resolution through the General Assembly of 
 Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis- 
 sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss 
 this subject. Five States only were represented. The 
 convention, however, issued another call, drawn up 
 by Mr. Madison, urging all the States to send their 
 delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft 
 a Constitution for the United States, to take the place 
 of that Confederate League. The delegates met at 
 the time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island 
 vvas represented. George Washington was chosen 
 president of the convention ; and the present Consti- 
 tution of the United States was then and there formed. 
 There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- 
 tive in framing this immortal document than the mind 
 and the pen of James Madison. 
 
 The Constitution, adopted by a vote 81 to 79, was 
 to be presented to the several States for acceptance. 
 But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected 
 we should be left but a conglomeration of independent 
 States, with but little power at home and little respect 
 abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- 
 tion to draw up an address to the people of the United 
 States, expounding the principles of the Constitution, 
 and urging its adoption. There was great opposition 
 to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and 
 went into effect in 1789. 
 
 Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- 
 sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the 
 avowed leader of the Republican party. While in 
 New York attending Congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a 
 young widow of remarkable power of fascination, 
 whom he married. She was in person and character 
 queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied 
 so prominent a position in the very peculiar society 
 which has constituted our republican court as Mrs. 
 Madison. 
 
 Mr. Madison served as Secretary of State under 
 Jefferson, and at the close of his administration 
 was chosen President. At this time the encroach- 
 ments of England had brought us to the verge of war. 
 
 British orders in council destroyed our commerce, 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 nonchal- 
 ance he selects any number whom he may please to 
 designate as Bridsh subjects ; orders them down the 
 ship's side into his boat ; and places them on the gun- 
 deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the 
 battles of England. This right of search and im- 
 pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce 
 the British cabinet to relinquish. 
 
 On the i8th of June, r8i2. President Madison gave 
 his approval to an act of Congress declaring war 
 against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter 
 hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country 
 in general approved ; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th 
 of March, 1813, 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 foundations of its renown in grap- 
 pling with the most formidable power which ever 
 swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest 
 by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, 
 1813, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole 
 coast of the United States under blockade. 
 
 The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me 
 ditator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- 
 ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks 
 of the Patuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- 
 peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- 
 burg, upon Washington. 
 
 The straggling little city of Washington was thrown 
 into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict 
 at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the 
 metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. 
 The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White 
 House, with her carriage drawn up at the 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 Presidenrial 
 Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in 
 Washington were in flames. 
 
 The war closed after two years of fighting, and on 
 Feb. 13, 18 15, the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 18 17, his second term of 
 office expired, and he resigned the Presidenrial chair 
 to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- 
 tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- 
 mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the 
 age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi- 
 son died July 12, 1849. 
 
y /^^Z,,c^ / 1 >- ^^ 
 
'FIFTit PRESIDENr. 
 
 35 
 
 AMES MONROE, the fifth 
 President of The United States, 
 was born in Westmoreland Co., 
 Va., April 28, 1758. His early 
 life was passed at the place of 
 nativity. His ancestors had for 
 many years resided in the prov- 
 ince in which he was born. When, 
 s. at 17 years of age, in the process 
 P^ of completing his education at 
 William and Mary College, the Co- 
 lonial Congress assembled at Phila- 
 delphia to deliberate upon the un- 
 just and manifold oppressions of 
 Great Britian, declared the separa- 
 tion of the Colonies, and promul- 
 gated the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence. Had he been bom ten years before it is highly 
 probable that he would have been one of the signers 
 of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left 
 school and enUsted among the patriots. 
 
 He joined the army when everything looked hope- 
 less and gloomy. The number of deserters increased 
 from day to day. The invading armies came pouring 
 in ; and the tories not only favored the cause of the 
 mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, 
 who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect of con- 
 tending 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 joined the 
 ranks, and espoused the cause of his injured country, 
 with a firm determination to live or die with her strife 
 
 for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the mel- 
 ancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and White 
 Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled 
 before its foes through New Jersey. In four months 
 after the Declaration of Independence, the patriots 
 had been beaten in seven battles. At the battle of 
 Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of charg- 
 ing upon the enemy he received a wound in the left 
 shoulder. 
 
 As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was pro- 
 moted a captain of infantry ; and, having recovered 
 from his wound,, he rejoined the army. He, however, 
 receded from the line of promotion, by becoming an 
 officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the cam- 
 paigns of 1777 and 1778, in the actions of Brandy 
 wine, Germantown and Monmouth, he continued 
 aid-de-camp; but becoming desirous to regain his 
 position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a 
 regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed 
 owing to the exhausted condition of the State. Upon 
 this failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at 
 that period Governor, and pursued, with considerable 
 ardor, the study of common law. He did not, however, 
 entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag ; 
 but on the invasions of the enemy, served as a volun- 
 teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. 
 
 In 1782, he was electe4 from King George county, 
 a member of the Leglislature of Virginia, and by that 
 body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive 
 Council. He was thus honored with the confidence 
 of his fellow citizens at 23 years of age ; and having 
 at this early period displayed some of that ability 
 and aptitude for legislation, which were afterwards 
 employed with unremitting energy for the public good, 
 
36 
 
 JAMES MONROE. 
 
 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, 
 ihinking, 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 re- 
 tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm 
 supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition 
 secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member 
 of the United States Senate ; which office he held for 
 four years. Every month the line of distinction be- 
 tween the two great parties which divided the nation, 
 the Federal and the Republican, was growing more 
 distinct. The two prominent ideas which now sep- 
 arated them were, that the Republican party was in 
 sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a 
 strict construction of tlie Constitution as to give the 
 Central Government as little power, and the State 
 Governments as much power, as the Constitution would 
 warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, 
 and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- 
 stitution, which would give as much power to the 
 Central Government as that document could possibly 
 authorize. 
 
 The leading Federalists and Republicans were 
 alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the 
 good of the nation. Two more honest men or more 
 pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and 
 James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In 
 Ibuilding up this majestic nation, which is destined 
 to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- 
 bination of their antagonism was needed to create the 
 light equilibrium. And yet each in his day was de- 
 nounced as almost a demon. 
 
 Washington was then President. England had es- 
 poused the cause of the Bourbons against the princi- 
 ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn 
 into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. 
 Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- 
 tween these contending powers. France had helped 
 us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms 
 of Europe were now combined to prevent the French 
 from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse 
 than that which we had endured. Col. Monroe, more 
 magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at 
 whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in 
 their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous 
 and noble nature. He violently opposed the Pres- 
 ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in 
 magnanimity. 
 
 Washington, who could appreciate such a character, 
 developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness, 
 by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- 
 nouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister 
 of that Government to the Republic of France. Mr. 
 Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention 
 in France with the most enthusiastic demonstr*^tions. 
 
 Shortly after his return to this country, Mr. Mon- 
 roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the 
 office for three years. He was again sent to France to 
 co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining 
 the vast territory then known as the Province of 
 Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- 
 tained from Spain. Their united efforts were suc- 
 cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen 
 millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and 
 district of Louisiana were added to the United States. 
 This was probably the largest transfer of real estate 
 which was ever made in all the history of the world. 
 From France Mr. Monroe went to England to ob- 
 tain from that country some recognition of out 
 rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those 
 odious impressments of our seamen. But Eng- 
 land was unrelenting. He again returned to Eng- 
 land on the same mission, but could receive no 
 redress. He returned to his home and was again 
 chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned 
 to accept the position of Secretary of State under 
 Madison. While in this office war with England was 
 declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during 
 these trying times, the duties of the War Departmen; 
 were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- 
 bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient 
 business man in his cabinet. Upon the return ol 
 peace he resigned the Department of War, but con- 
 tinued in the office of Secretary of State until the ex- 
 piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec- 
 tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had 
 been chosen President with but little opposition, and 
 upon March 4, 1817, was inaugurated. Four years 
 later he was elected for a second term. 
 
 Among the important measures of his Presidency 
 were the cession of Florida to the United States; the 
 Missouri Compromise, and the " Monroe doctrine.' 
 This famous doctrine, since known as the " Monroe 
 doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At that 
 time the United States had recognized the independ- 
 ence of the South American states, and did not wish 
 to have European powers longer attempting to sub- 
 due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine 
 is as follows : " That we should consider any attempt 
 on the part of European powers to extend their sys- 
 tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous 
 to our peace and safety," and "that we could not 
 view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing 
 or controlling American governments or provinces in 
 any other light than as a manifestation by European 
 powers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United 
 States. ' This doctrine immediately affected the course 
 of foreign governments, and has become the approved 
 sentiment of the United States. 
 
 At the end of his second term Mr. Monroe rerired 
 to his home in Virginia, where he lived uniil 1830 
 when he went to New York to live with his son-in- 
 law. In that city he died.on the 4th of July. 7831 
 
J, 5 , J^ci 
 
 (Unyj 
 
SIXTH PRESIDRNT. 
 
 39 
 
 J JOr^l] Ql[II]SY ^ID^riQS. I" 
 
 OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the 
 sixth President of the United 
 States, was born in the rural 
 home of his honored father, 
 John Adams, in Qaincy, Mass., 
 on the I ith cf 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, listen- 
 ing to the booming of the great bat- 
 tle on Bunker's Hill, and. gazing on 
 upon the smoke and flames billow- 
 ing up from the conflagration of 
 Charlestown. 
 
 When but eleven years old he 
 took a tearful adieu of his mother, 
 to sail with his father for Europe, 
 through a fleet ot hostile British cruisers. The bright, 
 animated boy spent a year and a half in Paris, where 
 his father was associated with Franklin and Lee as 
 minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted 
 the notice of these distinguished men, and he received 
 from them flattering marks of attention. 
 
 Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this 
 country, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again 
 John Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he 
 applied himself with great diligence, for six months, 
 to study; then accompained his father to Holland, 
 where he entered, first a school in Amsterdam, then 
 the University at Leyden. About a year from this 
 time, in 17 8 r, when the manly boy was but fourteen 
 yea's of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our min- 
 ister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. 
 
 In this school of incessant labor and of enobling 
 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 
 nis studies, under a private tutor, at Hague. Thence, 
 
 in the spring of 1782, he accompanied his father tt 
 Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming acquaintance 
 with the mqst distinguished men on the Continent' 
 examining arcJiitectural remains, galleries of paintings 
 and all renowned works of art. At Paris he again 
 became associated with the most illustrious men ol 
 all lands in the contemplations 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 a brilliant young 
 man of eighteen, who had seen much of the world, 
 and who was familiar with the etiquette of courts, a 
 residence with his father in London, under such cir- 
 cumstances, must have been extremely attractive 
 but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre- 
 ferred to return to America to complete his education 
 in an American college. He wished then to study 
 law, that with an honorable profession, he might be 
 able to obtain an independent support. 
 
 Upon leaving Harvard College, at the age of twenty 
 he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be- 
 ing then but twenty-seven years of age, he was ap- 
 pointed by Washington, resident minister at the 
 Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached 
 London in October, where he was immediately admit- 
 ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinckney, 
 assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty with 
 Great Britian. After thus spending a fortnight ii, 
 London, he proceeded to the Hague. 
 
 In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portugal as 
 minister plenipotentiary. On his way to Portugal, 
 upon arriving in London, he met with despatches 
 directing him to the court of Berlin, but requesring 
 him to remain in London until he should receive bis 
 instructions. While waiting he was married to as 
 American lady to whom he had been previously en- 
 gaged, — Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughter 
 of Mr. Joshua Johnson, American consul in London 
 a lady endownd with that beauty and those accom- 
 plishment which eminently fitted her to move in ti»fi 
 elevated sphere for which she w»s «?ias»*necL 
 
*o 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797 ; 
 where he remained until July, 1799, when, having ful- 
 filled all the purposes of his mission, he solicited 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 reputation, his 
 ability and his experience, placed him immediately 
 among the most prominent and influential members 
 of that body. Especially did he sustain the Govern- 
 ment in its measures of resistance to the encroach- 
 ments of England, destroying our commerce and in- 
 sulting our flag. There was no man in America more 
 familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon 
 these points, and no one more resolved to present 
 a firm resistance. 
 
 In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the Pres- 
 idential chair, and he immediately nominated John 
 Quincy Adams minister to St. Petersburg. Resign- 
 ing his professorship in Harvard College, he embarked 
 at Boston, in August, 1809. 
 
 While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense stu- 
 dent. He devoted his attention to the language and 
 history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the 
 European system of weights, measures, and coins ; to 
 the climate and astronomical observations ; while he 
 kept up a familiar acquaintance with the Greek and 
 Latin classics. In all the universities of Europe, a 
 more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found. 
 All through life the Bible constituted an important 
 part of his studies. It was his rule to read five 
 chapters every day. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 18 17, Mr. Monroe took the 
 Presidential chair, and immediately appointed Mr. 
 Adams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num- 
 erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he 
 sailed in June, r8r9, for the United States. On the 
 rSth of August, he again crossed the threshold of his 
 home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon- 
 roe's administration, Mr. Adams continued Secretary 
 of State. 
 
 Some time before 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. 
 Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and 
 sixty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson re- 
 ceived ninety-nine ; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four ; 
 William H. Crawford, forty-one ; Henry Clay, thirty- 
 seven. As there was no choice by the people, the 
 question went to the House of Representatives. Mr. 
 Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and 
 he was elected. 
 
 The friends of all the disappointed candidates now 
 :ombined in a venomous and persistent assault upon 
 Mr. Adams. There is nothing more disgraceful in 
 ^e past history of our country than the abuse which 
 
 was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upon this 
 high-minded, upright, patriotic man. There never was 
 an administration more pure in principles, more con- 
 scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun- 
 try, than that of John Quincy Adams ; and never, per- 
 haps, was there an administration more unscrupu- 
 lously and outrageously assailed. 
 
 Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab- 
 stemious and temperate in his habits; always rising 
 early, and taking much exercise. When at his homein 
 Quincy, he has been known to walk, before breakfast, 
 seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said 
 that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his 
 own fire and applying himself to work in his library 
 often long before dawn. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired 
 from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew 
 Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi- 
 dent. The slavery question now began to assume 
 portentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to 
 Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un- 
 abated zeal. But he was not long permitted to re- 
 main in retirement. In November, 1830, he was 
 elected representative to Congress. For seventeen 
 years, until his death, he occupied the post as repre- 
 sentative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to 
 do brave battle' for freedom, and winning the title of 
 "the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in 
 the House, he announced that he should hold him- 
 self bound to no party. Probably there never was a 
 member more devoted to his duties. He was usually 
 the first in his place in the morning, and the last to 
 leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could 
 be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The 
 battle which Mr. Adams fought, almost singly, against 
 the proslavery party in the Government, was sublime 
 in its moral daring and heroism. For persisting in 
 presenring pedtions for the abolition of slavery, he 
 was threatened with indictment by the grand jurj', 
 with expulsion from the House, with assassination 
 but no threats could indmidate him, and his final 
 triumph was complete. 
 
 It has been said of President Adams, that when his 
 body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of 
 fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little 
 child, he was accustomed to repeat every night, before 
 he slept, the prajer which his mother taught him in 
 his infant years. 
 
 On the 2ist 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 paraly- 
 sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. 
 For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to 
 the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- 
 ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and 
 said " This is the end of earth ;"then after a moment's 
 pause he added, "/ awz content" These were the 
 last words of the grand "Old Man Eloquent." 
 
SEVENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 43 
 
 NDREW JACKSON, the 
 seventh President of the 
 United States, was born m 
 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 set- 
 tlement, where they lived in 
 deepest poverty. 
 Andrew, or Andy, as he was 
 universally called, grew up a very 
 rough, rude, turbulent boy. His 
 features were coarse, his form un- 
 gainly, and there was but very 
 little in his character, made visible, which was at- 
 tractive. 
 
 When only thirteen years old he joined the volun- 
 teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 
 17 81, he and his brother Robert were captured and 
 imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer 
 ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am 
 a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of 
 the dauntless boy. 
 
 The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate 
 Dlow at the head of the iielpless young prisoner. 
 Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fear- 
 ful gashes, — one on the hand and the other upon the 
 head. The officer then turned to his brother Robert 
 with the same demand. He also refused, and re- 
 ceived a blow from the keen-edged sabre, which quite 
 disabled him, and which probably soon after caused 
 his death. They suffered muchother ill-treatment, and 
 were finally stricken with the small-pox. Their 
 mother was successful iu obtaining their exchange. 
 
 and took her sick boys home. After a long illness. 
 Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother soon 
 left him entirely friendless. 
 
 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 amusements of tha 
 times than to his studies. In 1788, he was appointed 
 solicitor for the western district of North Carolina, of 
 which Tennessee was then a part. This involved 
 many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of 
 every kJnd, but Andrew Jackson never knew fear, 
 and the Indians had no desire to repeat a skirmish 
 with the Sharp Knife. 
 
 In 1791, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who 
 supposed herself divorced from her former husband. 
 Great was the surprise of both parties, two years later, 
 to find that the conditions of the divorce had just been 
 definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage 
 ceremony was performed a second time, but the occur-, 
 rence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. 
 Jackson into disfavor. 
 
 During these years he worked hard at his profes 
 sion, and frequently had one or more duels on hand, 
 one of which, when he killed Dickenson, was espec- 
 ially disgraceful. 
 
 In January, 1796, the Territory of Tennessee then 
 containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the 
 people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con- 
 stitution. Five were sent from each of the eleven, 
 counties. Andrew Jackson was one of the delegates. 
 The new State was entitled to but one member i» 
 the National House of Representatives. Andrew J acTc- 
 son was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he 
 rode to Philedelphia, where Congress then held its 
 
44 
 
 ANDRE W J A CKSON. 
 
 sessions, — a distance of about eight hundred miles. 
 
 Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo- 
 cratic pg.rty. Jefferson was his idol. He admired 
 Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr. 
 Jackson took his seat, Gen. Washington, whose 
 second term of office was then expiring, delivered his 
 last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a 
 complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson 
 did not approve of the address, and was one of the 
 twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to 
 say that Gen. Washington's adminstration had been 
 " wise, firm and patriotic." 
 
 Mr. Jackson was elected to the United States 
 Senate in 1797, but soon resigned and returned home. 
 Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court 
 of his State, which position he held for six years. 
 
 When the war of 181 2 with Great Britian com- 
 menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. 
 Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was 
 an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who 
 would do credit to a commission if one were con- 
 ferred upon him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson 
 offered his services and those of twenty-five hundred 
 volunteers. His off"er was accepted, and the troops 
 were assembled at Nashville. 
 
 As the British were hourly expected to make an at- 
 tack upon New Orleans, where Gen, Wilkinson was 
 in command, he was ordered to descend the river 
 with fifteen hundred troops to aid Wilkinson. The 
 expedition reached Natchez ; and after a delay of sev- 
 eral weeks there, without accomplishing anything, 
 the men were ordered back to their homes. But the 
 energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire 
 devotion to the comrfort of his soldiers, won him 
 golden opinions ; and he became the most popular 
 man in the State. It was in this expedition that his 
 toughness gave him the nickname of " Old Hickory." 
 
 Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. 
 Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman 
 made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in 
 which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged, 
 he received two severe pistol wounds. While he was 
 lingering upon a bed of suffering news came that the 
 Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from 
 Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- 
 tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- 
 cisive action became necessary. Gen. Jackson, with 
 his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in 
 a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- 
 tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an 
 army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Alabama. 
 
 The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on 
 one of the bends of the Tallapoosa River, near the cen- 
 ter of Alabama, about fifty miles below Fort Strother. 
 With an army of two thousand men. Gen. Jackson 
 traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven 
 days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or 
 Horse-shoe, on the 27th of March. 1814. The bend 
 
 of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres o; 
 tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow 
 neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breast- 
 work of logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, 
 with an ample suply of arms were assembled. 
 
 The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- 
 perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When 
 bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en- 
 deavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morn- 
 ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was 
 awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the 
 river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as 
 they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war- 
 rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam 
 the river and escaped. This ended the war. The 
 power of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold 
 plunge into the wilderness, with its terriffic slaughter, 
 so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants 
 of the bands came to the camp, begging for peace. 
 
 This closing of the Creek war enabled us to con- 
 centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the 
 allies of the Indians No man of less resolute will 
 than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian 
 campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he 
 was appointed major-general. 
 
 Late in August, with an army of two thousand 
 men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson came to 
 Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed 
 a force upon the beach, anchored near the little fort, 
 and from both ship and shore commenced a furious 
 assault. The battle was long and doubtful. At length 
 one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired. 
 
 Garrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little 
 army, he moved his troops to New Orleans, 
 And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, 
 was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won 
 for Gen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his 
 troops, which numbered about four thousand men, 
 won a signal victory over the British army of about 
 nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the 
 loss of the British was two thousand six hundred. 
 
 The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be men- 
 tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1824, 
 he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, 
 successful in the election of 1828, and was re-elected 
 for a second term in 1832. In 1829, just before he 
 assumed the reins of the' government, he met with 
 the most terrible afflicdon 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 mcmorabie 
 in the annals of our country; applaudenj 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. Jack- 
 son's life were that of a devoted Christian man. 
 
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 > ^2^^ ^z-^ U^c.^^.^,^ 
 
EIGHTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 WW^ ^J^ mmi- 
 
 ARTIN VAN BUREN, the 
 eighth President of the 
 United States, was born at 
 Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5, 
 1782. He died at the same 
 place, July 24, 1862. His 
 body rests in the cemetery 
 at Kinderhook. Above it is 
 a plain granite shaft fifteen feet 
 high, bearing a simple inscription 
 about half way up on one face. 
 The lot is unfenced, unbordered 
 or unbounded by shrub or flower. 
 
 There 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 an- 
 cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, 
 and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland 
 to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, 
 residing in the old town of Kinderhook. His mother, 
 also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- 
 ligence and exemplary piety. 
 
 Aq was decidedly a precocious boy, developing un- 
 usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. At the 
 age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies 
 in his native village, and commenced the study of 
 !aw. As he had not a collegiate education, seven 
 years of study in a law-office were required of him 
 before he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with 
 Ji lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he pur- 
 sued his studies with indefatigable industry. After 
 spending six years in an office in bjs native village, 
 
 he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted hi^ 
 studies for the seventh year. 
 
 In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years oi 
 age, commenced the practice of law in his native vil- 
 lage. The great conflict between the Federal and 
 Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van 
 Buren was from the beginning a politician. He had, 
 perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listening to the 
 many discussions which had been carried on in his 
 father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with 
 Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the 
 cause of State Rights ; though at that time the Fed- 
 eral party held the supremacy both in his town 
 and State. 
 
 His success and increasing ruputation led him 
 after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, \\\i 
 county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years, 
 constantly gaining strength by contending in the, 
 courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned 
 the bar of his State. 
 
 Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mt. 
 Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for 
 beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short 
 years she sank into the grave, the victim of consurop* 
 tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep ovei 
 her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren way 
 an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record 
 of those years is barren in items of public interest. 
 In 181 2, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to 
 the State Senate, and gave his strenuous support to 
 Mr. Madison's adminstration. In 1815, he was ap- 
 pointed Attorney-General, and the next year moved 
 to Albany, the capital of the State. 
 
 While he was ackno\«'ledged as one of the most 
 piominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had 
 
48 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 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 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 r: member of the United 
 States Senate; and in the same year, he took a seat 
 in the convention to revise the constitution of his 
 native State. His course in this convention secured 
 the approval of men of all parties. No one could 
 doubt the singleness of his endeavors to promote the 
 interests of all classes in the community. In the 
 Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a 
 ■<:onspicuous position as an active and useful legislator. 
 
 In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the 
 Vresidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to 
 ihe Senate. He had been from the beginning a de- 
 termined opposer of the Administration, adopting the 
 •'State Rights" view in opposition to what was 
 deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams. 
 
 Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governorof 
 the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his 
 ^eat in the Senate. Probably no one in the United 
 States contributed so much towards ejecting John Q. 
 \dams from the Presidential chair, and placing in it 
 Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whether 
 entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was re- 
 garded throughout the United States as one of the 
 most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians. 
 It was supposed that no one knew so well as he how 
 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 
 stealthily accomplish the most gigantic results. By 
 these powers it is said that he outv/itted Mr. Adams, 
 Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which 
 few thought then could be accomplished. 
 
 When Andrew Jackson was elected President he 
 appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This 
 position he resigned in 1831, and was immediately 
 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 ; was nominated Vice 
 President in the place of Calhoun, at the re-election 
 of President Jackson ; and with smiles for all and 
 frowns for none, he took his place at the head of that 
 Senate which had refused to confirm his nomination 
 as ambassador. 
 
 His rejection by the Senate roused all the zeal of 
 President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor- 
 ite ; and this, probably more than any other cause, 
 secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu 
 tive. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr. Van Buren re- 
 ceived the Democratic nomination to succeed Gen. 
 Jackson as President of the United States. He was 
 elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the 
 retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the 
 canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van 
 Buren to the Presidency was as much the act of Gen. 
 Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred 
 upon him the power to appoint a successor." 
 
 His administration was filled with exciting events. 
 The insurrection in Canada, which threatened to in- 
 ' volve this country in war with England, the agitation 
 of the slavery question, and finally the great commer- 
 cial panic which spread over the country, all were 
 trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at- 
 tributed to the management of the Democratic party, 
 and brought the President into such disfavor that he 
 failed of re-election. 
 
 With the exception of being nominated for the 
 Presidency by the "Free Soil" Democrats, in r848, 
 Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upon his estate until 
 his death. 
 
 He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal habits, 
 and living within his income, had now fortunately a 
 competence for his declining years. His unblemished 
 character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned 
 patriotism, and the distinguished positions which he 
 had occupied in the government of our country, se- 
 cured to him not only the homage of his party, but 
 the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 
 4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from 
 the presidency. 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 of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old 
 age, probably far more happiness than he had before 
 experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life. 
 
ZcT. //r )rG^ayi^t;^&vx^ 
 
NINTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 5' 
 
 
 ILLIAM HENRY HARRI- 
 SON, the ninth President of 
 the United States, was born 
 at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. 
 His father, Benjamin Harri- 
 son, was in comparatively op- 
 ulent circumstances, and was 
 one of the most distinguished 
 men of his day. He was an 
 intimate friend of George 
 Washington, w as early elected 
 a member of the Continental 
 Congress, and was conspicuous 
 among the patriots of Virginia in 
 resisting the encroachments of the 
 British crown. In the celebrated 
 Congress of 1775, Benjamin Har- 
 rison and John Hancock were 
 both candidates for the office of 
 speaker. 
 
 Mr Harrison was subsequently 
 chosen Governor of Virginia, and 
 was twice re-elected. His son, 
 William Henry, of course enjoyed 
 in childhood all the advantages which wealth and 
 intellectual and cultivated society could give. Hav- 
 ing received a thorough common-school education, he 
 entered Hampden Sidney College, where he graduated 
 with honor soon after the death of his father. He 
 then repaired to Philadelphia to study medicine under 
 the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of 
 iobert Morris, both of whom were, with his father, 
 ligners of the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 Upon the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and not- 
 withstanding the remonstrances of his fnends, he 
 abandoned his medical studies and entered the army, 
 aaving obtained a commission of Ensign from Presi- 
 
 dent Washington. He was then but 19 years old 
 From that time he passed gradually upward in rank 
 until he became aid to General Wayne, after whose 
 death he resigned his commission. He was then ap- 
 pointed Secretary of the North-western Territory. This 
 Territory was then entitled to but one member in 
 Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill that 
 position. 
 
 In the spring of 1800 the North-western Territory 
 was divided by Congress into two portions. The 
 eastern portion, comprising the region now embraced 
 in the State of Ohio, was called " The Territory 
 north-west of the Ohio." The western portion, which 
 included what is now called Indiana, Illinois and 
 Wisconsin, was called the "Indiana Territory." Wil. 
 liam Henry Harrison, then 27 years of age, was ap- 
 pointed by John Adams, Governor of the Indiana 
 Territory, and immediately after, also Governor of 
 Upper Louisiana. He was thus ruler over almost as 
 extensive a realm as any sovereign upon the globe. He 
 was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was in- 
 vested with powers nearly dictatorial over the now 
 rapidly increasing white population. The ability and 
 fidelity with which he discharged these responsible 
 duties may be inferred from the fact that he was four 
 times appointed to this office — first by John Adams, 
 twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterwards by Presi- 
 dent Madison. 
 
 When he began his adminstration there were but 
 three white settlements in that almost boundless region, 
 now crowded with cities and resounding with all the 
 tumult of wealth and traffic. One of these settlements 
 was on the Ohio, nearly opposite Louisville ; one at 
 Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the third a French 
 settlement. 
 
 The vast wilderness over which Gov. Harrisou 
 reigned was filled with many tribes of Indiat^s, Abon' 
 
5' 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 
 
 the year 1806, two extraordinary men, twin brothers, 
 of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of 
 these was called Tecumseh, or " The Crouching 
 Panther;" the other, OUiwacheca, or "The Prophet." 
 Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man 
 of great sagacity, far-reaching foresight and indomit- 
 able perseverance in any enterprise in which he might 
 engage. He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm, 
 and had long regarded with dread and with hatred 
 the encroachment of the whites upon the hunting- 
 grounds of his fathers. His brother, the Prophet, was 
 anorator, who could sway the feelings of the untutored 
 Indian as the gale tossed the tree-tops beneath which 
 they dwelt. 
 
 But the Prophet was not merely an orator : he was, 
 in the superstitious minds of the Indians, invested 
 with the superhuman dignity of a medicine-man or a 
 magician. With an enthusiasm unsurpassed by Peter 
 the Hermit rousing Europe to the crusades, he went 
 from tribe to tribe, assuming that he was specially sent 
 by the Great Spirit. 
 
 Gov. Harrison made many attempts to conciliate 
 the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Tippe- 
 canoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. 
 October 28, 1812, his army began its march. When 
 near the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made 
 their appearance and inquired why Gov. Harrison was 
 approaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a 
 short conference, arrangements were made for a meet- 
 ing the next day, to agree upon terms of peace. 
 
 But Gov. Harrison was too well acquainted with 
 the Indian character to be deceived by such protes- 
 tations. Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en- 
 campment, he took every precaution against surprise. 
 His troops were posted in a hollow square, and slept 
 upon their arms. 
 
 The troops threw themselves upon the ground for 
 rest; but every man had his accourtrements on, his 
 loaded musket by his side, and his bayonet fixed. The 
 wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock in 
 the morning, had risen, and was sitting in conversa- 
 tion with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It 
 was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In 
 the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possi- 
 ble, and j'ist then, with a savage yell, rushed, with all 
 the desperation which superstition and passion most 
 highly inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the 
 little army. The savages had been amply provided 
 with guns and ammunition by the English. Their 
 war-whoop was accompained by a shower of bullets. 
 
 The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as the 
 light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide- 
 »us yells, the Indian bands rushed on, not doubting a 
 speedy and an entire victory. But Gen. Harrison's 
 troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them 
 until day dawned : they then made a simultaneous 
 charge with the bayonet, and swept every thing be- 
 fore them, and completely routing the foe. 
 
 Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked 
 to the utmost. The British descending from the Can - 
 adas, were of themselves a very formidable force ; but 
 with their savage allies, rushing like wolves from the 
 forest, searching out every remote farm-house, burn- 
 ing, plundering, scalping, torturing, the wide frontier 
 was plunged into a state of consternation which even 
 the most vivid imagination can but faintly conceive. 
 The war-whoop was resounding everywhere in the 
 forest. The horizon was illuminated with the conflagra- 
 tion of the cabins of the settlers. Gen Hull had made 
 the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. 
 Under these despairing circumstances. Gov. Harrison 
 was appointed by President Madison commander-in- 
 chief of the North-western army, with orders to retake 
 Detroit, and to protect the frontiers. 
 
 It would be difficult to place a man in a situation 
 demanding more energy, sagacity and courage; but 
 General Harrison was found equal to the position, 
 and nobly and triumphantly did he meet all the re 
 sponsibilities. 
 
 He won the love of his soldiers by always sharing 
 with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, while 
 pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a 
 valise; and his bedding consisted of a single blanket 
 lashed over his saddle, Thirty-five British officers, 
 his prisoners of war, supped with him after the battle. 
 The only fare he could give them was beef roasted 
 before the fire, without bread or salt. 
 
 In 1 81 6, Gen. Harrison was chosen a member of 
 the National House of Representatives, to represent 
 the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved an 
 active member; and whenever he spoke, it was with 
 force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested 
 the attention of all the members. 
 
 In 1819, Harrison was elected to the Senate of 
 Ohio; and in 1824, as one of the presidential electors 
 of that State, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. The 
 same year he was chosen to the United States Senate. 
 
 In 1836, the friends of Gen. Harrison brought him 
 forward as a candidate for the Presidency against 
 Van Buren, but he was defeated. At the close of 
 Mr. Van Buren's term, he was re-nominated by his 
 party, and Mr. Harrison was unanimously nominated 
 by the Whigs, with John Tyler for the Vice Presidency. 
 The contest was very animated. Gen. Jackson gave 
 all his influence to prevent Harrison's election ; but 
 his triumph was signal. 
 
 The cabinet which he fonned, with Daniel Webster 
 at its head as Secretary of State, was one of the most 
 brilliant with which any President had ever been 
 surrounded. Never were the prospects of an admin- 
 istration more flattering, or the hopes of the country 
 more sanguine. In the midst of these bright and 
 joyous prospects. Gen. Harrison was seized by a 
 pleurisy-fever and after a few days of violent sick- 
 ness, died on the 4th of April ; just one month after 
 his inauguration as President of the United States. 
 
TENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 55 
 
 OHN TYLER, the tenth 
 , Presidentof the United States. 
 He was born in Charles-city 
 Co., Va., March 29, 1790. He 
 was the favored child of af- 
 fluence and high social po- 
 sition. At the early age of 
 twelve, John entered William 
 and Mary College and grad- 
 uated with much honor when 
 but seventeen years old. After 
 graduating, he devoted him- 
 self with great assiduity to the 
 study of law, partly with his 
 father and partly with Edmund 
 Randolph, one of the most distin- 
 guished lawyers of Virginia. 
 
 At nineteen years of age, ne 
 commenced the practice of law. 
 His success was rapid and aston- 
 ishing. It is said that three 
 months had not elapsed ere there 
 was scarcely a case on the dock- 
 et of the court in which he was 
 h.Ot retained. When but twenty-one years of age, he 
 was almost unanimously elected to a seat in the State 
 Legislature. 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 or his county. 
 
 • When but twenty-six years of age, he was elected 
 a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and 
 ably with the Democratic party, opposing a national 
 bank, inte'-Tji improvements by the General <^ovvrn> 
 
 ment, a protective tariff, and advocating a strict con- 
 struction of the Constitution, and the most careful 
 vigilance over State rights. His labors in Congress 
 were so arduous that before the close of his second 
 term hi found it necessary to resign and retire to his 
 estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He, 
 however, soon after consented to take his seat in the 
 State Legislature, where his influence was powerful 
 in promoting public works of great utility. With a 
 reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was chosen 
 by a very large majority of votes. Governor of his 
 native State. His administration was signally a suc- 
 cessful one. His popularity secured his re-election. 
 
 John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed 
 man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the 
 United States. A portion of the Democratic party 
 was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course, 
 and brought forward John Tyler as his opponent, 
 considering him the only man in Virginia of sufficient 
 popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of 
 Roanoke. Mr. Tyler was the victor. 
 
 In accordance with his professions, upon taking his 
 seat in the Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposi- 
 tion. He opposed the tariff; he spoke against and 
 voted against the bank as unconstitutional ; he stren- 
 uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resist- 
 ing all projects of internal improvements by the Gen- 
 eral 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 pnDfessipp, Ther? was a cpUt in the Democriitii; 
 
JOHN TYLER. 
 
 /arty. His friends still regarded him as a true Jef- 
 fersonian, gave him a dinner, and-show«red compli- 
 ments upon him. He had now attained the age of 
 forty-six. His career had been very brilliant. In con- 
 sequence of his devotion to public business, his pri- 
 vate affairs had fallen into some disorder ; and it was 
 not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice 
 of law, and devoted himself to the culture of his plan- 
 tation. Soon after this he removed to Williamsburg, 
 for the better education of his children ; and he again 
 took his seat in the Legislature of Virginia. 
 
 By the Southern Whigs, he was sent to the national 
 convention at Harrisburg to nominate a President in 
 1839. The majority of votes were given to Gen. Har- 
 rison, a genuine Whig, much to the disappointment of 
 the South, who wished for Henry Clay. To concili- 
 ate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the 
 convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice Pres- 
 ident. It was well known that he was not in sympa- 
 thy with the Whig party in the NoUh: but the Vice 
 President has but very little power in the Govern- 
 ment, his main and almost only duty being to pre- 
 side over the meetings of the Senate. Thus it hap- 
 pened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a 
 Democratic Vice President were chosen. 
 
 In 1 84 1, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice Presi- 
 dent of the United States. In one short month from 
 that time, President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler 
 thus -cund himself, to his own surprise and that of 
 the whole Nation, an occupant of the Presidential 
 chair. This was a new test of the stability of our 
 institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our 
 country that such an event had occured. Mr. Tyler 
 was at home in Wilhamsburg when he received the 
 unexpected tidings of the death of President Harri- 
 son. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of 
 April was inaugurated to the high and responsible 
 office. He was placed in a position of exceeding 
 delicacy and difficulty. All his long life he had been 
 opposed to the main principles of the party which had 
 brought him into power. He had ever been a con- 
 sistent, honest man, with an unblemished record. 
 Gen. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should 
 he retain them, and thus surround himself with coun- 
 sellors whose views were antagonistic to his own.? or, 
 on the other hand, should he turn against the party 
 which had elected him and select a cabinet in har- 
 naony with himself, and which would oppose all those 
 views which the Whigs deemed essential to the pub- 
 lic welfare ? This was his fearful dilemma. He in- 
 vited the cabinet which President Haurison had 
 selected to retain their seats. He reccommended a 
 day of fasting and prayer, that God would guide and 
 bless us. 
 
 The Whigs carried through Congress a bill for the 
 incorporation of a fiscal bank of the United States. 
 The President, after ten days' delay, returned it with 
 his veto. Hf- «uegested, however, that he would 
 
 approve of a bill drawn up upon such a plan as he 
 proposed. Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and 
 privately submitted to him. He gave it his approval. 
 It was passed without alteration, and he sent it back 
 with his veto. Here commenced the open rupture. 
 It is said that Mr. Tyler was provoked to this meas- 
 ure by a pubUshed letter from the Hon. John M. 
 Botts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who severely 
 touched the pride of the President. 
 
 The opposition now exultingly received the Presi- 
 dent into their arms. The party which elected him 
 denounced him bitterly. 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 were 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 unfortunate administra- 
 tion passed sadly away. No one was satisfied. The 
 land was filled with murmurs and vituperation. Whigs 
 and Democrats alike assailed him. More and more, 
 however, he brought himself into sympathy with his 
 old friends, the Democrats, until atthe close of his term, 
 he gave his whole influence to the support of Mr. 
 Polk, the Democratie candidate for his successor. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from the 
 harassments of office, to the regret of neither party, and 
 probably to his own unspeakable lelief. His first wife. 
 Miss Letitia Christian, died in Washington, in 1842; 
 and in June, 1844, President Tyler was again married, 
 at New York, to Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady of 
 many personal and intellectual accomplishments. ' 
 
 The remainder of his days Mr. Tyler passed mainly 
 in retirement at his beautiful home,— Sherwood For- 
 est, Charles-city Co., Va. A polished gentleman in 
 his manners, richly furnished with information from 
 books and experience in the world, and possessing 
 brilliant powers of conversation, his family circle was 
 the scene of unasual attractions. With sufficient 
 means for the exercise of a generous hospitality, he 
 might have enjoyed a serene old age with the few 
 friends who gathered around him, were it not for the 
 storms of civil war which his own principles and 
 policy had helped to introduce. 
 
 When the great Rebellion rose, which the State 
 rights and nullifying doctrines of Mr. John C. Cal- 
 houn had inaugurated. President Tyler renounced his 
 allegiance to the United States, and joined the Confed- 
 erates. He was chosen a member of their Congress; 
 and while engaged in active measures to destroy, by 
 force of arms, the Government over which he had 
 once presided, he was taken sick and soon died. 
 
ELE VENTH PRESIDENT, ' 
 
 59 
 
 AMES K. POLK, the eleventh 
 ^President of the United States, 
 was bom in Mecklenburg Co., 
 N. C.,Nov. 2, 1795. His par- 
 ents were Samuel and Jane 
 (Knox) Polk, the former a son 
 of Col. Thomas Polk, who located 
 at the above place, as one of the 
 first pioneers, in 1735. 
 
 In the year 1S06, with his wife 
 and children, and soon after fol- 
 lowed by most of the members of 
 the Polk famly, Samuel Polk emi- 
 grated some two or three hundred 
 miles farther west, to the rich valley 
 of the Duck River. Here in the 
 midst of the wilderness, in a region 
 which was subsequently called Mau- 
 ry Co., they reared their log huts, 
 and established their homes. In the 
 hard toil of a new farm in the wil- 
 derness, James K. Polk spent the 
 early years of his childhood and 
 youth. His father, adding the pur- 
 suit of a surveyor to that of a farmer, 
 gradually increased in wealth until 
 he became one of the leading men of the region. His 
 mother was a superior woman, of strong common 
 sense and earnest piety. 
 
 Very early in life, James developed a taste for 
 reading and expressed the strongest desire to obtain 
 a liberal education. His mother's training had made 
 him methodical in his habits, had taught him punct- 
 uality and industry, and had inspired him with lofty 
 principles of morality. His health was frail ; and his 
 father, fearing that be 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 in 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 prosecute his studies. Soon 
 after he sent him to Murfreesboro Academy. With 
 ardor which could scarcely be surpassed, he pressed 
 forward in his studies, and in less than two and a half 
 years, in the autumn of 1815, 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 allowing 
 himself to be absent from a recitation or a reUgious 
 service. 
 
 He graduated in 1818, with the highest honors, be- 
 ing deemed the best scholar of his class, both in 
 mathematics and the classics. He was then twenty- 
 three years of age. Mr. Polk's health was at this 
 time much impaired by the assiduity with which he 
 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 plantation, the Hermitage, but a few 
 miles from Nashville. They had probably been 
 slightly acquainted before. 
 
 Mr. Polk's father was a Jeffersonian Republican, 
 and James K. Polk ever adhered to the same politi- 
 cal faith. He was a popular public speaker, and was 
 constantly 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 
 
6o 
 
 JAMES K. POLK. 
 
 Courterus in his bearing, and with that sympathetic 
 nature in the joys and griefs of others which ever gave 
 him troops of friends. In 1823, Mr. Polk was elected 
 to the Legislature of Tennessee. Here he gave his 
 strong influence towards the election of his friend, 
 Mr. Jackson, to the Presidency of the United States. 
 
 In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah 
 Childress, of Rutherford Co., Tenn. His bride was 
 altogether worthy of him, — a lady of beauty and cul- 
 ture. In the fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a 
 member of Congress. The satisfaction which he gave 
 to his constituents may be inferred from the fact, that 
 for fourteen successive years, until 1839, he was con- 
 tinued in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew, 
 only t^iat he might accept the Gubernatorial chair 
 of Tennessee. In Congress he was a laborious 
 member, a frequent and a popular speaker. He was 
 always in his seat, always courteous ; and whenever 
 he spoke it was always to the point, and without any 
 ambitious rhetorical display. 
 
 During five sessions of Congress, Mr. Polk was 
 Speaker of the House. Strong passions were roused, 
 and stormy scenes were witnessed ; but Mr. Polk per- 
 formed his arduous duties to a very general satisfac- 
 'tion, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was 
 passed by the House as he withdrew on the 4th of 
 March, 1839. 
 
 In accordance with Southern usage, Mr. Polk, as a 
 candidate for Governor, canvassed the State. He was 
 elected by a large majority, and on the 1 4th of Octo- 
 ber, 1839, took the oath of office at Nashville. In 1841, 
 his term of office expired, and he was again the can- 
 didate of the Democratic party, but was defeated. 
 
 On the 4th of March, r845,Mr. Polk was inaugur- 
 ated President of the United States. The verdict of 
 the countryin favor of the annexation of Texas, exerted 
 its influence upon Congress ; and the last act of the 
 administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig- 
 nature to a joint resolution of Congress, passed on the 
 3d of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to 
 the American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas 
 as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister, 
 Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and 
 left the country, declaring the act of the annexation 
 to be an act hostile to Mexico. 
 
 In his first message. President Polk urged that 
 Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be re- 
 ceived into the Union on the same foodng with the 
 Other States. In the meantime, Gen. Taylor was sent 
 
 with an army into Texas to hold the country. He was 
 sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the 
 western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly 
 two hundred miles further west, to the Rio Grande, 
 where he erected batteries which commanded the 
 Mexican city of Matamoras, which was situated on 
 the western banks. 
 
 The anticipated collision soon took place, and wai 
 was declared against Mexico by President Polk. The 
 war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration 
 with great vigor. Gen. Taylor, whose army was first 
 called one of " observatioai," then of "occupation," 
 then of " invasion, "was sent forward to Monterey. The 
 feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly 
 and awfully slaughtered. The day of judgement 
 alone can reveal the misery which this war caused. 
 It v/as by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administration 
 that the war was brought on. 
 
 'To the victors belong the spoils." Mexico was 
 prostrate before us. Her capital was in our hands. 
 We now consented to peace upon the condition that 
 Mexico should surrender to us, in addition to Texas, 
 all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Cal- 
 ifornia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of 
 Texas, eight hundred thousand square miles. This 
 was an extent of territory equal to nine States of the 
 size of New York, Thus slavery was securing eighteen 
 majestic States to be added to the Union. There were 
 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 a hundred million of dollars. Of this 
 money fifteen millions were paid to Mexico. . 
 
 On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired from 
 office, having served one term. The next day was 
 Sunday. On the sth, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated 
 as his successor. Mr. Polk rode to the Capitol in the 
 same carriage with Gen. Taylor ; and the same even- 
 ing, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to 
 Tennessee. He was then but fifty-four years of age. 
 He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits, 
 and his health was good. With an ample fortune, 
 a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domesUc ties 
 of the dearest nature, it seemed as though long years 
 of tranquility and happiness were before him. But the 
 cholera — that fearful scourge — was then sweeping up 
 the Valley of the Mississippi. This he contracted, 
 and died on the rsth of June, 1849, in the fifty-fourth 
 year of his age, gready mourned by his countrymen. 
 
TWELFTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 63 
 
 ACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth 
 President of the United States, 
 *was born on the 24th of Nov., 
 1784, in Orange Co., Va. His 
 father. Colonel Taylor, was 
 a Virginian of note, and a dis- 
 tinguished patriot and soldier of 
 the Revolution. When Zachary 
 was an infant, his father with his 
 wife and two children, emigrated 
 to Kentucky, where he settled in 
 the pathless wilderness, a few 
 miles from Louisville. In this front- 
 ier home, away from civilization and 
 all its refinements, young Zachary 
 could enjoy but few social and educational advan- 
 tages. When six years of age he attended a common 
 school, and was then regarded as a bright, active boy, 
 cather remarkable for bluntness and decision of char- 
 acter He was strong, fearless and self-reliant, and 
 manifested a strong desire to enter the army to fight 
 the 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 
 the commission of lieutenant in the United States 
 army ; and he joined the troops which were stationed 
 at New Orleans under Gen. Wilkinson. Soon after 
 this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady 
 from one of the first families of Maryland. 
 
 Immediately after the declaration of war with Eng- 
 land, ini8i2, Capt. Taylor (for he had then been 
 promoted to that rank) was put in command of Fort 
 Harrison, on the Wabash, about fifty miles above 
 Vincennes. This fort had been built in the wilder- 
 ness by Gen. Harrison,on his march to Tippecanoe. 
 It was one of the first points of attack by the Indians, 
 led by Tecumseh. Its garrison consisted of a broken 
 
 company of infantry numbering fifty men, many of 
 whom were sick. 
 
 Early in the autumn of 181 2, the Indians, stealthily, 
 and in large numbers, 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 antici- 
 pated assault. On the 4th of September, a band of 
 forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort, 
 waving a white flag,.and informed Capt. Taylor that 
 in the morning their chief would come to have a talk 
 with him. It was evident that their object was merely 
 to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt. 
 Taylor, well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept 
 them at a distance. 
 
 The sun went down ; the savages disappeared, the 
 garrison slept upon their arms. One hour before 
 midnight the war whoop burst from a thousand lips 
 in the forest around, followed by the discharge of 
 musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every man, sick 
 and well, sprang to his post. Every man knew that 
 defeat was not merely death, but in the case of cap- 
 ture, death by the most agonizing and prolonged tor- 
 ture. No pen can describe, no immagination can 
 conceive the scenes which ensued. The savages suc- 
 ceeded in setting fire to one of the block-houses- 
 Until six o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict 
 continued. The savages then, baffied at every point, 
 and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired. Capt. 
 Taylor, for this gallant defence, was promoted to the 
 rank of major by brevet. 
 
 Until the close of the war. Major 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 Fort Crawford, on Fox River, which 
 empties into Green Bay. Here there was but little 
 to be done but to wear away the tedious hours as one 
 best could. There were no books, no society, no in- 
 
64 
 
 ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 tellectual stimulus. Thus with him the uneventful 
 years rolled on Gradually he rose to the rank of 
 colonel. In the Black-Hawk war, which resulted in 
 the capture of that renowned chieftain, Col Taylor 
 took a subordinate but a brave and efficient part. 
 
 For twenty-four years Col. Taylor was engaged in 
 ^the defence of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, 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 Indians to vacate that region and re- 
 tire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty, 
 iiac' promised they should do. The services rendered 
 heie secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of 
 the Government; and as a reward, he was elevated 
 to 'che rank of brigadier-general by brevet ; and soon 
 after, in May, 1838, was appointed to the chief com- 
 mand of the United States troops in Florida. 
 
 After two years of such wearisome employment 
 amidst the everglades of the peninsula. Gen. Taylor 
 obtained, at his own request, a change of command, 
 and was stationed over the Department of the South- 
 west. This field embraced Louisiana, Mississippi, 
 Alabama and Georgia. Establishing his headquarters 
 at Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, he removed his family 
 to a plantation which he purchased, near Baton Rogue. 
 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 Nation. Then came the battles of Monterey and 
 Buena Vista in which he won signal victories over 
 forces much larger than he commanded. 
 
 His careless habits of dress and his unaffected 
 simplicity, secured for Gen. Taylor among his troops, 
 ih& sobriquet of "Old Rough and Ready.' 
 
 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 wonder- 
 ful popularity in bringing forward the unpolished, un- 
 
 ■' ?red, honest soldier as their candidate for the 
 Presidency. Gen. Taylor was astonished at the an- 
 nouncement, 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 poUdcs that, 
 for forty years, he had not cast a vote. It was not 
 without chagrin that several distinguished statesmen 
 who had_ been long years in the public service found 
 fheir claims set aside in behalf of one whose name 
 
 had never been heard of, save in connection with Palo 
 Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena 
 Vista. It is said that Daniel Webster, in his haste re- 
 marked, " It is a nomination not fit to be made." 
 
 Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker nor a fine 
 wnter His friends took possession of him, and pre- 
 pared such few communications as it was needful 
 should be presented to the public. The popularity of 
 the successful warrior swept the land. He was tri- 
 umphantly elected over two opposing candidates, — 
 Gen. Cass and Ex-President Martin Van Buren. 
 Though he selected an excellent cabinet, the good 
 old man found himself in a very uncongenial position, 
 and was, at times, sorely perplexed and harassed. 
 His mental sufferings were very severe, and probably 
 tended to hasten his death. The pro-slavery party 
 was pushing its claims with tireless energy, expedi- 
 tions were fitting out to capture Cuba ; California was 
 pleading for admission to the Union, while slavery 
 stood at the door to bar her out. Gen. Taylor found 
 the political conflicts in Washington to be far more 
 trying to the nerves than battles with Mexicans or 
 Indians 
 
 In the midst of all these troubles, . Gen. Taylor, 
 after he had occupied the Presidential chair but little 
 over a year, took cold, and after a brief sickness 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 endeavored to do my duty." He died 
 universally respected and beloved. An honest, un- 
 pretending man, he had been steadily growing in the 
 affections of the people ; and the Nation bitterly la- 
 mented his death. 
 
 Gen. Scott, who was thoroughly acquainted with 
 Gen. Taylor, gave the following graphic and truthful 
 description of his character: — " With a good store of 
 common sense. Gen. Taylor's mind had not been en- 
 larged and refreshed by reading, or much converse 
 with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the conse- 
 quence. The frontiers and small military posts had 
 been his home. Hence he was quite ignorant for his 
 rank, and quite bigoted in his ignorance. His sim- 
 plicity was child-like, and with innumerable preju- 
 dices, amusing and incorrigible, well suited to the 
 tender age. Thus, if a man, however respectable, 
 chanced to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hat 
 a litde on one side of his head ; or an officer to leave 
 a corner of his handkerchief dangling from an out* 
 side pocket, — in any such case, this critic held the 
 offender to be a coxcomb (perhaps something worse), 
 whom he would not, to use his oft repeated phrase, 
 ' touch with a pair of tongs.' 
 
 "Any allusion to literature beyond good old Dil- 
 worth's spelling-book, on the part of one wearing a 
 sword, was evidence, with the same judge, of utter 
 unfitness for heavy marchings and combats. In shorJ- 
 few men have ever had a more comfortable, 1i>>^t. 
 saving contempt for learning of every kind" 
 
(-^i.'i/j Jl 
 
THIRTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 6? 
 
 
 ILLARD FILLMORE, thir- 
 teenth President of the United 
 States, was born at Summer 
 Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y ., on 
 the 7th of January, 1800. His 
 father was a farmer, and ow- 
 ing to misfortune, in humble cir- 
 cumstances. Of his mother, the 
 daughter of Dr. Abiathar Millard, 
 of Pittsfield, Mass., it has been 
 said that she possessed an intellect 
 of very high order, united with much 
 personal loveliness, sweetness of dis- 
 position, graceful manners and ex- 
 quisite sensibilities. She died in 
 1831 ; having lived to see her son a 
 young man of distinguished prom- 
 ise, 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 ad- 
 vantages for education in his early years. The com- 
 mon schools, which he occasionally attended were 
 very imperfect institutions ; and books were scarce 
 and expensive. There was nothing then in his char- 
 acter to indicate the brilliant career upon which he 
 was about to enter. He was a plain farmer's boy ; 
 intelligent, good-looking, kind-hearted. The sacred 
 influences of home had taught him to revere the Bible, 
 and had laid the foundations of an upright character. 
 When fourteen years of age, his father sent him 
 some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds of 
 Livingston County, to learn the trade of a clothier. 
 Near the mill there was a small villiage, where some 
 
 enterprising man had commenced the collection of a 
 village library. This proved an inestimable blessing 
 to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent in read- 
 ing. Soon every leisure moment was occupied with 
 books. His thirst for knowledge became insatiate 
 and the selections which he made were continually 
 more elevating and instructive. He read history, 
 biography, oratory , and thus gradually there was en- 
 kindled in his heart a desire to be something more 
 than a mere worker with his hands; and he was be- 
 coming, almost unknown to himself, a well-informed, 
 educated man. 
 
 The young clothier had now attained the age of 
 nineteen years, and was of fine personal appearance 
 and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so happened that 
 there was a gentleman in the neighborhood of ample 
 pecuniary means and of benevolence, — Judge Walter 
 Wood, — who was struck with the prepossessing ap- 
 pearance of young Fillmore. He made his acquaint- 
 ance, and was so much impressed with his ability and 
 attainments that he advised him to abandon his 
 trade and devote himself to the study of the law. The 
 young man repHed, that he had no means of his own, 
 no friends to help him and that his previous educa- 
 tion 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 loan him such 
 money as he needed. Most gratefully 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 graduated at some col-' 
 lege. But many a boy loiters through university halls 
 Rnd then enters a law office, who is by no means as 
 
6-8 
 
 MILLARD FILLMORE. 
 
 well prepared to prosecute his legal studies as was 
 Millard Fillmore when he graduated at the clothing- 
 mill at the end of four years of manual labor, during 
 which every leisure moment had been devoted to in- 
 tense mental culture. 
 
 In 1823, when twenty-three years of age, he v/as 
 admitted to the Court of Common Pleas. He then 
 went to the village of Aurora, and commenced the 
 practice of law. In this secluded, peaceful region, 
 his practice of course was limited, and there was no 
 opportunity for a sudden rise in fortune or in fame. 
 Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of great 
 moral worth, and one capable of adorning any station 
 she might be called to fill, — Miss Abigail Powers. 
 
 His elevation of character, his untiring industry, 
 his legal acquirements, and his skill as an advocate, 
 gradually attracted attention ; and he was invited to 
 enter into partnership under highly advantageous 
 circumstances, with an elder member of the bar in 
 Buffalo. Just before removing to Buffalo, in 1829, 
 he took his seat in the House of Assembly, of the 
 State of New York, as a representative from Erie 
 County. Though he had never taken a very active 
 part in politics, his vote and his sympathies were with 
 the Whig party. The State was then Democratic, 
 and he found himself in a helpless minority in the 
 Legislature , still the testimony comes from all parties, 
 that his courtesy, ability and integrity, won, to a very 
 unusual degree the respect of his associates. 
 
 In the autumn of 1832, he was elected to a seat in 
 the United States Congress He entered that troubled 
 arena in some of the most tumultuous hours of our 
 national history. The great conflict respecting the 
 national bank and the removal of the deposits, was 
 then raging. 
 
 His term of two years closed ; and he returned to 
 his profession, which he pursued with increasing rep- 
 utation and success. After a lapse of two years 
 he again became a candidate for Congress ; was re- 
 elected, and took his seat in 1837. His past expe- 
 rience as a representative gave him stiength and 
 confidence. The first term of service in Congress to 
 any man can be but little more than an introduction. 
 He was now prepared for active duty. All his ener- 
 gies were brought to bear upon the public good. Every 
 tneasure received his impress. 
 
 Mr. Fillmore was now a man of wide repute, and 
 his popularity filled the State, and in the year 1847, 
 he was elected Comptroller of the State. 
 
 Mr. Fillmore had attained the age of forty-seven 
 years. His labors at the bar, in the Legislature, in 
 Congress and as Comptroller, had given him very con- 
 siderable fame. The Whigs were casting about to 
 find suitable candidates for President and Vice-Presi- 
 dent at the approaching election. Far away, on the 
 waters of the Rio Grande, there was a rough old 
 soldier, who had fought one or two successful battles 
 with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be 
 proclaimed in trumpet-tones all over the land. But 
 it was necessary to associate with him on the same 
 ticket some man of reputation as a statesman. 
 
 Under the influence of these considerations, the 
 names of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became 
 the rallying-cry of the Whigs, as their candidates for 
 President and Vice-Peesident. The Whig ticket was 
 signally triumphant. On the 4th of March, 1849, 
 Gen. Taylor was inaugurated President, and Millard 
 Fillmore Vice-President, of the United States. 
 
 On the 9th of July, 1850, President Taylor, but 
 about one year and four months after his inaugura 
 tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the Con- 
 stitution, Vice-President Fillmore thus became Presi- 
 dent. He appointed a very able cabinet, of which 
 the illustrious Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. 
 Mr. Fillmore had very serious difficulties to contend 
 with, since the opposition had a majority in both 
 Houses. He did everything in his power to conciliate 
 the South ; but the pro-slavery party in the South felt 
 the inadequacy of all measuresof transient conciliation. 
 The population of the free States was so rapidly in- 
 creasing over that of the slave States that it was in- 
 evitable that the power of the Government should 
 soon pass into the hands of the free States. The 
 famous compromise measures were adopted under Mr. 
 Fillmore's adminstration, and the Japan Expedition 
 was sent out. On the 4th of March, 1853, Mr. Fill- 
 more, having served one term, retired. 
 
 In 1856, Mr. Fillmore was nominated for the Pres- 
 idency by the " Know Nothing " party, but was beaten 
 by Mr. Buchanan. After that Mr. Fillmore lived in 
 retirement. During the terrible conflict of civil war, 
 he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed that 
 his sympathies were rather with those who were en- 
 deavoring to overthrow our institutions. President 
 Fillmore kept aloof from the conflict, without any 
 cordial words of cheer to the one party or the other. 
 He was thus forgotten by both. He lived to a ripe 
 old age, and died in Buffalo. N. Y., March 8, 1874. 
 
FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 n 
 
 ^FRMKLIN FIEREE.<4 
 
 
 RANKLIN PIERCE, the 
 fourteenth President of the 
 ^* United States, was born in 
 Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 
 23, 1804. His father was a 
 Revolutionary soldier, who, 
 with his own strong arm, 
 hewed out a liome in the 
 wilderness. He was a man 
 of inflexible integrity; of 
 strong, though uncultivated 
 mind, and an uncompromis- 
 ing Democrat. The mother of 
 Franklin Pierce was all that a son 
 could desire, — an intelligent, pru- 
 dent, affectionate, Christian wom- 
 an. Franklin was the sixth of eight children. 
 
 Franklin was a very bright and handsome boy, gen- 
 erous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the 
 love of old and young. The boys on the play ground 
 loved him. His teachers loved him. The neighbors 
 looked upon him with pride and affection. He was 
 by instinct a gentleman; always speaking kind words, 
 doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact 
 which taught him what was agreeable. Without de- 
 veloping any precocity of genius, or any unnatural 
 devotion to books, he was a good scholar ; in body, 
 in mind, in affections, a finely-developed boy. 
 
 When sixteen years of age, in the year 1820, he 
 entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Me. He was 
 one of the most popular young men in the college. 
 I'he 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 very peculiarly winning in his 
 address, and it was evidently not in the slightest de- 
 gree studied : it was the simple outgushing of his 
 own magnanimous and loving nature. 
 
 Upon graduating, in the year 1824, Franklin Pierce 
 commenced the study of law in the office of Judge 
 Woodbury, one of the most distinguished lawyers of 
 the State, and a man of great private worth. The 
 eminent social qualities of the young lawyer, his 
 father's prominence as a public man, and the brilliant 
 political career into which Judge Woodbury was en- 
 tering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the faci- 
 nating yet perilous path of political life. With all 
 the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of Gen. 
 Jackson for the Presidency. He commenced the 
 practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected 
 to represent the town in the State Legislature. Here 
 he served for four 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. Without taking an active 
 part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty, 
 and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom 
 he was associatad. 
 
 In 1837, being then but thirty- three years of age, 
 he was elected to the Senate of the United States; 
 taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced 
 his administration. He was the youngest member in 
 the Senate. In the year 1834, he married Miss Jane 
 Means Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom- 
 plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn every 
 station with which her husband was honored, Of the 
 
72 
 
 FRANKLIN PIERCE. 
 
 three sons who were born to them, all now sleep with 
 their parents in the grave. 
 
 In the year 1838, Mr. Pierce, with growing fame 
 and increasing business as a lawyer, took up his 
 residence in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. 
 President Polk, upon his accession to office, appointed 
 Mr. Pierce attorney-general of the United States; but 
 the offer was declined, in consequence of numerous 
 professional engagements at home, and the precariuos 
 state of Mrs. Pierce's health. He also, about the 
 same time declined the nomination for governor by the 
 Democratic party. The war with Mexico called Mr. 
 Pierce in the army. Receiving the appointment of 
 brigadier-general, he embarked, with a portion of his 
 troops, at Newport, R. I., on the 27th of May, 1847. 
 He took an important part in this war, proving him- 
 self a brave and true soldier. 
 
 When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native 
 State, he was received enthusiastically by the advo- 
 cates of the Mexican war, and coldly by his oppo- 
 nents. He resumed the practice of his profession, 
 very frequently taking ah active part in political ques- 
 tions, giving his cordial support to the pro-slavery 
 wing of the Democratic party. The compromise 
 measures met cordially with his approval; and he 
 strenuously advocated the enforcement of the infa- 
 mous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked the religious 
 sensibilities of the North. He thus became distin- 
 guished as a "Northern man with Southern principles.'' 
 The strong partisans of slavery in the South conse- 
 quently regarded him as a man whom they could 
 safely trust in office to carry out their plans. 
 
 On the 1 2th of June, 1852, the Democratic conven- 
 tion met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the 
 Presidency. For four days they continued 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 candidate. Gen. Pierce was chosen with 
 great unanimity. Only four States — Vermont, Mas- 
 sachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee — cast their 
 electoral votes against him Gen. Franklin 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 cdntroversy be 
 tween slavery and freedom was then approaching its 
 culminating point. It became evident that there was 
 an " irrepressible conflict " between them, and that 
 this Nation could not long exist " half slave and half 
 free." President Pierce, during the whole of his ad- 
 ministration, did every thing he could to conciliate 
 the South ; but it was all in vain. The conflict every 
 year grew more violent, and threats of the dissolution 
 of the Union were borne to the North on every South- 
 ern breeze. 
 
 Such was the condition of affairs when President 
 Pierce approached the close of his four-years' term 
 of office. The North had become thoroughly ahen- 
 ated from him. The anti-slavery sentiment, goaded 
 by great outrages, had been rapidly increasing; all 
 the intellectual ability and social worth of President 
 Pierce were forgotten in deep reprehension of his ad- 
 ministrative acts. The slaveholders of the South, also, 
 unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advo- 
 cated those measures of Government which they ap- 
 proved, and perhaps, also, feeling that he had 
 rendered himself so unpopular as no longer to be 
 able acceptably to serve them, ungratefully dropped 
 him, and nominated James Buchanan to succeed him. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1857, President Pierce re- 
 tired to his home in Concord. Of three children, two 
 had died, and his only surviving child had been 
 killed before his eyes by a railroad accident ; and his 
 wife, one of the most estimable and accomplished of 
 ladies, was rapidly sinking in consumption. The 
 hour of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left 
 alone in the world, without wife or child. 
 
 When the terrible Rebellion burst forth, which di- 
 vided our country into two parties, and two only, Mr. 
 Pierce remained steadfast in the principles which he 
 had always cherished, and gave his sympathies to 
 that pro-slavery party with which he had ever been 
 allied. He declined to do anything, either by voice 
 or pen, to strengthen the hand of the National Gov- 
 ernment. He continued to reside in Concord until 
 the time of his death, which occurred in October, 
 1869. He was one of the most genial and social of 
 men, an honored communicant of the Episcopal 
 Church, and one of the kindest of neighbors. Gen- 
 erous to a fault, he contributed liberally for the al- 
 leviation of suffering and want, and many of his towns- 
 people were often gladened by his material bounty. 
 
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 ^:fZly77z^J a^^UO-^A^^/P2.€^^l^ 
 
JiJFTEENTH PRESIDENT, 
 
 n 
 
 lll ^>^<^.^t^tas»cj^t^t^(%>,^(^t^t%':^it^'^t^t^ti^'^'^'^'^'^t^'^'^'^ , 
 
 -«««- 
 
 -5»^ 
 
 
 AMES BUCHANAN, the fif- 
 teenth President of the United 
 States, was born in a small 
 frontier town, at the foot of the 
 eastern ridge of the Allegha- 
 nies, in Franklin Co., Penn., on 
 the 23d of April, 1791. The place 
 where the humble cabin of his 
 father stood was called Stony 
 Batter. It was a wild and ro- 
 mantic spot in a gorge of the moun- 
 tains, with towering summits rising 
 grandly all around. His father 
 was a native of the north of Ireland ; 
 a poor man, who had emigrated in 
 1783, with little property save his 
 own strong arms. Five years afterwards he married 
 Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a respectable farmer, 
 and, with his young bride, plunged into the wilder- 
 ness, staked his claim, reared his log-hut, opened a 
 clearing with his axe, and settled down there to per- 
 form his obscure part in the drama of life. In this se- 
 cluded home, where James was born, he remained 
 for eight years, enjoying but few social or intellectual 
 advantages. When James was eight years of age, his 
 father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where 
 his son was placed at school, and commenced a 
 course of study in English, Latin and Greek. His 
 progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen, he 
 entered Dickinson College, at Carhsle. Here he de- 
 veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand among 
 the first scholars in the institution. His application 
 "to study was intense, and yet his native powers en- 
 
 abled him to master the most abstruse subjects wi "- 
 facility. 
 
 In the year 1809, he graduated with the highesv 
 honors of his clastj. He was then eighteen years of 
 age; tall and graceful, vigorous in health, fond of 
 athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened 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 1812, when he was 
 but twenty-one years of age. Very rapidly he rose 
 in his profession, and at once took undisputed stand 
 with the ablest lawyers of the State. When but 
 twenty-six years of age, unaided by counsel, he suc- 
 cessfully defended before the State Senate one of the 
 judges of the State, who was tried upon articles of 
 impeachment. At the age of thirty it was generally 
 admitted that he stood at the head of the bar; and 
 there was no lawyer in the State who had a more lu- 
 crative practice. 
 
 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 profession, having ac- 
 quired an ample fortune. 
 
 Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the Presidency, 
 appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Russia. The 
 duties of his mission he performed with ability, which 
 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 Calhoun. He advocated the meas- 
 ures proposed by President Jackson, of mitlr/ng repri- 
 
76 
 
 JiMES BUCHANAN. 
 
 sals against France, to enforce the payment of our 
 claims against that country ; and defended the course 
 of the President in his unprecedented and wholesale 
 removal from office of those who were not the sup- 
 porters of his administration. Upon this question he 
 was brought into direct collision with Henry Clay. 
 He also, with voice and vote, advocated expunging 
 from the journal of the Senate the vote of censure 
 against Gen. Jackson for removing 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 advo- 
 cated that they should be respectfully received; 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 foreign 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 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 that territory was a declaration 
 of war. No candid man can read with pleasure the 
 account of the course our Government pursued in that 
 movement. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with 
 the party devoted to the perpetuation and extension 
 of slavery, and brought all the energies of his mind 
 to bear against the Wilmot Proviso. He gave his 
 cordial approval to the compromise measures of 1S50, 
 which included the fugitive-slave law. Mr. Pierce, 
 upon his election to the Presidency, honored Mr. 
 Buchanan with the mission to England. 
 
 In the year 1856, a national Democratic conven- 
 tion nominated Mr. Buchanan for the Presidency. The 
 pohtical 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 re- 
 striction and final abolition, on the other. Mr. Fre- 
 mont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery, re- 
 ceived 114 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received 
 174, and was elected. The popular vote stood 
 1,340,618, for Fremont, r, 224,750 for Buchanan. On 
 March 4th, 1857, Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only four 
 years were wanting to fill up his threescore years and 
 ten. His own friends, those with whom he had been 
 allied in political principles and action for years, were 
 stseking the destruction 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 be- 
 wildered He could not, with his long-avowed prin- 
 
 ciples, 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 perjury of the grossest kind, 
 unite with those endeavoring to overthrow the repub- 
 lic. He therefore did nothing. 
 
 The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administration 
 nominated Abraham Lincoln as their standard bearer 
 in the next Presidential canvass. The pro-slaverv 
 party declared, that if he were elected, and the con- 
 trol 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. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan's sympathy with the pro-slaverj' 
 party was such, that he had been willing to offerthem 
 far more than they had ventured to claim. All the 
 South had professed to ask of the North was non- 
 intervention upon the subject of slavery. Mr. Bu. 
 chanan had been ready to offer them the active co- 
 operation of the Government to defend and extend 
 the institution. 
 
 As the storm increased in violence, the slaveholders 
 claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Buchanan avow- 
 ing that Congress had no power to prevent it, one of 
 the most pitiable exliibitions of governmental im- 
 becility was exhibited the world has ever seen. He 
 declared that Congress had no power to enforce its 
 laws in any State which had withdrawn, or which 
 was 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: Fort Sumpter 
 was besieged; our forts, navy-yards and arsenals 
 were seized ; our depots of military stores were plun- 
 dered ; and our custom-houses and post-offices were 
 appropriated by the rebels. 
 
 The energy of the rebels, and the imbecility of our 
 Executive, were alike marvelous. The Nation looked 
 on in agony, waiting for the slow weeks to glide away, 
 and close the administration, so terrible in its weak- 
 ness At length the long-looked-for hour of deliver- 
 ance came, when Abraham Lincoln was to receive the 
 scepter. 
 
 The administration of President Buchanan was 
 certainly the most calamitous our country has ex- 
 perienced. His best friends cannot 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 rebellioti 
 He died at his Wheatland retreat, June i, 1868. 
 
'% 
 
 •/>--^ 
 
 <^ I. C-^i^-i^ 
 
 '^T^ 
 
SIXTEENTH P RES/DENT. 
 
 79 
 
 i ABRAHAM > B 
 
 J < LINCOLN. > 
 
 BRAHAM LINCOLN, the 
 sixteenth President of the 
 United States, was born in 
 Hardin Co., Ky., Feb. 12, 
 1809. About the yean 7 80, 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, still a young 
 man, while working one day in a 
 field, was stealthily approached by 
 an Indian and shot dead. His widow 
 was left in extreme poverty with five 
 little children, three boys and two 
 girls. Thomas, the youngest of the 
 boys, was four years of age at his 
 father's death. This Thomas was 
 the father of Abraham Lincoln, the 
 President of the United States 
 whose name must henceforth fo'-ever be enrolled 
 with the most prominent in the annals of our worid. 
 Of course no record has been kept of the life 
 of one so lowly as Thomas Lincoln. He was among 
 the poorest of the poor. His home was a wretched 
 log-cabin; his food the coarsest and the meanest. 
 Education he had none; he could never either read 
 or write. As soon as he was able to do anything for 
 himself, he was compelled to leave the cabin of his 
 starving mother, and push out into the wodd, a friend- 
 xss, wandering boy, seeking work. He hired him- 
 self out, and thus spent the whole of his youth as a 
 Jkborer in the fields of others. 
 
 When twenty-eight years of age he built a log- 
 cabin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the 
 daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emi- 
 grants, who had also come from Virginia. Their 
 second child was Abraham Lincoln, the subject of 
 this sketch. The mother of Abraham was a noble 
 woman, gentle, loving, pensive, created to adorn 
 a palace, doomed to toil and pine, and die in a hovel. 
 "All that I am, or hope to be," exclaims the grate- 
 ful son "I owe to my angel-mother. " 
 
 When he was eight years of age, his father sold his 
 
 cabin and small farm, and moved to Indiana,. Whers 
 two years later his mother died. 
 
 Abraham soon became the scribe of the uneducated 
 community around him. He could not have had a 
 better school than this to teach him to put thoughts 
 into words. He also became an eager reader. The 
 books he could obtain were few ; but these he vead 
 and re-read until they were almost committpH to 
 memory. 
 
 As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly family 
 was the usual lot of humanity. There were joys and 
 griefs, weddings and funerals. Abraham's sistrx 
 Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was mai 
 ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, and 
 soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr 
 Thomas Lincoln sold out his squatter's claim in 1830 
 and emigrated to Macon Co., 111. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age. 
 With vigorous hands he aided his father in rearing 
 another log-cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this 
 until he saw the family comfortably settled, and theii 
 small lot of enclosed prairie planted with corn, when 
 he announced to his father his intention to leave 
 home, and to go out into the world and seek his for- 
 tune. Little did he or his friends imagine how bril- 
 liant that fortune was to be. He saw the value oi 
 education, and was intensely earnest to improve his 
 mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the ruin 
 which ardent spirits were causing, and became 
 strictly temperate; refusing to allow a drop of intoxi- 
 cating liquor to pass his lips. And he had read in 
 God's word, " Thou shalt not take the name of the. 
 Lord thy God in vain ;" and a profane expression ha 
 was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. Hisi 
 morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated by a 
 single vice. 
 
 Young Abraham worked for a time as a hired laborei 
 among the farmers. Then he went to Springfield, 
 where he was employed in building a large flat-boat. 
 In this he took a herd of swine, floated them down 
 the Sangamon to the Illinois, and thence by the Mis- 
 sissippi to New Orleans. Whatever Abraham Lin- 
 coln undertook, he performed so faithfully as to give 
 great satisfaction to his employers. In this adven. 
 
8o 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 
 ture his employers 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 
 enUsted and was chosen captain of a company. He 
 returned to Sangamon County, and although only 23 
 years of age, was a candidate for the Legislature, but 
 was defeated. He soon after received from Andrew 
 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 as- 
 sembled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back 
 one hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In 
 1836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it 
 was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he re- 
 moved to Springfield and began the practice of law. 
 His success with the jury was so great that he was 
 soon engaged in almost every noted case in the circuit. 
 
 In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr. 
 Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery question. 
 In the organization of the Republican party in lUinois, 
 in 1856, he took an active part, and at once became 
 one of the leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's 
 speeches in opposition to Senator Douglas in the con- 
 test in 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 Independence, that all men are 
 created equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this con- 
 test, but won a far higher prize. 
 
 The great Republican Convention met at Chicago 
 on the i6th of June, i860. The delegates and 
 strangers who crowded the city amounted to twenty- 
 five thousand. An immense building called " The 
 Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Conven- 
 tion. There were eleven candidates for whom votes 
 were thrown. William H. Seward, a man whose fame 
 as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most 
 prominent. It was generally supposed he would be 
 the nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received 
 the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then 
 dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the 
 bloody death, to which that nomination doomed him : 
 and as little did he dream that he was to render services 
 to his country, which would fix upon him the eyes of 
 the whole civilized world, and which would give him 
 a place in the affections of his countrymen, second 
 only, if second, to that of Washington. 
 
 Election day came and Mr. Lincoln received 180 
 electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, 
 constitutionally elected President of the United States. 
 The tirade of abuse that was poured upon this good 
 
 and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was 
 greater than upon any other man ever elected to this 
 high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started 
 for Washington, stopping in all the large cities on his 
 way making speeches. The whole journey was frought 
 with much danger. Many of the Southern States had 
 already seceded, and several attempts at assassination 
 were afterwards brought to light. A gang in Balti- 
 more had arranged, upon his arrival to "get up a row," 
 and in the confusion to make sure of his death with 
 revolvers and hand-grenades. A detective unravelled 
 the plot. A secret and special train was provided to 
 take him from Harrisburg, through Baltimore, at an 
 unexpected hour of the night. The train started at 
 half-past ten ; and to prevent any possible communi- 
 cation on the part ot the Secessionists with their Con- 
 federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train haa 
 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. 
 
 During no other administration have the duties 
 devolving upon the President been so manifold, and 
 the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to 
 the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and 
 feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in 
 his own strength to cope with, the difficulties, he 
 learned early to seek Divine wisdom and 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 courageous of men. He went directly into the 
 rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving, 
 with no guard but a few sailors. From the time he 
 had left Springfield, in 1861, however, plans had been 
 made for his assassination, and he at last fell a victim 
 to one of them. April 14, 1865, he, with Gen. Grant, 
 was urgently invited to attend Fords' Theater. It 
 was announced that they would be present. Gen. 
 Grant, however, left the city. President Lincoln, feel- 
 ing, with his characteristic kindliness of heart, that 
 it would be a disappointment if he should fail them, 
 very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to 
 the play an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth 
 entered the box where the President and family were 
 seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the 
 next morning at seven o'clock. 
 
 Never before, in the history of the world was a nation 
 plunged into such deep grief by the death of its ruler. 
 Strong men met in the streets an^ wept in speechless 
 anguish. It is not too much to say that a nation was 
 in tears. His was a life which will fitly become a 
 model. His name as the savior of his country w;'! 
 live with that of Washington's, iis father; hiscc^untry- 
 men being unable to decide whith is tKe greater. 
 
.ni 
 
 
 i; 
 
 
 '^^^'^^^Oh^ 
 
SEVENTEENl'H PRESIDEJSlT. 
 
 8,-i 
 
 NDREW JOHNSON, seven- 
 teenth President of the United 
 States. The early life of 
 Andrew Johnson contains but 
 the record of poverty, destitu- 
 tion and friendlessness. He 
 was born December 29, 1808, 
 in Raleigh, N. C. His parents, 
 belonging to the class of the 
 "poor whites " of the South, Tsere 
 in such circumstances, that they 
 could not confer c"/eri the slight- 
 est advantages of education upon 
 their child. When Andrew was five 
 years of age, his father accidentally 
 lost his life while herorically endeavoring to save a 
 friend from drowning, '■''ni.il teri 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 ap- 
 prenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman 
 was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasion- 
 ally, and reading to the boys at work there. He often 
 read from the speeches of distinguished British states- 
 men. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more 
 than ordinary native 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, 
 ieamed his letters. He then called upon the gentle- 
 man to borrow the book of speeches. The owner. 
 
 pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the book, 
 but assisted him in learning to combine the letters 
 into words. Under such difficulties he pressed 01. 
 ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours 
 at work in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest 
 and recreatio:^ to devote such time as he could to 
 reading. 
 
 He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located at 
 Greenville, where he married a young lady who pos 
 sessed some education. Under her instructions he 
 learned to write and cipher. He became proniinent 
 in the village debating society, and a favorite with 
 the students of Greenville College. In 1828, he or- 
 ganized a working man's party, which elected him 
 alderman, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which 
 position he held three years. 
 
 He now began to take a lively interest in political 
 affairs ; identifying himself with the working-classes, 
 to which he belonged. In 1835, he was elected a 
 member of the House of Representatives of Tennes- 
 see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. 
 He became a very active member of the legislature, 
 gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in 
 1840 "stumped the State," advocating Martin I'an 
 Buren's claims to the Presidency, in opposition to thosv 
 of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired much 
 readiness as a speaker, and extended and increasedl 
 his reputation. 
 
 In 1 841, he was elected State Senator; in 1843, he 
 was elected a member of Congress, and by successive 
 elections, held that important post for ten years. In 
 1853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and 
 was re-elected in 1855. In all these resiwnsible posi- 
 tions, he discharged his duties withdif^tinguished abi". 
 
84 
 
 ANDRE W JOHNSON. 
 
 ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the work- 
 ing classes. In 1857, Mr. Johnson was elected 
 United States Senator. 
 
 Years before, in 1845, he had warmly advocated 
 the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his 
 'reason, that he thought this annexation would prob- 
 ftbly prove " to be the gateway out of which the sable 
 eons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom, 
 (ind become merged in a population congenial to 
 themselves." In 1850, he also supported the com- 
 promise measures, the two essential 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 Sav- 
 ior was the son of a carpenter." 
 
 In the Charleston-Baltimore convention of iSuj, lie 
 was the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for the 
 iPresidency. In 1861, when the purpose of the South- 
 irn 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 Tennessee, and repeatedly 
 imperiled his own life to protect the Unionists of 
 Tennesee. Tennessee having seceded from the 
 Union, President Lincoln, on March 4th, 1862, ap- 
 pointed him Military Governor of the State, and he 
 established the most stringent military rule. His 
 numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 
 
 1864, he was elected Vice-President of the United 
 States, and upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 
 
 1865, became President. In a speech two days later 
 he said, " The American people must be taught, if 
 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 it is 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 the most violent 
 
 opposition to, the principles laid down in that speech. 
 In his loose policy of reconstruction and general 
 amnesty, he was opposed by Congress ; and he char- 
 acterized Congress as a new rebellion, and Jawlessly 
 defied it, in everything possible, to the utmost. In 
 the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes 
 and misdemeanors," the principal of which was the 
 removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- 
 ure of Office Act, articles of impeachment were pre- 
 ferred against him, and the trial began March 23. 
 It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three 
 months. A test article of the impeachment was at 
 length submitted to the court for its action. It was 
 certain that as the court voted upon that article so 
 would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced 
 the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- 
 sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced ac- 
 quitted, notwithstanding the great majority against 
 him. The change of one vote from the not guilty 
 side would have sustained the impeachment. 
 
 The President, for the remainder of his term, was 
 but little regarded. He conUnued, though impotently, 
 his conflict with Congress. His own party did not 
 think it expedient to renominate him for the Presi- 
 dency. The Nation rallied, with enthusiasm unpar- 
 alleled since the days of Washington, around the name 
 of Gen. Grant. Andrew Johnson was forgotten. 
 The bullet of the assassin introduced him to the 
 President's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was 
 there presented to a man a better opportunity to im- 
 mortalize his name, and to win the gratitude of a 
 nation. He failed utteriy. He retired to his home 
 in Greenville, Tenn., taking no very active part in 
 politics until 1875. On Jan. 26, after an exciting 
 struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Ten- 
 nessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Con- 
 gress, and took his seat in that body, at the special 
 session convened by President Grant, on the sth of 
 March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-President 
 made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter 
 Station, Tenn. When he started on his journey, he was 
 apparently in his usual vigorous health, but on reach- 
 ing the residence of his child the following day, was 
 stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. 
 He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 
 2 A.M., July 3r, aged sixty-seven years. His fun- 
 eral was attended at Geenville, on the 3d of August, 
 with every demonstration of respect 
 
w^ ^s^ 
 
 / ^ 
 
 y^a <- i^<l 
 
EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT. 
 
 LYSSES S. GRANT, the 
 eighteenth President of the 
 •United States, was born on 
 the 29th of April, 1822, of 
 Christian parents, in a humble 
 home, at Point Pleasant, on the 
 banks of the Ohio. .Shortly after 
 his father moved to George- 
 town, Brown Co., O. In this re- 
 mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses 
 received a common-school edu- 
 cation. At the age of seven- 
 teen, in the year 1839, he entered 
 the Military Academy at West 
 Point. Here he was regarded as a 
 solid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of 
 sturdy, honest character. He took respectable rank 
 as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the 
 middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of in- 
 fantry to one of the distant military posts in the Mis- 
 souri Territory. Two years he past in these dreary 
 solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasperating 
 Indians. 
 
 The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was 
 sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first 
 battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here 
 for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at 
 Resaca de la Palma, his second battle. At the battle 
 of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that 
 he performed a signal service of daring and skillful 
 horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its am- 
 munition. A messenger must be sent for more, along 
 a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. 
 Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Indians, 
 grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging upon one 
 side of the anip»a-l, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. 
 
 From Monterey he was sent, with the fourth infantry, 
 to aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In 
 preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he 
 was appointed quartermaster of his regiment. At the 
 battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a 
 first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Cha- 
 pultepec. 
 
 At the close of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant re- 
 turned with his regiment to New York, and was again 
 sent to one of the military posts on the frontier. The 
 discovery of gold in California causing an immense 
 tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. 
 Grant was sent with a battalion to Fort Dallas, in 
 Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the im- 
 migrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt. 
 Grant resigned his commission and returned to the 
 States ; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- 
 tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but 
 little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not re- 
 munerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into 
 the leather business, with a younger brother, at Ga- 
 lena, 111. This was in the year i860. As the tidings 
 of the rebels firing on Fort Sumpter reached the ears 
 of Capt. Grant in his counting-room, he said, — 
 "Uncle Sam has educated me for the army; though 
 I have served him through one war, I do not feel that 
 I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready to discharge 
 my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my Sword 
 arid see Uncle Sam through this war too." 
 
 He went into the streets, raised a company of vol- 
 unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield, 
 the capital of the State, where their services were 
 offered to Gov. Yates. The Governor, impressed by, 
 the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt. 
 Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the 
 volunteer organization that was being formed in the 
 State in behalf of the Government. On the 15 th of 
 
88 
 
 ULYSSES S. GRANT. 
 
 luiie, 1 86 1, Capt. Grant received a commission as 
 Colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Vol- 
 unteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who 
 had served for 15 years in the regular 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 Paducah, near the mouth 
 of the Tennessee River. Scarcely had its folds ap- 
 peared in the breeze ere Gen. Grant was there. The 
 rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the star and 
 stripes were unfurled in its stead. 
 
 He entered the service with great determination 
 and immediately began active duty. This was the be- 
 ginning, and until the surrender of Lee at Richmond 
 he was ever pushing the enemy with great vigor and 
 effectiveness. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- 
 prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry 
 won another victory. Then came the brilliant fight 
 at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the 
 victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was 
 immediately made a Major-General, and the military 
 listrict of Tennessee was assigned to him. 
 
 Like all great captains. Gen. Grant knew well how 
 to secure the results of victory. He immediately 
 pushed on to the enemies' lines. _ Then came the 
 terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the 
 siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an 
 unconditional surrender of the city with over thirty 
 thousand men and one-hundred and seventy-two can- 
 non. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most 
 severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered, 
 and opened up the Mississippi from Cairo to the Gulf. 
 
 Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with 
 Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and pro- 
 ceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from 
 his horse, and received severe injuries, from which he 
 was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid 
 of Gens. Rosecrans and Thomas at Chattanooga, and 
 by a wonderful series of strategic and technical meas- 
 ures put the Union Army in fighting condition. Then 
 followed the bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lo&kout 
 Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels 
 were routed with great loss. This won for him un- 
 bounded praise in the North. On the 4th of Febru- 
 ary, 1864, Congress revived the grade of lieutenant- 
 general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. 
 He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials 
 and enter upon tb'' 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 of the Rebellion, and endeavor there to de- 
 stroy the rebel armies which would be promptly as- 
 sembled from all quarters for its defence. The whole 
 continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these 
 majestic armies, rushing to the decisive battle field. 
 Steamers were crowded with troops. Railway trains 
 were burdened with closely packed thousands. His 
 plans were comprehensive and involved a series of 
 campaigns, which were executed with remarkable en- 
 ergy and ability, and were consummated at the sur- 
 render of Lee, April 9, 1865. 
 
 The war was ended. The Union was saved. The 
 almost unanimous voice of the Nation declared Gen. 
 Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its sal- 
 vation. The eminent services he had thus rendered 
 the country brought him conspicuously forward as the 
 Republican candidate 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 214 out of 294 
 electoral votes. 
 
 The National Convention of the Republican party 
 which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June, 1872, 
 placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second term 
 by a unanimous vote. The selection was emphati- 
 cally indorsed by the people five months later, 292 
 electoral votes being cast for him. 
 
 Soon after the close of his second term, Gen. Grant 
 started upon his famous trip around the world. He 
 visited almost every country of the civilized world, 
 and was everywhere received with such ovations 
 and demonstrations of respect and honor, private 
 as well as public and official, as were never before 
 bestowed upon any citizen of the United States. 
 
 He was the most prominent candidate before the 
 Republican National Convention in 1880 for a re- 
 nomination for President. He went to New York and 
 embarked in the brokerage business under the firm 
 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 mourrjing over the death of 
 the illustrious General. 
 
s: ^. 
 
 ^. 
 
 yj. 
 
NINETEENTH TRESIDENT. 
 
 9* 
 
 
 UTHERFORD B. HAYES, 
 
 the nineteenth President of 
 the United States, was born in 
 Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, al- 
 most three months after the 
 death of his father, Rutherford 
 Hayes. His ancestry on both 
 the paternal and maternal sides, 
 was of the most honorable char- 
 '^ acter. It can be traced, it is said, 
 as far back as 1280, when Hayes and 
 Rutherford were two Scottish chief- 
 tains, fighting side by side with 
 Baliol, William Wallace and Robert 
 Bruce. Both families belonged to the 
 nobility, owned extensive estates, 
 and had a large following. Misfor- 
 tane ovtrrtaking the family, George Hayes left Scot- 
 ]and in 1680, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son 
 George way born in Windsor, and remained there 
 during his life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, mar- 
 ried Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his mar- 
 riage until his death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel, 
 son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was a manufac- 
 turer of scythe>s at Bradford, Conn. Rutherford Hayes, 
 son of Ezekiel and grandfather of President Hayes, was 
 born inNew 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 Ruth- 
 erford Hayes the father of President Hayes, was 
 
 born. He was married, in September, 1813, to Sophia 
 Birchard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emi- 
 grated thither from Connecticut, they having been 
 among the wealthiest and best famlies of Norwich. 
 Her ancestry on the male side are traced back to 
 1635, to John Birchard, one of the principal founders 
 of Norwich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers 
 in the Revolutionary War. 
 
 The father of President Hayes was an industrious, 
 frugal and opened-hearted man. He was of a me- 
 chanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a stock- 
 ing, or do almost anything else that he choose to 
 undertake. He was a member of the Church, active 
 in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and con- 
 ducted his business on ChrisUan principles. After 
 the close of the war of 181 2, for reasons inexplicable 
 to his neighbors, he resolved to emigrate to Ohio. 
 
 The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that day 
 when there were no canals, steamers, noi railways, 
 was a very serious affair. A tour of inspection was 
 first made, occupying four months. Mr. Hayes deter 
 mined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived 
 in 1817. He died July 22, 1822, a victim of malarial 
 fever, less than three months before the birth of the 
 son, of whom we now write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore be- 
 reavement, found the support she so much needed in 
 her brother Sardis, who had been a member of the 
 household from the day of its departure from Ver- 
 mont, and in an orphan girl whom she had adopted 
 some time before as an act of charity. 
 
 Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the 
 
92 
 
 RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 
 
 subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he 
 was not expected to live beyond a month or two at 
 most. As the months went by he grew weaker and 
 weaker, so that the neighbors were in the habit of in- 
 quiring from time to time " if Mrs. Hayes' baby died 
 last night." On one occasion a neighbor, who was on 
 familiar terms with the family, after alluding to the 
 boy's big head, and the mother's assiduous care of 
 him, said in a bantering way, " That's right ! Stick to 
 him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't 
 wonder if he would really come to something yet." 
 
 " You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. "You 
 wait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him 
 President of the United States yet." The boy lived, 
 in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy 
 death; and when, in 1825, his older brother was 
 drowned, he became, if possible, still dearer to his 
 mother. 
 
 The boy was seven years old before he w.4nt to 
 school. His education, however, was not neglected. 
 He probably learned as much from his mother and 
 sister as he would have done at school. His sports 
 were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being 
 his sister and her associates. These circumstances 
 tended, no doubt, to foster that gentleness of dispo- 
 sition, and that delicate consideration for the feelings 
 of others, which are marked traits of his character. 
 His uncle Sardis Birchard took the deepest interest 
 .in his education ; and as the boy's health had ini- 
 jproved, and he was making good progress in his 
 'studies, he proposed to send him to college. His pre- 
 paration commenced with a tutor at home; but he 
 was afterwards sent for one year to a professor in the 
 Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Conn. He en- 
 tered Kenyon College in 1838, at the age of sixteen, 
 and was graduated at the head of his class in 1842. 
 Immediately after his graduation he began the 
 study of law in the office of Thomas Sparrow, Esq., 
 in Columbus. Finding his opportunities for study in 
 Columbus somewhat limited, he determined to enter 
 the Law School at Cambridge, Mass., where he re- 
 mained two years. 
 
 In 1845, after graduatmg at the Law School, he was 
 admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly 
 afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law 
 with Ralph P. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he re- 
 mained three years, acquiring but a limited practice, 
 and apparently unambitious of distinction in his pro- 
 fession. 
 
 \n 1849 he moved to Cincinnati, where his ambi- 
 tion found a new stimulus. For several years, how- 
 ever, his progress was slow. Two events, occurring at 
 this period, had a powerful influence upon his subse- ' 
 quent life. One of these was his marrage with Miss 
 Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of 
 Chilicothe ; the other was his introduction to the Cin- 
 cinnati Literary Club, a body embracing among its 
 members such men as^hief Justice Salmon P. Chase, 
 
 Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, and many 
 others hardly less distinguished in after life. The 
 marriage was a fortunate one in every respect as 
 everybody knows. Not one of all the wives of our 
 Presidents was more universally admired, reverenced 
 and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and no one did 
 more than she to reflect honor upon American woman, 
 hood. The Literary Club brought Mr. Hayes into 
 constant association with young men of high char- 
 acter 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 ac< 
 cept the nomination. Two years later, the office d 
 city solicitor becoming vacant, the City Council 
 elected him for the unexpired term. 
 
 In 1 861, when the Rebellion broke out, he was at 
 the zenith of his professional li5„ His rank at the 
 bar was among the the first. But the news of the 
 attack on Fort Sumpter found him eager to take ud 
 arms for the defense of his country. 
 
 His military record was bright and illustrious. In 
 October, 1 861, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
 in August, 1862, promoted Colonel of the 79th Ohio 
 regiment, but he refused to leave his old comrades 
 and go among strangers. Subsequently, however, he 
 was made Colonel of his old regiment. At the battle 
 of South Mountain 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 brevetted 
 Major-General, "forgallant and distinguished services 
 during the campaigns of 1864, in West Virginia." In 
 the course of his arduous services, four horses were 
 shot from under him, and he was wounded four times. 
 In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to Congress, from 
 the Second Ohio District, which had long been Dem- 
 ocratic. He was not present during the campaign, 
 and after his election was importuned to resign his 
 commission in the army ; but he finally declared, " I 
 shall never come to Washington until I can come by 
 the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in 1866. 
 
 In 1867, Gen Hayes was elected Governor of Ohio, 
 over Hon. Allen G. Thurman, a popular Democrat. 
 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 Repub- 
 lican Party in the Presidential contest, and after a 
 hard long contest was chosen President, and was in 
 augurated Monday, March 5, 1875. He served his 
 full term, not,_ however, with satisfaction to his party, 
 but his admiiristration was an average one 
 
TWENTIETH PRESIDENT. 
 
 95 
 
 . mil ^, @41iliii®. I 
 
 AMES A. GARFIELD, twen- 
 tieth President of the United 
 States, was born Nov. ig, 
 1831, in the woods of Orange, 
 Cuyahoga Co., O His par- 
 ents were Abram and EHza 
 (Ballou) Garfield, both of New 
 England ancestry and from fami- 
 lies well known in the early his- 
 tory of that section of our coun- 
 try, but had moved to the Western 
 Reserve, in Ohio, early in its settle- 
 ment. 
 
 The house in which James A. was 
 born was not unlike the houses of 
 poor Ohio farmers of that day. It 
 ,fls about 20 X30 feet, built of logs, with the spaces be- 
 tween the logs filled with clay. His father was a 
 .lard 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 
 Tames. In May, r823, the father, from a cold con- 
 tracted in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At 
 this time James was about eighteen months old, and 
 Thomas about ten years old. No one, perhaps, can 
 cell how much James was indebted to his brother's 
 toil and self-sacrifice during the twenty years suc- 
 ceeding his father's death, but undoubtedly very 
 much. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sis- 
 ters live in Solon, O., near their birthplace. 
 
 The early educational advantages young Garfield 
 enjoyed were very limited, yet he made the inost of 
 them. He labored at farm work for others, did car- 
 penter work, chopped wood, or did anything that 
 would bring in a few dollars to aid his widowed 
 mother in he «trnggles to keep the little jamHy to- 
 
 gether. Nor was Gen. Garfield ever ashamed of his 
 origin, and he never forgot the friends of his strug- 
 gling childhood, youth and manhood, neither did 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 
 sympathy of one who had known all the bitterness 
 of want and the sweetness of bread earned by the 
 sweat of the brow. He was ever the simple, plain, 
 modest gentleman. 
 
 The highest ambition of young Garfield until ha 
 was about sixteen years old was to be a captain of 
 a vessel on Lake Erie. He was anxious to go aboard 
 a vessel, which his mother strongly opposed. She 
 finally consented to his going to Cleveland, with the 
 understanding, however, that he should try to obtair 
 some other kind of employment. He walked all the 
 way to Cleveland. This was his first visit to the city. 
 After making many applications for work, and trying 
 to get aboard a lake vessel, and not meeting with 
 success, he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos 
 Letcher, on the Ohio & Pennsylvania Canal. He re- 
 mained at this work but a short time when he went 
 home, and attended the seminary at Chester for 
 about three years, when he entered Hiram and the 
 Eclectic Institute, teaching a few terms of school in 
 the meantime, and doing other work. This school 
 was started by the Disciples of Christ in 1850, of 
 which church he was then a member. He became 
 janitor and bell-ringer in order to help pay his way 
 He then became both teacher and pupil. He soon 
 " exhausted Hiram " and needed more ; hence, in the 
 fall of r854, he entered Williams College, from which 
 he graduated in r856, taking one of the highest hc*.- 
 ors of his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram 
 College as its President. As above stated, he early 
 united with the Chrisrian or Diciples Church at 
 Hiram, and was ever after a devoted, zealous mem- 
 ber, often preaching in its pulpit and places where 
 he happened to be. Dr. Noah Porter, President of 
 Yale College, says of him in reference to his religion : 
 
9« 
 
 JAMES A. GARFIELD. 
 
 " President Garfield was more than a man of 
 strong moral and religious convictions. His whole 
 history, from boyhood to the last, shows that duty to 
 man and to God, and devotion to Christ and life and 
 faith and spiritual commission were controlling springs 
 of his bemg, and to a more than usual degree. In 
 my judgment there is no more interesting feature of 
 his character than his loyal allegiance to the body of 
 Christians in which he was trained, and the fervent 
 sympathy which he ever showed in their Christian 
 communion. Not many of the few 'wise and mighty 
 and noble who are called ' show a similar loyalty to 
 the less stately and cultured Christian comnmnions 
 in which they have been reared. Too often it is true 
 that as they step upward in social and political sig- 
 nificance they step upward from one degree to 
 another in some of the many types of fashionable 
 Christianity. President Garfield adhered to the 
 church of his mother, the church in which he was 
 trained, and in which he served as a pillar and an 
 evangelist, and yet with the largest and most unsec- 
 tarian charity for all 'who love our Lord in sincerity.'" 
 
 Mr. Garfield was united in marriage with Miss 
 Lucretia Rudolph, Nov. ii, r858, who proved herself 
 worthy as the wifeof one whom all the world loved and 
 mourned. To them were born seven children, five of 
 whom are still living, four boys and one girl. 
 
 Mr. Garfield made his first political speeches in 1856, 
 in Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three 
 years later he began to speak at county mass-meet- 
 ings, and became the favorite speaker wherever he 
 was. During this year he was elected to the Ohio 
 Senate. He also began to study law at Cleveland, 
 and in i86r was admitted to the bar. The great 
 Rebellion broke out in the early part of this year, 
 and Mr. Garfield at once resolved to fight as he had 
 talked, and enlisted to defend the old flag. He re- 
 ceived his commission as Lieut.-Colonel of the Forty- 
 second Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Aug. 
 14, r86i. He was immediately put into active ser- 
 vice, and before he had ever seen a gun fired in action, 
 was placed in command of four regiments of infantry 
 and eight companies of cavalry, charged with the 
 work of driving out of his native State the officer 
 'Humphrey Marshall) reputed to be the ablest of 
 those, not educated to war whom Kentucky had given 
 to the Rebellion. This work was bravely and speed- 
 ily accomplished, although against great odds. Pres- 
 ident Lincoln, on his success commissioned him 
 Brigadier-General, Jan. 10, 1862; and as "he had 
 been the youngest man in the Ohio Senate two years 
 before, so now he was 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 then ordered to report to Gen. Rose- 
 crans, and was assigned to the "Chief of Staff." 
 The military history of Gen. Garfield dosed with 
 
 his brilliant services at Chickamauga, where he won 
 the stars of the Major-General. 
 
 Without an effort on his part Ge? Garfield wa» 
 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 year* 
 mainly by two men — Elisha Whittlesey and Joshuv 
 R. Giddings. It was not without a struggle that he 
 resigned his place in the army. At the time he en- 
 tered Congress he was the youngest member in that 
 body. There he remained by successive re- 
 elections until he was elected President in 1880. 
 Of his labors in Congress Senator Hoar says : " Since 
 the year 1864 you cannot think of a question which 
 has been debated in Congress, or discussed before & 
 tribunel of the American people, in regard to whict 
 you will not find, if you wish instruction, the argu« 
 ment on one side stated, in almost every instance 
 better than by anybody else, in some speech made in 
 the House of Representatives or on the hustings by 
 Mr. Garfield." 
 
 Upon Jan. r4, 1880, Gen. Garfield was elected to 
 the U. S. Senate, and on the eighth of June, of the 
 same year, was nominated as the candidate of his 
 party for President at the great Chicago Convention. 
 He was elected in the following November, and on 
 March 4, 1881, was inaugurated. Probably no ad- 
 ministration ever opened its existence under brighter 
 auspices than that of President Garfield, and every 
 day it grew in favor with the people, and by the first 
 of July he had completed all the initiatory and pre- 
 liminary work of his administration and was prepar- 
 ing to leave the city to meet his friends at Williams 
 College. While on his way and at the depot, in com- 
 pany with Secretary Blaine, a man stepped behind 
 him, drew a revolver, and fired directly at his back. 
 The President tottered and fell, and as he did so the 
 assassin fired a second shot, the bullet cutting the 
 left coat sleeve of his victim, but inflicting no farther 
 injury. It has been very truthfully said that this was 
 " the shot that was heard round the world " Never 
 before in the history of the Nation had anything oc- 
 curred which so nearly froze the blood of the people 
 for the moment, as this awful deed. He was smit- 
 ten on the brightest, gladdest day of all his life, and 
 was at the summit of his power and hope. For eighty 
 days, all during the hot months of July and August, 
 he lingered and suffered. He, however, remained 
 master of himself till the last, and by his magnificent 
 bearing was teaching the country and the world the 
 noblest of human lessons — how to live grandly in the 
 very clutch of death. Great in life, he was surpass- 
 ingly great in death. He passed serenely away Sept. 
 19, 1883, at Elberon, N. J., on the very bank of the 
 ocean, where he had been taken shortly previous. The 
 world wept at his death, as it never had done on the 
 death of any other man who had ever lived upon it. 
 The murderer was duly tried, found guilty and exe- 
 cuted, in one year after he committ«d the foul deed 
 
TWENTY-FIRST PRESIDENT. 
 
 99 
 
 HESTER A. ARTHUR, 
 
 twenty-first Presi'iOm of the 
 
 United States, was born in 
 
 Franklin Cour.ty, Vermont, on 
 
 thefifthofOdober, 1830, andis 
 
 the oldest of a family of two 
 
 sons and five daughters. His 
 
 father was the Rev. Dr. William 
 
 Arthur, aBaptislcJ'-rgyman,who 
 
 emigrated to tb'.s countr)- from 
 
 the county Antrim, Ireland, in 
 
 his i8th year, and died in 1875, in 
 
 Newtonville, neai Albany, after a 
 
 long and successful ministry. 
 
 Young Arthur was educated at 
 Union College, S( henectady, where 
 he excelled in all his studies. Af- 
 ter his graduation he taught school 
 in Vermont for two years, and at 
 the expiration of that time came to 
 New York, with $500 in his pocket, 
 and entered the office of ex- Judge 
 E. D. Culver as student. After 
 being admitted to the bar he formed 
 a partnership with his intimate friend and room-mate, 
 Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing 
 in the West, and for three months they roamed about 
 in the Western States in search of an eligible site, 
 E)ut in the end returned to New York, where they 
 hung out their shingle, and entered upon a success- 
 ful career almost from the start. General Arthur 
 soon afterward raarppd the daughter of Lieutenant 
 
 Hemdon, of the United States Navy, who was lost at 
 sea. Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in 
 recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occa- 
 sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's 
 nomination to the Vice Presidency, leaving two 
 children. 
 
 Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity 
 in his first great case, the famous Lemmon suit, 
 brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had 
 been declared free by Judge Paine, of the Superior 
 Court of New York City. It was in 1852 that Jon, 
 athan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with 
 his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when 
 they were discovered and freed. The Judge decided 
 that they could not be held by the owner under the 
 Fugitive Slave Law. A howl of rage went up from 
 the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the 
 Attorney General of that State to assist in an appeal. 
 Wm. M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed 
 to represent the People, and they won their case, 
 which then went to the Supreme Court of the United 
 States. Charles O'Conor here espoused the cause 
 of the slave-holders, but he too was beaten by Messrs 
 Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward 
 the emancipation of the black race. 
 
 Another great service was rendered by General 
 Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jennings, 
 a respectable colored woman, was put off a Fourth 
 Avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare. 
 General Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured a 
 verdict of $500 damages. The next day the compa- 
 ny issued an order to admit colored persons to ride 
 on their cars, and the other car companies quickly 
 
CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 
 
 followed their example. Before that the Sixth A ve- 
 nue Company ran a few special cars for colored per- 
 sons and the other lines refused to let them ride at all. 
 General Arthur was a delegate to the Convention 
 at Saratoga that founded the Republican party. 
 Previous to the war he was Judge-Advocate of the 
 Second Brigade of the State of New York, and Gov- 
 ernor Morgan, of that State, appointed him Engineer- 
 in-Chief of his staff. In i86r, he was made Inspec- 
 tor General, and soon afterward became Quartermas- 
 ter-General. In each of these offices he rendered 
 great service to the Government during the war. At 
 the end of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the 
 practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr. 
 Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney 
 of New York, was added to the firm. The legal prac- 
 tice of this well-known firm was very large and lucra- 
 tive, each of the gentlemen composing it were able 
 lawyers, and possessed a splendid local reputation, if 
 not indeed one of national extent. 
 
 He always took a leading part in State and city 
 politics. He was appointed Collector of the Port of 
 New York by President Grant, Nov. 21, 1872, to suc- 
 ceed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July, 
 20, 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 heading politicians of the Re- 
 publican party, all able men, and each stood firm and 
 fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their 
 respective candidates that were before the conven- 
 tion for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield re- 
 ceived the nomination for President and Gen. Arthur 
 for Vice-President. The campaign which followed 
 was one of the most animated known in the history of 
 our country. Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of 
 the Democratic party, was a popular man, and his 
 party made a valiant fight for his election. 
 
 Finally the election came and the country's choice 
 was Garfield and Arthur. They were inaugurated 
 March 4, i88r, 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 na- 
 
 tions were throbbing in unison, longing for the re- 
 covery of the noble, the good President. The remark- 
 able patience that he manifested during those hours 
 and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suf. 
 fering man has often been called upon to endure, was 
 seemingly more than human. It was certainly God- 
 like. During all this period of deepest anxiety Mr, 
 Arthur's every move was watched, and be it said to hi? 
 credit that his every action displayed only an earnest 
 desire that the suffering Garfield might recover, to 
 serve the remainder of the term he had so auspi- 
 ciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested 
 in deed or look of this man, even though the most 
 honored position in the world was at any moment 
 likely to fall to him. 
 
 At last God in his mercy relieved President Gar- 
 field from further suffering, and the world, as nevei 
 before in its history over the death of any othei 
 man, wept at his bier. Then it became the duty of 
 the Vice President to assume the responsibilities of 
 the high office, and he took the oath in New York, 
 Sept. 20, r88i. The position was an embarrassing 
 one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all 
 eyes were on him, anxious to know what he would do, 
 what policy he would pursue, and who he would se- 
 lect as advisers. The duties of the office had been 
 greatly neglected during the President's long illness,' 
 and many important measures were to be immediately 
 decided by him ; and still farther to embarrass him he 
 did not fail to realize under what circumstances he 
 became President, and knew the feelings of many on 
 this point. Under these trying circumstances President 
 Arthur took the reins of the Government in his own 
 hands ; and, as embarrassing as were the condition of 
 affairs, he happily surprised the nation, acting so 
 wisely that but few criticised his administration. 
 He served the nation well and faithfully, until the 
 close of his administration, March 4, rSSs, and was 
 a popular candidate before his party for a second 
 term. His name was ably presented before the con- 
 vention at Chicago, and was received with great 
 favor, and doubtless but for the personal popularity 
 of one of the opposing candidates, he would have 
 been selected as the standard-bearer of his party 
 for another campaign. He retired to private life car- 
 rying with him the best wishes of the American peo- 
 ple, whom he had served in a manner satisfactory 
 to them and with credit to himself. 
 

 
 y^-trt.£y:r CJ^C^.^ClAy\Xt 
 
TWENTY-SECOND PRESIDENT. 
 
 103 
 
 
 
 - OOP 
 
 000 
 
 TEPHEN GROVER CLEVE- 
 LAND,thetwenty-second Pres- 
 ident of the United States, was 
 born in 1837, in the obscure 
 town of Caldwell, Essex Co., 
 N. J., and in a little two-and-a- 
 half-story white house which is still 
 standing, characteristically to mark 
 the humble birth-place of one of 
 America's great men in striking con- 
 trast with the Old World, where all 
 men high in office must be high in 
 origin and born in the cradle of 
 wealth. When the subject of this 
 sketch was three years of age, his 
 father, who was a Presbyterian min- 
 ister, with, a large family and a small salary, moved, 
 by way of the Hudson River and Erie Canal, to 
 Fayetteville, in search of an increased income and a 
 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 distinguishing trait of 
 all geniuses and independent thinkers. When he 
 arrived at the age of 14 years, he had outgrown the 
 capacity of the village school and expressed a most 
 
 emphatic desire to be sent to an academy. To this 
 his father decidedly objected. Academies in those 
 days cost money; besides, his father wanted him to 
 become self-supporting by the quickest possible 
 means, and this at that time in 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 $ioo the second year. Here the lad com- 
 menced his career as salesman, and in two years he 
 had earned so good a reputation for trustworthiness 
 that his employers desired to retain him for an in- 
 definite length of time. Otherwise he did not ex- 
 hibit as yet any particular " flashes of genius " or 
 eccentricities of talent. He was simply a good boy. 
 But instead of remaining with this firm in Fayette- 
 ville, he went with the family in their removal to 
 CUnton, where he had an opportunity of attending a 
 high school. Here he industriously pursued his 
 studies until the family removed with him to a point 
 on Black River known as the " Holland Patent," a 
 village of 500 or 600 people, 15 miles north of Utica, 
 N. Y. At this place his father died, after preaching 
 but three Sundays. This event broke up the family, 
 and Grover set out for New York City to accept, at a 
 small salary, the position of " under-teacher " in an 
 asylum for the blind. He taught faithfully for two 
 years, and although he obtained a good reputation in 
 this capacity, he concluded that teaching was not his 
 
S. GROVE R CLEVELAND. 
 
 calling for life, and, reversing the traditional order, 
 he left the city to seek his fortune, inste^f? o*' cning 
 to a city. He first tnougnt ot Cleveland, Ohio, as 
 there was some charm in that name for him; but 
 before proceeding to that place he went to Buffalo to 
 'iisk the advice of his uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted 
 stock-breeder of that place. The latter did not 
 speak enthusiastically. " What is it you want to do, 
 my boy ? " he asked. " Well, sir, I want to study 
 law," was. the reply. "Good gracious!" remarked 
 i;h« old gentleman ; " do you, indeed ? What ever 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, at $50 a 
 year, while he could "look around." One day soon 
 afterward he boldly walked into the office of Rogers, 
 Bowen & Rogers, of Buffalo, and told ihem what he 
 wanted. A number of young men were already en- 
 gaged in the office, but Grover's persistency won, and 
 he was finally permitted to come as an office boy and 
 liave the use of the law library, for the nominal sum 
 of $3 or $4 a week. Out of this he had to pay for 
 his board and washing. The walk to and from his 
 uncle's was a long and rugged one; and, although 
 the first winter was a memorably severe one, his 
 shoes were out of repair and his overcoat — he had 
 none— yet he was nevertheless prompt and regular. 
 On the first day of his service here, his senior em- 
 ployer threw down a copy of Blackstone before him 
 with a bang that made the dust fly, saying " That's 
 where they all begin." A titter ran around the tittle 
 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. Cleveland 
 exhibited a talent for executiveness rather than for 
 chasing principles through all their metaphysical 
 possibilities. " Let us quit talking and go and do 
 it,'' was practically his motto. 
 
 The first public office to which Mr. Cleveland was 
 elected was that of Sheriff of Erie Co., N. Y., in 
 which Buffalo is situated; and in such capacity it fell 
 to his duty to inflict capital pi'r.ishment upon two 
 cjiminals. In 1881 he was elected Mayor of the 
 City of Buffalo, on the Democratic ticket, with es- 
 podal reference to the bringing about certain reforms 
 
 in the administration of the municipal affairs of that 
 ci't" In this oflRce. as well as that of Sheriff, hb 
 penormance ot duty has generally been considered 
 fair, with possibly a few exceptions which were fer- 
 reted out and magnified during the last Presidential 
 campaign. As a specimen of his plain language in 
 a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an iniqul 
 tous street-cleaning contract : " This is a time foi 
 plain speech, and my objection to your action shall 
 be plainly stated. I regard it as the culmination of 
 a mos' bare-faced, impudent and' shameless scheme 
 to betray the interests of the people and to worse 
 than squander the people's money." The New York 
 Sun afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleve- 
 land's administration as Mayor of Buffalo, and there- 
 upon recommended him for Governor of the Empire 
 State. To the latter office he was elected in 1882, 
 and his administration of the affairs of State was 
 generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if 
 any, were made very public throughout the nation 
 after he was nominated for President of the United 
 States. For this high office he was nominated July 
 II, 1884, by the National Democratic Convention at 
 Chicago, when other competitors were Thomas F. 
 Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks, 
 Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc.; and he 
 was elected by the people, by a majority of about a 
 thousand, over the brilliant and long-tried Repub- 
 lican statesman, James G. Blaine. President Cleve- 
 land resigned his office as Governor of New York in 
 January, 1885, in order to prepare for his duties as 
 the Chief Executive of ihe United States, in which 
 capacity his term commenced at noon on the 4th of 
 March, 1885. For his Cabinet officers he selected 
 the following gentlemen: For Secretary of State, 
 Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware ; Secretary of the 
 Treasury, Daniel Manning, of New York ; Secretary 
 of War, William C. Endicott, of Massachusetts; 
 Secretary of the Navy, William C. Whitney, of New 
 York ; Secretary of the Interior, L. Q. C. Lamar, of 
 Mississippi; Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas, 
 of Wisconsin ; Attorney-General, A. H. Garland, of 
 Arkansas. 
 
 The silver question precipitated a controversy be- 
 tween those who were in favor of the continuance of 
 silver coinage and those who were opposed, Mr. 
 Cleveland answering for the latter, even before his 
 inauguration. 
 
o^^ 
 
 (:Z''^7-''-'^\-yl'i::H^'-OC 
 
TWENTY-THIRD PRESIDENT. 
 
 107 
 
 '•■@^>^l^' 
 
 ENJAMIN HARRISON, the 
 
 twenty-third President, is 
 the descendant of one of the 
 historical families of this 
 country. The head of the 
 family was a Major General 
 Harrison, one of Oliver 
 Cromwell's trusted follow- 
 ers and fighters. In the zenith of Crom- 
 well's power it became the duty of this 
 Harrison to participate in the trial of 
 Charles I, and afterward to sign the 
 death warrant of the king. He subse- 
 quently paid for this with his life, being 
 hung Oct. 13, 1660. His descendants 
 came to America, and the next of the 
 family that appears in history is Benja- 
 min Harrison, of Virginia, great-grand- 
 father of the subject of this sketch, and 
 after whom he was named, Benjamin Harrison 
 was a member of the Continental Congress during 
 the years 1774-5-6, and was one of the original 
 signers of the Declaration of Independence, He 
 war; three times elected GoTernor of Virginia. 
 Gen William Henry Harrison, the son of the 
 
 distinguished patriot of the Bevolution, after a suo. 
 cessful career as a soldier during the War of 1812, 
 and with -a clean record as Governor of the North- 
 western Territory, was elected President of the 
 United States in 1840, His oaraer was cut short 
 by death within one month after Iiis innuguration. 
 President Harrison was born at North Bend, 
 Hamilton Co., Ohio, Aug. 20, 18S3. His life upto 
 the time of his graduation by the Miami University, 
 at Oxford, Ohio, was the uneventful one of a coun- 
 try lad of a family of small 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 en= 
 ter upon the study of the law. He went to Cin 
 cinnati and then read law for two years. At the 
 expiration of that time young Harrison received ths 
 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, taks 
 this money and go to some Eastern town an I be- 
 gin 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 
 
108 
 
 BENJAMTN HAKRISONl 
 
 decided to go to Indianapolis, which was even at 
 lliat time a town of promise. He met with slight 
 encouragement at first, making scarcely anything 
 the first year. He worked diligently, applying him- 
 self closely to his calling, built up an extensive 
 practice and took a leading rank in the legal pro- 
 fession. He is the father of two children. 
 
 In 1860 Mr. Harrison was nominated for the 
 position of Supreme Court Reporter, and then be- 
 gan his experience as a stump speakei Ue can- 
 vassed the State thoroughly, and was elected by a 
 handsome majority. In 1862 he raised the 17th 
 Indiana Infantry, and was chosen its Colonel. His 
 regiment was composed of ■^he rawest of material, 
 out Col. Harrison employed all his time at first 
 mastering military tactics and drilling his men, 
 when he therefore came to move toward the East 
 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 Gen- 
 eral, Gen. Hooker speaking of him in the most 
 ^iomplimentary terms. 
 
 During the absence of Gen, Harrison in the field 
 he Supreme Court declared the office of the Su- 
 preme Court Reporter vacant, and another person 
 was elected to the position. From the time of leav- 
 ing Indiana with his regiment until the fall or 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 Sher- 
 man, but on the way was stricken down with scarlet 
 fever, and after a most trying siege made his way 
 to the front in time to participate in the closing 
 iicidents of the war. 
 
 In 1868 Gen, Harrison declined re-election as 
 ;€porter, and resumed the practice of law„ In 1876 
 he was a candidate for Governor. Although de- 
 Seated, the brilliant campaign hfc made won Tor him 
 a National reputation, and he was much sought, es- 
 peciaLy in the East, to make speeches. In 1880, 
 ds usual, he took an active part in the campaign, 
 »nd WW. elected to the TJnited States Senate, Here 
 uc 8©i-ved six years, and Tas known as one ox the 
 •West men, bast lawyer <»,nd strongest debaters in 
 
 that body. With the expiration of his Scnatoii^j 
 term he returned to the practice of his profession, 
 becoming the head of one of the strongest firtDs 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 standard bearer 
 of the Republican party, was great in every partic- 
 ular, and on this account, and the attitude it as- 
 sumed 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 move- 
 ment became popular, and from all sections of the 
 country societies, clubs and delegations journeyed 
 thither to pay their respects to the distinguished 
 statesman. The popularity of these was greatly 
 increased on account of the remarkable speeches 
 made by Mr. Harrison. He spoke daily all through 
 the summer and autumn to these visiting delega- 
 tions, and so varied, masterly and eloquent were 
 his speeches that they at once placed him in the 
 foremost rank of American orators and statesmen. 
 
 On account of his eloquence as a speaker and his: 
 power as a debater, he was called upon at an un- 
 commonly early age to take part in the discussion 
 of the great questions that then began to agitate 
 the country. He was an uncompromising anti 
 slavery man, and was matched against some of ti;e 
 most eminent Democratic speakers of his State 
 No man who felt the touch of his blade derTed tu 
 be pitted with him again. With all his eloq-ence 
 as an orator he never spoke for oratorical effect, 
 but his words always went like bullets to the mark 
 He is purely American in his ideas and is a spleu 
 did type of the American statesman. Gifted with 
 quicli perception, a logical 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 of eloquence and contained 
 arguments of greatest weight. Many of his terse 
 statements have already become aphorisms. Origi- 
 nal in thought^ precise in logic, terse in statement, 
 yet withnl faultless in eloquence, he is recognized as 
 the sound statesman and bnlilan orator o* tin. d«y 
 

i^ciCr-C(:^(yA^ 
 
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 .:r' HADRACH BOND, the first 
 Governor of Illinois after its 
 organization us a State, serving 
 from 1818 to 1822, was born in 
 Frederick County, Maryland, 
 in the year 1773, and was 
 raised a farmer on his father's 
 plantation, receiving only a plain 
 English education. He emigrated 
 to this State in r794, when it was a 
 part of the "Northwest Territory," 
 continuing in the vocation in which 
 he had been brought up in his native 
 State, in the " New Design," near 
 Eagle Creek, in what is now Monroe 
 County. He served several terms as 
 a member of the General Assembly 
 of Indiana Territory, after it was organized as such, 
 and in 1812-14 he was a Delegate to the Twelfth 
 and Thirteenth Congresses, taking his seat Dec. 3, 
 1812, and serving until Oct. 3, [814. These were 
 the times, the reader will recollect, when this Gov- 
 ernment had its last struggle with Great Britain. 
 The year r8i2 is also noted in the history of this 
 State as that in which the first Territorial Legislature 
 was held. It convened at Kaskaskia, Nov. 25, and 
 adjourned Dec. 26, following. 
 
 While serving as Delegate to Congress, Mr. Bond 
 was instrumental in procuring the right of pre-emp- 
 tion on the public domain. On the expiration of his 
 term at Washington he was appointed Receiver of 
 Public Moneys at Kaskaskia, then the capital of the 
 Territory. In company with John G, Comyges, 
 
 Thomas H. Harris, Charles Slade, Michael Jones, 
 Warren Brown. Edward Humphries and Charles W 
 Hunter, he became a proprietor of the site of the 
 initial city of Cairo, which they hoped, from its favor- 
 able location at the junction of the two great 
 rivers near the center of the Great West, would 
 rapidly develop into a metropolis. To aid the enter- 
 prise, they obtained a special charter from the Legis- 
 lature, incorporating both the City and the Bank of 
 Cairo. 
 
 In i8r8 Mr. Bond was elected the first Governor 
 of the State of Illinois, being inaugurated Oct. 6 
 that year, which was several weeks before Illinois 
 was actually admitted. The facts are these: In 
 January, i8i8, the Territorial Legislature sent a peti- 
 tion to Congress for the admission of Illinois as a 
 State, Nathaniel Pope being then Delegate. The 
 petition was granted, fixing the northern line of the 
 State on the latitude of the southern extremity of 
 Lake Michigan; but the bill was afterward so amend- 
 ed as to extend this line to its present latitude. In 
 July a convention was called at Kaskaskia to draft a 
 constitution, which, however, was not submitted to 
 the people. By its provisions, supreme judges, pros 
 ecuting attorneys, county and circuit judges, record- 
 ers and justices of the peace were all to be appointed 
 by the Governor or elected by the Legislature. This 
 constitution was accepted by Congress Dec. 30. At 
 that time Illinois comprised but eleven counties, 
 namely, Randolph, Madison, Gallatin, Johnson, 
 Pope, Jackson, Crawford, Bond, Union, Washington 
 and Franklin, the northern portion of the State be- 
 ing mainly in Madison County. Thus it appears 
 that Mr. Bond was honored by the naming of a 
 
SHADE AC H BOND. 
 
 county before he was elected Governor. The present 
 county of Bond is of small limitations, about 60 to 80 
 miles south of Springfield. For Lieutenant Governor 
 the people chose Pierre Menard, a prominent and 
 worthy Frenchman, after whom a county in this State 
 is named. In this election there were no opposition 
 candidates, as the popularity of these men had made 
 their promotion to the chief offices of the Slate, even 
 before the constitution was drafted, a foregone con- 
 clusion. 
 
 The principal points that excited the people in 
 reference to political issues at this period were local 
 or "internal improvements," as they were called. 
 State banks, location of the capital, slavery and the 
 personal characteristics of the proposed candidates. 
 Mr. Bond represented the "Convention party," for 
 introducing slavery into the State, supported by Elias 
 Ke It Kane, his Secretary of State, and John Mc- 
 Lean, while Nathaniel Pope and John P. Cook led 
 the anti-slavery element. Tlie people, however, did 
 not become very much excited over this issue until 
 1820, when the famous Missouri Compromise was 
 adopted by Congress, limiting slavery to the south 
 of the parallel of 36° 30' except in Missouri. While 
 this measure settled the great slavery controversy, 
 so far as the average public sentiment was tempor- 
 arily concerned, until 1854, when it was repealed 
 under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas, the issue 
 as considered locally in this State was not decided 
 until 1824, after a most furious campaign. (See 
 sketch of Gov. Coles.) The ticket of 18 18 was a 
 compromise one. Bond representing (moderately) the 
 pro-slavery sentiment and Menard the anti-slavery. 
 An awkward element in the Statq government 
 under Gov. Bond's administration, was the imperfec- 
 tion of the State constitution. The Convention 
 wished to have Elijah C. Berry for the first Auditor 
 of Public Accounts, but, as it was believed that the 
 new Governor would not appoint him to the office, 
 the Convention declared in a schedule that " an 
 auditor of public accounts, an attorney general and 
 such other officers of the State as may be necessary, 
 may be appointed by the General Assembly." The 
 Constitution, as it stood, vested a very large appoint- 
 ing power in the Governor; but for the purpose of 
 getting one man into office, a total change was made, 
 and the power vested in the Legislature. Of this 
 ; 'revision the Legislature took advantage, and de- 
 
 clared that State's attorneys, canal commissioners 
 bank directors, etc., were all " officers of the State'' 
 and must therefore be appointed by itself independ- 
 ently of the Governor. 
 
 During Gov. Bond's administration a general law- 
 was passed for the incorporation of academies and 
 towns, and one authorizing lotteries. The session of 
 1822 authorized the Governor to appoint commis- 
 sioners, to act in conjunction with like commissioners 
 appointed by the State of Indiana, to report on the 
 practicability and expediency of improving the navi- 
 gation of the Wabash River; also inland navigation 
 generally. Many improvements were recommended, 
 some of which have been feebly worked at even till 
 the present day, those along the Wabash being of no 
 value. Also, during Gov. Bond's terra of office, the 
 capital of the State was removed from Kaskaskia to 
 Vandalia. In 1820 a law was passed by Congress 
 authorizing this State to open a canal through the 
 public lands. The St-ate appointed commissioners 
 lo explore the route and prepare the necessary sur- 
 veys and estimates, preparatory to its execution; 
 but, being unable out of its own resources to defray 
 the expenses of the undertaking, it was abandoned 
 until some time after Congress made the grant of 
 land for the purpose of its construction. 
 
 On the whole. Gov. Bond's administration was 
 fairly good, not being open to severe criticism from 
 any party. In 1824, two years after the expiration 
 of his term of office, he was brought out as a candi- 
 date for Congress against the formidable John P. 
 Cook, but received only 4,374 votes to 7,460 for the 
 latter. Gov. Bond was no orator, but had made 
 many fast friends by a judicious beitowment of iiis 
 gubernatorial patronage, and these worked zealously 
 for him in the campaign. 
 
 In 1827 ex-Gov. Bond was appointed by the Leg- 
 islature, with Wm. P. McKee and Dr. Gershom 
 Jayne, as Commissioners to locate a site for a peni- 
 tentiary on the Mississippi at or near Alton. 
 
 Mr. Bond was of a benevolent and convivial dis- 
 position, a man of shrewd observation and clear ap- 
 preciation of events. His person was erect, stand- 
 ing six feet in height, and after middle life became 
 portly, weighing 200 pounds. His features were 
 strongly masculine, complexion dark, hair jet and 
 eyes hazel ; was a favorite with the ladies. He died 
 April II, 1830, in peace and contentment 
 
idn^rlLJu) Co^U2<^ 
 
GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 lEbwarC) Coles* 
 
 '^"^^'(sF" 
 
 DWARD COLES, second 
 Governor of Illinois, 1823- 
 6, was born Dec. 15, 1786, 
 in Albemarle Co., Va., on 
 the old family estate called 
 "Enniscortliy," on the 
 Green Mountain. His fath- 
 
 Coles, was a Colonel in the 
 Having been fit- 
 he 
 
 er, John 
 
 Revolutionary War. 
 ted for college by private tutors, 
 was sent to Hampden Sidney, where 
 he remained until the autumn of 1805, 
 when he was removed to William and 
 Mary College, at Williamsburg, Va. 
 This college he left in the summer of 
 1807, a short time before the final and graduating 
 exami.iation. Among his classmates were Lieut. 
 Gen. Scott, President John Tyler, Wni. S. Archer, 
 United States Senator from Virginia, and Justice 
 Baldwin, of the United States Supreme Court. The 
 President of the latter college, Bishop Madison, was 
 a cousin of President James Madison, and that cir- 
 cumstance was the occasion of Mr. Coles becoming 
 personally acquainted with the President and re- 
 ceiving a position as his private secretary, 1809-15. 
 The family of Coles was a prominent one in Vir- 
 ginia, and their mansion was the seat of the old- 
 fashioned Virginian hospitality. It was visited by 
 such notables as Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Madison, 
 Monroe, the Randolphs, Tazewell, Wirt, etc. At the 
 age of 23, young Coles founa himself heir to a plant- 
 ation and a considerable number of slaves. Ever 
 since his earlier collegi days his attention had been 
 drawn to the question of slavery. He read every- 
 
 thing on the subject that came in his way, and 
 listened to lectures on the rights of man. The more 
 he reflected upon the subject, the more impossible 
 was it for him to reconcile the immortal declaration 
 "that all men are born free and equal " with the 
 practice of slave-holding. He resolved, therefore, to 
 free his slaves the first opportunity, and even remove 
 his residence to a free State. One reason which de- 
 termiued him to accept the appointment as private 
 secretary to Mr. Midison was because he believed 
 that through the acquaintances he could make at 
 Washington he could better determine in what par', 
 of the non-slaveholding portion of the Union he wouIq 
 prefer to settle. 
 
 The relations between Mr. Coles and President 
 Madison, as well as Jefferson and other distinguished 
 men, were of a very friendly character, arising from 
 the similarity of their views on the question of slavery 
 and their sympathy for each other in holding doc- 
 trines so much at variance with the prevailing senti- 
 ment in their own State. 
 
 In 1857, he resigned his secretaryship and spent a 
 portion of the following autumn in exploring the 
 Northwest Territory, for the purpose of finding a lo- 
 cation and purchasing lands on which to settle his 
 negroes. He traveled with a horse and buggy, with 
 an extra man and horse for emergencies, through 
 many parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, 
 determining finally to settle in Illinois. At this time, 
 however, a misunderstanding arose between our 
 Government and Russia, and Mr. Coles was selected 
 to repair to St. Petersburg on a special mission, bear- 
 ing important papers concerning the matter at issue 
 The result was a conviction of the Emperor (Alex- 
 
ii6 
 
 EDWARD COLES. 
 
 ander) of the error committed by his minister at 
 Washington, and the consequent withdrawal of the 
 the latter from the post. On his return, Mr. Coles 
 visited other parts of Europe, especially Paris, where 
 he was introduced to Gen. Lafayette. 
 
 In the spring of i8ig, he removed with all his 
 negroes from Virginia to Edwardsville, 111., with the 
 intention of giving them their liberty. He did not 
 make known to them his intention until one beautiful 
 morning in April, as they were descending the Ohio 
 River. He lashed all the boats together and called 
 all the negroes oa deck and made them a short ad- 
 dress, concluding his remarks by so expressing him- 
 self that by a turn of a sentence he proclaimed in 
 the shortest and fullest manner that they were no 
 longer slaves, but free as he was and were at liberty 
 to proceed with him or go ashore at their pleas- 
 ure. A description of the effect upon the negroes is 
 best desciibed in his own language : 
 
 "The effect upon them was electrical. They stared 
 at me and then at each other, as if doubting the ac- 
 curacy or reality of what they heard. In breathless 
 silence they stood before me, unable to utter a word, 
 but with countenances beaming with expression which 
 no words could convey, and which no language 
 can describe. As they began to see the truth of 
 what they had heard, and realize their situation, there 
 came on a kind of hysterical, giggling laugh. After 
 a pause of intense and unutterable emotion, bathed 
 in tears, and with tremulous voices, they gave vent to 
 their gratitude and implored the blessing of God 
 on me." 
 
 Before landing he gave them a general certificate 
 of freedom, and afterward conformed more particu- 
 larly with the law of this State requiring that each 
 individual should have a certificate. This act of 
 Mr. Coles, all the more noble and heroic considering 
 the overwhelming pro-slavery influences surrounding 
 him, has challenged the admiration of every philan- 
 thropist of modern times. 
 
 March 5, i8ig. President Monroe appointed Mr. 
 Coles Registrar of the Land Office at Edwardsvihe, 
 at that time one of the principal land offices in the 
 State. While acting in this capacity and gaining 
 many friends by his pohteness and general intelli- 
 gence, the greatest struggle that ever occurred in 
 Illinois on the slavery question culminated in the 
 furious contest characterizing the campaigns and 
 elections of 1822-4. In the summer of 1823, when a 
 new Governor was to be elected to succeed Mr. 
 Bond, the pro-slavery element divided into factions, 
 putting forward for the executive office Joseph 
 Phillips, Chief Justice of the State, Thomas C. 
 Browne and Gen. James B. Moore, of the State Mil- 
 itia. The anti-slavery element united upon Mr. 
 Coles, and, after one of the most bitter campaigns, 
 succeeded in electing him as Governor. His plural- 
 ity over Judge Phillips was only 59 in a total vote of 
 
 over 8,000. The Lieutenant Governor was elected 
 by the slavery men. Mr. Coles' inauguration speech 
 was marked by calmness, deliberation and such a 
 wise expression of appropriate suggestions as to 
 elicit the sanction of all judicious politicians. But 
 he compromised not with evil. In his message to 
 tlie Legislature, the seat of Government being then 
 at Vandalia, he strongly urged the abrogation of the 
 modified form of slavery which then existed in this 
 State, contrary to the Ordinance of 1787. His posi- 
 tion on this subject seems the more remarkable, when 
 it is considered that he was a minority Governor, the 
 population of Illinois being at that lime almost ex- 
 clusively from slave-holding States and by a large 
 majority in favor of the perpetuation of that old relic 
 of barbarism. The Legislature itself was, of course, 
 a reflex of the popular sentiment, and a majority of 
 them were led on by fiery men in denunciations of 
 the conscientious Governor, and in curses loud and 
 deep upon him and all his friends. Some of the 
 public men, indeed, went so far as to head a sort of 
 mob, or " shiveree " party, who visited the residence 
 of the Governor and others at Vandalia and yelled 
 and groaned and spat fire. 
 
 The Constitution, not establishing or permitting 
 slavery in this State, was thought therefore to be 
 defective by the slavery politicians, and they desired 
 a State Convention to be elected, to devise and sub- 
 mit a new Constitution; and the dominant politics 
 of the day was "Convention" and "anti-Conven- 
 tion." Both parties issued addresses to the people, 
 Gov. Coles himself being the author of the address 
 published by the latter party. This address revealed 
 the schemes of the conspirators in a masterly man- 
 ner. It is difficult for us at this distant day to esti- 
 mate the critical and extremely delicate situation in 
 which the Governor was placed at that time. 
 
 Our hero maintained himself honorably and with 
 supreme dignity throughout his administration, and 
 in his honor a county in this State is named. He 
 was truly a great man, and those who lived in 
 this State during his sojourn here, like those who 
 live at the base of the mountain, were too near to see 
 and recognize the greatness that overshadowed ihem. 
 
 Mr. Coles was married Nov. 28, 1833, by Bishop 
 De Lancey, to Miss Sally Logan Roberts, a daughter 
 of Hugh Roberts, a descendant of Welsh ancestry, 
 who cami to this country with Wm. Penn in 1682. 
 
 After the expiration of his term of service, Gov. 
 Coles continued his residence in Edwardsville, sup- 
 erintending his farm in the vicinity. He was fond 
 of agriculture, and was the founder of the first agri- 
 cultural society in the State. On account of ill 
 health, however, and having no family to tie him 
 down, he spent much of his time in Eastern cities. 
 About 1832 he changed his residence to Philadel- 
 phia, where he died July 7, 1868, and is buried at 
 Wpo^land, near that city. 
 
(:^y'^^0>n^'--<^~^y-i^ O (::^-t^^ 
 
GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 119 
 
 INIAN EDWARDS, Governor 
 from 1827 to 1830, was a sou 
 of Benjamin Edwards, and 
 was born in Montgomery 
 County, Maryland, in March, 
 rS 1775. His domestic train- 
 ing was well fitted to give 
 his mind strength, iirmness and 
 honorable principles, and a good 
 foundation was laid fortlie elevated 
 character to which he afterwards 
 attained. His parents were Bap- 
 tists, and very strict in their moral 
 piinciples. His education in early 
 youth was in company with and 
 partly under thetuitionof Hon. VVm. 
 Wirt, whom his father patronized, 
 and who was more than two years 
 older. An intimacy was thus 
 formed between them which was lasting for life. He 
 was further educated at Dickinson College, at Car- 
 lisle, Pa. He next commenced the study of law, but 
 before completing his course he moved to Nelson 
 County, Ky., to open a farm for his father and to 
 purchase homes and locate lands for his brothers and 
 sisters. Here he fell in the company of dissolute 
 companions, and for several years led the life of a 
 spendtlirift. He was, however, elected to the Legis- 
 lature of Kentucky as the Representative of Nelson 
 County before he was 2 1 years of age, and was re- 
 lected by an almost unanimous vote. 
 
 In 1798 he was licensed to practice law, and the 
 following year was admitted to the Courts of Tennes- 
 see. About this time he left Nelson County for 
 Russellville, in Logan County, broke away from his 
 dissolute companions, commenced a reformation and 
 devoted himself to severe and laborious study. He 
 then began to rise rapidly in his profession, and soon 
 became an eminent lawyer, and inside of four years 
 he filled in succession the offices of Presiding Judge 
 of the General Court, Circuit Judge, fourth Judge of 
 the Court of Appeals and Chief Justice of the State, 
 — all before he was 32 years of age! Li addition, in 
 1802, he received a commission as Major of a battal- 
 ion of Kentucky militia, and in 1804 was chosen a 
 Presidential Elector, on the Jefferson and Clinton 
 ticket. In 1806 he was a candidate for Congress, 
 but withdrew on being promoted to the Court of 
 Appeals. 
 
 Illinois was organized as a separate Territory in 
 the spring of 1809, when Mr. Edwards, then Chief 
 Justice of the Court of Appeals in Kentucky, received 
 from President Madison the appointment as Gover- 
 nor of the new Territory, his commission bearing date 
 April 24, 1809. Edwards arrived at Kaskaskia in 
 June, and on the i ith of that month took the oath of 
 office. At the same time he was appointed Superin- 
 tendent of the United States Saline, this Government 
 interest then developing into considerable proportions 
 in Southern Illinois. Although during the first three 
 years of his administration he had the power to make 
 new counties and appoint all the officers, yet he always 
 allowed the people of each county, by an informal 
 
NINIAN EDWARDS. 
 
 vote, to select their own officers, both civil and mili- 
 tary. The noted John J. Crittenden, afterward 
 United States Senator from Kentucky, was appointed 
 by G-ev. Edwards to the office of Attorney General of 
 the Territory, which office was accepted for a short 
 time only. 
 
 The Indians in tSio committing sundry depreda- 
 tions in the Territory, crossing the Mississippi from 
 the Territory of Louisiana, a long correspondence fol- 
 lowed between the respective Governors concerning 
 the remedies, which ended in a council with the sav- 
 ages at Peoria in 1812, and a fresh interpretation of 
 the treaties. Peoria was depopulated by these de- 
 predations, and was not re-settled for many jfears 
 afterward. 
 
 As Gov. Edwards' term of office expired by law in 
 1812, he was re-appointed for another term of three 
 years, and again in 1815 for a third term, serving 
 until the organization of the State in the fall of 1818 
 and the inauguration of Gov. Bond. At this time 
 ex-Gov. Edwards was sent to the United States 
 Senate, his colleague being Jesse B. Thomas. As 
 Senator, Mr. Edwards took a conspicuous part, and 
 acquitted himself honorably in all the measures that 
 came up in that body, being well posted, an able de- 
 Dater and a conscientious statesman. He thought 
 seriously of resigning this situation in 1821, but was 
 persuaded by his old friend, Wm. Wirt, and others to 
 continue in office, which he did to the end of the 
 term. 
 
 He was then appointed Minister to Mexico by 
 President Monroe. About this time, it appears that 
 Mr. Edwards saw suspicious signs in the conduct of 
 Wm. H. Crawford, Secretary of the United States 
 Treasury, and an ambitious candidate for the Presi- 
 dency, and being implicated by the latter in some of 
 his statements, he resigned his Mexican mission in 
 order fully to investigate the charges. The result 
 was the exculpation of Mr. Edwards. 
 
 Pro-slavery regulations, often termed "Black Laws," 
 disgraced the statute books of both the Territory and 
 ^he State of Illinois during the whole of his career in 
 Ais commonwealth, and Mr. Edwards always main- 
 tained the doctrines of freedom, and was an important 
 actor in the great struggle which ended in a victory 
 for his parl^y in 1824. 
 
 In 1826 7 the Winnebago and other Indians com- 
 mitted son-e depredations in the northern part of the 
 
 State, and the white settlers, who desired the landi? 
 and wished to exasperate the savages into an evacu- 
 ation of the country, magnified the misdemeanors of 
 the aborigines and thereby produced a hostility be- 
 tween the races so great as to precipitate a little war, 
 known in history as the "Winnebago War." A few 
 chases and skirmishes were had, when Gen. Atkinson 
 succeeded in capturing Red Bird, the Indian chief, 
 and putting him to death, thus ending the contest, at 
 least until the troubles commenced which ended in 
 the " Black Hawk War " of 1832. In the interpre- 
 tation of treaties and execution of their provisions 
 Gov. Edwards had much vexatious work to do. The 
 Indians kept themselves generally within the juris- 
 diction of Michigan Territory, and its Governor, 
 Lewis Cass, was at a point so remote that ready cor- 
 respondence with him was difficult or impossible. 
 Gov. Edwards' administration, however, in regard to 
 the protection of the Illinois frontier, seems to hav3 
 been very efficient and satisfactory. 
 
 For a considerable portion of his time after his re- 
 moval to Illinois, Gov. Edwards resided upon his 
 farm near Kaskaskia, which he had well stocked with 
 horses, cattle and sheep from Kentucky, also with 
 fruit-trees, grape-vines and shrubbery. He estab- 
 lished saw and grist-mills, and engaged extensively 
 in mercantile business, having no less than eight orten 
 stores in this State and Missouri. Notwithstanding 
 the arduous duties of his office, he nearly always pur- 
 chased the goods himself with which to supply the 
 stores. Although not a regular practitioner of medi- 
 cine, he studied the healing art to a considerable ex- 
 tent, and took great pleasure in prescribing for, and 
 taking care of, the sick, generally without charge. 
 He was also liberal to the poor, several widows and 
 ministers of the gospel becoming indebted to him 
 even for their homes. 
 
 He married Miss Elvira Lane, of Maryland, in 
 1803, and they became the affectionate parents of 
 several children, one of whom, especially, is well' 
 known to the people of the " Prairie State," namely, 
 Ninian Wirt Edwards, once the Superintendent c< 
 Public Instruction and still a resident of Springfield. 
 Gov. Edwards resided at and in the vicinity of Kas- 
 kaskia from 1809 to 1818; in Edwardsville (named 
 after him) from that time to 1824; and from the lat- 
 ter date at Belleville, St. Clair County, until his 
 death, July 20, 1833, of Asiatic cholera. Edwards 
 County is also named in his honor. 
 
GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 123. 
 
 ^^— « — i>«MB>-*e>o — ■» }< — 
 
 3:0HN REYNOLDS, Governor 1831- 
 4, was born in Montgomery Coun- 
 ty, Pennsylvania, Feb. 26, 1788. 
 His father, Robert Reynolds and 
 his mother, nee Margaret Moore, 
 were both natives of Ireland, from 
 which country they emigrated to 
 the United States in 1785, land- 
 ing at Philadelphia. The senior 
 Reynolds entertained an undying 
 hostility to the British Govern- 
 ment. When the subject of this 
 sketch was about six months old, 
 his parents emigrated with him to 
 Tennessee, where many of their 
 relatives had already located, at the base of the 
 Oapper Ridge Mountain, about 14 miles northeast of 
 the present city of Knoxville. There they were ex- 
 posed to Indian depredations, and were much molest- 
 ed by them. In 1794 they moved into the interior 
 of the State. They were poor, and brought up their 
 children to habits of manual industry. 
 
 In 1800 the family removed to Kaskaskia, 111., with 
 eight horses and two wagons, encountering many 
 Hardships on tlie way. Here young Reynolds passed 
 the most of his childhood, while his character began 
 to develop, the most prominent traits of which were 
 ambition and energy. He also adopted the principle 
 and practice of total abstinence from intoxicating 
 liquors. In 1807 the family made another removal. 
 
 this time to the " Goshen Settlement," at the foot of 
 the Mississippi bluffs three or four miles southwest 
 of Edwardsville. 
 
 On arriving at his 20th year, Mr. Reynolds, seeing 
 that he must look about for his own livelihood and 
 not yet having determined what calling to pursue, 
 concluded first to attend college, and he accordingly 
 went to such an institution of learning, near Knox- 
 ville, Tenn., where he had relatives. Imagine his 
 diffidence, when, after passing the first 20 years of 
 his life without ever having seen a carpet, a papered 
 wall or a Windsor chair, and never having lived in a 
 shingle-roofed house, he suddenly ushered himself 
 into the society of the wealthy in the vicinity of 
 Knoxville! He attended college nearly two years, 
 going through the principal Latin authors ; but it 
 seems that he, like the rest of the world in modem 
 times, had but very little use for his Latin in after 
 life. He always failed, indeed, to exhibit any good 
 degree of literary discipline. He commenced the 
 study of law in Knoxville, but a pulmonary trouble 
 came on and compelled him to change his mode 
 of life. Accordingly he returned home and re- 
 cuperated, and in 1812 resumed his college and 
 law studies at Knoxville. In the fall of 1812 he was 
 admitted to the Bar at Kaskaskia. About this time 
 he also learned the French language, which he 
 practiced with pleasure in conversation with his 
 family for many years. He regarded this language 
 as being superior to all others for social intercourse. 
 
124 
 
 JOHN REYNOLDS. 
 
 From his services in the West, in the war of i8i 2, 
 he obtained the sobriquet of the " Old Ranger." He 
 was Orderly Sergeant, then Judge Advocate. 
 
 Mr. Reynolds opened his first law office in the 
 winter and spring of 1814, inthe French village of 
 Cahokia, then the capital of St. Clair County. 
 
 In the fall of 181 8 he was elected an Associate 
 Justice upon the Supreme Bench by the General 
 Assembly. In 1825 he entered more earnestly than 
 ever into the practice of law, and the very next year 
 was elected a member of the Legislature, where he 
 acted independently of all cliques and private inter- 
 ests. In 1828 the Whigs and Democrats were for 
 the first time distinctively organized as such in Illi- 
 nois, and the usual party bitterness grew up and 
 raged on all sides, while Mr. Reynolds preserved a 
 iudicial calmness and moderation. The real animus 
 jf the campaign was " Jackson " and " anti- Jackson," 
 'he former party carrying the State. 
 
 In August, 1830, Mr. Reynolds was elected Gov- 
 ernor, amid great excitement. Installed in office, he 
 did all within his power to advance the cause of edu- 
 cation, internal improvements, the Illinois & Mich- 
 igan Canal, the harbor at Chicago, settling the coun- 
 try, etc.; also reccmmended the winding up of the 
 State Bank, as its affairs had become dangerously 
 complicated. In his national politics, hr was a 
 moderate supporter of General Jackson. But the 
 most celebrated event of his gubernatcriai admin- 
 istration was the Black Hawk War, which occurred 
 in 1832. He called out the militia and prosecuted 
 the contest with commendable diligence, appearing 
 in person on the battle-grounds during the most 
 critical periods. He was recognized by the President 
 as Major-General, and authorized by him to make 
 treaties with the Indians. By the assistance of the 
 general Government the war was terminated without 
 much bloodshed, but after many serious fights. This 
 war, as well as everything else, was materially re- 
 tarded by the occurrence of Asiatic cholera in the 
 West. This was its first appearance here, and was 
 the next event in prominence during Gov. Reynolds' 
 term. 
 
 South Carolina nuUification coming up at this time, 
 t was heartily condemned by both President Jackson 
 c.nd Gov. Reynolds, who took precisely the same 
 grounds as the Unionists in the last war. 
 
 On the termination of his gubernatorial term in 
 ,834, Gov. Reynolds was elected a Member of Con- 
 gress, still coasidering himself a backwoodsman, as 
 ' t had scarcely been outside of the State since he 
 became of age, and had spent nearly all his youthful 
 3ays in the wildest region of the frontier. His first 
 move in Congress was to adopt a resolution that in 
 all elections made by the House for officers the votes 
 should be given viva voce, each member in his place 
 naming aloud the person for whom he votes. This 
 created considerable heated discussion, but was es- 
 
 sentially adopted, and remained the controlling prin- 
 ciple for many years. The ex-Governor was scarcely 
 absent from his seat a single day, during eight ses- 
 sions of Congress, covering a period of seven years, 
 and he never vacillated in a party vote; but he failed 
 to get the Democratic party to foster his " National 
 Road " scheme. He says, in " My Own Times " (a 
 large autobiography he published), that it was only 
 by rigid economy that he avoided insolvency while in 
 VVashington. During his sojourn in that city he was 
 married, to a lady of the place. 
 
 In 1837, while out of Congress, and in company 
 with a few others, he built the first railroad in the 
 Mississippi Valley, namely, one about six miles long, 
 leading from his coal mine in the Mississippi bluff to 
 the bank of the river opposite St. Louis. Having not 
 the means to purchase a locomotive, they operated it 
 by horse-power. The next spring, however, the com- 
 pany sold out^ at great sacrifice. 
 
 In 1839 the ex-Governor was appointed oneof the 
 Canal Commissioners, and authorized to borrow 
 money to prosecute the enterprise. Accord'ngly, he 
 repaired to Philadelphia and succeeding in obtaining 
 a million dollars, which, however, was only a fourth 
 of what was wanted. The same year he and his 
 wife made at our of Europe. This year, also, Mr. 
 Reynolds had the rather awkward little responsibility 
 of introducing to President Van Buren the noted 
 Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith, as a " Latter-Day 
 Saint!" 
 
 In 1846 Gov. Reynolds was elected a member of 
 the Legislature from St. Clair County, more particu 
 larly for the purpose of obtaining a feasible charter 
 for a macadamized road from Belleville to St. Louis, 
 a distance of nearly 14 miles. This was immediately 
 built, and was the first road of the kind in the State. 
 He was again elected to the Legislature in 1852, when 
 he was chosen Speaker of the House. In i860, aged 
 and infirm, he attended the National Democratic 
 Convention at Charleston, S. C , as an anti-Douglas 
 Delegate, where he received more attention from the 
 Southern Delegates than any other member. He 
 supported Breckenridge for the Presidency. After 
 the October elections foreshadowed the success of 
 Lincoln, he published an address urging the Demo- 
 crats to rally to the support of Douglas. Immedi- 
 ately preceding and during the late war, his corre- 
 spondence evinced a clear sympathy for the Southern 
 secession, and about the first of March, i86t, he 
 urged upon the Buchanan officials the seizure of the 
 treasure and arms in the custom-house and arsenal 
 at St. Louis. Mr. Reynolds was a rather talkative 
 man, and apt in all the Western phrases and catch- 
 words that ever gained currency, besides many cun- 
 ning and odd ones of his own manufacture. 
 
 He was married twice, but had no children. He 
 died in Belleville, in May, 1865, just after the close 
 of the war. 
 
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 127 
 
 ILLIAM LEE D. EWING, 
 Governor of Illinois Nov. 3 
 ^ to 17, 1834, was a native 
 of Kentucky, and probably 
 of Scotch ancestry. He bad 
 a fine education, was a gentle- 
 man of polished manners and 
 refined sentiment. In 1830 John Rey- 
 nolds was elected Governor of the State, 
 and Zadok Casey Lieutenant Governor, 
 and for the principal events that followed, 
 and the characteristics of the times, see 
 sketch of Gov. Reynolds. The first we 
 see in history concerning Mr. Ewing, in- 
 forms us that he was a Receiver of Public 
 Mor.eys at Vandalia soon after the organization of 
 t*iis State, and that the public moneys in his hands 
 v.'eie deposited in various banks, as they are usually 
 !.'■ thi. /resent day. In 1823 the State Bank was 
 -obbed, by which disaster Mr. Ewing lost a thousand- 
 dollar deposit. 
 
 The subject of this sketch had a commission as 
 Colonel in the Black Hawk War, and in emergencies 
 ne acted also as Major. In the summer of 1832, 
 ■«/"hen :'i -w^as rumored among the whites that Black 
 Hawk and jiis men had encamped somewhere on 
 Rock River, Gen. Henry was sent on a tour of 
 reconnoisance, and with orders to drive the Indians 
 from the State. After some opposition from his 
 subordinate officers, Henry resolved to proceed up 
 Rock River in search of the enemy. On the rgth of 
 'uly, early in the morning, five baggage wagons. 
 
 camp equipage and all heavy and cumbersome arti- 
 cles were piled up and left, so that the army might 
 make speedy and forced marches. For some miles 
 the travel was exceedingly bad, crossing swamps 
 and the worst thickets ; but the large, fresh trail 
 gave life and animation to the Americans. Gen. 
 Dodge and Col. Ewing were both actuig as Majors, 
 and composed the " spy corps " or vanguard of the 
 army. It is supposed the army marched nearly 50 
 miles this day, and the Indian trail they followed 
 became fresher, and was strewed with much property 
 and trinkets of the red-skin^ that they had lost or 
 thrown away to hasten their march. During the 
 following night there was a terrific thunder-storm, and 
 the soldiery, with all their appurtenances, were thor- 
 oughly drenched. 
 
 On approaching nearer the Indians the next day. 
 Gen. Dodge and Major Ewing, each commanding a 
 battalion of men, were placed in front to bring on the 
 battle, but the savages were not overtaken this day 
 Forced marches were continued until they reached. 
 Wisconsin River, where a veritable battle ensued, 
 resulting in the death of about 68 of Black Hawk's 
 men. The next day they continued the chase, and 
 as soon as he discovered the trail of the Indians 
 leading toward the Mississippi, Maj. Ewing formed 
 his battalion in order of battle and awaited the order 
 of Gen. Henry. The latter soon appeared on the 
 ground and ordered a charge, which directly resulted 
 in chasing the red warriors across the great river. 
 Maj. Ewing and his command proved particularly 
 efficient in war, as it seems they were the chief actors 
 in driving the main body of the Sacs and Foxes, in- 
 
128 
 
 WILLIAM L. D. EWING. 
 
 eluding Black Hawk himself, across the Mississippi, 
 while Gen. Atkinson, commander-in-chief of the ex- 
 pedition, with a body of the army, was hunting for 
 them in another direction. 
 
 In the above affair Maj. Ewmg is often referred to 
 as a " General," which title he had derived from his 
 connection with the militia. 
 
 It was in the latter part of the same year (1832) 
 that Lieutenant Governor Casey was elected to Con- 
 gress and Gen. Ewing, who had been elected to the 
 Senate, was chosen to preside over that body. At 
 the August election of 1834, Gov. Reynolds was also 
 elected to Congress, more than a year ahead of the 
 time at which he could actually take his seat, as was 
 then the law. His predecessor, Charles Slade, had 
 just died of Asiatic cholera, soon after the elec- 
 tion, and Gov. Reynolds was chosen to serve out his 
 unexpired term. Accordingly he set out for Wash- 
 ington in November of that year to take his seat in 
 Congress, and Gen. Ewing, by virtue of his office as 
 President of the Senate, became Governor of the 
 State of Illinois, his term covering only a -period of 
 15 days, namely, from the 3d to the 17 th days, in- 
 clusive, of November. On the 17th the Legislature 
 met, and Gov. Ewing transmitted to that body his 
 message, giving a statement of the condition of the 
 affairs of the State at that time, and urging a contin- 
 uance of the policy adopted by his predecessor; and 
 on the same day Governor elect Joseph Duncan 
 vas sworn into office, thus relieving Mr. Ewing from 
 
 the responsible situation. This is the only time that 
 such a juncture has happened in the history of Illi- 
 nois. 
 
 On the 29th of December, 1835, Gen. Ewing was 
 elected a United States Senator to serve out the 
 unexpired term of Elias Kent Kane, deceased! The 
 latter gentleman was a very prominent figure in the 
 early politics of Illinois, and a county in this State is 
 named in his honor. The election of Gen. Ewing to 
 the Senate was a protracted struggle. His competi- 
 tors were James Semple, who afterwards held several 
 important offices in this State, and Richard M. 
 Young, afterward a United States Senator and a 
 Supreme Judge and a man of vast influence. On 
 the first ballot Mr. Semple had 25 votes. Young 19 
 -and Ewing 18. On the eighth ballot Young was 
 dropped ; the ninth and tenth stood a tie ; but on 
 the 1 2th Ewing received 40, to Semple 37, and was 
 accordingly declared elected. In 1837 Mr. Ewing 
 received some votes for a continuance of his term in 
 Congress, when Mr. Young, just referred to, was 
 elected. In 1842 Mr. Ewing was elected State 
 Audit?r on the ticket with Gov. Ford. 
 
 Gen. Ewing was a gentleman of culture, a lawyer 
 by profession, and was much in public life. In person 
 he was above medium height and of heavy build, 
 with auburn hair, blue eyes, large-sized head and 
 short face. He was genial, social, friendly and 
 affable, with fair talent, though of no high degree rA 
 originality. He died March 25, 1846. 
 
Jcj^^^i^ ^ 
 
GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 131 
 
 
 ■^^^1)) 
 
 i -^C£££/S^^<='»^"S 
 
 
 OSEPH DUNCAN, Governor 
 1834-8, was born at Paris, 
 Ky., Feb. 23, 1794. At the 
 tender age of 1 9 years he en- 
 listed in the war against Great 
 Britain, and as a soldier he 
 acquitted himself with credit. He 
 was an Ensign under the daunt- 
 j less Croghan at Lower Sandusky, 
 F% or Fort Stephenson. In Illinois 
 he first appeared in a public capa- 
 city as Major-General of the Militia, 
 a position which his military fame 
 had procured him. Subsequently 
 he became a State Senator from 
 Jackson County, and is honorably 
 mentioned for introducing the first bill providing for 
 a free-school system. In 1826, when the redoubt- 
 able John P. Cook, who had previously beaten such 
 men as John McLean, Elias Kent Kane and ex- 
 Gov. Bond, came up for the fourth time for Congress, 
 Mr. Duncan was brought forward against him by his 
 friends, greatly to the surprise of all the politicians. 
 Ki yet he was but little known in the State. He was 
 an original Jackson man at that time, being attached 
 to his political fortune in admiration of the glory of 
 his militaty achievements. His chances of success 
 against Cook were generally regarded as hopeless, 
 Imt he entered upon the campaign undaunted. His 
 speeches, though short and devoid of ornament, were 
 full of good sense. He made a diligent canvass of 
 the State, Mr. Cook being hindered by the condition of 
 his health. The most that was expected of Mr. 
 Duncan, under the circumstances, was that he would 
 
 obtain a respectable vote, but without defeating Mr, 
 Cook. The result of the campaign, however, was a 
 source of surprise and amazement to both friends 
 and foes, as Mr. Duncan came out 641 votes ahead! 
 He received 6,321 votes, and Mr. Cook 5,680. Un- 
 til this denouement, the violence of party feeling 
 smoldering in the breasts of the people on account 
 of the defeat of Jackson, was not duly appreciated. 
 Aside from the great convention struggle of 1824, no 
 other than mere local and penonal considerations 
 had ever before controlled an election in Illinois. 
 
 From the above date Mr, Duncan retained his 
 seat in Co igress until his election as Governor in 
 .\ugust, 1834. The first and bloodless year of the 
 Black Hawk War he was appointed by Gov. Rey- 
 nolds to the position of Brigadier-General of the 
 volunteers, and he conducted his brigade to Rock 
 Island. But he was absent from the State, in Wash- 
 ington, during the gubernatorial campaign, and did 
 not personally participate in it, but addressed circu- 
 lars to his constituents. His election was, indeed, 
 attributed to the circumstance of his absence, be- 
 cause his estrangement from Jackson, formerly his 
 political idol, and also from the Democracy, largely 
 in ascendency in the State, was complete; but while 
 his defection was well known to his Whig friends, 
 and even to the leading Jackson men of this State, 
 the latter were unable to carry conviction of that fact 
 to the masses, as mail and newspaper facilities at 
 that day were far inferior to those of the present 
 time. Of course the Governor was much abused 
 afterward by the fossilized Jackson men who re- 
 garded party ties and affiliations as above all 
 other issues that could arise; but he was doubtless 
 
T32 
 
 JOSEPH DUNCAN. 
 
 sincere in his opposition to the old hero, as the latter 
 had vetoed several important western measures 
 which were dear to Mr. Duncan. In his inaugural 
 message he threw off the mask and took a bold stand 
 ngainst the course of the President. The measures 
 "-.e recommended in his message, however, were so 
 desirable that the Legislature, although by a large 
 majority consisting of Jackson men, could not refrain 
 from endorsing them. These measures related 
 mainly to bar.ks and internal improvements. 
 
 It was while Mr. Duncan was Governor that the 
 people of Illinois went whirling on with bank and in- 
 ternal improvement schemes that well nigh bank- 
 'upted the State. The hard times of 1837 came on, 
 and the disasters that attended the inauguration of 
 Ihese plans and the operation of the banks were mu- 
 tually charged upon the two political parties. Had 
 any one man autocratic power to introduce and 
 carry on any one of these measures, he would proba- 
 bly have succeeded to the satisfaction of the public ; 
 "but as many jealous men had hold of the same plow 
 handle, no success followed and each blamed the other 
 for the failure. In this great vortex Gov. Duncan 
 was carried along, suffering the like derogation of 
 character with his fellow citizens. 
 
 At the height of the excitement the Legislature 
 "provided for" railroads from Galena to Cairo, Alton 
 to Shawneetown, Alton to Mount Carmel, Alton to the 
 eastern boundary of the State in the direction of 
 Terre Haute, Quincy via Springfield to the Wabasli, 
 Bloomington to Pekin, and. Peoria to Warsaw, — in all 
 about 1,300 miles of road. It also provided for the 
 improvement of the navigation of the Kaskaskia, 
 Illinois, Great and Little Wabash and Rock Rivers ; 
 also as a placebo, $200,000 in money were to be dis- 
 jibuted to the various counties wherein no improve- 
 ments were ordered to be made as above. The 
 estimate for the expenses for all these projects was 
 placed at a little over $10,000,000, which was not 
 more man half enough ! That would now be equal to 
 saddling upon the State a debt of $225,000,000! It 
 was sufficient to bankrupt the State several times 
 over, even counting all the possible benefits. 
 
 One of the most exciting events that ever occurred 
 in this fair State was the murder of Elijah P. Love- 
 ioy in the fall of 1837, at Alton, during Mr. Duncan's 
 term as Governor. Lovejoy was an " Abolitionist," 
 editing the Observer at that place, and the pro- 
 slavery slums there formed themselves into a mob, 
 
 and after destroying successively three presses be- 
 longing to Mr. Lovejoy, surrounded the warehouse 
 where the fourth press was stored away, endeavoring 
 to destroy it, and where Lovejoy and his friends 
 were entrenching themselves, and shot and killed the 
 brave reformer! 
 
 About this time, also, the question of removing ths 
 State capital again came up, as the 20 years' limit for 
 its existence at Vandalia was drawing to a close 
 There was, of course, considerable excitement over 
 the matter, the two main points competing for it be- 
 ing Springfield and Peoria. The jealousy of the lat- 
 ter place is not even yet, 45 years afterward, fully 
 allayed. 
 
 Gov. Duncan's term expired in 1838. In 1842 
 he was again proposed as a candidate for the Execu- 
 tive chair, this time by the Whig party, against Adam 
 W. Snyder, of St. Clair County, the nominee of the 
 Democrats. Charles W. Hunter was a third candi- 
 date for the same position. Mr. Snyder, however, disd 
 before the campaign had advanced very far, and his 
 party substituted Thomas Ford, who was elected 
 receiving 46,901 votes, to 38,584 for Duncan, and 
 909 for Hunter. The cause of Democratic success 
 at this time is mainly attributed to the temporary 
 support of the Mormons which they enjoyed, and the 
 want or any knowledge, on the part of the masses, 
 ihat Mr. Ford was opposed to any given policy en- 
 tertained in the respective localities. 
 
 Gov. Duncan was a man of r.ither limited educa- 
 tion, but with naturally fine abilities he profited 
 greatly by his various public services, and gathered 
 a store of knowledge regarding public affairs which 
 served him a ready purpose. He possessed a clear 
 i'ldgment, decision, confidence in himself and moral 
 courage to carry out his convictions of right. In his 
 deportment he was well adapted to gain the admira- 
 tion of the people. His intercourse with them was 
 both affable and dignified. His portrait at the Gov- 
 ernor's mansion, from which the accompanying was 
 made, represents him as having a swarthy complex- 
 ion, high cheek bones, broad foreheail, piercing black 
 eyes and straight black hair. 
 
 He was a liberal patron of the Illinois College at 
 Jacksonville, a member of its Board of Trustees, and 
 died, after a short illness, Jan. 15, 1844, a devoted 
 member of the Presbyterian Church, leaving a wife 
 but no children. Two children, born to them, had 
 died in infancy. 
 
r<v> ^^^ 
 
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 '35 
 
 I — - — J ^MWr '^w^m^^ i- — - — - — ^^ — J »a' 
 
 IHOMAS CARLIN, the sixth 
 Governor of the State of 
 Illinois, serving from 1838 
 to 1842, was also a Ken- 
 tuckian, being born near 
 Frankfort, that State, July 
 18, 1789, of Irish paternity. 
 The opportunities for an education 
 being very meager in his native 
 place, he, on approaching years of 
 jud'^ment and maturity, applied 
 himself to those branches of learn- 
 ing that seemed most important, 
 and thus became a self-made man ; 
 and his taste for reading and 
 study remained with him through 
 life. In 1803 his father removed 
 10 Missouri, then a part of " New Spain," where he 
 died in 1810. 
 
 In 18 1 2 young Carlin came to Illinois and partici- 
 pated in all the "ranging" service incident to the 
 war of that period, proving himself a soldier of un- 
 daunted bravery. In 1814 he married Rebecca 
 Huitt, and lived for four years on the bank of the 
 Mississippi River, opposite the mouth of the Mis- 
 sodri, where he followed farming, and then removed 
 to Greene County. He located the town site of Car- 
 ri>lton,in that county, and in 1825 made a liberal 
 donation of land for county building purposes. He 
 was the first Sheriff of that county after its separate 
 organization, and afterward was twice elected, as a 
 Jackson Democrat, to the Illinois Senate. In the 
 Black Hawk War he commanded a spy battalion, a 
 po>t of considerable danger. In 1834 he was ap- 
 pointed by President Jackson to the position of 
 Receiver of Public Mon-^ys, and to fulfill the office 
 
 more conveniently he removed to the city of Quincy. 
 
 While, in 1838, the unwieldy internal improvement 
 system of the State was in full operation, with all its 
 expensive machinery, amidst bank suspensions 
 throughout the United States, a great stringency in 
 the money market everywhere, and Illinois bonds 
 forced to sale at a heavy discount, and the " hardest 
 limes" existing that the people of the Prairie State 
 ever saw, the general election of State officers was 
 api)roaching. Discreet men who had cherished the 
 hope of a speedy subsidence of the public infatua- 
 tion, met with disappointment. A Governor and 
 Legislature were to be elected, and these were now 
 looked forward to for a repeal of the ruinous State 
 policy. But the grand scheme; had not yet lost its 
 dazzling influence upon the minds of the people. 
 Time and experience had not yet fully demonstrated 
 its utter absurdity. Hence the question of arresting 
 its career of profligate expenditures did not become 
 a leading one with the dominant party during the 
 campaign, and most of the old members of the Leg 
 islature were returned at this election. 
 
 Under these circumstances the Democrats, in State 
 Gmvention assembled, nominated Mr. Carlin for the 
 office of Governor, and S. H. Anderson for Lieuten- 
 ant Governor, while the Whigs nominated Cyrus Ed- 
 wards, brother of Ninian Edwards, formerly Governor, 
 and W. H. Davidson. Edwards came out strongly 
 for a continuance of the State policy, while Car'::- 
 remained non-committal. This was the first tmic 
 that the two main political parties in this State were 
 unembar'assed by any third party in the field. The 
 result of the election was: Carlin, 35,573; Ander- 
 son, 30,335; Edwards, 29,629; and Davidson, 28,- 
 
 Upon the meeting of the subsequent Legislature 
 (1839), the retiring Governor CDuncan) in his mcs- 
 
136 
 
 THOMAS CARLIN. 
 
 sage spoke in emphatic terms of the impolicy of the 
 internal improvement system, presaging the evils 
 threatened, and uiged that body to do their utmost 
 to correct the great error ; yet, on the contrary, the 
 Legislature not only decided to continue the policy 
 but also added to its burden by voting more appro- 
 priations and ordering more improvements. Although 
 the money market was still stringent, a further loan 
 of $4,000,000 was ordered for the Illinois & Mich- 
 igan Canal alone. Cft'cago at that time began to 
 loom up and promise to be an important city, even 
 the great emporium of the West, as it has since in- 
 deed came to be. Ex-Gov. Reynolds, an incompe- 
 tent financier, was commissioned to effect the loan, 
 and accordingly hastened to the East on this respons- 
 ible errand, and negotiated the loans, at considera- 
 ble sacrifice to the State. Besides this embarrassment 
 iC Carlin's administration, the Legislature also de- 
 clared that he had no authority to appoint a Secretary 
 of State until a vacancy existed, and A. P. Field, a 
 Whig, who had already held the post by appointment 
 -hrough three administrations, was determined to 
 keep the place a while longer, in spite of Gov. Car- 
 lin's preferences. The course of the Legislature in 
 this regard, however, was finally sustained by the 
 Supreme Court, in a quo warranto case brought up 
 before it by John A. McClernand, whom the Gov- 
 ernor had nominated for the office. Thereupon that 
 dignified body was denounced as a "Whig Court!' 
 endeavoring to establish the principle of life-tenure 
 of office. 
 
 A new law was adopted re-organizing the Judici- 
 ary, and under it five additional Supreme Judges 
 were elected by the Legislature, namely, Thomas 
 Ford (afterward Governor), Sidney Breese, Walter B. 
 Scales, Samuel H. Treat and Stephen A. Douglas — 
 all Democrats. 
 
 It was during Gov. Cariin's administration that the 
 noisy campaign of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too " oc- 
 curredj resulting in a Whig victory. This, however, 
 did net affect Illinois politics very seriously. 
 
 Another prominent event in the West during Gov. 
 Carlin's terra of office was the excitement caused by 
 the Mormons and their removal from Independence, 
 Mo., to Nauvoo, 111., in 1840. At the same time 
 they began to figure somewhat in State politics. On 
 account of their believing— as they thought, accord- 
 ing to the New Testament— that they should have 
 
 "all things common," and that consequently "all 
 the earth " and all that is upon it were the" Lord's " 
 and therefore the property of his " saints," they 
 were suspected, and correctly, too, of committing 
 many of the deeds of larceny, robbery, etc. that 
 were so rife throughout this country in those days. 
 Hence a feeling of violence grew up between the 
 Mormons and "anti-Mormons." In the State of 
 Missouri the Mormons always supported the Dem- 
 ocracy until they were driven out by the Democratic 
 government, when they turned their support to the 
 Whigs. They were becoming numerous, and in the 
 Legislatureofi84o-r, therefore, it became a matter 
 of great interest with both parties to conciliate these 
 people. Through the agency of one John C. Ben- 
 nett, a scamp, the Mormons succeeded in rushing 
 through the Legislature (both parties not daring io 
 oppose) a charter for the city of Nauvoo which vir- 
 tually erected a hierarchy co-ordinate with the Fed- 
 eral Government itself. In the fall of 1841 the 
 Governor of Missouri made a demand upon Gov. 
 Carlin for the body of Joe Smith, the Mormon leader, 
 as a fugitive from justice. Gov. Carlin issued thj 
 writ, but for some reason it was returned unserved. 
 It was again issued in r842, and Smith was arrested, 
 but was either rescued by bis followers or discharged 
 by the municipal court on a writ of habeas corpus. 
 
 In December, i84r, the Democratic Convention 
 nominated Adam W. Snyder, of Belleville, for Gov- 
 ernor. As he had been, as a member of the Legisla- 
 ture, rather friendly to the Mormons, the latter 
 naturally turned their support to the Democratic 
 party. The next spring the Whigs nominated Ex- 
 Gov. Duncan for the same office. In the meantime 
 the Mormons began to grow more odious to the 
 masses of the people, and the comparative prospects 
 of the respective parties for success became very 
 problematical. Mr. Snyder died in May, and 
 Thomas Ford, a Supreme Judge, was substituted as 
 a candidate, and was elected. 
 
 At the close of his gubernatorial term, Mr. Carlin 
 removed back to his old home at Carrollton, where 
 he spent the remainder of his life, as before his ele- 
 vation to office, in agricultural pursuits. In 1849 
 he served out the unexpired term of J. D. Fry in the 
 Illinois House of Representatives, and died Feb. 4, 
 1852, at his residence at Carrollton, leaving a wife 
 and seven children. 
 
Oi 
 
 1^^-t'WCiLj 
 
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 *39 
 
 feaw .,„. j^Wj^*l~ ■ — ^Bs=« _ -SSI -.AV 
 
 Tfc®iBiig Wmw\ 
 
 
 'r^ 
 
 f4^ 
 
 JHOMAS FORD, Governor 
 from 1842 to 1846, and au- 
 thor of a very interesting 
 history of Illinois, was born 
 at Uniontown, Pa., in the 
 year 1 800. His mother, after 
 the death of her first hus- 
 band (Mr. Forquer), married Rob- 
 ert Ford, who was killed in 1802, 
 by the Indians in the mountains 
 of Pennsylvania. She was conse- 
 quently left in indigent circum- 
 stances, with a large family, mostly 
 girls. With a view to better her 
 condition, she, in 1804, removed to 
 Missouri, where it had been cus- 
 tomary by the Spanish Govern- 
 ment to give land to actual settlers; but upon her 
 arrival at St. Louis she found the country ceded to 
 the United States, and the liberal policy toward set- 
 tlers changed by the new ownership. After some 
 sickness to herself and family, she finally removed to 
 Illinois, and settled some three miles south of Water- 
 loo, but the following year moved nearer the Missis- 
 sippi bluffs. Here young Ford received his first i 
 
 schooling, under the instructions of a Mr. Humphrey, 
 for which he had to walk three miles. His mother, 
 though lacking a thorough education, was a woman 
 of superior mental endowments, joined to energy 
 and determination of character. She inculcated in 
 her children those high-toned principles which dis- 
 tinguished her sons in public life. She exercised a 
 rigid economy to provide her children an education ; 
 but George Forquer, her oldest son (six years older 
 than Thomas Ford), at an early age had to quit 
 school to aid by his labor in the support of the family. 
 He afterward became an eminent man in Illinois 
 affairs, and but for his early death would probably 
 have been elected to the United States Senate. 
 
 Young Ford, with somewhat better opportunities, 
 received a better education, though limited to the 
 curriculum of the common school of those pioneer 
 times. His mind gave early promise of superior en- 
 dowments, with an inclination for mathematics. His 
 proficiency attracted the attention of Hon. Daniel P. 
 Cook, who became his efficient patron and friend, 
 The latter gentleman was an eminent Illinois states- 
 man who, as a Member of Congress, obtained a gram 
 of 300,000 acres of land to aid in completing the 
 Illinois & Michigan Canal, and after whom the 
 county of Cook was named. Through the advice of 
 
140 
 
 THOMAS FORD. 
 
 this gentleman, Mr. Ford turned his attention to the 
 study of law; but Forquer, then merchandising, re- 
 garding his education defective, sent him to Transyl- 
 vania University, where, however, he remained but 
 one term, owing to Forquer's failure in business. On 
 his return he alternated his law reading with teach- 
 ir.g school for sup|)ort. 
 
 In 1829 Gov. Edwards appointed him Prosecuting 
 Attorney, and in 1831 he was re-appointed by Gov. 
 Reynolds, and after that he was four times elected a 
 Judge by the Legislature, without opposition, twice a 
 Circuit Judge, once a Judge of Chicago, and as As- 
 sociate Judge of the Supreme Court, when, in 1841, 
 the latter tribunal was re-organized by the addition 
 of five Judges, all Democrats. Ford was assigned to 
 the Ninth Judicial Circuit, and while in this capacity 
 iie was holding Court in Ogle County he received a 
 notice of his nomination by the Democratic Conven- 
 tion for the office of Governor. He immediately re- 
 signed his place and entered upon the canvass. In 
 August, 1842, he was elected, and on the 8th of De- 
 cember following he was inaugurated. 
 
 All the offices which he had held were unsolicited 
 by him. He received them upon the true JefTerson- 
 jan principle, — .Vever to ask ,ind never to refuse 
 office. Both as a lawyer and as a Judge he stood 
 deservedly high, but his cast of intellect fitted him 
 rather for a writer upon law than a practicing advo- 
 cate in the courts. In the latter capacity he was void 
 of the moving power of eloquence, so necessary to 
 success with juries. As a Judge his opinions were 
 Tound, lucid and able expositions of the law. In 
 practice, he was a stranger to the tact, skill and in- 
 nnuating address of the politician, but he saw through 
 ■,he arts of demagogues as well as any man. He was 
 flain in his demeanor, so much so, indeed, tliat at 
 one time after the expiration of his term of office, 
 during a session of the Legislature, h« was taken by 
 a stranger to be a seeker for the position of door- 
 keeper, and was waited upon at his hotel near mid- 
 night by a knot of small office-seekers with the view 
 of effecting a " combination ! " 
 
 Mr. Ford had not the " brass " cf the ordinary 
 politician, nor that impetuosity which characterizes a 
 political leader. He cared little for money, and 
 hardly enough for a decent support. In person he 
 was of small stature, slender, of dark complexion, 
 with black hair, sharp features, deep-set eyes, a 
 pointed, aquiline nose having a decided twist to one 
 side, and a small mouth. 
 
 The three most important events in Gov. Ford's 
 administration were the establishment of the high 
 financial credit of the State, the " Mormon War " and 
 ;he Mexican War. 
 
 In the first of these the Governor proved himself 
 to be eminently wise. On coming into office he found 
 »he State badly paralyzed by the ruinous effects of 
 =;Re notorious "internal improvement" schemes of 
 
 the preceding decade, with scarcely anything to 
 show by w.iy of "improvement." The enterprise 
 that seemed to be getting ahead more than all the 
 rest was the Illinois & Michigan Canal. As this 
 promised to be the most important thoroughfare 
 feasible to the people, it was well under headway in' 
 its construction. Therefore the State poUcy was 
 almost concentrated upon it, in order to rush it onte 
 completion. Tlie bonded indebtedness of the State 
 was growing so large as to frighten the people, and 
 they were about ready to entertain a proposition for 
 repudiation. But the Governor had the foresight to 
 recommend such measures as would maintain the 
 public credit, for which every citizen to-day feels 
 thankful. 
 
 But perhaps the Governor is remembered more for 
 his connection with the Mormon troubles than for 
 anything else; for it was during his term of ofifice 
 that the "Latter-Day Saints" becam:> so strong at 
 Nauvoo, built their temple there, increased their num- 
 bers throughout thec.ount^-y, committed misdemean- 
 ors, taught dangerous doctrines, suffered the loss of 
 theirleader, Jo Smith, by a violent death, were driven 
 out of Nauvoo to the far West, etc. Having been a 
 Judge for so many years previously, Mr. Ford of 
 course was no i-committal concerning Mormon affairs, 
 and was therefore claimed by bolh parties and also 
 accused by each of sympathizing too greatly with the 
 other side. Mormoiism chiiming to be a system of 
 religion, the Governor no doubt was "between two 
 fires," and felt compelled to touch the matter rather 
 " gingerly," and doubtless felt greatly relieved when 
 that pestilential people left the State. Such compli- 
 cated matters, especially when religion is mixed up 
 with them, expose every person participating in 
 them to criticism from all parties. 
 
 The Mexican War was begun in the spring of 
 1845, and was continued into the gubernatorial term 
 of Mr. Ford's su xessor. The Governor's connection 
 with this war, however, was not conspicuous, as it 
 was only administrative, commissioning officers, etc. 
 
 Ford's " History of Illinois " is a very readable and 
 entertaining work, 01450 small octavo pages, and is 
 destined to increase in value with the lapse of time. 
 It exhibits a natural flow of compact and forcible 
 thought, never failing to convey the nicest sense. In 
 tracing with his trenchant pen the devious operations 
 of the professional politician, in which he is inimit- 
 able, his account is open, perhaps, to the objection 
 that all his contemporaries are treated as mere place- 
 seekers, while many of them have since been judged 
 by the people to be worthy statesmen. His writings 
 seem slightly open to the criticism that they exhibit 
 a little splenetic partiality against those of his con- 
 temporaries who were prominent during his term of 
 office as Governor. 
 
 The death of Gov. Ford took place at Peoria, 111., 
 Nov. 2, iSijo. 
 
yi-^-^-v^^^ 
 
GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 143 
 
 *>i4i^^ ■•^'"■''' -g!i ^!<- .aft. ^■^'-g^--■a^-^^^ g*-i>^-^»^^ !^-ah■-^;A'.,i B! vV^'^'^ .f^ vs'g^^w^ »*t<^^^ ^'o^io. ■^'t*.^ ^'g>,iif^-^'S-yifc->M't^,^h,*A*^jat^ 
 
 Augustus Oo French. 
 
 5ifi^ ^p *5it" ^ 
 
 iUGUSTUS C. FRENCH, 
 Governor of Illinois from 
 1846 to 1852, was born in 
 the town of Hill, in the 
 State of New Hampshire, 
 Aug. 2, 1808. He was a 
 descendant in the fourth 
 generation of Nathaniel 
 French, who emigrated from England 
 in 1687 and settled in Saybury, Mass. 
 In early life young French lost his 
 father, but continued to receive in- 
 struction from an exemplary and 
 Christian mother until he was 19 years 
 old, when she also died, confiding to 
 his care and trust four younger broth- 
 ers and one sister. He discharged his trust with 
 parental devotion. His education in early life was 
 such mainly as a common school afforded. For a 
 brief period he attended Dartmouth College, but 
 from pecuniary causes and the care of his brothers 
 and sister, he did not graduate. He subsequently 
 read law, and was admitted to the Bar in 183 1, and 
 shortly afterward removed to Illinois, settling first at 
 Albion, Edwards County, where he established him- 
 self in the practice of law. The following year he 
 removed to Paris, Edgar County. Here he attained 
 eminence in his profession, and entered public life 
 by representing that county in the Legislature. A 
 strong attachment sprang up between him and Ste- 
 phen A. Douglas. 
 
 In 1839, Mr. French was appointed Receiver of 
 the United States Land Office at Palestine, Craw- 
 ford County, at which place he was a resident when 
 
 elevated to the gubernatorial chair. In 1844 he was 
 a Presidential Elector, and as such he voted for 
 James K. Polk. 
 
 The Democratic State Convention of 1846, meet- 
 ing at Springfield Feb. 10, nominated Mr. French 
 for Governor. Other Democratic candidates were 
 Lyman Trumbull, John Calhoun (subsequently of 
 Lecompton Constitution notoriety), Walter B. Scales, 
 Richard M. Young and A. W. Cavarly, — -an array of 
 very able and prominent names. Trumbull was per- 
 haps defeated in the Convention by the rumor that 
 he was opposed to the Illinois and Michigan Canal, 
 as he had been a year previously. For Lieutenant 
 Governor J. B. Wells was chosen, while other candi- 
 dates were Lewis Ross, Wm. McMurtry, Newton 
 Cloud, J. B. Hamilton and W. W. Thompson. The 
 resolutions declared strongly against the resuscita- 
 tion of the old State Banks. 
 
 The Whigs, who were in a hopeless minority, held 
 their convention June 8, at Peoria, and selected 
 Thomas M. Kilpatrick, of Scott County, for Governor, 
 and Gen. Nathaniel G. Wilcox, of Schuyler, for 
 Lieutenant Governor. 
 
 In the campaign the latter exposed Mr. French's 
 record and connection with the passage of the in- 
 ternal improvement system, urging it against his 
 election ; but in the meantime the war with Mexico 
 broke out, regarding which the Whig record was un- 
 popular in this State. The war was the absorbing 
 and dominating question of the period, sweeping 
 every other political issue in its course. The elec- 
 tion in August gave Mr. French 58,700 votes, and 
 Kilpatrick only 36,775. Richard Eells, Abolitionist 
 candidate for the same office, received 5,152 vot«>s 
 
144 
 
 AUGUSTUS C. FRENCH: 
 
 By the new Constitution of 1848, a new election for 
 State officers was ordered in November of that year, 
 before Gov. French's term was half out, and he was 
 re-elected for the term of four years. He was there- 
 fore the incumbent for six consecutive years, the 
 only Governor of this State who has ever served in 
 that capacity so long at one time. As there was no 
 organized opposition to his election, he received 67,- 
 453 votes, to 5,639 for Pierre Menard (son of the 
 first Lieutenant Governor), 4,748 for Charles V. 
 Dyer, 3,834 for W. L. D. Morrison, and 1,361 for 
 James L. D. Morrison. But Wm. McMurtry, of 
 Knox County, was elected Lieutenant Governor, in 
 place of Joseph B. Wells, who was before elected 
 and did not run again. 
 
 Governor French was inaugurated into office dur- 
 ing the progress of the Mexican War, which closed 
 during the summer of 1847, although the treaty of 
 Guadalupe Hidalgo was not made until Feb. 2, 
 1848. The policy of Gov. French's party was com- 
 mitted to that war^ but in connection with that affair 
 he was, of course, only an administrative officer. 
 During his term of office, Feb. 19, 1847, the Legisla- 
 ture, by special permission of Congress, declared tliat 
 all Government lands sold to settlers should be im- 
 mediately subject to State taxation; before this thev 
 were exempt for five years after sale.. By this ar- 
 rangement the revenue was materially increased. 
 About the same lime, the distribulion of Government 
 .'and warrants among the Mexican soldiers as bounty 
 threw upon the market a great quantity of good 
 lands, and this enhanced the settlement of the State. 
 The same Legislature authorized, with the recom- 
 mendation of the Governor, the sale of the Northern 
 Cross Railroad (from Springfield to Meredosia, the 
 first in the State and now a section of the Wabash 
 St. Louis & Pacific), It sold for |ioo,ooo in bonds, 
 although it had cost the State not less than a million. 
 The salt wells and canal lands in the Saline reserve 
 in Gallatin County, granted by the general Govern- 
 ment to the State, were also authorized by the 
 Governor to be sold, to apply on the State debt. In 
 1850, for the first time since 1839, the accruing State 
 revenue, exclusive of specific appropriations, was 
 sufficient to meet the current demands upon the 
 treasury. The aggregate taxable property of the 
 State at this time was over $100,000,000, and ths 
 population 851,470. 
 
 In 1849 the Legiaiature adopted the township or. 
 ganization law, which, however, proved defectiKe 
 and was properly amended in r 851. At its session 
 in the latter year, the General Assembly also pasbed 
 a law to exempt homesteads from sale on executions 
 This beneficent measure had been repeatedly urged 
 upon that body by Gov. French. 
 
 In 1850 some business men in St. Louis com- 
 menced to build a dike opposite the lower part of 
 their city on the Illinois side, to keep the Mississippi 
 in its channel near St. Louis, instead of breaking 
 away from them as it sometimes threatened to do. 
 This they undertook without permission from the 
 Legislature or Executive authority of this State ; and 
 as many of the inhabitants thers complained that 
 the scheme would inundate and ruin much valuable 
 land, there was a slight conflict of jurisdictions, re- 
 sulting in favor of the St. Louis project; and since 
 then a good site has existed there for a city (East St. 
 Louis), and now a score of railroads center there. 
 
 It was in September, 1850, that Congress granted 
 to this State nearly 3,000,000 acres of land in aid of 
 the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad, 
 which constituted the most important epoch in the 
 railroad — we might say internal improvement — his- 
 tory of the State. The road was rushed on to com- 
 pletion, which accelerated the settlement of the in- 
 terior of the State by a good class of industrious citi- 
 zens, and by the charter a good income to the State 
 Treasury is paid in from the earnings of the road. 
 
 In 185 I the Legislature passed a law authorizing 
 free stock banks, which was the source of much leg- 
 islative discussion for a number of years. 
 
 But we have not space further to particularize 
 concerning legislation. Gov. French's administra- 
 tion was not marked by any feature to be criticised, 
 while the country was settling up as never before. 
 
 In stature, Gov. French was of medium height, 
 squarely built, light complexioned, with ruddy face 
 and pleasant countenance. In manners he was 
 plain and agreeable. By nature he was somewhat 
 diffident, but he was often very outspoken in his con- 
 victions of duty. In public speech he was not an 
 orator, but was chaste, earnest and persuasive. In 
 business he was accurate and methodical, and in his 
 administration he kept up the credit of the State. 
 
 He died in 1865, at his home in Lebanon, St 
 Glair Co., HI. 
 

 ■"■-I . ■ wf ■ 
 
GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 147 
 
 |:OEL A. MATTESON, Governor 
 1853-6, was born Aug. 8, 1808, 
 in Jefferson County, New York, 
 to which place his father had re- 
 moved from Vermont three years 
 before. His father was a farmer 
 in fair circumstances, but a com- 
 mon English education was all 
 that his only son received. Young 
 Joel first tempted fortune as a 
 small tradesman in Prescott, 
 Canada, before he was of age. 
 He returned from that place to 
 his home, entered an academy, 
 taught school, visited the prin- 
 cipal Eastern cities, improved a farm his father had 
 given him, made a tour in the South, worked there 
 in building railroads, experienced a storm on the 
 Gulf of Mexico, visited the gold diggings of Northern 
 Georgia, and returned via Nashville to St. Louis and 
 through Illinois to his father's home, when he mar- 
 ried. In 1833, having sold his farm, he removed, 
 with his wife and one child, to Illinois, and entered 
 a claim on Government land near the head of Au 
 Sable River, in what is now Kendall County. At 
 that time there were not more than two neighbors 
 within a range of ten miles of his place, and only 
 'hree or four houses between him and Chicago. He 
 opened a large farm, His family was bpfirded 12 
 
 miles away while he erected a house on his claim, 
 sleeping, during this time, under a rude pole shed. 
 Here his life was once placed in imminent peril by 
 a huge prairie rattlesnake sharing his bed. 
 
 In 183s he bought largely at the Government land 
 sales. During the speculative real-estate mania which 
 broke out in Chicago in 1 8 36 and spread over the State, 
 he sold his lands under the inflation of that period 
 and removed to Joliet. In 1838 he became a heavy 
 contractor on the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Upon 
 the completion of his job in 184T, when hard times 
 prevailed, business at a stand, contracts paid in State 
 scrip; when all the public works except the canal 
 were abandoned, the State offered for sale 700 tons 
 of railroad iron, which was purchased by Mr. Mat- 
 teson at a bargain. This he accepted, shipped and 
 sold at Detroit, realizing a very handsome profit, 
 enough to pay off all his canal debts and leave him a 
 surplus of several thousand dollars. His enterprise 
 next prompted him to start a woolen mill at Joliet, 
 in which he prospered, and which, after successive 
 enlargements, became an enormous establishment. 
 
 In 1842 he was first elected a State Senator, but, 
 by a bungling apportionment, j'o^in Pearson, a Senator 
 holding over, was found to be in the same district, 
 and decided to be entitled to represent it. Mat- 
 teson's seat was declared vacant. Pearson, however 
 with a nobleness difficult to appreciate in this day of 
 
148 
 
 JOEL A. MATTE SON. 
 
 greed for office, unwilling to represent his district 
 under the circumstances, immediately resigned his 
 unexpired term of two years. A bill was passed in a 
 few hours ordering a new election, and in ten days' 
 time Mr. Matteson was returned re-elected and took 
 his seat as Senator. From his well-known capacity 
 as a business man, he was made Chairman of the 
 Committee on Finance, a position he held during 
 this half and two full succeeding Senatorial terms, 
 discharging its important duties with ability and faith- 
 fulness. Besides his extensive woolen-mill interest, 
 when work was resumed on the canal under the new 
 ioan of $1,600,000 he again became a heavy con- 
 tractor, and also subsequently operated largely in 
 building railroads. Thus he showed himself a most 
 energetic and thorough business man. 
 
 He was nominated for Governor by the Demo- 
 cratic State Convention which met at Springfield 
 April 20, 1852. Other candidates before the Con- 
 vention were D. L. Gregg and F. C. Sherman, of 
 Cook; John Dement, of Lee ; Thomas L. Harris, of 
 Menard; Lewis W. Ross, of Fulton; and D. P. Bush, 
 of Pike. Gustavus Koerner, of St. Clair, was nom- 
 inated for Lieutenant Governor. For the same offices 
 the Whigs nominated Edwin B. Webb and Dexter A. 
 Knowlton. Mr. Matteson received 80,645 votes at 
 the election, while Mr. Webb received 64,408. Mat- 
 teson's forte was not on the stump; he had not cul- 
 tivated the art of oily flattery, or the faculty of being 
 all things to all men. His intellectual qualities took 
 rather the directiou of efficient executive ability. His 
 turn consisted not so much in the adroit manage- 
 ment of party, or the powerful advocacy of great gov- 
 ernmental principles, as in those more solid and 
 enduring operations which cause the physical devel- 
 opment and advancement of a State, — of commerce 
 and business enterprise, into which he labored with 
 success to lead the people. As a politician he was 
 just and liberal in his views, and both in official and 
 private life he then stood untainted and free from 
 blemish. As a man, in active benevolence, social 
 rirtues and all the amiable qualities of neighbor or 
 citizen, he had few superiors. His messages present 
 a perspicuous array of facts as to the condition of the 
 State, and are often couched in forcible and elegant 
 diction. 
 
 The greatest excitement during his term of office 
 was the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, by Con- 
 
 gress, under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas in 
 1854, when the bill was passed organizing the Terri- 
 tory of Kansas and Nebraska. A large portion of 
 the Whig party of the North, through their bitter op- 
 position to the Democratic party, naturally drifted 
 into the doctrine of anti-slavery, and thus led to what 
 was temporarily called the " Anti-Nebraska " party, 
 while the followers of Douglas were known as " Ne- 
 braska or Douglas Democrats." It was during this 
 embryo stage of the Republican party that Abraham 
 Lincoln was brought forward as the "Anti-Nebraska" 
 candidate for the United States Senatorship, while 
 Gen. James Shields, the incumbent, was re-nom- 
 inated by the Democrats. But after a few ballotings 
 in the Legislature (rSss), these men were dropped, 
 and Lyman Trumbull, an Anti-Nebraska Democrat, 
 was brought up by the former, and Mr. Matteson, 
 then Governor, by the latter. On the nth ballot 
 Mr. Trumbull obtained one majority, and was ac- 
 cordingly declared elected. Before Gov. Matteson 's 
 term expired, the Republicans were fully organized 
 as a national party, and in 1856 put into the field a 
 full national and State ticket, carrying the State, but 
 not the nation. 
 
 The Legislature of 1855 passed two very import- 
 ant measures, — the present free-school system and a 
 submission of the Maine liquor law to a vote of the 
 people. The latter was defeated by a small majority 
 of the popular vote. 
 
 During the four years of Gov. Mallesoh's admin- 
 istration the taxable wealth of the State was about 
 trebled, from $137,8x8,07910 $349,951,272; the pub- 
 lic debt was reduced from $17,398,985 to $12,843,- 
 144; taxation was at the same time reduced, and the 
 State resumed paying interest on its debt in New 
 York as fast as it fell due ; railroads were increased 
 in their mileage from something less than 400 to 
 about 3-000 ; and the population of Chicago was 
 nearly doubled, and its commerce more than quad- 
 rupled. 
 
 Before closing this account, we regret that we have 
 to say that Mr. Matteson, in all other respects an 
 upright man and a good Governor, was implicated 
 in a false re-issue of redeemed canal scrip, amount- 
 ing to $224,182.66. By a suit in the Sangamon Cir- 
 cuit Court the State recovered the principal and all 
 the interest excepting $27,500. 
 
 He died in the winter of 1872-3, at Chicago. 
 

GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 1S» 
 
 .>^fea't^^^t^laj^(tg^l'53r^lgg^^^i;S'^ig^lfv^^^',•,.^y:';Sa'?.^^l^a'^'g^'iS!:l^^ 
 
 . Si^^f 11. 
 
 ^mx'SSh''Wli''mi'^^^'^^''m\'^Sx''^\'^S^^ 
 
 — *.5— # — o^$<agii>-$e.o — J>— {<• 
 
 [LLIAM H. BISSELL, Gov- 
 ernor 1857-60, was born 
 ^ April 25, 1 81 1, in the 
 State of New York, near 
 Painted Post, Yates County. 
 '*■- His parents were obscure, 
 honest. God-fearing people, 
 who reared their children under the daily 
 example of industry and frugality, accord- 
 ing to the custom of that class of Eastern 
 society. Mr. Bissell received a respecta- 
 ble but not thorough academical education. 
 By assiduous application he acquired a 
 knowledge of medicine, and in his early 
 manhood came West and located in Mon- 
 roe County, this State, where he engaged in the 
 practice of that profession. But he was not enam- 
 ored of his calling; he was swayed by a broader 
 ambition, to such an extent that the mysteries of the 
 healing art and its arduous duties failed to yield him 
 further any charms. In a few years he discovered 
 his choice of a profession to be a mistake, and when 
 he approached the age of 30 he sought to begin 
 anew. Dr. Bissell, no doubt unexpectedly to him- 
 self, discovered a singular facility and charm of 
 speech, the exercise of which acquired for him a 
 ready local notoriety. It soon came to be under- 
 
 stood that he desired to abandon his profession and 
 take up that of the law. During terms of Court he 
 would spend his time at the county seat among the 
 members of the Bar, who extended to him a ready 
 welcome. 
 
 It was not strange, therefore, that he should drift 
 into public life. In 1840 he was elected as a Dem- 
 ocrat to the Legislature from Monroe County, and 
 was an efficient member of that body. On his re- 
 turn home he qualified himself for admission to the 
 Bar and speedily rose to the front rank as an advo- 
 cate. His powers of oratory were captivating. With a 
 pure diction, charming and inimitable gestures, 
 clearness of statement, and a remarkable vein of sly 
 humor, his efforts before a jury told with irresistible 
 effect. He was chosen by the Legislature Prosecut- 
 ing Attorney for the Circuit in which he lived, and 
 in that position he fully discharged his duty to the 
 State, gained the esteem of the Bar, and seldom 
 failed to convict the offender of the law. 
 
 In stature he was somewhat tall and slender, and 
 with a straight, military bearing, he presented a dis- 
 tinguished appearance. His complexion was dark, 
 his head well poised, though not large, his address 
 pleasant and manner winning. He was exemplary 
 in his habits, a devoted husband and kind parent. 
 He was twice married, the first time to Miss James, 
 
'52 
 
 WILLIAM H. BISSELL. 
 
 of Monroe County, by whom he had two children, 
 both daughters. She died soon after the year 1840, 
 and Mr. B. married for his second wife a daughter 
 of Elias K. Kane, previously a United States Senator 
 from this State. She survived him but a short time, 
 and died without issue. 
 
 When the war with Mexico was declared in 1846, 
 Mr. Bissell enlisted and was elected Colonel of his 
 regiment, over Hon. Don Morrison, by an almost 
 unanimous vote, — 807 to d.. Considering the limited 
 opportunities he had had, he evinced a high order of 
 military talent. On the bloody field of Buena Vista 
 he acquitted himself with intrepid and distinguished 
 ability, contributing with his regiment, the Second 
 Illinois, in no small degree toward saving the waver- 
 ing fortunes of our arms during that long and fiercely 
 contested battle. 
 
 After his return home, at the close of the war, he 
 was elected to Congress, his opponents being the 
 Hons. P. B. Fouke and Joseph Gillespie. He served 
 two terms in Congress. He was an ardent politician. 
 During the great contest of 1850 he voted in favor 
 of the adjustment measures; but in 1854 he opposed 
 the repeal of the Missouri Compromise act and 
 therefore the Kansas-Nebraska bill of Douglas, and 
 thus became identified with the nascent Republican 
 party. 
 
 During his first Congressional term, while the 
 Southern members were following their old practice 
 of intimidating the North by bullying language, 
 and claiming most of the credit for victories in the 
 Mexican War, and Jefferson Davis claiming for the 
 Mississippi troops all the credit for success at Buena 
 Vista, Mr. Bissell bravely defended the Northern 
 troops ; whereupon Davis challenged Bissell to a duel, 
 which was accepted. This matter was brought up 
 against Bissell when he was candidate for Governor 
 and during his term of office, as the Constitution of 
 this State forbade any duelist from holding a State 
 office. 
 
 In 1856, when the Republican party first put forth 
 a candidate, John C. Fremont, for President of the 
 United States, the same party nominated Mr. Bissell 
 for Governor of Illinois, and John Wood, of Quincy, 
 for Lieutenant Governor, while the Democrats nomi- 
 nated Hon. W. A. Richardson, of Adams County, 
 for Governor, and Col. R. J. Hamilton, of Cook 
 County, for Lieutenant Governor. The result of the 
 
 election was a plurality of 4,729 votes over Richard- 
 son. The American, or Know-Nothing, party had a 
 ticket in the field. The Legislature was nearly bal- 
 anced, but was politically opposed to the Governor. 
 His message to the Legislature was short and rather 
 ordinary, and was criticised for expressing the sup- 
 posed obligations of the people to the incorporators 
 of the Illinois Central Railroad Company and for re- 
 opening the slavery question by allusions to the 
 Kansas troubles. Late in the session an apportion- 
 ment bill, based upon the State census of 1855, was 
 passed, amid much partisan strife. The Governor 
 at first signed the bill and then vetoed it. A furious 
 debate followed, and the question whether the Gov- 
 ernor had the authority to recall a signature was 
 referred to the Courts, that of last resort deciding in 
 favor of the Governor. Two years afterward another 
 outrageous attempt was made for a re-apportionment 
 and to gerrymander the State, but the Legislature 
 failed to pass the bill over the veto of the Governor. 
 
 It was during Gov. Bissell's administration that 
 the notorious canal scrip fraud was brought to light) 
 implicating ex-Gov. Matteson and other prominent 
 State officials. The principal and interest, aggregat- 
 ing $255,500, was all recovered by the State except- 
 ing $27,500. (See sketch of Gov. Matteson.) 
 
 In 1859 an attempt was discovered to fraudu- 
 lently refund the Macalister and Stebbins bonds and 
 thus rob the State Treasury of nearly a quarter of a 
 million dollars. The State Government was impli- 
 cated in this affair, and to this day remains unex- 
 plained or unatoned for. For the above, and other 
 matters previously mentioned. Gov. Bissell has been 
 severely criticised, and he has also been most shame- 
 fully libelled and slandered. 
 
 On account of exposure in the army, the remote 
 cause of a nervous form of disease gained entrance 
 into his system and eventually developed paraplegia, 
 affecting his lower extremities, which, while it left 
 his body in comparative health, deprived him of loco- 
 motion except by the aid of crutches. While he was 
 generally hopeful of ultimate recovery, this myste- 
 rious disease pursued him, without once relaxing its 
 stealthy hold, to the close of his life, March 18, 
 i860, over nine months before the expiration o' his 
 gubernatorial term, at the early age of 48 years. He 
 died in the faith of the Roman Catholic Church, ol 
 which he harV been a member since 1854. 
 
GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 iSS 
 
 ,^^m^^ 
 
 *«* 
 
 |:OHN WOOD, Governor- 1860-1, and 
 the first settler of Quincy, III., 
 was born in the town of Sempro- 
 nius (now Moravia), Cayuga Co., 
 N. Y., Dec. 20, 1798. He was 
 the second child and only son of 
 Dr. Daniel Wood. His mother, 
 nee Catherine Crause, was of 
 German parentage, and died 
 while he was an infant. Dr. 
 Wood was a learned and skillful 
 physician, of classical attain- 
 ments and proficient in several 
 modern lai.guages, who, after 
 serving throughout the Revolu- 
 tionary War as a Surgeon, settled on the land granted 
 him by the Government, and resided there a re- 
 spected and leading influence in his section until his 
 death, at the ripe age of 92 years. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, impelled by the spirit 
 of Western adventure then pervading everywhere, 
 left his home, Nov. 2, 1818, and passed the succeed- 
 ing winter in Cincinnati, Ohio. The following sum- 
 mer he pushed on to Illinois, landing at Shawneetown, 
 and spent the fall and following winter in Calhoun 
 County. In 1820, in company with Willard Keyes, 
 he settled in Pike County, about 30 miles southeast 
 of Quincy, where for the next two years he pursued 
 farming. In 1821 he visited "the Bluffs" (as the 
 present site of Quincy was called, then uninhabited) 
 and, pleased with its prospects, soon after purchased 
 a quarter-section of land near by, and in the follow- 
 ing fall (1822) erected near the river a small cabin. 
 
 18 X 20 feet, the first building in Quincy, of which 
 he then became the first and for some months the 
 only occupant. 
 
 About this time he visited his old friends in Pike 
 County, chief of whom was William Ross, the lead- 
 ing man in building up the village of Atlas, of that 
 county, which was thought then to be the possible 
 commencement of a city. One day they and others 
 were traveling together over the country between thq 
 two points named, making observations on the com- 
 parative merits of the respective localities. On ap^ 
 proaching the Mississippi near Mr. Wood's place, 
 the latter told his companions to follow him and he 
 would show them where he was going to build a city. 
 They went about a mile off the main trail, to a high 
 point, from which the view in every direction was 
 most magnificent, as -it had been for ages and as yet 
 untouched by the hand of man. Before them swept 
 by the majestic Father of Waters, yet unburdened by 
 navigation. After Mr. Wood had expatiated at 
 length on the advantages of the situation, Mr. Ross 
 replied, " But it's too near Atlas ever to amount to 
 anything!" 
 
 Atlas is still a cultivated farm, and Quincy is a 
 city of over 30,000 population. 
 
 In 1824 Mr. Wood gave a newspaper notice, 
 as the law then prescribed, of his intention to apply 
 to the General Assembly for the formation of a new 
 county. This was done the following winter, result- 
 ing in the establishment of the present Adams 
 County. During the next summer Quincy was se- 
 lected as the county seat, it and the vicinity then 
 containing but four adult male residents and half 
 
ISO 
 
 JOHN WOOD. 
 
 that number of females. Sinoe that period Mr. 
 Wood resided at the place of his early adoption un- 
 til his death, and far more than any other man was 
 he identified with every measure of its progress and 
 history, and almost continuously kept in public posi- 
 tions. 
 
 He was one of the early town Trustees, and after 
 the place became a city he was often a member of 
 the City Council, many times elected Mayor, in the 
 face of a constant large opposition political majority. 
 In 1850 he was elected to the State Senate. In 1856, 
 on the organization of the Republican party, he was 
 choserl Lieutenant Governor of the State, on the 
 ticket with Wm. H. Bissell for Governor, and on the 
 death of the latter, March 18, i860, he succeeded to 
 the Chief Executive chair, which he occupied until 
 Gov. Yates was inaugurated nearly ten months after- 
 ward. 
 
 Nothing very marked characterized the adminis- 
 tration of Gov. Wood. The great anti-slavery cam- 
 paign of i860, resulting in the election of the honest 
 Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the Presidency of the 
 United States, occurred during the short period 
 while Mr. Wood was Governor, and the excitement 
 and issues of that struggle dominated over every 
 other consideration, — indeed, supplanted them in a 
 great measure. The people of Illinois, during all 
 that time, were passing the comparatively petty strifes 
 under Bissell's administration to the overwhelming 
 issue of preserving the whole nacion from destruction. 
 
 In 186 1 ex-Gov. Wood was one of the five Dele- 
 gates from Illinois to the " Peace Convention " at 
 Washington, and in April of the same year, on the 
 breaking out of the Rebellion, he was appointed 
 
 Quartermaster-General of the State, which position 
 he held throughout the war. In 1864 he took com- 
 mand as Colonel of the 137th 111. Vol. Inf with 
 whom he served until the period of enlistment ex- 
 pired. 
 
 Politically, Gov. Wood was always actively identi- 
 fied with tlie Whig and Repubhcan parties. Few 
 men have in personal experience comprehended so 
 many surprising and advancing local changes as 
 vested in the more than half century recollections of 
 Gov. Wood. Sixty-four years ago a solitary settler 
 on the "Bluffs," with no family, and no neighbor 
 within a score of miles, the world of civilization away 
 behind him, and the strolling red-man almost his 
 only visitant, he lived to see growing around him, 
 and under his auspices and aid, overspreading the 
 wild hills and scraggy forest a teaming city, second 
 only in size in the State, and surpassed nowhere in 
 beauty, prosperity and promise; whose people recog- 
 nize as with a single voice the proverbial honor and 
 liberality that attach to the name and lengthened 
 life of their pioneer settler, "the old Governor." 
 
 Gov. Wood was twice married, — first in January, 
 1826, to Ann M. Streeter, daughterof Joshua Streeter, 
 formerly of Salem, Washington Co., N. Y. They had 
 eight children. Mrs. W. died Oct. 8, 1863, and in 
 June, 1865, Gov. Wood married Mrs. Mary A., widow 
 of Rev. Joseph T. Holmes. Gov. Wood died June 4, 
 1880, at his residence in Quincy. Four of his eight 
 children are now living, namely: Ann E., wife of 
 Gen. John Tillson; Daniel C, who married Mary J. 
 Abernethy; John, Jr., who married Josephine Skinner, 
 and Joshua S., who married Annie Bradley. The 
 last mentioned now resides at Atchison, Kansas, and 
 all the rest are still at Quincy. 
 
'*<.. ^ 
 
 
 6«<»>S 
 
 D 
 
«s§ 
 
 
 ~f 
 
 4- 
 
 ilCHARD YATES, the "War 
 Governor," 1 86 1-4, was born 
 Jan. 18, 1 818', on the banks of 
 the Ohio River, at Varsaw, 
 Gallatin Co., Ky. His lather 
 ^ moved in iSjr to Illinois, and 
 after stopping for a time in 
 Springfield, settled at Island 
 Grove, Sangamon County. Here, 
 after attending school, Richard joined 
 the family. Subsequently he entered 
 Illinois College at Jacksonville, 
 where, in 1837, he graduated with 
 first honors. He chose for his pro- 
 fession the law, the Hon. J. J. Har- 
 din being his instructor. After ad- 
 mission to the Bar he soon rose to distinction as an 
 advocate. 
 
 Gifted with a fluent and ready oratory, he soon 
 appeared in the political hustings, and, being a 
 passionate admirer of the great Whig leader of the 
 West. Henry Clay, he joined his political fortunes to 
 he party of his idol. In 1 840 he engaged with great 
 =,rdor in the exciting " hard cider " campaign for 
 tiarrison. Two years later he was elected to the 
 Legislature from Morgan County, a Democratic 
 stronghold. He served three or four terms in the 
 Legislature, and such was the fascination of his ora- 
 tory that by 1850 his large Congressional District, 
 extending from Morgan and Sangamon Counties 
 corth to include LaSalle, unanimously tendered him 
 tlie Whig nomination for Congress. His Democratic 
 opponent was Maj. Thomas L. Harris, a very pop- 
 ular man who had won distinction at the battle of 
 Cerro Gordo, in the Mexican War, and who had 
 Deaten Hon. Stephen T. Logan for the same position, 
 
 two years before, by a large majority. Yates was 
 elected. Two years later he was re-elected, over 
 John Calhoun. 
 
 It was during Yates second term in Congress that 
 the great question of the repeal of the Missouri Com- 
 promise was agitated, and the bars laid down for re- 
 opening the dreaded anti-slavery question. He took 
 strong grounds against the repeal, and thus became 
 identified with the rising Republican party. Conse- 
 quently he fell into the minority in his district, which 
 was pro-slavery. Even then, in a third contest, he 
 fell behind Major Harris only 200 votes, after the 
 district had two years before given Pierce 2,000 
 majority for President. 
 
 The Republican State Convention of i860 met at 
 Decatur May g, and nominated for the office of Gov- 
 ernor Mr. Yates, in preference to Hon. Norman B. 
 Judd, of Chicago, and Leonard Swett, of Blooming- 
 ton, two of the ablest men of the State, who were 
 also candidates before the Convention. Francis A. 
 Hoffman, of DuPage County, was nominated for 
 Lieutenant Governor. This was the year when Mr. 
 Lincoln was a candidate for President, a period re- 
 membered as characterized by the great whirlpool 
 which precipitated the bloody War of the Rebellion. 
 The Douglas Democrats nominated J. C. Allen cf 
 Crawford County, for Governor, and Lewis W. Ross, 
 of Fulton County, for Lieutenant Governor. The 
 Breckenridge Democrats and the Bell-Everett party 
 had also full tickets in the field. After a most fear- 
 ful campaign, the result of the election gave Mr. 
 Yates 172,196 votes, and Mr, Allen 159,253. Mr. 
 Yates received over a thousand more votes than did 
 Mr. Lincoln himself. 
 
 Gov. Yates occupied the chair of State during the 
 
i6o 
 
 RICHARD YATES. 
 
 most critical period of our country's history. In the 
 fate of the nation was involved that of each State. 
 The life struggle of the former derived its sustenance 
 from the loyalty of the latter; and Gov. Yates 
 seemed to realize the situation, and proved himself 
 both loyal and wise in upholding the Government. 
 He had a deep hold upon the affections of the 
 people, won by his moving eloquence and genial 
 manners. Erect and symmetrical in person, of pre- 
 possessing appearance, with a winning address and a 
 magnetic power, few men possessed more of the ele- 
 ments of popularity. His oratory was scholarly and 
 captivating, his hearers hardly knowing why they 
 were transported. He was social and convivial. In 
 the latter respect he was ultimately carried too far. 
 
 The very creditable military efforts of this State 
 during the War of the Rebellion, in putting into the 
 field the enormous number of about 200,000 soldiers, 
 were ever promptly and ably seconded by his excel- 
 lency ; and the was ambitious to deserve the title of 
 "the soldier's friend." Immediately after the battle of 
 Shiloh he repaired to the field of carnage to look 
 after the wounded, and his appeals for aid were 
 promptly responded to by the people. His procla- 
 mations calling for volunteers were impassionate 
 appeals, urging upon the people the duties and re- 
 quirements of patriotism ; and his special message 
 in 1863 to the Democratic Legislature of this State 
 pleading for material aid for the sick and wounded 
 soldiers of Illinois regiments, breathes a deep fervor 
 of noble sentiment and feeling rarely equaled in 
 beauty or felicity of expression. Generally his mes- 
 sages on political and civil affairs were able and com- 
 prehensive. During his administration, however, 
 there were no civil events of an engrossing character, 
 although two years of his time were replete with 
 partisan quarrels of great bitterness. Military ar- 
 rests, Knights of the Golden Circle, riot in Fulton 
 County, attempted suppression of the Chicago Times 
 and the usurping State Constitutional Convention of 
 1862, were the chief local topics that were exciting 
 during the Governor's term. This Convention assem- 
 bled Jan. 7, and at once took the high position that 
 'he law calling it was no longer binding, and that it 
 :<ad supreme power; that it represented a virtual 
 assemblage of the whole people of the State, and was 
 sovereign in the exercise of all power necessary to 
 effect a. peaceable revolution of the State Government 
 
 and to the re-establishment of one for the "happiness, 
 prosperity and freedom of the citizens," limited only 
 by the Federal Constitution. Notwithstanding the 
 law calling the Convention required its members to 
 take an oath to support the Constitution of the State 
 as well as that of the general Government, they 
 utterly refused to take such oath. They also as- 
 sumed legislative powers and passed several import- 
 ant " laws ! " Interfering with the (then) present 
 executive duties, Gov. Yates was provoked to tell 
 them plainly that " he did not acknowledge the right 
 of the Convention to" instruct him in the performance 
 of his duty." 
 
 In 1863 the Governor astonished the Democrats 
 by " proroguing " their Legislature. This body, after 
 a recess, met June 2, that year, and soon began to 
 waste timt upon various partisan resolutions ; and, 
 while the two houses were disagreeing upon the 
 question of adjourning sine die, the Governor, having 
 the authority in such cases, surprised them all by 
 adjourning them "to the Saturday next preceding the 
 first Monday in January, 1865 ! " This led to great 
 excitement and confusion, and to a reference of the 
 Governor's act to the Supreme Court, who decided in 
 his favor. Then it was the Court's turn to receive 
 abuse for weeks and months afterward. 
 
 During the autumn of r864 a conspiracy was de- 
 tected at Chicago which had for its object the liber- 
 ation of the prisoners of war at Camp Douglas, the 
 burning of the city and the inauguration of rebellion 
 in the North. Gen. Sweet, who had charge of the 
 camp at the time, first had his suspicions of danger 
 aroused by a number of enigmatically worded letters 
 which passed through the Camp postoffice. A de- 
 tective afterward discovered that the rebel Gen. 
 Marmaduke was in the city, under an assumed 
 name, and he, with other rebel officers — Grenfell, 
 Morgan, Cantrell, Buckner Morris, and Charles 
 Walsh — was arrested, most of whom were convicted 
 by a court-martial at Cincinnati and sentenced to 
 imprisonment, — Grenfell to be hung. Tlie sentence 
 of the latter was afterward commuted to imprison- 
 ment for life, and all the others, after nine months' 
 imprisonment, were pardoned. 
 
 In March, 1873, Gov. Yates was appointed a Gov- 
 ernment Director of the Union Pacific Railroad, in 
 which office he continued until his decease, at St. 
 Louis, Mo., on the 27th of November following. 
 
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 163 
 
 
 Miehard J. Ogles 
 
 j^ 
 
 
 #^ 
 
 -i— 
 
 ilCHARD J. OGLESBY, Gov- 
 ernor 1865-8, and re-elected 
 in 1872 and 1884, was born 
 July 25, 1824, in Oldham Co., 
 Ky., — the State which might 
 be considered the " mother of 
 Illinois Governors." Bereft of 
 his parents at the tender age 
 of eight years, his early education 
 was neglected. When 12 years of 
 age, and after he had worked a year 
 and a half at the carpenter's trade, 
 he removed with an uncle, Willis 
 Oglesby, into whose care he had 
 been committed, to Decatur, this 
 State, where he continued his ap- 
 prenticeship as a mechanic, working six months for 
 Hon. E. O. Smith. 
 
 In 1844 he commenced 'studying law at Spring- 
 field, with Judge Silas Robbins, and read with him 
 one year. He was admitted to the 3ar in 1845, and 
 commenced the practice of his chosen profession at 
 Sullivan, the county seat of Moultrie County. 
 
 The next year the war with Mexico was com- 
 menced, and in June, 1846, Mr. Oglesby volunteered, 
 was elected First Lieutenant of Co. C, Fourth Illinois 
 Regiment of Volunteers, and participated in the bat- 
 tles of Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo. 
 
 On his return he sought to perfect his law studies 
 by attending a course of lectures at Louisville, but 
 on the breaking out of the California "gold fever " in 
 1849, he crossed the plains and mountains to the 
 new Eldorado, driving a six-mule tea,m, with a com- 
 
 pany of eight men, Henry Prather being the leader. 
 
 In 1852 he returned home to Macon County, and 
 was placed that year by the Whig party on the ticket 
 of Presidential Electors. In 1856 he visited Europe, 
 Asia and Africa, being absent 20 months. On his 
 return home he resumed the practice of law, as a 
 member of the firm of Gallagher, Wait & Oglesby. 
 In 1858 he was the Republican nominee for the 
 Lower House of Congress, but was defeated by the 
 Hon. James C. Robinson, Democrat. In i860 he 
 was elected to the Illinois State Senate ; and on the 
 evening the returns of this election were coming in, 
 Mr. Oglesby had a fisticuff encounter with " Cerro 
 Gordo Williams," in which he came out victorious, 
 and which was regarded as " the first fight of the 
 Rebellion." The following spring, when the war 
 had commenced in earnest, his ardent nature 
 quickly responded to the demands of patriotism and 
 he enlisted. The extra session of the Legislature 
 elected him Colonel of the Eighth Illinois Infantry, 
 the second one in the State raised to suppress the 
 great Rebellion. 
 
 He was shortly entrusted with important com- 
 mands. For a time he was stationed at Bird's Point 
 and Cairo ; in April he was promoted Brigadier Gen- 
 eral ; at Fort Donelson his brigade was in the van, 
 being stationed on the right of General Grant's army 
 and the first brigade to be attacked. He lost 500 
 men before re-inforcements arrived. Many of these 
 men were from Macon County. He was engaged in 
 the battle of Corinth, and, in a brave charge at this 
 place, was shot in the left lung with an ounce ball, 
 and was carried from the field in expectation of im- 
 
164 
 
 RICHARD J. OGLESBY. 
 
 mediate death. That rebel ball he carries to this 
 day. On his partial recovery he was promoted as 
 Major General, for gallantry, his commission to rank 
 from November, 1862. In the spring of 1863 he 
 was assigned to the command of the i6th Army 
 Corps, but, owing to inability from the effects of his 
 wound, he relinquished this command in July, that 
 year. Gen. Grant, however, refused to accept his 
 resignation, and he was detailed, in December follow- 
 ing, to court-martial and try the Surgeon General of 
 the Army at Washington, where he remained until 
 May, 1864, when he returned home. 
 The Republican, or Union, State Convention of 
 
 1864 was held at Springfield, May 25, when Mr. 
 Oglesby was nominated for the office of Governor, 
 while other candidates before the Convention were 
 Allen C. Fuller, of Boone, Jesse K. Dubois, of Sanga- 
 mon, and John M. Palmer, of Macoupin. Wm. 
 Bross, of Chicago, was nominated for Lieutenant 
 Governor. On the Democratic State ticket were 
 James C. Robinson, of Clark, for Governor, and S. 
 Corning Judd, of Fulton, for Lieutenant Governor. 
 The general election gave Gen. Oglesby a majority 
 of about 31,000 votes. The Republicans had also a 
 majority in both the Legislature and in the repre- 
 sentation in Congress. 
 
 Gov. Oglesby was duly inaugurated Jan. 17, 1865. 
 The day before tlie first time set for his installation 
 death visited his home at Decatur, and took from it 
 his only son, an intelligent and sprightly lad of six 
 years, a great favorite of the bereaved parents. This 
 caused the inauguration to be postponed a week. 
 
 The political events of the Legislative session of 
 
 1865 were the election of ex-Gov. Yates to the 
 United States Senate, and the ratification of the 13th 
 amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 
 abolishing slavery. This session also signalized 
 itself by repealing the notorious " black laws," part 
 of which, although a dead letter, had held their place 
 upon the statute books since 1819. Also, laws re- 
 quiring the registration of voters, and establishing a 
 State Board of Equalization, were passed by this Leg- 
 islature. But the same body evinced that it was cor- 
 ruptly influenced by a mercenary lobby, as it adopted 
 some bad legislation, over the Governor's veto, nota- 
 bly an amendment to a charter for a Chicago horse 
 railway, granted in 1859 for 25 years, and now 
 sought to be extended 99 years. As this measure 
 was promptly passed over his veto by both branches 
 of the Legislature, he deemed it useless further to 
 attempt to check their headlong career. At this 
 session no law of a general useful character or public 
 interest was perfected, unless we count such the 
 turning oyer of the canal to Chicago to be deepened. 
 The session of 1867 was still more productive of 
 private and special acts. Many omnibus bills were 
 proposed, and some passed. The contests over the 
 location of the Industrial College, the Capital, the 
 
 Southern Penitentiary, and the canal enlargement 
 and Illinois River improvement, dominated every- 
 thing else. 
 
 During the year 1872, it became evident that if 
 the Republicans could re-elect Mr. Oglesby to the 
 office of Governor, they could also elect him to the 
 United States Senate, which they desired to do 
 Accordingly they re- nominated him for the Execu- 
 tive chair, and placed upon the ticket with him for 
 Lieutenant Governor, John L. Beveridge, of Cook 
 County. On the other side the Democrats put into 
 the field Gastavus Koerner for Governor and John 
 C. Black for Lieutenant Governor. The election 
 gave the Republican ricket majorities ranging from 
 3Si334 to 56,174, — the Democratic defection being 
 caused mainly by their having an old-time Whig and 
 Abolitionist, Horace Greeley, on the national ticket 
 for President. According to the general understand- 
 ing had beforehand, as soon as the Legislature met 
 it elected Gov. Oglesby to the United States Senate, 
 whereupon Mr. Beveridge became Governor. Sena- 
 tor Oglesby's term expired March 4, 1879, having 
 served his party faithfully and exhibited an order of 
 statesmanship beyond criticism. 
 
 During the campaign of 1884 Mr. Oglesby was 
 nominated for a "third term" as Executive of the 
 State of Illinois, against Carter H. Harrison, Mayor 
 of Chicago, nominated by the Democrats. Both 
 gentlemen " stumped " the State, and while the peo- 
 ple elected a Legislature which was a tie on a join'; 
 ballot, as between the two parties, they gave the 
 jovial " Dick" Oglesby a majority of 15,018 for Gov- 
 ernor, and he was inaugurated Jan. 30, 1885. The 
 Legislature did not fully organize until this date, on 
 account of its equal division between the two main 
 parties and the consequent desperate tactics of each 
 party to checkmate the latter in the organization of 
 the House. 
 
 Gov. Oglesby is a fine-appearing, affable man, with 
 regular, well defined features and rotund face. In 
 stature he is a little above medium height, of a large 
 frame and somewhat fleshy. His physical appear- 
 ance is striking and prepossessing, while his straight- 
 out, not to say bluff, manner and speech are well 
 calculated favorably to impress the average masses. 
 Ardent in feeling and strongly committed to the pol- 
 icies of his party, he intensifies Republicanism 
 among Republicans, while at the same time hisjovia'. 
 and liberal manner prevents those of the opposite 
 party from hating him. 
 
 He is quite an effective stump orator. With vehe- 
 ment, passionate and scornful tone and gestures, 
 tremendous physical power, which in speaking he 
 exercises to the utmost ; with frequent descents to 
 the grotesque; and with abundant homely compari- 
 sons or frontier figures, expressed in the broadest 
 vernacular and enforced with stentorian emphasis, 
 he delights a promiscuous audience beyond measure, 
 
Sl.M^'^ll^ 
 
GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 167 
 
 ^Ji XJ A.1L i.V ±VJL e JL J^ JU lYJL JLU JLd' fefef 
 
 I T |'^K;j'gat^'^5gi'i^s^^^'-^'^:.'^'^'i^'^tgj,t;;;j^<jj,:,jigjt!^ta^(^^^ 
 
 ilOHN Mc AULEY PALMER, Gov- 
 ernor 1869-72, was born on 
 Eagle Creek, Scott Co., Ky , 
 Sept. 13, 1817. During his in- 
 fancy, his father, who had been 
 a soldier in the war of 18 12, re- 
 moved to Christian Co., Ky., 
 where lands were cheap. Here 
 the future Governor of the great 
 Prairie State spent his childhood 
 and received such meager school- 
 ing as the new and sparsely set- 
 tled country afforded. To this 
 he added materially by diligent 
 reading, for which he evinced an 
 eaily aptitude. His father, an ardent Jackson man, 
 was also noted for his anti-slavery sentiments, which 
 he thoroughly impressed upon his children. In 183 1 
 he emigrated to Illinois, settling in Madison County. 
 Here the labor of improving a farm was pursued for 
 about two years, when the death of Mr. Palmer's 
 mother broke up the family. About this time Alton 
 College was opened, on the "manual labor " system, 
 and in the spring of 1834 young Palmer, with his 
 elder brother, Elihu, entered this school and remained 
 18 months. Next, for over three years, he tried 
 variously coopering, peddling and school-teaching. 
 
 During the summer of 1838 he formed the ac- 
 quaintance of Stephen A. Douglas, then making his 
 
 first canvass for Congress. Young, eloquent and in 
 political accord with Mr. Palmer, he won his confi- 
 dence, fired his ambition and fixed his purpose. The 
 following winter, while teaching near Canton, he be- 
 gan to devote his spare time to a desultory reading 
 of law, and in the spring entered a law office at Car- 
 linville, making his home with his elder brother, 
 Elihu. (The latter was a learned clergyman, of con- 
 siderable orginality of thought and doctrine.) On 
 the next meeting of the Supreme Court he was ad- 
 mitted to the Bar, Douglas being one of his examiners. 
 He was not immediately successful in his profession, 
 and would have located elsewhere than Carlinville 
 had he the requisite means. Thus his early poverty 
 was a blessing in disguise, for to it he now attributes 
 the success of his life. 
 
 From 1839 on, while he diligently pursued his 
 profession, he participated more or less in local 
 politics. In 1843 he became Probate Judge. In 
 1847 he was elected to the State Constitutional Con-- 
 vention, where he took a leading part. In 1852 ha 
 was elected to the State Senate, and at the special 
 session of February, 1854, true to the anti-slaverj 
 sentiments bred in him, he took a firm stand in op- 
 position to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, 
 and when the Nebraska question became a partj 
 issue he refused to receive a re-nomination for th(. 
 Senatorship at the hands of the Democracy, issuing 
 a circular to that effect. A few weeks afterward, 
 
i68 
 
 JOHN MC AULEY PALMER. 
 
 however, hesitating to break with his party, he par- 
 ticipated ill a Congressional Convention which nomi- 
 T. L. Harris against Richard Yates, and which 
 unqualifiedly approved the principles of the Kansas- 
 Nebraska act. But later in the campaign he made 
 the plunge, ran for the Senate as an Anti-Nebraska 
 Democrat, and was elected. The following winter 
 ne put in nomination for the jUnited States Senate 
 Mr. Trumbull, and was one of the five steadfast men 
 who voted for him until all the Whigs came to their 
 support and elected their man. 
 
 In 1856 he was Chairman of the Republican State 
 Convention at Bloomington. He ran for Congress in 
 1859, but was defeated. In. i860 he was Republican 
 Presidential Elector for the State at large. In 1861 
 iie was appointed one of the five Delegates (all Re- 
 publicans) sent by Illinois to the peace congress at 
 Washington. 
 
 When the civil conflict broke out, he offered his 
 services to his country, and was elected Colonel of the 
 J4th 111. Vol. Inf , and participated in the engagements 
 at Island No. 10 ; at Farmington, where he skillfully 
 extricated his command from a dangerous position ; 
 at Stone River, where his division for several hours, 
 Dec. 31, 1862, held the advance and stood like a 
 rockj and for his gallantry there he was made Major 
 General; at Chickamauga, where his and Van Cleve's 
 divisions for two hours maintained their position 
 when they were cut off by overpowering numbers. 
 Under Gen. Sherman, he was assigned to the 14th 
 Army Corps and participated in the Atlanta campaign. 
 At Peach-Tree Creek his prudence did much to avert 
 disaster. In February, 1865, Gen. Palmer was as- 
 signed to the military administration of Kentucky, 
 which was a delicate post. That State was about 
 half rebel and half Union, and those of the latter 
 element were daily fretted by the loss of their slaves. 
 He, who had been bred to the rules of common law, 
 trembled at the contemplation of his extraordinary 
 power over the persons and property of his fellow 
 men, with which he was vested in his capacity as 
 military Governor ; and he exhibited great caution in 
 the execution of the duties of his post. 
 
 Gen. Palmer was nominated for Governor of Illi- 
 nois by the Republican State Convention which met 
 at Peoria May 6, 1868, and his nomination would 
 probably have been made by acclamation had he not 
 persistently declared that he could not accept a can- 
 
 didature for the office. The result of the ensuing 
 election gave Mr. Palmer a majority of 44,707 over 
 John R. Eden, the Democratic nominee. 
 
 On the meeting of the Legislature in January, 
 1869, the first thing to arrest public attention was 
 that portion of the Governor's message which took 
 broad Slate's rights ground. This and some minor 
 points, which were more in keeping with the Demo- 
 cratic sentiment, constituted the e.itering wedge fjr 
 the criticisms and reproofs he afterward received 
 from the Republican party, and ultimately resulted 
 in his entire aleniation from the latter element. The 
 Legislature just referred to was noted for the intro- 
 duction of numerous bills in the interest of private 
 parties, which were embarrassing to the Governor. 
 Among the public acts passed was that which limited 
 railroad charges for passenger travel to a maximum 
 of three cents per mile ; and it was passed over the 
 Governor's veto. Also, they passed, over his veto, 
 the "tax-grabbing law" to pay railroad subscriptions, 
 the Chicago Lake Front bill, etc. The new State 
 Constitution of 1870, far superior to the old, was a 
 peaceful " revolution " which took place during Gov. 
 Palmer's term of office. The suffering caused by the 
 great Chicago Fire of October, 187 r, was greatly 
 alleviated by the prompt responses of his excellency. 
 Since the expiration of Gov. Palmers 's term, he has 
 been somewhat prominent in Illinois politics, and 
 has been talked of by many, especially in the Dem- 
 ocratic party, as the best man in the State for a 
 United States Senator. His business during life has 
 been that of the law. Few excel him in an accurate 
 appreciation of the depth and scope of its principles. 
 The great number of his able veto messages abun- 
 dantly testify not only this but also a rare capacity to 
 point them out. He is a logical and cogent reasoner 
 and an interesting, forcible and convincing speaker, 
 though not fluent or ornate. Without brilliancy, his 
 dealings are rather with facts and ideas than with 
 appeals to passions and prejudices. He is a patriot 
 and a statesman of very high order. Physically he is 
 above the medium height, of robust frame, ruddy 
 complexion and sanguine-nervous temperament. He 
 has a large cranial development, is vivacious, social 
 in disposition, easy of approach, unostentatious in his 
 habits of life, democratic in his habits and manners 
 and is a true American in his fundamental principle* 
 of statesmanship. 
 
'^ 
 
GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 171 
 
 s~<^ 
 
 
 ■^'^t^'^'ga'i^t^'^'i^'^'^'^i'^'^^^tja't^cai'tsg'c^t^t^Jt^ii^ti^t^i^t^t^ 
 
 OHN LOWRiE BEVER- 
 IDGE, Governor 1873-6, was 
 born in the town of Green- 
 wich, Washington Co., N. Y., 
 July 6, 1824. His parents 
 were George and Ann Bever- 
 ly idge. His father's parents, An- 
 drew and Isabel Beveridge, be- 
 fore their marriage emigrated 
 from Scotland just before the 
 Revolutionary War, settling in 
 Washington County. His father 
 was the eldest of eight brothers, the 
 youngest of whom was 60 years of 
 age when the first one of the num- 
 ber died. His mother's parents, 
 James and Agnes Hoy, emigrated 
 from Scotland at the close of the 
 Revolutionary War, settling also in 
 Washington Co., N. Y., with their 
 first-born, whose " native land " was 
 the wild ocean. His parents and 
 grandparents lived beyond the time 
 allotted to man, their average age 
 being over 80 years. They belonged to the " Asso- 
 ciate Church," a seceding Presbyterian body of 
 
 America from the old Scotch school ; and so rigid 
 was the training of young Beveridge that he never 
 heard a sermon from any other minister except that 
 of his own denomination until he was in his 19th 
 year. Later in life he became a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, which relation he still 
 holds. 
 
 Mr. Beveridge received a good common-school ed- 
 ucation, but his parents, who could obtain a livelihood 
 only by rigid economy and industry, could not send 
 him away to college. He was raised upon a farm, 
 and was in his i8th year when the family removed 
 to De Kalb County, this State, when that section was 
 very sparsely settled. Chicago had less than 7,000 
 inhabitants. In this wild West he continued as a 
 farm laborer, teaching school during the winter 
 months to supply the means of an education. In the 
 fall of 1842 he attended one term at the academy at 
 Granville, Putnam Co., Ill, and subsequently several 
 terms at the Rock Riyer Seminary at Mount Morris, 
 Ogle Co., 111., completing the academic course. At 
 this time, the fall of 1845, his parents and brothers 
 were anxious to have him go to college, even though 
 he had not money sufficient; but, njt willing to bur- 
 den the family, he packed his trunk and with only 
 $40 in money started South to seek his fortune 
 
172 
 
 JOHN L. BE VE RIDGE. 
 
 Poor, alone, without friends and influence, he thus 
 entered upon the battle of life. 
 
 First, he taught school in Wilson, Overton and 
 Jackson Cos., Tenn., in which experience he under- 
 went considerable mental drill, both in book studies 
 and in the ways of the world. He read law and was 
 admitted to the Bar, in the South, but did not learn 
 to love the institution of slavery, although he ad- 
 mired many features of Southern character. In De- 
 cember, 1847, he returned North, and Jan. 20, 1848, 
 he married Miss Helen M. Judson, in the old Clark- 
 Street M. E. church in Chicago, her father at that 
 time being Pastor of the society there. In the spring 
 of 1848 he returned with his wife to Tennessee, 
 where his two children, Alia May and Philo Judson, 
 were born. 
 
 In the fall of 1849, through the mismanagement 
 of an associate, he lost what little he had accumu- 
 lated and was left in debt. He soon managed to 
 earn means to pay his debts, returned to De Kalb 
 Co., 111., and entered upon the practice of his pro- 
 fession at Sycamore, the county seat. On arrival 
 from the South he had but one-quarter of a dollar in 
 money, and scanty clothing and bedding for himself 
 and family. He borrowed a little money, practiced 
 j'aw, worked in public offices, kept books for some of 
 the business men of the town, and some railroad en- 
 gineering, till the spring of 1854, when he removed 
 to Evanston, 12 miles north of Chicago, a place then 
 but recently laid out, under the supervision of the 
 Northwestern University, a Methodist institution. 
 Of the latter his father-in-law was then financial 
 agent and business manager. Here Mr. Beveridge 
 prospered, and the next year (1855) opened a law 
 office in Chicago, where he found the battle some- 
 what hard; but he persevered with encouragement 
 and increasing success. 
 
 Aug. 12, 1861, his law partner. Gen. John F. 
 Farnsworth, secured authority to raise a regiment of 
 cavalry, and authorized Mr. Beveridge to raise a 
 company for it. He succeeded in a few days in rais- 
 ing the company, of course enlisting himself along 
 with it. The regiment rendezvoused at St. Charles, 
 m., was mustered in Sept. 18, and on its organiza- 
 tion Mr. B. was elected Second Major. It was at- 
 tached, Oct. II, to the Eighth Cavalry and to the 
 Army of the Potomac. He served with the regiment 
 until November, 1863, participating in some 40 bat- 
 
 tles and skirmishes : was at Fair Oaks, the seven days' 
 fight around Richmond, Fredericksburg, Chancellors- 
 ville and Gettysburg. He commanded the regiment 
 the greater part of the summer of 1 863, and it was while 
 lying in camp this year that he originated the policy 
 of encouraging recruits as well as the fighting capac- 
 ity of the soldiery, by the wholesale furlough system. 
 It worked so well that many other officers adopted 
 it. In the fall of this year he recruited anothercom- 
 pany, against heavy odds, in January, 1864, was 
 commissioned Colonel of the 17 th 111. Cav., and 
 skirmished around in Missouri, concluding with the 
 reception of the surrender of Gen. Kirby Smith's 
 army in Arkansas. In 1865 he commanded various 
 sub-districts in the Southwest. He was mustered 
 out Feb. 6, 1866, safe from the casuahies of war and 
 a stouter man than when he first enlisted. His men 
 idolized him. 
 
 He then returned to Chicago, to practice law, with 
 no library and no clientage, and no political experi- 
 ence except to help others into office. In the fall of 
 1866 he was elected Sheriff of Cook County, serving 
 one terra; next, until November, 1870, he practiced 
 law and closed up the unfinished business of his 
 office. He was then elected State Senator; in No- 
 vember, 187 1, he was elected Congressman at large; 
 in November, 1872, he was elected Lieutenant Gov- 
 ernor on the ticket with Gov. Oglesby ; the latter be- 
 ing elected to the U. S. Senate, Mr. Beveridge became 
 Governor, Jan. 21, 1873. Thus, inside of a few 
 weeks, he was Congressman at large. Lieutenant 
 Governor and Governor. The principal events oc- 
 curring during Gov. Beveridge's administration were: 
 The completion of the revision of the statutes, begun 
 in 1869; the partial success of the "farmers' move- 
 ment;" " Haines' Legislature " and Illinois' exhibit at 
 the Centennial. 
 
 Since the close of his gubernatorial term ex-Gov. 
 Beveridge has been a member of the firm of Bever- 
 idge & Dewey, bankers and dealers in commercial 
 paper at 7 1 Dearborn Street (McCormick Block), 
 Chicago, and since November, 1 881, he has also been 
 Assistant United States Treasurer: office in the 
 Government Building. His residence is still at Ev- 
 anston. 
 
 He has a brother and two sisters yet residing in 
 De Kalb County — James H. Beveridge, Mrs. Jennet 
 Henry and Mrs. Isabel French. 
 
GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 175 
 
 HELBY M. CULLOM, Gover- 
 nor 1877-83,13 the sixth child 
 of the late Richard N. CuUom, 
 and was born Nov. 22, 1829, in 
 Wayne Co., Ky., where his fa- 
 ther then resided, and whence 
 both the Illinois and Tennessee 
 branches of the family originated. In 
 the following year the family emi- 
 grated to the vicinity of Washington, 
 Tazewell Co., 111., when that section 
 was very sparsely settled. They lo- 
 cated on Deer Creek, in a grove at 
 the time occupied by a party of In- 
 dians, attracted there by the superior 
 hunting and fishing afforded in that 
 vicinity. The following winter was 
 known as the " hard winter," the snow 'being very 
 deep and lasting and the weather severely cold ; and 
 the family had to subsist mainly on boiled corn or 
 hominy, and some wild game, for several weeks. In 
 the course of time Mr. R. N. Cullom became a prom- 
 inent citizen and was several times elected to the 
 Legislature, both before and after the removal of the 
 capital from Vaudalia to Springfield. He died about 
 '873- 
 
 Until about 19 years of age young Cullom grew up 
 
 to agricultural pursuits, attending school as he had 
 
 "pportunity during the winter. Within this time, 
 
 w/ever, be spent several months teacbin" "ichool. 
 
 and in the following summer he "broke prairie "with 
 an ox team for the neighbors. With the money ob- 
 tained by these various ventures, he undertook a 
 course of study at the Rock River Seminary, a 
 Methodist institution at Mt. Morris, Ogle County; 
 but the sudden change to the in-door life of a stu- 
 dent told severely upon his health, and he was taken 
 home, being considered in a hopeless condition. While 
 at Mt. Morris he heard Hon. E. B. Washburne make 
 his first speech. 
 
 On recovering health, Mr. Cullom concluded to 
 study law, under the instruction of Abraham Lincoln, 
 at Springfield, who had by this time attained some 
 notoriety as an able lawyer ; but the latter, being ab- 
 sent from his office most of the time, advised Mr. 
 Cullom to enter the office of Stuart & Edwards. 
 After about a year of study there, however, his health 
 failed again, and he was obliged to return once more 
 to out-door life. Accordingly he bought hogs for 
 packing, for A. G. Tyng, in Peoria, and while he re- 
 gained his health he gained in purse, netting $400 in 
 a few weeks. Having been admitted to the Bar, he 
 went to Springfield, where he was soon elected City 
 Attorney, on the .\nti-Nebraska ticket. 
 
 In 1856 he ran on the Fillmore ticket as a Presi- 
 dential Elector, and, although failing to be elected as 
 such, he was at the same time elected a Representa- 
 tive in the Legislature from Sangamon County, by a 
 local coalition of the American and Republican par- 
 ties. On the organization of the House, he received 
 the vote of the Fillmore men for Speaker, Practicir^ 
 
Lj6 
 
 SHELB V M. CULLOM. 
 
 law until i860, he was again elected to the Legisla- 
 ture, as a Republican, while the county went Demo- 
 cratic on the Presidential ticket. In January follow- 
 ing he was elected Speaker, probably the youngest 
 man who had ever presided over an Illinois Legis- 
 lature. After the session of 186 1, he was a candidate 
 for the State Constitutional Convention called for 
 that year, but was defeated, and thus escaped the 
 disgrace of being connected with that abortive party 
 scheme to revolutionize the State Government. In 
 1862 he was a candidate for the State Senate, but 
 was defeated. The same year, however, he was ap- 
 pointed by President Lincoln on a Government 
 Commission, in company with Gov. Boutwell of 
 Massachusetts and Cnarles A. Dana, since of the 
 New York Sun, to investigate the affairs of the 
 Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments at 
 Cairo. He devoted several months to this duty. 
 
 In 1864 he enteied upon a larger political field, 
 being nominated as the Republican candidate for 
 Congress from tlie Eighth (Springfield) District, in 
 opposition to the incumbent, John T. Stuart, who had 
 been elected in 1862 by about 1,500 majority over 
 Leonard Swett, then of Bloomington, now of Chicago. 
 The result was the election of Mr. Cullom in Novem- 
 ber following by a majority of 1,785. In 1866 he 
 was re-elected to Congress, over Dr. E. S. Fowler, by 
 the magnificent majority of 4,103! In 1868 he was 
 again a candidate, defeating the Hon. B. S. Edwards, 
 another of his old preceptors, by 2,884 votes. 
 
 During his first term in Congress he served on the 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs and Expenditures in 
 the Treasury Department; in his second term, on 
 the Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Territories ; 
 and in his third term he succeeded Mr. Ashley, of 
 Ohio, to the Chairmanship of the latter. He intro- 
 duced a bill in the House, to aid in the execution of 
 law in Utah, which caused more consternation among 
 the Mormons than any measure had previously, but 
 which, though it passed the House, failed to pass the 
 Senate. 
 
 The Republican Convention which met May 25, 
 1876, nominated Mr. Cullom for Governor, while the 
 other contestant was Gov. Beveridge. For Lieuten- 
 ant-Governor they nominated Andrew Shuman, editor 
 of the Chicago Journal. For the same offices the 
 Democrats, combining with the Anti-Monopolists, 
 Dlaced in nomination Lewis Steward, a wealthy 
 
 farmer and manufacturer, and A. A. Glenn. The 
 result of the election was rather close, Mr. Cullom 
 obtaining only 6,800 majority. He was inaugurated 
 Jan. 8, 1877. 
 
 Great depression prevailed in financial circles at 
 this time, as a consequence of the heavy failures of 
 1873 and afterward, the effect of which had seemed 
 to gather force from that time to the end of Gov. 
 Cullom 's first administration. This unspeculative 
 period was not calculated to call forth any new 
 issues, but the Governor's energies were at one time 
 put to task to quell a spirit of insubordination that 
 had been begun in Pittsburg, Pa., among the laboring 
 classes, and transferred to Illinois at Chicago, East 
 St. Louis and Braidwood, at which places laboring 
 men for a short time refused to work or allow others 
 to work. These disturbances were soon quelled and 
 the wheels of industry again set in motion. 
 
 In May, 1880, Gov. Cullom was re-nominated by 
 the Republicans, against Lyman Trumbull, by the 
 Democrats; and although the former party was some- 
 what handicapped in the campaign by a zealous 
 faction opposed to Grant for President and to Grant 
 men for office generally, Mr. Cullom was re-elected 
 by about 314.565. to 277.532 for the Democratic State 
 ticket. The Greenback vote at the same time was 
 about 27,000. Both Houses of the Legislature again 
 became Republican, and no representative of the 
 Greenback or Socialist parties were elected. Gov. 
 Cullom was inaugurated Jan. lo, 1S81. In his mes- 
 sage he announced that the last dollar of the State 
 debt had been provided for. 
 
 March 4, 1883, the term of David Davis as United 
 States Senator from Illinois expired, and Gov. Cul- 
 lon was chosen to succeed him. This promoted 
 Lieutenant-Governor John M. Hamilton to the Gov- 
 ernorship. Senator Cullom 's term in the United 
 States Senate will expire March 4, 1889. 
 
 As a practitioner of law Mr. C. has been a member 
 of the firm of Cullom, Scholes & Mather, at Spring- 
 field ; and he has also been President of the State 
 National Bank. 
 
 He has been married twice, — the first time Dec. 
 lit, 1855, to Miss Hannah Fisher, by whom he had 
 tv4o daughters; and tlie second time May 5, 1863, 
 to Julia Fisher. Mrs. C is a member of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, with which religious body Mr. 
 C. is also in sympathy. 
 

GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 179 
 
 <»$:i&*$:s 
 
 -»'^i^ »?'«£. 
 
 g*$;ig<»*:!g*^5s#$>^^^:!&Agig^^si& 
 
 f (@l\ii^ ^. ^aii^illei^. 
 
 
 OHN MARSHALL HAMIL- 
 TON, Governor 1883-5, was 
 born May 28, 1847, in a log 
 house upon a farm about two 
 miles from Richwood, Union 
 County, Ohio. His father was 
 Samuel Hamilton, the eldest son 
 of Rev. Wm. Hamilton, who, to- 
 gether with his brother, the Rev. 
 Samuel Hamilton, was among the 
 early pioneer Methodist preachers in 
 Ohio. The mother of the subject of 
 this sketch was, before her marriage, 
 Mrs. Nancy McMorris, who was 
 born and raised in Fauquier or Lou- 
 j doun County, Va., and related to the 
 two large families of Youngs and Marshalls, well 
 known in that commonwealth; and from the latter 
 family name was derived the middle name of Gov. 
 Hamilton. 
 
 In March, 1854, Mr. Hamilton's father sold out 
 his little pioneer forest home in Union County, O., 
 and, loading his few household effects and family 
 (of six children) into two emigrant covered wagons, 
 moved to Roberts Township, Marshall Co., 111., being 
 21 days on the route. Swamps, unbridged streams 
 and innumerable hardships and privations met them 
 on their way. Their new home had been previously 
 selected by the father. Here, after many long years 
 of toil, they succeeded in payi7ig for the land and 
 .iJaking a comforta'^i'^ home. John was, of course, 
 
 brought up to hard manual labor, with no schooling 
 except three or four months in the year at a common 
 country school. However, he evinced a capacity 
 and taste for a high order of self-education, by 
 studying or reading what books he could borrow, as 
 the family had but very few in the house. Much of 
 his study he prosecuted by the light of a log fire in 
 the old-fashioned chimney place. The financial 
 panic of 1857 caused the family to come near losing 
 their home, to pay debts ; but the father and two 
 sons, William and John, "buckled to" and perse- 
 vered in hard labor and economy until they redeemed 
 their place froni the mortgage. 
 
 When the tremendous excitement of the political 
 campaign of i860 reached the neighborhood of Rob- 
 erts Township, young Hamilton, who had been 
 brought up in the doctrine of anti-slavery, took a zeal- 
 ous part in favor of Lincoln's election. Making special 
 efforts to procure a little money to buy a uniform, he 
 joined a company of Lincoln Wide-Awakes at Mag- 
 nolia, a village not far away. Directly after the 
 ensuing election it became evident that trouble 
 would ensue with the South, and this Wide-Awake 
 company, like many others throughout the country, 
 kept up its organization and transformed itself into a 
 military company. During the ensuing summer they 
 met often for drill and became proficient; but when 
 they offered themselves for the v.'ar, young Hamilton 
 was rejected on account of his youth, he being then 
 but 14 years of age. During the winter of 1863-4 he 
 attended an academy at Henry, Marshall County, 
 
i8o 
 
 JOHN MARSHALL HAMILTON. 
 
 and in the following May he again enlisted, for the 
 fourth time, when he was placed in the 141st 111. 
 Vol. Inf., a regiment then being raised at Elgin, 111., 
 for the 100-day service. He took with him 13 other 
 lads from his neighborhood, for enlistment in the 
 service. This regiment operated in Southwestern 
 Kentucky, for about five months, under Gen. Paine. 
 The following winter, 1864-5, M""- Hamilton taught 
 school, and during the two college years 1865-7, he 
 went through three years of the curriculum of the 
 Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. The 
 third year he graduated, the fourth in a class of 46, 
 in the classical department. In due time he received 
 the degree of M. A. For a few months he was the 
 Principal of Marshall " College " at Henry, an acad- 
 emy under the auspices of the M. E. Church. By 
 this time he had commenced the study of law, and 
 after earning some money as a temporary Professor 
 of Latin at the Illinois Wesleyati University at 
 Bloomington, he entered the law office of Weldon, 
 Tipton & Benjamin, of that city. Each member of 
 this firm has since been distinguished as a Judge. 
 Admitted to the Bar in May, 1870, Mr. Hamilton 
 was given an interest in the same firm, Tipton hav- 
 ing been elected Judge. In October following he 
 formed a partnership with J. H. Rowell, at that time 
 Prosecuting Attorney. Their business was then 
 small, but they increased it to very large proportions, 
 practicing in all grades of courts, including even the 
 U. S. Supreme Court, and this partnership continued 
 unbroken until Feb. 6, 1883, when Mr. Hamilton 
 was sworn in as Executive of Illinois. On the 4th 
 of March following Mr. Rowell took his seat in Con- 
 gress. 
 
 In July, 1871, Mr. Hamilton married Miss Helen 
 M. Williams, the daughter of Prof. Wra. G, Williams, 
 Professor of Greek in the Ohio Wesleyan University. 
 Mr. and Mrs. H. have two daughters and one son. 
 
 In 1876 Mr. Hamilton was nominated by the Re- 
 publicans for the State Senate, over other and older 
 competitors. He took an active part " on the stump " 
 in the campaign, for the success of his party, and was 
 sleeted by a majority of 1,640 over his Democratic- 
 Greenback opponent. In the Senate he served on 
 the Committees on Judiciary, Revenue, State Insti- 
 tutions, Appropriations, Education, and on Miscel- 
 lany ; and during the contest for the election of a 
 Ui S, Senator, the Republicans endeavoring to re- 
 
 elect John A. Logan, he voted for the war chief on 
 every ballot, even alone when all the other Republi- 
 cans had gone over to the Hon. E. B. Lawrence and 
 the Democrats and Independents elected Judgf 
 David Davis. At this session, also, was passed the 
 first Board of Health and Medical Practice act, of 
 which Mr. Hamilton was a champion, against C3 
 much opposition that the bill was several times 
 " laid on the table." Also, this session authorized 
 the location and establishment of a southern peni- 
 tentiary, which was fixed at Chester. In the session 
 of 1879 Mr. Hamilton was elected President /r(7fe«. 
 of the Senate, and was a zealous supporter of John 
 A. Logan for the U. S. Senate, who was this time 
 elected without any trouble. 
 
 In May, 1880, Mr. Hamilton was nominated on 
 the Republican ticket for Lieutenant Governor, his 
 principal competitors before the Convention being 
 Hon. Wm. A. James, ex-Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives, Judge Robert Bell, of ^abash 
 County, Hon. T. T. Fountain, of Perry County, and 
 Hon. M. M. Saddler, of Marion County. He engaged 
 actively in the campaign, and his ticket was elected 
 by a majority of 4r,2oo. As Lieutenant Governor, 
 he presided almost continuously over the Senate in 
 the 32d General Assembly and during the early days 
 of the 33d, until he succeeded to the Governorship. 
 When the Legislature of 1883 elected Gov. Cullom 
 to the United States Senate, Lieut. Gov. Hamilton 
 succeeded him, under the Constitution, taking the 
 oath of office Feb. 6, 1883. He bravely met all the 
 annoyances and embarrassments incidental upon 
 taking up another's administration. The principal 
 events with which Gov. Hamilton was connected as 
 the Chief Executive of the State were, the mine dis- 
 aster at Braidwood, the riots in St. Clair and Madison 
 Counties in May, 1883, the appropriations for the 
 State militia, the adoption of the Harper high-license 
 liquor law, the veto of a dangerous railroad bill, etc. 
 
 The Governor was a Delegate at large to the 
 National Republican Convention at Chicago in June,. 
 
 1884, where his first choice for President was John 
 A. Logan, and second choice Chester A. Arthur; but 
 he afterward zealously worked for the election of Mr. 
 Blaine, true to his party. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton's term as Governor expired Jan. 30, 
 
 1885, when the great favorite "Dick" Oglesby was 
 inaugurated. 
 

 l^ ' 
 
 *,S*a„,J^ 
 
 .»< ' 
 
 it^;"' /r\ 
 
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 183 
 
 
 
 pbsEPH WILSON FIFER. This 
 distinguislied gentleman was 
 elected Governor of Illinois 
 November 6, 1888. He was 
 popularly known during the 
 campaign as "Private Joe." He 
 had served with great devotion 
 to his country during the Ke- 
 bellion, in the Thirty-third 
 Illinois Infantry. A native of 
 Virginia, he was born in 1840. 
 His parents, John and Mary 
 (Daniels) Fifer, were American 
 born, though of German de- 
 scent. His father was a brick 
 and stone mason, and an old 
 Henry Clay Whig in politics. John and Mary 
 Fifer had nine children, o^ whom Joseph was the 
 sixth, and naturally, with so large a family, it was 
 all the father could do to keep the wolf from the 
 door, to say nothing of giving his children any- 
 thing like good educational advantages. 
 
 Joseph attended school for a while in Virgina, 
 but it was not a good school, and when his father 
 removed to the West, in 1857, Joseph had not ad- 
 vanced much further than the "First Reader." 
 Our subject was sixteen then and suffered a great 
 misfortune in the loss of his mother. After the 
 
 death of Mrs. Fifei', which occurred in Missouri, 
 the family returned to Virgina, but remained only 
 a short time, as during the same year Mr. Fifer 
 came to Illinois. He settled in McLean County 
 and started a brickyard. Here Joseph and his 
 brothers were put to work. The elder Mr. Fifer soon 
 bought a farm near Bloomington and began life 
 as an agriculturist. Here Joe worked and attended 
 the neighboring school. He alternated farm-work, 
 and brick-laying, going to the district school for 
 the succeeding few years. It was all work and no 
 play for Joe, yet it by no means made a dull boy 
 of him. All the time he was thinking of the great 
 world outside, of which he had caught a glimpse 
 when coming from Virginia, yet he did not know 
 just how he was going to get out into it. He 
 could not feel that the woods around the new farm 
 and the log cabin, in which the family lived, were 
 to hold him. 
 
 The opportunity to get out into the world was 
 soon offered to young Joe. He traveled a dozen 
 miles barefoot, in company with his brother George, 
 and enlisted in Company C, Thirty-third Illinois 
 Infantry, he befng then twenty years old. In a 
 few days, the regiment was sent to Camp Butler, 
 and then over into Missouri, and saw some vigor- 
 ous service there. After a second time helping to 
 chase Price out of Missouri, the Thirty-third Regi- 
 
184 
 
 JOSEPH W. FIFEB. 
 
 ment went down to Milliken 's Bend, and for several 
 weeks "Private Joe" worked on Grant's famous 
 ditch. The regiment then joined the forces oper- 
 ating against Port Gibson and Vieksburg. Joe 
 was on guard duty in the front ditches when the 
 flag of surrender was run up on the 4th of July, 
 and stuck the bayonet of his gun into the embank- 
 ment and went into the city with the vanguard of 
 Union soldiers. 
 
 The next day, July 5, the Thirty-third joined 
 the force after Johnston, who had been threatening 
 Grant's rear; and finally an assault was made on him 
 at Jackson, Miss. In this charge "Private Joe" fell, 
 terribly wounded. He was loading his gun, when 
 a minie-ball struck him and passed entirely 
 through his body. He was regarded as mortally 
 wounded. His brother, George, who had been 
 made a Lieutenant, proved to be the means of sav- 
 ing his life. The Surgeon told him that unless he 
 had ice his brother could not live. It was fifty miles 
 to the nearest point where ice could be obtained, 
 and the roads were rough. A comrade, a McLean 
 County man, who had been wounded, offered to 
 make the trip. An ambulance was secured and 
 the brother soldier started on the journey. He re- 
 turned with the ice, but the trip, owing to the 
 roughness of the road, was very hard on him. Af- 
 ter a few months' careful nursing, Mr. Fifer was able 
 to come home. The Thirty-third came home on a 
 furlough, and when the boys were ready to return 
 to the tented field, young Fifer was ready to go 
 with them, for he was determined to finish his 
 term of three years. He was mustered out in Oct- 
 ober, 1864, having been in the service three years 
 and two months. 
 
 "Private Joe" came out of the army a tall, tan- 
 ned, and awkward young man of twenty-four. 
 About all he possessed was ambition to be some- 
 body — and pluck. Though at an age when most 
 men liave finished their college course, the young 
 soldier saw that if he was to be anybody he must 
 have an education. Yet he had no means to ena- 
 ble him to enter school as most young men do. 
 He was determined to have an education, however, 
 and that to him meant success. For the following 
 four years he struggled with his books. He en- 
 
 tered Wesleyan University January 1, 1865. He 
 was not a brilliant student, being neither at the 
 head nor at the foot of his class. He was in great 
 earnest, however, studied hard and came forth with 
 a well-stored and disciplined mind. 
 
 Immediately after being graduated, he entered 
 an office at Bloomington as a law student. He 
 had previously read law a little, and as he continued 
 to work hard, with the spur of poverty and prompt- 
 ings of ambition ever with him, he was ready to 
 hang out his professional shingle in 1869. Being 
 trustworthy, he soon gathered about him some in- 
 fluential friends. In 1871 he was elected Corpora- 
 tion Counsel of Bloomington. In 1872 he was 
 elected State's Attorney of McLean County. This 
 office he held eight years, when he took his seat in 
 the State Senate. He served for four years. His 
 afbility to perform abundance of hard work made 
 him a most valued member of the Legislature. 
 
 Mr. Fifer was married in 1870 to Gertie, daugh- 
 ter of William J. Lewis, of Bloomington. Mr. Fifer 
 is six feet in height and is spare, weighing only one 
 hundred and fifty pounds. lie has a swarthy com- 
 plexion, keen black eyes, quick movement, and pos- 
 sesses a frank and sympathetic nature, and natur- 
 Uy makes friends wherever he goes. During the 
 late gubernatorial campaign his visits throughout 
 the State proved a great [lower in his behalf. His 
 faculty of winning the confidence and good wishes 
 of tliose with whom he comes in personal contact 
 is a source of great popularity, especially during a 
 political battle. As a speaker he is fluent, his lan- 
 guage is good, voice clear and agreeable, and man- 
 ner forcible. His manifest earnestness in what he 
 says, as well as his tact as a public speaker, and his 
 eloquent and forceful language, make him a most 
 valuable campaign orator and a powerful pleader 
 at the bar. At the Republican State Convention, 
 held in May, 1888, Mr. Fifer was chosen as its 
 candidate for Governor. He proved a popular 
 nominee, and the name of "Private Joe" became 
 familiar to everyone throughout the State. He 
 waged a vigorous campaign, was elected by a good 
 majority, and in due time assumed the duties of 
 the Chi^ef Executive of Illinois. 
 
WINNEBAGO AND 
 
 BOONE COUNTIES, 
 
 ILLINOIS. 
 
 (p>. 
 
 .^. 
 
 -hHEEJx. 
 
 =3?) 
 
4-^: 
 
 INXRODUQTORY. 
 
 JHE time has arrived when it 
 becomes the duty of the 
 people of this county to per- 
 petuate 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 pres- 
 ent time owe to their ancestors, to 
 themselves and to their posterity, 
 demand that a record of their lives 
 and deeds should be made. In bio- 
 graphical 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 
 people 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 re- 
 maining who can relate the incidents of the first days 
 Df settlement is becoming small indeed, so that an 
 actual necessity exists for the collection and preser- 
 vation of events without delay, before all the early 
 settlers are cut down by the scythe of Time. 
 
 To be forgotten has been the great dread of mankind 
 from remotest ages. All will be forgotten soon enough, 
 in spite of their best works and the most earnest 
 efforts of their friends to perserve the memory of 
 their lives. The means employed to prevent oblivion 
 and to perpetuate their memory has been in propor- 
 tion to the amount of intelligence they possessed. 
 The pyramids of Egypt were built to perpetuate the 
 names and deeds of their great rulers.- The exhu- 
 mations made by the archeologists of Egypt from 
 buried Memphis indicate 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 acliievements and carry them down the ages. 
 It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in piling 
 up their great mounds of earth, had but this idea — 
 to leave something to show that they had lived. All 
 these works, though many of them costly in the ex- 
 treme, give but a faint idea of the lives and charac- 
 ters of those whose memory they were intended to 
 perpetuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of 
 the people that then lived. The great pyramids and 
 some of the obelisks remain objects only of curiosity; 
 the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crum- 
 bling into dust. 
 
 It was left to modern ages to establish an intelli- 
 gent, undecaying, immutable method of perpetuating 
 a full history — immutable in that it is almost un- 
 limited in extent and perpetual in its action ; and 
 this is through the art of printing. 
 
 To the present generation, however, we are in- 
 debted for the introduction of the admirable system 
 of local biography. By this system every man, though 
 he has not achieved what the world calls greatness, 
 has the means to perpetuate his life, his history, 
 through the coming ages. 
 
 The scythe of Time cuts down all ; nothing of the 
 physical man is left. The monument which his chil- 
 dren or friends may erect to his memory in the ceme- 
 tery will crumble into dust and pass away ; but his 
 life, his achievements, the work he has accomplished, 
 which otherwise would be forgotten, is perpetuated 
 by a record of this kind. 
 
 To preserve the lineaments of our companions we 
 engrave their portraits, for the same reason we col- 
 lect 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 live? 
 are unworthy of public record. 
 

ic^^' 
 
 M 
 
 BIOGRAPtflCAL. 
 
 "OS" 
 
 
 ON. WILLIAM BROWN. In the death of 
 the above-named gentleman, January 15th, 
 1891, Rockford lost one of its high-minded 
 
 ^ and public-spirited citizens, while from the 
 bereaved family circle a loving husband and 
 father was removed, leaving a void in their lives 
 that not even his honored memory can fill. He 
 received his early education in the common 
 schools of Oneida County, N. Y., at which time 
 were instilled into his mind the firm principles 
 which characterized him through life. He was an 
 able lawyer, upright and honest, a devoted mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Church, and a strong advo- 
 cate of temperance principles, being a total ab- 
 stainer himself. 
 
 He was born in Cumberland, in the North of 
 England, June 1, 1819. His father, Thomas 
 Brown, was also a native of England. The latter- 
 named gentleman in 1827, accompanied by his 
 family, emigrated to America and landed at New 
 York on the 20th of May. The.>- resided for 
 a few months in Albany, then removed to Oneida 
 County, where the father purchased a farm near 
 the village of North Western, and was for many 
 years engaged in agricultural pursuits, but subse- 
 quently retired and moved to North Western, 
 where his death occurred. The maiden name of 
 his wife was Mary Morton, also a native of En- 
 gland, who spent her last years on the home farm 
 in Oneida County. 
 
 Mr. William Brown, desiring to become a lawyer, 
 began the study of that profession in Rome, N. Y., 
 and in 1846, after having been admitted to the 
 Bar, started for the growing West, choosing as 
 
 his permanent abiding place the then village of 
 Rockford. Mr. Brown began even with the world, 
 but having little to do in a professional way for 
 some time, accepted a situation the first winter as 
 teacher in a district school. In 1847, he talked 
 quite strongly of leaving Rockford, and went to 
 Beloit with the intention of removing there, but 
 was not sutfjciently charmed with the outlook to 
 do so. 
 
 In the election of 1847, Mr. Brown was chosen 
 Justice of the Peace, and in speaking of the event 
 later, remarked that he felt more thankful for tliat 
 office than for any other to which he was afterward 
 chosen. This arose from the fact that he was in 
 need of something to do. In 1852, he was elected 
 States Attorney for the district comprising Winne- 
 bago, Stephenson and Joe Daviess Counties, serv- 
 ing for a period of three years. At the expiration 
 of that time, he was elected Mayor of Rockford, and 
 in 1864 was sent to the Legislature on the Repub- 
 lican ticket. In 1857, he formed a partnership 
 with William Lathrop, which connection existed 
 for three years, when he took in as partner 
 H. W. Taylor, with whom he was associated until 
 1870, at which time our subject was elected to the 
 bench. He was first elected as Judge to fill the 
 vacancy occasioned by the promotion of Judge 
 Sheldon to the Supreme Court, and was subse- 
 quently elected three full terms of six years each 
 — making altogether a pei-iod of twenty years as 
 Judge. He left a pure and untarnished record as 
 an able and upright Judge, and by the judiciary of 
 the State was greatly honored for his ability and 
 talent. The old lawyers of the district, as well as 
 
192 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the people, speak of him in the highest terms of 
 commendation and love. He always enjoyed the 
 confidence and esteem of the community, and was 
 recognized as very painstaking and careful in the 
 preparation of his decisions, which were regarded 
 as able by the Supreme Court of the State. 
 
 Hon. William Brown and Miss Caroline H. 
 Miller, who was born in Livingston Countj', N. Y., 
 were united in marriage, September 19th, 1850. 
 Mrs. Brown was the daughter of the Hon. Horace 
 and Hannah (Clark) Miller, for a further sketch 
 of whom the reader is referred to the biography 
 of William H. Miller, on another page of this 
 work. Mrs. Brown still resides in Rockford where 
 she is greatly beloved by all who know her She 
 is the mother of three children who are respect- 
 ively: Edward W., agent of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad; Frank R., superintendent of the Nelson 
 Knitting Co., and May, wife of H. W. Buckbee, 
 florist and seedsman. A handsome and substantial 
 offlce-building has just been erected to the mem- 
 ory of Judge Brown on South Main Street, Rock- 
 ford, known as the William Brown Building. 
 
 j)EV. JOHN WILCOX, one of the prominent 
 and wealthy agriculturists of Burritt Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, was born in the 
 parish of Lanreath, Cornwall, England, 
 December 7, 1825. John Wilcox's father was a 
 native of the same parish, as was also his grand- 
 father, Samuel Wilcox. The great-grandfather of 
 our subject, Henry Wilcox, was the proprietor of 
 a boarding-school in England and spent his entire 
 life in the above-named parish. 
 
 Samuel Wilcox acquired a thorough education 
 and for a time taught school in the parish of Lan- 
 reath. He was a surveyor by profession, and 
 served in the position of Town Clerk for half a 
 century, passing away when eighty-four years of 
 age. His son, the father of our subject, on attain- 
 ing manhood was placed in charge of a gentle- 
 man's farm in Lanreath, having the entire man- 
 agement of the estate for thirty years. In 1850, 
 resigning the position, he came to America and 
 located in Winnebago County, where he, in part- 
 
 nership with his son John, purchased one hundred 
 acres of land in the town of Burritt. He was ac- 
 companied hither by his son, our subject, and 
 died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Walter 
 Searl, in his eighty-third year. The maiden name 
 of his wife was Mary Stevens, a native of Looe, 
 Cornwall County, and a daughter of William and 
 Mary Stevens; she departed this life, after having 
 attained the age of seventy-three years. 
 
 The seven children in the parental family were 
 named, respectively: Samuel, William, Mary, Susan, 
 Hannah, John and Maria, all of whom came to Amer- 
 ica, and one of whom, William, is at present re- 
 siding in New Zealand. The original of this sketch 
 attended school regularly from the age of seven 
 to sixteen years, when he assisted his father on the 
 home farm for three years and then received an 
 appointment to a responsible position in the post- 
 ofHce in London, the Rev. Richard Buller, the 
 owner of a farm which his father superintended, 
 signing his bonds. While in the post-office, John 
 Wilcox had use of the books in the British Museum 
 and other libraries, and, making the best of the 
 opportunity' thus given him, improved his mind 
 by good reading. He became a member of the 
 Congregational Church when nineteen years of 
 age, and soon after going to London acted as a 
 teacher in the Hoxton Academy Sabbath-school, 
 which had a membership of one thousand scholars. 
 He also joined two different lyceums, and thus 
 participating in their debates and addressing the 
 Sunday-school, accustomed himself to public 
 speaking. Our subject remained in the post-office 
 for five years, when he resigned, his superior 
 officers, however, remonstrating against him tak- 
 ing such a course, promising to promote him if he 
 would remain. Having determined upon coming 
 to America, he was firm in his first decision, and 
 set sail from Fowey, Cornwall, April 18, 1850, in 
 the vessel "Adelaide," which landed in Quebec on 
 the 24th of May. 
 
 Spending four weeks in Canada, Mr. Wilcox, 
 looking for a permanent location for himself and 
 parents, came to Winnebago Countj^ purchasing, 
 as before stated, a tract of land in company with 
 his father, for which they paid $4 per acre. Fifty 
 acres of the property were broken and fenced, and 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 193 
 
 a small frame house was erected on the place. 
 His father, mother and sister Maria later joined 
 him in this county, when they began the work of 
 cultivating and improving a farm. The first win- 
 ter our subject taught school in Pecatonica Town- 
 ship, but later devoting his entire time and atten- 
 tion to agricultural pursuits, added to his acreage 
 until his estate contained three hundred and 
 forty-five acres, besides a farm of one hundred and 
 eighty acres in Laona Township. 
 
 Mr. Wilcox has been prominently connected 
 with the Congregational Church since his settle- 
 ment in Winnebago County. The first Sunday 
 after locating here, he attended church, and the 
 minister failing to put in an appearance, at the 
 urgent request of the people assembled he preached. 
 Two years later he attended an association of 
 Congregational ministers at Roscoe and was li- 
 censed to preach for three years, but prior to the 
 expiration of that time he was ordained in Peca- 
 tonica Township by three preacliers and lias been 
 actively engaged in spreading the Gospel since 
 that time. 
 
 In 1857, our subject went to Iowa Falls, Hardin 
 County, Iowa, to accept the pastorate of the Con- 
 gregational Church at that place. His parents, 
 however, needing his presence at home, he resigned 
 the charge after one year and, with that excep- 
 tion, has been a resident of Burritt Township 
 since first locating here in 1851. The farm upon 
 which he makes his home is one of the finest in 
 the township, it being improved with all the 
 necessary buildings and farm machinery which go 
 to make a first-class estate. 
 
 March 3, 1855, John Wilcox and Margaret Web- 
 ber, wlio was born in tlie Parish of Combe, St. 
 Nicholas, Somerset County, England, on the 4th 
 of February, 1833, were united in marriage. The 
 parents of Mrs. Wilcox, William and Mary Web- 
 ber, were wealthy farmers. The whole famil}^ emi- 
 grated from England in August, 1849, and arrived 
 in Rockton, this county, in October. Tbey traveled 
 by water from Bristol, England, to Milwaukee by 
 means of sailing-vessels, canal boats and steamers, 
 and from the Cream City came overland with 
 teams to Winnebago County, where Mr. and Mrs. 
 Webber purchased three improved farms of about 
 
 six hundred acres, on one of which they made 
 their home for forty years. 
 
 Mrs. Wilcox received a good education in botli 
 select and boarding schools in England, and 
 also in the Beloit High School. She has two sis- 
 ters and five brothers, all of whom are married 
 and have families of their own, namely: Cather- 
 ine, Mary Jane, William, John, Henry A., Herman 
 J. F. and Thomas H. The father of Mrs. Wilcox 
 was born in Ilamcock, Devon, March 26, 1804, 
 and died at tlie home of our subject in Burritt 
 Township, July 19, 1889. He was a son of Will- 
 iam Webber, wlio was a large land-owner and was 
 also a native of Devon, England. William Webber's 
 mother, Margaret Brome, was born in Collump- 
 ton, Devon, England, where also Mary Webber 
 was born, April 2, 1802. She bore the maiden 
 name of Mary Hake, and departed this life April 
 6, 1886, in Rockton; she was a worthy, intelligent 
 and refined lady, a faithful wife, a loving mother, 
 and neighborly to all. Being a devout Episco- 
 palian in England, she became identified with the 
 Congregational Church in Rockton. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Wilcox was a man of sterling 
 worth, untiring industry, strict economy, good 
 judgment, and one truly honest and reliable in all 
 the relations of life. He was a devout Christian 
 and, desiring to spend his declining years in Bur- 
 ritt Township, there died in peace. Mrs. Wilcox 
 was a member of the Congregational Sunday- 
 school in Chard, England, and on coming to 
 Rockford united with that denomination in 1865, 
 and has ever filled the relations of a wife, mother 
 and neighbor in a kind. Christian spirit, aiding her 
 husband in every way in family, business, and re- 
 ligious duties. They have had family worship 
 during the thirty-seven years of their married 
 life. The two eldest brothers of Mrs. Wilcox in- 
 vented, patented and manufactured the celebrated 
 reaping machine which was distributed in this 
 and adjoining counties. Three of her sons are 
 the most rapid and the best shearers of sheep in 
 Illinois, and perhaps in the United States, each of 
 them having sheared from one hundred to one 
 hundred and twenty animals in ten hours. 
 
 The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Wilcox were 
 John and Mary (Kenwood) Hale, the former a na- 
 
194 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tive of Ottery, St. Mary, Devonsliire, England, 
 where be was an active business man. The niotlier 
 was also a native of that place, dying in middle 
 life. They reared an excellent family of children, 
 two sons, John and Thomas, becoming prominent 
 wholesale merchants. One sister, with her hus- 
 band, came to this county, and died in Rockton. 
 The seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. John 
 Wilcox are, John Webber, William II., Mary S., 
 Herbert H., Clarence L., George I>. and Lillian 
 M. In his political relations, our subject is a Re- 
 publican. 
 
 ■^ OHN W. CASTLE, one of the wide-awake 
 and enterprising young farmers residing on 
 section 34, Cherry Valley Township, Winne- 
 bago County, has spent almost his entire 
 life in this community. He is a representative of 
 one of the pioneer families. His parents, John and 
 Elizabeth (Rockingham) Castle, wore both natives 
 of England, and when young came to this coun- 
 try. They were married in Troy, N. Y., about 
 1848, and started at once for the West, traveling 
 by rail to Chicago, and thence by team to Rock- 
 ford. Mr. Castle rented a small farm near the city, 
 and for some time worked by the day. He after- 
 ward removed to .Shirland, and purchased sixty 
 acres of land, upon which he built a house and be- 
 gan the improvement of a farm. After six years 
 he sold out and went to Ogle County, where he 
 operated a farm on shares for some time, after wliich 
 he purchased an eighty-acre farm. Its boundaries he 
 later extended until it comprised two hundred and 
 fifty-five acres of good land, supplied with all the 
 necessary buildings, and under a high state of cul- 
 tivation. At length, he rented his farm in the au- 
 tumn of 1889, and is now living a retired life in 
 Monroe Center. 
 
 Our subject was the fourth child and second son 
 in a family which numbered three sons and four 
 daughters. They are as follows: Alice E., wife of 
 John Blake, of De Kalb County; Mary Ann, wife 
 of John Butter worth, of Boone County; George 
 H., who resides in Ogle County; John W., of this 
 
 sketch; Sarah Hannah, wife of John McLarty, who 
 operates a farm adjoining the old homestead; 
 Phoebe C, wife of William Fisher, of Cherry Val- 
 ley Township; and Eber R., who is engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits in Story Countj', Iowa. There 
 are also eighteen grandchildren. 
 
 John W. Castle, whose name heads this record 
 was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life in 
 the usual manner of farmer lads. On attaining 
 his majority, he chose as a companion and help- 
 mate on life's journey Miss Mary Janet McDonald, 
 of Beloit, Wis., daughter of Thomas and Mary A. 
 (Gayton) McDonald. Her father was a volunteer 
 in the late war, and died in the hospital at Fortress 
 Monroe, W. Va., on the 1st of April, 1864, leaving 
 a wife and three children, all of whom survive him. 
 The union of our subject and his wife was cele- 
 brated on the 3d of March, 1885. They began their 
 domestic life upon their present farm, and have 
 one of the pleasant homes in the neighborhood. It is 
 brightened by the presence of a little daughter, 
 Bessie May, who was born May 30, 1888. Mrs. Castle 
 is a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Castle is 
 a Republican in politics, and a valued citizen who 
 gives his support and co-operation to every inter- 
 est calculated to benefit the community and pro- 
 mote the general welfare. 
 
 ^5 — 
 
 ^^^. 
 
 m>-m-m 
 
 a>^ 
 
 ■5— 
 
 /,... LONZO HASKINS. Among the old and 
 i=JI influential citizens of Boone County, 111., 
 we take pleasure in introducing to our 
 ^§^ readers Mr. Alonzo Haskins, who has been 
 
 associated with all enterprises of interest in the 
 county for many years. He was born in Cortland 
 County, town of Truxton (now Cuyler), N. Y., on 
 the 18th of November, 1814, and is a son of Will- 
 iam H. and Lydia (Howard) Haskins, natives also 
 of New York State. The paternal grandparents 
 of our subject were natives of New England, but 
 died in the Excelsior State when well advanced in 
 years. AVilliara H. Haskins followed the occupa- 
 tion of a farmer, and died in Onondaga County, 
 N. Y., when about ninety years of age. His wife 
 died at the same place, when about seventy-two 
 years of age. They were honest, industrious citi- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 195 
 
 zens, and prominent in their community. Of the 
 tliree children born to their union only our subject 
 survives. 
 
 From early boyhood our subject became familiar 
 with the arduous duties of the farm, and when 
 starting out for himself he selected that as his call- 
 ing in life. His marriage with Miss Laviua Mc- 
 Kiney on the 10th of September, 1835, brought to 
 his home a helpmate to whose aid and co-opera- 
 tion he is much indebted for his success in life. 
 She was also born in Cortland County, N. Y., Au- 
 gust 20, 1813, and is a daughter of Charles and 
 Lydia (Morse) McKiney, both natives of that State. 
 Her mother passed her last days in Rockford, 111. 
 Mrs. Haskins' maternal grandfather, David Morse, 
 was a Revolutionary soldier, and for services thus 
 rendered received six hundred and fortj' acres of 
 land in New York State, Cortland County. He 
 also received a pension until his death. Mrs. Has- 
 kins was one of fourteen children, six of whom are 
 yet living, all farmers and lumbermen. 
 
 Four children were born to our subject's mar- 
 riage, viz: Teresa M., born in Onondaga Countj', 
 N. Y., is the widow of Barnard Farnsworth, and 
 now resides in Dakota; Lydia L., born in Onon- 
 daga County, N. Y., married L. Albert Drake, and 
 is the mother of two children, one of whom, a 
 daughter, married "William Beach, and has a little 
 girl. The Drakes were pioneer settlers of this 
 State, and are industrious, upright citizens. ISIr. 
 Drake is working the home place for our subject, 
 but owns a fine farm of eight hundred acres in 
 Dakota. Edgar D. Haskins, also a native of Onon- 
 daga County, married Miss Hattie Turnure, and is 
 the father of three children, a son and two daugh- 
 ters. Mary J., born in the same county, married B. 
 B. Wells, and has two children. She makes her 
 home in Belvidere. 
 
 L. Albert Drake enlisted in the Ninety-fifth Illi- 
 nois Infantry, served about four years, and was 
 promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant. He 
 was a faithful soldier, and a brave and gallant 
 ofHcer. Edgar Haskins was in the light artillery, and 
 served about a year. On coming to Boone County, 
 111., our subject bought one hundred and seventy 
 acres of land in Bonus Township, and on this there 
 stood a small frame house in which Mr. Haskins 
 
 and family lived for several years. He then built 
 his present handsome residence, and has one of the 
 finest farms in the township. He has now retired 
 from the active duties of life, and his son-in-law 
 carries on the farm. They have twenty-eight or 
 thirty cows, a fine herd of Jerseys that rank with 
 the finest in the county, and make a specialty of 
 the dair3' business. Mr. Haskins has been Director 
 in the Agricultural Societj', and he has also been 
 on the State Committee of State Fairs, etc., and is 
 active in all laudable enterprises. 
 
 j^fn^ ' » !'■ > 
 
 ? I ' I ' I I I 
 
 )HADDEUS DAVIS, one of the highly re- 
 spected agriculturists of Guilford Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, living on section 
 24, was born in the town of Southold, Canada, 
 .June 17, 1828. His grandfather, William Davis, 
 was born in Connecticut, whence he removed to 
 the Empire State in an early day, and purchased a 
 tract of land twelve miles from Albany. Twelve 
 years later he went to Canada and spent his last 
 days in Chippewa, where he died at the age of 
 ninety-four. 
 
 The father of our subject, Thaddeus Davis, Sr., 
 was born near Schenectady, N. Y., June 9, 1793, 
 and was reared and married in the State of his 
 nativity. The maiden name of the mother of our 
 subject was Catherine Kirkland. She was born in 
 Schenectady, N. Y., February 10, 1797, of Scotch 
 parentage. On emigrating to Canada, Mr. Davis 
 made the journey with ox-teams, cutting his way 
 through the wilderness, and secured a tract of heav- 
 ily timbered land in the town of Southold. He 
 first built a log cabin and afterward replaced it by 
 a frame residence. There were no railroads in the 
 community in those days, no near markets and few 
 settlers, but plenty of deer, beai-s and wolves. 
 While the father worked at farm labor, the mother 
 spun and wove cloth, dressing her children in 
 homespun. Mr. Davis sold his farm in Canada 
 in 1839, and came to Illinois, accompanied by his 
 family. They brought with them their household 
 goods and drove cattle and sheep. After six weeks 
 of travel the}' arrived at their destination. Rock- 
 ford was then a mere hamlet and the work of pro- 
 
196 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 gress had hardly been begun. About a month 
 later, Mr. Davis purchased a squatter's claim — the 
 farm which our subject now occupies — upon which 
 was a log cabin, wliile twenty acres of the land 
 had been broken. Upon that farm he made his 
 lionie until his death, as did the mother of our sub- 
 ject. They had a family of ten children, as fol- 
 lows: Catherine, Ann Eliza, David A., Robert C, 
 Daniel H., Joseph S., Thaddeus, George R., Jacob 
 and John. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was only eleven years 
 old when, with his parents, he came to Illinois. He 
 remembers well the incidents of the journey and 
 tlie pioneer life in this county and shared with the 
 family all the hardships and trials incident to the 
 frontier. He continued to reside with his parents 
 until their death and now owns the old homestead. 
 He is an enterprising and successful farmer and by 
 his industrious and persistent efforts has acquired 
 a comfortable competence. 
 
 An important event in the life of Mr. Davis oc- 
 curred on the 10th of December, 1856, when he 
 wedded Marj^ A. McClary, a native of the Empire 
 State. Four children grace their union and the 
 family circle yet remains unbroken. In order of 
 birth they are as follows: Alma M., wife of Asa B. 
 Hammond; Thaddeus G., who wedded Mary E. 
 Hart; Matie E. and Frank. In politics, Mr. Davis 
 was formerly a Whig, but since the organization 
 of the Republican party has affiliated with that 
 body. Religiously, he is a member of the Method- 
 ist Church. He is held in high regard through- 
 out this community, where the greater part of his 
 life has been passed, and well deserves representa- 
 tion among the honored pioneers. 
 
 V_ 
 
 
 ylLLIAM D. SWAIL, President of the 
 People's Bank of Belvidere, is one of the 
 leading business men of this city, and for 
 a number of years has been connected with the 
 moneyed interests of Boone County. He is now 
 at the head of one of its most substantial moneyed 
 institutions, and is recognized as one of the most 
 prominent citizens of the community. 
 
 Our subject was born in Montreal Canada, De- 
 cember 17, 1830, and is a son of John and Esther 
 (Hanna) Swail. The latter was a native of County 
 Monaghan, Ireland. The fatlicr was born in Cum- 
 berland County, England, and was a son of Will- 
 iam and Mary Swail. The grandparents were both 
 natives of England and came to America about 
 1812. The grandfather purchased a farm at Mt. 
 Royal, near Montreal, and there engaged in farm- 
 ing until his death. His old homestead is now 
 owned and occupied by one of his grandsons. The 
 father of our subject was reared upon that farm, 
 but after attaining to man's estate, commanded a 
 steam ferryboat across the St. Lawrence from 
 Longueuil to Montreal. Later he settled upon a 
 farm at Mt. Royal and there made his home until 
 called to his final rest. 
 
 Mr. Swail of this sketch when quite young be- 
 gan to assist his fatlier on the boat, and in 1853 
 entered the emplo}' of the Government in the civil 
 service, continuing two years. In 1855, he came 
 to Belvidere and began dealing in real-estate and 
 building. After a few jears spent in that way, he 
 next purchased land in Flora Township, and for a 
 few years engaged quite extensively in farming, 
 after which he returned to this city. 
 
 Mr. Swail has been twice married. In 1858, he 
 was joined in wedlock with Sarah Loop, who was 
 born in New York State, and died in February, 
 1860. He afterwards led to the marriage altar 
 Louisa M. Benedict, a daughter of Rev. Timothy 
 Benedict. The family numbers four children: 
 Mary B., who is a graduate of the Northwestern 
 University, and is now the wife of Rev. W. E. 
 Wilkinson, wlio graduated from the same institu- 
 tion and is now a Methodist minister; John H., 
 Assistant Cashier in the bank; Louisa M., a stu- 
 dent in the Northwestern University; and Carrie, 
 wife of Russ Lambert, an attorney of the State of 
 Washington. 
 
 Mr. Swail assisted in tlie organization of the 
 Republican party in tliis county, and voted twice 
 for President Lincoln and once for Gen. Grant. 
 In 1872, he followed the lead of Sumner, Greeley 
 and other eminent Republicans and voted the lib- 
 eral Republican ticket. Since that time he has 
 affiliated with the Democratic party. He was the 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 197 
 
 first Mayor of Belvidere after its organ ization as a 
 city and has filled that position tliree terms. He 
 has also served as its Postmaster for four years. He 
 is one of the substantial men of Belvidere, and the 
 busy and useful life which he lias led has won him 
 high regard. 
 
 
 ^•{•♦♦♦t 
 
 y****? 
 
 FREDRICK K. PRATT, one of the county's 
 prosperous tillers of the soil, was born in 
 Westmoreland, Cheshire County, N. H., 
 May 25, 1843, and is a son of Moses and 
 Louisa (Daggett) Piatt, and the grandson of 
 Josiah and .lane (Knapp) Pratt, both natives of 
 New England, where they passed their entire 
 life. Moses Pratt was one of eight children 
 born to this estimable couple. He was also a 
 native of Cheshire County, N. H., and remained 
 there until twenty-one years of age, when, seeing 
 a better chance for himself in the West, he started 
 for Rockford, 111., in May, 1836. He took up one 
 hundred and sixtj' acres of Government land and 
 remained there for five years, when he returned 
 East. He first came to Illinois via the canal to 
 Buffalo, thence to Detroit, and walked from 
 there to his future home, a distance of about three 
 hundred and fifty miles. This trip proved almost 
 too much for him and he never fully recovered. 
 His goods came on the next boat. As before 
 mentioned, he returned to the East after a five 
 years' stay in the wilds of Illinois. This was in 
 1841, and he drove a horse and a home-made 
 jumper. He also carried his tools, so that, if 
 necessary, he could shoe his jumper, and as he jour- 
 neyed towards the rising sun he visited friends 
 along the way. He was i-eturning for his future 
 wife, and on the 24th of March, 1842, he was 
 married to Miss Louisa Daggett, who was also 
 born in Cheshire County, N. H. Her parents 
 were Phincas and Mercy (Pierce) Daggett, the 
 father a native of Massachusetts, but a pioneer of 
 New Hampshire, where he received his final 
 summons. He died at the age of seventy-seven 
 years, and the mother passed away when about the 
 same age, Mrs. Pratt was one of ten children, 
 and is the only one now living. Phineas Daggett 
 
 was the son of Asa Daggett, who was born in 
 Massachusetts, but who died in New Hampshire. 
 
 Mr. Pratt farmed down East until 1855, after 
 which he sold out and returned to this State, 
 where he bought eighty acres of unimproved land, 
 to which he subsequently added eighty acres more. 
 On this he resided for twenty-five or thirty years, 
 and died on the 15th of March, 1884, when 
 seventy-one years of age. He was at one time a 
 Democrat, but the latter part of his daj's he affili- 
 ated with the Republican party. His estimable 
 wife is still living, and is a member of the Presby- 
 terian Church. 
 
 Frederick Pratt is one of the foremost farmers 
 of the county, and is interested in all worthy 
 movements. He was married on the 20th of 
 January, 1875, to Miss Marion Turiiure, daughter 
 of Uriah and Laura (Cline) Turnure. .She was 
 born in Bonus, this county, February 17, 1855. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Pratt have been born two sons: 
 Frank H., born November 25, 1877, is now attend- 
 ing the Belvidere High School, and Ralph T., 
 born April 22, 1884, is at home. In politics, our 
 subject has always atfiliated with the Republican 
 party, but he is inclined to be independent. As 
 an agriculturist, he ranks second to none in his 
 township, and all his farming operations are con- 
 ducted in a very superior and progressive wa}^, as 
 a glance over his well-kept farm will show. His 
 home is bright and attractive, and is presided over 
 by that refined lady and excellent housekeeper, 
 his wife. 
 
 eHARLES JESPERSON, foreman for the ex- 
 tensive milling establishment of J. G. 
 Chick Milling Co., of Rockford, has been 
 in this gentleman's employ for many years, and 
 has held his present position for the past fifteen 
 years. Under his able and efficient management, 
 the business has achieved a large share of success, 
 and is in a prosperous condition. 
 
 Mr. Jesperson came to Rockford in 1865, and 
 has since been engaged in the milling business, 
 first with E. Derwent for five years, and later, with 
 Mr. Chick, with whom he has since remained. He 
 
198 
 
 POSTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 is a skillful and practical miller, and thoroughly 
 understands his business. He is interested in 
 other bvisiness enterprises of the city, is a stock- 
 holder in the Mechanics' Furniture Co., the Union 
 Grocery Co., in which he is also a Director, and a 
 stockholder in the Swedish Building and Loan 
 Association. He has a good and comfortable 
 home at No. 514 Union Street, and is a useful and 
 substantial citizen. 
 
 Of Swedish nativity, Mr. Jesperson has inheri- 
 ted all the characteristics of that hardy class of 
 people, and is thrifty, honest, whole-souled and 
 intelligent. He was born in Wester Gothland 
 Province, January 23, 1845, learned his trade 
 there, and when twenty years of age, or in 1865, 
 crossed the Atlantic to American soil. His father, 
 Jasper Carlson, is a wood-carver by trade, and is a 
 resident of Rockford at the present time. The 
 latter was born and reared in Wester Gothland, 
 Sweden, and although now seventy-two years of 
 age, his mind is as clear and as well-balanced as 
 ever. He was married in his native country to 
 Miss Lizzie Samuelson, who died in 1871, when 
 about fifty-seven years of age, in full communion 
 with the Lutheran Church, in which he also holds 
 membership. 
 
 Charles Jesperson, the second in order of birth 
 of the children born to this worthy couple, was 
 put on board a vessel and had his passage paid to 
 Chicago by an uncle. He had but twent3'-flvc 
 cents in his pocket when he reached the Garden 
 City, and he was obliged to work for a few days 
 to get the means to carry him to Rockford, 111. 
 He was first married in this city, in the fall of 
 1866, to Miss Johanna Johnson, a native of 
 Wester Gothland, Sweden, who came to the United 
 States with her parents in 1863. Her father, Olf 
 Johnson, is now eighty years of age and is a resi- 
 dent of Rockford, but the mother died in 1888. 
 Both were members in good standing in the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 Mrs. Jesperson was boi-n in 1840, and died at 
 her home in Rockford in the fall of 1872, leavino- 
 one son, Gus, who is in the factories of Rockford. 
 Mr. Jesperson took for his second wife Miss 
 Johanna Friedberg, who was born in Wester 
 Gothland Province, Sweden, September 4, 1848, 
 
 and was nearly grown when she came with 
 her brother, P. J. Friedberg, to the United States. 
 The latter is now a cabinet-maker and stockholder 
 of the Centennial Furniture Company, and re- 
 sides at No. 124 Bremer Street. The parents died in 
 Sweden, the father, Andrew Anderson, when 
 about fifty-five years of age, and the mother, 
 whose maiden name was i\Iary Jonson, when about 
 forty years of age. They were Lutherans in their 
 religious views. 
 
 Of the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jesperson, one, Walter, died when young. The 
 others are: Joseph, born February 25, 1878, and 
 Ililma S., November 21, 1883. Mr. Jesperson and 
 family attend the First Lutheran Church in which 
 they are members and active workers, and they 
 are people much respected in the community. Mr. 
 Jesperson is a sound Republican in his poUtical 
 views, and has been a member of the Board of 
 Trustees for the past fifteen years. 
 
 f^^ 
 
 NDREW BORG, a mason contractor and 
 builder of Rockford, is one of the well- 
 know:^TSwe_dish residents of this city. He 
 was born on the 16th of June, 1839, in 
 Sweden, and was the first of his people to come to 
 the United States. He learned his trade in Osker- 
 sham, and at the age of twenty-four years left 
 that place, crossing the Atlantic in the summer of 
 1854, on a sailing-vessel. They encountered some 
 very severe weather, the deck being swept and the 
 mast carried away. For some time the crew and 
 passengers were all exposed and for four days they 
 were without food and water, twenty-four dying 
 from exhaustion and being buried in the sea. 
 After thirteen weeks and three days, Mr. Borg 
 landed in New York City, August 15, 1854, and 
 thence went to Chicago. He had lost his trunk, 
 the contents of which were his chief possessions. 
 He found himself a stranger in a strange land, with 
 no one to whom to look for aid, but he started 
 out bravely and soon found employment. After 
 a year he decided to go to Kansas, but in passing 
 through Rockford was so well pleased with the 
 city that he has since made it his home. 
 
POUTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 199 
 
 Since coming to this country, Mr. Borg has been 
 followed by a sister who is now living in Webster 
 County, Iowa, and a brother who died in this 
 city some years ago, after he was married. The 
 father, Swan Larson, was a farmer and carpenter 
 of Sweden and spent his entire life in that 
 land. His death occurred at the age of eighty-two 
 years. His wife, whose maiden name was Stena 
 G. Anderson, is yet living at the age of eighty- 
 two. Like her husband, she is a member of the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 Three years after coming to this countiy, Mr. 
 Borg returned to his native land and wedded 
 Anna S. Carlson, who died nine days after she 
 and her husband had returned to this country, of 
 quick consumption, at the age of twenty-two years. 
 He afterward wedded Ida M. Carlson, a sister of 
 his first wife, and she died three years later of 
 pneumonia, at the age of twenty-two, leaving one 
 daughter, Selma E., now the wife of Frank Sager, 
 a clerk in Sawyei 's drug store of this city. Mr. 
 Borg was the third time married, in Rockford, the 
 lady of his choice being Anna S. Booman, who was 
 born in Sweden on the 4th of August, 1852, and 
 came to Rockford in 1864 with her parents, who 
 have since moved to "Valley Spi'in^^S. Dak., where 
 they now reside, both being about, sixty years of 
 age. They are also members of the Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs Borg have a fan^ily of four chil- 
 dren and have also lost four. Edward is a book- 
 keeper for the Skandia Coal Company of this city; 
 Albert A., Esther L. and Hulbert are still at home. 
 Albert, Olivia and Victoria, twins, and Esther, are 
 all deceased. The parents are members of the 
 Zion Lutheran Church, of which Mr. Borg is a 
 Trustee. He exercises his right of franchise in the 
 support of the Republican party. The year after 
 coming to Rockford, he began business as a mason 
 contractor and builder and has erected many 
 buildings in the city. He now owns a good brick 
 residence at No. 406 Sixth Street and has an inter- 
 est in the flats and residence at the corner of Fourth 
 Avenue and Seventh Street. He is one of the 
 stockholders in the Skandia Plow Company and a 
 stockholder and Director in the Skandia Brick 
 Company, also a Director in the Union Grocery 
 
 Store. Mr. Borg has been the means of inducing 
 many of his Swedish neighbors to locate in this 
 county and is a leader .imong bis country-men. 
 His business career has been a successful one and 
 he is now numbered among the well-to-do citizens 
 of Rockford. 
 
 PAVID PRYSE, who owns and operates two 
 hundred and twenty acres of well improved 
 land on section 15, Guilford Township, 
 Winnebago County, is a native of Wales. He was 
 born on the 14th of May, 1831, in Montgomerj'- 
 shire, and is a son of James Pryse, who was born in 
 the same county. His grandparents also spent their 
 entire lives there. The family had long been resi- 
 dents of Wales. Many of its members spell tlie 
 name Price. 
 
 The father was reared and married in Montgom- 
 eryshire, Miss Margaret Davis becoming his wife. 
 They never left the land of their nativity, but 
 three of their sons emigrated to the United States: 
 David, Edward and James. 
 
 Our subject received no special advantages in 
 his youth, in fact, at the early age of seven he be- 
 gan to earn his own livelihood and has since been 
 dependent upon his own resources. He continued to 
 make his home in the land of his birth until 1850, 
 when, with the hope of bettering his financial con- 
 dition, in the autumn of that year he sailed from 
 Liverpool to America, as a passenger on board the 
 "Patrick Henry." After a voyage of seven weeks 
 and three days, the vessel dropped anchor in the 
 harbor of New York and Mr. Pryse landed on 
 American soil. He went to Oneida County, N. Y., 
 where he engaged in farming for five years, and 
 then came to Illinois in 1855. With the mone3' 
 he had saved, he rented a farm in Guilford Town- 
 ship, and after five years, in 1860 made a purchase 
 of fifty -seven acres of wild land, which is now in- 
 cluded within his present farm. As his financial 
 resources have increased, he has added to his 
 landed possession from time to time, until he now 
 owns two hundred and twenty acres of valuable 
 land. 
 
200 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ere coming to the West, Mr. Pryse was married 
 in Oneida County, on the 18th of March, 1864, to 
 Miss Winnefred M. Jones, who was born in the 
 north of Wales, in October, 1830, and came to 
 America at the age of eighteen years. She died 
 September 10, 1884, leaving a family of six chil- 
 dren: Richard J., Ellen, Margaret, Mary, Fannie 
 and Franlt. 
 
 Mr. Pryse is one of the worthy citizens of this 
 community, who takes an active interest in all 
 that pertains to the welfare and upbuilding of the 
 town and county.and the promotion of its leading- 
 enterprises. He is also a self-made man and for 
 his success in life deserves no little credit, as he 
 has steadily worked his way upward to a position 
 of which he may well be proud. His life in many 
 respects is well wortliy of emulation and has won 
 him the confidence and high regard of those with 
 whom he has been brought in contact. 
 
 •^^E 
 
 ISS SARAH ROGERS, the daughter of 
 John H. and Elizabeth (Cotton) Rogers 
 well known as pioneers of Winnebago 
 County, is at the present time residing in 
 Pecatonica village. She is a woman of much ca- 
 pacity, is kind in heart and manner, cheerfully 
 giving assistance where needed and charitably in- 
 clined toward all, a worthy type of the pioneer 
 daughters of Winnebago Count}', who were im- 
 portant instruments in its upbuilding. 
 
 The father of our subject was born in Norfolk, 
 Conn., in 1804, where he was married to Miss 
 Elizabeth Cotton in 1828. Desiring to see and 
 know something of the Western country, he came 
 to this county in 1845 and entered a claim of eighty 
 acres of Government land. The mother of our 
 subject was also born in Norfolk, Conn., one year 
 later than her worthy husband, and died in Peca- 
 tonica when sixty-eight years of age. The father 
 of Miss Rogers died in the same place when in his 
 sixty-seventh year. 
 
 The paternal grandparents of our subject were 
 natives of the Nutmeg State, as were also the 
 Cotton family. John II. Rogers was a blacksmith 
 by trade, which line of business he followed for 
 
 some years, at the same time teaching writing school 
 during the winter evenings. He filled the position 
 of Postmaster of Seward at a time when the place 
 was known as Vanceboro. In politics, he was a Re- 
 publican and with his wife a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church. 
 
 Two uncles of our subject participated in the 
 late war, one of whom was wounded in the battle 
 of Chickamauga. 
 
 Miss Sarah Rogers has always resided at home, 
 and in 1867 opened a millinery establishment 
 which she conducted successfully until five years 
 ago, when she opened up in the shoe and wall 
 paper business. Her education was received in the 
 graded and High Schools of Pecatonica, and at the 
 present time she is a working member of the Wom- 
 en 's Christian Temperance Union and belongs to 
 various missionary societies. She is a charter mem- 
 ber of the Women's Relief Corps and in all respects 
 takes an active part in all good works. She is a 
 member of the Chautauqua Society and was en- 
 gaged for several terms in teaching school in this 
 county, in which occupation her sister Eunice was 
 also engaged, j 
 
 Mis8"'Rogei|'^4'^^er came by wagon to Albany, 
 N. Y., therce-lfv^je Er.ie Canal to Buffalo, by way 
 of the LakeS)^:' Chii^ago, and overland to this 
 county; lie was^a gentleman beloved by all, kind- 
 hearted, chailtabfe and honorable, and possessed of 
 agreeable manners and jovial, friendly nature. 
 Miss Rogers is one of the leaders in social life in 
 the village, and her intelligence and grace add to 
 the attractions of her hospitable dwelling. 
 
 HILIP STALL, who is one of the most 
 enterprising farmers of Le Roy Township 
 Boone County, owns and occupies a fine 
 homestead and stands high in the estima- 
 tion of the people in this vicinity. He was born 
 June 22, 1817, in Maine, and is a son of .lacob Stall, 
 a stone mason and stone cutter by trade. He fol- 
 lowed that occupation during most of his life, al- 
 though during his later years he became a miller 
 and owned a farm of one hundred acres, which 
 was carried on by his family. 
 
f ORTKAIT AND BIOGHAPHICAL UECORD. 
 
 201 
 
 The lady who became the mother of our subject 
 prior to her marriage was Miss Elizabeth Win- 
 capaw, a native of Knox County, Me. She roared 
 a family of eight children and lost four in infancy. 
 The elder Mr. Stall died in his eighty-eighth year, 
 having been married nearly sixty-eight years. The 
 family are all deceased, with the exception of our 
 subject and a sister, Lucinda, now Mrs. Burton, of 
 Maine. Philip was the sixth in order of birth, 
 his brothers and sisters being Elizabeth, Charles, 
 Edward, William, and Moses and Aaron, twins, 
 who received their names from the old family 
 physician when born. 
 
 Our subject left home when nineteen years of 
 age, going East to Bangor, and two years later 
 came to Illinois and purchased a quarter-section 
 of land in Lee County. This he sold two years 
 thereafter and came to Boone County, where, in 
 1857, he bought eighty acres of his present farm, 
 for which he paid $10 per acre. He has since pur- 
 chased forty acres. 
 
 In 1857, Miss Frances, daughter of William R. 
 and Mary (Moore) Millard and our sul)ject were 
 united in marriage. Both parents were natives of 
 Pennsylvania and came West to Lee County, this 
 State, in October, 1838, making the journey from 
 Columbia County by means of a horse team. In 
 the spring of 1841, Mr. and Mrs. Millard came to 
 Boone County, Le Roy Township, purchasing a 
 farm of one hundred and twenty acres, to which 
 he later added until his estate on section 35 in- 
 cluded two hundred and forty acres. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stall have buried seven children 
 and have one son living, Charles M., who was 
 born in March, 1878. Those deceased are William, 
 Elmer, Mary, Sylvia, Edgar, Katie and Altha L. 
 Our subject has been engaged in mixed farming, 
 and by [jcrsistent industry has cleared his entire 
 estate and erected thereon suitable buildings, not 
 the least among which is his comfortable farm resi- 
 dence which was erected in 1869. Two years later 
 he built his main barn, 40x48 feet, with eighteen- 
 foot posts to which he has since added as he found 
 it necessary. In religious matters, the family of 
 our subject belongs to the Methodist Church and, 
 in politics, Mr. Stall has voted the Republican 
 ticket since Lincoln filled the Presidential chair. 
 
 David Daniels, now in Iowa, William R. Millard 
 and our subject are the only survivors who voted 
 here in 1843. 
 
 He of whom we write lias a dairy of from ten 
 to fifteen cows and ships as many as fiftj"^ head of 
 hogs per year. His place is well stocked with a 
 good grade of horses, and from his stock-raising 
 interests he reaps handsome returns. His propertj^, 
 which, it will be remembered, cost Mr. Stall $10 per 
 acre, is now worth $70. Mrs. Stall's mother departed 
 this life in March, 1891, when eighty- four years of 
 age, and her father, who is still living, is seventy- 
 nine years of age. 
 
 -^ 
 
 -^ 
 
 -i- 
 
 ORSEMUS HYDE, deceased, was for a num- 
 ber of years one of the most prosperous 
 farmers of Bonus Township, Boone County, 
 with whose agricultural developments he was 
 closely associated and helped to make of the 
 county one of the finest farming regions in the 
 State. He was born in July, 1819, and departed 
 this life at his home when fifty-two years of age. 
 
 Our subject was the son of Heman and Polly 
 Hyde, of Iilnglish descent and the heirs to large 
 fortunes which, on account of insufficient proofs, 
 they were unable to secure. The lady. Miss Per- 
 melia Rork, to whom our subject was married Jul}^ 
 12, 1837, was born in Essex County, N. Y., June 
 18, 1818. She was the daughter of John and 
 Elizabeth Rork, who were born in Ireland, of 
 Scotch-English parents. The father and mother 
 emigrated to the United States, and after residing 
 for a time in New York, moved to Racine, Wis., 
 where their deaths occurred at the respective ages 
 of eighty and seventy-five years. Mrs. Hj'de on 
 her mother's side is related to the old family of 
 McCibbons, her grandmother bearing that name. 
 They were also related to the McCauleys and 
 could trace their ancestry back on one side to the 
 celebrated poet. Burns. The father of Mrs. Hyde 
 was an Orangeman, and after coming to this coun- 
 try participated in the war of 1812. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born nine 
 children, five of whom are living: Deett was born 
 in New York State, is married and lives in Le Mars, 
 
202 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Iowa; William was born April 16, 1844. is also mar- 
 ried and the father of three children; Alice was 
 born April 15, 1846, is the wife of Robert Porter 
 and the mother of five children; Julius A. was 
 born April 12, 1852, is residing at home and works 
 the old fann; Lucia was born January 12, 1855, is 
 married and has tliree children. Julius A. inter- 
 ests himself in politics and is a leader of the Pro- 
 hibition party in this section. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hyde came to this county in 1842, 
 where our subject rented land for eight years, 
 having but $2.50 when he came here. He made 
 different purchases, until at the time of his death 
 he left an estate of four hundred and forty-two 
 acres to his heirs, leaving besides a name which 
 will ever be held in loving remembrance. He 
 landed in the county with only twenty shillings 
 in his pocket, and as winter was coming on, he 
 was engaged in teaming that season to and from 
 Chicago. His widow still owns sixty-nine acres of 
 the original homestead, which she is cultivating in 
 a most intelligent manner. Since fifteen years of 
 age, she has been an active member of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, in which denomination her 
 husband was also a member and a liberal contrib- 
 utor. She is an excellent woman, and aids all 
 worthy objects in a most substantial manner and 
 is loved by all her numerous friends and acquaint- 
 ances. She is in the possession of a comfortable 
 property and devotes her time to helping others. 
 
 eHARLES L. SMITH owns and operates a 
 valuable farm of seventy-two acres adjoin- 
 ing the city limits of Belvidere on the 
 northwest. Every foot of his land is under a 
 high state of cultivation and the well tilled fields 
 yield to him a golden tribute for the care and la- 
 bor he bestows upon them. The neat appearance 
 of the place indicates his thrift, and the many 
 improvements there seen stand as monuments to 
 his enterprise. 
 
 Our subject was born in Windham County, Vt., 
 February 28, 1829. His father, Hiram Smith, was 
 born in Chesterfield, N. H., spent his boyhood 
 days in the Granite State, and after his marri.age 
 removed to Windham, Vt., where he bought a 
 
 tract of land and made his home for a few years. 
 He then returned to Westmoreland, N. H., where 
 he spent the remainder of his life. He married 
 Olive Arnold, who spent almost her entire life 
 in Westmoreland. Her father. Col. Arnold, was a 
 tanner and farmer residing in that place. 
 
 Our subject was a lad of but seven summers 
 when his parents became residents of the Granite 
 State, where his education was acquired. At the 
 age of ten, he commenced to earn his own living 
 and worked by the day, month or year in New 
 Hampshire until he was nineteen years of age, 
 when he went to Upton, Worcester County, Mass., 
 where he was employed at carpentering for a year. 
 His next place of residence was in Milford, Mass., 
 where he was employed in a boot factory for three 
 years. He remained in the Bay State until 1852, 
 when, on the 5th of January, he sailed from New 
 York and after thirty days landed in San Francisco, 
 whence he went to Stockton, Cal., which was 
 then a very small place. He engaged in teaming 
 from there to the mines, from forty-five to seventy- 
 five miles distant. At that time the price of 
 freighting was from $2 to 125 per hundred pounds. 
 Provisions were very high in the mines, flour sell- 
 ing at $45 per barrel. He there remained for six 
 years, when he returned to Milford, where he 
 spent the three succeeding years of his life. He 
 then again went to California, where he once 
 more engaged in teaming until 1864, when he re- 
 turned to the East. 
 
 Soon after his return, Mr. Smith was united in 
 marriage with Mrs. Luella (Wheeler) Bates, and 
 their union has been blessed with one child, Clin- 
 ton C. The lady also had a daughter by her for- 
 mer marriage, Addie I^. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are 
 worthy people, highly respected by all. He is a 
 member of the Universalist Church, and his wife 
 is a member of the Presbyterian Church. They 
 have been residents of this county since December, 
 1864, when, coming to the West, Mr. Smith pur- 
 chased a farm half a mile west of Belvidere, 
 upon which they made their home for seven years. 
 He then sold out and removed to the village, 
 where he lived for three and a half years, after 
 which he purchased the farm which he now owns 
 and occupies 
 
^ (C^^-{rtiy2^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 205 
 
 ■^ OHN LAKE, President of the Rockford Fire 
 Insurance Company, is well known as one 
 of the early settlers of Rockford; and as 
 one of its foremost business men, who has 
 for many years thoroughly identified himself with 
 its best interests, his far-reaching' enterprise, apti- 
 tude for affairs, and broad public spirit being po- 
 tent in extending its commerce and in advancing 
 its welfare in various directions, his name is in- 
 separably linked with its rise and progress from a 
 small, insignificant settlement to a beautiful and 
 prosperous city. During the busy and eventful 
 j'ears of the half century and more that he has 
 lived here, he has acquired wealth that places him 
 among the most substantial citizens of Winnebago 
 County, and he has built up one of the most stately 
 and elegant homes within its borders. 
 
 John Lake was born March 27, 1821, on Blackford 
 Farm, Selworthy Parish, England, said farm then 
 being in the possession of his paternal grandfather, 
 who was a farmer, dairj'man, miller, maltster and a 
 dealer in all kinds of seeds. In the latter part of 
 his life he lost a large portion of his property, 
 partly through reverses in business, and possibly a 
 part of it by bad management. His family con- 
 sisted of four sons and one daughter, all of whom 
 died soon after they arrived at age, with the ex- 
 ception of James, the eldest, and Thomas, the 
 youngest, both of whom emigrated to America, the 
 first with his family settling at St. Johns, New 
 Brunswick, and the latter in the United States. 
 William Lake, the father of our subject, was also 
 born oil the old Blackford Farm, his birth occur- 
 ring in the year 1798. He died there in the open- 
 ing years of his manhood, at the age of twenty-two 
 years, and thus early closed a promising career. 
 He married when only twenty years old, the maiden 
 name of his wife being Gould. She was a farm- 
 er's daughter, born at Cutcombe, in the parish of 
 Cutcombe. Her mother died leaving eleven chil- 
 dren, and as her father soon married again, she 
 sought a home as a servant girl at Blackford Farm. 
 She was subsequently married to the father of our 
 subject, and they continued to make the farm tlieir 
 home until his untimely death. 
 
 He of whom we write was but six months old 
 when his father died, and as his mother married 
 9 
 
 again a year later, he was reared by his grandmother 
 in the home of his birth, she and he being the onlj' 
 ones of the name of Lake living in that part of 
 England, up to the time he came to this country. 
 He was given excellent educational advantages in 
 a private school kept by Mr. Robert Taylor, which 
 he attended until he was fourteen. At that age 
 he commenced to earn his own living by working 
 on a farm, being thus employed the intervening 
 two years before he came hither. He was eleven 
 years of age when his uncle Thomas became a citi- 
 zen of this Republic, and the boyish imagination 
 of our subject followed him in his voyage across 
 unknown seas to the far-away, strange country 
 whither he had gone, and he wished that he too 
 might go there in search of fortune's favors, for 
 the spirit of adventure, inherent in every true Eng- 
 lishman's breast, was his by right of birth. He 
 treasured up his determination to try life in this 
 land of promise until he was of suitable age to put 
 it into execution, and in the month of May, 1836, 
 he disclosed his plans to his mother and foster-par- 
 ent (his grandmother), telling them that he would 
 like to do as his uncle Thomas had done, seek a 
 home in the United States. They strenuously o\)- 
 posed his purpose, but he told them, that although 
 he did not wish to disobey them, he had firmly re- 
 solved to go a j^ear from that time. In May, 1837, 
 he again broached the subject of his emigration, 
 and was met with the same opposition. He in- 
 formed his mother and foster-mother that he wished 
 very much to obtain their consent, but he should 
 go in any case.. When they saw that further per- 
 suasion was useless, they reluctantly gave in, and 
 sadly made preparations for his setting forth into 
 the great world, giving him such necessary aid 
 for his journey as was in their power. 
 
 The first week in May, 1837, our subject started 
 out on his travels from the pleasant English home 
 that had given him shelter from his birth, and 
 alone, but with a brave heart and a steady pur- 
 pose, he faced the unknown future and the perils 
 of an ocean voyage never to be forgotten while 
 memoiy holds sway. From Mmehead he went on 
 a schooner to Bristol, where he secured passage for 
 Philadelphia on the "Severn," a sailing-vessel 
 loaded with iron, and carrying about forty other 
 
206 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 passengers beside himself. In mid-ocean a dread- 
 ful storm was encountered, which lasted for five 
 days, and it seemed impossible that the gallant 
 ship could outweather such a tempest. Often 
 great seas would break on deck, and the bowsprit, 
 foremast and bulwarks were broken and washed 
 overboard. When the fearful storm was at its 
 height, young Lake requested the officer to permit 
 him to remain on deck, and he allowed him to do 
 so on condition that he would secure himself to 
 the main-mast, which he did with a rope that lay 
 near, and from six o'clock in the morning until 
 late in the evening he remained in that position 
 without a particle of food, watching with mingled 
 feelings of awe the sublime spectacle of the con- 
 flict of the elements with Old Ocean. As darkness 
 enveloped what seemed to be a doomed ship, the 
 storm abated, and at sunrise there was not wind 
 sufficient to move the sails, and a dead calm of 
 four days ensued. 
 
 Mr. Lake landed in Philadelphia in the latter 
 part of June, seven weeks from the day he left old 
 England. He was at the time sixteen years and 
 three months of age, and was a bright, active lad, 
 with plenty of mother- wit and other essentials to 
 make the life that lay before him a success, if he 
 chose to do so. His destination was Illinois, where 
 he intended to join his uncle Thomas. From the 
 Quaker City he crossed Pennsylvania, and went 
 over the Alleghanies by rail and canal, passing 
 through Johnstown, which was so nearly erased 
 from the face of the earth by the awful flood of 
 recent years, and through many another place, 
 whose very name he has forgotten, and on to 
 Pittsburg, where he embarked on a river steamer 
 for the West. Arriving at^Rockport, a small river 
 town on the Ohio below Louisville, he was taken 
 sick with a fever, and had to remain there until 
 November. In the meantime, he received a letter 
 from his uncle, who was then living in Rockford, 
 and as soon as he was able he resumed his inter- 
 rupted journey down the Ohio and up the Missis- 
 sippi to Fulton, 111. Thence ho traveled on foot 
 through marsh and swamp, and over what seemed 
 to him endless prairies, to Sterling, and from there 
 proceeded on the west side of the river to Rock- 
 ford, where he arrived about the 1st of December, 
 
 1837, "completely worn out, physically, mentally 
 and financially," as he himself expresses it. 
 
 In the spring he had recuperated sufficiently to 
 work on a farm, at which he was employed three 
 years. At the end of that time, he apprenticed 
 himself to Mr. Thomas Thatcher, a joiner, carpen- 
 ter and architect. A year with that gentleman, 
 with wages of $5 a month and board, and he had 
 acquired all his instructor could impart, and was 
 prepared to set up for himself in the same line, 
 thus showing how soon he had caught the dash 
 and energy of the Western spirit. He not only 
 worked out by the day as a carpenter, but engaged 
 as a contractor, doing business by himself until 
 the winter of 1852-53, when he formed a part- 
 nership with Mr. P. Howes, to engage in the lum- 
 ber trade. The yard was where the East Rock- 
 ford passenger station of the Chicago & North- 
 western Railway now stands, which was at that time 
 called the Chicago & Galena Railway, and which 
 had been completed to the east side of Rock River, 
 on the 20th of August, 1852. On the 20th of 
 August, 1853, the railway bridge was completed 
 across that river, and our subject and his partner 
 removed their lumber to a yard on the west side, 
 near the present station of the Northwestern Rail- 
 way, continuing together until the summer of 
 1856, when they sold their business to a Mr. Free- 
 man. 
 
 In November of that year, the prosperous young 
 Westerner, whose course we have thus far followed 
 with interest, revisited his old home at Blackford 
 Farm, neaiiy twenty years having passed by with 
 their many chances and changes since he had last 
 crossed its threshold, a penniless lad on his way to 
 the New World. Returning again to this country 
 in February, 1857, in the early spring, he once 
 more went into the lumber business, having his 
 stand on the corner of Third and State Streets, on 
 the same ground now occupied by the Rockford 
 Coal & Lumber Company. Mr. Howes, his old 
 partner, had an interest with him for a year, and 
 then their connection was dissolved, in the fall of 
 1859, by the sale of the stock to Cook & Bro., lum- 
 ber dealers on the west side of the river. In the 
 spring of 1853, Mr. Lake made arrangements to 
 take charge of the late Mr. Henry Fisher's yard, on 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 207 
 
 the west side of the river, and, in the summer of 
 the same year, formed a partnership with tliat gen- 
 tleman, which was continued until March, 1867. In 
 May of that year, after closing out his interest with 
 Mr. P'isher, he again visited England, and extended 
 his tour while abroad to Ireland, Scotland, France, 
 Belgium, Italy, .Switzerland and portions ot Ger- 
 many, returning home in the fall. In the spring 
 of 1868, he formed a five-years' partnership with 
 the Hon. Seely Perry, who was doing a lumber 
 business on the ground formerly occupied by our 
 subject, and where Mr. Perry is still carrying on 
 the same business. In the spring of 1874, they 
 terminated their partnership, and in June Mr. Lake 
 again indulged his fondness for travel, and re- 
 visited England, Scotland and France, and three 
 times since he has made the same journey, in the 
 summers of 1877, 1889 and 1891, his eldest daugh- 
 ter accompanying him across the ocean on his last 
 trip. He has not altogether confined his travels to 
 European countries, but has spent a winter on the 
 Pacific Coast, going to California in May, 1885, 
 with his wife and niece, and staying there until 
 the following April. 
 
 Our subject is a man of fine physique and good 
 presence, is possessed of business acumen and ex- 
 ecutive ability in a rare degree, and has made his 
 influence felt in various directions. He has filled 
 various positions of trust, and his official record is 
 without blemish, as he has always acted for the 
 best interests of those concerned, without regard to 
 self, and has discharged his duties faithfully, fear- 
 lessly and with a clear conscience. He has been 
 connected with the Rockford Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany since its inception. This company procured 
 its charter in 1866, and Mr. Lake was elected its 
 first Vice-president, and acted in that capacity un- 
 til January, 1886, when he became the choice of 
 the Board of Directors for President of the com- 
 pany, vice Dr. R. P. Lane, who had resigned at 
 the close of 1885. This is one of the leading in- 
 surance companies of the West, and as its presid- 
 ing officer, our subject's safe and wise policy in the 
 management of its affairs strengthens the reputa- 
 tion it has acquired for stability. For ten years, 
 ending in 1883, Mr. Lake served the Second Ward 
 of the city as Alderman, and the same ward as Su- 
 
 pervisor a part of that time. From 1877 to 1878, 
 he was Chairman of the Board of Education. lie 
 is prominent in social circles as one of the leading 
 members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
 and was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge and 
 Representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge of 
 the United States for six consecutive years. 
 
 Mr. Lake was married, October 11, 1849, to Miss 
 Almeda M. Danlej', whose parents, Cornelius and 
 Sarah Danley, were farmers and pioneers of the 
 town of Harlem, Winnebago County. Mrs. Lake 
 has co-operated with her husband in the making of 
 a true home in their handsome residence at No. 
 1211 East State Street, and its hospitalities are well 
 known to their many friends. Of the seven chil- 
 dren born to our subject and his wife, three died 
 in infancy. The following is the record of the 
 four that survive: Sarah E., born September 26, 
 1850, married William H. Crocker, of Evanston, 
 III., August 21, 1884; Jennie E., born February 2, 
 1854, married Charles M. Clark, of Rockford, Oc- 
 tober 21, 1874; Alice M., born March 23, 1861, 
 married William M. Prentice, of Rockford, Decem- 
 ber 18, 1878; Frank L., born April 5, 1865, married 
 Jessie E. Shirley, of Rockford, May 5, 1886. 
 
 Mr. Lake is a man of wide experience, a keen 
 observer of men and affairs, with a mind broad- 
 ened by travel and contact with the world, and he 
 is an interesting conversationalist, possessing a 
 varied fund of information. Though retaining a 
 strong affection for his native land, he is loyal to 
 the country of his adoption, and a thorough Amer- 
 ican in his habits and views of life. He has not 
 only watched with pleasure the development of 
 this city, his chosen home, with which his personal 
 interests are so closely bound, but he has witnessed 
 with pride and delight the wonderful growth of 
 these United States in the course of half a century. 
 In a chat with the biographer concerning his past 
 life, he spoke eloquently of the great changes that 
 had taken place, of the discoveries and inventions 
 that have revolutionized the world since he became 
 a citizen of this republic. Speaking of the grand 
 progress made in human affairs, he said: 
 
 "In June, 1892, it will be fifty-five j'ears since I 
 landed in Philadelphia. What changes m all the 
 varied affairs of human life since that time! When 
 
208 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 we sailed down the River Severn from Bristol, 
 on our voyage to the United States, I remember 
 seeing on the docks in process of construction, the 
 'Great Western,' the first steamship of any im- 
 portance that crossed the Atlantic to New York. 
 Compare that slow and unwieldj'- craft with the 
 flouting palaces that are now nearly every day in 
 the year crossing and recrossing from one country 
 to the other! 
 
 "Instead of seven weeks, the journey of over 
 three thousand miles is now accomplished in less 
 than six days, and the passengers are provided 
 with all the luxuries afforded by the best hotels in 
 New York or Chicago. Postage to Europe was 
 then twenty-five cents, and now a letter is carried 
 across the ocean for five cents. Telegraph, tele- 
 phone, electric railways and machinery of various 
 kinds, propelled by steam or electricity, have come 
 into general use only withm a comparatively short 
 time. 
 
 "In 1837, the United States had a population of 
 about sixteen millions; soon its inhabitants will be 
 numbered by seventy millions. Then Chicago 
 could boast of but four thousand one hundred and 
 seveutj' souls; now the latest census gives it nearly 
 one million three hundred thousand inhabitants. 
 When I came here, the country west of the Missis- 
 sippi River was inhabited mainly by Indians and 
 wild beasts to the shores of the Pacific; now six 
 railroads cross the then supposed impassable Rocky 
 and Sierra Nevada Mountains, and what was once 
 called the 'Great American Desert,' has been made 
 to blossom like the rose, and is the home of a con- 
 tented and prosperous people. Then the genius of 
 an Edison had not been thought or dreamed of. 
 What will be the experience of the human race 
 during the next fifty-five years? Many who now 
 live will see, but for us of the olden-time, it is not 
 for us to know." 
 
 ♦^^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 11^ DWARD II. MARSH, attorney at law, real- 
 |p estate dealer, money loaner and Notary 
 IJ^^ Public, is one of the enterprising and wide- 
 awake young business men of Rockford. His oflice 
 is now located at No. 41« East State Street. He 
 
 has the honor of being a native of this citv his 
 birth having occurred here in 1860, and a repre- 
 sentative of one of its pioneer families. His father 
 J. B. Marsh, is proprietor of a large furniture es- 
 tablishment on East State Street. He has been a 
 resident of this city for nearly forty years and his 
 life has been spent in carrying on the business 
 which his father, Horace Marsh, who is now de- 
 ceased, established here at an early day. The fam- 
 ily came from Connecticut to Illinois and have 
 since resided at Rockford. J. B. Marsh was married 
 in this city, to Miss Amanda Work, a native of 
 Ohio, who came to Rockford when a young lady. 
 This couple are among the prominent residents of 
 the city where they so long resided and have a 
 wide acquaintance among its best people. Their 
 two children are now living: our subject and Fan- 
 nie, who resides with her parents. 
 
 i;dward H. Marsli acquired his literary education 
 in the public schools of Rockford, after which he 
 fitted himself for the practice of law in the State 
 University in Ann Arbor, Mich., from which be 
 was graduated in the Class of '82. In 1884, he 
 opened an oflice in his native city and has here 
 since engaged in practice. He has also been con- 
 nected with many of the leading industries and 
 enterprises of Rockford. At this writing, he is 
 Secretary of the H. W. Price Improvement Com- 
 pany, proprietors of the North End Division, a 
 property embracing more than six hundred acres 
 of land. It is well located and supplied with street 
 car and railroad lines and a number of important 
 factories are going up, while some are already in 
 operation. The land is high, lying near the Rock 
 River, which affords it a natural surface drainage. 
 The lots are well located and elegantly laid out 
 for building purposes and sell from 1200 to $600 
 a piece, being already in good demand. There is 
 also upon this division a schoolhouse, furnished 
 with all the accommodations of the city. 
 
 Mr. Marsh is also connected with other leading 
 enterprises and gives liberall}' to those interests 
 calculated to promote the city's growth. He is 
 both public-spirited and progessive, and is a 
 valued citizen of the community. He is now 
 serving as attorney for the Swedish Building 
 and Loan Association and other corporations and 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 209 
 
 has been two years City Attorney and has served 
 as Supervisor of the Sixth Ward. Every public 
 trust reposed in him is faithfullj' dibchargcd, and 
 he has proved a competent officer. Socially, he is a 
 member of the Knights of Pj'thias and Woodman 
 lodges, and is a Masoo. In politics, he is a stalwart 
 Republican and has served as Chairman of the 
 County Central Committee. Mr. Marsh is enterpris- 
 ing and industrious and is a young man who will 
 no doubt win great success in life. 
 
 REDRICK NUGREN has been a resident of 
 Rockford since the fall of 1868, and is a 
 well-known mechanic of the city, whose 
 sketch we feel assured will prove of interest to 
 many of our readers. A native of Sweden, he was 
 born on the 19th of September, 1843, and is a son 
 of Johnas Anderson, who spent his entire life in 
 his native province in Sweden, engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, and was called to the home be- 
 yond at the age of seventy-six years. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Mary Johnson, is yet liv- 
 ing on the old homestead at the age of sevent3'- 
 four. She is a consistent member of the Lutheran 
 Church, to which her husband also belonged for 
 many years. One daughter of the familjr resides 
 in this country, Christina, wife of Johans Trupd, 
 a mechanic of Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Nugren spent the daj'S of his boyhood and 
 youth in his parents' home, but on attaining his 
 majority, he bade good-bye to friends and native 
 land and set sail for America to try his fortune in 
 the Now World, of whose privileges and advan- 
 tages he had heard such favorable leports. He 
 sailed from Gottenburg, and after seventeen days 
 spent upon the broad Atlantic, he arrived in New 
 York, whence he journeyed Westward by land, 
 reaching Rockford on the 16th of November, 
 1868. With the exception of a few months spent 
 in California, he has since resided in this city. 
 After locating here, he learned the trade of a cab- 
 inet-maker, to which he has devoted his entire en- 
 ergy. Since 1879, he has been a stockholder in 
 the Central P'urniture Company and is also one 
 of its Directors and works in the. factory. 
 
 Mr. Nugren was joined in wedlock, in this city, 
 to Miss Mary Casya, who was born in the same 
 province as her husband, and when a young lady 
 emigrated to this country in 1870, since which 
 time Rockford has been her home. Her parents 
 never left their native land. Her father, a mem- 
 ber of the Lutheran Church, died in Sweden at an 
 advanced age. His wife, who is now sixty-four 
 years of age, is also a consistent member of the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 The union of Mr. and Mrs. Nugren has been 
 blessed with a family of five children, but Charles 
 is now deceased. The four yet living are Anna 
 M., Alma J., Fredrica W. and Esther. The family 
 reside at their pleasant home at No. 303 Bluff Street, 
 which was built under the direction of our subject. 
 He is a skilled workman in the line of his trade 
 and has become a well-to-do citizen, owing to his 
 industry and good management. He came to this 
 country empty-handed but has made the most of 
 his opportunities and tiie result is shown in his 
 present prosperity. 
 
 ORACE FOOTE, one of the old pioneers of 
 Winnebago County, having come here as 
 early as 1837, is now living retired in the 
 city of Rockford. He hailed from New 
 York, his birth having occurred in Burlington, 
 Otsego County, December 27, 1811. Burnice 
 Foote, his father, was Liorn in Bernardstown, 
 Franklin Countj^, Mass., in 1766. The latter- 
 named gentleman was reared and given a good 
 education and remained in his native State until 
 1800, at whicli time he started for the then F'ar 
 West, locating in Burlington, Otsego County, 
 N. Y. He opened a public house at Burlington 
 Green, which was located on the stage route lead- 
 ing from Albany to Cooperstown. After being 
 employed as "mine host" for a few years, the 
 elder Mr. Foote purchased land near the Green, 
 upon which he resided and farmed until his 
 decease in January, 1831. 
 
 Miss Melinda Field was the maiden name of 
 our subject's mother, her birth occurring in Novth- 
 fleld, Franklin County, Mass. She survived her 
 
210 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 husband many years, and died at the home of the 
 original of this sketch in 1862, at the advanced 
 age of ninety-two years. She became the mother 
 of six children: Harriet, who died at the age of 
 sixty-five years; Horatio, when ninety-one years; 
 Lucius, at ninety, Feronia, at seventy-seven, and 
 Hiram at the age of eighty-one. Our subject, who 
 is the youngest member of the family, is the only 
 one now living, and he is the only one among the 
 sons of the family who did not become a minister 
 in the Congregational Church. 
 
 Horace Foote was reared to man's estate and 
 given a good education in Burlington, the schools 
 being conducted on the subscription plan. There 
 were no railroads or canals in the vicinity of his 
 home, and the nearest market was at Utica, ninety 
 miles distant. Our subject continued his residence 
 in Burlington until 1837, when he started for this 
 State, accompanied by his mother, the trip being 
 made overland with a team to Oberlin, Ohio, 
 where a brother and sister were attending college, 
 and where also his brother Horatio was located. 
 The mother remaining in that city, our subject, 
 with Horatio, came on to Winnebago County, 
 they being delegated by other families of the East, 
 including Dr. A. M. Catlin, Deacon J. "VV. Baker, 
 and Deacon Tyler, to select a desirable location. 
 At that time Roekford contained but few families 
 and the greater portion of the land was still owned 
 by the Government. Mr. Foote and his brother 
 purchased a "squatter's" claim to a large tract of 
 land two and one-half miles up the river to Rock- 
 ford, and after buying the claim, Horatio returned 
 to Oberlin to notify the other families. Our 
 subject remained here during the winter and 
 erected on the land three log houses and two log 
 barns. 
 
 Early in 1838, the family of our subject located 
 on the above-mentioned tract, and, as before stated, 
 the brothers being preachers were very busy at- 
 tending to their professional duties, and conse- 
 quently the management of tiie farm devolved 
 upon our subject. He improved a farm, erected 
 thereon good buildings, and continued to reside 
 there until 1888, then removed to Roekford where 
 he has since lived retired. 
 
 Miss Harriet M. Batchelder became the wife of 
 
 our subject in 1843; she was born in New Hamp- 
 shire in 1826, and bore her husband six children 
 three of whom are living: Mary C, Nellie T., 
 and Henry M. Mrs. Foote passed away January 
 16, 1867. 
 
 WILLIAM D. CORNWELL, County Treas- 
 urer of Boone County, was born in Brant- 
 ford, Ontario, Canada, on the 27th of 
 March, 1833. His father, Gabriel D. Cornwell, was, 
 it is thought, born in York State, and was an infant 
 when his parents moved to Canada. He was there 
 reared and married, and continued to make that 
 his home until 1845, and then, in company with 
 his wife and eight children, came to Illinois. They 
 started from their home in Canada with six teams, 
 and drove to St. Joseph, Mich., where they em- 
 barked on a steamer and crossed Lake Michigan to 
 Chicago. Then with their teams they came to 
 Belvidere, at a time when the country was very 
 sparsely settled, and Belvidere was but a small 
 village on the northern side of the river. Mr. 
 Cornwell secured a tract of land in what is now 
 Caledonia Township, erected a good frame house 
 and at once began the improvement of a farm. Ho 
 resided on that place until the decease of his wife, 
 when he made his home with a daughter in Le Roy 
 Township, until his decease, dying February 7, 
 1885. 
 
 Our subject's mother bore the maiden name of 
 Margaret Day; she was born in Canada and died 
 on the home farm in 1877, having become the 
 mother of eight children. William D. was twelve 
 years of age when he came to the Prairie State 
 with his parents, and has witnessed almost the 
 entire growth and development of this section. 
 He assisted on the home farm until fifteen years of 
 age, and tlien served an apprenticeship of three 
 years at the mason's trade. In 1857, he located on 
 a farm which he still owns in Caledonia Township, 
 hiring the work done on his estate and continuing 
 to work at his trade until 1867. In that year, he 
 went to Caledonia and engaged in the lumbering 
 business. Four years later, Mr. Cornwell went to 
 Colorado, and for four years worked at his trade 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 211 
 
 in Pueblo and Denver. Returning to this county, 
 he resided on tlie farm, the operation of which he 
 superintended, and worked at liis trade until 1890, 
 since which time he has been a resident of Belvi- 
 dere. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married in 
 1857 was Miss Catherine, daughter of William 
 Chappel, who was born in England, and on coming 
 to America, located in Genesee County, N. Y., 
 where he resided for many j'ears, and where Mrs. 
 Cornwell was born. In 1856, her father came to 
 Illinois and located in Caledonia Township. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Mary A. Getten, also 
 a native of England. 
 
 Mr. .ind Mrs. Cornwell liavc reared a family of 
 one child, Adella, who was born December 1, 1859, 
 married, December 25, 1879, Walter Bruner, and 
 departed this life April 14, 1881, leaving one 
 child, William Howard. They have an adopted 
 daughter, Jennie, who is the wife of James Preston, 
 of Walworth County, Wis., and the mother of two 
 children: Ruel and Ralph. 
 
 Our subject is a Republican in politics, and in 
 1890 was elected to his present responsible position 
 of Treasurer of Boone County. With his wife, he 
 is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 and personally is a very genial gentleman, liaving 
 a host of warm friends in this county. 
 
 'NDREW N. NOLING, of Rockford, first 
 opened his eyes to the light of day on the 
 5th of Api'il, 1839, in Wester Gothland, 
 Sweden. He is the eldest child of the fam- 
 ily, and was the first to come to America. A sketch 
 of his parents is given in connection with the his- 
 tory of L. M. Noling, on another page of this work. 
 No event of special importance occurred during 
 the childhood of our subject. When it was time 
 to enter upon a business career, he chose cabinet- 
 making as the trade which lie wished to follow, and 
 served a full apprenticeship in that line. 
 
 In Sweden, Mr. Noling was united in marriage 
 to Miss Johanna Johnson, who came with her hus- 
 band to this country, and died at tlieir home in 
 Rockford, in 1874. She was a good Christian 
 
 woman, and may friends mourned her loss. One 
 child preceded her to the final home, Hilda, who 
 died in youth, and three are yet living. Freder- 
 ick A., the eldest, is a carver in the employ of the 
 Central Furniture Companj' of this city; Jennie O. 
 occupies the position of book-keeper with the Star 
 Laundry Company; and J. William is also a carver 
 of the Central Furniture Company. 
 
 Mr. Noling came to Rockford in 1868. He sailed 
 from Gottenburg to New York City on one of the 
 steamers of the In man Line, and reached his desti- 
 nation in May of that year. He did not tarry long 
 in the Eastern metropolis, but at once made his 
 way to Chicago, and on the 6th of June arrived in 
 Rockford, where he has since resided. In the years 
 which have followed, he has been connected in 
 one way or another with the various furniture fac- 
 tories of this citj'. He is now a stockholder in the 
 Union Grocery Company, and one of the large 
 stockholders and directors in the Central Furni- 
 ture Company, in which he also works as a cabinet- 
 maker. He was one of the first men to help organ- 
 ize the latter company. He has been very successful 
 since coming to this country, and has acquired a 
 competence which numbers him among the well-to- 
 do Swedish residents of Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Noling was a second time married, in this 
 city, this lime to Miss Anna K. Swenson, who was 
 born in Smoland, Sweden, June 10, 1847. Her 
 parents died in their native land when she was 
 about eighteen years of age. Her father. Swan 
 Nelson, was a farmer, and was called to rest at the 
 age of fifty. His wife, wliose maiden name was 
 Helen Johnson, died about two years later. Tiiey 
 were members of the Lutheran Church. In the 
 family were five children: John and Mary are both 
 married, and reside in Sweden; Christina is a resi- 
 dent of Kansas; and Sophia makes her liome in 
 Rockford. The two latter are also married. Mrs. 
 Noling crossed the Atlantic in 1874, reaching Rock- 
 ford on the 17th of July, and on the 14th of April, 
 1875, gave her hand in marriage to our subject. 
 Their union has been blessed with two children, 
 who are yet living: Martin Norman and Esther A. 
 They lost four children : Charles A., Oscar M., Os- 
 car E. and A. Lillie, all of whom died in childhood. 
 The parents are members of the First Lutheran 
 
212 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Church. Tliey reside at No. 305 Ahnon Street, 
 where they have a beautiful home whicli was built 
 by Mr. Noling. This worthy ecmple have many 
 friends in the community, and are people of ster- 
 ling worth, deserving the high esteem in which 
 they are held. 
 
 ■^^l 
 
 \\m 
 
 \H 
 
 ORAMEL A. RICHARDSON. Tlie Wiscon- 
 sin Lumber Company was organized in Jan- 
 uary, 1886, as an incorporated institution, 
 and since that time has carried on a large and lu- 
 crative business, with ]Mr. Richardson as President 
 and Manager. The company carries a complete 
 line of liard and soft lumber and house-building 
 supplies, and, possessing large resources and facili- 
 ties, occupies a position high among the leading 
 enterprises of this character in Winnebago County. 
 The practical management of the business is placed 
 in the hands of Mr. Richardson, who is thoroughly 
 experienced in all its details and attends to its oper- 
 ations in a manner which secures the maintenance 
 of the high standard of quality for which the firm 
 is celebrated, while his reliable business methods 
 have secured for the firm an enviable place in 
 the confidence of the people. 
 
 Before speaking more minutely of the life of 
 our subject, it will doubtless be of interest to the 
 reader to mention a few facts in regard to the 
 career of his father, Hiram, who died near the 
 city of Rockford, January 13, 1885. As early as 
 1836, he sought a home in Guilford Tovvnship, 
 Winnebago County, where he secured a "squat- 
 ter's" claim to new land, of which he gained pos- 
 session when it came into market. At that time 
 the county was in its infancj^, and onl}' two j^ears 
 before, Mr. Kent had erected a sawmill in the citj' 
 of Rockfoixl (then a mere hamlet). He was one 
 of the first settlers in Guilford Township, and, 
 without any capital, but with plenty of energy, 
 he set to work clearing his land and improving a 
 farm. 
 
 The nearest market in those early days was the 
 unimportant little village of Chicago, which of- 
 fered little inducements to the early settlers. 
 Mr. Rich.ardson, while he was there trading, saw a 
 
 man offered a lot where the court house now 
 stands in exchange for a Seth Thomas clock, he 
 declining without a moment's hesitation. He 
 .aided in putting up the first frame house erected 
 in Rockford and made on his farm some brick 
 which was used in the construction of the first 
 brick buildings of the city. Success crowned his 
 efforts and he became well known as a prosperous 
 farmer and prominent old settler. A man of 
 quiet disposition, reserved and modest, he always 
 worked for the good of the communitj' and was a 
 member of the Old Settlers' Society. 
 
 Mr. Richardson, Sr., came hither from Orange 
 Countjf, Vt., where he was born August 24, 1818. 
 His parents died when he was a mere lad and he 
 became self-supporting at an earl}' age. In Win- 
 nebago County, this State, he was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Lucetta Thurston, who was born 
 in New Hampshire, July 27, 1819. She still sur- 
 vives, making her home with her sons in Rock- 
 ford. The only children of this family are Charles 
 A. .and O. A., both residents of Rockford. 
 
 The j'ounger of the two sons, our subject, was 
 born in Rockford, October 27, 1846, and here has 
 spent his entire life. He early developed busi- 
 ness qualities of no ordinary character and for 
 some time was manager of a lumber company, of 
 which he became owner in 1873. He remained in 
 that connection until January, 1886, when the 
 companj' was merged into the Wisconsin Lumber 
 Company. Mr. Richardson also takes an interest 
 in other corporations and institutions of Rock- 
 ford. In politics, he is a Republican of the most 
 pronounced type. 
 
 The lady who became the wife of our subject, 
 September 27, 1870, bore the maiden name of 
 Emma Regan, and was born and reared in Rock- 
 ford. Her father, Marshall H. Regan, came to lUi- 
 nois in the earlj' '40s and engaged in the lumber 
 business at Rockford until his death, in 1875. He 
 wa,s twice married, the mother of iMrs. Richard- 
 son being killed in a railroad accident at South 
 Bend, Ind., in 1857, when in the prime of life. 
 Her eldest daughter Mary lost her life in the same 
 manner. The second wife of Mr. Regan was a 
 Miss Stewart and still survives, her home being in 
 Rockford. 
 
,'^^ 
 
 (^^^^C^t^ 
 
 <7 
 
'cnyL-^ , 
 
PORTRAIT AND RIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 217 
 
 In their religious connections, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Richardson are members of the First Baptist 
 Church of Rockford, and he is serving as Deacon. 
 They are the parents of six cliildren, as follows: 
 Mabel, who graduated from Mt. Carroll Seminary; 
 Harry D., who was educated at the Northwestern 
 University, of Evanston, is a promising j'oung 
 man; Lillian M. is a student in Mt. Carroll Semi- 
 nary; Alfred G., Raymond O. and Ethel Emma 
 Pearl are at home and attend the city schools. 
 
 ON. INGALLS CARLETON. Probably in 
 1) the history of Winnebago County no more 
 worthy representative can be found of 
 what can be accomplished by energy, in- 
 tegrity and well-directed efforts, than is so strik- 
 ingly exemplified in the successful life of this gen- 
 tleman. Since 1877, he has made his home in 
 Rockford, where he owns and occupies an elegant 
 residence on East State, corner of Summit Street. 
 He has been engaged in the real-estate business 
 since 1868, having dealt largely in land both in 
 Winnebago County and elsewhere. At present, 
 he has extensive interests in Sioux Falls, Dak., and 
 the country immediately surrounding that city. 
 
 A native of Vermont, Mr. Carleton was born in 
 Marshfleld, Washington County, March 30, 1824, 
 and is a lineal descendant of Gen. Carleton. His 
 paternal grandfather, Jeremiah Carleton, was born 
 in Lyndeborough, N. H., and followed farming 
 pursuits in his native State, removing thence with 
 teams to Barre, Vt., and settling in the wilderness. 
 From a tract of timber land he cleared a farm, 
 which remained his home until death called him 
 hence. A grandson now owns the old homestead, 
 one of the most attractive places in the Green 
 Mountain State. 
 
 The grandmother of our subject, whose maiden 
 name was Mary Edwards, was of New England 
 birth and was descended from the famous Dr. Ed- 
 wards. She reared seven children, whose names 
 were Jeremiah, Silas, Noah, David, Hiram, Deborah 
 and Mary, respectively. The only surviving mem- 
 bers of the family are Hiram and Deborah. Jeremiah, 
 
 father of our subject, was born in Barre, Washing- 
 ton County, Vt., in 1800, and was reared in his na- 
 tive place, there receiving his education. In his 
 youth he removed to Nashua, N. H., where he 
 learned the trade of a blacksmith. After follow- 
 ing his trade for a while, he purchased a farm near 
 Marshfield. Before railroads had been introduced 
 into that section of the country, Burlington was 
 the principal market and depot of supplies, to 
 which the fanners hauled their grain and returned 
 home with articles procured in exchange. Jere- 
 miah Carleton followed the calling of a farmer 
 until his death in 1881. His wife, Betsey (Robey) 
 Carleton, a native of Nashua, N. H.,long preceded 
 him in death, passing awaj' in Marshfleld, Vt., in 
 1836, at the age of thirty-six. Her father, Pliihp 
 Abbott Robey, was born in the old town of Dun- 
 stable, N. H., and, until a few j-ears ago, the house 
 was standing in which he was born. He served 
 during the Revolutionary War .and was an active 
 participant in the battle of Ticonderoga. He mar- 
 ried Lucy Proctor and settled in Cavandish, Vt, 
 now called Proctorville. 
 
 The boyhood daj'S of our subject were passed in 
 a comparatively uneventful manner. At the age 
 of eighteen, he commenced teaching and continued 
 in that way during three winter terms, being en- 
 gaged in farming the remainder of the year. He 
 also dealt in live-stock, buying in Marshfield and 
 the neighboring villages, and selling at Brighton 
 and Cambridge, Mass. In 1856, he came to Illi- 
 nois and bought one hundred and tweut}' acres in 
 Rockton Township, Winnebago County. In the 
 fall of the same year, he returned to Vermont and 
 spent the winter, but in the spring came again to 
 Rockton, where he formed a partnership with the 
 Hon. G. H. Hollister and engaged in the grain busi- 
 ness. The firm built a flouring-mill, which they 
 operated in connection with the grain business un- 
 til 1868, meeting with success as the result of judi- 
 cious dealings and commendable perseverance. In 
 the year mentioned, Mr. Carleton sold out his in- 
 terest in the business and emlxirked in the real- 
 estate enterprises, which have since engaged his 
 attention. 
 
 In June, 1869, Mr. Carleton was married to Miss 
 Amy Lawrence, who was born in Rockton, Winne- 
 
218 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 bago County. She belongs to the well-known 
 New England family of that name, who were 
 identified with tlie early history of Massachusetts. 
 The Lawrence family is of English descent and 
 some of its members settled in New England dur- 
 ing the Colonial period. They bore a conspicuous 
 part in the history and development of that part 
 of the country and as lawyers, jurists, soldiers and 
 business men, stood in the front rank of Ameri- 
 can citizenship. The grandfather of Mrs. Carle- 
 ton, John Lawrence, was a farmer of the old Bay 
 State and spent his last days in Groton, Middlesex 
 County, where his son Luther was born. 
 
 The last-named was reared and educated in 
 Groton, whence, in 1837, he removed to Illinois 
 and became one of the early settlers of Rockton. 
 The journey to this county was made by stage and 
 railroad to Albany, tlience via Erie Canal to Buf- 
 falo, from there across the Lakes to Detroit, where 
 he procured ox-teams and made an overland ti-ip 
 to Belvidere, 111. At that time Northern Illinois 
 was very sparsely settled, and deer and other wild 
 game were plentiful. All the land in this section 
 of the country was still owned by the Govern- 
 ment, the surveys not yet being completed. He 
 made a claim to a tract near Belvidere and when 
 the land came into market, made the purchase 
 from the Government. He was single on coming 
 to Illinois and did not at once make a permanent 
 settlement, but Anally located at Rockton, operat- 
 ing a flouring-mill for some years, but was retired 
 from active business cares for some time prior to 
 his death in March, 1891. 
 
 The mother of Mrs. Carleton, whose maiden 
 name was Adelia Loomer, was born in Rome, N. Y., 
 the daughter of Loring and Mary Loomer, and 
 died in 1869. Loring Loomer was a native of 
 Great Barrington, Mass., his grandfather, a wealthy 
 aristocrat, moving thence from Virginia, sacrificing 
 a beautiful home during the war. Mrs. Adelia 
 Lawrence reared four children, namely: Mary M., 
 Harriet, Amy and Frances. Mr. and Mrs. Carleton 
 have one son, Leonard Ingalls. In his politics, Mr. 
 Carleton was formerly a Whig and joined the Re- 
 publican party at the time of its formation, since 
 which time he has been an ardent supporter of its 
 principles. He was twice elected to represent the 
 
 town of Marshfleld in the Vermont State Legisla- 
 ture. He was a member at the time the State House 
 was burned and served during the extra session 
 which was called to make appropriations for a new 
 State House. He has been instrumental in mould- 
 ing the opinions of his fellow-citizens, among whom 
 his opinion carries great weight, and is justly re- 
 garded as a man of honorable principles and unusual 
 ability. The attention of the reader is invited 
 to the lithographic portraits of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Carleton presented in this connection. 
 
 ^*OHN PILCHER, Jr., who was for many 
 years a leading farmer of Caledonia Town- 
 .ship, and is now living in Belvidere, claims 
 England as the land of his birth. He was 
 born in Kent County, March 15, 1841, andis a son 
 of John Pilcher, also a native of Kent County, as 
 were the grandparents. The father was reared 
 upon a farm, and followed agricultural pursuits in 
 his native land until April, 1851, when, with his 
 wife and our subject, he sailed from London, Eng- 
 land, to New York, where he arrived after a voy- 
 age of five weeks. He went at once to Fairfield 
 County, Ohio, where he made his home until 1855, 
 when he came to Boone County, and located in 
 Belvidere. He here worked at the mason's trade, 
 and engaged in drilling wells until 1865, when he 
 bought land in the town of Bonus, and engaged 
 in farming for twelve years, when he returned to 
 Belvidere and devoted his energies to gardening. 
 He now resides in Hillsboro, N. H. His wife died 
 in this city, leaving three children: John of this 
 sketch; Irene, wife of William B. Chilvers; and 
 Eliza A., wife of Charles S. Dana. 
 
 Our subject was a lad of ten years when he came 
 with his parents to the United States. He attended 
 private school in Kent County, and afterward was 
 a student in the public schools of Lancastei, Ohio, 
 and of Belvidere. When not in school, he was 
 employed on the farm, and continued to engage in 
 agricultural pursuits until 1862, when, on the 23d 
 of March, he enlisted in Company E, Sixty-fifth 
 Illinois Infantry. He was made a prisoner at Har- 
 per's Ferry the following September, and with oth- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 219 
 
 ers was parolled, and was in camp at Chicago until 
 exchanged. At the siege of Knoxville, in 1863, he 
 was severely wounded and incapacitated for farther 
 active duty. He continued in service until the ex- 
 piration of his term, when he was honorably dis- 
 charged in March, 1865. 
 
 As soon as possible, Mr. Pilcher returned home, 
 and resumed farming. After his marriage, he rented 
 land for four years, and then purchased a farm in 
 Caledonia Township, to the cultivation and im- 
 provement of which he devoted his energies until 
 1891, when he sold out and came to Belvidere. 
 He purchased property in the city, and has there 
 since made his home. As a companion and help- 
 mate on life's journej^ he chose Miss Ida A. Kipp, 
 a native of the Empire State, and a daughter of 
 Abraham and Clarissa Kipp. Their union was cele- 
 brated in 1871, and unto them was born a daugh- 
 ter, Cora Edith. The mother died April 8, 1885, 
 and her death was deeply regretted by many friends. 
 
 Mr. Pilcher is a member of the Second Baptist 
 Church, and socially, is connected with S. A. Hurl- 
 but Post No. 164, G. A. R., while his daughter is a 
 member of the Ladies' Aid Society, S. of V. He 
 is recognized as one of the substantial citizens of 
 the community, and for his success in life deserves 
 great credit, as it is due entirely to his own efforts. 
 
 ORVILL P. THOMAS. A pleasantly located 
 and fertile tract of land on section 7, Owen 
 Township, Winnebago County, is owned 
 and occupied by the subject of this sketch, who is 
 giving his time and attention to agricultural pur- 
 suits. He is an old resident of the county, having 
 come here in 1867, and has consequently been an 
 important factor in the growth and development 
 of this section. 
 
 William M. Thomas, the father of our subject, 
 was born in Pennsylvania, as was also his father, 
 Moses Thomas, whom tradition says was a descen- 
 dant of one of three brothers who came from Wales 
 to America in Colonial times. The grandfather 
 followed the occupation of a farmer and resided 
 in Wayne County, Pa. The father of our subject 
 was married in the Keystone State, where he re- 
 
 sided until 1838, and then, coming overland with 
 his wife and three children to Winnebago Countj^, 
 made the trip via the Lakes to Chicago and thence 
 by team to Rockford. Making a claim to a tract of 
 Government land now included in Rockton Town- 
 ship, Mr. Thomas erected a log cabin and began the 
 work of subduing nature, clearing and breaking 
 land. In 1881, he sold this tract and removed to 
 Rockton where he died in July, 1882. His wife, 
 who W!is born in Wayne County, Pa., was known 
 in her maidenhood as Eliza Conkling. 
 
 The original of this sketch does not remember 
 the overland trip to this county, as he was very 
 young at the time, but the hardships through 
 which the family passed in developing the new 
 home have made a lasting impressiom upon his 
 mind. For some time deer, wolves and other 
 kinds of animals were very plentiful, and as there 
 were no railroads, Chicago and the lead mines in 
 the vicinity of Galena were the nearest markets. 
 
 In 1858, Mr. Thomas of this sketch started with 
 others for Pike's Peak, the party crossing the Miss- 
 issippi River at Fulton and the Missouri at Platts- 
 mouth, but, hearing discouraging reports from 
 people who were returning from that region, they 
 concluded to come home, and from that time until 
 1862 our subject was engaged in farming with his 
 brother, John C. On the outbreak of the Civil 
 War, he was enlisted in Company F, Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Infantry and served his country bravely 
 until the close of the war, having participated 
 with his regiment in many of the important battles 
 and campaigns, among which were Perryville, 
 Stone River and the march with Sherman to At- 
 lanta. He also fought at Chattanooga, Jonesville, 
 Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville. 
 
 He of whom we write in 1867 purchased the 
 farm upon which he now resides and where he has 
 been a continuous resident, with the exception of 
 the year 1870, which he spent in Kansas. The 
 fall of 1870, he was united in marriage with Alice 
 A. Carr. Mrs. Thomas was born in Livingston 
 County, N. Y., and was a daughter of John Carr, 
 who was born on the banks of Crooked Lake, that 
 State. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Thomas, 
 William Carr, was born either in New York or 
 New England, and was a farmer by occupation. 
 
220 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 spending his Last days on his farm in Crooked 
 Lake. The maiden name of her grandraotlier was 
 Ann Mattisoii ; she was also a native of tlie Em- 
 pire State. Tlie father of Mrs. Thomas came to 
 Illinois in 1855, and resided in Rockton and Owen 
 Townships, this county, until 1872, when they re- 
 moved to Wisconsin, purchasing a farm near Bel- 
 oit, where they made their home. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Irene F. Bibbins, daughter 
 of Smith and Angeline (Fargo) Bibbins. The three 
 children comprising the household of our subject 
 are William 0., John L. and Dora A. In politics, 
 he is a straightforward Republican. 
 
 rjVRUNDAGE CORBY WILLIAMS. Among 
 ^^^ the gentlemen prominent in business in 
 
 Rockford there is, perhaps, no one more 
 worthy of mention than Mr. Williams,wliose 
 birth occurred at Vernon, Essex County, N. J., 
 September 2, 1832. His father, Aaron Williams, 
 was also a native of that county, while his grand- 
 father, Joseph Williams, hailed from Connecticut 
 and was a lineal descendant of Roger Williams. 
 The grandfather removed to New Jersey, where he 
 resided on a farm in Essex County until his de- 
 cease. His wife, it is believed, was also a native of 
 Connecticut and spent her last years on the Essex 
 County farm. 
 
 Aaron Williams was given a good education in 
 his native county, and on learning the trade of a 
 shoemaker was engaged in that business in Bing- 
 hampton, N. Y., for a number of years. He later 
 came to Rockford on a visit in the fall of 1881 
 and departed this life at the home of our subject, 
 January 30 of the following year, when seventy- 
 one years of age. His wife, who was born in Essex 
 County, N. J., was prior to her marriage known 
 as Miss Rebecca Corby, being the daughter of 
 Ezekiel and Rebecca Corby, natives of the above- 
 named State. On the death of her husband, Mrs. 
 Williams returned to Binghampton, in the summer 
 of 1882, and, residing with a daughter for a time, 
 later went to Yonkers on a visit to another daugh- 
 ter, departing this life at the home of one of her 
 
 children in Rensselaerville May 16, 1856, in her 
 seventy-fourth j-ear. 
 
 Six sons and Ave daughters were included in the 
 parental family, and our subject was but eighteen 
 months old when his father and mother removed 
 to Binghampton, N. Y., the journey being made 
 overland by teams. There he received a good 
 education, and when eighteen years old began to 
 learn the trade of a carpenter, serving an appren- 
 ticeship of a year and a half. He worked at journey 
 work during the summers and taught school in the 
 winter. Later, going to Neiv York City, he did 
 journey work for a time, and in 1855 was similarly 
 engaged for two years at Scranton, Pa., losing his 
 wages at that time on account of the great financial 
 crash, which caused all kinds of business to be sus- 
 pended. B. C. Williams then went to the town of 
 Lathrop, Susquehanna County, that State, and 
 was given employment at cutting logs and fire- 
 wood through the winter, and in April of the fol- 
 lowing year returned to Binghampton where he 
 resided until July 20. Then coming to Illinois, our 
 subject located at Warrenton, Du Page County, 
 working in the harvest field for a few weeks, when 
 he became employed at his trade, his first work 
 there being the building of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church. After having framed and raised the 
 steeple, and before it was completed, the staging 
 fell, thus precipitating Mr. Williams to the ground, 
 sixty feet below, by which fall he was severely in- 
 jured. 
 
 In 1862, he of whom we write went to Chicago 
 where he was employed at working at his trade, 
 and in 1864 had charge of the erection of the Gov- 
 ernment corral on State Street, which extended 
 from Twenty-fourth to Twenty-sixth Street. In the 
 fall of 1864, our subject raised a company of me- 
 chanics for the United States service, and after the 
 battle of Nashville went to St. Louis, where he 
 was mustered into service. He was then sent to 
 Nashville, being assigned to duty in the Eighth 
 Tennessee Regiment, with which he remained until 
 May, 1865, when he received his honorable dis- 
 charge and returned home. Removing his family to 
 the Garden City, our subject took charge of a sash, 
 door and blind factory, which he managed until 
 1871 and then, on account of ill-health, came to 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 223 
 
 Winnebago County, purchasing a farm in New 
 Milford Townsliip, -whicli he operated for four 
 j'cars. Then disposing of his tract, he moved into 
 the city of Rockford and bought property, to the 
 improvement and management of which he devotes 
 his entire time and attention. 
 
 In Hyde Pari?, Pa., in the year 1857, Brundage 
 C. Williams and Mary E. Lathrop were united in 
 marriage. The lady was born in Lathrop, that 
 State, while her fatlier, Elijah, was a native of 
 Unadilla, Otsego County, N. Y., where her grand- 
 father was one of tlie pioneers and an extensive 
 land-owner. Elijah Lathrop went to the Keystone 
 State when a young man, where he met and mar- 
 ried Jemima Mack, a native of Connecticut. The 
 maternal grandfather of Mrs. Williams was named 
 Elijah Mack, and had his birth in Connecticut, of 
 Scotch parents. He removed from that State to 
 Pennsylvania, where he purchased a tract of tim- 
 ber laud and resided until his decease. The father 
 of Mrs. Williams was also a farmer and with his 
 wife lies buried in the cemetery in Buckeye near 
 Lathrop. 
 
 Our subject is an ardent advocate of temperance 
 principles and is actively connected with the Pro- 
 hibition Club. He is verj' public-spirited and lib- 
 eral, having improved and donated Williams' 
 Park to that city. 
 
 \fi OHN A. JOHNSON. The gentleman whose 
 portrait is presented on the opposite page 
 is one of the prominent business men of 
 Rockford, having for eighteen years been 
 connected with some of the leading enterprises of 
 the city. A native of Sweden, he was born in 
 Jonkoping, January 26, 1845, and is a son of Sam- 
 uel E. and Catrina Johnson. The father was born 
 May 13, 1820, and the mother September 18, 1816, 
 and both are still living. They are kindly, generous 
 people and are members of the Lutheran Church. 
 They emigrated to this country June 14, 1854, 
 sailing from Gottenburg to Liverpool, England, 
 and thence to the United States, landing August 
 20, in Philadelphia, where they resided two years. 
 In May, 1857, they removed to Chicago, and after- 
 
 ward went to Kane County, 111., settling on a farm 
 between St. Charles and Elgin. December 29, 
 1863, the father enlisted in Company B, Seven- 
 teenth Illinois Cavalry, and served with valor un- 
 til he was honorably discharged, September 10, 
 1865. 
 
 Our subject is the eldest of the three sons of 
 the family yet living. One brother, Charles A., 
 married Miss Matilda Johnson and is foreman in 
 one of the departments of the Elgin Watch Fac- 
 tory. William, a machinist in the Roclcford Watch 
 factory, wedded Anna Sandiiie. The first nine 
 years of his life our subject spent in his native 
 land, after wliich he came with his parents to 
 America. His education was acquired in the pub- 
 lic schools, after which he learned the trade of a 
 mechanic with his father, who is a successful gun- 
 smith, as well as farmer. He then worked at model 
 and pattern making in Elgin for a time, and in 
 September, 1868, entered the watch factory of that 
 city. In 1872, he went to Chicago, where he was 
 employed by the Cornell Watch Company until 
 April, 1874, when he arrived in Rockford, where 
 he has since made his home. 
 
 Since coming to this city, Mr. Johnson was 
 joined in wedlock with Miss Ida Trusbury, March 
 16, 1886. She was born in Pecatonica, September 22, 
 1858, and spent her maidenhood days in this county. 
 Her parents, Adam and Johanna Trusbury, are na- 
 tives of Sweden, and now reside in Rockford, 
 where they are surrounded by all the comforts of 
 life. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are pleasantly lo- 
 cated in a nice residence at No. 503 South Second 
 Street, and their home is brightened by the pres- 
 ence of their daughter, Beulah B. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Johnson is a stalwart Republi- 
 can, warmly advocating the principles' of that 
 party although he has never been an office-seeker. 
 In 1874, on the organization of the Rockford 
 Watch Company, he became one of its employes, 
 signing a contract with them for five years, and 
 is the only one that lias now been continuously 
 with the company during those eighteen years. 
 He now occupies the position of master mechanic 
 and is one of the stockholders. He also owns in- 
 terests in other enterprises, including the Rockford 
 Manufacturing Company, of which he is President. 
 
224 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 He is a stockholder and director of the Forest 
 City Furniture Company, a stockholder and Vice- 
 president of the Home Building and Loan Asso- 
 ciation and of the Excelsior Furniture Company. 
 Since coming to Rockford, Mr. .Johnson has 
 been one of its leading and influential Swedish 
 business men and is well and favorably known for 
 his progressive and enterprising spirit and the up- 
 right life which he has led. He may well be termed 
 a self-made man for he started out in the world 
 empty-lianded and has by his own efforts over- 
 come all the obstacles and disadvantages in his 
 path and worked his way upward to a position of 
 which he may well be proud. 
 
 • I ' I ' 6 
 
 ■'^^■■^^M^*^"^^*"** 
 
 ENRY FISH. Now in the twilight of a 
 . well-spent life, this gentleman is living re- 
 tired at his pleasant homestead in Manches- 
 ter Township, Boone County. A life filled 
 with varied and ofttimes thrilling incidents — his 
 birthplace in Edinburg, Scotland, his childhood 
 and early manhood passed in England, and his 
 mature years amid the primeval scenes of an un- 
 cultivated and uncivilized country, where Ind- 
 ians and wild game abounded and few improve- 
 ments had been made — the record of such a life, if 
 told in its completeness, would make a volume of 
 interesting reading. It is not our privilege to 
 place it before our readers in its entirety. As we 
 may not follow every curve of a river, but can 
 only trace its general outlines from its source to 
 the sea, so while we may not narrate every incident 
 in the life of Mr. Fish, we can, notwithstanding, re- 
 late the principal events which have marked and 
 characterized his career. 
 
 The fatlier of our subject, William Fish, was 
 born in England, and married Miss Catherine Chis- 
 holm, a native of Inverness, in the Highlands of 
 Scotland. For twenty-one >-ears he was a soldier 
 in the Scotch armj^, participating in- many heavy 
 engagements and experiencing all the hardships of 
 active service under the British flag. His wife ac- 
 companied him on his marches, and was in Egypt 
 with him. On one occasion, when the armj' was 
 surprised at breakfast and compelled to march at 
 
 once, in the hasty breaking up of camp she was 
 left behind with her infant child, and followed on 
 foot. Fortunately, she was overtaken by an officer 
 who kindly took the child with him, while she fol- 
 lowed on foot for three days before she came up 
 to the army, stopping at night at the most con 
 venient place. One night she was refused lodgings 
 in an inn, and, thinking she could sleep near by, 
 lay down for the night under the sign. In the 
 morning, to her surprise, she found she had slept 
 by the post, and beneath the corpse on the gibbet. 
 
 A life pensioner of the English Government, 
 Mr. Fish, Sr., attained an advanced age and died 
 in Norfolk County, England, when nearly an oc- 
 togenarian. His wife passed away in England in 
 the year 1842. Their family comprised the fol- 
 lowing children: Neil, Archibald, Henry, James, 
 Alexander, Kate, Ann and Mary. Henry was born 
 in Edinburg, Scotland, in 1807, and passed his 
 childhood in England. There he learned the trade 
 of a carpenter, and was employed by Sir Jacob 
 Astley. When about twent3^-one years old, he was 
 married, in May, 1829, to Miss Elizabeth P. Cooper, 
 of England, and they lived together in mutual 
 helpfulness until death called the loving wife 
 hence, March 5, 1890, at the age of eighty-three. 
 
 In 1831, accomp)anied by Ms wife and two chil- 
 dren, Mr. Fish emigrated to the United States, 
 landing in New York after a voyage of six weeks. 
 He worked at his trade for a few years in New 
 Y'ork and Utica, and then, homesick for a sight of 
 his native land, and in poor health, he returned to 
 England and visited for about one year. Shortly 
 after his return to this country, he resolved to 
 seek a home in the Far West, and, with his wife and 
 children, came to Illinois in November, 1843, the 
 journey being made by canal and lake to Chicago, 
 and thence by open wagon to Manchester. Arriving 
 here, he paid William Clark $150 for the claim 
 which he had pre-empted on section 10, and at 
 once went to the land office, secured a deed, and 
 settled on the place. 
 
 The years that have come and gone since settle- 
 ment was made on the farm have brought their 
 sorrows and joys, their prosperity and adversity, 
 their sunshine and clouds, but through them all 
 they have been sustained by mutual love and de- 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 225 
 
 votion. A large family of children gathered 
 around the fireside, and ten of the number still 
 survive, namely: Henry, Edmund Y., William C, 
 Elizabeth, Archibald C, Cyrus, Alexander J., Mary 
 A., Caroline R. and P>anklin B., the last three 
 named having been born in Illinois. One son and 
 one daughter are buried in New York. Four of 
 the sons are unmarried, but the others have estab- 
 lished homes of their own. Mr. Fish is justly 
 proud of his children, his fourteen grandchildren 
 and four great-grandchildren. 
 
 Elizabeth married William File, of Canada, who 
 died in 1889, leaving one son and three daughters, 
 all of whom are married. In the spring of 1890, 
 Mrs. File came to the old home to care for her 
 father, who has been considerably troubled of late 
 years with rheumatism and is now in feeble health. 
 Her children are: Rebecca E., who married Alpheus 
 C. Barker, a farmer near Belvidere; Eugenia E., 
 who married Edwin Collins, of Kansas; William 
 Edward, who married Janette Patterson and culti- 
 vates his mother's farm in Manchester Townsliip; 
 and Josephine, the wife of John E. Wells, who re- 
 sides on the old homestead and is operating its 
 one hundred and fifty-five acres. In his political 
 belief, Mr. Fish was first a Whig and later a Re- 
 publican. He cast his vote for William Henry 
 Harrison for President and one of his most highly- 
 prized souvenirs is the badge which he wore at the 
 funeral of that great general. 
 
 \fj' EONARD S. LONGCOR was born in Belvi- 
 I (©, dere. 111., August 22, 1845. His father, 
 /l^vs Samuel, was born in Dundee, Yates County, 
 N. Y., October 25, 1813. His grandfather, who 
 likewise bore the name of Leonard, was a native of 
 New York, and spent his entire life in his native 
 State, where he followed the occupation of a 
 farmer. He married Miss Ann Thompson, who 
 was born in New York, and was of Scotch descent. 
 Mrs. Longcor became a widow, and was married a 
 second time, and with her husband, Melvin Schenck, 
 removed to Illinois. They were among the first 
 members of the First Baptist Church of Belvidere, 
 
 and spent their declining years in Belvidere Town- 
 ship. Anton Longcor, the great-grandfather of 
 the subject of this sketcli, was a native of Ger- 
 many, and there married a Miss Strubles. On com- 
 ing to America, they settled in New York State. 
 
 Samuel Longcor, father of Leonard S., was mar- 
 ried to Miss Malinda Smith, January 7, 1835. In 
 1840, ho came to Illinois, accompanied by his wife 
 and threechildren,coming via the Lakes to Detroit, 
 at which point he bought a team and pursued the 
 rest of the journey overland to Boone County. At 
 that time Belvidere was but a small hamlet. Being 
 a practical mechanic, Mr. Longcor at once engaged 
 in the manufacture of wagons, and later, of car- 
 riages. After a few years he turned his attention 
 exclusively to the manufacture of steel plows. 
 
 In the early history of Illinois, there were no 
 plows that would scour in the difficult prairie soil. 
 Being possessed of an inventive genius, Mr. Long- 
 cor, after repeated efforts, invented a plow which 
 proved a complete success. The sui)eriority of his 
 plow, which was called the "Diamond Plow," be- 
 came widely known. He was awarded a silver 
 medal at the Mechanics' Institute, held in Chicago 
 in 1852, for the best stirring plow. While a resi- 
 dent of the State of New York, he was elected an 
 officer of the State militia'. His commission, whicli 
 bears the date of September 1, 1836, and the silver 
 medal are highly prized as heirlooms. He has al- 
 ways been a public spirited citizen, and in his busi- 
 ness life, has ever had the confidence of his ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 In the early days of Belvidere, Mr. Longcor 
 aided greatly in the erection of a Metliodist Church 
 edifice. A few years ago he made a gift to the 
 city of Belvidere of a valuable building lot, upon 
 which was erected the present city hall, which is 
 used for council meetings, public library and post- 
 office. January 4, 1849, he was made a Master 
 Mason, and has ever since been a highly respected 
 member of Belvidere Lodge No. 60, F. & A. M. 
 For the past. few years he has lived a retired life. 
 His wife was born in Steuben County, N. Y., April 
 14, 1814, and died in Belvidere, August 21, 1891. 
 She reared nine children, namely: Addison N., 
 Ann, Mary, Leonard S., John C, Jane, Sarah, Kate 
 and Lydia. 
 
226 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Addison N. Longcor enlisted in Company B, 
 Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, early in 1861, and 
 served as First Lieutenant, having command of the 
 corai)any for nine months. In 1862, he was do- 
 tailed by the Adjutant Cieneral for the recruiting 
 service. Soon after the battle of Shiloh, he was 
 ordered to join his regiment. He participated in 
 the siege of Corinth, and the battle of the Hatchie, 
 besides in many other engagements, and died in 
 the service, at Waterford, Miss., January 6, 1863, 
 at the age of twenty-seven years. .Jane Longcor 
 died September 20, 1885. 
 
 Leonard S. Longcor, the subject of this sketch, 
 was born and educated in Belvidere, where he af- 
 terward engaged in business with his father, whose 
 mechanical genius he inherited. He was successful 
 as a manufacturer of steel plows. A few years 
 later he turned his attention to his present busi- 
 ness, that of real-estate and loans. June 23, 1870, 
 he was married, in Belvidere, to Miss Juliet G. Tick- 
 nor, who was born in Prattville, Ala., July 2, 
 1842. The parents of Mrs. Longcor, Simon B. and 
 Harriet L. (Luce) Ticknor, were natives of Con- 
 necticut. Mrs. Harriet L. Ticknor became a widow 
 and married for her second husband Joseph Good- 
 i-ich, of Alabama. They removed to Illinois in 
 1858, where she still resides, her husband having 
 died June 6, 1389. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Leonard S. Longcor have two chil- 
 dren living, Willard T. and Harriet G., .and lost 
 their first-born in infancy. The son was born Au- 
 gust 17, 1872, and the daughter, September 21, 
 1877. Willard T. was graduated from the North 
 Belvidere High School in the Class of '90. The 
 following year he became a student in the North- 
 western Military Academy at Highland Park, 111., 
 and was elected President of the Senior Class, 
 graduating with high honors in 1892. Ills record 
 is thus: 
 
 Second in deportment. 
 
 Warrant as staff ofHcer, with rank of Sergeant- 
 Major. 
 
 Scholarship in Wheaton College, for highest re- 
 cord in scholarship. 
 
 Best record in marksmanship of the rille team 
 
 having made forty-nine out of a possible fifty. 
 
 Diploma, classical course. 
 
 Gold medal, for best oration, delivered in best 
 manner. 
 
 Gold medal, for highest record in scholarship. 
 Commission as Brevet Second Lieutenant. Illi- 
 nois State Militia, from Gov. Fifer. 
 
 Lieut. Longcor is aiming high, and we predict 
 that he will hit his mark. He has not yet decided 
 what college he will next attend — probably Lake 
 Forest University. 
 
 Good for Lieut. Will. T. Longcor! 
 June 8, 1892, Gov. Fifer commissioned him 
 Brevet Lieutenant, Illinois State Militia. The fol- 
 lowing letter speaks for itself: 
 
 Headquarters Northwestern Military Academy. 
 HifiULAND Park, III., April 13, 1892. 
 L. S. Longcor, Belvidere, III. 
 
 -Dear Sir: — At General Orders yesterday, Willard 
 was made Sergeant- Blajor of the Battalion, and as- 
 signed to Commandant's staff, a place which I 
 think he has fairly earned by his gentlemanly con- 
 duct, loyalty to the school, and faithful discharge 
 of his duties, both academic and military. 
 Yours truly, 
 
 H. P. Davidson, Col. and Pres. 
 
 AUGUST IIAEGG, Superintendent of the 
 H. W. Price Glove Works and President 
 of the Excelsior Furniture Company, of 
 which he was a promoter and is now a 
 stockholder, was born in Sinolen, Sweden, on the 
 22d of January, 1848. His parents, S. J. and 
 Charlotta (Lielstroni) Haegg, have ever been resi- 
 dents of Eksjo, Sweden, and the father is now 
 seventy-one years of age. They have been mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church all their lives. Of the 
 eleven children born to this worthy couple, eight 
 are still living, three in this country and five in 
 Sweden. 
 
 August Haegg was just of age when he landed 
 in this country and came immediately tQ Rockford, 
 111., of which cit}' he has been a resident ever since, 
 with the exception of about two j'ears. Shortly 
 after locating in Rockford, he became connected 
 with the glove manufactory and for a time was 
 associated with T. Munthe. Later Mr. Haegg be- 
 came the superintendent of the tannery and fac- 
 tory and has filled that position for the last fifteen 
 

 . 4^VV 
 
 y^'^^Kl^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 227 
 
 years. He has under him one hundred and fifty 
 employes and is a man abundantly qualified for 
 that position. He is a practical glove-maker, as 
 well as tanner, and all the goods are made from 
 stock that is tanned at this place. The business is 
 located at the corner of Peach and Wyman Streets, 
 and is a flourishing institution. He is also inter- 
 ested in other enterprises and is a Director and 
 stockholder of the Building and Loan Association, 
 incorporated in 1883, with a capital of $5,000,000. 
 The original of this sketch was one of the first 
 of the family to come to the United States, he and 
 his brother. Otto W., having emigrated here in the 
 spring of 1869, and in this country the former 
 learned the business he is now following. He was 
 married, in Rockford, to Miss Christina L. Jern- 
 berg, who was born in North Sweden and came 
 to this country in 1869, with her parents, who set- 
 tled in Michigan for a short time. Later they 
 came to Rockford and here the father, J. E. Jern- 
 berg, died. The mother is still living. (For fur- 
 ther particulars of the parents see sketch of Gus 
 Jernberg.) Mrs. Haegg was educated principally 
 in Michigan and is a lady of more than ordinary 
 ability. To Mr and Mrs. Haegg have been born 
 two children : Norma A. and Henry E. In politics, 
 Mr. Heagg supports the views of the Republican 
 party. He and his wife are worthy members of 
 the Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 (3_ 
 
 -^^4^ 
 
 'LFRED P. WELLS, Secretary and Treas- 
 urer of the George S. Haskell Seed Com- 
 pany, is a native of the Empire State, but 
 was educated in Vermont, Connecticut, 
 and at Cambridge, Mass. The family is of Eng- 
 lish descent. His grandfather, the Rev. William 
 Wells, was a native of England, and a dissenter 
 from the English Church. In 1793, with liis wife 
 and children, he emigrated to this country, settling 
 in Brattleboro, Vt., where be continued in active 
 service as a minister for twenty years, and there 
 made his home until his death in 1827, at the age 
 of eighty-three. He was a personal friend of the 
 well-known Priestly, and was assisted by the 
 well-known English philanthropist, John Howard, 
 10 
 
 in securing his earlj' education. Many of his ser- 
 mons were placed in the Rev. Dr. Sprague's "Annals 
 of the American pulpit," which are noted for their 
 logic and intelligence. The wife of the Rev. Mr. 
 Wells was an English lady, Jane Hancox, who died 
 at her home in Brattleboro, Vt., at an advanced 
 age. 
 
 The father of our subject, Alfred Wells, was 
 born in Worcestershire, England, and was the sev - 
 enth in a familj' of eight children, all of whom 
 wei'e born in England, reared in this country, and 
 are now deceased. Alfred became a farmer of 
 Mexico, N. Y., and died at his home in that place 
 in his sixty-sixth year. He was a prominent citi- 
 zen of the community, and highly respected. He 
 wedded Mary Childs, a native of New York, who 
 survived her husband a few years, and departed 
 this life in Mexico. In the family were six chil- 
 dren, but our subject and a sister living in Mexico, 
 N. Y., are now the only surviving members. 
 
 Alfred P. Wells, whose name heads this record, 
 was married in Massachusetts, to Miss Martha Kil- 
 bourn, who was born, reared and educated in Berk- 
 shire County, that State. By this union have been 
 born five children, all yet living: Martha F., a 
 stenographer and cashier in a wholesale house of 
 Chicago; Fred K., a member of and book-keeper 
 for a gas stove manufacturing company of Chi- 
 cago, wedded Miss Anna liausler; Ellen M. is the 
 wife of WilHam J. Burr, of the firm of Burr Broth- 
 ers, leading grocers of Rockford; Julia F. and E. 
 Howard are at home. 
 
 Mr. Wells has had a varied experience as a mer- 
 chant, book-keeper and banker. He came to Rock- 
 ford twenty-three years ago, and the first year of 
 his residence here he was connected with the Rock- 
 ford Woolen Mills. From the spring of 1871 un- 
 til the fall of 1876, he was assistant cashier of the 
 Rockford National Bank, and in 1877 was elected 
 City Clerk, which office he filled for two years. 
 During the succeeding four years, he was cashier of 
 the Emerson, Talcott Manufacturing Company, and 
 in 1883, became connected with Mr. Haskell in the 
 seed business. Mr. Haskell had carried on trade in 
 that line since 1865, and in 1889, when the Haskell 
 Seed Company was organized, was made President, 
 holding the office until his death. He was a native 
 
228 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of this city, and a man of prominence here for 
 many years. He was particularly well known in 
 the seed trade all over the country, and for nearly 
 fifteen years did an almost exclusive wholesale 
 trade. As before stated, the company was organ- 
 ized in 1889, with a capital stock of $30,000. Mr. 
 Wells then became a stockholder, and was elected 
 Secretary and Treasurer, and, since the death of Mr. 
 Haskell, has also been manager. This is one of the 
 leading industries of the city, and the business is 
 now in a thriving condition. 
 
 Mr. Wells is also interested in other concerns, is 
 one of the directors of the Forest City Insurance 
 Company, also of the Rockford Silver Plate Com- 
 pany, is a stockholder of the Rockford Electric 
 Manufacturing Company, which manufactures elec- 
 tric machinery, and is connected with other lead- 
 ing industries. He is a well-known business man 
 of sterling worth, and his public and private life 
 are alike above reproach. He holds membership 
 with the Star of the East Lodge No. 166, of Rock- 
 ford, and he and his wife attend the Christian 
 Union Church. 
 
 j!t*®l 
 
 D 
 
 K; 
 
 fn^OBERT F. ARDERY, one of the enterpris- 
 ngand progressive agriculturists of LeRoy 
 Township, Boone County, is the owner of 
 two hundred and seventy acres of arable 
 land. He devotes the greater portion of his time 
 to the raising of cereals, harvesting as high as 
 three thousand bushels of oats and four thousand 
 bushels of corn per year. He keeps a dairy of 
 twenty-five cows and has about fifteen head of a 
 good breed of horses on his place. 
 
 Born in Ogdensburg, N. Y., July 28, 1848, our 
 subject is the son of James Ardery, who had his 
 birth on the Atlantic oce.an while en route to the 
 New World from England. The grandparents of 
 our subject were of English and Scotch-Irish de- 
 scent respectively, and came to America in 1807. 
 They were farmers and reared a family of two 
 daughters and two sons, living to attain a ripe old 
 age. The mother passed away in 1854 or 1855, 
 when very old. 
 
 The father of our subject was a weaver by trade 
 
 which was the business of his father, but later in 
 life became a farmer in St. Lawrence County, N.Y. 
 The lad3' whom he chose as his wife was Agnes 
 Montgomery, also a native of Ogdensburg, N. Y. 
 and who, in 1852, accompanied her husband to 
 McHenry County, this State. The elder Mr. Ardery 
 purchased eighty acres of land in McHenry County 
 on which they settled and resided until 1858 in 
 which year the father went to California in com- 
 pany with aMr.Kibby, for whom he drove a num- 
 ber of horses and a herd of horned cattle. They 
 were on the way from May until October, during 
 which time they had a pleasant and successful trip. 
 Mr. Ardery bought a vineyard in the Golden State 
 and in 1861 was joined by his family. They had 
 sold their farm in Illinois, and resided in Califor- 
 nia, where the mother died, in June, 1889, and the 
 father followed to the land beyond the next Octo- 
 ber, the latter being in his eighty-fourth year. 
 
 Of the ten children comprising the parental 
 family, seven were living at the death of their par- 
 ents, viz: George M.; Margaret, Mrs. George R. 
 Ford, who died in San Francisco, in February, 1891, 
 leaving one son; our subject was the next in 
 order of birth; Alex M., who resides at Carson 
 City, Nev., is a train dispatcher and the master 
 of transportation; James resides at Virginia City, 
 Nev., where he is an engineer among the silver 
 mines; Agnes, and Sarah. Those deceased are 
 William, who died in Nevada, in 1872; Eliza, Mrs. 
 S. W. Hammond, whose decease occurred in Blaine, 
 this State, in 1888, and John, who passed away at 
 Capron, in 1887. 
 
 He of whom we write accompanied his parents 
 on their removal to California, and attended school 
 at Placerville until he was seventeen years of age. 
 He then left home and worked on a peach ranch 
 for a 3'ear and a half, for which he received 120 
 per month. On account of ague, however, he re- 
 turned to Placerville, and, in December, 1866, in 
 company with his brother John, made his way back 
 to Illinois via the Nicaragua route. He rode across 
 the Isthmus on a donkey, which he found to be a 
 very slow and tedious way of traveling, and did 
 not even stop to pluck the tropical fruits which 
 hung in tempting clusters from the trees. He ar- 
 rived in Capron January 16, 1867, and the fol- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 229 
 
 lowing fall went to Beloit to learn the machinist 
 trade of O. E. Merrill & Co. Having mastered 
 that line of work, in December, 1869, he returned 
 to Virginia City, Nev., and there followed his trade 
 for six years, during which time he was very suc- 
 cessful, being engineer for the Bonanza mine the 
 entire period. 
 
 In the fall of 1874, Mr. Ardery of this sketch 
 returned by way of the railroad to Blaine, this 
 State, and the succeeding year purchased one hun- 
 dred and ninety acres of land, for which he paid 
 $8,650 in cash, the most of which he made while 
 plying his trade in the West. The lady to whom 
 our subject was married, February 21, 1877, was 
 Miss Ella, daughter of Philo and Diana (Head) 
 Conyes. She was born in Le Roy Township, while 
 her parents had their birth in Genesee Countj', 
 N. Y.; they are now living retired in Capron where 
 they are classed among the well-to-do citizens. The 
 two children born to our subject and his wife are 
 Claude Earl, who had his birth October 27, 1879, 
 and Alta, who was born November 4, 1888. 
 
 Mr. Ardery for a period of seven years served 
 as Assessor of this township, and was elected to be 
 Supervisor in 1892. He is a Republican in politics, 
 and, in social matters, a Master Mason, Knight 
 Templar and Odd Fellow. Mr. and Mrs. Ardery 
 visited California in 1887, when they had a most 
 elijoyable and profitable trip. He is a gentleman 
 whose character and abilities give him the respect 
 of the community, and his enterprise and progres- 
 sive ideas place him in the front rank among 
 business men. 
 
 \fl OHN ALLEN. There is scarcely a line of 
 business that is not represented in Rockford^ 
 where commercial and manufacturing en- 
 ^^JfJ terprises seem equally prominent. The 
 business in which the subject of this sketch is en- 
 gaged is that of the manufacture of artificial stone, 
 in which branch he has been more than ordinarily 
 successful. A native of England, Mr. Allen was 
 born in the village of Probus, Cornwall County, 
 England, October 8, 182 1, where his father, Thomas, 
 
 and his grandfather, Henry Allen, were natives. 
 The latter-named gentleman was a stonemason by 
 trade and spent his entire life in Probus. 
 
 The fathcrof our subject also followed the trade 
 of a stonemason, and died in his native town in 
 1841. He had married Margaret Secomb, the 
 daughter of Samuel and Joanna Secomb. She de- 
 parted this life in Probus, of which place she was 
 a native, in 1843. 
 
 The parental family included ten children, viz.: 
 Samuel, Elizabeth, Mary, John, Mary 2d, Henry, 
 Emma, Edwin, Richard and William. Samuel, 
 Elizabeth, John, Edwin, William, Emma, Mary, and 
 Richard, all came to America and made their home 
 in the Prairie State. Samuel served during the 
 late war as a member of Company D, Seventy- 
 fourth Illinois Infantry, and was killed in the bat- 
 tle of Little Fort, S. C; the other members of the 
 family are still living. 
 
 John Allen was reared in his native land and, 
 learning his father's trade, was employed in that 
 line of work until 1849, when on the 4th of June 
 he set sail from Falmouth, with his wife and fonr 
 children, in the vessel "Priscilla." The party 
 landed at Quebec after a voyage of seven weeks, 
 and from that place came directly to Illinois, via 
 the St. Lawrence River to Montreal, and then by 
 way of land to Kingston, where they embarked on 
 a lake vessel which conveyed them to Queenstown 
 Heights. From there they went to Niagara Falls, 
 by boat to Buffalo, and then by way of the Lakes to 
 Chicago, from which city they came overland to 
 Rockford, which latter trip consumed three days. 
 On his arrival in this city, our subject at once 
 found work at his trade, and after being in the 
 employ of a gentleman for. three months, started 
 in business for himself as a contractor. In August, 
 1862, he enlisted in Company C, Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Infantry, and going South with his regi- 
 ment, served his country until the spring of 1863, 
 when he was honorably discharged on account of 
 disability. 
 
 Returning from the war, Mr. Allen, as soon as 
 able, resumed business as a contractor. The past 
 few years, however, he has been engaged in the 
 manufacture of artificial stone, which is used in 
 the construction of the fronts of buildings, side- 
 
230 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAITIICAL RECORD. 
 
 walks, etc. He is doing .an extensive business in 
 that line, from which he reaps a handsome income. 
 John Allen and Miss Jane Whitford were united 
 in marriage in 1843. The lady is a native of the 
 same parish as is our subject, and has borne her 
 husband four children, living: Celia, Slary, Harry 
 and Charles. The eldest daughter married Fred 
 Wheat, who is Assistant Postmaster jn Rockford 
 and has been connected with the United States 
 Postal Service for a period of twenty-four years. 
 Mary is Mrs. C. B. Sears and resides in Wj^oming. 
 Harry makes his home in Rockford; and Charles 
 in Colorado. Mr. Allen is a prominent Grand 
 Army man and is a member of Nevius Post No. 1. 
 
 r^ 
 
 =»^ 
 
 RVIN KIBBE. This well-to-do agricul- 
 turist of Owen Township, Winnebago 
 County, has by energy and perseverance, 
 united with economy and good judgment, 
 secured a good estate, which he is engaged in cul- 
 tivating in a most profitable manner. Born May 
 25, 1827, in Jefferson County, N. Y., he is a son 
 of Eli Kibbe, also a native of that State, where his 
 grandfather, according to the best information at 
 hand, was born and followed the occupation of a 
 farmer. 
 
 Eli Kibbe was reared on a farm in New York, 
 and, on removing from Jefferson County, lived in 
 the vicinity of Canadaville until 1835, when he 
 went to Cattaraugus County, where he purchased a 
 tract of land and resided until the fall of 1844. 
 At that date, accompanied by his wife and two 
 children, the elder Mr. Kibbe came to Illinois, 
 making the entire journey with a team to Winne- 
 bago County. Locating in what is now Harlem 
 Township, he resided there for a time, then re- 
 moved to Harrison Township, and thence to Owen 
 Township, where he departed this life at the home 
 of our subject. The maiden name of his wife was 
 Abigal Mitchell; she was born in Oneida County, 
 N. Y., and also departed this life at the home of our 
 subject. 
 
 Arvin Kibbe came to Illinois in 1844 with his 
 parents, at a time when the land in this vicinity 
 sold for $1.25 per acre. There being no railroads 
 
 in the neighborhood, the farm products were 
 hauled to Chicago and Milwaukee, the principal 
 markets. Mr. Kibbe located upon his present farm 
 in 1882, which his persistent industry has brouo-ht 
 to a good state of cultivation. 
 
 February 22, 1853, our subject and Matilda 
 Steward were united in marriage. Mrs. Kibbe was 
 born in Southold, Province of Ontario, Canada, 
 and was the daughter of William and Sophia Stew- 
 ard, for a further history of whom we refer the 
 reader to the sketch of Alanson Steward. The five 
 children comprising the household of our subject 
 and his wife are William E., Laura S., Charles E., 
 Eva L. and Harry E. The eldest son married Iva 
 Jones; Laura, who is the wife of Edward Turney, 
 has three children: Olive, Ola and Ora; Charles 
 married Annie Bingham and is the father of two 
 sons: Harry and Earl; Iiiva is Mrs. John Rice and 
 is the mother of one daughter, Lena; Lula M., 
 the youngest child of our subject, died July 5, 
 1887, when fifteen years of age. Mrs. Kibbe is a 
 member of the United Brethren Church and, in 
 politics, our subject votes with the Republican 
 party. 
 
 /p^ ALFRED EKBACK, Superintendent of the 
 (if <^ Scandia Brick Company, of Rockford, is 
 ^^)J) another worthy American citizen of Win- 
 nebago County. He was born in Sweden, January 
 2, 1848, and is a son of Gustaf and Catherine 
 (Hockinson) Ekback. His parents are still living 
 at the ages of seventy and seventy-two years, re- 
 spectively. Our subject is the second of five chil- 
 dren, four of whom are now living: John, who 
 married Miss Jennie Grant, of Rockford, is a 
 watchman in the Chick's Flouring Mills; Helen, 
 wife of Mr. Jurgesou, who is in the service of the 
 Street Railway Company of Chicago; Charles, who 
 married Abetena Wyman, is employed by the Scan- 
 dia Plow Company; and Sophia, deceased, was the 
 wife of John Pherson. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared to man- 
 hood upon his father's farm and at the age of 
 nineteen, in company with his brother, crossed the 
 Atlantic to America, in 1867, and has since made 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPfflCAL RECORD. 
 
 231 
 
 his home in Rockford. He began life in this coun- 
 try as a farmer of New Milford Township, and to 
 agricultural pursuits devoted his energies until 
 he embarked in the manufacture of brick. For 
 the past few years, he has been Superintendent of 
 the Seandia Brick Company, whose factory is lo- 
 cated near the city limits of Rockford on the east. 
 They employ about twenty-flve men and make 
 about three million brick annually. We thus see 
 that they have a good trade, and the company has 
 been operated successfully for some time. 
 
 In this city, Mr. Ekback led to the marriage al- 
 tar Miss Emma Lindstrom, who was born and 
 reared in the same locality as her husband, and 
 when a young lady came to this country, the 
 fourth of her family to cross the Atlantic. She is a 
 daughter of Peter and Martha (Olson) Lindstrom, 
 natives of Smoland, Sweden. There the father 
 engaged in farming and wagon-making up to his 
 death, which occurred at the age of seventy-live 
 years. His widow, who is yet living on the old 
 homestead, is now about eighty years of age. The 
 family were all members of the Lutheran Church. 
 To the First Lutheran Church of Rockford Mr. and 
 and Mrs. Ekback both belong, as do also their chil- 
 dren. They have become the parents of seven chil- 
 dren, one of whom, Esther, died aged two years. 
 Those who still survive are Theodore, who is in 
 the employ of the Seandia Brick Company; Anna, 
 Ellen, Esther, Martlia and Hilda. In politics, Mr. 
 Ekback is a Republican. He is a successfvil busi- 
 ness man, who came to this country empty-handed 
 and by his own efforts has worked his way upward 
 until he is now possessed of a comfortable compe- 
 tence. 
 
 ^l AMES J. B LT R L I N G A M E , a prominent 
 farmer of Harrison Township, was born in 
 Morgan County, Ohio, August 7, 1819. He 
 is the son of Josiah* Burlingame and the 
 grandson of Richard Burlingame, who was born at 
 Situate, R. L, on the 27th of March, 1794. The 
 latter's wife was Patience (Calvin) Burlingame, and 
 they were the parents of two sons and four daugh- 
 ters, all of whom reached adult years. When quite 
 
 aged people, Richard Burlingame and his wife 
 removed to Ohio, whither their son Josiah had re- 
 moved when a young man, and there this worthy 
 old couple passed away, she at the age of sixty- 
 three, and he five years later, when seventy-one 
 years of age. He had followed agricultural pur- 
 suits all his life. The}' were characteristic Quakers, 
 leading a retired life and unswerving in their reli- 
 gious faith, 
 
 Josiah Burlingame was also a native of Rliode 
 Island, born July 4, 1794, but removed to Morgan 
 County, Ohio, when a young man, or about 1814, 
 and was one of the earliest pioneers. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Sarah Noble, and who was 
 born October 13, 1793, of the marriage of John 
 and Martha (Hindman) Noble, came with her par- 
 ents to Morgan County about the same time. They 
 were soon married and commenced housekeeping 
 in the woods. Both were well educated and Mr. 
 Burlingame taught school from 1814 until 1850, 
 being considered a very successful educator. He 
 had studied medicine and surgery but was too 
 sensitive and nervous to succeed at the latter, 
 though he did assist in many amputations. With 
 much hard work and labor on his part and that of 
 his estimable wife, he succeeded in clearing three 
 hundred acres of the heavy timber with which the 
 farm was covered, and one hundred acres of this is 
 considered the best of the fertile bottom lands. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Burlingame reared twelve children, nine 
 sons and three daughters, to become heads of fam- 
 ilies. Two daughters — Sarah, who married Samuel 
 Hull, and Mary, the wife of George Tuttle — died 
 when about fifty years of age, and each left two 
 children. A son, Samuel, was killed by the cars, 
 as was also his wife, while walking on the railroad 
 track. They w(!re sixty-eight and seventy years 
 of age, respectively. Two sons were m the Civil 
 War. Of this family there are still living eight 
 sons and one daughter: Stephen, born June 1, 1816, 
 a farmer of Indiana; James J., our subject; Charles, 
 born in 1821, an attorney in St. Charles County, 
 Mo.; Serrel, born in February, 1825, a surveyor for 
 many years in Nebraska; Jabez, born in September, 
 1826, a farmer of Warren County, Iowa; George 
 W., born January 31, 1829, a merchant in sight of 
 the old home in Ohio; Benjamin F., born in Octo- 
 
232 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ber, 1830, a farmer and a shoe merchant in the 
 same town as George W.; and Lydia, born Febru- 
 ary 15, 1837, who married James Warren, ofNoble 
 County, Noble Township, Ohio, both county and 
 township being named for Grandfather Noble. 
 These children all have small families, except Ser- 
 rel, who is the father of fourteen children by one 
 wife. 
 
 Our subject was married in Manchester Town- 
 ship, .July 5, 1850, to Miss Prudence S. Mules, a 
 native of Barustable, England, born in 1826, and 
 the daughter of John and Susan (Summerwell) 
 Mules, who came to this country and settled in 
 Genesee County, N. Y., when Mrs. Burlingame was 
 about ten years of age. Her parents were quite 
 wealthy, and after remaining in Stafford for some 
 time removed to Manchester Township, this county, 
 in 1850. Our subject had received a good colleg- 
 iate education, as had also his brothers and sisters, 
 and was a graduate of the Old School College in 
 Cincinnati. He practiced medicine before coming 
 to Boone County, 111., and for ten years after he 
 reached this State he had a large practice which 
 proved too much for him and he gave it up, de- 
 voting his time to agricultural pursuits. He fii'st 
 built a brick house on one acre at the corner east 
 of section 27, in 1849, and about two years later, 
 he bought one hundred and twenty acres, to which 
 he added one hundred and eighty acres still later. 
 At that time he paid about ?)10 per acre for wild 
 land with no improvements of any kind. He soon 
 erected a good, substantial building on his farm, 
 moved into it, and there he and his capable and 
 estimable wife resided until 1887, when they re- 
 moved to Clinton Junction, Wis., purchasing a 
 nice home and one acre in the central part of the 
 village. They deeded the farm to their son, Serrel 
 Burlingame. This move was made for his wife 
 who was suffering with cancer, but she died there 
 on the 5fth of June, 1890, and is buried in the 
 family burying ground in the village of Blaine. A 
 fine monument, erected by her bereaved husband, 
 marks her last resting place, and there rests beside 
 her her two little children, twins, a son and daugh- 
 ter, who died in infancy. She was an Episcopalian 
 in her religious belief. She left two children, 
 Atta E., now Mrs. Maynard M. Murray, whose 
 
 husband is a farmer near Clinton Junction, Wis. 
 and Serrel, who married Maria Parker, of Manches- 
 ter Township, this county, a daughter of Edwin 
 and Elizabeth (Stockwell) Parker. They have four 
 bright little daughters, of whom Mr. Burlingame 
 is justly proud. 
 
 Soon after the death of his wife, Mr. Burlingame 
 returned to the old farm, and resides with his son. 
 He is now seventy-three years of age but has kept 
 his age well for he looks very little over sixty 
 years of age. He was Township Treasurer for 
 twenty-five consecutive years and has served the 
 township in other ofHces, although he has refused 
 many. 
 
 OHN M. MASON, a representative business 
 man of Rockford, is engaged in the gen- 
 eral baker3^ business at No. 505 East State 
 Street, where he has carried on business for 
 the past eight years, succeeding his father, who 
 started a bakery in this city in 1858. The latter, 
 Robert Mason by name, was a native of Scotland, 
 born and reared near Edinburg, and came of Low- 
 land Scotch stock. He became familiar with his 
 trade in his native country, and was married there 
 to Miss Ann Murdock, who came of similar stock. 
 Early in the '50s, he and his wife sailed for this 
 country, were six weeks on the ocean, and landed 
 in New York City, where they remained for some 
 time. Later, they removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 where Mr. Mason was in business for some time, 
 and in 1854 they came to Rockford. He imme- 
 diately established his State Street Bakery and de- 
 voted the remainder of his life to his business. He 
 died when fifty-nine years of age. He was one of 
 the old and prominent settlers and a good business 
 man. In religion, he was a Congregationalist, and 
 in politics, a stanch Republican. His wife, who 
 died when about middle age, was also a member of 
 the Congregational Church, and a good, true wife 
 and mother. Their two children, our subject and 
 Anna, are the only members of the family living, 
 and both reside in Rockford. The latter is single. 
 John M. Mason first saw the light in Rockford, 
 on the 2d of April, 1857, and here he attained his 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 233 
 
 growth and secured a good practical education. 
 He learned his trade under his father and succeeded 
 him after his death. He was married in this city 
 to Miss Alice A. Cox, who was born in Rockford, 
 September 17, 1863, and who is the daughter of 
 Henry and Ann (Rew) Cox. Both parents are liv- 
 ing at the present time and have a good home on 
 Fifth Avenue, this city. Mr. Cox is a commercial 
 traveler for the Rockford Baking Company. He 
 and his wife are natives of England, but were 
 married in Rockford, where they have since made 
 their home. They have become the parents of eight 
 children, seven t>f whom are yet living, Mrs. Mason 
 being the eldest and only one now married. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mason have a pleasant home at 
 No. 609 East State Street, and are surrounded by 
 many warm friends. He is a stockholder in the 
 Rockford Baking Company and Rockford Plow 
 Company. He is an active Republican in politics, 
 and he and Mrs. Mason are regular attendants at 
 the Christian Union Church. They have had no 
 children. 
 
 I l w l> l' y i fcp !■ I 
 
 ? I ' I * 
 
 •»-* 
 
 ^ ACOB S. DODD, deceased, was a native of 
 New .Jersey, born November 17, 1811, and 
 died near Newark, of that State, on the 2d 
 _ of April, 1884. He was reared in his native 
 State, and began work for himself by entering a 
 large leather manufactory owned by Mr. Halsey, 
 of Newark. After this he was engaged in the 
 leather business, either directly or indirectly, for a 
 number of years, but subsequently retired to a 
 small farm just out of the city, where most of the 
 time he was engaged as a dairyman until his 
 death. This home was familiarly known as the 
 Lyon Farm. 
 
 Mr. Dodd's parents were natives also of New 
 Jersey, and the family tree shows that thej-* were 
 honorable and much respected people. Our sub- 
 ject was a prominent man in his community and a 
 leading member and elder in the Presbyterian 
 Church of his city. He was well informed, was a 
 leader in local affairs, and for a number of years 
 was a Director in Newark Evergreen Cemetery. 
 Just prior to his death, he was elected to the 
 
 office of Justice of the Peace. He left two chil- 
 dren: William V. Dodd, an employe in the well- 
 known leather house of Halsey & Co., of Newark, 
 married Miss Mary Osborne, of New Jersey. The 
 other child was a daughter, Phoebe, who became 
 the wife of Fred Grain, who is now living on the 
 old Dodd homestead. 
 
 In the fall of 1884, Mrs. Dodd, wife of our sub- 
 ject, returned to her old home in Rockford, 
 whither she had come in 1844, and where she is 
 the owner of much valuable property. She was 
 born near Rochester, Monroe County, N. Y., June 
 4, 1818, and her maiden name was Emily G. Bond. 
 Her parents, Abner and Mary (Gould) Bond, 
 were natives of New Jersey, and came of English 
 and German descent, respectively. They were 
 married in their native State, and after the birth 
 of six children they removed to near Rochester, 
 N. Y., when that city was but a hamlet. There 
 the remainder of their children were born, thirteen 
 in all, five sons and six daughters having grown 
 to maturity, and three are now living. There Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bond improved a good home, and there 
 Mr. Bond died on the 3d of April, 1840, when sev- 
 enty-four years of age. He was a man of excellent 
 character, and for many years was a Deacon in the 
 Presbyterian Church. His wife, who survived 
 him, came to Rockford with her daughter, Mrs. 
 Dodd, and died here February 6, 1868, lacking 
 only one month of being ninety-five years of age, 
 her birth having occurred March 30, 1773. She 
 held to the belief of the Presbyterian Church all 
 her life, and was a most loving and devoted 
 mother. Her mind was clear and strong up to the 
 very last. 
 
 Mrs. Dodd was first married in Rochester, N. Y., 
 July 25, 1844, to Mr. Albert Sanford, a native of 
 New Haven, Conn., born May 1, 1818. He passed 
 his boyhood days in that State, and, when a young 
 man, entered land in Illinois. Later, he returned 
 to Rochester and was married to Miss Bond, 
 whom he had known in Rockford, and they then 
 returned to the last-named city. This was in 
 1844, and they located on property that has since 
 increased in value very much. Mr. Sanford died 
 September 23, 1854, when onlj' thirty-six years of 
 ao-e. He was a promising man, and was well 
 
234 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 known among tlie old settlers of Rockford. His 
 marriage resulted in the birth of two cliildren, 
 Edgar A. and another, both of whom died young. 
 Mr. Sanford died in full communion with the Sec- 
 ond Congregational Cliurch of Rockford. He was 
 a Whig in politics. 
 
 Mrs. Dodd. who still survives her husband, is 
 now about seventy-four years of age, but has kept 
 her years well, being still active and ambitious. 
 She is possessed of many excellent virtues, and is 
 surrounded by a large circle of friends. She is an 
 active member of the Second Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 / ♦^•5>s=« 
 
 X 
 
 ILES G. KEYES now makes his home on 
 a portion of the old homestead which he 
 jl lli purchased from his father in 1874. His 
 ■^ birth occurred November 18, 1842, in 
 
 Northumberland, Saratoga Count}', N. Y., where 
 his father, Archibald Keyes, was also born,, July 26, 
 1808. The grandfather of our subject hailed from 
 New Hampshire, having been born February 21, 
 1771, in Acworth, while his father, Capt. William 
 Keyes, was born in October, 1740, in Ashford, Conn. 
 He in turn was a son of Ephraim Ke3'es, who was 
 born July 5, 1716, in Connecticut, and was a son 
 of Elias Keyes, born October 17, 1692, in Chelms- 
 ford, Mass. He was a son of Solomon Keyes, also a 
 native of the Bay State, being born June 24, 1665, 
 and the son of Solomon Keyes, who was the first 
 ancestor of the family in America. The latter- 
 named gentleman was married in Newburyport, 
 Mass., October 2, 1653, to Frances Grant. He lo- 
 cated in that part of Chelmsford, Mass., now in- 
 cluded in the town of Westford, where he died 
 March 28, 1702, his wife departing this life six 
 years later. 
 
 Solomon Keyes, the son of the above-named 
 couple, who was the next in line as far as is known, 
 spent his entire life in Massachusetts. The next 
 in order of birth was his son, Elias, who, after his 
 marriage and the birth of two children, removed 
 to Ashford, Conn., where he passed the remain- 
 der of his life. His son, Lieut. Ephraim Keyes, 
 married Sarah Watkins, and after her death was 
 
 united in marriage to Mrs. Glazier, a widow lady 
 of Rockingham, N. H. The family removed from 
 Ashford to Acworth, the same State, in 1769 
 where they were early settlers. There Lieut. Keyes 
 died, September 6, 1802. The next in line was his 
 son, Capt. William Keyes, who went to Acworth 
 in 1767, and was the first settler of that place. 
 He was accompanied on the journey by his 
 wife and one child, and departed this life April 21 
 1813. The maiden name of his wife was Hannali 
 Scarborough. Capt. Keyes received his title 
 while serving in the Revolutionary War. 
 
 Frederick Keyes, the grandfather of our subject, 
 in 1776 removed to Northumberland, Saratoga 
 Counter, N. Y. He was at one time engaged in the 
 lumber business at Arg^-le, Washington County, 
 that State, and later removed to near Ballston. 
 He was a patriot in the War of 1812 and died near 
 Syracuse, September 12, 1834. The grandmother 
 of our subject was prior to her marriage Rachel 
 Jacobs; her decease occurred January 29, 1840. 
 The next in line is the father of our subject, who 
 was reared and educated in his native town, and on 
 attaining mature years purchased a tract of land in 
 Northumberland and was engaged in farming dur- 
 ing the summer season and in the winter carried 
 on the trade of lumbering. In 1845, he started with 
 his wife and two children for Illinois, coming 
 overland from Chicago to this county and fording 
 the river at Rockford. 
 
 Archibald Keyes, on making this county his 
 home, moved into a house with his brother-in-law, 
 William Fowler, who located here in 1841. He re- 
 mained with him for a twelvemonth, durmg the 
 year having secured a tract of Government land, 
 including the northwest quarter of section 18, in 
 what is now Rockford Township, and erected 
 thereon a frame house. Into that the family 
 moved in 1846 and have since been residents of 
 the faim. Mr. Keyes was m.arried, June 18, 1834, 
 to Elizabeth Clark, who was born in New York 
 and died October 22, 1878. The father of our sub- 
 ject was then mariied to Hannah Wise. The three 
 children born of his first union were John, who 
 married Mary C.Hemingway, and now resides at 
 Pomona, Los Angeles County, Cal.; Miles, our sub- 
 ject; and a daughter, who died in New York. 
 

 .?n 
 
 .^ 
 
 ; i^-^- ' 
 
 
 \'»' 
 
 » ' 
 
 J^/^^f/7^2^^^-^/^^^^^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 237 
 
 The original of this sketch was in his third year 
 when brought to this county by his parents. On 
 attaining his majority, in partnership with his 
 brother, he purchased the stock, tools, etc., of his 
 father and carried on the farm until 1867, when 
 the connection was dissolved. Our subject, how- 
 ever, continued farming alone until 1879, when, in 
 July of tliat year, he went West to Iowa, and lived 
 for two years and a half in Floyd County. Then 
 disposing of his interests in tlie Ilawkeye State, he 
 returned to the old homestead and lived with his 
 father until 1874, at which time he became proprie- 
 tor of a portion of the estate and has since resided 
 upon it. 
 
 February 5, 1879, Miss Emma Chapman, who 
 was born in Addison, Steuben County, N. Y., be- 
 came the wife of our subject. She was a daughter 
 of Silas H. Chapman, whose native place was 
 Pitcher, Chenango County, that State, while bis 
 father, William Chapman, was born in England, 
 and on coming to America located in the Empire 
 State, where he purchased a large farm in the town 
 of Pitcher and spent the remainder of his days. 
 His wife, who before her marriage was Polly 
 Baker, was born m that State, where her decease 
 also occurred. The father of Mrs. Keyes was a lad 
 of eleven years on the death of his father, and was 
 bound out to learn a trade, but did not complete 
 his apprenticeship as he embarked as a sailor on 
 the Lakes. After his marriage, he settled on a 
 farm near Addison, where he made his home until 
 1863, and then enlisted in defense of his country in 
 a New York Cavalry Regiment. He served for a 
 period of eleven months, when he received his lion- 
 orable discharge for injuries received from being 
 thrown from his horse. He resided in New York 
 State until 1870, and then, coming to Winnebago 
 County, lived in Harrison, Owen and Seward 
 Townships until 1885, when he went to Gray 
 County, Kan., and there made his home until 1891. 
 That year, he removed to Emporia, where he now 
 resides. His wife was Miss Abigail (Iliggins) 
 Chapman and was also born in Addison. She was 
 the daughter of Simeon and Adeline (llaskins) 
 Higgins, the former of wliom now lives in Tioga 
 County, and the latter is deceased. Mrs. Keyes is 
 one of a family of eight children, namely: Emma, 
 
 Albert, George, Kittle, Frank, Mary, Charles and 
 Ira. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born 
 three children: Archibald, Nina and Ethel. In 
 politics, our subject is a Republican, and his wife 
 is a member of the Court Sti-eet Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church. 
 
 
 f(^t> ON. GILBERT WOODRUFF, President of 
 the Rockford National Bank, President of 
 the Forest City Insurance Company and of 
 the Forest Cit3' Furniture Company, was 
 born on a farm two and one-half miles from Water- 
 town, Jefferson County, N. Y., November 20, 1817. 
 His grandfather, Jonah Woodruff, was, it is sup- 
 posed, a native of Connecticut, whence he removed 
 to Jefferson County, N. Y., and was a pioneer 
 there. He purchased a tract of timber land two 
 and one-half miles from Watertown, and, clearing 
 a farm from the wilderness, resided upon it 
 until his death. 
 
 At the time of the removal to the Empire State, 
 Frederick Woodruff, who was born in Connecti- 
 cut, was nine years old, and in the new home he 
 grew to manhood, amid surroundings of a primi- 
 tive nature. For many years after the settlement 
 of the familj' in Jefferson County there were no 
 railroads in New York State, and after the can.al 
 was completed all mercliandise was brought from 
 New York via Erie and Oswego Canal to Oswego, 
 and thence by lake to Sackett's Harbor, and from 
 thei'e by team to Watertown. Farm products 
 were transported to the seaboard by way of the 
 lake, canal and rivers. 
 
 The old homestead was purchased by Frederick 
 Woodruff, who was active!}' engaged in farming 
 there until 1838, when he sold out and removed 
 to Watertown. He spent his last days in that 
 village, dying in 1853. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Lodema Andrus, was born in Litchfield, 
 Oneida County, N. Y., and died at Geneva, 111. 
 Gilbert, son of this worthy couple, received a 
 good education in his native village and started 
 out for himself in 1838, in which year he paid 
 his first visit to Illinois. In his journey hither 
 
238 
 
 i'OETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECOED. 
 
 he followed the mosl convenient and expeditious 
 route at that time, which was by stage to Saokett's 
 Harbor, then 'by boat to Lewistoii, from there 
 by rail to Niagara Falls, down the Niagara River 
 to Buffalo, and thence by lake to Detroit. 
 
 At that time there was a railroad extending 
 from Detroit to Ypsilanti. The rails were of wood 
 with a strap of iron on the top and ttie road was 
 of a very temporary nature. From Ypsilanti 
 Mr. Woodruff proceeded by stage via Michigan 
 City to Joliet, then a village of about five hun- 
 dred inhabitants. He engaged to clerk in his 
 brother's grocery store, where he remained until 
 the spring of 1839, and then started on his return 
 East, going by way of stage to Chicago. At that 
 time the now populous city had about four thou- 
 sand people and the principal part of the business 
 was done on Lake and Water kStreets. From Chi- 
 cago Mr. Woodruff went by way of the Lakes to 
 New York State and, soon after his arrival in 
 Watertown, embarked in the grocery business in 
 a small way, finally acquiring au extensive and 
 lucrative trade. 
 
 In 1857, Mr. Woodruff removed West to Du- 
 buque, Iowa, where he was interested in a flour- 
 ing-mill, also in the real-estate and loan business. 
 One year later he came to Rockford, where he lias 
 since resided, prominently identified with the 
 city's best interests. He was a charter member of 
 the Rockford National Bank, and has served as 
 President since its organization. AYhen the Forest 
 City Insurance Company was organized in 1873, 
 he became its President, and has since occupied 
 that responsible and honorable position. In addi- 
 tion to these duties, he has served as President of 
 the Forest City Furniture Company since 1875, 
 he having organized the same and erected the 
 buildings. In politics, he has been a stanch Re- 
 publican since the organization of the party and 
 has been called upon by his fellow-citizens to oc- 
 cupy official positions of trust, having served two 
 terms as Alderman, representing the Second Ward, 
 and also as Mayor during 1874-75. 
 
 In April, 1842, Mr. Woodruff and Miss Nancy 
 Fay were united in marriage. Mrs. Nancy Wood- 
 ruff was born in Watertown, N. Y., daughter of 
 Henry and Almira Fay, and was called hence by 
 
 death in 1877. Five children were born of the 
 union: Sarah, who married Marcus 8. Parmelee- 
 Volney D.; Emma, wife of Charles Keith; Will- 
 iam; and Alice, now Mrs. R. M. P^merson. The 
 second marriage of Mr. Woodruff united him with 
 Miss Augusta A. Todd, a native of Hamilton, 
 Canada, and took place in 1879. The position 
 occupied by the family in society is an enviable 
 one, and the various members of the household 
 possess the cultured refinement which makes them 
 influential and popular. 
 
 Soon after coming to Rockford, Mr. Woodruff 
 purcliased a farm, which at a later date he platted 
 in town lots, and it is now known as Woodruff's 
 Addition. These lots he sold at a reasonable 
 price, giving the purchasers their own time to 
 pay for them, and also loaning them money with 
 which to erect houses. It is not strange, therefore, 
 that he is perhaps the most popular citizen of 
 Rockford, to the progress of which he has con- 
 tributed so ceaselessly of his ability and means. 
 Always and everywhere he is the same unswerv- 
 ing champion of justice and right, and by indus- 
 try and application has won the highest admira- 
 tion for his intellectual ability and attainments. 
 
 In connection with this biographical notice 
 will be found a lithographic portrait of Mr. Wood- 
 ruff. 
 
 ~S]- 
 
 -[=" 
 
 ^-^^ATHAN H. AVOOSTER was born in New 
 I jjj Haven, Conn., in the town of Oxford, De- 
 
 /Iwifc) cember 25, 1821, and is now one of the old 
 and much-esteemed citizens of Boone County, 111. 
 He has been identified with the interests of this 
 county for man}' years and is one of the oldest 
 living Justices in the State, having served contin- 
 uously for nearl}' thirty-five years. He is doubtless 
 the tliird, if not the second, oldest Justice of the 
 Peace in Illinois. He is of English descent and 
 traces his ancestry back to three brothers, Englisb- 
 men, who came to America at a very early date and 
 one of whom settled in Massachusetts, another in 
 New Hampshire and the other in Connecticut. 
 One of our subject's uncles was a General in the 
 War of 1812. 
 
 Our subject is a son of Washburn and Betsey 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 239 
 
 (Cbatfleld) "Wooster. "Washburn Wooster was born 
 in the "Nutmeg State," and was a farmer the prin- 
 cipal part of his life. For some time, he was in the 
 sawmill business in Connecticut getting out ship 
 timber, but agriculture was his chosen occupa- 
 tion. He came to this State about the 3'ear 1840 
 and died in McHenry County when seventy-two or 
 three years of age. His parents were natives of 
 Connecticut and died in tliat State when quite 
 aged people. All his ancestors were farmers so far 
 as known. Our subject's mother, Mrs. Betsey 
 (Chatfleld) Wooster, was also born in Connecticut 
 and passed her last days in McHenry County, 111., 
 her death occurring when about eighty years of 
 age. Her parents were natives of Connecticut and 
 in that State were contented to pass their entire 
 lives. 
 
 Nathan H. Wooster came to this county with 
 his parents in October, 1840, aud settled in LcRoj^ 
 Township, where he took up eighty acres of land. 
 On this he erected a rude log cabin in which he 
 lived for several years, and then bviilta good frame 
 dwelling. Our subject remained at home until his 
 marriage, on the 4th of October, 1844, to Miss 
 Abigail A. Hovey, who was born in Franklin 
 County, N.Y., May 30, 1827. He then took up his 
 residence with his father-in law, Richard C. Hovey. 
 Mr. Hovey was born in New Hampshire, as was 
 also his wife, Abigail (Kimball) Hovey, and their 
 nuptials were celebrated there. Later in life they 
 removed to New York State, and iu 1838 came to 
 Boone County, from Ohio, where they had resided 
 for about six years. They first settled in Le Roy 
 Township, where Mr. Hovey took up one hundred 
 and sixty acres and on which he built a log house. 
 A number of years later, he built a frame house 
 and here he died when seventy-eight years of age. 
 His wife passed away when about eighty -four years 
 of age. They were the parents of twelve children, 
 seven now living, so far as known. 
 
 There were seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wooster, but one died when four years of age. 
 Tiie remainder are named as follows: Laura £., 
 born in Boone Township, Boone County, Novem- 
 ber 15, 1^45, married John M. Conley,and has lost 
 two children; Mary J., born in Boone Township, 
 this county, November 18, 1847, married John H. 
 
 Landon and has one child; George J., also a native 
 of Boone Township, was born December 27, 1849, 
 and married Miss Helen Nichols, who bore him 
 three children; John W.,borii in McHenry County, 
 this State, April 15, 1852, married Miss Carrie E. 
 Adams; Nathan H., Jr., born in Le Roy Township, 
 this county. May 19, 1854, married Miss Elmina T. 
 Cramer, and is the father of two children; and 
 Minnie E., born in Boone Township, this county, 
 March 27, 1870. The one deceased was Cora M., 
 who was born in Boone Township, October 22, 
 1864, and died four years later. The children are 
 all well educated and a number have taught school. 
 Miss Minnie has been engaged in educational 
 work since 1887, and for two years has been in the 
 primary department of the schools in Capron. An- 
 other daughter, Miss Mary J., is quite a worker in 
 Eastern Star Lodge, of Newton, Kan., and has 
 been Worthy Matron of that lodge. 
 
 Up to the time of his marriage, our subject re- 
 mained at home, and then took up one hundred 
 and sixt3' acres, on which the village of Capron is 
 now standing, and on ihis erected a small, rude, 
 log house, 10x12 feet, in which he and his wife 
 lived for seven years. After this tliey were in Mc- 
 Henry Countjr for two years and then returned to 
 Le Roy Township, this county, where our subject 
 worked his father's farm, also eighty acres of his 
 own. In 1856, Mr. Wooster sold out all his prop- 
 erty in that township and bought eighty acres 
 where he now lives, on which stood a small house. 
 About twenty-five years ago, he erected his pres- 
 ent residence and he was the first inhabitant of 
 the town of Capron. 
 
 Our subject has held a number of local offices in 
 the township and has ever been one of the promi- 
 nent men of the same. He was elected Justice of 
 the Peace the first or second year after coming to 
 Capron, in 1855, and was Associate Justice for 
 four vears. He has also held the position of Col- 
 lector and Trustee, and numerous other positions. 
 He was a Democrat up to 1854 and then voted for 
 J. C. Fremont, since which time he has voted the 
 straight Republican ticket. His first Presidential 
 vote was cast for J. K. Polk. He has been a dele- 
 gate to different county conventions and has ever 
 been an enterprising and public-spirited citizen. 
 
240 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArillCAL RECORD. 
 
 When on the farm our subject engaged in general 
 farming and when ho flrst settled in this county 
 all his marketing was done at Chicago, but later he 
 went to Kenosha, Wis., also. Mr. Wooster is prac- 
 tically retired from the active duties of life but he 
 attends to some official business yet. He is an hon- 
 est, upright citizen and has a host of warm friends. 
 Mr. Wooster was a soldier in the late war, enlisting 
 in the one Hundred and Forty-second Illinois In- 
 fantry, Company C, and was Orderly Sergeant. 
 
 ON. HORACE W. TAYLOR, Master in 
 Chancery, is probably one of the most 
 prominent citizens of Rockford, where he 
 is carrying on a successful practice of law. 
 He was born in the town of Granby, Hampshire 
 County, Mass., February 1, 1823, and is the son of 
 Willard N. Taylor, whose birtii occurred on the 
 same farm as did that of his son. 
 
 The great-grandfather of our subject was one of 
 the very early settlers of Granby, Mass., where he 
 spent his daj's on a farm, which estate is now 
 owned and occupied by his great-great-great- 
 grandson. The grandfather of our subject, Levi 
 Taylor, spent his entire life on that farm, which 
 was in his possession during his lifetime. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Sarah Smith, a life- 
 long resident of Granby. 
 
 The father of the gentleman whose name we give 
 above was reared to agricultural pursuits, being 
 an occupant of the old homestead spoken of above, 
 where he spent his entire life, dying in his forty- 
 eighth year. The maiden name of his wife was 
 Sarah Cook, also a native of Granby, and a daugh- 
 ter of Perez Cook, who, as far as is known, was a 
 native of that place, and departed this life after 
 having attained the advanced age of ninety j'ears. 
 The mother of our subject died on the old home 
 farm and bore her husband a family of eleven chil- 
 dren, seven of whom grew to maturity and five are 
 now living. 
 
 Our subject received his education in the public 
 schools of Granby, and when reaching his fifteenth 
 year, he was apprenticed to his brotherin-law, 
 David Cook, to learn the trade of a blacksmith, the 
 
 contract being that he should serve liim until reach- 
 ing his majority. His health failing, however he 
 abandoned that line of work and when twenty years 
 of age became a student at the Amherst Academy 
 preparing himself for college, and in 1844 entered 
 Amherst College, from which institution he was 
 graduated in the Class of '48. Our subject then 
 engaged in teaching in the Bay State for the two 
 succeeding j^ears, at the expiration of which time 
 he went to Baltimore and was similarly employed 
 in a ladies' seminar^' until 18.57. During his per- 
 iod as a teacher, lie devoted all his spare time to 
 study of law and in 1857 came to Rockford, where 
 he was admitted to the Bar in the fall of tliat 
 year and at once opened an office and commenced 
 practice. 
 
 Miss Ama A. Robinson, who wasa native of En- 
 field, Hampshire County, Mass., became the wife of 
 our subject in April, 1854, the ceremony being 
 solemnized in Cincinnati, Ohio, by the Rev. J. J. 
 Blaisdell, now Prof. Blaisdell, of Beloit College, 
 Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are the parents of two 
 children : Agnes a»d Ama S. The former is now 
 Mrs. J. R. Crocker, of Chicago, and the mother of 
 three children: Sidnej^ W., Florence A. and Horace 
 T. Our subject and his wife have lost two sons: 
 Frank Willard, who died in 1862, aged sixteen 
 months, and Willard Robinson, whose decease oc- 
 curred at the age of nineteen years, in 1882. Ama 
 S. was a student in Oberlin College in the Class 
 of '92. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Taylor and their youngest daugh- 
 ter are active members of the Second Congrega- 
 tional Church. In political views, our subject is 
 a thorough Republican, having voted that ticket 
 since the formation of the party. His interest in 
 educational affairs has caused Lim to be placed on 
 the School Board, where he did effective work for 
 a number of years. Mrs. Taylor was appointed by 
 the Mayor a member of the School Board in 1891; 
 she and Mrs. Clark were the first ladies ever ap- 
 pointed on the School Board in Rockford. Our sub- 
 ject was elected to the State Legislature in 1878 and 
 voted for Jolm A. Logan for Senator. He was ap- 
 pointed Master in Chancery in 1866 by Judge 
 Sheldon. He resigned in 1872, but was re-appointed 
 to that position four years later by Judge Brown 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 243 
 
 and has occupied the office continaously since, 
 numbering twenty-two j^ears, and during tliat long 
 period only once have his findings been set aside, 
 but the Court of Appeals overruled the findings 
 of the Circuit Court and ordered his report con- 
 firmed. He is very popular and a most efficient 
 official. In I860, he formed a partnership with 
 the Hon. William l.rown, which continued until 
 Mr. Brown was elected Judge. One of the dis- 
 tinguishing characteristics of our subject is tlie 
 possession of quicltness of mind and talent, and 
 disciplined in the stern school of experience, he is 
 thus prepared to meet every emergency with a 
 steady and ready hand. 
 
 RCHIBALD M. CATLIN, M. D. The orig- 
 inal of the portrait on the opposite page 
 is without doubt the oldest physician in 
 the State of Illinois to-day, having been 
 in active practice in Rockford for the past sixty 
 years. He was born in that part of Litchfield 
 which is now Winfleld, Herkimer County, N. Y., 
 September 8, 1801. Roger Catlin, his father, was 
 a native of Connecticut, as was also his father, 
 Roger Catlin, Sr.. who was a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary War. 
 
 The latter-named gentleman was of English an- 
 cestry and removed from his native State to New 
 York, where he passed his last days in Herkimer 
 County. His son, the father of our subject, was 
 reared and married in the Nutmeg State, and later 
 became one of the pioneers of Herkimer County, 
 N. Y., where he purchased a tract of timber land 
 in what is now the town of Winfield. He there 
 erected a log house, in which our subject was born, 
 and which consisted of but one room on the ground 
 floor and one room above. It was located in the 
 center of the township, at the junction of five roads, 
 and as he was often obliged to entertain travelers 
 to different parts of the county, Mr. Catlin later 
 established an hotel. As there was no church in 
 the vicinity, meetings were often held at his home 
 until a building could be erected upon the ground 
 donated by Mr. Catlin. He later erected a good 
 
 frame hotel and continued to act as "mine host," 
 at the same time superintending the operation of 
 his farm until his death, which occurred in 1813. 
 The maiden name of his wife was Sarah Clark; she 
 was born in Connecticut and was tlie daughter of 
 Deacon Clark, a pioneer of South Tompkins County, 
 N. Y. After tlie death of her husband, Uie mother 
 of our subject was a second time married, and de- 
 parted this life in Winfleld, N. Y. 
 
 Tlie original of tliis sketch was but twelve years 
 old on the death of his father and remained with 
 his mother on the old home farm until her second 
 marriage. He then resided in the town of Plainfleld 
 with an uncle, whom he assisted in the farm work 
 in summers and attended school during the winter 
 season. He continued to be thus employed until 
 1820, at which time he started with a company of 
 friends to the then Far West. As there were then 
 neither railroads nor canals in the vicinity of his 
 home, he walked to Clean Point and from there went 
 down the Allegany River to Pittsburg, thence by 
 way of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to St. Louis, 
 which was then nothing more than a village. He 
 was accompanied bi' a comrade, Amos Noble, and 
 was in Missouri when that Territory was admitted 
 into the Union as a State. Later, he came to Madison 
 County, 111., where he resided for a twelvemonth 
 and then, going to Missouri, was engaged in the 
 lead mines until 1823, when he returned to New 
 York. His desire liad been to fit himself for a phy- 
 sician, and having read medicine previous to com- 
 ing West, he devoted his time and attention to that 
 study, attending lectures at Fairfield Medical Col- 
 lege in Herkimer County. He later read under Dr. 
 Clark of Winfield, then, going to Castleton, Vt., at- 
 tended a course of lectures at the college there in 
 the winter of 1825-26. In January of that year, 
 he again became a student of Fairfield College, 
 from which institution he was graduated with the 
 Class of '27. 
 
 Soon after receiving his degree of Doctor of 
 Medicine, our subject commenced the practice of 
 his profession in partnership with Dr. Nathan Ilar- 
 wood of Winfield, N. Y., with whom he continued 
 for five years. At the expiration of that time, he 
 went to Chester, Geauga County, Ohio, where he 
 practiced medicine until 1832; then removing to 
 
244 
 
 PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Lorain County, he resided there until 1838, the 
 date of his advent into Roekford. The present 
 enterprising city was at that time little more than 
 a liamlet, and the surrounding country, which 
 was very sparsely settled, was owned by the Gov- 
 ernment. Dr. Catlin purchased property on the 
 East side where he built a home. He has been 
 actively engaged in the practice of his profession 
 for the past sixty years, and, as before stated, is 
 without doubt the oldest physician in the State. 
 
 In 1828, Miss Miranda Harwood, who was born 
 in Winfield, N. Y., became the wife of our subject. 
 She was the daughter of Dr. Nathan Harwood and 
 departed this life in 1846, after having become 
 the mother of three children, two of whom, Benja- 
 min and Edward P., are living. Dr. Catlin was 
 married the second time in 1847, his wife being 
 Sarah Morrill, who was a native of Meriden, N. H., 
 and a daughter of Deacon Daniel Morrill. To 
 them were born two daughters: Mary, deceased, 
 and Alice. 
 
 In early life a Whig, Dr. Catlin now votes the 
 straight Republican ticket. He acted as President 
 of the first medical society ever organized in 
 Winnebago County, where he is regarded as one 
 of the most prominent and skillful physicians. 
 With his wife, he is a member of the First Congre- 
 gational Church, and his life in this community 
 has been such that he will be held in loving remem- 
 brance long after he shall have passed a Way. 
 
 %^ 
 
 =^¥ 
 
 .^^OURTLAND MANDEVILLE. This gen- 
 (l( m tleman, who has for many years been as- 
 
 ^^ sociated with the business men of Rockford, 
 and who has been largely instrumental in the up- 
 building of the city, became a resident of this 
 county when fifteen years of age, and while aiding 
 in the work of developing this section he has ac- 
 quired a comfortable property and can now take 
 his ease in his cozy home at No. 802 Montague 
 Street. 
 
 The subject of this review was born August 20, 
 1824, in Cayuga County,- N. Y., being the son of 
 Michael Mandeville, whom it is thought had his 
 birth near Newbury, that State. Jacob Mande- 
 
 ville, the grandfather of our subject, was a native 
 of the Empire State, and on removing to Cayuga 
 County, became one of the pioneers there, clear- 
 ing a farm from the wilderness and making that 
 place his home until his decease. His wife who 
 was known prior to her marriage as Sarah Clark 
 was born in the above-named State. Her father 
 was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and soon 
 after her marriage to the father of our subject, the 
 young couple moved to what is nowDarien Town- 
 ship, Genesee County, wheie Mr. Mandeville 
 bought a tract of land on which was located a log 
 house, and three acres of which were cleared. Dis- 
 posing of that estate a few years later, he removed 
 to a farm six miles away, on which there was a 
 mill, distillery and tannery, which he operated for 
 a few years, when he became interested in a cabinet 
 factory. 
 
 In 1838, visiting Winnebago CouQty,this State, 
 the father of our subject removed hither the fol- 
 lowing year, and as most of the land was owned 
 by the Government, he rented a farm until 1841, 
 when he purchased a tract four miles southwest of 
 Rockford. Remaining upon that farm until 1858, 
 he then divided the property among his children, 
 and moved into the city, where he was the owner 
 of two lots on South Main Street — the land now 
 occupied by the William Brown Block. After a 
 residence of one year in Rockford, Michael Man- 
 deville spent a like period on the old farm, and 
 flnallj^ returning to the city, lived r(;tired in his 
 home on Montague Slicet until 1887. His wife, 
 Elsie Maria Corey, was the daughter of James and 
 Deborah (Rathbun) Corey, and was born in Ver- 
 mont. She became the mother of six children, 
 and departed this life at her home in Rockford 
 six years prior to the decease of her husband. 
 
 Courtland Mandeville was the third in order of 
 birth of the parental family, his brothers and sis- 
 ters being Henry, Jane, Horton, Philona and Ed- 
 ward. He came here when fifteen years of age and 
 has consequently been an interesting witness of the 
 marvelous growth of the county, having contrib- 
 uted his full share in bringing it to its present 
 condition. He remembers that in those early days 
 the grain was hauled to the Chicago markets by 
 team, and deer and other wild game could be had 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 245 
 
 for the shooting. He made his home with his 
 parents until his twenty-first birthday when he 
 operated a farm on his own account, which had 
 been given him by his father. In 1854, he went 
 to Iowa, and in Bradford, Chickasaw County, 
 bought a large tract of land and resided there 
 until 1860, when he disposed of his interests in the 
 Hawkeye State and then, returning to this county, 
 carried on the home farm for the two succeeding 
 years. Coming to Rockford at the expiration of 
 that time, our subject lived here until 1864, when, 
 in company with his brother Horton, he became 
 the proprietor of a stock farm in Laona Township, 
 which they successfully operated for four years. 
 He has been a resident of Rockford since that time, 
 where his reputation is one of which any man 
 might well be proud, providing, as in his case, the 
 character is equal to the opinions of men. 
 
 1^. HARLES A. CROSBY operates one hundred 
 (l( ^ and seventy acres of land on section 11, 
 ^^/ New Milford Township, Winnebago County, 
 and is one of the practical and progressive agricul- 
 turists of this community. He was born on the 
 farm which is still his home in March, 1861, and is 
 a son of George H., and Mary W. (Wood) 
 Crosby. The father was born in New Hampshire 
 in December, 1831, and the mother was a native 
 of Connecticut. The grandfather, Alpheus A. 
 Crosby, was a native of New York, and a black- 
 smith by trade. At an early day he came West 
 with his family of six children and located in 
 Rockford, and opened a smithy. His death oc- 
 curred in that city at an advanced age, his wife 
 passing away a few years previous. About 1850, 
 he purchased one hundred acres of land for $3,000, 
 upon which was a small house and barn, while 
 about eighty acres were under cultivation. 
 
 The father of our subject had acquired a fair 
 education, and was a well-informed man. He was 
 serving as Supervisor at the time of his death, 
 having held the ofHcc for some years, and was also 
 Assessor for some time. Among his fellow-towns- 
 men he was recognized as a prominent citizen. 
 He left three children: Charles A., of this sketch; 
 
 Laura M. and Ilattie E. The last-named is the 
 wife of Henry K. Hall, of Rockford. 
 
 In the usual manner of farmer lads, our subject 
 was reared to manhood, no event of special impor- 
 tance occurring during his youth. In December, 
 1883, he led to the marriage altar Miss Alpharetta 
 J. Cipplery, of Monroe Center, Ogle County, and 
 a daughter of David A. and Martha Maria Cipplery, 
 both of whom were natives of Rensselaer County, 
 N. Y., from whence they emigrated to Illinois in the 
 spring of 1862. Her father was a farmer and is 
 now a grain-dealer in Monroe. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Crosby have three living children : Daisy File, 
 born April 14, 1886; Elsie May, February 18, 
 1888; and Loo Arthur, August 3, 1890. They 
 have lost an infant son, Charles. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Crosby is inde- 
 pendent, voting for the man whom he thinks best 
 qualified for the office. He devotes his time and 
 attention to general farming, and as the result has 
 met with signal success in his business career. In 
 addition to his home farm he has an interest in 
 eighty acres on section 5, and the two tracts yield 
 a good income. Himself and wife have a wide 
 acquaintance in this community, where their entire 
 lives have been passed, and well deserve a repre- 
 sentation in their native county. 
 
 ry(,^ERBERT R. PARKER, a well-to-do agri- 
 iTj! culturist, now living retired at No. 103 
 ^^^^ North Prospect Street, Rockford, was born 
 (^ in Vienna, Oneida County, N. Y., May 12, 
 1834. His father, the Hon. Linus Parker, was a 
 native of Litchfield, Conn., where also his fath'er, 
 Eli, as far as is known, was born. The grandfather 
 removed to New York, and died in the western 
 part of the State, where also his wife, who was 
 known prior to her marriage as Joanna Stoddard, 
 departed this life. 
 
 The Hon. Linus Parker was a young man when 
 his father removed to the Empire State, the journey 
 being made overland with teams. He became the 
 proprietor of a tract of land in Vienna and built 
 an hotel on the road leading from Rome westward. 
 
246 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In addition to operating as "mine host," lie super- 
 intended tlie cultivation of the farm, and was also 
 Director in the bank at Rome. He was very prom- 
 inent in local affairs, and was for many years Post- 
 master of Vienna. In politics, he was a Democrat, 
 and served two terms in the New York Assembly, 
 in which State he later disposed of his interests, 
 coming to Winnebago County in 1852, purchasing 
 an improved farm in Harlem Township, where his 
 death occurred November 15, 1876, when eighty- 
 seven years of age. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Lutia Sherman, a native of Massachusetts, and 
 the daughter of Joshua and Naomi (Hunger) Sher- 
 man. Mrs. Parker departed this life at Vienna, 
 N. Y., in 1841. The place which the father of our 
 subject bought on coming to this county was 
 known as the Simonds Homestead and the house 
 into which he moved, and where the family resided 
 until coming to Rockford, is the oldest in the 
 county. It is located on the road leading from 
 Beloit to Bclvidere, and was for many years a pub- 
 lic house and well known as Buckhorn Tavern. 
 
 The original of this sketch was educated in 
 Vienna, N. Y., and accompanied his parents on 
 tlieir removal to Illinois, at a time when the west- 
 ern terminus of tlie railroad was on the eastern 
 side of the Rock River. Herbert R. resided with 
 his father until his marriage, when he located on 
 the old homestead in Harlem and there lived for 
 a nvimber of years. In 1891, he removed to his 
 present home at No. 103 Prospect Street, which 
 was erected that year. 
 
 The lady who became the wife of our subject, 
 December 9, 1865, was, prior to that event. Miss 
 Sarah Kilburn, a native of Annsville, Oneida 
 County, N. Y. Her father, Shaler Samuel Kilburn, 
 was one of the pioneers of AVinnebago County, 
 and had his birth in Massachusetts. He is the son 
 of Capt. Shaler Samuel Kilburn, a sea captain, who 
 died when the father of Mrs. Parker was an infant. 
 The latter was young when his mother went to 
 New York State, where he was reared and married 
 in Oneida County, making his home there until 
 1846, when he came to this county and purchased 
 a tr.act of wild land, on which was located a log 
 cabin. He resided with his brother-in-law for a 
 time and during the interim erected a dwelling on 
 
 his own laud, where his death occurred in January 
 1885. The maiden name of Mrs. Parker's mother 
 was Mary Bartholemew; she was the daughter of 
 Eliakim and Annie (Simonds) Bartholemew, and 
 is living at the present time in Rockford. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Parker have been born six 
 children: Whitman, deceased; Mary, Lutia, Jo- 
 anna, Lizzie and Herbert. Mrs. Parker and her 
 daughter Mary are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 — »!- 
 
 i>-^<^ 
 
 OHN WRIGHT. This name is familiar 
 among the agriculturists of Winnebago 
 County, as belonging to one of its most in- 
 dustrious citizens and a man who occupies a 
 high position in business circles. He has been the 
 architect of his own fortune, making his way in 
 the world from a modest beginning, and has proven 
 a fine example of the results of patient industry, 
 a wise economy and good judgment. 
 
 He of whom we write was born in Yorkshire, 
 England, November 12, 1829. He is a son of Will- 
 iam and Jane Wright, who emigrated to this coun- 
 try in 1832, and, settling in New York State, lived 
 fourteen years near Genesee. In 1846, they came 
 to AVinnebago County, where the father took up a 
 large tract of land. There he died in his eightieth 
 year. His wife passed away in Rockford in Jan- 
 uary, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Wright of this sketch remained with his 
 parents until twentj^-flve years of age, when he 
 was married to Matilda C. Hulchins, who was born 
 in the town of Kendall, Orleans County, N. Y., 
 June 10, 1835. She was the daughter of Osmau 
 and Lydia (Davis) Hutchins, the former of whom 
 was a son of John S. Hutchins, his birth occurring 
 in 1773, in Massachusetts, and his death in Quebec, 
 Canada, at the advanced age of ninety-three years. 
 Mrs. Lydia Hutchins died in this county, in her 
 forty-third year. 
 
 Mrs. Matilda Wright came of a family prominent 
 in the early history of New York, and after her 
 marriage to our subject, in 1853, they lived on the 
 Wright farm for ten or fifteen years, when they 
 purchased property south of their present place of 
 
i 
 
 iw S" 
 
 So^c/^oJly ^c-uaJ, 
 
 ^.e-z-i^^ -^:;%U^A'-*^^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 249 
 
 residence. They later sold that land and bought 
 in Ogle County, which land Mr. Wright later traded 
 for a farm in Seward Township, and in 1870 became 
 the owner of his present farm, which is embellished 
 with all the needful farm buildings, not the least 
 among which is his comfortable residence. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. John Wright have been born 
 seven children, five of whom arc living, namely: 
 George A., whose birth occurred February 8, 1855, 
 is married and the father of five children; Alta J., 
 who was born April 28, 1861, is married and 
 has three children ; Elizabeth who was born Decem- 
 ber 8, 1863, has one son; James R., born January 
 16, 1873, works the old home farm; and Lena A., 
 whose birth occurred August 10, 1877, is also at 
 home. Those deceased are Charles O. and Lottie B. 
 In their religious belief, Mr. and Mrs. Wright are 
 members of the Presbyterian Church. Our subject 
 gives his entire time to carrying on his farm and, 
 in politics, he is a stanch adherent of the Repub- 
 lican party, casting his first vote for Fremont. 
 
 JROF. HENRY J. SHERRILL. It has been 
 ) truly said that a good education is the best 
 inheritance that parents can leave their 
 
 I \ children. Riches may take to themselves 
 wings and fly away, but a good education will last 
 through life. Prof. Henry J. Sherrill, whose por- 
 trait accompanies this sketch, was born in Leb- 
 anon, Madison County, N. Y., on the 28th of April, 
 1824, and from early youth he enjoyed good edu- 
 cational advantages. His parents, Samuel R. and 
 Nancy (Upham) Sherrill, were natives, respectively, 
 of Massachusetts and New York, the father born 
 in Berkshire County, February 22, 1794, and the 
 mother on the 7th of June, 1796. 
 
 When a young man, Samuel Sherrill went to the 
 Empire State, and, after settling in Madison County, 
 engaged in the shoe business, which he carried on 
 in connection with tanning for thirty years. He 
 then retired from business and came West, making 
 his home with his son until his death, on the 28th 
 of March, 1872. He was of Irish descent and was 
 a man of ability and good judgment. His wife 
 died in her native State in 1866. Her people were 
 11 
 
 pioneers of the Empire State, and her mother was 
 twelve years of age at the time the Indians burned 
 Cherry Valley, that State. Her grandfather was a 
 clergyman and a man of considerable prominence as 
 were also many others of that name, the Uphams 
 being well known in New York State as refined 
 and accomplished people. 
 
 , Prof. Sherrill was one of four children born to 
 his parents, but he and a sister, Mrs. N. A. Gilbert, 
 of St. Paul, Minn., are the only ones now living. 
 He remained at home until eighteen years of age, 
 and up to that time attended school in the coun- 
 try and town. He then began teaching during the 
 winter months and attended school during the 
 summer seasons until the age of twenty-one, when 
 he entered the New York Normal at Albany. After 
 graduating at that institution, he began teaching 
 at Eaton, N. Y., where he remained four years, 
 after which he taught in Kingsboro Academy one 
 term. Later lie followed teaching four years at 
 Forestville, N. Y. On the 31st of July, 1854, he 
 was married to Miss Jennie A. Briggs, a native of 
 that city, born December 19, 1823. Mrs. Sherrill 
 was the daughter of Giles and Orriel (Allen) 
 Briggs, natives of New York, where both died at 
 an advanced age. She became the mother of two 
 children, Willie H., deceased, and Frank Allen, and 
 died in St. Louis, Mo., on the 10th of March, 1 868. 
 Frank A., who was born on the 19th of November, 
 1862, in Hamilton, N. Y., was graduated from the 
 University at Champaign, HI., and is now a 
 draughtsman in the iron works at Indianapolis. 
 He married Miss Minnie, daughter of M. C. Wood- 
 ruff, of Dubuque, Iowa. 
 
 On the 23d of Dcember, 1873, Prof. Sherrill 
 married Mrs. Alice J. Seaver, a native of Aurora, 
 N. Y., born July 13, 1843, and the daughter of 
 Martin C. and Sarah M. (Woodruff) Bentley. Mr. 
 Bentley was a native of Vermont, born on the 1st 
 of January, 1805, and is now a resident of Boone 
 County, 111. As maybe seen, he is quite aged but 
 he enjoys unusually good health. His wife was 
 born in New York but passed her last days in this 
 county. Of the eight children born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Bentley, five are still living. Mrs. Sherrill's 
 first marriage united her with Mr. William 
 Seaver, who was born March 10, 1842, in Darien, 
 
250 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Wisconsin, whither his parents removed from New 
 York State. He died on the 30th of September, 
 1866, from sickness contracted in the army. He 
 was in Company K, 2d Wisconsin Cavah-y, and left 
 Wisconsin University to enter the army, enlisting 
 from Walworth County of that State and serving 
 about two years. 
 
 Our subject's second marriage resulted in the 
 birth of one child, a daughter, Jennie Bentley, who 
 was born in Belvidere Township, Boone County, 
 111., July 22, 1877. She has studied in the schools 
 of Belvidere, and is now receiving instruction un- 
 der the personal supervision of her able and dis- 
 tinguished father. After his first marriage, Prof. 
 Sherrill engaged in the book business in Hamilton, 
 Canada, for about three years and then engaged as 
 Principal of the schools of Hamilton, N. Y., where he 
 continued for nearly ten years. From there he came 
 to this county and at once took charge of the North 
 Belvidere school, but he was not allowed to remain 
 long in this position, for one year later, his un- 
 usual ability as an instructor being recognized, he 
 accepted a position in St. Louis, Mo., which he 
 filled with credit for nearly two years. The climate 
 not agreeing with him, he took the advice of his 
 physician and left that city. 
 
 In 1868, Prof. Sherrill returned to Belvidere, 
 where the people gladly welcomed him, and the 
 same fall was made Principal of the North Belvi- 
 dere school, where he remained until 188.3. He 
 then resigned and practically retired, or would 
 have done so had not his fellow- citizens called so 
 loudly for his services that he could not refuse, 
 and in consequence was elected County Superin- 
 tendent, which position he filled as only Prof. 
 Sherrill could, until the arduous duties of the office 
 forced him into retirement. For nearly fifty years 
 he has been prominent as a public educator, and 
 some of the profoundest thinkers, deepest reason- 
 ers and brainiest men of the West attribute their 
 success in life to his teachings. The genial urban- 
 ity and native politeness of his manners engage 
 and captivate the good-will and confidence of all 
 with whom he comes in contact, and his pleasing 
 address and gentle suavity draw the heart and 
 affections of his students magnetically toward him, 
 securing their closest attention, easy control and 
 
 ardent interest in their studies. The untiring en- 
 ergy, unflagging zeal and ceaseless devotion he 
 manifests for the promotion of educational im- 
 provements are highly appreciated. 
 
 One of the favors shown this most esteemed and 
 worthy citizen was in his election as an honorary 
 member of the celebrated Colgate University of 
 Hamilton, N. Y., with the title of A. M., in 1859. 
 Few, indeed, have obtained that honor and dis- 
 tinction. Prof, and Mrs. Sherrill are honored and 
 active members of the Belvidere Presbyterian 
 Church, and he has been Elder for many years. 
 Politically, he is a stanch Republican. Mrs. Sherrill 
 a pleasing and refined lady, is a member of nearly 
 all the ladies' societies and her brilliancy and rare 
 accomplishments fit her in an admirable manner 
 for the different positions with which her sister- 
 workers favor her. Rarely does one meet with a 
 more refined, intelligent and happy family than 
 gathers under Prof. Sherrill's roof. For many 
 years his home has been on his splendid farm just 
 outside the city limits of Belvidere, a most beauti- 
 ful place, which might well be called "Villa Con- 
 tent." 
 
 ■^E»^» y 
 
 /^EORGE W. LEVINGS, who is residing on a 
 III (— - beautiful farm just west of the city of 
 ^^jj Rockford, has his dwelling located on Mon- 
 tague Street. The farm is supplied with good, 
 substantial frame buildings and Mr. Levings has 
 planted fruit and shade trees, which make the es- 
 tate one of the most beautiful in the county. He 
 was born in New York City, June 25, 1839, while 
 his father, Peter Levings, was born in the town of 
 Northeast, Dutchess County, that State. From 
 there the elder Mr. Levings went to New York 
 City, where he was engaged in the mercantile 
 business at the corner of Greenwich and Veasy 
 Streets. In 1842, however, on account of ill health 
 he disposed of his interests there and came to Illi- 
 nois, locating in Winnebago County at a time when 
 the settlements were mostly confined to the timber 
 and streams. 
 
 The father of our subject located a tract of Gov- 
 ernment land in what is now Winnebago Town- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOaRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 251 
 
 ship, and erected thereon a house, in which the 
 family resided during the time he was emploj'ed in 
 clearing and improving a new farm. Soon sifter 
 locating here, he formed a partnership with Alfred 
 San ford and opened the first meat market in Rock- 
 ford. There being no railroads here, for some 
 years he hauled his grain to Chicago, one hundred 
 miles distant, to market. In 1876, he disjjosed of 
 his property in Winnebago Township and, coming 
 to Eockford, lived retired until his decease. His 
 wife, who prior to her marriage was Miss Ann 
 Nunn, was born in Liverpool, England, and also 
 departed this life in Rockford. 
 
 The five children comprising the parental family 
 were Harriet E., who married B. F. Pease; George 
 W., Thomas G., Maggie and Alfred. The latter is 
 a practicing physician in Milwaukee. Thomas G. 
 served as a member of Company I, Eleventh Illi- 
 nois Cavalry, during the late war, and Mrs. Pease, 
 who was a member of the Christian Commission, 
 was taken to the front at Vicksburg in the interest 
 of that organization. 
 
 George W. Levings was three years old when 
 brought to this State by his parents, receiving his 
 education in Winnebago and in the first school 
 ever erected in Rockford. He resided with his 
 parents until reaching his majority, when he was 
 employed on different kinds of work in the city 
 until 1863. In the fall of that year, he became a 
 member of Company I, Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, 
 enlisting for a service of three years and partici- 
 pating with his regiment in all its marches, cam- 
 paigns and battles. He received his honorable 
 discharge in June, 1865, and on returning home 
 spent the time until 1866 in Rockford, when he 
 went to Chicago and was engaged in the fruit 
 trade for two years. At the end of that time, he 
 bought and shipped live-stock from Rockford, be- 
 ing thus engaged for three years, and then became 
 the proprietor of a farm in Winnebago Township, 
 operating it for six years, when he purchased the 
 tract he has improved in his present farm. The 
 estate of our subject is finely cultivated and by a 
 proper rotation of crops yields a handsome income. 
 
 Nellie V. Stranahan became the wife of Mr. Lev- 
 ings in 1869. She was born in Ohio and is the 
 daughter of Carlisle and Harriet (Humphrey) 
 
 Stranahan. Being very young when her mother 
 died, she was adopted into a family named Kimball, 
 whose name she bore, and was reared at their home 
 in Elgin, 111 During the late war, she went South 
 in the interest of the American Missionary Society, 
 as a teacher of the freedmen, and was at Memphis 
 at the time of Forest's raid. She continued in the 
 service until 1869, during that time teaching in 
 Memphis, Mobile and other points. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born five 
 children : Frank, Annie E., Nellie F., Ralph S. and 
 Golden W. Mr. Levings is a member of Nevins 
 Post No. 1, G. A. R., and is also connected with 
 the order of Modern Woodmen of America. He 
 casts his vote and influence in favor of Republican 
 principles and candidates and is held in high es- 
 teem by all who know him. Mrs. Levings is a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at 
 Rockford. 
 
 ON. WILSON H. CRANDELL, M. D., who 
 died at his home in Durand October 4, 1855, 
 was a gentleman whose long residence in 
 
 ®) Winnebago County, together with his 
 active participation in worthy measures for the de- 
 velopment of his community, made him promi- 
 nent both socially and in the ranks of his profes- 
 sion. It has been said that there are two kinds of 
 education, one which is received at school, and the 
 other, more important, which we give ourselves. 
 Dr. Crandell was fortunate in gaining each kind 
 of training, and, as a result, his character was 
 rounded out and developed, while he acquired 
 those habits of perseverance and energ3^ which are 
 so essential in any profession. 
 
 Born in Nassau, N. Y., June 14, 1805, our 
 subject was the son of Nathan R. and Rebecca 
 (Arnold) Crandell. His early life was passed on 
 the farm and as an employe in a glass factory. He 
 came West in early life and, entering Rush Medical 
 College at Chicago, received his degree of Doctor 
 of Medicine from that institution. He first 
 practiced medicine near the Garden City, and was 
 later established at Freeport. 
 
 In 1845, Dr. Crandell made his advent into 
 
252 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Winnebago County, at which time he located in 
 what is now Laona Township, and gave his at- 
 tention to his profession. A few years thereafter, 
 he removed to what is now Durand Township, 
 and, purchasing a tract of land, resided upon it 
 until his death in 1855. He had an extensive 
 l)ractice, many of his patients living beyond Rock- 
 ford, and even as far as Beloit. He represented 
 his district in the State Legislature in 1848, 
 during which time he formulated and secured the 
 passage of the law establishing township organi- 
 zation. In politics, he always voted the Whig 
 ticket, and occupied a conspicuous place in local 
 affairs. He was a member of the Free-will Bap- 
 tist Church and gave liberally of his means to its 
 support. 
 
 June 6, 1829, our subject and Miss Sophia M. 
 Elmore, who was born in New Lebanon, N. Y., 
 July 13, 1804, were united in marriage. She 
 departed this life September 4, 1843, leaving no 
 familjr. April 9, 1845, the Doctor was married to 
 Eliza Randall, who had her birth August 3, 1817, 
 in Pompej', N. Y. She was the daughter of 
 Joshua and Sarah (Smith) Randall, also natives of 
 the Empire State. Mrs. Crandell emigrated with 
 her mother to Waryne County, Mich., riding from 
 Detroit to their home, twenty miles, over a cordu- 
 roy road. In 1838, she came to this State, and in 
 Laona Township made her home with her sister, 
 Ruama, who had married William H. Stevens. 
 Mrs. Crandell remained with her sister two years 
 when, her brother William coming to this count3'-, 
 she made her home with him until her marriage 
 with our subject. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Crandell had born to them 
 three children: Edwin Elmore, who was born 
 August 24, 1846, died September 15, 1852; Emily, 
 who was born March 22, 1852, married Andrew 
 Blake and resides at Coloi-ado Springs, where Mr. 
 Blake is engaged in the hardware business; Harriet, 
 born April 10, 1854, became the wife of Addison 
 Barningham, and departed this life January 13, 
 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Blake, of Colorado Springs, 
 have four children: Arthur, Maud Lillian, 
 Clarence H. and Worthington G. 
 
 Dr. Crandell at his death left considerable prop- 
 erty, and his wife, who carried on the farm for a 
 
 number of years later, sold it and built a residence 
 in Durand. She has given her daughter quite 
 a little fortune, and still has in her possession a 
 handsome competency. She is a most excellent 
 and charitable lady and the doer of many kindly 
 deeds known only to their objects. 
 
 1= — ■° ''~^ <"? ^^^'^^ g' 
 
 "jT^ EMUS W. GRIPPEN. Throughout Winne- 
 I jjj bago County there are doubtless few 
 i^Jf^ citizens who have not been personally 
 acquainted with this venerable resident of 
 Winnebago, who has aided in the development 
 of the resources of the county, and during the 
 late war contributed his self-sacrificing efforts 
 to the preservation of the Union. He is a native 
 of New York, and was born in Woodstock, Madi- 
 son County, April 13, 1806. His father, Jesse, was 
 a farmer in New Lebanon, N. Y., and also followed 
 the same occupation in Woodstock, where he se- 
 cured a tract of timber land, cleared a farm, and 
 made his home until about 1815. 
 
 In the above-mentioned year, Jesse Grippen re- 
 moved to Nelson Township, and afterward to 
 Smithfield Township, whence, about 1818, he pro- 
 ceeded to Oneida County and purchased a tract of 
 wild timber land in the town of Florence, where he 
 cleared a farm from the wilderness, and remained 
 for a number of years. Later he settled in the 
 town of Vienna, where he bought property and 
 where he was bereaved by the death of his wife, 
 Rachel (Stevens) Grippen, who was probably a na- 
 tive of the Empire State. After her death, he came. 
 West to Hillsdale County, Mich., where he died at 
 the home of a daughter in the town of Reading. 
 
 At a very early age, the subject of our sketch 
 commenced to be self-supporting, and learned the 
 trade of a moulder at Taberg, Oneida County, 
 where he remained until 1845. Then coming West 
 by way of Erie Canal to Buffalo, thence on a pro- 
 pellor across the Lakes to Sheboygan, Wis., he 
 proceeded on foot with his brother-in-law, Lu- 
 ther Miller, and made the overland journey to 
 Rockford, where he selected a tract of Government 
 land in what is now Winnebago Township, on 
 the northwest quarter of section 31. During the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 253 
 
 summer he erected a small frame house, and broke 
 and fenced forty acres of land. In the fall he re- 
 turned East for his family, and, coming hither the 
 second time, was met at Chicago by liis brother-in- 
 law with an ox-team, and by that primitive mode 
 of travel the family was convcj-ed to their future 
 home. P"or some years there was no railroad in 
 the county, and Chicago was the nearest market 
 and depot for supplies. 
 
 Until the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Grippen 
 continued actively engaged in farming, and then 
 enlisted, September 1, 1861, as a private in Com- 
 pany G, Forty-fifth Illinois Infantry, serving two 
 years, being promoted to Second, and later to 
 First Lieutenant, as the reward of meritorious ser- 
 vice. He then resigned on account of disability, 
 and returned home. In August, 1864, he re-en- 
 listed in Company D, One Hundred and Forty- 
 sixth Illinois Infantr}', and served until the close 
 of the war, when he was honorably discharged, July 
 8, 1865. In his second, as in his first term of ser- 
 vice, be enlisted as a private and was promoted to 
 the position of Second, and afterward First Lieu- 
 tenant. He participated in many Of the most 
 bloody conflicts of the war, and was always in the 
 front in the thickest of tlie fight, proving his pa- 
 triotism during all the horrors of war. 
 
 In 1866, Mr. Grippen removed to the village of 
 Winnebago, where he has since resided, and where 
 he owns eightj^ acres, the value of which is con- 
 stantly increasing. His first marriage united him 
 to Miss Lydia Miller, who was born in Oneida 
 County, N. Y., and died in Winnebago, January 
 25, 1866. Afterward Mr. Grippen was married, Oc- 
 tober 22, 1868, to Miss Margaret L., daughter of 
 William and Jane (Smith) Wallace, and a native 
 of Franklin County, Ind. Her parents came to 
 Illinois about 1853, and the father died in Olnej' 
 in 1885; the mother still survives and makes her 
 liome in Winnebago Township, with her daughter, 
 Mrs. Vansen. 
 
 Six children were born of the first union of Mr. 
 Grippen, namely: Nancy, who married John Her- 
 ring; Ezra; Maria, wife of William Tryan ; Delia, 
 who became the wife of Hampton Sloan; Mary, 
 Mrs. Wallace Gorham ; and Spencer. Ezra served 
 in Company C, Seventy-ninth Illinois Infantry, 
 
 during some months of the Civil War. Mr. Grippen 
 is a member of Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R. About 
 the time of his removal from the Empire State, 
 the Congregational Church, North and South, was 
 divided on the question of slavery, and after set- 
 tling in Illinois, he and Mr. Miller offered the Rev. 
 Mr. Hodges, the minister of the Congregational 
 Church in Oneida County, N. Y., a tract of land if 
 he would come West and preach at some conven- 
 ient point. The offer was accepted, and the min- 
 ister shortly after his arrival organized the First 
 Congregational Church in Winnebago, with seven 
 members, the only survivors at present being Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Holt and our subject. A few years af- 
 ter the organization, a stone church was erected on 
 section 21, and after the railroad was built in the 
 county, and the village of Winnebago was estab- 
 lished, the old building was abandoned, and the 
 Presbyterian Church of Winnebago became its 
 natural successor. 
 
 Throughout the community where they reside, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Grippen are highly esteemed, and their 
 generosity and kindliness of heart are well known 
 and appreciated. They are the parents of two 
 children, who now survive, namely: Jennie Belle, 
 who married Heman Hoyt; and Demus W., Jr. 
 
 ^m'(^^m 
 
 jf? EWIS SHIRLEY, Jr., one 
 
 I (^ ^i^rs now residing in 
 
 /IL^Sn Boone County, was born ir 
 
 ^ EWIS SHIRLEY, Jr., one of the early set- 
 Flora Township, 
 in LaPorte County, 
 Ind., January 12, 1833. He is a son of Lewis Shir- 
 ley, whom, it is supposed, was born either in Vir- 
 ginia or Pennsylvania. He removed from the 
 Keystone State to Ohio, and after residing there a 
 few years, in about 1825 removed farther West- 
 ward to LaPorte County, Ind., where he was one 
 of the early settlers. He located on Doore Prairie, 
 and securing a tract of Government land, at once 
 erected the log house in which our subject was 
 born. His son, Adam K., was the first white child 
 born in this county. 
 
 The father of our subject resided in Indiana un- 
 til 1835, then, in company with his wife and seven 
 children, he made the journey overland with teams 
 to Illinois, and located in Winnebago County be- 
 
254 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fore it was organized. Indians were still in tlie 
 vicinity, and deer, bear and other wild animals 
 were plentiful, and roamed at will over the coun- 
 try. Mr. Shirley selected Government land both 
 in Cherry Valley Township, AVinnebago County, 
 and Flora Township, this county. He erected a 
 log house on the former, the roof being formed of 
 rived clapboards, and for a time the cabin did not 
 even boast of a floor, and in lieu of a door a 
 blanket was hung across an opening in the wall. 
 There was plenty of water on the farm, and Mr. 
 Shirley building a saw and grist mill, operated 
 these in addition to carrying on his estate. He re- 
 sided in Cherry Valley, with the exception of about 
 two years when he was in California, until his de- 
 cease, December 6, 1872. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Julia Keith; she was born in Penns}'lvania, 
 a daughter of Peter Keith, and departed this life 
 on the home farm in 1837. After her death, our 
 subject's father chose for his second wife, Miss 
 Mary O'Hara, who died in 1887. The seven chil- 
 dren born of his first union were Silas, Mary, Jane, 
 Adam, Lewis, Charles W. and Elizabeth. 
 
 Lewis Shirley, Jr., was two j^ears of age when 
 brought to Illinois by liis parents, and remembers 
 well the incidents of pioneer life here. He attended 
 the first school ever taught in this section, the tem- 
 ple of learning being a log house with slab seat set 
 on common wooden pins for legs. Holes were 
 bored in the wall, pins inserted, and a slab laid on 
 to serve for the larger scholars to write on. When 
 but a mere boy, he used to go to Chicago with his 
 father, the latter leading off with a team, and our 
 subject following with another, loaded with wheat 
 which sometimes would only bring forty-two cents 
 per bushel. 
 
 In 1859, he of whom we write went to Califor- 
 nia, making the entire journey overland with ox- 
 teams. At that time there were no white settle- 
 ments on the plains, and the buffalo and antelopes 
 were numerous. After five months' travel, he ar- 
 rived in the Golden State, and for a short time 
 was engaged in mining, then began dealing in 
 wood. He remained there about five years, at the 
 end of which time he returned home and resumed 
 farming. In 1864, Mr. Shirley located on the farm 
 
 which he now ow^ns and occupies, which was a por- 
 tion of the land which his father entered from the 
 Government. In addition to farming, he has en- 
 gaged quite extensively in the wood business, in 
 which undertaking he has been very successful. 
 His estate is one of the finest in the county, con- 
 taining five hundred and seventy-five well-im- 
 proved acres. 
 
 November 3, 1864, Miss Leah Ream became the 
 wife of our subject. She was a native of the Key- 
 stone State, and departed this life February 28, 
 1876. The second wife of Mr. Shirley, to whom 
 he was married March 14, 1880, was Sophia Z. 
 Smith, a native of Carroll County, Ohio, her birth 
 occurring July 21, 1841. Her father, James Smith, 
 was born near Hoboken, N. J., where also his father. 
 Hector Smith, was born, and, it is supposed, spent 
 his entire life. The maiden name of the grand- 
 mother of Mrs. Shirley was Sophia, daughter of 
 Amby Clark, who also had her birth in the above- 
 named State and town. After the death of her 
 husband, she went to Ohio with her children, and 
 from there to Iowa, where her decease occurred in 
 Fayette County. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Shirley was sixteen year.s of 
 age when the family removed to Ohio and located 
 in Franklin County. In 1837, he removed to Car- 
 roll County and purchased a tract of timber land 
 near CarroUton. Making iiis home in that place 
 until 1854, he again made his way Westward, in 
 company with his wife and five children, this time 
 making his home in Fayette County, Iowa. One of 
 the children died on the way. Mr. Smith located 
 land in what is now Smithfield Township, and when 
 the township was organized, it was named in his 
 honor. The family moved into a log cabin until 
 a more substantial structure could be erected for 
 them, the father having to go thirty miles dis- 
 tant to have lumber sawed. He improved bis 
 land, upon which he has resided, with the exception 
 of a few years spent in Fayette, since locating 
 there. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Shirley were married in Car- 
 roll County, Ohio, in 1837, the mother's maiden 
 name being May J. Morrison. She was born in 
 Pennsylvania, and was the daughter of John and 
 Jane(Montgomery) Morrison. They have been mar- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 255 
 
 ried nearly flfty-five years, and have reared a fam- 
 ily of six children: Jane, John M., Rose A., James 
 H., and Ciiarles F., all of whom are living, with 
 the exception of John M. Mrs. Shirley was given 
 a good education, and when fifteen years of age, 
 entered the Iowa University at Fayette, where she 
 fitted herself as a teacher, which occupation she 
 followed for twenty years. By her union with our 
 subject, one son has been born, James Lewis, born 
 January 23, 1884. Mr. Shirley, by his first mar- 
 riage, became the father of six children: Celestia 
 E., Carrie A., Roswell R. and Adelbert W. Flora 
 E., the second child, died when thirteen years of 
 age, and Gertrude, the fifth in order of birth, de- 
 parted this life in her seventh j'ear. 
 
 ARTIN P. WHITESIDE, who at present 
 occupies a pleasant homo in Rockford, was 
 •* born in Chautauqua County, N. Y., Au- 
 gust 23, 1822. His father, Robertson 
 Whiteside, was a native of Washington County, 
 that State, where he was reared to farming pur- 
 suits in the town of Cambridge. The grandfather 
 of our subject, John Whiteside, lived and died in 
 that place. 
 
 He of whom we write is the younger of two 
 sons born to his parents, his brother, William P., 
 being a resident of Chautauqua, living on the 
 banks of that beautiful lake at Whiteside Point, 
 where his father located on a farm of one hundred 
 and thirty acres in 1836. After a residence there of 
 some j'ears, the elder Mr. Whiteside removed to 
 May ville, the county seat, where he died in his eigh- 
 tieth year. His widow, prior to her marriage, was 
 Maria Prendergast; she was born in 1798, in Rens- 
 selaer County, N. Y., and departed this life when 
 seventy-eight years old. Her father was Martin 
 Prendergast, of Chautauqua County, where he was 
 Judge for many years. This family was one of 
 the leading and wealthy residents of Jamestown, 
 N. Y., which place was named in honor of James 
 Prendergast, who there owned a large estate, a 
 portion of which was timber land. There he 
 erected mills, manufactured lumber, putting in the 
 
 first gangsaw in that section, if not the first in the 
 United States. William Prendergast, better known 
 as Colonel, was in active service during the Revo- 
 lutionary War, after which he located on a farm. 
 
 The gentleman of whom we write was given a 
 good academic education, and in 1844 was married 
 to a most worthy and estimable lady, who bore the 
 name of Sarah Holmes. She was born October 
 6, 1824, in Oneida County, N. Y., and was the 
 daughter of Seth W. Holmes, of Salisbury, Conn., 
 whose birth occurred in 1799, and who departed 
 this life at Paw Paw, Lee County, 111., in 1864. 
 His wife was Sallie Stone, who was also born in 
 Connecticut in 1802, in the town of Litchfield, and, 
 like her husband, passed away in Paw Paw, in 
 1856. 
 
 Our subject and his only brother were mer- 
 chants at Mayville, N. Y., for a number of years. 
 They erected a saw and grist mill, and did a large 
 and paying business, which they sold out in order 
 to come West. Locating in Paw Paw, this State, 
 in 1852, they invested in farming lands, their es- 
 tate comprising five hundred fertile acres. The 
 father of Mrs. Whiteside owned in Lee County 
 ten or twelve farms, which estate he left to his 
 three daughters; the sisters of Mrs. Whiteside be- 
 ing Phcebe, Mrs. Martin Prendergast, of Chautau- 
 qua, N. Y.; and Helen, Mrs. John Dickson, who 
 resides at Racine, Wis. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Whiteside have been born two 
 sons: Henry R., whose birth occurred April 6, 
 1853; and John W., who was born October 4, 1857. 
 The latter-named gentleman is a physician at Bes- 
 semer, Mich., and, in partnership with other physi- 
 cians, manages a hospital. He was graduated from 
 the Rush Medical College at Chicago, in the Class 
 of '82, and was one of the few members whose 
 standing admitted him to the hospital that year. 
 Henry resides in Chicago, and, in connection with 
 the Board of Trade, is conducting a grain ensam- 
 pler's business. 
 
 Our subject and his wife came to Rockford in 
 1886, where they purchased the Kimball Place, just 
 west of Haskell Avenue. There they planted and 
 grew a fine vineyard, from which they gathered 
 annually four tons of grapes. They subsequently 
 sold these grounds for building lots, on which they 
 
256 
 
 POSTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 erected in 1883 a pleasant residence. A year later, 
 however, they removed to the home which will no 
 doubt be their dwelling place until thej' shall be 
 called to their final reward. It is located at No. 
 503 Rocktou Avenue, where their kindly natures 
 lead them to make life pleasant for others, and 
 their influence in the community is always felt for 
 good. 
 
 1* )>)ILLIAM RICE. In point of energy, en- 
 \/iJil ^^^'W^^'^ SHd determination, the subject of 
 
 \y^ this sketch is looked upon as one of the 
 leading men of Rockford Township, Winnebago 
 County. He is what ma^' be properly termed a 
 "hustler," in the broadest sense of the term, and is 
 genial and generous, one who is n universal favor- 
 ite in both social and business circles. He is mostly 
 interested in agricultural pursuits, and is the pos- 
 sessor of a large number of acres of land in this 
 township. 
 
 The original of this sketch had his birth in 
 Solon, Cortland County, N. Y., on the 4th of July, 
 1827. His worthy father, who bore the name of 
 William Rice, was born in New England, and there 
 reared. He went to Cortland County, N. Y., when 
 a young man, and there bought a tract of timber 
 land, clearing a splendid farm from the wilderness. 
 
 There were no railroads nor canals built in New 
 York State for several years after his advent there, 
 and the people lived off the products of their own 
 farms, the women spinning and carding and mak- 
 ing homespun clothes for their families. The fa- 
 ther of our subject lived on the home farm with 
 his parents until the year 1850, when he removed 
 to Pennsylvania. After a few years' residence in 
 the latter-named State, he again came to Cortland 
 County and resided with his son, our subject, un- 
 til his death, which took place in 1863. 
 
 The beloved mother of our subject bore the 
 maiden name of Theodosia Thornton; she was a 
 native of New York State, and died on the home 
 farm in Cortland County. She reared to man and 
 woman's estate six children, named as follows: Al- 
 mon, Jason, PhcEbe, Joseph, Betsey and William. 
 Our subject is the jroungest of the children born 
 
 to his parents, and was reared and educated in his 
 native State and county, and resided under the 
 parental roof until he was seventeen years of ao-e. 
 At that age he started out for himself in life, and 
 commenced by working on a farm for $7 per 
 month, and later received $10 a month. In this 
 way he earned and saved enough money to help 
 him get a good start. His father gave him sixty 
 acres of land in the township of Cincinnatus, Cort- 
 land County, when he reached his majority, and 
 on this place was an old log house with a frame 
 addition, a small barn, two and one-third acres 
 being improved. On this place our subject lived 
 for only one year, when he traded with his father 
 for the old homestead of one hundred and sixty 
 acres, paying his father $2,500 besides. Here he 
 lived until 1859, when he journeyed to the Prairie 
 State, and settled in West Point Township, Steph- 
 enson County, purchasing a tract of one hundred 
 and sixty acres on which he made his home until 
 1868. 
 
 In the year mentioned above, William Rice, the 
 subject of this life history, sold hislandiuvStephcn- 
 son County and came to the city of Rockford, buy- 
 ing property in the same, and also a fine farm of 
 one hundred and eighty-two acres adjoining the 
 city. He has since then purchased other lands, and 
 now owns a farm which comprises two hundred and 
 forty-eight broad and fertile acres, besides one 
 hundred and thirty-eight acres adjoining the city, 
 which has been his home for the past two years. On 
 this place he is actively and prosperously engaged 
 in tilling the soil, and raising some cattle, which 
 are of the best grades, and he is a splendid exam- 
 ple of what may be accomplished by a persistent, 
 sagacious and economical man. He owns an acre 
 of valuable land in the city, which is as yet va- 
 cant. 
 
 To the wife who has contributed her quota to 
 his prosperity, presides with grace and true hospi- 
 tality over his home, and makes his interest her 
 own, Mr. Rice was united in marriage in 1848. 
 Mrs. Rice was born in the Empire State, a daugh- 
 ter of Andrew and Matilda (Fuller) Coleman. 
 Mrs. Rice was known in her maidenhood as Nancy 
 Coleman, and has become the mother of the fol- 
 lowing children, viz: Vinton B., Tilla I., Hattie 
 

 .^=J-;^;^,J,^,^^^-r 
 
 ^^rz^t^yp^ ^^^^7-^1^-t^^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 259 
 
 L., Kittie G., Opal A., Lena L. and Willie A. 
 (Starr A., who was the second child, died when 
 seven years and seven months old.) 
 
 The life record of our subject is an honor to him 
 and an example to the youth of the present gener- 
 ation. He is gifted with a strong, clear mind, ten- 
 acity of purpose and far-seeing sagacity, which 
 have enabled him to control his business affairs to 
 the best advantage, so that he has become well-to- 
 do. He is liberal in the use of his money, showing 
 that he has not labored merely for himself. In his 
 political views, he is a stanch Democrat. In their 
 religious views the}- are liberal, and not connected 
 with any church. 
 
 ^^ HARLES O. UPTON. An honorable place 
 (|( among the citizens of Rockford is occupied 
 
 ^^y by the President of the Manufacturers' 
 National Bank, whose portrait is presented on the 
 opposite page. Nearly forty years has Mr. Upton 
 been a resident of this city, and by his business 
 energy, integrity and public spirit, ably contributes 
 to its prosperity and growth. Affable, clear- 
 headed, a financier of safe discretion, in him and 
 his estimable wife, a lady of much grace and 
 dignity of presence and character, may be recog- 
 nized that refined type of manners and morals, 
 deeply rooted in austere New England virtues, 
 amelioriated by Western influences, whose preva- 
 lence gives a high tone to the atmosphere of Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 Charles Oscar Upton, youngest son of Amos and 
 Hannah (Flint) Upton, was born in North Read- 
 ing, Mass., September 17, 1832. He is of the sixth 
 generation from his ancestor, John Upton, who 
 came to Massachusetts from the original home of 
 the family across the waters about the yeiir 1652. 
 Having been in his boyhood and early youth duly 
 disciplined and instructed in the district schools, 
 then in vogue in his native village, our subject 
 was later enrolled as a student of Lawrence 
 Academy in the neighboring town of Groton, and 
 for a brief time enjoyed the advantages afforded 
 by that institution for higher learning. Return- 
 ing to the shelter of the parental roof, and enter- 
 
 ing into business, he began to think of marriage 
 and a home of his own. 
 
 Tiio marriage of Charles 0. Upton and Cather- 
 ine Elizabeth, daughter of Col. Jacob S. and 
 Catherine (Foster) Rayner, took place at the home 
 of the bride's parents in North Reading, Mass., 
 March 26, 1855, and their wedding journey was 
 the trip to the new home in the great Prairie 
 State. The children born of the union are as 
 follows: Florence L., born August 31, 1858, 
 married Lyon Playfair Ross, who died February 
 23, 1889, leaving two children; Nellie R., born in 
 1861, died in 1863, aged two years and three 
 months; Clyde W., born January 20, 1864, is at 
 home; and Lucy J., born March 31, 1866, was 
 married at the family residence on North Court 
 Street, November 19, 1891, to Fred King Tribou. 
 Liberal in their religious views, sympathizing with 
 the progressive teachings of the Rev. Dr. Kerr, 
 and enjoying his faithful ministrations, Mr. and 
 Mrs Upton are active members of the Christian 
 Union Church. 
 
 When Mr. Upton came to Rockford in Septem- 
 ber, 1854, it was then an unimportant village. 
 But the struggling town which he found by the 
 River Rock has given way to the handsome, mod- 
 ern city of to-day, and in this development he 
 has played no unimportant part as a solid and 
 trustworthy man and sagacious financier, who has 
 erected one of the most attractive residences in 
 the city, founded a solid and reliable banking 
 institution, and otherwise vigorously aided in 
 pushing forward the material interests of city and 
 county, besides bearing an honorable part in the 
 guidance of public affairs. For a number of 3'ears 
 he successfully conducted business, and engaged 
 largely in buying and shipping live stock. 
 
 The Second National Bank of Rockford was 
 organized in 1864, and Mr. Upton was made one 
 of its Directors. He was connected with that bank 
 twenty years, and the last two was Vice-Presi- 
 dent. In 1889, he organized the Manufacturers' 
 National Bank, was elected its President, and still 
 holds that office. Under his careful supervision, 
 the affairs of the bank, which already occupies an 
 important position in the monetary circles of the 
 State, are in a flourishing condition, and a steadj- 
 
260 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 and constantly increasing business denotes tlie 
 higli favor in which it is held by the people. Mr. 
 Upton is also a Director in the Rockford Burial 
 Case Company. 
 
 Soon after he became a resident of Rockford, Mr. 
 Upton's fellow-citizens called upon him to help 
 administer the local government, and he has held 
 various ottices of trust, executing his public duties 
 with the same force, tact, business acumen and 
 system that have always characterized his manage- 
 ment of his private business. He served four 
 years as a member of the City Council (being one 
 of the committee of three that built the water 
 works), was on the Couuty Board of Supervisors 
 three terms, and was Treasurer of Rockford two 
 years. He has been permanently connected with 
 the Agricultural Society as one of its leading 
 members for many 3fears, having served two terms 
 as President, the same length of time as Vice- 
 President,,and is now Treasurer of the Association. 
 A true Republican in politics, he cast his first vote 
 for John C. Fremont and has stood firmly by 
 his party ever since the early days of its organi- 
 zation. 
 
 GEORGE THOMAS WHEELER, an early 
 settler in Boone County, is now living a 
 retired life in the village of Poplar Grove. 
 He was born in Hamburg, Erie County, N. Y., 
 August 14, 1828, and is a son of Thomas Wheeler, 
 whose native place was Massachusetts. The latter- 
 named gentleman was reared and married in the 
 Bay State and from there removed to Erie County, 
 N. Y., where he was one of the early settlers in 
 the town of Colden. Later, he settled in Hamburg, 
 where he followed the trade of blacksmithing and 
 remained until his decease in 1829. 
 
 Miss Martha Buxton, the maiden name of our 
 subject's mother, was boin in Rhode Island and, 
 surviving her husband many years, died at the 
 home of her daughter, Mrs. Webster, in Poplar 
 Grove. He of whom we write was reared in his 
 native town, where he resided until 1848, and 
 then came by the way of the Lakes to Chicago, 
 and thence by teams to this county. Here he 
 
 entered a quarter-section of Government land in 
 what is now Boone Township, which was said to 
 be the last piece of Government land in this lo- 
 cality. He paid for this property with a soldier's 
 land warrant, which cost him $140. The estate 
 wa;s placed under most excellent cultivation, and 
 five years later Mr. Wheeler sold out and pur- 
 chased a tract one mile south of Poplar Grove. 
 He made that place his home for ten years, at the 
 end of which time he became the proprietor of an 
 estate two and one-half miles southeast in the 
 same townslup, which he occupied until 1888, the 
 year in which he moved to Poplar Grove. 
 
 November 25, 1857, Miss Harriet Ball and our 
 subject were united in marriage. They have be- 
 come the parents of three children: Frank, Helen 
 M. and Blanch. The father of Mrs. Wheeler, Ed- 
 ward Ball, was born in Northboro, Worcester 
 County, Mass., in June, 1807. His father, who 
 was also named Edward, it is thought, was born 
 on the same farm as his son and was descended from 
 one of four brothers who came to America from 
 Englaild in an early day and located in what has 
 since been known as Ball's Hill. 
 
 Grandfather Ball was a farmer and spent his 
 entire life in Northboro. The maiden name of 
 his wife was Sophia Puffer, the daughter of Reuben 
 Puffer, who was a preacher and many years pastor 
 of the Congregational Church in Berlin, where he 
 spent his last years. The grandmother of Mrs. 
 Wheeler died at the home of her daughter in 
 Northboro, Mass. Edward Ball was reared and 
 married in the above-named place and, being the 
 only son, inherited the old home farm, upon 
 which he resided until IS.oe, the date of his com- 
 ing to Illinois. He located on a farm in Boone 
 Township, which consisted of two hundred and 
 forty acres, and resided there until his death in 
 June, 1889. The lady to whom he was married, 
 in iNIarch, 1835, was Miss Harriet, daughter of 
 Thomas Hapgood. She was born isi Marlboro, 
 Middlesex County, Mass., January 4, 1817. Her 
 father was a son of Thomas Hapgood, Sr., who 
 was of early p]nglish ancestry and married Lucy 
 Wood. The grandfather of Mrs. Wheeler was a 
 carpenter and died in Marlboro. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Mary Witt, who was born 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIHCAL RECORD. 
 
 261 
 
 in what is now Hudson, Mass., and was the daugh- 
 ter of Ebenezer and Catherine (Goodenow) "Witt. 
 The mother of Mrs. Wheeler is still living and 
 makes her home in Poplar Grove. In his political 
 relations, our subject is a stanch Democrat. 
 
 •i — ==:= 
 
 i>-^<< 
 
 '(Q>— 
 
 /^ HARLES G. ALNEER, a member of the firm 
 (|( _ of Alneer Bros., dealers in all kinds of seeds 
 ^^7 and plants, with headqunrters at No. 710 
 South Fourth Street, is one of the progressive young 
 business men of the city, and is upright and hon- 
 orable in all his business transactions. He has a very 
 pleasant home at No. 710 Kishwaukee Street, and his 
 brother Alfred, who is the junior member of the 
 firm, resides at No. 703 of the same street. The}'' be- 
 gan business in a small waj' in 1883, but met with 
 so much success and encouragement that they grad- 
 ually increased their business, until they are now 
 classed among the flourishing and most reliable 
 seed merchants of the State. 
 
 Our subject came to this city in the year 1869, 
 was engaged with a seed merchant here for some 
 time, and subsequently he and his brother began 
 business on their own account. They have a large 
 trade all over the United States, the result of their 
 upright conduct in dealing with patrons and their 
 manner of advertising with fine illustrated cata- 
 logues. They make it a point to give a buyer just 
 what he buys, and no misrepresentation of goods is 
 allowed. Buyers may feel assured that their orders 
 will be filled with as good seeds, and at as reasonable 
 prices, as though they were present. Their present 
 quarters are found to be inadequate for their large 
 and increasing business. They are now consider- 
 ing plans for a large and handsome block to be 
 erected for them, the entire building to be used by 
 them, in which to conduct their large seed and 
 plant business. 
 
 Charles G. Alneer was originally from Sweden, 
 born in Wester Gothland Province, December 23. 
 1856, and came with the family to America in 
 1869. They came immediately to Rockford, 111., 
 and there the father is still living, and on the 
 22d of December, 1891, was seventy-three years 
 old. He has been a tiller of the soil all his life. 
 
 The mother, whose maiden name was Anna Lind- 
 strom, died in 1874, when flfty-flve years of age. 
 She was a Lutheran in her religious belief, and her 
 husband is a member of that church. 
 
 Our subject was tlie sixth child and tlie eldest son 
 living of nine cliildren born to his parents, of 
 whom five are living, all of whom are residents of 
 Rockford except one daughter, Carrie, who resides 
 in Chicago. The others are: Mary, wife of Charles A- 
 Anderson, who is in the employ of the Forest City 
 Furniture Company; Eva, widow of John Ekeberg, 
 who was formerly a cabinet-maker, resides at No. 
 1014 Sixth Avenue, and Alfred (his partner in busi- 
 ness) married Matilda Stockenberg, of Rockford. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Alneer have been born 
 two children, May and Raymond. Charles G., 
 our subject, was married in this city to Miss 
 Eva Carlson, a native of Sweden, who came 
 alone to the States in 1875, leaving her par- 
 ents, who still reside in that country. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Charles G. Alneer have been born two chil- 
 dren, both sons: C. Arthur and Walter H. He 
 and his wife hold membership in the First Luth- 
 eran Church. 
 
 im, im \-r ^ 
 
 ' L ' I ' 
 
 ANSOM BEECHER. It is probable that no 
 resident of Winnebago Township is more 
 widely known than Mr. Beecher, a retired 
 farmer residing on section 21. He was 
 born in Putnam, Washington County, N. Y., Jan- 
 uary 22, 1821, and was a son of Isaac Beecher, 
 whose birtli occurred in Connecticut in 1799. The 
 grandfather of our subject, David Beecher, it is be- 
 lieved was also a native of the Nutmeg State, 
 where he was married to a Miss Hawkins. He 
 later removed to Vermont, in 1807, and was one 
 of the pioneers of Rutland County, purchasing a 
 tract of land in the town of Castleton, in addition 
 to which he kept a public house. He later emigra- 
 ted to New York State and settled in Putnam 
 Township. After the decease of his wife he re- 
 turned to Connecticut, where he died. 
 
 The father of our subject was eight years of age 
 when his parents reiv.oved to Vermont, and there 
 resided until reaching his majoritj^, when he went 
 
262 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Putnam, Washingtou County, N. Y., and loca- 
 ted upon a tract of land wliieli his father had pre- 
 viously purchased. In 1826, he removed to Gene- 
 see County, buying timber land from the Holland 
 Purchase Conipan}', upon which he moved his fam- 
 ily the following year, making the trip by the way 
 of the Champlain and Erie Canal. Mr. Beecher 
 resided in Pembroke for five years and then re- 
 turning to Putnam, purchased a farm about one 
 mile from his father's residence, and which was 
 beautif uUjf located on Lake George. After a stay 
 of five years he sold out and returned to Vermont, 
 and lived for nine years in CasLleton. In 1846, 
 Isaac Beecher came to Illinois and secured a tract 
 of Government land five miles soutli of Yorkville, 
 Kendall County. At the expiration of that time, 
 he made his advent into Winnebago County, pur- 
 chasing land in what is now Winnebago Township, 
 and a few years later he moved to Nebraska, locat- 
 ing in York County, where he purchased a home 
 and resided until his decease, September 19, 1883. 
 The maiden name of his wife was Minerva Gorham, 
 whose birth occurred in Fairfield, Vt., in January, 
 1799. She was the daughter of Hezekiah Gorham, 
 and departed this life in York, Neb., in February, 
 1890, at the age of ninety-one years. 
 
 Ransom Beeciiei was the eldest of the four chil- 
 dren born to his parents, his brothers and sisters 
 being Charles, Betsey R., and Daniel I. He of 
 whom we write was fifteen years of age when his 
 parents moved to Vermont, prior to this time, 
 however, receiving a good education in the pio- 
 neer schools of his native place. He remembers 
 that his mother did all the cooking for the family 
 in an old-fashioned fireplace, and carded, spun and 
 wove the material for her children's clothes. 
 
 Our subject started out in the world for himself 
 in 1845, and the following year came to Illinois 
 with the family, where he entered a tract of Gov- 
 ernment land, which was located about five miles 
 south of Yorkville. The first two years after his 
 settlement here, Chicago was the nearest market 
 for grain, which was conveyed thither by means of 
 ox-teams. When the Michigan & Illinois Canal 
 was completed, Morris, fourteen miles away, was 
 the nearest market, though he frequently went to 
 Joliet or Lockport, twenty miles away. In 1853, 
 
 he sold his land, one hundred acres, sixty of which 
 he had broken and fenced, for $10 per acre. He 
 then came to Winnebago Township, and, with his 
 brother Charles, bought two hundred acres of land 
 at $15 per acre, which was located on section 33, 
 The brothers continued together for a twelvemonth 
 when they divided the estate, each taking one hun- 
 dred acres, and farmed until 1863, when our sub- 
 ject sold his portion and became the owner of a 
 tract on sections 13 and 24, of the same township. 
 There they resided until 1878, when he rented the 
 farm and removed to Winnebago village, where 
 he lived for five years, at the end of which time 
 he returned to the farm and spent the following 
 two years. Mr. Beecher then rented his estate and 
 bought his pleasant home on section 21, where he 
 is living retired. 
 
 March 12, 1844, oursubjectand Sarah A. Drake, 
 a. native of Castleton, Vt., were united in marriage. 
 They are the parents of two children, Sarah E. 
 and Inez, E., the former of whom married George 
 Hollenbeck and is the mother of four children, 
 namely: William R., Frank, Eflfie A., and Artha. 
 Inez married William T. Speaker, and has four 
 children: Clifford, Faith, Ethel, and an infant not 
 yet named. Mr. Beecher votes the Republican 
 ticket, and is greatly respected in this locality. 
 
 
 
 ¥-51 f^ILLIAM H. SPICER, a native-born citizen 
 of Winnebago Countj-, had his birth in 
 Seward Township, August 1, 1864. He is 
 a son of George W. Spicer, whose birth occurred 
 August 4, 1818, in Yates County, N. Y., where he 
 resided until 1844, which was the date of his 
 advent into this county. 
 
 Here the elder Mr. Spicer took up the land 
 which is the present abiding-place of our subject, 
 and which contains two hundred acres of finely- 
 developed property. The mother of our subject 
 was, prior to her marriage, Lucj' L. Hawkins; she 
 also was born in the Empire State, and is now 
 residing in Iowa with a son and daughter. Her 
 parents were from Germany, and passed away in 
 New York State when Mrs. Spicer was very 
 young. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 265 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject came 
 from England to this country in an early day and 
 died near Rockford, this State. Grandmother 
 Spicer was a native of Ireland, and spent her last 
 days with our subject. George W. Spicer died in 
 this county November 27, 1884. 
 
 He of whom we write had seven brothers and 
 sisters, one of the former dying when thirteen 
 years of age. He was married, December 10, 1890, 
 to Miss Abbie Albcrtus, who was born in Ridott, 
 Stephenson County, this State, May 3, 1866. She 
 was a daughter of Peter and Tillie Albertus, who 
 emigrated from Germany and located in the 
 above-named county about forty years ago. The 
 father died in his sixty-sixth year and his wife 
 still lives on the old homestead near Freeport. 
 They were the parents of ten children, eight of 
 whom are living. 
 
 William H. Spicer and his wife have one child, a 
 daughter, Lucy A., who was born October 4, 1891. 
 Like his father before him, our subject is a Re- 
 publican in politics, and is looked upon as one of 
 the representative citizens of Seward Township. 
 In company with one brother and his mother, he 
 bought out the heirs of the old homestead, upon 
 which he is residing and which he is cultivating 
 with signal success. 
 
 eHARLES E. BROWN. This gentleman, who 
 owned a fine farm of sixt}--one and one- 
 half acres, located one half mile from Rock- 
 ford, during the "boom" of 1890 sold all of his 
 tract but seven acres, on which he is residing at 
 the present time. He is also the proprietor of an 
 excellent estate of three hundred and twenty-five 
 acres in Owen Township, Winnebago County, 
 which is operated by his son. 
 
 September 15, 1841, the birth of our subject oc- 
 curred in Jersey County, this State. He was one 
 of eleven children born to Mowry and Lucy 
 (Pease) Brown, the former a native of Rhode Is- 
 land. His grandfather, Joseph Brown, followed 
 farming pursuits in his native State (Rhode Is- 
 land), where he passed the greater part of his life. 
 
 although his death occurred at the home of the 
 father of our subject in Illinois. Mowry Brown 
 was reared and educated in his native town and, 
 when choosing an occupation for himself, learned 
 the carpenter's trade, soon after which he canne to 
 the Prairie State, and located near Alton, follow- 
 ing his trade until 1838. 
 
 At that date, Mowry Brown made his advent in- 
 to Winnebago County, when most of the laud in 
 this section was owned by the Government and 
 the cit}' of Rockford was little more than a ham- 
 let. He prosecuted his trade in Rockford for a 
 time, then entering a tract of land in what is now 
 Owen Township, erected thereon a log cabin and 
 made that place his home for a number of years. 
 As there were no railroads in this locality, and 
 Chicago was the nearest market, all the farm pro- 
 ducts were conveyed thither by means of ox-teams. 
 Mr. Brown carried on the carpenter's trade, at the 
 same time superintending the improvement of his 
 new home where he resided until his death. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Lucy Pease. She was born in Medina County, 
 N. Y., and now resides on the old homestead in 
 Owen Township. She was on a visit in Jersey 
 County, this State, when our subject' was born, and 
 as he was an infant wlien his mother returned to 
 Winnebago County, he very naturally feels that 
 he is a native of this place. He has been a per- 
 manent resident of this county and has witnessed 
 its entire growth and development. In his early 
 days he attended the pioneer log schoolhouse, 
 which was furnished in the most primitive manner. 
 On attaining his seventeenth year, in company 
 with his brother George he rented a tract of land 
 in Owen Township and engaged in farming. They 
 also purchased a threshing-machine which they 
 operated witli extraordinary success for a number 
 of years, and continued to work together until 
 about six years previous to the marriage of our 
 subject. After celebrating that important event, 
 Mr. Brown became a fireman on an engine running 
 on the Atlanta & Great Western Railroad, and 
 was thus engaged for a twelvemonth, when he lo- 
 cated on a tract of land which he had purchased in 
 Owen Township. He cultivated the soil for four 
 years, then disposing of his estate, was employed 
 
266 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOQEAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 in manufacturing brick in company with his 
 father and brother, operating together for nine 
 years. 
 
 Believing agriculture to be the most profitable 
 business in which he could engage, Mr. Brown 
 purchased two hundred and foi'ty acres of land 
 in Owen Township, where he cultivated the soil 
 for six years, and then became proprietor of the 
 sixty-one and one-half acres located one-half mile 
 from Rockford and which has been mentioned 
 above. 
 
 December 27, 1864, Mr. Brown was married to 
 Miss Frances Mary Burritt, a native of Auburn, 
 Caj'uga County, N. Y. She was one of seven chil- 
 dren born to Charles and Laura (Remington) Bur- 
 ritt, the former a native of Bridgeport, Conn. Her 
 paternal grandparents, Eben and Polly Burritt, 
 were natives of the Nutmeg State, whence they 
 removed to New York State and located in the 
 town of Bennett, where the grandfather bought a 
 tract of timber land and followed farming pur- 
 suits until his demise. 
 
 In earlj' manhood, Charles Burritt, father of 
 Mrs. Brown, removed to New York State, where he 
 purchased a farm in Ira, Caj'uga County, and there 
 resided for a few years. Later, disposing of his 
 estate, he embarked in the hardware business in 
 Weedsport, and remained thus engaged until 1855, 
 when he came to Illinois and settled on a tract of 
 partially-improved land in Owen Township, Win- 
 nebago County. There he continued to cultivate 
 his land and improve the farm for ' many years. 
 He departed this life at the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Brown. His wife, whose maiden name was Laura 
 Remington, was, it is thought, a native of Con- 
 necticut. She removed to New I'ork with her par- 
 ents at an early day and died on the home farm 
 in Owen Township, Winnebago County. With 
 her husband, she was a faithful member of the 
 Second Congregational Church. 
 
 The six children born to Mr. Brown and his es- 
 timable wife are named as follows: Harry W., Nel- 
 lie L., Mabel F., Mowry C, Ralph E. and Maude 
 E. Harry W. married Miss Fannie M. Johns and 
 they are the parents of two children: Orville and 
 Aurilla. In political matters, Mr. Brown affiliates 
 with the Republican party and is known as one of 
 
 the most public-spirited citizens of the community 
 He and his wife are devoted members of the Chris- 
 tian Union Church and are people of high social 
 standing in Rockford and vicinity. 
 
 In connection with this biographical notice, the 
 reader will notice a lithographic portrait of Mr. 
 Brown on another page. 
 
 s ' ^"S]< T >S~^^ § 
 
 ^P>, HARLES COMLY. A traveler through 
 (Iv ff' ^^^'^^^^SO County sees many attractive 
 ^^1^'' homes, not only in the thriving towns, but 
 in the agricultural districts, the evidences of enter- 
 prise crowned with success being plentiful on every 
 hand. In Seward Township stands a substantial 
 farm residence, around which good barns and other 
 outbuildings cluster and well-tilled acres stretch. 
 Everything about the place wears an air of neatness 
 and order and evidences of good taste, which mark 
 the occupants as people of intelligence, thrift and 
 culture. Investigation shows the estate to be owned 
 by Charles Comly and operated by his son Edwin. 
 The household comprises three generations and 
 the marvelous memory of which our subject is 
 possessed at his advanced years is a cause for self- 
 congratulation. 
 
 The gentleman whose life it is our purpose to 
 outline in these brief paragraphs was born in Mil- 
 ton, Northumberland County, Pa., October 22, 
 1814. He is a son of Thomas and Catherine 
 (Hunter) Comly, the former of whom was born 
 August 17, 1789, in Chester County, that State. 
 He was the son of Ezra and Hannah (Wedell) 
 Comly, and a decendant of one Henry Comly, who 
 came to this country from England in company 
 with William Penn, in 1682. Henry Comly was 
 married, August 17, 1695, to Miss Agnes Hoaton. 
 
 Thomas Wedell emigrated from England to the 
 United States in 1700 and was married, April 9, 
 1705, to Rebecca Williams. The mother of our 
 subject was born July 6, 1796, in Northumberland 
 Count}', Pa., and spent her last days in Lycoming 
 County, that State, her decease occurring when 
 seventy-six years of age. Ezra Comly was a lum- 
 ber merchant and died in Northumberland County, 
 Pa., when eighty years of age, his wife's decease 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 267 
 
 occurring at the same place when in her eighty- 
 fourth year. The grandfather of our subject was 
 a son oC Henry and Agnes (Heaton) Comly. 
 
 The mother of our subject was the daughter of 
 David and Isabella (Patterson) Hunter, the former 
 of whom was a native of Ireland and died when 
 sixty-eight years of age in Lycoming County, Pa., 
 leaving a wife and seven children. The mother, 
 Isabella Hunter, was a native of the Keystone 
 State, and her demise occurred in Lycoming 
 County, at the age of sixty-six years. The Pat- 
 tersons were of Scotch-Irish descent, while the 
 Comlys are among old and prominent families of 
 the United States. 
 
 Charles Comly of this sketch remained at home 
 until twenty-two years of age, when, December 8, 
 1856, he was married in Union County, Pa., to 
 Miss Ludwig. His wife was born in Berks County, 
 that State, January 5, 1816, and is the daughter of 
 Abram and Hannah (Bower) Ludwig, natives of 
 Pennsylvania, whose decease occurred in La Porte 
 County, Ind., at the respective ages of seventy- 
 eight and eighty years. The parents of Mrs. 
 Comly were of German descent and old residents 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 After his marriage, our subject worked by the 
 month for four years, and then rented for three 
 years, when he was enabled to purchase sixty-four 
 acres of good land in Pennsylvania, which he cul- 
 tivated and resided upon until 1854. Then, dis- 
 posing of his acreage, Mr. Comly came to Winne- 
 bago County and located on his present farm of 
 one hundred and thirty-five acres, which was par- 
 tially improved at the time it came into his pos- 
 session. As before stated, the excellent buildings 
 on the farm have been the work of his enterprise, 
 and, in every sense of the word, he may be consid- 
 ered a model and modern farmer. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Charles Comly have been born 
 ten children, one of whom is deceased. Those living 
 are Isabella, who was born August 1, 1840, and is 
 married and the mother of five children; Caroline, 
 born May 23, 1842, is married and has seven chil- 
 dren; Hanna M., who was born December 23, 1844, 
 is married and has a family of four children; 
 Catherine, born November 18, 1845, is married and 
 has one child; Mary, born September 9, 1847, is 
 
 married and the mother of Ave children; Thomas, 
 who was born April 22, 1849, is single; Abraham 
 L., born September 18, 1852, is the father of two 
 cliildren; Charles H., born January 27, 1856, has 
 one son; John B., who was born May 5, 1860, is a 
 physician and resides in Iowa; Edwin D., born May 
 14, 1863, married Miss Jennie Lincoln, and is the 
 father of a son and daughter. His wife w^as born 
 May 28, 1867, and is a daughter of William and 
 Lucy Lincoln. Our subject and his wife have 
 four great-grandchildren. The family are promi- 
 nent citizens of the county and were originally 
 Quakers. Mr. Comly has a nephew who was a sol- 
 dier in the late war and who carried a ball over 
 twenty-two years. 
 
 ^^^EORGE VICKERS, now living retired in the 
 [/[ __ village of Poplar Grove, was for many 
 ^^Jj years a prominent farmer in Caledonia 
 Township, Boone County. He <!ame hither at an 
 early day and has been instrumental in the general 
 upbuilding and perfecting of this section of country. 
 He has been the architect of his own fortune, seem- 
 ing to possess all the qualities necessary to pros- 
 perity, and is now living in a pleasant home that 
 promises to be a haven of rest and peace in his de- 
 clining years. 
 
 He of whom we write was born in Lancashire, 
 England, February 8, 1817. His father, George 
 Vickers, was also a native of that shire, and his 
 grandparents, George and Isabelle Vickers, spent 
 their entire lives in England. 
 
 The former-named gentleman was engaged in 
 the slate quarries of Lancashire, and in early 
 manhood was married to Frances Benson, also a 
 native of that portion of England. The maternal 
 grandparents of our subject, Robert and Ann Ben- 
 son, became the parents of four children who came 
 to America, namely: Robert and Joseph, who lo- 
 cated in this county; James, who is now residing 
 in Sioux County, Iowa, and the mother of our 
 subject. 
 
 George Vickers was reared on a farm in his na- 
 tive county, residing at home until 1843, when he 
 came to America, setting sail from Liverpool, April 
 
268 
 
 PORTKAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 15, in the vessel "Ohio" and landing on the shores 
 of the New World on the 18th of May. He came 
 directly to Belvidere by way of the Hudson River, 
 Erie Canal and the Lakes to Chicago, thence over- 
 land by team to this county, where lie arrived on 
 the 7th of June. At that time Belvidere was a small 
 village on the north side of the river, and the 
 greater portion of the land in tlie county was in 
 the possession of the Government. His means be- 
 ing very limited, our subject immediately found 
 employment and engaged to work out by the 
 month on farms, and in that manner saved enough 
 money to enable him to rent land. In 1848, he 
 purcliased eighty acres in LeRoy Township and, 
 erecting a log house on the place, commenced the 
 work of clearing and improving his property. 
 There were no railroads in the vicinity for some 
 time and Waukegan was the nearest market and 
 depot for supplies. Our subject lived on tliat place 
 until 1853, when he sold out and purchased in 
 Caledonia Township and there he made his home 
 until 1887, the date of his removal to Poplar 
 Grove. 
 
 February 15, 1840, George Vickers and Ellen, 
 daughter of James and Mary (Steele) Postlethwait, 
 were united in marriage. Mrs. Vickers became the 
 mother of seven children, who are respectively, 
 Mary, Mrs. Marshall; George, William Robert, 
 John S., Joseph; Frances E., Mrs. John Hartley, 
 and Frank. The wife and mother departed this life 
 in 1883, mourned by a large circle of friends and 
 acquaintances. Politically, our subject has been 
 prominently identified with the Democratic party, 
 and is a man of whom it is said that his word is as 
 good as his .note. 
 
 ^=^ EORGE PFENSTIEL, who is now living a 
 
 l( "W ^^^^'^'^^ '^'^® ^^ ^°- ^^^ North Third Street, 
 ^^J] has made his home in Rockford since 1862, 
 and is one of the worthy citizens that Germany 
 has furnished to Winnebago County. He was born 
 in Prussia, September 24, 1831, and is a son of 
 Millet Pfenstiel, who died in his native land at the 
 age of seventy-one years. His mother has also 
 
 passed away and the only surviving members of 
 the family are our subject and his brother Casper 
 who is also living a retired life in Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Pfenstiel spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth in the Fatherland, and in 1860 bade good- 
 bye to his old home, sailing from Bremen on the 
 17th of November. On reaching his destination, 
 he secured employment at whatever he could find 
 to do whereby he might earn an honest dollar. 
 After eighteen months he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 and a year later came to Rockford. To various 
 enterprises he has devoted his attention since lo- 
 cating in this city, among which was the livery 
 business. His undertakings being successful, he 
 accumulated quite a valuable property which now 
 enables him to live a retired life. He owns some 
 good farming land in Illinois and some city prop- 
 erty, including a large brewery. 
 
 The lady who is now Mrs. Pfenstiel was formerly 
 Mrs. Charlotte Croneman. She was born near Ber- 
 lin, on the 17tii of May, 1829, and is a daughter 
 of Frederick and Louisa (I/Oudwig) Bleger, natives 
 of Prussia. Her father there began life as a miller 
 and followed that occupation until called to his 
 final rest at the age of fifty-five. His wife died 
 at the age of thirty-two years. Both were mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church. The grandfather, 
 Christ J. Bleger, served as a soldier under Napo- 
 leon Bonaparte. Of the family a sister of Mrs. 
 Pfenstiel is deceased, Mrs. Amelia Kahloff. Two 
 brothers, Henry and Rudolph, are yet residents of 
 Germany. 
 
 The wife of our subject acquired a good educa- 
 tion in her native tongue, and was the first of her 
 family to come to this country. She crossed the 
 Atlantic alone in 1856, from Bremen to New York 
 City, and spent some months in the latter place. 
 In the early part of 1857, she came to Rockford, 
 and the following year was married to Theodore 
 Croneman, a native of Hamburg, Germany, who 
 came to this country in 1856. After his marriage, 
 he continued business in this city as a cabinet- 
 maker for three years, and then went into the fur- 
 niture business with A. C. Burpee, that connection 
 continuing for twelve years. His death occurred 
 in 1871, at the age of forty-one years. He was 
 one of the prominent German business men of 
 
\ 
 
 v #- 
 
 
 ,vO,CV-0-Aam^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 271 
 
 Rockford, and a Democrat in politics. He Iield 
 membership with the Germania Society, and was a 
 member of the Lutheran Church. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Pfenstiel also belong to the Lutheran Church, and, 
 in his political affiliations, he is a Republican. His 
 close attention to business, enterprise and good 
 management won for him a handsome competence 
 and he is now enabled to live retired, resting in 
 the enjoyment of the fruits of former toil. He 
 has the respect of his many acquaintances and has 
 a large circle of friends in this community. 
 
 ^ 
 
 3l»^>«*=^ 
 
 W OHN W. WOLVEN. If a man's true char- 
 acter may be determined by the opinion of 
 those around him, that of Mr. Wolven is 
 irreproachable. By his habits of industry 
 and prudence, he has built up a good home for 
 himself and family, and acquired a competence for 
 his declining years. He is progressive in his ideas, 
 Uberal and public-spirited, and in noting his sur- 
 roundings and the respect in which he is held in 
 Pecatonica, where he resides, it must be admitted 
 that he is in the possession of a large share of all 
 that makes life desirable. 
 
 The original of this sketch was born September 
 4, 1830, in Greene County, N. Y., and is the son 
 of Jacob and P^lizabeth (Story) Wolven, the former 
 of whom was born in Pennsylvania in 1800, and 
 died in Upper Canada, in the prime of life. His 
 wife, Elizabeth Story, had her birth November 6, 
 1810, in Greene County, N. Y.,'and was the daugh- 
 ter of Benjamin and Hannah Story, who spent 
 their last days in Minnesota. Her father was very 
 old at his death, and was widely known through- 
 out his community as one of the honored pio- 
 neers. 
 
 Mr. Wolven of this sketch was one in a family 
 of four children, and remained at home until 1845, 
 his mother in the meantime having removed to 
 Racine, Wis., where he hired out for|4 per month. 
 He was thus employed for six wedks, and then en- 
 gaged with an uncle for a year, at the end of which 
 time he secured a position as cook on a lake vessel 
 at $15 per month. He continued in that line of 
 work for two years, when he returned home and 
 12 
 
 spent the -qrinter with his mother, who had married 
 a second time, and was residing in Sheboygan, 
 Wis. John W. then spent the following two years 
 with his uncle, Silas Wright, working on a farm 
 summers, and going to school winters. 
 
 Having saved a sura suflicient to buy two yoke 
 of cattle, our subject, in the spring of 1845, bor- 
 rowed enough money to purchase two more yoke, 
 and, in company with another man, was engaged in 
 breaking prairie. Continuing so employed for a 
 twelvemonth, Mr. Wolven operated alone during 
 the year 1850, and the following spring came to 
 Winnebago County, where he had purchased land 
 the year previous for $150, it being a soldier's 
 claim. After sinking his money in the land, he 
 was very much discouraged by having his uncle 
 tell him that the property was worthless. But with 
 a determination to succeed, and with his habits of 
 industry and thrift, he managed his affairs so 
 wisely that he soon took an honorable place 
 among the farmers of his community. 
 
 Upon first locating on his new property, Mr. 
 Wolven had $2.50 in his pocket, four yoke of cat- 
 tle, a wagon and plow, and was obliged to pay 
 $1.50 per week for board for himself and dog. The 
 $2.50 spoken of, he had earned by hauling wheat 
 from Bloomfleld to Kenosha, Wis., a distance of 
 fifty miles. When that money was gone, he was 
 so fortunate as to get a job at breaking prairie, his 
 pay being an order on the store in Freeport. He 
 next broke twelve acres for a Mr. William Moore, 
 for which he received an old cow, and from that 
 time on had plenty to do. He later engaged to 
 work in a harvest field where an old Smith reaper 
 was in operation. His duty was to pitch grain off 
 the reaper, which should have been the work of 
 two men, and as a compensation for his labors, re- 
 ceived 11.50 a day. In the fall Mr. Wolven cut 
 and stored wild hay and then started for Pecaton- 
 ica and hired out with his four yoke of cattle on 
 the railroad. 
 
 October 1, 1855, Miss Juliet Martin, who was 
 born June 12, 1836, in New York, became the wife 
 of our subject. She was a daughter of David and 
 Hannah Martin, who located in this section in the 
 '30s, and died in Seward Township, this county. 
 Mrs. Juliet Wolven departed this life November 
 
272 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 11, 1879, leaving a family of four children, three 
 of whom are living: Edwin J., Jessie and Georgie, 
 twins. 
 
 The second marriage of our subject occurred 
 August 10, 1881, at which time Miss Ida, daughter 
 of Charles and Matilda Lamb, became his wife. 
 The lady was born in 1859, in Minnesota, where 
 her parents were pioneers, and are still residing 
 there. Mr. Wolven has accumulated a handsome 
 property in both farms and city lands, and it is his 
 desire to lead a retired life in the village, but his 
 keen knowledge of business and public enterprise 
 make him a man much sought after. He is at the 
 head of the Pccatonica shoe factory, is interested 
 in a large creamery, and otherwise takes an active 
 part in business circles, and bids fair to reach a 
 still higher place than that which he has already 
 attained. In politics, he is a strong Republican, 
 and is the incumbent of the office of Supervisor, 
 which he has held for several years, and, by bis 
 intelligence and good judgment, has benefited the 
 community. 
 
 
 ^OHN M. KERN. As a practical tailor of 
 the highest skiU, Mr. Kern has no superior 
 in the city, and for excellence of workman- 
 ship and artistic skill and finish, he has 
 earned a well-deserved reputation. He has fol- 
 lowed his trade ever since he reached mature years 
 and with such substantial results that he is now 
 the owner of a fine home at No. 512 Hill Street, 
 and another fine house on that block. He has been 
 a resident of Rockford since 1869, and has ever 
 followed his trade, part of the time on his own 
 account, but most of the time has been employed 
 by different tailoring establishments. 
 
 He was born in Wurtemberg, German j', May 6, 
 1833, and was well educated in the schools of his 
 native country. He served an apprenticeship at 
 his trade, and in 1847, he and a brother and sister 
 took passage for the United States, arriving in New 
 York City in May of that 3-ear. They went im- 
 mediately to Detroit, Mich., where the brother is 
 now living, engaged as a cabinet-maker, but the 
 sister, Catherine, died in Detroit two weeks later, 
 
 of cholera. From Detroit our subject went to On- 
 tario, Canada, but later returned to the States and 
 became a resident of Illinois. 
 
 His marriage to Miss Sophia Nelson, a native of 
 Wester Gothland Province, Sweden, born February 
 13, 1844, was solemnized in Geneva, 111., and to 
 them have been born nine children who are as 
 follows: Georgie, who was accidentally drowned 
 in Rock River when eight years of age; Albert, 
 who died when young; Charles C, a farmer of 
 Ogle County, 111., who married Miss Mary Han- 
 cock; Emma P. married Edward Rayney, who is a 
 finisher in a piano factory of Chicago; Julia 0., 
 married Edward Lorden, and now resides at home; 
 Anna H., at home, is a seamstress and dressmaker; 
 Amanda M., Victor E., and Mabel L., at home. 
 After the death of her father, Mrs. Kem, her mother, 
 two sisters and a brother came to the United States 
 .and settled in Geneva, 111., where the mother and 
 brother died. The three sisters tlien came to Rock- 
 ford, and one of them, Mrs. Lawn Anderson, after- 
 wards died in Elgin. The only sister now living 
 is Mrs. Andrew Hollem, of Rockford. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kern are iden tified with the Bleth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, and, in politics, he is inde- 
 pendent. He and his wife are classed among the 
 best citizens of Rockford and have a host of warm 
 friends. 
 
 ELVEY K. BLODGETT, Treasurer and 
 stockholder of the Coon Creek Cheese 
 Factory, is at present residing in Rockton 
 Township, Winnebago County, where he 
 has a large dairy farm. He had his birth in Beloit, 
 Wis., June 10, 1838, and was the first white 
 male child born there. His father, S. K. Blodgett, 
 Sr., was born in the Empire State in 1812, where 
 he was reared to farming pursuits. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject, Caleb Blodgett, was 
 a native of New York State and came West to Be- 
 loit, Wis., in 1835, from Ohio where he resided for 
 some time. His death occurred in Beloit in 1842, 
 at the age of fifty-five years. He had been twice 
 married and was the father of ten children by his 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 273 
 
 first union. The mother of our subject bore the 
 maiden name of Mahala Norris, a native of Penn- 
 sylvania; she met and married Mr. Blodgett in Oliio 
 and removed with him to Beloit in 1840, where 
 her husband was engaged in farming and stock- 
 raising for five years. Later he came to Winne- 
 bago County, and in Roekton Township bought a 
 tract of land on section 22 for which he traded 
 stock. He resided here for about eight years and 
 was extensively engaged in stock-raising, having 
 at one time as many as three hundred head. In 
 1848, however, he returned to Beloit and was en- 
 gaged in the butchering business, which, like all his 
 previous ventures, proved very successful. He con- 
 tinued in that line until 1853, when he crossed the 
 plains with a team in company with others, his 
 partner on the journey being Abram Rivers. He 
 was absent from home about twelve months and, 
 returning by the Panama route, again engaged in 
 the grain and stock business in Beloit. Five or Six 
 years later, he established as miller and at the end 
 of eight years was enabled to retire with a hand- 
 some competence. His life was quite eventful as 
 he was a pioneer of three States, to say nothing of 
 California, but his energy and indomitable will 
 carried him through many hardships, and resulted 
 in his attaining a high place among his fellow-men. 
 He left at his death an estate of thirteen hundred 
 acres and much personal property, dying in the 
 spring of 1881 when sixty-nine years of age. 
 
 Our subject was the second of his father's family, 
 and had a brother and two sisters. Eleanor died 
 when nine years of age, and those living are Will- 
 iam, who is engaged in the milling business in 
 Beloit; Selvey K., our subject, and Sabra H., now 
 Mrs. F. S. Fenton, also residing in Beloit, whose 
 husband is a retired druggist. The mother of our 
 subject died in the fall of 1885 in her seventy-third 
 year. 
 
 He of whom we write passed the years from eight 
 to eighteen attending school in Beloit, at the end 
 of which time he engaged in the milling business 
 with his father. He continued to be thus employed 
 for seven years, when on account of impaired 
 health he crossed the plains to California, where 
 he worked in the mines, and was engaged in the 
 stock business for two years. Returning home at 
 
 the expiration of that time, he came with his father 
 to Winnebago County, and located upon the tract 
 which is his present abiding-place and which was 
 then owned by his father. 
 
 Mr. Blodgett of this sketch was married in tlie 
 winter of 1870 to Miss Helen M. Bullis of Avon, 
 Wis., and to them were born two daughters: Ella 
 and Delia. Mrs. Helen Blodgett departed this life 
 in April, 1874, when only twenty-four years of age, 
 and our subject later married Miss Adeline Miller, 
 of Roekton, this State. To them have been granted 
 a family of five children: Harry, Elmer, May, Elmma 
 and Selvey, the eldest thirteen and the youngest six 
 years of age. Mrs. Blodgett passed to the land be- 
 yond in August, 1887, in her thirty-second year. 
 
 The original of this sketch is not interested in 
 politics other than to cast his vote for Democratic 
 candidates. His second wife was a devoted mem- 
 ber of the Congregational Church, but he rather 
 leans toward Methodist principles. Mr. Blodgett 
 is a stock-raiser, and has made a specialty of rais- 
 ing mules for the past twenty years, and has made 
 a reputation throughout this part of the State. He 
 also has on his place fine Durham cattle, and though 
 he has experimented in other breeds, they are his 
 favorites. As before stated, he is a stockholder in 
 the Coon Creek Cheese Factory and keeps on his 
 place about fifty milch cows. At one time he built 
 a creamery on his own farm which was later aban- 
 doned. With his house, which is a most comfortable 
 dwelling, large and ample barns, sheds and other 
 outbuildings, he has quite a village of his own, 
 which is beautifully located a short distance from 
 the public highwaj'. His influence is felt for good 
 in the community, where he is respected for his 
 sterling character and true neighborly kindness. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ylLLIAM F. PELLEY was born on the 
 farm he now owns and occupies in Rock- 
 ford Township, Winnebago County, Jan- 
 uary 8, 1849. His father, John Pelley, was one of 
 the pioneers of this county, having come hither 
 at an early day from London, England, where the 
 grandparents of our subject spent their entire 
 lives. 
 
274 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 John Pelley entered the naval service of the 
 British array when seventeen years of age, and af- 
 ter serving a period of seven years, came to Amer- 
 ica in company with his brotliers, Stephen, Joseph 
 and George, the two former locating near AVater- 
 loo, Iowa, and the latter in Newfoundland. The 
 elder Mr. Pelley made his home in Canada, where 
 he met and married Amy Bodine, a native of the 
 Dominion. Her parents, Abram and Zillah Bodine, 
 hailed from Pennsylvania, where they were well-to- 
 do residents. 
 
 The father of our subject came with his family 
 to Winnebago County, making the journey over- 
 land with an ox-team. His means being very 
 limited at that time, he sought and found employ- 
 ment in a stone quarry during the winter season 
 at twenty-five cents per day and the rest of the 
 year was employed on a farm. When he came to 
 Rockford, the surrounding country was sparsely 
 settled, and wild animals roamed at will where the 
 city is now located. In 1845, he purchased eighty- 
 acres of the land now included in the farm owned 
 by our subject, paying for the tract $450. He was 
 very successful in his operations and at the time 
 of his decease was the owner of one hundred and 
 thirty-five acres, clear of all indebtedness. Mr. 
 Pelley died in March, 1876, and his good wife, who 
 survived him a number of years, passed away in 
 1881. Five of their children are now living: Or- 
 rin, Sarah, John T., William F. and Mary. 
 
 William F. Pelley was reared and educated in 
 his native town and commenced very young to 
 assist his father on the farm. When the latter 
 first came to the county, Chicago was the nearest 
 market, and as there were no railroads in the vicin- 
 itj', the entire trip of one hundred miles was made 
 by ox-teams. After the death of his parents, our 
 subject bought the interest of the other heirs in 
 the homestead which he now owns and occupies. 
 
 January 8,. 1877, Mr. Pelley and Nora Nolen 
 were united in marriage. The lady was born in 
 the town of Allegany, Cattaraugus County, N. Y., 
 and is a daughter of James Nolen, a native of 
 County Wexford, Ireland. His brother Walter 
 and sisters, Ellen and Ann, were the only members 
 of his father's family to come to America. The 
 father of Mrs. Pelley followed the trade of a tan- 
 
 ner in Allegany for about twenty years, and on 
 coming to Rockford in 1867, resided here for two 
 years and then purchased a farm in Ogle County 
 where his death occurred in March, 1869. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Nora Delaney, a na- 
 tive of Dublin, Ireland, and the daughter of 
 Thomas Delaney; she died on the home farm. Mrs. 
 Pelley and her sister, Mrs. P. D. Murphy, are the 
 only members of the family living. Our subject 
 and his wife have five children: John W., James 
 Francis, Mary Amy, Maggie E. and Lillie E. 
 
 ■S^ DWARD H. DAVIS, a member of the firm 
 iN "^^ ^' ^^' -'-^^"^i® ^ Co., upholsterers and 
 /I' — ^ dealers in f urniture,with business quarters at 
 No. 329 South Main Street, is a young man of push, 
 enterprise and reliability, and one who has stand- 
 ing in business and social circles. This company 
 consists of our subject and his father, John H. 
 Davis, and has been in opcTation in this city for 
 the past fourteen years. Both gentlemen are pop- 
 ularly known in business circles, and the house is 
 one of the most reliable, responsible, substantial 
 and representative in its line in the city. The 
 senior Davis is an expert in all matters pertaining 
 to his business, while the junior member of the 
 firm combines his vigor and ability with the ripe 
 experience of his father to form a firm of command- 
 ing influence, wide popularity and solid worth. 
 
 Edward H. Davis was born in this city on the 
 1st of March, 1860, and from an early age was 
 trained to the business of an upholsterer. He is of 
 Welsh (Jescent,his paternal great-great-gran dfatlier 
 being a Welsh tailor who died after coming to 
 America. The latter's son and the great-grand- 
 father of our subject, David Davis, was a native of 
 New Hampshire and during his youth experienced 
 many hardships and much ill usage. At one time, 
 when about fourteen years of age, he was treated 
 with so much harshness and cruelty that he enlisted 
 in the Revolutionary War, and was in many of the 
 prominent engagements against the British. Dur- 
 ing the time he was in service he was taken sick 
 with the small- pox. His early advantage for ob- 
 taining an education being very meager, he tried 
 
POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 275 
 
 to get some schooling without an instructor and 
 learned to read after he was married. He perse- 
 vered in his studies and became a profound thinker, 
 a great reasoner and a man of fine intellect. He 
 had a most retentive memory and retained it until 
 his death when eighty-eight years of age. He owned 
 a good farm and passed the last years of his life in 
 comfort and happiness. 
 
 His son and the grandfather of Edward H. Davis 
 (our subject), John Davis, was a native of New 
 Hampshire and a farmer of Cornish where he passed 
 his entire life, dying when seventy-two years of 
 age. He had married a Connecticut lady, a Miss 
 Hannah Brown, who came of English ancestry, and 
 who preceded him to the grave. 
 
 John H. Davis, Jr., father of our subject, was 
 born in New Hampshire, March 9, 1820, and was 
 educated in Kimbal Union Academy, where he was 
 prepared to enter college. He was a teacher of 
 penmanship for a number of years before he came 
 West, and was married in his native town to Miss 
 Sarah Edmonson, a native of Cornish, N. H., and of 
 New England stock. In 1849, Mr. Davis and his 
 young bride emigrated to Illinois and settled in 
 Chicago for a short time. They later took passage 
 for Rockford and after a long and tiresome journey 
 landed in that city. Mr. Davis began learning the 
 carpenter and cabinet-maker's trade, and worked in 
 the first furniture factory in the city. He also as- 
 sisted in putting in the old dam on the Rock River 
 at this place, and some of the old houses now stand- 
 ing were built by him. Mr. Davis has lived a quiet, 
 uneventful life, and for the past fifteen years has 
 been very successful. He is an Independent Dem- 
 ocrat in his political views. He lost the sharer of 
 his joys and sorrows, his worthy wife, in 1855, 
 when she was about middle age. She was the 
 mother of two children: Edward H. (our subject), 
 and Dannie, who became the wife of Alfred La 
 Point, a machinist and mechanic in the Forest City 
 Furniture Factory, this city. 
 
 Mr. Davis took for his second wife Miss Mary 
 Case, a native of New York, of New Jersey paren- 
 t-age. She died young, leaving two children: John, 
 who married a Miss Maine and now resides in 
 Chicago, and Sarah, who became the wife of Fred 
 Pfamstiel, a barber of Rockford. Mr. Davis' third 
 
 marriage was to Angeline La Point, a native of Mil- 
 waukee, whose parents were from New York State. 
 Hor father, John LaPoint, built the first house in 
 Milwaukee, and was a pioneer of that city. He 
 came to Rockford in 1855, and here his death oc- 
 curred a number of years later. His wife had passed 
 away a number of years before. She was a native 
 of Troy, N. Y. Mr. LaPoint was a sash, door and 
 blind manufacturer in Rockford for many years. 
 Mr. and Mrs. John H. Davis have no children by 
 this union. They are intelligent and much esteemed 
 people. 
 
 Our subject has been a resident of Rockford all 
 his life and was wedded in this city to Miss Fannie 
 Green, also of Rockford. He is a fine musician and 
 for years was one of the old Forest City Band, the 
 same being known as the Berdea & Davis Orchestra, 
 which was tlie oldest band in the city and the lead- 
 ing one for years. 1 1 is now extinct, however. Mr. 
 Davis and his estimable lady reside at No. 1002 
 Grant Avenue, where they have a very nice,- tasty 
 home. 
 
 EBASTIAN FICKES, a retired agriculturist 
 and a gentleman of broad and comprehen- 
 sive experience and observation, is at pres- 
 ent residing in the village of Sliirland, 
 which has been his place of residence for the past 
 twelve years. He is a native of Pennsylvania, 
 having been born in Cumberland County, in 1818. 
 He is a son of Abraham Fickes, also a native of 
 the Keystone State, who removed in 1833 to Sum- 
 mit County, Ohio, where he made his home until 
 1846, the date of his advent into Winnebago 
 County. 
 
 The father of our subject was accompanied to 
 this State by our subject and his bride, he having 
 been married in 1844 to Miss Caroline Seely, a na- 
 tive of Summit County, Ohio. The young couple 
 located upon an eighty-acre tract of land wliich 
 Mr. Fickes sold in a few years, and became the 
 Owner of a quarter-section adjoining that property. 
 His wife died in 1863, leaving a son. Miles. 
 
 The second marriage of our subject, which was 
 celebrated in 1870, united him with Mrs. Sarah 
 
276 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (Fitch) Case, the daughter of Abner Fitch, of Con- 
 necticut, who was born in 1790 and died while 
 residing in Chautauqua County, N. Y., in 1873. 
 His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eunice 
 Brown ell, had her birth in Bennington, Vt., and her 
 defith occurred in Stockton, N. Y., in 1862, at the 
 age of three-score and ten years. Their family 
 included thirteen children, five sons and eight 
 daughters, seven of whom are still living. Black- 
 man Fitch, a brother of our subject's wife, was 
 a volunteer soldier from Chautauqua County in 
 Company E, One Hundred and Fifty-fourth New 
 York Infantry, and served through the entire 
 struggle. He was with "Old Tecumseh" on his 
 march through Georgia, at which time he received 
 a slight flesh wound. He is at present residing in 
 Chautauqua County, where he is held in high 
 esteem. A. sister of Mrs. Fickes, Mrs. Eliza Hunt, 
 resides at Grand Rapids, Mich., where her son is 
 engaged with a barrel and stave company. 
 
 The paternal grandparents of our subject were 
 Martin and Betsey (Michel) Fickes, both natives of 
 Adams County, Pa. The maiden name of our 
 subject's mother was Betsey Wonder, a native of 
 York County, Pa., and the daughter of Sebastian 
 and Sarah (Day) Wonder. Thej' became the par- 
 ents of three sons and nine daughters, and departed 
 this life at the respective ages of fifty-four and 
 eighty-four 3'ears, the father dying in York County, 
 Pa., and the mother in Venango County, that 
 State. 
 
 The parental family of our subject numbered ten 
 children, one of whom died when very young. Mr. 
 Fickes comes of a hearty, athletic race, and he and 
 his son Miles, though not sporting men, have won 
 considerable fame in their community for their 
 marvelous strength. The son is a prominent farmer 
 in Shirland Township, yet is a famous sprinter, and 
 could he have traveled would seldom have found 
 his equal for running one hundred yards. He is 
 married to Miss Eva Kimbal],of Winnebago County. 
 
 The original of this sketch resided at home until 
 twenty-five years of .ige, and as the result of a life 
 of industry and prudence is the proud possessor of 
 an excellent estate of two hundred and forty-flve 
 acres, in addition to which he has a comfortable 
 residence and several lots in the village. He has 
 
 been an active member and liberal supporter of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and likewise gener- 
 ously contributes to all measures that promise to 
 be for the advantage and improvement of that por- 
 tion of th6 country in" which he lives. 
 
 Mrs. Fickes became the mother of a son and 
 daughter by her first husband: Carrie, Mrs. Frank 
 Morgan, of Rockford, and Charles W. of the same 
 place. 
 
 
 ^^^a^" 
 
 ¥ 
 
 ^ j^ARREN E. FYLER. Probably in the his- 
 tory of the representative business enter- 
 prises of Durand, no more worthy example 
 can be found of what may be accomplished by en- 
 ergy, integrity and well-directed efforts, than is so 
 strikingly exemplified in the successful career of 
 the enterprise conducted by Mr. Fyler, dealer in 
 grain, and representing that business in Durand. 
 A resident of Winnebago County since 1861, Mr. 
 Fyler removed hither from Oswego County, N. Y., 
 where he was born March 26, 1846. He is the 
 son of Lorenzo and Cordelia ( Wiltse) Fyler, and in 
 1861 accompanied the other members of the 
 parental family to Roscoe, 111., wliere his father is 
 engaged in the drug business. The childhood days 
 of our subject were passed on a farm, and when 
 not occupied with his school duties, he was indus- 
 triously aiding in tilling the soil and improving 
 the home place. March 8, 1864, he came to 
 Durand, where he was employed as clerk for 
 Andrew Ashton, a general merchant, for three 
 years, and for one year afterward he had charge of 
 a wholesale notion wagon. 
 
 After spending one year in Chicago, where he 
 had charge of a roofing factory, Mr. Fyler returned 
 to Winnebago County, and for three years ran 
 a notion wagon, after which he again entered the 
 employ of Andrew Ashton. In 1882, he associated 
 Peter Patterson as partner, and under the firm 
 name of Patterson & Fyler, engaged in a general 
 mercantile business, also dealing in grain and live 
 stock. Their freight charges amounted to $6,500 
 annually, a,nd their business was extensive and 
 lucrative. 
 
 In 1884, Mr. Fyler engaged in the grain trade 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 277 
 
 alone and one year later settled on a farm, which 
 he cultivated for a time. In 1887, he went to 
 Omaha, where for several months he was employed 
 by an abstract firm. From that city he proceeded 
 to Plymouth, Iowa, where he had charge of a store 
 for .about six months. Returning to Durand, 
 he traded property for the elevator, which he still 
 owns, and has ever since been successfully engaged 
 in the grain trade. 
 
 January 21, 1874, Mr. Fyler and Miss Charlotte 
 G., daughter of D. E. Adams, were united in mar- 
 riage. They are the parents of three children, 
 namely: Katie, who died at the age of six months, 
 Mabel, who is at home, and Frank, who died when 
 five years old. In his political belief, Mr. Fyler is 
 a Republican, and has been called by his fellow- 
 citizens to occupy positions of trust, having served 
 as Supervisor of Durand and in other local offices. 
 He is a Thirty-second Degree Mason, and a mem- 
 ber of Durand Lodge No. 30, F. & A. M., of 
 which he is Master; Freeport Chapter No. 23, R. 
 A. M.; Freeport Commandery No. 7, K. T., and 
 Freeport Consistory, Scottish Rite. He and his 
 amiable wife are highly esteemed for their fine per- 
 sonal traits of character, and occupy a warm place 
 in the regard of the people among whom they have 
 spent the greater portion of their lives. 
 
 e LINTON HELM, M. D. Among the suc- 
 cessful professional men of Rockford, there 
 _ is probably no one more perfectly in sympa- 
 thy with that public spirit which has contributed 
 to the progress of the city than the subject of this 
 biographical notice. Persevering and energetic in 
 whatever direction his efforts have been turned, 
 material success is not the greatest of his achieve- 
 ments, for he has gained what is even better — the 
 highest respect of the best men of the State and 
 the confidence of all who know him. 
 
 The office of this skillful physician and surgeon 
 is located at No. 107 N. "West Street, and the 
 Doctor has made his home in Rockford. since 1878, 
 enjoying a large and lucrative practice. Prior to 
 locating here, he practiced his profession at Beloit, 
 
 Wis., for eight years and also spent some time as a 
 practitioner in Ogle County, this State, at Oregon 
 and Byron, commencing at the former place in 
 1852, after graduating in the medical department 
 of the State University of Iowa at Keokuk. Dur- 
 ing the years of his practice, he has made his pro- 
 fession financially remunerative and has won a 
 warm place in the esteem of his patients. 
 
 Before mentioning more fully the events of im- 
 portance in the life of Dr. Helm, it may not be 
 amiss to record briefly a few facts with reference 
 to his parentage. Woodhull Helm, his father, was 
 familiarly known as Captain, on account of service 
 in the State militia. He was born in Orange 
 Count}', N. Y., in 1777, and belonged to a pioneer 
 family of the Empire State, whose lineage was 
 traced to England and Ireland. A nephew of our 
 subject, J. C. Helm, Supreme Judge of Colorado, 
 has shown, from facts which he has gathered, that 
 the family in England had a coat of arms, and 
 its members were prominent in that country. 
 
 Capt. Helm by a former marriage became the fa- 
 tlier of two sons and one daughter, now deceased. 
 Miss Lucy Ruggles, of Worcester County, Mass., 
 whose ancestors had been American citizens through 
 several generations and figured prominently in 
 the Revolutionary War, became the third wife of 
 Capt. Helm. Six children were born of this union, 
 all deceased but our subject and Alfred. The latter 
 went to California in 1851, operated there as a 
 miner and later published a paper for some years. 
 He is now a resident oC Carson City, Nev., and has 
 been Clerk of the Supreme Court of that State. 
 
 In 1835, Capt. Helm brought his family to Illi- 
 nois and settled in Jersey County, whence two years 
 later he removed to Ogle County and entered 
 Government land, locating upon it when it came 
 into market. There he died in 1845, when sixtj'- 
 eight years old. His wife survived him several 
 years and attained to the advanced age of eighty- 
 four years, passing away in Tama County, Iowa. 
 This worthy couple were faithful members of the 
 Congregational Church, and were highly esteemed 
 wherever they were known. 
 
 It was during, the residence of his parents in 
 Schoharie County, N. Y., in 1829, that Clinton 
 Helm was born. He was yet young when he ac- 
 
278 
 
 iPORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 companied bis parents to Illinois, and his education 
 was principall.y gained in the academ}^ at Rock- 
 ford. In this city, he commenced to read medi- 
 cine under Dr. Lucius Clark, a skilled physician 
 whose reputation was extended throughout the 
 surrounding country. His studies were afterward 
 prosecuted with diligence at Keokuk, where he 
 completed the course of lectures. 
 
 The marriage of Dr. Helm united him with Miss 
 Hannah S., daughter of David R. and Polly 
 (Moore) Poynecir, of French descent. Her parents 
 came West in middle life and settled in Iowa, 
 where they spent their closing years and died 
 when quite old. Their two sons still reside in the 
 IIawke3'e State, Edward being engaged as a grocer 
 and Alfred, the present Lieutenant-Governor of 
 the State. Mrs. Helm was highly educated in her 
 native State, Connecticut, and was an efficient and 
 successful teacher prior to her marriage. She is a 
 lady of superior in telligence and active, benevolent 
 spirit, and is a faithful member of the Second 
 Congregational Church, to which the Doctor also 
 belongs. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Helm are the parents of six chil- 
 dren, as follows: Minnie E., wife of E. J. White, 
 a real-estate agent of Chicago; Lucy G., who mar- 
 ried Allen R. Rea, of Rockford, manager of Barnes 
 Manufacturing Company; Clinton, who married 
 Miss Jennie Sacket, of this city, and resides on 
 Walnut Street in Rockford, where he follows the 
 profession of dentistry; F. Eva, formerly a teacher 
 but now at home, whose ability as an artist, and 
 especially in the use of the air-brush in portrait 
 work, has won the commendation of able critics; 
 Harry S., superintendent of the flouring mills at 
 Jamestown, N. Dak.; Willis C, who is in the Hale 
 Elevator Works. The children are well educated, 
 and Eva and Willis are college graduates. 
 
 During the late war. Dr. Helm was appointed by 
 Gov. Yates Surgeon of the Ninety-second Illinois 
 Infantry, September 4, 1862, and was with his regi- 
 ment in all its marches and battles until Septem- 
 ber 20, 1863, at Chattanooga, Tenn. He was then 
 taken prisoner by the rebels and cast into Libby 
 Prison, where he endured all the terrible experi- 
 ences of that place for two months. He was 
 exchanged November 24 and realizes that it was 
 
 his early exchange alone which saved his life. 
 During the last year of his service, he was on the 
 staff of Gen. Killpatrick, when he was often ex- 
 posed to the enemy's fire and stood close by his 
 commanding officer, who received several wounds, 
 June 21, 1865, he was honorably discharged and 
 returned to his home with a war record of which 
 his friends may justly be proud. Brave and cour- 
 ageous, no danger harmed him and he shrank from 
 no peril however imminent it might seem. He is 
 a member of G. L. Nevins Post No. 1, G. A. R. 
 and is a stanch Republican in his political belief. 
 
 JOHN BACKUS, deceased, was bom in Cat- 
 skill, N. Y., in 1814, and came of an old 
 New England family of English descent. 
 He learned the tinner's trade in New York 
 City, and when a young man went to New Jersey. 
 It was while residing in the Empire State that he 
 married Miss Theodosia G. Patterson, who was 
 born in Northumberland County, Pa. She lost 
 her parents when very young and has no recollec- 
 tion of them. She was only seven years old 
 when she was taken to Steuben County, N. Y., 
 where she waa carefully reared and educated. 
 When quite young, she became a teacher, but gave 
 up that profession on her marriage. 
 
 It was in 1854 that Mr. Backus and his wife 
 came to the West and made a settlement in Win- 
 nebago County, 111., where he secured a farm two 
 miles from the city limits of Rockford. There he 
 made his home for some years, but afterward went 
 to Chicago, where he resided for six years. On 
 his return to this county, he located in Rock- 
 ford, where he continued to make his home until 
 bis death. He lived an upright and worthy life, 
 true to every trust reposed in him, and was a con- 
 sistent and faithful member of the Methodist 
 Church. In politics, he was a supporter of Re- 
 publican principles, but never sought or desired 
 political preferment for himself. He passed away 
 at his home on Grant Avenue in 1880, respected 
 by all who knew him. 
 
 Mrs. Backus was a true helpmate to her hus- 
 band. Since his death her life has been devoted 
 
DR. D.E.FOOTE. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 281 
 
 to the promotion of all interests calculated to ad- 
 vance the general welfare. She has been con- 
 nected with various religious movements and 
 moral reforms, and is a prominent temperance 
 worker, being President of the Woman's Chris- 
 tian Temperance Union of this city, which has a 
 membership of two hundred. She has many times 
 served as its delegate to the State conventions, and 
 was twice a delegate to the National convention. 
 The poor and needy find in her a true friend 
 and, prompted by her benevolent spirit, she has 
 given liberally of her means to worthy charities. 
 The Court Street Methodist Church finds in her a 
 faithful and active member, and her good works 
 have made her well known and greatly beloved 
 throughout this community. 
 
 II^ANIEL E. FOOTE, M. D., is one of the 
 I Jl) leading piiysicians of Belvidere and one 
 <^f^ of the oldest practitioners of the city. He 
 was born in Otselic, Chenango County, 
 N.Y., April 7, 1828. His father, Justin Foote, was 
 born in Smyrna, N. Y., November 22, 1803, and 
 was a direct descendant of Nathaniel Foote, a 
 native of England, who emigrated to America, ac- 
 companied by his family. He located in Weathers- 
 field, Conn., and was made one of its freemen in 
 1633. He died in 1644, at the age of fifty-one. 
 His son Nathaniel, the next in direct descent, died 
 in 1655; the third also bore the name of Nathaniel. 
 He married Margaret Bliss, of Springfield, Mass., 
 and died January 13, 1703. Their son Nathaniel 
 wedded Ann Clark, of Lebanon, Conn., and after 
 her death married Hannah Coleman, of Colchester, 
 Conn. He died April 20, 1774, at the age of 
 ninety-two. Daniel Foote, the next in direct de- 
 scent, was born February 6, 1717, and married 
 Margaret Parsons, a daughter of Ebenezcr Parsons, 
 of Springfield, Mass. He passed away in Colches- 
 ter, Conn., December 27, 1801, in his eighty-sixth 
 year. 
 
 Hon. Isaac Foote, great-grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was the next in direct descent. He was born 
 in Colchester, Conn., January 4, 1745, and in 1795 
 removed to New York, locating in what is now the 
 
 town of Smyrna, Chenango County. He secured 
 the organization of that county, while serving as 
 a member of the State Legislature in 1798. He 
 was appointed the first Judge of the Court of 
 Common Pleas and General Sessions. In 1800, he 
 was elected State Senator for four years. In 1806, 
 he resigned his position of Judge and retired to 
 private life. He died on his farm in the town of 
 Smyrna, February 26, 1842, at the age of ninetj'- 
 seven. His wife was Mary Kellogg, a daughter of 
 Jonathan Kellogg. She was born May 30, 1768, 
 and died at the age of eighty-two years. Their 
 children reached the ages of fifty-three, seventy- 
 five, ninety-two, ninety-three and ninety-eight 
 years, respectively. 
 
 Isaac Foote, grandfather of our subject, was born 
 in Stafford, Conn., April 18, 1776. Throughout 
 his life he followed farming. He went to New 
 York and was appointed agent for the sale of the 
 Lawrence and Livingston lands. He served as 
 Constable, Collector, Deputy Sheriff and Sheriff, 
 and was a prominent citizen of the community. 
 He spent his last years in the village of Norwich. 
 In politics, he was a Whig, was a member of the 
 Congregational Church and enjoyed the confidence 
 and high esteem of the public. .Justin Foote, 
 father of the Doctor, was reared and educated in 
 Smyrna, N. Y., and made farming his life work. 
 While assisting in raising a building, he met his 
 death by accident, June 19, 1834. His wife bore 
 the maiden name of Irene Warner, and was a 
 daughter of Samuel Warner. After the death of 
 Mr. Foote, she became the wife of Horatio Sey- 
 mour, Esq., of Alexander, N. Y. Her last days 
 were spent in the home of our subject. She reared 
 five children: Harriet E., who died at the age of 
 twenty-one; Fannie Irene, who was a student in 
 Alexander College, and died at the age of seven- 
 teen; Justin Hiel, who was engaged in merchan- 
 dising in Belvidere and died at the age of twenty- 
 four; and Samuel, who resides in Scranton, Pa. 
 
 The Doctor was the second in order of birth. 
 He was reared in his native county, and acquired 
 an academic education, after which he turned his 
 attention to the study of medicine, and for six 
 years was a student with Dr. Hyde, Professor of 
 Surgery in the Syracuse Medical College. He 
 
282 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 graduated from the Buffalo Medical College in the 
 Class of '51, receiving his diploma from Millard 
 Fillmore, then President of the United States and 
 Chancellor of the college. He was engaged for a 
 year with his preceptor and then went to Newark 
 Valley, where he remained until 1854, when he 
 came to Bolvidere and has here been in active 
 practice continuousl3' since. 
 
 In July, 1863, Dr. Foote married Martha E. Up 
 De Graff, who was born in Vestal, Broome County, 
 N. Y., and is a daughter of "William B. and Nancy 
 (Morse) Up De Graff, the former a native of Penn- 
 sylvania and the latter a native of the Empire 
 State. They have three children: Stella E., Har- 
 riet Louisa and Mary Irene. The eldest is the wife 
 of Edwin W. Warren and has four sons: Freder- 
 ick Foote, Daniel Edwin, Henry R. and Arthur. 
 
 The Doctor is a dimitted member of the Masonic 
 fraternity. In politics, he is a Republican, and has 
 served as a member of the Village Board of Trust- 
 tees, and was Alderman of the Fourth Ward. He 
 is a member of the Illinois State Medical Society, 
 the American Medical Association, and, in 1876, 
 was a delegate to the International Medical Con- 
 gress which met at Philadelphia. He and his wife 
 are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which 
 he has been an Elder since 1856. He has always 
 been a worker in the Sabbath-school and was its 
 Superintendent for ten 3rears. Few men are more 
 widely known in this community than Dr. Foote 
 and none are held in higher regard, his upright 
 life having won him the esteem of all with whom 
 he has come in contact. 
 
 ylLLIAM C. PRATT, dealer in fruits and 
 confectioneries at No. 415 East State 
 Street, Rockford, is a native of Vermont. 
 He was born in Manchester, Remington County, 
 in 1838, and is descended from an old family of 
 the Green Mountain State. His father, Chester 
 Pratt, was born in Marlboro, Vt., reared to man- 
 hood upon a farm and in New York wedded Miss 
 Almira Collins, a native of Cambridge, N. Y. 
 They settled in New York, where Mr. Pratt fol- 
 lowed farming until liis death, at the age of flfty- 
 
 six years. His wife was afterward twice married 
 and is now living in Brooklyn, Jackson County 
 Mich., at the age of seventy years. William is the' 
 eldest of four children; Warren W., a soldier in a 
 Michigan regiment, was wounded and taken pris- 
 oner and died on the field of battle, while lying 
 in a tent that had been prepared for him. He 
 had been roped in a blanket and in its folds died. 
 He was then only sixteen years of age. The sis- 
 ters, Mrs. Betsy Hatch and Mrs. Julia Frances 
 Shepherdson, reside in Windsor and Brattleboro, 
 Vt., respectively. 
 
 Under the parental roof our subject ' spent 
 the days of his boyhood, and when a young 
 man emigrated Westward, locating in Rockford. 
 Near this city he married Julia F. Spink, who was 
 born and reared in the Empire State and came to 
 Illinois in 1853, with her parents, Robert and Julia 
 (Warner) Spink. The mother died at the age of 
 eighty-two years, and the father is still living at 
 the age of eighty-three, and resides with Mrs. 
 Pratt. They have been life-long members of the 
 Methodist Church and are consistent Christian 
 people, highly respected by all who know them. 
 They have one son, Andrew C, who is now a 
 farmer of Scott Township, Ogle County. Mrs. 
 Pratt is their only living daughter. She is a cul- 
 tured !ind intelligent lady, and for a number of 
 years before her marriage engaged in teaching. 
 She has become the mother of three children: An- 
 drew A., who is engaged in business with his fa- 
 ther; Robert W., who wedded Myrtie E. Lewis, of 
 Rockford, and is also in his father's employ; and 
 Fannie, who is at home. 
 
 On coming to this city in 1854, Mr. Pratt en- 
 gaged in teaming for some time, afterwards sold 
 goods for Mr. Leonard and later, as a partner of 
 Mr. Burroughs, engaged in business on his own 
 account in that line for two years. At length, 
 he became a dealer in fruits and confectioneries, 
 and for eighteen years has devoted his energies 
 to that business. He carries fruits of all kinds and 
 a large line of confectionery, ice-creams, ices, etc., 
 which he serves in the most beautiful style. He does 
 both a wholesale and retail business and is enjoy- 
 ing a large trade. He is a pleasant, genial gentle- 
 man, who has many friends in the community. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 283 
 
 and his wife is also held in high regard. They 
 are both members of the Centennial Methodist 
 Church, and Mr. Pratt belongs to Roekford Lodge 
 No. 102, A. F. & A. M. 
 
 ♦s^*^* 
 
 _y 
 
 ) OBERT McCULLOCH, one of the early set- 
 tlers of Winnebago County and a promi- 
 nent citizen of Roekford Township, was 
 ^iborn in Ross-shire, Scotland. His father, 
 William, was born in the same shire, was a farmer 
 by occupation, and spent his entire life in the land 
 of his birth. The maiden name of the mother 
 of our subject was Mary Falconer. She was born 
 in Ross-shire, the daughter of Robert and Kate 
 (McNeil) Falconer, and spent her entire life in her 
 native land. 
 
 When orphaned by the death of his father, our 
 subject was but an infant, and was afterward cared 
 for by his mother and an uncle, whom he assisted 
 on the farm as soon as he was old enough. He 
 remained in Scotland until 1847, then went to 
 Liverpool and took passage on the sailing-vessel 
 "Kalamathew," landing in New York and coming 
 thence directly to Winnebago County, via the 
 Hudson River to Albany and Erie Canal to Buffalo, 
 then by the Lakes to Chicago, and from there over- 
 land with a team to Winnebago County. The 
 journey from Liverpool occupied two months, and 
 on reaching his destination he was in very limited 
 circumstances. 
 
 For a time Mr. McCulloch made his home with 
 his uncle, Robert Falconer, by whom he was 
 employed by the day and month on the farm. He 
 was very industrious, saved his earnings and finally 
 was enabled to purchase the land included in 
 his present farm. There were a few acres broken at 
 the time and this constituted the entire improve- 
 ment. He has erected a nice set of frame buildings, 
 planted fruit, shade and ornamental trees, and 
 otherwise improved the property, until it is con- 
 sidered one of the best places in the township. 
 
 In January, 1857, Mr. McCulloch was united in 
 marriage with Ellen Thompson, who was born in 
 Campbelltown, Argyleshire, Scotland. Her parents. 
 
 John and Mary Thompson, were natives of Argyle- 
 shire, where the father was reared, married and 
 died. The mother, who survived him a number of 
 years, came to America in 1864 and spent her last 
 years in Winnebago County. Mrs. McCulloch 
 came to America with her two brothers, John and 
 Robert Thompson, in the fall of 1853. They 
 embarked at Greenock in the sailing-vessel " Char- 
 lotte Harrison," and landed in New York after 
 a voyage of seven weeks and three days. They 
 proceeded immediately to Marietta, Washington 
 County, Ohio,arriving there July7th,and remain- 
 ing in that city until the spring of 1855, when 
 they came to Winnebago County. Mr. and Mrs. 
 McCulloch have seven children living, namely: 
 John, Mary, Katie, Daniel, Hugh, Henry and 
 Charles. The members of the family are highly 
 esteemed socially and their position is among the 
 most refined and intelligent in the communitj\ 
 
 -=1. 
 
 "SI 
 
 ^+^[ 
 
 '^[OHN G. EINOR, night engineer in the 
 Nelson Knitting Factory and a stockholder 
 in the Roekford Manufacturing Company, 
 resides at No. 128 Bremer Street, Roekford) 
 where he has a comfortable liome. He was born 
 in West Gothland, Sweden, October 10, 1848, and 
 was the first of the family to come to this country. 
 His father, Charles Teck, died in 1880, at the age 
 of fifty years. At the age of eighteen, he entered 
 the service of his country, and was an efficient 
 private in the regular army throughout his en- 
 tire life. He fought for Alsace and Lorraine against 
 Germany in 1848, and saw some considerable hard 
 service, but was never wounded. His wife, Mrs. 
 Johannah (Olson) Johnson, for Teck was the army 
 name of her husband, came to this country in 
 1881, and now makes her home with her children 
 in Chicago and Roekford. She is now seventy- 
 two years of age, but the infirmities generally 
 accompanying dechning years rest lightly upon 
 her. With the Lutheran Church she holds mem- 
 bership, as did Mr. Teck. Our subject is the only 
 son in a family of four children. One sister, Ma- 
 tilda, is the wife of Aug. Johnson, a farmer of 
 
284 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Sweden; Anna is the wife of Berliarrl Johnson, 
 a dealer in ink in Chicago; and Minnie is the 
 wife of Fi-itz Carlson, a shipping clerk for Marshall 
 Field & Co., of that city. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of Mr. 
 Einor, whose early life passed uneventfully in 
 liis native land. At the age of twenty-three years, 
 in 1871, he first crossed the Atlantic to America, 
 making a location in Putnam County, N. Y., 
 where he was employed as an iron miner for some 
 time. In that county, in 1873, he married Miss 
 Jennie Lendgren, who was born and reared in 
 West Gothland, Sweden, her birth occurring Feb- 
 ruary 22, 1844. Her parents, Joseph and Kisa 
 (Anderson) Lendgren, were also natives of the 
 same locality, and there the father spent his en- 
 tire life as a farmer. He was called to his final 
 rest at the age of seventy-two years. His wife is 
 still living at about the same age and makes her 
 home with her daughter. Mrs. Einor. In the fam- 
 ily were six children, two of whom reside in 
 Sweden: Cliristina, wife of Alfred Cling, a farmer; 
 and Swan Lendgren, a shoemaker, who wedded 
 Johanna Johnson. Those living in this countr}' 
 are Charles, who married Charlotta Anderson 
 and is a shoemaker in the employ of Mr. Engle- 
 mire, of this city; Sophia, wife of Joel Hoagland, 
 a cabinet-maker with the Co-operative Furniture 
 Company; and Amanda, wife of Godfred Lind. 
 
 After his marriage, having spent four and a 
 half years in this country, Mr. Einor returned 
 with his young bride to Sweden, where they made 
 their home until 1880. That year witnessed their 
 second arrival in this country. They located in 
 Chicago, where Mr. Einor followed his trade for 
 eighteen months, when he came to Rockford and 
 has since been variously employed. He is an ex- 
 pert mechanic as well as engineer. As his financial 
 resources have increased, he has made judicious 
 investments and is now in comfortable circum- 
 stances. The Einor family numbers three inter- 
 esting children, daughters: Amanda F., who is a 
 graduate of the Rockford Business College and is 
 now employed as a stenographer by the City Clerk; 
 Anna E., Who is also a graduate of that college; 
 and Minnie F., the youngest. The parents are 
 both members of the Lutheran Church, in the 
 
 work of which they take an active interest Mrs. 
 Einor serving as a teacher in the Sunday-scbool. 
 In politics, Mr. Einor is a Republican and a highly 
 respected citizen. 
 
 I^OCKWOOD SAGER, M. D., a promising 
 f physician and surgeon located on the cor- 
 t ner of Main and Morgan Streets, Rockford, 
 has been engaged in active practice here 
 since 1879, which year he graduated from Rush 
 Medical College, Chicago. He was born at Belvi- 
 dere, Boone County, in 1856, and is a son of Abra- 
 ham Sagcr, who still resides at that place. The 
 latter-named gentleman was born at Chester, N. Y., 
 and is a son of Garret Sager, also a native of that 
 State, who later came to Illinois and died in Bel- 
 videre when eighty-seven years of age. He was 
 well-to-do financially and spent the last thirty 
 years of his life retired from any active work, 
 being a large land-owner in Boone County. He 
 was verj- prominent in his locality in New York 
 and was a member of the State Legislature, being 
 elected on the Democratic ticket. 
 
 The grandmother of him of whom we write was 
 born in Greene County, N. Y., near her husband's 
 old home. She departed this life in Belvidere, 
 shortly after his decease, at an advanced age. 
 She came of a very prominent familj' in the Em- 
 pire State, who are well known in political and 
 social circles. The father of our subject grew to 
 manhood in Greene County, N. Y., and was there 
 married to Mary Dean, whose parents were farmers 
 of that count}', of which place they were natives 
 for several generations back. Soon after his mar- 
 riage Abraham Sager came to Illinois and settled 
 at Belvidere, where the father was in business for 
 a number of j^ears. He also became the proprietor 
 of a large landed estate, upon which he made his 
 home for six or seven years on account of failing 
 health. 
 
 Dr. Sager is the eldest of the three children com- 
 prising the parental family. His brother William 
 is a member of the firm of Sager & Baker, located 
 at No. 54 North Clinton Street, Chicago, where 
 they do a large wholesale business in hardware 
 
"( / 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 287 
 
 and are also the Western branch for the Co-opera- 
 tive Stove Company of Cleveland. His sister May 
 makes her home with her parents in Belvidere. 
 The original of this sketch was married, in Rock- 
 ford, to Miss Agnes Dow, who was born in this 
 city in 1862. She received an excellent educa- 
 tion in the city and High Schools and is a daugh- 
 ter of Charles and Mary Dow, natives of Scotland, 
 who, on coming to America, located on a farm 
 not far from Rockford. There the father improved 
 a splendid estate and lived until his decease, which 
 was the result of typhoid fever when in middle 
 life. The home farm is now owned by the eldest 
 son, Charles Dow. The mother after the death of 
 her husband came to Rockford and resided until 
 her decease, in 1887, after having attained to the 
 .age of fifty-nine years. Mrs. Sager is one of a fam- 
 ily of ten children, four sons and six daughters. 
 
 In his political relations, our subject is a Repub- 
 lican, and, socially, is identified with the Chapter 
 Lodge No. 24, F. & A. M., and also the Blue Lodge 
 of the Fifth Ward. He is a member of the En- 
 campment and Canton of the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows, and his knowledge and skill in 
 medical science and all matters pertaining to the 
 health of the body have given him an assured 
 position among the' intelligent and learned phy- 
 sicians of the State. He is regarded with the 
 highest respect, not only throughout the commu- 
 nity where his later years have been spent, but in 
 other places where he lias an extended acquaint- 
 ance. 
 
 ^||_^ ORATIO STONE, President of the Rock- 
 ford Hospital Association, has spent his 
 life in doing good to others, and in up- 
 ^ holding the rights of all. He is a man of 
 large means and of a charitable disposition, and is 
 known as the largest contributor to the hospital 
 and Rockford Seminary. As a prominent citizen 
 of Rockford, his life sketch and the accompanying 
 portrait will be of especial interest. 
 
 Horatio Stone was born in the town of Framing- 
 ham, Middlesex County, Mass., May 27, 1813. His 
 father, Abner Stone, was also a native of that town 
 
 and State, where the grandfather of our subject, 
 who also bore the name of Abner Stone, was born 
 and reared to agricultural pursuits. The latter- 
 named gentleman was the proprietor of a flour and 
 sawmill at Saxonville which he operated in con- 
 nection with his farm pursuits, his home being in 
 that place until his death. 
 
 The first ancestor of our subject in America 
 emigrated from England in 1635, and located in 
 Cambridge, Mass. He was accompanied hither by 
 his son John, they buying land of the Indians in 
 Fr.amingham, where they erected a saw and flour 
 mill. The son of John Stone was named Daniel, 
 and was born in 1644. He also had a son named 
 John. Following him the line of descent is traced 
 as follows: Daniel, born in 1707; Abner in 1751; 
 Abner, Jr., in 1777; and Horatio in 1813. Five 
 of the above-named were born, lived and died in 
 Framingham. The history of Framingham, pub- 
 lished by the Rev. Josiah H. Temple in 1887, con- 
 tains the f ac-simile of the signatures Of Indians to a 
 deed bearing the date of May 15, 1656. The pa- 
 ternal grandmother of our subject, whose maiden 
 name was Persis Moore, was born in Boston, Mass., 
 and died in Framingham, that State. 
 
 The original of this sketch was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native township, and, on attaining his 
 sixteenth year, engaged as clerk in a general store 
 in Framingham. Four j-ears later, he succeeded his 
 brother in the ownership of the store, and contin- 
 ued in that line of business very successfully for 
 seven years. He then removed to Boston and 
 established a retail grocery store, later engaging in 
 the wholesale trade. In 1872-73, he made another 
 removal, this time making his home in Concord, 
 Mass., where he led a retired life until 1881, at 
 which date he came to Rockford, which has since 
 been his abiding-place. 
 
 Miss Eliza A. Heald, who was born in Concord, 
 Mass., in 1807, became the wife of our subject in 
 1837. She was the daughter of Hon. Thomas 
 Heald, who was born in New Ipswich, N. H. He was 
 a finely educated gentleman, a graduate of Dart- 
 mouth College, and practiced law in Concord, 
 Mass. Several years prior to the outbreak of the 
 Civil War," he moved to Alabama, where he was 
 appointed Associate Judge of the Supreme Court 
 
288 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of that State and there spent the remaining years 
 of his life. His wife, Elizabeth (Lock) Heald, was 
 born in Hopkinton, Mass., and departed this life in 
 New Ipswich, N. H. 
 
 In their religious connections, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stone were members of the Central Congrega- 
 tional Church in Boston, and, on coming to Rock- 
 ford, united with the Second Congregational 
 Church. Their wedded life was one of mutual 
 happiness and helpfulness, until terminated by the 
 death of Mrs. Stone, in February, 188L Mr. 
 Stone has always been distinguished for prudence, 
 foresight and disci'etion in business affairs. His 
 sense of honor is great, and his name is used as a 
 synonym for justice and disinterestedness of pur- 
 pose. He enjoys the respect of all who know him 
 and has a large number of warm, personal friends. 
 
 -? -= 
 
 i>-^<i 
 
 •^ 
 
 ©5^ • 
 
 AMUEL DERSTINE, now living retired 
 at No. 1001 South Main Street, Rockford, 
 is enjoying the fruits of his early toil and 
 industry. He is an old resident of this cityj 
 having made his advent here in 1856, and at once 
 entered the employ of Emerson Tallcott & Co., 
 founders, with whom he remained for twenty-seven 
 years, his good work and fidelity to his employers 
 making him a most desirable man. 
 
 Mr. Derstine was born near Harrisburg, Dauphin 
 County, Pa., November 30, 1829, and is the son 
 of Michael Derstine, also a native of that place. 
 The family came of good old Pennsylvania Dutch 
 stock and were noted for their longevity. Michael 
 Derstine learned the trade of a blacksmith in 
 his native State, operating an establishment of 
 his own for many years. Later, he went to Belle- 
 fonte, that State, and was employed in a stove fac- 
 tory, dying in 1846, when fifty-two years of age. 
 He had been a hard-working, industrious man and 
 was well respected in the community. In religious 
 matters, he was a member of the Dutch Reformed 
 Church, and voted the Whig ticket in politics. 
 
 The parents of our subject were married in Dau- 
 phin County, Pa., the maiden name of the mother 
 being Margaret Schaffer. She was a native of 
 that county, of Dutch parents, and was a true 
 
 helpmate to her husband in all his undertakings. 
 She departed this life in Bellefonte, Pa., in 1879 
 when in her seventieth year. Like her husband 
 she was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. 
 The father of our subject had a local reputation as 
 a musician and on the outbreak of the War of 
 1812, he joined a company as a musician but, being 
 only fifteen or sixteen years old, his father induced 
 him to return home. 
 
 He of whom we write is the first son and second 
 child of the six children comprising the parental 
 household, all of whom are living, with the excep- 
 tion of the eldest. Samuel, on attaining mature 
 3'ears, was married in Bellefonte, Pa., to Miss Susan 
 Fye, who was born in Centre County, that State, 
 in 1828. Mrs. Derstine departed this life at her 
 home in Rockford, April 19, 1885, firm in the faith 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which she 
 was an active member. She had formerly been 
 connected, however, with the Lutheran denomina- 
 tion in Pennsylvania. The six children born to 
 our subject and his wife are: Michael L., who died 
 when four years of age, and Charles H., deceased 
 when one year old; Mary, the wife of John Lind- 
 say, a grocery dealer, in this city; David W., a 
 mechanic, makes his home with his father and 
 married Miss Fannie Higbee, who is a native of 
 this county; Ellen R. is the wife of H. B. Bussing, 
 an implement manufacturer; Minnie C. is the wife 
 of P. H. Barrett, who keeps a first-class restaurant 
 on State Street. Mr. Derstine, in politics, votes 
 with the Republican party. 
 
 M: 
 
 
 iil****t 
 
 *****F 
 
 RS. LOUISA BLACKINTON. In narrat- 
 ing the lives of the many prominent citi- 
 zens of Winnebago County, we find no 
 one more worthy of mention than Mrs. 
 Louisa Blackinton, who has been a resident of 
 the countj' since 1845, when she came here with 
 her parents. They came from the East, and after 
 arriving in this county, settled in Roscoe, where 
 the mother died, in 1878, at the age of seventy- 
 two and the father in 1888, when eighty years of 
 age. They left two sons and three daughters. 
 Mrs. Blackinton was born in New York, in June, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 289 
 
 1832, and her maiden name was Louisa Garlick. 
 After emigrating to Illinois with her parents, she 
 was married to Henry H. Blackinton, a native 
 of Ohio, born in November, 1822. When a young 
 man, or in 1843, Mr. Blackinton and his parents, 
 Jesse and Olive (Noble) Blackinton, who were 
 natives of New England, where the famil3' manu- 
 factured cloth, came by boat to Chicago and then 
 with teams made their way to Winnebago County, 
 where Mr. and Mrs. Blackinton had three older 
 sons living. These sons had located in the county 
 in 1836 and had taken up land, but as they had 
 been unfortunate inland title in Ohio, where they 
 had resided for some time after leaving the East, 
 they had very little means to assist them along 
 after reaching this State. The present home of 
 Mrs. Blackinton was the original home of her hus- 
 band in Illinois, and there were also forty acres of 
 land in Harlem Township. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Henry H. Blackinton became the 
 parents of five children, one daughter, Ljdia, hav- 
 ing died when four years of age. Those living are: 
 Harriet A., now the wife of Charles Kerr; James 
 H., who lost a part of his right hand in the Rock- 
 ford Burial Case Factoiy and has since been en- 
 gaged in bee culture, for which he has a decided 
 taste; Fred C, at home with his mother, manages 
 the farm, and Ruby L. is the wife of William 
 Lovesee, who is a substantial farmer in the town- 
 ship. 
 
 Mrs. Blackinton has five grandchildren. Her 
 husband died on the 20th of June, 1886, of cancer 
 of the stomach, when about sixty-four j^ears of 
 age. He was prominently identified with the pub- 
 lic affairs of the county, and was universally es- 
 teemed for his many excellent qualities of mind 
 and heart. He held the office of Supervisor two 
 terms. Assessor four years and was School Trustee 
 and Director, constantly, for many years. In all 
 the positions of trust and responsibility held by 
 Mr. Blackinton, he displayed excellent judgment 
 and unusual abilitj' in discharging the duties 
 of the same. In politics, he advocated the princi- 
 ples of the Republican party and was an active 
 worker for his party. In religion, he was a Meth- 
 odist, being an official member of that church 
 many years, and he was a liberal supporter and 
 
 contributor to all enterprises worthy of patronage. 
 He left his widow a good home and a fair compe- 
 tenc}'. She has also been an active member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church for years and is a lady 
 well known and esteemed in the community. She 
 is possessed of much business ability, and, with her 
 youngest son, is managing the home place. 
 
 ■)RUMAN L. CLEVELAND, who is engaged 
 in general farming and also carries on the 
 dairy business on section 1, New Milford 
 Township, Winnebago County, has the honor of 
 being a native of this State. He was born in 
 August, 1854, and is a son of Eli T. and Corrinna 
 (Lewis) Cleveland. The mother was born in Or- 
 angevillc, N. Y., March 9, 1822, and was a daugh- 
 ter of Truman Lewis, a native of New Hartford, 
 Conn., who was bom November 5, 1784, and 
 died in Warsaw, 111., September 15, 1865, at the 
 age of eighty-one years. He married Lucy Porter, 
 who was born March 26, 1795, and was a daughter 
 of Seth and Sarah (Cowles) Porter. She was 
 called to her final rest in Rockford, December 13, 
 1866, at the age of seventy-one years. 
 
 The parents of our subject were married in 
 Weathersfield, N. Y., October 1, 1851, and in the 
 spring of the following year emigrated Westward, 
 casting their lot with the early settlers of Winne- 
 bago County. The father had previously been in 
 Illinois, and for a year liad followed farming in 
 Cherry Valley Township. He now bought a quarter- 
 section of land in Seward Township, where he 
 made his home for eighteen years. There his wife 
 departed this life, leaving two sons and two 
 daughters: Almon M., a resident of Storm Lake, 
 Iowa; Truman, of this sketch; Lucy A., wife of 
 A. T. Van Alstine, of Chicago; and Laura A., wife 
 of W. L. Gregory, of Rockford. Mr. Cleveland 
 afterward rented his land and removed to Rock- 
 ford with his children in the spring of 1878. He 
 built a home on Seminary Street and engaged in 
 the hardware business on West State Street for 
 some time, but is now living a retired life. 
 
 Under the parental roof our subject was reared 
 
290 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to manhood, and his educational advantages were 
 those afforded by the common schools. He was 
 married in his present home on the 15 th of March, 
 1876, to JNliss Ida Blay Nichols, daughter of Pliil- 
 ander C. and -Sarah F. (Godbe) Nichols. Her 
 father was born in Casenovia, N. Y., February 
 18, 1818, and her motlier in Dighton, Mass., March 
 15, 1816. They were married in Bristol, N. Y., 
 May 25, 1843, and removed to Illinois in 1849. 
 Six years later, Mr. Nichols purchased and loca- 
 ted upon a farm of forty acres, the present home 
 of our subject. His death occurred December 22, 
 1873, at the age of fifty-five years, and his wife 
 passed away August 13, 1890, in the seventy-fifth 
 3'ear of her age. Both were members of the 
 Centennial Methodist Church, and the father long 
 served as a School Director. They had lost one 
 daughter, Alice Amelia, who died July 30, 1851, 
 at the age of five years. 
 
 Mrs. Cleveland is the only surviving child. She 
 was born and reared in the house which is still 
 her home, and acquired a good education, attend- 
 ing the Seminary of Rockford. By lier marriage 
 she has a little son, Leroy Nichols, who was born 
 March 25, 1881. The parents are both members 
 of the Centennial Methodist Church, and in social 
 circles rank high. 
 
 The Cleveland farm comprises one hundred and 
 fifty acres of land under a high state of cultiva- 
 tion and well improved. Upon it our subject lias 
 erected good buildings and added all the acces- 
 sories of a model farm. In connection with gen- 
 eral farming, he keeps sixteen cows for dairy pur- 
 poses, and sells the milk to Rockford dealers. In 
 politics, he votes with the Republican partj^, but 
 has never been an office-seeker, preferring to 
 devote his entire time and attention to his busi- 
 ness, in which he has met with signal success. 
 
 ^P:NS0N KLDMPII. a notable example Of 
 the enterprise, industry and self-reliance 
 of the early Illinois pioneer, is furnished 
 by the gentleman whose name introduces 
 this sketch and who is one of the octogenarian cit- 
 izens of Boone County. During the early days of 
 
 its settlement, he came hither and established a 
 home in LeRoy Township, where he has Jived and 
 labored for almost a half century. He has done 
 excellent service in subduing the wilderness and 
 bringing it into its present splendid condition 
 socially and morally. 
 
 A native of Warren, Herkimer County, N. Y. 
 Mr. Klumph was born November 30, 1804, the son 
 of Jacob and Catherine (Bowhall) Klumph. The 
 familj' of which he is a member trace their ances- 
 try to Germany, where one Thomas Klumph was 
 born and reared. He came to America prior to 
 the Revolutionary War, as a soldier in the French 
 army, and for a long time was held as prisoner of 
 war by the Indians. Finally, he was ransomed by 
 Gov. Provost, of Canada, and afterward became 
 agent and secretary for that famous gentleman, 
 who, as a token of appreciation for his valuable 
 services in his behalf, presented him with a 
 farm near Otsego Lake, Otsego County, N. Y. 
 There he died at the age of four-score and nine. 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Peggy Davis, 
 was a school teacher in Albany in the early days 
 of its history. 
 
 During the lifetime of Grandfather Klumph, 
 some Frenchmen went out hunting, and returned 
 to the camp with some of the flesh of an Indian 
 horse, which they called "buffalo" meat, and from 
 that incident the name of the city of Buffalo 
 originated. The father of our subject, Jacob 
 Klumph, was a farmer in Chautauqua County, 
 N. Y., where he died at an advanced age. His wife 
 survived many years and passed away in LeRoy 
 Township in 1878. Their children numbered six, 
 four of whom came to Illinois — Joseph, Augustus 
 and Alfred coming in 1840-42 and our subject in 
 1835. 
 
 In Chautauqua County, N. Y., Mr. Klumph 
 was united in marriage with Miss Chloe Hutchins 
 of that county, and the young couple settled in 
 the Empire State, wheie three children were born 
 to them. Their journey to Illinois was made by 
 steamer to Chicago and thence overland to Boone 
 County, where a tract of land was purchased from 
 the Government, consisting of eighty acres. Mr. 
 Klumph still retains in his possession the i)arch- 
 ment deed he then secured. The most of his 
 
S59«,??-4C'% 
 
 ■'^j'Wst- 
 
 ""^^ 
 
 R. P, LAME 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 293 
 
 active life has been passed in farming, although 
 for about Ave yeai-s he was employed in a mill 
 near P>edonia, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. Klumph was bereaved in 1873 by the death 
 of his wife at their home in LeRoy Township, when 
 sixty-three years old. Their children were: Caro- 
 line, who married Reuben Miller, and died leav- 
 ing six children; Alexander, a farmer near the old 
 homestead, married Elizabeth Cromer, a native of 
 Ohio, and they have six children; and Clarinda, 
 who cares for her father in his old age and ten- 
 derly ministers to his comfort. Alexander was 
 one of the valiant boys in blue, who enlisted in 
 the service of his country during the Civil War. 
 He was a member of Company K, Ninety-fifth 
 Illinois Infantry, Capt. A. Schellenger command- 
 ing. ^ 
 
 PR. ROBERT POLK LANE, deceased, was 
 ) one of Rockford's most prominent citizens, 
 and this work would be incomplete without 
 his portrait and life sketch. He was born in 
 Hopewell, Iron Works, Bedford County, Pa., Feb- 
 ruary 21, 1818, and came of English ancestry, being 
 a descendant of a highly respected family' which 
 was established in America prior to the Revolu- 
 tionary War. The progenitor of the family in the 
 United States was William Lane, who, on coming 
 to this country, purchased land on which the 
 greater part of Philadelphia is now located, and 
 made a fortune of probably $2,000,000. He came 
 from England. The next in line was James Lane, 
 who grew to manhood in Pennsylvania and suc- 
 ceeded to tlie business established by his father, 
 the Hopewell Iron Works. He afterward met with 
 reverses, and this loss greatly affected our subject. 
 Dr. Lane was only thirteen years old when his 
 father lost his property. He was forced to begin 
 life for himself. When a young man, he went to 
 Washington, Pa., where he began the study of 
 medicine under his mother's brother. Dr. John 
 Wishard, of Edinburgh, Scotland. At length, 
 after thorough preparation, he completed the 
 course and entered upon a successful practice in 
 Washington,where he continued to reside until the 
 year 1851, when, with his wife and children, he 
 13 
 
 came to Rockford, and from that time until his 
 death was widely known as one of the leading 
 and most prominent business men of the city. He 
 devoted his first years almost entirely to the prac- 
 tice of medicine, and with the competence ac- 
 quired thereby made investments in real estate 
 in this and Ogle Counties. He became owner of 
 eleven hundred acres of valuable and highly im- 
 proved land, which is yet in the possession of the 
 family. 
 
 The Doctor was married, in Zanesville, Ohio, to 
 Miss Mary Brice, who was born and reared in 
 Pennsjdvania and is descended from English an- 
 cestry. She is an intimate friend of James G. 
 Blaine. Her education was acquired in a female 
 college in Ohio, and she is a cultured and refined 
 lady. Since her husband's tleath, she has resided 
 at different times in Rockford and Chicago. She 
 holds membership with the Episcopal Church, and 
 her friends throughout this community are many. 
 Unto Mr. and Mi'S. Lane were born three children: 
 James B., now living in Rochelle; Nannie L., wife 
 of R. L. Davis, who resides at No. 485 Dearborn 
 Avenue, Chicago, and is an ex-director and a 
 member of the Board of Trade of that city; and 
 W. Stewart, who resides' in the Rockford home 
 which was built by his father some years ago. It 
 is located at No. 508 North Church Street, and is 
 one of the largest residences of the city. Stewart 
 also has the management and is lessee of the eleven 
 hundred acres of land in Ogle County which his 
 father purchased. He is a man of good business 
 ability, enterprising and successful, and is a worthy 
 son of his honored father. 
 
 Probably no man in Rockford was more promi- 
 nently connected with her business interests than 
 Dr. Lane. He was one of the organizers of the 
 Second National Bank of Rockford in 1864; was 
 one of its largest stockholders and President of 
 the bank from 1864 to 1881, continuously, when 
 he resigned to accept the presidency of the Rock- 
 ford Insurance Company. Probably the most im- 
 portant work in his life, however, was the organ- 
 ization of the Rockford Water Power Company 
 in 1853. He became its President and gave his 
 personal attention to the construction of the dam 
 across the river. In 1866, he was made Treasurer 
 
294 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the Rockford Insurance Company, and later be- 
 came its President and Manager. He was also a 
 heavy stockholder in the Graham Cotton Mills, 
 which are still in active operation, and, with others, 
 he was instrumental in securing the establishment 
 of the J. P. Manny Manufacturing Company at 
 this place. In company with G. A. Sanford, he 
 established the gas works, and was connected 
 with many other enterprises, giving his support 
 to everything calculated to benefit the commu- 
 nity. He was truly a public-spirited and progres- 
 sive citizen, and was well fitted to be a leader 
 among the people. 
 
 In politics, the Doctor was a stalwart Repub- 
 lican and during the late war was President of the 
 Union League Club of Rockford, a society of most 
 pronounced Unionists. He was also an active 
 worker in the Episcopal Church, of which he was 
 Senior Warden for forty years. His life was in- 
 deed a busy and useful one, devoted to the inter- 
 ests of the public, and friends were almost num- 
 berless. He was a man of fine personal presence 
 and of remarkable suavity. He had a gentleness 
 and tenderness of manner and a sympathy with 
 the personal troubles of others that won him the 
 greatest confidence of Iris fellow-citizens. After 
 several years of sickness and some months of in- 
 tense suffering, which he bore without a murmur, 
 he passed away a little before noon on the 7th of 
 March, 1891. His fellow-townsmen had learned 
 to love him, and his loss to the community will 
 long be felt and his memory revered for years to 
 come. 
 
 r^ 
 
 2l»J>««:^ 
 
 (T^ENRY C. SHEDD is a member of the firm 
 '^ of Putnam & Shedd, dealers in furniture, 
 who carry an elegant line of goods and 
 have their place of business located at No. 
 821 South Main Street and No. 306 Morgan Street, 
 the latter building being their warehouse and re- 
 pair shop. Mr. Shedd became a partner of Mr. 
 Putnam in March, 1891, having been four years 
 prior to that time foreman of the Union Foundry, 
 of which enterprise he was one of the twelve 
 stockholders and the original promoter. He dis- 
 
 posed of his interest in that line on engaging in 
 his present work, since which time he has been 
 more than ordinarily successful. 
 
 Mr. Sheed of this sketch came to Rockford in 
 1856, when a youth of sixteen years, and here 
 learned the trade of a molder in the shops of Em- 
 erson, Talcott & Co., with whom he was employed 
 until within a few years ago. He has taken an 
 active part in all matters that pertain to the up- 
 building of the city, and although taking no part 
 in political affairs as regards office holding, yet al- 
 ways casts his vote at elections. Our subject 
 came to this county from Canada, where he passed 
 the years of his early life. He was born in "War- 
 saw, Wyoming County, N. Y., June 19, 1840, and 
 is the son of David Shedd, a native of Vermont. 
 The father was a journeyman molder, and re- 
 moved with our subject to Pittsburg, Pa., where 
 he remained for a time, and then made his home 
 in Warsaw, N. Y., where he was engaged in the 
 same line of work. Mr. Shedd then went to 
 Canada, and in Gait, Province of Ontario, acted 
 as foreman for four years of the Fisher & Lutz 
 Foundry. He, however, came to Rockford in 
 1856, where, as before stated, he was employed in 
 the Emerson, Talcott Company. After leaving 
 their shops, the father of our subject became a 
 workman in the foundry of F. H. Manney, and was 
 thus employed until 1877, when he retired from 
 active work of any kind and departed this life at 
 his home in Rockford, in 1880, at the advanced 
 age of seventy-one years. In his political rela- 
 tions he voted in early life the Whig ticket and 
 on the organization of the Republican party joined 
 its ranks. His wife, who survives him, is seventy- 
 five years of age. Her maiden name was Yal- 
 lonia Putnam, her birth occurring in the Empire 
 State, and she is of Hungarian descent. She is 
 quite a physician and has an extended reputation 
 in this county. She is a Spiritualist in belief, 
 which faith was also held by her husband. 
 
 Henry C. Shedd of tliis sketch, and Mrs. Frank 
 Trumbull of this city, are the only members of the 
 parental family living. A sister, Mrs. Helen Proc- 
 tor, is now deceased. Our subject was married 
 first in Erie County, N. Y., to Miss Elizabeth Bige- 
 low; she died in Rockford April 24, 1873, and 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 295 
 
 her only child, Helen, died June 8, of that year, 
 when sis weeks old. The present wife of our 
 subject bore the maiden name of Ida Crawford, a 
 native of Erie County, N. Y. 
 
 OSCAR NELSON, Vice-president and general 
 Superintendent of the Forest City Knitting 
 Company of Rockford, has the honor of be- 
 ing a native citizen of this place. He was born 
 June 16, 1860, and is the third son of John Nelson, 
 late one of the most prominent men of Rockford. 
 In the family are five sons and one daughter: Will- 
 iam, who is represented elsewhere in this work; 
 Frithiof, who is Secretary and Treasurer of the 
 Forest City Knitting Company, and a Director 
 and stockholder of the Nelson Knitting Company, 
 the Hotel Company, the Manufacturers' National 
 Bank, and other enterprises; J. Frank, who is also 
 a stockholder in most of those concerns, and 
 Anna. The two youngest sons and Anna reside 
 at home with their widowed mother. 
 
 Our subject acquired a good education in the 
 city schools and the Business College of Rockfordi 
 and since attaining toman's estate has been promi- 
 nently connected with the business industries 
 of the city. As before stated, he is Vice-president 
 and general Superintendent of the Forest City 
 Knitting Company, one of the leading enterprises 
 in the east side. The factory is located on Cath- 
 erine Street and Nelson Boulevard and began 
 operations in January, 1892. They employ between 
 two hundred and three hundred hands and make 
 a fine grade of hosiery, the best in the market. 
 Already they have been forced to work at night 
 in order to supply the demand, which is already 
 large and constantly increasing. Mr. Nelson is 
 also a stockholder in the Nelson Knitting Com- 
 pany, a stockholder and Director in the Rockford 
 Mitten and Hosierj' Company and a stockholder 
 of the Nelson Hotel Building. 
 
 In Rockford, Mr. Nelson was united in marriage 
 with Miss Emma Nelson, who was born in Minne- 
 sota, and was there reared and educated. Her 
 parents are both now deceased. They were natives 
 
 of Sweden and after their marriage came to this 
 country, locating in Minnesota. Unto our subject 
 and his wife have been born one son, John A. 
 They have a beautiful and commodious home re- 
 cently erected at No.702 Seminary Street — the finest 
 residence on the cast side. Mrs. Nelson is a mem- 
 ber of the First Lutheran Church. Mr. Nelson is 
 a Thirty-second Degree Mason. He belongs to 
 the Commandery of Rockford, the Consistory of 
 P^-eeport and the Shrine of Chicago. In politics, 
 he is a stalwart Republican but has never sought 
 or desired public office, preferring to devote his 
 entire time and attention to his business interests. 
 He is an energetic and progressive business man 
 and the success with which he has already met ar- 
 gues well for the future. He carries forward to a 
 successful completion whatever he undertakes, 
 and the Forest City Knitting Company, of which 
 he is now at the head, indicates his excellent abil- 
 ity as a manager. 
 
 -^]. 
 
 "S3 
 
 -^+^ 
 
 (S~ 
 
 DETER PETERSON. The entire life of Mr. 
 ) Peterson has been one unmarked by any un- 
 usual occurrence outside of the chosen 
 channels to which he has so diligently and 
 attentively given his time and attention. 
 
 Born in central Norway in August, 1843, he 
 began to learn the shoemaker trade when fifteen 
 years of age, and followed this in his native coun- 
 try until 1874, when he crossed the ocean to 
 America, being the first of his family to under- 
 take the long voyage. He landed at Quebec, 
 Canada, but shortly afterward came to the States 
 and to Rockford, 111. In this city he has re- 
 sided ever since, with the exception of a few years 
 spent in Oregon, whither he went for his health, 
 and he is classed among the city's hardworking 
 and esteemed citizens. 
 
 Shortly after locating in Rockford, Mr. Peterson 
 invested in property there and this has increased 
 in value until it is now worth many thousand 
 dollars. He is also the owner of stock in differ- 
 ent concerns in the city and has ever been public- 
 spirited and enterprising. He owns a comfortable 
 residence at No. 310 South Main Street. 
 
296 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECOED. 
 
 He was married in Norway to Miss Ellen An- 
 derson, who was born and reared in Uie same 
 neighborhood as her husband, and whose parents 
 passed their entire lives there. No children have 
 been born to Mr. and Mrs. Peterson. Both are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 Mr. Peterson is identified with the Republican 
 party in politics. 
 
 Our subject has one brother, Henry Peterson, 
 who is now in this country, and an upholsterer in 
 Chicago. He is single. A sister, Hannah, now 
 resides in South Rockford. The parents passed 
 their entire lives in Norway and died when about 
 sixty years of age. The father, Peter Larson, fol- 
 lowed agricultural pursuits for a livelihood. He 
 and his worthy companion both held membership 
 in the Lutheran Church. 
 
 I l l 1 1 | i > I > I I I ! ■ 
 
 ? I I I f 
 
 nES. HORACE COLE. It can not be ex- 
 pected in a work of this kind, where but 
 brief biographical sketches of prominent 
 * citizens of the county are mentioned, that 
 
 justice can be done this much esteemed and ven- 
 erable lady, and yet she has been identified with 
 the county so long, and her name is so familiar to 
 all, that it is no more than just to dwell upon her 
 career, not as empty words of praise, but the plain 
 statement of still plainer truth. 
 
 Mrs. Cole was bom in Litchfield County, Conn., 
 on the 27th of May, 1795, and was the daughter 
 of Joseph and Dianthy (Mott) Frisby, both Con- 
 necticut people and farmers. Her father died in 
 Vernon, N. Y., in his ninetieth year. He was 
 twice married and became the father of three 
 children by his first union and five by his second, 
 the latter marriage being to the mother of Mrs. 
 Cole. Mrs. Frisby remained a widow thirty-six 
 years, and with her daughter, Mrs. Cole, came 
 "West from Erie County, Pa. The latter was 
 married in Westmoreland, N. Y., March 11, 1813, 
 to Mr. Horace Cole, who was a weaver, but never 
 followed his trade after his marriage. He was 
 in the War of 1812, was Orderly Sergeant, and 
 was in the battle of Sackett's Harbor. After 
 marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Cole resided for fourteen 
 
 years at Prattsburgh, N. Y., but moved from there 
 to Chautauqua County, and thence to Erie County 
 Pa. Later, or in 1846, they came to Roscoe 
 resided in the village for two years, and tben 
 settled on the farm of one hundred and forty 
 acres which has been Mrs. Cole's home ever since. 
 Her husband passed away in May, 1862, when 
 about seventy years of age. He had never had a 
 strong constitution, but was well educated and 
 thoroughly posted on all subjects. In his younger 
 days he had been a Whig in politics, but later he 
 became a stanch Republican. In his religious 
 views he was a Congregationalist, and was an 
 active official of that church. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cole became the parents of eleven 
 children, five of whom are now living: Abigail, 
 now the widow of Amos Tuttle, resides in Roscoe; 
 Hiram B., a farmer in New Milford Township; 
 Seth B., a lawyer and for many years a judge in 
 New York, now resides on the Hudson River; 
 Edwin D., a single man, owns the home place and 
 cares for his mother, and Sarah C. is now Mrs. W. 
 H. Bernard, her husband a Congregational minis- 
 ter of Miles, Iowa. The children deceased are 
 an infant daughter, unnamed; William died at 
 the age of five years. Theodore G. died at Mag- 
 nolia, Wis., January 20 1857, when thirty-three 
 years of age. He was a missionary to Africa, go- 
 ing to Liberia, and thence to the Congo Country 
 in 1863. Three years later, he returned, the 
 climate being too severe for him, and died with 
 an abcess on the liver. His mission was success- 
 ful, but cost his life. He left a widow who had 
 accompanied him to Africa. Another daughter 
 of Mrs. Cole, Nancy, aged seventeen j-ears, returned 
 to Prattsburgh to attend school under her brother, 
 Seth B. Cole, who was Principal of tJiat Academy 
 for fourteen years, and there died. 
 
 Edwin D. Cole, who is residing on tlie home 
 place as above mentioned, is one of the represen- 
 tative agriculturists of the county, and a man of 
 much energy and determination. He cared for 
 his parents, and assumed the management and 
 responsibility of carrying on the farm at the 
 age of sixteen. He is a faithful and tender son 
 and a man much esteemed in the community. 
 During the first ten years of his experience on the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 297 
 
 farm, he had to market his crops at Chicago 
 and Milwaukee, and later at Belvidere, going with 
 teams, and often selling his wheat (the principal 
 crop for market) for fifty cents per bushel. The 
 father had entered forty acres of this one hundred 
 and forty acres, and purchased the balance at 
 14.25 per acre. Forty acres are in timber, but the 
 remainder is under cultivation. Mr. Cole makes 
 no specialty of any certain branch of farm work, 
 but is a good general farmer, raising such stock 
 as hogs, cattle and horses. He would try and 
 raise sheep were it not for the depredations of the 
 wolves, which are very numerous yet in that 
 county. His venerable mother is a g)'and old 
 lady, and, though feeble in body, is still bright in 
 mind, remembering distinctly many interesting 
 events that have occurred in her long pilgrimage. 
 On the 27th of May, 1892, she was ninety-seven 
 years old. 
 
 '^ S. HULSE. In reviewing the various 
 branches of industrial and commercial en- 
 terprise in the city of Rockford, it is our 
 desire to mention in this volume only those 
 houses which are thoroughly representative in the 
 particular line of business in which they are en- 
 gaged. In following out this intention, we know 
 of no enterprise of the city more worthy of special 
 mention than that of the J. S. Hulse Hardware Co., 
 organized in January, 1890, with Guy P. Cobb, 
 President. This representative establishment is 
 located at No. 117 South Main Street, and a com- 
 plete stock of all kinds of heavy and light hard- 
 ware is carried. The premises cover a ground area 
 of 22x130 feet, and are well arranged for the line 
 of business conducted. Of the magnitude, variety 
 and character of the stock carried, it would be im- 
 possible to speak too highly. In every department, 
 the facilities of the house are of the highest char- 
 acter for enabling it to offer the best quality of 
 goods to the public at the lowest prices. 
 
 Mr. Hulse, who is the Secretary and Treasurer of 
 this vast enterprise, and a man well qualified for 
 that responsible position, is a native of Winnebago 
 
 County, 111., born in Winnebago Township, on the 
 12th of October, 1846. He was educated in his 
 native county, and from 1865 until 1870 he was 
 in the hardware business in Chicago. He subse- 
 quently engaged in the same business in Pecaton- 
 ica, this county, continued this for twelve years, 
 and then had all his stock destroyed by fire. Since 
 then he has been a resident of Rockford, and one 
 of its most successful and prosperous business men. 
 
 His father, Henry Hulse, was born near Spring- 
 field, Clarke County, Ohio, in 1818, and was of Ger- 
 man descent, his father, Henry Hulse, Sr., being a 
 native of Germany. The senior Henry Hulse, 
 with a brother, John, left their native land for 
 America when young men, and early in the present 
 century. They resided for some time in New York 
 State, but subsequently Henrj' Hulse removed to 
 Clarke County, Ohio, and from there with his wife 
 and family to Illinois early in the '30s. The trip 
 was made overland with teams, when the country 
 was sparsely settled, and they located on Govern- 
 ment land in Winnebago Township. This family 
 was among the very first to settle in the county 
 west of Rockford, and there were very few settlers 
 between that city and Belvidere, in fact, there were 
 very few between that city and Chicago, while 
 westward from the Rock River the country was 
 wild and unbroken. A cousin of our subject, John 
 Elliott, was the first white child born in the county. 
 He is now deceased, but lived to mature years, 
 served through a part of the Rebellion, and was 
 a married man. His death occurred in the army, 
 while a member of the Seventh Illinois Cavalry. 
 Our subject's grandfather, Henry Hulse, Sr., died 
 at his old home in Pecatonica Township, when 
 sixty -eight years of age, and was a man whose char- 
 acter was above reproach. He was the father of 
 fifteen children, all of whom he lived to see grow 
 up and marry. One son and four daughters are 
 still living. He had been married four times, and 
 his last wife died in this county. 
 
 Henry Hulse, Jr., was trained to farm life at an 
 early age, and when still a single man came with 
 his family to Illinois. His mother, whose maiden 
 name was Priscilla Sweet, and who was born and 
 reared in the Buckeye State, died there when in 
 the prime of life. Henry was married, in Illinois, 
 
298 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Miss Susan Glynn, who was a native of the Em- 
 erald Isle, but who came to the LTnited States and 
 Winnebago County, 111., when young. Following 
 their marriage, Henry Hulse, Jr., and wife settled 
 on a farm in Pecatonica Township, resided there 
 for a number of years, and after the birth of all 
 their children, took a trip West. Mr. Hulse died in 
 Dubuque, Iowa, in 1849, when forty-one years of 
 age. He was a good citizen, and a man well re- 
 spected. He was a Whig in his political principles. 
 The wife and mother is now Mrs. James Turner, of 
 Maple Grove, S. Dak., and although seventy-eight 
 years of age, enjoys perfect health. Her husband 
 is a retired farmer. 
 
 Our subject is the youngest of three children 
 now living. The eldest child, Kate C, married 
 Zeno C^ampbell, an old settler and farmer of Peca- 
 tonica Township. Another sister, Priscilla, married 
 Henry Akester, a business man of Dexter, Iowa. 
 After our subject reached man's estate, but before 
 he became of age (1863), he enhsted in the One 
 Hundred and Thirty-fourth Illinois Infantry, 
 Company E, under Col. McChesney and Capt. H. 
 J. Milligan, and was out nearly two years. He 
 was with the Army of the West, chiefly with his 
 regiment after Gen. Forest, and escaped unhurt. 
 Returning to Illinois, he has since been actively en- 
 gaged in the hardware business, with which he is 
 thorouglily familiar. He is a prominent member 
 of the G. L. Nevins Post No. 1, G. A. R., but was 
 formerly of Ellis Post, Pecatonica, No. 320, G. A. R. 
 being Adjutant of the Post for a number of years. 
 He takes a leading part in political affairs, and is a 
 strong advocate of the principles of the Republican 
 party. While a resident of Pecatonica, he gener- 
 ally headed the Republican delegation from his 
 town and township, and was an active worker for 
 his party. 
 
 He was married, in this county, to Miss M. Net- 
 tie Kendrick, who was one of New Hampshire's 
 daughters, and who came West to this county when 
 a small girl. Her people were early settlors and 
 prominent people of Winnebago County, and her 
 father, Henry Kendrick, is now retired, and a resi- 
 dent of the AVest. He is an own cousin of Presi- 
 dent Franklin Pierce. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hulse are prominent and active 
 
 young people of this city, and believe in progress 
 and development, taking a deep interest in all 
 movements that tend to build up the city. They 
 are the parents of two children: Blanche E. a 
 book-keeper for her father, and the wife of J. F. 
 Huffman, who is a stockholder and Director for the 
 Hulse Hardware Company, resides at a nice home 
 on State Street; and Nina E. is a refined, intelli- 
 gent young lady, and resides at home. Both are 
 well educated. 
 
 —5- 
 
 m>-j^<m^ 
 
 YLVESTER TRIPP for many years was 
 busily engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
 but is now living a retired life at his pleas- 
 ant home in Belvidere. He was born in 
 the village of Worle, Somerset County, England, 
 October 16, 1816. The paternal grandfather, John 
 Tripp, spent his entire life in that locality, and 
 the maternal grandparents, Richard and Elizabeth 
 (Batty) Laney, lived in the same county. John 
 Tripp, the father of our subject, was born and 
 reared in Somersetshire, and throughout life fol- 
 lowed the occupation of farming in pursuit of 
 fortune. He married Betsy Laney, who, like her 
 husband, never left her native land. They had 
 a family of eleven children, of whom the fohowing 
 came to America: Eliza, Louisa, Harriet, Sidney, 
 Edwin L. and Sylvester. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared to man- 
 hood upon his father's farm, no event of special 
 importance occurring during his childhood. On 
 attaining his majority, he was married, May 7, 
 1844, to Sarah Rowles, a native of Somersetshire, 
 England, and a daughter of Joseph and Sarah 
 Rowles. She had one sister, who came to America, 
 Mary, who wedded Henrj' Grif33n, and died at 
 their home in Rogers Park, 111. Unto Mr. and 
 Mrs. Tripp were born two children. Edward, the 
 son, married Hattie Manchester and has two sons, 
 Charles and Stephen. Ellen became the wife of 
 Edgar Teeple, and is the mother of two daughters: 
 Sarah and Blanche L. She also lost one child, 
 Jessie, who died at the age of two and a half years. 
 The year 1852 witnessed the emigration of Mr. 
 Tripp and his family to America. He sailed from 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 299 
 
 Bristol in April of that year and after a voyage of 
 thirty-seven days landed at New York, from 
 whence he came directly to Illinois, locating in 
 what is now Belvidere Township, Boone County. 
 He purchased a tract of partially improved land 
 and gave his attention exclusively to agricultural 
 pursuits until 1885, when lie sold his farm and 
 came to Belvidere, where he has since lived a 
 retired life. Himself and wife are members of the 
 Episcopal Church. Mr. Tripp has been a member 
 of that church since childhood, and his parents 
 before him. When he was fifteen years old he was 
 conilrmed by the Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells 
 to the Episcopal Church. In politics, Mr. Tripp 
 is a Republican. Fair and honest in all his busi- 
 ness dealings, his industrious and persevering ef- 
 forts were rewarded with prosperity, and he is now 
 enjoying a comfortable competence. 
 
 ^•{•♦•5'*t 
 
 V 
 
 ^♦♦♦♦l a 
 
 ^ ji^ILLET S. HAIGHT, who is engaged in 
 farming on- section 28, New Milford Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, was born in 
 Westchester County, N. Y., May 3, 1824, and is 
 descended from a family of English origin. His 
 grandparents, Samuel and Phcebe (Young) Haight, 
 were born and reared in the same county and were 
 members of the Society of Friends. His parents, 
 Moses and Hannah (Sutton) Haight, were natives 
 of the same locality. 
 
 In 1841, the father purchased and with his family 
 removed to a farm of one hundred and forty acres 
 near Mt. Morris, where he resided until the autumn 
 of 1852, when he came to New Milford Township, 
 this count}', and purchased one hundred and sixty 
 acres of arable land and thirty acres of timber 
 land. He bought it at $16.50 per acre, but it is 
 now worth $100. His death occurred in 1858, at 
 the age of sixty-four years. He left a widow and 
 four sons: Willet and Stephen L., twins, Elias and 
 Samuel E. Stephen died in New Milford Township, 
 in May, 1882, at the age of fifty-eight years, leav- 
 ing a wife and four children. His wife survived 
 him five years. Elias died September 4, 1886, 
 at the age of fifty-four years in Portland, Ore., 
 and his remains were brought back to New Milford 
 
 for burial. His wife and two sons are still living. 
 The parents of our subject were well-informed 
 people, gave their children good educational ad- 
 vantages and reared them to habits of industry 
 and sobriety. Not one of the sons ever used intox- 
 icants or profane language. Two were church 
 members and were Republicans in politics. 
 
 Mr. Haight was married on a farm adjoining his 
 present home, April 7, 1857, his union being with 
 Miss Agnes, daughter of Samuel and Adelia (Aus- 
 tin) Ramsey. They began their domestic life on 
 the old homestead, a mile north of New Milford, 
 and a year later rented the Ramsey farm, which 
 Mr. Haight operated until August 12, 1862, when 
 he enlisted for the late war in Company A, Twelfth 
 Illinois Cavalry. He participated in a number of 
 important engagements and on the first day of the 
 battle of Gettysburg was seriously wounded in the 
 jaw. After being in the hospital for some time he 
 received his discharge, September 24, 1863. 
 
 On his return to the North, Mr. Haight settled 
 upon his present farm on section 28, New Milford 
 Township, and has since engaged in its operation. 
 It comprises two hundred and four acres, for which 
 he paid $8,000. Since that he has made many im- 
 provements, having erected a comfortable residence, 
 a barn, ice house and other buildings. In connection 
 with general farming, he has engaged quite exten- 
 sively in the dairj' business and in raising hogs. He 
 has led a busy and useful life and as the result has 
 acquired a comfortable competence. He has served 
 as Town Collector for six years but has never given 
 much attention to political affairs. Both he and his 
 wife are members of the Methodist Church and have 
 the high regard of all with whom they have been 
 brought in contact. 
 
 AMUEL ELI HOISINGTON,son of Horace 
 and Priscilla Hoisington, is a worthy rep- 
 resentative of one of the pioneer families 
 of Winnebago Count j' and comes of a 
 prominent New England family. His parents emi- 
 grated Westward in May, 1846, and his birth oc- 
 curred on the 29th of November, 1868. He received 
 
302 
 
 POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 good educational advantages and was reared on a 
 farm near his present liome. On tlie 6th of Octo- 
 ber, 1881, he married Miss Hattie Clayton, of Still- 
 man Valley, a daughter of Joseph and Harriet 
 (Norton) Clayton. Her father was born near 
 Springfield, Mass., in November, 1813. His father 
 was a New England farmer and had twenty-three 
 children. About 1837, Mr. Clayton had his name 
 changed from Phineas Crouch to James Monroe 
 Clayton. He yet resides in Stillman Valley. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hoisington settled on their present 
 farm October 15, 1881, He now owns and oper- 
 ates one hundred and seventy-one acres, under a 
 high state of cultivation and well improved with 
 a good residence and other buildings. In connec- 
 tion with general farming, he carries on the dairy 
 business, keeping thirty cows for this purpose, and 
 also buys cream and milk which he ships to Chicago 
 and Rockford. He is a man of good business 
 ability and has won success in his undertakings. 
 In politics, he was a Republican until 1884, since 
 wliich time he has voted with the Prohibition 
 party. Himself and wife are members of the 
 "VVesleyan Methodist Church. They have an in- 
 teresting family of four children: Herbert A., 
 Homer L., Lucy L. and Florence. 
 
 ^^i@'^'^^.^^ 
 
 ANIEL CARNEY. Among the prominent 
 enterprising farmers of Rockford Town- 
 
 H^ANIE 
 
 J#^ ship, Winnebago County, none have a more 
 beautiful home tlian he whose biographical sketch 
 we take pleasure in here giving. In 1890, when 
 the "boom" struck the city, he sold a portion of 
 his estate, which adjoined the city, reserving onlv 
 five acres for himself. 
 
 Marbletown, Ulster County, N. Y., was the na- 
 tive place of our subject, where also his father, 
 Andrew Carnej', was born, and where Daniel Car- 
 ney, the grandfather of our subject, spent his last 
 days. Tlie father of him of whom we write was 
 reared on the home farm and passed the remainder 
 of his life in his native county. The maiden name 
 of his wife was Laney Greene; she also died in 
 Marbletown. 
 
 Daniel Carney resided with his parents until 
 
 reaching his twelfth year, spending the following 
 two and one-half years on the farm of an old 
 couple, where he received his board and clothing 
 in exchange for his services. He then commenced 
 boating on the Delawjire <fe Hudson Canal, being 
 thus engaged a part of three seasons, after which 
 he was employed in teaming across the mountains 
 from p]llenville to Middletown. Later, he drove 
 a stage from EUenville to Kingston, and remained 
 a resident of the Empire State until 1845, which 
 was the date of his advent into Illinois, com- 
 ing hither via the canal to Buffalo, and thence 
 by way of the Lakes to Chicago. 
 
 In that early day there were no railroads in 
 this State, the people being conveyed to and from 
 different points by means of a stage coach. Mr. 
 Carney was at once employed by Frink <fe 
 Walker, the owners of many different stage hnes 
 in the Northwest, his route at first lying between 
 Rockford and Chicago. He then went to Galena 
 and drove a stage to Elizabeth, and afterward 
 from Galena to Shabbona Grove, and then to 
 Dixon. He was thus employed in different parts 
 of the Prairie State until 1848, when he made a 
 permanent settlement in Rockford, then little 
 more than a hamlet. 
 
 Forming a partnership with Dudley Redfield, 
 Mr. Carney was engaged in the livery business for 
 fourteen months, then, disposing of his interest, 
 engaged in teaming from Rockford to Elgin, Chi- 
 cago, Milwaukee, and points in Wisconsin two 
 hundred miles distant. He was engaged in tliis 
 kind of work for two years and then established 
 a draj' line, which was the first of the kind in 
 Rockford, and after two j'ears in that business 
 became the first expressman in the city. He was 
 very successful in that undertaking, and continued 
 thus for fifteen years. 
 
 Mr. Carney has always been a great lover of fine 
 horses and his experience in training them has 
 led him to be a good judge of horseflesh. He 
 owned and drove the first horse in Rockford 
 whose record was 2:30, and also had in his pos- 
 session the first stallion to make that record. He 
 owns and now has under training several fine ani- 
 mals, and is thoroughly in love with his work. 
 
 In 1849, our subject was married to Jane Ann 
 
:^^ 
 
 
 '4j'^4' wtii-y'i V i'""-^'v^^ 
 
 "c^,-iiffi;"i>»-:. 
 
 -rr«r-';es3W?' 
 
 "Tsrsss! 
 
 RESIDENCE OF DANIEL CARN EY , ROCKTON AV. & AUBURN 5T ..ROCKFORD, , I LL. 
 
 
 
 "3^^* 
 
 .^fr 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 RESIDENCE OF PALMER PICK ARD , SEC. 21 , HARLEM TP,Wi NN EBAGO CO, ILL. 
 
t^ORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 303 
 
 Huntley, who was born in New York State, but 
 was reared to womanhood in Michigan. She has 
 two children living: Harry H., who makes his 
 home in Iowa, and D. Fay, who is the assistant of 
 his father. Julia died when thirtj' years of age, 
 and Ann passed away in infancy. 
 
 On another page will be noticed a view of the 
 attractive homestead of Mr. Carney. 
 
 \]L^ GRACE E. HGISINGTON, residing on sec- 
 tion 31, New Milford Township, has long 
 been a resident of Winnebago County. He 
 ^) was born in Genesee County, N. Y., April 
 15, 1823, and is a son of Horace Hoisington, Sr., 
 who was born in Vermont and died in New Mil- 
 ford in February, 1877, at the age of eighty-eight 
 years. He married Gracia Maria Steele, a native 
 of the Green Mountain State, who died in Genesee 
 County, N. Y., when our subject was a small child. 
 She left two sons and three daughters: Emily, wife 
 of Bradford Clark, who died in Vermont at the 
 age of twenty-six years; Ellas, now of Nebraska; 
 Eliza Ann, wife of Bradford Clark, who died in 
 Vermont at the age of forty years, leaving three 
 sons; Horace E., of this sketch; and Gracia Maria, 
 wife of Carl Vose, of Danville, 111. 
 
 Our subject was married in his native county, 
 April 15, 1846, to Miss Priscilla Peck, daughter of 
 Eli and Nancy (Smith) Peck, pioneer settlers of 
 Saratoga County, N. Y. Her grandfathei was a 
 E«volutionary soldier, was captured by the British 
 and while on one of the prison boats in New York 
 Harbor, his toes were frozen off. Four of his broth- 
 ers and his father aided in the struggle for inde- 
 pendence and only two of the sons survived. The 
 wedding trip of Mr. Hoisington and his bride con- 
 sisted of a Westward journey to Illinois. They 
 located in Guilford Township, this county, and 
 after six months removed to Monroe, Ogle County, 
 where our subject purchased one hundred and sixty 
 acres of land for 1900, one hundred acres being cov- 
 ered with timber. For fourteen years Mr. Hoising- 
 ton resided upon that farm and there built a good 
 home. In those early days bis nearest market was 
 Chicago and the family bore many of the hard- 
 
 ships and privations of pioneer life. About 1859, 
 he sold that farm and removed to his present home, 
 where he purchased one hundred acres of land at 
 $26 per acre. 
 
 Unto our subject and his wife were born five 
 children: Lucy Ann, who became the wife of Will- 
 iam A. Johnston, died at the age of twenty-five. 
 Her husband is now serving his third term as a Su- 
 preme Judge of Kansas. Emily died at the age of 
 fourteen years; Julia Ann is the wife of Peter 
 Kinner, a farmer of Washington County, N. Y.; 
 Eli is the next younger; and Gracia Maria is at 
 home with her father. The mother died January 
 19, 1886, at the age of sixty-four years. She was 
 a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, to 
 which Mr. Hoisington also belongs. They aided 
 in organizing the church atLynnville, Ogle County, 
 in 1845. It was formed by people from the Meth- 
 odist, the Free-will Baptist and other churches, 
 but the Close-communion Baptist and Presbyter- 
 ians would not affiliate. Mr. Hoisington aided in 
 organizing the Republican party in Monroe Town- 
 ship, and attended the first county convention- 
 For many years he was prominent in that party, 
 but is now a Prohibitionist. 
 
 r^ 
 
 "^ (5* 
 
 RBA Z. CAMPBELL. No finer farm is 
 to be found in Pecatonica Township, 
 Winnebago County, than that owned and 
 ,,gj, occupied by the subject of this sketch, 
 
 and which is located on section 3. In fact, it is 
 justly considered one of the finest places in the 
 county, as it is under the most thorough tillage 
 and the buildings upon it are of the best class in 
 construction and design. 
 
 A native of Durand Township, this county, our 
 subject is a son of David and Erixna (Barker) 
 Campbell, and was born November 27, 1852. The 
 father was a native of Grand Isle, Vt., and was 
 twenty years of age when coming to this county. 
 His birth occurred March 24, 1815, and his mar- 
 riage to Miss Barker, who is also a native of the 
 Green Mountain State, was celebrated February 
 16, 1840. Mrs. Campbell departed this life in 
 Durand Township when sixty-nine years of age. 
 
304 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 having been born February 10, 1823. She was 
 the daughter of Asa and Molly (Mars) Barker, na- 
 tives of New England and of Scotch descent. Asa 
 died in Laona Township, Winnebago County, May 
 14, 1865, having been born May 30, 1781. His 
 wife, who was born November 24, of the same year, 
 also died in the above place, September 6, 1864. 
 Thej' were the parents of eleven children. 
 
 The father of our subject is the only one liv- 
 ing of a family of twelve children. Deciding to 
 see something more of the Western country, he 
 came on foot from Loclsport, Pa., to La Porte, 
 Ind., thence overland by team to Pecatonica. Hero 
 he pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land and marketed the products therefrom in the 
 mining districts of Wisconsin and Chicago. David 
 Campbell is one of the few pioneers left who 
 came here as early as 1836, and has consequently 
 been .an eye-witness of the wonderful growth and 
 development of this section. 
 
 Arba Z, Campbell was one of six children born 
 to his parents, four of whom are living, as fol- 
 lows: Adeline, who was born June 30, 1847, is 
 married and has three children; Louis L, who was 
 born in 1858, is also married and has four chil- 
 dren; Zeno A., who was born January 14, 1843, 
 died October 31, 1891, leaving a wife and three 
 children. Our subject remained at home until 
 reaching his nineteenth year, when he cultivated 
 rented property for a short time and then pur- 
 ch.ased a tract of land, to which he added from 
 time to time until he is now the possessor of a 
 magnificent estate of five hundred and sixty- 
 seven acres. 
 
 Miss Eliza C. Hulse, who was born in Peca- 
 tonica Township, April 1, 1856, became the wife 
 of our subject July 28, 1872. She is the daugh- 
 ter of P. and Elizabeth (Woodruff) Hulse, the 
 former of whom was born in Clarke County, Ohio, 
 and came to Illinois in a very early day. He 
 located on a farm in this township, where his de- 
 mise occurred when forty years of age. The pa- 
 ternal grandfather of Mrs. Campbell, Henry Hulse, 
 departed this life when sixty years of age; his 
 wife, Mai-y Hulse, died in Salina, Kan., when in 
 her seventieth year. The mother of Mrs. Camp- 
 bell was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, and 
 
 reared six children, all of whom are living, as fol- 
 lows: Mary M., who was born May 3, 1850; Enos 
 S., January 31, 1852; Mrs. Campbell; Jasper J., 
 August 18, 1858; Ella L., September 7, 1860; and 
 William H., November 5, 1864. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have been born five 
 children, four of whom are living: Ward D. 
 whose birth occurred February 7, 1873, is attend- 
 ing college at Rockford; Burt P. was born De- 
 cember 25, 1877; Homer W., March 27, 1880; 
 Floss A., March 25, 1885; and Starr H., who was 
 born January 3, 1876, died February 5, 1877. Mr. 
 Campbell, as before stated, has one of the finest 
 farms in Northern Illinois, and, with his estimable 
 wife, is most highly respected in this community. 
 They have a beautiful home and a happy and in- 
 telligent family of children. 
 
 He of whom we write is engaged in mixed 
 farming, devoting his attention principally to 
 breeding stock. In politics, he is a Democrat, to 
 which party he gives his support at the polls. 
 
 ♦=♦=♦ 
 
 J 
 
 r' 
 
 E*^S* 
 
 ^ 
 
 OHN ANDREWS. Among the prominent 
 representative citizens of Rockford we are 
 gratified to present the name of Mr. Andrews 
 whose success here has certainly entitled him 
 to consideration and whose constancy in every 
 line of business and thrift have added greatly to 
 the value of Winnebago County. Our subject was 
 very fortunate in purchasing land adjoining the 
 city, and as the years passed by and the property 
 advanced in value, he, of course, became wealthy. 
 His home is pleasantly located on the corner of 
 School Street and Central Avenue, and bears every 
 indication of the intelligence and culture of its 
 inmates, being furnished with a splendid library 
 which attests the family to be people of education. 
 John Andrews was born April 1, 1831, in Mt. 
 Vernon, Posey County, Ind., and is the son of 
 Anson S. Andrews, a native of Connecticut. The 
 fatlier when a young man went to New York City, 
 where he was engaged in the mercantile business, 
 but, on account of failing health, abandoned that 
 branch of work, and emigrating to Indiana, be- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 305 
 
 came one of the early settlers of Posey County. 
 He there bought a claim to a tract of land which 
 he later entered from the Government, and by per- 
 sistent industry and good management, had the 
 pleasure of soon seeing it put under excellent cul- 
 tivation, and resided there until his death. 
 
 Miss Elizabeth Butler, our subject's, mother, was 
 bom in Massachusetts, and departed this life at 
 the home of Mr. Andrews, in Rockford. She was 
 the mother of the following three children: John; 
 Harriet, who became the wife of James Hinklej', 
 and resides in Rockford; and Seth, who lives in 
 Baraboo, Wis. He of whom we write attended 
 the school in his native county, which was con- 
 ducted on the subscription plan, and when quite 
 young began to assist his father in operating a farm. 
 He remained at home until the death of his father, 
 which occurred when he was about twenty-three 
 years of age, and at that time assumed the man- 
 agement of the farm. His father had been inter- 
 ested in a general store and flouring-mill, which 
 were operated on the co-operative plan , and on his 
 decease, Mr. Andrews devoted a portion of his time 
 to the store and mill. 
 
 In 1857, our subject came to Washington County, 
 this State, in company with his brother-in-law, 
 .lames Hinkley, purchasing a tract of land on which 
 they planted an orchard of eighty acres. The fol- 
 lowing year Mr. Andrews located upon the place, 
 but two years after rented the farm and removed 
 to Lincoln, and in the fall of 1861 came to Win- 
 nebago County. Here he purchased a block of 
 land in the city and the following year became the 
 proprietor of a farm one mile west of the city 
 limits but did not move upon the place, continuing 
 to reside in the home which he first purchased until 
 1889. In 1876, our subject bought forty acres ad- 
 joining his first purchase, to which he added, two 
 years later, one hundred and nine acres, eighty of 
 which joined the city. In 1880, he purchased one 
 hundred and twenty-six acres, which connected 
 with the eighty-acre tract above mentioned, and in 
 1885 sold tlie first eighty acres with the forty acres 
 adjoining it, and again in 1889 sold a tract of 
 fifteen acres. In January, 1890, Mr. Andrews dis- 
 posed of sixty acres of his property to B. A. 
 Knight, the originator of the "boom" in this city. 
 
 The remainder of the farm he still has in his pos- 
 session, and it is improved with all that goes to 
 mike up a first-class estate. 
 
 September 21, 1858, John Andrews and Miss 
 Mirinda Piper, who was born in this State, were 
 united in marriage. The lady is the daughter of 
 the Rev. Beverly Piper and has borne her husband 
 three sons: Charles N., Hairy B., and Ernest J. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Andrews attend the Christian Ciiurch, 
 and, in politics, the former casts the weight of his 
 vote and influence with the Republican party. 
 
 S"" 
 
 -S3 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 [^" 
 
 (|l MLLIAM A. PHELPS. The record of the 
 \/\j// ^^^'^ °^ *^^^® pioneer farmer of Winnebago 
 V^^ County furnishes interesting facts for the 
 perusal of his fellow-men. In the fall of 1849, ac- 
 companied by his estimable wife, he settled on a 
 farm in Rockton Township, comprising one hun- 
 dred and thirty acres, for which he paid $1,040. 
 The place was improved by a small barn and a log 
 house, to which a frame addition had been erected, 
 while the land was scarcely changed from tlie 
 primeval condition of nature. 
 
 As he had only 1448 in his possession, Mr. 
 Phelps was compelled to go in debt for his farm, 
 and during the first winter of his residence upon 
 it, chopped wood in exchange for one bushel of 
 wheat per day, the wheat bringing thirty-flve cents 
 per bushel. He hauled his first crop of wheat to 
 the lead mines near Galena, and received as com- 
 pensation 12.50 per barrel for the flour which was 
 made in Beloit. From the first, he was indefatiga- 
 ble in his efforts to acquire an independence, and 
 success crowned his exertions, as it usually does, 
 when with perseverance is combined excellent 
 judgment. 
 
 The original purchase was added to until Mr. 
 Phelps now owns six hundred and fifty-seven 
 acres of fertile land. In 1857, he erected a sub- 
 stantial frame house, which he remodeled and en- 
 larged in 1883, making it one of the most commo- 
 dious and pleasant residences in the county. Other 
 buildings were erected as the convenience of the 
 farmer demanded, until the place was transformed 
 in its appearance and embellishments. 
 
306 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In that part of Allegany County now known 
 as Wyoming County-, N. Y., Mr. Phelps was born 
 April 6, 1825. He is one of ten children born to 
 James and Phoebe (Resigue) Phelps, natives of 
 Schoharie County, N. Y. Five children died in in- 
 fancy, and Austin died in Alexander, N. Y., at the 
 age of sixty-four, dropping dead while leading a 
 prayer meeting; James Harvey, who was a volun- 
 teer during tiie late war, died in a hospital at Ann- 
 apolis, Md., in 1863. The only surviving mem- 
 bers of the familj' are William A., Lovisa and 
 Louisa. The father died in 1844, at his home in 
 Cattaraugus County, while his wife passed away 
 eighteen years after his demise. 
 
 At the age of twenty-tliree, our subject was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Jane Lippitt. Her parents. Dr. 
 John W. and Almira (Jocelyn) Lippitt, natives of 
 New York, removed to Illinois in 1837, when she 
 was a child of eleven years. Arriving in Chicago 
 on the overland journey to Winnebago Countj', 
 an elder sister, Maria, jumped out of the wagon on 
 what is now Clark Street, and sank so deep in the 
 mud that it required considerable effort to extri- 
 cate her. Dr. Lippitt had purchased, during a pre- 
 vious visit to Winnebago County, one-half section 
 of land, for which he gave in payment one pair of 
 horses, 180 in cash and his note for $40. Return- 
 ing to the land, he found the claim was worthless, 
 owing to the Government having given it as a re- 
 servation for half-breeds. Accordingly, he crossed 
 the Pecatonica River and purchased a claim to an- 
 other half-section of land, where a permanent home 
 was established. In 1840, the wife and mother 
 passed away, leaving three daughters and one son: 
 Maria Louisa, Mary Jane, Francis and Ann Phide- 
 lia. The onlj' son died of heart disease at the age 
 of twent^'-seven ; the three daughters still survive. 
 Dr. Lippitt married a second time, choosing as his 
 wife Mrs. Almira Warren, and they became the 
 parents of five children. He died in 1864, and his 
 widow departed hence eight months after his de- 
 mise. 
 
 On removing West in 1849, Mr. and Mrs. Phelps 
 settled on the farm which they have since occu- 
 pied. They became the parents of eight children, 
 as follows: Byron W.; Mary Fidelia, the wife of 
 Frank P. Miller, of Latham, this State; Ella Viola, 
 
 who died June 16, 1868; William H., who is farm- 
 ing a portion of the old homestead; Carey E. 
 dealer in grain and stock in Rockton; Hattie E., 
 who married A. M. Wilson, of Thomson, 111.- 
 George H., who is still with his parents; and Rosa 
 L., the wife of George Peppers, who assists in cul- 
 tivating the old homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps 
 are justly proud of, and devoted to, their ten grand- 
 children. In their religious belief, they are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politi- 
 cally, Mr. Phelps was a Republican until 1884, and 
 since that year has adhered to the principles of the 
 Prohibition party. He is President of the Co-op- 
 erative Cheese Factory, and gave the land on which 
 the building was erected. His son is Director in 
 this factory, which has been in successful opera- 
 tion for two seasons, making about sixty-eight 
 thousand pounds of choice eream cheese which is 
 consumed at the home markets. Our subject has 
 been Steward of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 for twentj'-five years, and has been Superintendent 
 of the Sunda3'-schpol for about eight years. 
 
 "■> f* >* p * ^ * r 
 
 GUSTAVE SANDEHN, the well-known clerk 
 and manager of the cloak department of 
 the Stewart Company Dry Goods Housei 
 one of the leading houses of the city, has been 
 with that company, though it has changed names, 
 since 1881. He was formerly with Mr. Withrow 
 of this city for one year. In 1877, he began as a 
 clerk with P. L. Cable & Co., of Cable, 111., and 
 since then he has successfully followed that busi- 
 ■ness. For ten years he was in the cloak depart- 
 ment for Stewart & Co., and for three j'ears he 
 has been manager of that department. He is a 
 stockholder in the Rockford Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, is an honorable and straightforward .young 
 man, and possesses rare business abilities. He 
 owns a fine home, nicely located on one of the 
 best residence streets of the city, and is a favorite 
 in the community. 
 
 Mr. Sandelm came to this country in 1876, from 
 Sweden, his native countrj-, where his birth oc- 
 curred in Jonkoping City on the 3d of June, 1861. 
 He was well educated in the High Schools of his 
 
1\ 
 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 309 
 
 native city, and was a student of English, French, 
 German and his own language. While still a boy, 
 he accompanied his parents to this country, 
 whither manj' of their relatives and friends had 
 preceded them, and the family located in Galway, 
 for one year. Later they came to Rockford. 
 
 The father, Charles A. Sandehn, was born in 
 Sraoland, Sweden, and was a tailor from boyhood 
 up. He died in Rockford in February, 1889, 
 when fifty-five years of age, following his wife to 
 the grave, her death having occurred in January, 
 1889, when forty-nine years of age. Both were 
 worthy members of the Swedish Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church of Rockford. Of the nine children 
 born to their marriage, six are dead. One daugh- 
 ter, Olive XL, born August 10, 1864, died July 7, 
 1890; the rest died in infancy; one son, Harold, is 
 residing with our subject, and is in the city schools, 
 and a daughter, Anna, became the wife of William 
 A. Johnson, a machinist, with the Rockford Watch 
 Company. 
 
 The original of our sketch was married in Rock- 
 ford, Aug^ist 7, 1888, to Miss Caroline Johnson, 
 the second daughter of A. C. Johnson (see sketch). 
 She was born in Rockford, May 27, 1864, received 
 her scholastic training in this city, and is a bright, 
 intelligent lady. The fruits of this union have 
 been two sons: Carl H., and Casper Wilhelm. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Sandehn attend the First Lutheran 
 Church of Rockford, in which they have been 
 members for some time, and, in politics, he is a 
 supporter of the Republican party. 
 
 A. PETERSON. The Swedish-Americans 
 are well represented in Rockford and have 
 been effective in promoting the growth of 
 the city, especially in the way of building 
 up large and substantial manufactures. They are 
 a steady, industrious class of people, employ in the 
 aggregate several thousand men, and through their 
 labors have enhanced the value of property in East 
 Rockford. Probably no one has done more for 
 the city than Mr. Peterson, whose portrait is shown 
 on the opposite page, and who is identified with 
 
 many of the most important industries of Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 Among the furniture companies largely directed 
 by Mr. Peterson, we may mention the following: 
 Union, Excelsior, Co-Operative, Standard, Mantel, 
 Central, and Chair and Furniture Companj'. He 
 is also closely connected with the Royal Sewing 
 Machine Company, Skandia Plow Company and 
 Skandia Coal Company. He is officially connected 
 with various organizations, being Secretary and 
 Treasurer of the Rockford Union Furniture Com- 
 pany; President of the Rockford Co-Operative 
 Furniture Company; President of the Skandia 
 Shoe Manufacturing Company; President of the 
 Swedish Building & Loan Association; Vice-Presi- 
 dent of the Third National Bank; President of the 
 Skandia Plow Company; Vice-President of the 
 Rockford Poster & Printing Company; and Chair- 
 man of the Peterson Land Association. 
 
 Mr. Peterson was born in Ving Vestergotland, 
 Province of Smoland, Sweden, September 8, 1848. 
 and was only two years old when his parents emi- 
 grated to this country, taking passage at Gotten- 
 burg in a sailing-vessel and after a voyage of 
 several weeks landing in New York City. Contin- 
 uing their journey Westward, they finally reached 
 Winnebago County, where they settled on a farm 
 in Cherry Valley. In that township, the lad grew 
 to a stalwart manhood, and soon afterward his 
 natural business qualifications brought him to Rock- 
 ford, where his fidelity and ability were recognized 
 and he was in demand for the best places of trust in 
 the gift of various corporations. With no capital 
 but energy and perseverance, he has arisen from a 
 position of poverty in his boj^hood to a foremost 
 place among the wealthy citizens of Rockford, and 
 although only in life's prime has accumulated a 
 large fortune. 
 
 As he possesses keen discernment, Mr. Peterson 
 was quick to see the advantages of Rockford as a 
 furniture manufacturing point, and also the bene- 
 fits that would accrue from the co-operative plan. 
 Having planned, he resolutely proceeded to ex- 
 ecute, and is now interested and an active manager 
 in more factories than any resident of the place, 
 which has the full average quota of energetic busi- 
 ness men. He is largely interested in property in 
 
310 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 East Rockfoid, especially in Sunrise Addition and 
 Furnitureville, and has improved the city by erect- 
 ing a large number of residences. In his political 
 belief, he is an adherent of the principles of the 
 Republican party and gives to its candidates his 
 influence and ballot. In his religious tendencies, 
 he is devoted to the faith of his father, who was a 
 member cf the Swedish Lutheran Church. He is 
 social by nature, but the demands of liis business 
 are so great as to prevent him from identifying 
 himself with any secret or social organizations. 
 
 llJ^ORAH BRIGGS, a retired farmer, and one 
 isj^ of the old and much respected settlers of 
 
 ^% Winnebago County, 111., owes his nativity 
 ^ to Johnstown, Fulton County, N. Y., and was 
 born April 8, 1814. His parents, Korah and Eliza- 
 beth (Scarboro) Briggs, were natives of the same 
 place, and the father followed the arduous duties of 
 a farmer. To their union were born three children , 
 two daughters and a son, the latter being our sub- 
 ject, who was but an infant when his father died. 
 Eight years later, the mother, too, passed away, 
 when but a young woman. One besides our sub- 
 ject of the above-mentioned children is now liv- 
 ing, Anna, who became Mrs. John Stevens, and re- 
 sides in Minnesota. 
 
 Our subject was reared on a farm in Fulton 
 County and after reaching mature years was mar- 
 ried in Johnstown, of that count}', to Miss Thank- 
 ful A. Bonfey, a native of the same place, born 
 October 20, 1815, their nuptials being celebrated 
 on the 14th of January, 1841. She was the daugh- 
 ter of Barnabas Bonfey, of Utica, N. Y., and the 
 granddaughter of Barnabas Bonfey, of France, who 
 came to this country with Gen. LaP'ayette, as a 
 surgeon, and died in Oneida County, Winfield 
 Township, N. Y., in 1822, when very old. Barn- 
 abas Bonfey, Jr., who was a cabinet-maker by 
 trade in Johnstown village, died in New York State 
 when over ninety years of age, and his wife, whose 
 maiden name was Mary Smith, died there five years 
 later, when ninety-one years of age. 
 
 In the spring of 1842, Mr. Briggs came West 
 prospecting, worked considerably at his trade, and 
 
 purchased eighty acres in the township of Harlem. 
 The following spring, after a noted winter of deep 
 snows and very cold weather, Mr. Briggs brought 
 his family to his home in Harlem Township. Two 
 years later, he sold this farm and purchased ninety- 
 two acres in section 8 (1844), paying $6.40 per 
 acre for it. He could have purchased Government 
 land near by for $1.25 per acre, but this he took 
 on a del)t. Later he purchased five acres of timber 
 and paid for this $500. In the spring of 1845, Mr. 
 Briggs moved his family on his farm and into a 
 very rude, open log cabin, the same having been 
 the original claim cabin. They then had but one 
 child, the eldest, Barnabas D., who is now a resident 
 blacksmith of Roscoe. In tliis primitive log cabin 
 with new and strange surroundings, Mr. Briggs 
 and his thrifty and economical wife began grad- 
 ually to gather around them everything necessary 
 for a comfortable home. They resided on this 
 farm . until August, 1891, when they moved to 
 Roscoe, where they recently purchased a very 
 pleasant home. Tlieir grandson, Charles 0. Briggs, 
 is renting the farm. Mr. Briggs erected a good 
 stone house on his farm in 1840, and in 1857 
 he built a good frame barn. Since then he has 
 erected good substantial buildings on his place, as 
 he needed them, and his fine farm is now worth at 
 least $60 per acre. 
 
 The competency which this genial and contented 
 old couple are now enjoying has been gained by 
 many years of industry and economy on the part 
 of both. They are the parents of a family of four 
 children, and lost one son, Korah J., who enlisted 
 as a volunteer in the Civil War (one of the last 
 call), and was in the Eighth Illinois Cavalry for 
 one year. He died at Fairfax Court House, Blarch 
 15, 1865, when twenty-one years of age. Another 
 son, Barnabas B., was in the army, going out at the 
 first call for troops, but after serving for five 
 months was discharged on account of sickness. 
 The remaining children are as follows: Barn- 
 abas D.; John Q., a merchant at Houston, Minn.; 
 and Mary Elizabeth, now Mrs. E. W. Dyer, of San 
 Diego, Cal., engaged with an orange grove. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Briggs have twelve grandchildren and 
 three great-grandchildren. They have both been 
 members of the Congregational Church since 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 311 
 
 youth, and are highly esteemed by all. Mr. Briggs 
 advocated the principles of the Democratic party 
 from early j^outh and his last Presidential vote in 
 that party was for Franlilin Pierce. Mrs. Briggs 
 converted him to Republicanism, since which time 
 he has voted the straight Republican ticket. This 
 much esteemed couple are the oldest of the early 
 settlers of Roscoe, and both are nearing the eigh- 
 tieth mile-stone. 
 
 - ,,2 NCIL WIXON occupies a farm on section 
 WKm 19, Bonus Township, Boone County, which 
 is suflflciently large to afford a comfort- 
 able maintenance. He makes a specialty 
 of breeding stock and has one of the largest dairy 
 farms in this section. He is numbered among that 
 class who have been the architects of their own 
 fortunes and is counted among the substantial 
 residents of Boone County. 
 
 A native of Carmel, Putnam County, N. Y., our 
 subject was born May 24, 1838, and is a son of 
 Bethel H. and Esther (Hill) Wixon, the former of 
 whom was also a native of Putnam County and a 
 farmer by occupation. In 1855, he decided to 
 come West, and, in company with his wife and 
 two children, located in Boone County, where he 
 purchased a quarter -section of land and resided 
 until his decease, when seventy-seven years of age. 
 Our subject had an uncle on his mother's side 
 who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His 
 parents made their home with him until their de- 
 mise; the mother, who was born March 8, 1801, 
 died October 1, 1861, and the father, whose birth 
 occurred September 18, 1805, passed away August 
 18, 1882. 
 
 Mr. Wixon of this sketch was married Novem- 
 ber 10, 1860, to Miss Julia Hart, who was born in 
 the same place as our subject, January 10, 1830. 
 She was the daughter of Eleazer and Rebecca (Bar- 
 rett) Hart, also natives of the Empire State. The 
 father died in his native place when seventy-two 
 years of age, and the mother is still living and 
 makes her home in Connecticut. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Wixon have been born three 
 children: Noah A., whose birth occurred February 
 
 27, 1861, married Miss Fannie Phillips and is en- 
 gaged in farming; Nellie, who was born Septem- 
 ber 3, 1873, and Lillie, who was born December 8, 
 1875, still reside at home. After his marriage, 
 he of whom we write resided at home until the 
 death of his father, when he purchased the interest 
 of the other heirs in the homestead, which com- 
 prises one hundred and sixty acres. In addition 
 to that, he owns a portion of one hundred and 
 fifty acres which he purchased in company with 
 his son. As before stated, he has the finest dairy 
 farm in the county and reaps a handsome income 
 from that branch of agriculture. 
 
 Our subject and his wife are members of the 
 Baptist Church, with which denomination Mr. 
 Wixon has been connected for thirty-five years. 
 One brother of Mrs. Wixon was a brave soldier 
 in the late war, and her maternal grandfather 
 was a Revolutionary patriot. Mr. Wixon is a 
 Republican in politics, but is not interested in 
 public affairs other than to cast his vote for the 
 man whom he considers will best fill the office. 
 With his wife, he is held in respect by their many 
 warm friends throughout the county. 
 
 W. McCOLLOM. The student of 
 nature is always deeply interested 
 /j^^ in tracing the career of one who has fought 
 his way up to a position of prominence and finan- 
 cial success by dint of pluck, push and energj^, 
 and who has, notwithstanding the struggles of his 
 youth, maintained a well-earned reputation for 
 uprightness and just consideration of the rights of 
 others. Such has been the career of the gentleman 
 whose name introduces these paragraphs. His farm 
 of one hundred and twenty acres, which he pur- 
 chased in 1876, has been brought to a high state of 
 cultivation and embellished with a first-class set 
 of farm buildings. It is not only one of the best 
 in Le Roy Township, but does not suffer by com- 
 parison with any of the same size in Boone County. 
 The father of our subject, James A. McCollom, 
 was born in New Hampshire in 1803, and in his 
 early manhood came to Michigan, where he was 
 
312 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 married to Lucetta Walker, who, like himself, was 
 a native of the Granite State, born in 1813. She 
 had emigrated from her native place to Michigan 
 in 1821, with her parents, the trip being made 
 overland to Buffalo, and thence by the Lakes to 
 Detroit, where Mr. Walker died in 18.56. His 
 widow passed away two years later at Amboy, 111. 
 After their marriage, which took j)lace at Farm- 
 ington, Mich., in 1832, James A. McCollom and 
 his wife resided in Indiana until the spring of 
 1836, when they removed to Illinois and settled on 
 a farm near Sycamore, DeKalb County. They 
 entered from the Government a farm comprising 
 about one hundred and twenty acres, forty acres 
 of which were heavily timbered land, and cleared 
 the place, which they improved with all needed 
 buildings. They cut down and saved the ash and 
 basswood lumber, some of which they brought to 
 Boone County and used in flooring their house. 
 On coming to Boone County in 1848, Mr. Mc 
 CoUum, Sr., purchased eighty acres near Capron, 
 paying $300 for the place, which was unimproved. 
 At his death, which occurred in 1868, he left his 
 widow an estate of ninety-one acres of unincum- 
 bered land. He and his wife reared five daughters 
 and three sons, and lost a child during their resi- 
 dence in De Kalb County. The others are Lucetta 
 and James A., twins; Edwin W., of this sketch; 
 Martha R., who died at Le Roy, in 1882, at the 
 age of forty-three years; Addie P.; Lozje A., Ella 
 and Watson L. James A., Jr., enlisted in 1861, at 
 Dixon, as a member of the Thirteenth Illinois 
 Infantry, and was mortally wounded at Lingo Gap, 
 Ga., in November, 1863,atthe age of twenty-eight 
 years. He was buried in the National Cemetery 
 at that place. 
 
 Edwin W. McCollom was born in DeKalb 
 County, 111., in 1837, and was a lad of eleven years 
 when he accompanied his parents to Boone County. 
 Nothing eventful occuri-ed in his life until the 
 outbreak of the Civil War, when he enlisted, in 
 1861, as a member of Company F, Forty-fifth Illi- 
 nois Infantry, being mustered in at Galena 111. He 
 served eighteen months with valor, and, at the ex- 
 piration of his term of enlistment, was honorably 
 discharged. He returned to his home in Le Roy 
 Township, and resumed the farming operations 
 which had engaged his attention prior to the war. 
 
 In October, 1873, at Sharon, Wis., Mr. McCoUum 
 was united in marriage to Miss Clarisa Langdon 
 of Le Roy. She is the daughter of B. F. and Dor- 
 othy (Guiles) Langdon, natives, respectively, of 
 Ohio and Wyoming County, N. Y., but now resid- 
 ing in Sharon, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. McCollom are 
 the parents of five children: Delia, Lillian, RayF. 
 Ruby E. and Edna L. The children are bright 
 and intelligent and are receiving good educations 
 in the schools of the district. Mr. McCollom and 
 his wife take an active interest in all progressive 
 and philanthropic measures and are prominent in 
 social circles of the community. 
 
 IMEON LEVI COVEY, a lumber-dealer of 
 Belvidere, has been prominently connected 
 with the business interests of this city 
 since 1863, and is recognized as a leader 
 in business circles. He was born near Mayville, 
 Chautauqua County, N. Y., February 1, 1834, and 
 is a son of Stephen Covey, a native of Vermont, 
 who, when a young man, went to the Empire 
 State. Settling in Chautauqua County, he pm-- 
 cliased a tract of land near Mayville and engaged 
 in the manufacture of shingles until 1839, when 
 with his wife and four children he started for Illi- 
 nois. After three weeks they arrived at Belvidere, 
 which at that time was a mere hamlet, while the 
 surrounding country was still in the possession of 
 the Government and was but sparsely settled. Mr. 
 Covey spent the winter in Belvidere and in the 
 spring rented a farm, upon which he made his 
 home until 1841, when he purchased a tract of land 
 at Poplar Grove. A log house and a few acres 
 of broken land constituted the improvements at 
 the time. He there resided until 1850, when he 
 sold and purchased on the west line of the same 
 township, but again sold in 1853 and bought a 
 farm in Boone Township, where he made his home 
 for four years. Once again purchasing, he became 
 the owner of a farm in Caledonia Township, upon 
 which he made his home until his death August 21, 
 1885. His wife, who bore the maiden name of 
 Susan Jenner, was born in Moriah, Essex County, 
 
f1 
 
 ^jxn^awf ▼''^ 
 
 - 1 
 
 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RPXORD. 
 
 315 
 
 N. Y., July 4, 1810, and was a daughter of Stephen 
 and BetS3' (ftlather) Jenner. She died at her 
 home in Caledonia Township, in August, 1882, 
 leaving five children: Henry, Eliza, S. L., Edwin 
 and Ellen. Alonzo died three weeks after the 
 arrival of the family in Eelvideie, at the age of 
 three years. 
 
 Our subject was only five years old when he 
 came to Illinois with his parents, yet he remembers 
 distinctly many incidents of the journey and of 
 pioneer life here. He acquired his education in a 
 log schoolhouse, in one end of which was a huge 
 fireplace, the flames roaring upward through an 
 earth and stick chimney. The seats were made of 
 slabs on wooden pins, and on two sides of the 
 room a log board was laid on wooden pins inserted 
 into the logs and served as a writing desk for the 
 larger scholars. Mr. Covey remained with his 
 parents until fourteen years of age and then be- 
 gan to learn the blacksmith's trade, serving an ap- 
 prenticeship of four years, but as he did not like 
 the occupation, he returned to the farm and at the 
 time of his marriage purchased land of liis father 
 and engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1863. 
 
 It was in 1853 that Mr. Covey and Miss Eliza 
 Webster were joined in wedlock. The lady was 
 born in Hamburg, N. Y., and was a daughter of 
 William and Esther Webster. She died in June, 
 1873, leaving a son, George, who married Cecelia 
 Haskin and they have a little daughter, Cecelia. 
 In 1875, Mr. Covey married Elizabeth Porter, a 
 native of Garden Prairie, Boone County, 111., and 
 a daughter of Thomas Porter. They have one 
 daughter, Lottie. 
 
 In 1863, Mr. Covey left the farm, came to Bel- 
 videre and embarked in the lumber business, which 
 he carried on for three years, and then engaged in 
 buying and shipping stock until 1881. His next 
 venture was in the grocery trade, which he carried 
 on for three years, when he sold out to resume the 
 lumber business, which he has continued up to the 
 present time. He is an enterprising and industri- 
 ous man and, as a result, his business career has 
 been a successful one. In politics, he has been a 
 life-long Republican and has served two years as 
 Deputy Sheriff, and for three terms was the eflS- 
 cient Sheriff of the county. At the present time 
 14 
 
 he is a member of the School Board. He has been 
 alike true to every public duty and every private 
 trust and has won the confidence and esteem of 
 the entire community. 
 
 •^^f 
 
 ^1 
 
 m^^ 
 
 ylLLIAM HALLEY, a native of Newbury, 
 Orange County, Vt., was born June 29, 
 1842. David Halley, his father, was a 
 native of Fifeshire, Scotland, where his father, 
 William Halley, was also born, and on coming to 
 America located in Vermont. The great-grand- 
 father of our subject on his mother's side, David 
 Webster, was also born in Scotland and emigrated 
 to America at an earl}- day, residing for a few 
 years in Vermont. He then removed to Wiscon- 
 sin, where he was one of the pioneers of Winne- 
 bago County, and died at his home near Oshkosh, 
 in his ninety-seventh year. At one time, him- 
 self, his son, grandson and great-grandson, the 
 latter a lad of sixteen years, all bound wheat in 
 the same field. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject made 
 two or three trips across the ocean and on the last 
 voyage, some of the passengers having ship fever, 
 the vessel was in consequence quarantined at Mont- 
 real, and while attempting to land there William 
 Halley fell from the vessel and was drowned in 
 the St. Lawrence River. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Mary Mackey, and was also a native of 
 Scotland, where her decease occurred. 
 
 David Halley was about twenty years of age 
 when he came to America, and, learning the trade 
 of a shoemaker, acted as foreman in a factory at 
 Lynn, Mass., for some time. Later, he bouglit 
 land and engaged in farming in Newbury, Vt., 
 residing there until 1866, which was the date 
 of his removal to Illinois. Settling in Owen 
 Township, Mr. Halley resided there until his de- 
 cease. He had been married to Isabel Webster, of 
 Fifeshire, Scotland, the daughter of David and 
 Agnes (Sharp) Webster. She is still living and 
 residing on the old home farm. 
 
 The original of this sketch received a fair edu- 
 cation and remained at home until 1864, when he 
 came to Illinois and was employed on a farm for 
 
316 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 two years. He then rented land for a time, and in 
 the year 1868, going to Blackbawk County, Iowa, 
 farmed for four years in Lincoln Township. Dis- 
 posing of that tract, he again purchased in this 
 county, and here made his home until 1883, at 
 which time he purchased the farm where he is now 
 residing. His estate includes three hundred and 
 ten acres of excellent and rich soil. 
 
 January 29, 1874, Mr. Halle}- was married to Eliz- 
 abeth Simpson, a native of Burritt Township, and 
 a daughter of David Simpson, of Forfarshire, Scot- 
 land. Her paternal grandfatlier,Jolin Simpson, spent 
 his entire life in that country. The father of Mrs. 
 Halley was married in Scotland, and, on coming to 
 America in 1843, lived for three years in Rock- 
 ford, at the end of whicli time he located in 
 Burritt Township on a tract of Government land, 
 and there resided until his death. Her mother 
 was also a native of Forfarshire, Scotland, and 
 bore the name of Jane Archer. She was a daugh- 
 ter of George and Margaret (Smith) Arclier and is 
 residing with her children. She bore her husband 
 six children, namely: George, Margaret, Jane, 
 Rebecca, Martha and Mrs. Halley, twins. The 
 parents of our subject also reared six children: 
 William, Marion, David, Robert, Agnes and Ed- 
 ward. 
 
 Our subject and his wife have been granted a 
 family of six children, who bear the names of 
 David, William Henry, Frank E., Isabel, George and 
 Jennie. Mrs. Halley is a member of the Presby- 
 terian Church at Winnebago. In politics, our 
 subject votes independently. In connection with 
 his biographical notice will be found a portrait of 
 Mr. Halley. 
 
 - o<- ^ 
 
 "OS- 
 
 ii^«-0«"I^S^ 
 
 .20_ 
 
 So' 
 
 ON. J. STANLEY BROWNE, editor in 
 chief of the Morning Star of Rockford, has 
 held that position since its inception, 
 P March 10, 1888. The staff consists of 
 R. B. Johnson, city editor, and Frank Edmisou, 
 reporter. The sheet is strictly Democratic, and is 
 a strong advocate of Cleveland. It is very influ- 
 ential in its party, being the only avowed Demo- 
 cratic paper in Winnebago County. It has a large 
 
 circulation, its columns being perused by thousands 
 of readers. It affords pleasure to the biographical 
 writer to incorporate in this volume the sketch of 
 the genial editor-in-chief, who demonstrates the 
 fact that editors, like poets, are bom, not made. 
 The qualities which make a successful journalist 
 are inbred, and no amount of study can supply 
 the lack of a keenness of observation, acute per- 
 ceptions of the tastes of the public, and accurate 
 judgment on matters treated in various depart 
 ments of a newspaper. 
 
 The Morning Star is a seven-column, eight-paged 
 paper, issued daily, and be it said to the credit 
 of the management, that nearly all the workmen 
 who were employed in its publication at the be- 
 ginning are still on the force. Mr. Browne has 
 had considerable experience in the newspaper line 
 in New York State, having been employed on the 
 Albany Argus. While thus engaged, he took an 
 active part in politics, and prior to reaching his 
 majority stumped the State for Tilden, in the 
 campaign of 1876, also making speeches in Indiana 
 and Ohio. He was later twice elected on the 
 Democratic ticket to the New York Legislature 
 from Otsego County, in which he had previously 
 served as page, messenger and reporter. He was 
 very prominent in local affairs, and previous to 
 the time above spoken of, was Chairman of the 
 Board of Supervisors, and was Secretary for a per- 
 iod of five years to Lieut.-Gov. Dorscheimer, during 
 the time Tilden was Governor, and consequently 
 became intimately acquainted with that gentle- 
 man and many other prominent men of the Legis- 
 lature. His political record in the Empire State 
 was a brilliant one, but his '■'■Star" finally settled in 
 the West, where he has since given his best efforts 
 to making it rank among the best in Northern 
 Illinois. He is a forcible writer, and while in 
 politics had the reputation of being an eloquent 
 speaker. While in the Legislature he was the 
 youngest man in the assembly, in which he was an 
 active worker, and was also a prominent member 
 of the congressional and State conventions. 
 
 The Hon. Mr. Browne has made a success of all 
 his undertakings. He was born in Albany, N. Y., 
 thirty-seven years ago, where he received his edu- 
 cation in the city schools. Becoming interested 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 317 
 
 in early life in newspaper work, he was carrier 
 boy, wlien quite young, for the papers of that city. 
 It will thus be readily seen that through his per- 
 sistent industry and good judgment, he has at- 
 tained to his present high standing among liis 
 brethren in the newspaper world, and it is his 
 ambition to go on until he shall have attained to 
 the topmost round of the ladder of fame. His 
 parents lived and died in New York State, where 
 they were well-to-do and honored citizens. 
 
 Our subject, since coming to Illinois, has made 
 many political speeches in Winnebago County, in 
 behalf of his party. He was married in his native 
 State to Miss Tallmadge, who was born in Otsego 
 County, where she was given an excellent educa- 
 tion in the public schools. She is a most intelli- 
 gent and refined lady and a leader in the social 
 circles of Rockford. Her father was a soldier in 
 the Rebellion, and her grandfather was a patriot 
 in the Revolutionary War. In her religious be- 
 lief, she is a Methodist. 
 
 Socially, our subject is a member of the Order 
 of Elks, Lodge No. 64, of Rockford, and, in poli- 
 tics, is a straight out-and-out Democrat. 
 
 i^^ ""- f^K^- 
 
 -^ 
 
 eYRUS D. FOX, who resides on a farm on 
 sections 9 and 10, Roscoe Township, Win- 
 nebago County, has been a resident of 
 this county since pioneer days. He has been an 
 eye-witness to almost the entire growth of the 
 county, has aided in its development and done all 
 in his power for its upbuilding and advancement. 
 To the early settlers a debt of gratitude is due 
 which can never be repaid, but we can honor them 
 as the founders of the county. 
 
 Mr. Fox was born in Parkman, Geauga County, 
 Ohio, August 28, 1821. His grandfather, Israel 
 Fox, was one of the old New Englanders who op- 
 posed the Puritans in their oppression of the 
 Quakers. He was a farmer and one of the first 
 to grow the Weathersfield onion, which became 
 an important industry in his locality. He spent 
 the most of his life in New England and died at 
 the home of his children in Mentor, Ohio, in 1836, 
 at the age of ninety-three years. Our subject re- 
 
 members him as an old man making whistles and 
 squirtguns for his grandchildren. 
 
 Samuel Fox, father of Cyrus, was born in Glas- 
 tonbury, Conn., May 3, 1791, and died in Pans, 
 Mecosta County, Mich., in 1885, at the age of 
 ninetj'-three years. His second wife, the mother 
 of our subject, was Hannah Daniels, of Koenstreet, 
 N. H., a daughter of Aaron Daniels, one of the 
 pioneers of Mentor, Ohio. Our subject had four 
 own brothers and three sisters: Abigail, Delana, Ab- 
 ner, Samuel, Laura, Sidney and Amos. Four died 
 in infancy and all have now passed away. Delana, 
 wife of Sanbern Rawso, a pioneer of Michigan, died 
 in Coldwater, that State, at the age of seventy-one 
 years. Samuel Fox had thirteen children by his 
 three wives. Two sons, Sidney and Abraham, 
 were volunteer soldiers in the Fourth Cavalry of 
 Michigan, the former doing duty at Fortress Mon- 
 roe. Sidney was one of fourteen who captured 
 Jeff Davis. He is a farmer and a mechanic of Cen- 
 tral Kansas and the only survivor of the family 
 except our subject. 
 
 Cyrus Fox was a lad of fourteen summers when 
 his mother died, and at that age he began earning 
 his own livelihood. He afterward joined his fam- 
 ily in Manhattan, Ohio, and assisted his father in 
 running an hotel for three years. At the age of 
 seventeen, he left home and from the wages earned 
 the first year paid his father $ 1 00 for his time. He 
 worked on a farm that was' the home of President 
 Garfield and in that vicinity until twenty-four 
 years of age, when he engaged in teaching. As a 
 companion on life's journey, he chose Miss Lucy 
 N., daughter of Phineas and Esther (Gore) Nichols. 
 They were married in Perry, Lake County, Ohio, 
 March 16, 1845, and a year later "they came to 
 what is now Roscoe, locating on their present farm 
 on sections 9 and 10, Roscoe Township. Those pio- 
 neer days were very happy. In a little log cabin 
 with their first baby they lived, and though many 
 privations were to be endured, time passed mei-rily. 
 Mr. Fox's first landed possessions consisted of 
 eighty acres, a gift from his wife's father, and an- 
 other eighty acres, which he purchased at $4 per 
 acre. He also bought an adjoining forty-acre tract 
 at $25 per acre. Both he and his wife were taken 
 ill after coming here and had it not been for the 
 
318 
 
 POETKAIT AND BIOGKAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 faithful nursing of friends they would have died. 
 They had lost one of their twin babies while en 
 route for Illinois but reared four children. The 
 twins, Esther Louisa and Lucy Eliza, were born 
 January 7, 1846; Mary Delana was born in Roscoe, 
 December 23, 1851; Cyrus M. was born November 
 26, 1855; and Lucy E., now the wife of Herbert S. 
 Power, was born April 5, 1863. 
 
 In 1891, Mr. Fox was called upon to mourn the 
 loss of his wife, who died on the 22d of December, 
 at the age of seventy-two years and was laid to 
 rest in a cemetery near by. She was a life-long 
 member of the Baptist Church and Mr. Fox and 
 the children also belong to the same congregation. 
 The latter have all settled on farms near the pa- 
 rental home. In politics, Mr. Fox is a Democrat 
 and one of the honored citizens of the community. 
 
 _y 
 
 AVID SAMPLE is at present residing on an 
 excellent farm comprising one hundred 
 and sixty acres, located on section 34, 
 Owen Township, Winnebago County. 
 The entire acreage is under tlie best methods of 
 improvement and cultivation, its proprietor hav- 
 ing erected all the suitable buildings on the place, 
 planted fruit and shade trees, and in many other 
 ways has added to its beauty and value. He ranks 
 among the best agriculturists in the township, 
 where he is looked upon as an upright and honest 
 citizen. 
 
 Born in Shaler Township, Allegheny County, Pa., 
 July 6, 1843, our subject is a son of William 
 Sample, whose birth occurred on the same farm as 
 did that of our subject, July 28, 1800. The pa- 
 ternal grandfather of him of whom we write, 
 James Sample, was a native of Cumberland County, 
 Pa., his birth occurring March 25, 1756. He was 
 of Scotch ancestry and served during the Revolu- 
 tionary War, under Gen. Washington. He located 
 in Allegheny County at the cessation of hostilities, 
 and, securing a tract of Government land in Shaler 
 Township, began the work of redeeming it from its 
 original wildness. Mr. Sample was captain of a 
 company of militia men and while on duty his 
 
 wife and children were taken prisoners by the 
 Indians but were rescued the same night by a 
 squaw to whom the grandfather of our subject had 
 given clothing. While the Indians were havino- a 
 war dance, the squaw secured a canoe and released 
 the prisoners. 
 
 The direct progenitor of our subject was reared 
 an agriculturist and resided on the farm where be 
 was born seventy-one years. He later removed to 
 Sharpsburg, where his death occurred in 1891, at 
 the advanced age of ninety-one years. He had 
 married Jane Anderson, also a native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, where her birth occurred January 16, 1807. 
 Mrs. Sample departed this life in Sharpsburg in 
 1882; she was the daughter of Robert and Christi- 
 ana Anderson, and became the mother of eight 
 children, namely: Robert A., James, John, Martha, 
 William Hayes, Margaret J., David and Eliza- 
 beth A. 
 
 He of whom we write was educated in his na- 
 tive town and resided on the home farm until the 
 outbreak of the Civil War when he enlisted, July 4, 
 186 1 , in Company A, Sixty-second Pennsylvania In- 
 fantry, and was mustered into service at Pittsburg. 
 From there the company went to Harrisburg, where 
 they remained for two weeks and then spent a like 
 period in Baltimore. Later, they went to Wash- 
 ington, D. C, and after a stay there of a month, 
 were sent to Arlington Heights, and went into 
 winter quarters near Falls Church. In the spring 
 of 1862, the Sixty-second Infantry marched to 
 Fairfax Courthouse, but were quickly ordered to 
 Alexandria and there took transports for Fortress 
 Monroe and after a short time spent there marched 
 to Big Bethel and later to Yorktown. Our subject 
 participated with his regiment in the battle and 
 siege of that place and at Hanover Courthouse, 
 Mechanicsville, Gaines Mills and Malvern Hills. 
 In the latter battle, he was severely wounded in 
 the right arm and hip and was taken to the hospi- 
 tal at Bedloe's Island. As soon as he was suffici- 
 ently recovered, he started to join his regiment, 
 but instead of being allowed to do so was placed 
 on detached duty at Ft. Hamilton. He later 
 joined his regiment just in time to participate m 
 the battle of Mine Run, and after that was em- 
 ployed in guarding the railroad from Manassas to 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 319 
 
 Bealeton Station until starting with Gen. Grant on 
 the Wilderness campaign. Mr. Sample was dis- 
 charged in July, 1864, his term of service having 
 expired, and returning home again resumed farm- 
 ing on the old homestead until 1871. The follow- 
 ing five years were spent in traveling, and in 1876 
 our subject bought the farm which he now owns 
 and occupies, which comprises the northwest quar- 
 ter of section 34. 
 
 In 1876, Miss Milinda Steward became the wife 
 of our subject. She was born in Owen Township, 
 and is the daughter of James and Mary Steward. 
 By her union with our subject have been born 
 three children, Steward, Ross and Leota. In his 
 political relations, our subject is a strong Republi- 
 can, and being a Grand Army man is prominently 
 connected with Nevins Post No. 1, G. A. R., at 
 Rockford. He is also a member of the Farmers' 
 Mutual Benevolent Association. Mr. Sample has 
 in his possession the clock that ticked in his grand- 
 father's old log house nearly one hundred years 
 ago. It reaches from the floor nearly to the ceil- 
 ing and is in fine repair, keeping correct time. 
 
 -=1^H^ 
 
 {^ 
 
 0~ SMAN S. NICHOLS, who formerly resided 
 on a good farm in Bonus Township, Boone 
 County, but is at present living in Garden 
 Prairie, had his birth in Crown Point, Essex 
 County, N. Y., September 28, 1830. His parents 
 were John and Asenath D. (Edmonds) Nichols, 
 the former of whom died in Michigan when sixty- 
 three years of age. The mother of our subject 
 was also a native of New Hampshire and died at 
 the home of her son in Kansas in her eightieth 
 year. 
 
 He of whom we write was one of a family of ten 
 children, six of whom are living. His brother 
 Orrin was a member oC the Eleventh Michigan In- 
 fantry during the late war and was killed at the 
 battle of Stone River, having enlisted in the 
 three-years' service. Osman S., March 22, 1859, 
 was married to Miss Emma Koon, a native of 
 Steuben County, N. Y., where her birth occurred 
 May 6, 1838. She was the daughter of Alanson 
 and Marilla (Wells) Koon, natives of Albany 
 
 County, N. Y., and who died after coming to 
 Hillsdale County, Mich., at the respective ages of 
 sixty-eight and sixty-one years. Mrs. Nichols had 
 seven brothers and sisters, five of whom are living. 
 She is of German and Welsh ancestry, while our 
 subject is descended from the English. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Nichols have been born four 
 children, only two of whom are living, namely, 
 Nellie M., who was born October 12, 1861, and 
 married John W. Kiester, whose birth occurred 
 near Orangeville, Stephenson County, this State; 
 he is Principal of the Garden Prairie High School, 
 and received his education in the University of 
 Madison, Wis., and at Carthage, 111. Mrs. Kiester 
 was educated at the Jennings Seminary at Aurora, 
 111., and is the mother of one son, Glenn S., who 
 was born July 19, 1891. Eugene Nichols, the 
 second child of our subject, was born October 31, 
 1863, and married Essie McCuen, by whom he has 
 become the father of one son, Roland O., whose 
 birth occurred June 29, 1891. Mr. Nichols is en- 
 gaged in general merchandising in Rush Center, 
 Rush County, Kan., and was given a good educa- 
 tion in Aurora. 
 
 He of whom we write went to California in 
 1853, where he was engaged in mining and farm- 
 ing for five years. He was a lad of eleven years 
 when he left home and engaged to work for an 
 uncle, with whom he remained until reaching his 
 majority, receiving at that time $100 in money. 
 Soon after his marriage, he located on the farm in 
 Bonus Township, which he had purchased a short 
 time before, and upon which he resided until Oc- 
 tober, 1890, when he purchased town property 
 and erected a beautiful residence which cost $2,000. 
 He now rents the old farm and is living in retire- 
 ment in the village of Garden Prairie. 
 
 He of whom we write cast his first Presidential 
 vote for Franklin Pierce, and since the election of 
 President Grant has voted with the Republican 
 party. He has been an incumbent of various local 
 offices, having been School Director and Super- 
 visor, and was President of the Township Board 
 in 1885. He was also School Treasurer for a num- 
 ber of years, and at the present time is Justice of 
 the Peace. 
 
 Charles Nichols, the brother of our subject, was 
 
320 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a soldier in the Civil War; his father took part 
 in the battle of Plattsburg, and his grandfathers 
 on both sides of the house were patriots in the 
 Revolutionary War. 
 
 -' ' ' ' ' ' ^^C 
 
 THOMAS ROBBINS, who is engaged in 
 mixed farming at his pleasant home on sec- 
 tion 20, LeRoy Township, Boone County, 
 keeps about twenty-five dairy cows on his j^lace, 
 marketing the product at a creamery a short dis- 
 tance from his home. He was born in Franklin 
 County, Ohio, in 1833, and is a son of Mathias 
 Kobliins, who had his birth July 27,1796, in Colum- 
 bia County, Pa. The grandfather of our subject, 
 Thomas Robbins, was a farmer in England and, on 
 emigrating to America, came in an early day to 
 Pennsylvania. He came to the New World in 
 company with six brothers, who made their homes 
 in as many different States. The wife of Grand- 
 father Robbins, previous to her marriage, was Eliza- 
 beth Cline, of German birth. To them were born a 
 family of six sons and two daughters, only one of 
 whom is living. 
 
 Mathias Robbins was married in the Keystone 
 State to Sarah Couder and went to Franklin 
 County, Ohio, in 1820 with his wife and three 
 children. He was a tailor by trade, which line of 
 business lie followed for fourteen years in Wood 
 County, and in the fall of 1848 came to Illinois, 
 being accompanied by his family of seven children, 
 his eldest daughters following in 1854. Mr. Robbins 
 purchased forty acres of land in Le Roy Township, 
 to which he soon added eighty acres, and five or 
 six years thereafter bought another forty acres 
 which comprises his present home of one hundred 
 and sixty acres. 
 
 The mother of our subject died when he was a 
 lad of ten years and his father passed away August 
 12, 1884, in his eighty -sixth year. The parents 
 reared a family of ten children, of whom two sons 
 and five daughters are still surviving. 
 
 He of whom we write was married to Amanda, 
 daughter of Russel and Mary(Ash) Creveling. She 
 bore him two children: William Russel and Bertha 
 May, and departed this life November 5, 1873 in 
 
 her thirtieth year. March 31,1875, Mr. Robbins 
 chose for his second wife Miss Susan, daughter of 
 William and Mary (Moore) Millard, natives of 
 Pennsylvania, whose sketch will be found on an- 
 other page of this volume. 
 
 Our subject is engaged in general farming, in 
 which calling he is more than ordinarily successful. 
 In politics, he votes the Republican ticket and oc- 
 cupies a high place among his fellow-townsmen. 
 When the family of Mathias Robbins removed 
 from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1820, they made the 
 journey with a team of horses and later, in 1848, 
 came to the Prairie State in the same manner, 
 making over a thousand miles' journejdng in this 
 way. 
 
 , AVID WILLIAM McMASTER. A trav- 
 eler journeying along the highways of 
 Bonus Township, Boone County, must be 
 well pleased with the appearance of the 
 farms which greet his eye. Among the most 
 neatly cultivated and richly producing of them 
 all we are pleased to mention that of Mr. McMas- 
 ter. He was born July 3, 1818, in Chenango 
 County, N. Y., and is a son of Daniel and Mary 
 (Campbell) McMaster, the former of whom was 
 born, lived and died in the Empire State. 
 
 The paternal grandparents of our subject came 
 from Scotland and passed their last days in New 
 York. He of whom we write remained at home 
 until sixteen years of age, when he engaged to 
 work out on farms by the month until 1843, at 
 which time he made his advent into Boone County. 
 He took up a tract of eighty acres of Government 
 land which is his present abiding-place. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married in 
 October, 1831, was Phoebe Green, who was born 
 in Oswego, N. Y., and was tlie daughter of Horace 
 R. Green. Her father was also a native of that 
 State and died after coming to Boone County. 
 Mrs. McMaster was one in a family of five children, 
 three of whom are yet living, and departed this 
 life in her forty-sixth year. To herself and hus- 
 band were born seven children, the two eldest 
 of whom are deceased; Alfred, who resides in 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 321 
 
 Iowa, is a farmer, is married and has four cliil- 
 dren; Clara is single; Matilda is married to Ben- 
 jamin S. Herbert and resides in Bonus Township; 
 Cephas H. works the old homestead, is married 
 to Florence Reed and has one son; Phosa L., a 
 music teacher, is at home. Tlie children have all 
 been given good educations in Belvidere and 
 Frecport schools and are attendants at the Presby- 
 terian Church, in which denomination our sub- 
 ject's father was Deacon for many years and one 
 of the pillars of the church. 
 
 The political views of Mr. McMaster bring him 
 into affiliations with the Republican party, though 
 previous to the election of Lincoln he voted the 
 Democratic ticket. He has taken an interest in 
 forwarding educational affairs of his township and 
 for a number of years was School Director and 
 Highway Commissioner. The beautiful farm upon 
 which he resides speaks forth the praises of the man 
 whose systematic hand and thorough industry 
 have brought it to its present prosperous and pro- 
 lific condition. 
 
 ^>'^^<| 
 
 YLVESTER B. COFFIN, is a native-born 
 resident of Roscoe Township, "Winnebago 
 County, 111., his birth occurring January 
 6, 1844, and almost his entire life has been 
 identified with the growth and evolution of social, 
 political and natural life in this State. He is the 
 son of Henderson W. Coffln, and the grandson of 
 Edward Coffin, who was born in the Empire State, 
 and who followed the occupation of a farmer all 
 his life. The latter was married in his native 
 State to Miss Petten, a native of New York State, 
 and they became the parents of five sons and six 
 daughters. Both grandparents died at an ad- 
 vanced age. 
 
 Henderson W. Coffin was born in Oneida County, 
 N. Y., in 1813, and was married in that State 
 to Miss Harriet Kanier, of Buffalo, N. Y. There 
 they remained until the fall of 1837, when 
 they determined to seek fame ai^d fortune in the 
 Far "West, and with teams they made the journey 
 to Illinois, which State was then but sparsely set- 
 tled. Mr. Coffin had but very little means to assist 
 
 him along and he and his thrifty and econom- 
 ical wife experienced many hardships and priva- 
 tions in getting a start. The first night he spent 
 in "Winnebago County, Mr. Coffln purchased one- 
 half section of land, giving his only cow, which 
 he had driven from York State, his gun, his watch, 
 and $320 in a note for this tract. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Coffln had a great struggle to keep and pay for 
 this land but they finally obtained a Government 
 lease for all but about eighty acres. This farm of 
 two hundred and forty acres is now owned by their 
 son Fletcher. 
 
 Mr. Henderson "W. Coffln was a brick-maker by 
 trade and his first brickyard was started in 1840, 
 west of Beloit. He subsequently purchased more 
 land for brickyards, becoming the owner of 
 twenty-eight acres in Roscoe where the depot now 
 stands, and this land is now owned by his daugh- 
 ter. He gave the land for the depot. He and 
 Thomas Baldwin, an early settler, walked from 
 Rockford to near Beloit, carried their tools, and 
 built a house, taking four trees standing for posts. 
 Three days later they had finished it and were 
 back in Rockford. Mr. Coffln had men working 
 for him for fifty cents a day and two meals, some 
 walking six miles to and from their work. Many 
 of them owned their own farms but wanted ready 
 money. *JMr. Coffln 's trade was more to him than 
 wealth, and men of means, able to buy him out 
 several times, worked for him at fifty cents a day. 
 At that time men cradled grain for twenty-five 
 cents an acre. Mr. Coffin died in August, 1875i 
 when not quite sixty-three years of age. His widow 
 is now residing in Rockford, on Morgan Street. 
 He built the first elevator at the Roscoe depot. 
 This worthy couple reared eleven children : Agnes, 
 Julia M., S. B. (our subject), Esther, "William 
 Henry, Horace A., Fletcher, Mary Jane, E. B., Al- 
 fred H. and Ruby H. Of these, Horace died at 
 the age of forty years and Mary Jane, Mrs. "W. B. 
 Scott, died when tiiirty-six years of age. The re- 
 mainder are living and well-informed people, al- 
 though they had but common-school advantages. 
 
 Sylvester Coffin remained at home, engaged in 
 business with his father, until twenty-nine years of 
 age, when he married Miss Anna Addey, a native 
 of England, and the daughter of Thomas Addey, 
 
322 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 who came from bis native country to Canada in 
 1851, and from tliere to Illinois tlie following year. 
 In 1878, our subject sold out bis grain elevator at 
 Roscoe and began tilling tbe soil on bis first farm, 
 one of tbe many bis father had owned, the latter 
 being tbe owner at one time of eleven hun- 
 dred acres. Sylvester has since erected a good 
 frame bouse, large and comfortable out-build- 
 ings, and is progressive and enterprising. In 
 connection with farming, be is also engaged in 
 stock-raising to some extent. Of his marriage has 
 been born two daughters, now fourteen and ten 
 years of age, respective!}'. Mr. Coffin has been a 
 Prohibitionist for the past twenty-two j'ears, and 
 lie and bis wife are members of the Methodist 
 Cliurch. 
 
 
 
 yH. PALMER has been connected with the 
 Palmer Hardware Company as an active 
 member since 1872. This is one of tbe 
 leading enterprises of the city and, in connection 
 with the general liardware business, they manu- 
 facture large quantities of tinware. Their estab- 
 lishment is located on tbe corner of East State 
 and Second Streets. Tbe business was founded in 
 1856 by a brother of our subject, T. F. Palmer, who 
 is now a resident of Eugene, Ore., and for one 
 year it was carried on under tbe firm title of Peck 
 & Palmer. Later, the firm became Wingate & 
 Palmer, and in 1874 assumed tbe style of T. F. 
 Palmer & Co.. and later it was incorporated as tbe 
 Palmer Hardware Company, with T. F. Palmer as 
 President and E. M. Holmes, Secretary and Treas- 
 urer. On tbe former selling out, J. R. Moxley 
 became President, Mr. Holmes continuing as Sec- 
 retary, while W. H. Palmer and J. W. Hale are 
 active members of the company. These four 
 gentlemen represent the entire business interests 
 of tlie firm. From tbe day on which it was estab- 
 lished, the business has constantly increased, until, 
 as before stated, it is one of the most important 
 enterprises of Ro"ckford. 
 
 W. H. Palmer, whose name heads this sketch, 
 was born in Pittsford, Rutland County, Vt., in 
 1838, and there acquired his education. At about 
 
 the time he attained bis majority, he went to Ma- 
 lone, N. Y., where he established a clothing store 
 as a member of the firm of J. N. and W. H. Palmer. 
 After three years, a disastrous fire broke out in the 
 city and, with others, they lost their entire prop- 
 erty. The gentlemen returned to their native 
 county and our subject spent a few years in the 
 Green Mountain State, after which he emigrated 
 Westward, locating in Rockford. 
 
 Our subject possesses many of the best charac- 
 teristics of his ancestors — the Scotch. His father, 
 T. H. Palmer, was born in Kelso, Scotland, and 
 when a young man, with two brothers and a sis- 
 ter, crossed the broad Atlantic, locating in Phila- 
 delphia, Pa., where the brothers established a print- 
 ing-office and engaged in business for some time. 
 After a few years one brother and the sister died. 
 Tbe other brother went South, was married and 
 died after the birth of one son, who is yet living. 
 T. H. Palmer left Philadelphia and went to Ver- 
 mont, where be soon afterward wedded Joanna T. 
 Fenton, who was born and reared in the Green 
 Mountain State. The}' located on a farm, but Mr. 
 Palmer gave bis attention to his profession, that 
 of an educator. He was Superintendent of public 
 schools in Vermont for several j'ears and a promi- 
 nent man in that State. He died at the age of 
 seventy-six 3'ears, and his wife passed away at the 
 age of seventy-two. Both were consistent mem- 
 bers of tbe Congregational Church, and the hus- 
 band was a Whig and a stanch Abolitionist until 
 tbe organization of the Republican party, when 
 he joined its ranks. 
 
 Our subject was carefully reared by his parents 
 and in Pittsford, Vt., after attaining to mature 
 years, he wedded Louisa J. North, who was born 
 in Springfield, Mass., and a daughter of Walter 
 and Betsy (Carpenter) North, both natives of the 
 Bay State. Her father was employed in the arm- 
 ory of Springfield until about middle life, when 
 be became connected with a manufacturing com- 
 pany. His death occurred in Springfield at the 
 age of seventy years. His father was also in the 
 Government employ in the Armory of Springfield 
 for many years. Tbe family were members of the 
 Episcopal Church in early life, but afterwards 
 joined tbe Congregational Church. 
 
• " \ 
 
 <• V 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 325 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Palmer were born tliree 
 daughters: Helen F. and Florence A., graduates 
 of the Rockford High School, and Grace L., who is 
 still a student. The eldest daughter is now a 
 teacher of recognized ability in the ward school. 
 The mother, who was a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church, was called to the home 
 beyond on the 1st of Jul}', 1886, at the age of 
 forty-four, d3ing in Wisconsin. She was a faith- 
 ful and loving wife, a devoted mother, and won 
 the esteem of all who knew her. 
 
 During the late war, Mr. Palmer enlisted, in 
 1861, for nine months' service as a private of 
 Company G, Twelfth Vermont Infantry. He par- 
 ticipated in the battle of Gettysburg and other 
 engagements, and after a year's service was honor- 
 ably discharged. He is now a member of Nevins 
 Post No. 1, G. A. R., and is a stalwart advocate 
 of Republican principles. His duties of citizen- 
 ship are ever faithfully performed and he is a sa- 
 gacious and far-sighted business man, who by his 
 own efforts has achieved a signal success in life. 
 
 ] ^ AVID A. TOMB. This successful contractor 
 jjj and builder of Rockford, who has resided 
 I "^ here since the spring of 1886, was born in 
 Armagh, Pa., and is a son of John and Fannie 
 (Shaw) Tomb. His father lived and died in Ind- 
 iana County, Pa., passing away at the age of eighty 
 years. He was a farmer and followed that occupa- 
 tion throughout his entire life. His wife died in 
 the same countj' on the home farm when about 
 sixty-five years of age. Both were members of 
 the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated in the vil- 
 lage of his birth and when sixteen years of age 
 began to learn the trade of a cabinet-maker, and 
 also a carpenter and joiner, serving a five years' 
 apprenticeship. He then began work on his own 
 account, and has since followed his trade success- 
 fully. He is a practical and skilled workman and 
 hence there has always been a demand for his la- 
 bor. He has traveled extensively as a builder, 
 both in the South and West, having worked in many 
 
 towns and cities in Iowa and Kansas, and spent 
 five years at his work in Chicago. He built the court 
 house in El Paso, Tex.,and wherever he has gone has 
 won a high reputation for skill. He returned to 
 Illinois in 1861, but afterwards spent some years 
 in the South. He came from Mexico to Rockford 
 in the spring of 1886, and since that time has been 
 actively engaged as a contractor and builder, put- 
 ting up some excellent buildings in this city. A 
 good workman in this line is ever in demand, and 
 hence he has received a liberal patronage. 
 
 In Mendota, 111., in the spring of 1861, Mr. 
 Tomb was married to Miss Agnes Peters, who was 
 born on the Emerald Isle, and when a small child 
 came with her brothers to this country. Her par- 
 ents lived and died in Ireland. One child graces 
 their union, Frankie, who is now the wife of 
 George Wilson, a boot and shoe dealer in Ln Salle 
 and a successful merchant. They have two chil- 
 dren: George and Arnold. Although Mr. and 
 Mrs. Tomb have resided in Rockford for a compar- 
 atively short period, they have made many friends 
 in this city, and their sterling worth easily wins 
 them high regard. He is a straightforward, up- 
 right business man who ever faithfully performs 
 his part of a contract, and has thus won an enviable 
 reputation in business circles. He now has a 
 pleasant home at No. 910 South Court Street. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Tomb is presented on an- 
 other page. 
 
 ^E 
 
 m^m 
 
 \^ 
 
 TEPHEN DELOS GREGORY, who resides 
 on section 33, Guilford Township, Winne- 
 bago County, was born on the 2d of 
 March, 1834, on a farm on the dividing 
 line between Niagara and Orleans Counties, N. Y. 
 His grandparents were Samuel and Lorena Greg- 
 ory, natives of Connecticut and of English descent. 
 His father, Samuel Gregory, was born in Danbury, 
 Conn., and when a young man removed to New 
 York, where he was married. In the fall of 1835, 
 he made a visit to Winnebago County, 111., and 
 located a claim in what is now Rockford. He 
 then returned for his wife and two children and 
 came on to the new home. They lived in a log cabin 
 
326 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in the midst of a wild and unbroken tract of land. 
 There was no mill nearer than Ottawa, and the 
 deer roamed over the prairie where the city of 
 Rockford now stands. Mr. Gregory improved his 
 farm, which he sold after some years and purchased 
 land in Cherry Valley Township. Sometime after- 
 wards he went to Rockford and subsequently re- 
 turned to Niagara County, N. Y., where he made 
 his home until his death. His remains were brought 
 back and interred in the Rockford cemetery. His 
 wife, who bore the maiden name of Joanna Bate- 
 man, was born in the Empire State and died on the 
 farm in Cherry Valley Township. They were both 
 consistent Methodists and were members of the 
 first MethodLst Class of Rockford, which was organ- 
 ized at the home of Rev. William Royal with five 
 members — Daniel and Mary Beers, Mrs. Enoch and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gregory. 
 
 Our subject was the eldest of seven children, the 
 other members of the family being Delia A., John 
 Clark, Samuel H., James B., Adelaide, and Edna J. 
 Mr. Gregory of this sketch was only two years old 
 when with his parents he came to Illinois. He at- 
 tended the first school ever taught in Rockford, it 
 being held on the block bounded by East State, Sec- 
 ond, Third and Walnut Streets and was taught by 
 Miss Brown. As soon as old enough to handle the 
 plow, he began farming, and at the age of eight 
 went to Chicago with his father, each taking a load 
 of grain to market. 
 
 On the 6th of November, 1862, Mr. Gregory mar- 
 ried Charlotte Arabella Matson, who was born in 
 Ashtabula County, Ohio, and is a daughter of Nor- 
 man Matson, a son of William and Temperance 
 (Taylor) Matson. He learned the trade of a plasterer 
 and removed from New York to Ashtabula County, 
 Ohio, whence, in 1846, he came to Illinois, lo- 
 cating in Winnebago County after the war, but 
 after a year and a half he returned to Ohio, where 
 he is yet living. He served m the Fiftj'-second 
 Illinois Infantry during the late war and was a 
 faithful soldier. His wife was Charlotte Viets, a 
 native of Ohio, and a daughter of Rosswell and 
 Arabella Viets. She died in Ottawa in 1860. 
 
 Soon after his marriage, Mr Gregory rented his 
 father's farm for two years, then bought a farm in 
 Cherry Valley Township, upon which he resided 
 
 until 1867, when he removed to his present farm 
 three miles east of the city limits. He there has a 
 pleasant home and a valuable tract of land yields to 
 him a golden tribute. Six children gather around 
 the fire side: Frank Albert, Katie M., Charles D. 
 Lottie B., J. Herbert and Irvin. The parents and 
 the five older children are members of the Centen- 
 nial Methodist Church and the family ranks high 
 in social circles, while the Gregory household is the 
 abode of hospitality. In politics, Mr. Gregory is a 
 Republican. 
 
 ^'RANK G. HOGLAND. Among the leading 
 Y^ business men of Rockford, the subject of 
 \ this sketch takes a prominent place, having 
 from small beginnings reached his present strong 
 financial position through hard work, persever- 
 ance and pluck. Born in that cold and far-away 
 country, Sweden, Wester Gothland Province, Feb- 
 ruary 6, 1863, he was the youngest of a family of 
 five children, all of whom are now residents of the 
 United States. His father, August Hogland, left 
 his native country for this in the latter part of 
 the '60s, and as soon as he had accumulated suffi- 
 cient means, or in 1870, he sent for his wife and 
 children. They joined him in Chicago, and there 
 the parents reside at the present time, the father 
 sixty-nine, and the mother sixty-seven years of 
 age. They are prominent people in North Chi- 
 cago, and are exemplary members of the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church of that city. One child was born 
 after coming to this country. The children are 
 as follows: John H., a practicing attorney of Chi- 
 cago, 111., was married in that city; Edward C, a 
 cutter in a merchant tailoring establishment of 
 Chicago, married Miss Ida Landgren, of Chicago; 
 Charles H. is single, and a Justice of the Peace of 
 North Chicago; Frank G., our subject; and Oscar, 
 who is associated with our subject in the insurance 
 business located at No. 329 East State Street, and 
 does the clerical work. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is one of the pushing, 
 progressive .young men of Rockford, and is as popu- 
 lar socially as he is successful in business. He is at 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 327 
 
 present the popular and capable City Clerk, and 
 the efficient manner in which he has discharged 
 the duties of this office abundantly testifies as to 
 the wisdom of tlie people's choice. He is also 
 President of the Star Furniture Company, Vice- 
 president of the Skandia Furniture Company, and 
 "Vice-president of the West End Furniture Com- 
 pany, being the first stockholder in two of these. 
 He is also a stockholder in a number of other en- 
 terprises, including the Mechanics' Furniture Com- 
 pany, Rockford Mantel and Furniture Company, 
 the Royal Sewing Machine Company, and the 
 Rockford Desk and Furniture Company. He is in- 
 terested in the Peterson Land Company, also in 
 other syndicates, and in the Posten Publishing 
 Company of Rockford. If there is one enterprise 
 among the many with which he is connected that 
 Mr. Hogland takes special interest in, it is that of 
 the Hogland Insurance Agency, which was organ- 
 ized three years ago. He was the chief promoter, 
 and is now the sole proprietor, doing a strictly 
 local insurance business, and meeting with remark- 
 able success. 
 
 Mr. Hogland is a man of thorough understand- 
 ing of public affairs, and is independent in his po- 
 litical views. He is now filling his first term as 
 City Clerk, as before mentioned. In his religious 
 views, he is a Lutheran, and a meriiber of the Church 
 Board of the First Swedish Lutheran Church of 
 Rockford. He has been a Director of the Young 
 Men's Christian Association of this city for many 
 years, and, in short, is a live, energetic young man 
 who is interested in all measures for the advance- 
 ment and progress of the city. 
 
 Miss Emma M. Alander, who became his wife in 
 Chicago, was originally from "Wester Gothland, 
 Sweden, bom May 22, 1864, and was quite young 
 when she came with her parents to this country in 
 1870. They settled in Chicago, but later came to 
 Rockford, in which city the mother received her 
 final summons, at the home of her daughter, Mrs: 
 Hogland, in 1887. when sixty-three years of age. 
 The father is still living, is sixty-four years of age, 
 and also makes his home with his daughter. He 
 was a member of the First Lutheran Church, and 
 his wife also held membership in that church. His 
 son, Alfred A., is foreman of the music department 
 
 of the Kimball Organ Company, Chicago. Tlie lat- 
 ter wedded Miss Emily Barnard, of Chicago. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hogland are among the representa- 
 tive people of Rockford, and their home possesses 
 many comforts, and is pleasantlj' situated. Their 
 marriage has been blessed by the birth of one child, 
 Lillian Florence. 
 
 €^ 
 
 i 
 
 jf7 E"WIS B. GREGORY, one of the well-to-do 
 11 (^ ^"*^ prominent citizens of Rockford, now 
 }lj --^ living a retired life, was born in Seneca 
 County, N. Y., March 28, 1820, and comes of an 
 old New England family. His grandfather, Sam- 
 uel Gregory, was a native of Connecticut, and 
 there spent his entire life as a farmer, dying at an 
 advanced age. The family was founded in Amer- 
 ica many years prior to the Revolutionary War. 
 The wife of Samuel Gregorj', a Connecticut lady, 
 survived him some years, and died at the home of 
 one of her children, at the age of eighty-seven. 
 Both were active members of the Methodist Church. 
 
 The Rev. Harry Gregory, father of our subject, 
 was born in the town of Danbury, Conn., and 
 reared among the hills of that neighborhood. 
 When a young man, he went to Seneca Count}', 
 N. Y., becoming a farmer of Ovid Township, and 
 there married Hannah Barnum, a native of that 
 county. After some years, they removed to Nia- 
 gara County, N. Y., where Mr. Gregory began 
 preaching as a Methodist minister, and from that 
 time until his death engaged in Gospel work. He 
 died in Canandaigua, N. Y., in 1879, at the age of 
 eight3r-four years. He had fought in the War of 
 1812, and was a strong Abolitionist, taking an 
 active part in the suppression of slavery. He voted 
 first with the Whig party, and afterward became a 
 stalwart Republican. His wife died in New York 
 about twenty years before the death of her hus- 
 band. They were the parents of eight children, 
 four of whom are yet living, and are married. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject, who was yet quite young when his parents 
 removed to Lockport. Later he went with the fam- 
 ily to Lima, Livingston County, N. Y., where he 
 acquired a seminary education, and became a 
 
328 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 teaclier. He there followed that profession for 
 some years before coming Westward. He was a 
 young man of twenty-two years when he arrived 
 in Rockford. Here he engaged in teaching for 
 about two and a half years, and then became in- 
 terested in the erection of the first sawmill built 
 on the Rock River at this place, and the construc- 
 tion of the first dam. He has taken quite an active 
 part in the upbuilding and development of the 
 cit)', and his name is insei^arably connected with 
 its history. He is now laying out in lots the land 
 which he purchased here in 1845. He has been as- 
 sociated with some of the leading enterprises of 
 Rockford, and is now a stockholder and Director 
 of the Burial Case Company, and a stockholder 
 and Vice-president of the Air Brush Company, 
 which was established some ten years ago, and is 
 now doing an extensive business, having gained a 
 wide reputation. Although business has largely 
 occupied his attention, Mr. Gregory has yet found 
 time to devote to those interests which arc calcu- 
 lated for the moral benefit of the city. He has 
 long been an advocate of temperance principles, 
 and now votes with the Prohibition party. 
 
 Mr. Gregory was married, in Rockford, to Miss 
 Lucy E. Spafford, who was born in St. Lawrence 
 County, N. Y., December 18, 1831, was educated 
 in the Rockford Seminary, and died at her home 
 in this city, July 2, 1888. Her parents were Dan 
 and Julia (Galloway) Spafford, early settlers of 
 Rockford, of 1844. Her father was a printer here 
 for many years, and was well known among the 
 pioneers of the county. "Uncle Dan" and "Aunt 
 Julia" were household words with many, and they 
 had the love and esteem of all who knew them. 
 Mrs. Spafford was an Episcopalian. Both lived to 
 an advanced age. 
 
 Mrs. Gregory was one of quite a large family. 
 She was a cultured and refined lady, highly es- 
 teemed for her many excellencies of character, and 
 was a meml^er of the Presbyterian Church. At her 
 death she left five children, and one son, Charles, 
 had died in infancy. The living are Edward, a 
 member of the firm of Springer & Gregory, plumb- 
 ers and pump manufacturers. He married Eveline 
 Chaney, and after her death wedded Laura J. Pot- 
 ter. Carrol S., who was educated in Beloit, Wis., 
 
 and is now a plumber of that city, married Jennie 
 Waterman; Dr. Lewis L., who married Sarah 
 Throckmorton, is a prominent physician of Chi- 
 cago; Kittie C. is the wife of George N. Safford, a 
 leading lumberman of Rockford; George B., who 
 completes the family, is a clerk and book-keeper 
 for the Love Manufacturing Company. TheGrtg- 
 ory family is well and favorablj-- known in Rock- 
 ford, and the father is one of its leading and m- 
 fluential citizens. He now resides at No. 304 South 
 First Street, where he has a comfortable home and 
 is practically living a retired life. 
 
 ♦=^»; 
 
 .y 
 
 eHARLES 0. AND GUSTAVE E. EMERSON 
 are members of the firm of Emerson, Win- 
 quist & Co., general blacksmiths, horse- 
 shoers, and wagon and carriage repairers and 
 manufacturers, located at No. 904 Fifth Avenue, 
 where they have a large and well-arranged build- 
 ing for their business, 65x66 feet, recently erected 
 by themselves. 
 
 These brothers have been residents of the United 
 States since 1869, when they came with their par- 
 ents, and as a family located at Attica, Ind. A 
 year later, the father, Jonas Emerson, died, when 
 about forty years of age. He pursued the calling 
 of an agriculturist, and was fairly successful in this 
 occupation. He was a member of the State Church. 
 The wife and mother is still living, and finds a 
 comfortable home with her children in Rockford. 
 She is now sixty-four years of age, and a member 
 of the Swedish Mission Church. Of the six chil- 
 dren born to her marriage, three sons and three 
 daughters, one, John A., died a few days after 
 landing in this country. Another child, Augusta, 
 died a few years later at Lafayette, Ind. The eld- 
 est living is Emma, wife of William H. Hallen, of 
 Little Rock, Ark.; Mary C. became the wife of 
 James L. Peterson, and now resides in this city, 
 her husband being a contractor and builder. 
 
 G. E. Emerson, of this notice, has resided in 
 Rockford since December 24, 1890, and came from 
 Chicago, where he iiad followed his trade, learned 
 in Lafayette, Ind. Since their residence in this 
 
c^ 
 
 (/l^n-i^ <=0 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 331 
 
 city, they have become equal stockholders in the 
 Mantel and Furniture Company, and are practical 
 and experienced young business men. 
 
 Our subjects are natives of Jonkoping Lan, Smo- 
 land Province, Sweden, the former born in 1861, 
 and the latter September 17, 1863. Charles O. 
 Emerson is a skilled wood-worker by trade. He 
 wedded Miss Huldah Johnson, of Lafayette, Ind., 
 and they have a bright little daughter, Ruth O. 
 Gustave E. is a single man, and is also a skillful 
 workman. Both the Emerson boys are noted for 
 their integrity, ability and enterprise, and are very 
 popular and respected in business circles. They 
 are ardent supporters of the Republican party, in 
 their political views. The entire family holds mem- 
 bership in the Swedish Mission Church. 
 
 %-^ ARRY DOOLITTLE, who was born October 
 Boston, Erie County, N. Y., 
 veil-known farmer of Guilford 
 Winnebago County, residing on 
 section 11. His parents, Calvin and Susanna 
 (Gary) Doolittle, were natives of New York and of 
 English extraction. On emigrating Westward at 
 an early day they settled in Marion County, Mich., 
 and two years afterwards came to Harlem, 111., lo- 
 cating on Government land which had not yet 
 come into the market and was still unsurveyed. 
 
 Our subject had come to Illinois two years pre- 
 vious, and in the spring of 1835 made a squatter's 
 claim of about two hundred and twenty acres of 
 land in what is now Harlem Township, near the 
 mouth of Willow Creek. He located upon this 
 land and commenced its improvement. In May, 
 1838, he was united in marriage with Catherine 
 Stedman, a native of Massachusetts, and a daughter 
 of Austin and Sarah (Burbank) Stedman, both of 
 whom were from New England. Her father died 
 when she was an infant and her mother afterward 
 removed to Cattaraugus County, N. Y., where Mrs. 
 Doolittle spent the days of her maidenhood. 
 They came to Illinois in 1838, and Mrs. Stedman 
 died in this State at the age of seventy, leaving a 
 small family. 
 In 1856, Mr. Doolittle sold his farm in Harlem 
 
 Township for 130 per acre and bought a farm of 
 one hundred and fifty acres on section 11, Guil- 
 ford Township, for which he paid about $20 per 
 acre. The log cabin upon it was soon replaced by 
 a commodious residence, good barns were built, 
 other improvements made, and two hundred and 
 forty acres were added to the estate. At present 
 he owns a finely-improved and valuable farm of 
 one hundred and twelve acres, in addition to 
 which he has a quarter-section of land in Cerro 
 Gordo County, Iowa. He is now practically living 
 a retired life, in the enjoyment of a rest which he 
 has so truly earned and richly deserves. He spends 
 his time at his home and with his children. 
 
 The Doolittle family numbered five sons and 
 five daughters, of whom three are now deceased: 
 Calvin, who died at the age of three and a half years; 
 Sarah, who died on her thirteenth birthday; and 
 Julia, who became the wife of A. J. Turner, and 
 died at the age of thirty-five, leaving a son who 
 was killed at Niger Wells, Arizona, and a daugh- 
 ter. The living are Mary C, now Mrs. Beamer; 
 Philetus W.; Elizabeth S., wife of E. B. Fuller, who 
 resides on the Iowa farm; Amzi L.; Edward; Aus- 
 tin, of California, and Laura, wife of A. C. Ketchum, 
 of Michigan. The mother of this family died 
 January 12, 1882. She was a most estimable lady 
 and had many warm friends throughout the com- 
 munity. Mr. Doolittle is a well-known citizen of 
 Winnebago County, where he has so long made 
 his home. He is numbered among its honored 
 pioneers, for more than half a century has passed 
 since he located within its borders. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Doolittle accompanies this 
 sketch of his life. 
 
 ? I I 1 ' I I I 
 
 [^ UMPHREY S. JENNISON. In giving 
 honor to whom honor is due, we should 
 not neglect H. S. Jennison, who began life 
 empty-handed and has accumulated a good 
 property by dint of energetic and well-directed 
 efforts. He is living at the present time in Du- 
 rand, where he is retired from business of any 
 kind, and where he has a neat home, well supplied 
 with all the comforts and many of the luxuries of 
 
332 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 life. Our subject is a pioneer of Winnebago 
 Count}'^, having located in what is now Laona 
 Township in the spring of 1855, and has thus 
 been an eye-witness to the wonderful develop- 
 ment of this section, in the bringing about of which 
 he has been no unimportant factor. 
 
 Born in .Swanton, Vt., June 15, 1823, he of 
 whom we write is the son of Joseph and Theoda 
 (Barber) Jennison, natives of New England. The 
 parents were farmers, and the father, who was born 
 March 15, 1791, died in January, 1856. The 
 mother of our subject survived her husband many 
 years and departed this life in Howard County, 
 Iowa, in 1889, at the advanced age of ninety -one 
 years. William Jennison, grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born April 12, 1758, in Massachusetts, 
 and married Sarah Sumner, who was born May 6, 
 1764, in the same State. They were the parents 
 of nine children, viz: Elizabeth, Joseph S., Na- 
 hum E., Charles H., William D., Israel S., Sarah 
 S., Daniel W. and Erastus G. William Jennisou's 
 maternal grandfather was Jesse Barber, born Janu- 
 ary 16, 1766, and married to Hepsibah Humphrey, 
 born June 24, 1767. They were the parents of 
 nine children, viz: Roswell, Hepsibah, Achoah, 
 Giles, Theoda, Laura, Theophilus, Jesse and Diana. 
 
 The seven children included in the parental 
 familjr were: Caroline, who was born in 1821, and 
 died in 1842; our subject, who is the second in 
 order of birth; Samuel W., whose birth occurred 
 October 16, 1825, is a farmer and wheelwright, 
 making his home in Sheldon, Vt.; Sarah S., who 
 was born December 26, 1827, was married to 
 George S. Hastings, and died in Canada, Decem- 
 ber 24, 1881; Lucy W., who was born July 15, 
 1830, is Mrs. James A. Crittenden and makes her 
 home in Wentworth, Iowa; Allen B., who was 
 born February 23, 1832, is unmarried and makes 
 his home in Howard County, Iowa; Charles, who 
 was born November 5, 1834, is also living in that 
 county. 
 
 Humphrey S. Jennison was reared on the home 
 farm, and April 6, 1846, was married to Calista J. 
 Olds. The lady was born in St. Albans, Vt., Feb- 
 ruary 12, 1825, and is the daughter of Elias and 
 Abigail (Orcurtt) Olds, natives of New England. 
 Her father was a farmer and after marriage re- 
 
 sided in Vermont, where the decease of both par- 
 ents occurred in Swanton. Elias Olds was born 
 February 23, 1778, and died January 19, 1869- 
 his wife, who was born March 29, 1789, died April 
 8, 1847. Mrs. Jennison was one in a family of 
 six children: Louisa, whose birth occurred Janu- 
 uary 24, 1811, was married to Henry Sharp and 
 died at Defiance, Ohio, September 10, 1834; Caro- 
 line, who was born March 10, 1813, became the 
 wife of Henrj- L. Brainard and died in St. Albans, 
 Vt., July 11, 1882; Roxa, who was bom June 15, 
 1815, married Henry Sharp and makes her home 
 in Ft. Wayne, Ind.; Samuel N., who was born 
 June 24, 1818, resides in St. Joseph, Ind.; Calista 
 J. is the wife of our subject, and Henry E., who 
 was born January 31, 1827, departed this life at 
 Delphi, Ind., January 12, 1871. 
 
 After his marriage, our subject owned and lo- 
 cated on a farm in Franklin Covmty, Vt., where he 
 made his home until 1855, at which time he con- 
 cluded to try his fortune in the West, and, upon 
 locating in Illinois, settled in Laona Township. 
 His first purchase of land consisted of eighty acres, 
 which he improved and later sold. In 1857, he 
 became the owner of one hundred and eighty acres 
 in the same township, which he improved and 
 lived upon until 1881. That year he sold his 
 farm to his son and, removing to Uurand, has 
 since lived retired in a pleasant home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jennison are the parents of four 
 children: Charles H., who was born February 11, 
 1850, married Rebecca Winchester and resides in 
 Riceville, Iowa, being the father of four children: 
 Myrton S., Blanch, Harry and Bessie. Louise S., 
 who was born October 31, 1855, was the wife of 
 Edward Norton, of Laona, and had a family of 
 four children: Herbert, Arthur, Carrie and Mil- 
 burn; she died May 6, 1892. Carrie E., who was 
 born March 25, 1860, is now Mrs. Archibald Mor- 
 gan and makes her home in Howard County, Iowa, 
 where she also has a family of three children: 
 Louise, Mildred and Fred. Mattie 0., who was 
 born December 3, 1864, married Frank Sheik. 
 
 In his political relations, Mr. Jennison, though 
 formerly a Republican, now votes with the Pro- 
 hibition party. His wife, who is a member of the 
 Congregational Church, is a most amiable and 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 333 
 
 E 
 
 kind-hearted lady, making a happy home for her 
 husband. Our subject, who has accvimulated a 
 handsome property, is generous with his means, 
 ever ready to do a favor, and is well liked by his 
 neighbors. 
 
 LISHA L. WOODRUFF. Prominently 
 connected with the institutions of Rock- 
 l^^l ford as one of its leading business men, 
 associated with the lumber interests of the place 
 under the firm title of Woodruff & Maguire, and 
 carrying on an extensive and lucrative business, is 
 the gentleman whose name introduces these para- 
 graphs. He first came to this city in 1851, and 
 after spending some years in the employ of differ- 
 ent companies, went to Pecatonica and established 
 a lumber yard in the latter part of the '50s, re- 
 maining thus engaged until after the close of the 
 Rebellion . 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Woodruff returned to Rockford 
 and most of the ensuing years has been engaged 
 in business as a lumber dealer, his stock consisting 
 of a full line of hard and soft lumber and house- 
 building supplies. He is also closely identified 
 with other important organizations of the city, 
 being President of the Forest City Electric Light 
 and Power Company; Vice-President of the Second 
 National Bank; Director in the Rockford Fire In- 
 surance Company; Director in the Rockford Shoe 
 Company, and the Rockford Tack Company, and 
 President of the Rockford Plow Company, besides 
 being a stockholder in various other corporations 
 of the city. 
 
 To learn more fully the important events in the 
 life of a gentleman who is so prominently con- 
 nected with the best interests of Rockford, will be 
 interesting and useful to the reader. Mr. Wood- 
 ruff was born in New Marlborough, Berkshire 
 County, Mass., June 24, 1826. His grandfather, 
 John Woodruff, removed with his wife and chil- 
 dren from Connecticut to the hills of Berkshire 
 County, where he was an early settler and operated 
 as a farmer. Members of the Woodruff family 
 were soldiers in the War of 1812. 
 
 At the time of the removal to Massachusetts, 
 
 Elisha Woodruff, father of our subject, was a lad 
 of six years, and he grew to manhood amid the 
 scenes of Berkshire County. After his marriage, 
 wliich united him with Miss Phoebe Lewis, a worthy 
 lady of German descent, he settled on a Massa- 
 chusetts farm and devoted his attention to tilling 
 the soil. When their children were grown to ma- 
 ture years, the father and mother came West to 
 Rockford, where they spent their last days, both 
 passing away at the age of seventy-three, his death 
 occurring in the fall of 1869, and her decease tak- 
 ing place in the winter of 1865. They were mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church, and active 
 workers in religious causes. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were passed in 
 a comparatively uneventful manner, and when he 
 reached man's estate, he was married in his native 
 county to Miss Emeline Beach. Mrs. Woodruff 
 was born and reared in Berkshire County, Mass., 
 the daughter of Deacon Gideon Beach, a prominent 
 member of the Congregational Church, and a farmer 
 of Berkshire County, where his entire life was 
 passed. After his death, his widow removed to 
 Illinois and spent her last days with her daughter, 
 Emeline, in Rockford, her death occurring when 
 she was about four-score. Two of her children 
 survive: Mrs. Woodruff, and Mrs. Julia Under- 
 wood, of Berkshire Countj^, Mass. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Woodruff are actively identified with tiie Congre- 
 gational Church as faithful members, and are prom- 
 inent in the social circles of the city. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Woodruff is an 
 advocate of the Prohibition party and its princi- 
 ples. He has served as Alderman of the Fourth 
 Ward, and has been called by his fellow-citizens to 
 other positions of trust and honor. He and his 
 wife are the parents of two children: Adella M., 
 wife of George W. Maguire, of the firm of Wood- 
 ruff & Maguire, lumber dealers; and George L., 
 who married Fannie Stevens and lives in Rock- 
 ford, where he is a Director in, and Assistant Cashier 
 of, the Second National Bank. Mr. Maguire, our 
 subject's son-in-law and partner, was born and 
 reared in Vermont, and has resided in this citj^ 
 since 1854. He is Director in the following com- 
 panies: Rockford Insurance Company; Hess & 
 Hopkins Leather Company; Rockford Tack Com- 
 
334 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pany; John P. Manny Mower Company; and he is 
 prominently associated with the foremost interests 
 of the city. 
 
 During the Civil War, Mr. Maguire enlisted in 
 the service of the country as a member of Com- 
 pany D, Eleventh Illinois Infantry, under Col. W. 
 H. L. Wallace and Capt. W. L. Nevins, command- 
 ing. Company D was the second company raised 
 in the State, and the first in the city and county to 
 offer service to the Government. For three months 
 the regiment participated actively in various en- 
 gagements, and at the expiration of the term of 
 enlistment, was honorably discharged. Returning 
 home, Mr. Maguire again enlisted as a member of 
 Company K, First Illinois Cavalry, which was Gen. 
 Steele's body-guard on special detached service, 
 remaining in that capacity for almost two years. 
 After the battle of Lexington, the company was 
 discharged, Mr. Maguire having served as a com- 
 missioned officer. He re-enlisted in Company C, 
 One Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry, 
 and served as Captain until the close of the war, 
 when he was honorably discharged. He is now an 
 active member of the G. L. Nevins Post No. 1, 
 G. A. R., at Rockford. 
 
 -5—- -=^=^>-^^<^==:^— !- 
 
 ^ I^ILLIAM McKINLEY, who is numbered 
 \jjj/l among the honored early settlers of Win- 
 V^^ nebago County, is now living a retired 
 life at No. 605^ North Horseman Street, Rockford. 
 He was born in Adams County, Pa., January 16, 
 1816, and was reared at Ft. Deposit, Md., until six- 
 teen years of age, when became to Illinois, settling 
 in Madison County about the time of the Indian 
 war, in which the red men were commanded by Black 
 Hawk. He was employed in a lumber office from 
 1854 until 1856, in Rockford, and in the latter 
 year was electe<l Township and City Collector. In 
 1858, with what money he had made, he went 
 to Missouri, invested in land in Benton County 
 and began making a home. But about two years 
 later, it was found out that he had voted for Abra- 
 ham Lincoln, and he was waited upon by the vigi- 
 lance committee and told that he was no longer 
 wanted in the county or State. So, leaving all his 
 
 possessions, he and his wife and children, with a 
 wagon and mule team, started to return to Illinois 
 with only $5 in money. His funds gave out and 
 he did not know what to do, but found a friend in 
 the banker of Macomb, 111., who, although he was 
 a stranger, loaned him money to buy food for his 
 family. At length he arrived in Rockford, and 
 has since been numbered among its valued and 
 prominent citizens. 
 
 In Madison County, 111., Mr. McKinley wedded 
 Miss Matilda A. Waller, a native of Kentucky, who 
 went to Madison County at an early day. After 
 their marriage, they removed to Jo Daviess County, 
 and subsequently settled in Owen Township, Win- 
 nebago County, where Mr. McKinley engaged in 
 farming. His wife died in middle life, leaving 
 three children: John R. died from a wound received 
 at Kenesaw Mountain, while fighting for the Union. 
 He was a recruiting member of the Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Infantry. He bore much painful sickness, 
 and his death occurred at Chattanooga. Mary E. 
 is now the wife of J. F. Woodring, a resident of 
 Waverly, Iowa; and L. J., who wedded Miss Mary 
 Kirby, is a farmer of Green County, Wis. 
 
 Mr. McKinley was again married, his second 
 union being with Miss Mercy L. Nichols. She was 
 born and reared in Batavia, N. Y., and when a 
 young lady came to the West. She proved a true 
 and faithful helpmate to her husband, and her 
 death, which occurred in Februarj^, 1885, was sadly 
 mourned. She was the mother of six children, one 
 of whom died in infancy. The living are: Frances, 
 widow of Edward Minard, of Rockford; Alice, wife 
 of W. R. Keyt, a contractor and builder of this 
 city; Eva L., at home; Bertha R., who formerly 
 engaged in teaching, but is now clerking in the 
 dry goods house of J. W. Fish ; Cora, wife of Harry 
 S. Crandall, a grocery clerk of Rockford, and 
 Edith A., wife of George A. Bruner, of Waterloo, 
 Iowa. 
 
 Mr. McKinley is a member of the Methodist 
 Church, to which his wives also belonged. After 
 his return to Rockford, he engaged in buying and 
 shipping grain from 1863 until 1871, as a partner 
 of J. B. Agard. He subsequently purchased a 
 grocery store on State Street, where he carried on 
 business successfully for thirteen years, since which 
 
^0-^^ S^^^' 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 337 
 
 time he has lived a retired life. He is a stanch sup- 
 porter of the Prohibition [lartj^ and is a faithful 
 worker and active member of the Methodisl Church, 
 with which he has been olliciallj^ connected for 
 more than forty joars. To its support he has con- 
 tributed liberally, and has done much for its 
 growth and upbuilding. His life has been well 
 and worthily spent, and he has thereby won the 
 confidence and high regard of all with whom he 
 has come in contact. For many long years he has 
 been identified with the history of this community, 
 and is well deserving of a representation in this 
 volume. 
 
 ^♦♦♦♦1 — J 
 
 ■it? OHN SPRAGUE. As one of the well-to-do 
 agriculturists of Boone County, who materi- 
 ally contributed to develop its rich agricul- 
 tural resources, and as an early settler of 
 Flora Township, where he built up for himself and 
 family a desirable home, Mr. Sprague is well 
 worthy of representation in this volume, and we 
 are pleased to invite the reader's attention to his 
 portrait and the following brief account of his life_ 
 Oneida County, N. Y., was his birthplace, the date 
 thereof being March 7, 1834. His father, Eleazer 
 Sprague, was for a number of years a resident of 
 Batavia, where he kept an hotel. He later emi- 
 grated to Michigan and resided for a time near 
 Grand Rapids. His next removal was to this 
 county, wliere he resided for a twelvemonth, and 
 then took up his abode in Cherry Valley Township, 
 Winnebago County, where he was residing at the 
 time of his decease. 
 
 Our subject's mother, who was known in her 
 maidenhood as Emily Burleigh, was born in Beth- 
 any, Genesee County, N. Y., on the 4th of Decem- 
 ber, 1806, and departed this life at the home of 
 our subject. John, of tliis sketch, was about fifteen 
 years of age when his parents moved to Michigan, 
 and two years later he started out in the world on 
 his own responsibilit}'. He was variously engaged, 
 and, being industrious and economical, invested 
 his money in "Wisconsin land and thus acquired a 
 good start in life. In 1861, he came to Boone 
 County and, locating in Flora Township, purchased 
 15 
 
 eighty acres of land on section 22, which was iiis 
 home for a number of years. He then sold that 
 tract and became the proprietor of the estate 
 where his family now reside and where his demise 
 occurred in 1884. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married 
 September 25, 1866, was Martha J., daughter of 
 Isaac Swain. She was born in Lockport, Niagara 
 County, N. Y., while her father had his birth in 
 Pennsylvania. The latter-named gentleman was a 
 son of Isaac Swain, Sr., who was born in England, 
 where he was reared and married, and on coming 
 to America settled in the Keystone State. From 
 there, he removed to Niagara County, N. Y., and 
 died on his farm fourteen miles from the Falls. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Sprague was reared in Penn- 
 sylvania and when a young man went to New 
 York State and after marriage located upon a farm 
 in Niagara County for which he paid $5 per acre. 
 He cleared and improved a part of it which was 
 his abiding place until 1840; then, with his wife and 
 seven children, lie came via the Lakes to Chicago, 
 thence by team to McHeury County, this State. 
 He entered a tract of Government land in Marengo 
 Township, and erecting a log house on the place 
 there established his family. The products of his 
 farm were hauled by ox-teams to Chicago to 
 market. He erected a good and substantial set of 
 buildings on his estate, where his death occurred. 
 Mrs. Sprague '« motiier was a native of New York 
 State and died on the home farm in Marengo 
 Township. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born five 
 children: Maud, Edna, Gertrude, Alberta, and 
 Pearl. 
 
 '^^ NGUS McLEAN. We are pleased to give 
 (@0 in this volume many sketches of estimable 
 
 ill (4) Scottish-American citizens, who have done 
 ^jj much excellent work in helping to develop 
 
 the various resources of the county. There are 
 sterling qualities about the nationality that fit 
 them for almost any occupation. Mr. McLean was 
 born in Argyleshire, Scotland, in 1827, and his 
 parents, Duncan and Margaret (Johnson) McLean, 
 
338 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were natives of that country also. There the father 
 was engaged in agricultural pursuits, and followed 
 this occupation all his life. He died there when 
 ninety-two years of age, but the mother died when 
 about middle age. Of the eight children born to 
 them, four were sons and four daughters: Margaret 
 married in Scotland; John, at St. Lous, Mo.; Mary 
 died young; Duncan died young; Agnes is mar- 
 ried, and resides in Scotland; Angus, our subject; 
 Donald was a volunteer in the army, and among 
 the missing; and Katie married in Scotland. 
 
 The subject of this sketch grew to manhood in 
 his native country, and when starting out to fight 
 life's battles for himself, he very naturally selected 
 the business to which he had been reared, agri- 
 culture, and has never regretted his choice for he 
 has been unusually successful. He w.as married, in 
 his native country, to Miss B. Mclntyre, of the 
 same place, and in 1858, led by the promises of 
 the great prairies of this country, lie and his family 
 crossed the wide waters to American soil. They 
 had very little to start with, but the desire to have 
 a home stirred them up to great exertion, and after 
 coming here Mr. McLean worked by the month 
 for six years. In this time they had accumulated 
 $800, and then bought the farm they had rented 
 the first year, paying 130 per acre for two hundred 
 acres. The comfortable mode of life which he and 
 his family are at the present time able to enjoy is 
 entirely due to the indomitable perseverance and 
 energy of Mr. McLean and his industrious wife, 
 for, as mentioned before, they had very little to 
 commence with, in fact, what little they had was 
 hardly worth mentioning. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. IMcLean have seven living children 
 but lost a son, John, at the age of twenty-five. He 
 was injured by the railroad cars in the fall of 1884, 
 and died from the effects. The living children are 
 as follows: Duncan B., born in 1858; Daniel 
 B., born in 1860, now resides in Nebraska; An- 
 gus was born in 1862; Peter, in 1864; David, in 
 1866; Hugh, in 1869, and Barbara, in 1873. All 
 the children are either at home or very near and 
 are industrious and upright. They have all re- 
 ceived good educational advantages and are well 
 thought of by all. The family hold membership 
 in the Presbyterian Church. In politics, Mr. 
 
 McLean is a Republican but not a strict partisan. 
 He is engaged in general farming and raises hogs, 
 sheep, horses and cattle. He keeps about twenty 
 good cows and sells milk to the creamery. Of the 
 cereals, he raises barley, rye, corn, oats, but no 
 wheat. He is successful and progressive and one 
 of the foremost farmers of his township. 
 
 ylLLIAM H. WAIT. This representative 
 citizen of Spring Township, Boone County, 
 was born in Warren, Greene County, N. Y., 
 October 28, 1820, and is the son of Henry and 
 Polly (Warren) Wait. The father, who was bcrn 
 in Rutland County, Vt., came to this section .is 
 early as 1846, and died at the home of his son-in- 
 law, George Reed, aged ninety-one years. Mrs. 
 Wait, who was also a native of the same place as 
 was her husband, died in this county at the age of 
 eighty-one years. The grandparents of our sub- 
 ject, on both sides of the house, were natives of 
 Vermont, and reared large- families of children. 
 
 William H. Wait, when twenty- two years of age, 
 came West and took up one hundred and sixty 
 acres of wild land in Spring Township. The trip 
 hither was made from Pennsylvania overland with 
 team, and when arriving here, our subject had but 
 seventy-five cents in money. He erected a house 
 on his farm, in which the family, who followed him 
 two years thereafter, lived for seven years. 
 
 He of whom we write was married February 22, 
 1855, to Miss Nancy C. Kellogg, who was born in 
 Rutland County, Vt., May 15, 1836. She was the 
 daughter of Orlando Kellogg, also a native of Ver- 
 mont, who emigrated to this countj' in 1846. The 
 father later went to Iowa, where his decease oc- 
 curred when seventy-eight years of age, and his 
 good wife, who survived him a number of years, 
 passed away at the home of her granddaughter, in 
 this count}', in her eighty-second year. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wait have been born eight children, seven 
 of whom are living, as follows: Scott A., who is 
 married and has two children; Henry W., now de- 
 ceased; Judson C, who is married and the father 
 of five children; George R., who has one child, 
 Fred; Lillie M., who married H. McDougal, has 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 339 
 
 one child; "William W., and Gracie, at homo. The 
 children were given good educations in the schools 
 of Belvidere. 
 
 Our subject lived on the old liome farm after his 
 marriage until about twenty-seven years ago 
 when he traded for otlier property. lie is now 
 the proprietor of nine hundred acres of excellent 
 land and has the largest farm in this part of Illinois. 
 He is practically retired from active life and is en- 
 joying to the fullest extent the comforts which his 
 life of industry has enabled him to provide. In 
 addition to his country estate, he owns considerable 
 real estate in Iowa. 
 
 A Republican in politics, Mr. Wait cast his first 
 Presidential vote for Harrison, in 1844. He has 
 been the incumbent of various local offices, all of 
 which he filled in a most desirable manner. Mrs. 
 Wait departed this life March 8, 1891, firm in 
 the faith of the Free-will Baptist Church. Our 
 subject has so thoroughly sj'stematized his business 
 that all his land is now in the hands of good cash 
 renters. He has ever been kind and hospitable in 
 his home to all comers, the house is open and a 
 hearty welcome is extended. He is a genial, whole- 
 souled man who is well informed on the events of 
 the day, and who has many friends in all classes 
 of society. 
 
 ,ANIEL W. TICKNOR, who became a resi- 
 dent of Rockford in May, 1846, is now liv. 
 ing retired on a farm in the southwestern 
 part of the city. Thirty years of his residence 
 here have been spent in the mercantile business, he 
 successfully conducting an auction and commission 
 store. Mr. Ticknor had his birth in New Lebanon, 
 Columbia County, N. Y., December 29, 1820, while 
 his father, Oran Ticknor, was born in New Bar- 
 rington, Mass., where also his father, Elijah, was a 
 native. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject removed from 
 the Bay State to New Lebanon about 1800, and 
 there passed the remainder of his life. Oran Tick- 
 nor was a wagon-maker )jy trade, which he fol- 
 lowed for a time, and then engaged in the mercan- 
 
 tile business in New Lebanon for many years. 
 From there he removed to Cayuga County, N. Y., 
 in 1836, and located in the town of Sempronius; he 
 later traded his real estate and'business for a farm, 
 and was occupied in its cultivation for a number 
 of 3^ears. Selling out, the father of our subject 
 purchased another farm near Homer, upon which 
 he lived until 1860, at which time he also disposed 
 of it, and, coming to Rockford, purchased a home 
 on North Court Street, where his death occurred 
 in 1876, at the age of eighty-four years. 
 
 The mother of our subject was known in her 
 maidenhood as Abigail Orton; she was born in 
 Connecticut, and survived her husband six months, 
 her death occurring when she had attained the age 
 of eighty-three. She became the mother of the 
 following-named children: Sylvanus, Daniel W., 
 Sallie M., James S., Horatio, Aurora, Elijah, Abi- 
 gail and Betse}^ (twins), and Phineas R. Daniel 
 W., of this sketch, received his education in the 
 Empire State, and at the age of eighteen com- 
 menced teaching school, being so employed for 
 seven winter terms in New Yorlc State. In May, 
 1846, he came to Rockford via canal and lake 
 to Milwaukee, being accompanied hither by his 
 brother, James S., they walking from the Cream 
 City to Rockford. This now thriving place con- 
 tained but fifteen hundred inhabitants, and one 
 public school building in the city, the location. be- 
 ing the southeastern corner of the public square. 
 
 Immediately upon arriving in Rockford, Mr. 
 Ticknor accepted the position of teacher of the 
 school, and taught for three years, having one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five pupils the last term. In the 
 spring of 1849, he established a drug and gro- 
 cery business on the west side, and, after conduct- 
 ing a successful business for five years, sold out 
 and became tile proprietor of a book store, in con- 
 nection with his brother James. Mr. Ticknor later 
 purchased a farm, on which he is now living re- 
 tired from active life. 
 
 In the fall of 1848, Daniel W. Ticknor and Miss 
 Charlotte W. Wej'burn were united in marriage. 
 The lad}'' was born in Genesee, N. Y., and departed 
 this life in Rockford in 1853. Two years later our 
 subject was married to Alzira Andrews, also a na- 
 tive of the Empire State, having been born near 
 
340 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Auburn, Cayuga County. The three children born 
 of this union are Charlotte, Lizzie May and Herbert. 
 Mr. Ticknor became the father of two children by 
 his first marriage, Lewis and Alfred. With his wife 
 he is a member of the Grace Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and, in politics, votes the Democratic 
 ticket. 
 
 Mr. Ticknor expects to remove soon to a magni- 
 ficent new residence among the maples at the cor- 
 ner of Elm Street and Independence Avenue, and 
 here will spend the remainder of his days. 
 
 TRUMAN BUCK, for a number of years one 
 of the progressive and well-to-do agricul- 
 turists of Flora Township, Boone County, 
 departed this life at his home, January 26, 1877. 
 He was born in Otsego County, N. Y., May 22, 
 1811, and was the son of Joseph S. Buck, a native 
 of Vermont. The father of our subject removed 
 from his native State to New York and thence to 
 Erie County, Pa., where he owned a farm and 
 resided until his decease, at the advanced age 
 of eighty-six years. His wife, prior to her marriage, 
 was known as Miss Betsey Eastwood; she was also 
 a native of the Green Mountain State, and, like her 
 husband, departed this life in Erie County. 
 
 Truman Buck was a young man when his parents 
 removed to Pennsylvania, where he was married 
 and located upon a farm in Erie County, which he 
 cultivated until 1853, the date of his advent into 
 Illinois. Making his home in Cherry Vallej' Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, he was identified with 
 the interests of that community for two years, and 
 then removed to the farm where his decease oc- 
 curred. 
 
 September 3, 1835, Miss Eliza Drown, who was 
 born in Rose, Wayne County, N. Y., August 15, 
 1817, became the wife of our subject. She was the 
 daughter of Solomon Drown, a native of Parsons- 
 field, Me., in which State his father, John Drown, 
 was also born. The grandfather of Mrs. Buck 
 moved to New York State and thence to Pennsyl- 
 vania, and departed this life in Erie County. His 
 wife was Mrs. Sarah (Ayres) Drown, also a native 
 of Maine. Mrs. Buck died May 30, 1892. 
 
 Solomon Drown was married in the Pine Tree 
 State, and about 1816 removed to New York State, 
 which was his home until 1832, when he took up 
 his abode in Washington Township, Erie County, 
 Pa. Five years later, he traveled West to Ohio, and 
 in Seneca County owned a farm upon which he 
 resided at the time of his death. His wife, who, 
 prior to her marriage, was Elizabeth Hatch, also had 
 her birth in Maine, and died in the town of Rose, 
 N. Y. 
 
 The eight children who were granted to our sub- 
 ject and his wife are as follows: Elizabeth L., 
 Mrs. Henry R. Van Epps, resides in Peoria; Mary 
 J., who is united in marriage with Abial L. Adams 
 makes her home on her father's old homestead; 
 Eliza, the next in order of birth, is deceased; 
 Joseph S. is a resident of Chicago; William Perry 
 is living in Cherry Valley; Emma, Mrs. George H. 
 Grummon, is a resident of this township, where 
 also Clinton W. lives, and Horace, at present resid- 
 ing in Pocahontas County, Iowa. Mr. Buck is a 
 member of the Free-will Baptist Church, as 
 was Mrs. Buck before her death. Since coming to 
 Illinois, our subject has voted the Republican 
 ticket. 
 
 
 E^^- 
 
 ONATHAN HUSTON KIRK, one of the 
 honored pioneers of Winnebago County 
 has resided upon his present farm on 
 section 3, Guilford Township, for about 
 forty-seven years. He was born in Nottingham 
 Township, Chester County, Pa., August 31, 1817. 
 His father, Jonathan Kirk, was born in Cecil 
 County, Md., and was a son of Elisha and Mary 
 (Allen) Kirk. The grandparents of our subject 
 were Quakers, and died in that faith. His father 
 was reared in his native county, and when a 
 young man went to Chester County, Pa., where he 
 married Elizabeth Thompson, who was born in 
 Nottingham Township, and was the daughter of 
 William and Elizabeth (Huston) Thompson He 
 settled on land which his wife had inherited and 
 there resided until 1823, when, with two or three 
 other enterprising men, he started for the West, 
 and made a location in Washtenaw County, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 341 
 
 Mich., before the State was even organized as a 
 Territory. He built a log cabin, the first building 
 in Ypsilanti, and erected the first mill at that 
 place. In 1827, he bought a tract of land in Dix- 
 borough, and moved his family thereon. The 
 year 1829 he contracted to build a mill at Cold- 
 water, which he completed early in the following 
 year. Soon afterward he was taken ill and died. 
 The mother of our subject had died in Pennsyl- 
 vania in 1821, after which the father wedded 
 Hannah Thomas, a native of Steuben County, N. Y. 
 After his death, she became the wife of Samuel 
 Hicks, and in 1835 came to Winnebago County, 
 locating in Guilford Township. She afterward 
 went to Wisconsin, where her death occurred. 
 
 Our subject was only four years old when his 
 mother died, and he then went to live with his 
 uncle Joseph, with whom he remained until 1827, 
 when he went to Michigan. After his father's 
 death, he began earning his own livelihood, work- 
 ing by the month at breaking land at 17. He 
 continued to reside in Michigan until 1836, when 
 he started for Illinois, arriving in Winnebago 
 County in March. He found a sparsely settled 
 region; nearly all of the land was owned hj the 
 Government, deer and other wild game were found 
 in abundance, and the life which Mr. Kirk here 
 lived was that of a true pioneer. After a short 
 time he entered a claim, and when the land came 
 into market purchased it at the land sales in 
 Galena, in 1839. He located on the place in 
 1845, and it has since been his home. 
 
 In July, 1844, Mr. Kirk wedded Marcella Dennis, 
 who was born in Yarmouth, Canada, March 18, 
 1819. Her father, Ezekiel Dennis, was born in 
 New Jersey, and his father, Obediah Dennis, was 
 a native of the same State and of English descent. 
 The grandfather, soon after the Revolutionary 
 War, removed to Canada. His son Ezekiel was 
 then only three years old, and in that country 
 was reared and educated. He married Rachel 
 Moore, who was born in Nova Scotia, and was the 
 daughter of Thomas and Esther Moore. She died 
 in the town of Yarmouth, when Mrs. Kirk was 
 quite young. After his marriage, Mr. Dennis re- 
 moved to Yarmouth, becoming one of its early 
 settlers, and purchased a tract of timber land, upon 
 
 which he bnilt a log cabin and there made his 
 home until 1836, when he sold out and started 
 with his family for the Territory of Michigan, 
 making the journey by team. He settled in 
 St. Joseph, where he resided imtil 1842, which 
 j'ear witnessed his arrival in what is now Guilford 
 Township, Winnebago County. He improved the 
 f.<irm which he there occupied, but afterward left 
 it and spent his last days in Olmstead County, 
 Minn. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kirk were born five children: 
 Mary E., Ellen M., Henry F., William H., and 
 Emma M. Mary E. and Henry F. are dead. The 
 family is well worthy of mention in this volume, 
 and the parents are among the most prominent 
 pioneers of the county, few having longer been 
 residents of this community. Mr. Kirk has borne 
 an active part in the advancement and upbuilding 
 of the community. He has been honored with a 
 number of offices of trust, has served as School 
 Trustee, Assessor and for twenty years represented 
 Guilford Township in the County Board of Super- 
 visors. In politics, he was first a Whig, but since 
 the organization of the Republican party has been 
 one of its stalwart supporters. 
 
 W—~^ OMER L. BO WEN, who is engaged in agri- 
 Irf)!) cultural pursuits in Flora Township, Boone 
 iJ^y^ County, was born in Newport, Herkimer 
 ^) County, N. Y., on the 9th of March, 1839. 
 His father, William S. Bowen, was born in Oneida 
 County, N. Y., February 5, 1814, and the grand- 
 father was an early settler of Deerfield Township, 
 that county. He followed farming and died in 
 1849, at the age of sixty-seven. William Bowen was 
 reared in the usual manner of farmer's sons, and 
 was joined in wedlock with Maria Rix, a 
 native of Herkimer County and a daughter of 
 Theophilus Rix, who was born in Connecticut. 
 He became a pioneer of the town of Fairfield, 
 Herkimer County, and in the midst of the wilder- 
 ness cleared a farm, upon which he resided until 
 1857, when he emigrated to Belvidere, 111. His 
 death occurred in that city in his one hundredth 
 year. After his marriage, William Bowen pur- 
 
342 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chased a tract of land bordering on West Can- 
 ada Creek, in the town of Newport, Herkimer 
 County, and here resided until his death in 1850. 
 His wife departed this life on the home farm May 
 12, 1843, at the age of twenty-seven years. 
 
 Our subject was only four years old when his 
 mother died. He was reared by his maternal 
 grandparents and acquired his early education in 
 the district schools, after which he attended Fair- 
 field Academy. With his grandparents he came 
 to Illinois in 1857, and began working by the 
 month until his marriage, when he settled upon 
 the farm that is yet his home. It is a highly-im- 
 proved tract of one hundred and fifty-five acres, 
 and, with the exception of twenty acres of timber 
 land, the entire amount is under a high state of 
 cultivation. 
 
 On the 14th of September, 1859, Mr. Bowen 
 wedded Laura M. Rice, who was born on the farm 
 which is yet her home, Jul^^ 12, 1841. Her father, 
 Waite Rice, was born in Barkhamsted, Litchfield 
 County, Conn., June 3, 1814, and for some years 
 was overseer in the Collins Axe Factory. At an 
 early day he came to Illinois and is numbered 
 among the honored pioneers of Boone County, 
 having located here in 1839. The farm upon 
 which our subject now resides he entered from the 
 Government. He was well known in this com- 
 munity as a man of sterling worth, and served as 
 Justice of the Peace in Flora Township. His 
 death occurred April 6, 1848. His wife bore the 
 maiden name of Laura Case. She was born in 
 Litchfield County, Conn., April 5, 1814, and te 
 still living, a resident of Belvidere. She has been 
 a second time married, her husband being Flavel 
 Smith. 
 
 Mrs. Bowen spent the days of her maidenhood 
 on the home farm and attended the old pioneer 
 schools built of logs with slab seats, puncheon 
 floors and huge fire-places. To her husband she 1 
 has been a faithful companion and helpmate. 
 They have one daughter, Nellie, now the wife of 
 Fred Hall, by whom she has one son, Homer. They 
 live in Belvidere. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Bowen is a Republican, and 
 socially, is a member of Flora Camp No. 624, 
 M. W. A. Himself and wife are members of Royal 
 
 Neighbor Chapter, M. W. A., and of Excelsior 
 Lodge No. 2654, Patrons of Industry. He was 
 one of the original members of the Creamery 
 Company, formed in 1882, and has been Treasurer 
 since its organization. The products of this 
 creamery are of the best repute, and the business 
 has been a paying one since the beginning. 
 
 ~i- 
 
 eHARLES J. ROSENQUIST, a retired farmer 
 of Rockford, 111. The following is a brief 
 sketch of the career of Mr. Rosenquist, a 
 man whose present substantial position in life has 
 been reached entirely through his perseverance, 
 and the facts connected with his agricultural 
 operations, and their results, only show what a 
 person with courage and enlightened views can 
 accomplish. 
 
 He first saw the light of day in Kalniar Lan, 
 Smoland Province, Sweden, October 22, 1841, and 
 as he grew up learned the trade of carpenter. When 
 twenty-five years of age, he came to the United 
 States, located in Rockford, 111., and with very 
 little means to back him, began the struggle for a 
 livelihood. He followed carpentering for some 
 time and also worked as a day laborer for a 
 number of years, thus accumulating sufficient 
 means to invest in land. He owns a good farm of 
 eighty acres in Cherry Valley Township, all well 
 cultivated, and on which are good substantial 
 buildings, etc. Since his residence in this county, 
 he has resided part of the time in Rockford, where 
 he has a wide circle of friends, and where he is 
 highljr esteemed. His house, which he built him- 
 self, is located at No. 1103 Charles Street, and is 
 large and comfortable. 
 
 Shortly after settling in this county, Mr. Rosen- 
 quist was joined by two brothers, Allen A. and 
 F. August. The father, Ciiarles Johnston, died 
 when our subject was but twelve years of age. He 
 was in the prime of life and was a farmer by occu- 
 pation. His wife died about twenty years later, 
 when sixty years of age. Her maiden name was 
 Lena S. Dotnaldson. Both were natives of Swe- 
 den. 
 
 Charles J. Rosenquist selected as his life's com- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 343 
 
 panion Miss Emily G. Johnson, a native of Kal- 
 mar Lan, Sweden, and tbeir union was solemnized 
 in Rockford, 111., in 1870. To them were born 
 two children: Gustave A. and Jennie F., both of 
 whom died young. Mr. and Mrs. Rosenquist are 
 members of the First Lutheran Church, and he is 
 a Republican in politics. 
 
 Mre. Rosenquist came to the United States in 
 1869 with a sister, Huldah M., who became the 
 wife of Gustave Johnson. The latter is a promi- 
 nent lumberman of Chicago. Mr. Rosenquist is 
 the only member of his family now in this city, and 
 Mrs. Rosenquist has no other relative in this coun- 
 try. Her father, John Jacobson, died in Sweden 
 when sixty-nine years of age. He was a farmer 
 all his life. His wife, whose name was formerly 
 Anna F. Carlson, died when a little past seventy. 
 During their entire lives they had been exemplary 
 members of the Lutheran Church, and were well 
 known in their native place. 
 
 NDREW WHITING. The gentleman of 
 whom we shall attempt to give a bio- 
 graphical sketch in outline, is one of the 
 ^^ old pioneers of Boone County, owning 
 and occupying a fine estate of three hundred acres 
 located on sections 22, 26 and 27. He is a man who 
 has attained considerable prominence in his locality, 
 by reason of his intelligence and progressive ten- 
 dencies and also by his genial and frank ways. 
 
 Born in Guilford, Piscataquis County, Me., 
 November 9, 1831, our subject is a son of Charles 
 Whiting, a native of Lincoln, Mass. The grand- 
 father of our subject, Gaylen Whiting, was born m 
 Hingham, that State, where were also born his 
 father, Daniel, the great-grandfather of our sub- 
 ject; his father, also named Daniel, the great-great- 
 graudfather; his father, Samuel, the great-great- 
 great-grandfather; and his father, James, Sr., the 
 great-great-great-great-grandfather. James Whit- 
 ing, the first of that name to come to America, 
 was a native of England and was married in Hing- 
 ham in the year 1647, and, as far as known, 
 passed his last days there. His son James was 
 born in 1651 ; James' son Samuel in 1685; Samuel's 
 
 son Daniel in 1722; and Daniel's son Daniel in 
 1745. But little is known of his descendants until 
 we come to Gaylen Whiting, the grandfather of our 
 subject, who married Rachel Prouty and for some 
 years made his home in Lincoln, Mass. On re- 
 moving to North Brookfleld, that State, he en- 
 gaged in farming and departed this life in that 
 place. He was born in 1766. 
 
 Charles Whiting was born in 1802, and was 
 reared in North Brookfleld, and fi-om there went 
 to Maine and, locating in Piscataquis County, pur- 
 chased a tract of timber land and engaged in 
 farming until 1838, at which time he came to Illi- 
 nois, and during the winter of that year lived 
 one and one-half miles northwest of Belvidere. 
 
 In the spring of 1839, the father of our subject 
 purchased a claim to a tract of Government land 
 in the same township, on which there was one acre 
 fenced and a log house and stable. Mr. Whiting 
 rented land to work that year, during which time 
 he traded his claim for one in Caledonia Town- 
 ship, to which he removed the following fall. 
 When the land came into the market, he entered 
 his claim and made his home on his purchase 
 until his death, March 19, 1883, when eighty-one 
 years old. The lady to whom he was married was 
 Elvira Woodward, a native of Garland, Piscata- 
 quis County, Me., and the daughter of Oliver and 
 Sallie (Heron) Woodward. She departed this life 
 three years previous to the death of her husband 
 in 1881. 
 
 Andrew Whiting was a lad of seven years when 
 he came to the Prairie State with his parents, 
 and in that early day the county was very sparsely 
 settled and gave but little promise of its wonder- 
 ful development. There were no railroads in the 
 vicinity and for many years the farmers did all 
 their marketing at Chicago. Our subject remained 
 under the parental roof until his marriage, in 
 1854, to Mary A. Kyes, when he located on a por- 
 tion of the old homestead, and in 1882 settled on 
 the original home farm. His estate comprises 
 three hundred acres, which is excellently im- 
 proved with all the buildings and machinery which 
 go to make up a first-class farm. Mr. Whiting 
 is a man of character and ability, and is enjoying 
 a just meed of influence and standing in the com- 
 
344 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 munity, and knows that he has reached this point 
 from a boj'hood which promised nothing except 
 through his own right hand and sturdy heart. 
 
 Mrs. Whiting was born in Loraine County, 
 Ohio, and is the daughter of Samuel and Mercy 
 (Dailey) Kyes. She has become the mother of 
 three children: Charles 0., William A. and Ephraim 
 A. Mr. and Mrs. Whiting are members of the 
 Congregational Cliurch, and in his political affilia- 
 tions our subject has strong confidence in the 
 future of the Republican party. 
 
 ■{fpTT^RANK GILMORE. Among the native- 
 \r^\ born residents of Winnebago County who 
 l^ have made their mark in the farming com- 
 munity, we are pleased to mention Mr. Gilmore, 
 who is at present residing on a good farm located 
 on section 34, Owen Township. He was born June 
 22, 1858, a son of William Gihnore, whose birth 
 occurred in Fifeshire, Scotland, February 2, 1826, 
 and who in turn was a son of William and Ann 
 (Halley) Gilmore. The father was a lad of six 
 years when he accompanied his parents to America, 
 they making settlement in Newbury, Vt., where he 
 was reared to manhood and resided until 1853, 
 which was the date of his advent into Winnebago 
 County. 
 
 The father of our subject had borrowed money 
 to pay his way to the Praii'ie State, and upon arriv- 
 ing in Rockford he had but two cents in his pocket, 
 and, to add to his misfortune, was in debt. He 
 worked by the day, and being very industrious and 
 economical, saved a suflicient sum to pay the entire 
 amount of his iidebtedness. Very soon thereafter, 
 he and his brother John borrowed sufficient money 
 with which to purchase thirty acres of Government 
 land in Owen Township, the price of the land be- 
 ing 137.50. Through industry and perseverance 
 he was prospered in his undertakings and became 
 widely known as a successful and enterprising 
 farmer as well as an upright and honorable citizen. 
 At the time of his death, which occurred in 1891, 
 he was probably the wealthiest farmer in Winne- 
 bago County. 
 
 In 1857, William Gilmore was united in marriage 
 with Jane Mack, who was born in Hessc-Cassel 
 Germany. Her father dying when she was quite 
 young, she accompanied her uncle, John Rosebaek 
 to America. Her marriage was a happy and con- 
 genial union, and six children came to bless the 
 home, namely: Frank, Warren, Fred, Willis, Annie 
 and Nettie. About 1878, the family located on 
 the farm which still remains the home of the 
 widowed mother and the three youngest children. 
 
 Frank Gilmore, of this sketch, passed his youth 
 in a comparatively uneventful manner, and havino- 
 been reared to the calling of a farmer, naturally 
 chose that as an occupation through life. Like 
 his father, he possesses the industrious and enter- 
 prising nature which almost invariably brings 
 their fortunate possessor material success. In Jan- 
 uary, 1889, he established a home of his own, his 
 wife being Julia, daughter of Decius Peckham, 
 and a native of Michigan. They are the parents 
 of two children: Grace and William. On another 
 page of this volume will be noticed a view of the 
 attractive residence of Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore, 
 which, with the inviting rural surroundings, be- 
 . speaks the thrift and refined tastes of the owner. 
 
 ^.: NDREW JOHNSON, a prosperous and 
 LJl enterprising young farmer, operates two 
 
 hundred and forty-seven acres of valuable 
 land on section 18, Cherry Valley Town- 
 ship, and is a representative of one of the pioneer 
 families of Winnebago County. His father, John 
 Johnson, was born in Sweden, in March, 1820, and 
 with his first wife came to this country in the 
 spring of 1850, sailing from his native shores in 
 April. The voyage was a long and dangerous 
 one, the vessel not reaching this country until six 
 months later. 
 
 For many generations back the Johnson family 
 were farming people. The father of our subject 
 buried his first wife in Rockford. She died soon 
 ■Sifter locating here, leaving one son, John, who 
 died at the age of nine years. Mr. Johnson was 
 afterward again married, his second wife being the 
 mother of Andrew. They have buried four chil- 
 

 RESIDENCE OF ANDREW JOH NSON , SEC. 18 , CHERRY VALLEY TR.WINNEBAGO CO., ILL. 
 
 fe\ttfi •' f- -*: ,^'J. T^^*iSi^Mf0k: 
 
 :^WM^Si^^^m^,^iiS>l£M!Mi 
 
 V 7 ^r-^ 
 
 
 
 
 *'-.*-**^ ^^ 
 
 
 »g;;' * M ■>../. 
 
 3!-'-,* "Vi"-*' -JWv 
 
 RESIDENCE OF FRANK GILMORE, 5EC.3-^,0WEN TP, WINNEBAGO CO . ILL. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 347 
 
 dreri: Mary, who died at the age of sixteen years; 
 Andrew (first), who died in childhood, and two in- 
 fant sons. The living children are Albert, Ida 
 and Andrew. 
 
 For about three years, the parents resided in 
 Rockford and then settled upon a farm in Ogle 
 County, where the succeeding thirteen years of 
 their life were passed. Mr. Johnson then sold out 
 and located upon a part of the farm which is now 
 the property of our subject and his father. He 
 first pui'chased eighty acres of wild land, to which 
 he afterward added as time passed until he became 
 the owner of a fine and valuable farm of two hun- 
 dred and forty-seven acres. It was improved with 
 a good dwelling, barns and all the other accessories. 
 This our subject owns in connection with his fa- 
 ther. 
 
 In 1876, John Johnson laid aside all business 
 cares and is now living a retired life at No. 210 
 Sixth Street, Rockford. He has reached the ad- 
 vanced age of seventy-one years, and his wife is 
 sixty-five years of age. They are both adherents 
 of the Lutheran faith, belonging to the First Luth- 
 eran Church of Rockford. In politics, Mr. John- 
 son is a Republican. 
 
 Under the paternal roof, our subject was reared 
 to manhood in the usual manner of farmer lads. 
 He shared in the experiences of frontier life and 
 aided in the arduous task of developing a new 
 farm. His education was acquired in the district 
 schools of the neighborhood and he is a well-in- 
 formed man. The excellent farm which he now 
 owns yields him a golden tribute for the care and 
 labor he bestows upon it and he is a prosperous 
 citizen. He follows in the commendable footsteps 
 of his father and is a stalwart advocate of Repub- 
 lican principles. He is also a member of the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 In May, 1889, in Rock Island, Mr. Johnson led 
 to the marriage altar Miss Emma Lindgren, of that 
 city, daughter of John and Anna (Frederickson) 
 Lindgren, natives of Sweden, who emigrated to 
 this country when their daughter was a maiden of 
 onljf seven summers. The union of our subject 
 and his wife has been blessed with one daughter, 
 Edith L., who was born February 17, 1890, and 
 is the life and joy of this happy home. Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Johnson rank high in social circles and have 
 many warm friends throughout the community. 
 
 The family residence, a view of which with the 
 rural surroundings appears on another page, is an 
 attractive abode, and the farm is one of tlie most 
 highly cultivated in the county. 
 
 ^C 
 
 ^^ 
 
 YLVESTER G. AT WOOD, a resident farmer 
 of Harlem Township, Winnebago County, 
 living on section 30, was born in the town 
 of Washington, Berkshire County, Mass., 
 May 6, 1835, and is a son of Phineas and Hulda 
 (Haskell) Atwood, mention of whom is made in 
 the sketch of David Atwood on another page of 
 tills work. The father was a minister of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church for a number of years. 
 Our subject spent the first tea years of his life in 
 the Bay State and then came with his parents to 
 Illinois. Although so young, he remembers many 
 incidents of the journey, which was made by way 
 of the canal and the Great Lakes to Chicago, where 
 they arrived Ave weeks after leaving home. There 
 the father purchased a team and wagon, and in that 
 way they proceeded on their way to Winnebago 
 County, which they found to be a sparsely settled 
 region and most of the peoyjle were in very limited 
 circumstances. Chicago and Milwaukee were the 
 principal markets and there were many hardships 
 and privations to be endured in those early days 
 by the pioneers, to whom a debt of gratitude is 
 due for what they have done for the county and 
 its upbuilding. Sj'lvester Atwood shared with 
 the family in the experiences of frontier life. He 
 aided in the arduous task of developing a new 
 farm, and resided with his parents until his mar- 
 riage. 
 
 On the 8th of October, 1863, he led to the mar- 
 riage altar Lydia Rosecrans, a native of Troy, N. Y., 
 and a daughter of Henry and Maria (Carey) Rose- 
 crans. Her father was born in Dutchess County, 
 N. Y., and was a son of James Rosecrans, a wheel- 
 wright by trade, who followed that business through- 
 out his entire life. His wife bore the maiden name 
 of Mary Townsend. The father of Mrs. Atwood 
 learned the trade of a pattern-maker and at the 
 
348 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 time of his marriage settled in Troy, N. Y., where 
 he engaged in business throughout the remainder 
 of his life. He wedded Miss Carey, who was born 
 in the town of Richmond, near Troy, and was a 
 daughter of Abrara Carey. She died in Harlem 
 Township, at the home of her daughter, in 1881, 
 at the age of eighty-five j^ears. 
 
 The union of Mr. and Mis. Atwood was blessed 
 with three children: Willie G.,born May 20, 1865; 
 M. Belle, May 19, 1874; and Gay Maud, April 8, 
 1877. They began their domestic life upon the 
 farm which is still their home and many happy 
 years have there been passed. Mr. Atwood has 
 been very successful as a farmer and now owns 
 and operates two hundred and sixty-five acres of 
 arable land in Harlem and Guilford Townships, 
 the greater part of which is under a high state of 
 cultivation, while many improvements of both a 
 useful and ornamental character indicate the thrift 
 and enterprise of the owner, who is regarded as 
 one of the practical and progressive agriculturists 
 of the community as well as a representative citi- 
 zen. In politics, he is independent, giving his sup- 
 port to the man whom he thinks best qualified to 
 fill the office, regardless of party affiliations. He 
 is a member of the Masonic order, also a member 
 of the Patrons of Husbandry and was Master of 
 the order for six years and is Overseer of the State 
 organ ization. 
 
 NDREW C. LONG, who is numbered 
 among the early settlers of Rockford of 
 1862, and has been identified with the 
 growth and upbuilding of the city since 
 that time, was born on the 12th of November, 
 1837, in Sweden. His parents died in that coun- 
 try, both being about fifty-five years of age when 
 called to their final rest. Our subject spent the 
 days of his boyhood and youth in the land of his 
 birth and there learned the shoemaker's trade. In 
 1857, at the age of twenty years, he bade good- 
 bye to his old home and in company with his sister 
 Emeline sailed for Boston, Mass., where they ar- 
 rived after a voyage of seven weeks and two days. 
 They came on at once to the West and the sister 
 
 has since married Mr. Hilliard, by whom she has 
 two children. The brother of our subject, Aaron 
 has since come to this country and resides with 
 Andrew. These three are the only surviving 
 members of the family. 
 
 Mr. Long whose name heads this record was 
 united in marriage, in Rockford, with Miss Anna 
 H. Bowman, who was born not far from Gotten- 
 burg, Sweden, on the 6th of April, 1844, and when 
 a child of eight summers was brought by her 
 parents to America in 1852, the family sailing to 
 New York City, where they arrived after a voyage 
 of six weeks. They came on at once to Illinois, 
 settling in St. Charles, and in the autumn of the 
 same year the husband and father, Andrew Bow- 
 man, died. He was then about fifty years of age. 
 His wife afterward married Robert Welton and is 
 again a widow. She makes her home in Rockford 
 with her daughter, Mrs. Long, and is yet an active 
 and intelligent old lady of eighty years. She has 
 been a life-long member of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church, to which Mr. Bowman also belonged. 
 One of her sons, P. G. Bowman, is still living in 
 Rockford; and Eva C, widow of the late John 
 Nelson, the inventor, resides on Seminary Street 
 of this city. 
 
 For three years after coming to this country, 
 Andrew Long resided in Geneva and St. Charles, 
 111., and afterward made his home in Chicago. At 
 length he came to Rockford in 1862, and this city 
 has since been his place of residence. He was then 
 in limited circumstances but he began work at his 
 trade of shoe-making and prosperity has attended 
 his efforts here, so that he is now in comfortable 
 circumstances, having by his own industry, good 
 management and enterprise won a handsome com- 
 petence. He now owns a pleasant home at No. 
 607 Seventh Avenue. Himself and wife are among 
 the oldest members of the First Lutheran Church 
 of this city, to which most of their children also 
 belong, and take an active part in its work and up- 
 building. In politics, he is a Republican but has 
 never had the inclination or found the time from 
 his business to devote to office-seeking. 
 
 The family of Mr. and Mrs. Long numbers six 
 children: Frank E., who married Ida Holmberg, is 
 now a book-keeper in the Manufacturers' National 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 349 
 
 Bank, of this city; Charles W. is employed in the 
 Nelson Knitting Factory; Anton C. is a clerk in 
 B. E. Waldo's book store; Anna Genevieve is at 
 home; Minnie S. is in attendance at the Deaf-rnvrte 
 Institute of Jacksonville; and E. Florence com- 
 pletes the family. 
 
 ^OHN C. TRIPP, one of the prominent and 
 highly respected citizens of Winnebago 
 -^ i County, residing on section 36, Harlem 
 i^^ Township, was born in Little Falls, N. Y., 
 March 27, 1833. His grandfather, Stephen Tripp, 
 was a native of Dutchess Count}' and a farmer by 
 occupation. He removed to Saratoga County and 
 after some years went to Herkimer County, locat- 
 ing near Little Falls. He spent his last days in 
 the town of Winfleld. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Jemima Mosher and was a native of Sara- 
 toga County. She came to Illinois and passed 
 away in Caledonia Township, Boone County. 
 
 The father of our subject, Noah Tripp, was born 
 in Saratoga County and learned the trade of a 
 shoemaker and weaver, following those occupations 
 in Herkimer County until 1836. The succeeding 
 ten years of his life were spent in Oswego County, 
 and in 1846 he came to Illinois accompanied by 
 his three children. On his arrival in this State, he 
 pre-empted a tract of Government land in what is 
 now Caledonia Township, Boone County, and at 
 once built a log cabin and began the development 
 of a farm. After some years, he sold out and came 
 to Harlem Township, this county, where he bought 
 a home and spent his remaining days. His wife, who 
 bore the maiden name of Sarah Allen, was born 
 in the town of Winfield, Herkimer County, N. Y., 
 and died in 1843, in Schroeppel, Oswego County, 
 N. Y. Her father, Ebenezer Allen, was a native of 
 Massachusetts and served under Gen. Putnam in 
 the Revolutionary War. From his native State 
 he removed to Danbury, Conn., where he married 
 Hulda Stuart, who was born in Edinburg, Scot- 
 land, and died in Oswego County, N. Y., at the ad- 
 vanced ago of ninety-five years. Immediately after 
 their marriage, they removed to the Empire State, 
 locating in the town of Winfield. Some years 
 
 later, they went to Oswego County, where Mr. 
 Allen bought a farm, upon which he lived through- 
 out the remainder of his life. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our sub- 
 ject who was a lad of thirteen years when he came 
 to Illinois, thus spending almost his entire life 
 here. Under the parental roof he remained until 
 attaining his majority, and during a portion of 
 that time had operated a part of his father's farm 
 on shares. He cut the oats with a cradle and 
 then hauled them to Rockford, where he received 
 ten cents per bushel for his grain. At the age of 
 twenty-one, he began working by the month as a 
 farm hand and was thus emplo3'ed vintil 1857; he 
 also ran a breaking team, when he operated his 
 father's farm for two j-ears. On the 16th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1859, he started on a journey across the 
 plains to Pike's Peak, but before reaching that place 
 he learned that the prospects were not good, and 
 with others pushed on to California, where he en- 
 gaged in mining until late in the autumn of 1867, 
 when he started homeward by way of the Nicara- 
 gua route. In the spring of 1868, he settled on 
 the farm which he now owns and occupies, and to 
 its improvement has since ilevoted his energies. 
 
 Mr. Tripp has been twice married. In 1868, he 
 wedded Mary E. Tofflemire, who was born in 
 Canada and was a daughter of Jonas and Sally 
 (Anderson) Tofflemire, pioneers of Harlem Town- 
 ship of 1837. She died December 17, 1882, and on 
 the 2d of May, 1885, Mr. Tripp was united in 
 marriage with Clara Nelson, a native of Sweden, 
 who came with her two brothers to America. They 
 have two children : Mary E. and Joseph C. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Tripp are members of the Willow 
 Creek Presbyterian Church, in which he is an 
 Elder, and take an active part in its work and up- 
 building. Our subject has taken considerable in- 
 terest in the Sabbath-school and is President of 
 the county work. In politics, he is a stalwart 
 Republican and a member of several local societies. 
 He has been President of the Argyle Creamery 
 Association since its organization in March, 1885; 
 is President of the Society of Patrons of Industry; 
 is a member of Harmony Grange No. 957, and of 
 the Mutual Aid Society. He also holds member- 
 ship with Argyle Association No. 2249, and is 
 
350 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Treasurer of the State Association, and is President 
 of the Argj'Ie Association of Mutual and Social 
 Improvement. He is an honored member of these 
 various organizations and, as stated in the begin- 
 ning of this record, Mr. Tripp is one of the lead- 
 ing and influential citizens of Winnebago County, 
 where he is widelj^ and favorably known. 
 
 ■^f] OHN J. BUCKLAND, a successful boot and 
 shoe dealer at No. 309 Kishwakee Street, 
 Rockford, where he has been engaged in 
 business since 1876, was born in Carlshaeun 
 Province, Blakcn, Sweden, Maj' 3, 1834, and was 
 the first of the family to come to America. He 
 secured a good education in the city schools and 
 when yet under age came to this country, landing 
 in New York City after a nine-weeks' ocean voy- 
 age. 
 
 In the early part of the year 1859, he went to 
 Denver, Col., which city then consisted of a couple 
 of shanties, and there Mr. Buckland was offered a 
 block in the center of that great city in exchange 
 for a mule that he owned. He saw no money in 
 the trade at the time, and shortly afterward he, 
 with over sixty others, went up in the mountains 
 on a gold exploring expedition. After stopping 
 for a short time at Mt. McGregor Mines, the 
 whole party decided to go farther up the moun- 
 tain, and with ouly ten days' rations the^^ started 
 out. They ventured too far away and were lost 
 for twenty days. They suffered untold agonies 
 from hunger, having nothing for days but raw 
 meat without salt, and some of the time were un- 
 able to get that. After four days of fasting, they 
 had decided to sacrifice a mule, when one of the 
 party killed an elk. They were so nearlj^ starved 
 that they could hardly wait for their portion, and 
 very little meat was left on the bones after they 
 had dined. After that, a deer was occasionally 
 killed, but they were half starved all the time. At 
 one time the captain of the compjiny gave each 
 about two or three pounds of meat and instructed 
 them not to eat their portion until the day closed. 
 The men were so hungry, however, that when 
 
 evening came all had devoured their share, except 
 the captain, who had a very small piece left. It 
 was in this way that the company got back 
 to Denver. This is, in part, a review of Mr. 
 Buckland 's experience in going to Pike's Peak. 
 He was afflicted with the mountain fever 
 when first starting out and for three days 
 had to be steadied on his mule by ropes. 
 It was he and his partner, a Mr. Lewis, of Kanka- 
 kee, 111., from which place they started, who dis- 
 covered the McGregor claim or diggings, now tlie 
 site of Central City, Colo. Mr. Buckland was the 
 only Swede in the company. 
 
 In the latter part of 1859, our subject returned 
 to Illinois, and located in Rockford. In the fall 
 of 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army, from this 
 city, in the Silver Spar Battery, and served in the 
 Fifteenth Army Corps, under Gen. Sherman, but 
 later under Gen. Logan. He participated in twenty- 
 seven active engagements, besides numerous skir- 
 mishes, and was never absent from duty. He was 
 in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Arkansas Post, 
 Hot Springs, Jackson, Vicksburg and other inter- 
 mediate places, Memphis, and was with Sherman in 
 his march to the sea. He was honorably discharged 
 in June, 1865, after four years of hard service. He 
 was slightly wounded at one time. 
 
 In 1866, after returning to Rockford, Mr. Buck- 
 land went West again, and spent four and a half 
 years as a miner in Montana, after which he re- 
 turned to Rockford. Later he went to Jackson 
 County, Minn., took up a soldier's claim, and tried 
 farming for four years. However, the grasshop- 
 pers "jumped his claim" so often that he gave up 
 trying to till the soil, and returned to Rockford, 
 where he has carried on the boot and shoe business 
 since. He has been very successful in this venture 
 and has a large and increasing trade. He also 
 owns some valuable property in Rockford and is a 
 stockholder of the Rockford Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, a thriving institution. 
 
 Mr. Buckland 's parents, Jonas and Ellen (Pear- 
 son) Swensen, passed their entire days in Sweden, 
 the father dying when eighty-two years of age, 
 and the mother at the age of sixty. Both were 
 members of the Swedish Lutheran Church. The 
 father followed tlie occupation of a farmer. Of 
 
. / 
 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 353 
 
 the fourteen children born to them, ten sons and 
 four daughters, five arc now living and all are mar- 
 ried: Swen, resides in Sweden, and is a baker; Otto 
 is a goldsmith in Copenhagen; Joseph is a resident 
 of Rockford, and Mrs. John Jacobson (see biogra- 
 
 phy). 
 
 Our subject was married in Winnebago County, 
 111., to Miss Susan Col well, a native of this county. 
 Cherry Valley Township, born December 29, 1845. 
 She has never lived out of the county, except for a 
 few years in Minnesota. Her parents were natives 
 of the State of Maryland, but came to Winnebago 
 County in the latter part of the '30s, and were 
 among the first settlers. Thej' located on a farm in 
 Cherry Valley and there the father, Benjamin Col- 
 well, died when eighty-three years of age. His 
 wife lived to be quite old but died of a cancer 
 when seventy years of age. They were the par- 
 ents of a large family of children, seven of whom 
 are living now, Ave sons and two daughters, and 
 all are in comfortable circumstances. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Buckland are the parents of four 
 children: Myrtle D., educated in the city schools; 
 Charles E., also educated in the city schools; Izora 
 at home and Zinia E., at home. Mr. Buckland 
 and wife are well known and universally respected 
 in Rockford. Politically, he is a sound Republi- 
 can, and socially, he is a Master Mason, and a char- 
 ter member of G. L. Nevins Post, G. A. R., No. 1. 
 
 Ij OSEPH H. FAKE. The results of unflag- 
 ging perseverance, prudent economy and 
 good habits, probably find no better ex- 
 ponent in Boone County than in the above- 
 named gentleman, who is residing on his excellent 
 farm on section 7, Flora Township. He is univer- 
 sally popular in both business and social circles and 
 is possessed of more than ordinary ability, together 
 with the .energy and enterprise which seldom fail 
 to win. 
 
 Our subject was born December 5, 1819, in Rens- 
 selaer County, N. Y., and is a son of John Fake, also 
 a native of that State. The grandfather of our sub- 
 ject was born in Germany and, as far as is known, 
 is the only member of the family who came to 
 
 America. He located in Rensselaer County, N, Y., 
 when a young man, where he purchased a farm 
 and resided until his decease. 
 
 John Fake was reared in his native State and 
 died in February, 1825, in Rensselaer County. The 
 lady whom he chose as his second wife was the 
 mother of our subject and bore the maiden name 
 of Susanna See. She was born January 10, 1793, in 
 the Empire State and died in Brunswick, Rensselaer 
 County, December 31, 1882, iu her ninetieth year. 
 
 He of whom we write was five years of age 
 when his father died and he continued to make his 
 home with his mother until reaching mature years. 
 After his marriage, lie purchased a flax mill in 
 Rensselaer County, and in addition to operating 
 it conducted a farm which he rented. He made 
 his home in Rensselaer County until 1853, at 
 which time he came to Illinois, which he had visited 
 in 1847, and had then purchased eighty acres 
 of Government land in Winnebago County. In 
 1853, he bought forty-five acres adjoining his 
 original tract, for which he paid $15 per acre. 
 There was a log house on the place and in that 
 Mr. Fake made his home for about two years, when 
 he built a good frame house in which he live^ un- 
 til 1859, when he sold his estate and purchased 
 property near his home, which was his abiding- 
 place until 1867, when he rented his farm and 
 purchased a portion of the farm where he now re- 
 sides. His estate comprises one hundred and sev- 
 enty-five acres and is well improved with all the 
 necessary buildings which make of it a first-class 
 farm. 
 
 January 27, 1846, Joseph H. Fake and Miss Sa- 
 rah A. Lane were united in marriage. The lady 
 was born in Pittstown, Rensselaer County, N. Y., 
 October 4, 1822, and died November 22, 1886. 
 They have no children but have reared two: Sarah 
 Elizabeth, who was married, December 18, 1869, 
 to Fred B. Tyers, and is residing in Washington, 
 D. C, having a family of six children; and Thomas 
 C. Cramer. 
 
 Mrs. Fake joined the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 before her marriage and our subject became a mem- 
 ber of that body in 1862. He has officiated as 
 Class-leader, and at the present time is Trustee. 
 He takes a deep interest in politics and is a mem- 
 
354 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ber of the Republican party. He is self-made in the 
 true sense of that term and has been so long and 
 closely connected with the interests of Boone 
 County that we are glad to be able to represent 
 him on the pages of this volume. While a resident 
 of Winnebago County, Mr. Fake was elected Jus- 
 tice of the Peace for three terms. 
 
 
 i\'5''5"*'!*t 
 
 ^♦♦♦•5-F 
 
 ^^ ARLT(3N W. SHELDON. Whilst history is 
 ((( ri philosophy illustrated, biography is the lamp 
 ^^^ of experience to encourage and guide us 
 in the paths of success, or deter us from the road 
 to ruin. The preservation of the facts, therefore, 
 making up the lives of prominent men, is not only 
 a source of gratification to personal friends, but a 
 foundation of information to all, serving as guide- 
 boards by the wayside, or beacon lights to the way- 
 farer who would achieve fortune or distinction in 
 like walks of life. In Mr. Sheldon, who is engaged 
 in the practice of law and a general loan and in- 
 surance business, we find a gentleman who has 
 won, unaided, the leading position he holds to-day 
 among the prominent citizens of Rockford. 
 
 The original of this sketch was born in Victor, 
 Ontario County, N. Y., March 14, 1828, and is the 
 son of Gad Sheldon, a native of New England. 
 His father. Deacon Ezra Sheldon, was, from the 
 best information at hand, also a native of New 
 England, and engaged in the mercantile business. 
 He spent the last year of his life at the home of his 
 son, Ezra, at Mendon, Monroe County, N. Y. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Sallie Perry. She 
 was a native of New England and the mother of 
 three children, namely: Ezra, Asaph and Gad. 
 
 The father of our subject was a young man when 
 locating in Ontario County, where he purchased a 
 farm in Victor and made the place his home until 
 1834, at which time he removed to South Bristol, 
 that county. He there became the owner of a good 
 estate, and cultivated the soil until his decease, 
 which occurred in 1883, at the age of eighty-seven 
 years. The maiden name of the mother of our 
 subject was pAinice Hosford. She was born, it is 
 supposed, in Genesee County, N. Y. Her father, 
 the grandfather of our subject, was a patriot in 
 
 the Revolutionary War, and died after having at- 
 tained the advanced age of nmety-two years. His 
 good wife departed this life at about the same 
 age. 
 
 Gad Sheldon was a soldier in the War of 1812 
 and reared a family of six children, namely: Mary 
 E., Alexander, Charles H., Carlton W., Porter and 
 Ogilvie L. Mary E. married William Doty and is 
 now deceased; Alexander, an attorney, who prac- 
 ticed at Jamestown, N. Y., was a member of the 
 New York State Legislature, and is now deceased. 
 Charles is a real-estate dealer at Rochester, N. Y. 
 and Porter, who for a time practiced the profession 
 of law in Rockford, succeeded his brother Alex- 
 ander in Jamestown, N. Y., where he is residing at 
 the present time. He is very prominent in public 
 affairs, and served as Representative in Congress 
 from his district. Ogilvie went to the Territory 
 of Kansas in 1854, making a location in the town 
 of Burlingame. He also served as a member of the 
 Territorial Legislature, and at the time of his de- 
 cease was a member of the State Senate. 
 
 Carlton W. Sheldon, of this sketch, prosecuted 
 his primary studies in the public schools of Victor 
 and South Bristol, N. Y. He spent a year as a 
 student of East Bloomfield Academy when Prof- 
 S. W. Clark, author of "Clark's Grammar," was its 
 principal. In 1851, he came to Illinois by the rail- 
 road to Buffalo, then by way of the Lakes to 
 Kenosha, Wis., where he secured a team, which 
 conveyed him to McHenrj- County. That same 
 fall he engaged to teach the school at Woodstock, 
 which position he held during the fall, winter and 
 spring terms, spending his leisure moments in read- 
 ing law, which profession it was his determination 
 to follow. 
 
 August 12, 1852, the gentleman whose name 
 heads this sketch made his advent into Rockford, 
 and at once entered the law ofHce of Col. Jasen 
 IMarsh. He was a faithful student, and in the fall 
 of that year was admitted to the Bar, and, opening 
 an office, was actively engaged in the practice of 
 law until 1869, when he entered the employ of the 
 Rockford Insurance Company as Adjuster. He 
 traveled in the interest of that company for five 
 years, then, in 1874, organized the Forest City In- 
 surance Company, being elected its Secretary. He 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 355 
 
 discharged the duties of that responsible position 
 conscientiously for five years, when he resigned 
 and again engaged in the practice of law. 
 
 Mr. Sheldon was united in marriage, December 
 20, 1855, to Harriet J. Hathaway, who was born in 
 Grafton, Mass., and was a daughter of Leon- 
 ard and Caroline (Thompson) Hathaway. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Sheldon have been blessed by the birth 
 of four children: Charles E., George P., Dora E. 
 and Ethel A. In all the country there is no more 
 ardent, consistent Republican, no man of better 
 impulses and strict integrity than Mr. Sheldon. 
 Independent in his religious views, benevolent and 
 kind, a good neighbor and a kind father and hus- 
 band, he is entitled to and possesses the confidence 
 of his neighbors and friends. 
 
 . — tg i; 
 
 ^^EORGE BRADLEY. Each succeeding year 
 III witnesses marked improvements in the 
 *^^ thriving city of Rockford, particularly in 
 the way of handsome business blocks, residences, 
 etc., and in all these structures there is the blend- 
 ing of the artistic with the utilitarian in modern 
 architecture. 
 
 Among those who have acquired reputations 
 as skillful architects, and who is one of the lead- 
 ing men in this line in Northern Illinois, as well 
 as the oldest in Rockford, is George Bradley. 
 The firm has been George Bradley & Son for 
 eleven years and is located in the Stewart Build- 
 ing, where they occupy three floors. They have 
 drawn designs for more than one thousand of 
 the most substantial and modern residences of the 
 city, besides many public buildings, including 
 schoolhouses, churches, etc. 
 
 Mr. Bradley has been a resident of Rockford 
 since May, 1855, and has since given his entire 
 time to his business. He is a practical man of ex- 
 perience, thoroughly trained, and well qualified 
 for executing all work appertaining to his pro- 
 fession, and has demonstrated all over the city 
 and surrounding sections, by the numerous build- 
 ings which have been erected from his designs, 
 that he knows his business thoroughly. Our sub- 
 ject was formerly a resident of Dixon, 111., when 
 
 that place was small, but only remained there one 
 year. He has witnessed the marvelous growth of 
 Rockford, and has ever been forward in advanc- 
 ing any movement that had for its object the pros- 
 perity and development of the city. 
 
 Born in Dover, Kent County, England, in 
 1825, Mr. Bradley was but seven j^ears of age 
 when his parents, in 1832, crossed tlie ocean to 
 America. They were forty-seven days on the water, 
 but finally landed in Boston, Mass., where they 
 remained a short time. From there they went to 
 West Newbury, Essex County, of that State, and 
 there the parents and a brother and four sisters 
 received their final summons. 
 
 The father, William Bradley, was a native of 
 Kent County, England, and came of an old and 
 prominent English family, generally sailors or 
 soldiers. He grew to manhood there and served 
 fourteen years in the English navy, the last year 
 as Shipmaster in the East India navy. After 
 coming to this country, he withdrew fi-om a sea- 
 faring life and engaged in tilling the soil. He 
 was born in 1796, and died when forty-nine years 
 of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary 
 Carlton, was born in 1800, and died in 1852. 
 They were members of the Episcopal Church. 
 
 George Bradley is the only surviving member 
 of his immediate family, and his boyhood and 
 youth were spent on the farm in Essex County. 
 This farm is now a part of the large tract of 
 land owned by Maj. Ben Perley Poore, who was 
 a particular friend and crony of our subject. 
 After growing up, the latter was married in Haver- 
 hill, that county, to Miss Mary J. Burham, who 
 was born in the Quaker settlement of New Hamp- 
 shire, and who was of old New England stock. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bradley attend the Christian Union 
 Church and are highly esteemed in the commu- 
 nity. They became the parents of seven children, 
 two deceased: George W. died when young, and 
 Mary E. died at the age of four years. Those liv- 
 ing are: Frances J., wife of Andrew Sheratt, sec- 
 retary and treasurer of the Forest City Insurance 
 Company; Emily A., wife of William D. Dow, a 
 commercial traveler located at Butte City, Mont.; 
 Ella L., wife of Frank McKinney, of the firm of 
 Clark & McKinney, hardware dealers, at Rock- 
 
356 
 
 POSTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 ford; Charles W., a practical architect since the age 
 of twelve years, and who, since seventeen j'ears of 
 age has been with his father, is a promising young 
 man. He married Miss Carrie D. Smitli, of White 
 Water, Wis., where she was reared and educated, 
 and they now reside on West Mulberry Street, 
 Rockford. Edwin B. resides in Rockford and does 
 business with the Berlin Manufacturing Company, 
 of Beloit, Wis.; he married Miss Emma Cotton, of 
 Rockford. Mr. Bradley and sons are independent 
 in their political views. 
 
 ORTON A. BROWN, a retired farmer re- 
 siding on West State Street, Rockford, 
 was born in Oneida County, N. Y., in 
 1842, and is of English descent. His 
 grandfather, Thomas Brown, Sr., was born in Eng- 
 land and married Miss Mary Morton, a native of 
 that countrj^ After all their children were born 
 and the eldest daughter was married, they emi- 
 grated to this country, in 1829, the married 
 daughter continuing to reside in her native land. 
 They sailed from Liverpool and after a pleas- 
 ant voyage arrived at New York. A year later, 
 Mr. Brown settled on a farm in Oneida County, 
 N. Y., where his death occurred in 1855, at the 
 age of eighty-one years. His wife died in 1843, 
 when sixty years of age. They were members of 
 the Episcopal Church in England, but after com- 
 ing to this country became active members in the 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 Thomas Brown, Jr., the father of our subject, 
 was born in Cumberland Count}^, England, in 
 1814, and at the age of fifteen accompanied his 
 parents on their emigration to America. On the 
 farm which his father had purchased in Oneida 
 County, he was reared, and after attaining to man 's 
 estate wedded Alma Fuller, a native of Oneida 
 County, who belonged to an old Connecticut fam- 
 ily. Her grandfather removed to Oneida County 
 in an early day and improved what was known as 
 Fuller's Hollow. Her people were among the 
 prominent and leading citizens of that commu- 
 nity. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Brown 
 
 resided upon their farm in Oneida County until 
 they emigrated to Illinois, becoming pioneer set- 
 tlers of Burritt .Township, Winnebago County. 
 Mr. Brown secured one hundred and sixty acres 
 of land fi-om the Government, developed therefrom 
 a fine farm and became one of the leading citi- 
 zens of the community. He made the first wagon 
 road north of Winnebago Village, and was one of 
 the organizers of the Methodist Church, in which 
 he continued a faithful worker until his death in 
 June, 1890. He was first a Whig and afterward a 
 stanch Republican in politics. Throughout the 
 community, he had a wide acquaintance, and the 
 noble, upright life which he lived won him the 
 high regard of all. His death occurred at the 
 home of our subject, and his wife also died at the 
 home of her son in October, 1888. Their only 
 daughter died at the age of twenty years, and our 
 subject is now the only surviving member of the 
 family. Thomas Brown was a brother of the late 
 Judge William Brown, a very prominent citizen 
 of Rockford. 
 
 In the usual manner of farmer lads, our subject 
 was reared to manhood, and after he had attained 
 his majority wedded Jane Houghton, who was 
 born and reared in Durand Township, this county, 
 and is a daughter of Robert Houghton, now de- 
 ceased. Her mother still resides in Pecatonica 
 Township at an advanced age. Eight children 
 have been born unto our subject and his wife, six 
 of whom are yet living: Mary, Agnes, Etta, Alma, 
 Bessie and Horace. Thomas and Nellie are both de- 
 ceased. 
 
 Mr. Brown is numbered among the early settlers 
 of this county and for man}' yeiars was one of its 
 successful farmers. He located in Burritt Town- 
 ship in 1853, and there engaged in agricultural 
 pursuits, and also in stock-raising and dairying. 
 He kept an average of thirty cows and at the 
 same time fed cattle. He yet owns four hundred 
 and twenty acres of valuable land, a part of which 
 is his father's old homestead. He has led a busy 
 and useful life and the success which has crowned 
 his efforts is well deserved. Having acquired a 
 handsome competence, he decided to live a retired 
 life, and about a year since came to Roekfoid, 
 where he now makes his home. Both Mr. and 
 
Jlj6% 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 359 
 
 Mrs. Brown are members of the Presbyterian 
 Church and are highly respected people. Their 
 home is a pleasant residence, surrounded by com- 
 modious grounds, where hospitality abounds and 
 where their friends are always sure of a hearty 
 welcome. 
 
 RS. JULIA (KELLEY) TURNER, one of 
 the earliest settlers of Winnebago County, 
 now roeiding on section 29, Guilford 
 Township, was born in Ireland on the 
 27th of December, 1814. Her father, Jeremiah 
 Kelley, was also a native of the Emerald Isle and 
 the grandfather, John Kelley, there spent his entire 
 life. Her father was married, in Ireland, to Miss 
 Mary Twetney, and in 1817 came to this country 
 accompanied by his wife and three children. He 
 settled in St. Albans, Vt., where he purchased land 
 and engaged in farming for a number of years, 
 after which he removed to Rochester, Monroe 
 County. In that place, he rented land and en- 
 gaged in farming for some time. Later he re- 
 moved to "Wisconsin and settled ten miles west of 
 Milwaukee. After a short time spent there, he 
 came to Winnebago County and his last days were 
 passed in Guilford Township. 
 
 Our subject was a child of three summers, when, 
 with her parents, she came to America. May 
 10, 1839, she gave her hand in marriage to Melger 
 H. Turner, who was born September 3, 1818, in the 
 Empire State and was a son of James and Nancy 
 (Thomas) Turner. The days of his boyhood and 
 youth were spent in his native county, where he 
 resided until 1839. He then removed to Illinois, 
 accompanied by his bride and his parents. 
 
 The removal was made by way of the Erie Canal 
 and the Great Lakes to Chicago, where Mr. Turner 
 bought a yoke, of oxen and a wagon, and thus 
 equipped, the journey was completed to Winnebago 
 County. The year previous, Mr. Turner, Sr., had 
 purchased a "squatter's" claim on section 29, Guil- 
 ford Township. Upon it was a log cabin, into 
 which the family moved. At that time, all the 
 land was owned by the Government; deer and all 
 kinds of wild game were plentiful and the work of 
 16 
 
 progress and civilization seemed scarcely begun. 
 Mr. Turner added a room to the cabin and oc- 
 cupied it with his father's family until the latter 
 built a home of his own. A few years later, Mr. 
 Turner erected a substantial brick residence, which 
 his widow still occupies, and there made his home 
 until his death. He passed away Decem.ber 10, 
 1884, respected by all who knew him. He was one 
 of the representative farmers of the community 
 and an honored pioneer, and his portrait in an- 
 other page is a valued addition, to this volume. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Turner were born two chil- 
 dren but the only son, William, died at the age of 
 twelve and a half years. Mary is the wife of Na- 
 than W. Watkins, who occupies an adjoining farm, 
 and their son, William E., resides with his grand- 
 motlier and mrmages her farm. Mrs. Turner is a 
 most estimable lady, held in high regard by all' 
 who know her, and has a wide circle of acquaint- 
 ances throughout the community. 
 
 EVER JOHNSON has passed the unevent- 
 ful life of a farmer, and has continued 
 steadily to pursue "the even tenor of hig 
 way," and is now classed among the pros- 
 perous and progressive farmers of Manchester 
 Township. Although of foreign birth, a native of 
 Norway, he has been a resident of this country since 
 a small boy and takes as much interest in the pro- 
 gress and development of the same as any native- 
 born citizen. His birth occurred on the 26th of 
 November, 1845, and his father, John Johnson, 
 was born in the same place in 1804 or 1808. The 
 father was a farmer and was married in his native 
 country, in 1832, lo Miss Engebor Peters, also of 
 that country. After the birth of their children, 
 ten in number, and in the spring of 1850, this am- 
 bitious couple determined to cross the ocean to 
 America and make a home in the "land of the 
 free." After reaching New York, they went to 
 Chicago via canal and Lakes. Mr. Johnson brought 
 his family to Manchester Township, quartered 
 them with friends, and returned to Chicago 
 for employment, remaining there for a number of 
 months. They were possessed of considerable 
 
360 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 means for those days and they soon purchased one 
 hundred and twenty acres of land with small im- 
 provements, for which they paid $8 per acre. Tlie 
 house was a good log building and in this they 
 lived for many j'ears before Mr. Johnson erected 
 the main part of his present commodious and com- 
 fortable dwelling. He died in the fall of 1875, 
 when seventy years of age, and his wife too passed 
 away about three months later, when sixty-six 
 years of age. They had lost three children: Emily, 
 born in 1833, died in Mississippi in 1866 leav- 
 ing her husband, M. A. Brown, and three children ; 
 L. B., a twin brother of INIrs. Brown, died in 
 Chicago in 1872. He was engaged in business on 
 the vessels there and when on a recreation trip he 
 was accidentally drowned. He was only thirty- 
 nine years of age and was a prosperous young 
 business man, leaving his wife and three daughters 
 in very comfortable circumstances, all the fruits of 
 his own labors. Ann, born in 1840, became Mrs. 
 "William Seaver, and died in Manchester Township 
 in 1872, when but thirty-two years of age. She 
 left her husband with four sons and one daughter. 
 The living members of the family are: A. P., 
 Susan, Peter, Nels; Sever, our subject, and his 
 twin sister, Betsy; Hannah, John and Etta C. 
 A. P. and Nels are manufacturers of furniture in 
 Chicago, and have been in business there for 
 many years. They started in a small way on Green 
 Street soon after the war, and their business has in- 
 creased until now they have the largest chair fac- 
 tory in the United States. All the members of 
 this family were well educated. 
 
 Our subject has followed agricultural pursuits 
 all his life and married a farmer's daughter. Miss 
 Betsy Seaver, May 25, 1882, Her parents, Knudt 
 and Thora Seaver, were both Norwegians, who 
 came to the States at an early day. Mrs. Johnson 
 was born in Manchester Township in 1859. After 
 marriage, our subject and wife settled on the old 
 homestead and are now the owners of one hundred 
 and seventy-seven acres of good, productive laud, 
 with ample barns, outbuildings, etc. His barn was 
 the first one erected in the neighborhood and was 
 built by his father from timber that grew on the 
 farm. One barn, 30x50 feet, has the stable in the 
 basement. Mr. Johnson is engaged in general 
 
 farming and in connection raises a great many 
 hogs, selling from forty to fifty head each year. 
 He keeps from thirty to forty head of horses and 
 horned cattle, and also about twelve cows. He 
 and Mrs. Johnson hold membership in the Norwe- 
 gian Lutheran Church. 
 
 r 
 
 -5«^*s 
 
 AMUEL KIRK. Lives of public-spirited 
 and successful citizens furnish examples 
 which should encourage others to greater 
 efforts and nobler deeds; and among those 
 who are building for themselves monuments that 
 will outlast shafts of granite or statues in bronze, 
 may be mentioned Mr. Kirk, who, amid comforts 
 accumulated by his unremitting exertions, and sur- 
 rounded by the evidences of the love of his family, 
 the respect of his acquaintances and the confidence 
 of his friends, is tranquilly passing the twilight of 
 his life at his pleasant home in Pecatonica. 
 
 The father of our subject, Samuel Kirk, Sr., was 
 the son of Thomas Kirk and was born in North- 
 amptonshire, England, where ho was also reared 
 and married. In 1851, he emigrated to America 
 with his wife and three sons (two sons having 
 come hither previously) and located in Rockford, 
 where he engaged in teaming for three years. 
 Thence removing to Seward Township, Winnebago 
 County, he purchased a quarter-section of land, 
 and upon the home he thei-e established resided 
 until his death at the age of sixty-five years. His 
 wife passed away at the age of seventy-eight 
 years, ten months and sixteen days. 
 
 Born in Northamptonshire, England, April 24, 
 1836, our subject was a lad of about fifteen years 
 when he came to America. He aided his father in 
 teaming at Rockford and afterward accompanied 
 him to the farm in Seward Township. After 
 farming for three years in Winnebago Township, 
 he returned to Seward, where he operated and culti- 
 vated a tract of land until he retired from farming 
 pursuits and removed to Pecatonica. His labors 
 resulted in the accumulation of a considerable 
 amount of this world's goods, through the exer- 
 cise of good judgment and integrity. Meanwhile 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 361 
 
 he has ever maintained a deep interest in religious 
 work, is a member of tlie Metliodist Episcopal 
 Church, prominent in its councils, and has served 
 as Class-leader and Steward for thirty years. His 
 political affiliations are with the Praliibition party 
 and he takes an active part in public affairs. 
 
 In 1858, Mr. Kirk was united in marriage with 
 Miss Ann Faulkner, who was born November 9, 
 1840. She is the daughter of John and Mary 
 Faulkner, of whom sec sketch elsewhere in this 
 volume. Mr. and Mrs. Kirk are the pai-ents of the 
 following-named children: William, born in Sew- 
 ard Township, December 24, 1862, married Emma 
 Logan, who died October 2, 1888, leaving one son, 
 Howard R., born August 15, 1888; Elizabeth A., 
 bora September 5, 1864, married Seigel Buesingay 
 and has two children living; Charles, born in Win- 
 nebago Township, December 20, 1866; and Fannie, 
 born in the same township, April 7, 1868, married 
 Charles Eddv. 
 
 4^ 
 
 -^ 
 
 /iS^ONRAD A. NEWMAN, a successful and 
 [li prominent designer and draughtsman, em- 
 ^^7 ployed by the Union Furniture Company 
 and the Rockford Chair and Furniture Company, 
 was born in Sweden, March 31, 1860. His father 
 died before he was born. His mother afterward 
 became the wife of Mr. Moberg, and with her fam- 
 ily came to the United States, locating in Rockford, 
 where she is still living at the age of sixty-four 
 years. Her second husband died some j-ears ago. 
 He was a member of the Methodist Church, to 
 which Mrs. Moberg also belongs. 
 
 Our subject was a lad of eight summers when, 
 with the family, he crossed the broad Atlantic. 
 Almost his entire life, therefore, has been spent in 
 this city and of much of its growth and develop- 
 ment he has been an eye-witness. His education 
 was here acquired in the public schools and he be- 
 came a carver in the employ of the Union Furni- 
 ture Company, with which he remained for fifteen 
 years. In the meantime, he gained a reputation 
 as a draughtsman and designer and for some time 
 has given the latter profession his closest attention. 
 He has always been regarded as a skilled workman, 
 
 and it is said by some of the leading stockholders 
 of the companies by which he is employed, that 
 much of their success is due to the designing of 
 Mr. Newman and his skilled work. He has been 
 associated with the Union Furniture Company for 
 some seven years, and with the Rockford Chair 
 and Furniture Company for the past three years. 
 He is also a stockholder and Director in both. 
 
 In Sheridan, 111., Mr. Newman was united in the 
 holy bonds of matrimony to Miss Blary Rasmus- 
 son, who was born in Chicago, in 1868, and when 
 quite young went with her parents to La Salle 
 County. luiSheridan, her education was acquired 
 and the days of her maidenhood were passed. 
 Her parents were both natives of Norway. Her 
 father, J. Rasmusson, who is now well advanced in 
 years, is a shoe dealer of Sheridan. Her mother 
 was called to the home beyOnd some years ago. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Newman are the proud parents of 
 four interesting children, three sons and one 
 daughter: Earl A., Lyle W., Jennie V. and Ray H. 
 Our subject and his wife hold membership with the 
 Swedish Methodist Church and are actively inter- 
 ested in its growth and upbuilding. Mr. Newman 
 is a Prohibitionist in politics. The cause of tem- 
 perance finds in him a warm friend and he is an 
 earnest advocate of everything calculated to pro- 
 mote the moral, social and educational interests of 
 the city. His life has been well and worthily 
 spent in the interests of his business and his fam- 
 ily and he holds a liigh rank among his fellow- 
 townsmen, as an upright and straightforward busi- 
 ness man, who deserves the confidence of tlie com- 
 munity. 
 
 ^^^ EORGE H. HOLMES, who ranks among the 
 well-to-do and progressive farmers of Rock- 
 ford Township, is at present residing on 
 section 21, where he is engaged in the successful 
 cultivation of a fine tract of laud. He is a native 
 of the county, having been born in Rockford, Feb- 
 ruary 23, 1844. He is a son of HoUis H. Holmes, 
 one of the pioneers of this section, who it is 
 thought was born in the town of Nortlieast, Put- 
 nam County, N, Y,, April 15, 1810. He was very 
 
362 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 j^oung when his parents moved across the line into 
 Connecticut where he was reared and educated. 
 
 The father of our subject was a shoemaker by 
 trade, and from Connecticut went to Canada, 
 where he was engaged in the leather business at St. 
 Thomas. In 1839, accompanied by his wife, he 
 came to Winnebago County, making the removal 
 with teams. He at once located in Rockford, which 
 was at that time little more than a hamlet, and 
 opened the first extensive boot and shoe store 
 in the place. He continued in that line of business 
 until 1846, when, on account of ill-health, he sold 
 out and purchased a farm adjoining the city on the 
 east, which is now included in the suburb known 
 as "Highlands." Mr. Holmes there established a 
 nursery, which was the first in the county, and 
 which he conducted until his decease in 1859. 
 
 Our subject's mother bore the maiden name of 
 Sarah Moore. She was born in Sparta, County of 
 Elgin, Province of Ontario, Canada. She departed 
 this life on tlie home farm in 1885, having become 
 the mother of three children: George H., Edward 
 M. and Frank E. A sketch of both brothers will 
 appear on another page of this work. The elder 
 Mr. Holmes was, in early life, a Whig in politics, 
 but later joined the Republican ranks. He was 
 elected County Treasurer in 1846, serving a period 
 of three years. 
 
 George H. Holmes received his education in 
 Rockford, and, after the decease of his father, con- 
 tinued in the nursery business until 1862. In June 
 of that year, he enlisted for three months in Com- 
 pany A, Sixty-seventh Illinois Infantry, and served 
 with his regiment until the 6th of October fol- 
 lowing. He returned home, and May 11, 1864, en- 
 listed in the United States naval service and 
 served for one year on the gunboat "Undine." 
 Again returning home, our subject resumed his 
 business as a nursery-man until 1890, when the old 
 home farm was sold and platted into city lots, 
 which was known as the " Highlands," the most 
 beautiful suburb of Rockford. 
 
 After the marriage of our subject in December, 
 1890, at which time Miss Alice Herrick became his 
 wife, he located on the old Herrick homestead, 
 where he resides at the present time. Mrs. Holmes 
 was born on the farm which is her present abiding- 
 
 place, and is a daughter of Ephraim Abbott Her- 
 rick, a native of Andover, Essex County, Mass., 
 where he was reared and resided until 1839. At 
 that date he came to Illinois, made a claim to 
 a tract of Government land on the east half of the 
 southeast quarter of section 36, and when the land 
 came into market purchased it at $1.25 per acre. 
 He erected a log house on the place and com- 
 menced its improvement. His father was associated 
 with him in the ownership and cultivation of the 
 property, and together thej' erected good build- 
 ings and resided on the place until the death of 
 Mr. Herrick in January, 1881. The maiden name 
 of the mother of Mrs. Holmes was Lovina Stevens. 
 She was born in Lennox, Madison County, N. Y., 
 and was a daughter of Noah and Lois (Walker) 
 Stevens. She is still residing on the old home- 
 stead. 
 
 Our subject, socially, is a member of Nevins 
 Post No. 1, G. A. R. 
 
 SAMUEL CUNNINGHAM is a man widely- 
 known for his integrity, honesty and up- 
 rightness, always contributing liberally to 
 every good cause and striving to suppress 
 evil. He is at present residing on a splendid 
 farm, pleasantly located two miles northwest of 
 the city in Rockford Township, which is supplied 
 with good buildings and well equipped with the 
 most practical modern machinery. 
 
 Our subject was born in Peterboio, Hillsboro 
 County, N. H., August 15, 1815, and is a son of 
 James Cunningham, who was also a native of that 
 place, as was also his father, James Cunningham, 
 Sr. The great-grandfather of our subject, Thomas 
 Cunningham, was born in the North of Ireland, of 
 Scotch parents, and on emigrating to America set- 
 tled in Londonderry, N. H. He later removed to 
 Poterboro, about 1735, where he was one of the 
 earliest settlers. He secured a tract of timber land 
 in the southern part of the town and made that 
 place his home until his decease, after having 
 reared a family of three sons and three daughters. 
 The grandfather of our subject was reared to 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 363 
 
 farming pursuits, whicli calling he followed 
 throughout his entire life. He became the owner 
 of a tract of timber land, located one mile from 
 the old homestead, which he cleared and improved, 
 making his home there until his decease. He was 
 widely and favorably known in the community 
 and was a patriot in the Revolutionary War. The 
 maiden name of his wife was vSarah Nay, who, as 
 far as is known, was also born in Peterboro. She 
 became the mother of a family of five sons and two 
 daughters, and departed this life on the old home 
 farm. 
 
 The direct progenitor of our subject remained 
 with his parents until reaching mature years, when 
 he went to Maine, making that State his home for 
 a time, and on returning to Peterboro lived on 
 the old homestead until 1838. In that year, he 
 came West to Winnebago Count}', and purchased 
 a claim four miles from Rock ford. He later 
 entered a tract from the Government, which he 
 improved and resided upon for a number of years, 
 when, moving to Rockford, lie purchased a home 
 on what is now the site of the Second Congrega- 
 tional Church, and there resided until his death. 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject was 
 Sarah Morrison Cunningham. She was born in 
 Peterboro, N. H., and was a daughter of Capt. 
 Samuel and Susan (Carter) Cunningham. She 
 came West to Winnebago County in 1839, and, 
 surviving her husband a few years, died at the 
 home of her son, Benjamin F. 
 
 The five sons included in the parental family 
 were Isaac N., James P., Thomas, Samuel, William 
 and Benjamin F. Isaac N. came to Winnebago 
 County in the year 1836, and was the second Sheriff 
 of the county; he departed this life in Rockford. 
 James P. is a graduate of Bowdoin College and for 
 a number of years practiced medicine at Hunts- 
 ville, Ala.; he is also deceased, departing this life 
 at Peterboro, N. H., when in his twenty-ninth year. 
 Thomas located at Manchester, Coffee County, 
 Tenn., where his decease occurred. William went 
 to California in 1852 and is at the present time re- 
 siding in San Francisco. Benjamin F. is a promi- 
 nent resident of Rockford Township. 
 
 Samuel Cunningham was reared and educated 
 in his native town and remembers distinctly when 
 
 there were no railroads near his home and Boston, 
 which was the nearest market, was sixty miles 
 away. He remained under the parental roof until 
 reaching his sixteenth year, at which time he com- 
 menced clerking in an hotel. Later he was en- 
 gaged in driving a stage from Keene to Boston, 
 and in 1839, desiring to learn more of the Western 
 country, came to Illinois, where he was met at Chi- 
 cago by his brother William, who with his team 
 conveyed them to Winnebago County. At that 
 time, Rockford was little more than a hamlet and 
 the surrounding country was owned mostly by the 
 Government. Deer and wild game were plentiful 
 and prairie chickens and quails would often come 
 to the door of their cabin to be fed. Mr. Cunning- 
 ham lived with his father, who had also come to 
 this county, for two years and then purchased a 
 tract of Government land in what is now Winne- 
 bago Township. There he erected a good frame 
 house, improved the land and resided there until 
 1863, when he disposed of his estate and purchased 
 the old homestead of his father. He made that 
 place his home for the succeeding thirteen years, 
 when he also disposed of it and became the owner 
 of the place where he is at present residing. 
 
 June 12, 1839, our subject was married toEmilj- 
 Cutter, who was born in Goshen, Sullivan County 
 N. H., February 24, 1816. She was the daughter 
 of John Cutter, who was born in Cheshire County, 
 N. H., October 31, 1788. His father, also named 
 John Cutter, was born at Woburn, Mass., April 16, 
 1765, and was married to Abigail Demary, of 
 Rindge, who was the daughter of John and Rebecca 
 (Corneille) Demary, both of whom were natives of 
 Boston and of French parentage. The grandfather 
 of Mrs. Cunningham removed from Massachusetts 
 to Jaffrey, N. H., in 1789. He was a leading mem- 
 ber of the Universalist Church at that place, where 
 he passed the remainder of his life. The father of 
 Mrs. Cunningham learned the trade of a tanner 
 from his father, and after his marriage removed to 
 Goshen, where, in addition to carrying on his trade 
 he operated a farm. He departed this life on the 
 5th of February, 1829. Mrs. Cunningham's mother 
 in girlhood was Betsey Crosby, a native of Jaffrey 
 and the daughter of Capt. Alpheus and Elizabeth 
 (Gilmore) Crosby. She survived her husband for 
 
364 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a number of j'ears and died at Plymouth, N. H. 
 Mrs. Cunningham was twelve j'ears old on the 
 death of her father, and was then taken into the 
 home of an uncle. She commenced teaching 
 school at the age of twenty-one years, which pro- 
 fession she followed until her marriage. 
 
 Two sons have been born to our subject and his 
 estimable wife: James C, whose birth occurred 
 November 21, 1848, died in his nineteenth year. 
 John A., who was born August 27, 1851, died in 
 his twenty-seventh year; he had married Elizabeth 
 Hollenbeck and was the father of two children, 
 John Clement and Katie Emily, the latter of whom 
 is deceased. In politics, our subject is a Republi- 
 can, voting the Whig ticket previous to the forma- 
 tion of that party. In official matters, he served 
 as Assessor of Winnebago Township for thirteen 
 years and was Supervisor for two terms. In 1844, 
 he was elected a member of the Board of County 
 Coinmissioners and in every position fulfilled the 
 duties imposed upon him in a most creditable 
 manner. 
 
 -»> J I f >■ 
 
 ? I ' I ' I I I 
 
 'UGUST LUNDBERG, one of the wide- 
 awake, thorough-going business men of 
 Rockford, is a stockholder and Director of 
 the Excelsior Manufacturing Company, of 
 that city; also President and stockholder of the 
 Globe Clothing Company, which was started in 
 1890 with a capital stock of §50,000, most of which 
 has already been paid up, and he is also interested 
 in other enterprises. He has been a stockholder of 
 the former company since 1882, and is now fore- 
 man of the upholstering department. 
 
 Like many of the representative business men of 
 Rockford, Mr. Lundberg is a Swede, his birth oc- 
 curring in Wester Gothland Province on the 29th 
 of November, 1841, and in that country he learned 
 his trade. He came to the United States in 1870, 
 located in Chicago, and was the first of the family 
 to venture on American soil. Since then he has 
 been joined by three sisters: Mrs. Matilda Anderr 
 son, Mrs. Charlotte Matterson, Mrs. Caroline Tal- 
 strom, and a half sister, Miss Christina Carlson, all 
 now of Chicago. 
 
 The parents, Carl and Johanna (Anderson) Lund- 
 
 berg, died in Sweden, when seventy-live and sixty- 
 two years of age, respectively. The father had been 
 twice married, his first wife being the mother of 
 our subject. He followed the occupation of a tiller 
 of the soil all his life, and met with substantial re- 
 sults in this pursuit. The second wife resides in 
 Swe^den, and is well along in years. She is a mem- 
 ber of the State Church, as was also her husband 
 and his first wife. 
 
 August Lundberg was the third in order of birth 
 of the children born to his parents, and was a 
 single man when he came to this country. He was 
 married in Chicago to Miss Gustava Carlson, a 
 native of Sweden, born October 28, 1845. He sub- 
 sequently followed the trade of upholsterer in Chi- 
 cago for twelve years, being overseer of the uphol- 
 stery department of the Sherwood School Manu- 
 facturing Company for some time. From there he 
 came to Rockford, and has been identified with the 
 business interests of the city ever since. 
 
 Of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lundberg, only two are now living, Anna 0. and 
 Lillie M., both at home. The remainder of the 
 children died when under ten years of age. Mr. 
 Lundberg and his wife hold membership in the 
 Mission Lutheran Church, and he has been one of 
 the Church Trustees for some time. He is a Re- 
 publican in politics. 
 
 Mrs. Lundberg is now the only one of her fam- 
 ily in America. She was preceded to this country 
 by a brother. Swans Carlson, who died recently in 
 California. Her father died in Sweden, and her 
 mother still makes her home in that country. 
 
 ^\ RS. MARION (MONTGOMERY) GREEN- 
 LEE, who resides on section 1, Guilford 
 Township, Winnebago County, was born 
 in Kintyre, Argyleshire, Scotland, April 
 27, 1838. Her father, James Montgomery, was 
 born in the same locality, and his father, Robert 
 Montgomery, was probably born on the same farm. 
 He was a farmer, and spent his entire life in Scot- 
 land. He married Jane Griffin, who likewise never 
 left her native land. 
 
 James Montgomery was reared to manhood on 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 366 
 
 his father's farm, and after attaining to mature 
 years wedded Jane Caldwell, a native of Argyle- 
 shire, and a daughter of James and Elizabeth 
 (Howie) Caldwell. In 1842, with his wife and 
 seven children, he emigrated to America. The 
 vessel in which he took passage weighed anchor on 
 the 4th of June and reached the harbor of New 
 York on the 4th of July. With his family he at 
 once started Westward, traveling by way of the 
 Erie Canal and the Great Lakes to Chicago, where 
 he procured a team and came on to Winnebago 
 County. He secured a tract of Government land 
 in what is now Harlem Township, purchasing a 
 farm in connection with his brother-in-law, Daniel 
 Smith. They moved into a log building which 
 had formerly been used as a distillery, and after 
 three years Mr. Montgomery sold his interest in 
 that place and bought the farm upon which Mrs. 
 Greenlee now resides. It was a tract of wild land, 
 upon which not a furrow had been turned or an 
 improvement made, but he at once built a house 
 and engaged in the cultivation and improvement 
 of the land until his death. His wife was not long 
 permitted to enjoj- her new home in America, as 
 she was called to her final rest in January, 1843. 
 Six children of the family are now living: Eliza- 
 beth, Robert, James, Mary, Marion and John. Jane 
 died in 1883. 
 
 Mrs. Greenlee was a child of only four sum- 
 mers when her parents crossed the broad Atlantic, 
 and has but little recollection of any other than 
 her adopted land. She remembers well her early 
 life among the wild scenes of the frontier here, and 
 well deserves mention among the pioneers of the 
 county. She resided with her father until his 
 death, her husband having previously purchased 
 the old homestead. It was in March, 1861, that 
 she gave her hand in marriage to Robert Greenlee, 
 a native of Argyleshire, Scotland, and a son of 
 Robert and Mary (Mitchell) Greenlee. With his 
 parents, he came to America when a young man 
 twenty-three years of age, and throughout his 
 entire life followed the occupation of farming. 
 He was a successful business man and an upright 
 and honorable citizen, and his death, which oc- 
 curred in 1874, was a loss to the entire community, 
 as well as to his immediate family. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Greenlee were born three 
 cliildren, who are yet living: Elizabeth is the 
 wife of Peter Greenlee, and they have two chil- 
 dren: Edith M. and Robert L. The sons of the 
 family, Robert and James, are still at home, and 
 operate and carry on the farm for their mother. 
 Mrs. Greenlee and her children are all members of 
 the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church, and they 
 are a higlily respected family, held in warm regard 
 by their manj^ friends throughout the community. 
 
 -i -= 
 
 i>-^<! 
 
 Ccy^ 
 
 GEORGE GLEASMAN, deceased, was born in 
 West Leyden, Lewis County, N. Y., June 
 30, 1840. His father, Godfrey Gleasman, 
 was born on the banks of the River Rhone, in Ger- 
 many, where he was reared to man's estate, being 
 one of a family of four sons, who came to Amer- 
 ica: Godfrey, Valentine, George and David. The 
 father of our subject was married in Germany, and 
 on emigrating to the New AVorld, first settled in 
 West Leyden, N. Y., and later lived in Rome. 
 
 In 1862, Godfrey Gleasman enlisted in a New 
 York Regiment, and was killed in the battle of 
 Antietam, in which conflict his brother George was 
 also killed. The maiden name of the mother of 
 our subject was Henrietta Smininger; she came to 
 Illinois in 1857, and spent her last days in Rock- 
 ton, Winnebago County. Our subject was reared 
 and educated in New York State, and previous to 
 his marriage settled on the farm which his family 
 now occupies, on section 1, Owen Township, Win- 
 nebago County. There he was actively engaged 
 in its cultivation until January 1, 1890, when he de- 
 parted this life. The estate is one of the finest in 
 the county, and contains four hundred well-im- 
 proved acres, and good buildings have been erected 
 on the place, which is supplied with all needful 
 machinery. It is managed by the older sons of 
 our subject, Edwin and Charles. The other mem- 
 bers of the family are Mina, Katie, Ratie, Alice, 
 Abbie and Frank. George is deceased. 
 
 Miss Sarah Lake, who was born March 18, 1845, 
 in Owen Townsliip, became the wife of our sub- 
 ject. She is the daughter of Hiram Lake, who was 
 a native of Canada, while it is thought her grand- 
 
366 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father, who bore the name of John Lake, was born 
 in the Empire State, whence he removed to Can- 
 ada, and lived for a time near Kingston. Later he 
 purchased a farm near Orino, where lie made his 
 home until 1844, at which time he came to Illinois, 
 and for a short time resided in Winnebago County. 
 He, however, returned to Canada, where his de- 
 cease occurred. He liad married Sarah Stover, who 
 departed this life in Iowa while on a visit to her 
 daughter, but was brought back and buried in 
 Rockford, 111. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Gleasman followed his trade 
 of a carpenter in Canada, in addition to which he 
 added the occupation of farming, and lived there 
 until 1844, when he came via the Lakes to Chi- 
 cago, thence by team to Winnebago County. He 
 purchased a tract of land on section 12, Owen 
 Township, on which was a partially completed 
 house made of sod. He immediatelj' commenced 
 the work of improving his land, upon which he re- 
 sided until his decease, October 16, 1872. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Thompson; 
 she was born in England, and was the daughter of 
 Richardson and Ann (Gi-eene) Tliompson, also na- 
 tives of that country. Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson 
 died on the home farm March 20, 1888. She 
 reared two of her three children: Rachel married 
 Albert Hullett, and Sarah became Mrs. Gleas- 
 man, of this sketch. Our subject and his estimable 
 wife became members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church at Rockford, in 1882. Their eldest son, 
 Edwin, married Lissie Trueman. The father of 
 Mrs. Gleasman was the first Justice of the Peace 
 elected in Owen Township, which honorable posi- 
 tion he held until his death. 
 
 ^p^EORGE M. TAFT, one of the leading agri- 
 ll ^-^ culturists of the township, if not the county, 
 ^^41 makes quite a specialty of stock-raising 
 and has a large flock of Shropshire sheep that will 
 compare favorably with any in the county. Like 
 most of his neighbor farmers, he keeps many cows, 
 and sends his milk to the creamery. He is wide- 
 awake and thorough-going and has made a success 
 of his occupation. 
 
 Mr. Taft was born in Roscoe Township, this 
 county, on the 6th of February, 1855, but his par- 
 ents, Levi M. and Electa (Gregory) Taft, were na- 
 tives af the Empire State, the former born in 1817 
 and the latter in 1814 Grandfather Taft was a 
 native either of Vermont or New Hampshire, and 
 removed to New York State when his son Levi was 
 but six years of age. Still later he removed to the 
 Western Reserve, Oliio, near Ashtabula, wliere he 
 died at an advanced age, leaving a family of chil- 
 dren. He was a life-long farmer and was in com- 
 fortable circumstances. Mrs. Taft's father, Samuel 
 Gregory, was a native New Yorker, and followed 
 farming all his life. He was killed by a run-away 
 team, when in the prime of life, and left a famil}^ 
 of eight children. 
 
 Levi Taft, father of our subject, was but twenty 
 years of age when he came to Rockford, Winne- 
 bago County, and he entered a tract of about two 
 hundred acres in section 6, on which he built a log 
 house, and in which house his wife taught school. 
 They buried two children in infancy; Helen died 
 when eighteen years of age, and our subject is the 
 only one now living. The latter was reared to 
 farm labor, and was given excellent opportunities 
 for getting an education, but he neglected his ad- 
 vantages. He selected his wife in the person of 
 Miss Cora Carpenter, of Roscoe, and their nuptials 
 were celebrated on the 23d of November, 1876. 
 Her parents, Newton and Almira (Reynolds) Car- 
 penter, of Herkimer County, N. Y., came West in 
 1852, and the father followed his trade, that of 
 carpenter and joiner. He was one of the '49ers 
 who went to California during the gold fever ex- 
 citement, going by way of the Isthmus, and return- 
 ing by the same route in 1851. The following 
 year he came to Illinois, and, in company with his 
 uncle, Henderson Coffin, purchased a farm. He 
 then returned to New York for his wife, whom he 
 married in the year 1854, and brought back with 
 him to Illinois, locating in Roscoe. He built an 
 elevator, and for many years ran his grain ware- 
 house, and was also railroad agent for some time. 
 He rented his farm but subsequently sold his part 
 of the same to Mr. Coffin, and purchased one hun- 
 dred acres a mile and a half east of the Roscoe 
 depot. This land still belongs to the family. Mr. 
 
e^^r-i^^^&ci^i^ 
 
 t/CU^ G-ir 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 369 
 
 Carpenter died on the 24th of March, 1884, when 
 fifty-eight years of age, leaving a widow and one 
 child, now Mrs. Taft. Mrs. Carpenter died Febru- 
 ary 15, 1887, when sixty-three years of age. 
 
 Our subject and wife have three living children: 
 Helen, born August 30, 1877, and Edith and Edna 
 (twins), born November 24, 1883. These are 
 bright children and Helen attends the Roscoe 
 school, while the two younger arc in the district 
 school. Mr. and Mrs. Taft lost two children: Mer- 
 rill died November 9, 1884, when little over three 
 years of age, and Marshall died August 2, 1888, 
 when also a little over three years old. The living 
 children are receiving good educational advantages 
 and are being thoroughly drilled in music. Mr. 
 Taft is a Republican but not enthusiastic in 
 politics. 
 
 \I7 OUIS GOLDMAN, proprietor of the Ameri- 
 I (@ ^^^ ^'''''' ^^ Rockford, located at Nos. 517, 
 jlLy 519, 521 and 523 Seventh Street, is a na- 
 tive of Prussia. His birth occurred in 1854, and 
 he was reared to manhood in his native country, 
 acquiring his education in the public schools. 
 After attaining to mature years, he was married to 
 Miss Betsy Max, who was born and reared near the 
 home of her husband. Her father, Charles Max, is 
 still living in Prussia, but his wife died in middle 
 life. The father of our subject is also yet living 
 and makes his home in Chicago. He camo of old 
 Hebrew stock and has always been a member of 
 the Jewish Church, to which his wife also belonged. 
 She died in her native land. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Goldman crossed the Atlantic to 
 America in 1870, landing at New York City, where 
 they resided for a time and then removed to Chi- 
 cago, where they spent some years previous to 
 coming to Rockford. Their home has been blessed 
 by the presence of six children: Dora and Lotta, 
 who are clerking in their father's store; Harry, 
 who is now a student in the High School of Rock- 
 ford; Etta, Ella and Lillie, all yet at home. 
 
 While residing in Chicago, Mr. Goldman was en- 
 gaged in the mercantile business for twelve years. 
 At length, he came to Rockford and in 1886 es- 
 tablished a dry-goods store on East State Street, 
 
 where he carried on business until removing to his 
 present location at Nos. 517 to 523 Seventh Street. 
 The American Fair, one of the leading stores in the 
 city, contains a large and well-assorted stock of 
 dry-goods, clothing, furniture, carpets, boots and 
 shoes, etc., and receives a liberal patronage. The 
 store occupied is 80x80 feet and is well stocked. 
 From the beginning, Mr. Goldman has received a 
 good trade and is now doing an excellent business, 
 which jdelds him a handsome income. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Goldman began their domestic life 
 without a dollar's capital, but their united efforts, 
 enterprise, industry, and good management have 
 proved important factors in their success and they 
 have steadily worked their way upward until their 
 possessions now aggregate more than 1100,000. 
 They are both members of the Jewish Church and 
 are well-known and prominent people in this com- 
 munity, taking an active interest in all that per- 
 tains to the welfare of Rockford and its advance- 
 ment. On another page will be noticed a portrait 
 of Mr. Goldman. 
 
 ARWIN W. ALLEN, of Belvidere, is a 
 native of the Empire State. His grand- 
 father, Isaac Allen, was born in Rhode 
 Island, April 29, 1768, and was a son of 
 Nehemiah and Abigail Allen. He removed from 
 his native State to New York, becoming one of the 
 pioneers of Herkimer County, and in the midst of 
 the forest developed a farm, upon which he made 
 his home for many years. He came to Illinois in 
 1852, and spent his last days in Boone County. 
 His wife, who bore the maiden name of Lydia 
 Brown, died in Newport, N. Y. 
 
 John F. Allen, father of our subject, was born 
 in Rhode Island in 1792, and was quite young 
 when his parents went to New York. He was 
 there reared, and married Phcebe Brown, a native 
 of Rhode Island, and a daughter of Christopher 
 and Ruby (Fenner) Brown. With his wife he re- 
 moved to Oneida County, and purchased a parti- 
 ally improved farm, but after some years returned 
 to Herkimer County. Emigrating Westward in 
 1852, he purchased a tract of land in Belvidere 
 
370 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Townsliip, Boone County, where he engaged in 
 farming until his death, May 22, 1859. His wife 
 died March 17, 1878, in Belvidere. They were 
 the parents of two sons, Darwin W. and Isaac B. 
 
 In the usual manner of farmer lads our subject 
 was reared to manhood and in the Empire State 
 he made his home until 1850, when he came to 
 Illinois and cast in his lot with the early settlers 
 of Flora Township, Boone County. At that time 
 Elgin was Ihc nearest railroad station and Belvi- 
 dere was but a small village. His father and John 
 Kohoon bought forty acres of land and platted it 
 as an addition to the city. Oh this land was a 
 small frame house and barn and the former con- 
 tinued to be the home of our subject until 1860, 
 when he sold and bought land near the city, 
 where he engaged in agricultural pursuits until 
 1866, when he came to Belvidere, and since that 
 time has resided at the corner of Pearl and Allen 
 Streets. 
 
 On the 3d of December, 1838, Mr. Allen was 
 joined in wedlock with Mary Ris, a native of 
 Connecticut, and a daughter of Theophilus and 
 Polly (Meech) Rix. She died in 1860, and for 
 his second wife he chose Ruth Foster, who was 
 born in New Portland, Somerset Count}', Me., 
 in March, 1834. Her father, Leighton Foster, was 
 born in Limerick, Me., and was a son of Benjamin 
 Foster, a farmer in that locality, who married 
 Hannah Bartlett, a native of Kittery, York County. 
 They removed to New Portland and afterward to 
 Dover, Me. The father of Mrs. Allen was reared 
 in the former place and there married Clarissa 
 Ricker, a native of New Portland, and a daughter 
 of Levi and Rebecca (Merryfield) Ricker. A few 
 years after their marriage they went to Dover, 
 Me., and in 1852 emigrated to Illinois. Mr. Fos- 
 ter purchased a farm in Flora Township, Boone 
 County, where he lived until 1864, when he moved 
 to Belvidere, where he made his home until 1881; 
 he then removed to Bremer County, Iowa, and is 
 still a resident of Waverly. His wife died Octo- 
 ber 14, 1889, leaving three children: Ruth, John 
 R. and Seth L. .John R. died May 25, 1891. 
 
 By his first marriage, Mr. Allen had two chil- 
 dren: Frances, who is now the wife of Joseph W. 
 Harper and has four children: Irvin, Mary, Bertha 
 
 and Joseph Francis; and John R., who is married 
 and has one son. There is also an adopted daugh- 
 ter, Lizzie C, who has resided with our subject and 
 his wife since she was ten years of age. This 
 worthy couple are widely and favorably known 
 throughout the community, being held in high re- 
 gard for their sterling worth. In politics, Mr. 
 Allen is a stanch Republican and has been a patron 
 of the Chicago Journal for over thirty years. 
 
 jiILLIAM H. MUNN is numbered among 
 the industrious and thrifty members of the 
 farming community of Flora Township, 
 Boone County, where he has an excellent farm 
 that is under good tillage and yields a comfort- 
 able income. He was born in Whitestown, Oneida 
 County, N. Y., December 28, 1830, and is a son of 
 James Munn, who, like his father, also named 
 James, had his birth in East Kent, England. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject was reared and 
 married in England and in 1830 came to the 
 United States and located in Lyons, Wayne 
 County, N. Y., where he spent his last days. The 
 grandmother of our subject prior to her marriage 
 was Elizabeth Kingsnorth and was born in East 
 Kent and died at the home of a daughter in 
 Whitestown, N. Y. She reared a family of eight 
 children, viz: John, James, Alfred, George, Mary, 
 Celia, Jane and Thomas. 
 
 The father of him of whom we write was reared 
 on a farm and in 1827, accompanied by his wife 
 and five children, came to America, setting sail 
 from London on the brig "Emily" in July and 
 landing in New York in September after a voyage 
 of ten weeks. He went via the Hudson River and 
 Erie Canal to Whitestown and for several years 
 was engaged in teaming for the Oriskany Manu- 
 facturing Company. He then purchased a farm in 
 Whitestown, which he cultivated until 1858, the 
 date of his advent into Boone County. Here he 
 owned and occupied a farm in Flora Township, 
 where his decease occurred April 22, 1866. 
 
 Our subject's mother, Sarah (Kingsnorth) Munn, 
 was also born in East Kent, England, and spent her 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 371 
 
 last years in the town of Marcy, Oneida County, 
 N. Y., dying in tlie year 1851. The parental fam- 
 ily included five children, namely: James, George, 
 Alfred, our subject and Edward. William II. was 
 reared and educated in his nalive town and when 
 old enough to do for himself commenced working 
 in a woolen factory. He was thus occupied for 
 seven years and then followed farming in Oneida 
 County until 1858, when he made the overland 
 trip to this place and settled upon the farm which 
 he now occupies. It bears excellent improve- 
 ments and is pleasantly located two miles from 
 Belvidere. 
 
 In 1852, William II. Munn was united in mar- 
 riage with Mary A. Barnes, who also had her birth 
 in East Kent, England, and was a daugliter of 
 Richard Barnes, also a native of the British Isles. 
 In 1840, her father came to America on a pros- 
 pecting tour and after remaining in the States 
 for four months returned to England, and, in Oc- 
 tober, 1841, accompanied by his family, sailed from 
 London in the ship "St. James," and landed at 
 Castle Garden after a voyage of six weeks. He 
 first located in Vernon, Oneida County, where he 
 resided on the farm until 1866, at which time he 
 came to this county and engaged in farming in 
 Belvidere Township. He traded property several 
 different times and the last yeai's of his life were 
 spent in Belvidere, where he died in May, 1887. 
 Mr. Barnes was twice married, the maiden name of 
 his first wife, who was the mother of Mrs. Munn, 
 was Elizabeth Baldock; she was born in the same 
 county as her husband, in England, and died in 
 Vernon in 1843, after having become the mother 
 of three children. 
 
 ^ OHN R. LINN. Quite a number of the most 
 highly-esteemed citizens of Rockford are 
 retired farmers, who have accumulated a 
 competence by well-directed efforts, and in 
 their old age are enjoying the fruits of the labors 
 of earlier years. A fine representative of this class 
 is the subject of this biographical notice, who 
 owns and occupies a cozy and attractive residence 
 at No. 904 Ferguson Street. He came to this city in 
 
 1879, from Byron Township, Ogle County, where 
 he had commenced farming operations in 1867, at 
 which time he settled on the farm now owned by 
 his son .lames, and there operated both as a gen- 
 eral farmer and stock-raiser. 
 
 In Perry County, Pa., Mr. Linn was born, Feb- 
 ruary 24, 1817. His father, John Linn, was a na- 
 tive of the same place as himself and opened up a 
 new farm in Saville Township, building upon the 
 place a house, where he spent the remainder of his 
 life and where he passed away at the age of sixty- 
 two years. His wife was Miss Mary Ross, who was 
 born in Perry County, and, like himself, was de- 
 scended from Scotch ancestry. She died on the 
 old homestead two years after the decease of her 
 husband, at the age of fifty years. The parents of 
 our subject were members of the Presbyterian 
 Church and had a family of ten children, eight 
 daughters and two sons, all of whom married and 
 reared children. 
 
 The first marriage of our subject united him with 
 Miss Margaret I. McKee, a native of Franklin 
 County, Pa., who was des cended from Scotch an- 
 cestors. She was born in 1809, and died in Ogle 
 County, in 1874, leaving three children: John, who 
 married Miss Mary Adams, of Stephenson County, 
 111., now resides in Geneseo, this State, where for- 
 merly he was pastor of the Presbyterian Church. 
 He is a graduate of Cannonsburg College and 
 Princeton University and a man of great eloquence 
 and learning. Mary E. is the wife of Mathew Bull, 
 a farmer in Byron Township, Ogle County; James 
 purchased the farm formerly owned by his father 
 in Ogle County, but makes his home in Chicago, 
 and was an employe of the Chicago Fireplace 
 Company, at No. 224 Wabash Avenue. He married 
 Miss Anna Jones, of Ogle Countj-. He is now in 
 the employ of the Central West Advertising Bu- 
 reau. 
 
 About 1876, Mr. Linn and Miss Ann L. McClure 
 were united in marriage in Perry County, Pa., 
 and their wedded life was terminated three years 
 afterward by the death of the wife. The last mar- 
 riaoc of Mr. Lynn united him with Miss Mary E., 
 Wilson, who was born and reared in Ohio. During 
 some years she followed the profession of a teacher 
 and was also a missionary among the Indians on 
 
372 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the frontier and a teaclier in their schools. She is 
 a lady of great abilitjr and kindliness of heart and 
 is a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church, 
 to which Mr. Linn also belongs. In his political 
 belief, he is a firm Republican. 
 
 Prior to coming to Illinois, Mr. Lynn engaged 
 in merchandising at Perryville, Juniata County, 
 Pa., for eleven years, and afterward was for three 
 years Steward and Overseer of the farm of the 
 Pennsylvania Agricultural College, of Centre 
 County, embracing four hundred acres. In that 
 •way he acquired a knowledge of that great educa- 
 cational institution of Pennsylvania, and on sever- 
 ing his connection with it he removed to Illinois. 
 He is now living quietly and comfortably, and is 
 interested in all causes that are progressive, nota- 
 bly the cause of temperance and sobriety. 
 
 klONEL W. RICHARDSON, who is living a 
 retired life in Roscoe, is numbered among 
 the early settlers of Winnebago County, 
 having made his home in this place since 1854. 
 For many 3'ears he was one of its most prominent 
 business men and a valued citizen of the commu- 
 nity. His life record is as follows: 
 
 He was born on the 17th of January, 1828, in 
 Johnstown, Montgomery Count}', N. Y., and is a 
 son of Benjamin and Judith (Mason) Richardson. 
 Both were natives of Spencer, Worcester County, 
 Mass., the father born February 27, 1782, and the 
 mother February 9, 1790. The paternal grand- 
 father, Joseph Richardson, was a farmer of East 
 Brookfield, Mass. He married Esther Lammon, of 
 that place, who died leaving two sons: Benjamin 
 and Joseph. He then wedded Priscilla Hincherd, 
 and thej' had three sons and a daughter. Mr. 
 Richardson lived to an advanced age and died in 
 West Camp, N. Y. The parents of our subject 
 were married January 3, 1807, and resided in 
 Spencer and Warren , Mass., for thirteen years, when 
 they removed to Johnstown, N. Y. The death of 
 the father occuried in Fultonville, N. Y., in 1838, 
 at the age of fifty-six years. By trade he was a 
 blacksmith and followed that occupation through- 
 out his entire life. He left six sons and six 
 
 daughters and, with one exception, all grew to 
 mature years. In 1844, Mrs. Richardson removed 
 to Massachusetts and two years later came to Ros- 
 coe, 111. Her children. Benjamin, George W., 
 Julia and husband started AVestward in the spring 
 of 1836 and spent one summer in Bertrand, Mich., 
 during which time the daughter died. In the fall 
 the brothers came on to Roscoe, where they ar- 
 rived in September. One sister, Judith, now the 
 wife of Jeremiah L. Brown, came to Illinois in 
 1837, settling in Genoa, De Kalb County, and the 
 mother with Sarah P. and William arrived in Ros- 
 coe in 1846, as before stated. 
 
 It was in 1853 that our subject came to the West. 
 He spent the first sixteen years of his life in the 
 county of his nativity and then removed to 
 Worcester, Mass., whence he came to Illinois 
 on a visit. The following spring he made a per- 
 manent settlement, and has since been a resi- 
 dent of the town of Roscoe. In the East, he had 
 engaged in clerking for two years, and was then 
 employed in a wire factory in Worcester and 
 Cherry Valley, Mass.,from 1846 until 1852. The two 
 succeeding years were spent in running a portable 
 engine in Dunkirk, N. Y. On coming to Roscoe, 
 he embarked in the manufacture of plows and 
 wagons in companj^ with his brother AVilliam, and 
 continued in tliat line of business until 1870. 
 During tliat time he invented and patented the 
 Diamond Plow, the first successful cast-steel plow 
 ever manufactured. It was manufactured in 
 Rockford, and W. H. Gregory became Mr. Richard- 
 son's partner in that business, the connection con- 
 tinuing until 1878. From that time our subject 
 was engaged in buying and shipping grain and 
 stock until 1886, when his elevator was burned, and 
 for the past six years, he has lived a retired life. 
 
 On the 7th of November, 1854, in Worcester, 
 Mass., Mr. Richardson wedded Maria L. Jones of 
 that place, daughter of John and Sylvia (Day) 
 Jones. She died in Roscoe, September 4, 1881, at 
 the age of forty-seven years. They had buried 
 an infant son. Mr. Richardson was again married, 
 February 1, 1883, this union being with Mrs. Isa- 
 bella Jones Richardson, widow of James Richard- 
 son. They have an adopted daughter, Sarah Pris- 
 cilla, the namesake and }roungest child of Mr. 
 
&-HHy<! 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 375 
 
 Richardson's youngest sister. Tiiis worthy couple 
 are widely and favorably known throughout the 
 community in which they make their home. Our 
 subject is numbered among the honored pioneers of 
 Roscoe, and is now enjoying a rest which he has so 
 truly earned and richly deserves. 
 
 PHINEAS HOWES. It lias been customary 
 to speak of men who have raised them- 
 selves to honorable stations in life without 
 
 I the aid of wealth or influential friends, as 
 "self-made." Such an one is our subject, who 
 started out in life with nothing but his strong 
 hands aad his determination to succeed. And that 
 his desire has been accomplished is noted by the 
 fact that he is one of the most prominent and pro- 
 gressive citizens of Rockford. In his life we find 
 an excellent example for young men just embark- 
 ing in the field of activity, showing what may be 
 gained by honesty, prudence and industry. In 
 his youth he enjoyed few advantages, but relied 
 solely upon his efforts and his conduct to win for 
 him success, not in the sense of accumulating 
 wealth, but in doing good to others, in serving 
 others well, and in winning their respect. 
 
 The original of this sketch, and of the accom- 
 panying portrait, is one of the pioneers of Rock- 
 ford. He was born in the town of Southeast, 
 Putnam County, N. Y., September 25, 1817. His 
 father. Job Howes, was, it is thought, born in 
 Schoharie, N. Y., and was of early English ances- 
 try. The latter-named gentleman always followed 
 agricultural pursuits and spent his last years in 
 Putnam County, N. Y. The maiden name of the 
 mother of our subject was Elizabeth Eggleston, 
 and departed this life in the above-named county. 
 
 Phineas Howes was reared and educated in his 
 native town and when seventeen years of age en- 
 tered upon an apprenticeship of three years at the 
 carpenter's and joiner's trade. He was then em- 
 ployed as a "jour" and remained in the Empire 
 State until 1839, when he came to the Prairie 
 State via the most expeditious route at that time, 
 sailing up the Hudson River to Albany, thence 
 
 on the Erie Canal to Buffalo, where he embarked 
 on a lake steamer which conveyed him to Chicago. 
 From that then small city of but a few thousand 
 people, Mr. Howes was given the permission to 
 ride with a gentleman who was coming to Rock- 
 ford, and landed in this city with but twenty- 
 flve cents in his pocket. 
 
 Rockford was at that time a very small place, 
 the surrounding country being owned by the Gov- 
 ernment, and deer and other wild game being very 
 plentiful. Mr. Holmes was very desirous to se- 
 cure work and better his condition in life, and 
 soon found employment at his trade. Being very 
 industrious and economical, he saved a portion of 
 his meagre earnings and was soon enabled to pur- 
 chase a lot in the village and a claim to a tract of 
 Government land, located in what is now Cherry 
 Valley Township. When the land came into mar- 
 ket, he with others started with a team of horses 
 and a wagon to the land office at Galena. They 
 provided themselves with provisions and cooking 
 utensils, camping out and preparing their meals 
 on the way. 
 
 In the fall of 1839, Mr. Howes erected the first 
 frame house ever built in Rockford. This struc- 
 ture is still standing on East State Street. Our 
 subject worked at his trade for a few years, then 
 engaged in the lumber business with John Lake, 
 the partnership continuing about fifteen years. 
 Since that time his attention has been chiefly em- 
 ployed in looking after his private interests, and 
 he is one of the wealthy and prominent residents 
 of the city. 
 
 Miss Maria Barnum became the wife of our sub- 
 ject in October, 1839. Mrs. Howes was born in 
 Danbury, Fairfield County, Conn., in February, 
 1811, and was the daughtei- of Daniel and Lorana 
 Barnum, (further reference to whom will be found 
 in the sketch of D. H. Barnum). The ceremony 
 which made them one was solemnized at the home 
 of Miss Barnum in Cherry Valley Township, and 
 their wedding trip consisted of a ride with a pair 
 of oxen and wagon from Cherry Valley to Rock- 
 ford. They commenced housekeeping in the 
 dwelling above mentioned before the doors or 
 windows were put in, and all their furniture was 
 home-made. Mr. Howes was very prosperous and 
 
376 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the structure was soon replaced by a comfortable 
 and convenient dwelling, in which they resided 
 for man}^ years. Mrs. Howes departed this life 
 December 10, 1877. Sbe was the mother of three 
 children, namely: Ellen C. (^deceased) who was the 
 wife of Charles Chamberlain; Cora is Mrs. Harry 
 C.Woolsey and has three children: Maria, Ella and 
 Ralph; Herbert H. died when thirty-five years old. 
 He of whom we write cast his first Presidential 
 vote for Andrew Jackson and has ever since sym- 
 pathized with the Democratic party. He is a man 
 who combines strictness of moral principles with 
 energj' and decision of character. He has made 
 profitable investments, become interested in re- 
 munerative enterprises, won honorable success in 
 business and secured a competencj^ as a product of 
 personal industry and good judgment put forth in 
 a field wisely selected. He is a careful business 
 man, ever adhering to the dictates of his con- 
 science in matters both of a public and private na- 
 ture. 
 
 , AVID KEYT. There are many beautiful 
 residences in Eockford, whose elegance of 
 finish and superiority of design attract 
 the admiration of the visitor to the city, 
 but among the number there is probably none 
 which so impresses the beholder as an ideal home 
 as the charming residence of Mr. Kcyt. Situated 
 just south of the city and occupying ample grounds, 
 handsomely laid out and adorned with shade and 
 ornamental trees, its exterior appearance indicates 
 that it is the abode of a family of taste and means, 
 while the interior furnishings prove the cultured 
 tastes of the inmates. 
 
 A native of Ohio, Mr. Keyt was born in Piqua, 
 Miami County, September 20, 1826. His father, 
 John, was born in New .Jersey, and learned the 
 carpenter's trade in New York City, whence he re- 
 moved to Ohio at an early day, residing for a time 
 in Cincinnati. Then he went to Piqua and built 
 a house for Col. H. D. Johnson, Indian Agent at 
 that place. He remained there until 1850, mean- 
 while carrying on his trade as carpenter and builder, 
 and then went to California via the Isthmus of 
 
 Panama. His death occurred in the Golden State 
 during the following year. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Margaret Widney, and she was born in Penn- 
 sylvania, being the niece of Col. H. D. Johnson. 
 She spent her last years in Piqua, and died in the 
 spring of 1857. She was the mother of eight chil- 
 dren, who attained to mature years, viz.: Elizabeth, 
 Mary A., John W., James R., David, Caroline, 
 Stephen and Sarah J. David was reared in Piqua, 
 and when eighteen years old commenced work 
 with his father. In the spring before he attained 
 his majorit}^, he began in business for himself as 
 contractor and builder, continuing at Piqua until 
 1857, when he came to Eockford and established 
 in business here. 
 
 The first work secured by Mr. Keyt in Eockford 
 was the erection of the Second Congregational 
 Church, which was done so satisfactorily that after- 
 ward he had all the business he could attend to. 
 Up to the time of his retirement, in 1888, many of 
 the finest buildings, both public and private, in 
 the city were built by him. The Gazette of April, 
 1888, in giving a resume of his work, remarked 
 that Mr. Keyt had undoubtedly erected more 
 buildings than any other contractor in the city. 
 He built both the Centennial and Court Street 
 Methodist Episcopal Churches, the latter of which 
 he also designed. With a material mind for the 
 contemplation of mechanical designs, and with 
 the early training of his father, he soon de- 
 veloped a taste for architectural design and orna- 
 mentation. He has attained a name second to 
 none as a superintendent and builder, and so long 
 as he actively engaged in his trade, his interior 
 finish and decoration were surpassed by none, 
 equalled by few. 
 
 In 1847 Mr. Keyt was married to Miss Lydia A. 
 Sawyer, who was born in Dayton, Montgomery 
 County, Ohio. Her parents, Uriah and Sarah 
 Sawyer, nattves of Massachusetts and Ohio, respec- 
 tively, were people of worth and highly esteemed 
 in their community. Mrs. Lydia Keyt died in 
 1861, and twelve years later Mr. Keyt formed a 
 second matrimonial alliance, his wife being Mrs. 
 Charlotte (Leonard) Skinner, a native of Milton, 
 Chittenden County, Vt. The father of Mrs. Keyt, 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 377 
 
 Benjamin Leonard, Jr., was born in Raynham, 
 Mass., and his father, Beajamin, was born in the 
 same house, as was also his father. The liouse was 
 built of bricks brought from England. 
 
 The great-grandfather of Mrs. Keyt was an em- 
 ploye in the iron works at Raynham and spent his 
 entire life in that town. Her grandfather was also 
 an iron worker, and lived and died in Raynham. 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Judith McCum- 
 ber, was of Scotch ancestry. Benjamin Leonard, 
 Jr., went to Vermont when a young man, settling 
 in the town of Ludlow, and was there married. 
 Afterward he moved to Milton, residing there until 
 1850, and then came to Illinois, via Lake Cham- 
 plain to Whitehall, then by the railroad and Erie 
 Canal to Buffalo, and from that place by the Lakes 
 to Chicago. The journey from Chicago to Elgin 
 by railroad and from there to Rockford by teamj 
 occupied three weeks, and upon his arrival here he 
 bought a tract of land in Burritt Township, im- 
 proved a farm and resided there until the death of 
 his wife. He then removed to Wisconsin and 
 spent his closing years in the home of his son at 
 Lake Mills, Jefferson County. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of Mrs. Keyt 
 was Lucy Colburn Chandler, and she was a native 
 of Chester, Vt. Her father, Thomas Chandler, Jr., 
 was, it Is thought, born in the same town, and his 
 father, who bore the same name as himself, was the 
 first Supreme Judge of Vermont. The grandfather 
 of Mrs. Keyt was reared and educated in his native 
 village, where he spent his entire life, and followed 
 literary pursuits during much of his time, being a 
 man of splendid information. His wife, who was 
 known in maidenhood as Asenath Adams, was a 
 member of the same family to which John Adams 
 belonged. She came to Illinois when quite old, 
 and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Robert 
 Short, in Seward Township, Winnebago County. 
 The mother of Mrs. Keyt died on the home farm 
 in Burritt Township. 
 
 In 1851, the marriage of Charlotte Leonard and 
 James B. Skinner was solemnized. He was born in 
 Barre Center, N. Y., and was the son of Stephen 
 and Sophia (Butler) Skinner He came to Rock- 
 ford with his parents in 1839, and from that time 
 until his death made his home on West Main 
 
 Street. Learning the trade of a blacksmith, he 
 carried on his trade in connection with the manu- 
 facture of agricultural implements for many j^ears. 
 He invented several very useful farm implements, 
 including the Skinner Gang Plow, a sulky plow, 
 and walking and riding cultivator. He formed a 
 partnership with C. C. Briggs and I. A. Enoch, and 
 transacted an extensive business in the manufac- 
 ture of agricultural implements, and continued act- 
 ivelj' engaged in business until his death, in 1872, 
 aged forty-eight years. 
 
 Mr. Keyt has one daughter living, Clara, wife of 
 James H. Rhodes, of Chicago, and she has one 
 child, Blanche E. Mrs. Keyt has two children: 
 Mary C. and Fannie S. Tlie first-named married 
 Albert Gray and they have three children: Lillian, 
 Winifred and J. Wilbor. Fannie 8. became the 
 wife of C. F. Henry, of whom see sketch elsewhere 
 in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Keyt are members 
 of the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 and, politically, he is a Republican, and cast his first 
 vote for Zachary Taylor. The parents of Mrs. 
 Keyt reared ten of their thirteen children: Clarissa 
 A., Maria L., Caroline A., Henrietta L., Fannie A., 
 Harriet A., Charlotte W., Lucretia M., Marcia A., 
 and Levi B. All of these but Clarissa are now 
 living. 
 
 
 |p-p;RANK L. MOORE, 
 lyi^ within the 
 
 There is probably not 
 within the limits of Flora Township, 
 JL, Boone County, a more thorough or sub- 
 stantial farmer than Mr. Moore, who is success- 
 fully operating a choice tract of land on section 
 3. He was born in Preble, Cortland County, N. Y., 
 December 9, 1842, while his father, Samuel Moore, 
 was a native of Peterboro, N. H. 
 
 The fatlier of our subject was a lad of six years 
 when his parents removed to the Empire State, 
 where he was reared and married. In company 
 with his brother Eben, he purchased a tract of 
 land in Preble, where lie was engaged in farming 
 until 1852. At that date coming to this county, 
 the elder Mr. Moore lived in Flora Township for 
 two years, then disposing of his property removed 
 to Rock County, Wis., where he owned a farm 
 
378 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which he cultivated until 1868. Preferring to 
 live in Boone County, Mr. Moore returned to 
 Flora Township and bought the farrd which is in 
 the possession of our subject and where he resided 
 until his decease. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Mary Skeal, a native of New York State, 
 where she spent her entire life. 
 
 Frank L. Moore was an only child of his parents, 
 with whom he resided until their decease. His 
 farm is pleasantly located two and one-quarter 
 miles from Belvidere and is well equipped with 
 all the buildings and machinery which stamp him 
 as a progressive and enterprising agriculturist. 
 He was married in 1867 to Emily Gray, who was 
 born in Corinth, Me., April 29, 1842. By their 
 union has been born one daughter, Florence, 
 who is now the wife of Lewis Hawkey. 
 
 Hartwell Gray, the father of Mrs. Moore, was 
 born November 29, 1814, in the town of China, 
 Kennebec County, Me., where his father, Jonathan 
 Gray, was one of the early settlers. The latter- 
 named gentleman purchased a tract of land on 
 Deer Hill, which he cultivated until his decease in 
 1821. The lady to whom he was married was 
 known as Annie Gray; she departed this life in 
 Corinth in 1854. 
 
 Mrs. Moore's father was a lad of seven 3rears 
 when his parents died, and four years later he 
 started out to earn his own living, being employed 
 on farms until eighteen years of age. Later, he 
 worked in the lumber regions, continuing to be 
 thus occupied until his marriage. He then pur- 
 chased a farm in Corinth, which he made his home 
 until 1866, and then coming to Belvidere pur- 
 chased a farm two and one-half miles from that 
 city. He is now living retired and enjoying the 
 results of an industrious life. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Moore were married Feb- 
 ruary 12, 1840, her mother, who was born in New 
 London, N. H., November 21, 1824, bearing the 
 name of Adeline Gile. Her father, David Gile, 
 was born in the same town and was a son of Jacob 
 and Phoebe (Martin) Gile. He followed the life 
 of a farmer and on removing to Lower Massachu- 
 setts resided there some years, when he came to 
 Chicago and died at the home of his daughter in 
 1 882. The grandmother of Mrs. Moore, Emily Gape, 
 
 was a native of New London, N. H. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hartwell Gray reared a family of nine children, 
 viz: Olive, Emily, Hiram, Jennie, Carrie, Sarah, 
 Dayton, Nellie and Cora. 
 
 ^^>-^^^<m= 
 
 WILLIAM FROHNING, a successful dealer 
 in wines, liquors, etc., doing business at 
 No. 319 East State Street, Rockford, claims 
 Westphalia, Prussia, as the land of his nativity. 
 He was born in 1854, and when quite young came 
 to this country with his parents, who were also na- 
 tives of Germany. After coming to this county, 
 they located on a farm near Rockford, where they 
 spent the remainder of their lives, Mr. Frohning 
 following agricultural pursuits. They both died in 
 1854, about three weeks after coming to America. 
 
 Our subject is the youngest of their family. He 
 acquired his education in the city schools of Rock- 
 ford and spent his boyhood days under the jjarental 
 roof. As a companion and helpmate on life's 
 journey, he chose Miss Rosa Schoon, a native of 
 Wisconsin, there reared and educated. When a 
 young lady she came to Rockford. Her parents 
 were of German birth, and crossed the broad At- 
 lantic in the early '50s, locating on a farm near 
 Milwaukee, Wis., where they spent the remainder 
 of their lives, dying when well advanced in years. 
 They were Lutherans ia religious belief, as were 
 also the parents of Mr. Frohning. 
 
 As before stated, our subject is engaged in busi- 
 ness at No. 319 East State Street, where he has a 
 large stock of wines and liquors. His establish- 
 ment is fitted up with a most elaborate bar and 
 lunch-room and there he has carried on business 
 since June, 1888, having a liberal patronage from 
 the wealthier class of Rockford 's citizens. He takes 
 quite an active part in public affairs, being inter- 
 ested in all that pertains to the welfare and up- 
 building of this citj' and the advancement of its 
 leading industries. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Frohning is a 
 Democrat, which party he has supported since at- 
 taining his majority, but has never been an office- 
 seeker. He takes considerable interest in civic 
 societies and is a member of the Independent Or- 
 

 ?•;■■ J. ^sa 
 
 
 J^c^^i^cy 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 381 
 
 der of Red Men, and the Independent Order of 
 Knights and Ladies of Honor. Himself and wife 
 are both members of the Lutheran Cluirch, to the 
 support of whicli he contributes liberally. They 
 have a pleasant and comfortable residence, situated 
 at No. 302 Walnut Street, which is the abode of 
 hospitality, and the light and joy of their home is 
 then- little son, William, Jr., now five years of age. 
 
 ICHARD JOHNS, a retired farmer residing 
 in Rockford, is of English birth. His 
 father, Thomas Johns, came to this coun- 
 ^)try with his wife two years after our sub- 
 ject landed in America, and his death occurred at 
 the age of seventy-six years of a facial cancer. 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Light- 
 foot, reached the advanced age of eighty-two 
 years. They were both members of the Methodist 
 Church. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth in England, and at the age of twenty-two 
 sailed on a lumber ship to Quebec, Canada, where 
 he arrived after a voyage of six weeks. He came 
 on at once to Illinois and s[ient three years in 
 Rockford, engaged in the butchering business. He 
 then returned to his native land, and in Cornwall, 
 married Jane A. Hocken, who was there born, and, 
 like her husband, was of pure Cornish descent. 
 Their wedding tour consisted of their voyage and 
 journey to this country, ten weeks being required 
 at that time to cross the broad Atlantic. The par- 
 ents of Mrs. Johns never left their native land. 
 The father, John Hocken, was accidentally killed by 
 the premature discharge of a gun when forty-two 
 years of age. His wife survived him some time and 
 died in her seventy-eighth year. They were mem- 
 bers of the Independent Church of England. In 
 their family were ten children, of whom Mrs. 
 Johns was the second in order of bii'th. 
 
 Our subject and his wife have now lived and 
 labored together for forty years, and their efforts 
 have been rewarded with prosperity. Their union 
 has been blessed witli eight children, seven of 
 whom are yet living. Emma became the wife of 
 17 
 
 Walter H. Morey, of Spencer, Iowa, and died leav- 
 ing five sons; Nathaniel wedded Minnie Safford, 
 and resides on a farm in Rockford Township; Will 
 R. married Carrie Rowe and resides near the city ; 
 Nellie is the wife of Joim D. Safford, an agricultur- 
 ist of Rockford Township; Frank wedded Ada 
 Sauber, and follows farming in Owen Township; 
 Minnie is the wife of Henry E. Sauber, who is con- 
 nected with a furniture company of Rockford; 
 Flora H. and Albert C. reside at home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Johns began their domestic life 
 upon a farm, and for some years prior to removing 
 to this city made their home in Rockford Town- 
 ship, where our subject carried on agriculture and 
 stock-raising. He now owns five hundred and forty 
 acres of valuable land near the cit}', all of which is 
 highly improved and yields him an excellent in- 
 come. It is supplied with good buildings and all 
 the accessories of a model farm. The land is under- 
 laid with a fine stone quarry, which has been suc- 
 cessfully worked by Mr. Johns, and proved a 
 good source of revenue to him. By his industry 
 and enterprise in former years, he has acquired a 
 handsome competence which now enables him to 
 live a retired life, enjoying the rest which he has 
 so truly earned and richlj' deserves. 
 
 In connection with this sketch of the life of Mr. 
 Johns will be found his lithographic portrait. 
 
 IS ■ t=ij<: T >^i=3 ' ' ■§) 
 
 ■^ OHN HERMAN LYNN. In reviewing the 
 » various enterprises that contributed toward 
 making Rockford one of the great leading 
 business qe^iters of this country, it is inter- 
 esting to note the advance made in each industry, 
 and among these none demand a higlier order of 
 business ability, or more finely cultivated and artis- 
 tic taste, than does the manufacture of furniture. 
 The well-known and popular West End Furniture 
 Company was established in July, 1890, and is the 
 largest and leading enterprise of the kind in the 
 city. The factory is spacious and supplied with 
 the latest improved machinery and appliances, 
 affording emplojnnent for about one hundred and 
 thirty hands in the different departments, where 
 the most original and stylish designs are origin- 
 
382 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ated. This concern is now on a solid and sub- 
 stantial footing and manufactures almost exclu- 
 sively bookcases and ladies' desks, of which they 
 have all styles and designs. Under the control of 
 such men as Austin Colton, President, F. G. Hoag- 
 land, Vice-President and Mr. Lynn as Secretary 
 and Treasurer, the business cannot fail. 
 
 Mr. Lynn, who has been a stockholder and Di- 
 rector in the above-mentioned enterprise from its 
 inception, and is now its most able and efficient 
 Secretary and Treasurer, has given his entire atten- 
 tion to the business, which is capitalized at $50,000. 
 He has held his present position for about a year, 
 and is a young, energetic, business man. He has 
 been a resident of Kockford since 1871 and was 
 here reared and educated. He learned the baker's 
 trade, but later engaged in the fruit and confec- 
 tionery business for some time. After this he was 
 engaged in the grocery business with P. Heagg 
 and still later was commercial traveler for the Star 
 Furniture Company. Just before he became Sec- 
 retary and Treasurer of the present business, he 
 was commercial traveler for the Skandia Shoe 
 Company. 
 
 Born in Wester Gothland Province, Sweden, on 
 the 18th of April, 1858, he remained in his native 
 country until 1869, and then came with his pa- 
 rents to this country. They settled in the south 
 part of "Winnebago County and there the father 
 tilled the soil until the year 1871, when he was 
 filled with a great desire to go still further West- 
 ward. The parents, with part of the children, emi- 
 grated to Clay County, Neb., and there settled 
 on a farm, which they soon had well cultivated 
 and improved. There the father, John Lynn, 
 who was a man of sterling character and an hon- 
 orable, upright citizen, passed away, his death oc- 
 curring in 1888, at the age of fifty-two years. He 
 had ever been a Lutheran in religion, and a Re- 
 publican in politics. The companion of his joys 
 and sorrows, his worthy wife, is still living and 
 finds a pleasant and comfortable home with our 
 subject. She is now seventy-one years of age and 
 has ever been an earnest believer in the Lutheran 
 doctrine. Their children, four in number, are 
 as follows: Alexander, a farmer of Dodge 
 County, Iowa, married Miss Sarah Marker; Eda 
 
 makes her home with our subject; John Herman 
 (our subject), and Matilda, wife of Charles An- 
 derson, a farmer of Clay County, Neb. 
 
 When the family moved to Nebraska, our sub- 
 ject came to Rockford and engaged in various 
 enterprises as above mentioned. He has been a resi- 
 dent of this city for the most part ever since and 
 is acknowledged by all to be a young man of 
 much business acumen. Believing, as the best 
 and truest of men do, that it is not best for man 
 to live alone, he was married in Rockford to Miss 
 Anna Pherson, who was also of Swedish nativity, 
 bom January 27, 1869. In the year 1868, she 
 came to the United States with her parents, Ingvar 
 and Christina (Hockson) Pherson, and settled 
 with them in Rockford. The parents are both liv- 
 ing at the present time and are now quite aged 
 people. Mr. Pherson is a machinist for Emerson, 
 Talcott & Co. He and Mrs. Pherson attend the 
 Zion Lutheran Church, in which they have been 
 members for years. Their family consisted of 
 seven children, six of whom are yet living and 
 four marrried. Mrs. Lynn, the third in order of 
 birth of these children, is a most excellent lady 
 and is possessed of many admirable traits of char- 
 acter. She and Mr. Lynn are members of the 
 Zion Lutheran Church, and Mr. Lynn is a member 
 of the church board. He is a Republican in poli- 
 tics. They have one little girl, Effle E. 
 
 ^ILLIAM McCULLOUGH, a prominent and 
 substantial farmer of Harrison Township, 
 Winnebago County, 111., is a native of 
 this county, born where he now resides on the 8th 
 of December, 1847. His father, John Alexander 
 McCuUough, was born in the North of Ireland on 
 the 1st of March, 1818, and was brought to Amer- 
 ica by his parents when six years of age. John 
 McCullough's father was William McCuUough, and 
 his mother, Eliza Drummond, came from the North 
 of Ireland. William McCuUough was born in Scot- 
 land and was a schoolmate of Robert Burns. He 
 was a well-educated gentleman and came of 
 wealthy ancestors who lost the most of their prop- 
 erty during the troubles there. He lived to be 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 383 
 
 ninety-seven years of age and was buried in Ypsi- 
 lanti, Mich., about 1863. His wife died iu St. 
 Lawrence County, N. Y., when quite aged, and 
 was the mother of two sons and five or six daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 William McCullough was one of eight children, 
 the eldest, the first daughter, dying when young. 
 The children who grew to adult years were as 
 follows: James, a farmer of Alexandria, S. Dak., 
 is the giant of the family, stands six feet and five 
 inches, and weighs two hundred and ten pounds. 
 He is known in Harrison as the "Baby of the 
 Woods. ' ' He was a volunteer from G uilf ordTown- 
 ship, in the Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, and entered 
 as a private in Company B, under Capt. Munhall. 
 William, our subject; Margaret died on the old 
 homestead when eighteen years of age; Anna, 
 widow of James Dobson, resides in South Dakota; 
 Mary, Mrs. Perry L. Smith, resides in Chicago; 
 Jeanette, Mrs. Charles Winright of South Dakota; 
 David, also of South Dakota, and a farmer and 
 Register of Deeds at Howard City. 
 
 Our subject was married June 11, 1885, to Miss 
 Margaret Naugle, of Newark, Wis., daughter of 
 Daniel and Sarah (Strow) Naugle, who were from 
 Pennsylvania, but who came to Wisconsin in 1849. 
 This union has resulted in the birth of three 
 children: Fanny May, born May 4, 1886; Mary 
 Alice, May 11, 1888, and Luther William on' the 
 7th of January, 1890. Mr. McCullough has ever 
 been a resident of his present farm and is known 
 far and wide as a wide-a-wake, thorough-going ag- 
 riculturist. He is the owner of one hundred and 
 ninety-eight acres, all but thirty-eight acres, which 
 he has since added, being the old homestead. He 
 has made many improvements in the old place in 
 the last few years and in 1884 he built a fine barn, 
 32x60 feet. Since then he has erected a corn house, 
 wagon and tool house, horse barn, lien house and 
 many other necessary improvements. He has 
 added to the house his father built, and enlarged 
 it very much, making a very comfortable and 
 attractive home. Iu connection with his farming 
 industry, Mr. McCullough raises considerable stock 
 and has on his place at all times about fifteen 
 head of horses. His Morgan stallion, "Stanton," 
 is a splendid animal. He also has thirty head of 
 
 horned cattle which include a dozen good cows 
 and he sells annually an average of twenty-five 
 hogs. Mr. McCullough votes with the Republican 
 party but is not a strict partisan. Mrs. McCul- 
 lough is a ISaptist, but Mr. McCullough comes of 
 good Presbyterian ancestors. 
 
 v ♦^♦^^ / 
 
 /^ 
 
 MOS C. HARRIS. A list of the old settlei's 
 jj of this section would be incomplete with- 
 out the above name, which is borne by 
 one of the most intelligent and public- 
 spirited citizens of the village of Winnebago, 
 where he has lived retired from farm life since 
 1881. He is a son of Solomon Harris, and was 
 born in Berne, Albany County, N. Y., February 1, 
 1834. The father was also a native of the Empire 
 State, and the grandfather was, from the best in- 
 formation at hand, named Jeremiah; he was a 
 farmer of Berne, where his decease occurred. 
 
 Solomon Harris lemoved from Albany to Cay- 
 uga County, and, locating in the town of Ira, was 
 engaged in farming several years. His decease 
 occurred, however, August 23, 1854, in Elmira. 
 His wife, prior to her marriage, was Rebecca Cowel, 
 a native of the same State where he had his birth; 
 she died May 9, 1846, in Cayuga County, when 
 in her fiftieth year. The maternal grandfather of 
 our subject, Amos Cowel, was a farmer, and died 
 in Cato, N. Y. He had married Betsey Mills, with 
 whom he spent many years of happy married life. 
 
 He of whom we write resided with his parents 
 until reaching his majority, when he commenced 
 life on his own account even with the world. He 
 worked out on farms by the month in Cayuga 
 County, and in 1855 emigrated West to Illinois, 
 making permanent location in this county. Rock- 
 ford was at that time little more than a hamlet, 
 and it was there that Mr. Harris was employed in 
 a machine shop for three years. During that time, 
 however, he purchased a tract of wild prairie land 
 in Winnebago Township, and in 1858 located on 
 the place and engaged in farming until 1881, when, 
 as before stated, he came to Winnebago village. 
 Ill 1891, he erected his pleasant home where he 
 
384 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and his good wife make welcome their numerous 
 friends and acquaintances. 
 
 In Cayuga County, N. Y., our subject and Miss 
 Mary Kellogg were united in marriage in the year 
 1858. The lady was born in the town of Schaghti- 
 coke Point, N. Y., October 12, 1833, and is a 
 daughter of Joseph Kellogg, a native of Connecti- 
 cut, who went to New York State when a young 
 man and was there married. The father of Mrs. 
 Harris was a blacksmith by trade and in Cayuga 
 County erected a shop and followed his trade until 
 coming to this county, where his decease occurred 
 in Winnebago village. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Angeline Holmes; she also had Ler birth in 
 Schaghticoke Point and departed this life in Win- 
 nebago Township. One child, Steward 11. . was 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Harris June 8, 1860, and 
 died in September, 1882. Our subject and his wife 
 are devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church and have many friends among the people 
 where they have lived so many years. 
 
 Ǥ^ 
 
 =^ 
 
 1 DWIN S. ALEXANDER, a retired merchant 
 of Belvidere, is a native of Covington, 
 Fountain County, Ind., and one of five 
 children born unto James and Sarah (Mitchell) 
 Alexander. His grandfather, William Alexander, 
 was a pioneer of the Territory of Indiana, and for 
 many years engaged in farming in Fountain 
 County. James was born and reared in that county 
 and married Sarah Mitchell, a native of Pennsj'l- 
 vania, whose parents, Thomas and Hester (Cowell) 
 Mitchell, were also born in the Keystone State. 
 They were pioneers of Indiana and came to Boone 
 County in 1836. Mr. Mitchell died at the home 
 of his son in Neoslia Falls, Kan., and his wife 
 died at the home of their daughter in Ontonagon, 
 Mich. 
 
 It was in 1839 that James Alexander visited 
 Boone County, and purchased a tract of land in 
 what is now Bonus Township. He then returned 
 to Indiana, and two years later brought his family 
 to the new home. He at once began the improve- 
 ment and cultivation of his land, and upon that 
 
 farm made his home until within a short time of 
 his death. The last year of his life was spent in 
 Indiana, and he there passed away in September 
 1888. His wife died in Harvard, August 25, 1875. 
 Their four children who grew to mature years are 
 Edwin S., Frances M., Serena M. and Elisha J. 
 
 Our subject was only fourteen months old when 
 his parents came to Illinois, and amid the wild 
 scenes of frontier life the days of his boyhood and 
 youth were passed. During the winter season lie 
 attended school and in the summer months aided 
 in the labors of the farm until twenty years of age. 
 During "the three succeeding years of his life, he 
 carried on farming for himself, but continued to 
 make his home with his parents until 1862, when 
 he embarked in the grain and lumber business in 
 Poplar Grove. After ten years spent in that line, 
 he engaged in merchandising, carrying a stock of 
 dry-goods and groceries. He was first a partner 
 of W. S. Webster, and later was associated with 
 Woodward Brothers until 1880, when he disposed 
 of his interest in the store and again engaged in 
 dealing in grain for a year. Removing to Wauna- 
 kee, Wis., he was there a dealer in live stock and 
 grain for five years, when he returned to Poplar 
 Grove, where he made his home until 1886. In 
 that year he came to Belvidere and has since lived 
 retired. 
 
 In January, 1870, Mr. Alexander was united in 
 marriage with Eliza Bailey. Her great-grandfather, 
 Levi Bailey, was a native of Westchester County, 
 N. Y., followed farming and at one time was a 
 large slave-holder, but voted for emancipation. 
 He married Betsy Smith, and became a large land- 
 owner of Putnam County, N. Y. He was also one 
 of its prominent citizens and represented his dis- 
 trict in the State Legislature. The grandfather, 
 Levi Bailey, learned the trade of harness-making, 
 which he followed for some years, and then oper- 
 ated a farm which he had inherited until his death. 
 He married Priscilla Thompson, a native of Put- 
 nam Count3', and a daughter of James and Pris- 
 cilla (Cole) Thompson. Her father served as 
 General in the State militia. Daniel Bailey was 
 educated in his native town and at the age of four- 
 teen began earning his own livelihood. On attain- 
 ing his majority, he went to Westchester County, 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 385 
 
 where he bought a farm and made his home for 
 seven years. In 1854, he came to Boone County, 
 and, purchasing one hundred acres of land in Bel- 
 videre Township, engaged in farming and stoclt- 
 raising. He has been very successful and now 
 owns more than seven hundred acres of land. Upon 
 his farm he resided until 1888, since which time he 
 has made his home in Belvidere. He was married, 
 in 1842,toEmeline, daughter of Charles and Eliza- 
 beth (Banker) Agor, and a native of Putnam 
 County, NrY., born July 25, 1822. They have 
 three children: Theodore, Spencer and Eliza. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Alexander and their daughter, 
 Elora B., their only child, occupy a pleasant home 
 in Belvidere, and its hospitable doors are ever 
 open to their many friends. In politics, he is a 
 supporter of Republican principles, and socially, 
 is a member of Poplar Grove Lodge, A. O. U. W. 
 
 j^\ ARTIN McCOY. In the early settlement 
 of Winnebago County, 111., Mr. McCoy 
 bore a prominent part in developing and 
 opening the way for civilization, and is 
 one of the old and much esteemed citizens. He 
 was born in the Kej'sfcone State, his birth occurring 
 in Huntingdon County, in 1813, and he is the son 
 of Jonathan McCoy, who was born in the North of 
 Ireland, or on the ocean en route to America in 
 1788. The grandfather of our subject, George Mc- 
 Coy, was born in the North of Ireland, and came 
 to Alexandria, Pa., about 1788. He was the father 
 of four children: George, Jane, Mary and Jona- 
 than. The mother of these children died at the 
 ripe age of eighty-four years. Their daughter 
 Mary was wed by Matthew Simpson, at Spruce 
 Creek Iron Works, and the latter's son, Matthew 
 Simpson, was one of the most eloquent and suc- 
 cessful preachers in America, and was noted far and 
 wide as a most gifted Methodist divine. He be- 
 came an eminent bishop, and was a long time 
 chaplain of the United States Senate. 
 
 Jonathan McCoy, father of our subject, was mar- 
 ried, when twenty-two years of age, to Miss Isabella 
 Houck, of his own neighborhood. After marriage 
 they settled in their native place, and there reared a 
 
 large family of children. They were the parents 
 of eight sons and four daughters, but one, 
 Washington, died in infancy. The others were 
 as follows: William, who died a few years ago; 
 Martin, our subject; Ellen became the wife of J. 
 G. Gunterman, and died in Madison County, 111; 
 James is an extensive farmer near Blue Mound, 
 111.; Hezekiah, a large railroad contractor and a 
 very wealthy man, is a druggist of Salt Lake City; 
 Jane, now Mrs. McNicklc, resides in Milwaukee; 
 Elizabeth, a young lady, died near Troy, 111.; John, 
 who resides in Lebanon, 111., is a wealthy ranch- 
 man, owning many ranches in Texas; Dorsey, who 
 is overseer for a large nail factory in Milwaukee, 
 Wis., began the trade when thirteen years of age, 
 and now at the age of sixty-nine years, is in charge 
 of the works, and has been for many years, at a 
 large salary; Thomas is a farmer of Macon County, 
 111., and is in very good circumstances, owning 
 land in Dakota; and Mary is the widow of Elder 
 Palmer, an able Baptist minister of Southern Illi- 
 nois, near Cairo. The latter was a brother of Hon. 
 John M. Palmer, who was an expert linguist, being 
 master of seven languages. 
 
 Martin McCoy, our subject, came to Southern 
 Illinois in 1834, resided there for a little over 
 four years, and in April, 1838, he came to Rock- 
 ford. He was married on the 30th of March, 1837, 
 in Smoothe Prairie, 111., seven miles east of Alton, 
 to Miss Sarah Chandler, a native of North Carolina, 
 and the following year he and his bride started for 
 Winnebago County by the river from Alton. He 
 left bis wife at Savannah, and walked from there 
 to Cranes' Grove, and then went by stage to Rock- 
 ford. He walked from there to Harlem, and thence 
 over to Harrison Precinct for his brother-in-law's 
 two yoke of oxen. With these he returned to 
 Savannah for his family and goods. He made the 
 trip of one hundred and twenty miles in one week, 
 and came on with his goods, wife and young babe, 
 Ellen, who was three months old. This was in the 
 month of April, and they were caught in a heavy 
 rain storm which drenched his wife, child and 
 goods, and stalled his team in the quicksand. This 
 was but one of the many trials that beset the path- 
 way of these young pioneers. The roads were new 
 and with the load of household goods, for they had 
 
386 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 plenty along with them, made the trip a very tedi- 
 ous one. Very thankful were they when they 
 reached Rockford on the 17th of April. In order 
 to cross Rock River, however, Mr. McCoy was 
 obliged to wade the stream, which was waist deep, 
 and set up stakes as landmarks, after which he re- 
 turned for his team and precious load. 
 
 He first settled opposite Latham, on a half-sec- 
 tion of land that Henry Chandler liad located, and 
 they improved forty acres, and put in a crop. They 
 resided thei-e two seasons, and then settled on Mr. 
 McCoy's present homestead, where they erected a 
 shanty, and immediately began making improve- 
 ments on their future home. Of this, one hundred 
 and sixty acres were in timber, and Mr. McCoy 
 sold eighty acres to David Penfield, and got a Mr. 
 Thompson, of Roscoe, to deed the other eighty 
 acres for thirty acres. Li 1843 or 1844, Mr. Mc- 
 Coy took a pre-emption of eighty acres where he 
 now lives, and on this he built a log house, 16x16 
 feet, with a good shingle roof. Later he built a 
 10x16 addition to this, and stiil later another ad- 
 dition of 10x10 feet. He resided ten years in this 
 house before he built a frame house. He sold his 
 land at Latham, and with the proceeds paid for 
 his homestead of eighty acres. In 1872, he bought 
 eighty acres of the land just north of him which 
 had been shorn of the timber, and for this paid 
 $1,700. Of this, sixty acres are of the very finest 
 soil, producing immense crops, and twenty acres 
 ai-e in timber, good size, all grown since then. Mr. 
 McCoy owns one hundred and eighty-five acres, of 
 which forty acres are choice pasture laud, fortj'-five 
 acres timber, and the balance is in a high state of 
 cultivation. 
 
 Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 McCoy, all daughters: Jane died in infancy; 
 Nancy, now Mrs. A. P. Doolittle, is at home with 
 her father; Mary, a lovely young woman of eigh- 
 teen years, died of typhoid fever; and Estella is 
 now Mrs. A. N. Rockstead, her husband a photo- 
 grapher of Rockford. Mrs. Doolittle and Mrs. 
 Rockstead each have a son. Mr. McCoy buried 
 his devoted and much beloved wife on the 30th of 
 .June, 1887, she being sixty-nine years of age, and 
 but for the company of his daughter, his home 
 would be desolate indeed. Mr. McCoy enjoys 
 
 comparatively good health for his years. He has 
 five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. 
 He keeps many cattle and eight cows, sending his 
 buttei- to consumers in Milwaukee, Wis. He also 
 sells from thirty to forty fine hogs each year. 
 
 Our subject has always voted the Republican 
 ticket since the birth of that party, though not a 
 strict partisan. He has never sought official posi- 
 tions, but has held the office of Justice of the 
 Peace, Assessor, etc. He has been a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church since sixteen 
 years of age, and his departed wife was also a faith- 
 ful Christian. Our subject has been a Master 
 Mason many years, and knows Masonry to be a 
 grand institution for suffering humanity. 
 
 SYLVESTER GAGE. We herewith present 
 the sketch of a prominent farmer of Boone 
 Township, whose home is located on sec- 
 tion 11. He is a native of Herkimer 
 County, N. Y., and was born on the 29th of De- 
 cember, 1838. His father, Alfred Gage, was also a 
 native of the above-named county, where he was a 
 farmer. In 1849, the elder Mr. Gage went West 
 to California via the Nicaragua route, and died in 
 the Golden State, in 1862, leaving a wife and three 
 children in the East. The maiden name of our 
 subject's mother was Parmelia Gregg, the daughter 
 of Joseph Gregg, a carpenter of Sandusky, Ohio. 
 The brother and sister of our subject were Seymour 
 and Elizabeth, the family of five having been 
 broken into by the death of Eliab and Mary Ann. 
 He of whom we write was given fair school ad- 
 vantages, and when fifteen years of age started out 
 to earn his own living. In 1860, he was married 
 to Elizabeth Ann, a daughter of Thomas and 
 Sarah (Clark) Berry. Mr. Gage never served an 
 apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, but one 
 day meeting with a Mr. Pearce, who offered him 
 $2.25 per day to work for him at that trade, he 
 accepted the position and happened always to do 
 the right thing required of him, thus making a suc- 
 cess of that line of business. In the spring of 1875, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gage emigrated to Ingham County, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 387 
 
 Mich., where they remained for two years, at the 
 end of which time they came to Illinois and lo- 
 cated in Capron, whither a brother of Mrs. Gage 
 had settled in the '50s. They lived there for a 
 twelvemonth, when our subject purchased a small 
 farm of eleven acres. Previous to coming West, 
 he purchased a farm for $500 in this State, which 
 he sola a few years later for $1,800, and with that 
 amount came West. They have a snug little farm 
 and keep on their place five cows, marketing the 
 milk at the creamery one-half mile distant. Mr. 
 Gage is still working at his trade of a carpenter 
 and is employed in the construction of some of 
 the finest residences and stores in the place. 
 
 Our subject is a stanch Democrat and interested 
 in the upbuilding of his community. His mother 
 died in Litchfield, N. Y., in the summer of 1889, 
 when eighty five years of age. Mrs. Gage's father 
 died in Herkimer County, N. Y., December 2, 1857, 
 when sixty-three years of age, leaving a widow and 
 six children, namely: Thomas F., a carpenter at 
 Capron; Robert C, of Fulton County, Mo.; Will- 
 iam W., residing at Ilion, N. Y.; Edward M., who 
 makes his home in Kent County, Mich.; and Ann 
 E. George M. died when thirty-six years of age. 
 The parents of Mrs. Gage were natives of England 
 and emigrated to the New World in 1828, being 
 sixty-three days on the ocean. Grandfather Gregg 
 was a patriot in the War of 1812 and did brave 
 and active service during that period. 
 
 » * ■ ! > l y i'T H i ^ J 
 
 ? I ' I f. 
 
 OSCAR FAVOR. Tlie present popular Post- 
 master of Rockton was appointed to that 
 office in the fall of 1889, and he enjoys 
 the entire confidence of all with whom he has 
 dealings. He is a native of this county, having 
 been born October 18, 1844, in Rockton Township, 
 and was reared to manhood on his father's farm in 
 Owen Township, Winnebago County. 
 
 Wadley Favor, the father of our subject, was 
 born in New Hampshire in 1806 and is a son of 
 Moses Favor, a farmer in the Granite State, where 
 he lived and died in his seventieth year, having 
 reared seven children. His son Wadley in 1832 
 emigrated to Canada, where he was employed as 
 
 manager in a stove foundry for six years at Nor- 
 mandale. At the expiration of that time, be came 
 to Rockford and was soon engaged in farming near 
 the city, at tlie same time making claim to eighty 
 acres of Government land in Owen Township. In 
 1845, he located upon that tract with his family, 
 moving into a rude log house wliich had been hur- 
 riedly erected, and died September 2, 1889. The 
 mother is still living. 
 
 The lady to whom Wadley Favor was married 
 in 1842 bore the maiden name of Mary Bryning. 
 On coming to the new home in Winnebago County, 
 the parents began housekeeping in a primitive 
 way and here reared their family. In 1855, Mr. 
 Favor erected a substantial residence and added 
 one hundred acres to his estate, all of which is 
 still in the family. The greater portion of it lies 
 on section 5, and it is one of the most thoroughly 
 tilled farms in Rockton Township. In 1860, a 
 large barn, 30x40 feet, was built, to which he later 
 added another large structure. Their eldest child, 
 who bore the name of Axie, died April 6, 1889 at 
 the age of forty-five years. Those living are our 
 subject and his brother Walter, who is engaged 
 in the drug business in Rockford. 
 
 Oscar Favor was reared on the home farm which 
 he left in 1869, and was married to Marj^ Bligh, of 
 Rockton. Her parents were natives of New York 
 and pioneers of Winnebago County, this State. 
 They bore the names of Alpheus B. and Almira 
 (Weird) Bligh, respectively, and passed away in 
 this county at the respective ages of fifty-seven and 
 seventy-seven years. The only son born to our 
 subject and his wife, Oscar Bligh, died in April, 
 1882, when three years of age. 
 
 Our subject operated a fine farm and was exten- 
 sively engaged in the dairy business for some 
 twelve years, disposing of it to engage in the grain 
 and stock trade, which he followed for six years 
 in Rockton. In 1889, being appointed to his pres- 
 ent office, he has since given his entire attention 
 to the duties of that position. He is a true-blue 
 Re publican,. as was his father before him, and while 
 in the grain business was made Constable of his 
 township, and for six years was Assessor and for 
 three years served as School Trustee. He was ap- 
 pointed administrator of his father's estate and 
 
388 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 likewise of liis fnther-in-law's property, which he 
 manages in the most satisfactory manner. In every 
 relation of life he is most cordially esteemed hy 
 those who know him, as is indicated by the fact 
 that lie has been placed by his party in numerous 
 official positions. 
 
 
 
 THOMAS LIDDLE. This successful horti- 
 culturist of Owen Township has on his es- 
 tate the largest and finest orchard in the 
 county of Winnebago, and has a wide reputation 
 as a thrifty farmer and uprigiit citizen. He re- 
 sides on the farm which was improved by his 
 wife's father and which comprises one hundred and 
 sixty acres, on which improvements of a substan- 
 tial order have been placed and conveniently ar- 
 ranged buildings have been erected. The most 
 conspicuous structure is the family residence, a 
 pleasant rural abode, a view of which is presented 
 on another page. 
 
 Tracing the lineage of Mr. Liddle back through 
 several generations, we find that his great-grand- 
 father, a native of Scotland, emigrated to the 
 North of England and there spent his last years. 
 The great-grandfather of our subject was a silver 
 miner near Wolsingham, where he spent his entire 
 life. Grandfather George Liddle was born in 
 England, and his son, likewise named George, was 
 a native of Durham County, there engaging in his 
 younger days as a miner and in liis later life as a 
 miller and farmer. In 1852, he emigrated to 
 America and resided at the Wadsworth homestead 
 in the Genesee Valley, N. Y., one year. From 
 that pLace he came to Rockford and followed the 
 business of draying for one year, after which he 
 bought a farm in Owen Township and followed 
 agricultural pursuits until his death. 
 
 The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
 was Jane Clay, was born in Durham Count}^, Eng- 
 land, the daughter of George and Hannah Clay, 
 and died on the old homestead in Owen Town- 
 ship, after having reared to maturity eight sons 
 and four daughters. The member of this family 
 in whom we are particularly interested is Thomas, 
 who was born in Durham County, England, April 
 
 6, 1827, and was reared on a farm in his native 
 country. At the age of seventeen, he commenced 
 railroading on the Wear Valley Railroad, in which 
 capacity, as well as in farming, he was occupied un- 
 til he emigrated to America in 1851. 
 
 In that year Mr. Liddle set sail from Liverpool 
 on the vessel "Corsica," which was wrecked on 
 the coast of Newfoundland, all his poswessions 
 being lost excepting the clothes which he wore. 
 He was taken in a life boat to Cape Ray, and four 
 days later brought to St. Johns, New Brunswick, 
 whence, two weeks afterward, he sailed for New 
 York, landing in that city in June. Thence he 
 proceeded to the Wadsworth homestead in the 
 Genesee Valley, where he remained until 1852 
 and then came to Rockford, where he was en- 
 gaged on tlie Chicago & Galena Union Railroad. 
 During the five years in which he was in the em- 
 ploy of the company, he was industrious and 
 economical and was thus enabled to engage in 
 farming. Some years before leaving the railroad 
 business, he purchased a farm in Owen Township 
 together with his brothers, where he resided until 
 the Civil War, and then bought his present prop- 
 erty. 
 
 April 6, 1862, Mr. Liddle was married to Miss 
 Minerva Chapman, who was born in Cayuga 
 County, N. Y., October 1, 1839. Her father, 
 Edom Chapman, was born in New York State. 
 Her grandfather, Jeremiah Chapman, was, it is 
 thought, born in England and emigrated to Amer- 
 ica, where he spent his last years on a farm in 
 Putnam County. Grandmother Chapman, whose 
 maiden name was Mary Barger, died on the old 
 homestead in Putnam County. The father of 
 Mrs. Liddle learned the trade of a carriage-maker 
 and painter, and resided in Cayuga County for a 
 short time after his marriage, coming in 1842 to 
 Illinois and purchasing a tract of wild prairie 
 land in Owen Township. Three years later his 
 family joined him. Afterward he bought another 
 farm in the same township, where he resided until 
 death. His wife, Gertrude (Jones) Chapman, was 
 born in York State, the daughter of Samuel and 
 Rebecca (Updyke) Jones, and died on the home 
 farm. Mr. and Mrs. Liddle have three children: 
 Jed, Ada and Arden. Ada married William Kel- 
 
RESIDENCE OF F: E , Wl LLOUGHBY; NORTH MAIN ST , ROCKFORD, I bL. 
 
 
 
 
 RESIDENCE OF THOMAS LIDDLE, SEC. 2 ,OWEN TP, WINNEBAGO CO, ILL. 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 391 
 
 ley and has two children, Lucy and Mary. In 
 his political afliliations, Mr. Liddle is a Republi- 
 can and is public-spirited and enterprising. 
 
 •5- 
 
 i>-^^<i 
 
 ,tc5^^ 
 
 FRANCIS E. WILLOUGHBY. Among the 
 residents of Rocl?ford Township, Winne- 
 bago County, none are more worthy of rep- 
 resentation by the biographical writer than Mr. 
 Willoughby and his wife, who are held in high es- 
 teem by all who know them. The farm which they 
 own and occupj' is one of the finest in the locality 
 and a visitor would find upon it every necessary 
 and convenient structure, which gives to the prem- 
 ises an air of prosperity and comfort. 
 
 The ancestors of our subject are such tiiat their 
 descendants can refer to them with pride, the va- 
 rious families furnishing men and women of intel- 
 ligence and ability. John B. Willoughby, the 
 father of our subject, was born in Westchester 
 County, N. Y., January 16, 1802. His father. 
 Bliss Willoughby, was, it is thought, born in Con- 
 necticut, and, as tradition has it, there were three 
 brothers named Willoughby, natives of England, 
 and members of Queen Anne's Life Guards, who, 
 after the death of Queen Anne, came to America, 
 one of them settling in Vermont, another in Massa- 
 chusetts and the third, who is said to be the an- 
 cestor of our subject, making his home in Connec- 
 ticut. All three served in the Revolutionary War. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject removed from 
 Connecticut to Westchester County, N. Y., and 
 from there to Chenango County, where he was one 
 of tlie pioneers of Preston. Purchasing a tract of 
 timber land, he set about improving his farm, and 
 as there were no railroads or markets nearer than 
 the Hudson River, was put to the great inconveni- 
 ence of conveying the products of his farm many 
 miles by means of ox-teams. Times being hard, 
 he was unable to meet the payments on his land 
 and was thus compelled to abandon it, moving to 
 Oxford Township, where he rented property for a 
 time, until he was enabled to purchase an improved 
 farm, upon which he resided until his death. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Fanny Patten. He 
 served for a period of six months in the Revolu- 
 
 tionary War, and upon his discharge received $50 
 in Continental money, $40 of which he was com- 
 pelled to pay for a square meal. 
 
 John Willoughby, the father of our subject, was 
 reared in New York State, where he learned the 
 trade of a stone mason, and for a time was em- 
 ployed in building locks on the Lackawanna Canal. 
 After his marriage, he located on the old home- 
 stead, which he operated until his decease. He 
 married Nancy Shapley, who was born in Oxford, 
 Chenango Count}', N. Y., and was the daughter of 
 David Shapley. Mrs. Willoughby still resides on 
 the home farm in Oxford, being in her eighty-sixth 
 year. She is the mother of three children: Francis 
 E., William Darwin and John H. The latter died 
 in Coven trj', Chenango County. 
 
 The original of this sketch received a good edu- 
 cation in the schools of his native town and con- 
 tinued to reside under the parental roof until 185.5, 
 which was the date of his advent into Illinois. 
 Locating in Ogle Count}', he purchased a tract of 
 eighty acres of wild prairie land in Linville Town- 
 ship, paying therefor $11 per acre. 
 
 He soon traded, however, for one hundred and 
 sixty acres in the same township, where he made 
 his home until 1866, and then came to Winnebago 
 County, becoming the proprietor of one hundred 
 and ninety-three and one-half acres of land, lo- 
 cated one-half mile from the city limits of Rock- 
 ford. He was actively engaged in cultivating his 
 farm until 1890, when the "boom" struck the city^ 
 and Mr. Willoughby platted one hundred and eight 
 acres of his land. That year he erected a handsome 
 residence, a view of which is shown on another 
 page, which is furnished and finished in modern 
 style. 
 
 February 6, 1857, Miss Janett E. Root, who was 
 born in Oxford, N. Y., became the wife of our sub- 
 ject. To them have been born a family of five 
 children: Augusta E., Edgar C, Arthur B., John 
 H. and Frank. Augusta married Warren O. Eddy, 
 by whom she has two children : Flora and Alice. 
 Arthur married Catharine Ernst, and is the father 
 of three children: Hazel Grace, Lyra, and Arthur 
 Fletcher. Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby are members 
 of the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church. In 
 politics, our subject cast his first vote for Franklin 
 
392 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Pierce, and now votes the Prohibition ticket. He 
 was for manjf j^ears a leading member of the Grange, 
 being a charter member of Whig Hill Grange, and 
 for fourteen months was manager of the co-opera- 
 tive store in Rockford. 
 
 \f OHN A. BOWMAN, Secretary of the Royal 
 Sewing Machine Company and also a Direc- 
 tor and stockholder, is a native of Sweden, 
 ^^^ his birth having occurred in the Province 
 of Smoland, Januarj' 22, 1860. His parents, S. A. 
 and Anna G. (Anderson) Bowman, were natives of 
 the same province, where they were married and 
 began their domestic life, the father following the 
 occupation of mining. After the birth of all their 
 children, the family came to the United States, in 
 1869, sailing from England in May of that year, 
 and landing in New York, whence they came to 
 Rockford, 111. They afterward removed to Mich- 
 igan, and in 1873, to Vallejr Spring, S. Dak., which 
 was then a new and unbroken country. The par- 
 ents are still living on a farm near that place and 
 are prosperous and enterprising people. They 
 have lived to see all the improvements made in 
 Minnehaha County and are numbered among its 
 honored pioneers. The parents are both members 
 of the Swedish Lutheran Church, and have reached 
 the ages of sixty-three and sixty-four years, respect- 
 ively. 
 
 Our subject is the third of four children who are 
 yet living. One sister, Sophia, is the wife of An- 
 drew Borg, whose sketch is elsewhere in this work; 
 Hilma is the wife of Charles Olander, and Emelia 
 is the wife of O. Peterson. The two latter reside 
 upon farms in Minnehaha County, S. Dak. 
 
 When a lad of ten summers, Mr. Bowman of this 
 sketch went with his family to Marquette County, 
 Mich., and three years later removed to Valley 
 Springs, S. Dak., where he was reared and began 
 business as a general merchant, there making his 
 home until 1889, when he came to Rockford. 
 While a resident of Minnehaha County, he was 
 joined in wedlock with Miss Hannah Hetland, 
 who was born in Norway, September 17, 1863, and 
 
 is a daughter of Stephen and Margaret (Larson) 
 Hetland, also natives of Norway, who emigrated 
 with their children to this countrj' in 1872. They 
 located in Morris, 111., and in 1879 removed to 
 South Dakota, locating on Goverment land in 
 Minnehaha County, where the parents still reside 
 upon the farm whicli they improved. Their family 
 numbered six children. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bow- 
 man have been born three children: A. Leland, 
 Chester A. and Blanche M. 
 
 The parents are members of the Zion Lutheran 
 Church and are prominent young Swedish people 
 of this locality, ranking high in social circles. Mr. 
 Bowman is a Republican in politics. Since coming 
 to this cit}', he has been closely connected with its 
 business interests. The Royal Sewing Machine 
 Company was organized in July, 1891, with a cap- 
 ital stock of $100,000, and began to operate 
 the following May. They employ about one hun- 
 dred men and have a capacity of about two hun- 
 dred and fifty. They manufacture a good machine 
 and have a constantly growing business. Our 
 subject is Secretary of the company and is also a 
 stockholder in the new Swedish paper of this city. 
 He owns a half-interest in the three-story brick 
 block at Nos. 501 and 503 Seventh Street, and also 
 in the three-story brick block at Nos. 505 and 507 
 Seventh Street. Mr Bowman is President of the 
 local board of the Loan and Investment Company 
 of North America, located at Chicago. 
 
 ORANGE R. GORHAM. In giving honor to 
 whom honor is due, we should not neglect 
 O. R. Gorham, who began life empty-handed 
 and has accumulated a good property by dint of 
 energetic and well-directed efforts. His home is 
 located on the corner of North Church and Napo- 
 leon Street, Rockford. Born in Pittsford, Rutland 
 County, Vt, July 13, 1837, he is the son of Alonzo 
 Gorham, whose birth occurred August 15, 1801, in 
 Poultney, that State. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, Seth 
 Gorham, was a native of New Fairfield, Conn., and 
 of English ancestry. He removed from that State 
 to Vermont, where he followed the blacksmith's 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 393 
 
 trade in Poultney. In those days all the nails were 
 made by hand and our subject now has some in his 
 possession which he drew from a building in Poult- 
 ney in 1883, and which had been made by his 
 grandfather. Seth Gorham resided in the above- 
 named place for a number of years and then went 
 to AYhipple Hollow, near Rutland, where he fol- 
 lowed farming in additiou to his trade and resided 
 until his death. He was a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tionary War, in which struggle he received a scalp 
 wound. The maiden name of his wife was Amelia 
 Dunks, and her decease occurred on the home farm 
 near Rutland. 
 
 Alonzo Gorham was reared a farmer boy, and 
 being a natural mechanic, during the winter season 
 followed various trades. Purchasing land in Pitts- 
 ford, he lived upon it until 1844, at which time he 
 came to Illinois and located three miles southwest 
 of Rockford. The following year he was joined 
 by his family, and lived on rented property for 
 three years, when he became the owner of a tract 
 in Winnebago Township, on wliich he erected a 
 frame house, which before its completion was de- 
 stroyed by a cyclone, on the 31st of May, 1851. 
 Immediately rebuilding the structure, he resided 
 in it until 1882, and then selling his farm, went to 
 California, and made his home with his daughter, 
 Mrs. Hannah L. Weldon. Five years later, he re- 
 turned to this county, and in 1887 came to Rock- 
 ford, where his decease occurred in May of that 
 year. The maiden name of his wife was Mercy 
 Humphrey; she was also born in Rutland, Vt., and 
 was a daughter of Joseph Humphrey. Her decease 
 occurred on the 8th of August, 1866. 
 
 The six children of the parental household were 
 Hannah, who married the Rev. S. R. Weldon, 
 and makes her home in Santa Barbara, Cal.; Wal- 
 lace A., who lives at Spirit Lake, Iowa; Laura J., 
 who became Mrs. Col. H. C. Forbes, resides at 
 Champaign, 111.; Orange R. was the next in order 
 of birth; Mercy Diana, who is the wife of Dr. H. N. 
 Caner, of Los Angeles, Cal.; and Charles W., who 
 lives in Santa Barbara, that State. Col. Forbes led 
 a part of the army during the Grierson Raid in 
 Mississippi, going with about one hundred others 
 on a reconnoitering expedition. They were lost 
 from the command, and, riding night and day, sud- 
 
 denly came upon a huge body of rebels in camp. 
 It was, of course, expected that they would at 
 once be surrounded, but the Colonel, adopting a 
 bold ruse, raised the white flag, and, galloping into 
 the camp of the rebels, told them he had come to 
 demand their surrender, saying at the same time 
 that he would withdraw and give them two hours' 
 time in which to return an answer. He did with- 
 draw and with his whole command made his 
 escape. 
 
 Orange R. Gorham was a lad of eight years 
 when he came to this State with his parents. He 
 received his early education in the district schools 
 of Winnebago County, which was advanced by an 
 attendance at the Rockford City schools, and the 
 Cedarville Academy in Stephenson County. Soon 
 after reaching his majority, he purchased a farm in 
 Winnebago Township and was engaged in farming 
 for a number of years, during which time he 
 bought and sold several different estates. Upon 
 the death of his cousin, M. L. Gorham, in 1876, he 
 managed his estate for fifteen years, at tlie same 
 time superintending his own farm. He continued 
 his residence in Winnebago Township till 1887, 
 when he came to Rockford and has since been 
 identified with the city's interests. 
 
 In 1886, he of whom we write became a mem- 
 ber of the firm of Holland, Ferguson & Company, 
 makers of abstracts and dealers in loans and real 
 estate. This connection lasted until 1890, since 
 which time Mr. Gorham has carried on an exten- 
 sive business on his own account. March 11, 1862, 
 he was married to Mary McDowell, and to them 
 have been born five children: Frank F., William 
 L., Charles M., Annie L., and Mary M. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gorham are members of the Congregational 
 Church in Winnebago, and, in politics, our subject 
 votes the straight Republican ticket. For six or 
 seven years he served on the County Board of Su- 
 pervisors, and was appointed Notary Public in 
 1890. In social matters he is a member of Rock 
 River Council No. 29, Royal Arcanum. 
 
 Mrs. Gorham 's father, the Hon. William McDow- 
 ell, was born in Frederick County, Va., March 27, 
 1796. He is the son of William McDowell, whose 
 birth occurred in County Cavan, Ireland, of Scotch 
 ancestry. The latter-named gentleman was left an 
 
394 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 oi'pban at an early age, and was reared in the 
 home of an uncle, with whom he remained until 
 coming to America when a young man. Joining 
 his brother Jolin in South Carolina, the grand- 
 father of our subject, soon after com ing to America, 
 commenced preaching, which profession he fol- 
 lowed in many different States. He was married 
 in Carlisle, Pa., to Rachael McClintock, the daugh- 
 ter of Samuel McClintock. The young couple lo- 
 cated in Savannah, Ga., where Mr. McDowell was 
 engaged for a few years in the mercantile business, 
 whence he removed to Newton, Frederick County, 
 Va., and for ten years followed that same trade. 
 About 1807, he went to Chillicothe, Ohio, where 
 he was one of the early settlers, and after a resi- 
 dence there of two years, removed to a farm eleven 
 miles northwest of Deer Creek. Later, he returned 
 to Chillicothe and was engaged in the practice of 
 medicine until his decease, which occurred in No- 
 vember, 1841; his good wife preceded him to the 
 better land in 1831. 
 
 When the father of Mrs. Gorham was two years of 
 age, his parents went to Chillicothe, where he at- 
 tended the pioneer school of Ross County. When 
 his parents resided on the farm he was a pupil in 
 the old log schoolhouse, whose home-made furni- 
 ture bore a striking contrast to the convenient and 
 comfortable temples of learning of to-day. There 
 were no nails in the construction of the house, 
 they being very expensive, as one and one-quarter 
 bushels of wheat were exchanged for a pound of 
 nails. Mr. McDowell later attended an academy 
 at Chillicothe, and when fifteen j^ears of age be- 
 gan clerking in a store, and two years later com- 
 menced the study of medicine, but was not enabled 
 to graduate. After his marriage, he located on his 
 father's farm in Ross County, which he cultivated 
 for three years, and then engaged in the manufac- 
 ture of soap and candles in Chillicothe. In 1842, 
 the father of Mrs. Gorham started overland to 
 Wisconsin, but the roads being in a very bad con- 
 dition, he returned to Cincinnati, where he boarded 
 a vessel, and went by the Ohio, Mississippi and 
 Illinois Rivers to Peru, thence by teams to Green 
 County, Wis., He there purchased a tract of land, 
 erected a log house, and fenced and cultivated his 
 farm, making it his home for many years. He 
 
 later divided the greater part of it among his chil- 
 dren, and at the present time he and his wife make 
 their home with Mr. and Mrs. Gorham. 
 
 The maiden name of Mrs. Gorham 's mother was 
 Ann Eliza Clingman, and her marriage with Mr. 
 McDowell occurred January 5, 1830. She was 
 born in Portsmouth, Ohio, February 13, 1811, and 
 is the daughter of George W. and Mary Bright 
 Clingman, natives, respectively, of Pennsylvania 
 and New Jersey. They are the parents of four 
 children: Washington C, Charles, Mary and Annie. 
 Mr. McDowell cast his first Presidential vote for 
 Henry Clay, but now votes the Republican ticket. 
 He served as Town Clerk of Chillicothe and while 
 in Wisconsin was very prominent in local affairs. 
 In 1844, he was nominated on the Whig ticket for 
 the Territorial Senate, but was defeated. During 
 the years 1848 and 1863, he was a member of the 
 Constitutional Convention, and was honored with 
 the position of County Treasurer in 1863-64. He 
 joined the Methodist Episcopal Church when eigh- 
 teen 3'ears of age, and afterward became a Sweden- 
 borgian in belief, to which faith he still gives 
 allegiance. 
 
 OSCAR L. FREDRIKSEN. It is universally 
 conceded that the distribution of food pro- 
 ducts constitutes the most important factor 
 in the long list of a city's industries, and such be- 
 ing the case, the grocer must be accorded the palm 
 as the most important contributor to the develop- 
 ment of this fact, his wares covering almost every 
 article of daily consumption known to man. This 
 branch of mercantile activity is admirably repre- 
 sented by the popular and well-appointed establish- 
 ment of Fredriksen & Anderson, located at No. 
 411 East State Street, Rockford, where they have 
 conducted business under the present firm title 
 since May, 1890. The business is conducted with 
 vigor and push, and patrons are accorded prompt 
 and courteous service, while the stock is constantly 
 being replenished and kept choice and attractive. 
 Mr. Fredriksen is another of the many promi- 
 nent citizens of the county who are of foreign 
 birth, and first saw the light of day in Skorbes Lan, 
 

 
 a-^uh^ J_ 
 
 ^,&^exx/ %:; 
 
 -e^-^^-^y ^/ryyUi 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 397 
 
 Sweden, October 1, 1867. In May, 1876, ho came 
 to the United States with his parents, August A. 
 and Anna (Swenson) Fredriksen, and tlie family 
 resided in Moline, 111., for three years. From 
 there they moved to Chicago, thence to Woodstock 
 and, finally, to Rockford, where the parents reside 
 at the present time. The father has followed ag- 
 ricultural pursuits as a livelihood and by his en- 
 ergy and industry has been unusually successful. 
 He and Mrs. Fredriksen are now about ftfty-three 
 years of age and are prominent members of the 
 SwedishLutheran Church, in which he is an official. 
 In politics, he affiliates with the Republican party. 
 Their seven children are all living, as follows: 
 A. W., a clerk in Rockford; Oscar L.; August L., a 
 farmer at home; Charles S., George, Hilma and 
 Anna, at liome. 
 
 Our subject has resided in Rockford for ten years, 
 and six years of that time he has devoted his atten- 
 tion to the grocery business. He was for some time 
 with 0. B. Harding, a successful dealer, and later 
 a member of the firm of O. W. Heagg & Co., re- 
 maining with the same until the present firm was 
 established. He is one of the most thorough-going, 
 wide-awake young business men of Rockford, and 
 his entire attention is given to his business. His 
 partner, Mr. Anderson, is also active and enter- 
 prising and has been a resident of the city for 
 about twelve years. In religion, Mr. PYedriksen is 
 a Lutheran and, in polities, a Republican. 
 
 / -J-^E^E 
 
 |SAAC TOMS, one of the pioneers of Rockford, 
 I now residing on section 27, Guilford Town- 
 it ship, Winnebago County, was born in Essex 
 County, N. J., December 24, 1809. His grandfa- 
 ther, Lewis Toms, was of English descent, and 
 spent liis last days in New Jersey. There Isaac 
 Toms, father of our subject, was born and reared, 
 and learned the trade of a carpenter, which he fol- 
 lowed in Essex County until his death in 1809, a 
 few months before the birtli of our subject. His 
 wife bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Hender- 
 son, and was born in Essex County. Her father, 
 Robert Henderson, a native of Scotland, was 
 
 drafted into the British army during the Revolu- 
 tionary War, and came to America. He settled in 
 New Jersey, but afterward removed to Canada, 
 where lie spent his last days. Mrs. Toms resided 
 in her native State until 1816, when, with her fam- 
 ily, she removed to Canada, and there passed the 
 remainder of her life. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our sub- 
 ject, who in his youth learned the trade of a car- 
 penter. After a few years in company with his 
 brother, he purchased a farm in Canada, upon 
 which he resided until 1837, when he came to Illi- 
 nois. He started on foot witli all of his worldly 
 possessions in a bundle, and the first night met a 
 young man en route for Michigan on a horse. 
 They traveled together, riding by turns to Brancli 
 County, Mich., whence our subject walked to Rock- 
 ford, then a collection of a few log cabins. 
 
 The surrounding country was all owned by the 
 Government, and the work of civilization had 
 hardly been begun. Mr. Toms was first employed 
 in building a dam across Kent Creek, and in the 
 spring of 1838, went to Ogle County, where he 
 was employed at various labors until 1840, when 
 he returned to Rockford, and two years later pur- 
 chased the land included in his present farm. It 
 was then a tract of wild prairie, upon which not a 
 furrow had been turned, or an improvement made, 
 but as time has passed, it has become one of the 
 finest farms of the community. The home is a 
 fine brick residence, in the rear of which are a com- 
 modious barn and other outbuildings. An orch- 
 ard has been planted, shade and ornamental trees 
 have been set out, and the place will compare fav- 
 orably with any farm of Winnebago County. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Toms was united in marriage to 
 Martha A. Dodge, a native of Mt. Vernon, N. H. 
 Her father, Charles Dodge, was born in New Bos- 
 ton, that State, and was a son of Amma and Lucy 
 (Fowler) Dodge, who spent their entire lives in the 
 Granite State. Charles Dodge was reared and mar- 
 ried in Boston, and after his marriage settled in 
 Mt. Vernon, where he made his home until 1830. 
 He then removed to Lowell, Mass., where his death 
 occurred two }'ears later. He married Alice Mc- 
 Clary, a native of Windham, N. II. Her father, 
 John McClary, was born in the North of Ireland, 
 
398 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Scotch parentage, and after his marriage spent 
 his entire life in New Hampshire. He and his wife 
 were Presbyterians, and lie served as Deacon for 
 many years. Mrs. Dodge survived her husband 
 some time, and spent the last four years of her lite 
 in Lexington, her death occurring while on a visit 
 to her daughter in Methuen, Mass. 
 
 Mrs. Toms resided in Lowell until 1856, after 
 which she spent two years in Davenport, Iowa, two 
 years in St. Louis, Mo., and then resided in Chi- 
 cago until 1862, when she came to this county. 
 She is a member of the Congregational Church, 
 and a most estimable lady. Mr. Toms was first a 
 Whig, and is now a Republican. He voted for 
 William Henry Harrison, and cast his last vote for 
 Benjamin Flarrison, the illustrious grandson of the 
 Tippecanoe hero. He is a prominent and repre- 
 sentative farmer of Guilford Township, and his 
 portrait on another page is a valuable addition to 
 the volume. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 =feL 
 
 » 
 
 ' LONZO MAEEAN, a successful farmer re- 
 siding on section 11, Flora Township, 
 Boone County, was Ijorn in the town of 
 Maine, Broome County, N. Y., September 
 2.5, 182L Tradition says that the first ancestor of 
 the family to come to America was Dorman Marean, 
 who emigrated from Normandy, France, in 1636, 
 and spent his last years in the Colony of Massachu- 
 setts. He was followed by William, Thomas, Sr., and . 
 Thomas, Jr., the last-named being the grandfather 
 of our subject. He was born in Boston, Mass., 
 October 17, 1753, and emigrated to Canaan, 
 N. Y., whence he removed to Broome County, 
 in 1776. Purchasing a tract of timber land, he 
 hewed out a farm in the midst of the forest and 
 made it his home until his death. His wife, 
 Esther Patterson, was born .January 10, 1756, and 
 spent her last years in Broome County. 
 
 The father of our subject, .John Marean, bought 
 a tract of land in the town of Maine, upon which 
 he resided until 1836. He married Electa Caswell, 
 a native of Herldmer County, and a daughter of 
 Timothy and Mercey (Short) Caswell. In 1836, 
 he went to Orleans County, accompanied by his 
 
 wife and three children, and located in the town of 
 Carlton. The year 1846 witnessed their emigra- 
 tion to Boone County, 111., and Mr. Marean made 
 his home in Belvidere and Flora Townships, until 
 his death in 1861. His wife long survived him 
 passing away March 27, 1892, at the advanced age 
 of nearly ninety years. They had a family of five 
 children: Alonzo, Sarah, Thomas, Charles and 
 Roxy M. 
 
 Our subject spent the first fourteen 3'ears of his 
 life in the county of his nativity and then went 
 with the family to Orleans County. He resided 
 with his parents until their death. On the 9th of 
 February, 1846, he started for Illinois with a team 
 and wagon and made the entire journey overland, 
 reaching his destination on the 4th of March. For 
 some 3'ears he rented a farm in Belvidere Town- 
 ship and in those days experienced all the hard- 
 ships and privations of frontier life. After two 
 years, he bought a tract of wild land, now included 
 within his present farm, at $2.50 per acre, and three 
 years afterward made a purchase of forty acres at 
 $10 per acre. In 1850, he built upon the land and 
 the farm has been his home continuously since. 
 He now owns a tract of one hundred and twenty 
 acres, all of which are under a high state of cultiva- 
 tion and well improved. Good buildings have 
 been erected, fruit and shade trees have been set 
 out and many other improvements made, such as 
 are found upon a model farm. 
 
 On the 1st of October, 1854, Mr. Marean led to 
 the marriage altar Miss Sttira M. Robinson, a na- 
 tive of Guilford, M*e., and a daughter of EH- 
 j ah and Deborah (Cochran) Robinson, who are 
 mentioned in the sketch of A. W. Robinson on an- 
 other page of this work. Four children grace their 
 union : Jennie, now the wife of James E. Munn, 
 by whom she has one child, Wayne. John E. mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Rote and they have a daughter, 
 Minnie. Clara is the wife of S. P. Teeple and the 
 mother of one child, Glenn. Fred A. completes 
 the family. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Marean is a Re- 
 publican, but has never sought official preferment. 
 He is a well-informed man, both politically and 
 otherwise, and is recognized as one of the substan- 
 tial and enterprising agriculturists of this commu- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 399 
 
 nity. He may well be termed a self-made man , f or 
 his success in life is entirely due to his own efforts. 
 He had no capital when he started out for himself, 
 but his industry, enterprise and good management 
 have won him a comfortable competence. In 1881, 
 our subject met with a serious loss, having two 
 large barns destroyed by lightning, one 28x40, and 
 the other 38x50, losing six head of cows, three 
 hundred bushels of corn and oats and twenty tons 
 of hay. 
 
 I^EV. LAWRENCE A. JOHNSTON is prob- 
 IWr ably the most prominent clergyman in the 
 (k> % city of Rockford, having charge of the First 
 Lutheran (Swedish) Church in this place. 
 As a pastor he gets very near to his people, and 
 has ever sought to develop the highest type of the 
 social life of the church. He has made himself the 
 personal friend of each member of his congrega- 
 tion, sympathizing with them in trouble and joyful 
 with them in their gladness. 
 
 He delivered his first sermon here in September, 
 1886, and has since been devoted to his church, 
 which has the largest Swedish congregation in this 
 country. The church necessarily must be very 
 large, has a seating capacity of two thousand peo- 
 ple, and is a beautiful edifice, the interior being 
 Gothic in style. A $3,500 pipe organ adds still fur- 
 ther to the beauty and grandeur of this building. 
 The attendance ig about three thousand and the 
 communicants are now two thousand. When he 
 first came to this city, tliere were about eleven hun- 
 dred members and since then many others have 
 been added to the church. Mr. Johnston has la- 
 bored zealously in his ministerial duties and has 
 interested his congregation in church work. They 
 have a parochial school, which was started in 1890, 
 and which has a capacity for two hundred students. 
 This is located on Kishwakee Street, and four 
 teachers are employed in the summer months. This 
 school does not in any way conflict with the public 
 schools. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Johnston was originally from 
 Warren County, Pa., born August 12, 1855, and 
 he there grew to manhood, receiving his early edu- 
 
 cation in a Normal of that State. Later, or in 
 1874, he entered the Augustana College at Paxton, 
 111., and the next year followed the college to 
 Rock Island, 111., graduating in 1879. He after- 
 ward graduated from the seminary of the same 
 place with the Class of '81. He was ordained at 
 the Synodical meeting held at Lindsborg, Kan., in 
 1881, with Dr. Carlson, formerly of Andover, 111., 
 as presiding officer, and his flrst service as an or- 
 dained minister was in Dos Moines, Iowa, where he 
 had eight hundred members and six hundred com- 
 municants. 
 
 He began to preach in the spring of 1881, and 
 has since been an ardent worker for the church. 
 He has filled the pulpit at Wicker Park, Chicago; 
 was assistant as a student under Dr. Carlson, of 
 Andover, 111.; was one year at Cambridge, 111., and 
 another year at Attica, Ind. Aside from his col- 
 legiate education, he received private instruction 
 in music, and was a teacher for some time while a 
 resident of Rock Island and Moline, 111. 
 
 Our subject came of Swedish parentage, his 
 father, Frederick J. Jonson, being a native of Jon- 
 koping Lan, Smoland Province, Sweden. 'E^ie 
 latter learned the trade of a carpenter and me- 
 chanic, and in May, 1846, he and a brother, Carl 
 M., emigrated to the United States. The former 
 was married at that time but the latter was single. 
 They resided in Buffalo, N. Y., for two years, and 
 then Fredrick Johnson (spelled without the t used 
 by our subject) commenced working at his trade. 
 He started out in Buffalo, N. Y., with about twenty- 
 five cents, but success smiled upon him and he ac- 
 cumulated considerable property. He is still living, 
 is seventy-three years of age, and has been smart 
 and active until recently. His home near Chand- 
 ler's Valley is a well-known resort for his many 
 warm friends of Warren County, Pa. All his life 
 he has been a devoted worker for the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church and has been Deacon for many 
 years. He is a prominent local politician and has 
 ever advocated the principles of the Republican 
 part3^ He is also deeply interested in educational 
 affairs, has been a hard student all his life, and is 
 a self-educated man. He is an able and extensive 
 writer for local and State Swedish papers, and is a 
 worthy and esteemed man. His life companion, 
 
400 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 whom lie married in Sweden, and whose maiden 
 name was Charlotte, has stood by his side through 
 all the trials and tribulations of life, and is a 
 woman of true Christian spirit. She lost her par- 
 ents when a small child and was reared by her 
 grandmother. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Johnston was one of six children 
 born to his parents and two are now at home: 
 Frank A. and Florence M. Three are residing in 
 Jamestown, N. Y.: Frederica L., Sarah J., and 
 Manley E. The latter married a Swedish lady. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was married in Rock 
 Island, 111., to Miss Anna S. Lindgren, a native of 
 Wester Gothland, Sweden, born September 16, 1859, 
 and who came to the United States with her par- 
 ents, J. r. and Christina Lindgren, when eleven 
 years of age. The parents settled in the State of 
 Mississippi, but later came up the Mississippi River 
 and located at Rock Island, 111., where they now 
 make their home. Mr. Lindgren is a mechanic and 
 he and his wife are still enjoying excellent health. 
 Both are adherents of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 Mrs. Johnston, wife of our subject, was educated 
 in the public schools of Rock Island, and was a 
 musical student for two years. Two children have 
 been boin to her marriage: Edith E., and Arnold 
 v., both bright and beautiful children. 
 
 ^Vi]PTON D. BROGUNIER, deceased, was for 
 j/f J some years a prominent citizen of Rockford. 
 ^>:^i\ He was born in Hagerstown, Md., January 
 22, 1829, and was a son of John and Susan (Cook) 
 Brogunier. His father was of French descent, and 
 both were of good families. They lived and died 
 in Hagerstown, the father passing away at the age 
 of eighty years, while his wife was called to her 
 final rest at the age of seventy. He was a member 
 of the German Reformed Church, and she held mem- 
 bership with the Lutheran Church. In ,their fam- 
 ily were nine children, of whom three sons and 
 three daughters are yet living, and are married. 
 
 Under the parental roof our subject was reared 
 to manhood, and in his native city learned the car- 
 
 penter's trade, serving an apprenticeship at the age 
 of sixteen years. When a young man, he came to 
 Illinois, and in Ogle County engaged in carpenter- 
 ing until the time of the gold excitement at Pike's 
 Peak, when he started for that place. On reaching 
 Missouri, however, he decided to go no further 
 and in Lexington, that State, spent a few years. 
 On his return to Illinois, in 1862, he located in 
 Rockford, and from that time until his death was 
 a resident of this city. He became a prominent 
 contractor, and for years carried on a successful 
 business. 
 
 Mr. Brogunier, on the 3d of August, 1865, m 
 Pine Creek Township, Ogle County, led to the 
 marriage altar Ann C. Mum ma, a native of that 
 count3', born July 10, 1842. Her parents were 
 Elias A. and Susanna (Miller) Mumma, natives of 
 Washington County, Md., where they were reared 
 and married. After the birth of five of their chil- 
 dren, they emigrated to Ogle County, 111., locating 
 in Pine Creek Township, where Mr. Mumma im- 
 proved and developed a farm, making it his home 
 until his death, on the 12th of Jun«, 1885. He was 
 born April 4, 1809. His wife, who was born Feb- 
 ruary 20, 1809, died on the old homestead. 
 May 25, 1869. They were prominent members of 
 the German Baptist Church, and were worthy and 
 valued citizens and had a host of friends in Ogle 
 County, where they were numbered among the 
 honored pioneers. The wife of our subject was 
 reared on her father's farm and was a true help- 
 mate and faithful companion to him. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brogunier were born three 
 sons: William H., a watch-maker, who for years 
 was employed in the Rockford Watch Factory, but 
 now working for the electric light company, mar- 
 ried Minnie Hyer; Harry E. is a skilled mechanic 
 and painter and Charles F. is an ambitious young 
 man yet attending the public schools. 
 
 The death of Mr. Brogunier occurred at his 
 home at No. 1009 West State Street, February 12, 
 1890, when past the age of sixty-one years. He 
 was a valued citizen, public-spirited and progress- 
 ive, and a man whose many excellencies of charac- 
 ter won him the high regard of all with whom he 
 came in contact. In his political affiliations, he was 
 a Republican. Since the death of her husband, 
 
'^e^.AAyc) ^4-yu~^ck 
 
 /^ &,(W 
 
 (HlK^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 403 
 
 (D 
 
 Mrs. Brogunier has resided at the old home. She 
 owns some fine property on West State Street, and 
 has a competence amply suflieienl to keep her 
 through her remaining days. She is a member of 
 the Presbyterian Church and a true Cliristian lady, 
 who has the warm regard and esteem of a large 
 circle of friends and acquaintances in this com- 
 munity. 
 
 \f] RA E. CROWE. A stranger would not be in 
 Winnebago County long without hearing the 
 
 ■ name which stands at the head of this bio- 
 graphical notice, and he would soon learn that it 
 is the cognomen of a representative citizen of 
 Durand Township. As a native-born citizen of 
 the county and one of its most highly respected 
 residents, we are pleased to invite the attention of 
 the reader to his portrait, and the following brief 
 account of his life career. 
 
 Born on Christmas Day, 1845, our subject is the 
 son of Edward and Mary (Cody) Crowe, natives 
 of County Wexford, Ireland, and born in 1814. 
 His father learned the trade of a ship carpenter, 
 which he followed with fair success. In 1832, he 
 was married to Mary, the daughter of James and 
 Mary (Murphy) Cody. She was a child of nine 
 years when she accompanied her uncle, James 
 Murphy, to Quebec, Canada, where her brothers 
 Jaaies and Robert were living. After their mar- 
 riage, the parents of our subject resided in Canada 
 until 1837, when they removed to the States and 
 located in Steuben County, N. Y., Mr. Crowe there 
 aiding in the construction of the New York & 
 Erie Railroad. 
 
 In 1843, Edward Crowe came West to Chicago, 
 and in the fall of the same j^ear proceeded to 
 Grand Haven, Mich., where he engaged in lumber- 
 ing during the winter. In the spring of the fol- 
 lowing year, he went to Milwaukee, Wis., and 
 shortly afterward located in Winnebago County. 
 Here he purchased forty acres of unimproved land, 
 on section 27, Durand Township, and upon that 
 place made his home until his decease, June 19, 
 1848. His wife survived him many years, passing 
 away June, 20, 1885. 
 18 
 
 The parental family comprised five children, 
 namel}': John, who was born in Quebec, March 18, 
 1835, and resides in Durand Township; Mary, 
 whose birth occurred in Steuben County, N. Y., in 
 1837, and who died in her fourth .year; James, who 
 was born in Steuben County, and died in infancy; 
 Robert, who was born in Broome County, N. Y., 
 and died in infancy; and Ira E., who was born in 
 Winnebago County. The parents were members 
 of the Roman Catholic Church, and were upright 
 and industrious. 
 
 Ira E. Crowe was reared to farm pursuits, receiv- 
 ing his education in the district schools, and at 
 Durand Seminary. He remained at home until 
 reaching mature years, when, in 1875, he was mar- 
 ried to Mary Ann Horigan. The lady was a daugh- 
 ter of Patrick and Alice (McCormick) Horigan, 
 and was born in Westchester County, N. Y., April 
 13, 1853. Her pareiits were natives of County 
 Kilkenny and County Antrim, Ireland, respectively 
 and in early life came to the United States, and 
 were married in New York City, March 28, 1852. 
 They became the parents of two children: Mrs. 
 Crowe and Albert, who was born November 25, 
 1860. They came to Illinois in 1858, and, locating 
 in HarrisonTownship, this county, the father rented 
 a tract of land, upon which he resided until 1860. 
 He then took up his abode on one hundred and 
 eighty-one acres in Durand Township, which is his 
 present place of residence. They are members of 
 the Roman Catholic Church. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Crowe located upon his 
 present property which he had purchased six years 
 previously. He is now the possessor of a splendid 
 estate, numbering four hundred and eighty-one 
 acres, one hundred and sixty-one of which are in- 
 cluded in the home farm and the remainder located 
 in Humboldt County, Iowa. His family includes 
 six children: Edward G., born July 13, 1876; 
 Mary A., July 1, 1879, died November 9, of ttiat 
 year; John A., born July 8, 1881; Merton P., May 
 31, 1885; Anna Belle, October 3, 1886; and Irene, 
 August 19, 1888, died five days later. 
 
 Although leaning toward Democratic principles, 
 our subject is not confined to party lines but votes 
 for the best man. He has held the position of 
 School Director for a number of years and is also 
 
404 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 occupying a like position in tiie Durand Farmers' 
 Mutual Fire Insurance Company. In January, 
 1865, our subject enlisted and was mustered into 
 service in Company G, One Hundred and Fifty- 
 tldrd Illinois Infantry. The company was organ- 
 ized at Camp Fry, Chicago, and was ordered to 
 TuUahoma, Tenn., where Mr. Crowe was hospital 
 clerk, and was serving in that capacity at the time 
 of his discharge, in August, 1865. He is a mem- 
 ber of Ellis Post No. 320, G. A. E., at Pecatonica. 
 He is Secretary of the Patrons of Industry of Dur- 
 and Center, No. 2456, and is also Secretary of the 
 Anti-Horse Thief Association of Durand. With his 
 wife, he is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, 
 and occupies a high position socially in this com- 
 munity. 
 
 W EWIS NICHOLS, who resides on section 9, 
 I (@ Roscoe Township, Winnebago County, 
 jl^--^, claims New York as the State of his nativity. 
 He was born in Coventry, Chenango County, Feb- 
 ruary 7, 1817. His parents, Phineas and Esther 
 (Gore) Nichols, were both natives of the Green 
 Mountain State, and immediately after their mar- 
 riage emigrated to New York, settling in Chenango 
 County about 1810. After fifteen years, they sold 
 their farm and removed to Chautauqua County, 
 where they resided for eleven years, when, again 
 selling out, they moved to Lake County, Ohio, in 
 1837. Mr. Nichols purchased an improved farm 
 and made a pleasant home. The first of the family 
 to come to Illinois was Ira, the eldest son, who 
 emigrated in the fall of 1837. Our subject and 
 his father came in the fall of 1838, and the latter 
 purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land 
 two miles east of Belvidere. They then returned 
 to Ohio, and Lewis came with his sister and brother- 
 in-law to the claim which had been purchased. 
 
 It was in 1840 that Mr. Nichols of this sketch 
 removed to an unimproved farm in Roscoe Town- 
 ship, which has since been his home. It then com- 
 prised one hundred and sixty acres but now has an 
 area double that amount. He has made farming 
 his life occupation and lias succeeded admirablj' 
 
 in that undertaking. The well-tilled fields and 
 many improvements indicate the thrift and enter- 
 prise of the owner. His labors have not been with- 
 out their reward, for he has prospered and is now 
 numbered among the substantial farmers of the 
 community. 
 
 Mr. Nichols was first married in Perry, Ohio, to 
 Miss Maria J. Goewey and unto them was born one 
 son, Daniel P., now farming near the old home- 
 stead. He was again married, July 15, 1873, his 
 second union being with Elizabeth Streeter Van- 
 dercar, widow of Isaac Vandercar. By her first 
 marriage, she had one child, Elizabeth, now the 
 wife of Charles Lawrence, of Los Angeles, Cal. 
 The name of this lady is often attached to able 
 articles, both poetry and prose, found in the peri- 
 odicals of the day, and she has sent her mother 
 many rare and beautiful gifts from that far West- 
 ern land 
 
 Mr. Nichols has served two terms as Township 
 Assessor and has filled other official positions, ever 
 discharging his duties in a prompt and efficient 
 manner. He has ever taken an active interest in 
 all that pertains to the welfare of the community 
 and is a public-spirited and progressive citizen, 
 widely and favorably known in this community, 
 where he has so long made his home. He has been 
 an eye-witness of the growth and upbuilding of 
 the county and has aided greatly in its develop- 
 ment 
 
 '' • ' ^ 
 
 
 W^OBERT H. COTTON. A long course of 
 I!j^ persevering industry and prudent man- 
 Jiw agement on the part of the gentleman 
 above named has resulted in the accumula- 
 tion of a competence which has enabled him to re- 
 tire from the toils of life and spend his declining 
 years in ease and enjoyment. He was born in 
 Monongalia County, Va., January 15, 1811, and 
 is a son of James Cotton, a native of New Jersey, 
 where his father, also named James Cotton, was 
 born. The great-grandfather of our subject was a 
 native of Belfast, Ireland, of Scotch ancestry, who 
 came to America in the early Colonial times, spend- 
 ing the remainder of his days in New Jersey. 
 
POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECOED. 
 
 405 
 
 The grandfalUer of our subject was a farmer 
 by occupation and, on removing from his native 
 State, made his home in Monongalia County, 
 Va., where he was among the earliest settlers. 
 There he purchased a tract of timber land and in- 
 dustriously set about clearing and improving his 
 estate, being accidentally killed by the falling of 
 a tree in 1806. He was a patriot of the Revolu- 
 tionary War, serving through all that struggle. 
 The maiden name of his wife was Achsa Gallo- 
 way; she was also a native of New Jersey, and 
 departed this life while residing on the home farm 
 in Virginia. 
 
 James Cotton, the father of our subject, was 
 very young when liis parents made their home in 
 Virginia, where he grew to man's estate and mar- 
 ried. He became the proprietor of a tract of tim- 
 ber land with a small clearing upon it and a log 
 house, which was the birthplace of our subject. 
 He was a hard-working and economical man and 
 succeeded in accumulating a handsome estate, 
 upon which he resided until 1822. Then, dispos- 
 ing of his acreage, he removed to Pennsylvania, 
 locating in Greene County, where he made his 
 home until coming to Illinois, at which time he 
 settled in Ilenrj' County; his death occurred at 
 the home of his son, R. H. Cotton, in 1871. 
 
 Jemimah Chalfant, the mother of our subject, 
 was born in Monongalia County, Va., and was a 
 daughter of Solomon Chalfant, whose birth oc- 
 curred in Newcastle, Del. The father was very 
 young when his parents removed to the Old Do- 
 minion, and when reaching mature years he 
 served seven years under Gen. Washington, par- 
 ticipating in the battles of Brandywine, Stony 
 Point and numerous other prominent engagements. 
 He spent the winter at Valley Forge, made memor- 
 able in history for the sufferings which the sol- 
 diers endured, and had the pleasure of seeing 
 Cornwallis surrender his sword at Yorktown. His 
 wife was a Miss Eaton, and he passed liis last 
 years in Monongalia County. Our subject now 
 has in his possession a $6 note of Continental 
 money which was paid his grandfather in remu- 
 neration for his services in the Revolutionary 
 War. The mother of our subject died in Greene 
 County, Pa,, after having borne her husband 
 
 eight children, viz: Elizabeth, Robert H., Achsa, 
 Eaton, James, Solomon, David and Lydia. 
 
 The original of this sketch was a lad of eleven 
 years when his parents removed to the Keystone 
 State. When attaining his sixteenth year, de- 
 siring to earn money of his own, he commenced 
 clerking in a general store in Waynesburg, which 
 position he held about eight years. At the end of 
 that time, having been very economical, he had 
 laid by a sum sufficient to enable him to engage 
 in business on his own account, and, making his 
 home in that place, he carried on a successful 
 trade until 1839, which was the date of his re- 
 moval into Washington County. He was then 
 appointed Superintendent of a general agency for 
 the Jerome Clock Company, and later for Seth 
 Thomas, of Plymouth, Conn. He continued as 
 Mr. Thomas' representative in Ohio, Indiana, 
 Kentucky and Illinois, his headquarters being at 
 Zanesville until 1851, which was the date of his 
 advent into Eockford. This now prosperous city 
 was little more than a hamlet at that early day, 
 there being no railroads nearer than Elgin. Mr. 
 Cotton purchased a farm close to the city, upon 
 which he resided for two years, when he moved 
 into the village and engaged in the real-estate 
 and mercantile business for six years. In the 
 spring of 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War, 
 he was appointed Superintendent in the Chief 
 Quartermaster's Department, being first stationed 
 at Eollo, Mo. Fi'om that place he was sent to Ft. 
 Donelson, arriving there the day the fort sur- 
 rendered. Later, he went to Shiloh, being there 
 at the time of that famous battle. He was sta- 
 tioned at different places and continued in the 
 service of his country until P'ebruary, 1866. Ee- 
 turning to the peaceful pursuits of life, Mr. Cot- 
 ton opened a boarding and sale stable in Chicago, 
 in which line of business he continued until 1871, 
 since which time he has lived retired from active 
 life. 
 
 The first marriage of our subject occurred in 
 Greene County, Pa., June 24, 1834, at which time 
 Miss Margaret Hager became his wife. Mrs. Cot- 
 ton was born in Washington, Pa., and was the 
 daughter of Nicholas and Charlotte (Drake) Ha- 
 ger, natives, respectively, of I'ennsylvania and 
 
406 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 New Jersey. His good wife departed this life in 
 September, 1878, and our subject was united, in 
 Marcli, 1883, to Mrs. Harriet (Trowbridge) Piatt, 
 who was born in New Haven, Conn., and was a 
 daughter of Eli and Lue (Lines) Trowbridge. The 
 parents of Mrs. Cotton were natives of the Nut- 
 meg State, where they spent their entire lives. 
 Previous to her union with our subject she had 
 been married to John Piatt, a native of Connecti- 
 cut, who came to Illinois in 1836, and for one 
 year resided in Alton, after which he came to 
 Rockford. Mr. Piatt purchased land in the city, 
 where he erected a small board house and engaged 
 in the mercantile business, being one of the first 
 merchants of the then village. He continued so 
 employed for two years, then became the owner 
 of a tract of land a few miles from Pecatonica, 
 where he erected a log house and for six or seven 
 years was engaged in cultivating the soil. At the 
 expiration of that time, he disposed of his prop- 
 erty and returned to Rockford, where he was a 
 public-spirited and progressive citizen until his 
 death, in 1881. 
 
 Mr. Cotton of this sketch by his first marriage 
 became the father of five children, viz: James 
 A., who is a resident of Rockford; Lizzie, Mrs. 
 William Brittan, died in the year 1858, leav- 
 ing one child, named Lizzie, who is the wife of 
 William F. Woodruff; Christian E. resides in Co- 
 lumbus, Ohio; Nicholas is deceased; and Gilbert 
 P., who is a graduate of West Point, is Captain 
 of Battery H, First Artillery in the United States 
 Regular Army. He has recently been appointed 
 Commissioner bj' the Government to go to Hon- 
 duras in the interests of the World's Fair. 
 
 Mrs. Cotton stands very high in church circles, 
 being one of the charter members of the Second 
 Congregational Church at Rockford. Our worthy 
 subject became a member of the Masonic frater- 
 nity while residing in Ohio, and was a charter 
 member of Cyprus Encampment, organized at 
 Zanesville, Ohio, in 1848, of which organization 
 he was elected Captain General. At the time of 
 leaving the Buckeye State, he occupied the hon- 
 orable position of Grand Generalissimo for the 
 State. In politics, he was in early life a Whig 
 and was a delegate to the Pittsburg Convention 
 
 in 1836, that nominated William Henry Harrison. 
 He has voted for the following Presidents: Henry 
 Clay, William Henry Harrison, Winfleld Scott, 
 John C. Fremont, Abraham Lincoln, D. S. Grant 
 R. B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, James G. Blame 
 and Benjamin Harrison. When Mr. Cotton shall 
 have passed away to enjoy the recompense due 
 his long and useful life, his memory will still live 
 and his honorable and successful career will stand 
 forth as a fitting example of what can be done by 
 earnest and constant effort. 
 
 "jl^ATRICK H. WALSH, an extensive dealer 
 in flour, feed, hay, straw, wood, etc., is lo- 
 cated at No. 404 West Elm Street, Rock- 
 ford, where he has been conducting a suc- 
 cessful business since 1888. Since 1854, when he 
 cast in his lot with the citizens of this enterprising 
 place, he has been closely connected with its best 
 interests and has made it his home, with the ex- 
 ception of three }'ears during which he was in the 
 service of the Union, and one year spent in Chicago. 
 He established the business in 1885, although prior 
 to that time he had been occupied along that line 
 of work for fourteen years. 
 
 The father of our subject, Patrick Walsh, was 
 born in County Mayo, Ireland, and grew to man's 
 estate in the Emerald Isle, where he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Ann Boyle. After the birth 
 of one child, they came to America in the '30s, 
 the voyage being made in a sailing-vessel from 
 Liverpool to New York City. Some years later, 
 they made settlement in the Province of Ontario, 
 Canada, whence two years afterward they returned 
 to the States and resided in Pennsylvania for a 
 time, going from there to the State of New York. 
 The father first followed the calling of a farmer 
 and then worked on the York & Erie Railroad, his 
 first home being in La Grange and later abode in 
 Buffalo. 
 
 In 1854, removal was made from the Empire 
 State via the Lakes to Chicago and from there to 
 Scales Mound, 111., whence two years aftermrd the 
 family removed to Rockford. There the father 
 died, January 23, 1891, at the advanced age of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 407 
 
 eighty-four years. Some four years before his de- 
 mise, his wife had departed this life at the age of 
 sixty-five years. They were- members of the Cath- 
 olic Church and he was a Democrat in his politi- 
 cal belief. During the residence of the family in 
 Canada, the subject of our sketch was born, Nov- 
 ember 26, 1845. He removed with his parents to 
 the Stales and was a small child when he accom- 
 panied them to Eockford, where he has since made 
 his home. 
 
 April 12, 1862, our subject enlisted as a member 
 of Company K, Sixty-flfth Illinois Infantry, and 
 with his regiment marched to the front. After the 
 capture of the Union forces at Harper's Ferry, he 
 was paroUed, and came to Chicago, where he was 
 later exchanged and began service under Gen. 
 Burnside in Kentucky. After trying to keep Mor- 
 gan from making his raid into Indiana and Ohio, 
 he accompanied his regiment across the Cumber- 
 land Mountains and came in contact with the Re- 
 bels at Knoxville, Tenn. After participating in 
 several skirmishes, the companj"- veteranized and 
 later joined Sherman in his Atlanta campaign at 
 Kingston, Ga., aiding him in the great battle at 
 Atlanta and afterward assisting Gen. Thomas in 
 the defense of Nashville. They fought Gen. Hood 
 at Columbus, Tenn., and Franklin, as well as at 
 Nashville, participating in the capture of Ft. Fisher, 
 Wilmington, Goldboro and Raleigh. In May, 1866, 
 they were honorably mustered out, after a service 
 of more than three years. 
 
 After the close of the war, Mr. Walsh at once 
 resumed his business pursuits, in which he has met 
 with success. He is a resident of the Fifth Ward 
 and has taken an active part in local politics, be- 
 ing a stanch Republican, although he never allows 
 his adherence to party to blind him to the best 
 interests of the community. Socially, he is a mem- 
 ber of G. L. Nevins Post No. 1, G. A. R. 
 
 The lady who became the wife of our subject 
 was Miss Mary Linch, and was born in England in 
 1843. After the death of her father there, she 
 emigrated to this country in 1862 and settled with 
 her mother in Rockford. Mr. and Mrs. Walsh are 
 the parents of ten children, three of whom are de- 
 ceased: an infant. May and Violet. Margaret be- 
 came the wife of Thomas Nooman and resides in 
 
 Rockford; J. F. assists his father in his store; H. 
 L. is also at home and clerks for his father; Walter 
 I., Maude, Garland, and Nora are receiving splen- 
 did educations in the schools of Rockford and are 
 bright and intelligent young people. The religi- 
 ous home of the family is in the Catholic Church 
 and their position in social circles is prominent. 
 
 
 6^-e.. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ylLLIAM MAYES. This gentleman ranks 
 among the enterprising and well-to-do citi- 
 zens of Rockford, where he owns a pleas- 
 ant home. He was born in Mifflin County, Pa., 
 December 10, 1815, but grew to manhood in Perry 
 County. His father, James Mayes, died some 
 months before the birth of our subject, leaving his 
 wife five children. The maiden name of his mother 
 was Rebecca Latta, a native of Adams County, Pa. 
 She died in 1839 in Miami Couutj', Ohio, whither 
 the family had removed in 1834. 
 
 The original of this sketch was given a good ed- 
 ucation, and when nineteen j'ears of age engaged 
 as a tanner and currier in company with two 
 brothers who were well established in that line of 
 business. He was thus engaged for nine years, 
 when he abandoned that occupation and became a 
 farmer. Mr. Mayes was united in marriage in 1838, 
 at Piqua, Ohio, to Margaret Elliott. The lady was 
 born in Perry County, Pa., in April, 1817, and 
 soon after her marriage with our subject located 
 on a farm in the Buckeye State, where they resided 
 until 1856. Selling out, Mr. Mayes came to Win- 
 nebago County, and became the proprietor of one 
 hundred and sixty acres located five and one-half 
 miles north of Rockford, which was known as the 
 WooleryFarm. Heimmediately set about the work 
 of further improving the place and paid $25 for a 
 plow. There Mr. and Mrs. Mayes lived for a pe- 
 riod of twenty-two years. The lady was the daugh- 
 ter of Charles and Jane (Mitchell) Elliott, natives 
 of Pennsylvania, who went to Ohio in an early 
 day. 
 
 The following children were born unto our 
 subject and his wife: Mary Jane, who died in 
 Owen Township in June, 1856, when seventeen 
 years of age; Charles William in March, 1862, when 
 
408 
 
 POKTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 three and a half j'ears old; James O. died at Man- 
 chester, Iowa, on the 19th of January, 1887, aged 
 forty years, leaving a wife and five children ; Re- 
 becca, now Mrs. John W. Parker, resides near 
 Charles City, Iowa; Frances D. lives at home with 
 her parents: Charles William was taken with the 
 scarlet fever when the snow was so deep and the 
 weather so intensely cold that they could not get 
 medical aid, and he died within a few days; James 
 was a volunteer from Rockford in Company I, 
 Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, enlisting near the close 
 of the war, when not eighteen years of age. Mrs. 
 Mayes departed this life March 17, 1892. 
 
 He of whom we write has been Deacon in the 
 First Presbyterian Church, and also Elder of that 
 denomination, for many years, with which society 
 his wife was also connected. Mr. Maj'es, in 1872, 
 purchased eight lots on Rockton Avenue, equal to 
 two acres, for ^1,500. He has since sold all but 
 one, on which he erected a good home in 1879, re- 
 ceiving by the transaction more than twice what 
 the property cost. He has been very prominent in 
 local affairs, and served as Assessor of Owen Town- 
 ship, kSchool Trustee and Commissioner of High- 
 ways for many years. Formerly a Republican, he 
 now votes the Prohibition ticket. 
 
 /^^EORGE S. HASKELL, deceased, was not 
 III (— -, only a prominent resident of Rockford and 
 ^^41 Winnebago County, but was widely known 
 throughout Illinois, and was held in the highest 
 regard by all. He was a native of this city, born 
 in 1838. Three years previous, his father. Dr. 
 Haskell, had come to Rockford and here spent an 
 active and useful life, dying in 1871, at the age of 
 seventy-four years. He was born in Maine, edu- 
 cated at Dartmoutli College, and was one of the 
 prominent residents of this city for years. Of the 
 First Baptist Church he was one of the founders 
 and at his death it lost one of its best members 
 and the county one of its most valued citizens. In 
 Massachusetts, he married Miss Eunice Prescott 
 Edwards, of the Bay State, a descendant of the old 
 Massachusetts family of Edwards. She now resides 
 with lier daughter, Mrs. Henry Kimball, of Rock- 
 
 ford, and although eighty-eiglit years of age is still 
 bright and active. For some years, she has been a 
 member of the Christian Union Church. 
 
 Our subject acquired his early education in the 
 schools of his native city, and afterward was a 
 student in the State University of Michigan in 
 Ann Arbor. Later, he was a resident of that State 
 for five years, during which time he had charge of 
 his father's large fruit farm in the township of 
 Bedford, five miles from Battle Creek. When this 
 was sold, he returned to Rockford in the fall of 
 1864, and soon afterward established a retail seed 
 house, his business increasing until it assumed ex- 
 tensive proportions. At length, however, financial 
 reverses overtook him and, unable to carry on busi- 
 ness alone, the George S. Haskell Seed Company 
 was incorporated. He was made President and 
 Manager, continuing as such until his death. IIo 
 was one of the best known seed men in the coun- 
 trj'. He imported largely from European coun- 
 tries, particularly Germany and France, and did an 
 extensive wholesale business. He did a large busi- 
 ness in California, where he became well known as 
 a seed-grower and dealer and contractor. For 
 some years, he had a propagating and testing seed 
 farm in Rockford, and so fast did his business in- 
 crease that he became known throughout the coun- 
 try as a leading horticulturist and agriculturist. 
 For some years, he was president of the State Boai-d 
 of Agriculture, his term of service expiring in 
 January prior to his death. 
 
 Mr. Haskell took a very prominent part in local 
 affairs, was Treasurer and Secretary of the County 
 Board of Agriculture for several years and was 
 long connected with the National Board of Seed 
 Men, being one of its official members for years. 
 He met with them at many annual conventions 
 and his opinions were received as authority in most 
 cases. 
 
 In 1859, in Bedford, Mich., Mr. Haskell was uni- 
 ted in marriage with jNIiss Lydia E. Howell, who 
 was born near Lansing, Mich., in 1843, and was 
 educated in Battle Creek, and at a young ladies' 
 seminary in Kalamazoo. She is a cultured lady, a 
 prominent member of the leading societies of the 
 city and a member of the Congregational Church. 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Haskell were born two children: 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 409 
 
 George Edwards, who was a graduate of the Rock- 
 ford High School, and a most promising young 
 man, had just begun to help his father in business, 
 when in 1879 his death occurred at the age of 
 nineteen years. Mark Tracy died in 1882, also at 
 the age of nineteen years. He had never had very 
 robust healtii but his loss was no less a blow to his 
 parents, who were thus deprived of their two sons. 
 In politics, Mr. Haskell took quite a prominent 
 part as a stanch Republican and often attended the 
 State and national conventions. For years, he 
 served as City Alderman h-">ia the Fourth Ward. 
 He was a leading Knight Templar, a prominent 
 worker in the order and was the founder of the 
 Crusader Commandery, of Rockford, one of the 
 best societies in Northern Illinois. Although not 
 a member of a church, he lived an upright, honor- 
 able life, true to every trust, and had the confidence 
 of all. He was a public-spirited man in the best 
 sense of that word and ever ready to aid in the 
 advancement of enterprises calculated to promote 
 the general welfare. For nearly a year before his 
 death, he suffered from an attack of la grippe until 
 death brought release on the 12th of August, 1890. 
 He was buried with all Masonic honors and the 
 State Agricultural Board as a whole also attended 
 his funeral. A man of worth had passed away 
 and many friends shared with the family in their 
 deep loss. Mrs. Haskell still resides at her pleasant 
 and elegant home at No. 802 North Court Street, 
 which was built by her husband in 1884. She is a 
 most estimable lady and has the high regard of all 
 with whom she has been brought in contact. 
 
 i>-^^<i 
 
 a>^ 
 
 i^ 
 
 ^UGUST LIND. In Rockford are many im- 
 portant manufactories, and among these 
 should be mentioned that under the con- 
 trol of the Rockford Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, of which our subject is Secretary and Man- 
 ager. This company was incorporated in Septem- 
 ber, 1889, with a capital stock of $200,000, and 
 began business early in the following year. They 
 furnish employment to from seventy-five to one 
 hundred and twenty-five men, many of whom are 
 stockholders in the company. The products of 
 
 this factory are farming implements, among the 
 most important of which is the well-known Farm 
 King Plow and the Imperial Corn Planter. On 
 the organization of the company, the following 
 officers were elected and still hold their respective 
 positions: J. A. Johnson, President; L. M. Noling, 
 Vice-President; August Lind, Secretary and Man- 
 ager; A. P. Floberg, Treasurer; and J. Herva Jones, 
 Superintendent. 
 
 Mr. Lind was born in Sweden on the 28th of 
 July, 1854, and is a son of Andrew and Katie 
 Lind. In 1866, the parents determined to come 
 with their family to America, and the 4th of May 
 saw them carry out their resolution, for on that 
 day they embarked at Gottenburg and sailing by 
 way of Hull and Liverpool, England, at length ar- 
 rived in New York, but in that harbor the vessel 
 was quarantined, as there were many cases of 
 cholera on board. For seven weeks they were 
 held there, and during that time the father sickened 
 and died, being one of about one hundred and 
 fifty out of the seven bundred on board who fell 
 victims to that dread disease. He was buried on 
 the shore of the Atlantic. His death occurred at 
 the age of forty-nine years. When the quarantine 
 was raised from the vessel, the mother with her 
 two children landed and at length came to Rock- 
 ford, but she is now living near Ft. Dodge, Iowa. 
 She was born in December, 1818. Like her hus- 
 band, she was a member of the Lutheran Church 
 and is an estimable lady. 
 
 Our subject was only eleven years of age when 
 he came to this country and owing to the death 
 of his father has since been dependent upon his 
 own resources. In his youth, he learned the 
 moulder's trade, which he followed for some time, 
 when he engaged in the hardware business for 
 three years, and for two years was in the retail 
 coal business, when he accepted the position which 
 he now holds. 
 
 An important event in the life of Mr. Lind oc- 
 curred in this city — his marriage with Miss Augusta 
 Anderson, one of Rockford's fair daughters, born 
 on the 25th of November, 1855. Her father, John 
 Anderson, was born, reared and married in Sweden, 
 became a shoemaker by trade, and throughout his 
 life has followed that occupation. He now makes 
 
410 
 
 PORTRAIT ANT) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his home in this city at the age of seventy-three 
 years. His wife was called to her final rest some 
 years ago. He belongs to the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church. Mrs. Lind spent the days of her maiden- 
 hood under the parental roof, remaining at home 
 until she gave her hand in marri.igc to our sub- 
 ject. Their union has been blessed with four chil- 
 dren but Alice died at the age of five years. The 
 living are Emily C, Raymond and Mary O. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lind hold membership with the 
 First Lutheran Church, of which he is Secretary 
 of the Board of Trustees. In politics, he is a Re- 
 publican, but has never been an office-seeker. He 
 is one of the Directors of the Public Library, and 
 is a public-spirited and progressive citizen, who 
 takes an active interest in all that pertains to the 
 welfare of the communit}^ and its upbuilding. 
 
 -1.5.4. .5..}.^ 
 
 5, .{..{< .j..}.!- 
 
 '♦♦•{"S-F 
 
 OELS G. STOCKENBERG owns and operates 
 a good farm on sectioa 11, New Milford 
 Township, upon which he has made his 
 liome for fourteen years, although he has resided 
 in Winnebago County since coming to this coun- 
 try in 1868. He was born in the Province of 
 Smoland, Sweden, November 8, 1826, and was 
 reared in that country, where his parents spent 
 their entire lives. His father, .John Stockenberg, 
 was a farmer, and died at the age of forty-four 
 years, when his son was a lad of fifteen. The fol- 
 lowing year our subject enlisted in the regular 
 army, and served some sixteen years as a brave 
 .and faithful private soldier. 
 
 In his native province, Mr. Stockenberg was 
 united in marriage with Miss Helen Olsen, who 
 was born and reared in the same locality as her 
 liusband. Her parents also spent their entire lives 
 in their native land, passing away when about the 
 age of seventy-seven years. They were members 
 of the Lutheran Church. The young couple began 
 domestic life upon a farm in their native land, 
 but at the same time Mr. Stockenberg served in 
 the army during most of the year. All of their 
 children were born in Sweden, and in May, 1868, 
 with their family they emigrated to America, cross- 
 ing the Atlantic in the steamer " City of Paris," 
 
 which dropped anchor in the harbor of New York 
 and from thence they came at once to Rockford. 
 Mr. Stockenberg had two sisters already living in 
 this country: Mrs. Jonas Anderson, of Rockford, 
 and Christina, who is now living in Chicago. His 
 wife, however, is the only member of her family 
 that has ever sought a home in the New World. 
 
 Five children have been born unto our subject 
 and his wife, one son and four daughters: Mary, 
 wife of John Olson, whose sketch is presented on 
 another page of this work; John and Emma at 
 home; Anna, wife of C. A. Lindblade, whose his- 
 tory is also given in this work, and Tilda, wife of 
 Alfred Alner. This family is well and favorably 
 known throughout the community, where they have 
 resided for many years, and where they have a large 
 circle of friends and acquaintances. In politics, 
 Mr. Stockenberg is a Republican, having supported 
 that part}^ since he became an American citizen. 
 The farm which he operates comprises seventy- 
 seven acres of good land under a high state of cul- 
 tivation and well improved, its neat appearance 
 giving evidence of the thi-ift and enterprise of the 
 owner. He engages in general farming, and the 
 success which has crowned his efforts is well de- 
 served. He has had no occasion to regret his emi- 
 gration to this country, for he has here met with 
 prosperity and found a pleasant home. 
 
 UB. LOUCKS established business in Rock- 
 ford in February, 1891, with A. F. Tyler, 
 ^^/ as dealers in flour, feed, hay, straw, etc. 
 He had been connected with Mr. Shick in the flour 
 and feed trade for ten years and thus learned the 
 business, with which he is now thoroughly famil- 
 iar. He came to Rockford in May, 1880, from St. 
 Lawrence County, N. Y. His birth, however, oc- 
 curred in the Province of Ontario, Canada, in 
 1862. He was one of seven children born unto 
 Nelson and Catherine (Utman) Loucks. His 
 father was born in Canada, of Canadian parentage 
 and Germ.in ancestry, and after attaining matm'e 
 years wedded Miss Utman, a native of the Empire 
 State, born in Morley, St. Lawrence County, where 
 
^-€.-1^ 
 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 413 
 
 she was reared and educated. They were married, 
 however, in the Province of Ontario, where they 
 resided for some time, removing to New York 
 when our subject was a lad of six summers. Five 
 years later, the death of Mr. Loucks occurred at 
 his home in St. Lawrence County. His wife is 
 still living and makes her home in Rockford.- She 
 is now about sixty years of age, but her years rest 
 lightly upon her and she is yet enjoying excellent 
 health. With the Methodist Church she holds 
 membership and is a noble Christian lady who 
 has the love and esteem of all who know her. 
 
 As before stated, the family numbers seven chil- 
 dren. Two brothers, G-eorge I. and J. E., are now 
 residents of California, the former residing upon 
 a ranch, the latter engaging in railroading; our 
 subject is the next in order of birth; Jennie, 
 Charles and Bert, all reside with their mother. 
 
 Mr. Loucks of this sketch also makes his liome 
 with his mother. He is a wide-awake and enter- 
 prising young man, possessed of good business 
 ability, and in his business venture is meeting with 
 a well-deserved prosperity. His trade will no 
 doubt rapidly increase, for he is ambitious and en- 
 ergetic, which qualities are always sure to win suc- 
 cess. In politics, he is a warm supporter of 
 Republican principles, but has never been an office- 
 seeker. Mr. Loucks is both widely and favorably 
 known in this community, has already won a good 
 place in the ranks of business men and well de- 
 serves representation among Rockford 's best citi- 
 zens. 
 
 -^3. 
 
 "^) 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 [=. 
 
 s- 
 
 ' BEL CHASE GLEASON, a well-known and 
 representative farmer of Guilford Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, living on section 
 25, was born in the town of Rowe, Frank- 
 lin County, Mass., October 9, 1812. His grand- 
 parents, Jonas and Lucy (Harwood) Gleason, were 
 among the early settlers of the town of Rowe, 
 where the grandfather spent his last days. The 
 grandmother died in Williamstown, Berkshire 
 County, Mass. 
 
 Jesse Gleason, father of our subject, commenced 
 to teach in his early manhood and followed that 
 profession for a number of years. In 1820, he re- 
 
 moved to Bennington County, Vt., where he en- 
 gaged in farming and teaching, and there made 
 his home until 1837, which year witnessed his ar- 
 rival in Illinois. He spent his last daj'S with our 
 subject, and died May 24, 1844. His wife, who 
 bore the maiden name of Mary Chase, was born in 
 Massachusetts, and was a daughter of David and 
 Judah Chase, and a granddaughter of Abel Chase. 
 Her death occurred December 12, 1868. She reared 
 nine children: Moses William, Mary, Jesse A., 
 Eliza, Samuel W., Juliet, Caroline and Ephraim 
 Curtis. Mary is living in Marengo, 111.; Ephraim 
 C. is in Chicago; and Juliet resides with our sub- 
 ject on the home farm. They are the only ones 
 now living. 
 
 Abel C. Gleason was a lad of eiglit summers 
 when with his parents he removed to Vermont. He 
 was educated in Powell, that State, and in Williams- 
 town, Mass., and resided with his parents until 
 1832, when he went to South Adams, Mass. There 
 he was employed on a farm until 1835, when he 
 started for Illinois. At that time Chicago was a 
 small village, and all of the land in that vicinity 
 was owned by tlie Government. He made a claim 
 to a tract of Government land, where Warrenville, 
 Du Page County, now stands. 
 
 In September of the above-mentioned yea.r, Mr. 
 Gleason paid his first visit to Winnebago County, 
 which was then unorganized and attached to Jo 
 Daviess County for judicial purposes. He came 
 here for the purpose of assisting and bviilding a 
 sawmill in what is now Belvidere Township, Boone 
 County, and, in the spring of 1836, made a claim, 
 now included in his present farm. The same year, 
 in company with his brother Moses William, he 
 built a blacksmith shop at Ncwburg, the first at 
 that place and one of the first in the county, and 
 he there also built a home which he made his place 
 of residence until 1840. The brothers were asso- 
 ciated in the ownership and improvement of the 
 farm until the death of Moses. They bore all the 
 hardships and privations of pioneer life, and our 
 subject has been an eye-witness of the entire growth 
 of Winnebago County. He has resided upon his 
 present farm for more than half a century, secur- 
 ing it before the land was surveyed. 
 
 In connection with this sketch will be noticed a 
 
414 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 portrait of JMr. Gleason. He is recognized as a 
 self-made man, who from an humble position has 
 worked his way upward to one of affluence and 
 has now a handsome competence, and one of the 
 finest farms in the community. He is respected 
 for his sterling worth and is held in high regard 
 by all with whom he has been brought in contact. 
 In politics, he is a Republican, and has served as a 
 member of the County Board of Supervisors. He 
 and his sister Juliet still reside on the old farm 
 which has so long been his home. 
 
 !CJ2sr^KK^J^ 
 
 ^•^i^'-^N!/^2! 
 
 ^NDEEW J. ANDERSON. In the new 
 iOi jewelry store of Mr. Anderson, opened to 
 the public in December, 1891, we find the 
 most important and praiseworthy addi- 
 tions to the conveniences for trading in tliis city. 
 Its foundation may be said to mark a new era of 
 enterprise in retail trade, and its meritorious ex- 
 ample will be an inducement for others to follow, 
 in the direction of the adventuresome and intelli- 
 gent spirit displayed herein, and which is the root 
 of all successful advance. 
 
 Mr. Anderson has been a resident of the United 
 States since the age of five years, and was a resi- 
 dent of Elgin, 111., for some time, learning the 
 trade of a watchmaker in that city when a young 
 boy. Since then he has given his entire time and 
 attention to that business. He came to Rockford in 
 1876 and for many years was in the employ of the 
 Rockford Watch Company, being foreman of the 
 motion department for about ten years. He is a 
 very skillful workman and thoroughly understands 
 his business. He is a stockholder in the Druggists' 
 Union Company of Rockford. 
 
 He was originally from Sweden, born February 
 17, 1849, and came from Gottenburg to Boston 
 with his parents Ave years later. The parents set- 
 tied on a good farm six miles west of Elgin, and 
 there they live retired from the active duties of 
 life, with their son, Charles J., who now owns the 
 farm. The father, .John Anderson, was seventy- 
 one years of age in January, 1892, and the mother, 
 whose maiden name was Anna Anderson, was 
 seventy-one years of .age in the same month. 
 
 They are members of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church, Mr. Anderson having been ofHcially con- 
 nected with the same for many years. Thej' are 
 good, quiet, old people and are highly esteemed in 
 the community. Seven children were born to their 
 union; five are living and all are married. 
 
 The subject of this notice was the eldest of the 
 above-mentioned children. He was married in 
 Rockford to Miss Alexandra G. Matson, who was 
 born in Rockford on the 21st of April, 1864, and 
 who was reared and educated in the city schools. 
 Her parents were both natives of Sweden, and the 
 -father, Benjamin Matson, who came to this coun- 
 try when a young man, is yet living in Rockford 
 and is now fifty-five years of age. He was a turner 
 by trade. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are members of 
 the First Lutheran Church of the city, and are the 
 parents of three interesting children: Ethel A., 
 Rosa L. and Emmert J. 
 
 eARL P. HAEGG. Among the many enter- 
 prises necessary to complete the commercial 
 resources of a town or city, none is of more 
 importance than that of the grocer, as being one 
 of the main factors in the furnishing of our food 
 supplies. Prominent in this trade is the establish- 
 ment of Haegg &Lynn, located at No. 706 Seventh 
 Street, where the firm does a flourishing business 
 and carries a full line of staple and fancy grocer- 
 ies. Messrs. Ha^g & Lynn are young, energetic 
 and enterprising business men, full of push and 
 perseverance that secure success in whatever is 
 undertaken. Mr. Haegg has had practical experi- 
 ence in this line and was formerly a member of the 
 grocery firm of Haegg Bros., which had an exist- 
 ence of seven years. 
 
 Our subject was born in Sweden, on the 19th of 
 May, 1860, and received a good practical education 
 in his native country. He came to the United 
 States in 1881, and is the youngest of three broth- 
 ers, now residents of Rockford. He has been 
 prominently identified with the business interests 
 of the city since his residence here and has been 
 unusually successful. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 415 
 
 He was married in Rockford to Miss Emily So- 
 derstrom, a native of Sweden, born in Oster Goth- 
 land, September 24, 1862, and to them were born 
 three children: Edna, who died young;- Martlia and 
 Hattie. Mrs. Haegg passed her youth and early 
 womanhood in the land of her birth and there se- 
 cured a fair education. She was three years of 
 age when her mother died and fifteen when her 
 father passed awa}'. Afterward she came alone to 
 the States, following two brothers who are now in 
 the lumber business in Arkansas. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Haegg affiliate with the Zion Lutheran Church, and, 
 in politics, he is a warm supporter of the Republi- 
 can party. 
 
 ^ 
 
 U 
 
 ILLIAM L. BURR is now living a retired 
 life at his palatial residence situated on 
 the corner of "Winnebago and Chestnut 
 Streets, Rockford. The life record of this worthy 
 gentleman is as follows: He was born in 1831, on 
 his father's farm in Mohickan Township, Wayne 
 County, now Ashland County, Ohio, and is a son 
 of James Burr, a native of Vermont. His grand- 
 father, Asel Burr, was also a native of that State, 
 in which he spent his entire life, a farmer and mil- 
 ler living near Burr's Pond, which still bears his 
 name. James Burr grew to manhood upon the 
 farm and served his country during the latter part 
 of the War of 1812. He married Miss Polly 
 Smith, who was also born and reared in the 
 Green Mountain State. Her parents were na- 
 tives of New England, and at an early day emi- 
 grated to Ohio, locating on a farm in Wayne 
 County. After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Burr 
 also became residents of Wayne County, and 
 spent the remainder of their lives upon a farm in 
 that locality. They were quiet, unassuming people^ 
 highly respected by all who knew them. Mr. Burr 
 died at the age of eighty-four years and his wife 
 was called to her final rest when sixty-eight years 
 of age. In their family were three sons and three 
 daughters who are yet living, the sisters being res- 
 idents of Iowa, while the brothers of Mr. Burr 
 make their homes in Wisconsin. 
 
 When a young man of seventeen years, our sub- 
 
 ject started out in life for himself and sought the 
 West as the scene of his future labors. He boarded 
 a steamer at Cleveland, Ohio, bound for Milwaukee, 
 the last vessel to make the trip during that season. 
 They encountered very severe weather and barely 
 escaped destruction. Capt. Applebee, who was in 
 command and had been in charge of the vessel 
 for twenty years, remarked that he had never 
 known such a storm, but at length the dangers 
 were passed and harbor was reached in safety. Mr. 
 Burr began learning the jeweler's trade, at which 
 he worked in Milwaukee, Waukegan and Chicago. 
 He was also a resident of Beaver Dam, Wis., for 
 twelve years, engaging in the jewelry business at 
 that place, after which he removed to Winona, 
 Minn., where the succeeding twenty-one years 
 of his life were passed. He spent eight years 
 in that city as a jeweler, doing a good business, 
 and tlien removing to a farm near by, he devoted 
 his energies to agricultural pursuits for some time. 
 By the exercise of good business principles, indus- 
 try, perseverance and good management, he suc- 
 ceeded in acquiring a handsome competence, and 
 at length determined to live a retired life, so, se- 
 curing a home in Rockford, he came to this city in 
 1888, and for the past four years has lived at his 
 pleasant home on Winnebago Street. 
 
 The lady who bears the name of Mrs. Burr was 
 in her maidenhood Miss Lusetta I. McClure, and 
 was born and reared in Wooster, Wayne County, 
 Ohio, where her marriage was celebrated. Her 
 parents there resided for many years and her 
 mother still makes her home in Wooster. The 
 father, Jonathan McClurc, died at the age of sixty 
 years. He was a hardware merchant. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Burr have been born ten 
 children: W. J., the eldest, is a member of the firm 
 of BuiT Brothers, the most extensive and success- 
 ful grocery men of Rockford, located at No. 121 
 South Main Street and No. 406 East State Street. 
 He married Helen Wells, of Rockford. Mary G. is 
 the wife of Theodore Baker, a furniture dealer of 
 Winona, Minn.; Charles D., who married Grace 
 S wits, is a member of the firm of Burr Brothers; 
 Frank R. is also connected with that firm; Mattie 
 F. is at home; Edwin L. and Addison M. are both 
 salesmen in their brothers' store; Fred is now 
 
416 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 book-keeper for Burr Brothers; Lee II. and Jennie 
 M. are still under the parental roof. Mrs. Burr 
 and her children are members of the Second Con- 
 gregational Church of Rockford. Mr. Burr is a 
 Republican, as are all of his sons who have attained 
 to man's estate. As before stated, he is living a 
 retired life, and is regarded as one of the leading 
 citizens of Rockford, and the respect of the entire 
 community is tendered him. 
 
 ^^rs:^®!^^ 
 
 SOLOMON WHEELER, one of the early 
 settlers of Winnebago County, now living 
 retired in his pleasant home in Rockford, 
 was born in Jay, Essex County, N. Y., Feb- 
 ruary 28, 1806. His father, David Wheeler, was 
 born in New England, August 22, 1783, and was 
 one of the early .settlers Of Essex County. He 
 purchased a farm in the town of Jay and resided 
 there until 1815, when he sold and removed to 
 Cortland. This was before there were any rail- 
 roads or canals in the United States, and the 
 removal was consequently made with teams. After 
 a residence of two years in Cortland, he removed 
 to Tompkins County, where he died July 25, 1824. 
 He was married, September 20, 1803, to Eunice 
 Stewart; she was born August 31, 1780, and came 
 to Illinois with her son, our subject, in 1846, and 
 departed this life at his home January 12, 1862. 
 
 The original of this sketch was about eleven 
 years old when Ins parents removed to Tompkins 
 County, and when very young he begaa to earn 
 his own living, receiving as his first wages $5 per 
 month. When the Erie Canal was completed, he 
 bought boats and engaged in freighting between 
 Ithaca and Albany, in which business he continued 
 until 1836, when he farmed for ten years in Yates 
 Count)', when he sold and came to Illinois, via the 
 Erie Canal to Buffalo, where he embarked on a 
 steamer for Chicago, and thence by team to Winne- 
 bago County. He had visited his brother in this 
 county the previous year and at that time bought 
 four hundred and eighty acres of land located in 
 what is now Guilford Township. There was a large 
 barn on the place and a brick house in process of 
 construction at the time it came into his possession. 
 
 He at once commenced to make further improve- 
 ments on the place, and as there were no railroads 
 in the vicinity for a number of years, like other 
 farmers he was obliged to haul his farm products 
 to Chicago to market, the round trip consuming 
 five or six days. Solomon Wheeler purchased 
 other land until his estate included six hundred 
 broad acres. He resided there until 1856, when he 
 disposed of his tract and came to Rockford to en- 
 gage in the lumber business, which he carried on 
 profitably for ten years. Since that time he has 
 been retired in his pleasant home on the West Side. 
 His dwelling is a commodious brick structure, with 
 an acre and a quarter of ground, in the heart of the 
 city. 
 
 Our subject was married, January 12, 1829, to 
 Alice Babcock; she was born in Lansing, Cayuga 
 County, N. Y., June 16, 1806, and died December 
 11, 1871. The following children were born of 
 that marriage: David Hilton,. President of Alle- 
 gany College at Meadville, Pa., is a minister in 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church; Homer Edwin 
 resides in Rockford; Phebe Louise married Charles 
 H. Brownell and died December 19, 1872; Eunice 
 A. died September 23, 1854; and Horace D., Feb- 
 ruary 15, 1851; Helen Cornelia married the Rev. 
 D. J. Holmes; Mary A. became Mrs. George Fea- 
 kins; J. resides at home; Frances died in infancy; 
 Martin L. is an attorney in Chicago; and Emily 
 Frances is Professor of Modern Languages in the 
 Northwestern University. Our subject has twenty 
 grandchildren living and twelve great-grandchil- 
 dren. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler was a second time married, October 
 1, 1878, when Miss Mary E. Nash became his wife. 
 She was born in Weston, Fairfield County, Conn., 
 and was a daughter of David Nash, also born in 
 the above-named county and who for a number of 
 years taught in a private school in AVeston, Conn. 
 He then removed to New York City to accept the 
 position of Principal in one of the schools, and 
 continued in that capacity until his decease in 
 August, 1843. The maiden name of his wife was 
 Sally Lockwood; she was also born in Weston, 
 Conn., and was the daughter of Reuben Lockwood, 
 who, it is thought, was a native of the Nutmeg 
 State and of English parents. He was a farmer 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 419 
 
 and died in the above-named place. Tlie maiden 
 name of his wife, the grandmother of Mrs. Wheeler, 
 was Elizabeth Raymond; she was the daughter of 
 a Revolutionary soldier, and died on the home 
 farm in Weston. The mother of Mrs. Wheeler 
 resided in New York City until 1850, thence re- 
 moved to Norwalk, where her decease occurred in 
 1870. 
 
 Mr. Wheeler joined the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church in 1836, and has been a constant member 
 of the same ever since, of which denomination his 
 first wife was also a member. The present wife of 
 our subject has been a member of that church since 
 1850. In early life a Whig, our subject voted the 
 Republican ticket until the formation of the Pro- 
 hibition party, since which time he has been a thor- 
 ough advocate of its principles. 
 
 ^^UST HOLM. The sons of Sweden are well 
 j/j (— -, represented in Winnebago County, and al- 
 ^^jj though with characteristic modesty they do 
 not aspire to brilliancy in the forum, yet they 
 hold conspicuous places in many pursuits which 
 make that county a substantial star in the galaxy 
 of Illinois' many interesting counties. The gentle- 
 man whose portrait appears on the opposite page 
 is a prominent contractor at Rockford, and one of 
 its foremost citizens. 
 
 Born in Oester Gothland, Sweden, July 5, 1852, 
 Mr. Holm learned his trade there under the super- 
 vision of his father. He was married in that 
 country to Miss Alflna Olson, who was a native of 
 the same province, born December 25, 1849. 
 Shortly afterward, he and his young wife crossed 
 the ocean to America, landed in New York City, 
 where they remained a short time, and thence, in 
 1880, came to Rockford, 111. Since then Mr. Holm 
 has erected many of the best residences in Rock- 
 ford, and has met with well-deserved success. He 
 owns a good home on Twelfth Street, at No. 1,602 
 Fourth Avenue, also other property on that street, 
 and is a stockholder and Director in the Globe 
 Clothing Company, and the American Furniture 
 Factory, of Rockford. 
 
 Peter Joneson, his father, is still living in Swe- 
 den, and has followed carpentering all his life. He 
 is now seventy-three years of age. The mother, 
 whose maiden name was Christina Carolena, died 
 when about fifty-six years of age. Like the ma- 
 jority of Swedes, they were Lutherans in their re- 
 ligious views. Three of their sons are in this 
 country and one in Sweden. 
 
 Mi'S. Holm's father, Andrew Olson, left his na- 
 tive country for this, and died here on the 12th 
 of October, 1889, when seventy-one years of age. 
 His wife is still living at the age of sixt3-three 
 years, and resides with her only daughter, Mrs. 
 Holm. Her maiden name was Johanna Johnson, 
 and she has been an active member of the Lutheran 
 Church all her life. Her husband was also identi- 
 fied with that church. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Holm are members of the Mission 
 Church. In politics, the former is a Republican. 
 Their union has been blessed by the birth of seven 
 children, four now living: Karl D., Gust P., Huldah 
 A. and Martin S., the last two twins. Those de- 
 ceased are: Martin, Carl and David. 
 
 ■T*-r*T**<-T<- 
 
 R. IRA L. ANDREWS, who is engaged in 
 the practice of dentistry in Rockford, 
 is one of the oldest dental surgeons of 
 this city in years of continuous practice, 
 having located here in 1869. For a year he was 
 alone in business and then became connected 
 with a well-known dentist of this city now de- 
 ceased. Dr. C. B. Rising, who for years had 
 stood at the head of his profession in Rock- 
 ford. The partnership was continued until the 
 death of Dr. Rising, in August, 1875. He was one 
 of the most prominent men of the community, re- 
 spected by all for his well-known honesty and 
 straightforwardness. His word was as good as his 
 bond and in the payment of a debt he was scru- 
 pulously exact. At the end of each month he would 
 draw up a check for the entire amount of indebt- 
 edness against him. His true worth made him 
 honored, and his friend. Dr. Andrews, is always 
 ready to pay a tribute to his memory. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 
420 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 subject, who was bom in Chenango County, N. Y., 
 in 1825. His father was a native of Connecticut 
 and came of one of the old and respected New 
 England families. The paternal grandfather served 
 as a drummer-boy in the Revolutionary War and the 
 father of the Doctor fought in the War of 1812. He 
 became a farmer, and in Danbury, Conn., married 
 Roxanna Holcomb, a native of that State, also de- 
 scended from one of the old New England families. 
 Soon after their marriage, they emigrated to New 
 York, where Mr. Andrews began to develop and 
 improve a new farm in Chenango County, where he 
 spent theremainder of his days, dying at the age 
 of sixty-five years. He was a man highly respected 
 by all who knew him. In politics, he was a Whig 
 and, in religious belief, was a Baptist. His wife, 
 who was also a member of that church, had reached 
 the age of three-score years and ten when called 
 to her final rest, about ten years after the death of 
 her husband. 
 
 Our subject is the youngest of ten children, of 
 whom three sons are yet living. He was reared 
 to manhood upon his father's farm, and acquired 
 his education in the common schools. In 1856, he 
 left home and went to Binghampton, Broome 
 Count3', N. Y., where he made his home for five 
 years, being engaged in the wagon supply business. 
 He afterward went to Milton, Pa., from whence he 
 came to Rockford in 1869. In Milton, he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Martha Goodlander, 
 who was born and reared in Northumberland 
 County, Pa., her people being early settlers of 
 that community, and of German descent. Mrs. 
 Andrews has proved to her husband a true and 
 loving wife and faithful helpmate, and is a lady 
 held in high esteem by all who know her, for her 
 many excellencies of character. 
 
 The Doctor and iiis wife have a pleasant and 
 beautiful home at No. 412 North Main Street, 
 where hospitality abides and good-will reigns su- 
 preme. They are both members of the Court Street 
 Methodist Church, and take an active interest in 
 its welfare. In politics, the Doctor was a Repub- 
 lican from 1856 until 1884, since which time he 
 has supported the Prohibition party. He is a stock- 
 holder in the People's Bank, also in the Rockford 
 Watch Company. His success in the line of his 
 
 profession has been excellent, and from the begin- 
 ning he has had an excellent patronage, which has 
 increased as the years have gone by, bringing with 
 it a handsome competence, which places him in 
 comfortable circumstances. Pleasant and genial 
 in manner, he has many friends among the best 
 people of Rockford. 
 
 -^>^^<i 
 
 "^^x 
 
 i^JRANK B. TRAHERN. There are few of 
 l^(g) the citizens of Rockford who are not per- 
 ^ sonally acquainted with this gentleman, 
 whose home has been in this city since 1848, and 
 who has contributed his best efforts toward its ad- 
 vancement along the lines of education, morality, 
 philanthropy and public improvements. Now re- 
 tired from active labors, he makes his home at No. 
 308 Kent Street, in the cozy residence which he has 
 gained by his unaided exertions. 
 
 On coming West with his brother, W. D., our 
 subject engaged in manufacturing threshing ma- 
 chines for a time, but afterward withdrew from the 
 firm and became foreman of the establishment. In 
 1883, he organized the Rockford Brass Works, 
 which in 1890 was changed into a stock company 
 confined to himself and sons. At present, the 
 eldest son, D. E., is President of the company, and 
 H. R., the younger son. Secretary, while our subject 
 occupies the position of Treasurer. The business 
 of the corporation is principally carried on by the 
 sons, and bronze and brass castings, aluminum and 
 copper castings are manufactured in large quanti- 
 ties, and shipped to different markets. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were passed 
 in Knox County, Ohio, where he was born Febru- 
 ary 16, 1829. His father, Samuel, was a native of 
 Virginia and belonged to an old Virginia family 
 descended from English ancestors. He married 
 Miss Susan Brown, in Loudoun County, Va., whose 
 father, Daniel, was an early settler of Knox County, 
 Ohio. After the birth of one child, Samuel Tra- 
 hern and his wife came West to Knox County, 
 Ohio, where, in 1825, they commenced to operate 
 as members of the farming community of that new 
 country. He died at the age of seventy-eight and 
 she passed away when forty-seven. In their re- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 421 
 
 ligious connections they were members of the 
 Quaker Church. 
 
 Until he was nineteen, Frank B. Trahern re- 
 mained under the parental roof, since which time 
 his home has been in Illinois. He was married in 
 Walworth County, Wis., to Miss Martha Reader, 
 who was born in New York State, and in 1837, 
 when four years old, accompanied her parents, 
 John and Elizabeth Reader, to Walworth County, 
 Wis., where they entered land from the Govern- 
 ment and commenced life as pioneers. Mr. Reader 
 was one of the first organizers and supporters of 
 the Baptist Church in that county, and remained 
 in its fellowship until he died at the age of seventy- 
 eight. His home was the favorite resort of minis- 
 ters of early days and he was prominent as a 
 Deacon and liberal contributor to religious causes. 
 His wife, who was likewise a member of the Baptist 
 Church, died at the age of seventy. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Trahern are the parents of two 
 children, namely: Delbert E., who married Miss 
 Sadie Johnson, and now lives at No. 209 Fourth 
 Street, Rockford; and Harvey R., who chose as his 
 wife Miss Ada Keeney, and resides at No. 607 
 Kent Street, Rockford. In his political belief, our 
 subject is a stanch adherent to the principles of the 
 Republican party, and is a generous contributor to 
 the support of the Baptist Church, of which his 
 wife is an active member. The social position oc- 
 cupied by the family is a prominent one and they 
 are highly esteemed wherever known. 
 
 
 IkM ^^- MARY A. (FARMER) CLARK, the 
 widow of John Clark, is at present residing 
 on and operating the farm left her by the 
 death of her husband in 1881. It is pleas- 
 antly located on section 5, Owen Township, Win- 
 nebago County, and by being intelligently tilled 
 nets a handsome income. Mrs. Clark was born in 
 Newborough, Vt., November 25, 1837, while her 
 father, Thomas Farmer, one of the pioneei'S of this 
 county, was born in Edinboro, Scotland, July 10, 
 18)5. The grandfather of our subject, Thomas 
 Farmer, was also a native of Scotland, his 
 birth occurring September 30, 1785. He learned 
 
 the trade of a stone-mason, which occupation he 
 followed until 1840, when he came to America and 
 spent his last years with the father of Mrs. Clark, 
 dying February 26, 1844. 
 
 The grandmother of our subject bore the maiden 
 name of Janet Gurley, and was also a native of 
 Scotland, where her decease occurred. With her 
 husband, she v/as a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church. Mrs. Clark has in her possession the old 
 family Bible which her grandfather brought to 
 America. Her father emigrated to this country 
 together with his brother William, the latter of 
 whom settled in Hamilton, Canada. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Clark received his education 
 in Scotland, and when nineteen years of age emi- 
 grated to the New World. Having learned the 
 trade of a mason in Edinboro, he followed that oc- 
 cupation in Newborough, Vt., until 1839, when, 
 with his wife and two children, became to Illinois, 
 traveling by way of canals and lakes to Chicago, 
 thence by team to Rockford. The land in this 
 locality sold at 11.25 per acre and the few settlers 
 then living here were located in the timber and 
 along the streams. Mr. Farmer selected a tract of 
 Government land in what is now Owen Township, 
 upon which he erected a log house and there re- 
 sided for a number of years with his family. Deer, 
 wolves and other kinds of wild game were very 
 plentiful in the vicinity, and as there were no rail- 
 roads in this locality for a number of years, Mr. 
 Farmer hauled the products of his estate to the 
 Chicago market. He was very successful as an 
 agriculturist and added to his estate from time 
 to time until he became one of the largest land- 
 owners in the county. After being industriously 
 engaged on the farm for many years, he moved to 
 Rockford and lived retired until his death, October 
 9, 1880. 
 
 Margaret Halley was the maiden name of the 
 mother of Mrs. Clark; she was born in Mark- 
 inch, Fifeshire, Scotland, her parents being William 
 and Mary (Markey) Halley. The grandfather 
 made three voyages to America and on the last trip 
 fell from the boat at Montreal and was drowned in 
 the St. Lawrence River. His wife spent her entire 
 life in Scotland. 
 
 The original of this sketch was an infant when 
 
422 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 brovight to this county with her parents, where she 
 was reared and educated and when twenty-five 
 >'ears of age married Edward Marshall, who was a 
 native of P>ngland. He came to America when a 
 young man and was engaged in farming until his 
 decease in 1866. Mrs. Marshall, as she was then 
 known, was married three years later to John 
 Clark, who was also a native of England and a 
 half-brother of Mr. Marshall. He departed this 
 life in 1881, since which time his widow has carried 
 on the farm with signal success. She has one son 
 by her first marriage who bears the name of Oscar. 
 The five children born of her second union are 
 Maggie, Robert B., Kittie, John and Edna. The 
 eldest daughter is a teacher in the public schools, 
 where she is meeting with more than ordinary 
 success, and Oscar, who married Elizabeth Griffith, 
 resides in Louisiana. Mrs Clark is a conscientious 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is 
 greatly respected in her community. 
 
 /^\ HARLES A. HULT, Secretary and Treasurer 
 (|( _ of the Co-operative Furniture Company, 
 ^^/ was born in Smoland, Sweden, August 29, 
 1864. Both of his parents died in Smoland. His 
 father. Swan Hult, followed farming throughout 
 his life and passed away at about the age of seventy 
 years. His wife died some years previous. They 
 were life-long members of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church. Their family numbered four children, all 
 of whom are now living in this country: J. S., 
 who resides in Holdredge, Neb., married a Swedish 
 lady of Stanton, Iowa; Christina is the wife of A. 
 M. Casperson, who lives in Burlington, Iowa; Til- 
 lie M. is the wife of James W. Quick, of Burling- 
 ton, Iowa; and C. A. completes the family. 
 
 Our subject came to this country with a sister in 
 1873, when only about nine years of age, and joined 
 an older brother and sister who had previously 
 emigrated to this country. He is a self-made man, 
 his success in life being entirely due to his own 
 efforts. He was reared in Burlington, Iowa, and 
 acquired his education in that city at the Bushnell 
 University and at Elliott's Business College. His 
 
 residence in Rockford dates from 1886. For some 
 time after locating in this city, he was connected 
 with the coal, wood and feed business of D. A. El- 
 more in the capacity of book-keeper. For nearly 
 four years he has now been interested in the Co- 
 operative Furniture Company, filling the position 
 of Secretary and Treasurer. The factory is located 
 at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Ninth Street 
 and they employ between one hundred and thirty 
 and one hundred and fifty men, doing a large and 
 successful business which is constantly increasing. 
 
 Mr. Hult was united in marriage, ir Rockford, 
 with Miss Mary L. Danielson, who vrv.s born in 
 Smoland, Sweden, on the 7th of September, 1863, 
 and came to the United States in the early part of 
 1884. Her parents are still living in Sweden and 
 are now past middle life. Mrs. Hult was the first 
 of the family to cross the Atlantic but has since 
 been joined by her sister Emily. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hult are prominent young Swedish people of this 
 city, well and favorably known in the community 
 where they reside. Their union has been blessed 
 with one child, Leslie P. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Hult is a sup- 
 porter of Republican principles. He is yet a young 
 man and has the energy of youth. He is also pro- 
 gressive and industrious and will undoubtedly 
 make for himself a successful career, his life al- 
 ready giving evidence of that fact. Socially, he 
 is a member of Social Lodge No. 140, and Encamp- 
 No. 44, L O. O. F., and is Past Noble Grand. 
 
 iiENNIS TOLLEFSON, for over half a cen- 
 tury a resident of Manchester Township, 
 Boone County, was born in Norway, Feb- 
 ruary 28, 1806. He is classed among the most suc- 
 cessful farmers of the vicinity and is the proprie- 
 tor of a splendid estate which is well improved in 
 every particular. He is the son of Tollef Larson, 
 a farmer of Norway, who reared a family of four- 
 teen children, and departed this life in his native 
 country at an advanced age. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married, in 
 1840, was Anna Rosseland; she died August 31, 
 1886, in her sixty-eighth year. Our subject came 
 
7-1 aw \ ^^" , 
 
 It. 
 
 -5*- ^, 
 
 % 
 
 i 
 
 * 
 J- 
 
 Jl.hjlr-y,^.^^, 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 425 
 
 to America in 1836, and was followed by Miss 
 Rosseland one year latei', soon after whicli^ they 
 were married. They were industrious and liard- 
 working people and accumulated for themselves a 
 handsome fortune. ]\lr. Tollefson is very gener- 
 ous with his means and within the last few years 
 has made some large bequests. His present farm 
 was entered from the Government, and the high 
 state of cultivation and improvement which it is 
 under, the good bricli residence and the ample 
 barns and outbuildings, represent many years of 
 toil and privation. 
 
 Lars Tollefson, grand-nephew of our subject, lias 
 been conducting the home farm since 1887. He 
 was married to Anna Erikson January 7, 1888, the 
 lady being the daughter of John and Axlaine 
 Erikson. They have become the parents of three 
 children, two of whom died in infancy. Their 
 infant son, who was born January 11, 1891, bears 
 the name of Tennis Albert. He of whom we write 
 on coming to the New World stopped for a time 
 at tlie home of a brother in New York State near 
 Rochester. He is, probably, the first Norwegian 
 settler in Boone County and the oldest resident of 
 Manchester Township. He and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Norwegian Church, to the 
 support of which they are liberal contributors. 
 Mr. Tollefson takes but little part- in politics other 
 than to cast a Republican vote at elections. He 
 has been more than ordinarily successful in all his 
 undertakings, and his ability and character are such 
 as to earn for him the esteem and regard of. all 
 who know him. 
 
 ^ OSEPH W. IRVINE. Prominent among the 
 industries carried on in Rockford is the 
 manufacture of boots and shoes, as repre- 
 sented by the Rockford Boot and Shoe 
 Manufactory. This enterprise was established about 
 ten years ago, and is one of the flourishing institu- 
 tions of the city. 
 
 Mr. Irvine, Vice-president of this vast concern, 
 
 has retired from active business and now resides 
 
 quietly at his comfortable home in this city. He 
 
 has been a resident of Rockford since October, 
 
 19 
 
 1869. For many years he was connected with the 
 Emerson, Talcott Manufacturing Company, one of 
 the best known organizations of the State, and es- 
 pecially in this part of Illinois. He was also with 
 the Wilkins Knitting Factory, but subsequently 
 sold out his interest and retired from active labor. 
 He is a stockholder in other corporations, includ- 
 ing the Silver Plate Manufacturing Company, the 
 Rockford "Watch Company, the Rockford Watch- 
 Case Company, the Rockford Overalls Company, 
 and at times has been otHcially connected with 
 some of them, and has been a promoter of most of 
 them. 
 
 He came to Rockford from Rockvale Township, 
 Ogle County, 111., and was engaged for about thirty 
 years there as a successful farmer. He has been a 
 resident of this Statfe for fiftyrsix years, and during 
 that time he has made his home in Ogle and Win- 
 nebago Counties, living to see the wonderful ad- 
 vancement made during half a century. While in 
 Ogle County, he took and improved a large tract 
 of Government land, and has spent his life very 
 actively as a farmer and business man. 
 
 He was born in the Province of Ontario, Canada, 
 in 1819, but most of his early life was spent in 
 New York. Later he moved to Toronto, Canada, 
 where he subsequently followed clerking in a store. 
 He is a son of the Rev. Alexander Irvine, a native 
 of Perthshire, Scotland, who was a descendant of an 
 old and prominent Scotch family. Tlie latter was 
 but four years of age when he came with his par- 
 ents, William and Marjorie (Stuart) Irvine, to 
 America and settled with them in York State. 
 William Irvine resided in the Empire State until 
 his death. His wife, who survived him, finally 
 went to Canada and died when over eighty years of 
 age. She was a very bright, intelligent lady, and 
 was a descendant of the royal family. She and her 
 husband were members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Alexander Irvine grew to manhood and was mar- 
 ried in York State to Miss Clarissa Harrington, a 
 native of that State and of Yankee origin. After 
 marriage, they moved to Canada, where two chil- 
 dren, our subject and a daughter, were born. 
 Shortly afterward the family returned to New 
 York, and when our subject was twelve years of 
 age, they went back to Canada, where they re- 
 
426 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 maiued a few years. In 1836 they returned to the 
 States and settled on the Rock River, near Byron, 
 Ogle County, opening up a claim in Roclivale 
 Township. There the fatlier's death occurred about 
 1840, when in the prime of life. The mother fol- 
 lowed him to the grave during the Rebellion, 
 when sixty-two years of age. Both held member- 
 ship in the Methodist Church. 
 
 The original of this sketch was the second of eight 
 children born to his parents, four sons and four 
 daughters, three sons and two daughters now liv- 
 ing. He was educated in the schools of Ogle 
 County, and after reaching his majority wedded 
 Miss Electa Parsons, a native of the Old Bay State, 
 where she was educated. She came West when a 
 young woman and died on her husband's farm in 
 Ogle Covinty, when in the prime of life. She was 
 an excellent wife and a devoted mother. Of this 
 union were born five children: Edwin, a railroad 
 mail agent, residingin Rockford, married Miss Mina 
 Underwood; Ellen C. became the wife of William 
 Warburton, a farmer of Buchanan County, Iowa; 
 Mary P. is the wife of Christian Burkholder, a 
 dealer in agricultural implements in Sterling; W. 
 Henry is a painter in the West; and one younger, 
 who died in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Irvine's second marriage occurred in Ogle 
 County and united him with Rebecca W. Wag- 
 goner, a native of Union County, born on the 
 banks of the Susquehanna River, June 23, 1829, and 
 the daughter of Henry R. and Elsie (Woods) 
 Waggoner, natives of Northumberland County, Pa. 
 Her father was of Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and 
 her mother of Irish descent. They were married 
 in Northumberland County, and Mr. Waggoner 
 began life as a mechanic. In 1848, he moved with 
 his family to Ogle County, 111., and settled on 
 a farm in Rockvale Township. After the death of 
 his wife, he married Mrs. Margaret Hensel, and 
 moved to Mt. Morris, this State, where he received 
 his final summons when nearly seventy-five years 
 of age, dying March 6, 1869. His wife is still liv- 
 ing and is quite old. 
 
 Mrs. Irvine was one of seven living children, all 
 married but one, and all prosperous. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Irvine have had five children: C. Francis, a com- 
 mercial man residing in Rockford; G-eorge L., Sec- 
 
 retary and Treasurer of the Rockford Overalls 
 Manu^cturing Company; Elsie M., wife ofC E. 
 Sovereign, novelty manufacturer; and two who 
 died in infancy. The members of the Irvine fam- 
 ily, for the most part, belong to the Court Street 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Irvine and his 
 sons are worthy Republicans in politics. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Irvine is presented on an- 
 other* page. 
 
 <| ft^ILLIAM H. FITCH, M. D., is one of the 
 \jjj// native-born citizens of Rockford, who 
 ^^yjl have contributed their ablest efforts to 
 the progress of the city and labored unceasingly 
 in its behalf. He has been remarkably successful 
 in his profession, his skill having won for him a 
 foremost place among the citizens of Winnebago 
 County and, in fact, throughout the entire northern 
 part of the State. For more than twenty years he has 
 been engaged in the practice of his profession in 
 Rockford, having come hither in the fall of 1870, 
 and opened an office, which he has since con- 
 ducted. 
 
 For the duties of professional life Dr. Fitch 
 was thoroughly prepared by a splendid literary ed- 
 ucation received in Beloit College, and by a course 
 of medical lectures at the Chicago Medical Col- 
 lege, where he graduated in 1868. At that time, 
 he received the second honors of his class, the 
 first honors being gained hy Dr. Nicholas Senn, 
 of Chicago, one of the most celebrated surgeons of 
 the world. After a short visit to Rockford, the 
 young Doctor went on a tour to the Old World, 
 and spent two years in the medical schools of 
 Europe, most of the time being devoted to study 
 at Vienna. Thus completely equipped for a pro- 
 fessional life by a profound theoretical knowledge 
 of therapeutics, he crossed the Atlantic to the 
 country of his birth, and immediately secured a 
 large practice in the city where he still resides. 
 
 The Doctor is Trustee of the Illinois Eye & 
 Ear Infirmary, located in Chicago on West Adams 
 Street, a splendid institution for the treatment 
 of these special diseases and under the support of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 427 
 
 the Statfe. He is a member of the State Medical 
 Society, the National Medical Association, and 
 the American Association for the Advancement 
 of Science, and tie meets with these various so- 
 cieties regularly. He is a Trustee of the Rock- 
 ford Seminary, an institution of prominence in 
 tlie West, and one of the oldest educational cen- 
 ters in the county. 
 
 The father of our subject was John Fitch, an 
 early settler in Winnebago County, who came 
 hither in 1837, entered Government land in 
 Cherry Valley, this county, and began life here 
 amid primitive surroundings, his first home being 
 in a log cabin. It was his good fortune to live 
 until tlie dense forests and uncultivated wastes of 
 land were transformed into splendidly improved 
 farms and the sites of thriving villages. He had 
 come to this county from Groton, Mass., his birth- 
 place, and his journey Westward was made by the 
 most expeditious route Ijnown at that time, being 
 by canal to Buffalo, thence by the Lalies to Chi- 
 cago, and from there in a small one-horse "prai- 
 rie schooner" to Winnebago County, then very 
 sparsely settled. 
 
 The farm owned by John Fitch was on the 
 main thoroughfare between Chicago and Galena, 
 and his house became the lodging place for trav- 
 elers en route for the farther West, often as 
 many as one hundred and fifty persons stopping 
 on liis premises with their wagons and teams. He 
 was thus not only enabled to sell his produce, but 
 gained an acquaintance with many of the West- 
 ern pioneers, a number of whom found homes on 
 the golden shores of California. It was not long 
 before he iiad erected a substantial house and out- 
 buidings, and, as be was practical and tliriftj^, be- 
 longing to the best type of Massachusetts farmers, 
 he kept many years in advance of his neighbors. 
 
 Genial and sociable in disposition, Mr. Fitch, 
 Sr., made friends with all wliom he met and 
 became tiie host of a well-known country inn be- 
 tween Belvidere and Rockford. He was progres- 
 sive and took a leading part in all matters 
 regarding education. When schools were few in 
 the county, he hired a young lady to come from 
 Massachusetts as governess, and she taught his 
 children at his home. He admitted any of the 
 
 neighboring children who wished to come, and 
 many took advantage of the offer, as "Uncle John" 
 Fitcli paid all the expenses. As a Whig and Abo- 
 litionist, lie took a prominent part in public mat- 
 ters, and during his later years was a stanch 
 Republican. In religious matters, he was identi- 
 fied with the Methodist Episcopal Church at 
 Cherry Valley, but on coming to Rockford, in 
 1864, united with the Second Congregational 
 Chui'ch, and remained in that connection as long 
 as he lived. His death occurred here in the year 
 1881, at the age of seventy-five years, and was 
 sincerely mourned by all wlio knew him. A man 
 of remarkable thrift, he acquired a line property, 
 of which his children became heirs, and through 
 their judicious management the value of their 
 heritage has been increased. Mr. and Mrs. John 
 Fitch were present at the dedication of the first 
 church built in Rockford. 
 
 Three months after the death of John Fitch, his 
 wife departed this life, aged seventy-four years. 
 She was formerly Miss Lucy Sawtelle, and was a 
 native of Vermont, coming of worthy New Eng- 
 land stock. In her religious connection, she was 
 a member of the Congregational Church, and was 
 a lady of lovely disposition and noble character. 
 The only survivors of the family of five children 
 are the Doctor and Elizabeth. One brother. Dr. 
 L. P., graduated from the Beloit (Wis.) College 
 and the New York College of Physicians ^nd 
 Surgeons, later entering the army as Surgeon, and 
 serving in Gen. Schofield's Department for aljout 
 three years. Afterward he became a prominent 
 physician of Charles City, Iowa, where his death 
 occurred, and where his widow still lives. 
 
 During the late war, our subject served as a 
 member of the Fortieth Wisconsin Infantry, and 
 bravelj' defended the Stars and Stripes. His mar- 
 riage, which took place in Allegheny, Pa., in 
 1887, united him with Miss Catherine Kountz, 
 who was there born. Her father, Commodore 
 Kountz, was at one time the largest private owner 
 of steam vessels in the United States, his steamers 
 plying the waters of the Mississippi, Missouri and 
 Ohio Rivers, and doing a large business during 
 war times. At present he lives retired, and is 
 passing his declining days in comfort and afflu- 
 
428 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ence. One of the vessels which he owned was 
 known as the "Crystal Palace," and was the finest 
 passenger steamer which was ever on the Ohio 
 River. 
 
 The education wliich Mrs. Fitch received in 
 Pennsylvania was of a superior order, and she is 
 a refined, accomplished lady, and especially tal- 
 ented as a musician. She and the Doctor are mem- 
 bers of the Second Congregational Church and 
 prominent in the best circles of tlie city. They 
 are the parents of two children: William K. and 
 Catharine. 
 
 ■^ 
 
 "»!©-?• 
 
 HERMAN COMINGS. Having retired 
 from the active proprietorship of agricul- 
 tural interests, the gentleman of whom we 
 write makes his home in Rockford. He 
 was born in the town of Berkshire, Franklin 
 County, Vt., December 17, 1818, while his father, 
 Samuel Comings, was a native of Windsor, N. H., 
 and of Scotch ancestry. He was one of the first 
 settlers in Berkshire, where he cleared a tract of 
 college land, erected a log house and commenced 
 the work of improving a farm. As there were no 
 railroads or canals in the vicinity for many years 
 after his settlement there, the father of our subject 
 hauled the products of the farm to the nearest 
 markets, returning with the necessary articles for 
 the family. He improved a large portion of the 
 land, erected thereon first-class buildings, and for 
 a number of years made that place his home. 
 Then disposing of this farm, Mr. Comings lived 
 with a son-in-law until going to Wisconsin, where 
 he spent his last years with his son Harvey. The 
 mother of our subject was known in her maiden- 
 hood as Miss Martha Aikens, her birth occurring 
 in Canada. 
 
 Sherman Comings of this sketch attended the 
 district schools in his youth and on reaching his 
 fifteenth year learned the trade of a carpenter 
 and joiner, which line he followed for six years, and 
 then turned his attention to that of a millwright. 
 He prosecuted that business in Vermont until 
 1848, and on emigrating to Wisconsin was accom- 
 panied by his wife, brother Harvey and family. 
 
 The family came with teams to Burlington, thence 
 by way of Lake Champlain to the canal of that 
 name and, going to Troy, came by way of the 
 Erie Canal to Buffalo, where they took passage on 
 the steamer "Empire State. ' ' At Conneaut the vessel 
 foundered and the passengers were all transferred 
 to the steamer "Michigan," which conveyed them 
 to Milwaukee, where they were shipped on the 
 steamer "Sheboygan." On landing, Mr. Comings 
 and family hired a team to take them to Linden 
 Township, sixteen miles distant, the latter part of 
 the way following an Indian ti'ail. There our 
 subject purchased a claim to a tract of Govern- 
 ment land, which was iieavily timbered, and four 
 acres of which were cleared; a log house consti- 
 tuted the only other improvement. He worked 
 at his trade of a millwright, at the same time su- 
 perintending the improvements of his farm, which 
 he put under excellent cultivation. For some time, 
 standing timber was of no value, and when it was 
 found necessary to cut it, the logs were rolled to- 
 gether and burned. Mr. Comings did all his 
 marketing and farm work by the aid of oxen, and 
 remembers going ten miles away in order to buy 
 iron to iron a cart, tlie woodwork of which vehicle 
 he made from timber grown on his own land, and 
 which he continued to use as long as he resided in 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 In 1867, our subject sold his farm in the Badger 
 State and came to Winnebago County, purchasing 
 a farm three miles south of the city of Rockford, 
 which is most beautifully located on the Rock 
 River. Soon after settling here, he started a 
 creamery, being one of tlie pioneers in that busi- 
 ness, and shipping the products of his dairy to St. 
 Louis. Mr. Comings resided on the above farm 
 until 1891, when he moved into the city and is 
 now enjoying the fruits of former years of indus- 
 try and toil. 
 
 The lady who became the wife of our subject, 
 December 31, 1840, bore the maiden name of 
 Elmina E. Stone. Her birth occurred in Berkshire, 
 Vt., and she is the daughter of James and Lucinda 
 (Danforth) Stone. The two children born to 
 them are Arthur F. and Everett S., the former of 
 whom is a practicing physician in Rockford, and 
 Everett S. is editor of a first-class paper de- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 429 
 
 voted to poultry and gardening. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Comings are members of the Second Congrega- 
 tional Society, and, in politics, our subject has voted 
 the Republican ticket since the organization of the 
 party. 
 
 IRAM SNOW is the proprietor of extensive 
 pickling works, located on the east bank of 
 the Rock River, one mile east of the city 
 
 !M) limits of Rockford. He engaged in this 
 business in 1881, and uses the products of from 
 fifty to seventy-five acres each year. He is a na- 
 tive of the Green Mountain State, his birth occur- 
 ring February 17, 1830. His father, Ira Snow, was 
 also born there, whence he removed in 1834 to 
 Ohio, via team to Troy, and then by way of the 
 Erie Canal to Buffalo, where he embarked on a 
 lake steamer to Huron, Ohio. There he rented an 
 hotel and was employed as "mine host" until 1842," 
 when he again started Westward, arriving in Chi- 
 cago on the 3d of July. 
 
 While residing in the Garden City, the father of 
 our subject kept the hotel known as the Franklin 
 House, located on La Salle Street, between Lake and 
 Water Streets. At that time Chicago contained 
 but eight thousand inhabitants, and the surround- 
 ing country being sparsely settled, deer and wild 
 animals roamed where the city now extends. Mr. 
 Snow, after two years in the hotel business, was en- 
 gaged in teaming between Chicago and Galena for 
 a twelvemonth, at the end of which time he entered 
 a tract of Government land in the town of Wheeler, 
 twenty-two miles northwest of Chicago, and at 
 once commenced the improvement of his farm, 
 upon which he resided until his decease. 
 
 The mother of our subject prior to her marriage 
 was Rebecca Daggett, also a native of Vermont. 
 Her husband was in early days a Whig in politics, 
 but later voted the Republican ticket. He was the 
 first Highway Commissioner in the town of Wheeler 
 and in 1856 was appointed Deputy Sheriff, which 
 position he held for fourteen years. 
 
 Hiram Snow of this sketch was one in a family 
 of five children, his brothers and sisters being Re- 
 becca, William, Alonzo and Mary. He was a lad 
 of twelve years when his parents removed to Chi- 
 
 cago and is one of the few early settlers of that 
 city now living, and can relate many incidents of 
 interest connected with the early history of Chicago 
 and Cook County. Mr. Snow attended a school in 
 that city taught by Judge Sturdevant, and after 
 removing to Wheeler, assisted his father in culti- 
 vating the home farm, there residing until reach- 
 ing his twenty-first year. 
 
 On commencing life for himself, he of whom we 
 write worked out on farms for $8 per month and 
 continued to be tlius engaged for five years, when 
 he purchased the old home farm, upon which he 
 lived until 1881. At that time coming to Rock- 
 ford, Mr. Snow became the proprietor of the farm 
 which is his present home, and soon afterward en- 
 gaged in his present business. His farm is beauti- 
 fully located and is cultivated in a most intelligent 
 and profitable manner. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was united in 
 marriage, November 12, 1866, was Miss Naomi 
 Perry, and to them eight children have been granted 
 viz.: Anna, Clara J., Emily A., Maggie, Hiram P., 
 Mabel N., June R., Junius Centennial. In his po- 
 litical belief, Mr. Snow casts his vote and influence 
 with the Republican party, and, socially, is a mem- 
 ber of Rockford Lodge No. 102, A. F. & A. M., and 
 Winnebago Chapter No. 24, R. A. M. 
 
 / 
 
 ^^=<e=* 
 
 ^ 
 
 GILES ELLIOTT, deceased. This name is 
 known and honored throughout Winnebago 
 County as one of the old pioneers, who had 
 a hand in laying the solid foundation upon which 
 has been erected the superstructure of its present 
 wealth and prosperity, and although his earthly 
 career has closed, his memory is still held in rev- 
 erence in Pecatonica Township, where he located 
 thirty-five years ago. His mantle has fallen upon 
 worthy successors and it gives us pleasure to rep- 
 resent the family in this biographical volume. 
 
 The lady who became the wife of our subject 
 was known in her maidenhood as Betsey Mitchell. 
 She was born September 21,1846, in Oneida County, 
 N. Y., and was the daughter of Charles and Pa- 
 tience (Ufford) Mitchell, the former of whom was 
 
430 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArfflCAL RECORD. 
 
 a native of New York and of Irish descent, while 
 the motlier hailed from New England. 
 
 Our subject was a son of Charles and Lucy (Bar- 
 ber) EUiott, natives of Ohio, who departed this life 
 in- Mitchell, S. Dak., at the respective ages of seven- 
 ty-nine and seventy-three years. He departed this 
 life February 14, 1887, aged forty-eight years and 
 four months and thirteen days. His marriage with 
 Miss Mitchell occurred January 5, 1864, soon after 
 which event they came to this county, and, as be- 
 fore stated, resided here for thirty-five years. Mr. 
 Elliott had a well-cultivated farm, making a spe- 
 cialty of breeding thorough-bred cattle, of which he 
 had some fine specimens. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Elliott were born five children, 
 as follows: Charles W., whose birth occurred June 
 26, 1865, resides with his mother; Ellen A., born 
 Hay 4, 1867, married Patrick Roddy and lives in 
 Ridott Township, Stephenson County; George H., 
 who is also at home, was born September 27, 1868; 
 Giles S., June 24, 1872; and William H., who was 
 born July 28, 1875, is at present engaged with his 
 brothers in carrying on the old home farm, which 
 they do in an intelligent and profitable manner. 
 They have all been given good educations in the 
 Pecatonica schools and the youngest son will prob- 
 ably follow a professional life. 
 
 He of whom we write, socially, was a member 
 of Eureka Camp No. 50, M. W. A., to which order 
 his eldest son also belonged, the latter also being a 
 member of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association. 
 
 i i iii 1 1 i' y ^ I I ^ j 
 
 ? I ' I f 
 
 \I^ETER PARSON. In compiling an account 
 11) of the diffenent business enterprises of Rock- 
 
 ■f^ ford, we must not lose sight of the cabinet- 
 I \ maker 's in dustry, carried on very successfully 
 by Mr. Peter Parson. This gentleman is still an- 
 other of those prominent Swedish settlers of Rock- 
 ford, and is possessed of all those characteristics of 
 thrift and enterprise which make the people of 
 that nationality so prosperous and successful. 
 
 Born in Wester Gothland Province, June 18, 
 1844, Mr. Parson continued to make his home 
 there until 1860, when, with his parents, he took 
 passage to this country. After a tempestuous voy- 
 
 age of over nine weeks, they landed in New York 
 City, but subsequently settled in Fredonia, of that 
 State, for about eight years. In 1868, the entire 
 family came to Winnebago County, 111., locating in 
 Pecatonica Township, and there the parents reside 
 at the present time, both quite aged, the father, 
 Andrew Parson, born in 1813, and the mother in 
 1809. Both are quite active despite their years, 
 and the mother often walks two miles to the Lu- 
 theran Church, of which she and her husband are 
 members. 
 
 Three of the eight children born to this worthy 
 couple are now living: our subject; Mrs. Clara 
 Anderson, a widow, residing on South Fourth 
 Street of this city; and Mrs. Christina Lundberg, 
 wife of P. J. Lundberg, a wealthy farmer now re- 
 tired, and residing at Orleans, Neb. 
 
 Peter Parson learned his trade in Fredonia, N. Y., 
 and on the 6th of June, 1869, he made his first 
 appearance in Rockford. He immediately began 
 working at the cabinet-maker's trade, and has since 
 devoted the principal part of his time and atten- 
 tion to it. He is, in every sense of the word, a 
 skillful and practical workman, and tiie beautiful 
 furniture and ornaments at his home testify to 
 his ability with the tools. He has a deliglitfnl 
 residence at No. 610 North Third Street, and is 
 surrounded with all the comforts and conveni- 
 ences of life. 
 
 He is a stockholder and Director of the Central 
 Furniture Company established in 1879, with a 
 capital of $125,000, and with a force of from one 
 hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty 
 employes, and since then Mr. Parson has given all 
 his attention to the factory, in which he is a heavy 
 stockholder. His investment has paid him well, 
 and he has accumulated considerable property. 
 
 Our subject was married, in Rockford, to iVIiss 
 Anna C. Oberg, a native of Sweden, born October 
 10, 1851, and they have one very bright little girl, 
 Cora J. C, who is receiving a thorough education 
 in the city schools. Mr. Parson and his wife are 
 very popular people of the city, and both are mem- 
 bers of the First Lutheran Church. He leans to- 
 ward the Republican party in his political views. 
 
 Mrs. Parson's fatlier, Olof Oberg, started with 
 his wife and family for the United States in 1854, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 431 
 
 and while on the ocean the mother died. She was 
 buried in the Atlantic, and the bereaved husband 
 and father with his five children, two sons and 
 three daughters, after landing, came West and lo- 
 cated on Government land in Martin County, 
 Minn. He at one time owned an entire section of 
 land, but the grasshoppers bothered him a great 
 deal, and he has now been a resident of Rockford 
 for some time. Although seventy years of age, he 
 is still smart and active. Four of his five children 
 are yet living in Martin County, Minn. 
 
 OE. BENOIT, a successful jewelry merchant 
 of Rockford, located at No. 310 West State 
 Street, has for almost a quarter of a century 
 made his home in this city and during much of 
 this time has been engaged in commercial pursuits. 
 He carries a large and complete stock of goods in 
 his line, having one of the best houses in the city, 
 and in connection with his jewelry trade has for 
 the past five years also sold organs and pianos. 
 
 Mr. Benoit is a native of the Province of Quebec, 
 Canada. There the days of his childhood and 
 youth were passed and in part he there learned his 
 ■ trade. His parents were Oliver and Mary (Mosier) 
 Benoit, ^ilso natives of Canada, the lady of English 
 descent. The Benoits are of French descent and 
 both families came to America about the time La 
 Fayette crossed the water to aid the Colonies in 
 their struggle for independence. The parents of 
 our subject are still residing at the old home in 
 Canada, the father at the age of eighty years, the 
 mother now seventy- five years of age. The father 
 has been a carriage manufacturer and is well known 
 in his locality. 
 
 Under the parental roof, our subject was reared 
 to manhood and ere leaving home he had become 
 familiar with the trade of carriage-making and un- 
 dertaking in all the details of the business. In 
 1869, he came to Rockford, and soon afterward be- 
 gan business as a jeweler, which trade he has since 
 followed. He was married, in Vermont, to Miss 
 Julia P. Chaffie, who was born and reared in Berk- 
 shire, Franklin County, that State, and is des- 
 cended from an old New England family. She 
 
 died at their home in Rockford, January 20, 1871, 
 at the age of thirty-two years, on the birth of their 
 only child, who also died. For his second wife, 
 Mr. Benoit chose Mrs. Martha A. (Hobart) Thayer, 
 who was born in Havana, N. Y., and when a 
 maiden of six summers came to Rockford with her 
 parents, John and Maria Thayer, who for manj^ 
 years were residents of this city but now reside in 
 Alexandria, S. Dak., where they have lived for the 
 past eight years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Benoit are both members of the 
 Christian Union Church, take an active part in its 
 work and also in public interests which are calcu- 
 lated to benefit the community or promote the 
 general welfare. Mr. Benoit has led a busy and 
 useful life, giving strict attention to his business 
 interests, and his efforts have been blessed with 
 prosperity. He now not only has a good business 
 but he is also a stockholder in the Forest City Insur- 
 ance Company. Although of foreign birth, Rock- 
 ford has no better citizen or one more worthy the 
 esteem in which he is held. In politics, he is a 
 stalwart supporter of Republican principles. He 
 belongs to the Blue Lodge, the Chapter and Com- 
 mandery of Rockford, and is also a member of the 
 Elks' lodge. 
 
 n 
 
 ELS P. ROSANDER is one of the success- 
 ful Swedish-American farmers of Rockford 
 1\JlL) Township, Winnebago County. He resides 
 on section 17, where he owns one hundred and 
 twelve and a half acres of valuable land, all under 
 a high state of cultivation. It has been his home 
 since 1873, during which time he has transformed 
 the land into rich and fertile fields and made 
 many excellent improvements. There may be 
 seen good buildings, a comfortable and commo- 
 dious residence and all the accessories of a model 
 farm. He also has the place well stocked, indeed, 
 it is complete in all its appointments. 
 
 Mr. Rosander was born in Smoland, Sweden, 
 March 21, 1835, and is a son of Swan C. Peterson, 
 who lived and died on a farm in his native prov- 
 ince, passing away at the age of eighty-one years. 
 He was a jeweler and quite a prominent man in 
 
432 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 public affairs. He was ofticially connected witli 
 the Luttieran Church for many years and was one 
 of its most active workers. He married Susanna 
 Casries, who yet survives him and is now about 
 four-score years of age. She, also, has been a 
 leading lady in her neighborhood and a faithful 
 member of the Lutheran Church. A daughter of 
 the family is still living in Sweden, Johanna, wife 
 of Gust Johnson, a Swedish farmer; Caroline is 
 now married and resides in Cliicago; John lives 
 in Rockford, as does also Johannes, and Charles is 
 a resident of Oregon. 
 
 Under the parental roof our subject spent the 
 days of his boyhood and after attaining to mature 
 years he was united in marriage in his native 
 province with Miss Anna Johnson, who was born 
 in Smoland, Sweden, in June, 1835. Her parents 
 lived and died on the old homestead in that land. 
 They were farming people, members of the Luth- 
 eran Church, and were highly respected. Their 
 family numbered two sons and two daughters but 
 Mrs. Rosander is the only one living in this coun- 
 try. She has proved a true wife and faithful 
 helpmate to her husband. Mr. Rosander was the 
 first of his family to cross the Atlantic, the year 
 of his emigration being 1869, and on the 15th of 
 May he landed in Rockford. 
 
 Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Rosander: Sophia, wife of Emil Nelson, a mail 
 carrier of Rockford, died April 21, 1892; Tilda, 
 wife of "Walter Wilson, a mail carrier of Chicago; 
 Lotta, wife of Albert Larson, a machinist in the 
 Nelson Knitting Factory of Rockford; Charles A., 
 who graduated from the Augustana College of 
 Rock Island in 1891, and will complete a course of 
 study in the Rock Island Seminary in 1893; 
 AVendla A., wife of Reynold Winquist, a clerk of 
 Rockford; Nellie, who is now employed in that 
 city; Ida, a resident of Rockford; Theodore W. and 
 Esther V. live at home. 
 
 Mr. Rosander has been very successful since 
 coming to this country and is now numbered 
 among the substantial citizens of Rockford Town- 
 ship. In addition to his farm property, he is a 
 stockholder in the Union Grocery Store of Rock- 
 ford and the founder and President of the Rock- 
 ford Planing Mill Company, which was incorpor- 
 
 ated with a capital stock of $50,000. He is a pub- 
 lic-spirited and progressive man and has done 
 much for the interests and upbuilding of the 
 county. In politics, he is a supporter of Republi- 
 can principles, and himself and wife are members 
 of the First Lutheran Cliurch of Rockford, in the 
 work of which they have taken an active interest. 
 Mr. Rosander served as one of the building com- 
 mittee during the construction of that large house 
 of worship. His life has been well and worthily 
 spent, thus winning liim the confidence and high 
 regard of all. 
 
 W EVIN EKSELL. The Globe Clothing Man- 
 I (^ ufacturing Com pan J', No. 1105 Sixth Street, 
 J^^ Rockford, standing prominently forth as 
 one of the most notable business enterprises of the 
 city, was established in May, 1890, with August 
 Lundberg, President; Levin Eksell, Secretary, and 
 August P. Floberg, Treasurer. They employ thirty 
 men, their custom cutter being A. S. Charn, and 
 their commercial cutter F. A. Nordell ; they have five 
 commercial men on the road and do a general 
 pants manufacturing business for the trade chiefly. 
 They have met with wonderful success in this en- 
 terprise. Mr. Eksell was one of the promoters of 
 the business, has always been a stockholder and is 
 now a Director. He came to Rockford in 1887 and 
 since then has turned all his attention to this par- 
 ticular business, and has met with the success mer- 
 ited. He is a capable and trustworthy gentleman 
 and universally popular in business and social 
 circles. 
 
 Our subject was born in "Wester Gothland Prov- 
 ince, Sweden, born March 30, 1865, and received 
 a good business education in his native land. 
 From the age of ten until twenty-two, he was clerk 
 and book-keeper for different enterprises, but when 
 he reached tlie last-mentioned age he crossed the 
 ocean to America, and made a permanent home in 
 Rockford. He was for some time in the Nelson 
 Knitting Factory, but subsequently became con- 
 nected with the business in which he is now en- 
 gaged. 
 
^""tii-^s^ ^^ou^^^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 435 
 
 The second in order of birth of eight children 
 born to his parents, our subject was the only one 
 of the family to venture on American land. The 
 father, A. G. Eksoll, is a practical farmer of his na- 
 tive country, Sweden, and is still living, as is also 
 his wife, whose maiden name was Caroline Lind- 
 quist. They were old friends and neighbors of 
 the late John Nelson, the inventor, of Rockford. 
 (vSee sketch.) 
 
 Levin Eksell was married in Rockford to Miss 
 Hildegard Djulang, a native of Stockholm, Swe- 
 den, in which city she was reared and educated. 
 In 1888, she emigrated to the United States, and 
 left home and friends to form new ties in a 
 strange country. Her father, Eric G. Djulang, 
 died in Stockholm in 1872, when about middle age. 
 His wife and one daughter came to America 
 m June, 1892, and are residing in Rockford. 
 Mrs. Eksell came direct to Rockford on coming to 
 the United States, and was subsequently married 
 to our subject. They have two nice children, 
 Esther E. and Anna C. (twins). Mr. and Mrs. 
 Eksell are worthy and consistent members of the 
 Mission Lutheran church and Mr. Eksell is now 
 church Secretary. 
 
 -^]. 
 
 "^] 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 [3_ 
 
 [=" 
 
 NTHONY HAINES, Vice-President of the 
 Manufacturers' Bank and an influential 
 citizen of Rockford, was bom in Marietta, 
 Lancaster County, Pa., April 21, 1829. 
 His father, Maj. Frederick Haines, was a native of 
 May town, tliat county, his birth occurring February 
 9, 1799. A. M. Haines, of Galena, 111., has published 
 a history of the family and from it we find that 
 the name was orginally spelled in many different 
 ways, viz: Fines, Eynes and Eynns. At a later 
 date the "H" was prefixed and the name has been 
 spelled Haynes, Heines and Haines. The Haines 
 families had their origin in Shropshire, one of the 
 Western counties of England, and in Montgomery- 
 shire, Wales. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject, Anthony, was 
 born January 25, 1762. His ancestors undoubt- 
 edly first settled in Virginia, as in the "State Land 
 Patent Books" of Virginia are found many entries 
 
 of Anthonj' Haines as early as 1658. "Anthony" 
 is a rare name in the Haines family, except in tlie 
 Lancaster branch of the famil}', and in this Vir- 
 ginia family, where it has been preserved for more 
 than one hundred years. The first settlement of 
 the family was made in Chester County, Pa., 
 whence they removed to Lampeter Township, Lan- 
 caster County, the same State. They owned the 
 land which is now the site of Lampeter Square, and 
 the village was first called Hainestown. 
 
 From there Grandfather Haines removed to May- 
 town, and purchased a large tract of land in the 
 vicinity of that village and Marietta. He was mar- 
 ried to Susanna Bauer, who was born in Maytown, 
 April 9, 1765, and died about 1840. She was a sis- 
 ter of the grandmother of Bayard Taylor. They 
 had a family of eight children, and spent their last 
 days on the old homestead, where the grandfather 
 died April 23, 1814. He was quite an extensive 
 farmer for those days, and in physique was large 
 and powerful, as were all the members of the fam- 
 ily. His mother, Charlotte, was born in 1739, and 
 died in 1793. His brother. Col. Henry, was a mem- 
 ber of the Legislature in 1805, and built the pres- 
 ent brick Reformed Presbyterian Church in May- 
 town. For many years the village of Maytown 
 was famous for her militia, and the representatives 
 of the Haines family were patriotic, and ready at 
 all times to fight for their country. 
 
 Frederick Haines was reared in his native town, 
 and when choosing an occupation for himself be- 
 gan farming and stock-raising on a tract of three 
 hundred acres of land which he owned in and 
 around Marietta. There he remained until his de- 
 cease which occurred in May, 1846. The maiden 
 name of his second wife, the mother of our subject, 
 was Sarah Guy. She was born in Lancaster 
 County and departed this life in Philadelphia, 
 about 1866. The parents of our subject were both 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Anthony Haines of this sketch received a good 
 education in Marietta and continued to reside un- 
 der the parental roof until after his father's death, 
 when, in 1848, he emigrated to Ohio and clerked 
 in a general store at Bucyrus. He later formed a 
 partnership with Thcron Cummings (now President 
 of the Grand Detour Plow Company) and others, 
 
436 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 taking a contract to build a part of the Pittsburg, 
 Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad in Ohio, and after 
 completing the first contract, took another, engag- 
 ing to build the road from Chicago to Valparaiso. 
 Mr. Haines continued in that line of work until 
 1854 when he came to Rockford and here formed 
 a partnership with E. A. Kirk, buying and shipping 
 the first grain on the Kenosha Railroad. He con- 
 tinued actively engaged in that business until 
 1878, and in 1880, with other gentlemen, organized 
 the Rockford Street Railroad Company and com- 
 menced the building of the present system of street 
 railways in Rockford. He was elected President 
 and General Manager of the company, which posi- 
 lion he occupied for ten years. He is at the pres- 
 ent time a Director of the company and Vice- 
 President of the Manufacturers' National Bank, 
 and, aside from the duties imposed by these posi- 
 tions, lives retired. 
 
 April 25, 1854, Mr. Anthony Haines and Miss 
 Adeline Rowse were united in marriage. The lady 
 was born in Bucyrus, Ohio, April 18, 1832, and 
 was a daughter of Zalmon Rowse, a native of Mas- 
 sachusetts. Her father later removed to Crawford 
 County, Ohio, where he purchased a tract of land, 
 now included in the city of Bucyrus, and resided 
 there until his decease. The maiden name of the 
 mother of Mrs. Haines was Mehitabel Kent, a na- 
 tive of Massachusetts, who departed this life at 
 Bncyrug. Mr. Rowse was a Whig in his politi- 
 cal relations and filled the various official positions 
 in Crawford County, where he was one of the in- 
 fluential and prominent citizens. 
 
 The three children comprising the family of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Haines are named, respectively, Laura, 
 Jessie and Frederick. Lauia married Wilfred F. 
 Rivers, a resident of Calgary, Northwest Territory, 
 Canada, and they have two children: Edwin and 
 Climenia. Frederick married Minnie Bushncll and 
 thej' have one son, Anthony. They reside in a 
 pleasant home at Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Haines has served as a member of the County 
 Board of Supervisors, to which position he has been 
 elected for eighteen terms. His wife is a member 
 of the First Congregational Church, and interested 
 in all religious enterprises. Socially, our subject is 
 connected with Rockford Lodge No. 102, F. & A. M. 
 
 He has been instrumental in promoting the welfare 
 of the citizens of Rockford, and, while a member 
 of the Board of Aldermen, has aided the progress 
 of the material interests of the city by the inaugu- 
 ration and vigorous support of important measures. 
 
 ARS M. NOLING, a real-estate dealer of 
 ^i-^ Rockford, was born in Sweden, May 4, 1843, 
 ^ and spent the days of his boyhood and 
 
 youth in his native land. When twenty-oue years 
 of age he crossed the Atlantic, landing in New 
 York on the 28th of June, 1864. He was the 
 first of his family to come to this country, but 
 later the father, mother, two brothers and three 
 sisters sought homes in the New World. The 
 father, John Noling, is still living at the age of 
 eighty years. By trade, he is a carpenter and 
 millwright and owned a mill in Sweden. In this 
 country he followed that occupation through- 
 out his active life. His wife, who was born March 
 18, 1816, died December 18, 1889. Like her hus- 
 band, she was a life-long member of the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 On landing in this countiy, our subject came at 
 once to Rockford, and has since been one of its 
 leading and influential Swedish citizens. He be- 
 gan by doing carpenter work for N. C. Thompson, 
 and after two years entered the employ of lii^ 
 uncle, John Nelson, the great knitting macliine 
 inventor. He then went back to Mr. Thompson, 
 in whose employ he remained for more than fifteen 
 years, a fact which indicates his trustworthiness 
 and faithful discharge of duty. Subsequently, he 
 purchased eighty acres of land, all of which are now 
 within the city limits, and has since been engaged 
 in the real-estate business. The entire amount 
 has been laid out in city lots, with the excep- 
 tion of thirty acres occupied by the Rockford 
 Union Furniture Company. He has also erected 
 many beautiful- homes on the land he owns and 
 has done much for the upbuilding of the city. He 
 has been a leader among the Swedish people in 
 this city and has been prominently connected 
 with many enterprises in which his countrymen 
 are interested. He is now President of the Me- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 437 
 
 chanics' Furnituve Company, which employs about 
 one hundred men; President of the Forest City 
 Bit and Tool Company, which was organized in 
 1889, and emploj's some twenty hands; President 
 of the Union Grocery Company, and President 
 and Director of the Rockford Manufacturing 
 Company. He is President of the Rockford Posten 
 Company, a Swedish newspaper; President of the 
 Scandia Coal Company, and also the President of 
 the Rockford Furniture and Undertaking Com- 
 pany; Vice-President and Director of the Royal 
 Sewing Machine Company, and Vice-President of 
 the Swedish Home and Building Association. In 
 political affairs, he takes an active interest and is 
 a stalwart supporter of the Republican party. He 
 has been a member of the County Central Com- 
 mittee for some twelve years and does everything 
 in his power to further and promote the Republican 
 interests, but has never sought or desired prefer- 
 ment for himself, though his party has urged him 
 to become a (sandidate for the legislature and the 
 county conventions were instructed to that end. 
 
 In this city, Mr. Noling wedded Josephine 
 Johnson, who was born in Skafde, Sweden, Oct- 
 ober U, 1847, and is a daughter of Peter and 
 Mary (Walgren) Johnson, natives of the same 
 place. They were farming people in that locality, 
 and in June, 1854, in a sailing-vessel crossed the 
 Atlantic to Boston, landing on the 18th of Sep- 
 tember. They came at once to Rockford where 
 the father is still living. He was born October 3, 
 1822. His wife, who was born September 15, 1822, 
 died October 20, 1890. They were members of 
 the First Lutheran Swedish Church of this city. 
 Mrs. Nolan is the eldest of six children and the 
 only one now living. By her marriage she has 
 become the mother of two children, but the son, 
 
 y 
 
 William A., died February 18, 1890, at the age of 
 twenty-two. He was educated in the city schools, 
 had graduated from the Rockford Business College, 
 and was book-keeper in the Manufacturers' National 
 Bank. He was a promising young man and had 
 many fiiends in this city. Mary S., the daughter, 
 is an accomplished young lady residing with her 
 parents. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Noling and their daughter are 
 members of the First Swedish Lutheran Church, 
 
 of which he has been a Trustee for twenty-four 
 years, and cliairman of the board for twenty years. 
 What Mr. Noling has done fo the city can- 
 not be estimated in words. It will be seen that 
 he is connected with many of the most impor- 
 tant enterprises, and it is la-gely through his in- 
 dustry, good management and executive ability 
 that these have been successful. Fair and upright 
 in all his dealings, he has the confidence and re. 
 spect of all who know him and is highly regarded. 
 He came to tiiis country a poor man but has 
 worked his way upward to a position of wealth 
 and affluence and his prosperity is truly deserved. 
 Mr. Noling is erecting a handsome residence at the 
 corner of Kishwaukee and Fourteenth Avenue, at 
 a cost of $8,000, which, when completed, will be 
 the handsomest residence in East Rockford, it be- 
 ing all finished with hardwood — cherry, oak and 
 sycamore. 
 
 „., NDREW C. JOHNSON, who is Superinten- 
 lJI dent and a Director of the Forest City 
 
 i^urniture Company, is one of the promi- 
 nent Swedish residents of Rockford, where 
 he has made his home since 1855. He was born 
 in the Province of Blaken, Sweden, Augfist 16, 
 1836, and when about eighteen years of age came 
 to America with the family, consisting of parents 
 and five children. They sailed on a two-mast 
 brig, and after a wearisome and perilous voj'age of 
 ten weeks, landed at New York, but one of the 
 children. Chesty, had sickened and died during 
 the passage and was buried in the waters of the 
 Atlantic. The family carae on by the Lakes to 
 Chicago and a week after landing in this country 
 arrived in Rockford, where another daughter, 
 Enga, died in 1855. The father, Carl Johnson, 
 died in 1861, at the age of fifty-four years. He 
 was a well-educated man and came of a wealthy 
 and respectable family of Sweden. His wife sur- 
 vived him for four years and passed away in 1866, 
 at the age of fifty-four. Both were members of 
 the Lutheran Church. Two brothers of our sub- 
 ject are yet living: John, a farmer of Kansas, and 
 
438 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Swan, a miner of Monmouth mines of Utali. One 
 sister, Lissa, is the wife of Nels Pearson, an em- 
 ploye in the Forest City Furniture Factory of 
 Rock ford. 
 
 In his youth, Andrew Johnson of this sketch 
 learned the cabinet-maker's trade and followed it 
 in this city in the employ of others until 1865. 
 In that year, in company with John Nelson and 
 P. G. Hollom, he established a small furniture 
 manufactor}', and after three j'ears became sole 
 proprietor, running the business on his own ac- 
 count for eighteen years. He then formed a part- 
 nership with J. P. Anderson and together thej"^ 
 continued operations until 1870, when their busi- 
 ness was merged into tlie furnitur.e business, with 
 Mr. Johnson at the head. Mr. Johnson was at once 
 made chief Superintendent, which position he still 
 holds. He is also a Director and one of the chief 
 stockholders. They employ from two hundred to 
 three hundred men, and this industry is one of the 
 leading enterprises of the city. The furniture in- 
 terests have chiefly been developed by the Swed- 
 ish people, not the least "of whom is our subject. 
 In fact, he has been connected with the business 
 from its beginning in Rockford, all of the other 
 factories having grown out of this or been estab- 
 lished since it was started. 
 
 Mr. Johnson lias been twice married. In this 
 city he wedded Mary Hokinson, a native of Sweden, 
 who came to the United States in 1854, and died 
 twenty years later, leaving three children: Hilda 
 S., who was married but is now deceased; Caroline, 
 wife of Aug Sandeen, a clerk In the employ of 
 Stewart & Co., and Theodore, a practical carver 
 and designer, who is employed as foreman of the 
 carving department of the Forest City Furniture 
 Company. For his second wife, Mr. Johnson 
 chose Miss Hilma A. Zeleem, who was born in 
 Sweden and wlien a young lady came to this 
 country. Three children grace the second union: 
 Alma O., Caroline and Dwinnie E. Mr. Johnson 
 and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church, 
 of which he served as Deacon for three years and 
 is now Trustee. In politics, he is a stalwart Re- 
 publican and has served as Supervisor of the 
 Sixth Ward. 
 
 Other business interests, in connection with the 
 
 Forest City Furniture Company, engross the atten- 
 tion of our subject. He is a stockholder in the Rock- 
 ford Manufacturing Company and also in the Elec- 
 tric Manufacturing Company of this city. His busi- 
 ness career has been a success and through his 
 own efforts, good management and perseverance 
 ho has worked his way upward to a position of 
 affluence. He now has a valuable property and 
 has built a pleasant home on the eomer'of Eighth 
 Street and Ninth Avenue, where with his family 
 he now resides. 
 
 i^ 
 
 ^i. 
 
 LBERT G. WALKER. We are pleased to 
 present the sketch of this honored resident 
 of Rockford to our readers — one who has 
 aided greatlj' in its growth and develop- 
 ment. He was born in Foster, Providence County, 
 R. I., May 28, 1810, and is a son of Peleg Walker, 
 also a native of that place, as was also his father, 
 William Walker. The grandfather of our subject 
 owned a farm in Foster and was engaged in its 
 cultivation throughout life. 
 
 Peleg Walker was reared and married in his na- 
 tive town, which continued to be his place of resi- 
 dence until his decease in 1822. He was for a 
 number of years a member of a company whicli man- 
 ufactured cotton goods. He married Mary Potter, 
 who was born in the same town as was her hus- 
 band, and was the daughter of William and Mary 
 (Arnold) Potter. Our subject began at the age of 
 eighteen years to learn the trade of a millwright, 
 which line of work he followed for two years, and 
 then was employed in the capacity of a carpenter 
 by one man for eleven years, in Brooklyn, Wind- 
 ham County, Conn. He later engaged as a con- 
 tractor and builder there, where he was successfully 
 employed until 1856, when he came West to visit 
 this country, journeying through Wisconsin, Iowa 
 and Illinois, which trip occupied six weeks. After 
 returning home, Mr. Walker received a letter from 
 a friend who told him of a tract of two hundred 
 and forty acres of land for sale in Scott Township. 
 Ogle County, for a moderate sum. Our subject 
 purchased the land, and made a location upon it in 
 the fall of 1859. The land when it came into his 
 
■^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 441 
 
 possession was in its primitive condition, and he set 
 industriously about clearing and improving it, 
 erecting thereon a set of frame buildings, in which 
 he made his home until 1877. At that time, he 
 rented a farm and came to Rockford, where he 
 purchased property and erected his present com- 
 fortable home. 
 
 Albert G. Walker and Miss Patience Remington 
 were united in marriage in 1832. The lady was 
 born in Pawtucket, R. I., and was the daughter of 
 Peleg Remington. She departed this life on the 
 farm in Ogle County, July 13, 1870, and our sub- 
 ject was again married, this time to Emily Bissel, 
 the date thereof being 1872. Mrs. Walker was born 
 m Andover, Mass., and died in Rockford in 1888. 
 Our subject was again married, December 25, 1889, 
 to Margaret L. (Ames) Rice; she was bom in On- 
 ondaga County, N. Y., and was the daughter of 
 John and Nancy (Wilbur) Ames, and the widow 
 of Albert Rice. She died February 2, 1891. Mr. 
 Walker became the father of the following chil- 
 dren by his first union: Peleg R., who is the Super- 
 intendent of the City Schools; Martin, now de- 
 ceased; John, who resides in Chicago, and Ann 
 Eliza, who married Eugene Moore, and is now 
 dead. Mr. Walker is a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and in politics, is a Republican. 
 
 T OHN H. HALL. The original of this biogra- 
 phy, and of the accompanying portrait, was 
 born in Connecticut, in 1808, and died at 
 his pleasant home in Rockford, in 1882, at 
 age of seventy-four years, respected by all 
 who knew him. He was a prominent and leading 
 citizen, and his death proved a loss to the entire 
 community. His father, a Connecticut farmer, died 
 when John was a boy. His mother was afterward 
 again married, and in 1832 the family removed to 
 Kingsville, Ashtabula County, Ohio, where the 
 mother and stepfather spent the remainder of their 
 lives. 
 
 John Hall there grew to manhood and was first 
 married, his union being with Miss Dickinson, an 
 estimable young lady of Ashtabula County. He 
 then engaged in business as a merchant and 
 hotel-keeper in Conneaut, Ohio, until about 
 
 the 
 
 1855, when, with his family, he came to Illi- 
 nois, locating in Rockford. Here he engaged 
 in the grocery business for some years, and 
 after acquiring a competency thereby, retired 
 from active business life. He took quite a promi- 
 nent part in public affairs, served as Alderman of 
 the First Ward for some time and while a member 
 of the City Council was on the Building and 
 Bridge Committee. He was also one of the School 
 Board and had the management of the school 
 property under his administration. Nearly all of 
 the trees that now shade and adorn the public 
 school properties were set out under his instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 Mrs. Hall died in Rockford, leaving one daugh- 
 ter, Mary A., now the wife of II. N. Baker, a prom- 
 inent attorney and real-eslate dealer of Rockford. 
 Mr. Hall was again married, in Kingsville, Ohio, 
 his second union being with Mrs. Mary E. Mills, 
 nee King, who was born in Ellington, Conn., and 
 when eight years of age went to Kingsville with 
 her parents, Jeremiah and Esther (Ward) King, 
 who located on a farm, where they spent the re- 
 mainder of their lives. Mr. King was called to 
 his final rest at the age of ninety years, and his 
 wife passed away in the eighty-fourth year of her 
 age. Their daughter, Mary E., was reared on her 
 father's farm and became a teacher in the public 
 schools. Later she gave her hand in marriage to 
 William Mills, a merchant of Geneva, Ohio, who 
 died in that place in the prime of life. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hall have been born two 
 children: Henry, who was educated in the city 
 schools, was formerly engaged in business as a 
 real-estate agent in the West, but was injured by 
 being thrown from a carriage, after which he re- 
 turned to Rockford and now makes his home with 
 his mother. He wedded Hattie E. Crosby, of this 
 county, who was reared in this city and educated 
 in the Rockford High School, the Female Semin- 
 ary of Rockford, and at Bradford, Mass. Helen, 
 the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hall, acquired 
 her early education in Rockford, was afterward a 
 student at Gambler, Ohio, in Harcourt Place, a fe- 
 male seminary, from which she graduated. She is 
 now a teacher in the primary department of Mon- 
 tague, 
 
442 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 Mrs. Hall and her children are members of the 
 State Street Baptist Church. Mr. Hall belonged 
 to the First Congregational Church and took an 
 active interest in its work. In politics, he was a 
 Republican. A man of unimpeachable character, 
 his integrity was above question, and he had the 
 confidence and respect of his fellow-townsmen to 
 the fullest degree. His wife is an estimable lady 
 and all who know her learn to love her. 
 
 V 
 
 ♦=<'=V f 
 
 E*^* 
 
 "A 
 
 <:«1 I^ALTER VAN ALSTYNE a successful and 
 \NII competent contractor and builder, located 
 V*^ at No. 512 Elm Street, with a fine and 
 commodious residence near, has made his home in 
 Eockford the principal part of the time since 1861. 
 As to his skill and ability as a contractor and 
 builder, perhaps no greater compliment could be 
 paid him than to point out those monuments of 
 his handiwork which now grace so many of the 
 streets of this city. He has been a carpenter, me- 
 chanic and builder from early youth, and is, as all 
 will acknowledge, an adept of high order. For a 
 short time he was a resident of Lincoln, Neb., and 
 many of the fine buildings of that city were erected 
 by him. 
 
 Filled with a patriotic desire to aid his country's 
 cause, he enlisted in the Union army in the fall of 
 1862, as a private in Company D, Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Infantry,under Col. Marsh and Capt. Doug- 
 las. The regiment was in the Army of the Tennes- 
 see, and fought at the battles of Perryville and 
 Stone River. Mr. Van Alstyne fought bravelj"^ in 
 defense of the Union, was ever at his post, and 
 escaped without injury. He was honorably dis- 
 charged on account of disability, and at tlie end 
 of one year of recuperation, he joined the Gov- 
 ernment Construction Corps, with which he re- 
 mained in Virginia for some time, or until the war 
 closed. 
 
 Mr. Van Alstyne claims Massachusetts as his na- 
 tive State, and was born at Walford, Berkshire 
 County, in 1845. He remained there until about 
 nineteen years of age, when he came to Rockford, 
 having learned the carpenter's trade before he left 
 
 Massachusetts. His father, Lawrence Van Alstyne 
 was a native of Dutchess County, N. Y., and came 
 of sturdy Dutch ancestry, his forefathers being pio- 
 neers of the Mohawk Valley, N. Y., where the fam- 
 ily was well known and very prominent, they hav- 
 ing lived through the Indian troubles of that day. 
 Lawrence Van Alstyne learned the mechanic's trade 
 and builder while growing up, and followed this 
 for a number of years in his native county. He 
 selected his wife from Dutchess County, a Miss 
 Eliza Crandall, who was born and reared in the 
 same county, and who was a descendant of one of 
 the old pioneer families of Dutchess County. Not 
 . many years after their marriage, Mr. Van Alstyne 
 and wife moved to Berkshire County, Mass., and 
 there the former breathed his last in 1864, when 
 about sixty years of age. He had been a skillful 
 mechanic, a quiet, worthy citizen, and one who was 
 universally respected. His wife, wiio is yet Hving 
 and who has remained faithful to his memory, is 
 now living with a daughter, Mrs. Julius Corbett, 
 of Canaan, Conn. She is now about eighty years 
 of age and is prominently identified with the 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 Our subject is the second son and child of eight 
 children born to his parents, seven of whom are 
 yet living and married. One resides in the Lone 
 Star State and five make their home in the East. 
 Walter Van Alstyne, of this sketch, was married in 
 Rockford to Miss Mary Blanchard, who was born 
 in Illinois, in the county of Joe Daviess, and who 
 was reared and educated in Winnebago County. 
 She is a lady possessed of many brilliant attain- 
 ments and was a teacher for a number of years be- 
 fore marriage. Their union has been blessed by 
 the birth of two children, both sons: Walter V., 
 was educated in the High School and is book- 
 keeper in the Rockford City Railroad office, and 
 Ray B., also educated in the High School. 
 
 Mrs. Van Alstyne 's father,Rev. Richard Blanchard, 
 was a native of New York, and a man of education. 
 In early life he became a clergyman in the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, and emigrated to Illinois 
 when that State was sparsely settled. He was a 
 pioneer preacher and one of the early circuit riders, 
 and followed his ministerial duties until his death, 
 which occurred while he was in Belvidere, Boone 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 443 
 
 County, although he was residing and preaching 
 at St. Charles, 111. He died very suddenly of par- 
 alysis of the heart. He was a man possessed of 
 many virtues of mind and heart and had a host 
 of acquaintances and friends in North Illinois, 
 where his life work was performed. His wife, who 
 is still living, finds a pleasant home with her 
 daughter, Mrs. Van Alstyne, and is a well-informed 
 lady, being an extensive reader. She is now about 
 sixty-five years of age. Her maiden name was 
 Mary E. Brooks. She has ever been a devoted 
 Christian woman and is possessed of many virtues. 
 The original of this notice and his worthy wife 
 are members of the Court Street Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church and are well respected in the com- 
 munity. Mr. Van Alstyne is a Republican in his 
 political principles, and is a member of the G. W. 
 L. Nevins Post, G. A. R., No. 1, and is ex-Senior 
 Vice-Commander. He is also a member of the 
 Masonic order. Blue Lodge, Star in the East No. 
 166, and is High Priest of Winnebago Chapter 
 No. 24, in which he has filled all the chairs. He is 
 Past Eminent Commander of Crusader Command- 
 ery No. 17, and is a member of the "Woodmen and 
 Workmen Insurance orders. 
 
 toi»>i».>.i.b. 
 
 Ill I I 
 
 ^^EORGE LEAMAN is classed among the 
 [i| (— , leading agriculturists of Flora Township, 
 ^yjj Boone Count3', where he has a finely-im- 
 proved farm. He was born in Licking County, 
 Ohio, July 5, 1820, and is the son of Daniel Lea- 
 man who had his birth in Philadelphia, Pa., where 
 also his father, Jacob Leaman, was born, and, as far 
 as is known, spent his entire life. 
 
 The father of our subject learned the trade of a 
 carpenter in the Quaker City and a few years 
 after his marriage removed to Licking County, 
 where he purchased a small farm seventeen miles 
 from Newark. There he was engaged in carrying 
 on his farm and prosecuting his trade until his 
 decease. The lady to whom he was married was 
 Miss Mary "Waggner, also a native of Philadelphia, 
 Pa., and the daughter of John and Polly Waggner; 
 she departed this life in Licking County. 
 
 George Leaman of this sketch was reared and 
 
 educated in his native county, and when twenty- 
 three years of age came to this county, starting 
 hither on the 4th of September, 1843, in company 
 with Benjamin Marble, who furnished the buggy 
 while our subject supplied the horse. After driv- 
 ing a distance of fifty miles from home, they sent 
 the horse back and started on foot with all their 
 possessions in a satchel. They walked twenty 
 miles to Lake Huron, where they embarked on a 
 steamer which conveyed them to Canada. They 
 then went by way of railroad toWindsor, from there 
 to Detroit, then across the State of Michigan to 
 St. Joseph by means of the railroad, and thence by 
 steamer to Chicago. At that time the Garden 
 City was little more tlian a village and as there 
 were na railroads in the locality, the gentlemen 
 hired a team to take them to Ottawa, 111. The 
 horses being mired before they got out of the city, 
 they at once abandoned the teams and walked to 
 that place, where they remained for four weeks. 
 At the end of that time, Mr. Leaman and his com- 
 panion came to Boone County, this time on horse- 
 back, Mr. Marble having borrowed an animal 
 which one would ride two miles and then walk 
 that distance while the other rode. In that man- 
 ner they made the journey in one day to this 
 county. 
 
 At the time Mr. Leaman came hither, the coun- 
 try was sparsely settled and the greater portion of 
 the land was still owned by the Government. He 
 had often heard of Hicks' Mills, which he supposed 
 to be a village, hut on going hither found it con- 
 tained a sawmill and two log houses. Our subject 
 and his friend Mr. Marble on arriving there were 
 very hungry after their long journey from Ottawa 
 and asked for something to eat at one of the 
 houses. A lady took some cornmeal and mixed it 
 with water which was placed on a board before 
 the open fire to bake. That with some fried pork 
 constituted their supper. 
 
 Our subject spent the first winter in Boone 
 County with a brother and the following spring 
 commenced to work in a gristmill on the Kish- 
 waukee River. About a year later, he bought 
 eighty acres of Government land, on section 29, 
 Flora Township, which he located upon and oper- 
 ated. He also worked at his trade as a millwright 
 
444 
 
 i-OKTRAIT AND ElOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for two years, as lie found farming vevy slow work 
 there being no railroads for many years, so that 
 the people were compelled to haul their grain to 
 Chicago to market. Mr. Leaman later worked at 
 the carpenter's trade, still residing on the farm, a 
 part of which is still owned. In 1883, he rented 
 his estate and purchased his present home on sec- 
 tion 21. 
 
 January 1, 1841, our subject and Deborah Ben- 
 nett, who was born in Genesee County, N. Y., 
 were united in marriage. Mrs. Leaman was the 
 daughter of Alva and Lottie Bennett and died 
 June 5, 1838. Mrs. Lucy M. (Hungerford) Rossiter, 
 the lady to whom our subject was united in mar- 
 riage, December 30, 1891, was born in Carpenter, 
 Chenango County, N. Y., March 15, 1835. -Her fa- 
 ther, Bele Hungerford, was a native of the Empire 
 State and was the son of James und Rachel Hun- 
 gerford, natives of Massachusetts. Her father in 
 1844 emigrated to the Territory of Wisconsin 
 where he purchased a tract of land in Rock 
 County. He improved a farm of one hundred and 
 sixty acres, upon which he resided until 1882, 
 when he went to Minnesota and there departed 
 this life in April, 1884; his wife died in December 
 of that year. Mrs. Leaman was first married in 
 Wisconsin to Edward S. Rossiter, a native of Eng- 
 land, who was brought by his parents to America 
 when two years of age. He was a stone and brick 
 mason by trade and died in 1880. By her union 
 with Mr. Rossiter one daughter was born, Georgia 
 L. The first marriage of our subject resulted in 
 the birth of the following- named seven children: 
 Chas. W., Charlotte, Silas, Francis, Mary, William 
 and Fred. 
 
 -? 
 
 m>-^¥r<m=^ 
 
 (^^HOMAS J. DERWENT. As an evidence of 
 ijf^^ the immense strides of the manufacturing 
 ^^^ and commercial interests of the city of 
 Rockford in the last decade or two, no better in- 
 stance can be produced than the vast progress 
 made by the T. J. Derwent Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, of which Mr. Derwent is President. This 
 company produces sash, doors, blinds, etc., and all 
 kinds of house-finishing supplies, and is run by 
 
 water power. Twenty-five men are employed all 
 the time and this is one of the leading industries 
 of the kind in Rockford. The business was es- 
 tablished by Mr. "Derwent in 1866, and was car- 
 ried on in his name until January 1, 1890, when it 
 was incorporated and he was made President. 
 His father, Thomas Derwent, was Vice-President 
 until his death on the 9th of October, 1891, and a 
 brother of our subject, Luther, is now Secretary 
 and Treasurer. 
 
 Mr. Derwent was one of the promoters and is 
 ex-President and Director of the Skandia Furni- 
 ture Company, and a prominent stockholder in the 
 same. He is also Alderman of the Third Ward, 
 and is now filling his seventh consecutive term. 
 He is one of the city 's most progressive and public- 
 spirited citizens, and one of its oldest settlers, 
 having located here as early as 1859, and has been 
 a resident of the county since 1842. 
 
 His birth occurred in Rochester, Yates County, 
 N. Y., on the 14th of September, 1841, and he is 
 of English descent, his father, Thomas Derwent, 
 having been a native of Derbyshire, England, born 
 April 8, 1809. The latter grew to manhood in 
 Sheffield and Manchester, was married in the Old 
 Country, and later, with his wife, father, mother and 
 other members of the family, came to the United 
 States, sailing from Liverpool and landing in 
 New York City in 1840. There they remained 
 about a year, and, then, in 1842, came Westward 
 to Illinois, settling on a new farm in Pecatonica 
 Township, where they soon had a comfortable 
 home. Later, Thomas Derwent established a saw 
 and grist mill in Durand Township and there re- 
 mained until 1859, when he moved his business 
 to Rockford, continuing the same until 1881, when 
 he sold out. He was a well-known and prominent 
 man of the city and was at one time Supervisor of 
 the Third Ward. In politics, he was an active 
 Republican, and, in religion, he was a worthy 
 member of the Second Congregational Church. 
 His parents both died in this county when full of 
 j'ears. Their names were Thomas and Hannah 
 (Bradwell) Derwent, respectively, and they were 
 classed among the best citizens of the county. 
 
 The wife of Thomas Derwent (father of our sub- 
 ject) was formerly Miss Betsy Garside, and she 
 
RUrUS 1NGALL5. 
 
■>>f 
 
 a. B. INGALLS 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 449 
 
 now resides at the old home phice, No. 310 South 
 Church Street, Rockford. She was born in Eng- 
 land and married there, and soon after emigrated 
 with her husband to America. She is now eighty- 
 two years of age. She was reared an Episcopalian. 
 
 Thomas J. Derwent was married in Rockford to 
 Miss Emma Walling, a native of the Empire State, 
 but who came to Rockford with her parents, De- 
 witt C. and Harriet A. (Boj''ce) Walling, when 
 quite young. Her father was a builder and archi- 
 tect by trade and was an industrious, upright citi- 
 zen. Both parents are now deceased, their deaths 
 occurring in this county, and both held member- 
 ship in the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Derwent became the parents of one 
 child, Albert, a bright, promising young man, who 
 died when nineteen years of age. Both are worthy 
 members of the Christian Union Church. Socially, 
 Mr. Derwent is a member of the Blue Lodge, Chap- 
 ter and Commandery, A. F. & A. M.,of Rockford, 
 and is also a member of the Ancient Order of 
 .United Workmen. In politics, he is a Democrat. 
 
 J****; 
 
 .•5**5**5*'5't 
 
 '•J-S-***^^****? 
 
 ORRIN B. INGALLS, deceased, came to Boone 
 County in 185L He was a gentleman 
 _ whose life demonstrated the fact that perse- 
 verance and zeal will prevail to conquer circum- 
 stances and gain a competence for him who exer- 
 cises those qualities. He owned an excellent farm 
 in Belvidere Township, which his son managed, 
 and made his home in the village until April 10, 
 1889, the date of his decease. 
 
 The lady whom Mr. Ingalls married, December 
 25, 1845, was Miss Nancy H. Smith, who was bom 
 December 14, 1816, in Denmark, Oxford County, 
 Me. Her father, John P. Smith, was a native 
 of Exeter, N. H., where, it is supposed, his father. 
 Rev. Joseph Smith, was born. He was a preacher 
 in the Baptist Church and held a charge in Corn- 
 ish, Me., where his decease occurred at the age of 
 forty-five years. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Ingalls was a young man 
 
 when his parents removed to the Pine Tree State, 
 
 where he was given a good education and for a 
 
 time was engaged in teaching school, Later he 
 
 20 
 
 began farming and soon after his marriage engaged 
 in the lumber business, in which he was more than 
 ordinarily successful. From Cornish he removed to 
 Denmark, where he was residing at the time of his 
 death, in January, 1841. Th| maiden name of his 
 wife was Nancy Hayes. She had her birth in 
 Dover, N. H., and departed this life at Belvidere 
 in 1865. John P. Smith was reared in a Baptist 
 Church but later joined the Congregationalists 
 and was an influential member of that body until 
 his decease. The family, in which Mrs. Ingalls 
 was the fourth in order of birth, bore the respect- 
 ive names of Oliver M. P., Joseph, Elizabeth, 
 Charlotte and Clarissa. She was given a good ed- 
 ucation in her native town and later attended the 
 academy at Freyburg and also at North Bridgton, 
 Me. 
 
 Our subject was born in Denmark, Me., Novem- 
 ber 26, 1810. He was one of the prominent mer- 
 chants in his native place and resided there until 
 1851 at which time he came to Boone County. 
 He and his wife became the parents of one son, 
 Rufus, who was born June 11, 1847. He married 
 Miss Emily Dun well, and died April 7, 1889, leav- 
 ing two children, Clara and Gertrude. Our sub- 
 ject was a prominent member of the Presbyterian 
 Church in Belvidere, where he was held in Iiigh 
 esteem by those to whom his character and attain- 
 ments were known. Mrs. Ingalls is also identified 
 with the Presbyterian Church and is a lady of 
 kindlj' and hospitable nature. 
 
 Their many friends who hold their memory 
 dear will be pleased to notice in this connection 
 the lithographic portraits of Orrin B. Ingalls and 
 his son Rufus. 
 
 ERIN ST. JOHN, who for eight years has en- 
 gaged in carrying on the Chicago, Burling- 
 ton & (Juincy Eating House, and who is 
 numbered among the early settlers of Rockford of 
 1853, is a native of Weedsport, N. Y., born in 
 1816. He comes of an old New England family that 
 was founded in America long prior to the Revolu- 
 tionary War. His father, John St. John, was a 
 
450 
 
 i^ORTRAIT AND mOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 native of Connecticut, but removed to Cayuga 
 County, N. Y., wliere he died at tlie advanced age 
 of nearly ninety years. As a farmer, lie lived 
 a quiet, unassuming life and was respected by 
 all who knew him. In politics, he was a Whig 
 and anti-Mason, and in religious belief was a Bap- 
 tist. His wife, whose maiden name was Emmarilla 
 Bristol, was also a consistent member of the Bap- 
 tist Church, and her earnest Christian life won her 
 the love of all. 
 
 No event of special importance occurred during 
 the bdyhood of our subject. After attaining to 
 mature years in the county of his nativity, he led 
 to the marriage altar Miss Eliza M. Baylis, who 
 was there born and reared, and is a sister of Mrs. 
 R. C. Jilson, whose sketch appears on another page 
 of this work. Their union has been blessed with 
 two childi-en, who are yet living. Four others are 
 deceased, three having died at about the same time 
 of scarlet fever. Marshall B. is now a member of 
 the firm known as the Rhodes-Utter Manufactur- 
 ing Company, of which he is Secretary. He was 
 also private secretary to the late Levi Rhodes, of 
 whose estate he is now administrator. He wedded 
 Ella Day, of this city, and they have a pleasant 
 home on North Court Street. Addle L., the only 
 living daughter of Mr. and Mrs. St. John, is one of 
 the finest vocalists in Rockford. She is now a mem- 
 ber of the choir in the Second Congregational 
 Church. For nine years she was a successful 
 teacher in the Rockford Female Seminary. She 
 received the best vocal instructions to be obtained 
 in this State, and has just recently completed her 
 musical education in a large conservatory of music 
 in London, under the instruction of Prof. Shakes- 
 peare. 
 
 Mr. St. .John first came to Rockford in 1853, and 
 began business as a member of the grocery firm of 
 St. John & Jilson. After some years the partner- 
 ship was dissolved, and he began business on his 
 own account. As before stated, he has run the eat- 
 ing house for the past eight years, and has met 
 with most excellent success, his establishment be- 
 ing well worthy of the liberal patronage which it 
 receives. Mr. St. .John is recognized as one of the 
 leading and valued citizens of the community, as 
 well as one of the early settlers. He now resides 
 
 at his pleasant home on H^orseman Street, where he 
 has a double house, part of which is rented. In 
 politics, he supports the Republican party. His 
 wife is a member of the Baptist Church, and botli 
 have many friends throughout the community and 
 rank high in social circles. 
 
 ATTHEW BLAIR, who is engaged in the 
 operation of his eighty-acre farm on sec- 
 tion 34, Cherry Valley Township, was 
 born in Scotland in 1828, and is a son of 
 .John and Jennie (Barr) Blair, both of whom were 
 natives of Argyleshire, Scotland. Thej' came to 
 America in 1852. Two years previous, at the age 
 of twenty-two years, our subject had bade good- 
 bye to home and friends, and with seven young 
 neighbors of Campbelltowii , took passage on the 
 sailing-vessel, " Sarah." They called the boat "The 
 Lazy Sarah," as the voyage lasted for eight long 
 weeks. From New York he and his comrades went 
 by boat to Albany, and by canal to Buffalo. On one 
 of these trips they saw for the first time a field of 
 corn, then in silk, and one of the young men, 
 plucking some of it, rubbed it in his hands as he 
 would wheat or barley, to see what kind of seed it 
 grew. At Buffalo, Mr. Blair and others of the 
 party, took a steamer to Sandusltj^, Ohio, and from 
 there went to Cincinnati by the Little Miami Rail- 
 road, then the onl}' railroad into that city. Our 
 subject there tried to find work, but failing, 
 he walked to a country village named Reading, 
 and hired to Richard Jackson, a Scotch farmer, for 
 $10 per month. He worked for that gentleman 
 for two years, and then spent about a year in the 
 employ of Jerry Dunn, an extensive agriculturist. 
 In August, 1853, Mr. Blair was joined in wed- 
 lock with Miss Anna Clark, for whom he had sent 
 to his own native heath. She is a daughter of 
 Samuel and Margaret (Templeton) Clark, farming 
 people of Argyleshire. The young couple removed 
 from Ohio to Boone County, Ky., where Mr. Blair 
 took charge of the farm of Isaac Stroub. Two 
 years later, in 1859, he removed with his wife and 
 two children to Middletown, Ohio, where he 
 worked in a paper mill. He learned the business, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 451 
 
 and received $13 per week, but in 1880 he gave 
 up that position, and, with his family, came to Ill- 
 inois, locating upon his present farm in Cherrj' 
 Valley Township. It has now been his home for 
 about twelve years. In connection with general 
 farming he raises some fine Durham cattle, and 
 keeps on hand eight cows for dairy purposes. The 
 butter made finds a ready sale in the Roekford 
 market on account of the excellent quality. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Blair have lost two daughters: 
 Margaret, who was born September 3, 1854, and 
 died at the age of seven weeks; and Margaret, the 
 second of that name, who was born November 14, 
 1861, and died March 11, 1864. The living chil- 
 dren of the family are: John C; Flora J., wife of 
 Thomas Skinner, of Harlem Township; Jennie; 
 Samuel, a machinist of Ohio; William A., a rail- 
 road agent of Irene, and Matthew, at home. 
 
 The parents of this family are members of the 
 Presbyterian Church, and are highly respected peo- 
 ple. In politics, Mr. Blair is a Republican, having 
 supported that party since he cast his first vote for 
 Abraham Lincoln in 1861. He is a public-spirited 
 and progressive citizen, and one who takes an act- 
 ive interest in all that pertains to the welfare of 
 the community. 
 
 ■il S. HOUGHTON, who is now practically 
 living a retired life at his pleasant home 
 at No. 601 Avon Street, is numbered among 
 the honored pioneers of Winnebago County, 
 where he located in 1841. He was born in Sara- 
 toga, N. Y., and is descended from good old Rev- 
 olutionary stock. His grandfather, Nathaniel 
 Houghton, was a Revolutionary soldier from Lo- 
 well, Mass., and his two brothers, Ephraim and 
 Jonas, also aided the Colonies in their struggle for 
 independence. The Houghton family came to 
 -this country from Lancaster, England, but they 
 espoused the cause of their adopted land and 
 proved themselves loyal American citizens. 
 
 The father of our subject, Tilley Houghton , was 
 born in Massachusetts and removed to Saratoga 
 County, N. Y., where he married Miss Lucy Mitch- 
 ell, daughter of Thomas Mitchell, who served as a 
 
 Colonel in the British army during the Revolution, 
 and with Burgoyne was captured at the battle of 
 Saratoga. She was born near Woodstock, Windsor 
 County, Vt., where her girlhood daj'S were passed, 
 after which she went to New York with her par- 
 ents. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs, Houghton began their domestic life 
 in Corinth Township, Saratoga County, where he 
 owned and operated a good farm for many years. 
 He died at the age of seventy-eight j-ears. In pol- 
 itics, he was a Whig and was a man of sterling 
 worth. After his death, Mrs. Houghton came West 
 and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Dayton, 
 in Roekford, at the age of sixty-nine years. In 
 early life she was a Baptist, but afterward joined 
 the Methodist Church. She lived a consistent 
 Christian life and won the love of all who knew 
 her. 
 
 As before stated, J. S. Houghton came to this 
 county in 1841, and for a number of years gave 
 his attention to farming and stock-raising. At one 
 time, he was the most extensive farmer in the 
 county, owning a farm of nine hundred acres. At 
 length he abandoned that work and in 1866 re- 
 moved to Roekford, where he has since resided. 
 Here he has engaged in various kinds of specula, 
 tion and in his undertaking has been very success- 
 ful, accumulating thereby a handsome i^roperty 
 which now numbers him among Rockford's wealthy 
 citizens. 
 
 After coming to the West, Mr. Houghton was 
 joined in wedlock to Miss Philomela Pettibone, a 
 native of the Empire State, who came to Winne- 
 bago County when a young lady of twenty-one 
 years. Her father, Doris Pettibone, was a native 
 of New York. He had several brothers, all of whom 
 were ministers and prominently connected with 
 missionary work. Rev. F. I. Pettibone is now 
 Chairman of the Board of Missionaries and Trans- 
 laters, with headquarters at Constantinople, and is 
 well known in missionary circles throughout the 
 world. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Houghton were born three 
 children: Frances, who became the wife of John M. 
 Cochran, died in Colorado, leaving one son, John, 
 who resides with his father, a cattle-dealer and 
 rancher of that State. The two living daughters. 
 
452 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Florence and Kittie M., reside with their father. 
 The mother of this family died November 17, 
 1884, at the age of fifty-four years. She proved a 
 true and faithful helpmate to her husband and was 
 also a consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church. Her loss was mourned by many friends, 
 as well as by her immediate family. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Houghton is a stalwart Repub- 
 lican. His success in business has been most 
 marked, winning him a handsome property, and at 
 the same time he has gained the confidence and 
 good-will of all by his fair dealing and upright 
 life. 
 
 \i^RANK H. KIMBALL, M. D. The medical 
 ' '^ profession is ablj- represented in the city of 
 Rockford by the gentleman whose name 
 introduces this biographical notice and who has 
 already a good reputation as a successful physician 
 and skilled surgeon. At once after graduating 
 from Chicago Medical College, he located in this 
 city, and during twelve years he has devoted him- 
 self to his profession. Before entering upon the 
 study of medicine, he received a liberal literary 
 education. Those who are acquainted with him 
 will bear witness to his being an honorable, con- 
 scientious physician, who, by hard study and in- 
 domitable energy, has become thoroughly conver- 
 sant with the details of his profession. 
 
 For the history of the father of our subject, 
 Henry P. Kimball, the reader is referred to his 
 sketch, which appears elsewhere in this volume. 
 He was a prominent and highly-esteemed citizen 
 of Rockford, and his death, which occurred at the 
 asylum in Elgin, whither he had gone for treatment 
 for chronic abscess of the brain, at the age of fiftj'- 
 nine years, was sincerely mourned by his compan- 
 ions of many years. He was liberal in his religious 
 views, upright in his life, and inherited the thrift 
 of a long line of New England ancestors. 
 
 A life-long citizen of Rockford, Dr. Frank H. 
 Kimball was here born, July 13, 1855. His boy- 
 hood days were passed in the public schools of the 
 city and in the High School, after which he entered 
 the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and 
 
 graduated from that institution in 1877. He at 
 once commenced the study of medicine, entering 
 the Chicago Medical College, from which he grad- 
 uated in 1880. He is one of the promoters and 
 managers of Rockford City Hospital and takes an 
 active interest in the welfare of the city. 
 
 The mariiage of Dr. Kimball to Miss Henrietta 
 T. Kirk took place in Rockford, in January, 1881. 
 The lady who on that day became the wife of oiir 
 subject was born in Rockford, here acquired a 
 good education in the city schools and is now 
 numbered among the accomplished and cultured 
 ladies of the place. Her father, E. A. Kirk, was 
 born in Maryland, but removed West when a 
 young man, late in the '30s, and improved a farm 
 in Winnebago County. He was at one time a suc- 
 cessful grain buyer and has been associated with 
 the growth of the citj'. He was here married to 
 Miss Rachel Dennis, a native of Canada, who came 
 to the States and settled in Illinois about the time 
 of her husband's removal. They are the parents 
 of three children, but Mrs. Kimball is the only sur- 
 vivor. Josephine married Samuel Kerr, an attorney 
 in Chicago and an ex-Alderman of that city. They 
 became the parents of three children, one of whom 
 is deceased. Mrs. Kerr is also deceased. 
 
 •^ 
 
 eHARLES H. SP AFFORD, an old resident, 
 is now living retired at his present home 
 located at No. 206 Madison Street. He is 
 an old settler of Winnebago County, having come 
 here as early as 1839 and during most of that time 
 has made the city of Rockford his home. 
 
 Previous to making a permanent settlement in 
 this county, our subject had visited this locality, 
 and was so favorably impressed with the outlook 
 that he decided to make this place his home. He 
 was accompanied hither by a friend, Volney A. 
 Marsh, they making the trip via the canals and 
 lake to Chicago. Here they secured a conveyance 
 which took them to Joliet. They remained in that 
 then village for a short time and then decided to 
 take a direct route to Rockford. As before men- 
 tioned, deciding to make his future home in this 
 county, JMr. Spafford returned home by the same 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 453 
 
 route whicli he had taken when journeying hither, 
 and in 1840, in company with his brothers, John 
 and Catlin, and his brother-in-law, Jasen Marsh, 
 returned to Illinois, making the trip overland from 
 Adams, N. Y., and after a long and tedious journej' 
 located in Rockford. They purchased land in 
 what is now known as the Grove Farm, which was 
 three miles south of Rockford on the Kishwaukee 
 Eoad, and which is now owned by Ed. Morley. Our 
 party of young men formed a sort of syndicate 
 and commenced cultivating the land, in which they 
 were very successful. A few years later, they 
 moved into the city of Rockford, where our sub- 
 ject has since made his home and has aided greatly 
 in the development and upbuilding of the city. 
 He became interested in many valuable enterprises, 
 being one of the promoters of the seminary of this 
 place which was organized in 1848 and conducted 
 according to plans drawn by Miss Anna P. Sill, of 
 New York. Mr. Spafford was elected the first 
 Secretarj^ and Clerk of the Executive Committee 
 of what afterward became the Rockford Female 
 Seminary, and was one of the first Directors. 
 
 Mr. Spafford was appointed Postmaster under 
 Tyler and Grant and has always been active in 
 political affairs, for many years voting a straight 
 Republican ticket. Now, however, he is in sym- 
 pathy with the Free Trade party. He has held 
 many prominent positions within the gift of his 
 fellow-townsmen and was elected Circuit Clerk of 
 the county, which position he held for three suc- 
 cessive terms, aggregating ten years. He has al- 
 ways been a careful, conscientious business man 
 and was one of the prime movers in getting the 
 Kenosha Railroad, which was later purchased by 
 the Northwestern Road, to run through this city. 
 He served the company first as Director, then as 
 Vice-President and later as Superintendent. He 
 was public-spirited and gave liberally of his time 
 and means in forwarding the best interests of his 
 community. He erected the Commercial Block, 
 and in company with others built the Metropoli- 
 tan Block, in addition to which he was the owner 
 of real-estate in the city and many farms thiough- 
 out the county. 
 
 Charles H. Spafford was born in Jefferson County, 
 N. Y., January 6, 1819, and was a son of Dr. John 
 
 Spafford, who was a prominent physician of good 
 old New England stock. The latter-named gentle- 
 man was a young man when he began life as a 
 physician and surgeon in Adams, N. Y., and there 
 departed this life at the age of forty-four years. 
 Tlie maiden name of his wife was Lucy Moore, 
 a native of Vermont and also of English descent. 
 She survived her worthy husband six years, and 
 died firm in the faith of the Congregational 
 Church. 
 
 He of whom we write was the eldest son and 
 second child of his parents' family of four chil- 
 dren. The eldest of the familj^, Harriet, died while 
 residing in Rockford, having been married to Col. 
 Jasen Marsh, who was for many years a prominent 
 attorney in Rockford, and who obtained his title 
 through valiant service in the rebellion, being a 
 Colonel of the Seventy-fourth Hlinois Infantry. 
 Tlie brothers of our subject are John and A. Cat- 
 lin, the latter the President of the Third National 
 Bank, and the former President of the Rockford 
 Wire Company, the Lubricating Oil Company, a 
 lumber company and a suspender company. 
 
 Mr. Spafford received a collegiate education at 
 Castleton, Vt., where he was prepared to follow 
 the profession of a lawyer, but, deciding to come 
 West, the current of his life was thus changed. He 
 was married to Miss Abby Warren, a native of 
 Maine and the daughter of Joseph Warren. Her 
 father was a son of Dr. John Warren, who was 
 Surgeon-General in Washington's army and a 
 brother of Gen. Joseph Warren, of Revolutionary 
 fame. Dr. John Warren was also a prominent 
 physician and surgeon of Boston, Mass., where his 
 decease occurred. His son, Joseph Warren, the fa- 
 ther of Mrs. Spafford, received a fine education at 
 Cambridge, Mass., and devoted the greater portion 
 of his life to looking after the vast interests of his 
 father, and died in the prime of life when his 
 daughter Abby was but five years of age. Joseph 
 Warren married Miss Abigail Whittier, a native of 
 New Hampshire and a descendant of the same 
 family as was John G. Whittier. She survived her 
 husband and came to Rockford, where she departed 
 this life in her eightieth year. 
 
 Mrs. Abby Spafford was given a good education 
 and has aided her husband greatlj^ in attaining 
 
454 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his present high standing in financial circles. She 
 has one sister living, Miss Mary Warren, who is 
 residing in Arizona. Mr. Spafford is a prominent 
 member of the First Congreg.ational Church, of 
 which he is a charter member. His wife, however, 
 is a Unitarian. Of the four children born to them, 
 one, Marj', died at the .ige of nine years; Carrie is 
 the wife of Frederick E. Brett, a salesman for 
 Marshall Field & Co.'s Wholesale House, of Chi- 
 cago; Charles H., Jr., a most promising joung 
 man, is still under the parental roof, and is en- 
 gaged principally in looking after his father's 
 large real-estate interests in Rockford, the latter 
 having property in the First Ward, known as 
 Spafford 's Addition; Eugenia is Mrs. Charles H. 
 Godfrey; her husband is a clothier of Rockford, in 
 which business he has been verj^ successful. 
 
 11^ 
 
 vs 
 
 <!ft j^ILLIAM C. B. JAYNES, M. D. Although 
 still quite young in his profession, and 
 ideed in years, this gentleman is rapidly 
 building up for himself a reputation as a skilled 
 physician which gives promise of leading him to a 
 front rank ere many years shall have passed over 
 his head. He is a close student, and his quickness 
 of apprehension, his mental culture and his hon- 
 orable character, give him popularity in society 
 and a reputable name among his fellow-men. 
 
 Dr. Jaynes has been a resident of Durand since 
 June, 1888. He was born in Mobile, Ala., Janu- 
 ary 7, 1856, and is a son of Mortimer D. and Maria 
 L. (Bartlett) Jaj'nes, natives of Vermont. His pa- 
 ternal grandfather, Daniel Jaynes, lived and died 
 in St. Albans Countj^, that State. The father of 
 our subject came AVest when a young man, and 
 was married in Beloit, Wis. He was also a physi- 
 cian, and was a graduate of the university at Bur- 
 lington, Vt. 
 
 After his marriage, Mortimer D. Jaynes removed 
 to Mobile, Ala., where he engaged in the insurance 
 business, continuing to be so employed until the 
 ou break of the Civil War. He then sent his fam- 
 ily North, intending to follow them as soon as he 
 could settle up his business. He never came, and 
 it is supposed he was killed. The mother of our 
 
 subject returned to Wisconsin and resided with her 
 father, who was a farmer, and an early settler near 
 Beloit. She makes her home at present on Locust 
 Street in that city. 
 
 The early life of our subject was passed in 
 Beloit, where he received an excellent schooling, 
 and when fifteen years of age learned the trade of 
 machinist, which he followed for seven j'ears. He 
 then entered the preparatory department of the 
 college at Beloit, and followed the course of study 
 in that institution for three years, with the excep- 
 tion of a short time each year when he worked at 
 his trade in order to secure money to enable him 
 to pursue his studies. Mr. Jaynes was graduated 
 from the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College 
 with the Class of '82, and immediately after re- 
 receiving his degree located in Beloit and practiced 
 medicine for four years. At the expiration of that 
 time, he took a post-graduate course, and in the 
 winter of 1886-67 devoted his entire time to the 
 care of one patient at Eden Prairie, Minn. 
 
 In 1888, Dr. Jaynes located in Durand, where he 
 represented the homeopathy school, being their 
 only representative between Beloit and Freeport. 
 Our subject was married, May 20, 1888, to Emma 
 E., daughter of Henry P. and Paulena (Hawson) 
 Johnson, natives of Denmark, where they were 
 married, and in 1849 emigrated to the United 
 States. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson located in Wiscon- 
 sin, where the former worked at his trade of a 
 miller. He later moved to Sterling, this State, 
 where he pursued his trade, and then making his 
 home for a short time in Rockford, again returned 
 to Beloit, which is his present place of residence. 
 They are the parents of two children: Mrs Jaynes, 
 and Victor A., who was born in Sterling, this 
 State, August 7, 1856, and follows the trade of his 
 father at Beloit. Mrs. Jaynes was born also in 
 Sterling, April 3, 1859. She is a member in good 
 standing of the Baptist Church, and is a lady 
 greatly respected in society. 
 
 Dr. Jaynes, in his political views, is an adherent 
 of the Republican party, and in local affairs is a 
 member of the Village Board. Socially, he is iden- 
 tified with Durand Lodge No. 302, A. F. & A. M.; 
 Beloit Chapter No. 9, R. A. M.; Beloit Council No. 
 9, R. & A. M.; Beloit Commandery No. 6, K. T.; 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 455 
 
 Temple Lodge No. 42, A. O. U. W., and Beloit 
 Camp No. 348, M. W. A. He is also a member of 
 the Homeopathy Medical Society of Wisconsin, 
 and devotes his entire time and attention to the 
 practice of his profession. 
 
 E*H 
 
 W 
 
 (OHN P. CURTIS, dealer in old iron, rags, 
 (fee, &c., is doing business at No. 214 North 
 Madison Street, and he also has a large vin- 
 egar manufactury, on Kishwaukee Street, 
 just outside tlie citj' limits. He owns valuable 
 property on this street and a good, comfortable 
 home. He gives his entire thought and attention 
 to his business enterprises and is a man of charac- 
 ter and energy. 
 
 Mr. Curtis claims New Hampshire as his native 
 State, and was born in Winchester in 1835, being 
 a descendant of New England stock. His father, 
 Bradbery Curtis, died in his native county and 
 State when fifty-two years of age, and was a fai-mer 
 and lumberman by occupation His wife, who re- 
 cently died, lived in Sunderland, Vt., her maiden 
 name being Harriet Codding. Her father served 
 in the War of the Revolution. She had been a 
 worthy member of the Methodist Church all her 
 life. 
 
 John P. Curtis, the eldest of nine children, seven 
 of whom are living, is the only one of the family 
 to locate in Illinois. He first left the parental 
 roof to enter New York State and remained in 
 Cambridge, Washington County, of that State, for 
 eighteen years. In 1882, became to Rockford, es- 
 tablished his present business, and has succeeded 
 beyond his most sanguine expectations, keeping 
 as many as twelve or fourteen wagons on the road 
 all the time. 
 
 He was married near Cambridge, N. Y., to 
 Miss Julia A. Cook, who was born and reared in 
 Washmgton County. The father, Isaac Cook, a 
 farmer, passed his entire life in that county, but 
 the mother, after his death, came West and died 
 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Curtis, in the 
 spring of 1891, when nearly ninety years of age. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Curtis are well and favorably 
 
 known to the people of Rockford, and Mrs. Curtis 
 is prominently identified with the Methodist 
 church. In politics, Mr. Curtis is a Republican. 
 Their children, five in number, are as follows: 
 A. B., who is the cider maker for the manufactory, 
 married Miss Lillie Clark and they reside with 
 our subject; John F. is doing business for a 
 Kentucky tobacco house as a commercial trav- 
 eler; Ida married Deforest Sweet, a tinker dealer 
 of Des Moines, Iowa; Rowne Belle is the wife of 
 William Smith, a junk dealer of Cedar Rapids, 
 Iowa, who, like the members of the Curtis family, 
 is a very successful business man ; and S. Dexter, 
 who is at home and at present in business with 
 his father. 
 
 I^ICHARD KIMMEY. As might naturally 
 
 lki| be expected, mention is made in the present 
 
 \\\ work of many citizens of Boone County 
 
 \^ now prominent in their different callings) 
 
 but none more so than the unusually successful 
 
 agriculturist, Mr. Richard Kimmey, who, although 
 
 young in years, is old in experience and possesses 
 
 more good, sound judgment on matters pertaining 
 
 to the farm than many men much older. 
 
 His parents, Jacob F. and Catherine (Mead) 
 Kimmey, were both natives of New York State and 
 resided there many years. In 1857, they decided 
 to move to the Sucker State, and after journeying 
 thither, purchased ninctj' acres in Boone County, 
 to which they added at one time forty acres and at 
 another one hundred and sixty-five acres. They 
 were industrious, upright citizens and succeeded in 
 accumulating many of the comforts and conven- 
 iences of life. Both received their final summons 
 in this State, the father dj'ing at the age of eight}'^ 
 years and the mother at the age of sixty-two 
 3'ears. The father had always cultivated the soil, but 
 at the same time was engaged in other occupations. 
 For a number of years, he ran a barge on the Hud- 
 son River. In politics, he was a stanch Democrat. 
 The subject of this brief notice was born in the 
 Empire State in Albany County, on the 7th of 
 May, 1863. He was but four j'ears of age when 
 his .parents emigrated to Illinois, and in this 
 
456 
 
 PORTRAIT ANT) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 State he was reared and received his education. 
 Like his father, he early evinced a liliing for agri- 
 cultural pursuits and became familiar with the 
 duties on the farm when but a small boy. After 
 reaching a suitable age, he branched out for him- 
 self and bought seventy-two and one-half acres of 
 his father previous to the latter's death. He 
 erected a fine residence on his well-kept farm 
 about 1888, and now ranks among the most thrifty 
 and progressive young farmers of Boone County. 
 In the parlance of the present day, he might ap- 
 propriately be called a "hustler" and one who is 
 bound to become better known as the years pass 
 by. Politically, he is independent, casting his vote 
 for Ihe man whom he thinks best fitted for the 
 ottice in question, rather than one who promises to 
 be a party tool. 
 
 The marriage of the gentleman of whom we write 
 was celebrated on the 22d of August, 1877, his 
 bride being Miss Laura E. Mayburry, a daughter of 
 Jonathan and Desdemona Mayburry, who now re- 
 side in this county, where they have made their 
 home for the past thirty-eight j'ears. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Kimmey are the happy parents of five children: 
 Mabel, born June 17, 1878, is attending school at 
 Belvidere; Lloyd R., born May 6, 1880; Maud, 
 October 22, 1882; Bernice, April 22, 1886; and 
 Bessie, May 25, 1888. 
 
 ^>-^^<m= 
 
 -s- 
 
 'jf/ UTHER H. FASSETT, a well-known agri- 
 ll (@) culturist of Winnebago County, residing on 
 /l^v\ sections 28 and 29, Roscoe Township, has 
 in many ways been identified with the history of 
 this community and we feel assured his sketch will 
 prove of interest to many of our readers. He was 
 born in Cambridge, Rutland County, Vt., Decem- 
 ber 17, 1814. His grandfather. Dr. Nathan Fassett, 
 was a lifelong practitioner of that State. His father, 
 Nathan Fassett, Jr., a farmer of Rutland County, 
 was born February 16, 1778, and in 1833 removed 
 to Genesee County, N. Y., with teams. He after- 
 wards sold out and purchased one hundred acres 
 of land in the Empire State, where he made his 
 liome until 1854. 
 
 Through the misrepresentation of a party, Mr. 
 
 Fassett lost all that he had paid on his land but 
 with the aid of his faithful wife, managed to rear 
 his children and give them good school privileges. 
 His wife died in Albion, N. Y., March 1, 1853, at 
 the age of sixty-four, leaving three sons and two 
 daughters: Luther H., born December 17, 1814; 
 Azubah Matilda, September 11, 1816; Benjamin W., 
 March 19, 1818; George M., August 27, 1820; and 
 Mary Amelia, December 2, 1822. Our subject and 
 Benjamin W., of Brighton, N. Y., are the only 
 survivors. The latter has been a public official. 
 Overseer of Public Construction, commandinglarge 
 pay, and is a man of high standing, even among 
 his political opponents. 
 
 Our subject began life for himself at the age of 
 twenty-two, working as a farm hand by the month 
 for six years, when he rented land. At the age of 
 twenty-nine, he married Amanda Bates, of Barry, 
 Orleans County, N. Y., daughter of Jesse and Anna 
 (Miller) Bates. They were natives of Massachusetts 
 and pioneers of New York, who made their way 
 through the wilderness by blazing trees. The 
 father died in 1869, at the age of sixty-three years, 
 and his wife died in 1856, at the age of fifty-four 
 years. 
 
 In the autumn of 1853, Mr. Fassett emigrated 
 to this county and purchased forty acres of land. 
 The next spring he brought his wife, his daughter 
 and his aged father to his new home. The latter 
 died in September, 1854, and was interred in Ros- 
 coe Cemetery. He lived a noble life and was a 
 consisteiit Christian. The wife of our subject was 
 called to her final rest August 22, 1888, at the age 
 of sixty-six ^ears, leaving two daughters: Emma 
 M., wife of T. B. Moore, by whom she has one sou, 
 Frank Fassett, a bright boy of eleven years. Mary 
 A. is the younger daughter. 
 
 Mr. Fassett attended the first county fair held 
 in Rockford, in September, 1854, and heard the 
 opening address delivered by cx-Governor Bebb 
 from the steps of the old court house. He 
 was one of the Directors of the Fair Association. 
 In politics, he has been a lifelong Democrat, a 
 stanch supporter of the party principles and has 
 been a faithful member of the Universalist Church 
 for many years. Mr. Fassett has a wide acquaint- 
 ance throughout this community and is held in 
 

 RESIDENCE OF NOLTON BARBER, SEC. 9 , ROCKFORD TR, WINNEBAGO COJLL. 
 
 ^5^^J^rT^:^!^^^^T'^i!!^!^?^?r^^!!r^^r'^^5=5r'F't^5^^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 RESIDENCE OF L H. FASS ETT , SEC'S. 28&29,R0SCOE TP.WIMNEBAGO CO.ILL. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 459 
 
 high regard by all who know liim. He starterl out 
 in life empty-handed and by his own efforts has 
 worked his way upward until he is now numbered 
 among the substantial citizens of tViis community. 
 In connection with his biographical notice is 
 presented a view of Mr. Fassett's highly-cultivated 
 farm. 
 
 
 .5..J..5..J.P 
 
 OOLTON BARBER, who follows general 
 farming on section 9, Rockford Township) 
 Winnebago County, claims Now York as 
 the State of his nativity. He was born in Fenner, 
 Madison County, April 29, 1826, and is a son of 
 Eli Barber, who was born in the same town. The 
 grandfather, John Barber, was a native of Worces- 
 ter County, Mass. At an early age he was left an 
 orphan, and thus thrown upon his own resources, 
 had to earn his own livelihood. About 1791, he 
 accompanied a neighboring family to New York, 
 and resided in Oneida Count}^ until 1799, 
 when he went to Madison County, and in March 
 of that year married Lovina Thompson, also a na- 
 tive of Worcester County, Mass. Her parents sot- 
 lied in Madison County, N. Y., when she was a 
 child. Mr. Barber bought a tract of timber 
 land in the town of Fenner, and in the midst of 
 the timber built a log cabin and began the devel- 
 opment of the farm, upon which he made his 
 home until his death, November 30, 1869. In 
 1801, he and his wile united with the Baptist 
 Church of Fenner, being among its first members. 
 The father of our subject was reared in his na- 
 tive county, in the midst of the wild scenes of 
 frontier life. He bought a tract of timber land 
 three miles from the old home, and there built the 
 log house in which Nolton was born. He began 
 the arduous labor of clearing a farm, but his health 
 failed and he died in 1832, at about the age of 
 thirty years. His wife, whose maiden name was 
 Olive Nourse, was born in Madison County, N. Y., 
 and was a daughter of Joel and Mehitable (Wood- 
 bury) Nourse, natives of Massachusetts, and pio- 
 neers of Madison County, N. Y. After the death 
 of her husband, Mrs. Barber came to Illinois in 
 1865, and died at the home of our subject in 1888, 
 at the age of eighty-five years and five months. 
 
 Nolton Barber was only six years old when his 
 father died, and at tiie age of nine he was bound 
 out to a farmer, Daniel M. Gillett, with whom he 
 lived until he was fourteen years of age, when he 
 spent eleven months with his patei-nal grand- 
 father. He then returned to Mr. Gillett, working 
 for him as a farm hand until he had attained his 
 majority, when he started out in life with a capi- 
 tal of 1108. After working by the month for 
 some time longer, he purchased thirty-five acres of 
 land in Fenner Townshi)), where he made his home 
 until 1855, when he traded his farm for a lease of 
 a tavern in Perryvillo. He then engaged in keep- 
 ing liotel until the fall of the same year, when he 
 sold out and emigrated to Winnebago County, 111. 
 In this county he rented land for eight years and 
 then purchased forty acres of his present farm, to 
 which he has since added until now one hundred 
 and five acres pay tribute to his care and cultiva- 
 tion. 
 
 On the 15th of March, 1849, Mr. Barber was 
 united in marriage to Miss Emily Marshall, who 
 was born in the town of Fenner, Madison County, 
 N. Y., September 10, 1824. Her father, Thomas 
 Marshall, was born near Albany, N. Y. and was a 
 son of Caleb Marshall, who removed from Albanj^ 
 to Madison County, settling on a farm in the tow^n 
 of Sullivan, where he made his home until his 
 death. He married Alcha Pinkney, a native of 
 the Empire State, who also died in the town of 
 Sullivan. Thomas Marshall was a mere lad when 
 his parents removed to Madison County. After he 
 had attained to man's estate, he bought a tract of 
 timber land and built the house in which Mrs. 
 Barber was born. He cleared quite a large tract, 
 put up buildings and made a good farm, but after 
 some time sold and purchased another farm in the 
 same county, on which he lived until called to his 
 final rest, on the 24th of May, 1863. He wedded 
 Phoebe Keeler, who was born in Sullivan Township, 
 Madison County, and was a daughter of Nathaniel 
 and Jemima (Barnum) Keeler. Her death occurred 
 November 20, 1878, on the old home farm. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Barber have a family of three chil- 
 dren. The eldest, Myron A., was born April 2, 
 1850, and on the 23d of November, 1882, married 
 Anna Sloan, by whom he has five children: Willie 
 
460 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 N., John M., Emily P., Myron IL, and May L.; Lou- 
 isa M., born June 14, 1853, became the wife of Je- 
 rome A. Hudler, December 4, 1889. Ada I., born 
 July 21, 1858, became the wife of Albert M. Trues- 
 dell, April 9, 1891. They have an infant daughter, 
 born June 2, 1892, and as yet unnamed. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Barber both hold membership with 
 the Methodist Church and are prominent and 
 highly respected people of this community. In 
 politics, lie is a Republican and is recognized as 
 one of the leading and enterprising farmers of 
 Rockford Township. 
 
 A view of the fine farm belonging to Mr. Barber 
 is presented on another page. 
 
 c 
 
 RS. SUSAN (HORTON) BLAKE, who is 
 the owner of a splendid estate located in 
 Flora Township, Boone County, was born 
 in Cornwall, England, May 9, 1827. Her 
 father, William Horton, who was the son of Will- 
 iam and Betsey (Lob) Horton, was also a native 
 of that shire in England, where he was a farmer 
 and spent his entire life. The maiden name of 
 the mother of Mrs. Blake was Nancy Lob, also a 
 native of Cornwall, where she spent her entire 
 life. 
 
 Mrs. Blake was the only member of her father's 
 family to come to America. She was reared in 
 her native shire, and resided there until 1856, 
 when, in company with her husband and one 
 child, she emigrated to America, setting sail from 
 Paxton on the vessel "Capt. Mably." The party 
 disembarked at (Quebec, Canada, after a V03'age 
 of six weeks and five days. One week after land- 
 ing in the New World, they came to Rockford, 
 Winnebago County, where Mr. Blake found em- 
 ployment with Dr. Clark for a few months. He 
 was later engaged on a farm in Cherry Valley 
 Township for one year, at the expiration of which 
 time he went to Newburg, whence he returned 
 after a short time to Rockford. A few months 
 thereafter, Mr. Blake went to Burritt and for one 
 year worked for his brother-in-law on a farm. 
 After renting land for a time, he went to Lee 
 
 County and became the proprietor of a quarter- 
 section of land five miles south of Dixon, upon 
 which he resided for live years, and then renting 
 that estate, leased a farm of six hundred acres for 
 five years. He later traded his property for two 
 hundred and twenty acres of land included in his 
 present farm, to which he has added until the 
 estate now comprises three hundred and twenty 
 acres in one body and one hundred and ten acres 
 on another section. 
 
 William Blake, to whom our subject was mar- 
 ried in England, also had his birth in Cornwall, 
 the date thereof being August 19, 1816. He is a 
 son of William Blake, Sr., who came to America 
 from England in 1867, and departed this life In 
 Rockford. The mother also spent her last years 
 in Rockford, having come to America from her 
 native England in company with her husband and 
 five children: John, Ann Bate, Mary Pooley, Will- 
 iam and David. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Blake have a family of seven chil- 
 dren living, viz: James, George, Charles, Frank, 
 Fred, Fannie and Nannie. The eldest daughter, 
 Mary, married Henry Luce and died while resid- 
 ing in Iowa, leaving four children; Fannie mar- 
 ried Ernest Minter and has one child; Nannie, 
 the wife of Sylvester Bowlej-, is also the mother 
 of one child. 
 
 3-^+^P=* ■ 1 
 
 '^ I OHN SHAW, who is engaged in general 
 I farming on section 3, Guilford Township, 
 Winnebago County, was born near Sheffield, 
 Yorkshire, England, October 4, 1822. His 
 father and grandfather both bore the name of John 
 Shaw. The latter came to America and spent his 
 last year in New York. Two of his children, John 
 and Eliza Ryals, also located in this country, the 
 daughter settling in Utica, N. Y., where her two 
 sons now reside. The father of our subject was 
 reared in New York, and served a seven-years' 
 apprenticeship to the cabinet-maker's trade, which 
 he followed in the Empire State until 1831. He 
 married Ann Ashforth, a native of Yorkshire, Eng- 
 land, and a daughter of George and Mary (Ward) 
 Ashforth. In 1831, Mr. Shaw and his family sailed 
 
PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 461 
 
 for America, and after eight weeks landed. at New- 
 port, R. I., from whence he went to Albany, N. Y. 
 He spent a year in that place and afterward re- 
 moved to Utica, where the death of his wife oc- 
 curred. He there followed his trade for some time, 
 but afterward operated a farm which he purchased. 
 He then bought a home one mile from the city, 
 where he lived retired until his death in 1885, at 
 the age of eighty-four j'ears. In the family were 
 the following children: George, John, William, 
 Helen, Henry, Mary, Eliza, Alfred, Franklin and 
 Louisa. 
 
 Our subject was only eight years of age when 
 he crossed the Atlantic, but well remembers the 
 long ocean voyage. He was reared to agricultural 
 pursuits, worked for his father until his marriage, 
 ■ and after that managed the home farm for one 
 year. He then rented land, upon which lie resided 
 until 1853, when he came to Illinois. He then 
 spent two years upon a farm belonging to his 
 brother-in-law, after which he rented land in Har- 
 lem Township until 1863, when he purchased the 
 farm which is now his home. 
 
 On the 16th of May, 1849, Mr. Shaw married 
 Elizabeth Ward, who was born about ten miles 
 from Sheffield, England, August 15, 1828. Her 
 father, Thomas Ward, and grandfather, Richard 
 Ward, were both born in the same house and were 
 descendants of an old English family. The latter 
 married Ann Mills, and they spent their entire 
 lives in Yorkshire. Thomas Ward crossed the At- 
 lantic in 1836, accompanied by his wife and eleven 
 children. After five weeks the}' reached their des- 
 tination and settled in Westmoreland, Oneida 
 County, N. Y. After a year they removed to the 
 western part of the same county, where Mr. Ward 
 made his home until his death, May 1, 1870, at the 
 age of eighty-four years. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Sarah Sanderson. She was born in York- 
 shire, and was a daughter of Joseph and Ann San- 
 derson. Her death occurred September 28, 1836. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Shaw have been born four 
 children, yet living: Frederick, Ward, Annie and 
 Albert. One son, William, died at the age of 
 twenty-nine. Frederick married Nora Taylor, and 
 they have four children: Lloyd, Lila, Bessie and 
 an infant; Ward wedded Lizzie Marsh and they 
 
 have one son, Ellis. Tlie Shaw family have a 
 pleasant home on section 3, Guilford Township, 
 where our subject owns a well-developed farm. It 
 is well supplied with good buildings, is under a 
 high state of cultivation and all the improvements 
 of a model farm are there found. Mr. Shaw is a 
 well-known and valued citizen of the community 
 who stands high in the esteem of all, and his wife 
 is a member of the Methodist Church. 
 
 iTf ARED B. GOULD, a retired farmer .and one 
 of the honored pioneers of Boone County 
 now residing at his pleasant home in Bel- 
 videre, was born in Warren County, N. Y., 
 May 26, 1820. His great-grandfather, Solomon 
 Gould, was an early settler of that county, and in 
 the midst of the forest cleared and improved a 
 farm, upon which he made his home until his 
 death. Ira Gould, father of Jared, was born in 
 Rensselaer County, N. Y., was reared in his na- 
 tive State and married Dorcas Brace, who was 
 also born in New York, and was a daughter of 
 Jared and Joanna Brace. They began their do- 
 mestic life upon a timbered farm in the town of 
 Warrensburg, upon which was built the log cabin 
 in which our subject was born. He made quite a 
 good farm, upon which he resided until 1827, 
 when he removed with his family to Montgomery 
 County. 
 
 Three years later, Mr. Gould became a resident 
 of Chautauqua County, and in 1836 he came to 
 Illinois in search of a location. He visited Boone 
 County, at which time all of the land was still 
 owned by the Government, as the surveys were 
 not yet completed. He made a claim in what is 
 now the town of Spring, erected a small log cabin, 
 and in the early winter left his son Ransom in 
 charge of the claim, while he returned on horse- 
 back to the Empire State. In the spring of 1837, 
 he brought his family to the new home, where 
 they arrived after an overland journey of three 
 weeks. Upon the farm which he there developed 
 Mr. Gould made his home until his death. 
 
 Our subject was one of twelve children. At 
 the age of seventeen, he came to Illinois, making 
 
462 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the journey by way of the Lakes to Toledo. From 
 there he came to Chicago on foot, where he over- 
 took the family, who had traveled by land, he 
 being sick at the time the famil}' started and 
 unable to start. He saw this county in its primi- 
 tive condition, when there were no railroads, few 
 settlements, and the work of cultivation and pro- 
 gress seemed scarcely begun. Mr. Gould remained 
 with his father for two years, after which he went 
 to Mineral Point, Wis., and secured employment 
 in a smelting furnace, but could not stand that 
 work, and after two weeks engaged in cutting 
 cordwood at the head waters of the Pecatonica, 
 receiving from seventy-five cents to $1 per cord. 
 After six months, he returned with $100 in silver, 
 which he had saved from his earnings, and with 
 that sura entered eighty acres of Government 
 land on sections 4 and 5, Spring Township. 
 
 In October, 1845, Mr. Gould and Miss Charlotte 
 Blackford were united in marriage. She was 
 born in Wiltshire, England, January 10, 1824, and 
 is a daughter of Francis and Elizabeth Black- 
 ford, who are mentioned in the sketch of Stephen 
 Blackford, on another page of this work. Ten 
 childi en graced their union, four dying in infancj'. 
 Those living are Harvey A., Ellen, Alice J., Fan- 
 nie F., Lucius T. and Blanche. 
 
 Mr. Gould did not immediately locate upon his 
 land, but engaged in making shingles and roofing 
 buildings for new settlers, who were coming in 
 large -numbers to the county, but on his marriage 
 he and his young bride began their domestic life 
 upon the farm. He has been very successful and, 
 as his financial resoiu'ces have increased, he has 
 added to hi.s possessions until at one time he 
 owned more tlian four hundred acres of highly 
 cultivated land, and his farm was also well im- 
 proved with good buildings. He there made his 
 home until 1881, when he bought seven acres of 
 land within the city limits of Belvidere, and in 
 his pleasant residence on the bank of the Kish- 
 waukee River expects to spend his remaining days. 
 He is one of the honored pioneers of the county 
 and can relate many interesting incidents of fron- 
 tier life. On one occasion, they purchased a bar- 
 rel of Hour for $12, and when opened it was found 
 that the flour had been wet, and when dried had 
 
 hardened into a solid mass, which could be rolled 
 over the ground like a rock. Wild game was in 
 abundance and the table was thus supplied with 
 meat, although breadstuffs were very scarce. Those 
 early days have long since gone by, and the pass- 
 ing years have brought prosperity to Mr. Gould. 
 
 W OHN A. NASH. It affords the biographical 
 writer pleasure to be able to record in this 
 volume the main incidents in the life of an 
 honest and upright citizen, who, though 
 formerly one of the prominent business men of 
 Rockford, is now living retired in liis pleasant 
 home at No. 407 North Second Street. He is a 
 native of this city, having been born January 23, 
 1853. 
 
 Martin Nash, the father of our subject, was born 
 in County Galway, Ireland, where also his father, 
 Martin Nash, a wealthy farmer, was born. Mr. 
 Nash, Jr., was reared and educated in his native 
 county, and leaving the parental roof when a 
 young man still remained in the Emerald Isle until 
 1849, when, accompanied by his wife and two chil- 
 dren, he came to America. Settling in Northamp- 
 ton, Mass., he made that place his home for two 
 years, and then coming to Illinois, located in Rock- 
 ford, where he was residing at the time of his de- 
 cease in 1866. He was a man who possessed 
 excellent judgment in business matters and at the 
 time of his death had accumulated a handsome 
 property. 
 
 Winnifred (Madden) Nash, the mother of our 
 subject, also hailed from Ireland, being born in 
 County Clare to Bartley and Winnifred Madden; 
 she departed this life in the year 1888. Three of 
 her children : John A., Margaret and Ellen, are still 
 living. Being the fortunate son of educated par- 
 ents, our subject became proficient in book lore, 
 his early studies being conducted in the schools of 
 Rockford, which were later supplemented by a six- 
 years' course at Notre Dame University at South 
 Bend, Ind. After being graduated from that in- 
 stitution, Mr. Nash engaged in the boot and shoe 
 trade, which he prosecuted for two years, and then 
 
■■^fiM 
 
 
 REUBEN HANKINSON. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 465 
 
 selling out, established as a merchant tailor. A 
 twelvemonth later, he sold •out, since which time he 
 has not been engaged in active work of any kind. 
 In 1890, he was married to Mary Ilargan, also a 
 native of Ireland, and a member of the St. James 
 Catholic Church, with which body our subject is 
 also connected. 
 
 •i^ 
 
 ^^ ELTBEN HANKINSON. Among the intelli- 
 m^ gent and highly respected families of Rock- 
 t4i\V ford, we may well note the family of our 
 ^^ subject, whose pleasant home is located at 
 No. 702 North Second Street. Mr. Hankinson was 
 born in Johnstown, Montgomery County, N. Y., 
 April 17, 1812, and died April 26, 1892, aged eighty 
 years. He was the son of Frances Le Roy Han- 
 kinson, a native of New Jersey, from which State 
 Reuben Hankinson, his father, hailed. After his 
 marriage, the grandfather of our subject went to 
 Nova Scotia where his decease occurred. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Sally Le Roy, who, 
 after the death of her husband, emigrated to 
 Canada and departed this life in Middlesex 
 County, province of Ontario. 
 
 The father of our subject was one of a family of 
 eight children, and was quite young when his par- 
 ents moved to Nova Scotia. Later, he returned to 
 the States and made his home with an uncle in New 
 York. After his marriage, he leased a tract of 
 land in Montgomery County, and when purchas- 
 ing property on his own account became the 
 owner of a farm in Canajoharie Township. In 1835, 
 he disposed of that estate and, removing to Mid- 
 dlesex County, Canada, there made his home until 
 the fall of the same year, when he returned with 
 his family. He purchased a tract of timber land, on 
 which he erected a small frame house, and here the 
 family resided for the succeeding three years. The 
 father then sold the farm and, coming to Michigan, 
 spent his last days in Oakland County. 
 
 Martha Jones was the maiden name of our sub- 
 ject's mother. She was born in New York State 
 and was the daughter of Joseph Jones. She bore 
 her husband eight children and departed this life 
 on the farm in Michigan. Reuben Hankinson, of 
 
 this sketch, was twenty-three years of age when 
 he accompanied his parents to Canada, making the 
 journey with one horse and a buggy. He resided 
 with his parents until his marriage, when he rented 
 land adjoining the old home and resided there 
 until 1841, which was the date of his advent into 
 Illinois. The journey hither was made with two 
 wagons and four horses, the party starting from 
 Oakland County in the month of April and reach- 
 ing Winnebago Covjnty two weeks later. 
 
 On locating here, our subject purchased a .tract 
 of land in what is now Guilford Township. As 
 there were no improvements on his place, he 
 bought a log house of Judge Shaw, which he 
 moved onto the land and occupied with his familj' 
 until a few years later, when he was enabled to 
 erect a comfortable brick dwelling. In 1859, Mr. 
 Hankinson sold his estate and came to Rockford, 
 where for a number of years he was engaged in 
 the sale of tinware. Ill health, however, compelled 
 him to retire a few years later. 
 
 The original of this sketch was twice married. 
 His first wife, to whom he was united in 1836, was 
 Miss Ruth Sovereign ; she was born in Middlesex 
 County, Canada, a daughter of John and Miriam 
 Sovereign, and departed this life in 1842. Three 
 years later our subject was married to Alvira Ma- 
 son, whose birth occurred in Scipio, Cayuga 
 County, N. Y. Her father, Milton S. Mason, was 
 born in Connecticut and was the son of Daniel 
 Mason, also a native of that State. The grand- 
 father of Mrs. Hankinson was reared in Connecti- 
 cut, from which State he removed to New York 
 about 1800, and lived for some years in Dutchess 
 County. Later, he moved to Cayuga County, and 
 resided there until he died in 1842. He was a 
 rapid reader, reading the Bible through in forty- 
 three hours and twenty-three seconds. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Hankinson was a young man 
 when his parents removed to New York State, and 
 after his marriage went to Cayuga County, pur- 
 chasing a farm in the town of Scipio, where he re- 
 sided until 1835. Then selling his property, he 
 came to Illinois, being accompanied hither by his 
 wife and three children. He located about three 
 miles west of Belvidere, making a claim to four 
 hundred acres of Government land, on which he 
 
466 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 erected a double-hewed log house and commenced 
 to improve bis tract. For a number of years there 
 were no railroads and Chicago was the nearest 
 marketplace. Mr. Mason resided there until his 
 death, which occurred in 1842. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Mary Ingraham, a native of 
 Rhode Island and a daughter of Thomas and Mar- 
 garet (Swan) Ingraham. She was married a sec- 
 ond time, this union being with John Sovereign, 
 and spent her last days in Rockford. Mrs. Ilank- 
 inson is probably one of the oldest settlers in 
 Northern Illinois, having been a continuous resi- 
 dent of the State since 1835. 
 
 Of the first marriage of our subject, one daugh- 
 ter is living, Martha Iladley. Of the second mar- 
 riage were bcirn the following children: Francis 
 M., Mason T., Mary E., AUie J., Willie H., Fred E., 
 Kittie J. and Henry. 
 
 We are pleased to present on an accompanying 
 page a portrait of the late Mr. Hankinson, whose 
 death was widely and sincerely mourned. 
 
 ^j^> AMUEL A. BLAIR. Although past the 
 ^^^ allotted age of man, three-score years and 
 |ll/\UJ ten, Samuel A. Blair is one of the promi- 
 nent men of the county and has ever 
 taken a deep interest in her progress and devel- 
 opment. He was born in Lebanon, Madison County, 
 N. Y., on the 2d of October, 1817, of the marriage 
 of Brown and Mary (Collins) Blair, the former a 
 native of Worcester County, Mass., born in 1779, 
 and the latter of Hamilton, Madison County, 
 N. Y. The father died in Roscoe in 1855, when 
 seventy-six years of age, and the mother died in 
 Westtiold, Chautauqua County, N. Y., when but 
 forty-four years of age, leaving three sons and 
 two daughters, viz: Samuel Alva, our subject; 
 Albert, born in 1818, died in New York of quick 
 consumption; Mary S., born in 1821, became Mrs. 
 Gardner and died in the prime of life; Darwin, 
 born in 1823, is a large farmer of California; and 
 Ann became Mrs. Cheney, of Roscoe, and died of 
 consumption. 
 
 In the spring of 1839, when in his twenty-sec- 
 ond year, our subject, in company with Dr, B. 
 
 Bradley, of Beloit, came]overland with teams to Ill- 
 inois. Reaching the Maumee River, they found the 
 ice going out, and after waiting there about three 
 days for the ferry-boat, that was ice-bound, young 
 Blair decided to cross the river anyway. Disre- 
 garding the advice and counsel of older heads, he 
 plunged into the turbulent waters and, contrary 
 to all predictions, reached the opposite shore in 
 safety. Such was the indomitable will and cour- 
 age of this young pioneer. Including delays, etc., 
 they were thirty-eight days in making the trip. 
 They stopped for four days in Michigan, and here 
 Mr. Blair saw the first individual shaking with 
 the ague, and, though he laughed then, he found 
 it no laughing matter in subsequent years. Mr. 
 Blair first worked on a farm for Franklin Able (who 
 was the founder of Roscoe) for one year at 116 
 per month, and then, learning of his brother's ill- 
 ness, he and Mrs. R. J. Cross and Mrs. Isaac Cole 
 (sisters) went to Chicago. While there, our sub- 
 ject met an old friend, Hiram McHenry, captain 
 of a brig on the Lake, and he took passage for 
 Barcelona, N. Y., arriving only in time to see his 
 brother die. Soon after he returned to Roscoe, 
 but about a year later he went back to New York 
 State and purchased a large drove of sheep, four- 
 teen hundred head. After shearing them, he 
 started back in June and, although he met with 
 cold weather and storms and delays, he arrived in 
 Roscoe in fairly good condition in August. 
 
 In 1844, our subject married, in Westfleld, 
 N. Y"., Miss Mary Miniger, who was a native of 
 that place and the daughter of Lowe and Martha 
 (Martin) Miniger. Mr. Miniger became a wealthy 
 farmer and died when eighty-two years of age. 
 His wife died at the age of seventy-six, leaving 
 six children. Our subject purchased his first farm 
 of one hundred and two acres near his present 
 home, in 1839, and later he purchased eighty acres, 
 a part of his present farm. He sold the one hun- 
 dred and two acres and thought seriously of going 
 to Missouri, but the Dred Scott Decision caused 
 him to abandon this project, and he purchased 
 his present property. He now owns two hundred 
 and thirteen acres in this farm and eighty acres 
 one mile north. All his improvements are flrst- 
 class, and he is a representative farmer of the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 467 
 
 county. He keeps a fine flock of sheep and is en- 
 gaged in general farming, although at present he 
 is making a specialty of dairying, keeping about 
 twenty-five cows. He sells all his milk to the 
 creamery. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Blair have buried two children — 
 one an infant, and the other, Augusta, a daughter 
 who died at the age of twenty-six years. They 
 have six children now living, two sons and four 
 daughters: Albert, a hardware salesman in Lin- 
 coln, Keb.; Julius, a farmer in Fremont County, 
 Iowa; Frances, now Mrs. John Q. Briggs, of Hous- 
 ton, Minn.; Ada, now Mrs. George B. Warner, of 
 Page County, Iowa; Laura, Mrs. J. B. Hardy, re- 
 sides on the home place and her husband carries 
 on the farm, Mr. Blair making his home with them; 
 and Nellie, wife of T. R. Field, a merchant of 
 Houston, Minn. Mr. Blair's first Presidential vote 
 was cast for William Henry Harrison, and he has 
 held a number of township offices, such as Road 
 Commissioner, School Director, etc. He is a Con- 
 gregationalist in his religious views and one of the 
 founders of that church in Roscoe. Mrs. Blair is 
 a member of the Presbyterian Church. They have 
 eleven grandchildren in Iowa and Minnesota. 
 
 y I ' I ' I ' n 
 
 IDWINDEAN. After long years spent in 
 agricultural pursuits, the subject of this 
 sketch has retired from the labors of life 
 and is passing his declining years in a peaceful 
 enjoyment of the comforts of life, surrounded by 
 friends whom he has gained by his upright charac- 
 ter, and blessed by the love of children whom he 
 has reared to honorable and useful manhood and 
 womanhood. He is the possessor of one of the 
 finest estates which Flora Township, Boone County, 
 boasts, comprising about two hundred and thirty- 
 one acres in three different bodies. 
 
 Mr. Dean is one of the oldest settlers now resid- 
 mg in Flora Township and was born in the town 
 of Minot, Oxford County, Me., January 16, 1821. 
 His father, Ira Dean, was bom in Massachusetts, 
 whence he moved to Maine and was an early 
 settler in the town of Foxcraft. He resided there 
 until about 1823, then again started Eastward and 
 
 moved to Piscataquis County where he purchased 
 a tract of timber land in the town of Foxcraft. 
 
 In 1843, Mr. Dean came to Illinois and remained 
 for a few years in DeKalb County, then removed 
 to Floyd County, Iowa, where he purchased and 
 improved a farm and occupied it some j'ears. He 
 finally removed to the village of Rock Grove and 
 lived there until hie death. The maiden name of 
 his wife, tlie mother of our subject, was Charlotte 
 Hersej'. 
 
 Edwin Dean was about two years of age when 
 his parents removed to Foxcraft, Me., where he 
 was reared and educated. His father was a black- 
 smith and our subject worked with him until 1843, 
 when, with his wife, he started with a horse and 
 buggy for this county and arrived within its lim- 
 its after a journey of eight weeks lacking one day. 
 He worked at his trade in Poplar Grove until the 
 spring of 1844, then rented land in Flora Town- 
 ship one year, during which time he made claim 
 to eighty acres of Government land on section 35. 
 He located on the place in 1845 and soon pur- 
 chased other property adjoining. The home farm 
 contains one hundred and seventy acres, in addi- 
 tion to which Mr. Dean has a forty-acre tract on 
 section 34 and another of twent3''-one acres in the 
 same section. 
 
 He of whom we write was actively engaged in 
 farming until 1888, when he rented his property 
 and removed to the home he now occupies on sec- 
 tion 34. In addition to this, he has since pur- 
 chased a residence in the city, which he proposes 
 to occupy in the near future. Mr. Dean was mar- 
 ried in April, 1843, to Rebecca B., daughter of 
 Robert Lowe. She was born in Gilford, Piscata- 
 quis County, Me., and departed this life in 1887. 
 The following year Mr. Dean was married to Mrs. 
 Sarah (Swain) Hovey, who was born in Niagara 
 County, N. Y., and was the daughter of Isaac 
 Swain. Her father moved to this State in 1840 
 and was one of the early settlers in McHenry 
 County, where he farmed until his decease. The 
 maiden name of the mother of Mrs. Dean was 
 Mary Bert. The wife of our subject was first mar- 
 ried in 1854 to F. H. Hovey, who was a native of 
 Broome County, N. Y., and departed this life in 
 McHenry County, this State, 
 
468 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 The original of tliis sltetcli by his first marriage 
 became the father of four children: OravilleE., 
 Henry E., Clarissa K. and William E. Mrs. Dean 
 has three children living by her marriage with Mr. 
 Hovey: Abner, Nettie and Mary. Carrie, the 
 youngest, died when twenty-three years of age. 
 Mrs. Dean is a member of the Free-will Baptist 
 Church, and in politics our subject votes the Re- 
 publican ticket. 
 
 LFRED PULS. Of the many substan- 
 tial and progressive farmers of Belvidere 
 Township, Boone County, none are more 
 honest, industrious or more deserving of 
 success than the German element, of which Mr. 
 Puis is a representative. His parents, William C. 
 and Hannah (Stonemiller) Puis, were natives of 
 Mecklenburg, German^', and came to the United 
 States in 1857. They first settled in De Kalb 
 County, 111., and the father was engaged in farm- 
 ing there until about twenty years later, when he 
 sold out and moved to Boone County, Belvidere 
 Township, where his son, our subject, was living. 
 There he and his worthy wife reside at the pres- 
 ent time, honored and esteemed by all. 
 
 The paternal grandparents of our subject, Fred- 
 erick and Louisa Puis, were also natives of Meck- 
 lenburg, Germany, but came to this country at an 
 earlj' date, and here the grandmother passed 
 quietly away when eighty-three years of age. 
 The grandfather is still living and is now in his 
 eighty-second year. The Pulses were all farmers, 
 and what they accumulated in the way of this 
 world's goods was the result of their own energy 
 and industry. Our subject's maternal grandfather, 
 William Stonemiller, was born in Germany and is 
 now a resident of De Kalb County, 111. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in De Kalb 
 County, 111., on the 24th of June, 1864, and was 
 here reared and educated. He was one of four 
 children, two sons and two daughters, born to his 
 parents. On the 1st of March, 1887, he was 
 united in the holy bonds of matrimony with Miss 
 Louisa Koeneke, who was born in Bonus Town- 
 
 ship, Boone County, 111., and here received all of 
 her training and education. Her parents, Philhp 
 and Sophia (Staas) Koeneke, were natives of Ger- 
 many, but came to the United States and passed 
 the closing scenes of their lives in Iowa. They 
 were the parents of nine children, all now living 
 but one. 
 
 The home of our subject and his young wife 
 has ever been in this county, and by their indus- 
 try and good management they have gathered 
 around them many comforts and conveniences. 
 Mr. Puis was always at home until after his mar- 
 riage, and now rents part of his father's broad 
 acres. Like his father, who came to this country 
 without a dollar and subsequently became one 
 of the most prosperous and wealthy farmers of 
 Boone County, his fine residence, barns and out- 
 buildings attesting what a man can do in Amer- 
 ica who has the will and disposition to work, our 
 subject is energetic and enterprising and is sure 
 to make a success of life. His union has been 
 blessed by the birth of one child, Willard Grafield, 
 whose birth occurred on the 19th of November, 
 1889. 
 
 Politically^, Mr. Puis has not given any atten- 
 tion to office-seeking, but, like his father, he is a 
 stanch Republican, and he is an earnest advocate 
 of the principles of that party. He and Mrs. Pulse 
 are worth}' members of the Evangelical Church at 
 Belvidere, 111., and give their hearty support to all 
 enterprises of a laudable nature. They are highly 
 esteemed in the community and have gathered 
 around them many warm friends. 
 
 "if OIIN B. BALL. The occupation which this 
 gentleman is now following has received 
 his attention the greater part of his life, 
 
 and it is but the truth to say that in it he 
 
 is thoroughly posted and well informed and his 
 labors in this direction have contributed very ma- 
 terially to the reputation Boone Township en- 
 joys as a rich farming region. Like many of the 
 representative citizens of the county, he is a mem- 
 ber of tlie old Bay State, born in Worcester 
 County on the 14th of October, 1838, and, al- 
 

 r *■•' j(P 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 471 
 
 though still comparatively a young man, he has 
 risen to a position in the agricultural affairs of 
 the county which many men older in years and 
 experience might envy. His life has been with- 
 out material change from the ordinary pursuits of 
 farm toil, but yet has not been devoid of substan- 
 tial results. 
 
 Mr. Ball is a brother of Edward Ball (see sketch), 
 and, like his brother, is thoroughly posted on all 
 subjects relating to the farm. He makes his home 
 with his mother in Poplar Grove. The residence 
 is commodious and attractive, and his fine farm 
 attracts general attention because of the extreme 
 nicety with which it is kept. Politically, Mr. Ball 
 is a Republican, but he takes very little part in 
 political affairs, preferring to give his entire at- 
 tention to his productive and extensive farm. He 
 is engaged in general mixed farming. 
 
 A history of our subject's father will be found 
 in the sketch of Mr. Wheeler, of Boone Township, 
 the latter a brother-in-law of our subject. 
 
 t>EV. HENRY W. AVERY. This highly- 
 respected citizen of Belvidere was born on 
 the 31st of May, 1823, in Ledyard, New 
 London County, Conn. The most authentic 
 record which we can gain says that Christopher 
 Avery was the founder of the family in America. 
 He emigrated from Salisbury, England, on the ship 
 "Arabella," in 1630, and settled in Gloucester, 
 Mass. His son James came with him to America 
 and, in 1651, removed from Gloucester to New 
 London County, Conn., where he spent the remain- 
 der of his days. He married Joanna Greenslade, 
 and afterward wedded Sarah Miner. 
 
 The next in direct descent also bore the name of 
 James. He was born in Gloucester, December 15, 
 1646, married Deborah Sterling, and died in New 
 London County, Conn., May 14, 1703. Their son 
 James was born in New London County, April 20, 
 1673, and wedded Mary Griswold. Their son, 
 Ebenezer wedded Lucy Latham, and afterward 
 wedded Mrs. Rachel Denison, the widow of Daniel 
 Denison. The next in direct descent was also 
 named Ebenezer. He was born March 7, 1732, 
 21 
 
 married Phoebe Denison, and was one of the vic- 
 tims of the Ft. Griswold massacre, September 6, 
 1781. 
 
 Ebenezer Avery, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was born in New London County, August 8, 1762, 
 was a farmer and spent his entire life in Connecti- 
 cut. His first wife was Hannah Morgan, and he 
 afterward wedded Mar}', a daughter of Charles 
 Eldridge. His death occurred August 8, 1842. 
 Henry W. Avery, father of our subject, was born 
 in New London County, Conn., October 12, 1795, 
 was reared to agricultural pursuits, and was a val- 
 iant soldier in the War of 1812. He engaged in 
 farming on the old homestead until 1854, when he 
 came to Illinois and settled in Boone County. He 
 married Betsey Denison, a lineal descendant of the 
 sixth generation from Capt. George Denison, who 
 with his wife, Ann Borodell, came from England 
 and settled in Stonington, Conn., in 1645. She 
 died at her home in lioone County in 1866, leav- 
 ing two children. The elder son, Frederick, has 
 been pastor of the Congregational Church in Co- 
 lumbia, Conn., for more than forty years. 
 
 Rev. H. W. Avery, of this sketch, spent his boy- 
 hood days in the Nutmeg State, and 1845 witnessed 
 his emigration to Illinois. His uncle Sidney 
 Avery had been here the previous year and entered 
 Government land in Flora Township, Boone Coun- 
 ty, and our subject purchased forty acres in the 
 same town. Fifteen acres of this had been planted, 
 and a small frame house had been built. He paid 
 $400 for the tract, and commenced life in the West 
 as a farmer. For some years there were no rail- 
 roads and he would haul his produce to market in 
 Chicago. He was very successful, and as the years 
 passed, he made many improvements, including 
 the erection of good buildings, and added to his 
 landed possessions until he now has more than three 
 hundred acres. He resided upon the farm until 
 1881, when he came to Belvidere and built his 
 present home, which is pleasantly located on Lin- 
 coln Avenue. 
 
 Mr. Avery has been twice married. His first 
 wife, to whom he was married in 1844, was born in 
 Sherburne, N. Y., and died in Flora Township in 
 1847. They had one daughter, Elizabeth, who be- 
 came the wife of John C, Thompson, and died in 
 
"■-"WWl^^l 
 
 472 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1880, leaving three sons, two of whom are living" 
 and make their home with their grandparents. 
 They are named respectively, Edward Avery and 
 Henry Sidney. In 1848, Mr. Avery was again 
 married, his wife being Rachel P., daughter of Rob- 
 ert McCord, and a native of Carlisle, Pa. 
 
 In 1842, Mr. Avery joined the Congregational 
 Church in Ledyard, Conn., and three years later 
 united with the Presbyterian Church in Belvidere. 
 In 1852, he was made a Ruling Elder, which posi- 
 tion he has held continuously since, and in 1887 
 was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Free- 
 port. He has always been an active worker in 
 the Sabbath-school, in which he has been Teacher 
 and Superintendent, and for ten years was Presi- 
 dent of the County Sunday-school Association. 
 In politics, he is a Republican, and has served as 
 Assessor, Justice of the Peace, member of the 
 County Board of Supervisors, and of the School 
 Board. He is a ready and forcible writer, a fluent 
 speaker, and at the centennial celebration of the 
 organization of the Presbyterian Church delivered 
 the historical address. He and his estimable wife 
 have many warm friends throughout the commu- 
 nity, and are beloved by all for their many excel- 
 lencies of character. 
 
 A lithographic portrait of Mr. Avery accom- 
 panies this sketch. 
 
 '• ■ ^- 
 
 of 
 
 *AMES S. REID is the oldest native-born 
 citizen of Harlem Township, Winnebago 
 County. He was born on the farm which 
 he now owns and occupies, on the 12th 
 November, 1840, and is of Scotch de- 
 scent. His grandfather, James Reid, was born 
 in Argyleshire, Scotland, was there reared and 
 married, and resided in that country until about 
 the year 1856, when he crossed the Atlantic to 
 America and spent the remainder of his life in 
 Guilford Township. His wife, Margaret Reid, 
 died in her native land. The father of our sub- 
 ject, Hugh Reid, was born in Argyleshire and 
 learned the trade of a weaver, which he followed 
 in Scotland until 1836. In that year, he bade 
 good-bye to his old home and crossed the broad 
 
 Atlantic, accompanied by his wife and one child. 
 After several weeks spent upon the water he 
 reached his destination, and resided for one win- 
 ter in Ottawa, 111. In the spring he was offered 
 forty acres of swamp land, now included in the 
 city of Chicago, but came to Winnebago County, 
 and was the tliird Scottish settler in Harlem 
 Township. He made a claim, and when the land 
 came into market entered it at the land office in 
 Galena. He at once built a log house, which in 
 after years was replaced by a frame residence, 
 which continued to be the home of Mi-. Reid until 
 his death, December 27, 1887. 
 
 The mother of our subject bore the maiden 
 name of Mary Howie. She, too, was born in Ar- 
 gyleshire, and was a daughter of William and 
 Janet Howie, both natives of Scotland, where her 
 father spent his entire life. His wife came to 
 America and died at the home of Mrs. Reid, who 
 was also called to her final rest on the 11th of 
 July, 1885. Three children of the family are still 
 living: Margaret H., William H. and James. 
 
 Our subject was born in the cabin home of his 
 parents, and has spent his entire life upon the 
 farm which he now owns and occupies. As a 
 companion and helpmate on life's journey, he 
 chose Miss Mary Breckenridge, who was born in 
 Argyleshire, Scotland, and was a daughter of 
 Edward and Margaret Breckenridge. Their union 
 was celebrated June 7, 1867, and her death oc- 
 curred on the 14th of June, 1876. Mr. Reid was 
 again married, October 12, 1882, his second union 
 being with Jane Smith, daughter of John and 
 Elizabeth Smith. By the first marriage three chil- 
 dren were born: Edward B., Hugh F. and James 
 M., and four children grace the second union: 
 Russell S., Lulu I., William Robert Howie and 
 Mary Iva. 
 
 Mr. Reid now owns one hundred and ninety- 
 five acres of valuable land in this county, and his 
 farm is under a higii state of cultivation and well 
 improved with good buildings. He also owns a 
 good farm in Boone County of one hundred and 
 sixty-three acres. He is recognized as one of the 
 substantial farmers of the community and one of 
 the public-spirited and progressive citizens. He 
 and his wife are members of the Willow Creek 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 473 
 
 « 
 Presbyterian Church, of which his parents were 
 
 among tlie founders. Our subject was a delegate 
 of the Presbyterian Church to the General Assem- 
 bly held in New York City in 1889. 
 
 X ^— ^ •-] ,,, *' — ^) >^'''<g <' — ^ ■■ 1=1'-;:^. • 
 
 TEPIIEN R. GODFREY, of the city of 
 Rockford, State of Illinois. The Godfrey 
 Clothing Company was incorporated April 
 1, 1885, with S. R. Godfrey as President, 
 and his son, Charles H., Secretary and Treasurer. 
 With the same officers, the company is carrying on 
 an extensive and lucrative business at No. 304 
 East State Street. In their establishment, which is 
 one of the largest and finest in the city, they carry 
 a complete stock of clothing, gents' furnishing 
 goods, hats, caps, etc., and are known throughout 
 Wmnebago and adjoining counties as reliable, one- 
 price and straightforward business men. 
 
 Mr. Godfrey was born in Johnstown, near the 
 city of Providence, R. I. His parents were Elisha 
 and Patience (Webber) Godfrey, natives of South 
 Dennis, Mass., and the former a sea captain during 
 his entire active life. At the age of thirteen years, 
 oiu- subject secured a situation with Edward Mason, 
 in a dry-goods establishment in Pawtucket, R. I. 
 Three years later, Mr. Mason failed, and William 
 Knight, of Burrillville, R. I., bought the stock, and 
 made Mr. Godfrey sole manager of the business. 
 Some months afterward, our subject closed out the 
 stock, and at the age of nineteen proceeded to 
 Boston, where he clerked for the firm of J. R. 
 Gardner & Brother. Later, he was engaged in the 
 dry-goods business with W. D. S. Havens, of Paw- 
 tucket, R. I., the firm name being Havens & God- 
 frey. 
 
 Attracted by the discovery of gold in California, 
 in the winter of 1849 Mr. Godfrey left his wife 
 and child with her mother in Pawtucket, R. I., and 
 sailed in the ship, "Charlotte," on Sunday, March 
 4, 1849. After a long and tedious voyage, the ship 
 dropped anchor in the bay of San Francisco on Sep- 
 tember 5, at 5 P. M. The passengers and crew num- 
 bered one hundred and thirty-five, among whom 
 but one death occurred. The ship was a very poor 
 craft, and had to be pumped twenty minutes every 
 
 two hours during the entire voyage. This work was 
 done by the passengers, who divided themselves into 
 "messes" of twenty each, and took turns, two at 
 the pump at a time. This, no doubt, was healthy 
 exercise for the men, who, however, did not at all 
 enjoy it. Twice the vessel caught fire, but the 
 flames were extinguished without much damage, 
 although not without causing great fear and con- 
 sternation among all on board. 
 
 During the long voyage, the ship made the har- 
 bor of Rio de Janeiro, on the Atlantic, and the 
 harbor of Valparaiso, on the Pacific coast of South 
 America. At the former place they stopped about 
 three weeks, during which time the Captain took 
 on board a fresh supply of provisions and water. 
 During the passage, Mr. Godfrey organized a min- 
 ing company of sixteen persons among the passen- 
 gers, and, after leaving the ship, they secured pass- 
 age on board a schooner to Sacramento, taking 
 with them their baggage, provisions etc. After a 
 voyage of ten days, during which time the little 
 party suffered intensely from mosquitoes, Sacra- 
 mento was reached, and the freight unloaded. The 
 objective point of the company was Hangtown,now 
 called Placerville, and to get their baggage con- 
 veyed thither, they were compelled to pay $1 per 
 pound, but, not having the amount required, they 
 were forced to transfer the articles as needed. 
 
 The next move of the company, in a business 
 way, was to investigate the price of oxen per yoke. 
 Mr. Godfrey and another gentleman were ap- 
 pointed a committee to buy the cattle. After dil- 
 igent search, they found three very poor yoke of 
 cattle, which had just been brought across the plains, 
 and these they bought for $600. An old wagon was 
 purchased for 1200, and with the team they started 
 for the city, six miles from camp. Mr. Godfrey 
 thinks they were about eight hours reaching their 
 destination, and, meanwhile, they underwent severe 
 experiences. Part of the team moved forward, and 
 at other times backward; sometimes the oxen, with 
 the wagon bottom-side up, made quite rapid pro- 
 gress, and a constant " Whoa, boa! " failed to pro- 
 duce the desired effect. Finally, a Mlssourian came 
 along and soon taught the amateur drivers how to 
 handle the oxen. He took a whip, with a handle 
 about eight feet long, and a heavy lash of braided 
 
474 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 leather, about fifteen feet in length, which he 
 threw its full length, and, with a giant-like move- 
 ment, brought it forward and down on the sides 
 of the leading yoke of cattle with such a crack 
 that the stubborn oxen started at a rate which 
 raised the dust. The' two gentlemen profited by 
 their lesson, and reached the camp in safety about 
 7 P.M. 
 
 The company now had three yoke of oxen and 
 nothing to feed them on. They cut down two or 
 three live oak trees, and the cattle browsed on the 
 leaves. Hay, being $600 a ton, was a luxury not 
 to be thought of, but they secured an excellent 
 substitute. Hiring a scythe at f 16 per hour, they 
 went along the banks of the American River, about 
 three miles from camp, and cut some dry weeds 
 and grasses, enough to supply the cattle for two 
 or three days. They then started their first load 
 for Hangtown, a distance of some forty-five miles 
 from Sacramento, and, as the prairie fires had 
 burnt the grass, they were obliged every night to 
 fell live oak trees, on which their cattle might 
 browse, and, in that way, reached their destination 
 after a trip of four days. 
 
 After mining a short time, Mr. Godfrey sold out 
 his interest to the company, and, returning to Sac- 
 ramento with Capt. Charles Clark, of Providence, 
 R. I., became proprietor of the Sacramento Hotel. 
 While thus engaged, the city was inundated by 
 the rising of the Sacramento and American Rivers, 
 on the night of January 8, 1850. In the summer 
 of 1851, Mr. Godfrey s6ld his interest in the hotel 
 to his partner and returned to mining on the 
 North Fork of the American River, twenty-two 
 miles above Marysville, on what was then known 
 as Owsley's Bar. In November of the same year, 
 he went to Marysville, where he became acquainted 
 with Charles N. Felton (now Senator from Cali- 
 fornia) and soon afterward they commenced, as 
 equal partners, in the business of running a pack- 
 mule train from Marysville, and also trading in 
 the mountains, having at one time a store in 
 Dowueysville and another at Gibsonville. 
 
 In the winter of 1852-53, Mr. Godfrey went to 
 San Francisco and became a clerk in the clotliing- 
 house of Strowbridge & Blake. During the follow- 
 ing winter, he returned to New York via the Istli- 
 
 mus of Nicaragua, and after spending several 
 months with his family, returned to San Francisco 
 via the Isthmus of Panama, his family remaining 
 in Brooklyn, N. Y. In the fall of 1854, he formed 
 a co-partnership with James C. Eddy, formerly of 
 Fall River, Mass., and carried on a flourishing 
 wholesale and retail clothing business in San Fran- 
 cisco until April, 1857. In the spring of 1855, 
 Mr. Eddy went to New York City to attend to the 
 manufacture of clothing for the firm, and returned 
 to San Francisco May l,of the same year, bringing 
 with him Mrs. Godfrey and her two daughters, 
 Emma F. and Annie R. 
 
 During his residence in the Far West, Mr. 
 Godfrey was an active member of the vigilance 
 committee which hung Casey for killing James 
 King, of Williams; Corey, for the killing of the 
 United States Marshal; Richardson and Hethering- 
 ton, for the murder of Drs. Baldwin and Randall; 
 also Brace, for highway robbery and murder. The 
 committee, was formed of the best people of the 
 new city, who took the law in their own hands, 
 and wrested it from the grasp of lawless classes. It 
 was probably the most sensational experience which 
 San Francisco ever underwent. Mr. Godfrey re- 
 lates many interesting reminiscences of those days, 
 whose experiences stand out in startling distinct- 
 ness, but space forbids us to make more extended 
 mention of them. 
 
 In Pawtucket, R. I., Mr. Godfrey wedded Miss 
 Mary A. Baker, who was born in Dennis, Cape Cod, 
 Mass., and came of an old New England family 
 residing in the Bay State. Her father was a sea- 
 captain, and died of the yellow-fever when she 
 was four months old. Her education was acquired 
 in the academy of Pawtucket, R. I., where she re- 
 sided from her girlhood until her marriage. She 
 was an accomplished and intelligent lady, who was 
 held in high esteem by all who knew her. Her 
 death, which occurred in January, 1855, was the 
 result of a stroke of apoplexy. From her six- 
 teenth year she was a member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and lived a devoted and consistent 
 Christian life. A most affectionate and faithful 
 wife and mother, her place in the household can 
 never be supplied. 
 
 Four children were born in the family of Mr. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 475 
 
 and Mrs. Godfrey. Emma, whose death occurred 
 eighteen months before her mother passed away, 
 married N. S. Robinson, formerly of Rockford, but 
 now of Eugene, Ore. Anna is the wife of D. S. 
 Hough, a prominent grocer of Rockford; Charles 
 H., a young man of great promise and ability, 
 married Eugenia Spafford,of Rockford, and is now 
 Secretary and Treasurer of the Godfrey Clothing 
 Company; Lulu, a very intelligent and beautiful 
 young lady, died at the age of eighteen years, 
 sixty days after the decease of her mother. Her 
 death was a great loss to her father, sister and 
 brother, as well as to her many friends. Emma 
 and Lulu were actively identified with the First 
 Congregational Church, at Rockford, and Annie 
 holds membership in the Christian Church. 
 
 In December, 1857, Mr. Godfrey came to Rock- 
 ford and the following spring began business as a 
 dealer in clothing with his brother-in-law, John M. 
 Tappen, now a farmer of Ottawa County, Kan. 
 After some years, this connection was discontinued 
 and Mr. Godfrey became manager of the clothing 
 house of W. V. Webster. Some time later, he bought 
 out Mr. Webster, and, after continuing alone for 
 one year, formed a co-partnership with Charles 
 Smith, doing business for two years under the 
 firm name of Godfrey & Smith, when he became 
 sole proprietor. Since the organization of the 
 Godfrey Clothing Company, in 1885, he has been 
 its efficient President. In politics, he is a stanch 
 Republican, and, socially, is a Royal Arch Mason. 
 He became a member of the Congregational Church 
 in Pawtucket, R. I., in his youth, and now belongs 
 to the First Congregational Church of this city. 
 He ranks among the best citizens of Rockford, and 
 occupies a high place in the regard of his large 
 circle of acquaintances. 
 
 -^ 
 
 -4- 
 
 ■* OHN A. PALM, a grocer of Rockford, was 
 bom in Sweden, August 17, 1849, and is 
 one of eight children born unto P. M. and 
 _ Eliza Palm. His father for forty years en- 
 gaged in teaching and then retired on a full pen- 
 sion as a teacher. He is still living in his native 
 land at the age of seventy-eight years, and is yet 
 
 quite active for one of his age. He has been a 
 life-long and leading member of the liutheran 
 Chuich. His wife, who was also a member of the 
 same church, died July 28, 1891, at the age of 
 seventy-eight years, one montli and thirteen days. 
 Of the family, two sons and the daughters are now 
 deceased. Of the brothers who are still living in 
 their native land, all are now married and are 
 variously engaged. 
 
 The oiily member of the family to come to this 
 country was our subject, who, after twenty years 
 spent in his native land, sailed for New York in 
 July, 1869, landing on the 2d of August of that 
 year. He went at once to Chicago, where he ar- 
 rived not only empty-handed, but was $66 in 
 debt for his passage to this country. He worked 
 in that city for a time for small wages, and then 
 went to New Orleans, where he spent one winter. 
 Since his return to the North he has had a success- 
 ful business career. He worked in Chicago for 
 three years as a brick and stone mason, which 
 trade he had learned in that city, and on the 24th 
 of June, 1874, came to Rockford. Securing em- 
 ploj'^ment with H. F. Peterson, he worked for that 
 gentleman for nine years, and in 1878 began on 
 his own account as a contractor. He has met with 
 excellent success, seciiring a liberal patronage, 
 and has done the contract work on hundreds of 
 homes and buildings in this city. He is now a 
 member of the firm of Olson & Palm, who are en- 
 gaged in the grocery business at No. 511 East 
 State Street. In company with Andrew Borg, he 
 owns the large stores and flats on Seventh Street. 
 His home is a pleasant and commodious residence 
 at No. 210 Seventh Street, and he also owns the 
 property adjoining. 
 
 Mr. Palm was married, in Rockford, to Miss 
 Christina Shold, who was born in Sweden, Febru- 
 ary 24, 1868, and in 1867 came to Rockford with 
 her parents, John and Anna (Anderson) Shold, 
 both of whom are now deceased, having passed 
 away at about the age of sixty years. Mrs. Palm 
 is the only surviving child of the family. By her 
 union she has had seven children, but one died in 
 infancy. The living are: Rudolph, Cora A., Mabel 
 A., Irvin A., E. Lawrence and Floyd R. The par- 
 ents arc both members of the First Lutheran 
 
476 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CUiurch, and Mr. Palm votes with the Republican 
 party. He has been a hard-working man, but, as 
 the result of his industry, enterprise and good 
 management, supplemented by good business abil- 
 ity, he has made a small fortune, and is now en- 
 joying the comforts and pleasures which a com- 
 petence, well earned, brings. 
 
 bUCIEN WILLIAMS, President of the 
 Rockford Burial Case Com pan}', is at the 
 head of one of the most prominent in- 
 dustries of Rockford, with which he has been 
 identified since its organization in 1883. The 
 company employs more than thirty hands, and is 
 represented by three commercial men. Operating 
 with ample capital and in a systematic manner, this 
 reliable firm is enabled to push its trade far beyond 
 what is usually termed the local territory, and 
 enjoys a lucrative and extensive business through- 
 out the county. 
 
 Mr. Williams is also an original stockholder and 
 Director and owns a one-fourth interest in the 
 Overall Manufactory of Rockford, a successful 
 institution which was established in 1883, and is 
 now numbered among the moneyed concerns of 
 the city. Some ten men and sixt}' women are 
 furnished with constant employment, and six 
 traveling men are emplo3'ed by the company. Mr. 
 Williams is also a stockholder in the People's 
 Bank and tlie Manufacturers' Bank of Rockford, 
 and in the successful conduct of the various 
 establishments and institutions with which he is 
 connected, finds sufficient to demand his undivi- 
 ded attention. He is an efficient business man, 
 and a most affable gentleman, enjoying a high 
 place in the regard of his fellow-citizens and an 
 enviable reputation for integrity. Since he came 
 to this city in 1882, he has served as Supervisor of 
 the Seventh Ward for four years, and been other- 
 wise closely identified with the progress of the 
 city. 
 
 Born in Manlius Township, Onondaga County, 
 N. Y., June 21, 1821, Lucien B. Williams is the son 
 of Elijah and Lucy (Edwards) Williams. He grew 
 to maturity in his native county, and in his early 
 
 manhood became foreman for a large contractor 
 on the Erie Canal, whom he later aided in building 
 the railroad from York to Erie. Thus early in 
 life he gained a practical experience in under- 
 taking and carrying out large contracts, and was 
 one of a number of young men who familiarized 
 themselves with railroad contracting. It was in 
 order to accept a contract for seven miles of rail- 
 road, now the property of the Northwestern 
 R. R. Company, that he came West with several 
 others in 1852, and so satisfactorily did he fill the 
 contract that he immediately secured another from 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, for building the 
 road between Freeport and La Salle. 
 
 Completing his contract in 1855, Mr. Williams 
 settled in Harrison Township, Winnebago County, 
 where he had purchased live hundred acres of 
 land. He added to his landed property until he 
 owned nine hundred acres, the most of which was 
 placed under splendid cultivation, while the re- 
 mainder was pasture land in the Peeatonica River 
 bottoms. For twenty-seven years he lived and 
 labored on his farm, giving his attention to gen- 
 eral farming as well as to raising sheep and carry- 
 ing on an extensive dairy business. He owned one 
 hundred cows and shipped butter to Boston, 
 St. Louis and other markets, and was the first 
 large dairy farmer in the county, and the first 
 man to use tile drainage here. This serves to 
 illustrate his progressive ideas and his desire to 
 promote the advancement of the agricultural 
 interests of Northern Illinois. His popularity and 
 large executive ability led to his appointment as a 
 Director of the County Agricultural Society, and 
 he was instrumental in securing its success, accom- 
 plishing much in behalf of the farmers of the 
 county, and causing a more general interest to be 
 aroused in the various departments of agriculture. 
 
 While he still resided in New York State, Mr. 
 Williams was united in marriage with Miss Mary 
 Arnold, who was born and reared in the Empire 
 State and belongs to a good old family whosS 
 members have been distinguished for sterling 
 traits of character and citizenship. In all his 
 labors, Mr. Williams has received the devoted 
 assistance of this wife, who has lightened his 
 sorrows and doubled his joys, and who is now his 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 477 
 
 comfort in his declining years. She is the mother 
 of six children, namely: Fannie, wife of Walter 
 W. Favor, a druggist in Rockford; Ida, who 
 married Delos Barningham, a farmer of Harrison 
 Township; Rosemond, wife of J. Barningham, also 
 a general farmer of Harrison Township; Myra, 
 Charles and India, who remain at home with their 
 parents. The last-named are graduates of Rock- 
 ford High School, and are bright, intelligent young 
 people, whose position in social circles is high. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Williams are members of the 
 Christian Union Church, and in his political 
 afBliations, Mr. Williams is a sound Republican, 
 favoring the principles and candidates of his 
 party by his influence and ballot. 
 
 ««i^^ 
 ^^«% 
 
 
 ^OHN P. NORDHOLM. Among the most 
 important lines of commercial industry in 
 any business community is that of insurance, 
 which gives security to the merchnnt and the 
 householder alike, and secures him from possible 
 loss in case of fire, accident, etc. Mr. Nordholm, who 
 is a representative Swedish gentleman, ranks high 
 as a successful business man, and is engaged in 
 the real-estate, loan, fire, life and accidental insur- 
 ance business at No. 420 East State Street. He 
 came to this city in 1889, has been closely identi- 
 fied with the progress of the city since, and is up- 
 right and honorable in all his relations with the 
 public. For some time after locating in this city, 
 he was engaged as clerk by the Central Furniture 
 Company, but being progressive and enterprising, 
 he subsequently took the general agency' for the 
 Union Central Life Insurance Company, of Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio, and since March, 1891, he has attached 
 the various other enterprises to his chief business. 
 He is also agent for the Rockford Swedish-Ameri- 
 can Labor Agency. He is hardworking, gives 
 his best energies to his present business, and under 
 his energetic management it can not fail to suc- 
 ceed. He is a stockholder in the Central Furni- 
 ture Company, the Rockford Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, the Royal Sewing Machine Company, Rock 
 River Planing Mill Company, and the Rockford 
 Furniture and Undertaking Company, and was 
 
 stockholder and Director from the start in the 
 last-named concern, the same being incorporated 
 with a capital of $50,000. Mr. Nordholm is also 
 a member of the Skandia Land Association, which 
 has a capital stock of $75,000, and takes an ac- 
 tive interest in all these enterprises. 
 
 He was born in Skande Province, Sweden, May 
 30, 1860, and was thoroughly educated in his na- 
 tive country, where he continued under the par- 
 ental roof until a young man. In 1888, he made 
 his first appearance on American soil and is now 
 the only member of the family in this country. 
 He spent the first eight months as clerk in a mill 
 and elevator at Wakefield, Neb., for J. O. Mul- 
 ligan & Co., and later came to Rockford, where 
 he has met with a more than average degree of 
 success. 
 
 His parents were natives of Sweden and his 
 father, Peter Person, was a successful agriculturist 
 in that country. The latter was a man of excel- 
 lent character and was highly respected in his 
 section. He passed away in the year 1885, when 
 eighty-one years of age, .and had ever been a 
 worthy member of the Swedish Lutheran Church. 
 His wife still resides in Sweden, and is now in her 
 sixty-ninth year. She is in every way a most 
 amiable and pleasant lady, and, like her husband, 
 has been prominently connected with the Lutheran 
 Church all her days. 
 
 John P. Nordholm was the youngest in a large 
 family of children, three sons and one daughter 
 still living. He selected his wife in the person of 
 Miss Nellie Felsenburg, a native of the Empire 
 State, and their union was celebrated in Rockford 
 on the 27th of October, 1891. She is a descendant 
 of German-French ancestors and of a representa- 
 tive German family. Her father, Dr. Joseph Van 
 Felsenburg, was born in Germany and educated 
 as a physician in his native country. He was 
 married to an Austrian lady of French ancestry, 
 and they subsequently crossed the ocean to the 
 United States, settling in New York City. There 
 he practiced his profession very successfully until 
 failing health caused him to abandon this and 
 seek the Hot Springs of Arkansas to rebuild his 
 shattered constitution. He was not successful 
 and his death occurred in 1884, when in the prime 
 
478 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of life. His wife died at tlie same place in 1890, 
 when about thirty-seven years of age. Her maiden 
 name was Fannie Rimmer. They were of the 
 better class of German people and were educated 
 and refined. Mrs. Nordholm's uncles and aunts 
 were people of more than ordinary intelligence 
 and were very prominent in Vienna, Austria, espec- 
 ially in educational matters. She was thoroughly 
 educated in the convents of Cleveland and Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio, also of St. Louis, and has many bril- 
 liant attainmerfts, being particularly good in art. 
 Mr. Nordholm is a member of the Second Congre- 
 gational Church and the Young Men's Christian 
 Association, being a member of the financial board 
 in the latter. 
 
 •^^ 
 
 -^^ 
 
 pTT'RANK G. STIBB, Government store-keeper 
 — ^) and ganger for the city of Rockford, re- 
 l ceived his appointment to this responsi- 
 ble position in July, 1889, and was assigned to 
 duty on the 1st of August of the same year. 
 He had been connected with the city in other 
 capacities previous to this, having been ap- 
 pointed East Side Street Commissioner in 1885 
 by (then) Mayor Taggart, and held that position 
 and discharged the duties in a very satisfactory 
 manner for two years. He has been an active 
 worker for the principles of tlie Republican party, 
 and is prominently identified with all enterprises 
 of a laudable nature. He is a live, public-spirited 
 citizen and is likely to make his presence felt in 
 the near future. 
 
 He was born in Rockford on the 22d of May, 
 1856, and, as a consequence, his inclinations nat- 
 urally tend toward the advancement and progress 
 of his native town. He received a practical edu- 
 cation and yet he is a self-educated and self-made 
 man. Skilled as a mechanic and brick-layer, he 
 has met with much more than the average amount 
 of success and has accumulated considerable 
 wealth. He owns some valuable property on 
 Kishwaukee Street, about one hundred and seventy- 
 one feet, and about two hundred feet on May 
 Street, making him a fine triangle block which is 
 steadily increasing in value. He has lived at No. 
 
 311, on his property, and has erected three busi- 
 ness houses and a residence on this fine block. He 
 built one house himself, being an advanced and 
 progressive architect and a student and patron of 
 the Scientific American, Architects' and Builders' 
 Edition. 
 
 His father, John Slibb (whose Swedish name 
 was Larson), was a native of Oster Gothland, born 
 April 30, 1815, and was taught the stonemason 
 trade in youth. After reaching mature years, he 
 wedded Miss C. Al, a native of Smoland Prov- 
 ince, who was reared there by good Swedish pa- 
 rents. After the birth of two children, one of 
 whom died in Sweden, and the other shortly after 
 reaching America, Mr. and Mrs. Stibb took pas- 
 sage with their remaining child on a vessel, the 
 "Hofland," at Gottenburg, and reached Boston, 
 Mass., on the 10th of September, 1854, after seven 
 weeks on the briny deep. On the 19th of that 
 month, they reached the city of Rockford and 
 this, frt)m that time forward, became their perma- 
 nent homff In this city the upright, honorable 
 and esteemed citizen, John Stibb, passed away on 
 the nth of December, 1886. He followed his 
 trade in this city and was accounted a skillful and 
 reliable workman. His wife preceded him to 
 the grave, having died on the 15th of December, 
 the year previous. They were worthy people in 
 every respect and were among the organizers of 
 the First Swedish Church of Rockford, being mem- 
 bers in good standing until the last. Mr. Stibb had 
 been a stanch Republican and had taken out his 
 naturalization papers immediately after his iiye 
 years had expired and became a thorough Ameri- 
 can citizen. He was of much assistance to others 
 who wished to secure their naturalization papers. 
 Mr. Frank G. Stibb selected for his life compan- 
 ion Miss Lena Peterson, and their union was sol- 
 emnized in Rockford. She was born in Skane 
 Province, Sweden, July 17, 1858, to the union of 
 Nels and Sissa (Johnson) Peterson, natives of 
 Sweden, who were reared and married in that 
 country. After the birth of four children, or in 
 1866, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson took passage on a 
 steamer for the American coast. After landing 
 they came immediately to Rockford where the 
 parents reside at the present time. The father is 
 

 0-' 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 481 
 
 a mechanic and is working in the Forest City 
 Furniture Factory. lie and his estimable wife are 
 sixty-two and flfty-eight years of age respectively. 
 Both are devout members of the First Lutheran 
 Church. Mr. Peterson is a Republican in politics, 
 and is an honest, hardworking man. They are 
 the parents of four children, all of whom are liv- 
 ing. The eldest, Nels Peterson, is a molder by 
 trade, and is a resident of Chicago. He married a 
 Miss Hanson. The third child, Chestie, is at home 
 and the youngest, Mary, lives in Chicago. 
 
 The original of this sketch is Secretary and 
 Treasurer of the Scandinavian Cemetery Associa- 
 tion, of which ho was one of the organizers, and 
 he is a director in the Union Grocery Company 
 and the Swedish Mutual Fire Insurance Co. So- 
 ially, he is a member of the Unity Legion, No. 12, 
 a Master Mason, Rockford Lodge No. 102, Scan- 
 dia Lodge A. O. U. W., No. 54, the Odd Fellows' 
 Society, and Social Lodge No. 140, Select Knights 
 of America. Mr. Stibb and wife attend the First 
 Congregational Church and are representative cit- 
 izens. They haive an interesting family of three 
 children: May F., Harry T. and Lillie M. Mr. 
 Stibb and his son, Harry T., are the only members 
 of his father's family^now living. 
 
 <p)USEBIA N. HUNTLEY, M. D., is one of 
 11^ the successful physicians and surgeons of 
 /11=^ Rockford, where she has engaged in prac- 
 tice since 1873. She is a native of Herkimer 
 County, N. Y., and a daughter of the Rev. Lyman 
 Huntley, who for some years was a Baptist minis- 
 ter, but failing health caused him to withdraw 
 from that work, and he engaged as a harness 
 dealer in Soufli Columbia, N. Y. He was born in 
 Otsego County, that State, and is still living at 
 the advanced age of eighty-five years, retaining 
 liis mental faculties to a good degree. His life 
 has been well and worthily spent, and he has the 
 respect of all who know him. He is an own cousin 
 of Lydia Huntley Sigourney, the poetess. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Huntley married Miss Elizabeth 
 Tisdale, who was born and reared in South Col- 
 
 umbia, N. Y., and died in that place at the age 
 of seventy-five years. Like her husband, she was 
 a life-long member of the Baptist Church. The 
 Huntley family is of English origin and its people 
 were all Baptists in religious belief, while the Tis- 
 dales were of Protestant Irish ancestry. B'our 
 sons of the Huntley family wore the blue during 
 the late war. L. C. was killed at Ream's Station, 
 Va., near Richmond, while on skirmish duty. May 
 16, 1865. J. W. died of consumption in the field 
 hospital of Bowling Green, Ky., after two years 
 of service. Hon. S. F. is a graduate of Cornell 
 University, and is now a missionary of the Con- 
 gregational Church, located in Alexandria, S. Dak. 
 He has been a member of both the Constitutional 
 Conventions of South Dakota and its first State 
 Senate. His wife, whose maiden name was Abi 
 Townsend, is also a minister of the Congregational 
 Church and an ex-professor of the college in 
 Union Springs, N. Y. The fourth son who fol- 
 lowed the old flag was D. T., who married Annie 
 Fosket, and is now living a retired life in Cald- 
 well, Sumner County, Kan. Another brother of the 
 Doctor is L. D., who wedded Maggie M. Davis, of 
 the Empire State, and is now a harness-maker and 
 dealer in South Columbia, N. Y. The only living 
 daughter of the family, with the exception of our 
 subject, is J. Cyrene, wife of O. P. Ayres, who is 
 living a retired life in South Columbia, N. Y. E. 
 E. Huntley, the eldest daughter, died of consump- 
 tion at Miller's Mills, N. Y., in 1857. The young- 
 est daughter, Mrs. L. A. McCutchen, wife of J. W. 
 McCutchen, died at Norris, 111., of pneumonia, in 
 1870. 
 
 After acquiring her literary education, which 
 was completed in Whitestown Seminary, of Oneida 
 County, N. Y., Dr. Huntley engaged in teaching 
 school, and was thus employed in Fulton County, 
 111., for about thirteen years, and for three j'ears 
 of that time was a teacher in the High School of 
 Canton, 111., for which responsible position she was 
 fully prepared by her splendid education. The 
 fact that she holds a State certificate fully attests 
 her qualifications. At length, determined to study 
 medicine and engage in its practice as a life work, 
 she entered the medical department of the State 
 University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and later 
 
482 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 did clinical work iu the hospitals at Chicago for 
 
 three months. 
 
 Dr. Huntley came to Rockford in 1873, and has 
 an office at No. 204 North First Street. She has 
 built up a large and constantly growing practice. 
 From her mother she inherited great energy and 
 the determination to carry out whatever she under- 
 took, so that she has been very successful, and her 
 reputation as a phj'sician and surgeon might well 
 be envied by those who have longer followed this 
 work. She makes a specialty of the diseases of 
 women and children, and her patrons are from 
 among the best class of people. She is a lady of 
 truly progressive spirit, and has made many warm 
 friends in Rockford. Her large practice has proved 
 remunerative, and she is now the owner of consid- 
 erable real estate. In religious belief, she is a 
 Presbytei'ian. 
 
 The attention of the reader is invited to the 
 lithographic portrait of Dr. Huntley, which appears 
 on an accompanying page. 
 
 ^1 LBERT DICKINSON, a well-known busi- 
 LUI ness man of Rockford, who is engaged in 
 
 the laying of concrete pavement, claims 
 New York as the State of his nativitj^, and 
 was the fourth in order of birth in a family of 
 seven children, of whom he is now the only sur- 
 vivor. His father, Edwin Dickinson, was born 
 near Attica, N. Y. The paternal grandfather of 
 our subject reached the advanced age of ninety 
 years, and his wife was ninety-two years at the 
 time of her death. Edwin learned the trade of 
 carriage-making and blacksmithing, and went to 
 Oneida County, N. Y., where, being a skilled work- 
 man, he secured a good position in the New York 
 Mills of that county. He there married Sarah Van 
 Buren, who was born in Kinderhook, and was a 
 daughter of Ephraim Van Buren, an own cousin 
 of President Van Buren. The family had been 
 slave holders in the Empire State* in an early day. 
 After the birth of some of their children, Edwin 
 Dickinson and his wife left Oneida County, N. Y., 
 and removed with their family to Calhoun County, 
 Mich., making the trip overland with teams in 
 
 1842. The father there secured some Govern- 
 ment land in the oak opening, not far from Bat- 
 tle Creek, where he developed a farm, making it 
 his home until 1848, when, having arranged to go 
 into the carriage-making business in Battle Creek 
 he removed his family to that city, where he died a 
 few months later in the autumn of that year. He 
 was then forty-four years of age. In politics, he 
 was a Whig; socially, he was a Mason, and in relig- 
 ious belief, was a Presbyterian. He was known as 
 a worthy and upright man, highly respected for 
 his excellencies of character. His wife long sur- 
 vived him, passing away in 1880, at the age of 
 seventy-three years. 
 
 Our subject was quite young when his parents 
 removed to Michigan. In that State, he was reared 
 to manhood, his boyhood days being passed in the 
 usual manner of farmer lads, while in the public 
 schools his education was acquired. At Three Riv- 
 ers, Mich., he married Miss Martiia R. King, a native 
 of that place, where her people had located in a 
 very early day. Her father, Benjamin King, was 
 born in New York and died in Three Rivers, at 
 about the age of seventy -five. He married Miss 
 Wetturbee, mother of Mrs. Dickinson, and after 
 her death was again married, his second wife also 
 being deceased. Mrs. Dickinson was one of eight 
 children. She is an intelligent and cultured lady, 
 and has proved a true helpmate to her husband. 
 Their union has been blessed with two children: 
 S. Isabella and Floyd E. 
 
 During the late war, Mr. Dickinson enlisted in 
 the Michigan Battalion of Merrill Horse, which af- 
 ter some months became known as the Second Mis- 
 souri Cavalry. With his command he participated 
 in the battles of Memphis, Kirksville and Moore's 
 Mills, together with minor engagements, and later 
 went with the division that captured Little Rook, 
 and raided the State of Arkansas. After three 
 years of faithful service, he was honorably dis- 
 charged in the fall of 1864. He saw much hard 
 fighting, and had many narrow escapes. He was a 
 few times hit by spent balls, but was never dis- 
 abled, and it was very seldom that he did not re- 
 port for duty. 
 
 On the 28th of June, 1882, Mr. Dickinson left 
 Battle Creek, Mich., and in company with his fam- 
 
PORTRAIT AND ETOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 483 
 
 ily came to Rockford, where he has been engaged 
 in business in the line above mentioned. Tlie 
 pavement known as the Staples cement pavement, 
 which was invented by Mi: Staples, who is yet a 
 resident of Battle Creek, was brought to this city 
 by our subject, and has come into general use. Its 
 value has been thoroughly tested, and it is found 
 to be a reliable and lasting paving. His work be- 
 ing thus proven, he has received a liberal patron- 
 age, and is carrying on a successful business. An 
 enterprising and industrious man, he well deserves 
 the prosperity which has attended his efforts. 
 
 GEORGE L. LUCE. Notwithstanding the 
 rapid growth of the agricultural affairs of 
 the county in the last few years, and the 
 progressive ideas advanced, Mr. Luce has kept 
 thoroughly apace with the times and is considered 
 one of the leading farmers of the county. He is 
 a self-made man, and principall}'' self-educated, 
 and all his accumulations are the result of honest 
 work and unflagging iudustrj'. 
 
 Our subject first saw the light of day in Tolland 
 Township, Tolland County, Conn., June 29, 1819, 
 and his parents, Israel and Julietta G. (Ramsey) 
 Luce, were also natives of that county and town- 
 ship. The father was born on the 14th of Jan- 
 uary, 1781, and died in his native county on the 
 23d of August, 1878. He was one of three chil- 
 dren born to Joseph and Priscilla (Loomis) Luce, 
 the former an Englishman, who came to this coun- 
 try with two brothers. One settled in Vermont, 
 another settled in the Far West, and Joseph lo- 
 cated in Connecticut, where his son, Israel, and 
 his grandson, George L., were born. He died in 
 Tolland Township, Tolland County, of that State, 
 when a very aged man. He served five years in 
 the Revolutionary War and was an officer in the 
 same. Many of our subject's ancestors were pro- 
 fessional men and prominent on land and sea. 
 Joseph Luce's wife, Priscilla (Loomis) Luce, was 
 born in Connecticut and there passed her entire 
 life. The mother of our subject was born in Provi- 
 dence, R. I-., and was the daughter of William 
 Ramsey, a native of South Carolina, who followed 
 
 the seas from early boyhood and became captain 
 of a vessel. Later in life, he abandoned the sea and 
 engaged in the wholesale grocery business. He 
 died near Providence, R. I., from the effects of a 
 sabre thrust received in a battle near Newport, 
 when about seventy years of age. He was in the 
 French Revolution. His wife was born near Provi- 
 dence, R. I., and there passed away when quite an 
 old lady. Her maiden name was Dyer. 
 
 Our subject is one of live children, three sons 
 and two daughters, four of whom are now living, 
 and he remained with his parents until twenty- 
 two years of age. From there he went to Ala- 
 bama and worked at the carpenter's trade for a 
 year or two, and then entered a machine-shop, 
 where he continued for about five years. Later, 
 he went to Mobile, thence to New Orleans, and 
 then came up the Mississippi River to Galena, 111. 
 After remaining there a short time, he went by 
 stage to DeKalb County, this State, and there 
 bought two hundred acres of wild land. Pie sub- 
 sequently invested in six hundred acres more, but 
 he finally disposed of all his DeKalb County prop- 
 erty. He had but a few dollars wlien he came to 
 this State, and his nearest market was Chicago, 
 where he could have purchased many acres of land 
 for a mere song. However, by his untiring indus- 
 try and excellent management, he has accumu- 
 lated a comfortable competency and has little to 
 regret in the past. " 
 
 Mr. Luce selected his wife in the person of Miss 
 Harriet Russell, a native of Ross County, Ohio, 
 and their nuptials were celebrated on the 6th of 
 .January, 1853. She was one of thirteen children 
 born to Laurence and Mary (Huff) Russell, but 
 only five of these children are now living. Her 
 father, Laurence, was a native of Virginia, but 
 moved to Illinois, and died in DeKalb County, 
 when seventy-three j^ears of age. His wife was 
 born in Virginia and died in DeKalb County, 111., 
 when seventy-seven years of age. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Luce's union has been blessed by the birth of three 
 sons, who are as follows: George E., born in 
 DeKalb County, 111., October 28, 1853, married 
 Miss Ella Ward, and is the father of three children, 
 a son and two daughters; Laurence R., born in 
 DeKalb County, October 2, 1856, married Miss 
 
484 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ella Pritchard, and is the father of four children, 
 a son and three daughters; and Oscar L., born in 
 Golden City, Colo., on the 21st of September, 1862. 
 In 1859, our subject and family went to Colo- 
 rado and he was there engaged in mining and 
 farming, and also worked some at the carpenter's 
 trade for about ten years. He resided for some 
 time at Camp Collins, Larimer County, and while 
 there held the ofHceof Justice of the Peace. From 
 Colorado, Mr. Luce went to Olathe, Johnson 
 County, Kan., and purchased a farm,but two years 
 later liesold part of this farm, about two hundred 
 and fifty acres, and one of his sons is residing on 
 the remainder at the present time. In 1873, our 
 subject came to Boone County and is now a resi- 
 dent of Belvidere, being practically retired. He 
 owns village property in Olathe, Kan., also some 
 of the finest city property in Belvidere, and other 
 property in the county. Wherever he has resided, 
 Mr. Luce has held local position and has dis- 
 charged the duties of the same in a most creditable 
 and efficient manner. Mr. and Mrs. Luce have 
 been members of the Methodist Church for years 
 and contribute liberally to all worthy movements. 
 Mr. Luce first voted for a Democratic President, 
 but since the formation of the Republican party 
 he has advocated its principles. 
 
 ^5 — 
 
 =^>^^<i 
 
 535^ 
 
 >- 
 
 ILLIAM J. CLEVELAND. The name 
 which stands at the head of this biograph- 
 ical outline will be at once recognized as 
 belonging to one of the most energetic agricul- 
 turists and business men in Seward Township, 
 Winnebago County. He has one of the finest 
 farms in Northern Illinois, in which region he 
 commenced building his fortune and where he has 
 gained a competence. Aside from farming, he is 
 interested in the elevator and creamery at Seward, 
 and his enterprise and ability in managing affairs 
 have brought him success. 
 
 Born in Hebron, Washington Countj^ N. Y., 
 July 21, 1829. our subject is a son of Job W. and 
 Almiva Cleveland, the former of whom was born 
 in the above-named State and town, August 7, 
 1796. The paternal grandfather of our subject 
 
 also bore the name of Job and was born in 1757 
 in New York and died in Washington County. 
 He was the father of eleven children, and, like all 
 our subject's ancestors, was a farmer. 
 
 The father of our subject died July 7, 1870, in 
 Wethersfield, Wyoming County, N. Y. His wife 
 Almira Fenton, was a native of Dorset, Yt., her 
 birth occurring November 12, 1799; she died in 
 Wethersfield on her eighty-seventh birthday. 
 Her parents were also natives of the Green 
 Mountain State and departed this life in Genesee 
 County, N. Y., wlien very old people. The Fen- 
 tons were mechanics and pioneers of Vermont, 
 where they were recognized as honorable and 
 upright citizens. Grandfather Fenton drew a 
 pension from the Government, having been a 
 soldier in the War of 1812, in which conflict 
 the father of our subject was also a participant, 
 and likewise drew a pension. 
 
 William J. Cleveland came to this county when 
 twenty-two years of age and purchasing land in 
 Seward Township, lived there for four years, 
 wh«n he sold his property to his brother S. H. 
 and bought his present farm of two hundred acres, 
 a portion of which is included in the town site of 
 Seward. By persistent industry and enterprise, 
 he placed his land under an excellent state of 
 cultivation, erecting thereon all the needful 
 buildings, and by properly cultivating the soil 
 realizes handsome returns. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married July 
 3, 1851, was Miss Jane Curtis, whose birth oc- 
 curred October 23, 1831, in Wethersfield, Wyom- 
 ing County, N. Y. She was a daughter of Francis 
 and Sylvia Curtis, natives of New York. The 
 mother is at present living in Michigan, in which 
 State the father died in 1860. Mrs. Cleveland 
 was a member of a family which included eleven 
 children, all of whom are living with one 
 exception. Mr. Cleveland has five brothers and 
 two sisters living. 
 
 Of the seven children born to our subject and 
 his wife, six are living, namely: Albert W., born 
 in Wethersfield, N. Y., August 27, 1852, is married 
 and has four children; Maria A., a native of this 
 county, was born August 26, 1854; Adela E., also 
 a native of this county, was born June 10, 1857, 
 
S^. 4:^^-^^— *^A: 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 487 
 
 and is married and has had five children, one of 
 whom is deceased; Herbert W., a native of this 
 county, was born August 8, 1860, is married and 
 the father of three children; Clara R. was born on 
 the 22d of May, 1864, is married, has one child, 
 and resides in Iowa; Wilson J. was born July 3, 
 1876, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of our sub- 
 ject's marriage. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, in which denomina- 
 tion our subject has been Deacon for the past 
 twenty years. He is a believer in the principles 
 embodied in the Republican platform, and in all 
 national elections supports it with his vote. His 
 fellow-citizens, marking his abilit}' in carrying on 
 his own affairs, have called upon him to aid in 
 the management of public business, he having 
 filled many positions of trust and responsibility. 
 
 
 ^.{..{.^^L 
 
 y-5"5'**F 
 
 l^ANIEL DOW. The thrilling scenes through 
 I m which the pioneers passed in the settle- 
 (^^ ment of this portion of the State, must 
 ever awaken emotions of warmest regard 
 for them. To pave the way for those who followed, 
 and to make settlement in the West a pleasure, 
 they stemmed the floodtide wave of civilization, 
 they endured all, they suffered all. Mr. Dow is 
 one of those few spirits who now survive; many 
 of them have passed away full of years and honor, 
 leaving their children and children's children 
 and strangers to succeed them and enjoy the 
 fruits of their toil, privations and the savings of 
 their long and eventful lives. 
 
 Danigi Dow, whose portrait accompanies this 
 life sketch, was born in Perthshire, Scotland, and 
 is a son of Alexander Dow, who was a native of 
 the same parish. The latter-named gentleman was 
 always engaged in agricultural pursuits, and spent 
 his, entire life in his native land. The maiden 
 name of the mother of our subject was Ann McEwen. 
 She was a native of the same shire as was her 
 husband and spent her entire life in Scotland. To 
 them were born eight children, namely: John, 
 Thomas, Jane, Alexander, Charles, Catherine, 
 Daniel and Neal. Charles, Daniel and Catherine 
 
 were the only members of the family who came to 
 America, all settling in Winnebago CountJ^ 
 Catherine became the wife of Robert Dow, who 
 was also a native of Scotland. 
 
 Having heard wonderful accounts of the New 
 World, the subject of this sketch, before reaching 
 his twelfth year, made up his mind to come to 
 this country. Before attaining his majority, he 
 left the parental roof, and, going to Liverpool, 
 took passage on a sailer, and after a voyage of 
 seven weeks and four days, landed in New York. 
 Having friends in that State, he spent a twelve- 
 month there, and in 1838 came to Illinois, via 
 the Erie Canal to Buffalo, and thence b}' waj- of 
 the Lakes to Chicago, which was then but a hamlet. 
 He found business very dull there and soon after 
 visited Peoria. He returned, however, to Chicago, 
 where he arrived with but twenty-five cents in his 
 pocket. He was fortunate in obtaining a situation 
 in a general store, but as fever and ague were 
 very prevalent in Chicago at that time, and as he 
 was himself in poor health, in 1839 he determined 
 to return to Scotland. 
 
 On informing his employer of his intentions, the 
 latter tried to induce him to remain, but Mr. Dow 
 was inflexible and a settlement was made. His 
 employer was to be at the store the next morning 
 to pay him the remainder of his earnings and bid 
 him a farewell. However, he failed to keep the 
 appointment and did not arrive until after the 
 boat was gone. It being the last boat which left 
 Chicago that fall, and as there was no railroad, 
 young Dow returned to his position as clerk in 
 the store. He occupied that position until 1841, 
 which was the date of his arrival in Rockford, at 
 that time a place of but a few hundred people. 
 The surrounding country was very sparsely 
 settled, deer, wolves and other wild game being 
 very plentiful, and the land which was not yet 
 opened up was owned by the Government. 
 
 On making his home in this now prosperous 
 city, Mr. Dow established himself in business by 
 opening a boot and shoe store, and in a short time 
 put in a stock of general merchandise, buying his 
 goods at St. Louis, Cincinnati and New York. 
 His first trip to St. Louis was made with teams to 
 Galena, thence by the Mississippi River to his 
 
488 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 destination. In later years he went by the way of 
 Peru. He was very successful in business, and was 
 prompt in meeting his obligations, never having 
 to be sued or even dunned. He continued actively 
 engaged as a merchant until 1859, when, on 
 account of ill-health, he disposed of his business 
 and crossed the ocean to visit relatives and friends 
 in his old home. Remaining there for six months, 
 he again came to Rockford and a short time after 
 started for California, leaving New York and 
 landing in San Francisco after being out thirty- 
 flve days. He traveled quite extensively in the 
 Golden State and then went to Oregon, where he 
 visited the principal points of interest, and re- 
 turned home via Panama to Aspinwall, and thence 
 to New York. He then commenced dealing in 
 grain in Rockford, and from that time has oper- 
 ated more or less on the Chicago Board of Trade. 
 A man of decided ability and genial tempera- 
 ment, Mr. Dow is very popular with his fellow- 
 citizens. For six years he served as Alderman of 
 the Third Ward, and upon retiring from the office 
 received a gold-beaded cane, upon which was the 
 following inscription: " D. Dow, Alderman Third 
 Ward, Rockford, from his constituents." In 
 social life he is very entertaining, and is well 
 calculated to aid in the building up of a new 
 country, being energetic, affable and kind-hearted. 
 As a splendid example of what may be accom- 
 plished by an energetic, determined and econom- 
 ical man, we point with pride and pleasure to 
 Daniel Dow. 
 
 (^^)HOMAS DUNKLEY. Among the popular 
 citizens of the village of Winnebago is the 
 gentleman whose name introduces this bio- 
 graphical notice and who, since first he settled in 
 Winnebago County, has been closely identified 
 with its progress along the lines of agricultural, 
 religious and educational growth. He inherits the 
 sturdy qualities of his English forefathers and he 
 himself is a native of England, born in Northamp- 
 tonshire, January 14, 1818. 
 
 The father of our subject, Joseph Dunkley, was 
 
 born in the same shire in which his son first saw 
 the light, and was there reared to farming pursuits 
 in which occupation he spent his entire life in the 
 shire of his birth. His wife, whose maiden name 
 was Sarah Cooper, was born in Northamptonshire 
 England, and became the mother of five children: 
 William, Janet, Frances, Elizabeth and Thomas. 
 The last-named was reared in the town of Chapel 
 Brampton, and entered the employ of Lord Spen- 
 cer at an early age, remaining with him until his 
 death. 
 
 The next employment of Mr. Dunkley was at 
 the trade of a butcher, in which he was associated 
 with his father, and he was also the proprietor of 
 an inn and engaged in farming. In 1849, having 
 resolved to seek a home in America, he took pas- 
 sage, June 14, at London on the sailing-vessel 
 "City of Devonshire," and landed in New York 
 after a voyage of nearly six weeks. He was ac- 
 companied by his wife and two children, and pro- 
 ceeded at once after landing to Illinois, via the 
 Hudson River to Albany, thence by railroad to 
 Buffalo, and from there on the Lakes to Chicago, 
 and thence with a team to Rockford. The roads 
 were very bad and the journey from Chicago re- 
 quired almost a week. 
 
 After settling in Winnebago County, Mr. Dunk- 
 ley worked at various kinds of employment for 
 one and pne half years in Rockford, then feeling 
 that it was time to secure a home for his family, 
 purchased eighty acres of fine prairie land in what 
 is now Seward Township, paying $1.25 per acre. 
 There was plenty more good land in the vicinity 
 for sale at the same price, but he thought it would 
 not all be taken up in his day and so did not buy 
 for some time, and he paid 130 an acre for the first 
 he bought after his original purchase. 
 
 On his new farm Mr. Dunkley first built a frame 
 house, 12x18 feet in dimensions, which the family 
 occupied until 1861, when he built a commodious, 
 substantial, stone residence. As a farmer he was 
 successful and purchased other land at different 
 times until he became the owner of two hundred 
 and forty acres of well-improved land, and still 
 owns two hundred acres, but has disposed of the 
 other property. He occupied the farm and en- 
 gaged in actively tilling the soil until 1879, when 
 
fOETEAIT AND BIOGRAPPIICAL RECORD. 
 
 489 
 
 he built the residence he has since occupied in the 
 village of Winnebago. June 22, 1846, Mr. Dunk- 
 ley was married, in St. George's Church, Hanover 
 Square, London, to Miss Mary A. Withers, who 
 was also of English birth, and born July 7, 1818. 
 For more than thirty-six years the worthy couple 
 lived together in happiness, sharing their joys and 
 working for the accumulation of a competency 
 and the training of their children, until October 
 4, 1882, when the beloved wife and mother passed 
 from earth. She was a faithful member of the 
 Presbyterian Church, to which Mr. Dunkley also 
 belongs. They became the parents of eight chil- 
 dren who now survive, with one exception, 
 namely: Thomas W., Eli'zabeth, Joseph, Edward, 
 John, William, George, who died March 2, 1892, 
 and Lillie. Politically, Mr. Dunkley adheres to 
 the principles of the Democratic party, and has 
 always contributed his influence toward those 
 measures which will benefit the community. 
 
 ^ OHN SMITH, a citizen of thorough integ- 
 rity, enterprise and intelligence, is highly 
 prized in Winnebago County as one of the 
 ^^ early settlers in Harlem Township. Born 
 in Kintyre, Argyloshire, Scotland, July 22, 1826, 
 he is the son of Daniel and Mary (Montgomery) 
 Smith. He attended the parish schools until fif- 
 teen years of age, then assisted his father on the 
 farm until accompanying his parents to America 
 in 1842. After the death of the father, our sub- 
 ject and his brothers worked together, and, as they 
 were all very industrious,made considerable monej' , 
 which they invested in lands, until they owned up- 
 wards of a section. 
 
 For many years after locating in this county, 
 there were no railroads, all the grain being hauled 
 to the Chicago market with ox and horse teams, 
 our subject making twenty-five trips to that city 
 in one year. He relates that at one time he drove 
 in with a load of beef, and after selling all but one 
 quarter, drove all over the city to find a customer 
 for that. In 1852, the brothers divided their prop- 
 erty, our subject locating upon the farm where 
 he now resides. At that time the land was heav- 
 
 ily timbered, but Mr. Smith set industriously to 
 work to clear it, erecting buildings in accordance 
 with his means. His frame house was 16x24 feet 
 in dimensions and one story in height. A few 
 years later he erected a large frame barn with stone 
 basement, which was replaced by a larger one in 
 1873. A commodious frame house was built in 
 1868, and is now occupied by our subject's son 
 James, our subject residing in a beautiful dwell- 
 ing, into which the family moved in 1892. 
 
 The estate of our subject includes two hundred 
 and forty acres in one body, besides which he 
 owns sixty acres of pasture and timber land. The 
 buildings, which are neat and substantial, are lo- 
 cated on a rise of ground commanding a fine view 
 of the surrounding country. December 12, 1852, 
 Miss Elizabeth Montgomery, wlio was born in 
 Kintyre, Scotland, was united m marriage with 
 our subject. Mrs. Smith was a daugliter of James 
 and Jane (Caldwell) Montgomery, pioneeis of 
 Harlem Township. The five children comprising 
 the family of our subject and his wife are: Daniel 
 M., Jane, Flora, James M. and Mary E. Daniel 
 married Catherine Brown and has one son, Charles; 
 Jane is Mrs. James S. Reid, of Harlem Township, 
 and has four children: Russel, Lulu, Howie and 
 Mary I.; James married Mary Greenlee and is re- 
 siding on the old homestead. The family of our 
 subject are all members of the Willow Creek Pres- 
 byterian Church, and, in politics, our subject is a 
 member of the Republican party. 
 
 ^SIn ARL J. SWENSON, a stockholder and Direc- 
 (|[^ tor and the Superintendent of the Skandia 
 *^^7 Furniture Company of Rockford, has been 
 connected with this enterprise since the organiza- 
 tion of the company, in February, 1889. The 
 factory is located on North Second Street, on the 
 east bank of Rock River, and business was begun 
 in September of the year above mentioned. Em- 
 ployment has been continuously furnished to one 
 hundred and fifty men, of whom Mr. Swenson has 
 had the superintendency during the entire opera- 
 tion of the factory. 
 
 Our subject was born not far from Gottenburg, 
 
490 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Sweden, on the 11th of December, 1856, and there 
 resided until fifteen years of age, when he began 
 life for himself, since which time he has been de- 
 pendent upon his own resources. Going to the 
 city near his home, he there learned the cabinet- 
 maker's tra,de, after which he crossed the Atlantic 
 to America in 1879, following his brother E. M 
 Swenson, who had previously emigrated to this 
 country. He is now married and follows farming 
 near Waterville, Minn. He also had one brother, 
 Albin, who came to this country in 1880, and died 
 in Rockford in 1882, and a brother August and sister 
 Josephine, who came in 1881. This last brother 
 is a cabinet-maker and is employed by the Skandia 
 Furniture Company; the sister is the wife of E. A. 
 Norrman, of the firm of Ullmark & Norrman, tin- 
 ners. The parents came afterward to the United 
 States, the year 1882 witnessing their arrival, 
 since which time they liave made their home in 
 Rockford. The father, Swen Sweuson, is a suc- 
 cessful cabinet-maker, employed by the Rockford 
 Co-operative Furniture Company. 
 
 The marriage of our subject was celebrated in 
 this city, the lady of his choice being Miss Alma C. 
 Olson, who was born in Sweden, on the 17th of 
 August, 1857, and crossed the water in 1885, since 
 which time her home has been in Rockford. Her 
 mother died in Sweden, but her father, Olof John- 
 son, is now a resident of Rockford and a cabinet- 
 maker, engaged with the Skandia Furniture Com- 
 pany. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Swenson has 
 been blessed with two children: Thorborg and 
 Carl E. 
 
 In connection with his other business interests, 
 Mr. Swenson was one of the original stockholders 
 in the Co-operative Furniture Company, and was 
 the first cabinet-maker to draw a plane in its shops. 
 He was also its Superintendent for three years, 
 after working as a common employe for seven yeai-s. 
 He was also employed for a time in the F'orest City 
 Furniture Factory and since 1889, as before stated, 
 has been Superintendent of tlie Skandia F'urniture 
 Company. He has lived a busy and useful life, 
 performing each task faithfully and well, and thus 
 his merit has won him promotion. He is also a 
 valued citizen of the community, interested in 
 everything pertaining to the general welfare, and 
 
 is of a progressive spirit. In this community be 
 has made many friends, who esteem him highly for 
 his sterling worth, and he is well deserving of rep- 
 resentation in the history of his adopted county. 
 
 OHN A. BRANDSTROM, who is engaged 
 in the boot and shoe business at No. 630 
 Seventh Street, Rockford, claims Sweden 
 as the land of his nativity. He was born 
 on the 10th of September, 1861, and is a son of 
 John and Mary (Peterson) Brandstrom, both of 
 whom are still living in the Old Country and are 
 now past the age of three-score years. With the 
 Lutheran Church they hold membership. They 
 had several children, those who came to this 
 country being Charles G., who is now in business 
 with our subject, and three sisters: Amanda, now 
 Mrs. Borg, of this city; Hulda, now Mrs. Lind- 
 burg; and Anna, who lives with her eldest sister. 
 Our subject spent his boyhood days under the 
 parental roof and when thirteen years of age be- 
 gan serving an apprenticeship to the trade of a 
 shoemaker, which he has followed throughout 
 his entire life. He was the first of his family to 
 cross the Atlantic to seek a home in the New 
 World. Bidding good-bye to his native land, he 
 prepared to sail, and the month of April, 1882, 
 witnessed his emigration to America. He came 
 at once to the West, locating in Oregon, 111., where 
 he spent two years, after which he came to Rock- 
 ford in 1884. He began work in this city as a 
 shoemaker until April, 1889, when he established 
 his present store at No. 630 Seventh Street. He 
 occupies a store-room, 40x50 feet, and has it well 
 stocked with a good grade of boots and shoes. 
 
 A marriage ceremony performed in Rockford 
 on the 28th of October, 1884, united the destinies 
 of Mr. Brandstrom and Miss Gustava Anderson, 
 who is a native of the same province of Sweden 
 as her husband. Her father was a Swedish soldier 
 and died in that country in the prime of life. Her 
 mother is still living in Sweden and has passed 
 her sixtieth birthday. She is a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, to which her husband also be- 
 
yy^^-A-**^,^o-o3!ti\ 
 
f 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 493 
 
 lon"-ed. In the family was one son, who resides 
 in this country; August, a farmer living in Ogle 
 County, and a sister, Matilda, makes her home in 
 Rockford. 
 
 Three children grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Brandstrom, a son and two daughters: Ellen T., 
 C. J. Henry and Esther A. The parents both be- 
 long to the Swedish Lutheran Church, and in poli- 
 tics our subject is an independent Republican. 
 Since he established business in 1889, he has built 
 up a good trade and is now enjoying a well-de- 
 served patronage. He is recognized as one of the 
 successful Swedish merchants of the city and ranks 
 deservedly high in business circles. In connec- 
 tion with his boot and shoe store, he is interested 
 in the Rockford Manufacturing Company, which 
 has a capital of $200,000, owning five shares of 
 stock in the same. 
 
 *' ON. JOHN J. FOOTE.. To be descended 
 from ancestors whose names are inseparably 
 associated with the annals of our country, 
 is an honor in which one may take just 
 pride, but it is equally gratifying to the biographi- 
 cal writer to record the deeds of those who, through 
 long and honorable careers, have preserved un- 
 tarnished the good name they bear and have even 
 added lustre to the ancestral history. 
 
 It is therefore a pleasure to record the life sketch 
 and present the portrait of Hon. J. J. Foote, of 
 Belvidere, for the benefit of this and coming gen- 
 erations. He was born in Hamilton, Madison 
 County, N. Y., February 11, 1816, and is the son 
 of John Foote, a native of Connecticut. The paT 
 ternal grandfather, Hon. Isaac Foote, was born in 
 Colchester, Conn., January 4, 1746, and in 1776 
 settled in Stafford, the same State. In 1779, he 
 was appointed Justice of the Peace, and was fre- 
 quently elected to represent the district in the 
 State Legislature. When the Constitution of the 
 United States was drawn, he was chosen delegate 
 to represent the town in the general convention 
 appointed to canvass the Constitution in order for 
 adoption, and it was unanimously adopted by the 
 convention. 
 22 
 
 In 1795, Grandfather Foote removed "West as 
 far as Sm3Tna, in that part of Herkimer County now 
 included in Chenango County, N. Y. Three years 
 after settling there, he was elected to the State 
 Legislature, in which position he was instrumental 
 in securing the organization of the county of 
 Chenango. He served with honor as the first 
 Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and General 
 Sessions. In 1800, he was elected Senator and oc- 
 cupied that honorable ofHce for four years. In 
 1806, he resigned the position of Judge and re-, 
 tired from public life. His death occurred in 
 Smyrna, February 26, 1842, when he had reached 
 the venerable age of ninety-seven. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Mary Kellogg. 
 
 The father of our subject was educated at Hamil- 
 ton College, Clinton, Oneida County, N. Y., and 
 studied law with Judge Hubbard, of Hamilton. In 
 1813, he was admitted to the Bar and practiced in 
 the district and United States courts, becoming 
 eminent as a counselor and a solicitor in chancery 
 He was always a total abstainer and a great ad- 
 vocate of temperance. At the age of ninety-one 
 years, he delivered an able address which was 
 printed and had a large circulation. He was a 
 charter member of the Congregational Church at 
 Hamilton and served as Deacon and Clerk, remain- 
 ing a faithful Christian until his death in July, 
 1884. He was first married, January 12, 1812, to 
 Mary B. Johnson, the mother of our subject, who 
 was born in New Canaan, Columbia County, N. Y., 
 and was the daughter of Dr. Johnson. 
 
 In his boyhood days, our subject attended school 
 until he was eleven years old, when he commenced 
 to learn the drug and medicine trade, but attended 
 Hamilton Academy during the winter seasons until 
 sixteen. After that, he gave his time to business 
 but devoted all his leisure hours to study until 
 he had completed his education. The degree of 
 Master of Arts was conferred upon him by Madi- 
 son (now Colgate) University. He engaged in 
 the drug business at Hamilton until failing health 
 compelled him to seek rest from business cares, 
 when he came to Belvidere and located on a farm 
 which he owned near the city. In 1883, he moved 
 to the city of Belvidere, where he now lives retired. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Foote in 1839 united him 
 
494 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 with Miss Mary, daughter of Amos and Mary 
 (Owen) Crocker, and a native of Lebanon, N. Y. 
 They have three children living, namely: Mary 
 Annette, wife of Enos Clark, of Kirkwood, Mo.; 
 John Crocker and Harriet, who reside in Belvidere. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Foote was formerly a Whig and 
 while a member of that party was elected Super- 
 visor of the town of Hamilton, Madison County, 
 N. Y., and also served as Chairman of the County 
 Board of Supervisors. At the time of the formation 
 of the Republican party, he entered its ranks. In 
 1857, he was elected to the State Senate, represent- 
 ing the counties of Madison, Chenango, and Cort- 
 land, and introduced into the Senate the famous 
 Personal Liberty Bill. He was well acquainted and 
 in perfect accord with the leaders and stood high in 
 the councils of his party. In 1860, he was Presi- 
 dential Elector, representing Madison and Oswego 
 Counties. Since coming to Illinois, he has twice 
 been elected President of the Boone County Agri- 
 cultural Society, for five or six years has repre- 
 sented Belvidere on the County Board of Super- 
 visors and served as Chairman of the Board. 
 
 In 1873, Mr. Foote was invited to New York by 
 Postmaster James to accept a position in the post- 
 office. There had been numerous defalcations 
 previously and something had to be done to check 
 it. He organized the Auditor's Department of 
 that office, which was the first post-office in the 
 United States to have such a department, and was 
 acting Postmaster when Mr. James was absent. 
 The duties pertaining to the office of Auditor are 
 as follows: accounting with the post-office depart- 
 ment, supervision of the cashier and money-order 
 department, receipt and expenditures of all 
 moneys, supervision of the unpaid postage depart- 
 ment, collection of newspaper postage, and of quart- 
 erly rates, supervision of the repair of buildings, 
 pouches and sacks, and supervision of the different 
 stations and correspondence. He was Auditor of 
 the Custodian Department, having charge of public 
 buildings, and was very successful in the position, 
 which he held three years, resigning in 1876, be- 
 cause of failing health. The rules and regulations 
 he established for the reorganization of the New 
 York post-office were introduced into many post- 
 offices of the large cities by Gen. M. La Rue Harri- 
 
 son, of Washington, D. C, so that the reforms 
 instituted in New York were not confined to that 
 city. 
 
 Gen. Harrison was connected with the money 
 order service at Washington, his duties calling him 
 to large cities throughout the United States, re- 
 organizing and reforming the service. After Mr. 
 Foote had reorganized the postoffice at New York 
 and provided "rules and regulations," which were 
 printed in pamphlet form, the General adopted 
 them as his guide. Referring to this in one of his 
 letters to Mr. Foote, he says: "I have told post- 
 office men over and over again, that to you more 
 than to all others combined the NewYork office owes 
 its present state of efficiency. I am on the record 
 and ready to fight for it." Being a business man, 
 the reforms which Mr. Foote instituted were based 
 on approved "business principles," and proved 
 most beneficial. 
 
 1^^ 
 
 '\f| OHN LEACH occupies an honorable posi- 
 tion among the pioneers of Winnebago 
 County, and as an active, intelligent, thrifty 
 and practical farmer, has promoted its agri- 
 cultural interests, and is classed with its most suc- 
 cessful and wealthy farmers. He is a large land- 
 owner in this section, and his residence in the 
 county dates from 1849. His home is located on 
 section 36, Durand Township, where rich harvests 
 have brought him wealth, so tliat he is enabled to 
 spend his declining years at ease in a home that is 
 replete with comfort. 
 
 Like many of the prominent residents of this 
 county, our subject was born in England, August 
 7, 1824, and is a son of Jonathan and Catherine 
 (Higginbottom) Leach, also natives of Lanca- 
 shire, where the father was a dyer in a woolen mill. 
 To the parents were born a family of seven children: 
 Anna, George, Samuel, John, Levi, and two who 
 died in infancy. Our subject was reared in Mos- 
 ley, England, and worked at the trade of a spin- 
 ner in a cotton factory. He was the only one of 
 the family to come to the New World, and, setting 
 sail from Liverpool, November 13, 1847, landed 
 in New York after a journey of thirty-five days 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 495 
 
 on the "Sheridan." Arriving in this country, Mr. 
 Leach wentto Rhode Island, and in Marcli, 1848, to 
 Waltham, Mass., where lie pursued his trade. The 
 following year he came to Illinois, and being 
 pleased with the outlook in Winnebago County, 
 remained two months in Durand, and during the 
 time selected the land which is his present home. 
 Returning to the Bay State, our subject resumed 
 work at his trade until April, 1853. 
 
 In August, 1851, Mr. Leach and Miss Elizabeth 
 Higginbottom were united in marriage. The lady 
 was also a native of Lancashire, England, her birth 
 occurring April 27, 1823. She was the daughter 
 of Harlam and Anna (Lees) Higginbottom, and 
 accompanied her parents to the United States in 
 1841. Her father located in Trenton, N. J., but 
 not being able to find work at his trade of a spin- 
 ner, did manual labor. In 1842, he removed to 
 Rhode Island, where he resided until 1848, then 
 removed to Waltham, Mass., where he made his 
 liome until coming to Illinois in 1849. Locating 
 in Durand Township, Mr. Higginbottom departed 
 this life when eighty- three j'ears of age, and his 
 good wife when three-score years and ten. 
 
 Mrs. Leach was one in a family of seven chil- 
 dren, five of whom grew to mature years, namely: 
 Samuel, who resides in Norborne, Mo.; Mrs. Leach, 
 who was the second in order of birth; Allen, who 
 resides in Holyoke, Mass.; Hannah, who married 
 Isaac Walker, died at Cahoos Falls, N. Y.; and 
 Ann, Mrs. John McMann, who resides in Harrison 
 Township, this county. 
 
 The original of this sketch made a permanent 
 location in this county in 1853, having purchased 
 forty-nine acres of land which bore partial im- 
 provements. He has since given his attention to 
 farming, and is the proud possessor of three hun- 
 dred and fifteen broad acres, upon which he has 
 placed first-class improvements. He also is quite 
 successful in stock-raising, and ranks among the 
 progressive farmers of this section. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Leach have been born eight 
 children, four of whom are deceased. Those liv- 
 ing are Levi, who was born August 24, 1852, and 
 resides in Aurora, Buchanan Countj^, Iowa; he 
 married Hulda Felts, and is the father of four 
 children: Mamie, Edward, Stewart and an infant. 
 
 John S., who was born August 5, 1857, married 
 Emma Hicks, and has two children, Donald and 
 Leonard. Allen, who was born November 2, 1864, 
 is the husband of Emma Nelson, and makes his 
 home in this township. Lizzie, who was born De- 
 cember 4, 1866, is Mrs. Edwin Barningham, and 
 lives in Harrison Township. 
 
 In his political relations, Mr. Leach voted the 
 Republican ticket until 1890, since which time he 
 casts an independent ballot. He was reared in the 
 Episcopal Church, and gives liberally of his means 
 toward its support. The accumulation of his hand- 
 some property has been by good nianagement in 
 all of his enterprises, and by the assistance of a 
 devoted and helpful wife. 
 
 ^^EORGE GREENLEE, senior member of the 
 ill (- — firm of George Greenlee & Son, hardware 
 ^^jj merchants at Belvidere, is of Scottish birth. 
 He was born in Kintyre, Argyleshire, January 1, 
 1828, and is a son of Elder John and Helen 
 (Brown) Greenlee, a sketch of whom appears else- 
 where in this work. He was a lad of only eight 
 summers when, with his parents, he crossed the 
 broad Atlantic to America, but he distinctly re- 
 members many incidents of the voyage and of 
 early pioneer life in Winnebago County, where 
 the family settled. It was some time after they 
 had located here before there were any schools in 
 this part of the county. Finally, a district was 
 organized, and all the settlers, joined together, cut 
 trees and erected a log building, which was located 
 about eighty rods west of the present site of the 
 Willow Creek Church. The floor was made of 
 slabs and the benches of the same material. There 
 were no desks in front; holes were bored in the 
 logs on either side of the room, in which pins were 
 inserted, and slabs laid upon these served for the 
 larger scholars to write on. The building was 
 heated by a fire-place, and it was in this building 
 that the Willow Creek Church was organized. 
 
 When very young, Mr. Greenlee commenced to 
 assist his father with the labors of the farm, and 
 under the parental roof he remained until his 
 
496 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 marriage, when he located on the farm which he 
 still owns in Harlem Township. He continued to 
 actively engage in agricultural pursuits and de- 
 vote his attention to the improvement of his land 
 until 1876, when he rented his farm and removed 
 to Belvidere. He embarked in the hardware busi- 
 ness in company with his brothers, John and 
 Charles. This firm continued operations until 
 November, 1890, when Mr. Greenlee's son suc- 
 ceeded to the interest of his brothers, and the firm 
 became George Greenlee & Son. They carrj' a 
 full and complete stock of goods in their line, 
 have worked up an excellent trade and are num- 
 bered among the leading merchants of the city. 
 
 In 1857, our subject was united in marriage to 
 Martha Greenlee, .ilso a native of Kintyre, Scot- 
 land, and a daughter of William and Martha 
 Greenlee. Their union has been blessed by six 
 children, three of whom are living: George, 
 Martha and Lizzie, who are all at home. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Greenlee are both members of the Presby- 
 terian Church and are well-known people of this 
 community, held in high regard for their many 
 excellencies of character. In politics, he is a Re- 
 publican, and is a public-spirited and progressive 
 citizen who has ever borne his part in the advance- 
 ment of those enterprises calculated to benefit and 
 improve the community. 
 
 kESTl 
 •z 
 
 •^ ESTER N. GALLUP, who resides at No. 
 402 La Fayette Avenue, Rockford, is a na- 
 ive of Cleveland, Ohio, but was chiefly 
 reared in Newburg, that State, where he received a 
 practical education. His parents, Jabez and Lucy 
 (Meech) Gallup, were natives of Connecticut and 
 of Scotch descent. In the Nutmeg State, they 
 were married and came at once to Cleveland, Ohio, 
 where the mother died at the age of thirty-seven 
 years. Mr. Gallup was a second time married and 
 removed to Denver, Col., where he died at the age 
 of eighty-four years. He was a skilled mechanic 
 and architect in house and ship building. In early 
 life, he and his wife belonged to the Presbyterian 
 Church but afterward became Congregationalists. 
 He was a well-informed man, unyielding in sup- 
 
 port of what he believed to be right. In politics 
 he was a stanch Whig and afterward a Republican 
 and in the War of 1812 he served his country 
 faithfully. 
 
 At an early age, our subject began to earn his 
 own livelihood and for nearly three years served 
 on a boat on the Mississippi River as a freight 
 checker. He showed decided business ability in 
 whatever he attempted to do and his life has been 
 one of uprightness and honor. He became con- 
 nected with the early development of the country 
 west of the Mississippi River about 1850. In 1859, 
 he crossed the American Desert and afterward be- 
 came proprietor of trains that carried all the busi- 
 ness which was done with the Far West. He con- 
 ducted, and was proprietor of, different wagon 
 trains which ran all the way to California. Few 
 men are better acquainted with the early history of 
 the West than Mr. Gallup. He saw Denver, Cole, 
 when it was only a few log cabins, a mere Indian 
 trading-post, and visited North Platte and Kearney 
 before they were known as towns. He became well 
 known among the frontiersmen and was a personal 
 friend of many of the leading pioneers. He also be- 
 came acquainted with the red men and their habits, 
 and has helped to bury many massacred by the sav- 
 ages, but his own judgment and care, supplemented 
 b}^ undaunted bravery, made him safe from their 
 treachery. If it were possible to relate all the ex- 
 periences of Mr. Gallup in his Western life, it 
 would fill a volume and the story would be one of 
 thrilling interest. Circumstances led him to be- 
 come connected with the railroad interests and 
 also the stock business. He is now actively en- 
 gaged in looking after his stock in Gentry County, 
 Mo.', and is the live-stock agent for the railroad 
 companies through the West. 
 
 In St. Louis, Mo., Mr. Gallup wedded Miss 
 Rebecca Griggs, who was born in Illinois, and is a 
 daughter of Albert and Laura (Judd) Griggs, na- 
 tives of the Empire State, and of French and New 
 England descent, respectively. Her father died at 
 Glenwood, Mills County, Iowa, in 1864. He was 
 a prominent man in that county and was serving 
 as Sheriff at the time of his death. He was a soldier 
 during the War of 1812. In politics, he was a 
 Whig and afterward a stanch Republican. His 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 497 
 
 wife now makes iier home with Mrs. Gallup at the 
 age of seventy-seven years and is yet remarkably 
 well preserved. In religious belief, she is a Meth- 
 odist and her life has been in harmony with her 
 profession. 
 
 Mrs. Gallup is a cultured and refined lady and 
 has been quite prominent in temperance work in 
 the West. She was one of the pioneer temperance 
 workers in Iowa and is a personal friend of Mrs. 
 J, Ellen Foster. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gallup give 
 their support to whatever tends to promote the 
 moral interests of the community, are consistent 
 members of the Baptist Church and are Prohibi- 
 tionists in political sentiment. They have a plea- 
 sant home at No. 402 La Fayette Avenue, which is 
 brightened by the presence of two children: Lulu 
 F. and Fred. Mr. Gallup is recognized as a man 
 of sterling worth, is true to every duty and is of a 
 genial nature. 
 
 ■if OHN H. LINDERMAN. This gentleman 
 has done much to forward the business 
 interests of Winnebago County, and as one 
 who is disposed to support all measures 
 tending toward the continuation of its prosperity, 
 he is well worthy of representation in this volume. 
 He is at present residing on a good farm in Roscoe 
 Township, where, besides being engaged in general 
 agriculture, he make a specialty of stock-raising 
 feeding the greater portion of his farm products 
 to his animals. 
 
 A native of Steuben County, N. Y., our subject, 
 who is the son of Henry Linderman, was borfi in 
 1828. His father was also a native of that State, 
 where he spent the first sixty years of his life, then 
 came West to Roscoe Township, this county, in the 
 fall of 1854, making the journey overland with 
 teams. His father, the grandfather of our subject, 
 S. Linderman, also hailed from New York, and 
 after rearing a large family died at the advanced 
 age of one hundred years. He was a patriot in the 
 Revolutionary War and an industrious and reliable 
 citizen. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Mary Sebring, a native of Newfleld, Tompkins 
 
 County, N. Y., and the daughter of Cornelius Se- 
 bring, one of the earliest settlcis of that place, 
 whither he had removed from Pennsylvania. He 
 was a great hunter, and as bear, deer and other 
 wild game were plentiful, thus kept the family 
 larder constantly supplied with wild meats. He 
 reared a family of three sons and four daughters 
 and died in New York at the venerable age of 
 seventy-five years. He kept a country tavern 
 and was thus widely and favorably known 
 throughout that section of the State, being one of 
 the most prominent pioneers of his day. 
 
 John H. Linderman made his advent into Illi- 
 nois in 1854, at which time he was accompanied by 
 his mother and young wife, who prior to her mar- 
 riage was Miss Lucy, daughter of Simeon and 
 Mary A. (Fargo) Church. Her parents were na- 
 tives of Connecticut and later removing to New 
 York were farmers, and there the father's demise 
 occurred; Mrs. Church is still living. The first 
 land owned by our subject in this county was one 
 hundred and sixty acres on section 1, sixty acres 
 of which were cleared, and an old house and stone 
 hog pen completed the improvements. In 1876, 
 he erected his present commodious and substantial 
 dwelling where were born their seven children, 
 two of whom died in infancy. Those living 
 are: Arthur J., Ellon J., Cora B., Owen C. and 
 Alice E. 
 
 Although reared a Democrat, Mr. Linderman 
 casts his vote for Republican candidates. He has 
 never identified himself with any church, but is a 
 liberal contributor to the support of all worthj^ 
 objects and has aided in no small degree the 
 growth and prosperity of this countj'. 
 
 JOHN R. JEWETT. In tracing the genealogy 
 of the Jewett family in America, we find 
 that tliree brothers of that name, all black- 
 smiths, emigrated from Wales to this coun- 
 try at a period antedating the Revolution, and 
 tradition has it that, being without means, they 
 agreed that one should black himself as a darky, 
 and be sold as a slave by the others. He was af- 
 terward to run away and appear in his own proper 
 
498 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORt). 
 
 character. They did this in order to procure 
 money to Inij' tools, and, after earning enough 
 money, they paid the man back. From these broth- 
 ers sprang the Jewett family now scattered over 
 the United States. They settled in different New 
 England States, married, and reared large families. 
 The grandfather of our subject, Benjamin Jewett, 
 also followed the trade over which Longfellow and 
 Schiller have thrown a veil of romance and heroism, 
 the blacksmith trade, and this was his chief calling 
 during life. He was an active participant in the 
 French "War, and was in the battle of Quebec. He 
 also served in the Revolution for seven years. He 
 married Miss Abigail Bates, of New England, and 
 they reared a large family. His death occurred in 
 New England, and his wife followed him to the 
 grave in Genesee County, N. Y., a number of 
 years later. 
 
 The father of our subject, and the son of Ben- 
 jamin Jewett, Levi Jewett, was born in Windham 
 County, Conn., and after reaching man's estate, 
 he married an own cousin. Six weeks after the 
 birth of their first child (the subject of this sketch), 
 they went to Genesee County, N. Y., making the 
 journey of about four hundred miles through a 
 new and wild country, with a horse-team. This 
 young couple started out with limited means, and 
 thought to lay the foundation for future comfort 
 and prosperity in this heavilj-wooded country. 
 They took one hundred and twenty acres of the 
 Holland purchase, cut the first tree on the place in 
 1815, and soon had acomfortable log cabin. There 
 they delved and toiled for seventeen years, and 
 there six of their children were bom. They then 
 sold out and removed to Attica, then in that 
 countj', but now in W3'oming County, and as Mr. 
 Jewett had learned the blacksmith trade of his fa- 
 ther, he followed this for many years on the farm. 
 Although own cousins, Mr. and Mrs. Jewett reared 
 eight bright, healthy children. Mr. Jewett died 
 in Wyoming County, in 1839, of consumption, 
 when in middle life, but the remainder of the fam- 
 ily lived to be old people, and none died of that 
 fell disease. His wife, the mother of our subject, 
 died there when eighty years of age, and left seven 
 children. She had buried one daughter, Eliza Ann, 
 Mrs. Chance}' Bykard, who died when thirty years 
 
 of age. Since the death of the mother. Marietta 
 another daughter, widow of Bissell Parker, died in 
 middle life. The remainder are living: John R.- 
 Harriet, the widow of a Mr. Chadwick, resides in 
 New York; Emma, Mrs. Jacob Young, resides in 
 Michigan; Abigail, Mrs. Wilbur Washburn, re- 
 sides in Attica, N. Y.; Joel B., a farmer of Gaines- 
 ville, N. Y.; and Josiah F., a mechanic in Attica, 
 N. Y., and the City Marshal. 
 
 John R. Jewett, our subject, was born in Wind- 
 ham County, Hampton Township, Conn., August 
 22, 1815, and, like Tubal Cain, sliould have been 
 a man of might, for he followed the family 
 trade of blacksmithing on his father's farm in York 
 State until twenty-two years of age, when he left 
 the parental roof to seek his foitune in the Far 
 West. He left Buffalo for Illinois on the 15th of 
 May, 1838, and came by way of the Lakes to Chi- 
 cago on a vessel, the old "James Madison." Af- 
 ter reaching the last-named city, he walked to 
 Harrison, Winnebago County, where he had an 
 aunt living, and later engaged at his trade in 
 Rockton, where he made the sawmill irons for 
 three sawmills, and the wrought iron works for the 
 Talcott gristmill. In 1839, he staked a claim of 
 a one-half section west of the river, now the Car- 
 penter farm, and this he sold for 1150, being sick 
 and wishing to return to the East. He was taken 
 sick while building a cellar for Stephen Mack, the 
 first stoned cellar in the northern part of the 
 county, and it is in good condition at the present 
 time. 
 
 Mr. Jewett returned in the spring of 1840, with 
 restored health, and worked at his trade and gen- 
 eral mechanics, having inherited a natural taste 
 for the same from both father and mother. In 1846, 
 he took the contract to complete the work then 
 under process of construction by others who were 
 taken ill, and got this double sawmill up in good 
 shape in 1847. This mill turned out much lumber 
 for years. In 1845, Mr. Jewett had entered eighty 
 acres of land, part of his present home, and bought 
 the claim for $75, walking to Dixon to pre-empt 
 it, and in due course of time he obtained a title. 
 In 1848, he built a sawmill on his side of the river 
 at the dam, and ran this in connection with a 
 broom-handle and lath mill until 1854, when he 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 499 
 
 sold it to Lucian Williams. Since then Mr. Jewett 
 has been engaged in farming, erecting his dwell- 
 ing, barn, and other buildings on the place, and to 
 the original tract has added eighty acres, making a 
 tract of one hundred and sixty acres in all. 
 
 He was married, in this county, to Elizabeth M. 
 Gilmour, daughter of George and Mary A. (Wol- 
 folk) Gilmour, natives of Kentucky, in which 
 State Mrs. Jewett was bom September 4, 1831, and 
 their nuptials were celebrated on the 22d of May, 
 1851. Mr. and Mrs. Jewett have buried two daugh- 
 ters: Clara, who died in 1873, when in her twenty- 
 second year; and Ella, who died in 1870, when 
 fifteen years of age. They have three sons and 
 one daughter now living: John Regulus, a me- 
 chanic, carpenter and joiner, in Nebraska, is mar- 
 ried and has two children; George L., a carpenter 
 in Council Bluffs, Iowa; Robert Barns, at home, 
 but a natural mechanic, married Miss Winnie 
 McMahon, of Harrison, daughter of John and 
 Ann (Higginbottom) McMahon, and they have 
 one son, John Robert Jewett. Mr. Jewett was at 
 one time a Whig, and later he became a Repub- 
 lican, but of late years he has taken very little in- 
 terest in politics. In 1836, he cast his first Presi- 
 dential vote for William H. Harrison. He assisted 
 in building the new church in Harrison, and al- 
 though he contributes liberally to its support and 
 to all worthy enterprises, he is not a member of 
 any church. He has held the office of Justice of 
 the Peace a great many times, also other minor 
 offices, and has discharged the duties incumbent 
 upon them in a creditable manner. 
 
 In 1843, Mr. Jewett built the first bridge across 
 the Rock River at Rockton, and this was the first 
 bridge across the Rock River in Illinois. The next 
 bridge was built at Rockford, in 1845. The bridge 
 built by Mr. Jewett was at Mark's Point, and was 
 carried away by very high water many years later. 
 Mr. Jewett is practically retired from active duties 
 but looks after the farm his son R. B. is now run- 
 ning. Our subject has a family relic in his posses- 
 sion which is a well-formed little hatchet, or toma- 
 hawk, which his grandfather made and stamped 
 his initials, B. J., upon it. He wore it in his belt 
 at the battle of Quebec, and this relic is a sacred 
 one in the family. Mr. and Mrs. Jewett are both 
 
 enjoying excellent health, and are very proud of 
 the five grandchildren living, especially the little 
 baby boy at home. The maternal grandfather of 
 Mr. Jewett was an active participant in the Revo- 
 lutionary War. 
 
 ^^EORGE B. MOSS is a typical Illinois citizen. 
 Ill ,— -, He is a man of education and learning, and 
 ^^jjj as such is well known all over the county. 
 Mr. Moss was born in Boone County, Belvidere 
 Township, Illinois, on the 2'6th of September, 1845, 
 and is a son of Andrew F. and Louisa (Bristol) 
 Moss, both natives of New York, tlie father born 
 in Kingsbury, Washington County, February 27, 
 1817, and the mother in Cato, Cayuga County, 
 April 21, 1810. Andrew F. Moss was one of thir- 
 teen children, all of whom grew to mature years, 
 born to Asa and Harriet (Sherwood) Moss, who 
 were natives respectively of Connecticut and New 
 York, the former born March 14, 1779, and the 
 latter September 20, 1783. They moved to Boone 
 County, 111., many years ago and both died here, 
 the father April 11, 1856, and the mother, August 
 17, 1846. 
 
 Andrew F. Moss, father of our subject, was one 
 of the very first settlers of Boone County, 111., 
 making his appearance here in 1836, and lived to 
 see that portion of the State grow up from its in- 
 fancy, to be dotted with productive farms and 
 thriving towns. He came here with the intention 
 of working at his trade of carpentering, and when 
 nineteen years of age he had charge of fifty men 
 in that business. He took up land from the Gov- 
 ernment, and resided on the same until the time of 
 his death, on the 21st of July, 1883. He was well 
 known all over the county, was honored by all 
 who knew him, and was one of the man}- who spent 
 the greater portion of their lives in developing 
 the country, that their children and grandchildren 
 might enjoy the advantages which they themselves 
 were denied. His wife died in this county on the 
 15th of November, 1891. Of the six children 
 born to this much esteemed couple, only two be- 
 sides our subject are now living, a brother and sis- 
 
500 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ter. Ouv suliject's great-grandfather, Sherwood, 
 was a native of England, and settled in New Eng- 
 land when first coming to America. 
 
 Our subject passed his boj^hood and youth in this 
 county, and received a good practical education in 
 the Belvidere schools. He subsequently spent two 
 years in the Eastman Business College, at Chicago, 
 an'd is considered one of the best-posted men in 
 this section. He has gathered weather reports for 
 the Government for fifteen years, and was statistical 
 correspondent for the Department of Agriculture, 
 at Washington, D. C. He remained with his par- 
 ents until about 1882, and then bought eighty-two 
 acres of land where he. now lives, and thirty acres 
 of his father's old homstead. 
 
 He was married on the 1st of .January, 1878, to 
 Miss Lydia M. Wood, who was born in Greene 
 County, N. Y., and their union has been blessed 
 by the birth of one child, a son, Hollie L., who was 
 born in this county on the 26th of November, 
 1879. Mr. Moss is engaged in mixed farming and 
 is successful in this as in every other enterprise to 
 which he turns his hand. He is a Republican in 
 politics, as was also his father, who, however, be- 
 lieved in electing good men for office, regardless 
 of politics. 
 
 fa \_j ■ ■^/J>^'^^/VV^ ■ 
 
 -^ 
 
 fflOMAS N. MILLER, A. M., M. D., who is 
 engaged in the practice of medicine in 
 Rockford, was born in Oneida County, N.Y., 
 August 24, 1849, and is descended from the Pil- 
 grim Fathers. His grandfather, Eliakim Miller, 
 was born in the Empire State, of Massachusetts par- 
 entage. Representatives of the family served in 
 the Revolutionary War, and the eldest son of Elia- 
 kim was a soldier of the War of 1812. The grand- 
 father spent his entire life as a farmer, and died in 
 Madison County, N. Y., when about eighty years 
 of age. His wife also reached an advanced age. 
 The older members of the Miller family were mem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church, and its male 
 representatives were all Whigs. 
 
 Amos Miller, father of our subject, was born in 
 Madison County, N. Y., and in an early day emi- 
 grated to Illinois, settling uj)On an unbroken farm 
 
 of two hundred acres in Winnebago County. 
 There he engaged in agricultural pursuits until his 
 death, which occurred in 1873. His wife bore the 
 maiden name of Elizabeth Tyggert. She too was 
 a native of Madison County, and proved a faith- 
 ful helpmate to her husband, her efforts being 
 largely instrumental in securing the success which 
 he achieved. Mrs. Miller is still living on the old 
 homestead in Winnebago Township, at the aoe of 
 eighty-three years, and is yet remarkably well pre- 
 served. With the Congregational Church she 
 holds membership and to that society Mr. Miller 
 also belonged. Her family is noted for longevity. 
 Her father, David Tyggert, a soldier of the Revo- 
 lutionary War, died in Madison County, N. Y., at 
 the age of ninety-two years, and his wife was 
 ninety-three years of age at the time of her death. 
 Our subject is one of a family of seven sons and 
 one daughter, and with the exception of one son 
 and the daughter, all are yet living and are mar- 
 ried. Three sons are farmers of Winnebago Town- 
 ship; Josiah is an attorney of Springfield, Mo.; and 
 Richard is a Congregational clergyman of Milton, 
 Wis. 
 
 Dr. Miller was only five years of age when the 
 family came to the West, and upon his father's 
 farm in Winnebago Township the days of his boy- 
 hood and youth were passed. He entered Beloit 
 College, from which he was graduated with the 
 Class of '73, after which he returned to the farm, 
 remaining at home for a few years. At length he 
 determined to make the practice of medicine his 
 life work and became a student under Dr. Clinton 
 Helm. Later, he entered the Chicago Medical Col- 
 lege, from which he was graduated in the Class of 
 '80. He at once established practice in Winnebago, 
 and after ten years came to Rockford, where he 
 has since resided. He is now enjoying a good 
 practice, which is constantly increasing and already 
 he has a reputation of which an older practitioner 
 might well be proud. 
 
 The Doctor was joined in wedlock in this county 
 with Miss Arvilla A. Lane, who was born in Wis- 
 consin on the 26th of February, 1852, and is 
 a daughter of William H. and Emily N. (Weare) 
 Lane. Her parents were natives of Maine, and 
 after their marriage came to the West, locating in 
 
u-. ^r o/^T^o^^ryi 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 603 
 
 Wiscousin, whence they removed to Winnebago 
 County in 1855, locating on an unbroken tract of 
 land in Winnebago Township. It is now a highly 
 improved farm, owing to the untiring efforts of 
 Mr. Lane, who still resides there at tlie age of 
 seventy years. His wife died in 1875, when past 
 the age of fifty j^ears. Both were members of the 
 Congregational Church. Mrs. Miller was reared 
 under the parental roof, was graduated from the 
 Winnebago High School and afterward engaged as 
 a teacher. She is a cultured and intelligent iad3' 
 and has many friends throughout this community. 
 Three children graced the union of the Doctor 
 and his wife, but Mary E. died at the age of two 
 and a half years. The living are Edith M. and 
 Bertha A. With the First Presbyterian Church 
 the parents hold membership. The Doctor is a 
 stalwart supporter of the Prohibition party and is 
 a warm friend to all enterprises calculated to pro- 
 mote the moral and educational interests of the 
 city. He is recognized as a valued citizen as well 
 as a skilled physician, and his aid is never with- 
 held from anything calculated to promote the gen- 
 eral welfare of his adopted county. 
 
 eHARLES F. ANDERSON, President of the 
 Union Furniture Company of Rockford, is 
 one of the leading business men of the city, 
 being connected with many of its most important 
 industries. His portrait is shown on the opposite 
 page and his life record is as follows: He was born 
 in Sweden, April 16, 1840, and is a son of Andrew 
 and Christian Nelson. His father, who is now 
 about eighty years of age, has been a life-long 
 physician and is well known in the community 
 where he resides. Both he and his wife are ad- 
 herents of the Lutheran Church. Three brothers of 
 the family besides our subject came to this coun- 
 try: Gust, John and James, but none are residents 
 of Rockford. The last-named is deceased, having 
 been accidentally killed by falling from a wagon. 
 The education of our subject was acquired in 
 the common schools of his native land, where he 
 was reared to manhood. At the age of twenty- 
 three, he became superintendent of a large planta- 
 
 tion and to that work devoted his energies for nine 
 years, when he determined to seek a home in the 
 New World. On October 18, 1872, he left Gotten- 
 burg, and landed in Boston on the 10th of No- 
 vember. He began life in this country as a day 
 laborer and after a year found himself in Rockford, 
 which has since been his home. Since locating in 
 this city, he has acquired an excellent knowledge 
 of cabinet-making, and yet devotes a part of his 
 time to work in that line. 
 
 The lady who bears the name of Mrs. Anderson 
 was in her maidenhood Miss Charlotte Gustafson. 
 She was born and reared in Sweden in the same 
 neighborhood as her husband, and was a passenger 
 on board the same vessel on which he sailed. Her 
 father, who was born in 1821, is still living in 
 Sweden. His wife died in 1885. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Anderson have been born six children, but two are 
 now deceased: Robert and Charles J. Those still 
 living are Ida, book-keeper in the office of the 
 Union Furniture Company; Betsy, Esther E. and 
 Winfield L. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was instrumental in organizing 
 the Union Furniture Company, which began busi- 
 ness in 1876. He is a Director and one of its large 
 stockholders and has been its President since 1887. 
 This is one of the most important industries of 
 the city and now employs about two hundred and 
 twenty-five men. He is also a stockholder and 
 Director in the Mantel and Furniture Company, 
 the Royal Sewing Machine Company, Chair and 
 Furniture Company, Excelsior Furniture Com- 
 pany, Skandia Brick Company, the Folding Bed 
 Company and the Skandia Shoe Company. Mr. 
 Anderson was a promoter and one of the first sub- 
 scribers to stock in most of these leading Swedish 
 corporations. He has done much for the business 
 interests of the city and for the welfare of his fel- 
 low-countrymen. 
 
 A prominent and well-known Swedish capitalist 
 and a representative citizen of Rockford, recog- 
 nized as such by a large circle of friends and ac- 
 quaintances, he has also won prosperity, and 
 although he began life in this country a poor man, 
 he has worked his way upward to a position of 
 affluence. He and his wife are leading members 
 of the Zion Swedish Church, of which he is Dea- 
 
504 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 con, and have taken a most active part in its work 
 and upbuilding from the beginning. In politics, 
 he is a stalwart Republican, but has never sought 
 or desired oflice, preferring to give his entire atten- 
 tion to his business, which he has followed with 
 signal success. 
 
 AMNETT H. TRAVELLER resides in 
 )j) Cherry Valley and is engaged in general 
 farming. He was born in Ontario, Canada, 
 in 1853, and is a son of Reuben and Henri- 
 etta (Dow) Traveller. His father was born in 
 Philadelphia, Pa., while his parents, natives of 
 England, were on their way from that country to 
 Canada. His de.atli occurred about 1849, at the 
 age of seventy years, and his wife died in early 
 life. 
 
 Our subject was reared to agricultural pursuits, 
 his childhood days passing uneventfully and his 
 educational advantages being limited. He left his 
 old home at the age of twenty-five years and emi- 
 grated to Dakota with his young bride. He had 
 just wedded Miss Mary .7. Heatherington, of 
 Ontario, daughter of John and Harriet (Meach) 
 Heatherington. The young couple reached their 
 destination in April, 1879, and Mr. Traveller made 
 a claim of three hundred and twenty acres near 
 Grand P^orks, N. Dak., where he built a house, a 
 good barn and other outbuildings, and devoted his 
 energies to the improvement of a farm. He there 
 resided for ten years, and in .January, 1889, went 
 to Seattle, AVash., proposing to make that city his 
 future home, but the business outlook was not 
 good and he removed to Salem, Ore. After a little 
 more than a year spent in that city, he removed to 
 Eastern Oregon and after six months returned to 
 Illinois, locating in Cherry Valley in June, 1891. 
 He here purchased one hundred and eighty -one 
 and a half acres of land at 173 per acre, a part of 
 the Mackey farm, upon which was the old home- 
 stead that was erected in 1853 by J. Fitch. 
 
 Mr. Traveller takes delight in his chosen occupa- 
 tion and is therefore a successful farmer. In con- 
 nection with general farming, he engages to some 
 
 extent in the dairy business. In politics, he is an 
 independent and has never sought or desired 
 public office, preferring to give his entire time and 
 attention to his business interests. Himself and 
 wife are both members of the Methodist Church 
 and are people of sterling worth, held in high re- 
 gard by their friends throughout this community. 
 They have a family of three children, two sons and 
 a daughter: Teel Dow, who was born in North 
 Dakota, November 28, 1879; Ethel C. N., also born 
 in that State, February 2, 1881, and Douglas R., 
 who was born in North Dakota, December 4, 1885. 
 Thej' are bright, intelligent children, of whom the 
 parents may be justly proud. 
 
 "S) 
 
 ^-!-^ 
 
 c=_ 
 
 DETER JOHNSON, who is now living a re- 
 ) tired life at No. 503 South First Street, is 
 numbered among the early settlers of Rock- 
 ford, of 1854, and has here a wide acquaint- 
 ance. Sweden has furnished a number of promi- 
 nent citizens to Rockford, among the most worthy 
 of whom is our subject. He was born in that 
 country, October 3, 1822, and is a son of John and 
 Carrie (Dawson) Peterson, both of whom spent 
 their entire lives in their native land, the father 
 dying at the age of forty-five years and his wife in 
 the sixty-seventh year of her age. Both were 
 members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Our subject was reared under the parental roof, 
 and after he had attained to man's estate, was mar- 
 ried in his native province to Miss MaryWalgren, 
 who lost her parents when she was quite young. 
 She was reared in the same neighborhood as her 
 husband. After the birth of three children, they 
 emigrated to America, sailing from Gottenburg to 
 New York City, where they landed in the summer 
 of 1854, after a voyage of seven weeks. Many on 
 board the vessel died of the cholera, and Mr. John- 
 son himself had an attack of the disease, but his 
 strong constitution and will pulled him through. 
 They came on at once to Rockford, and as Mr. 
 Johnson was in very limited circumstances, he en- 
 gaged in various kinds of labor in different parts 
 of the county, so that he might provide for the 
 support of himself and wife. For some years he 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 505 
 
 worked as a farm hand for fifty and seventy-five 
 cents per day, and afterward for eleven years was 
 employed in the machine shops of N. C. Thompson 
 and John P. Manney, formerly large manufacturers 
 of this city. His life has ever been a busy and 
 useful one, and his industry, enterprise and perse- 
 verance at length won him a well-deserved success. 
 He thereby acquired the competence whicli now 
 enables him to live retired, resting in the enjoy- 
 ment of the fruits of his former toil. 
 
 In 1880, Mr. Johnson was called upon to mourn 
 the loss of his wife, who died August 20, at the age 
 of fiftj'-eight years. She was a true, faithful wife 
 and mother, and a member of the Lutheran Church. 
 She had six children, but five are now deceased, 
 three having died in early childhood, while Mary 
 died at the age of seventeen years. Josephine, 
 the only one now living, is the wife of L. M. No- 
 ling, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. 
 Mr. Johnson has been a true, upright and honest 
 citizen, and is a faithful member of the First Lu- 
 theran Church. In politics, he is a stalwart Re- 
 publican, and is a loyal citizen of his adopted land, 
 for which he has the greatest love. This worthy 
 gentleman is respected by all who know him, and 
 it is with pleasure that we present his sketch to 
 our readers. 
 
 ■S^LIJAH PURDY, one of the early settlers 
 \fS\ of Winnebago County, and a representative 
 /IL^ farmer of Guilford Township, residing on 
 section 16, claims Vermont as the State of his na- 
 tivity. He was born in Manchester, Bennington 
 County, December 9, 1821, and is a son of Ira 
 Purdy, who was born in the same locality. The 
 grandfather, Benjamin Purdy, was a native of 
 Connecticut but removing to Vermont became one 
 of the earliest settlers of Bennington County. His 
 son Samuel was the first white male child born in 
 Bennington County. The grandfather there se- 
 cured a tract of timber land and cleared and im- 
 proved a farm and there made his home until his 
 death. The father of our subject was reared and 
 married in Manchester, wedding Prudy French, 
 who was born in Bennington County. Her parents, 
 
 Elijah and Abigail (Beardslee) French, were natives 
 of Connecticut and pioneers of the town of Man- 
 chester. 
 
 Our subject was only two years old when his 
 mother died, and at the age of six he began to 
 earn his own living, going to reside with the fam- 
 ily of Price Beardslee, a farmer of Manchester, 
 with whom he lived for seven years, when he 
 went to an uncle, living with him the succeeding 
 seven years, and during this period assisted in the 
 farm work and attended the district schools. In 
 1847, he came to Illinois, by way of the Erie Canal 
 and the Great Lakes and by team from Chicago to 
 Rockford, where he arrived on the 25th of Septem- 
 ber. The city was then a small hamlet and the 
 surrounding country was in almost its primitive 
 condition, few claims having then been made. Mr. 
 Purdy at once began work upon a farm and was 
 employed as a farm hand until 1850, when he lo- 
 cated upon the land which is now his home. He 
 had purchased eighty acres of the farm at $4 per 
 acre during the fall succeeding his arrival here, but 
 was able to make only a partial payment upon the 
 land. After clearing it of all indebtedness, he ex- 
 tended the boundaries of his farm from time to 
 time until it comprised three hundred acres. Upon 
 it he erected good farm buildings, planted fruit 
 and shade trees and made many other good im- 
 provements. In 1884, he went to Gerald County, 
 Dak., where he purchased three hundred and 
 twenty acres of land, built upon his farm and im- 
 proved a portion of his land. He there resided 
 two seasons, after which he returned to his home 
 in Guilford Township. 
 
 On the 20tb of September, 1848, Mr. Purdy was 
 united in marriage with Melissa Wightman, who 
 was born in Sandgate, Bennington County, Vt, 
 August 6, 1827. Her father, William Wightman, 
 was also a native of the Green Mountain State, 
 and was of English descent. He learned the trade 
 of a wheelwright, which he followed in Sandgate 
 and later in Manchester, Vt. After the war he 
 removed to Linn County, Iowa; and purchased a 
 farm near Marion, and there spent his last days. 
 His wife bore the maiden name of Martha Wood- 
 ard. She was born in Sandgate, Vt., and was a 
 daughter of Abram and Dinah (Green) Woodard. 
 
506 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 l\Ir. and Mrs. Purdy have been blessed with five 
 children, thi'ee sons and two daughters: Alice, wife 
 of Alfred Martin, of Rockford; Albert, Ira; Mar- 
 tha, wife of William McCutchen, of Rockford; and 
 Frank. The parents are both members of the First 
 Congregational Church of Rockford, and, in poli- 
 tics, Mr. Purdy votes with the Republican party. 
 For forty-five years he has made his home in this 
 county, and in many ways has been identified with 
 its advancement and upbuilding. 
 
 •i^S-i^ 
 
 _y 
 
 r 
 
 IflOSEPH MYERS derives a comfort- 
 able income from his farming operations, 
 which he carries on successfully in Peca- 
 tonica Township, Winnebago County. He 
 is a representative of the German element that 
 has played so important a part in the settlement 
 and development of Illinois, and was born in Sar- 
 nico, Germany, June 16, 1841. His home is most 
 beautifully located, and the residence, which is a 
 handsome modern structure, cost $3,000. The home 
 is supplied with all the comforts and conveniences 
 which stamp its owner to be a thrifty and well-to- 
 do citizen of the county. 
 
 The original of this sketch is a son of John and 
 Elizabeth Myers, and from the age of ten to six- 
 teen years lie was employed at herding cattle in 
 the Old Country. In 1857, when his parents emi- 
 grated to the New World, he immediately found 
 employment on farms, receiving as remuneration 
 for his services S2 per month and his board. He 
 also cut cord-wood for three shillings a cord, and 
 later, going to Milwaukee, spent two years in the 
 Cream City and then came to Winnebago County, 
 where he did farm work for four years at from $10 
 to $17 per month. 
 
 Mr. Myers, of this sketch, was married February 
 26, 1864, to Miss Sophia Glawe, who died four 
 years later, when twenty -four years of age. Soon 
 after his marriage, our subject rented a farm, which 
 he operated for twelve years, and in the spring of 
 1875 moved to his present property, which he had 
 purchased the year previous. 
 
 He of whom we write was married a second time 
 
 to Miss Charlotte Dethwiller, who was born in 
 Stratford, France, August 21, 1847. She was the 
 daughter of Henry and Charlotte Dethwiller, and 
 was nine years old when brought to this country 
 by her parents. By her union with our subject 
 eight children were born, viz.: Eda, who was born 
 January 27, 1871, married John Smoke, a farmer; 
 John H. S., born February 27, 1874; Frank, No- 
 vember 13, 1875; Anna C, February 2, 1876; Will- 
 iam C, April 16, 1878; Louisa A., February 12, 
 1880; Rosa C, December 5, 1881, and Albert, the 
 eldest of the family, who died at the age of four 
 months. 
 
 Our subject later added to his farm in Peca- 
 tonica Township, and is now the proprietor of 
 as fine a tract of land as is to be found in the 
 county. His first one hundred and sixty acres cost 
 him $40 per acre, and the last eighty, 160 per acre. 
 With his wife he is a devoted member of the Luth- 
 eran Church, and takes a deep interest in all church 
 matters. He takes a prominent part in public 
 affairs, and votes the straight Republican ticket. 
 
 ^ I I [ I I I II 
 
 CORMACK, Vice-President of 
 
 sentative and prominent men of Rockford. 
 For the past twenty years he has been connected 
 with the interests of the city and was one of the 
 originators of the business which is now one of its 
 leading industries. He is a native of Aberdeen- 
 shire, Scotland, born in 1837, and is a son of James 
 Cormack, also a native of Aberdeenshire, and a 
 miller and millwright by trade. He came of a 
 pure Scotch family and married a lady of his na- 
 tive land. His death occurred in Scotland at the 
 age of eighty-six years, and his wife died in 1869, 
 when well advanced in life. There are ten chil- 
 dren of the family yet living, our subject being 
 the youngest, and they are scattered to the four 
 quarters of the globe, living in Europe, Australia, 
 Africa and America. 
 
 In his native land G. H. Cormack became a 
 millwright and thoroughly mastered the business 
 in all its details. To that work he devoted his 
 energies in Aberdeenshire until he came to Amer- 
 

 ^5>> 
 
 ^tM^f^.^(^--'>^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 509 
 
 ica, the year of his emigration being 1871. With 
 the hope of benefiting his financial condition, he 
 crossed the Atlantic and spent one year in the 
 province of Ontario, Canada, after which he came 
 to IlUnois, locating in Rockford, where he has re- 
 sided continuously since, a good citizen and suc- 
 cessful business man. 
 
 Immediately after his arrival, in company with 
 Mr. A. M. Johnston, who is a native of the North 
 of Ireland, he established and began the operation 
 of an oatmeal manufactory. These two gentleman 
 continued partnership until 1882, when the com- 
 pany was incorporated, with R. H. Tinker as Presi- 
 dent and G. H. Cormack as Secretary. Mr. .Jolm- 
 ston, his former partner, is a successful business 
 man, connected with a large milling and seed 
 business in Santa Cruz, Cal. From the beginning, 
 the industry which was established met with suc- 
 cess and was constantly increased in size and cap- 
 acity until the morning of September 29, 1891, 
 when the entire main building was destroyed by 
 flre. The successful operation of the business is 
 due almost entirely to Mr. Cormack, who is its 
 manager, and by his efforts it has been placed at 
 the head of this line of business in the West. His 
 trade of a millwright has been of great benefit to 
 him in improving his processes. He has been the 
 inventor of fifteen different processes, including 
 the one now used in the factory for the manufac- 
 ture of the meal. At first the meal was ground 
 with mill stones and then cut with sharp steel 
 knives, but this left the grain only coarsely cvit 
 and in 1874 this process was discarded, being sup- 
 plemented by the practical and scientific process 
 invented by Mr. Cormack, whereby the whole grain 
 is rolled and made into a beautiful flake, easily 
 cooked and very nutritious. For many years one 
 of the best known brands on the market has been 
 the Nudavene, which is the product of this fac- 
 tory. Its sales are constantly increasing and it is 
 now being manufactured extensively in Cedar 
 Rapids and Chicago. No one in this country or 
 in Europe has done more to develop oatmeal than 
 our subject. The Nudavene flake was first placed 
 before the public at the New Orleans Cotton 
 Centennial Exposition, where it was awarded the 
 first price— the gold medal. 
 
 In 1880, Mr. Cormack and Mr. Johnston, who 
 had for many years been a prominent wholesale 
 grocery man in Buffalo, N. Y., established the 
 glucose business in this city, a large concern, but 
 after a time both withdrew and neither have any 
 connection with it at the present time. Mr. Cor- 
 mack is a man of sterling worth, upright and honor- 
 able in all the relations of life, and a straiglitfor- 
 ward business man whose worth is acknowledged 
 throughout the city and county. In his political 
 affiliations, he is a Republican but has never been 
 an office-seeker. 
 
 -:^=^^. 
 
 !>^^-<i 
 
 i- 
 
 FLETCHER WEYBURN. Rockford can- 
 not boast of a more prominent or wortli^' 
 young man than the gentleman whose 
 name introduces this biographical sketch, 
 and whose portrait appears on the opposite page. 
 His upright character and moral influence have 
 been especially felt by his energy displayed in mat- 
 ters of religion and the advancement of Chris- 
 tianity. In 1876, when the opportunity was of- 
 fered to organize a Young Men's Christian Asso- 
 ciation in this city, he was one of the first to lend 
 a helping hand for the promotion of that noble 
 cause, and became one of its organizers and char- 
 ter members when it was founded here, and has 
 since been one of its chief supporters and pillars. 
 As the association strengthened and it became 
 apparent that better accommodations were needed, 
 a subscription was started among those of a 
 generous nature anxious for the welfare of the 
 young men of Rockford. The appeal was readily 
 responded to by donations from $1 to $1,000, ex- 
 cept in the notable case of Mrs. D. S. Penfield, who 
 gave $1,000 in cash besides a part of the lot (repre- 
 senting $2,500) on which the building was erected 
 at the northwest corner of Madison and East State 
 Streets. About that time Mr. Weyburn was elected 
 President of the Association, and continued in that 
 capacity during the critical times attendLng the 
 erection of the new structure, and has ever served 
 in the responsible position with fidelity and 
 success. 
 
 The building, which was completed for occu- 
 
610 
 
 yOETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pancy in 1890, is one of the most elegant and im- 
 posing structures in the city, and in its architec- 
 tural design and appointment is complete tlirough- 
 out and truly metropolitan. The basement and 
 first story are built of solid stone, the second and 
 third stories of bricli and terra cotta. The audi- 
 torium seats comfortably four hundred people; the 
 reading rooms and gymnasium are beautifully fur- 
 nished and fully equipped. The entire building 
 represents a value of about $60,000, all of which 
 was raised by private donations in the city of 
 Rockford. 
 
 In business circles, Mr. Weyburn is prominent as 
 a real-estate and insurance agent, with his office in 
 the William Brown building. He is also one of 
 the promoters and managers of the Rockford Se- 
 curity and Investment Companj', which was organ- 
 ized in May, 1890, and is Secretary of the Rockford 
 Building and Loan Association, which was organ- 
 ized in October, 1890. Both these organizations 
 have done much for the advancement of the city, 
 and the first-named does business quite extensively 
 both in Rockford and Chicago. In addition to 
 these responsible positions, Mr. Weyburn is Secre- 
 tary of the Winnebago County Agricultural So- 
 ciety, to the welfare of which he has contributed 
 his tireless exertions. 
 
 Since Mr. Weyburn located in Rockford in 1872, 
 he has worked unremittingly for the good of tlie 
 different enterprises of the city, with which he lias 
 been officially connected. His first occupation was 
 in doing clerical work in business iiouses here, and 
 between the years 1876 and 1881 he was book- 
 keeper for the Winnebago National Bank. During 
 the two ensuing years he was engaged in the real- 
 estate business in Denver, Colo., whither he went in 
 search of renewed health. In 1883, he returned 
 to Rockford, having regained his health, and be- 
 came Cashier for the Emerson-Talcott Manufac- 
 turing Company, where he remained until he 
 established his present business in 1890. 
 
 In local oidcrs, Mr. Weyburn is prominent as a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to 
 Crusader Lodge No. 17, K. T., also Knights of 
 Pythias. In politics, he is a stanch Republican and 
 takes .in active part in the public affairs of the 
 community. He was nineteen years old when he 
 
 became a resident of this city, whither he came 
 from Ontario County, N. Y., his birthplace. His 
 education was received in the schools of that 
 county and at Hobart College, in Geneva. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Weyburn to Miss Flora M. 
 Lyon took place in October, 1878, at Rockford. 
 Mrs. Weyburn, who is one of the most accom- 
 plished ladies of Rockford, was born and reared in 
 this city, and is the daughter of the late Isaiah 
 Lyon, whose death occurred in 1883. Mr. Lyon 
 came to this city at a very earlj' day, and was a 
 passenger on the only steamer that ever cameliere. 
 He brought his family and household goods with 
 him, and engaged in business as a merchant and 
 hotel-keeper for several years. For forty years, he 
 served as Justice of the Peace, and when he passed 
 away at the age of seventy-nine years, was sin- 
 cerely mourned by a large circle of friends. His 
 wife died some years previous, while in the prime 
 of life. This worthy couple were charter mem- 
 bers and active workers in the First Baptist Church 
 erected in Rockford, and politically, he was a firm 
 Republican. 
 
 In their religious connection, Mr. and Mrs. Wey- 
 burn are members ot the First Baptist Church, and 
 he has been Sunday-school Superintendent for 
 many years. With their two children, Lyon, aged 
 nine j'ears, and Elizabeth, four years old, they re- 
 side in their beautiful home at No. 209 North 
 Church Street, and enjoy the high esteem of a 
 large circle of personal friends. 
 
 eHARLES F. WITT. In Spring Township, 
 Boone County, may be seen a good farm 
 adorned with a comfortable residence and 
 first-class buildings. This is the property of the 
 gentleman whose name we have just given and 
 who was born iia Hampshire Count}'-, Mass., Sep- 
 tember 11, 1811. He is a son of Thomas and 
 Electa (Cole) Witt, also natives of the above-named 
 county, the father dying in Schuyler, this State, 
 when eighty-four years of age, and here also the 
 mother departed this life in her fifty-second year. 
 Charles F. AVitt was the eldest in the family of 
 eleven children, five of whom are yet living. His 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 511 
 
 paternal grandfather, Abner Witt, was a native of 
 England, his birth occurring March 27, 1756. He 
 was married October 8, 1778, to Mollie Rowland, 
 and died May 13, 1812. The grandmother was of 
 Dutch ancestry and was born June 11, 1760, and 
 died October 3, 1845. Thomas Witt on emigrating 
 to America in an early day, took part in the Revo- 
 lutionary War, during which time he was shot in 
 the leg and suffered amputation of that member, 
 dying from the effects. 
 
 The mother of our subject was born January 5, 
 1791, and died February 19, 1843. She was the 
 daughter of Amasa and Polly Cole, natives of 
 England, where they were farmers. The first 
 representatives of that name in this country 
 probably came hither in 1650. He of whom we 
 write left home when eighteen years of age, and 
 going to Boston, was employed lor two years in a 
 tavern and a like period as driver of a stage coach 
 between Brattleboro, Vt.,and Boston, Mass. In the 
 fall of 1833, he went West to Macomb County, 
 Mich., and taking up a tract of timber land from 
 the Government, cleared and improved the same. 
 The lady to whom our subject was married No- 
 vember 23, 1836, was Eliza A. daughter of William 
 Brown. She was born in Washington County, N.Y., 
 May 9, 1814, and departed this life December 23, 
 1883. Her father was a native of England and, so 
 far as is known, was a farmer. Of the nine children 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Witt, five are living, namely: 
 William C, who lives in Belvidere, was born April 
 6, 1838, is married and has one daughter; Henry C, 
 who was born August 13, 1844, married Miss 
 Elizabeth Hill, who was bom in Canada August 3, 
 1846, and has two sons: Horace F. and Henry N.; 
 Isaac N. was born October 27, 1846; Marion was 
 born November 16, 1848, and is now Mrs. H. Mott, 
 has six children and resides in Marion, Kan.; 
 Charles, the youngest son, was born July 18, 1856, is 
 married to Lucy Brainard and has one son and one 
 daughter. 
 
 Mr. Witt *emoved from Michigan to Ohio about 
 1838, where he ran an hotel until coming to this 
 county in 1842. One of his boarders, who re- 
 mained with him for two years, was ex-President 
 Hayes. Our sul)ject's cash capital when he arrived 
 in this community was $2.80. He worked at cutting 
 
 wood, and making rails for fifty cents per hundred, 
 from which small earnings he saved a sufficient 
 sum to invest in property of his own. His farm 
 produce was marketed in Chicago and Green Bay, 
 from which cities he returned with a load of goods, 
 often making as much as $400 on a trip. 
 
 Our subject cast his first Presidential vote in 
 Boston in 1832 for Andrew Jackson. He later be- 
 came a Whig and on the formation of the Repub- 
 lican party joined its ranks. For sixteen years he 
 was County Associate Judge and for eight years 
 Justice of the Peace and for nine years filled the 
 office of Supervisor in Spring Township. He was 
 the recipient of nearly all the local offices, serving 
 on the School Board, and is a man who is held in 
 the highest esteem by all the people of his com- 
 munity. 
 
 ylLLIAM REITSCH. The commodious resi- 
 dence at No. 407 North Horsman Street, 
 Rockford, is owned and occupied by Mr. 
 Reitsch, who is a carpenter and builder, and not 
 only erected the neat dwelling which he occupies, 
 but also has superintended the erection of many 
 of the most substantial buildings in the citj-. He 
 is a native of Germany, born September 14, 1850, 
 in Zittau, Saxony, and possesses the qualities of 
 thrift and tireless energy which almost invariably 
 characterize those who claim Germany as their 
 Fatherland. 
 
 The father of our subject, Charles T., was a na- 
 tive of the same place as his son, and was born in 
 1798. He followed the trade of a carpenter dur- 
 ing his entire active life, and passed hence in 1884, 
 at the venerable age of eighty-six years. He had 
 a family of fourteen children, twelve sons and two 
 daughters, seven of whom grew to mature years, 
 and four are now living. The youngest member 
 of the family is the subject of this sketch, who 
 grew to manhood in his native country, and hav- 
 ing resolved to seek home and fortune in the New 
 World, emigrated to America in the summer of 
 1870, proceeding directly to Rockford, where he 
 has since resided. 
 
512 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECOED. 
 
 Immediately after his arrival in Rockford, Mr. 
 Reitsch commenced to work at the trade of a car- 
 penter for his brother Henry, and so successful 
 was he, tliat in a few years he began as a con tractor 
 and builder for himself. Since that time he has 
 erected manj' dwellings, cliurches and public build- 
 ings, and is well and favorably known as an hon- 
 est and prosperous contractor and an upright man. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Reitsch, in 1876, united him 
 to Miss Jennie Simons, of Ogle County, the daugh- 
 ter of Henry and Anna (Zimmerman) Simons. She 
 was born in Germany, whence, at the age of twelve 
 3'ears, she accompanied her parents to America, and 
 settled with them in Ogle County, wliere they still 
 reside, together with her only brother, Fred S. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Reitsch are the parents of five chil- 
 dren, as follows: Julius T., Arthur AV., Cora E., 
 George W. and Lillian J., and, more fortunate than 
 many parents, they have not been bereft by the 
 death of any of their loved ones. They are train- 
 ing their children for useful positions in the busi- 
 ness and social world, and are rearing them under 
 the salutary influence of the schools of Rockford, 
 and the church relations of the Court Street Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. In his political belief, 
 ]\Ir. Reitsch 's sympathies arc with the platform of 
 the Republican party, and he is a man of public 
 spirit and enterprise. 
 
 ^., LFRED A. KLUMPH. The farming class 
 LJI of Northern Illinois is notable for the de- 
 gree of enterprise possessed by its repre- 
 sentatives, and among the most successful 
 and energetic of the younger farmers of Boone 
 County is the gentleman whose name introduces 
 these paragraphs. Although quite young, having 
 been born April 14, 1866, he has attained a degree 
 of success which is worthy of special mention, and 
 he occupies a prominent position among the agri- 
 culturists of Le Roy Township. 
 
 Our subject belongs to one of those progressive 
 families who aided in the development of the farm- 
 ing lands of Illinois, and is proud of the fact that 
 his father was one of those fast disappearing land- 
 marks of au heroic past — the pioneer. Certainly, in 
 
 a volume of this character, special notice should be 
 given of the life and character of Joseph K. 
 Klumph, who settled in Boone County about 1842. 
 The son of a farper, Jacob Klumph, who lived and 
 died in New York, he was born in the Empire State 
 in 1820, and there grew to a stalwart man. On 
 coming West, he was accompanied by his mother, 
 who was in maidenhood Catherine Bauthall, and 
 who died here at the age of seventy-two. 
 
 In Le Roy Township, Mr. Klumph was married 
 to Miss Sardinia Austin, a native of New York, 
 who came to Illinois about 1842. The young cou- 
 ple settled on the one hundred and twenty acre 
 tract of land which Mr. Klumph had purchased, 
 and in the midst of a dense wilderness, with no 
 neighbors save the brothers of Mr. Klumph, who 
 had settled on adjoining farms, they struggled 
 against hardships and the discouragements of pio- 
 neer life, and from the unimproved place evolved 
 a good farm. The father died in March, 1886, 
 when sixty-six years old. His widow survives and 
 makes her home in Beloit, Wis. This worthy cou- 
 ple were consistent Christians, striving to ex- 
 emplify in their lives the principles of the Golden 
 Rule. The father was enabled by his arduous toil 
 to clear up a tract of fifty acres, which he culti- 
 vated. He planted apple trees which are now in 
 fine bearing condition. In other ways he aided in 
 developing the farm and also in advancing the in- 
 terests of the community of which he was an hon- 
 ored resident. 
 
 The family of which our subject is the young- 
 est member consisted of the following-named chil- 
 dren: Jacob, a farmer in Le Roy Township; Cath- 
 erine, who married Henry Jenkins, of Beloit; 
 Sophronia, the widow of Charles lunghuhn, of Be- 
 loit; Elida, Mrs. Leander lunghuhn, of Beloit; 
 Mary, wife of F. Lawshe, a farmer of Le Roy Town- 
 ship; and Alfred A., who was born on the place 
 which has always been his home. After gaining a 
 practical knowledge of agriculture through his 
 early farming labors, aud receiving a good educa- 
 tion in the district schools, our subject was mar- 
 ried, September 17, 1891, his wife being Miss Ruby 
 Curtis, of Caledonia Township. Mrs. Klumph is 
 the daughter of L. E. and Margaret (Landon) Cur- 
 tis, natives, respectively, of New York and Penn- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 515 
 
 sylvania. They were farming people, and emigrated 
 to the West when quite young. 
 
 As did his father, our subject espouses the cause 
 of the Republican party, and is a Arm adherent to 
 the principles of justice and equity in every rela- 
 tion of life. He and his wife are members of the 
 Congregational Church, and are looked up to by 
 the people of the community as worthy of their 
 highest respect. In every measure which promises 
 the advantage of the welfare of the community, 
 they are acknowledged leaders, and enjoy great 
 social popularity. 
 
 \f7 IBERTY WALKUP, President of the Air 
 I (^ Brush Manufacturing Company, at Rock- 
 I 'L-^ ford, and proprietor of the Illinois Art 
 School, represents one of the leading industries of 
 the nineteenth century. He is the sole manager 
 and chief owner of the enterprise, which occupies a 
 suite of rooms in the Henry Building, and, with 
 the assistance of his wife, a skilled artist, teaches 
 the use of that ingenious device, the air brush, in 
 a most satisfactory manner. In 1884, after thr^e 
 years of arduous and untiring study, he completed 
 the invention which has since been sent into every 
 country in the world except China, and which has 
 wrought a great transformation in photography, 
 lithography, water-color painting, crayon and pas- 
 tel work. 
 
 The air brush is a device for applying liquid 
 color by a jet of air, and consists of three parts, 
 air-pump, air-reservoir and hand-piece, connected 
 with the necessary rubber tubing. The distribution 
 of color is entirely controlled by the thumb-valve, 
 and the artist can produce the finest line, or 
 instantly change to a broad shadow. These results, 
 with a single stroke, have a finish that only hours 
 of toil can produce by any other known means. It 
 is especially used in working with India ink and 
 water colors, and in applying lithographers' ink to 
 the stone, also in monumental drawing, where it is 
 remarkably successful. 
 
 The Illinois Art School was founded in 1888, 
 and has since been very successful, being attended 
 by a fine class of students from every State in the 
 23 
 
 Union, Canada, and some countries in Europe. 
 Many a young lady and gentleman have reason to 
 be grateful to Mr. Walkup for aid given them in 
 learning the use of this device, which now enables 
 them to earn $100 per month with ease, and num- 
 erous testimonials have been given him from 
 those whom he has helped personally, when they 
 were not able to make any financial remuneration. 
 
 Mr. Walkup has been a resident of Rockford 
 since December, 1880, when he came here in order 
 to Secure the use of tools whereby he could de- 
 velop the invention since perfected. He has also 
 made an improvement on the pantograph, which 
 is meeting with success. A natural mechanic, his 
 work is original and of unusual perfection of fin- 
 ish, and he will undoubtedly gain a large fortune 
 from his letters patent. He was born on a farm 
 three miles west of Oregon, Ogle County, 111., 
 July 14, 1844. His boyhood days were passed on 
 his father's farm, and when he attained to his 
 majority he enlisted in the defense of the Union as 
 member of Company K, Ninety-second Illinois In- 
 fantry, and served until on account of ill-health 
 he was honorably discharged. 
 
 After his return from the battle-field, Mr. Walkup 
 attended school for two years, and, later, followed 
 the profession of a teacher. He has never wholly 
 regained his health since the war, but has been a 
 tireless worker, notwithstanding his delicate physi- 
 cal condition. For some years, ire operated a but- 
 ter and cheese factory in Carroll County, but los- 
 ing his property by fire, he has smce devoted his 
 time to his inventions. His marriage, which took 
 place in Ogle County, united him with Miss 
 Phoebe C.Johnson, who was born in Ohio and came 
 to Ogle County when a young girl. She is a gifted 
 artist, and has executed some fine work with the 
 air-brush, besides assisting her husband in a mate- 
 rial way in his discovery. Religiously, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Walkup are identified with the Presbyterian 
 Church, while he is a Republican in his political 
 belief, although he has Prohibition proclivities. In 
 his social connections, he is a member of G. L. 
 Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R., of Rockford. On an 
 accompanying page will be noticed a portrait of 
 this well-known inventor. 
 
 The father of our subject, Samuel Walkup, was 
 
516 
 
 PORTRAIT AND 15I0GRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a native of Pennsylvania, but passed his youth iu 
 Ohio, whence, in 1837, at the age of twenty- 
 one years, he removed to Illinois and entered a 
 tract of Government land in Pine Creek Township, 
 Ogle Count}'. He continued to make his home 
 there, improving and cultivating the place, and 
 there passed away in August, 1889. Her parents 
 were Scotch people, and members of the Presbyte- 
 rian Church, but he was identified with the Free- 
 will Baptist Church, and always made it his en- 
 deavor to show his Christian sinceritj- by his up- 
 right and consistent life. 
 
 The mother of our subject was known in maid- 
 enhood as Sophia L. Ruggles, and was born in 
 New England. • She traces her lineage to the Pil- 
 grim Fathers, who figured so extensively in the 
 early history of New England, as well as in its later 
 progress. She was a faithful member of the Free- 
 will Baptist Church, and was a loving helpmate to 
 her husband, and a wise, tender mother to her chil- 
 dren, nine in number, of whom five sons and two 
 daughters still survive. 
 
 ON. ALLEN C. FULLER, Adjutant-Gen- 
 eral of Illinois during the dark days of the 
 Civil War, and one of the most prominent 
 citizens of the State, was born in the town 
 of Farmington, Conn., September 22, 1823. His 
 father, Lucius Fuller, who was likewise born in 
 Farmington, spent his youth and early manhood in 
 his native State, and removed from there to To- 
 wanda, Pa., when our subject was a small child. 
 In 1846, having resolved to seek a home in the 
 West, he came to Belvidere, where he resided until 
 death called him hence. He was one of the most 
 influential citizens of Belvidere during its early 
 history, find served as Postmaster and County 
 Judge, as well as in other positions of responsi- 
 bility. 
 
 Unto Lucius Fuller and his wife, who was known 
 in maidenhood as Candace Newell, and was a na- 
 tive of Farmington, were born the following-named 
 children: Edwin, deceased; Allen C.,the subject of 
 this sketch; J. Ensign, who served in the Mexican 
 
 War, and died in the army; Rebecca, Mary, Henry, 
 Charles, Frank and Ann. The second son, our 
 subject, received the rudiments of his education in 
 the Towanda Academy, and afterward carried on 
 his studies under private tutelage, his instructor 
 being Prof. Nash, of Towanda. 
 
 The legal profession attracted the attention of 
 the young student, who, in 1842, commenced to 
 read law at Towanda with Judge Wilmot, author 
 of the "Wilmot Proviso." In 1844, he went to 
 Warsaw, N. Y., where he studied with Senator 
 Doolittle, and in the spring of 1846 was admitted 
 to practice in the Supreme Court of the State of 
 New York. Immediately afterward, he came to 
 Illinois, and opened a law-offlce at Belvidere, where 
 he entered upon a successful and lucrative prac- 
 tice, having been admitted to practice in the Su • 
 preme Court of Illinois. 
 
 Having entered the political field as one of the 
 organizers of the Republican party, his career was 
 forthwith identified with the public history of the 
 State. He served as Circuit Judge with credit to 
 himself and satisfaction to his district, and, in 1860, 
 "stumped" the State with Gov. Yates, in the in- 
 terests of the Republican party. At the outbreak 
 of the Civil War, he was serving as Circuit Judge, 
 which office he resigned, and was appointed Adju- 
 tant-General, a position in which his distinguished 
 abilities wefe used for the jjromotion of the wel- 
 fare of the people, whose interests he ever had at 
 heart. In 1864, he was elected Representative to 
 the General Assemblj', and resigned the position 
 of Adjutant-General that he might devote himself 
 exclusively to the duties devolving upon him. He 
 was chosen Speaker of the House, a position in 
 which he displayed shrewd foresight, iudomitable 
 energy and great executive ability. He was twice 
 elected State Senator and served two terms, and 
 several important laws upon the subject of rail- 
 road, State charitable institutions and revenue, now 
 in force, were prepared by him. 
 
 While a successful politician. Gen. Fuller is 
 equally capable as a financier, and is considered 
 one of the best business men of this countrj'. He 
 is a large stockholder in the Northwestern Shoe 
 Factory, and the National Sewing Machine Com- 
 pany, and has served as Director in both organiza- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 517 
 
 tions. In addition to these interests, tie has served 
 as Director in both tlie F'irst and Second National 
 Banks, and as President of the First National at 
 Belvidere. He aided in tlie organization of the 
 First National Banlf at Ashland, Wis., and for an 
 extended period was President and one of its 
 largest stockholders. In 1865, he assisted in the 
 organization of the First National Bank at Elgin, 
 of wliich he was chosen Vice-President, and he is 
 still interested in the institution as a stockliolder 
 and Vice-President'. 
 
 In 1849, Gen. Fuller was united in marriage with 
 Miss Nancy Benjamin, who was born in New York, 
 and died in Belvidere in 1871. The second mar- 
 riage of our subject united him with Mrs. Mary A. 
 E. Willey, in 1880, whose first husband. Dr. 
 Wille}', of St. Paul, stood at the head of the 
 medical profession in Minnesota. Gen. Fuller 
 lias one daughter living, Mrs. Kittie E. Rliein- 
 hart. His eldest son, Frank, died in 1864, 
 aged fourteen years; the second son, Wilbur A., 
 was graduated from Yale College in his twenty- 
 first year, and died of consumption in 1876; 
 Ida, the youngest child, married A. T. Hovey, 
 and died when only nineteen years old. The Ida 
 public library of seven thousand volumes, which 
 the General donated to the city, was named in 
 lienor of this daughter, and is a credit to him and 
 an honor to the city, and highly appreciated by 
 the citizens. 
 
 Tbe life of Gen. Fuller furnishes an example 
 worthy the emulation of the young. When he 
 came to Belvidere he was without capital or influ- 
 ential friends, and had nothing on which to rely 
 save an abundance of energy and enterprise. The 
 success which came to him was not the result of 
 fortuitous circumstances, but of patient and un- 
 wearied labor, while his close sympathy with, and 
 patriotic participation in, public affairs made him 
 conspicuous among the influential men of Northern 
 Illinois. 
 
 In the work entitled "Patriotism of Illinois," 
 edited by T. M. Eddy, D. D., the statement is made 
 that the name of Allen C. Fuller has been more 
 frequently mentioned in State military matters 
 than that of any otlier man besides Gov. Yates. 
 The following is quoted from the report of a conj'- 
 
 mittee appointed by the General Assembly to ex- 
 amine his office: "We have thoroughly examined 
 the office of the Adjutant-General and find it a 
 model in completeness; one that preserves in all 
 its glory the proud records of our soldiery and re- 
 flects infinite credit upon the great State whose 
 sons they are. In the judgment of the committee, 
 the thanks of every patriotic citizen of the State 
 are due to Gen. Fuller for the able and efficient 
 manner in which he has discharged the duties of 
 the office and for his indefatigable efforts in col- 
 lecting and preserving this glorious record of a 
 glorious State." Gov. Yates, in his biennial mes- 
 sage, was equally complimentary regarding the 
 services of Gen. Fuller and acknowledged himself 
 deeply indebted to him for his hearty co-operation 
 and able management of the military affairs of the 
 State. 
 
 "S]- 
 
 'RANK SEAVERNS is tlie proprietor of a 
 fine tract of land, beautifully located in 
 Owen Township, Winnebago County, which 
 comprises one hundred and eighty-five acres. It 
 bears all the improvements in the way of machin- 
 ery and farm buildings found upon a first-class 
 estate, and by a proper rotation of crops our sub- 
 ject reaps a handsome income. He is a native of 
 the county, having been born in Rockford Town- 
 ship, December 13, 1850. 
 
 Isaac W. Seaverns, the direct progenitor of our 
 subject, was born at Jamaica Plains, now a part 
 of Boston, Mass., June 29, 1814. He is a son of 
 Josiah Seaverns, also born in that locality, and a 
 descendant of Samuel Seaverns, a native of Eng- 
 land, and one of the earliest settlers of the Massa- 
 chusetts Bay Colony. The grandfatlier of our 
 subject, who took part in tlie battle of Lexington, 
 was a farmer and spent his entire life in Massa- 
 chusetts. He married Rebecca White, who was born 
 on the farm at Jamaica Plains. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native town, and when about twenty 
 years of age, formed a partnership with his brother- 
 in-law, Joseph Merriam, and opened a market on 
 Milk Street, Boston, where they continued success- 
 fully together uutjl 1836, At that date, the elder 
 
518 
 
 PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Seaverns removed to Ohio, and engaged in 
 milling at Richmond, near Painesville, then in 
 1840 went to Cleveland and established a mercan- 
 tile business. Six years later, he went to Wiscon- 
 sin, located upon a tract of land eight miles north 
 of Racine, and was engaged in its cultivation for 
 two years. Disposing of that purchase, he came to 
 Winnebago County, and became the proprietor of 
 a tract of land in what is now Rockford Township, 
 on which there was a small house, and but little 
 improvement. He erected two barns on the place, 
 and successfully operated it for ten years, when, 
 selling out, he purchased the estate on section 24, 
 Owen Township, where his death occurred October 
 24, 1889. 
 
 Our subject's father was twice married. The 
 lady who became his first wife was Abba Eliza 
 Winslow, a native of New York State, whose de- 
 cease occurred in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. Seaverns 
 was then married. May 15, 1842, to Anna E.Titus, 
 the mother of our subject. She was born in Mid- 
 dleburg, Genesee County, N. Y., and was a daugh- 
 ter of Horatio N. Titus, a native of Springfield, 
 Mass., who went to New York State when eighteen 
 years of age, and was married in Monroe County. 
 There Mr. Titus lived for a time, and then removed 
 to Genesee County, whence he later returned to 
 Monroe County, and was engaged in farming on 
 his father's farm in Brighton Township, and at the 
 same time was employed in freighting on the Erie 
 Canal. In 1836, he removed to Ohio, and located 
 in Cleveland at a time when that city contained 
 but a few thousand people, and there was not a rail- 
 road in the State. He was employed in freighting 
 on the Ohio Canal, and resided there until a short 
 time before his death, wliich occurred in Water- 
 ville. The maiden name of his wife, the grand- 
 mother of our subject, was Deborah Jones. She 
 was born in Dutchess County, N. Y., and was a 
 daughter of Elias and Abigail Jones. She sur- 
 vived her husband a number of years, and de- 
 parted this hfe at the home of her daughter, in 
 Marion, N. Y. 
 
 The parental family of our subject comprised 
 eight children, five of whom grew to mature years, 
 namely: Edwin M., Isabella M., Frank, Ella M. and 
 George. Emma, Charles H. and Anna R. died 
 
 when young. The father of our subject reared 
 one son by his first marriage, Isaac W. Frank 
 Seaverns was reared to farm duties on the old 
 homestead, and resided with his parents until his 
 marriage, when his father sold him sixty acres of 
 the home farm, which is his present place of resi- 
 dence. He has added to his possessions from time 
 to time, and now has a good estate, which is lo- 
 cated on a slight elevation, from which an extended 
 view of the surrounding country can be had. 
 
 The original of this sketch was married, Septem- 
 ber 22, 1875, to Lillie Wills, who was born at 
 Mauch Chunk, Pa., and is the daughter of Charles 
 Wills. Her father was a native of Hazelton, Lu- 
 zerne County, that State, where also his father, 
 Adam Wills, as far as is known, was born, and 
 where he spent his last years engaged as a machin- 
 ist and engineer. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Elizabeth Muma. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Seaverns learned the trade of 
 a machinist and engineer, and removed from Penn- 
 sylvania to Wisconsin about 1860. Locating in 
 Janesville, he followed his trade for a time, and in 
 1882 came to Winnebago County, residing for 
 eight years in Owen Township. At the expiration 
 of that time, he came to Rockford, and at the pres- 
 ent time is residing in Rockford, 111. The maiden 
 name of the wife was Mary Blay, a native of Phil- 
 adelphia, Pa., and the daughter of Richard and 
 Sarah (James) Blay. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Seaverns have an adopted daugh- 
 ter, Ida B., who is the child of Mr. Seaverns' sister. 
 In his political views, our subject is an inde- 
 pendent Democrat. With his wife he is a mem- 
 ber of the Christian Union Church. Under the 
 administration of President Cleveland, he was ap- 
 pointed Postmaster, and served efficiently in that 
 position. He has served as Justice of the Peace in 
 Owen for four years, and has filled the position of 
 School Director for nearly twenty years, as well as 
 numerous local offices of trust. His mother still re- 
 sides in Rockford. George, the youngest brother, 
 resides on the home farm; Isaac W., the eldest 
 brother, resided on the old home farm until 1857, 
 then located at Cleveland, Ohio, and engaged as a 
 machinist, serving an apprenticeship for four years, 
 then, at his country's call, he enlisted, April 12, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 519 
 
 1861, in Company A, First Ohio Regiment, for three 
 months, and re-enlisted the following March, in 
 the Eighth Ohio Regiment. The following Sep- 
 tember he received an honorable discharge, and 
 engaged as an engineer on the Atlantic & Great 
 Western Railroad, which is now the New York, 
 Pennsylvania & Ohio, and remained with that 
 company until 1865, and continued in their service 
 until 1870. In that year he removed to Osh- 
 kosh, Wis., and there engaged in the lumber busi- 
 ness as General Superintendent of the Regan, 
 Cheny & Pratt Manufactory. In the fall of 1872, 
 he left their employment and formed a partnership 
 with A. M. Woodman, in the lumber business, but 
 before the new firm was ready for operation, they 
 were burned out in the Oshkosh fire of 1873. May 
 1, he re-entered the service of the Northwestern 
 company, and is still in their employ. May 28, 
 1863, he was united in marriage to Miss Julia Pink- 
 ney, at Cleveland, Ohio. She was the daughter of 
 John T. and Julia (Taylor) Pinkney, who were 
 natives of England. Of this union there have been 
 born four children, three of whom survive: Frank 
 T., Jessie C. and Florence M. Fred M., a twin of 
 Florence, is deceased. The only sister, now Mrs. 
 Dr. Charles H. Taylor, resides in Chicago, 111. 
 George A., William S. and Joel Seaverns, cousins 
 of our subject, now reside in Chicago. They are 
 the only relatives of the family this side of the 
 Eastern States that our subject has any knowledge 
 of. 
 
 ^^EORGE OLIVER, a retired farmer of Rock- 
 III (— , ford. 111. A plain, unvarnished statement 
 ^^^ of the facts embraced in the life of Mr. 
 Oliver, a man well and favorably known to the 
 people of Winnebago County, is all that we pro- 
 fess to be able to give in this history of the 
 county; and yet, upon examination of these facts, 
 there will be found the career of one whose entire 
 course through the world has been marked by 
 great honesty and fidelity of purpose. 
 
 Our subject was a native of New York State, 
 having been born near Utica, in March, 1842, but 
 his parents, George and Sarah (Hale) Oliver, were 
 natives of England, born near Lancaster, and of 
 
 English ancestry. The parents were married in 
 their native county, and the father worked as a 
 laborer there until 1840, when he became con- 
 vinced that there was a better opening for him in 
 the New World. With his wife, he braved the 
 tender mercies of Neptune and reached the States 
 in safety. Locating near Utica, N. Y., he worked 
 as a farm laborer for about eleven j'ears, and then, 
 desiring wider fields for his labors, came West to 
 Wisconsin, in which State he remained for three 
 years. From there he came to Winnebago County, 
 III., settled in Pecatonica Township, and there 
 farmed on shares for a few years. By economy 
 and frugalitjr, he had accumulated a sufficient 
 amount of money to enable him to purchase 
 one hundred and seventy acres of land, and 
 afterward he increased this to two hundred and 
 seven acres. As years passed over his head, he re- 
 tired to Pecatonica, and there breathed his last on 
 the 17th of December, 1891. He was then nearly 
 seventy-nine years of age. He had always been a 
 quiet, unassuming man, with but very little edu- 
 cation, but he was as honest and upright as man 
 need be. His worthy wife, who -had been a true 
 helpmate during the struggle for a livelihood, re- 
 ceived her final summons in Pecatonica, October 
 12, 1888, when over seventy-three years of age. 
 She was a kind and loving wife and mother. They 
 were the parents of three sons, our subject being 
 the eldest. John is now a resident of this county, 
 and James resides in Pecatonica and is the hus- 
 band of Miss Elizabeth Downes, formerly of Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 George Oliver, Jr., subject of this sketch, was 
 about eleven years of age when be came with 
 his parents to Illinois, and his early days were 
 passed in assisting his father on the farm. The 
 knowledge he thus obtained was of use to him in 
 later years and paved the way to his subsequent 
 prosperous career as an agriculturist. After the 
 death of his father, he became owner of the fine 
 farm, which was well improved, and on which 
 were good substantial buildings, and on this he re- 
 sided for many years. 
 
 Miss Ellen Downey, whom he married in Rock- 
 ford, is a native of this city, born April 10, 1856, 
 and here she grew to womanhood and secured a 
 
520 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 good education. Her parents, Daniel and Mary 
 A. (Hart) Downey, were natives of Cork, Ireland, 
 and of Irish descent. Mr. and Mrs. Downey came 
 to America wlien young people and were married 
 in Vermont. Later, they came to Rockford, 111., 
 and have resided in this county for a long time. 
 The father cultivated the soil for many years but 
 is now retired, and, with his amiable wife, resides 
 at No. 1202 Elm Street, Rockford. He is now 
 seventy-eight years of age, and Mrs. Downey is in 
 her sixty-sixth year. Of the eleven children born 
 to their marriage, ten are still living and five are 
 under -the parental roof. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Oliver remained on the farm until 
 a short time ago, when they sold out and removed 
 to Rockford, where they have a good home at No. 
 1207 Elm Street. Mr. Oliver is a stanch Demo- 
 crat in his political views, and his wife is an earn- 
 est member of the Catholic Church. Their mar- 
 riage has been blessed by the birth of six cliildren, 
 who are named as follows: George J., Mary, Liz- 
 zie, Cornelius, John A. and Sarah, all at home. 
 
 V ^^ ^ 
 
 "\ 
 
 ACOB M. HAMILTON. Among the well- 
 regulated farms of Seward Township, 
 Winnebago County, may be properly men- 
 tioned that of Mr. Hamilton, which stands as 
 a fitting monument to his energj'' and industry. It 
 is under good cultivation and embellished with 
 all the buildings required by the intelligent and 
 progressive farmer. The property has been in his 
 possession since 1851, and he has effected most of 
 the improvements now seen upon it. 
 
 Born July 14, 1823, in Oswego County, N. Y., 
 our subject is a son of "William and Nancy Hamil- 
 ton, the former of whom was born near Glasgow, 
 Scotland. He came to the United States with his 
 parents when he was an infant, they settling in 
 Albany, N. Y. William Hamilton, the grand- 
 father of our subject, was a mason by trade, as was 
 also his brother John, who was killed after coming 
 to this country. The grandfather died when eighty- 
 four years of age, two years after coming to the 
 United States. Grandmother Flamilton reared a 
 
 family of four children and departed this life in 
 Seneca County, N. Y., at the advanced age of 
 ninety-one years. 
 
 The father of our subject was obliged to work 
 out when a lad of seven or eight years in order 
 to aid his mother in supporting the family, taking 
 his pay in grain, etc. He was employed in that 
 way until eighteen years old, when, in company 
 with a brother, he went to the northern part of 
 New York and purchased a mill claim, upon which 
 they erected a sawmill and were engaged in the 
 lumber business a period of twenty-one years. In 
 1836, Mr. Hamilton went to Seneca Countj-, and 
 in the town of Lodi purchased a farm which he 
 operated for eight years, and on selling out at the 
 end of that time came to Winnebago County. On 
 account of clouded titles, he lost nearly all his 
 property in the Empire State and landed in Steph- 
 enson County with but $200 in his pocket, 8100 of 
 which he paid for eighty acres of unimproved 
 land. Later, he purchased forty acres more in 
 Winnebago Count}', which consumed the other 
 1100. 
 
 The elder Mr. Hamilton was married in Will- 
 iamstown, N. Y., in 1821, to Miss Nancy Miller, a 
 native of Connecticut. Her parents were New 
 Englanders, and his father, later in life, in com- 
 pany with his second wife and one son, came to 
 Wisconsin, where he died. Mr. Hamilton died in 
 this county when eighty-two years of age; his 
 wife departed this life in her sixty-third year. 
 
 Jacob M. Hamilton was one in a family of nine 
 children and remained at home until reaching his 
 majority, when he took up a claim and removed 
 upon it after his marriage, January 1, 1851, with 
 Miss Sarah A. Derwent. The lady was born in 
 Lancashire, England, February 9, 1833, and was a 
 daughter of Thomas and Hannah Derwent who 
 came to the United States in 1842, and, locating in 
 Winnebago County, bought a "squatter's" claim 
 for which Mr. Derwent paid three hundred sover- 
 eigns. The father was born in Derbyshire, Eng- 
 land, February 9, 1781, and followed tlie trade of 
 a wheelwright. His wife, whose maiden name was 
 Bradwell, was born November 28, 1786, in the 
 same place as her husband. They were married 
 about 1803 and became the parents of six boys and 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 521 
 
 four girls. Mrs. Hamiltoa's mother died when 
 eighty-nine years of age. Her father worked at 
 his trade near Sheffield, England, where he was 
 greatly esteemed as an upright and honest gentle- 
 man. 
 
 He of whom we write tools up his present claim 
 in 1845, but did not locate upon it until 1851, 
 since which time he has been a resident here. In 
 politics, Mr. Hamilton cast his first Presidential 
 vote for John C. Fremont. He is widely known 
 throughout Northern Illinois as one of its most ex- 
 tensive agriculturists, and occupies a good posi- 
 tion in his community as a man who has made 
 for himself a good record and who gives support 
 to the enterprises calculated for the good of the 
 people around him, socially, morally and financi- 
 ally. 
 
 Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hamilton, two of whom are deceased. Those liv- 
 ing are William A., who resides at Devil's Lake, N. 
 Dak.; Charles J., who is married and has one son, 
 makes his home in this county; Ella M., wife of 
 Charles Doty, is the mother of three children: Jay, 
 Ward and Anna, who also reside in this county; 
 Cora B., who is married to H. Houbson and is the 
 mother of a son, Chester E.; Myron S., who re- 
 sides at home, is married and has one son; Anna 
 0., who is Mrs. Hobson, makes her home in this 
 county; Raymond A. and Grace C, who are at 
 home, complete the family list. 
 
 ■ Ill 1 1 
 
 ? I ' 1 ' I I I 
 
 ^ ALPH RULISON,a well-known and highly- 
 .^^ respected resident of Belvidere, was born 
 in Glenn, Montgomery County, N. Y., Jan- 
 !(pi uary 4, 1818, and is a son of Herman Rul- 
 ison. The father was borri in New Jersey, and 
 was a son of Abraham Rulison, a native of Ger- 
 many, who came to America with his parents, lo- 
 cating in New Jersey. By occupation, he was a 
 farmer. He went to New York, becoming one of 
 the early settlers of the town of Glenn, where he 
 spent the remainder of his days. 
 
 Herman Rulison was a mere lad when his par- 
 ents went to New York. He married Margaret, 
 daughter of Christopher Fornicrook, who was 
 
 a native of Germany. Both the parents of our 
 subject spent their last days in Montgomery 
 County, N. Y. 
 
 Ralph Rulison was one of ten children. In his 
 youth he learned the trade of a tanner and currier, 
 which occupation he followed until 1843, when he 
 engaged in farming in the town of Glenn. Two 
 years later, he came to Illinois, making the journey 
 to Boone County by team from Racine. He pur- 
 chased one hundred and sixty acres in Bonus 
 Township at $3.80 per acre, of which fifty acres 
 were broken. He built a small frame house and 
 began the development and improvement of liis 
 land. Upon that farm he resided until 1883, and 
 in his business dealings was quite successful. He 
 sold out in that year and came to Belvidere, where 
 he has since lived a retired life. 
 
 On the 26th of June, 1842, Mr. Rulison was 
 united in marriage with Miss Maria Passage, who 
 was born in Schenectady County, N. Y., April 9, 
 1820, and is a daughter of John and Eleanor 
 (Correll) Passage. Their union has been blessed 
 with seven children: George, who married Julia 
 Wright, by whom he had four children: Blanche, 
 Alta, Beth, and Emil, who is deceased; Emma, 
 wife of Charles Howe and the mother of four chil- 
 dren: Jay, Ralph, Maria, and one whose name is 
 not given; Alice, wife of W. Herbert, by whom she 
 has two sons: Ralph and John; Herman, who mar- 
 ried Carrie Hammond and has seven children: 
 Claude, Allie, Ralph, Lydia, Laura, William and 
 Charlie; Frank, who married Nettie Powers, by 
 whom he has four children: Estella, Eveline, 
 Georgia and a boy not yet named; Elsie, wife of 
 George Bassett, by whom she has a daughter, Alice; 
 and Grant, who married Lillie Grant. They have 
 one child, Genevieve. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Rulison is a stalwart Republican 
 and has filled various township offices of trust. He 
 was a member of the School Board for several 
 terms, was Assessor, Road Commissioner, Town 
 Clerk, and for eight years was Justice of the Peace. 
 His duties were ever promptly and faithfully dis- 
 charged and won him the commendation of all 
 concerned. He has always been a great reader, is 
 a well-informed man and an intelligent citizen, 
 who well deserves the high regard in which he is 
 
522 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 held. He and his estimable wife have traveled 
 life's journey together for fifty years. The family 
 circle has never been broken except by the death 
 of one grandchild, p:mil, who was killed by being 
 kicked by a horse, on the 26th of June, 1892, and 
 altogether their lives have been blessed with hap- 
 piness and prosperity. 
 
 E 
 
 DWARD B. BALL was born in Worcester 
 County, Mass., March 17, 1840, and is a 
 son of Edward and Harriet (Hapgood) Ball. 
 The reputation he enjoys in Boone County is not 
 only that of a substantial and progressive farmer 
 but an intelligent and thoroughly posted man in 
 all public affairs. His farm is one of the most 
 finely improved in Boone Township, as the reader 
 will conclude by a glance at the view of the place 
 presented on another page. 
 
 The marriage of our subject on the 12th of 
 June, 1867, brought him a faithful helpmate in 
 the person of Miss Mary Cowan, who was born in 
 Fall River, Mass., on the 8th of January, 1848. 
 She is the daughter of Robert and Mary (Carmant) 
 Cowan, natives of Scotland, the father born in 
 Rothesay and the mother in Glasgow. The former 
 emigrated to America when a young man and 
 settled in Rhode Island where he followed the 
 spinner's trade until 1851, when he came to Boone 
 County, 111. They were the parents of eight chil- 
 dren, four of whom are living. 
 
 Our subject has always been a resident of the 
 old home place since it was purchased by his 
 father in 1855, and after marriage he took his 
 wife there. He is engaged in general mixed farm- 
 ing, and all his operations on the farm are con- 
 ducted in a manner suggestive of thoroughness 
 and enterprise. He has a substantial home and com- 
 fortable outbuildings, and is classed among the 
 representative farmers of his section. He bought 
 his father's interest in the home place and now 
 has two hundred and three acres, all well cultivated, 
 he and his father making all the improvements 
 but those on sixty acres. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Ball affiliates with the 
 Republican party, and his first Presidential vote 
 
 was for Abraham Lincoln, for the second term. 
 He has never aspired to ofHce but has been elected 
 to a number of different local positions and dis- 
 charged the duties incumbent upon them in a man- 
 ner very satisfactory to all concerned. Socially, 
 he is a member of the M. W. No. 675, of Poplar 
 Grove, and the A. O. U. W. No. 158, Poplar 
 Grove, Mrs. Ball is one of the educated and 
 highly esteemed ladies of her township. She is a 
 member of the Ladies' Aid Society, and was the 
 first of her sex to be elected School Trustee in 
 Boone Township. Her election bears testimony 
 to her popularity, for she received every vote 
 polled. It is hardly necessary to 'add that she is 
 discharging the duties of that position in a very 
 capable and efllcient manner. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ball became the parents of two 
 children, one of whom survives, William D., born 
 August 27, 1882. Edward A., born January 28, 
 1871, died when not quite two months old. The 
 home life of this esteemed couple is full of sunshine 
 and happiness, each member cultivating those 
 qualities which are productive of the best results. 
 
 ylLLIAM D. McCABE. Our subject is a 
 fair example of many young Scotchmen, 
 who are generously endowed by nature, 
 and ambitious to grow to their fullest height in 
 this land of great possibilities, and although he 
 has had some drawbacks that might have discour- 
 aged a less constant nature, he has gone on un- 
 daunted in his career and is now one of the fore- 
 most farmers of Bonus Township, Boone County. 
 He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on the 18th of 
 March, 1842, and is a son of George and Jeanette 
 (Milligan) McCabe, also natives of that country, 
 in which the father passed the closing years of his 
 life. The mother is now a resident of Boone 
 County, and is eighty j'ears of age. The paternal 
 grandparents of our subject came to America and 
 died in Wisconsin at the age of seventy and eighty 
 j'ears, respectively. 
 
 Our subject was one of four children, but only 
 he and a sister are now living. He was but four 
 years of age when he was brought to America by 
 
Safes" 
 
 ..**" 
 
 i?;^=raB::^;:.:^^aSP 
 
 RESIDENCE OF E. B. BALL , SEC. 20 , BOONE TP, BOONE CO, ILL. 
 
 RESIDENCE OF W. D. M?. CABE, SEC.2 , BONUS TP, BOONE CO , I LL. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 525 
 
 bis parents, and was a resident of the State of New 
 Yorl?: for five years. He then came to Boone 
 County, 111., and here grew to mature years. Dur- 
 ing the Civil War, he was filled witli a strong de- 
 sire to aid his country, and in 1861 enlisted in 
 Company I, Thirty-seventh Illinois Infantry, under 
 Capt. R. Kennicott, and served not only through 
 the entire war, but was on detail work for a year 
 afterward. He was in active service from 1861 to 
 1865, as well as the winter following, and was m 
 many of the bloodiest and most destructive battles. 
 He was wounded at the battle of Prairie Grove, 
 Ark., and took part in every battle and skirmish 
 in which his companj' and regiment participated. 
 It is only necessary to glance over the record of 
 his company and regiment to understand what he 
 had to go through with in fighting for the Union, 
 and he has every reason to be proud of his career 
 as one of the boys in blue. 
 
 In selecting his companion in life, Mr. McCabe 
 made a happy choice, for Miss Lucy A. Jackson, 
 who became his wife on the 20th of May, 1869, is 
 a lady of excellent judgment, refinement and cul- 
 ture and a noted housekeeper, as the interior of her 
 fine home attests. Their happy union has been 
 still further brightened by the advent of two chil- 
 dren, both sons, who are as follows: Charles 
 W., born in this county on the 28th of August, 
 1874, and George G., on the 15th of May, 1879. 
 Our subject settled on his present farm after his 
 return from Chicago in 1872, and is the owner of 
 one hundred and forty acres of the best land to be 
 found in the section. On another page maj^ be 
 found a view of liis elegant residence which he 
 erected at a cost of $2,500, and he is now about as 
 pleasantly located as one would well wish to be. 
 He has every modern improvement, and there is an 
 air of refinement and comfort in this rural home 
 tliat renders it attractive to all. Mrs. McCabe's 
 aged mother, a cheerful and most agreeable old 
 lady, makes her home with her daughter and is 
 passing the sunset of her life in quiet and con- 
 tentment. (For life of Mrs. McCabe's parents, 
 Charles and Mary A. (Stowe) Jackson, see sketch 
 of N. D. Jackson.) 
 
 Mr. McCabe cast his first Presidential vote for 
 Gen. Grant for the first term and has been an ar- 
 
 dent Republican in his political views since. He 
 has held several local offices and has been Secretary 
 and Treasuier of the town School Board for years. 
 He is a prominent G. A. R. man and a member of 
 Post No. 164 (Camp Hurlburt), of Belvidere. 
 
 'if ONAS N. ANDERSON, who is now living a 
 retired life at No. 130 Bremer Street, Rock- 
 ford, has been a resident of this city since 
 the spring of 1866. Of Swedish birth, he 
 was born in the Province of Smoland, April 13, 
 
 1827, and came of an old Swedish family. His 
 parents both died in their native land. His father, 
 Andrew Nelson, reached the advanced age of 
 eighty-three years. He was a mechanic and farmer. 
 His wife, who bore the maiden name of Martha 
 Hickstrom, was called to her final rest at the age 
 of four-score years. Both were members of the 
 Lutheran Church, and were highly respected peo- 
 ple. 
 
 Our subject belongs to quite a large family, but 
 is the only member that has made a permanent lo- 
 cation in America. His boyhood days were passed 
 uneventfully, and at the a,ge of sixteen, he began 
 learning the blacksmith's trade, which he has made 
 his life work, and in pursuit of that occupation he 
 has acquired a good competence. After attaining 
 to mature years, he was married, in his native pro- 
 vince, to Miss Ingra Nelson, who was born in May, 
 
 1828, and, like her husband, is the sole representa- 
 tive of her people in this country. All the other 
 members of the family died in Sweden. Her par- 
 ents, Nels and Gonda (Mangenson) Johnson, were 
 farming people, and passed away at the ages of 
 sixty-three and eighty-five years, respectivcl}-. 
 Mrs. Anderson has proved a true and faithful 
 helpmate to lier husband, and is a most estimable 
 lady, who in this community has many friends. 
 
 Thirteen children have been born to our subject 
 and his wife, nine sons and four daughters, but 
 only three sons are now living: Otto is a black- 
 smith in the employ of the Skandia Plow Com- 
 pany. He wedded Clara Anderson, and they 
 reside on Fifth Avenue, between Fourth and Fifth 
 
526 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Streets. August is a well-educated young man, and 
 a skilled musician. He was graduated from the 
 Conservatory of Music, and is an able teacher. He 
 is also a member of the well-known Fitzgerald 
 Band of Bockford, in which he plays the solo clari- 
 onet, and for some time has been a member of the 
 church choir, and its organist. John, who is also 
 quite proficient in music, completes the family. 
 
 Mr. Anderson and his sons all support the Re- 
 publican party, and himself and wife are members 
 of the First Lutheran Church, to which they have 
 belonged since coming to this country. He began 
 work in this city as a blacksmith, and for many 
 years followed his trade in connection with lead- 
 ing manufactories of Bockford. His business career 
 has been a successful one, and with the competence 
 he has acquired, he is now enabled to live a retired 
 life. Since the organization of the Skandia Plow 
 Company, he has been one of its stockholders, 
 and for many years was a stockholder in the 
 Union Grocer}^ Store. About three years ago, lie 
 laid aside all business cares, and is now enjoying 
 the rest which he has so truh' earned and richly 
 deserves. 
 
 ■^^ 
 
 =5^ 
 
 eHARLES W. SHARP, house decorator, and 
 a well-known business man of Belvidere, is 
 one of the worthy citizens that Ohio has 
 furnished to Boone County. His birth occurred 
 on January 11, 1858, in Lake County. He is one 
 of five children born unto David and Mary 
 (Barker) Sharp: Hattie A., John "W., Charles W., 
 Nettie F. and Grace A. The parents, natives of 
 England, emigrated to this country in an early day, 
 and after some years spent in Ohio, came to Illinois. 
 We now take up the personal history of our sub- 
 ject, who acquired his early education in the dis- 
 trict schools of his native county and when a lad 
 of ten years came with his parents to Livingston 
 County, 111. His education was completed in the 
 schools of Fairbury, Livingston County, and at 
 the age of twelve years he began to learn the trade 
 of a painter and paper hanger. During vacations 
 he followed that trade in Fairbury until eighteen 
 years of age, when he started out in life for himself 
 
 and went to California. He spent some time in the 
 West, engaging in painting and paper hanging in 
 California, Colorado and the Territory of Mon- 
 tana, until 1883, when he became a resident of 
 Watertown, S. Dak. 
 
 The following year, Mr. Sharp was united in 
 marriage with Miss Lizzie White, a native of Chi- 
 cago and a daughter of Capt. White, who owned a 
 vessel and was quite prominent on the Lakes. 
 They resided in Dakota until 1887, when they 
 came to Belvidere, where, in company with his 
 brother John W., Mr. Sharp established a grocery 
 store and soon built up an extensive trade. They 
 still engage in that line and enjoy a liberal patron- 
 age. In 1890, our subject also began business as a 
 house decorator, and to that branch of trade gives 
 his personal supervision, while his brother manages 
 the grocerj' store. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sharp have been born two chil- 
 dren, one living, Lou C. They have a wide circle 
 of friends and acquaintances in this community 
 and are highly esteemed. Mr. Sharp is a member 
 of Belvidere Lodge No. 60, A. F. & A. M.; Kish- 
 waukee Chapter No. 60, R. A. M.; Big Thunder 
 Lodge No. 28, I. 0. 0. F.; the Encampment and 
 Belvidere Lodge No. 289, K. P. In his business 
 career he has met with excellent success. He is 
 sagacious and far-sighted, enterprising and indus- 
 trious, and in both lines of his business has secured 
 a liberal patronage. 
 
 SCAR F. HALSEY, who ranks among the 
 I well-to-do farmers of Seward Township, 
 Winnebago County, had his birth in New 
 York City, N. Y., May 27, 1827. His parents, S.am- 
 uel and Mary Halsej^, were born on Long Island and 
 in Ulster County, N. Y.,respectivel}'. The mother, 
 prior to her marriage, bore the name of Mary Wy- 
 gant, the family being New Yorkers for several 
 generations back, and originally from Germanj'. 
 
 The father of our subject is now living, at the 
 advanced age of ninety-one years. His father, 
 Jesse Halsey, was also a native of Long Island, 
 where his decease occurred; he was a sea-captain. 
 Our subject's great-grandfather came from Eng- 
 
 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 527 
 
 land at an early day. Oscar F., of this sketch, re- 
 mained at home in Marlboro, N. Y., until attaining 
 his majority, and from there in July, 1848, came 
 to Illinois. He came to Roscoe, Winnebago County, 
 and for two years worked out on farms by the 
 month. In 1849, he purchased his present farm 
 from the Government, upon which he removed a 
 year later, and has placed upon it all the improve- 
 ments which will be found upon the estate of an 
 intelligent and progressive farmer. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married. May 
 4, 1855, was Miss Lydia Hawkins, a native of Ovid, 
 Seneca County, N. Y. She was born March 4, 1827, 
 and died in this county, November 18, 1888. 
 Mrs. Halsey was the daughter of Jonathan Hawkins, 
 who was a native of the Empire State, where his 
 decease occurred. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born five 
 children; Mary E.; William H. S., who is married 
 and the father of two children; AnnaM., also mar- 
 ried; Nancy L. and Samuel P. The children have 
 all been given good educations, and move in the 
 best circles of Seward Township. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Halsey are members of the Congregational Church, 
 and, in politics, our subject was first a Whig, then 
 a Prohibitionist, and now votes the Republican 
 ticket. 
 
 ^^EORGE M. TUTTLE is one of the practical 
 (tl __ and representative agriculturists of this 
 *^^ section, and from early boyhood was famil- 
 iar with the occupation of farming, having learned 
 the details of the work from his father, who was a 
 worthy tiller of the soil. Our subject was bom 
 near Watertown, Jefferson County, N. Y., in 1827, 
 and was the son of Chancy Tuttle, who was also 
 born in Jefferson County, and who died in Beloit, 
 Wis., in 1872, when seventy-five years of age. The 
 elder Mr. Tuttle moved to Illinois, near Chicago, in 
 in September, 1834, and came from Sackett's Har- 
 bor, N. Y., to Chicago by the Lakes, having a very 
 rough trip of about three weeks. His wife and five 
 children, four sons and one daughter, came with 
 him. He made a claim of one hundred and sixty 
 acres near Chicago, but having very little ready 
 
 means, he sold this for $150, and took another 
 claim of one hundred and sixty acres five miles 
 north of the first. Within a year and a half, he 
 sold that for $400, and subsequently moved to 
 Rock County, Wis., near Beloit, where he took still 
 another claim of a quarter-section, which he got 
 entered at one-half per cent., a deed for which he 
 obtained from the Government in due course of 
 time when the land came on the market. 
 
 This settlement was made soon after the Black 
 Hawk War, in 1836. They made this last move 
 with ox-teams on the Government trail and were 
 about six days in fording streams and worrying 
 through sloughs. At one time they lost the way, 
 got fast in a slough near Chicago, and were out all 
 night, being obliged to sleep on the ground. The 
 next day lhe3' reached the cabin that Mr. Tuttle 
 had built the vear before. He made a home here 
 on three hundred and twenty acres, and erected 
 good buildings, fences, etc., etc., and made his 
 home here for thirty years. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Amy Weaver, of New York State, came of 
 Dutch parentage. She died at her home near 
 Beloit, Wis., in 1855, when fifty years of age. 
 They were the parents of seven sons and three 
 daughters, three of whom died young. Those now 
 living are named as follows: Chester, Franklin, 
 Geoi'ge M., Permelia, Julia M. and Jennie M. 
 
 George M. Tuttle was reared on the farm, and 
 it was but natural, perhaps, that when starting out 
 for himself he should choose agricultural pur- 
 suits as his calling in life. He received but a lim- 
 ited education, and when twenty-one years of age 
 started out to fight his own way in life, working 
 the first year for $12 per month. He was united 
 in marriage to Miss Lydia Hallock, a native of 
 New York, and a daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth 
 (Rice) Hallock, both natives of New York State, and 
 the father a tiller of the soil. Mrs. Hallock died 
 when a young woman, and her husband when in 
 the prime of life, on the Isthmus of Panama. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Tuttle and his young 
 wife moved to Minnesota, but after three years 
 spent in that State, Mr. Tuttle sold out and re- 
 turned to Wisconsin. He was a volunteer in the 
 Civil War, enlisting in the Forty-third Wisconsin 
 Infantry as a private. After returning home, he 
 
528 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 came to Roscoe, 111., and bought two hundred and 
 fifteen acres on section 1, paying about |30 an acre 
 for unimproved land. He made this his home for 
 twentj'-two years, erecting buildings and fences, 
 and getting under plow about one hundred and 
 forty acres of timber land. He is still residing on 
 that farm, but has a line new residence, which was 
 erected in 1889. His son resides in the old house. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle lost their only daughter. Amy 
 Lillian, at the age of three years. Their four sons 
 are named as follows: Chester L., William F., 
 Eugene E. and Charles A., all now married but 
 the latter, who is a student in Beloit College, pre- 
 paring for the ministry in the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. For six years he has ridden his horse 
 from his home place to Beloit, a distance of three 
 and a half miles. 
 
 Mr. Tuttle has been a careful, industrious farmer, 
 and has accumulated a comfortable competence, 
 with the assistance of his industrious and estimable 
 wife, both having worked hard for their comfort- 
 able home. Mrs. Tuttle 's death occiirred April 1, 
 1892, her health having been rather poor for some 
 time. Mr. Tuttle is still actively engaged in his 
 chosen occupation, and is strong and vigorous. He 
 is a stanch Republican in his political views, and 
 was once called an Abolitionist. He has held the 
 office of Justice of the Peace for two terms, and 
 holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church in Beloit, Mrs. Tuttle having also been a 
 member of that church. 
 
 ^^+^P=- 
 
 ■il^RANCIS BLACHFORD. In mentioning 
 
 those of foreign birth who have become 
 closely associated with the farming interests 
 of Boone County, we should not fail to present an 
 outline of the career of Mr. Blachford, for he is 
 one who has fully borne out the reputation of that 
 class of industrious, energetic and far-seeing men 
 of English nativity who have risen to prominence 
 in different portions of this county. There is a ster- 
 ling quality about the nationality that particularly 
 fits them for pioneers, and we, as Americans, are 
 greatly indebted to settlers of English birth for 
 the rapid advancement in our civilization. Mr. 
 
 Blachford was born in Wiltshire, I-Cngland, on the 
 21st of July, 1819, and is a brother of Stephen 
 Blachford (see sketch for family history). Now 
 nearly seventy-three years of age, the progress that 
 the country has made, and especially that portion in 
 which he lives, is due to the energy and persever- 
 ance of such men as our subject. Like his brother 
 Stephen, he has suffered all the hardships and pri- 
 vations of pioneer life, and the name of Blachford 
 is already connected with the history of the coun- 
 try. 
 
 The subject of this sketch selected his wife in 
 the person of Miss Jane Atkinson, who was born 
 in Canada on the 1st of May, 1833,and their union 
 was solemnized on the 29th of November, 1855. 
 She was one of eleven children, six of whom are 
 now living, born to the marriage of James and 
 Margaret (McClatchey) Atkinson, the father a na- 
 tive of Lincolnshire, England, and the mother of 
 Canada. The former was born in 1803, and died 
 when eighty years of age, but the latter is still 
 living, is a resident of this county, and is now 
 eighty-four years of age. 
 
 To our subject and his wife was born an mterest- 
 ing family of seven children, all of whom are living 
 but one. They are as follows: Francis, a native of 
 this count}', is now engaged in farming in Dakota; 
 William R., also a native of this county, makes his 
 home in Dakota; Margaret married L. Shattuck 
 and has a son; Eli R., residing in Belvidere, mar- 
 ried Miss Ann Gathen and is the father of two 
 sons; Stephen D. is at home; Harve}' is engaged in 
 business in Belvidere; and Albert is at home. All 
 the children were born in this county. Some of 
 Mrs. Blachford's people were of Scotch-Irish de- 
 scent. 
 
 Mr. Blachford, excepting a few years when he 
 worked in the pinery, has alwa3'S remained on the 
 old home place, and hauled his grain and produce 
 to Chicago, and is well known in the county where 
 he has made his home since 1835. He is a Demo- 
 crat in his political liking, and is not a member of 
 any church, although quite a regular attendant. 
 He is noted for his open-heartedness, geniality and 
 the public spirit that distinguishes his countrymen, 
 and is a fine specimen of the industrial class that 
 Great Britain sends to our shores. He has ever 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 531 
 
 been a loj^al adherent of American institutions and 
 his adopted country is to him, par excellence, the 
 country of his heart. His well-cultivated farm 
 attests his success in life. 
 
 ^^HARLES F. BLOMBERG, .Superintendent 
 [|( of the Union Furniture Factory of Rock- 
 ^^Jy ford, one of the leading and largest enter- 
 prises of the city, is a gentleman whose abilities 
 and sound judgment have no equal in this line. 
 He was a promoter of the enterprise and is now a 
 Director and large stockholder of the same. He 
 is also a stockholder in the Chair and Furniture 
 Factory, a stockholder and Director in the Mantel 
 and Furniture Factory, and a stockholder in the 
 Royal Sewing Machine Company. He is one of 
 the successful and representative Swedes of Rock- 
 ford, and is highly respected both in social and 
 business circles. Since 1876, he has been identified 
 with the furniture factories of the city, and espec- 
 ially with the Union, which was organized in that 
 year. 
 
 In the year 1874, Mr. Blomberg came to this 
 country from Wester Gothland Province, Sweden, 
 where he first saw the light December 26, 1850. 
 As he grew to manhood, he learned the cabinet- 
 maker's trade under his father, John Anderson, 
 wlio was a skilled workman. The latter remained 
 in his native land all his life and died when sixty- 
 five j'ears of age. He was a man well respected 
 and was a member of the State Church, as was also 
 his wife, whose maiden name was Brighta Swesen. 
 She died .in her native province when fifty-five 
 j'ears of age. They were the parents of six chil- 
 dren, all now living and all married: Sophia, now 
 Mrs. Johnson, resides in Sweden; August A., a 
 farmer of Sweden; Clause A., a farmer and carpen- 
 ter of Sweden; Charles F., our subject; Emma, 
 wife of Mr. Norstron, resides near Belvidere, 
 Boone County, and Lotta, wife of A. Bargstrom, 
 resides in Rockford. 
 
 Charles F. Blomberg is the founder of the fam- 
 ily in America. He left his native soil on the 
 17th of July, 1874, and made his appearance in 
 Rockford, 111., on the 6th of August of the same 
 
 year. September 14, 1875, he wedded Miss Chris- 
 tina J. Jasperson, a native of Wester Gothland 
 Province, Sweden, born November 12, 1848, and a 
 lady possessing man}' virtues. She came to this 
 country in 1872 with her father and brother. The 
 former, Jasper Carlson, was born October 17, 1820. 
 and is now seventy-two years of age. He makes 
 his home with his daughter, Mrs. Blomberg, and is 
 a member of the Lutheran Church. His wife died 
 in Sweden in 1871, when past fifty-six years of 
 age. She was also a Lutheran in belief. 
 
 Mrs. Blomberg's brother. Prof. John Jasperson, 
 is a graduate of R. I. Augustana College, and is 
 now at the head of that institution. He is also a 
 minister of some note, and carried on his minis- 
 terial duties in Burlington for three years. Mrs. 
 Blomberg has another brother, Charles Jasperson, 
 who is in the em[)loy of J. G. Chick. She has 
 three sisters in this country: Mrs. Johanna Roman, 
 of Rockford; Mrs. Lottie Frieberg, also of this city, 
 and Mrs. Mary Liden, of Iowa. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Blomberg are the parents of five 
 children, only one now living. Clause E., a bright 
 boy sixteen years old, who is attending the pub- 
 lic schools. Tiiose deceased are: Helga O., Albin 
 and two infants. Mr. Blomberg is identified with 
 the Republican parrty in politics, and he and his 
 wife are members of the First Lutheran Church. 
 
 The attention of the reader is invited to a lith- 
 ographic portrait of Mi'. Blomberg which is pre- 
 sented on an accompanying page. 
 
 r 
 
 ■f^*^* 
 
 ^ AMES PARTRICK. A stranger would not 
 be in this section long without hearing the 
 name which stands at the head of this bio- 
 graphical notice and learning that it is the 
 cognomen of a prominent citizen of Winnebago. 
 For many years an agriculturist, he is still the 
 proprietor of a fine farm in Winnebago Township 
 and another in Seward Township, and in addition 
 to this property owns six houses in the village, 
 where he ranks among its well-to-do citizens. He 
 is self-made, for at the time he came to Rockford, 
 many years ago, he was about even with the world, 
 
532 
 
 ^ORTKAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 but his financial ability and integrity have aided 
 him in attaining to his present high standing. 
 
 Born in Marston, Bedfordshire, England, in 
 October, 1819, our subject is the son of Samuel 
 Partrick, also a native of that shire, where he was 
 reared, married and spent his entire life. The 
 maiden name of our subject's mother was Eliza- 
 beth Cook, a most estimable lady, who bore her 
 husband eleven children. James of this sketch, 
 and his sister, Esther Chandler, now a resident of 
 Pennsylvania, were the only members of the fam- 
 ily to come to America. 
 
 The original of this sketch was reared to agri- 
 cultural pursuits in his native land, and October 
 11, 1845, set sail from Liverpool on the vessel 
 "Elsonora," being accompanied on the voyage by 
 his wife. The young couple landed at New York 
 on the 22d of December, whence they went to 
 South Middletown, Orange County, and resided un- 
 til October, 1846, when they started for Illinois. 
 They journeyed by the way of the Lakes to Chi- 
 cago, where Mr. Partrick was taken sick and was 
 compelled to remain for two months, after which 
 he came overland toRockford in a lumber wagon, 
 and found employment with a Mr E. Gregory, 
 with whom he remained for two months. .He was 
 then engaged in doing various kinds of work, and 
 chopping wood, for which he received $1 per cord, 
 and $1 per hundred for splitting rails. 
 
 In 1847, James Partrick purchased one hundred 
 and sixty acres of wild land in Seward Townshi[>, 
 for which he paid $300. Locating on the place 
 two years later, he was there successfully engaged 
 in cultivating the soil until 1876, when he rented 
 his property and came to Winnebago, where he is 
 quite extensively interested in real estate. 
 
 Our subject was wedded to Rachel Faulkner, a 
 native of Bedfordshire, England, in July, 1843. 
 The lady was the daughter of John and Elizabeth 
 Faulkner, who came to America in 1846, and de- 
 parted this life in Winnebago County. Mrs. 
 Partrick died in February, 1857, and in September 
 of that year our subject was married to Clara M. 
 Rundall, who was born in Herkimer County, N. Y., 
 and is the daughter of Gilbert Rundall, of New 
 York State and of English ancestry. The six 
 children living were born of the second union and 
 
 are: Lucy, Mrs. James Bryant; Ezula, Mrs. Levi 
 Faulkner; Rachel, Theron, Martha and Edith. Mrs. 
 Faulkner has four children: Fay, Susan, Herbert 
 and Volney. 
 
 ' ACOB HAZLETT, now living retired at his 
 pleasant home at No. 201 North Second 
 Street, is one of the old settlers of Winne- 
 bago County, having come hither in 1^53. 
 On locating in this county, he brought. with him 
 a stock of dry-goods worth $5,000 or $6,000, and 
 with these went to Rockton and established him- 
 self in busijiess. Not finding it a good location, 
 he disposed of his goods, and seeing a good open- 
 ing in Rockford, came to this city and opened an 
 hotel in the old Crystal Palace. 
 
 Mr. Hazlett later, in company with a Mr. Miller, 
 opened up in the boot and shoe business, which 
 they operated successfully together until 1866, 
 when our subject conducted affairs on his own 
 account, and buying out the stock of C. C. Briggs, 
 followed that line of trade for twenty-two years. 
 In the meantime, Mr. Hazlett purchased a portion 
 of the block bounded by North First and Market 
 Streets, where he erected a good residence, besides 
 the one in which he makes his home. Since 1886, 
 he has partially retired from active business life, 
 having a fine income from the real estate which 
 he owns. Mr. Hazlett is public-spirited and has 
 always been deeply interested in the upbuilding 
 of the city. 
 
 The original of this sketch, with Mr. C. C. Briggs 
 and George Troxell, was one of the original stock- 
 holders of the building of the Kenosha Railroad, 
 in which venture he lost heavily. He was born 
 in Preston County, Va., November 17, 1813, 
 and was only four and a half years old when his 
 parents came West to Allegany County, Md., where 
 he grew to mature years and engaged in the mill- 
 ing business with his father for twenty-two years. 
 He in the meantime built a saw and grist mill with 
 a carding mill attached and later added to his 
 possessions a store, all of which he operated for 
 some time and then moved his stock of dry-goods 
 to Fayette County, Pa., where he was successfully 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 533 
 
 engaged in business for some time. He made his 
 advent into Rocliford in 1853, with whose interests 
 ho has been prominently identified since that 
 time. 
 
 The father of our subject, Samuel Ilazlett, was a 
 native of Lancaster County, Pa., while his father 
 was born in the North of Ireland, and emigrated 
 to "the United States during the Revolutionary 
 War. He located in Pennsylvania, where he fol- 
 lowed his trade of a millwright, and later being 
 pressed into the service of the Colonists, became a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary War. He later re- 
 turned to Lancaster County, and again establishing 
 himself at his trade, was thus engaged until his 
 decease, prior to which time, however, his house 
 was totally destroyed by fire. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject at his decease 
 left one son, Samuel, and a daughter, Catherine. 
 The son on attaining manhood learned the trade 
 of a millwright under his father, remained in Lan- 
 caster County for a time and later became a miller 
 and a well-known resident in Allegany County, 
 Md., where he spent his last years, dying at the 
 age of seventy -five. He was an honest, hardwork- 
 ing man and had a host of acquaintances in the 
 county, where he had spent so many years. He 
 was prominent in politics, casting his first Presiden- 
 tial vote for Thomas Jefferson. The maiden name 
 of our subject's mother was Catherine Fike, a 
 native of the same county and State as was her hus- 
 band. Her father was a native of Hesse-Darm- 
 stadt and came to America as a soldier during the 
 Revolutionary War. Her parents were John and 
 Margaret Fike, who died at the home of Mrs. Haz- 
 lett in Allegany County, Md. Mrs. Catherine Haz- 
 lett survived her husband some years, her decease 
 occurring in Fayette County, Pa., when seventy- 
 eight years of age. She was a member of the 
 Dunkard Church, of which denomination her hus- 
 band was a preacher. 
 
 Jacob Hazlett is the youngest but one of seven 
 sons and two daughters born to his parents, and 
 with the exception of his sister Susan, now Mrs. 
 Samuel Welsh, of Winterset, Iowa, is the only one 
 living. He was married in Somerset County, Pa., 
 to Miss Jane Rush, who was born in that county 
 in 1819, and was a daughter of John and Margaret 
 
 (Hannah) Rush. Her parents were of Irish de- 
 scent, who after their marriage lived in Somerset 
 County, where the father carried on a farm until 
 1841, when they removed to Westmoreland County, 
 that State, and in 1852 came to Illinois and pur- 
 chased a home in Rockford. They both departed 
 this life in 1858, the father dying in September 
 and the mother in October of that year, firm in the 
 faith of the Baptist Church. The grandfather of 
 Mrs. Hazlett, Jacob Rush, was a patriot in the 
 Revolutionary War, participating in the battle of 
 Bennington, and died when past ninety years of 
 age. 
 
 The wife of our subject is one of the five sons 
 and seven daughters born to her parents, two of 
 whom are deceased. The eldest is eighty -six years 
 of age and the youngest sixty-five. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hazlett are active members of the Baptist Church, 
 and in politics, though formerly a Democrat, now 
 votes the Prohibition ticket. 
 
 ^^EORGE H. BARBER is classed among the 
 III ,_— , leading agriculturists of Shirland Town- 
 ^^jjj ship, Winnebago County, where he has a 
 well-improved farm, and makes a specialty of 
 dairying, keeping on his place about twenty milch 
 cows, whose product he sends to the creamery at 
 Shirland. Mr. Barber is a strong supporter of Re- 
 publican principles, and has been prominent in 
 local affairs, serving as School Director for four- 
 teen years, and Highway Commissioner one term. 
 His religious views find expression in the Method- 
 ist Episcopal faith, he and his wife being valued 
 members of the society of that denomination in 
 Shirland. 
 
 A native of New York, our subject was born in 
 Westmoreland Township, Oneida County, January 
 30, 1826, and is a son of Geoi'ge Barber, whose 
 birth occurred in 1803, in Washington County, 
 that State. The latter-named gentleman was an 
 agriculturist, and the son of John Barber, a native 
 of Ireland. Our subject is one in a family of two 
 sons and three daughters. His sister, Mary A., is 
 now Mrs. Otis King, of Lockport, N. Y.; Sarah is a 
 resident of Clinton, Oneida County, that State; 
 
53-1 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 William F. is a Justice of the Peace at the village 
 of New York Mills, N. Y.; and Ellen, Jlrs. John 
 Barber, departed this life in Oneida County, when 
 about forty years of age, leaving one son. 
 
 The father of our subject died in 1843, in New 
 York, and his good wife, who survived him some 
 thirty years, was seventy-seven years of age at her 
 demise. Our subject grew up a farmer boy, and 
 like many of the lads of that early day, had a lim- 
 ited opportunity for receiving an education, being 
 compelled to assist his father in carrjing on the 
 farm. When twenty-five years of age, he started 
 out in the world on his own account, and for five 
 years was in the employ of the New York Central 
 Railroad. 
 
 The lady who became the wife of our subject in 
 1857 was Miss Adeline, daughter of David and 
 Elizabeth (Worrell) Bradley, natives of Niagara 
 County, N. Y., where they were farmers, and reared 
 two sons and four daughters. Tliey died at the 
 respective ages of fifty and seventy-three years. 
 All the children are living with the exception of 
 one sister, Abigail, who was the wife of James O. 
 King, of Lockport, N. Y. 
 
 Our subject came West to Illinois in October, 
 1865, at which time he purchased ninety-one acres 
 of the land included in his present farm, for wluch 
 he paid $9 per acre. Within two years he returned 
 East for his bride, and since that time they have 
 been permanent residents of Shirland Township, 
 where they have reared six children, and buried one 
 daughter, Jennie M., who died May 4, 1886, aged 
 twenty-two years. Those living are Sarah, Mrs. 
 Oscar Boyden ; Charles, who married Ada Bates, of 
 Dakota; Carrie A., Nellie G. and Emory. They 
 have all been given good educations, and fitted to 
 become useful citizens. 
 
 
 RS. EMELINE (OLIN) .JOHNSON. 
 Among the valuable and finely-improved 
 farms of Winnebago Township, is the 
 pleasant home occupied and owned by 
 Mrs. Johnson, and comprising one hundred and 
 nine acres, upon which the various improvements 
 have been made which mark it as the abode of a 
 
 refined and intelligent family. Although it has 
 been in her possession but a short time, having 
 been purchased in 1890, she has already effected 
 considerable improvement in its environments 
 and buildings, and is justly entitled to considera- 
 tion among the representative residents of the 
 township. 
 
 Born in Erie County, N. Y., Mrs. .Johnson is the 
 daughter of David Olin, who was born near Provi- 
 dence, R. I., and the granddaughter of Anthony 
 Olin, who was born in the same place and there 
 spent his entire life. He married Abigail Reming- 
 ton, who, like himself, lived and died in Rhode 
 Island. The father of Mrs. Johnson was reared 
 in his native State and removed to New York in 
 his early manhood, locating in the town of Sar- 
 dinia, and there engaged in farming until 1852. 
 He then removed to Wisconsin and settled in 
 Spring Valley upon a tract of timber land, which 
 he commenced at once to improve and which he 
 continued to reside upon until his death. While 
 a resident of Sardinia, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Eleth Cheney, who was born in Chau- 
 tauqua County, N. Y., the daughter of Daniel and 
 Jane (Munson) Cheney. 
 
 When her parents removed to Wisconsin, our 
 subject was only eight years old, and she made her 
 home beneath the parental roof until her marriage 
 to George Prior, a native of New York, who came 
 West in his young manhood and settled near Janes- 
 ville. Wis. He enlisted in 1864 as a member of 
 the Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry and died while in 
 service. On New Year's Day, 1876, our subject 
 became the wife of Joseph Johnson, who was born 
 in England and emigrated to America when a 
 young man and located in Rockford. He en- 
 gaged in farming and bought land at different 
 times, until when he died he was the owner of 
 three hundred and seventy acres of well-improved 
 land, on which good buildings had been placed. 
 His death occurred in November, 1883, mourned 
 by a host of warm personal friends. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Johnson his widow made 
 her home on the farm which he had purchased 
 until 1889, when she rented it to tenants and re- 
 moved to Rockford, buying a home in that beau- 
 tiful city. In 1890, she traded her property in the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 539 
 
 Forest City for a farm in Winnebago Township, 
 where she now resides. She is the mother of two 
 children, Ella and Harry, by her first union, and 
 of her second marriage, one child, Myrtie, was 
 born. The position occupied by Mrs. Johnson and 
 her children in the social circles is prominent, 
 while her management of the estate left b3' her 
 husband proves the possession of great executive 
 ability and remarkable judgment. 
 
 THATCHER BLAKE. In the suburbs of the 
 beautiful city of Rockford and overlooking 
 the Rock River, stands a palatial residence, 
 one of the most elegant and attractive in the county, 
 and erected by Mr. Blake in 1870. Nine happy 
 years he passed within its walls and then, October 
 8, 1879, passed away from the busy scenes of 
 earth. His life of seventy -one years was a busy 
 and useful one, filled with successes and crowned 
 with the friendship of the best citizens of Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 Bom in Oxford County, Me., October 29, 1809, 
 our subject was the son of Thatcher Blake, Sr. 
 The father was born in Taunton, Mass., February 
 22, 1774, and died in Maine, October 29, 1839. 
 On his mother's side he was a lineal descendant of 
 the celebrated Edward Winslow, who came over in 
 the "Mayflower" in 1620, and is known in history 
 for the prudence, intelligence and wisdom which 
 provided a means of securing the confidence of, 
 and intercourse with, the Indians during the early 
 settlement of this country. In the history of the 
 development of the New PIngland States the fam- 
 ily took an active part, and possessed the hardy 
 and sturdy character that had enabled their fore- 
 fathers to get a foothold in the New World. 
 
 Imbued with the spirit of his ancestors, it is not 
 strange that our subject sought a home in the wild 
 and sparsely settled West. He was one of the 
 three oldest settlers of Rockford and Winnebago 
 County, being associated with Stephen Mack and 
 Germanicus Kent in the pioneer task of improv- 
 ing the land. He possessed the courageous spirit 
 which enabled him to undertake the hardships 
 24 
 
 necessary to effect a settlement among not entirely 
 peaceable Indians. Prior to coming hither, he had 
 gained a practical knowledge of agriculture on the 
 home farm, where he had been i-eared, and had 
 also been a teacher during the winter season. 
 
 Upon attaining to his majority, Mr. Blake came 
 West to Galena, this State, where he formed the 
 acquaintance of Germanicus Kent, a native of 
 Vermont, who had gone South, married a South- 
 ern lady, and returned North to Galena. The two 
 gentlemen became close friends and purchased an 
 Indian canoe in which they journeyed down the 
 Mississippi River and investigated the lands on 
 both sides, finally deciding to locate near the 
 mouth of what is now called Kent Creek, a small 
 stream emptying into the Rock River at Rockford. 
 The name given to this city was suggested by the 
 fact that at low water there was a good fording 
 place where the dam now is. 
 
 No better men could found a city than Messrs. 
 Kent and Blake. The latter gentleman had de- 
 cided tastes for farming and made a claim to a 
 large tract of land near the town. After improv- 
 ing the land, he retired to the city, where he en- 
 gaged to some extent as a real-estate dealer and 
 built some good houses. A man of noble charac- 
 ter, he had a host of warm personal friends who 
 honored him as one of the best citizens of the 
 place. He was a member of the Unitarian Church, 
 and, in his political belief, was first a Whig and 
 later a Republican. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Blake in Frceport united 
 him with Miss Mary J. Goodhue, and this wedding 
 ceremony, which was solemnized in November, 
 1836, was the first ever performed in Stephenson 
 County, and the second in Northern Illinois. To 
 Mrs. Blake belongs the honor of being the oldest 
 living settler in Rockford or Winnebago Counties. 
 She was born in Peterborough, N. H., August 29, 
 1818, and belonged to a worthy' New England 
 family. Her parents died when she was a child, 
 and thus orphaned, she began to earn her living 
 as a teacher when quite young. She came to 
 Stephenson County, this State, where her sister, 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Sanborn, resided. The venerable 
 lady still survives and resides at the old home- 
 stead in Rockford, 
 
540 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 A lady of courageous disposition and sincere 
 character, Mrs. Blake occupies a warm place in the 
 affection of all who have ever met her, and she de- 
 lights to relate incidents of old pioneer days, when 
 few comforts were in the reach of the early settlers, 
 and hardships and trials were innumerable. She 
 belongs to the Unitarian Church and is ever active 
 in charitable and benevolent measures. Her 
 daughter Katie is the widow of Clarence Bean, 
 formerly a prominent druggist, who died in Rock- 
 ford in 1888. Mrs. Bean makes her home with 
 her mother, as do also her three sons: Thatcher B., 
 Winslow and Clarence, bright lads who are the 
 pride and hope of both mother and grandmother. 
 
 The attention of the reader is invited to the 
 lithographic portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Blake, pre- 
 sented in this connection. 
 
 4^ 
 
 I j^ILLIAM DICKINSON was born in the vil- 
 \aJ// ^'^S^ of Haywood, Parish of Bridwalace, 
 W^ Yorkshire, England, July 23, 1822. He is 
 at present residing on a farm in Burritt Township, 
 Winnebago County, on which he has erected a 
 comfortable stone house, and planted fruit and 
 shade trees. He is making a success of his calling 
 and ranks among the well-to-do agriculturists of 
 the county. 
 
 William Dickinson, the father of our subject, 
 was a native of the above-named parish and shire, 
 as was also his father, William Dickinson, and in 
 turn, his father, the great-grandfather c|jpur sub- 
 ject. The latter-named gentleman spent his en- 
 tire life in that country, and died when nearly one 
 hundred years of age, being buried in Owston 
 Churchyard. The grandfather of our subject was 
 a carpenter, which occupation he followed until 
 his death, in Yorkshire; his remains lie buried at 
 Doncaster. The maiden name of his wife was Mary 
 Pickering. 
 
 The direct progenitor of our subject always fol- 
 lowed the trade of a carpenter, which he learned 
 from his father, and at his decease was also buried 
 at Doncaster. Rebecca Parkin, his wife, was born 
 in Yorkshire, England, and bore her husband five 
 children, Sarah, William, George, Charles and Lucy. 
 
 our subject being the only one who ever came to 
 America. He commenced to learn the trade of a 
 carpenter and wagonmaker when fourteen years of 
 age, and when twenty-one did "jour" work until 
 1845, when he came with his wife to America 
 sailing from Liverpool August 6, in the vessel 
 "Rochester," which landed them in New York after 
 a voyage of three weeks. Coming directly to Illi- 
 nois, Mr. Dickinson came overland from Chicago 
 to Eockford at a time when this now prosperous 
 city was a small village. He began life here work- 
 ing land on shares, and after the Mexican War he 
 purchased a land warrant and secured a tract of 
 land, which lie now occupies. 
 
 There being no railroads in this locality, Mr. 
 Dickinson marketed his grain in Chicago, Milwau- 
 kee and different points in Wisconsin. He had 
 his wheat ground at Rockton, and disposed of his 
 flour in the mining towns of Wisconsin. In 1841, 
 he was married to Ann Coward, who was born in 
 Yorkshire, England, January 10, 1833, and was the 
 daughter of William and Ann (Cellars) Coward, 
 also natives of Yorkshire, England, where their 
 decease occurred. To our subject and his wife 
 have been born ten children. Those now living 
 arc Rebecca, now Mrs. Wallace Hooker; Emily, now 
 Mrs. Frederick Milne; Frederick, George, Florence; 
 Annie, now Mrs. James Robins; and Theodore. 
 William, the third son, died in his twenty-fourth 
 year, and Charles, the next in order of birth, when 
 twenty-three years. In his political relations, Mr. 
 Dickinson is a stanch Democrat. 
 
 ^., NSEL SCHELLENGER. It is with sin- 
 LJI cere pleasure that the biographer responds 
 to the call to give the life facts of any of 
 our fellovv-citizens who fought for the 
 honor of the old flag during the dark days of the 
 Civil War. The good gentleman wVose name ap- 
 pears at the head of this sketch enlisted at Black 
 River Falls, Wis., for three months, but as his com- 
 pany was disbanded, he again enlisted from Sharon, 
 November 4, 1861, in Companj' C, Thirteenth Wis- 
 consin Infantry, and going to the front in Kansas 
 formed a part of the Western Army. Mr. Schel- 
 
jfORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 541 
 
 lenfrer re-enlisted December 15, 1863, and was dis- 
 charged on account of disabilitj', July 29, 1865, 
 from the general hospital at Prairie du Chien. 
 
 Our subject, who is at present engaged in farm- 
 ing in Manchester Township, Boone County, was 
 born in Harpersfield, Ashtabula County, Ohio, 
 March 15, 1841, while his father, Hector Schel- 
 lenger, was born in Sheffield, Mass., August 11, 
 1792. The latter gentleman was the son of Gid- 
 deon Schellenger, who lived and died a farmer in 
 the above-named place. The father of our subject 
 came to Kaskaskia in 1813, in company with two 
 brothers, where he remained about one year, during 
 which period he made brick by hand. At the end 
 of that time, he returned with his brother George 
 to Ashtabula Count3^, and the latter built a dam on 
 Grand River and erected saw, grist and woolen 
 mills. The father of our subject purchased a farm 
 in that vicinity, which he cleared from heavy tim- 
 ber. 
 
 The lady who became the mother of our subject 
 was prior to her marriage Cynthia, daughter of 
 Archelus Parker, and was born June 23, 1809, in 
 New York. The parents of our subject, in the fall 
 of 1855, came to Roscoe Village, where Mr. Schel- 
 lenger remained a short time; then coming to Man- 
 chester Township, he purchased a farm of two 
 hundred and eighty acres, for which he paid $3,000. 
 A part of the family still remained in Ohio, among 
 tliem Ansel, our subject, and his elder brother, who 
 was ill. Mr. and Mrs. Schellenger reared twelve 
 children, viz: Elmina, Edmond, Nancy, Almon, 
 Hector, Polly (deceased), Ansel, Phoebe Ann, Em- 
 eline M., Samuel O., Silas A. and Sarah E. Almon 
 was a volunteer in the Ninety-fifth Illinois Infan- 
 try, leaving home with the commission of Lieuten- 
 ant, and when Capt. Cornwell was killed was 
 appointed to take his position. He served through 
 the war, receiving a severe bayonet wound in the 
 ankle. Previous to being discharged, he was brev- 
 eted a Major for bravery and efficiency. 
 
 He of whom we write, on returning to civil life, 
 engaged in farming on the old homestead, whicli 
 has been his home since. He was married, Octo- 
 ber 25, 1875, to Miss Delphine E., daughter of 
 David and Emeline (Glover) Willson, natives, re- 
 spectively, of New Hampshire and New York. The 
 
 parents of Mrs. Schellenger came to Manchester 
 Township in 1847, where she was born. By her 
 union with our subject, four children have been 
 born: Alice Maude, Blanche Marie, ISIarcia E. and 
 Ralph Wilson. 
 
 Mr. Schellenger, in 1877, erected a very fine 
 brick residence which is finished in a modern style 
 of architecture, and furnished in a most comfort- 
 able manner. He also has a large barn on his place, 
 and all the other buildings which go to make up a 
 most attractive home. His estate is supplied with 
 ornamental shrub and fruit trees, having a well- 
 trained arbor vitae hedge in front oC the house. He 
 has added one hundred and thirty acres to the 
 original tract, which aggregates four hundred and 
 ten acres, the greater portion of whicli is under ex- 
 cellent cultivation. He has raised a great quan- 
 tity of clover on his place, which nets him $15 per 
 acre, or ^4.50 per bushel. He is one of the most 
 practical and thorough farmers in this part of Illi- 
 nois, and is making a success of his calling. He 
 plants from one hundred to one hundred and fifty 
 acres of corn, and keeps from fifteen tu thirty- 
 seven head of cows on his place. He has some 
 very fine sheep, of which the Shropshire are his 
 favorites. 
 
 The mother of our subject is now nearing her 
 eighty-third birthday, and makes her home with 
 her youngest daughter, Mrs. Blodget, in Le Roy. 
 Our subject and his wife are members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, and in politics, he votes 
 with the Republican party. 
 
 "^ OSEPH S. CARPENTER is one of Boone 
 County's popular citizens, and an agricul- 
 turist of excellent reputation. He was 
 born in Truxton, Cortland County, N. Y., 
 on the 21st of December, 1817, and remained 
 under the parental roof until twenty years of age, 
 when he started out to make his own way in life. 
 The parents of our subject, Abner and Lura 
 (Haskins) Carpenter, were natives of the Nut- 
 meg State, but later became residents of New 
 York State where they passed the remainder of 
 
542 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGKAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 their days, the father dying in Orleans and the 
 mother in Cortland County. They were the pa- 
 rents of seven children, but only our subject is now 
 living. The paternal grandfather, Noah Carpen- 
 ter, was also a native of Connecticut, but when 
 about middle age he moved to the Empire State 
 and there received his final summons when ninety 
 years of age. 
 
 When our subject started out to fight life's bat- 
 tles for himself, he first began by hiring out by 
 the month, and in this way, by his economical 
 habits and good management, contrived to save 
 much of his hard-earned money. He selected his 
 wife in the person of Miss Clarissa Gilbert, a na- 
 tive of Livingston County, N. Y., born in the 
 town of Sparta, October 18, 1824, and their union 
 was celebrated on the 19th of March, 1846. Mrs. 
 Carpenter was the daughter of Leonard and Eliz- 
 abeth (Mitchell) Gilbert, the father a native of 
 Connecticut and the mother of Pennsylvania, the 
 latter of Quaker ancestry. They were the parents 
 of six children, five of whom are now living. 
 Mrs. Carpenter, wife of our subject, is a descend- 
 ant of English ancestors, and the first of her kins- 
 men to settle in this country were three brothers 
 whose descendants are now scattered in the United 
 States, many of them professional men. Quite a 
 number were Methodist preachers who won fame 
 and renown in their chosen calling. Mrs. Car- 
 penter's father was a physician of considerable 
 cons'equence and was educated at Hartford, Conn. 
 He died in Genesee Countjr, Mich., when about 
 eighty-seven years of age, and his wife died in 
 Orleans County, N. Y., when about fifty-four 
 years of age. Mrs. Carpenter's grandfather. Gar- 
 dener Gilbert, was in the Revolutionary War and 
 was Secretary for Gen. George Washington. 
 
 After marriage, our subject settled in Orleans 
 County, N. Y., and for some time worked by the 
 month, but becoming impressed with the idea 
 that he could better his condition by going West, 
 he, in the year 1848, made his first appearance in 
 Illinois. He bought forty acres of land in Boone 
 County, but later bought sixty-five acres where he 
 now lives, and has been a resident of the same for 
 the past thirty-five years. During this time he 
 has not been idle, as the present appearance of his 
 
 well-regulated farm will show. Satisfied that he 
 has accomplished his share of hard work, our sub- 
 ject is now practically retired and with his worthy 
 wife, to whose help he in a great measure attrib- 
 utes his success, will settle down to enjoy the 
 result of years of hard work. Although he has 
 taken but little interest in politics, Mr. Carpenter 
 has held a number of local offices and is well able 
 to hold any and all. He is a Republican and his 
 first Presidential vote was for William H.Harrison. 
 He has voted for every Republican President since 
 PYemont. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter are members 
 of the Methodist Church and are liberal contribu- 
 tors to the same. Mr. Carpenter favors advance- 
 ment in every phase of life, and is a generous 
 contributor both of his time and means to every 
 measure that promises to be for the benefit of this 
 section of the country. 
 
 3'^~f^&'=®= 
 
 EYMOUR WILDER has been identified 
 with the agricultural development of 
 Winnebago County since the early date of 
 its settlement and is a fine representative 
 of the sturdy, intelligent and enterprising pioneers 
 who have improved valuable and highly produc- 
 tive farms from the wild prairies. Our subject 
 was born in Underhill, Chittenden County, Vt., 
 October 31, 1831, and is the son of Oliver and 
 Lemira (Lee) Wilder, for a further history of 
 whom the reader is referred to the sketch of Seth 
 C. Wilder. 
 
 During the residence of our subject in Vermont, 
 as there were no railroads in the vicinity of his 
 home, it was the custom of the farmers to visit 
 Boston every winter, making the round trip with 
 teams and bringing back in exchange for their 
 produce, fish and the merchandise needed in the 
 family. Mr. Wilder came to Illinois with his 
 parents and while en route saw the first railroad 
 and first train of cars he had ever seen. He as- 
 sisted bis father in improving a new farm and was 
 never separated from his parents until their de- 
 cease. He now owns and occupies the old home- 
 stead and is one of the best-known and highly 
 esteemed residents in this section. For a number 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 543 
 
 of years he engaged in operating a threshing ma- 
 chine but now carries on general farming and 
 stock-raising. Mr. Wilder has never married. In 
 his political views he casts his vote and influence 
 in favor of Democratic principles. 
 
 *^^1 
 
 j'JCHARD GARDNER. Among those whose 
 
 *^ labors are ended, but who by their worth}' 
 \\\ lives still claim remembrance, may be prop- 
 erly mentioned Mr. Gardner, an earlj' resi- 
 dent of Winnebago, who departed this life Jan- 
 uary 14, 1883. He was one of the old citizens 
 of the county, within whose limits he owned a 
 valuable and highly-improved tract of land, where 
 he and his wife established a pleasant home and 
 assisted in developing the land from a primeval 
 wilderness. 
 
 Cm- subject was born in Malpas, Cheshire, Eng- 
 land, in 1821, and was the son of Richard and Ann 
 (Palin) Gardner, also natives of England, who 
 came to America in 1831, and located in Florence, 
 Oneida County, N. Y., where they spent the rest 
 of their days. Mr. Gardner was one of a family 
 of ten children born to his parents, whom he ac- 
 companied to America when a lad of ten j'^ears. He 
 was reared in Oneida County, where he resided 
 until 1849, then, with his wife, came to Illinois, 
 and stopped for a time in the town of Rockford. 
 
 The year after making this county his home, 
 Mr. Gardner purchased eighty acres of land which 
 is now included in the farm upon which his widow 
 resides, and for which he paid 13 per acre. In 
 1853, he sold his property, and moving to Lafay- 
 ette County, Wis., there purchased a farm and re- 
 sided for fourteen years, when he again returned 
 to Winnebago Township, and bought the old home 
 where he was residing at the time of his decease. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married bore 
 the maiden name of Abigail C. Sweze}', a native of 
 Norway, Herkimer County, N. Y., where her birth 
 occurred August 23, 1824. Her father, the Rev. 
 Samuel Swezey, was a native of Long Island, 
 and was a son of Daniel Swezey, whose sketch will 
 be found in the biography of A. J. Swezey on 
 another page of this volume. The latter-named 
 
 gentleman was a lad of twelve years when the 
 family moved to Herkimer County, and being con- 
 verted in early manhood, became a preacher in the 
 Presbyterian Church. He was for some time in 
 the employ of the Home Missionary Societj'^, and, 
 after abandoning the ministerial work, removed to 
 his farm in the town of Norway, thence to Flor- 
 ence, Oneida County, which was his home until 
 1855, when he came to Illinois, and bought prop- 
 erty in Winnebago Township. Here his death 
 occurred in 1861. The maiden name of the mother 
 of Mrs. Gardner was Harriet Mitchell, a native of 
 Meriden, Conn., and the daughter of Zenas and 
 Abigail (Merriman) Mitchell. She died in the 
 town of Camden, N. Y., in 1853. The wife of our 
 subject was reared and educated in her native State 
 and resided with her parents until her marriage. 
 
 He of whom we write was a member of Winne- 
 bago Lodge No. 745, A. F. & A. M., and possessed 
 that upright character and intelligent mind which 
 led him to success in business life. 
 
 _y 
 
 "if^.ETER PETERSON. If the Old Country 
 had not contributed to the population of 
 the New, Illinois would not have reached 
 its present high state of development. 
 Sweden has furnished her full quota of excellent 
 men, and among them Peter Peterson, a resident 
 of Rockford, who is honored and respected by all 
 his acquaintances. He has been a resident of 
 Rockford since 1867, when he was but thirteen 
 years of age, and has ever taken an active interest 
 in its growth and development. For seventeen 
 years, he has been working as a foreman in the ma- 
 chine shops of the Ward Pump Company, in which 
 he is a Director and stockholder, and he is a stock- 
 holder in the Skandia Plow Company, which is 
 also a flourishing concern. Mr. Peterson is a first- 
 class man of business, and is deservedly popular, 
 bearing an honorable reputation. 
 
 Our subject was born in Blekinge, Sweden, on 
 the 18th of May, 1854, and, like the majority 
 of the youth of that country, while growing up 
 was taught a trade. He became a machinist and 
 
544 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 this has continued to be his occupation up to the 
 present. He is hardworking and industrious and 
 a most sliillful and intelligent workman. In Sept- 
 ember, 1867, he and his parents took passage for 
 the United States and after an uneventful voyage 
 entered the harbor of New York, in which city they 
 remained but a short time, Rockford being the 
 point of destination. The parents are now resi- 
 dents of this city and are classed among the honest, 
 upright citizens. The father, Ingval Peterson, is 
 working in the machine department of the Emerson- 
 Talcott Manufacturing Company, and is now sixty- 
 four years of age, his birth occurring on the 3d of 
 June, 1828. His excellent wife, who was born on 
 the 25th of June, 1830, and whose maiden name 
 w.as Chasta Hockson, has been a true Lelpmate to 
 her husband and has stood faithfully bj' his side in 
 sunshine and in shower. Like the majority of 
 their native countrymen, they are devout members 
 of the Zion Lutheran Church. 
 
 Of the seven sons and three daughters born to 
 this excellent couple, three of each are now living, 
 all but two sons married. These. William O. and 
 Victor A., are both machinists. The daughters are: 
 Mrs. Christina Christranson, a widow, who resides in 
 Rockford; Hannah, wife of J. H. Lynn (see sketch), 
 and Sarah, wife of Herman Danilson, who resides iji 
 Sweden. 
 
 The happy marriage of our subject to Miss Anna 
 Charlotte Lindberg occuired in Rockford. She 
 was born in Wester Gotland, Sweden, February 17, 
 1858, and came to the United States with the fam- 
 ily in the earlj- part of the year 1864. After a 
 long, tedious voyage of seven weeks, they reached 
 New York City and came direct from there to 
 Rockford, where the mother died on the 10th of 
 April, 1865, when but thirty-seven years of age. 
 She was a most worthy and excellent woman and 
 her death was a severe blow to the afflicted fam- 
 ily. Her maiden name was Anna G. Johanasdau- 
 ter, and she became the mother of four children, 
 one, Elizabeth, having died when four years of age. 
 Those living are Josephine H., wife of John J. 
 Ferrel, now residing in Chicago; Anna C, wife of 
 our subject, and .John E., a molder for the Ward 
 Pump Company, who wedded Miss Josephine 
 Chinquist. The father of these children, Andrew 
 
 Lindberg, was married in Rockford, on the 1st of 
 January, 1867, to Miss Sophia Hanson, a native of 
 Sweden, who was the mother of four children by a 
 former marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Lindberg now 
 reside on a farm in Wright County, Minn., near 
 Delano, and have one living son, Alfred, by this 
 union. 
 
 Mr. Peterson is a Republican in politics and has 
 all faith and confidence in the future of his party. 
 He and h\s most excellent wife are members of the 
 Lutheran Church. Their fine residence at No. 607 
 Grove Street is arranged in the interior in a very 
 tasty and superior manner by Mrs. Peterson, who 
 is not only a lady of intelligence and culture, but 
 an admirable housekeeper as well. 
 
 '■ > * * r' <^ m^ V ^ I 
 
 ? I ' I t il 
 
 Tp^ ICHARD P. LOVELAND, who is practically 
 
 Lsir^ living a retired life upon 
 iUvi Valley Township, Winn 
 
 his farm in Cherry 
 (^ \V Valley Township, Winnebago County, was 
 ^^ bom in 1818, and is the eldest child of 
 David and Amy (Lowrey) Loveland, whose family 
 numbered four children, three sons and a daughter, 
 all of whom are yet living. The paternal grand- 
 father, Aaron Loveland, was born and reared near 
 Hartford, Conn. Their ancestors had for a num- 
 ber of generations resided in New England. When 
 our subject was a child, his parents removed to 
 Ohio. Their family consisted of the following chil- 
 dren: Rosswell L., of Medina, Ohio; Amanda M., 
 now Mrs. Dr. Cass, of Chicago; Seymour C, a res- 
 ident of Union Count}', Ohio; and our subject. 
 The youngest of the family is now sixty-three 
 years of age. 
 
 R. P. Loveland was born January 29, 1818, was 
 reared upon his father's farm and spent much of 
 his time in his father's saw and grist mills. He 
 possessed considerable mechanical genius and has 
 engaged in that labor much of his life. As a help- 
 mate on life's journey, he chose Miss Hannah M. 
 Austin, their union being celebrated in Ashland, 
 Ohio, December 15, 1841. She was born in New 
 Hampshire, and is a daughter of Samuel Austin. 
 They have resided in four different States: Ohio, 
 Wisconsin, Missouri and Illinois. When in Mis- 
 souri, Mr. Loveland responded to his country's 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 545 
 
 call for troops in May, 1861, and did service for 
 three years as a member of the Seventh Missouri 
 Regiment, which was engaged in duty all of the 
 lime in that State. As the regiment was not mus- 
 tered out at the close of the war, he was a member 
 of it for seven years. 
 
 In 1874, Mr. Loveland came with his wife to 
 Illinois, locating in Rockford, where he made his 
 home for five years, being employed with the 
 N. C. Thompson Company. At the expiration of 
 that time he removed to his farm, a tract of one 
 hundred and six acres under a high state of culti- 
 vation and well improved. He is practicallj' liv- 
 ing a retired life, his son-in-law operating his land. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Loveland have the following living 
 children: Charles A., Lewis B., Martin E., Mrs. Amy 
 Wilkeson, Seymour H., John T. and Mrs. A. L. Tib- 
 betts. They also lost two children, an infant, and 
 Minerva, who died at the age of one year. They 
 have thirty grandchildren and four great-grand- 
 children. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Loveland was a Democrat until 
 his experience with the rebel Democr.ats in the 
 South, and since that time he has been an ardent 
 Republican. Whatever success he has achieved in 
 life has been due to his own efforts, for he began 
 life empty-handed and has made his own way in 
 the world. He is a well-known and highly-respected 
 citizen of this community. 
 
 ^^EORGE H. GRAVES has been a resident 
 (if ^i} '^^ Boone County since five years of age, 
 %^( and is counted one of the most substan- 
 tial residents of Flora Township, where he is oper- 
 ating a fine farm. He was born in Guilford, Me., 
 June 15, 1840, and is the son of Samuel Stillman 
 Graves, who was born in the town of Litchfield, 
 ten miles from Hallowell, Me., February 28, 1806. 
 His father, Nathaniel Graves, was born in Top- 
 sham, that State, and his father, the great-grand- 
 father of our subject, it is thought, hailed from 
 Reading, Mass., and early in life moved to Litch- 
 field, Me., where he was a resident until his death. 
 The grandfather of our subject was reared and 
 
 educated in his native State, where he learned the 
 trade of a blacksmith, following that occupation a 
 number of years. In 1810, he removed to Guil- 
 ford, Piscataquis County, and his was the fifth 
 family to settle in that town. He purchased and 
 cleared a farm from the wilderness, where his 
 death took place. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Abigail Palmer; she was born in Scituate, Mass., 
 and also died on the old homestead. 
 
 Samuel S. Graves was four years old when his 
 father removed to Guilford, where he was reared, 
 and learned and worked at the trade of a stonemason 
 and bricklayer until 1845, when, with his wife and 
 family, he came to Illinois and located in Boone 
 County. He landed in Flora Township with $54 
 in his pocket, at a time when the land in this vi- 
 cinity sold at $1.25 per acre. His brother-in-law, 
 Jonathan Young, resided here, and the familj' 
 made their home with him for a time. The fa- 
 ther of our subject soon bought forty acres of 
 Government land, walking to Dixon to make his 
 first payment at the land office. 
 
 The parents of our subject were united in mar- 
 riage on the 28th of August, 1830, the maiden 
 name of the mother, who was born in Avon, Somer- 
 set County, Me., December 1, 1809, being Hannah 
 Young. Her parents, Abraham Dorrison and 
 Hannah (Wright) Young, were natives respectively 
 of Massachusetts and Maine. They reared a fam- 
 ily of six children: Andrew J., Helen M., Theo- 
 dore Wallace, George H., Huldah J., and Anna J. 
 Theodore during the late war was a soldier in Com- 
 pany I, Ninth Illinois Cavalry, and died in the ser- 
 vice. In April, 1861, our subject also enlisted in the 
 War of the Rebellion, becoming a member of Com- 
 pany B, Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, which was 
 the first regiment mustered into the United States 
 service for a period of three ji^ears. He was with 
 his regiment in its various marches and campaigns 
 until honorably discharged in June, 1864. His 
 only wound was received at the battle of Shiloh, 
 at which time he was struck on the left elbow by 
 a spent ball. 
 
 January 3, 1869, Mr. Graves was married to 
 Miss Varena Haller, who was born in Canton Ar- 
 govie, Switzerland, December 3, 1851. Her fa- 
 ther, Gabriel Haller, was born in the same lo- 
 
546 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECOED. 
 
 cality and came to America in 1852, settling at 
 Carter's P^urnace, Kj'. He served in an Illinois regi 
 ment during the late war, and after his discharge 
 located in Franklin Township, De Kalb County, 
 wliere he spent his last years. 
 
 Mrs. Graves died November 5, 1885, leaving 
 two sons: Theodore K. and Thaddeus N. The 
 former is the husband of Birdie ^''istoria St. Peter, 
 who was born at Columbus Junction, Louisa 
 Count}', Iowa, and the daughter of Theodore and 
 Harriet (Belknapp) St. Peter. Her father served 
 in the late war in Company A, Thirt}'.- fifth Iowa 
 Infantry. Mr. Graves is a member of S. A. Hurl- 
 but Post No. 164, G. A. E., and also of Flora 
 Camp No. 624, M. W. of A. His sons are both 
 members of the same camp and also of the T. G. 
 Lawlor Camp, Sons of Veterans. Our subject is a 
 Republican in politics, and in 1890 was appointed 
 Census lilnumerator in Flora Township. Mr. 
 Graves was elected Treasurer of Flora Township 
 in 1888, and served until 1890, and was also a dele- 
 gate to the Third Biennial Session of Master 
 Workmen of America, held at Springfield, 111. 
 
 , AVID DANIEL, the pioneer shoemaker of 
 Blaine, came to Boone County in 1842, 
 leaving his Ohio home on September 27, 
 and arriving at his destination October 
 14, following. At that early day settlements 
 were few and far between, and the deep silence of 
 the wilderness was unbroken, save by the occa- 
 sional ringing of the pioneer's axe and at night by 
 the howling of wild animals. Mr. Daniel can tell 
 many interesting stories of pioneer life, illustra- 
 tive of the various phases of self-sacrifice, pathos 
 and mutual helpfulness. A skilled workman, he 
 has- for fifty years engaged at making shoes at 
 Blaine, and his equal as a cobbler is rarely found. 
 The father of our subject, Jolin Daniel, was 
 born in Pennsylvania and removed to Ohio when 
 a young man. He was there married to Miss Mar- 
 garet Hcckathorn, and after residing many years 
 in the Buckeye State, came West to Illinois, accom- 
 panied by his wife and eight sons. He entered 
 Government land in Boone County and purchased 
 
 other property until he became the owner of three 
 hundred and twenty acres, where he resided until 
 his death, August 3, 1850, at the age of fifty-nine 
 years. David Daniel, our subject, was born in 
 Franklin County, Ohio, April 8, 1820. He grew 
 to manhood in his native State, where, in 1841, lie 
 married Miss Delilah Meek. 
 
 There is not one person now living in Boone 
 County who was here at the time of the arrival of 
 Mr. Daniel. The father of our subject, who came 
 here in 1841, was identified with the early history 
 of the county. He was an earnest Methodist, and 
 his voice possessed such remarkable sweetness and 
 power that he was called one of the "sweet singers 
 of Israel." The members of the parental family 
 are now widely separated and one, James, a black- 
 smith, mysteriously disappeared from Rockton 
 about 1852 and nothing was ever heard of him 
 afterward. Samuel is a minister in the Methodist 
 Church and is at present a fruit-grower at Rus- 
 sellville, Ore. Wesley A. has been a practicing 
 physician at Prior, Iowa, for thirty-eight years, 
 and is especially successful as a surgeon, having 
 served in that capacity in the Twenty-eighth 
 Iowa Regiment during the late war. George, who 
 was a teacher, died in Boone Count}' in his youth. 
 John, who was learning the business of carriage- 
 making, was drowned in the Rock River at Beloit. 
 Henry learned the trade of a cabinet-maker at 
 Rockton, married the eldest daughter of Luther 
 Lawrence, and died in Portland, Ore., in August, 
 1891. He started in life with limited capital, but 
 when he died left his wife and two children prop- 
 erty valued at $100,000. Jacob, the youngest 
 member of the family circle, is a contractor and 
 builder, at present residing at Lake Charles, in 
 Louisiana. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Daniel are the parents of five 
 children: Martha died at the age of two and one 
 half years; Lucy A. married C. C. Leech, of Den- 
 ver, and they have three children; Mary, wife of 
 M. F. Duryea, resides in Iowa; Morris H., a farmer, 
 resides in this county; Permelia H. is the wife of 
 D. G. Webster, of Blaine, and their four children are 
 as follows: Carrie D., wife of Wilson A. Chapell, 
 of Iowa; Jennie R., Mrs. Romeo H. Leavett, of 
 Blaine; Daniel W., at home; and Mary E., a bright 
 
.w . '^ 
 
 v^^^ 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 549 
 
 child of nine j'ears. Mr. Webster was born in 
 Wyoming County, N. Y., January 14, 1837, and 
 was brought to Illinois by his parents in 1842. 
 In 1861, he went to California, where he remained 
 three yeai-s, returning via the Isthmus in 1864, 
 after having accumulated considerable property 
 in the Golden State. He was married on New 
 Year's Day following his return from the West 
 and has since resided in Blaine, where he is well 
 known as the inventor and patentee of the Web- 
 ster Wind Mills. 
 
 After a long and happy wedded life, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Daniel were separated by the death of the 
 latter, June 21, 1875, when fifty-five years old. 
 She was a faithful wife and loving mother, and 
 her loss was deeply felt in the circle of loved ones 
 to whom she was so tenderly devoted. Mr. Dan- 
 iel is living retired in Blaine, where he has gained 
 the reputation of being an energetic and public- 
 spirited citizen. He has ever taken a deep inter- 
 est in political affairs, first as a Whig and later as 
 a Republican. As an honest man and good citi- 
 zen, he justly receives the commendation and re- 
 spect of all who enjoy liis acquaintance. For 
 twenty years he served as Justice of the Peace in 
 the township, and never had a decision reversed. 
 
 
 ^ SAAC BATES, a popular and substantial farmer 
 and a man very highly respected in Boone 
 J County, is a native of Staffordshire, England, 
 born November 6,1818. He is a son of Benjamin 
 and Sarah (Warton) Bates, both natives of Bir- 
 mingham, England, the former born Jul}^ 8, 1777, 
 and the latter in January, 1774. They came to 
 America in 1848 and first settled near where our 
 subject now resides, and there established a per- 
 manent home. The father died on September 16, 
 1853, and the mother passed away when eighty-six 
 years of age. Benjamin was a son of Benjamin, 
 Sr., who was also born in Birmingham, England, 
 and both were steel workers in their native coun- 
 try. Benjamin, Sr., died there when eighty years 
 of age. His wife, Carrie Bates, was born within 
 ten miles of Birmingham, and died when compara- 
 tively young. Our subject's maternal grandpar- 
 
 ents were born near Birmingham and died there 
 when quite old people. 
 
 The original of this notice was one of ten chil- 
 dren, and he and a sister who resides in Boston are 
 the only ones now living. He came to the United 
 States about 1845 and was twenty-nine days in 
 crossing the Atlantic. After reaching New York, 
 he came by canal to Buffalo and thence bj^ steamer 
 to Chicago. He hired a team and brought about 
 thirteen hundred pounds of freight out to Boone 
 County, 111. He first purchased eighty acres of 
 land, but has added to this from time to time until 
 he now has about three hundred and forty acres. 
 He first took up his quarters in a little log cabin 
 that was built by a brother-in-law and in that re- 
 sided for some time. Afterward he erected a better 
 house but only resided in it for two years, when he 
 rented his farm and moved to Beloit to educate 
 his children. There he worked at his trade as 
 reaper manufacturer for six years, and then re- 
 turned to the farm, where in 1861 he erected his 
 present substantial I'esidence. Mr. Bates had some 
 means to start with when he came here and he has 
 since been very successful. 
 
 Previous to leaving his native country, Mr. 
 Bates was married in Birmingham, England, in a 
 church that was erected in 1770, on July 27, 1840, 
 to Miss Phoeba A. Tongue, a native also of Bir- 
 mingham, England, and a daughter of Samuel and 
 Rebecca (Reeves) Tongue. Samuel Tongue was 
 born in Bromsgrove, England, and there died when 
 sixty-six years of age. His wife, who was the 
 daughter of William H. and Sarah (Osborne) 
 Reeves, died in her native town, Birmingham, when 
 eighty-six years of age. 
 
 Mrs. Bates is a great-granddaughter and also 
 granddaughter of a born heiress, who was of a 
 noble family. She is one of seven children born 
 to her parents and the only one surviving. Of 
 the seven children born to our subject and wife all 
 are living and are as follows: William H., born 
 in England, is married and has one child; Charles, 
 born in England, is at home and rents the farm; 
 Josiah F., born in England, married and has three 
 children, and resides in Iowa; Samuel (see sketch); 
 Benjamin A., born in Illinois, resides in Iowa, is 
 married and has three children; Ellen B., born in 
 
550 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Beloit, Wis., raarried and has four daughters; and 
 Albert E., born liere, resides in Iowa, and to his 
 marriage have been born two daughters. Our sub- 
 ject has been a Republican in politics ever since 
 Pierce was elected. He voted for Fremont. He 
 has held a number of local offices: Township Clerk, 
 Highway Commissioner six years, Trustee for 
 years and a member of the School Board. He is 
 engaged in mixed farming, and his land, for which 
 he paid $1.25 per acre, is worth from $60 to $80 
 per acre at the present time. 
 
 On an accorapaujing page will be noticed a 
 lithographic portrait of Mr. Bates. 
 
 E^^ 
 
 'LEXANDER FERGUSON has been a life- 
 long resident of Harlem Township, Win- 
 
 i nebago Countj- and still makes his home 
 on section 25, range 1. He was born on 
 his father's farm on the 30th of June, 1842, his 
 parents, William and Ellen (Picken) Ferguson, 
 being numbered among the honored pioneer set- 
 tlers of this locality. The Ferguson family is 
 of Scotch origin. James Ferguson, the grand- 
 fatlier of our subject, was born in Argyleshire, 
 Scotland, and there spent his entire life. His 
 son William was also a native of that locality. 
 He and a sister, Mrs. Martha Greenlee, were the 
 only members of the familj- that came to America 
 and made a permanent settlement. 
 
 The father of our subject crossed the Atlantic in 
 1836, and settled in Ohio, where he married Miss 
 Picken, also a native of Argyleshire, and a daugh- 
 ter of Alexander Picken. In 1840, they came to 
 Illinois, making the journey with a horse and 
 b'^goJ) and Mr. P'erguson purchased a tract of wild 
 land in what is now Harlem Township. He then 
 returned for his family, whom he brought by way 
 of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to Savanna 
 and from thence by team to their future home. 
 The land which he purchased was on section 24, a 
 wild and uncultivated tract, upon which not a 
 furrow had been turned or an improvement made. 
 He there erected a log house and in true pioneer 
 style the family began life in the West. There 
 were then no railroads in the county, Chicago was 
 
 the nearest market and that long distance had to 
 be traversed every time supplies were needed. Mr. 
 Ferguson developed and improved his land, resided 
 upon the farm which he made until 1860, when he 
 sold out and bought the farm on which our sub- 
 ject now resides, there making his home until his 
 death. In the family were eight children, as fol- 
 lows: James, Alexander, Ellen, Mary J., William, 
 Thomas, Hugh and Charles. 
 
 Alexander Ferguson, whose name heads this re- 
 cord, first opened his eyes to the light of day in 
 the cabin home of his parents, June 30, 1842, and 
 was reared to manhood in the usual manner of far- 
 mer lads, no event of special importance occurring 
 during his youth. He gave his father the benefit 
 of his labors until after his marriage, when he set- 
 tled upon that part of the old home which he now 
 owns and occupies. As a companion and help- 
 mate on life's journey, he chose Miss Margaret 
 Ralston, daughter of Alexander J. and Margaret 
 (McKerrel) Ralston, a native of Chatham, Canada. 
 Their union was celebrated in 1877, and has been 
 blessed with two children : William J. and Cora . 
 Ellen. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson are members of the Wil- 
 low Creek Presbyterian Church and are worthy 
 and respected people of this community who hold 
 a high position in the social world. The husband 
 owns a fine farm, well cultivated and improved 
 with good buildings and other accessories of a 
 model farm. His entire life has been passed in 
 this county, and the fact that his oldest acquaint- 
 ances are among his best friends shows that he has 
 lived worthily and well. 
 
 Ci^ATHAN D. JACKSON. This representa- 
 I five farmer and excellent citizen of Bonus 
 3 Township comes from good old New Eng- 
 land stock on the paternal side, for his father, 
 Charles D. Jackson, was born in Newton, Mass., on 
 the 17th of October, 1810, and at the early age of 
 seven years, engaged with an uncle to work for his 
 board and clothes. For about eight years he con- 
 tinued with this uncle, and then attended the 
 Portland, Me., schools for a few years. After this 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 551 
 
 he engaged with a wholesale grocery firm as ship- 
 ping clerk, and after his time was up with this 
 house, he was elected as grain and produce weigher 
 of the city, filling that position in a very satisfac- 
 tory manner for some time. 
 
 About this time, Mr. Jackson experienced a great 
 desire to seek his fortune in the Far West, and 
 gathered together his belongings, and in the fall 
 of 1838, started for Illinois, which at that time 
 was considered very far West, and where a brother, 
 Cranston Jackson, had preceded him two years. 
 He went by way of the Lakes and canal as far as 
 Chicago, and from there walked out to Belvidere. 
 After much searching and considerable trovible, 
 Mr. Jackson found his brother domiciled in a little 
 log cabin .about one mile from our subject's pres- 
 ent home, and there the two brothers lived until 
 the marriage of Charles Jackson. The latter then 
 built a house on the land he had taken up from 
 the Government, and on the 28th of December, 
 1843, he brought his bride, Miss Mary A. Stowe, to 
 his pioneer home. She was a native of the Empire 
 State, born in Broome Covmty, August 15, 1818, 
 and by her he became the father of two children: 
 Nathan D., subject of this sketch; and a daugh- 
 ter, Lucy A., who was born in this county, on the 
 28th of September, 1847. The latter married Mr. 
 William D. McCabe. (See sketch.) 
 
 Mrs. Jackson was the daughter of Horace H. and 
 Sally (Matthews) Stowe, who were natives of New 
 York State, but who spent their last days in Mis- 
 souri. Our subject's grandfather Jackson was 
 one of seven brothers who were in the battle of 
 Bunker Hill. Charles Jackson and his brother 
 Cranston gave the money to build the first school- 
 house in the part of Boone County they first lo- 
 cated in. The death of the former, which occurred 
 when he was eighty years of age, took from Boone 
 County one of its most worthy and esteemed citi- 
 zens. He was ever ready to lend a helping hand 
 to every good cause, and his purse was ever open 
 to assist tlie struggling pioneer of early days. He 
 was one of the most generous, self-sacrificing citi- 
 zens the county has ever had. 
 
 Nathan D. Jackson was born in Bonus Town- 
 ship, Boone County, 111., April 2, 1845, and is now 
 residing on the old homestead his father had taken 
 
 from Uncle Sam. Like his father, ho is progressive 
 and enterprising, and in other respects inherits 
 the admirable characteristics of that much esteemed 
 and respected citizen. He was married on the 3d 
 of September, 1879, to Miss Ellen E. Ward, who 
 was also a native of Bonus Township, Boone 
 County, this State, born November 11, 1855. Five 
 children have blessed this union, and are named as 
 follows: Alfred B., Lotta H., Charles C, Mary A. 
 J. and Neal D. Mrs. Jackson is the daughter of 
 Christopher and Jeanette Ward, the father a na- 
 tive of Yorkshire, England, and the mother of 
 Glasgow, Scotland. The former died here, but the 
 latter is still living. Mrs. Jackson's maternal 
 grandfather came to this country also, and settled 
 in New York, where he lived to be quite old. 
 Grandmother Ward lived to be nearly one hundred 
 years old at the time of her death. Mr. Jackson is 
 engaged in mixed farming, and no better farm 
 than his two hundred and fifty acres can be found 
 in Northern Illinois. 
 
 -f- 
 
 -5- 
 
 ^I^DWARD A. DUTCHER, dealer in general 
 fel hardware, stoves, harness, paints, etc., in the 
 / JLs^ village of Cherry Valley, is a native of Chau- 
 tauqua County, N. Y., born in 1842. His parents, 
 Dwight L. and Regina M. (Gilchrist) Dutcher, were 
 both natives of Otsego County. The father fol- 
 lowed farming, as did the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, Gabriel Dutcher, who was also a native of 
 New York. The maternal grandfather, Capt. 
 Donald Gilchrist, was of Scotch descent, and his 
 wife was one of the heirs of the famous Chase 
 estate, valued at $60,000,000. 
 
 Our subject is the eldest of three children, hav- 
 ing a brother Charles and a sister Alice A., now 
 the wife of Frank Conant, a farmer of Summer- 
 dale, N. 1'". Edward grew to manhood on his 
 father's farm, and acquired his education in the 
 district schools, and at the age of twenty years en- 
 listed for the late war in August, 1862. He at 
 once went to the front, and was in active service 
 until the 1st of June, 1864, when at the battle of 
 Cold Harbor he was wounded. His injuries dis- 
 abled him for service for a year and seven months. 
 
552 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and resulted in liis discharge. It was a gun-shot 
 wound in the left leg and from the effects he has 
 never fully recovered. He first received a pension 
 of $5.33 Jj per month, which was afterward increased 
 to $8, and subsequently to $12, but this sum poorly 
 requites him for all that he has suffered. 
 
 Mr. Dutcher left his native State in 1867, and 
 went to Chillicothe, Mo., where he carried on a 
 hardware and tinware store for about six months, 
 after which he sold out and went to Mexico, Mo. 
 Pie there established a hardware and agricultural 
 implement store and carried on business success- 
 fully until December, 1877, when he again sold 
 out, and thence came to Cherry Valley. He here 
 purchased the stock of R. T. Connell and estab- 
 lished his present business. His is the only store 
 01 the kind in the place. He receives a lucrative 
 patronage and his trade is constantly increasing. 
 
 Mr. Dutcher was married in New York, in 1869, 
 to Phoebe Keyes, of Mayville, N. Y., daughter of 
 M. T. and Mary A. (Blcod) Bond. Unto them was 
 born one child, Edna Alice, but her death occurred 
 in August, 1875, at the age of six months. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Dutcher are people of prominence in this 
 community and rank high in social circles. In 
 politics, he is a Republican and one of the stalwart 
 supporters of the party, doing all in his power for 
 its success. He is a man of commanding appear- 
 ance, six feet tall and weighing two hundred and 
 fifteen pounds, and is of a genial disposition. 
 
 Mr. Dutcher is a member of the Nevius Post 
 No. 1, G. A. R., Cherry Valley Lodge No. 173, A. F. 
 & A. M., Vesper Lodge No. 277, K. P., and Kish- 
 waukee Camp No. 104, M. W. A., in nearly all of 
 which he has held office, being Past Chancellor in 
 Knights of Pythias, and Past Sachem and Repre- 
 sentative to the Grand Council of Illinois in the 
 Modern Woodmen of America. 
 
 /p^J EORGE 11. GRUMMON, one of the energetic 
 ((( ^ agriculturists of Flora Township, is a na- 
 ^^^i) tive of Boone County, having been born 
 in Belvidere, October 18, 1846. Ho is a son of 
 Horace D. Grummon, who was born, reared and 
 married in New York State. The father came to 
 
 Illinois, in March, 1842, making the entire trip 
 overland with team, and after six weeks' travel 
 landed in Rockford, which was at that time a small 
 village. He lived near that city for two j'ears, and 
 then located in Belvidere Township, this county, 
 where he rented a farm. In 1851, he became 
 the proprietor of a tract of wild land on section 
 19, Flora Township, which he sold two years later 
 at a splendid advance. He next bought a good 
 farm on section 17, where he was residing at the 
 time of his decease in 1888. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Caroline Barton ; she was born in England and 
 was the daughter of Thomas and Angeline (Law- 
 rence) Barton, who came to America and after re- 
 siding a few years in the New World returned to 
 their native home. They later emigrated to Canada, 
 where they passed the remainder of their days, the 
 mother dying November 24, 1864. She had reared 
 a family of three children: Sidney L., Lorena and 
 George H. 
 
 He of whom we write was given a good educa- 
 tion in his native connty and remained with his 
 father until seventeen years of age, when, in Febru- 
 ary, 1864, he enlisted in Company A One Hundred 
 and Forty-seventh Illinois Infantry. Joining his 
 regiment in Chicago, he went with them to Nash- 
 ville, Tenn., then to Chattanooga, then to Dalton, 
 and from there to Savannah, Ga., where he re- 
 mained doing garrison duty until after the expira- 
 tion of his term of service. Being honorably dis- 
 charged, he returned home and began life for him- 
 self on a rented farm which he operated for two 
 years. Mr. Grummon then purchased eighty acres 
 on section 18, and after residing there for five 
 years went to Chicago and entered the employ of 
 the North Side Street Railway Compan}'. Four 
 years later, he returned and bought the farm 
 which he now owns and occupies, and which in- 
 cludes one hundred and twenl^'^ acres of the south- 
 west quarter of section 26, in addition to which 
 he owns eighty acres, including the south half of 
 the southwest quarter of section 22. Mr. Grum- 
 mon has erected a comfortable residence on his 
 place, also a large barn, and otherwise improved 
 the estate until it ranks among the best in Boone 
 County. Emma L., daughter of Truman and Eliza 
 
*•'.. 
 
 HON. SPOONER RUGGLES. 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 555 
 
 (Drown) Buck, became the wife of our subject in 
 1876. She is a native of Erie County, Pa., and by 
 her union with our subject became the mother of 
 three children, two boys,wlio died in infancy, and 
 Edna. 
 
 In his political belief, Mr. Grummon votes the 
 Republican ticket, and socially is a member of Hurl- 
 but Post, G. A. R., and is a demitted member of 
 Cherry Valley Lodge, A. F. <fc A. M. 
 
 f*/_^ ON. SPOONER RUGGLES. Through his 
 long and useful life, in every department 
 of duty, this esteemed citizen of Rockford 
 P was kind and true — the generous neigh- 
 bor, the patriotic citizen, the public servant of 
 ability and incorruptible integrity. His death 
 occurred at Rockford, March 7, 1874, when he 
 had reached the age of seventj'-nine years, and 
 was mourned not alone by the people of the city 
 and county, but by many in this and other States, 
 whom he had met in the course of his life, and 
 who had learned to respect the manly qualities 
 which distinguished him. His friends will note 
 with pleasure his portrait on the opposite page of 
 the following record of his life. 
 
 Born in the town of Hardwick, Mass., August 
 4, 1795, Spooner Ruggles obtained a common- 
 school education in the home of his birth. He 
 acquired knowledge readily, and once gained, it 
 was never forgotten, a characteristic which was 
 noticeable throughout his entire life. During the 
 War of 1812, he was an active participant. He 
 was married in 1816, and removed to Blenheim, 
 N. Y., the following year, whence, in 1818, he 
 proceeded to Richland County, Ohio, and there 
 successfully engaged in farming pursuits. 
 
 Hearing of the advantages offered to settlers 
 in Northern Illinois, and especially in the far- 
 famed Rock River County, where public lands 
 were just coming into market, Mr. Ruggles was 
 induced to visit this portion of the State, and in 
 1836 disposed of his property in Ohio and re- 
 moved with his family to this region, then a wild 
 frontier. He purchased land and settled near 
 
 Grand Detour, Ogle County, where he became 
 prominent in public affairs, discharging the duties 
 of County Commissioner and Justice of the Peace, 
 and taking an active part in promoting educa- 
 tional and religious organizations, and all meas- 
 ures for the elevation of society. 
 
 In 1841, Mr. Ruggles was elected Senator, and 
 faithfully performed his duties through his term 
 of four years. He was noted for uniform punc- 
 tuality and devotion to business and usefulness 
 on committees. Subsequently, he was elected 
 Judge of the Ogle County Court, and there, as 
 elsewhere, was distinguished by the faithful and 
 able performance of official duties. In 1867, ho 
 purchased a pleasant residence in Rockford, where 
 he made his home until his death. He was an 
 exemplary Christian and a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church. At his demise, resolutions of 
 respect were passed by the Rockford Society of 
 Early Settlers, who felt that in his death they had 
 lost one of their ablest and most honored mem- 
 bers, and, as a last tribute of their respect, they 
 attended the funeral services in a body. 
 
 Judge Ruggles is survived by his widow, a lady 
 of superior refinement and known in her maiden- 
 hood as Miss Amanda Bennett. She was born in 
 Ticonderoga, N. Y., October 12, 1812, the daugh- 
 ter of Zebulon and Sarah (Cooper) Bennett, na- 
 tives of East Hampton, L. I. Her father was a 
 farmer and manufacturer of slices, having learned 
 the shoemaker's trade when young. He also owned 
 a tannery and manufactured much of his own 
 stock. His family consisted of six daughters and 
 five sons, all of whom lived to mature years, ex- 
 cept Alonzo B., who died young. The only sur- 
 vivors now are: Ashley, a resident of Lawrence, 
 Mich., who at the age of eighty-three is retired 
 from farming pursuits; Adeline Johnson, two 
 years his senior and a resident of Chautauqua 
 County, N. Y., and Amanda, Mrs. Ruggles. 
 
 Amanda Bennett was first married to Francis 
 Melvany, a native of Dublin, Ireland, with whom 
 she came to Illinois in August, 1852, settling on a 
 farm, where Mr. Melvany died September 4, 1864. 
 By a former marriage he had two children: James, 
 who is in Iowa; and Jennie, now Mrs. Alexander 
 Owen, of Rockford. 
 
556 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In August, 1866, Mi'S. Amanda Melvany became 
 the wife of Judge Ruggles, and theii' happy wedded 
 life was terminated by the death of the Judge 
 about eight years afterward. By a former union, 
 he was the father of one son, James M., wlio en- 
 listed in the Civil War, serving with distinguished 
 credit and valor, meriting his promotion to Gen- 
 eral, and is now a wealthy agriculturist in Hanna, 
 111. Mrs. Ruggles still occupies the old home at 
 No. 703 Peach Street, which is brightened by the 
 presence of her daughter and two grandchildren. 
 The daughter, Blattie, married George Hopkins, 
 who for years has been a commercial traveler for 
 the firm of Hess & Hopkins. Mrs. Ruggles is a 
 faithful member of the Second Congregational 
 Chui'ch al Rockford, and, although now eighty 
 years old, retains her mental and physical facul- 
 ties, and takes an active interest in the events 
 that are transpiring in the world. 
 
 W^AMES M. ANDERSON. Probably a ma- 
 jority of the farmers of Pecatonica Town- 
 ^^ ship, Winnebago County, aremen well-to-do, 
 l^^f/ and of that class who have been the archi- 
 tects of their own fortunes. Among them may be 
 properly mentioned the subject of this notice, who 
 was born in Lycoming County, Pa., February 22, 
 1834. He is a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Wyn- 
 koop) Anderson, the former of whom died when 
 James M. was a lad of eight years. The mother 
 departed this life in Pecatonica Township, at the 
 advanced age of eighty years. 
 
 He of whom we write was one of a family of 
 eight children born to his parents, three of whom 
 are now living. His brother William died in the 
 army from the effects of the wound which he 
 received in trying to escape from a prison at 
 Blackshear, Ga. He participated in the battle 
 of Kenesaw Mountain as a member of Company B, 
 Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry, where he was 
 also wounded. Our subject remained with his 
 mother after the death of his father until Decem- 
 ber 24, 1861, when he was united in marriage to 
 Miss Amelia Clark, who was born in Wyoming 
 County, N. Y., December 8, 1836. Mrs. Anderson 
 
 was the daughter of Roswell and Mary (Walton) 
 Clark, and a sister of Mrs. J. R. Wells. 
 
 James M. Anderson had born to him three chil- 
 dren, one of whom is deceased. Those living are: 
 Blanch E., who was born March 12, 1866, and re- 
 sides at home. She is a graduate of Pecatonica High 
 School, and was a student in music for over eight 
 years. She also took a course in the business col- 
 lege at Rockford, and at the present time is en- 
 gaged in teaching school in Pecatonica Township. 
 The son, Howard C, was born February 4, 1874, 
 and resides with his parents, being a graduate of 
 the Pecatonica High School. 
 
 After his marriage, our subject settled in Ridott 
 Township, Stephenson County, where for six years 
 he worked a rented farm, in the meantime purchas- 
 ing one hundred and sixty acres in this township, 
 where he made his home for six years and brought 
 the farm to a good state of cultivation. Purchasing 
 his present farm of fifty acres, Mr. Anderson re- 
 moved here seventeen years ago, and erected all the 
 buildings which are necessary for the carrying on of 
 a first-class farm. He later added eighty acres to 
 his estate, and now has one of the finest farms in 
 the county. He is an attendant of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and in politics, he is a Repub- 
 lican, casting his first vote for John C. Fremont. 
 He has held many offices of responsibilit}', havigg 
 been School Trustee and Highway Commissioner, 
 both of which offices he filled in a creditable man- 
 ner. 
 
 -^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 lEORGE C. CLEVELAND. This gentle- 
 man, the salient points of whose life his- 
 tory we shall endeavor to give below, is one 
 of the most prominent residents of Rockford and 
 has been one of the important factors in develop- 
 ing to so high a degree the resources which nature 
 has so generously lavished upon this section. 
 Our subject was born in Hebron, Washington 
 County, N. Y., July 27, 1818, and is the son of 
 Job W. Cleveland, who was born in Salem, Wash- 
 ington County, N. Y., August 7, 1796. The 
 grandfather of our subject, who also bore the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 557 
 
 name of Job W., was a native of New England, 
 his birth occurring March 27, 1757. The lat- 
 ter-named gentleman was of English ancestry 
 and one of the pioneers of Salem, where he carried 
 on agricultural pursuits, improving a farm upon 
 which he resided until his death, April 5, 1825. 
 The maiden name of his wife was Hannah Clark; 
 she was born March 25, 1767, and departed this 
 life on the old home farm in Salem, April 10, 1824. 
 
 The father of our subject located upon a tract 
 of land which had been given him by his father, 
 and which was located in the town of Hebron. He 
 there resided and engaged in farming until 1835, 
 at which time he removed to that part of Genesee 
 County now included in Wyoming County, N. Y., 
 where he purchased a tract of land in the town of 
 Wethersfield. He continued to make that place 
 his home until his decease, which occurred July 7, 
 1870. Miss Almira Fenton was the maiden name 
 of our subject's mother; she was born in New 
 Haven, Conn., November 12, 1799, and was a 
 daughter of Jonathan and Rosalinda (Lucas) 
 Fenton. She departed this life on the farm in 
 Wethersfield, Wyoming County, N. Y., Novem- 
 ber 12, 1886. 
 
 George C. Cleveland was reared on the home farm, 
 and growing up into manhood and passing onward 
 in the rugged pathway of time, was disciplined in 
 the stern school of experience and was prepared to 
 meet every emergency with steady and ready hand. 
 From what follows, it is obvious that he must have 
 always fully availed himself of all the privileges 
 of instruction to which he found access, and a dis- 
 tinguishing characteristic of his is the possession 
 of a quickness of mind and talent. He remained 
 with his parents in Wethersfield until reaching 
 his majority and then engaged as clerk in a store 
 for three years. In the spring of 1843, he emi- 
 grated West to Illinois, being accompanied hither 
 by his bride. The young couple journeyed with 
 a team to Buffalo and thence on the steamer 
 "Illinois" to Chicago, where they again procured 
 a team and drove to Winnebago County. The 
 surrounding country in that early day was but 
 thinly settled, the greater part of the land being 
 still owned by the Government. Mr. Cleveland, 
 however, purchased a tract of one hundred and 
 
 seven acres, located in Cherry Valley Township, 
 for which he paid $2 per acre. His land being 
 entirely new, he rented property for a twelvemonth, 
 and in 1844 erected a cabin on his purchase, into 
 which he moved. There were no railroads in this 
 locality and their nearest market and depot for 
 supplies was Chicago. Our subject was industrious 
 and economical and was more than ordinarilj^ suc- 
 cessful in his undertaking, adding from time to 
 time to his property until he became the possessor 
 of the magnificent estate of three hundred and 
 fifty acres, all of which was located in Cherry Val- 
 ley Township. He always used the latest improve- 
 ments and best methods in cultivating his land, 
 believing that by so doing he reaped the largest 
 returns. His place is improved with a fine set of 
 farm buildings, not the least among which was a 
 substantial farm residence in which tlie family re- 
 sided until 1886, when they removed to Rockford. 
 Here Mr. Cleveland erected his present fine dwell- 
 ing and here he entertains his friends who are as 
 numerous as his acquaintances. 
 
 In January, 1843, Miss Elvira Clark became the 
 wife of our subject. Mrs. Cleveland was born in 
 Manchester, Vt., Februarj' 23, 1820, and departed 
 this life October 26, 1849. The second marriage 
 of our subject occurred October 1, 1851, at which 
 time Miss Cornelia Lewis, who was born December 
 7, 1823, in Orangeville, Wyoming County, N. Y., 
 became his wife. She was the daughter of Truman 
 Lewis, whose birth occurred in Hartford, Conn., 
 November 5, 1784. He was a son of Oliver and 
 Lucinda (North) Lewis, and on emigrating from 
 the Nutmeg State removed to Vernon, N. Y., and 
 in 1807 walked the greater part of the distance 
 from Orangeville to Wyoming, that State. He 
 purchased land on the latter-named place, which he 
 cleared and improved, and for a number of years 
 was agent for the Farmers' Loan and Trust Com- 
 pany, and was also one of the trustees of the will 
 of James Lloyd, of Boston. These parties were 
 surveyors to the Holland Land Company and held 
 a large number of mortgages to many farms in 
 Wyoming County. The father of Mrs. Cleveland 
 held many oflSces of trust and was a member of 
 the New York Legislature in 1834-35. He was 
 also Treasurer of Wyoming County, and died at 
 
558 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Warsaw, N.Y., September 15, 1865. Mrs. Cleveland's 
 mother's maiden name was Lucy Porter; she was 
 born March 6, 1795, and was the daughter of Seth 
 and Sarah (Cowles) Porter. She spent her last 
 years with her children in Winnebago County, de- 
 parting this life December 13, 1866. Our subject 
 became the father of a son, George C, Jr., by his 
 first marriage. The four children born to him by 
 his present wife bear the respective names of F"rank 
 L., Edward W., Willis P., and Carrie E. With his 
 estimable wife he is an influential member of the 
 Westminster Presbyterian Church. 
 
 ii>LIN SMITH. This gentleman, who is one 
 of the pioneers of Winnebago County, is 
 at present residing on his fine farm in 
 Rockfofd Township, upon wliich he has 
 placed valuable improvements in the way of build- 
 ings and machinery. He was born in Swanton, 
 Franklin County, Vt., March 14, 1823. His father, 
 Martin Smith, was born in Connecticut, where his 
 father, John Smith, as far as is known, was also a 
 native. The latter-named gentleman removed 
 from the Nutmeg State to Vermont, making settle- 
 ment in the town of Swanton, where he made his 
 home until his decease. 
 
 The father of our subject was eighteen years of 
 age at the time of his parents' removal to Vermont, 
 and when starting out in life for himself, pur- 
 chased a tract of timber land in the town of 
 Swanton, upon which he erected a log house, where 
 our subject was born. Tliere were no railroads in 
 tliat locality for years, and the markets consequently 
 being very inconvenient to reach, the people lived 
 mostly off the products of their farm and the wild 
 game which was very plentiful. The father raised 
 sheep and flax, the latter of which the motlier 
 carded and spun and superintended its weaving, 
 and in tiiat manner all the clothing of the family 
 was made. Mr. Smith cleared and cultivated a 
 farm on which he resided until his death. The 
 maiden name of the mother of our subject was 
 Prudy Percy, who was born in Iligligate, Vt., and 
 died on the old home farm in Swanton. To them 
 
 were born six children: Plin, John, Session, Wal- 
 lace, Mary and George. 
 
 The original of this sketch was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native town, attending tlie pioneer lo" 
 schoolhouse, where the seats were made by splittino- 
 logs, one side of which was hewed and set on 
 wooden pins for legs. Tlie free-school system had 
 not been inaugurated and each family paid ac- 
 cording to the number of scholars sent. Our subject 
 assisted his father in the duties on the farm and 
 resided with his parents until 1844, in July of 
 which year he started with his bride for Illinois, the 
 journey being made with teams and by way of the 
 Lakes. They were provided with cooking utensils 
 and provisions and camped at night by the road- 
 side, tlie trip consuming four weelis. 
 
 On arriving in Rockford, our subject found this 
 now "Lowell of the West" little more than a ham- 
 let, the surrounding country being sparsely set- 
 tled. He rented land for a twelvemonth and 
 during that time entered a tract of Government 
 land near Durand, upon which he erected a log 
 house. There were no railroads in this locality for 
 a number of years after he located here, and Chi- 
 cago, Racine, Milwaukee, and Mineral Point were 
 the nearest markets, and the means of transporta- 
 tion were not what they are to-day, as all their 
 products were conveyed to the above-named cities 
 with teams. Mr. Smith resided near Durand until 
 1865, at which time he disposed of his farm and 
 purchased the tract which he now owns and occu- 
 pies, two miles west of the city of Rockford. Here 
 he has a well-improved farm of one hundred .and 
 thirty-five acres, which he cultivates in such a man- 
 ner as to bring him in handsome returns. 
 
 On April 9, 1844, our subject was married to 
 Julia Campbell, who was born in Grand Island, 
 Vt., October 21, 1825. Mrs. Smith was a daughter 
 of William and Fannie (Allen) Campbell, whose 
 grandfather, Samuel Campbell, was a resident of 
 St. Albans, Vt., for many years. The latter-named 
 gentleman came to Illinois and spent his last years 
 at the home of his son, David Campbell, of Winne- 
 bago County. The maiden name of his wife was 
 Grace Plumb. The father of Mrs. Smith always 
 followed the calling of a farmer, and departed this 
 life in Vermont in 1833. The maternal grandfa- 
 

 
 r 
 
 QjC^^n/^-eu^^.-^^ ^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 561 
 
 therof Mrs. Smith, Timothy Allen, was a son of 
 Ethan Allen, of Revolutionary fame. On the 
 death of her husband, Mrs. Fannie Allen was mar- 
 ried a second time and coming to Illinois resided 
 in Winnebago Count}' for a number of years and 
 then removed to Minnesota and spent her last years 
 in Winnebago City. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Smith have become the parents of 
 four children, three of whom are living: Melvin 
 A., Harriet A. and George E. The eldest son mar- 
 ried Clarissa Ilemenway and has one son, Melvin. 
 Harriet is the wife of John Ganoung. Her first 
 husband was Miles J. Clark, by whom she had one 
 child,AzraJ. George Smith married Nellie Foote; 
 they have two children, Florence and Harald. The 
 youngest daughter of our subject, Amy J., is now 
 deceased; she was the wife of George Crandall. 
 Our subject and all his children are members of 
 the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 in his political relations Mr. Smith votes the Re- 
 publican ticket. 
 
 J. SVANLUND. On the opposite page is 
 presented the portrait of one of the most 
 successful contractors of the city, wlio has 
 accumulated a handsome competency in 
 the last eight years, the result of skill and ability 
 in his line of business. He takes large contracts 
 for all kinds of fine residences, is his own designer 
 and architect, and his name is actively and prom- 
 inently identified with the progress of Rockford, 
 and the erection of many of her largest and most 
 stately edifices. His buildings are just ornaments 
 to, and among the best equipped in the citj', and 
 he is rightly considered an important factor in 
 the welfare, happiness and prosperity of this flour- 
 ishing place. He has in his employ about forty- 
 five skilled workmen during the busy season and 
 is known to his employes as a good paymaster and 
 genial gentleman. 
 
 In addition to his beautiful home at No. 1614 
 Charles Street, Mr. Svanlund owns considerable 
 improved property. He is a stockholder in a 
 number of furniture factories in Rockford, is one 
 of the promoters of and a stockholder in the Skan- 
 25 
 
 dia Land Association, which owns much valuable 
 property, and is a stockholder and one-fifth 
 owner of Stockholm Park in East Rockford, on 
 Charles Street. He is one of the hardworking and 
 progressive young Swedish-American citizens of 
 Rockford and is popular alike in both social and 
 business circles. 
 
 The subject of this sketch came to this city in 
 1884 and has been engaged in business on his own 
 account for seven years, making a small fortune 
 in that time. Previously, he had been a resident 
 of Geneva, 111., where he was engaged at his trade 
 for two years. He lias won the confidence and 
 esteem of all Rockford and is looked upon as a 
 man trustworthy and honorable in all his dealings. 
 He was born in JonkopingLan, Smoland Province, 
 Sweden, where he grew to manhood and secured 
 good scholastic advantages. At the early age of 
 eighteen, he became a mechanic and subsequently 
 worked in that way in his native country until he 
 decided to cross to the United States, being the first 
 of the family' to make the venture. He took pas- 
 sage at Gotten burg on the 11th of October, 1882, 
 and landed in New York City on the 1st of No- 
 vember. He at once came to Geneva, 111., and 
 two years later made his first appearance in Rock- 
 ford, the scene of his future success. 
 
 Mr. Svanlund's parents. Swan and Christian 
 (Bengston) Munson, are still living in their native 
 country, Sweden, and are engaged in tilling the 
 soil. They are honest, industrious people, and 
 are members of the Lutheran Church. Four of 
 their sons, besides our subject, are in this country. 
 Gus and Aaron are residing in Chicago, the former, 
 a first-class stoiie cutter, and the latter a coach- 
 man. Two are living in Rockford: John, who is 
 a skilled mechanic, is in the employ of our subject 
 as foreman, and Charles is in the employ of John 
 Lake. 
 
 Miss Christina Olson, whom our subject married 
 in his native province in Sweden, was born, 
 reared and educated in that province and in the 
 same neighborhood as her husband. She possesses 
 all the characteristics of thrift and integrity tha.t 
 make the Swedes so successful a class of people, 
 and has been a true helpmate to her husband. 
 Her parents, Olof and Anna (Peterson) Anderson, 
 
562 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 still reside in the Old Country and have been mem- 
 bers of the State Church all their lives. Mrs. 
 Svanlund, wife of our subject, has a brother in 
 Sweden, Andrew, who is a farmer; another brother, 
 Edward, is a farmer of California, and she has two 
 brothers in Rockford, Aaron and Gustave, both 
 liardworking young men. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Svanlund were the parents of six 
 children, but the great sorrow of their lives over- 
 whelmed them in March, 1890, when four of their 
 children passed away within two weeks. They 
 were taken with diphtheria, and although the best 
 physicians were emploj-od and everything possible 
 done for the little sufferers, death claimed them 
 for his own. They were named: Charles W., 
 Anna A. M., David E. and Fred. The eldest was 
 nine and the youngest two years and six months 
 old. Anna and David were aged seven and five 
 years, respectively. The two living children are 
 George O. and Fred. Mr. and Mrs. Svanlund are 
 active workers and members of the Swedish Mis- 
 sion Church, in which he has held many official 
 positions, being Trustee at the present time. He is 
 a Republican in politics. 
 
 i>-^'m 
 
 Qy^ 
 
 LANSON J. BENHAM, deceased, was for 
 many years one of the representative citi- 
 zens of Winnebago village. He was born 
 in Marcellus, Onondaga County, N. Y., 
 August 2, 1814, and is a son of Isaac B. Benham, 
 who it is thought was a native of Connecticut. 
 The father, on removing to New York, located in 
 Marcellus, and a few years later moved to the town 
 of Dryden, where he purchased a farm and resided 
 for a number of years. He later became a citizen 
 of Sennett, where he improved a good farm, and 
 finally removed to Auburn, where his decease oc- 
 curred. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Eunice Baker; she also died in the above-named 
 place in New York. He of whom we write was 
 reared in Onondaga County, and subsequent to 
 his marriage rented a farm in Cayuga County, 
 and after a few years' residence there, lived for 
 three years in Sennett, the same county. At the 
 
 expiration of that time, he purchased and lived 
 upon property for two years in Scipio, and in 1856 
 came West to Barry County, Mich., and became 
 the proprietor of a quarter-section of land, forty 
 acres of which were partially cleared, the only 
 other improvement being a log house. Battle Creek 
 at that time was the nearest market place, and also 
 the nearest railway station. Mr. Benham improved 
 his property, erected thereon a fine set of frame 
 buildings, and in 1870 sold the farm and came to 
 Winnebago Township, this county. Here he pur- 
 chased a farm one mile north of the village, where 
 he made his home until 1881, when he became iden- 
 tified with the interests of the village until h'is 
 decease, June 23, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Benham was united in marriage to Maria 
 O'Farreli, January 8, 1837. The lady was born in 
 the town of Spafford, Onondaga County, N.Y., April 
 12, 1816, and is the daughter of William O'Farreli, 
 also a native of that State. Her father being or- 
 phaned at an early age, he was adopted by a Mrs. 
 Parmalee, of Oneida County, with whom he resided 
 until her decease. The maiden name of Mrs. Ben- 
 ham's mother was Diana Turbush, a native of 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y., whose decease occurred in 
 Spafford, five years after that of her husband. 
 
 The four children born to our subject and his 
 wife are George Edward, Mary F., John H. and 
 Emma. George married Elizabeth Dickinson, res- 
 ides in Winnebago Township, and has five chil- 
 dren: Mary A., Alanson J., Fred C, Maud M., and 
 Alice M; Mary is Mrs. Henry Newton, and makes 
 her home in Hastings, Mich., being the mother of 
 three children: Adelbert H., Fred and Frank; John 
 married Christiana E. Cooper, and resides in Felix 
 Township, Grundy County, Iowa, and has one child, 
 Gertrude Maria; Emma A. is Mrs. Hiram Thorn, 
 has one son, Ralph, and resides in California. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Benham became members of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church in 1829, in which denomi- 
 nation our subject served as Class-leader for a 
 number of years. 
 
 The father of our subject has been three times 
 married, and reared five sons: John B. was a Meth- 
 odist minister, and for seven years was a preacher 
 and teacher among the Indians of Canada, and 
 later went as a missionai'y to Africa; Vincent was 
 
POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 663 
 
 a coppersmith residing in Albany, N. Y.; Asa B. 
 was also a Methodist minister, and Daniel and 
 Isaac, the former a carpenter and the latter a ma- 
 chinist. Mrs. Benham had five brothers: Francis 
 E., a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church; 
 William M.; a farmer, David JMcD., of whom a 
 sketch will be found on another page of this work; 
 John W., a farmer; Elihue A.; and Henry T., a 
 physician. 
 
 ^ OHN JI. RHODES, of Roscoe, was born in 
 the town which is still his home, on the 25th 
 of August, 1840, and is a son of John J. 
 aad Permelia (Wilson) Rhodes. The former 
 was born in Onondaga County, N. Y., in 1803, and 
 was a son of John Rhodes, a native of Ireland. 
 The grandfather of our subject came to America 
 about 1792 with his wife and one son. He was a 
 weaver by trade, and he established the factory for 
 the manufacture of woolen goods in Onondaga 
 County, where he spent the remainder of his life. 
 He reared nine children: William, Robert, Joseph, 
 John J., Thomas, Hannah, Mary, Deborah and 
 Betsy. The grandmother was of English and Irish 
 extraction. 
 
 The father of our subject learned the weaver's 
 trade in his youth and also that of a wheelwright. 
 At the age of twenty-two, he left home and went 
 to Canada, and, in company with his brother 
 Thomas, established a woolen and carding mill. 
 Ho there married Miss Wilson, a native of Canada. 
 Her parents, Crowel and Hannah (Crane) Wilson, 
 were natives of New Jersey. Her father was a 
 Member of Parliament for many years in Canada, 
 and her brother, Benjamin Wilson, long served as 
 Justice of the Peace. In 1839, they came by team 
 to Winnebago County, landing in Rockford on the 
 3d of June. They made a claim on what is now 
 section 33 of Roscoe Township, and lived in a little 
 log cabin until a frame house could be built. The 
 residence which was erected was considered one of 
 the best in the community. It contained seven 
 rooms and in the rear was a woodhouse and wheel- 
 wright shop. Mr. Rhodes built one of the first 
 sawmills in this section, and on selling out his 
 
 business, December 19, 1857, bought two hundred 
 and nineteen acres of land at the Government 
 price. His death occurred in Februaiy, 1859, and 
 he left a widow and six children. His wife survived 
 him some seventeen years and died in January, 1876. 
 William, their eldest child, was born in Canada, 
 and now owns a gristmill and five hundred acres 
 of land in West County, Iowa; Hiram is living 
 with our subject; Thomas is engaged in iron min- 
 ing in Southwestern Missouri; our subject is tlie 
 next younger; Laura is the wife of Amos Sam- 
 mons, a farmer of Harlem Township; and Henry 
 completes the family. 
 
 In the usual manner of farmer lads, Mr. Rhodes 
 of this sketch was reared to manhood. In the 
 spring of 1861, he enlisted in the Fifteenth Illinois 
 Infantr}^, the regiment said to be the first sworn 
 into the United States service, for three years. They 
 went from Freeport to Missouri, where they re- 
 mained from July until the following February, 
 and then went to Ft. Donelson, airiving just after 
 the surrender. At Pittsburg Landing they lost 
 two hundred and sixty in killed and wounded out 
 of four hundred and eighty-three, and this slaugh- 
 ter all took place in about twenty minutes. The 
 Major and most of the officers were killed. Mr. 
 Rhodes was on one occasion thought to be dead. 
 He had been suffering from a low attack of fever 
 and it seemed at that time that life had entirely 
 left him. He was mustered out at Springfield at 
 the close of the war and returned home. 
 
 Soon afterward, Mr. Rhodes married Louisa Love, 
 of Harlem Township, daughter of Jabez and Lydia 
 Love. Her father was born in London, England, 
 in 1817, and when a babe was brought by his par- 
 ents to this country. His father, James Love, was 
 a carpenter and builder. The mother died in 
 Rochester, in 1829, leaving three cliildren: Jabez, 
 Jane and James. The last-named is in the insane 
 asylum at Kankakee from softening of the brain. 
 He is the only one of her father's relatives 
 known to Mrs. Rhodes. Her father came West 
 in November, 1842, locating on section 2, Har- 
 lem Township, on a farm of one hundred and 
 sixty acres. He became one of the wealthiest men 
 of the county and at one time owned five fine 
 farms, His wife died in the spring of 1887, at the 
 
564 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 age of seventj' years. She was the daughter of 
 Joab and Eve Strawn; the father was born in New 
 England, the mother was born in Canada, and her 
 mother was by name Wintermute and was of Ger- 
 man extraction. The father died in 1876, at the 
 age of sixty years. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes have been born three 
 children: James Arthur, bom in 1865; Charles J., 
 born in 1869, is a teacher, and remains at home; and 
 Mary M., born in 1871. She is now the wife of 
 Clifford Wilcox and they have one son, Harry. 
 James A. is a farmer of Roscoe Township, and mar- 
 ried Ella Cummings, by whom he has one son, 
 Ralph M. 
 
 For eleven year Mr. Rhodes served as Supervisor 
 of his township, and was Justice of the Peace for 
 sixteen years, proving a faithful and efHcient ofii- 
 cer. He has been a life-long and inflexible adher- 
 ent of the Republican party. Himself and wife 
 are members of the Methodist Church. Since the 
 above was written, our subject has been re-elected 
 for Supervisor for two years. His father was the 
 first Supervisor elected in this township and held 
 the office for six years. 
 
 AMUEL NOBLE, who departed this life 
 July 22, 1890, in Le Roy Township, Boone 
 County, was born in Yorkshire, England, 
 in 1819. His decease was greatly mourned 
 by a large circle of friends and neighbors to whom 
 he had endeared himself by his upright and honor- 
 able life. 
 
 Eobert Noble, the father of our subject, was 
 also a native of England, and died at an advanced 
 age, leaving a family of eight children. He was a 
 stone mason by trade, and Mathew, his second 
 son, was a skilled and accomplished sculptor who 
 lived in London. Our subject had been married a 
 short time before leaving his native land, but his 
 wife died while en route to America. Her remains 
 were consigned to a watery grave. 
 
 Our subject was married to Miss Elizabeth Good- 
 all, the daughter of William and Ann (Mow) 
 Goodall, in July, 1842, in England. Miss Diana 
 
 Goodall, a sister of his first wife, whom he chose 
 as his second wife in 1845, bore him four sons and 
 one daughter, only one of whom was spared to grow 
 to mature years, the four remaining children dying 
 in early childhood with diphtheria, two passing 
 away on the same day. The parents of Mrs. Noble 
 owned a small farm in England, and, falling heir 
 to a legacy of £900, emigrated to America in the 
 fall of 1842, being en route thirty-eight days. 
 
 Mr. Noble came from Oneida County, N. Y., 
 in company with his father-in-law's family, in 
 the fall of 1842, making the trip by way of 
 canal and lakes to Chicago, where they hired three 
 teams to bring the household goods to this county, 
 being about one week on the way. Mr. Noble 
 made a claim to one hundred and twenty acres of 
 land, upon which he located a small log house, and 
 lived until 1855. He then erected a more com- 
 fortable structure, and in 1865 built the present 
 commodious and modern residence. The place is 
 equipped with all the necessary buildings, and 
 bears all the improvements to be found upon the 
 estate of a progressive agriculturist. 
 
 He of whom we write returned to his native land 
 in 1867, where he remained about four months, 
 visiting his venerable mother, who died at the 
 advanced age of eighty-four years. Our subject 
 died July 22, 1890, when in his seventy-first year, 
 leaving a widow and one son. Four of his- chil- 
 dren preceded him to the better land, namely: 
 Harcourt E., an infant daughter, Wesley E. and 
 Samuel. 
 
 John C. Noble, the eldest son of our subject, 
 was born April 6, 1848, and was married to Sarah 
 Jane, daughter of Henry Bird, also a native of 
 England, and an early settler in this county. Her 
 father died on the day following the death of Mr. 
 Noble. Wesley E. and Ada May, the children of 
 John Noble, are aged respectively seventeen and 
 thirteen years. They make their home with their 
 parents on a farm of one hundred and twenty 
 acres, near the residence of Mrs. Noble. Our sub- 
 ject left an estate of one hundred and twenty 
 acres to his widow, which is most efficiently man- 
 aged by her son. In religious belief, he was a con- 
 sistent and honored member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, having become a member of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 565 
 
 that denomination in 1843. Mr. Noble was a great 
 lover of music, and in his younger days was an 
 accomplished player on the clarionet. He was ex- 
 tremely conscientious and retiring in disposition, 
 and a feeling of personal bereavement came to the 
 laro'C circle of his old friends wlien he was called 
 to his long liome. 
 
 fOBERT C. LIND, Secretary and Treasurer of 
 theRockford Chair and Furniture Company, 
 ^. ,., has held that position for ten years, or since 
 the organization of the company, and is also 
 a Director and one of tlie leading stockholders. 
 Our subject is another of the worthy citizens which 
 Sweden has furnished to Rockford. He was born 
 in Smoland, on the 7th of July, 1856, and is the 
 youngest child of H. O. and Mary (Haraldson) 
 Lind. With their five children, the parents left 
 the land of their nativity in 1871, and crossed the 
 broad ocean from Gotten burg to New York City, 
 whence they came at once to Rockford. Tlie 
 mother died at her home in this city in 1874, at 
 the age of fifty-eight years. The father is still liv- 
 ing, at the age of seventy-two. 
 
 The educational advantages which our subject 
 received were those afforded bj- his native land 
 and the schools of this city. After attaining his 
 majority, he was united in marriage with Miss 
 Jennie Westholm, who was born in Sweden, and 
 when quite young came with her parents to this 
 country. They now reside in St. Charles, 111., and 
 are well advanced in life. Our subject has a pleas- 
 ant home on Seminary Street, where hospitality 
 reigns supreme and their many friends delight to 
 gather. 
 
 Mr. Lind entered upon his business career in 
 1872, when he began working in the furniture fac- 
 tories of this city. He soon became a successful 
 machinist and cabinet-maker, seeming to possess 
 natural ability in that direction, and for nine years 
 devoted his entire attention to his trade. For 
 eleven years he worked untiringlj. Subsequently 
 he went upon the road, and for four years was 
 employed as a commercial traveler by the Union 
 Furniture Company, and also by the one of which he 
 
 is now Secretary and Treasurer. As before stated, 
 he has held that position since the organization of 
 the Rockford Chair and Furniture Company. He 
 is also a stockholder and Director of the Rockford 
 Union Furniture Company, the Royal Mantel and 
 Furniture Company and the Royal Sewing Machine 
 Company, also the Rockford Folding Bed Company, 
 which uses a special patent. He has done much 
 to promote the interests of these various compan- 
 ies, and is a representative and well-known busi- 
 ness man of this city. His life is commendable in 
 many directions. He has been energetic and in- 
 dustrious, and in all his business relations is up- 
 right and honorable. In politics, he is a supporter 
 of the Republican party. 
 
 
 ¥■" ILLIAM S. PORTER is a man whom na- 
 ture seems to have especially designed 
 to be a planter, for, owing to his desire to 
 keep out of the beaten path, and to his adoption of 
 new and improved methods, together with in- 
 dustry and good judgment, he has met with more 
 than the average degree of success in pursuing his 
 calling. He is a native New Yorker, born in Ham- 
 ilton Township, Madison County, on the 2d of 
 January, 1832, and the son of Roswell and Nancy 
 (Shattuck) Porter, both natives of Connecticut. 
 The father was a mechanic by trade and assisted 
 in building some of the fine residences in New York 
 City. He was a soldier in the "War of 1812, re- 
 ceived a pension for his services, and his widow 
 received one after his death. He died in Madison 
 County, N. Y., at the age of sixty-seven, and his 
 wife also passed away in that State, but liad reached 
 the unusual age of ninety-seven years and four 
 months. Roswell Porter was one of seven chil- 
 dren born to Eleza and S. (Rowley) Porter, who 
 were natives of the New England States, the for- 
 mer dying in Madison County, N. Y., when seventy 
 years of age. 
 
 Nancy Shattuck, mother of our subject, was one 
 of seven children born to Robert, Jr., and Anna 
 (Loomis) Shattuck. Robert, Jr., was the son of 
 Robert Shattuck, Sr., the grandson of William 
 Shattuck, Jr., and the great-grandson of William 
 
566 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Shattiick,Sr.,aiid the great-great-grandson ofWill- 
 iam Shattuck, who was an Englishman, and who 
 came to this country in 1621 or 1622. The latter 
 was about twenty years of age at that time, and 
 died in Watertown, Mass., on the 14th of August, 
 1672. William Shattuck, Sr., married Susan Ran- 
 dall, and his son, William Shattuck, Jr., who was a 
 native of Plymouth, Mass., married Mary Pratt. 
 Robert Shattuck, Sr., was also a native of Plj'mouth, 
 Mass., and was there married to Ruhannah Cook. 
 
 The 9th of January, 1853, was rendered memor- 
 able to our subject by its being his wedding day, 
 his bride being Miss Thresa Shepardson, who was 
 born in Madison County, Hamilton Township, 
 N. Y., August 12, 1834. The fruits of this union 
 liave been three living children: Geneva I. mar- 
 ried O. G. Forrer, and they have three children; 
 Maynard R. married Miss Agnes Burchfleld, and 
 is the father of one child, a girl; and Cora L., at 
 home and a graduate of Belvidere school. Mrs. 
 Porter's parents were Erastus andTrj'phenia (Cole- 
 son) Shepardson, the father a native of Connecti- 
 cut and the mother of Massachusetts. The former 
 is still living, and a resident of this county, but the 
 mother died here when sixty-one 3'ears of age. Mr. 
 Shepardson is a son, of William Shepardson, Jr., a 
 native of Connecticut, and the grandson of Will- 
 iam Shepardson, Sr., who was born in England and 
 who settled in Connecticut at a very early date. 
 Tryplienia (Coleson) Shepardson was the daughter 
 of Ebenezer and Lavina (Packard) Coleson, who 
 were of Swedish descent, and natives of Connecti- 
 cut. Mr. and Mrs. Coleson removed to New York, 
 and died in Madison County, of that State, at the 
 age of ninety-five and eighty years, respectively. 
 Mrs. Porter comes of good fighting stock, for her 
 ancestors were in the Revolutionary War, and she 
 had two brothers in the Civil War. One of her 
 brothers, William, died while serving his country, 
 and Coleson, the other, lost a leg. 
 
 After his marriage, our subject settled in Spring 
 Township, this countj', but after six years as an 
 agriculturist, he left the farm and went to the oil 
 regions of Pennsylvania, where he remained eigh- 
 teen years. Then selling out, he returned to Boone 
 County, 111., and bought one hundred and twenty 
 acres of land belonging to the Colcsons, and later 
 
 bought the Shattuck farm of two hundred acres, 
 besides ten acres of timber. He has made $1,000 
 worth of improvements and has four miles of tiling 
 on the place. He is engaged in general farming 
 and his home is a beautful spot, characterized by 
 all the comforts of rural life. In politics, he is a 
 Republican, voting first for Stephen A. Douglas, 
 but after that for Lincoln. 
 
 RS. HENRY KORTIE, Sr., who is living at 
 her home, Guilford Township, Winnebago 
 County, is a native of Germany. She was 
 born in Mmden, Berkhausen, in 1820, and 
 is a daughter of Henry and Cliristina (Koch) 
 Black. Her father died at the age of seventy-two 
 j'ears, and her mother at fifty-five. Thej' reared 
 one son and one daughter. 
 
 Mrs. Kortie was reared in her native land, and 
 fifty j'ears ago there gave her hand in marriage to 
 William Kortie. They crossed the Atlantic to 
 America in March, 1852, and, coming to Illinois, 
 the husband purchased sixty acres of her present 
 farm. His death occurred on the 4th of July, 1854, 
 from cholera, and five other members of his fam- 
 ily died of the same dread disease, all within two 
 weeks of one another. His widow was a second 
 time married, becoming the wife of Henry Kortie, 
 brother of her former husband. His father, Henry 
 Kortie, Sr., died of cholera at the time above men- 
 tioned, and his mother died in Germany, at about 
 the age of sixty years, leaving four children, two 
 having preceded her to the home beyond. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kortie lived together as 
 man and wife for thirty-eight j'ears, making their 
 home upon a farm which he operated until it 
 yielded him a golden tribute in return for his care 
 and labor. His death occurred very suddenly. 
 He was in the barn doing his morning work, and 
 dropped down dead. This was on the 30th of No- 
 vember, 1891, in the seventy-first year of his age. 
 He was a worth j^ .and valued citizen, a man highly 
 respected throughout the community, and his loss 
 was deeply mourned by many friends. During the 
 late war he had served his country as a member of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 567 
 
 Company A, Twelfth Illinois Cavalry. He enlisted 
 on the 15th of December, 1861, and served as bu- 
 gler for three years and three months, or \intil 
 February 5, 1865, when he was honorably dis- 
 charged. He was never wounded, but was injured 
 by his horse falling on him. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kortie were born seven chil- 
 dren, three sons and four daughters, five of whom 
 are yet living: Louisa, wife of William Ihrke, of 
 Eockford; Amelia, wife of J. Bartholomew, a resi- 
 dent of Milford Township; Carrie, wife of H. A. 
 Brown, who is living in Owen Township; Henry K., 
 a resident of New Milford; and Minnie, wife of A. 
 C. Thompson. The latter resides on the old home- 
 stead witli Mrs. Kortie, Mr. Thompson operating 
 the farm. The mother of this family is seventy- 
 one years of age. Since her husband's death, her 
 daughter has resided with her. She is a most estim- 
 able lady, held in high regard b}^ all, and has a 
 wide circle of friends and acquaintances througli- 
 out the community. 
 
 i^+^i 
 
 « 
 
 aiOWN C. ATKINSON is one of the oldest 
 of the native-born citizens of Winnebago 
 County, where he owns a large and valua- 
 ble farm in Burritt Township. He was born 
 on a farm on section 34, Harrison Township, Sep- 
 tember 30, 1841, and is a son of John Atkinson, 
 who was born in Cumberland County, England, 
 and he in turn was a son of James and Jane (Fos- 
 ter) Atkinson. The grandparents of our subject 
 came to America in 1832, accompanied by their six 
 children. They made the voyage on a sailing-ves- 
 sel, which consumed seven weeks, and landed at 
 Quebec. The family remained in Canada fifteen 
 months, when they went to New York State, and 
 thence came to Illinois in 1837. (For a further 
 history of the family see tlie sketch of William 
 Atkinson.) 
 
 The father of our subject was a young man 
 when he came to America, and, in the year 1836, 
 came to the Prairie State, spending the winter at 
 La Salle, and the spring of the following year 
 came to this county, where he became one of the 
 early settlers of Harrison Township. At that time 
 
 all the land was owned by the Government, and 
 deer, wild turkeys, and other game were plentiful. 
 He at once made claim to a tract of Government 
 land on section 34, and there built the log house 
 in which our subject was born. The father lived 
 there about seven years, when he decided to remove 
 to Burritt Township, entering a tract of land on 
 section 1. This he improved and resided upon 
 until 1870, at that time trading for land on sec- 
 tions 7, 8, and 18, of the same township, and resid- 
 ing thereon until his death, which occurred Febru- 
 ary 13, 1890. 
 
 For many years after the father came to this 
 county there were no railroads, and Chicago was 
 the principal market for grain, although he used 
 sometimes to market at Racine, Milwaukee, Savan- 
 na, and the mining towns of Wisconsin. At one 
 time tlie miller at Beloit sent for him to come and 
 take a load of flour to Mineral Point. He started 
 from home on Monday morning and on arriving 
 at his destination found the man who had ordered 
 the [lour had gone. He tried to sell it, but could 
 not dispose of it at any price, so he started to visit 
 the various mining towns, and finally arrived at 
 Savanna on the Saturday following. There he 
 managed to sell his load, but after paying his bills, 
 had only fifty cents left. After the railroad was 
 built at Elgin, people teamed their grain and pro- 
 duce to that place, and our subject relates that in 
 one instance he went with his father to take a load 
 of pork to Elgin. The roads were so bad that they 
 were compelled to unload in the mud, and conse- 
 quently, instead of getting the contract price of 
 $2.50, they got only $2 per hundred. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Nancy L. Conklin, a native of Wayne County, 
 Pa., and a daughter of Benjamin and Mercy Conk- 
 lin. She is now making her home with our subject. 
 Brown C. Atkinson was about three years old when 
 his parents removed to Burritt Township, and was 
 here reared and educated, and with his parents 
 made his home until his marriage. In August, 1862, 
 our subject enlisted in Company A, Scventj-^-fourth 
 Illinois Infantry. Going to the front with his 
 regiment, he served faithfully until February 7, 
 1863, when he was honorably discharged, returned 
 home and resumed farming. He rented land until 
 
568 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1865, when lie purchased eighty acres in Harrison 
 Township, and after three years' residence there, 
 sold, and purchased where he now resides, on two 
 Imndred and forty-one and a half acres, twenty- 
 two acres being in timber, and the remainder im- 
 proved and pasture lands. 
 
 The j^ear 1862 is the date our subject was united 
 in marriage with Mary E. Henry. Mrs. Atkinson 
 was born in April, 1845, in Bradford, Pa. Her 
 father, John Y. Henry, was born in New York State, 
 and early removed to Pennsylvania, where he lived 
 until 1855, in which j'ear he came to Illinois, mak- 
 ing his liome in Owen Township, this county, two 
 or three years. He afterward removed to Rockford, 
 and later located in Harrison Township. He was 
 also a soldier in the late war, having enlisted Au- 
 gust 6, 1862, in Company A, Seventy-fourth Illi- 
 nois Infantry. He died in the service at Nashville, 
 Tenn., December 17, of the same year. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Clara Adella Berrj', a native 
 of New York State, and who resides in the village 
 of Harrison. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson are the happy parents of 
 eleven children, all of whom are living, namely: 
 Estella M., David H., George W., Frank B., Clara 
 A., G. Albert, Edith A., Chester A., Foster L., 
 Ethel C. and Evelyn L. Mr. Atkinson is a mem- 
 ber of Ellis Post G. A. R., at Pecatonica, and in 
 his political views casts his vote with the Republi- 
 can party. 
 
 ^^I@^@M,^^ 
 
 ^fl ONATHAN H.HALSTED, who is the owner 
 of a fine tract of land, including one hun- 
 dred and eighty acres located one and one- 
 half miles from Rockford, was born in 
 Somers, Westchester County, N. Y., February 28, 
 1819. His father, Samuel Plalsted, was born and 
 reared on the old farm in the above-named State, 
 and when old enough to choose an occupation for 
 himself, purchased a tract of land in the town of 
 Somers, Westchester County, where he was engaged 
 in general farming. His estate was situated forty- 
 eight miles from New York City, and eleven miles 
 east of Peekskill, the principal market. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Rebecca Marshall; she was 
 
 also a native of the Empire State and departed 
 this life on the old home farm when our subject 
 was very young. Mr. Halsted also died there, aged 
 eighty-two years. 
 
 The original of this sketch attended the district 
 school, where he gained a good education, and as- 
 sisted his father in performing the duties on the 
 farm until 1844, at which time he went to New 
 York City and was employed by his brother-in-law, 
 who owned a line of drays. In February, 1849, 
 during the gold excitement, Mr. Halsted, in com- 
 pany with sixty-five others, started for California. 
 They purchased a sailing-vessel, for which they 
 paid $40,000, and stocked the same with provi- 
 sions which would last them for two years. Leav- 
 ing New York in February, they sailed around 
 Cape Horn and arrived at the Golden Gate in the 
 month of September. San Francisco at that time 
 was a city built of tents, and sailing up the Sacra- 
 mento River, they landed at the city of that name, 
 where our party purchased a number of ox-teams, 
 which conveyed them to the mines in Coloma on 
 the south fork of the American River. They were 
 engaged for about one month, when, the rainy sea- 
 son setting in, the company disbanded, selling their 
 vessel and provisions for $20,000. Mr. Halsted 
 remained in Sacramento for two or three years, 
 then resumed mining until 1852, when he returned 
 home via the Isthmus of Panama. He was in ill 
 health two or three years after coming home, and 
 consequently did not engage in any active busi- 
 ness. 
 
 In 1856, the original of this sketch came to the 
 Prairie State and operated a farm south of Rock- 
 ford for three and a half years, at the expiration 
 of which time he purchased the place on which he 
 at present resides. His estate includes one hun- 
 dred and eighty acres, and is very valuable on ac- 
 count of its close location to the city, being only 
 one mile and a half from the city limits. His 
 l)lace is improved with good buildings and the 
 land so cultivated as to bring him in handsome 
 returns. 
 
 In 1855, Miss Deborah Kennard tecame the wife 
 of our subject. She was born in Sussex County, 
 England, August 23, 1826, and was the daughter 
 of Charles and Elizabeth (Field) Kennard. Mrs. 
 
MRS.. SARAH TWOGOOD. 
 
:PORTliAlT ANt) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 571 
 
 Halsted was brought to America by her parents 
 when live years of ajje, they locating in the town 
 of Somers, Westchester County, N. Y., wliere her 
 father was engaged as a merchant tailor and there 
 resided until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Halsted 
 have become the parents of two children: Mary 
 E. and Lester B. The daughter married Fred 
 Brown, by whom she has three children: Lester, 
 Clinton and Ernest. Lester Halsted married 
 Louisa Foltz. Our subject and his wife are mem- 
 bers in good standing of the Second Congrega- 
 tional Ciiurch, and are widely known and respected 
 throughout their communitj'. Mr. Halsted affili- 
 ates with the Republican party. 
 
 <| felLLIAM TWOGOOD died at his home, at 
 iLf No. 106 North Fifth Street, in Rockford, 
 wi on tiie 13th of April, 1874. He was orig- 
 inally from the Empire State, born in Pittstown, 
 near Troy, July 27, 1794. He grew to manhood 
 in his native place and became a mechanic and 
 carriage-builder. He came of good stock and was 
 the son of James and Deboiah (Halstead) Twogood, 
 natives of New York, in which State they passed 
 their entire lives. They were the parents of four- 
 teen children and, although all lived to a good old 
 age, they are now deceased. 
 
 In Pittstown, William Twogood was married to 
 Miss Sarah Vandercook, a native of that place, 
 born July 24, 1803. Subsequently, he removed to 
 Michigan City. Ind., coming overland with his 
 family. He began looking for a suitable location, 
 which he found in the beautiful Cherry Valley of 
 Winnebago County, 111., but not until after he had 
 traveled many months over unbroken forests, 
 where hostile Indians abounded. He crossed Rock 
 River at Ottawa soon after the Indian massacre at 
 that place and was sickened by the horrible sights 
 that met his eyes. He pushed on to the Cherry 
 Valley region of Winnebago County and located 
 on a tract of land that had never been surveyed. 
 
 Shortly afterward, Mr. Twogood returned to 
 Michigan City for lumber to make the doors, win- 
 dows and floor of his log cabin, hauled it through 
 
 the wilderness and, after all was ready, returned 
 to Michigan City for his little family. He settled 
 in this county on the 4th of July, 1837, and was 
 among the first settlers, there being but two houses 
 between his place and Rockford, which then con- 
 sisted of but a few houses. He brought with him, 
 hid away in the household goods, gold and silver 
 sewed up in shot bags and this was never touched 
 until the land on which he was living was placed 
 on the market. He then went to Galena and paid 
 for his claim. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Twogood experienced many hard- 
 ships in their new liome and for some time were 
 obliged to live on potatoes and salt. However, 
 brighter days were in store for them and they soon 
 became the owners of eight hundred acres of land 
 in the valley. Five hundred acres Mr. Twogood 
 reserved for himself and wife and three hundred 
 acres were deeded to other members of the family. 
 While his children were growing up, he moved to 
 Chicago to educate them and there remained five 
 years. He became one of the well-known and 
 wealthy men of Winnebago County and was a 
 leader in all enterprises of a worthy nature. He 
 was one of the original stockholders of the North- 
 western Railroad before any of the road had been 
 graded. He lived and died an honest man that no 
 money or position could buy or flattery seduce 
 from the path of duty and rectitude. 
 
 Mrs. Twogood, who was carefully reared and 
 educated, was of old Knickerbocker stock and her 
 ancestors on both sides were among the prominent 
 families of New York State. Her father, Michael S. 
 Vandercook, was born in Rensselaer County, N. Y., 
 and was the son of Simon Vandercook, a promi- 
 nent man of that county. The family name was 
 originally Van Der Cook, but the descendants now 
 spell it Vandercook. Michael Vandercook was a 
 soldier in the War of 1812, fought as a Major in 
 Col. Knickerbocker's regiment and was in many 
 battles, including the engagement at Plattsburg. 
 He was a merchant and also operated a sawmill 
 for many years. Later, he was Sheriff of his county, 
 and died on his large farm there, at the age of 
 seventy-eight years. His father, Simon Vandercook, 
 was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, fought in 
 many battles and was Captain of a company. Mrs. 
 
572 
 
 Ji^ORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Twogood now has the commissions given him by 
 Gen. Wasliington, and Gov. Clinton, of New Yorlc. 
 Michael Vandercook married Miss Mehetibcl 
 Haskins, a member of a prominent family ajid a 
 native of Rensselaer County, N. Y., who died when 
 in the prime of life, leaving four children. After 
 her death, Mr. Vandercook was twice married. 
 Mrs. Twogood is the j'oungest of the above-men- 
 tioned children. The attention of the reader is 
 invited to her portrait on another page. Although 
 time has touched her hair with frost, he has dealt 
 leniently with her in other respects and she is yet 
 bright and active, her hearing perfect and her 
 mental faculties unimpaired. She is a very re- 
 markable old lady and on the 24th of July, 1892, 
 was eighty-nine years of age Until recently, she 
 has been able to do a great deal of light work 
 around the house. Upon every Decoration Day 
 since the late war she has attended the celebration, 
 and her son's portrait is enfolded in the National 
 colors. .She resides in the old home at No. 106 
 North Fifth Street, and is spending the sunset of 
 her life in peace and happiness. She owns large 
 landed interests in the West and bank stocks in 
 this city and is also a pensioner of the War of 
 1812, receiving 112 per month for service rendered 
 by her husband, who was drafted when he was 
 eighteen years of age and who served as a drum- 
 mer in Col. Jonathan Reed's regiment. He was 
 a Republican at the time of his death. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Twogood were the parents of eight 
 children: Orestes B. enlisted in the First Wisconsin 
 Infantrj', his company being the first offered to 
 the Governor of Wisconsin. He was Captain of 
 his company, but after the battle of Stone River, 
 where he suffered much from exposure, he was 
 taken sick, and died at his home on the 17th of 
 December, 1863. Helen died in infancy; Emily is 
 the wife of Merritt Satterlee, a pioneer of Chicago, 
 who was formerly a large grocery merchant Ijut is 
 now retired; James H., a contractor and builder of 
 Boise City, Idaho, married Miss Permelia Custer, 
 of Pennsylvania; Elizabeth, wife of S. P. Jones, 
 resides in Jacksonville, Ore.; Sarah became the 
 wife of C'ol. Alfred Cliapin and resides in Rockford. 
 The Colonel was a prominent soldier of the Rebel- 
 lion and is now deceased; Belle became the wife of 
 
 J. F. Ilervey, who is retired and now resides in 
 Chicago; William S., a very successful merchant 
 of Marion, Iowa, has been twice married, his second 
 wife having formerly been Miss Genevieve Alder- 
 man. 
 
 -T>ta 
 
 I ' I - 
 
 NDREW MONTGOMERY, a retired farmer 
 who passed away May 4, 1892, and who 
 resided at No. 902 Rockton Avenue, in 
 Rockford, was of Scottish birth. He was 
 born in Campbellton, Argyleshire, June 5, 1805, 
 and comes of an old and respected family of that 
 land. His father, Robert Montgomery, spent his 
 entire life in Campbellton, where he followed the 
 occupation of farming. He was straightforward 
 and upright in all things, and was an active mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian Church. His death oc- 
 curred at the age of sixty years. His wife, whose 
 maiden name was Jennie Giffen, died in her native 
 county at an advanced age. This worthy couple 
 had a large family, but all are now deceased. Of 
 their children, Andrew, James and William came 
 to this country. 
 
 Andrew Montgomerj- spent his boyjiood days In 
 the usual manner of farmer lads, and in his youth 
 also learned the trade of a distiller. After arriv- 
 ing at man's estate, he was united in marriage to 
 Jennie Anderson, who died in the prime of life in 
 Campbellton, Scotland, leaving four children, two 
 of whom are now deceased: Robert died in Scot- 
 land when young, and WiUiam died after the 
 family came to this country. The two living chil- 
 dren are James, a resident farmer of Burritt Town- 
 ship, who married Annie Fleming, by whom he 
 has four children: William, Jessie, Jane and James; 
 and Jane, now the wife of James E. Langwell, an 
 agriculturist of Owen Township. They have 
 eleven children: Jane, Peter, Jesse, Andrew, An- 
 nie, Minnie, James, William, Robert, Martha and 
 John S. 
 
 Mr. Montgomery of this sketch was a second 
 time married in his native county, the lady of his 
 choice being Miss Ann Templeton, who was born 
 in Campbellton, December 3, 1819, and is a daugh- 
 ter of John and Ann (Colville) Templeton, who 
 lived and died on the old homestead a few miles 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORlJ 
 
 573 
 
 from Campbellton, Scotland, the death of the fa- 
 ther occurring at the age of eighty-five years, wliilc 
 his wife departed this life at the age of eighty- 
 seven. Both were members of the Presbyterian 
 Church, and as farming people, lived a quiet, un- 
 assuming life. In their family were ten children, 
 six sons and four daughters, and with one excep- 
 tion all lived to mature years, and were married, 
 but, with the exception of Mrs. Montgomery, all 
 are now deceased. Thomas, the eldest, crossed the 
 Atlantic, and died in Chicago some j-ears ago, when 
 past the age of eighty 3^ears. 
 
 After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery 
 resided in their native land until the spring of 
 1861, when thej- decided to try their fortune in 
 America. Since that time they have resided in 
 Winnebago County, and made their home upon a 
 farm in Owen Township until 1882, when they 
 came to Eockford, and for the past ten years have 
 lived a retired life in this city. They are mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church, and are noble 
 Christian people who well deserve the high esteem 
 in which they are held throughout the commu- 
 nity that has so long been their home. 
 
 ^^>-^^<i 
 
 17 OEENZO S. McDOUGALL is a practical 
 and successful breeder of Morgan horses 
 and has his flue farm located in Bonus 
 Township, Boone County. It comprises two hun- 
 dred and twenty-five acres that were selected with 
 a view to their present use and are adapted by na- 
 ture and improvement for the purpose. Mr. Mc- 
 Dougall is well known throughout Northern Illi- 
 nois as being a man thoroughly posted regarding 
 the stock in which he takes such delight. He has 
 all the necessary buildings on his farm, and these are 
 well constructed and sufficiently large for the vari- 
 ous purposes for which tliey were designed. He is 
 the owner of probably the finest Morgan mare in 
 the county. 
 
 He of whom we write was born on the 6th of 
 March, 1827. in the town of Sherbrooke, Quebec^ 
 being the son of Charles and Fannie (Terry') Mc- 
 Dougall. The father is of Scotch descent and was 
 born in Argyle, N. Y., in 1796, being taken to Can- 
 
 ada with his parents when an infant of one year. 
 On attaining mature years, he operated a gristmill 
 until May 4, 1836, at which time he sold out and 
 came to Boone County and located upon the farm 
 where he is at present residing. 
 
 The elder Mr. Mc Dougall was interested in a 
 claim of seven hundred acres of land, which he 
 proceeded to improve, and when a division of the 
 property was made, two hundred and twenty-five 
 acres fell to his share, the same on which our sub- 
 ject is residing. Charles McDougall, about I8661 
 moved to Belvidere, where he spent his last days 
 in retirement, dying at the age of eightj'-two 
 years. He was a Republican in politics, held many 
 of the local ofHces, and in everj' relation of life 
 was true to himself and those around him. He 
 was an attendant at tlie Universalist Church. 
 
 Our subject is one of the family of four children , 
 only two of whom grew to mature years. His sis- 
 ter, Mrs. H. Merchant, died April 2, 1886, about 
 three miles from the old home in Spring Town- 
 ship, this county. When the father of our subject 
 located upon his new farm tiiere was an old log 
 cabin on the place, whose floor was just large 
 enough to stand a bed on. There they spent their 
 earlj' days in this county', using their trunks and 
 old-fashioned chests for tables and chaus. Our 
 subject says that he was very much discouraged at 
 that time and often used to wish himself back in 
 his native town. He is the only one surviving 
 who surrounded that primitive table, and indeed is 
 one of the very few living who came to Boone 
 County in those early days. Deer, wolves and 
 other wild animals would come up to the very 
 door of their cabin, and wolves made night hid- 
 eous with their howls. 
 
 The first furrow of land plowed in Boone 
 County was on the farm of our subject. The near- 
 est market was at Chicago and the nearest post- 
 office was at the same place, the postage in that time 
 costing twenty-five cents a letter. The father of 
 our subject proved up his land, for which he paid 
 $1.25 per acre, and Lorenzo S. has in his possession 
 the original deed from the Government. It is one 
 of the few farms in this section which has never been 
 out of the family who first entered it. 
 
 Fannie (Terry) McDougall,our subject's mother. 
 
574 
 
 POETRAIT AND BTOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was born in New England, and lier parents were 
 natives of Vermont, who spent a portion of their 
 lives in Canada. Grandmother Terry hailed from 
 Rhode Island. Mrs. Fannie McDougall departed 
 this life in Spring Township, this county, in her 
 eighty-fourth year. He of whom we w^rite re- 
 mained at home until twenty-nine years of age; 
 when he spent a short time in Belvidere and thence 
 removing to Garden Prairie, was engaged in a 
 grain and stock business for nearly fifteen years. 
 Then purchasing a farm of forty acres, he operated 
 it until nine years ago, when he moved onto the 
 old homestead, having purchased his sister's inter- 
 est after the death of the father, whose desire it 
 was that our subject should own the old place. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Mc Dougall have been born 
 four children, three of whom are living, viz: Nellie, 
 who was born in Belvidere, in 1860, married Frank 
 Tanner and has a family of four children; Fannie, 
 who was born in Garden Prairie, in 1860, is the 
 widow of George Countryman, who died when 
 twenty-seven years of age, leaving two children; 
 Hazen, who was born in 1867, also in Garden 
 Prairie, married Miss May Wait, and has one son. 
 
 Our subject is widely known among the farmers 
 throughout Boone County, is a well-read man, and 
 thoroughly informed on topics of general conversa- 
 tion. He is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, 
 and since the organization of the Republican party 
 has voted that ticket. He has served his fellow- 
 townsmen in the office of Assessor and School 
 Director, and is one of those zealous men who de- 
 vote much time and ability to the improvement of 
 the town with whose citizens they have cast their 
 lot and to whom is due in a large measuie the 
 prosperity of the entire community. Mr. Mc- 
 Dougall in addition to breeding stock is engaged 
 in mixed farming and Ins upright and honest deal- 
 ings with his fellow-men have made him very 
 popular. 
 
 Our subject relates that they were induced to 
 come to this county by a man named Goodhue, 
 who was a merchant in a small way in this 
 place, and was the first man to bring merchandise 
 to Belvidere. The family embarked on the steamer 
 "Michigan, " commanded by Capt. Newbury, with 
 a Mr. Barker as first mate. At Detroit, Gov. 
 
 Duncan, who was then the Chief Executive of Illi- 
 nois, came on board and after looking over the 
 six or seven hundred passengers, cooly remarked 
 " Now, you people will all be disappointed in Chi- 
 cago, as it is nothing but a mud hole, but I tell 
 you now that it is bound to become the metropolis 
 of the United States some day, as its fine location 
 and central geographical position will make it 
 such." Mr. Mc Dougall 's memory of early histori- 
 cal incidents is truly wonderful and makes him an 
 interesting conversationalist. 
 
 bEROY E. CHAMBERLAIN. This practical 
 and intelligent young farmer is a native of 
 LeRoy Township, Boone Countj^, and makes 
 his home on the splendid farm where his birth oc- 
 curred June 3, 1854. He has been successful so 
 far in his farming operations, which can be attrib- 
 uted to his persistent industry, his wise forethought 
 and his prudent thrift. 
 
 The father of our subject, Joseph Chamberlain,was 
 a native of Delaware County, N. Y., having been 
 born May 7, 1813. The lady to whom he was 
 married bore the name of Sallie P. Hovey, and is 
 also a native of the Empire State, where she was 
 born in April, 1822. They both accompanied their 
 respective parents West when young, and were 
 married in this county in October, 1839, and com- 
 menced life on a claim of one-half section of Gov- 
 ernment land. 
 
 Joseph Ciiamberlain, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was a native of Brattleboro, Vt., where he 
 was an agriculturist, and a man of means. He lost 
 his fortune, however, by going security for a friend. 
 He removed to the Empire State in an early day, 
 but died in middle life, leaving a family of five 
 sons and one daughter, all of whom grew to mature 
 years in New York State. In the fall of 1836, 
 the widowed mother and three of her sons. Car- 
 man, Alfred and Lewis, came to Illinois and lo- 
 cated on the place where our subject was born. 
 The mother was Eunice Blakesley, of Connecticut, 
 and lived to reach the advanced age of ninety- 
 eight j'ears. Her death occurred in 1875, in Le- 
 Roy, this county, and her remains lie buried in 
 Round Prairie Cemetery. 
 
/u^/. 
 
 , djiOtrV-tri^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 577 
 
 He of whom we write is one in a family of four 
 sons and six daughters, two of whom died in in- 
 fancy. Those living at the present time are Helen 
 M., Mrs. Owen Brown, who resides at Sterling, Neb.; 
 p:iiza, Mrs. E. Reve, resides in Nebraska; Harry D., 
 a farmer in Dakota, and Horace M., who is engaged 
 in the butcher's business at Byron, this State. One 
 son William Wallace, during the late war was a 
 member of the Thirty-seventh Illinois Infantry, 
 and died of smallpox in 1863, at Brownsville, 
 Tex. 
 
 The father of our subject departed this life No- 
 vember 4, 1891, when seventy-eight years of age. 
 He was a hard-working, industrious man, and by 
 prudent management, accumulated a handsome 
 property, and at his death left his family an estate 
 valued at $10,000. Our subject was reared on the 
 home farm, whicli has since been his home. He 
 was married, in 1881, to Miss Kittie Brett, of White 
 Water, Wis., and to them have been born five chil- 
 dren, namely: Maude E., Harry, Selah, LeRoy and 
 Floyd. Mr. Chamberlain has twenty acres of ex- 
 cellent land in this township, and one hundred 
 and sixty in Dakota. The old home farm was 
 sold by his father to a Mr. Hovey. In social mat- 
 ters, he is a member of the Odd Fellows, and has 
 adopted the political views of the Republican party, 
 being active in promoting its success. 
 
 )HOMAS J. ATWOOD. Although the life 
 of a farmer does not present the salient 
 points that are to be found in the experience 
 of a city resident, it is not therefore devoid of in- 
 terest nor unworthy of being preserved in a volume 
 of this nature. Mr. Atwood spent more than forty- 
 two years in the quiet and consistent performance 
 of the daily duties of farm life, and is now living re- 
 tired in the village of Pecatonica, where his public 
 spirit and agreeable manners make him one of its 
 most honored citizens. Formerly the owner of five 
 hundred acres of land, he has given his son eighty 
 acres and rents the remainder. 
 
 Our subject was born June 14, 1818, in Bridge- 
 water, Windsor County, Vt., a son of Thomas and 
 
 Cynthia (Benson) Atwood. His grandfathers were 
 both valiant soldiers in the Revolutionary War, 
 and splendid types of our Pilgrim Fathers, who 
 acquired independence as tillers of the soil. His 
 parents were born near Plymouth Rock, Mass., 
 and made their home in that State until they were 
 married. Thence they removed to Bridgewater, 
 Vt., where the father purchased a farm and resided 
 until 1837. Afterward he made his home in Rut- 
 land, Rutland County. Tiience he went to the 
 town of Stowe, and in the fall of 1839 started 
 for the Western country, driving to Buffalo with a 
 four-horse team, where he embarked on a steamer 
 and proceeded to Detroit, Mich. From that city 
 he came overland to Winnebago County, whither 
 his son Hiram had come in 1837, and pur- 
 chased a section of land. 
 
 The elder Mr. Atwood lived with his son until 
 the year 1840, when he purchased a farm of his 
 own. His wife, who was born June 13, 1783, died 
 July 29, 1846. After the death of his wife, he 
 went to live with his son Hiram, where his demise 
 occurred October 28, 1849. He of whom we write 
 is one in a family of nine children, only two of 
 whom are living. He remained with his parents 
 until eighteen years of age, when he went to Rut- 
 land, Vt., in 1836. He was given a good education, 
 being a graduate of the Rutland, Vt, Academy. He 
 had only been in school two months and a half, 
 however, when he was offered a school to teach, 
 and accepted the position. After having been thus 
 engaged three months, he returned to the Academy 
 and was made an assistant teacher, graduating when 
 twenty-one years of age. His first occupation on 
 leaving school was in keeping books and collecting 
 for a physician with whom he was engaged for three 
 months. He then became clerk in a general store, 
 and so well did he perform the duties devolved 
 upon him that after a service of three years he was 
 offered the position of junior partner in the firm. 
 
 Mr. Atwood, however, did not accept the posi- 
 tion, as he had decided to come West. In Septem- 
 ber, 1841, he started for this State, being accom- 
 panied as far as Albany by a friend who made a 
 trip to that city to buy a stock of goods. Our 
 subject tarried long enough to assist him in making 
 his purchase and was offered by the wholesale 
 
578 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 house which they patronized a position at 
 per year and board. Refusing this as lie had the 
 previous offer, he carried out his desire to come to 
 Winnebago County, and on locating here purchased 
 a claim to one-half section of laud and also a tim- 
 ber claim. With his brother, who had preceded 
 him hither, he succeeded in gutting out enough 
 logs for ten thousand rails, in the winter of 1841- 
 42, which were used in fencing their farms. 
 
 May 4, 1847, IMr. Thomas J. Atwood and Miss 
 Lois C. Cable were united in marriage. The ladj' 
 was born November 19, 1826, in Litchfield County, 
 Conn., and was a daughter of Ezra S. and Pamelia 
 (Fenn) Cable. To them have been born six chil- 
 dren: Albert J., whose birth occurred May 10, 
 1849, is married and the father of five children; 
 Emma C, who was born September 13, 1855, is 
 married and has seven children. The remainder 
 of the family bear the respective names of Rollin 
 C, Ella M., Ezra C. and Henry W., twins. The 
 father of Mrs. Atwood was born September 24, 
 1797, in Litchfield County, Conn., and died on his 
 old farm in this county, April 23, 1879. He was 
 the son of Abijah and Ruth (Fairchild) Cable, the 
 former of whom was born August 13, 1775, also in 
 Litchfield County, and the latter June 7, 1769. 
 Abijah Cable was one of nine sons who came from 
 England, and departed this life April 13, 1825. 
 His wife, Ruth Fairchild, died September 3, 1820. 
 The mother of Mrs. Atwood was born in Litchfield 
 County, Conn., February 15, 1802, and died in this 
 county, January 3, 1888. She was the daughter 
 of Job and Lois (Scott) Fenn, natives respectively 
 of Connecticut and New York. The father died 
 in Litchfield County, Conn., while Mrs. Fenn de- 
 parted this life April 3, 1854, in Winnebago County, 
 being eighty-four years of age. 
 
 Grandmother Fenn had a brother named Ezekicl 
 vScott, wlio took part in the Revolutionary War. 
 The father of Mrs. Atwood remained at home until 
 liis marriage, January 1, 1826, when he lived for 
 two years at Stratford Point, Conn. At the end 
 of that time his father's estate was divided among 
 the children, and, going West to Portage County, 
 Ohio, in the spring of 1828, he cleared a farm and 
 resided until 1837, which was the date of his advent 
 into Winnebago County. At the time of his death. 
 
 which occurred April 23, 1879, he was the owner of 
 four hundred and eighty acres of land. In politics, 
 he was in early life an old- line Whig, later an Abo- 
 litionist, and afterward joining the Republican 
 ranks, was looked upon as one of the active work- 
 ers of that party. He was 'a County Commis- 
 sioner and his vote decided the location of the 
 present court house in Rockford. He filled the 
 office three or four terms as Supervisor and for a 
 number of years was Township Trustee and a 
 member of the School Board. 
 
 Soon after his arrival in Winnebago County, in 
 1841, our subject located on the farm which re- 
 mained his home for forty-two and one-half years. 
 In December, 1841, he commenced to fence his land, 
 and during 1843 raised his first crop, which con- 
 sisted of fifty-five acres of winter wheat, thirty-one 
 acres of corn and twelve of oats. The wheat crop 
 was hauled to Chicago to the market, there being 
 no railroad west of Buffalo, N. Y., at that early 
 day. 
 
 After continuing to make wheat the principal 
 crop for a few 3'ears, Mr. Atwood turned his atten- 
 tion to corn and clover, and also made a specialty 
 of stock-raising, being particularly successful in rais- 
 ing draft horses and Holsteiu cattle, and his in- 
 come from horses amounted to $1,000 per year. 
 For his horses he had a home market; fat cattle 
 were driven to Chicago; hogs were fattened, and 
 killed during the winter months, the products be- 
 ing held for eight or nine mouths when they were 
 hauled to Milwaukee for market and there in- 
 spected by the City Inspector. They brought good 
 prices, pork being on an average 814 per barrel; 
 hams $9, shoulders $7 and lard from $9 to $10 per 
 hundred pounds. 
 
 Later Mr. Atwood became interested in raising 
 sheep and for a number of years kept a flock of 
 about seven hundred. When wool declined in 
 price, he fattened and shipped the sheep to the Chi- 
 cago market and in 1876 invested in Holstein cattle. 
 He now has on his farm about one hundred head of 
 Holstein cattle, the property of his son Albert J., 
 who rents the farm of hie father and continues the 
 stock-raising business. In 1863-64, Mr. Atwood 
 erected on his farm a fine residence costing 14,000 
 and a substantial barn, which cost $1,000. Febru- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 579 
 
 ary 11, 1886, the residence was burned to the 
 ground, and in just three months from tliat date he 
 had an elegant house on the same site, completed 
 from garret to cellar. 
 
 In his political belief, Mr. Atwood was a "Whig 
 in his school-boy days. In 1840, he voted lor 
 William Henry Harrison for President, and from 
 that time until the formation of the Republican 
 party in 1856, voted the Abolition ticket. Both in 
 1860 and 1864, he cast his ballot for Abraham Lin- 
 coln and subsequently voted for U. S. Grant both 
 times that he was nominated. In 1884, he became 
 a Prohibitionist and has since been n stanch sup- 
 porter of that party, representing it by serving six 
 years as President of the Pecatonica Prohibition 
 Club. Since the organization of that club at Pec- 
 atonica, in 1886, he has served as its delegate to 
 county and State conventions of the party. He 
 has held various township and county offices, and 
 for one year was Supervisor and member of the 
 School Board. With his wife he holds membership 
 in the Congregational Church, in which he is a 
 Deacon. He is a man of sterling attributes and 
 undaunted energy, and it affords us pleasure to 
 present to our readers his portrait and this sketch 
 of his life. 
 
 1^ ATHEW ROURKE, who owns and oper- 
 I \\\ ates one hundred and sixty acres of land 
 jj I* on section 14, Guilford Township, Winne- 
 * bago County, is a native of the p]merald 
 
 Isle. He was born in County Down, in March, 1828. 
 His father, Patrick Rourke, was born in County 
 Down, and when a young man entered the British 
 Army, serving for fourteen years. He partici- 
 pated in the Indian War and on being wounded 
 was honorably discharged and granted a pension. 
 He then settled on a farm in County Down, where 
 he spent the remainder of his daj'S. He wedded 
 Mary McGannan, who also spent her entire life in 
 County Down. Four of their children came to 
 America: Mary James, John and Mathew. 
 
 Our subject was essentially a self-made man. He 
 left the parental roof at the age of eleven years 
 and since that time has made his own way in the 
 
 world. He went to Scotland and was there 
 engaged in the construction of railroads until 
 1852, when he bade good-bj'e to the Old World 
 and on the 22d of April sailed from Liverpool to 
 America. The vessel was shipwrecked on the 
 coast of the West Indies and Mr. Rourke remained 
 at St. Thomas for three months, when he again 
 embarked on the same vessel, and after a time 
 reached New Yorlc. After a year spent in that 
 vicinit}'', he came on to Illinois, making his home 
 in Chicago for two years, when he came to Win- 
 nebago County. After locating here, he purchased 
 Ave acres of land on section 21, Guilford Township, 
 upon which a log house had been built, and there 
 began farming. 
 
 In Brooklyn, N. Y., in October, 1852, Mr. 
 Rourke was joined in wedlock with Catherine 
 Drake. She also was a native of County Down, 
 Ireland, and there her father, Patrick Drake, was 
 born. He married Mary Kellogg, and they spent 
 their entire lives in the county of their nativity. 
 Only two of their children came to this country: 
 Mrs. Eliza McCamman, who settled in Paris, HI.; 
 and Mrs. Rourke who came to America in the 
 same ship with her husband. Our subject's union 
 has been blessed with seven children, who are yet 
 living: William, May, John, James, Lizzie, Henry 
 and Frank. They also lost two daughters, Mattie 
 and Catherine. 
 
 During the late war, Mr. Rourke enlisted on 
 the 9th of August, 1862, as a member of Com- 
 pany A, Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry, and 
 served until after peace was declared. He partic- 
 ipated m a number of important engagements, 
 including the battles of Perry ville, Stone Rivir, 
 Chickamauga, Missi(m Ridge, Resaca, Peach Tree 
 Creek, the siege and capture of Atlanta, Franklin 
 and Nashville. He was honorably discharged on 
 the 10th of June, 1865, after about three years of 
 faithful service. 
 
 Not long after his return home, Mr. Rourke 
 sold his farm on section 21, and bought where he 
 now resides. It was at one time a tract of timber 
 land but he has transformed it into a fertile farm, 
 and one hundred and sixty acres of highly culti- 
 vated land now pay tribute to his care and culti- 
 vation. His farm is complete in all its appoint- 
 
580 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ments. The fields are well tilled aud good build- 
 ings stand as monuments to his thrift and enter- 
 )3rise. Mr. Rourke and his family are members of 
 St. James Catholic Church. He has led a busy 
 and useful life and by the exercise of good busi- 
 ness ability, industry and enterprise, he has gained 
 a comfortable property. 
 
 •i****^ 
 
 ■I'J'***'^ 
 
 
 IH OHN BENSLEY, who is engaged in farni- 
 I ing in Cherry Valley Township, Winnebago 
 ^^^ , County, claims Pennsylvania as the State of 
 \^fJ his nativity. He was born in November, 
 1830, and is a son of Adam and Anna (Impson) 
 Bensley. His paternal grandfather, Israel Bensley, 
 died in middle life, leaving but one child, Adam. 
 The maternal grandfather was a Revolutionary 
 soldier, and died in New York at a ripe old age. 
 Our subject was one of eleven children, three sons 
 and eight daughters, who grew to mature years, 
 and with one exception all are heads of families. 
 
 John Bensley was the youngest of this family, 
 and at the age of sixty-two years now has five 
 surviving brothers and sisters. He acquired his 
 education in the district schools, and at the age 
 of twenty-three went from Pennsj'lvania to Catta- 
 raugus, N. Y. In the autumn of 1855, he left the 
 Empire State and emigrated to Rockford with the 
 hope of bettering his financial condition by re- 
 moving to the broad prairies of the West. About 
 two years later, on the 20th of July 1857, he was 
 joined in wedlock with Maria Davis, daughter of 
 Benjamin H. Davis, who was born in the Mohawk 
 Flats, where later he and his wife began their do- 
 mestic life. He was a carpenter and builder and was 
 the builder, owner and captain of the first line boat 
 on the Erie Canal. To that business he devoted 
 his energies for a number of years and laid the 
 foundation for his future success. In 1836, he re- 
 moved with his family to New York, after which 
 he went to Waverly, Tioga County, at which time 
 Mrs. Bensley was an infant. They had a family of 
 three children who lived to be grown, two sons 
 and a daughter. They also lost one son, John, 
 who was drowned when a child. 
 
 In the spring of 1857, Mr. Davis came to Win- 
 
 nebago County, and settled on the west side of 
 Rock River in Rockford. He engaged in con- 
 tracting on the construction of the Erie Railroad 
 and gave the site for the depot. He left behind 
 him many other evidences of his thrift and enter- 
 prise. Many buildings of the city were erected 
 by him, including one of the oldest blocks, which 
 bears his name. His death occurred in May, 1872, 
 and his wife departed this life in 1870, at the age 
 of sixty-nine years. They have one son still liv- 
 ing, Angus Davis, a resident of Bradford County, 
 Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Bensley have had two children: 
 Eva, who is yet at home and Benjamin who died 
 in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Bensley has had a varied experience in life, 
 but farming has been his chief occupation and he 
 now devotes his time and attention to that line of 
 work in Cherry Valley Township, where he owns 
 eighty acres of land which yield to him a golden 
 tribute. It has been his home since 1889, and is a 
 well-improved farm. 
 
 ELIAKIM S. BARTHOLOMEW, an enterpris- 
 ing and intelligent farmer of Harlem Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, residing on section 
 36, claims New York as the State of his nativity. 
 He was born in Annsville, Oneida County, on the 
 18th of April, 1826. The family is of Scotch ori- 
 gin, and was founded in this country by Ebenezer 
 Bartholomew, grandfather of our subject, who was 
 born in Scotland and emigrated to America, set- 
 tling in Connecticut, where he spent the remainder 
 of his life. The father of our subject, Eben Bar- 
 tholomew, was a native of Wolcott, Conn., and 
 was there reared and married, the lady of his 
 choice being Anna Simonds, who was born in 
 Vermont, and is a daughter of Eliakim Simonds. 
 From Connecticut, Mr. Bartholomew and his wife 
 removed to Annsville, Oneida County, N. Y., where 
 his death occurred in 1832. He was quite a prom- 
 inent citizen of that community, and served as 
 County Sheriff. His widow afterwards became the 
 wife of David Ilurlburt, and the year 1847 wit- 
 
^<tt 5 
 
 
 f^-^ 
 
 ^j^^^M-) 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 683 
 
 nessed her arrival in Harlem Townsliip, Winne- 
 bago County, 111., where she spent her last. days. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was only six years of 
 age when his father died. He remained with his 
 mother until 1843, and then came to Illinois by 
 way of the Erie Canal and the Lakes to Chicago, 
 and by team to this county, which he found to be 
 a sparsely settled region. Tliere were no railroads, 
 the nearest markets being Chicago and Milwaukee, 
 and the work of civilization and progress seemed 
 scarcely begun. Mr. Bartholomew began life in 
 the West as a farm hand, working for his grand- 
 father Simonds three years, after which he rented 
 the land upon which he now resides. In 1847, he 
 went to Joliet, where he spent a year, after which 
 he returned to this county, where he has made his 
 tome continuously since, and during nearly the 
 entire time his present farm has been his home. It 
 is a well-developed tract of one hundred and sixty 
 acres on section 36, Harlem Township. The land 
 is very valuable, the rich and fertile fields yield 
 him a golden tribute, and the improvements upon 
 his farm are among the best in the township. 
 
 On the 15th of November, 1848, Mr. Bartholo- 
 mew was united in marriage with Louisa L. 
 Atwood, who was born in Middlefleld, Berkshire 
 County, Mass., and is a daughter of Phineas and 
 Hulda (Haskell) Atwood, who are mentioned fully 
 in the sketch of David Atwood, on another page 
 of this work. Three children have been born unto 
 our subject and his wife: Jay F., who married 
 Belle Hart, by whom he has one daughter, Alice; 
 Jennie, who wedded Monroe Clark, and has one 
 son, Arthur, and Fred, who completes the family. 
 
 Mr. Bartholomew is a charter member of Har- 
 mony Grange No. 957, and has been a member of 
 the County Agricultural Society since its organi- 
 zation. For twenty years he has been one of the 
 oflicers of that society, serving for about half of 
 that time as General Superintendent. He is Past 
 Master of Rockford Lodge No. 102, A. F. & A. M., 
 and is a member of Winnebago Chapter No. 24, R. 
 A. M.; Crusader Commandery No. 17, K. T., and 
 of the Old Settlers' Society, of this county. In his 
 youth he had no special advantages, but has made 
 the most of his opportunities, and is now a well- 
 informed old gentleman, highly respected by all 
 26 
 
 who know him and very popular with his friends. 
 He has long been identified with the history of 
 Winnebago County, and has borne his share in its 
 upbuilding and advancement. His duties of citi- 
 zenship are ever faithfully performed, and he cer- 
 tainly is well deserving of representation in this 
 volume. 
 
 I^+^I 
 
 1^ 
 
 (=" 
 
 ^^ HARLES M. HULDT, a popular Swede, do_ 
 III ing business as a pattern-maker for the 
 
 ^^7 Utter Manufacturing Company, has been 
 engaged in this connection for many years and is 
 one of the most reliable, industrious men in the 
 employ of the company. He came to Rockford 
 in 1866, and has since been connected with the 
 business interests of the city. He was one of the 
 stockholders of the Central Furniture Company, 
 and is also connected with other enterprises. His 
 pleasant home is located on the corner of Second 
 Avenue and Sixth Street. He has been a me- 
 chanic all his life and was a blacksmith in his na- 
 tive country, where he also owned a farm and 
 followed agricultural pursuits in connection with 
 his trade. 
 
 However, Mr. Huldt has spent the most of his 
 life as a pattern-maker, and at this he is very 
 skillful. To show that his work is appreciated, 
 and that he excels in his line of business, it may 
 be stated that in a contest at Rockford he received 
 the largest number of votes cast by the people as 
 being the most popular wage-worker in the city. 
 This entitled him to a free trip to his native land, 
 and it is hardly necessary to add that he enjoyed 
 his visit and appreciated the kindness of his 
 friends. 
 
 Mr. Huldt was originally from Kalmar Lan, 
 Smoland Province, Sweden, born March 23, 1835, 
 and, as he grew to manhood, learned his trade, 
 which he followed until coming to the United 
 States. He is the first of his kinsmen to come to 
 America. His father, Nels P. Carlson, is still re- 
 siding in Sweden and is now eighty-six years of 
 age. The latter followed farming during his en- 
 tire active life, but, in addition, was also engaged 
 in blacksmithing. His mother lived to be ninety- 
 
584 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 two years of age, and his father nearly ninety. 
 All the old stock were members of the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 Since his residence in this country, Mr. Huldt 
 has had brothers and sisters emigrate hither, and 
 they are now living in the West and are all mar- 
 ried. He himself was married in his native province 
 to Miss Ullrica G. Carlson, who was born April 
 17, 18&5, and whose parents, Carl and Anna G. 
 (Hemingson) Johnson, were also natives of that 
 Province, passing their entire lives there. Her 
 father was a farmer. Mrs. Huldt has one brother 
 in this country, now a resident of Omaha, Neb. 
 
 Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Huldt: Carl A., a farmer of Jackson County, 
 Minn., married Miss Tilda Nelson, of Rockford, 
 and they have three children: Maude, Edith and 
 Florence; Sophia became the wife of Charles Nel- 
 son, a machinist for W. F. and John Barnes' Man- 
 ufacturing Company, Rockford, and has one child. 
 Rube E.; Amanda C. married Albert Hollem, of 
 whom see sketch in another part of this work; 
 John E. resides in Rockford and is foreman carver 
 of a fnrniture factory. Of his marriage have been 
 born four children: Ralph, Eben, Daisy and Stan- 
 ley. Hattie L., educated in the business college, 
 is book-keeper for Withrow & Baird, dry-goods 
 merchants; Jennie L. is at home, and is being edu- 
 cated in the city schools. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Huldt is a stanch Republican. 
 Socially, he is a prominent Mason, having occu- 
 pied all the oflices of the Blue Lodge No. 102, 
 and has been Worshipful Master for two years. 
 He is also a member of Winnebago Chapter No. 
 24, has filled a number of the chairs, and is a 
 member of the Crusader Commandery No. 17. His 
 portrait is shown in this connection. 
 
 ylLLIAM BUSKE. With the rapid and 
 steady advance of the city of Rockford, 
 with the continual increase in her build- 
 ing operations, the trade of a mason-contractor is 
 one of primary importance, and is one on which 
 the first step of progress is dependent. To be a 
 good mason requires years of experience, and Mr. 
 
 Buske has had this. He has done some fine con- 
 tracting work for leading business houses, includ- 
 ing the Rockford Opera House, the Rockford 
 Burial Case Works, the foundation for the Young 
 Men's Christian Association building, the Forest 
 City Knitting Company's large establishment and 
 two large stone banking buildings for Gilbert 
 Woodruff, and has now under contract two large 
 school houses, the Brown aad Montague school 
 buildings. 
 
 Mr. Buske came to this city in 1868, and was 
 engaged in journeyman work for some time. He 
 built the jail of this place and then went to Chi- 
 cago, just after the great fire of 1871, and was en- 
 gaged in following his trade at that place for two 
 years. Returning to Rockford, he has since been 
 actively engaged in contracting, and, besides the 
 above-mentioned buildings, there are the Emerson 
 & Talcott power-house, the large Germania Hall, 
 besides many private buildings which he has 
 erected. He owns a good business house at No. 
 505 West State Street, and a very fine brick resi- 
 dence at No. 712 Elm Street, besides other property 
 in the city. 
 
 Our subject was born in Parmman, Prussia, on 
 the 20th of March, 1841, and was the first of the 
 family to take up his residence in this country. He 
 took passage on the vessel "Schiller," and landed 
 in Baltimore on the 2d of July. Six months later, 
 he came on to Rockford, being obliged to tarry 
 long enough in the former city to earn the money 
 to bring him to this. He has been so successful 
 since his residence in Rockford that his brother 
 Albert came over, and is now running the render- 
 ing works of this city. The latter was married in 
 his native country and brought his wife with him. 
 
 The parents of these children passed their entire 
 lives in their native country, Prussia, and the 
 father was a wagon-maker by trade. He was a 
 hardworking, industrious man, and lived to be 
 eighty-four years of age. His wife died in 1889, 
 when seventy-two years of age. Both were mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Our subject was married in his native province 
 two weeks before he came to America, and selected 
 as his wife Miss Henrietta Hofbert, who was also a 
 native of Prussia. Her father, August Hofbert, was 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 685 
 
 the owner of a large farm, and was a very success- 
 ful tiller of the soil. He and his wife passed their 
 entire lives in Prussia, lived to be old people, and 
 were worthy members of the Lutheran Church. 
 One of their daughters, Mrs. Fredrica Gau, a 
 widow, resides at 156 Union Street, Chicago, and 
 runs a milk depot. 
 
 Nine children have blessed the union of our 
 subject and wife, and are named as follows : Adolph, 
 a plumber and tinner of the firm of Roger & 
 Buske; Louie, now in the employ of a telephone com- 
 pany in Muskegon, Mich.; Anna, a seamstress; Eda, 
 William, Hattie, Clara, Walter and Richard, all but 
 one at home. Mr. and Mrs. Buske are possessed of 
 all those characteristics that make the people of 
 Germany so successful in their different occupa- 
 tions, and are surrounded by many warm friends. 
 Mr. Buske served his native country in the regu- 
 lar army, and from 1861 to 1866 was in the re- 
 bellion against Austria, participating in some of 
 the principal battles. He leans toward the Repub- 
 lican party in his political views. 
 
 r 
 
 ^„ LANSON STEWARD is eminently a self- 
 LJi made man, and is a fine type of the class 
 
 who, in building up their own fortunes, 
 have been important factors in securing 
 the prosperity and promoting the growth of their 
 State, county and township. Mr. Steward came to 
 this county more than forty years ago, a poor boy 
 with scarcely a dollar that he could call his own, 
 yet to-day he is numbered among the men of 
 wealth in this part of the State. For many years 
 he has been actively engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits and owns one of the largest and most valua- 
 ble farms in the county, which is divided into four 
 parts, and includes a magnificent tract of one 
 thousand acres. It is exceptionally improved, 
 under perfect management, and is fitted with all 
 the modern conveniences in the way of buildings 
 and machinery. 
 
 Alanson Steward was bom in that part of London 
 District now included in Elgin County, Province 
 of Ontario, Canada, February 20, 1823. His father, 
 
 William Steward, was born in the Niagara District 
 of Ontario, and of Scotch ancestry. He learned 
 the trade of a carpenter and joiner, and went to 
 London District 'when a young man, where he was 
 one of the pioneers in what is now Elgin County. 
 Securing a tract of Government land which was 
 heavily timbered, he cleared his acreage and erected 
 thereon a log house, in which our subject was born. 
 There was no sawed lumber used in the house, and 
 the chimney was built of sticks, with mud on the 
 outside. There were no convenient markets for 
 some time, and the products of the farm provided 
 the family with the necessaries of life. The chil- 
 dren of the family were dressed in homespun ma- 
 terial, which the mother carded, spun and wove. 
 
 The father of our subject worked at his trade 
 the greater part of the time until 1846, when, with 
 his wife and seven children, he came to Illinois, 
 making the journey overland with teams, and cook- 
 ing and camping by the wayside. The two young- 
 est children were born in this county, one having 
 died in Canada. There were ten children. On 
 his arrival in Winnebago County, Mr. Steward set- 
 tled on what is now Owen Township, purchasing a 
 tract of wild prairie land on section 15. There 
 being no house on the place, he rented a cabin, in 
 which he resided until the spring of 1847, in the 
 meantime erecting a comfortable structure on his 
 new farm. His wife bore the maiden name of So- 
 phia Long. She was born in the neighborhood of 
 Simcoe, Canada, and was the daughter of Abraham 
 Long, of German ancestry. She departed this life 
 at the old home farm. 
 
 Alanson Steward was a lad of thirteen years 
 when he came to Illinois with his parents, and as 
 there were no railroads here for some time there- 
 after, he hauled the products of the farm to the 
 Chicago market, which was one hundred miles 
 away. Our subject continued to reside with his 
 parents until 1854, when he went to Californm, 
 via New York and the Isthmus of Panama. He 
 was there employed on a farm in Monterey County 
 for a twelvemonth, then went to Coos County, 
 Ore., and was employed in the lumber woods for a 
 like period. Returning home at the expiration of 
 that time, Mr. Steward again engaged in farming 
 with his brother on the old homestead. Four years 
 
586 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 later, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land where he now resides, eight acres of which 
 were broken, but which contained no other im- 
 provements. He erected thereon a fine set of frame 
 buildings, planted fruit and shade trees, and other- 
 wise improved the farm. His acreage at the pres- 
 ent time includes nine hundred and sixty acres of 
 prairie land, besides forty acres of timber in Harri- 
 son Township. 
 
 The day and year on which our subject was uni- 
 ted in marriage to Miss Malinda "Welton was June 
 18, 1856. The lady was born in Elgin County, 
 Ontario, Canada, and was the daughter of John 
 and Christiana (Barstido) Welter, on the father's 
 side of the house, natives of Pennsylvania and of 
 German ancestry. To Mr. and Mrs. Steward have 
 been born ten children, viz.: Ella S., Nelson F., 
 William J., Mary A., Hattie M., Alanson G., James 
 E., Charles A., Nora B., and Bird. Mrs. Steward 
 is a member in good standing of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and, in politics, her husband is a 
 stanch Republican. 
 
 b.»>^ U ^ U 
 
 f I I I < I I 
 
 lOBERT HENDERSON. This prominent 
 resident of the farming community of 
 Boone County is at present residing in a 
 ^pleasant home on section 21, Caledonia 
 Township, where he has an estate which bears evi- 
 dence of the enterprise and progressiveness of its 
 owner. He was born in Argyleshire, Scotland, 
 November 12, 1832, and is the son of Lionel Hen- 
 derson, who was also born in that country. The 
 grandfather of our subject, Archie Henderson, and 
 his wife spent their entire lives in Scotland, where 
 they were weU-to-do people. 
 
 Lionel Henderson was reared and educated in his 
 native shire and was trained in early life to agri- 
 cultural pursuits. He resided there until 1841, 
 then, in company with his wife and two children, 
 set sail from Glasgow and landed in Quebec, 
 whence he went directly to Gananoque. Mr. 
 Henderson remained in Canada for two years, and 
 as he was very poor and the times exceedingly 
 hard, he saw little chance of bettering his condition 
 in the Dominion and in 1843 came to Illinois. On 
 
 his arrival in Boone County, he had $10 worth of 
 leather and $5 in Canadian money, which was 
 positively worthless. He made a claim to a tract of 
 Government land on section 28, Caledonia Town- 
 ship, which is now occupied by his son John. 
 Many people who, like himself, were too poor to 
 enter their land, were holding tlieir claims in the 
 vicinity, while those who had money were entering 
 good claims, regardless of the fact that they were 
 occupied. Mr. Henderson gave a gentleman to 
 understand it would not be safe for him to enter 
 his claim and so was unmolested. He borrowed the 
 money to pay for his property for which he was 
 taxed fifty-nine per cent, interest. The com which 
 he raised on his place he shelled by hand, and was 
 only able to get twelve -and a half cents a bushel for 
 it, and in this way he paid the interest on the bor- 
 rowed money. Wheat, which sold at from fifty to 
 sixty-two and a half cents a bushel when hauled to 
 Chicago and twenty-five cents at home, paid off 
 the principal, and thus by good management and 
 perseverance, Mr. Henderson accumulated a fair 
 competency. He died on the old home farm Angust 
 26, 1874, when ninety-one years and ten months 
 of age. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Margaret Ralston, who departed this life April 
 26, 1878, when eight3'-four years of age. She was 
 a daughter of John and Belle (Brown) Ralston 
 and became the mother of two children, John and 
 Robert. The parents of our subject were both 
 members of the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church. 
 The father first voted with the Democratic party, 
 but being opposed to the extension of slavery, on 
 the formation of the Republican party voted for its 
 candidates. 
 
 Robert Henderson was a lad of eleven years when 
 he came to Illinois with his parents, and acquired 
 a good knowledge of the English language in the 
 log schoolhouse of that early day. On his arrival 
 in Illinois, he worked out on farms during the sum- 
 mer months, for which he received $6 per month 
 and board. When not otherwise employed, he as- 
 sisted his father in conducting the farm and drove 
 the ox-team to Chicago to market their grain. In 
 1859, our subject caught the gold fever and started 
 overland to Pike's Peak. Crossing the Mississippi 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 587 
 
 River at Fulton and Missouri River at Omaha, Mr. 
 Henderson journeyed to Ft. Kearnej- where he met 
 relatives who were returning and who gave such 
 discouraging reports that he concluded to turn 
 ahout and return home. 
 
 In 1862, he of whom we write and Miss Ellen 
 Ralston were united in marriage. The lady was 
 born in Watertown, "Washington County, Ohio, 
 and was a daughter of Robert Ralston, who had his 
 birth in Argyleshire, Scotland. Her father com- 
 menced clerking when fourteen years of age at 
 Greenock and continued so employed until 1832, 
 when he came to America and located in Water- 
 town, where he was engaged in teaching school 
 until 1850. He then came to Illinois and locating 
 in Harlem Township, Winnebago County, pur- 
 chased a tract of land, the operations of which he 
 superintended, and resided there until his decease 
 July 18, 1890. The maiden name of the motherof 
 Mrs. Henderson was Nancy Biggins and she is still 
 living at the old home. She was born in Water- 
 town, Ohio, and was the daughter of John and 
 Sarah (Orrison) Biggins, the former of whom was a 
 native of Virginia. They were members of the 
 Willow Creek Presbyterian Church, and the father 
 in politics was a Republican, serving on that ticket 
 as a Justice of the Peace for thirty-six years. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Henderson have been born four 
 children: Belle, Maggie, Robert H. and J. William. 
 The family are members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. In 1878, Mr. Henderson visited his old 
 home in Scotland, and in 1886 with his wife left 
 Caledonia Township and crossed the Atlantic, 
 visiting Edinburg and Glasgow the second time. 
 In his political belief, our subject is a stanch Re- 
 publican, in which party he is an active worker. 
 
 •5- 
 
 =^>-^-<i 
 
 =-i- 
 
 ' LEXANDER CAMERON, one of the pros- 
 perous and well-known farmers of Cherry 
 Valley Township, Winnebago County, was 
 born in Scotland, in 1833, and is a son of 
 James and Sophia (Skinner) Cameron. His ances- 
 tors were farmers and mechanics. His parents had 
 a family of four sons and one daughter: Christian, 
 now deceased; Mrs. Alexander Skinner, who died 
 
 in Scotland; Alexander, James; William, who died 
 in his native land; and Andrew, who died in Rock- 
 ford, in the spring of 1882, leaving a family. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth under the parental roof, and on attaining 
 his majority emigrated to America, in April, 1854, 
 settling in Ashland County, Ohio. He there 
 learned the blacksmith's trade, and before coming 
 to this country had learned the trade of shoe-mak- 
 ing with his father. In 1857, we find him a resi- 
 dent of Rockford, and he opened a blacksmith 
 shop at No. 115 South First Street, where Sackctt's 
 store now stands. He was in partnership with 
 William Ryburn, his wife's brother, and they did 
 a large business, having two shops on opposite 
 sides of the street. 
 
 In 1860, Mr. Cameron was united in marriage to 
 Miss Jane, daughter of WiUiam and Ann (Mitch- 
 ell) Ryburn. She was also a native of Scotland, 
 and came to this country during the same year in 
 which her husband crossed the Atlantic. They be- 
 gan their domestic life in Rockford, where Mr. 
 Cameron continued to engage in blacksmithing 
 for twenty-one years. However, in the fall of 
 1862, he purchased his present farm of one hun- 
 dred and seventy acres on section 28, Cherry Val- 
 ley Township, removing to it on the 11th of 
 March, 1878. He has since extended its bounda- 
 ries until it now comprises three hundred and five 
 acres of valuable land, all of which are under a high 
 state of cultivation, and well improved. He came 
 to this country almost empty handed. On land- 
 ing in Ohio, he had only $5, yet few men have 
 been more prospered than Mr. Cameron, who now 
 owns one of the best farms in this community, sup- 
 plied with good buildings and all the accessories 
 of a model farm. He also raises a good grade of 
 stock, and the neat appearance of everything upon 
 the place indicates his thrift and enterprise. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cameron have three sons and one 
 daughter: James, William, Mary T. and Alexan- 
 der. They also lost one son, John, who died Sep- 
 tember 1, 1872, at the age of seven months. The 
 three sons aid the father m the operation of 
 the home farm. The daughter is now the wife of 
 William Vogt, a resident farmer of Ogle County. 
 They have one son and have buried two daugh- 
 
588 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOG^RAPHICAL RECORt). 
 
 ters. This family is one widely and favorably 
 known throughout the community, and held in 
 high esteem bj- their manj' friends. Mr. Cameron 
 cast his first Presidential vote for Abraham Lin- 
 coln, and has since supported the Republican 
 party. 
 
 '^OHN JACOBSON. That flourisbing busi- 
 ness enterprise, the Rockford Painting 
 ^_^ and Decorating Company, of which Mr. 
 ^^^ Jacobson is a prominent member, was es- 
 tablished March 1, 1888, and has since been in 
 successful operation at No. Ill South Third Street. 
 This firm carries a stock valued at $10,000, and 
 has a branch office at No. 613 Seventh Street. 
 Both stores are filled with a choice line of goods, 
 and the members of the firm are men of experi- 
 ence and ability. 
 
 John Jacobson came to Rockford in 1871, and 
 began business as a painter and decorator, meet- 
 ing with success from the beginning. He gave 
 his entire attention to his business since the time 
 he was fourteen years of age, and with such sub- 
 stantial results that he is now the owner of a 
 pleasant home at No. 1000 Ninth Avenue, Rock- 
 ford. He was born in Wester Gothland Province, 
 Sweden, October 6, 1848, learned his trade in 
 Falkoping, and afterward worked as a journey- 
 man for four years. Then, with his mother, two 
 brothers and a sister, he sailed for the United 
 States, reaching New York City on the 5th of 
 January, 1871. The little family came direct to 
 Rockford, to which city the father, Joseph Jacob- 
 son, had come in 1868, and here made their home. 
 The mother, whose maiden name was Mary Krus, 
 passed away in the fall of 1891, when seventy- 
 three years of age. She was a member of the 
 Swedish Lutheran Church, and her husband, who 
 is still living and a resident of Alta, Iowa, held 
 membership in the same. He is now seventy-two 
 years of age. 
 
 John Jacobson was the second in order of birth 
 of five children, three sons and two daughters, all 
 of whom are living and are as follows: Henry 
 resides in Rock Island, where he was graduated 
 
 from college June 18, 1892, as a minister of the 
 Lutheran Church; he married Miss Hattie Ander- 
 son, of Iowa. Rev. Fritz, a graduate of the same 
 college in June, 1891, also of Yale College, and 
 now Professor of Philosophy in a college of 
 New Haven, is pastor of a Swedish Lutheran 
 Church and married Miss Othelia Holland, daugh- 
 ter of the Rev. M. Holland, of Stanton, Iowa. 
 Tilda became the wife of Alpha Bodin, and they 
 now reside on a farm near Alta, Iowa. Amanda 
 married Charles J. Larson, who is also a farmer of 
 Alta, Iowa. 
 
 The gentleman whose name heads tliis sketch 
 was married in Rockford to Miss Carrie Buckland, 
 a native of Sweden, born February 13, 1852. She 
 came to America alone in May, 1868, and joined a 
 brother, John, who is now a shoemaker in Rock- 
 ford, whither he came in Maj', 1854, being one of 
 the first Swedish settlers. Their parents died in 
 Sweden, where the father was a successful tiller of 
 the soil. 
 
 Of the eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jacobson, three died young, viz: Carl, Herman 
 and Otto E. Those living are: Alga O., Ellen 
 H., Evan C, Carl "VV. and Julius E., all at home. 
 In politics, Mr. Jacobson is a Republican, and in 
 religion lie and his wife are exemplarjMnembers of 
 the Zion Lutheran Church. 
 
 "itlOHN A. BROWN. During the '50s there 
 was an immense emigration to the United 
 States by residents of that grand old coun- 
 try, Sweden, which seems somehow to instill 
 into her sons and daughters the traits of character 
 that make them successful and popular wherever 
 fate leads their footsteps. Among those who 
 sought out new homes for themselves in this coun- 
 try, was John A. Brown, who made his first appear- 
 ance in Rockford, in May, 1856. He came here a 
 poor man, and what he has accumulated in the 
 way of this world's goods has been the fruits of 
 his own exertions. 
 
 A native of Smoland Province, born October 5, 
 1829, Mr. Brown became inured to hard labor at 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 589 
 
 an early age, and after reaching mature years, he 
 determined to try his fortune in the States. He 
 took passage at Gottenburg, and after spending 
 the first winter in New York State, subsequently 
 went to Connecticut, and thence to Rockford, 111., 
 where his parents and a sister were then residing. 
 The father, Andrew Anderson Brown, after spend- 
 ing a number of years in this country, longed for 
 one more glimpse of his native soil, and returning, 
 died there when eighty years of age. His father 
 bore the name of Brown, which was the real fam- 
 ily name, and our subject had it transferred to 
 himself. The mother of our subject, whose maiden 
 name was Sarah Johnson, quietly passed away in 
 Rockford, at the advanced age of eighty-two. Like 
 very many of the Swedish people, they were mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church. Three of their 
 daughters are living, and two, Mrs. Spherf and Mrs. 
 Lilleblad, are much esteemed citizens of Rockford. 
 The other daughter, Mrs. John Johnson, is a resi- 
 dent, it is thought, of Wisconsin or Minnesota. 
 
 Before leaving his native country, Mr. Brown 
 selected as his companion in life Miss Emily Lille- 
 blad, a lady of much culture and refinement, who 
 was born in Jonkoping Lan, Smoland Province, 
 Sweden, on the 14th of August, 1830. She was 
 the only child born to her parents, and her father, 
 John Lilleblad, died when she was very young. 
 The mother died a number of years later, while on 
 her way to the United States. 
 
 Mr. Brown's political affiliations are with the Re- 
 publican party, and he takes an active interest in 
 local and county politics. He is public spirited 
 and enterprising, and is prominently identified 
 with all movements of a laudable nature. He and 
 his wife are very devoted Christian people, in the 
 true sense of that word, and active working mem- 
 bers of the Swedish Lutheran Church, of which 
 both are old and prominent members. Of the six 
 children born to their union, only three arc now 
 living: Ida M., wife of L. F. Johnson, a successful 
 merchant at Crystal Falls, Mich.,is the mother of 
 six children; Huldah C, widow of Albert Larson, 
 resides with her parents, and has one son, Harold 
 H. C; and Frank H., a watch-maker by trade, and 
 a commercial traveler for the Star Furniture Fac- 
 tory of Rockford, makes that city his home, and 
 
 resides with his parents. The children deceased 
 were named as follows: Frank G., Henry and 
 George. Mr. Brown is now engaged in the ma- 
 chine shops of the Utter Manufacturing Company, 
 and has a comfortable and commodious home at 
 No. 1203 Third Avenue. 
 
 IMMONS P. TERWILLIGER, deceased, 
 was born in Preble, Cortland County, N. Y., 
 June 17, 1820, and was a son of-Green and 
 Martha (Pearsol) Terwilliger, both natives 
 of the Empire State. They spent their last days in 
 the town of Preble, wliere the father cleared and 
 developed a farm from the wilderness. His wife 
 died in 1864, and two years later he came to Bel- 
 videre, where his death occurred. 
 
 Our subject supplemented his early education by 
 study in the Homer Academy, and afterward took 
 up the study of medicine. He later attended 
 the medical college in Buffalo, and in 1847 visited 
 Chicago, where he continued his studies, and was 
 graduated. He commenced practice in Algonquin, 
 McHenry County, 111., where he resided until 1849, 
 when he came to Belvidere and engaged in the 
 drug business. A few years later, he opened a 
 hardware store, which he carried on for some time. 
 In 1849, Mr. Terwilliger wedded Frances Mitch- 
 ell, who was born in Peterboro, Hillsboro County, 
 N. H. Her father, Jonathan Mitchell, and grand- 
 father, Benjamin Mitchell, were both natives of 
 the same town, and Samuel Mitchell, the great- 
 grandfather, was a native of Londonderry, N. H., 
 it is thought. He became one of the first settlers 
 of Peterboro secured a water-power in that local- 
 ity, and erected one of the first gristmills in that 
 section of the country. The grandfather spent his 
 entire life in Peterboro as a farmer. He married 
 Martha Steele, who was born in that locality, and 
 never left it until called to the home beyond. The 
 father of Mrs. Terwilliger was reared and educated 
 in lus native county, and in 1839 removed to 
 Cortland County, N. Y., where he purchased a 
 farm, making it his home for three years. He then 
 removed to the village of Preble, upon which he 
 resided until 1850, when he came to Illinois, and 
 
690 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 spent the remainder of his days in Belvidere, his 
 death occuiTing October 20, 1853. He married 
 Sarah White, a native of the Granite State, and a 
 daughter of John and Elizabeth (Smith) White. 
 Her death occurred in Belvidere, January 26, 1861. 
 Mr. Terwilliger of this sketch continued business 
 in this city until 1883, when he was called to the 
 home beyond. He was a Universalist in religious 
 belief, and one of the leading members of the or- 
 ganization here. His wife, a most estimable lady, 
 is a member of the Presbyterian Church. She 
 has three children : Irving, Cashier of the Second 
 National Bank of Belvidere; Helen A., wife of 
 Lewis A. Seaman; and Alice at home. The family 
 is one widely and favorably known in this com- 
 munity, the members of the household ranking 
 high in social circles. The death of the husband 
 and father was deeply regretted by a large circle 
 of friends, for he was one of the valued citizens of 
 the community. 
 
 
 ^•{••J»*5**J 
 
 ^•{••5"5**5*1 
 
 '^ 
 
 RS. ANNA CHESTER, who is at present 
 residing on a splendid estate on section 
 10, LeRoy Township, Boone County, is 
 the daughter of Ole and Betsey (Sondre- 
 son) Oleson. She was born in Norway in 1835 
 and came to America in the fall of 1849, in com- 
 pany with her parents. The party set sail on the 
 brig "Uno" from Amdahl and landed in New 
 York six weeks later. They went by water to 
 Milwaukee, where they secuied a team which took 
 them to Blue Mound, Wis., where the father pur- 
 chased eighty acres of land. After a residence 
 there of one winter, Mr. Oleson sold his property 
 and removed to Rock County, Wis., where he be- 
 came the proprietor of eighty acres and resided 
 until his decease in 1856. While making her 
 home at Ft. Dodge, Iowa, with her daughter 
 Helen, Mrs. Edwin Haatvedt, the mother died 
 June 1, 1892, at the advanced age of ninety-seven 
 years. 
 
 Our subject was married in Rock County, Wis., 
 May 16, 1856, to Lawrence Chester. He was a 
 son of Chester and Nellie Chesterson, who came 
 from Norway to America in 1849, when their son 
 
 was fourteen years of age. The father, who had 
 been an invalid for many years, died while en 
 route to this country and was consigned to a 
 watery grave. Mr. and Mrs. Chesterson were the 
 parents of four children and were accompanied on 
 their removal to America by a son and daughter, 
 one having been left in their native country. The 
 eldest son had preceded them two years to their 
 new home. 
 
 Mr. Chester located with his widowed mother 
 on forty acres of land in Boone County, soon after 
 which he added forty acres more. A few years 
 later, he purchased one hundred and twenty acres, 
 and in 1876 added to his already splendid estate 
 eighty acres, for which he paid $2,200. His mother 
 departed this life in the fall of 1872, when eighty 
 years of age. Our subject brought her husband 
 at the time of her marriage a dowry of $400, one 
 cow, one sheep and one horse. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Chester have been born twelve children, all of 
 whom grew to mature years with the exception of 
 four. Nellie died when fifteen years of age; Nel- 
 lie (second) died at two years; Betsey wlien eigh- 
 teen and Julia at the age of sixteen years. The 
 living are Charles, Oscar, John Scvert, Edward, 
 Martin William, Frank Theodore, David Samuel 
 and Henry Bennett. 
 
 Lawrence Chester was one of the early settlers 
 of this township and passed through many of the 
 hardships which beset tlie path of a pioneer. As 
 before stated, he was fourteen years of age when 
 locating here and for the first five years in his new 
 home worked out on farms by the month. The 
 first land of which he became the owner was a 
 timbered tract, which by persistent industry he 
 cleared and placed under excellent cultivation. 
 He met with a severe accident when twenty-seven 
 years old by losing his right arm in a threshing 
 machine, and for twenty-five years thereafter per- 
 formed more hard farm labor than most men with 
 both their arms. When fifty-two years of age, he 
 broke his leg, which accident finally resulted in his 
 death, July 30, 1883. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Chester were members in good 
 standing of the Norwegian Lutheran Church, of 
 which body the children are also members. Mr. 
 Chester erected a house valued at $2,000 which was 
 
RES. OF MRS. SARAH E. GOODHU E, SEC. 29 ,NE\A/ MILFORD TR.Wl NNEBAGO CO, ILL. 
 
 RES. OF MRS ANNE CHESTER SEC IO,LEROY TP, BOONE CO , I LL 
 
^PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 593 
 
 the result of honest toil and edonomy. His hand- 
 some farm gives abundant evidence that he under- 
 stood business as a farmer and possessed the enter- 
 prise and energy' essential to keeping his estate 
 in good shape and making it abundantly product- 
 ive. A view of the residence and surroundings on 
 the farm of Mrs. Chester appears on another page. 
 
 ARAH E. GOODHUE, who is living on a 
 farm on section 29, New Mllford Town- 
 j) ship, is numbered among the early settlers 
 of Winnebago County. She is a daughter 
 of Daniel and Elizabeth (Lawrence) Goodhue, the 
 former a native of Cheshire Count}-, N. H., and the 
 latter of Weston, Windsor County, Vt. They 
 were married in Weston, and spent two years in 
 that locality, where Mr. Goodhue owned a timber 
 tract, from which he made shingles. He afterward 
 sold out and removed to El3'ria,Ohio, whence they 
 emigrated to Illinois in the spring of 1836. They 
 made the journey with two yoke of oxen and a 
 yoke of cows, and after ten weeks of travel, ar- 
 rived at their destination on the 4th of March, 
 1836. 
 
 Settling on section 29, New Milford Township, 
 Mr. Goodhue made a claim, which he improved, 
 obtaining the deed to the land in 1842. He and 
 his family bore many hardships and trials incident 
 to pioneer life and oftentimes had hardly anything 
 to live on except what they gained from hunting 
 and fishing, but as the years passed their farm be- 
 came productive and they were in more comfort- 
 able circumstances. The father died September 9, 
 1869, at the age of sixty-nine years, and his wife 
 was called to her final rest in January, 1871, at the 
 age of seventy-three years. They were buried in 
 the cemetery near their home. They had lost 
 three children in infancy, their daughter Sarah 
 being the only surviving member of the family. 
 
 The lady whose name heads this sketch has al- 
 ways resided upon the old homestead, a view of 
 which accompanies this sketch. She has been twice 
 married. On the 13th of January, 1856, she be- 
 came the wife of William H. McCammond, and in 
 
 September, 1858, she gave her hand in marriage to 
 Edward E. Price, a native of Montgomeryshire, 
 Wales. She has lost three children who died in 
 early youth, and one son, Daniel L. McCammond, 
 died October 4, 1880, at the age of twenty-four 
 years. She has seven children yet living: Margarey 
 E., Edward J., Thomas C; Albertie E., now Mrs. 
 Van Fleck; Lillian F., Lenora L. and Leora E., 
 twins. 
 
 Mrs. Goodhue has led a busy and useful life. 
 She now owns two hundred and eight acres of land 
 in the home farm, beside thirteen acres of good 
 timber land in Noble Grove, and her property 
 yields her a good income. She has many friends 
 throughout the communit}^ where she has long 
 made her home and is both widel}' and favorably 
 known. 
 
 S^-+^l=- 
 
 ALEXANDER FALCONER. One of the 
 finest farms within the limits of Winne- 
 bago Township is owned and occupied by 
 Mr. Falconer, and is represented by a view 
 on another page of this volume. The main points 
 in the history of the subject of this notice are as 
 follows: He is the son of Hugh Falconer, and was 
 born in Ross-shire, Scotland, May 8, 1836. His fa- 
 ther was also a native of that place, and followed 
 his trade of a carpenter and joiner in Scotland un- 
 til 1847, when, accompanied by his wife and four 
 children, he emigrated to America, embarking at 
 Liverpool in the sailing- vessel "Kalamazoo." They 
 landed in New York twenty-eight days later, and, 
 coming directly to Winnebago County, located in 
 that part of New Milford Township now included 
 in Rockford Township, where they resided for five 
 years. At the end of that time the father pur- 
 chased property in Winnebago Township, where he 
 remained until his decease. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Catherine McDonald; she was also born in Ross- 
 shire, and died on the home- farm in this township. 
 Our subject was the third in order of birth in the 
 parental family of four children, his brothers and 
 sister being Robert, James and Catherine. Alex- 
 ander, our subject, was a lad of eleven years on 
 
594 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 taking the ocean voj'age to the New World and 
 resided with his parents until his marriage; after- 
 ward he continued to farm with his brothers for 
 four years, and then, removing to Rockford Town- 
 ship, rented property for two years, when he re- 
 turned and managed his father-in-law's farm for 
 six years, during which time he purchased the place 
 which he now owns and occupies on section 14. 
 
 April 4, 1866, Miss Ann Elliott, a native of 
 Yorkshire, England, became Mrs. Alexander Fal- 
 coner. Her father, John Elliott, was also a native 
 of the same shire, and the son of Joseph Elliott, 
 who spent his entire life in England. The father 
 of Mrs. Falconer was reared to agricultural pur- 
 suits, and followed farming in his native land un- 
 til 1842, when, with his wife and seven children, 
 he took passage in a sailing-vessel "Prince Edward" 
 and landed in New York after a voyage of eight 
 weeks and two days. They came to Illinois by 
 the most convenient route, and on coming to Win- 
 nebago County, found Rockford to be little more 
 than a hamlet. Most of the land in the western 
 part of the county was still owned by the Govern- 
 ment, and deer could be seen from the doorway 
 roaming over the plains. Wolves would often 
 come into the yard and make night hideous with 
 their howls. Mrs. Falconer vividly recalls the hard 
 times that her people had to contend with in 
 evolving a home out of the primitive wilderness. 
 
 Mr. Elliott made a claim to the northwest quar- 
 ter of section 14, in what is now Winnebago Town- 
 ship, but when it came into market, speculators 
 getting ahead of him, made him pay double price 
 for the land. He at once built a frame house on 
 the place, and as tliere were no railroads in the 
 county, for several years after locating here he 
 conveyed his grain to the Chicago markets with 
 ox-teams. In the warm weather he took provi- 
 sions along and camped by the wayside, but dur- 
 ing the winter season was obliged to put up at the 
 taverns. Mr. Elliott improved a farm of two hun- 
 dred and forty acres, on which he resided until his 
 decease, December 23, 1883. The maiden name of 
 his wife was Susannah Dawson, a native of York- 
 shire, England, who departed this life on the home 
 farm in 1862. He reared two sons and eiglit 
 daughters: Sarah, George, Elizabeth, Hannah, Su- 
 
 san, Emma (who died February 18, 1892), Ann, 
 John, Esther and Ellen. John served in Com- 
 pany C, Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry, during 
 the late war, and died in the service. 
 
 The six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Falconer 
 are Hugh (who died at the age of eleven years), 
 Susan, George, Kate, Alexander and Florence. 
 
 ylLLIAM H. MILLER, who is one of the 
 well-known citizens of Rockford, was born 
 at Mt. Morris, Livingston County, N. Y., 
 May 13, 1835. His father, the Hon. Horace Miller, 
 wa,s a native of Berkshire County, Mass., where he 
 was born in 1798, and was a son of Jonathan Mil- 
 ler, who removed from Massachusetts to New York 
 and for a time resided in Albany before removing 
 to Mt. Morris, where he resided during his later 
 years. The maiden name of his wife was Case. 
 
 The father of our subject was quite a young 
 cliild when his parents changed their home from 
 Massachusetts to New York. He married in Am- 
 sterdam, Montgomery County, and removed to 
 Livingston County in 1817, becoming an early 
 settler there. Upon the tract of timber land which 
 he bought, he erected in the midst of the wilder- 
 ness a log house, in which most of his children 
 were born. For many years after making his 
 home in Western New York, there were no rail- 
 roads or canals, and transportation and communi- 
 cation from one part of the country to the other 
 were difHcult and slow. He cleared quite a tract 
 of land and resided there until 1839, during which 
 year he removed with his wife and six children to 
 Illinois. The removal was made by team to Buf- 
 falo and from there teams and all were shipped by 
 steamer to Chicago, where they disembarked and 
 teamed it from that city to Winnebago County. 
 
 The Hon. Horace Miller had visited this section 
 of the county the winter previous to his removal, 
 and his brother, E. G. Miller, had bought him a 
 claim to a tract of Government land near the 
 mouth of the Kishwaukee River. At that time, 
 there was a village located very near the junction 
 of that stream with the Rock River, which was for 
 some time quite a flourishing settlement. The fa- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOr^RAPHlCAL RECORD. 
 
 5H5 
 
 ther of our subject bought a bouse in that village 
 and moved it on his land. There were then no 
 railroads here and the markets were Chicago, Gal- 
 ena, Dubuque and Milwaukee. He dealt largely 
 in live stock in addition to carrying on farming, 
 and was a successful man, adding to his landed es- 
 tate until at one time he had twelve hundred and 
 fifty acres. He resided on the farm until about 
 the year 1861, when he came to Rockford and 
 lived a retired life until his death in 1864. 
 
 Hannah Clark was the maiden name of the mo- 
 ther of our subject and she was born in Amster- 
 dam, Montgomery County, N. Y., February 2, 
 1800, and was a daughter of William Clark. She 
 lived until 1877 and died in Rockford, leaving the 
 following children: Clark; Sarah, who married 
 Hiram Waterman; N. Eliza, who is the wife of 
 Philip W. Marsh; Horace, who resides in Mt. 
 Vernon, Iowa; H. Caroline, who married the Hon. 
 William Brown, of Rockford, and William H. All 
 reside in this city with the exception of Horace. 
 The father was in his political sympathies first a 
 Whig and later a Republican. He filled various 
 offlces of trust and responsibility in Winnebago 
 County and represented the county in the State 
 Legislature, being elected thereto in the fall of 
 1850. 
 
 He of whom we write was but four j'ears old 
 when he made the famous journey with his par- 
 ents from the East to the West and he remembers 
 distinctly the difficulties of that trip and the in- 
 cidents of change and the new home. For some 
 time after their settlement here, deer and other 
 kinds of wild game were plentiful. He early com- 
 menced making himself useful on the farm and 
 attended school also during a part of each year. 
 He resided with his parents until they removed to 
 the city and then assumed the management of the 
 home farm until 1865. During that year, he took 
 a trip West and spent nearly a year traveling. In 
 1866, he bought fourteen acres of land in the city 
 and later bought thirty-one acres of the Churchill 
 farm close to the city and engaged in dairy farm- 
 ing. In 1877, he built his present residence, a 
 commodious brick house in modern style of arch- 
 itecture, occupying ample and delightful grounds 
 on a site that commands a pleasant view. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Miller in 1859 united him 
 with Jennie E. Phillips, who was born near Platte- 
 ville. Grant County, Wis., and whose father, Henry 
 B. Phillips, was born in New York State, Novem- 
 ber 8, 1810. He was a son of William Phillips, 
 who was born in Canada and who came to Illinois 
 during the year in which it was admitted as a 
 State into the Union. He served in the interests 
 of this country as a Lieutenant in the War of 1812, 
 and received a land warrant in payment for his 
 services. With that land warrant, he located a 
 tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land in 
 Henry County, where he resided until his death, 
 which occurred about a year later. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Elizabeth Baxter. She was 
 born in Connecticut and died in Grant County, 
 Wis., in 1837. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Miller soon after his father's 
 death was apprenticed to a tanner in Pittsfield, 
 Pike County, 111., and lived with him until 1830, 
 when, not liking the trade, he went to Galena and 
 from there, with others, sought that part of the 
 Territory of Michigan now included in Iowa, and 
 engaged in mining on or near the present site of 
 Dubuque, where the land was at the time owned 
 by the Indians. The red man asserted his rights 
 and drove them away and for some time they 
 were prisoners on an island near by. In 1832, he 
 served under Capt. Hathaway in the Black Hawk 
 War. He was with the troops in pursuit of Black 
 Hawk through Illinois and Wisconsin and was 
 present at Bad Axe when that wiley chief was 
 captured. 
 
 After the war, Mr. Phillips settled near Platte- 
 ville. Grant County, Wis., and having purchased a 
 tract of Government land erected a log house, in 
 which Mrs. Miller was born, but which was aband- 
 oned some six weeks later by the family, who 
 moved to a frame house. For many years, there 
 were no railroads in Wisconsin and the nearest 
 markets of any size were Galena and Milwaukee. 
 He was one of the earliest agents in that section of 
 the county for the McCormick Reaper and other 
 kinds of farm machinery. He resided on his farm 
 until 1861, after which he resided ten years in 
 Platteville and then removed to Independence, 
 Iowa, where he remained until 1886, at which 
 
596 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 time he went to Atlanta, Ga., where he still lives. 
 The maiden name of the mother of Mrs. Miller 
 was Lucinda Sloan. She was born in Mt. Vernon, 
 Ky., and her father, John Sloan, removed from 
 his native home in Virginia to Kentucky and 
 thence to Missouri, living at St. Charles for a time, 
 and then going to Dubuque, Iowa, where he was 
 one of the first permanent settlers. He bouglit a 
 farm two miles from the city and there spent the 
 remainder of his daj's. His wife before her mar- 
 riage bore the name of Jennie Boatwright. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Miller have two children : Ella G., who 
 is now the wife of Robert B. Whipple, and Mabel 
 J. The political views of our subject are in ac- 
 cordance with Prohibition doctrines, and he and 
 his good wife are active and earnest members of 
 the Centennial Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 ♦^♦E 
 
 _y 
 
 ^^EORGE M. HAINES, M. D., now one of 
 [l| ^=- the leading physicians of Durand, has been 
 ^^j| a resident here since November, 1877. He 
 was born in Orleans County, Vt., September 9, 
 1846, and is the son of Moses and Deborah W. 
 (Clark") Haines, natives respectivelj^ of Vermont 
 and New Hampshire. Samuel Haines, the progeni- 
 tor of the family in the United States, was born 
 in Shrewsbury, England, in 1603. He was a son 
 of John Haines, Sr., and in 1635 sailed with a 
 party to America, at which time the vessel was 
 wrecked off the coast of Maine. The survivors 
 made their way by land southward toward the 
 Massachvrsetts Colony. They located, however, in 
 Portsmouth, and thus was founded the first set- 
 tlement in New Hampshire. Samuel Haines was a 
 Deacon in the Congregational Church and died 
 about 1686. 
 
 The second son of the above-named gentleman 
 was also called Samuel and had his birth in Ports- 
 mouth in 1646. He was married to Mary Fifleld, 
 who was also born in New Hampshire, and died in 
 1688. Tliey were the parents of three sons and 
 three daughters, one of whom, William, was born 
 in Portsmouth, January 7, 1678, and died in 1760; 
 he was married to Mary Lewis, of Casco Bay, and 
 
 to them were born five sons and four daughters. 
 Of these, Mathias was born in Greenland, N. H. 
 March 17, 1712, and died March 28, 1795, having 
 been married to Abigail Slierburn, also of Green- 
 land, that State. Of their sons, Mathias was born 
 October 11, 1744, and died August 22, 1808. His 
 wife, Sarah Hall, of Chester, N. H., was born Sep- 
 tember 11, 1753, and departed this life Septem- 
 ber 4, 1844, after having become the mother of 
 nine children. Of that family, Moses K. was born 
 in Raymond, N. H., February 13, 1774, and died 
 January 15, 1856. He had been thrice married, 
 his first wife, to whom he was united in 1797, bore 
 the name of Abigail May and died, leaving three 
 children. His second union, which occurred in 
 1814, was with Jemimah Leach, by whom he be- 
 came the father of two children. His last wife 
 was Rachel Babbitt, to whom he was married in 
 1838. 
 
 The youngest son of Moses K. Haines by his sec- 
 ond marriage was also named Moses, and was born 
 on the 29th of December, 1818, and married March 
 8, 1842, to the lady who bore the name of Deborah 
 W. Clark, who was born May 31, 1815, and died 
 March 13, 1882. They became the parents of five 
 children: Abigail D., who was born March 22, 
 1843, married J. D. S. Olmstead and makes her 
 home in Greensboro, Vt. George M., our subject, 
 was the second in order of birth; Cephas C, who 
 was born October 3, 1849, married Clara E. Cal- 
 derwood and also resides in Greensboro, Vt.; Sum- 
 ner C, who was born January 23, 1852, died in 
 1886, unmarried; Alma J., who was born Feb- 
 ruary 8, 1854, married Austin Rich and is living 
 in Glover, Vt. 
 
 The original of this sketch passed his early life 
 on the home farm and in attendance at the dif- 
 ferent schools in his vicinity. When reaching his 
 majority, he commenced the study of medicine 
 with Dr. S. R. Corey, of Craftsbury, Vt., as his 
 preceptor. He later took a course of lectures at 
 the University of Vermont, and was subsequently 
 graduated from the College of Physicians and 
 Surgeons of New York City. Dr. Haines then 
 located near his native place, where he practiced 
 his profession for three years, and then, going to 
 Orford, N. H., remained for four years, at the end 
 

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 599 
 
 of which time he came to Durand and, with the 
 exception of two years spent at La Harpe, Kan., 
 has been a resident of this place. 
 
 Dr. Haines and Miss Octavia L. Goodrich were 
 united in marriage September 28, 1870. The lady, 
 who was born in Greensboro, Orleans County, 
 Vt,, October 21, 1844, was the daughter of J. A. 
 and Octavia A. (Wright) Goodrich. To them 
 have been granted a family of five children, viz: 
 Mary, who died when two years of age; Emma 
 L.; Fred, who died when nine months old; George 
 C. and Helen W. 
 
 The Doctor is not interested in politics other 
 than to cast a Republican vote at elections. He 
 is a member of the Winnebago and Stephenson 
 Counties Medical Societies, and for many years 
 was an active member of the Odd Fellows' lodge. 
 He has always been a firm supporter of religion 
 and is a member of the Congregational Church. 
 He is justly regarded as one of the ablest general 
 practitioners in this section of the State. Begin- 
 ning his medical career with a fine theoretical 
 linowledge, he has been studious, discriminating, 
 and desirous of adding to the store of his learn- 
 ing all that modern investigation has to enrich the 
 fields of therapeutical science. 
 
 ! ! ■ |l »i iyi fc li ^ I 
 
 ^ 1 ' I ' I I I I - 
 
 jy? EWIS P. ANDERSON, Superintendent and 
 I (^ Manager of the Derwent sash, door and 
 /ILA blind factory, is numbered among the early 
 settlere of Rockford, where he has made his home 
 since 1854. In the years that have since followed, 
 he has been prominently connected with the busi- 
 ness interests of the city and is now one of the 
 leading members of the company before men- 
 tioned. He is also a stockholder in the Excelsior 
 Furniture Company, of which he was Vice-Presi- 
 dent, and has also been a Director of the Union 
 Grocery Company, in which he still holds an inter- 
 est. 
 
 Mr. Anderson, whose portrait accompanies this 
 sketch, was born in Smoland, Sweden, June 15, 
 1829, and is a son of Andrew and Anna (Lars- 
 dan t) Peterson, who spent their entire lives in 
 their native land. The father was a farmer and 
 
 died at the age of ninety years. His wife survived 
 him some time and passed away at the advanced 
 age of ninety years. They held membership in 
 the Lutheran Church, and were highly respected 
 people. 
 
 In his youth, our subject learned the trade of a 
 mechanic and builder. At length, he determined 
 to seek a home in the New World, and in the 
 month of June, 1854, his name was enrolled among 
 the passengers on board the sailing-vessel "Levi 
 Woodbury." After a voyage of five weeks and 
 two days, he landed at Boston and came at once to 
 Illinois, settling in Elgin, where he spent one year. 
 He was the first of the family to cross the ocean, 
 and is the only one now living in this country. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was married, in Rockford, to Miss 
 Anna Anderson, who was born and reared in 
 Sweden and when a young lady came to this coun- 
 try. She died at her home in Rockford in 1867, 
 at the age of thirty- three years. For his second 
 wife, our subject chose Miss Mary S. Noling, who 
 was born in Sweden on the 11th of December, 
 1840, and came to this country in 1866, since 
 which time her home has been in Rockford. The 
 history of her parents is given in the sketch of L. 
 M. Noling, on another page of this work. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Anderson have four bright and intelligent 
 children, who were educated in the city schools 
 of Rockford and are an honor to their parents, 
 namely: Frank A., a wood-carver by trade; Anna 
 J., a dress-maker; Lydia E. and Oscar ¥. The par- 
 ents hold membership with the First Lutheran 
 Church, in which Mr. Anderson is a Trustee. For 
 many years, he has been connected with that con- 
 gregation, is one of its leading workers and a lib- 
 eral contributor to its support. 
 
 During the late war, when his adopted country 
 was in need of troops, Mr. Anderson enlisted in 
 1862, as a member of Company C, Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Infantry. He participated in the battle of 
 Perryville, Ky., and was there taken sick, being 
 confined in the hospital for some time. After two 
 years of faithful service, he was honorably dis- 
 charged in Indianapolis, Ind., on the 14th of Jan- 
 uary, 1864. He is a member of Nevius Post No. 
 1, G. A. R., of this city. He takes quite an active 
 interest in public affairs, and is a stalwart Repub- 
 
600 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lican in politics. His character is unimpeacbable, 
 his life above reproach, and his upright career has 
 won him the confidence and regard of all. He is 
 recognized as one of the leading and influential 
 gentlemen of this city and an honored early set- 
 tler. His comfortable home, which was built by 
 himself, is located at No. 1005 Sixth Avenue. 
 
 ^^->-^^<i 
 
 -j- 
 
 i-REDERICK SANDS, a retired farmer living 
 in Belvidere, is numbered among the early 
 settlers of Boone County. For many years, 
 he has been an eye-witness of its growth and up- 
 building and has aided in its progress and de- 
 velopment. He has seen its towns grow into cities, 
 and many of its villages spring into existence. He 
 has ever borne his share in promoting those inter- 
 ests calculated to prove of public benefit and well 
 deserves representation in its history. 
 
 Mr. Sands was born in Tompkins, Delaware 
 County, N. Y., March 20, 1833. His grandfather. 
 Judge Obadlah Sands, was a large real-estate owner 
 in Delaware County, and spent his last years in 
 the' town of Oxford. Obadiah Sands, Jr., the fa- 
 ther of our subject, was born and reared in Del- 
 aware County and wedded Mary Orr, a native of 
 that county and a daughter of Walter F. and Mary 
 E. (Craig) Orr. Mr. Orr spent his last years in 
 Delaware County, but his wife came to Illinois 
 and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Sands. 
 In 1836, Obadiah Sands, accompanied by his wife 
 and seven children, started for Illinois. He left 
 his family in Chicago while he came on in search 
 of a location and made a claim on sections 7 and 
 8, Bonus Township, Boone County. After build- 
 ing a log cabin, he returned to Chicago where he 
 had left his family and brought his wife and chil- 
 dren to the new home in a large covered wagon, 
 drawn by five yoke of oxen. He purchased his 
 laud at the land sale in Chicago when it came into 
 market and began the development of a farm. His 
 wife died July 4, 1840, leaving the folloM'ing chil- 
 dren: Maria, Betsy, Mary, OUve, Frederick, Odessa 
 and William D. Olive died in 1868, and George 
 died in Cleveland, Ohio, when the family were en 
 route for the West. The others are still living. 
 
 Mr. Sands was a second time married and by that 
 union had three children: Melinda A., Obadiah 
 and Dianitia. His death occurred in 1856. He 
 was a member of Belvidere Lodge No. 60, A. F. & 
 A. M., and in politics was first a Whig. He became 
 a strong anti-slavery man, and supported Gen. 
 Fremont in 1856. 
 
 With his parents, Frederick Sands came to Illi- 
 nois when only three years of age. He acquired 
 his education in the primitive log schoolhouse 
 with its slab seats, puncheon floor and huge fire- 
 place, and aided in the labors of the farm through 
 the summer months. Many incidents of pioneer 
 days are still fresh in his mind. In 1854, he 
 started on a trip to the West. On reaching St. 
 Joe, Mo., he made arrangements to go to Cali- 
 fornia, but was taken sick, and his trip in conse- 
 quence had to be abandoned. In 1855, he went to 
 Stevens' Point, Wis., where he was employed for a 
 year. He then floated down the Wisconsin and 
 Mississippi Rivers to Quincy on a raft and then 
 returned to his home in Boone County. From 
 that time, he devoted his entire energies to farm- 
 ing and as a result won prosperity. He still owns 
 the old homestead farm containing two hundred 
 acres of highly cultivated land, well improved 
 with good buildings. 
 
 In 1857, Mr. Sands was joined in wedlock with 
 Henrietta Brink, a native of Union, Broome 
 County, N. Y., and a daughter of Whiting F. and 
 Lydia R. (Chambers) Brink. Her father was born 
 in the town of Union and was a son of James and 
 Cornelia (Giltner) Brink, farming people of 
 Broome County, who spent their entire lives on the 
 old homestead. Her mother was born on the west 
 shore of Seneca Lake, and was a daughter of 
 Samuel and Hannah (Van Zant) Chambers. They 
 were married in Union, N. Y., where Mr. Brink 
 followed the trade of a carpenter and joiner until 
 his death in September, 1839. His widow after- 
 ward became the wife of Stephen Sweezey and 
 emigrated to Illinois in 1855. She now resides in 
 Boone Township, Boone County. 
 
 Two children grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sands: Fred Beecher and Bessie. Fred Beecher 
 took for his wife Miss Hattie Vinton and they have 
 one child, Fred Vinton. The members of the family 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 601 
 
 rank high in social circles and the Sands household 
 in the abode of hospitality. Socially, our subject 
 is a member of Belvidere Lodge No. 60, A. F. & 
 A. M.; and Kishwaukee Chapter No. 90, R. A. M., 
 while in politics he is a Republican. His industry 
 and enterprise in former years secured him a com- 
 fortable competence which now enables him to 
 spend his declining days in retirement from all 
 labor. 
 
 e LINTON G. SHELDEN, a retired farmer 
 residing in the village of Winnebago, was 
 born in Granger, Medina County, Ohio, 
 May 17, 1832. He is the son of David Shelden, 
 who was born in Schoharie County, N. Y., Octo- 
 ber 19, 1794, and who in turn was a son of John- 
 son and Abiah (Northrup) Shelden. From the 
 best information we have at hand, our subject is a 
 direct descendant of William Shelden, who came 
 from England to America in 1634, and settled in 
 South Kensington, R. I. The next in line was 
 John, the son of William; the next Isaac, and the 
 next Joseph. Then came Jonathan, the grand- 
 father of our subject, whom it is supposed was 
 born in New England, whence he emigrated to New 
 York State, and later to Richfield Township, 
 Summit County, Ohio, where he spent his last 
 days. His wife was born April 16, 1770, and died 
 on the home farm in Richfield. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared in his 
 native State, and when about eighteen years of 
 age started out to explore the Western country. 
 He went overland to Erie, Pa., and there embarked 
 on a boat bound for Cleveland. On account of a 
 severe storm, they landed before they reached that 
 city and journeyed on foot to Summit Count}'. 
 Mr. Shelden remained there for a time, when he 
 returned to New York and was married. With 
 his young wife, he went back to Ohio and pur- 
 chased a tract of timbered land, upon which he 
 erected a log house and occupied it for some 
 years. He continued a resident of that place 
 until his decease, March 31, 1873. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 .was Anna Sarles, a native of New York State, and 
 
 the daughter of Isaiah Sarles, whose birth occurred 
 April 7, 1759. The grandfather served in the 
 War of 1812, was wounded in the battle of Chip- 
 pewa, Canada, September 14, 1814, at which time he 
 was taken prisoner to Montreal, where he died in 
 the latter part of that year. He had been married to 
 Anna Dean, who was born July 19, 1762, and died 
 at Royalton, Medina County, Ohio. The mother 
 of our subject departed this life on the home farm, 
 August 6, 1855. 
 
 Clinton G. Shelden spent his early days on the 
 farm, and when twenty-two years of age taught 
 his first term of school. After being thus engaged 
 for one term, he advanced his education by atten- 
 dance at Delaware College. After this he taught 
 two terms of winter school and remained on the 
 home farm until 1863, at which time he came to 
 Illinois and purchased a farm in Winnebago 
 Township, including the northeast quarter of 
 section 15. A small frame house, straw stable, 
 and a portion of the land broken and fenced, con- 
 stituted the improvements at that time. Mr. Shel- 
 den planted fruit, shade and ornamental trees on 
 his estate, erected a good set of frame buildings, 
 and was actively engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 until 1885, when he removed to the village and 
 has since lived retired. 
 
 In 1861, he of whom we write was united in 
 marriage to Rachel Spensley, who was born in the 
 northern part of Yorkshire, England, and was a 
 daughter of James and Anna Spensley. The par- 
 ents were also natives of Yorkshire, and on coming 
 to America in 1848 located in Granger, Medina 
 County, where her father died. Mrs. Spensley 
 survived him some time and spent her remaining 
 years in Cleveland. Mrs. Shelden died at her 
 home, February 18, 1883, and in November, 1884, 
 our subject was married to Mary Eveline Plielps. 
 The lady was born in Volney, Oswego County, 
 N. Y., while her father, John Phelps, was a native 
 of Tolland, Conn., where also his father, Eleazer, 
 as far as is known, was born. The latter-named 
 gentleman removed from the above-named place 
 to Berkshire County, Mass., and spent his last 
 years in Lennox. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Shelden was twelve years of 
 age when his parents removed to the Bay State. 
 
602 
 
 POKTRAIT AND BIOGRArfflCAL RECORD. 
 
 On reaching mature years, he enlisted as a soldier 
 in the War of 1812. July 17, 1821, he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Fannie Sears, the ceremony 
 being performed at Lennox. Mrs. Phelps was the 
 daughter of Calvin and Mary (Paddock) Scars. In 
 March, 1822, the parents of Mrs. Shelden started 
 for the then Far West, making the journey to 
 Volney, Oswego County, two hundred miles dis- 
 tant, with a team. They had quite a load of pro- 
 visions, and the roads being very bad they had to 
 leave a portion of their supplies, among which 
 was a barrel of pork, by the wayside. INIr. Phelps 
 purchased a farm in the town of Volney, where 
 he resided until 1841, and then again started West- 
 ward, emigrating to Medina County, Ohio. There 
 he purchased a farm in Wadsworth Township, 
 which he sold in 1853, and bought another in 
 Granger Township, upon wliich he resided until 
 his decease in 1874; the mother died on the same 
 farm in 1885. They were the parents of four chil- 
 dren: Franklin E., Hannah M., Helen M. and Eve- 
 line. Mrs. Shelden was reared in Medina Countj^ 
 and commenced teaching school at the age of six- 
 teen years, which occupation she followed until her 
 marriage. 
 
 Mr. Shelden became the father of six children 
 by his first marriage: Arlis L.,who was married to 
 Christine Hansen; Edward C, who married Nellie 
 Smith, has three children: Nettie E., Archie B. and 
 Mark S.; J. Winfield, who married Emil^' Manning, 
 has two sons: Ralph E. and Howard G.;and Edith, 
 Ralph E. and Anna E. died in infancy. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Shelden are members of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church. 
 
 The parents of our subject reared eight children, 
 viz: Phoebe A., Ezra D., Edward G., Isaiah J., 
 Clinton G., Myron S., Albert D. and Francis E. 
 
 RS. LOVINA LIVINGSTON. This lady, 
 one of the oldest and most esteemed in 
 Boone County, is the widow of Hugh Liv- 
 ingston, and the daugtiter of Elijah and 
 Elizabeth (Byce) Dickinson. Mr. Dickinson was 
 a native of Worcester, Mass., and was a shoemaker 
 
 by trade, although he had received a good edu- 
 cation and followed teaching for some time. He 
 met his future wife (who was a native of Pough- 
 keepsie, N. Y.), in Schoharie, that State, while 
 teaching school, and after marriage tliey moved 
 on a small farm, where Mr. Dickinson worked at 
 his trade for many years. To them were born 
 twelve children, six sons and six daughters, two 
 of whom died when young, but the remainder 
 reached mature years and became heads of fami- 
 lies. The mother died first, when sixty-nine years 
 of age, and left ten living children. The father 
 survived her many years and died in the same 
 place, when nearly eighty-three years of age. These 
 children have all passed away except Mrs. Living- 
 ston and her sister Sarah, Mrs. Dexter McClintock, 
 of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, now seventy years of age. 
 Mr. Dickinson was one of the drafted soldiers of 
 the War of 1812, and a drummer. 
 
 TSlvs. Livingston was born in Schoharie, N. Y., 
 in 1808, and was married in Middleburgh, that 
 State, in February, 1827, to Hugh Livingston, son 
 of Jacob and Sarah (Van Cleek) Livingston, of 
 New York State. His parents reared fifteen chil- 
 dren and lost two infants. Mr. Livingston, hus- 
 band of our subject, followed the carpenter trade 
 in the early part of his life, but later gave that up 
 and engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1853, he 
 and his wife sold their farm in New York State 
 and emigrated towards the West with their chil- 
 dren, ten in number. They resided in Ohio for a 
 few months, while Mr. Livingston came on to Illi- 
 nois to select a location. He bought one hundred 
 and sixty acres where his widow now lives and 
 paid $1,300 therefor, and subsequently purchased 
 eighty acres more, on which he lived until he 
 could get possession of his farm then occupied 
 under a lease. Here they located and began mak- 
 ing improvements. They had buried twin infants, 
 daughters, in New York, and lost one son in the 
 Civil War, David, born in 1842. He was a brave 
 and faithful soldier, and served through almost 
 the entire war, being shot down while in action. 
 Another son, Solomon, served about nine months 
 in the army and returned home in safety; Isaac 
 W. died at his home when in his twenty-third 
 year. There are four sous and four daughters 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 605 
 
 still living. One daughter is in New York; two 
 sons and one daughter in Iowa; a daughter, Sarah, 
 is with her mother; J. II. works at the mason's 
 trade, and Arthur has followed tlie carpenter's 
 trade; and Elizabeth, Mrs. Marvin Abies. Mrs. 
 Livingston has twenty-eight grandchildren and 
 eighteen great-grandchildren. Mr. Livingston was 
 born in April, 1803, and died in November, 1869. 
 He left a fine estate of one hundred and sixty 
 acres under a good state of cultivation and well 
 stocked. He was a member of the Baptist Church. 
 
 4^ 
 
 fe.»>r^=^ 
 
 ^?» 
 
 YLVESTER TALCOTT. There is probably 
 no family in Winnebago Count}' better 
 known for integrity, fair dealing, enter- 
 prise and intelligence, than the one repre- 
 sented by the name at the head of this paragraph. 
 It is one of those which have helped to make this 
 county a center for all good influences, and one of 
 the most enterprising sections of Illinois. Mr. 
 Talcott, whose portrait is shown on the opposite 
 page, died at his home in Rockton, in January, 
 1885. He was for many years one of the most 
 prominent merchants of the city, and was active 
 in political affairs, having been the incumbent of 
 the office of Supervisor for a number of tern:s. 
 He was deeply interested in every movement which 
 tended to secure the best interests of his commu- 
 nity, and with this end in view he was a hearty 
 worker in all elevating movements. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was Justice of the 
 Peace in Rockton in an early day, and married 
 the first couple in the section. When locating in 
 this vicinity, there were only twelve houses on the 
 present site of this now prosperous village, but he 
 lived to see its phenomenal growth in population 
 and improvement in every aspect m life, and did 
 his full share in its development. 
 
 We must here introduce in this sketch the name 
 of her who became the companion of our subject. 
 Miss Mary W. Westlake, who was born in Chemung 
 County, N. Y., in 1820. Her father, Col. Jacob 
 Westlake, was a native of Newburg, Orange 
 County, that State, and died at Brooklyn in his 
 fifty-second year. Her mother, who bore the 
 27 
 
 maiden name of Lanah Smith, was born in New 
 York City, and departed this life in her forty-sec- 
 ond year, when residing near Almira, Chemung 
 County. They were tlie parents of three sons and 
 three daughters, namely: Margaret, who was born 
 in 1815; Benjamin, who died in Brooklyn after 
 having attained his three-score and ten years; 
 Mary, George, Henry and Melissa. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Talcott came West in company with 
 her sister, Mrs. Roland Smith, in 1838, and mar- 
 ried our subject in Rockton in June, 1840. The 
 young couple located at this place, where Mrs. 
 Talcott has lived since 1843. To them was born 
 one ehildj Lissie W., now the wife of William 
 Smith, but who first married Martin Rockwell, 
 and became the mother of one son, Fred W., who 
 makes his home with Mrs. Talcott. Our subject 
 was engaged at an early day as a general merchant 
 in Rockton, in company with Philander Bird. 
 Later, dissolving that connection, he associated 
 himself with Rumsey Hatch, and with him carried 
 on a prosperous business and showed himself to be 
 a man worthy of esteem and regard. 
 
 For many years Mrs. Talcott has been a great 
 sufferer from rheumatism. She is an active and 
 conscientious member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, while her husband, during his life, was a 
 communicant of the Congregational Society. Mr. 
 Talcott was an excellent financier, and at his death 
 left considerable property, which his excellent wife 
 is using in doing good to those about her. She is 
 a most intelligent and estimable lady, and is classed 
 among the most honored and highly respected 
 members of societ}' in Winnebago County. 
 
 j.;..;..;..;. ^^|^>.3..!>4«|*l 
 
 ■^•{••{•♦•J** 
 
 ^•{•♦•{••M 
 
 -^- 
 
 ENRY M. COOKE, one of the progressive 
 and well-to-do agriculturists of Pecatonica 
 Township, Winnebago Count}', was born in 
 Atwater, Portage County, Ohio, March 18, 
 1848. He is the son of Friend and Sarah F. (Fol- 
 ger) Cooke, the latter of whom is a relative of ex- 
 Secretary Folger and also of the mother of Benja- 
 min Franklin, who also bore that name. The father 
 of our subject was born in Wallingford, Conn., 
 November 29, 1798, and died in his fifty-ninth 
 
606 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 year in Atwater, Ohio. The mother was born on 
 the isle of Nantucket in 1808, and died in Mas- 
 sillon, Ohio, when sixty-sis 3'ears of age, whither 
 she liad removed in 1814. 
 
 The paternal grandparents of our subject were 
 Samuel and Mary Cooke and the father of our sub- 
 ject was a grandson of Col. Thaddeus Cooke, who 
 was present at the capture of Burgoj'ne and par- 
 ticipated in the battle of Freeman's Farm in 1777. 
 The old Cooke homestead in Wallingford, Conn., 
 is still in possession of tlie family. The father of 
 our subject was given an excellent education, be- 
 ing a graduate from the Schenectadj' Union Col- 
 lege and also of Yale College, in which latter in- 
 stitution he received the degree of Doctor of 
 Medicine. He practiced in his native town for 
 two years, when, his health failing, he removed 
 West to Ohio, in 1823, and practiced for a time at 
 Atwater, Portage County, thence, later, went to 
 Charleston, N. C, on account of ill-health. 
 
 Henry M. Cooke remained at home until sixteen 
 years of age, at which time he enlisted in Company 
 I, One Hundred and Eighty-eighth Ohio Infantry, 
 and served under Capt. P. H. Smith until Septem- 
 ber 29, 1865, when he received his discharge at 
 Nashville, Tenn. He was the only child of his par- 
 ents and was married, January 27, 1869, to Miss 
 Mary Silasbury, who was born in Erie County, 
 N. Y., February 15, 1847. Mrs. Cooke became the 
 mother of five children, three of whom are living, 
 as follows: Albert E., who was born November 17, 
 1876; Frank E., August 23, 1880; and Henry M., 
 March 16, 1887. The father of Mrs. Cooke, Francis 
 Silasbury, was born August 2, 1823, in Hamburg, 
 Erie County, N. Y., and was the son of Smith and 
 Roena (Parker) Silasbury, both of whom were 
 natives of New York and died in Hamburg, N. Y., 
 at the respective ages of forty and seventy years. 
 The grandparents of Francis Silasbury on both 
 sides of the house were of English descent. Four 
 brothers originallj' came to America. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Cooke remained at home un- 
 til nineteen years of age, assisting his father to 
 carry on the home farm, when he went to Louisiana. 
 He did not remain there long, however, as he was 
 called home on account of his father's death. Pur- 
 chasing one hundred and forty-four acres of Indian 
 
 land, he cleared it of the timber, and in a few 
 years a plank road was built through his land, 
 which joined the city limits of Buffalo. He later 
 disposed of his tract to a Catholic bishop. Mr. 
 Silasbury was married, about two years after buying 
 the above-mentioned property, to Miss Jane Scott, 
 who was born September 11, 1822, in Rome, Oneida 
 County, N. Y., and departed this life November 14, 
 1891, in Pecatonica, 111. She was the daughter of 
 Thomas and Martha (Lindsay) Scott, of Scotch- 
 Irish descent. After disposing of his property, Mr. 
 Silasbury came West to StepbensonCounty,Ill., and 
 in 1853 purchased a tract of one thousand acres of 
 partially improved land in Ridott Township. There 
 he resided until the outbreak of the Civil War, 
 when he disposed of two hundred acres of his es- 
 tate and removed to Pecatonica, where he has been 
 a resident for over thirty years. In the meantime, 
 he visited the oil regions of Pennsylvania and 
 three years later returned to this place and en- 
 gaged in the stock and grain business. About 
 twelve years ago, he sold his estate and now lives 
 a retired life. In addition to the property above 
 mentioned, the father of Mrs. Cooke purchased 
 lands in Iowa, which he has since divided among 
 his children. He still has, however, forty acres 
 within the citj' limits of Pecatonica and at one 
 time owned the southern portion of the village. 
 
 The father of our subject was a Democrat in 
 politics, until the organization of the Republican 
 party, when he joined its ranks. He was a member 
 of the convention of 1850-51 which framed the 
 Constitution of Ohio, and was a great anti-slavery 
 worker. He stood very high in his profession and 
 died February 8, 1857, in the prime of life. The 
 mother of our subject was a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, while his father was an Epis- 
 copalian. 
 
 Henry M. Cooke after the war was engaged in 
 farming for his brother- in-law until his marriage, 
 when he located on property of his own. Nine 
 years ago he purchased his present estate and is 
 making a success of his calling, being extensively 
 engaged in the sheep-raising industry. He is a mem- 
 ber of Ellis Post No. 320, G. A. R., in which body 
 he is Senior Vice-Commander. He is also a member 
 of Eureka Camp of Modern Woodmen and in local 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 607 
 
 affairs has served his fellow-townsmen for five 
 years as Commissioner of Highways. His education 
 was received in the district schools, and what ho 
 has of this world's goods has been the result of his 
 untiring industry and perseverence, as he had 
 very little monetary assistance from his father. 
 
 The Cooke family in America are direct descend- 
 ants of Francis Cooke, who landed in Pl3'mouth 
 from the "Mayflower" in 1620, and erected the 
 thii'd house in that place. One branch of the family 
 located in Connecticut and one in Norway, N. Y., 
 our subject being a descendant of the former. 
 
 ^ ACOB MABIE is perhaps as well known as 
 any man in Boone County, as he was born 
 in Bonus Township August 26, 1846, and 
 has always been highly respected here as a 
 thorougli-going farmer and business man. His 
 wife, too, shares in the esteem which is given to 
 him and has a high standing in the most cultured 
 circles in this part of the county. Mr. Mabie, in 
 addition to cultivating his farm, is a stockholder 
 in the People's Bank at Belvidere, and beloved, 
 honored and trusted by everybody who knows 
 him. 
 
 The parents of our subject, Aaron and Amy 
 (Turneaure) Mabie, were natives of New Yo.k, 
 the father being born in Delaware County. He 
 was the son of Jacob and Mary (Tollman) Mabie, 
 who wore also natives of the above-named State 
 and county, but who departed this life in Boone 
 County, whither they had removed in the '40s. 
 The grandfather of our subject was born June 9, 
 1781, and died July 15, 1846; his good wife, who 
 was born January 16, 1781, departed this life Feb- 
 ruary 20, 1851. 
 
 The mother of our subject was one in a family 
 of six children and also had nine half-brothers 
 and sisters. She was the daughter of Peter and 
 Lydia Turneaure, natives of the Empire State. A 
 brother of her father was taken prisoner by the 
 Indians in an early day. The Mabies were of 
 Dutch ancestrj', one of that name having come 
 to this country as a privateer from Holland in the 
 
 sixteenth century. Abraham Mabie was a son of 
 that gentleman, who, in turn, had three sons: 
 Abraham, Peter and John. The brothers located 
 in the vicinity or New York City, where Abraham 
 was married to a French lady, by whom he had 
 the following sons: Stephen, Abraham, Joshua, 
 Samuel and Solomon. Daniel Mabie was a grand- 
 son of Peter, one of the three brothers above re- 
 ferred to, and was the great-grandfather of our 
 subject. 
 
 Aaron Mabie was married when nineteen years 
 of age, when ho was employed in operating a mill 
 for his father. In 1842, in company with his wife 
 and six children, he came to Boone County and 
 settled on the property which is the abiding-place 
 of our subject, and for wliich he traded a team 
 of horses. The elder Mr. Mabie lived in a log 
 house on that tract for some time, in which hum- 
 ble abode two of his children were born, Julia 
 and our subject. His sister had her birth Novem- 
 ber 21, 1843, and is still residing in this township. 
 The brothers and sisters of our subject are well- 
 to-do and prominent business men in the Western 
 States. Mr. Mabie has several cousins who are 
 active workers in the Baptist Church, one of them 
 having visited many heathen countries in the ca- 
 pacity of a missionary and is the author of a 
 splendid book bearing on that subject. He was 
 one of the most prominent missionaries sent out 
 by the Baptist Church of Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 Jacob Mabie was married December 25, 1867, 
 to Miss Mary W. Morgan, whose birth occurred 
 October 21, 1838, at Niles, Mich. She was the 
 daughter of Erastus and Nancy (Spaulding) Mor- 
 gan, who trace the Morgan history back to 1607. 
 Mrs. Morgan was a daughter of John and Julia 
 Spaulding, natives of New York. The father of 
 our subject's wife emigrated to Michigan in 1837, 
 where he resided for two years, and then, return- 
 ing to his Eastern home, there departed this life 
 near Buffalo, at the age of seventy-one years. The 
 mother is still residing with a son in Bonus Town- 
 ship. 
 
 The original of this sketch inherited one hun- 
 dred and forty acres of land on the death of his 
 father, to which he has since added, until he is 
 now the possessor of an estate comprising two 
 
608 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 hundred and twenty acres and, in addition to 
 that, has a lot in Belvidere. His father made 
 most of the improvements on the estate and was 
 successful at his calling of a farmer. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Mabie are members of the Baptist Church, 
 and, in politics, our subject cast his first vote for 
 Grant, of whom he was a great admirer. He has 
 never held oflice of any kind, preferring to give 
 his time to his private interests. 
 
 August 26, 1864, he of whom we write became 
 a member of an independent company of the Fifth 
 Illinois Light Artillery, commanded by Capt. A. 
 W. "Wood. After several months of brave service, 
 he was discharged .June 13, 1865, at Chester, Pa., 
 and, returning home, has since devoted his time 
 looking after his own affairs. Their only child, 
 Fred M., died when three months old. 
 
 -SI. 
 
 ^+^[ 
 
 "^ 
 
 eHARLES E. CLARK. The business men 
 of Durand recognize in Mr. Clark a man 
 who pursues the even tenor of his way, and 
 who exercises a considerable influence in his com- 
 munity. He is engaged in carrying on a splendid 
 business in retailing furniture, and is looked upon 
 as one of the most reliable men in the community. 
 His straightforward methods of doing business, his 
 genial disposition and his courteous treatment of 
 all with whom he comes in contact, is a matter 
 that is often made the subject of remark. 
 
 The original of this sketch was born in Newark 
 Township, Rock County, Wis., July 20, 1861. He 
 is the son of Benjamin Clark, who hailed from 
 Vermont, and was in turn the son of Judge Spencer 
 Clark. The father of our subject came West to 
 Illinois when a young man, and at Beloit was 
 married to Maria Gunderson. In 1864, he enlisted 
 and was mustered into service in Company M, 
 Eighth Illinois Cavalry, and served with the Union 
 ranks for ten months, when he was taken sick with 
 typhoid fever and returned home Julj' 4, 1865. 
 He died thirteen days later at his home in Laona 
 Township, Winnebago County, when in his forty- 
 sixth year. 
 
 The mother of our subject was born in Cam- 
 bridge, Mass., and in 1840, when ten years of age. 
 
 came to Beloit, Wis., in company with a family 
 named Spaulding, with whom she resided until her 
 marriage in 1858. She survived her husband 
 many years, her death occurring in 1886, when 
 flfty-six years of age. The two children born of 
 her union with Mr. Clark were Charles E., our 
 subject, and Benjamin, the latter of whom is a hard- 
 ware merchant in Waj'ne County, Neb. Benjamin 
 Clark was a prominent member of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and occupied a high position in 
 local affairs. 
 
 He of whom we write was reared on the home 
 farm, and educated in the schools of Durand. 
 When fourteen years of age, he left the farm, and, 
 working at whatever he could find to do, prose- 
 cuted his studies in the higher branches. He pur- 
 chased his present business in 1888, and besides 
 carrying a full and complete line of household 
 furniture, does an undertaking business. Although 
 never learning a trade, he is quite a genius with 
 tools, and can do anything in the line of cabinet 
 work. When a boy he saw some of the work of a 
 taxidermist, and being delighted with it, engaged 
 in that business, and has done considerable work 
 in that line. In addition to the different branches 
 of work in which Mr. Clark has been engaged, he 
 is an expert in penmanship, and in pen drawing 
 has no equal in his vicinity. A peaceable and 
 law-abiding citizen, he has contributed his full 
 quota to the general welfare of the community, 
 and is numbered among the best citizens of this 
 county, having an unusual degree of intelligence, 
 good breeding and honorable principle. 
 
 -^^ ^ i(S)#'@l ^ ^^- 
 
 CATLIN SPAFFORD. In scanning the 
 lives and enterprises of the citizens of 
 Rockford, it is pleasant to note the enter- 
 prise in every walk of life, and the achieve- 
 ment of success in every department of business. 
 This we are able to discern in the career of our 
 subject, who is President of the Third National 
 Bank at Rockford, and ranks among the wealthy 
 and public-spirited residents of the city. He has 
 been interested in various corporations and man- 
 ufacturing institutions in this section, and has 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 609 
 
 watched with interest the gradual evolution of 
 this portion of the county from its Original wild 
 state into beautiful farms and thriving villages. 
 
 The original of this sketcli was born in the town 
 of Adams, Jefferson County, N. Y., September 14, 
 1824. He is the son of Dr. John and Mary Spafford, 
 receiving his early education in the public schools 
 of his native place, and later supplemented the 
 knowledge gained therein by attendance at Castle- 
 ton (Vt.) Academy, and at a select school in Water- 
 town. In the fall of 1839, he came to Rockford, 
 joining other members of the family, who had 
 come here the previous spring. The journey liither 
 was made by the most convenient and expeditious 
 route, which was by team to Syracuse, then bj' waj' 
 of the Erie Canal to Buffalo, where they embarked 
 on the steamer "Illinois," commanded by Capt. 
 Blake, which conveyed them to Chicago. In that 
 then village they secured a team and came over 
 land to Rockford. The first seven years of our 
 subject's life in Winnebago County were passed for 
 the most part on a farm, and in 1846 he formed a 
 partnership with B. G. Wheeler, and for two years 
 was engaged in the mercantile business, prosecut- 
 ing a successful trade. At the expiration of that 
 time, he became connected with L. B. Gregory, and 
 erected a sawmill, which was the first of tlie kind 
 to utilize the water of Rock River. They contin- 
 ued thus for two years, when in 1850, Mr. Spafford 
 went to California in company with twenty other 
 gentlemen, leaving home with teams, in the month 
 of March. They crossed the Mississippi River at 
 Eock Island and made their way tediously through 
 the dangerous country, there being no white set- 
 tlers between the Missouri River and California, 
 except the Mormon settlement at Salt Lake, and 
 United States soldiers at different points. Deer, 
 antelopes, coyotes and buffaloes were very numerous 
 on the plains, and the party arrived atHangtown, 
 near Plaeerville, in the month of August. From 
 that place they went to Sacramento, thence to Ne- 
 vada City, where Mr. Spafford was engaged in the 
 mercantile business the first year. In January, 
 1852, he started on his return trip, via the Nica- 
 ragua route, crossing the Isthmus on horseback. 
 He again engaged in the mercantile business, and 
 two years later, in 1854, formed a partnership with 
 
 C. C. Briggs and D. S. Penfield in the banking busi- 
 ness. One year thereafter, Mr. Briggs withdrew, 
 and our subject, with his partner, carried on the 
 business until 1864, when with others he aided in 
 organizing the Third National Bank, of which in- 
 stitution he was elected President, and has been 
 the incumbent of that honorable position since. 
 
 March 25, 1852, Miss Elizabeth B. White, who 
 was born in Peterboro, N. IL, became the wife of 
 our subject. Mrs. Spafford was the daughter of 
 Robert White, and by iier union with our subject 
 became the mother of four children, namelj^: Isa- 
 bella. Lucy Antoinette, Jessie and George C. In 
 social matters the original of this sketch is a mem- 
 ber of Lodge No. 2, A. F. & A. M. Mr. Spafford 
 has been a prominent factor in the development of 
 Winnebago County, and is a splendid example of 
 what may be accomplished by an energetic, deter- 
 mined and economical man. The present commer- 
 cial importance and prosperity of Rockford is un- 
 questionably the result of the wisdom, foresight 
 and enterprise of her business men, and it is a fit- 
 ting tribute to those who have honorably distin- 
 guished themselves in the commercial arena, that 
 their names and career should be commemorated 
 among those of the leading men in all branches. 
 
 V. 
 
 ♦^♦= 
 
 _y 
 
 r 
 
 s-^* 
 
 >ILLIAM C. McCAUGHEY is now living 
 retired in the city of Rockford. He was 
 born in Ottawa, LaSalle County, 111., March 
 8, 1838, and is a son of Thomas M. McCaughey, 
 whose native place was Mt. Pleasant, Jefferson 
 County, Ohio. The paternal grandfather of our 
 subject was a native of Scotland, and came to 
 America when a young man, being one of three 
 brothers who made their home in this country. 
 
 .James McCaughey, the grandfather, resided for 
 a time in Pennsylvania, and then went to Jefferson 
 County, Ohio, where he purchased a tract of timber 
 land and cleared a farm upon which he resided 
 until his decease. The father of our subject 
 learned the trade of a cooper, which he followed in 
 his native State until 1833, when he came to Illi- 
 nois and resided for a time upon a tract of Gov- 
 
610 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ernment land near Ottawa. He later sold that 
 claim and made another near by, where he made 
 his home until 1840, and then spent some time in 
 Rockford. 
 
 From this city the elder Mr. McCaughey removed 
 to Highland Prairie, Dodge County, Wis., where he 
 was among the earliest settlers, and located upon 
 land one and one-half miles from the present site of 
 Juneau. Making tliat place his home until 1855, he 
 then sold, and, removing to Appleton, opened a 
 general store, and Ave years later came to Rockford, 
 where he engaged in farming on an estate located 
 six miles south of the citj^ where his death oc- 
 curred January 5, 1866. 
 
 Our subject's mother was known in her maiden- 
 hood as Ruth N. Noble, and she belonged to the So- 
 ciety of Friends. She was a native of Maryland, 
 and the daughter of Charles and Margaret (Ellis) 
 Noble, natives also of that State, and of English 
 ancestry. She died in California in 1873. William 
 C. McCaughey was only two years of age when his 
 parents lemoved to Wisconsin, the journey being 
 made with ox-teams. He attended the pioneer 
 schools in Dodge County, and assisted his father 
 on the farm. After removing to Appleton with 
 his father, he attended a four-years' course at Law- 
 rence University. In 1860, they removed to Rock- 
 ford, from which city he enlisted, August 5, 1862, 
 in Compan}' D, Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry, 
 and served his country until June, 1864. He was 
 discharged from the service on account of disabil- 
 ity, and returning home later, purchased a farm 
 near the city, which be still owns, and engaged in 
 market gardening. Before enlisting, Mr. Mc- 
 Caughey belonged to the Rockford Zouaves, com- 
 manded by Capt. Nevius. During 1861, he w.as 
 employed in drilling companies for the service. 
 In 1887, Mr. McCaughey purchased his present 
 home on Second Street, where he has since lived 
 retired from the active pursuits of life. 
 
 Miss Mary E. Kettlewell became tlie wife of our 
 subject in 1870. She was born in London, Mid- 
 dlesex County, Canada, .ind was a daughter of 
 Thomas Kettlewell, a native of Yorkshire, England, 
 where his father, also named Thomas, was born. 
 The latter-named gentleman came to America in 
 1840, and located near London, Canada, where he 
 
 resided on a farm until 1865, and then came to 
 Rockford, where his decease occurred in the year 
 1871. His wife was Mary Pinkney, also a native of 
 Yorkshire, who departed this life in Rockford in 
 1868. The father of Mrs. McCaughey was seven- 
 teen years of age when he came to the New World 
 with his parents. He followed agricultural pur- 
 suits in Canada until 1850, when, coming to Rock- 
 ford, he has since been a continuous resident of 
 this city. He was for a number of years engaged 
 in butchering and dealing in live stock, but is now 
 practically retired. His wife bore the name of 
 Susannah (Horton) Kettlewell, her native place 
 being near St. Thomas, Canada. Slie was the 
 daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Ramsey) Horton, 
 natives respectively of New Jersey and Canada, 
 and of English and Scotch ancestry. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born. two 
 children: Hallie Pauline and Eva Louise. The 
 parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and in his political relations our subject 
 votes the Demociratic ticket. He has been elected 
 to various positions of trust, being Deputy-Sheriff, 
 Coroner and Collector for the town of Rockford. 
 He is a member of Conomac Lodge No. 147, 1. 0. 
 O. F., at Appleton, Wis., and is also connected with 
 Nevius Post, No. 1, G. A. R. 
 
 V^->^^^*«^^'^»"^^ 
 
 ^^*^*^^^^^*««T*" 
 
 I DWIN WARE, a member of Nevius Post 
 No. 1, G. A. R., was born in Hancock, Hills- 
 boro County, N. II., January 31, 1842. He 
 is at the present time residing on an excellent es- 
 tate in Winnebago Township, which is located on 
 sections 24 and 25, and where he is engaged in 
 general farming. 
 
 Ebenezer Ware, the father of our subject, was 
 also born, in the above-named town, March 8, 1806, 
 while his father, who also bore the name of Ebene- 
 zer, was born in Needham, Mass., in 1770. The 
 great-grandparents of our subject moved to Hills- 
 boro County, N. H., about 1790, where they were 
 pioneers of Hancock. The grandfather was reared 
 in his native State and on going to Hancock with 
 his parents, purchased a farm in the southern part 
 of that place, where he spent the remainder of his 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 611 
 
 life. The maiden name of his wife was Alice 
 Eaton; she was born in Massachusetts and died on 
 the home farm. 
 
 The father of him of whom we write learned 
 the trade of a carpenter and was engaged as a con- 
 tractor and builder for a number of years. Later, 
 he devoted his entire time to the cultivation of 
 his farm, he having inherited the old homestead, 
 where he spent his entire life, dying July 24, 1888. 
 The lady to whom be was married was known as 
 Martha E. Lakin, a native of Hancock, N. H., and 
 the daughter of Simeon and Betsey (Dennis) 
 Lakin; she died January 15, 1880. Simeon Lakin, 
 the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a 
 soldier in the War of 1812. 
 
 Ebenezer Ware, Jr., was a Democrat in early life 
 but opposed the extension of slavery and when 
 the Democratic party championed the Missouri 
 Compromise he left his ranks and voted the Re- 
 publican ticket until his decease. He was a great 
 reader, a readj' debater and filled various offices 
 of trust, serving on the School Committee, also as 
 Selectman, and Representative in the Legislature. 
 
 Edwin Ware received his early education in the 
 district school, which was supplemented by attend- 
 ance at Hancock Academy. When seventeen years 
 of age, he went to Wisconsin and resided with a 
 brother in Waushara County for three years, when 
 he returned to New Hampshire. Our subject en- 
 listed in August, 1862, as a member of Company 
 Gr, Thirteenth New Hampshire Infantry and served 
 until after the close of the war. From the history 
 of the regiment written by S. Millet Thompson 
 and from the history of Hancock, which was pub- 
 lished by William Hay ward, we extract the follow- 
 ing: 
 
 "Edwin Ware was disqualified. for military duty 
 by reason of malformation of ankle. He managed 
 to conceal this from the surgeons and passed ex- 
 amination. Though suffering severely from the 
 long marches, he was never off duty a day except 
 by wounds received in battle. The regiment 
 participated in fifteen battles, the more important 
 of which were Fredericksburg, Suffolk, siege of 
 Petersburgh, Cold Harbor and Ft. Harrison. He 
 was wounded twice at Fredericksburg, one at Cold 
 Harbor and again at Ft. Harrison. Mr. Ware was 
 
 mustered in as Third Corporal, promoted to be 
 first Sergeant and was later commissioned Lieuten- 
 ant by the Governor. His commander says of him 
 that he was an intelligent and a brave soldier, 
 popular with both privates and officers." 
 
 He of whom we write has a very fine collection 
 of War relics, among which is a copy of the Rich- 
 mond Whig, the first issue after the surrender of 
 that city, and he also has the largest collection of 
 Indian relics in his neighborhood. He was honor- 
 ably discharged with his regiment in June, 1865, 
 and on returning home one 3'ear later went to the 
 town of Dublin, N. IL, where he was engaged in 
 farming for six years, then returned to the old 
 homestead, where he lived until 1876. December 
 16, 1866, Mr. Edwin Ware was united in marriage 
 to Agnes McQuaters, a native of Fairfield, Conn., 
 her birth occurring January 6, 1845. She was the 
 daughter of John and Agnes (Mc Naught) Mc- 
 Quaters and departed this life May 24,- 1883. Our 
 subject was again married, January 31, 1886, this 
 time to Mary E. Miller, a native of Vernon Center, 
 N. Y., who wasborn January 31, 1842. Mrs. Ware, 
 who was a member of the First Congregational 
 Church of Winnebago, passed away April 20, 1892. 
 Our subject has three children by his first mar- 
 riage: Winefred Agnes, Ernest Edwin and John 
 Clifton. He and two of his children are connected 
 with the Second Congregational Church at Rock- 
 ford. He is a Republican in politics and a mem- 
 ber of Rockford Camp No. 51, M. W. A. 
 
 DWIN H. KEELER, a wide-awake and en- 
 terprising young businessman of Rockford, 
 is now Secretary of the Rockford Lumber 
 and Fuel Company. His life record is as follows: 
 He was bora in Janesville, Wis., and is a son of 
 C. C. Keeler, a native of Vermont, born of New 
 p:ngland parentage, who when a young man emi- 
 grated Westward, locating in Rock County, Wis. 
 He was one of the first to establish the lumber 
 trade in Beloit. In that county, he married 
 Katherine M. Spaulding, a native of the Old Gran- 
 ite State. Mr. Keeler took quite a prominent part 
 in local affairs and for some years was Chairman 
 
612 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORt). 
 
 of the Board of Supervisors of Rock County. In 
 politics, he was a supporter of Republican princi- 
 ples. 
 
 The education of our subject was chiefly ac- 
 quired in Beloit and later he became associated 
 with his fatlier in the lumber and fuel business, 
 owning an interest in the same from the time he 
 was twenty-two years of age. He is yet connected 
 with that business in Rock County, but has never 
 given it his personal attention since coming to 
 Rockford in 1887. He is Vice-President of the 
 company known as the Keeler Lumber and Fuel 
 Company, which is doing business at Beloit, Wis., 
 and Rockton, 111. Under the care and teaching 
 of his experienced ffither, Mr. Keeler became thor- 
 oughly acquainted with the business of which he 
 has been so successful a manager. About four 
 years ago, he became a member of the firm of Law- 
 ler & Keeler, which did business at Rockford as 
 dealers in general fuel until the present company 
 was organized about two years ago, with Seely 
 Perry as President, Col. Thomas G. Lawler, Vice- 
 President, Thomas D. Reber, Treasurer, and E. H. 
 Keeler, Secretary. They are the sole proprietors 
 and do a large business, having a main office at 
 No. 201 Eiast State Street. They also have another 
 fuel yard on "West State Street, near the Chicago, 
 Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad tracks. They have 
 the largest trade in lumber and coal in the city 
 and do an immense business, both as wholesale 
 and retail dealers. Their lumber j-ard is one of the 
 largest in the State outside of Chicago. 
 
 In Iowa, Mr. Keeler led to the marriage altar 
 Miss Clara Reitler, a native of Chicago, and unto 
 them have been born two children: Edwin R. and 
 Katherine. The parents attend the Congrega- 
 tional Church and are respected people of this 
 community, ranking high in social circles. Mr. 
 Keoler is a Mason, a member of the Knights of 
 Pythias and of the Order of Elks, all of Rockford. 
 He exercises his right of franchise in support of 
 the Republican party. 
 
 Mr. Keeler i.s yet a young man, but has shown 
 himself possessed of much natural business ability 
 and sagacity and in connection with his other in- 
 terests he has been President of the Rockford 
 Building and Loan Association since its organiza- 
 
 tion in 1890, and President of the Superior 
 Brick Company since it was organized in 1891, it 
 being the successor of the H. A. Block Brick Man- 
 ufacturing Company, which carried on business 
 for fifteen years. He is also a stockholder and Di- 
 rector of the Forest City National Bank, which was 
 organized about two years ago. 
 
 Tl^ AMES W. HODGSON, deceased, was a well- 
 known grocery man of Rockford and de- 
 serves representation in the history of his 
 adopted county. He was born in the Prov- 
 ince of Ontario, Canada, and was a son of Thomas 
 and Sarah A. (Dawson) Hodgson. The family is 
 of English descent. The father died in the 
 Province of Ontario, in middle life; his wife died 
 recently in Grand Rapids, Mich., at the age of 
 seventy-four. They were industrious, honest people, 
 highlj^ respected for their sterling worth. 
 
 Our subject was reared to manhood in his native 
 Province and there acquired his education in the 
 public schools. He was married in Brooklin, in 
 the Province of Ontario, to Miss Elizabeth Pente- 
 cost, who was born in England. By the union of 
 our subject and his wife were born five children, 
 but Arthur died in childhood. Carrie, Walter D., 
 F. William and Bessie are still at home with their 
 mother. 
 
 Mr. Hodgson came to Rockford in 1867, and 
 began business in the city as a grocer at No. 327 
 East State Street. From the beginning he met with 
 good success, working up a large trade, which 
 yielded him a nice income. He was industrious, 
 enterprising, and these characteristics, combined 
 with good manab^ement, won him a well-deserved 
 prosperity. He lived a quiet unassuming life, was 
 upright and honorable in all things and had the 
 confidence and regard of all with whom he was 
 brought in contact. He took a commendable in- 
 terest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the 
 community and his aid was not withheld from those 
 enterprises calculated to promote the general wel- 
 fare. In politics, he was a Democrat but never 
 sought or desired public office, preferring to give 
 his whole time and attention to his business and 
 
POUTRAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 615 
 
 the enjoyment of home life. He died at his home 
 at No. 405 South Third Street, March 28, 1883, and 
 many friends shared with the family in their loss. 
 Mrs. Hodgson is still living at the old home with 
 her children. She has been a devoted and loving 
 wife and mother, a good neighbor, and to her hus- 
 band was indeed a faithful helpmate, doing everj'^- 
 thing in her power to advance his interests and aid 
 him in his work. She has a large circle of acquaint- 
 ances in this community and is highly esteemed 
 for her many excellencies of character. 
 
 /^ DST E. OLSON, a member of the firm of 
 III f— , Palm ife Olson, dealers in staple and fancy 
 ^^Jl groceries, queensware and glassware, at No. 
 511 East State Street, Rockford, was born in Oland, 
 Sweden, in 1857. He is a son of Pear Olson, who 
 in 1889 started for this country to visit his sons, 
 but while on the waj' died in New York City of 
 inflammation of the lungs. He was then sixty-five 
 years of age. His wife, whose maiden name was 
 Wilhelraina C. Bjai'klund, had died in Sweden 
 some years previous, at about the age of fifty-five 
 years. Both were members of the Swedish Lu- 
 theran Churcli. Our subject has a brother, Uno 
 Olson, who still resides in Sweden. A half-brother, 
 Victor, resides with him in this city, and Edward, 
 another brother, resides in Butte City, Mont. He 
 is a molder by trade, but for a time engaged in 
 clerking, and is now manager of a prominent cloth- 
 ing store in that city. 
 
 Our subject acquired a good practical education 
 in his native land, and at the age of eighteen 
 started for Germiiny and England. He became a 
 sailor boy, and for four years followed the sea. 
 He was the first of the famil}' to come to America, 
 crossing the Atlantic in 1878. Two years later, he 
 came to Rockford, and for a time was connected 
 with the furniture factories of this city. 
 
 In 1886, the firm of Palm & Olson was formed 
 as successors to the firm of Johnson & Hugh, for 
 whom our subject had formerly clerked. He after- 
 ward bought out Mr. Hugh and was a partner of 
 Mr. Johnson, who subsequently sold out to Mr. 
 
 Eskelsen, but a few months later Mr. Palm bought 
 the interest of the latter in the business. They 
 carry a full and complete stock, and by their good 
 management and courteous treatment have built 
 up an excellent trade, of which they are well de- 
 serving. Mr. Olson is also connected with other 
 interests. He is a stockholder in the Mantel and 
 Furniture Company, the Rockford Manufacturing 
 Company, the Rockford Baking Company, and a 
 Director and stockholder in the Rockford Posien. 
 During his life as a sailor, Mr. Olson visited 
 many of the leading ports of Europe, also landed 
 on the shores of South America and West Africa. 
 The vessel on which lie sailed was a merchant 
 vessel from a German port. During that period 
 of his life he learned much that has been of pleas- 
 ure, profit and importance to him. It was a for- 
 tunate day for Mr. Olson when he came to America, 
 for he has here met with prosperity, and is now 
 well-to-do. Politically, he is a Republican, but 
 has never sought or desired public office. In his 
 religious belief he is a member of the First Luth- 
 eran Church. A lithographic portrait of, Mr. Ol- 
 son is presented in this connection. 
 
 r^ 
 
 ~°F)i * 
 
 1? P:VI B. fuller. Prominent among the 
 I (^ wealthy residents of Rockford, whose long 
 jl'— ^\ and useful life has enabled him to retire 
 and enjoy the recompense which he so justly de- 
 serves, we are pleased to mention Mr. Fuller, 
 whose successful career stands forth as a fitting 
 example of what can be done by earnest and con- 
 stant effort. He is residing at a comfortable home 
 in the city and for a number of years has been ex- 
 tensively engaged in buying and shipping poul- 
 try during the winter season, operating under the 
 title of Read & Fuller. Prior to that, however, he 
 conducted an extensive farm until 1865, since 
 which time he has only devoted a part of his time 
 and attention to its cultivation. 
 
 He of whom we write has been a resident of 
 Winnebago County since 1839, with the exception 
 of a few years spent in the West. Mr. Fuller came 
 to this State from New York, where, his birth 
 occurred in 1834, in Genesee Countjr. Being 
 
616 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 quite young on making his home here, he grew to 
 mature years on his father's farm. He is the son 
 of John Fuller, a native of Massachusetts, where 
 his father, Lemuel Fuller, lived and died. The 
 latter-named gentleman was called Oapt. Fuller, 
 but it is not known that he had a regular military 
 record. 
 
 The father of our subject removed to New 
 York State when a young man, where he was for 
 some time connected with his brother. Judge 
 Henry Fuller, the well-known founder of the horse 
 street car railway in Chicago, 111. The maiden 
 name of the mother of our subject was Lucy 
 Wilder, a native of the Bay State, where her fam- 
 ily were well and prominently known. After the 
 birth of four children, the parents of our subject 
 came to Illinois in 1839, and located on a farm in 
 this county, which the father had purchased from 
 the Government the year previous. This now 
 prosperous city was little more than a hamlet in 
 that early day, consisting mostly of log houses, 
 and here it was that the family were subjected to 
 all the inconveniences and privations incident to 
 pioneering in a new country. He lived to see the 
 country built up, contributing his share to every 
 good cause, and at his death, which occurred in 
 1858, had secured a competence as a product of 
 personal industry and good judgment. In his po- 
 litical relations, he was a Whig, and held many of 
 the local offlces within the gift of the people. His 
 good wife is yet living on the old homestead at 
 an advanced age, and can tell many a tale of in- 
 teresting pioneer times. She is widely known in 
 this county as a lady possessing a kind and gener- 
 ous heart and a cheerful disposition. 
 
 Levi B. Fuller is the second child and son of 
 eight children born to his parents, six of whom are 
 yet living, and are well-to-do in this world's 
 goods. Miss Anna A. Thomas became the wife of 
 our subject in Chickasaw County, Iowa. Her birth 
 occurred in Pennsylvania May 16, 1842, which 
 was also the native State of her parents. Her fa- 
 ther died in Iowa, where he was a farmer in good 
 circumstances. The parents bore the names of 
 Zenith and Martha (Carpenter) Thomas, the latter 
 of whom is living in the Hawkeye State. Mrs. 
 Fuller was a young girl when she went to that 
 
 State with an elder brother, Levi S., where she 
 received her education and taught school prior to 
 her marriage. She is a consistent member of the 
 Congregational Church and takes an active inter- 
 est in all religious affairs. 
 
 Mr. Fuller of this sketch has served as Alder- 
 man of the Fifth Ward on the Republican ticket, 
 the duties of which office he has performed in a 
 most creditable manner. Of their family of five 
 children, three are deceased, viz: Franklin S., 
 Emma and Ida E. Levi S. fs engaged in the cler- 
 ical department of the Price Glove Factory, of 
 Rockford. Frances is a student at Mt. Holyoke 
 (Mass.) College. 
 
 ^ DDSON DAY, one of the prominent farmers 
 of Durand Township, Winnebago County, 
 makes his home on section 28, and is justly 
 regarded as one of the substantial young 
 men of this section. He was born in Washington 
 County, Ohio, March 7, 1857, and is the son of 
 Daniel and Arvilla (Lackey) Day, natives of 
 Pennsylvania and Vermont, respectively. They 
 were married in Ohio, and in the spring of 1865 
 made their advent into Illinois and located upon 
 the farm which is the present property of our sub- 
 ject. The elder Mr. Day became the owner of a 
 tract of one hundred and fifty acres, which he 
 placed under good tillage and which was his home 
 until his demise, which occurred April 10, 1887. 
 He was followed to the land beyond by his wife, 
 who passed away February 21, 1891. 
 
 He of whom we write was a member of a family 
 which included nine children, viz: Frances, who 
 died when young, as also did Sarah and Mary 
 (twins); Amanda departed this life in her eleventh 
 year. The next in order of birth was an infant 
 who died unnamed. Abbie married Calvin Smj'the 
 and died in Stephenson County, this State, May 18, 
 1880. She left at her death a daughter, Abbie H., 
 who is how being reared in the family of our sub- 
 ject. Hugh makes his home in this county, and 
 Daniel. 
 
 The parents of our subject at their decease were 
 in the possession of two hundred and thirty acres 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPITTCAL RECORD. 
 
 617 
 
 of land. In politics, the father was a Demoevat 
 and on that ticket was elected to serve in the posi- 
 tion of Highway Commissioner and also School 
 Director. Judson Day was reared to perform the 
 duties of a farmer lad and being an apt pupil ob- 
 tained a good education in the district schools. 
 Maria Hoyt, who became his wife, December 9, 1879, 
 was the daughter of Heman and Sarah (Thorn) 
 Hoyt, and was born in Minnesota, December 15, 
 1857. 
 
 To our subject and his most estimable wife have 
 been granted a familj' of seven children, viz: Nellie, 
 Dudley, Myrtle; Sarah, Daniel and Harold are de- 
 ceased and Gladys. Our subject is engaged in 
 general farming and is the proprietor of a magnifi- 
 cent estate of three hundred and eighty-six acres, 
 which by persistent industry and good judgment 
 he has placed under excellent cultivation. He is a 
 believer in and a supporter of the principles of the 
 Republican party, and at the present time is 
 classed among the wealthy and popular members 
 of the agricultural community in this county, 
 which rank he has attained by hard work and 
 economy. 
 
 WHOM AS S. MERRILL, one of the progressive 
 and enterprising agriculturists of Boone 
 County, 111., and a man well and favorably 
 known over its length and breadth, is of English 
 origin and a descendant of one of three brothers 
 who left England and settled in America as early 
 as 1650. Very little more is known of these brothers 
 but that their descendants have ever been loyal 
 and upright in every walk of life there is every 
 evidence. Mr. Merrill was born m the Empire 
 State, Herkimer County, near the town of Litch- 
 field, on the 8th of September, 1836. 
 
 Our subject's father, Asel Merrill, Jr., was bom 
 in Exeter, N. Y., on the 29th of March, 1806, 
 and was married in his native State, to Miss Au- 
 retta Smith, also a native of New York State. He 
 followed agricultural pursuits in his native State 
 until September, 1845, when with his wife and 
 four children he started from Herkimer County 
 
 with a two-horse wagon, and reached Chicago after 
 a journey of twenty-one days. They shipped their 
 goods bj' water. During the following winter, 
 they remained in the vicinity of Chicago, and in 
 the spring of 1846 they made their first appearance 
 in Boone County, settling on land taken up from 
 the Government in the fall of 1845 by Mr. Merrill. 
 The latter hauled lumber from Chicago for his 
 first house .ind commenced improving the one 
 hundred and twenty acres he owned. He became 
 one of the foremost farmers of his section and died 
 here on the 16th of August, 1886. He was one of 
 eight children born to the marriage of Asel Mer- 
 rill, Sr., who was a native of the Nutmeg State, 
 and who died in Oneida County, N. Y., when well 
 advanced in years. His ancestors were in the 
 Revolutionary War and fought bravely for inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 When Asel Merrill, Jr., purchased his farm of 
 one hundred and twenty acres, our subject and his 
 brother Richard bought three hundred, and twenty 
 additional acres and, although it was without build- 
 ings of any kind, these young men went to work 
 and soon made vast improvements in their place. 
 In 1858, our subject was taken with the California 
 fever and went to that State to engage in mining. 
 Five years later, he returned to Illinois, and on the 
 7tli of March, 1870, was wedded to Miss Louisa 
 Daggett, who was born in New Hampshire and 
 died on the 23d of December, 1881, leaving two 
 daughters: Maud E., who was born in this county 
 and township, on the 26th of March, 1873, and 
 who is now teaching here, is a graduate of the 
 Belvidere schools. The other child, Blanche A., is 
 also a native of this county and township, and was 
 born on the 12th of October, 1875. She is now in 
 the Belvidere High School. Mrs. Merrill was a 
 daughter of George W. and Sarah L. (Cole) Dag- 
 gett, also natives of New England. (See sketch of 
 Mrs. S. L. Pratt for further history of the Daggett 
 
 family.) 
 
 On the 9tli of May, 1883, Mr. Merrill was mar- 
 ried to Miss L. E. Maynard, who was born in Rome, 
 Bradford County, Pa., on the 25th of January, 
 1842, and whose parents, Pierpont E. and Laura 
 M. (Washburn) Maynard, were natives of the 
 Empire State. Both parents are now deceased. 
 
618 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 the father dying in Pennsj^lvania and the mother 
 in Belvidere, 111., aged fifty and eighty-two years, 
 respectively. Although no politician, Mr. Merrill, 
 like his father before him, advocates the principles 
 of the Democratic party. The latter cast his first 
 Presidential vote for Andrew Jaclcson. Our sub- 
 ject attends regularly the Universalist Church. He 
 is acknowledged by all to be a man of unquestion- 
 able honesty and is universally respected through- 
 out the county. 
 
 -i=) 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^^= 
 
 >^[S~ 
 
 ^^ ARL A. NEWBURG is a member of the 
 (if ^-^ firm of Newburg & Nygren, dealers in real 
 ^^^ estate; they also conduct an insurance and 
 loan business. This firm was organized in the 
 spring of 1892, and is already winning a liberal 
 public patronage. Mr. Newburg was not unknown 
 to the citizens of Eockford, as for seven years 
 he had engaged in business as a contractor and 
 builder. 
 
 Our svibject was born in the Province of Smo- 
 land, vSweden, on June 2, 1859, and was reared and 
 educated in his native Province. He was the first 
 of the family to come to this country. He sailed 
 for New York in the spring of 1880, and, after 
 reaching his destination, went to Eidgeway, Pa., 
 where he had learned the trade of an architect and 
 house builder. In Ma}', 1886, he came to Rocltford 
 and has since resided in this city. For some years 
 he carried on business in the line of his trade, was 
 a stockholder in the Manufacturers' National Banlt 
 and was also interested in other corporations. He 
 owns a iialf interest in a promising patent known 
 as a rotary loom for rapid weaving, both for fac- 
 tories and for home use. In this lie is associated 
 with Jacob Peterson, of Putnam, 111. They expect 
 soon to establish a factory and begin business in 
 the manufacture of this loom. 
 
 Since coming to this countiy, Mr. Newburg has 
 been followed by three of his brothers. Swans A., 
 Elof and Frank P. The former is a contractor and 
 yet resides in Pennsylvania. Elof is a clergyman 
 of the PVee Mission Swedish Church, and Frank is 
 a carpenter of Rockford. The parents, Solomon 
 and Elin (Swenson) Nelson, are still living in 
 
 Sweden and both are now past the age of sixty 
 years. They are members of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church. The father has made fanning his life oc- 
 cupation. 
 
 In Ridgeway, Pa., Mr. Newburg was united in 
 marriage to Miss Hannali Johnson, who was born 
 in Holland, Sweden, February 20, 1858. When a 
 young woman, she came alone to this country in 
 1880, the first of her family to cross the Atlantic. 
 The parents never came to this country. The fa- 
 ther, Johan Johnson, died in his native land when 
 past the age of sixty years. His wife is still liv- 
 ing and is a member of the Lutheran Church, to 
 which her husband also belonged. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Newburg both hold membership 
 with the Free Mission Church of Rockford. Their 
 home has been blessed by the presence of five chil- 
 dren who are yet living: Gertie J., Carl O., Nannie 
 E., Carl E. and Arthur S. They have also lost two 
 children, Carl H. and Carl E. In politics, Mr. 
 Newburg is a Republican and is Alderman for the 
 Sixth Ward. He has become quite well known in 
 business circles and is held in high regard. 
 
 WILL J. JOHNSON, Secretary and business 
 manager of the Republican Printing Com- 
 pany, has made a success of newspaper 
 work, as he has been engaged in that business 
 during the greater part of his active life. At the 
 organization of the company, he became city 
 editor, from April 10, 1890 to February, 1891. He 
 was then made Secretary and manager. He is well 
 and favorably known throughout this portion of 
 the State and it is due in a great extent to his ac- 
 quaintance, abilit}', industry and enterprise that 
 the Eqmblican of this city has reached its present 
 position in the newspaper world. 
 
 The original of this sketch was given a good 
 education, being a graduate of the East Side City 
 High School in the Class of '81, after which he at 
 once became connected with the home newspapers 
 as city reporter. With the exception of the two 
 years wlien lie edited the Beacon at Aurora, this 
 State, he has been actively employed in newspaper 
 
*^A' 
 
 '^l^^^^, 
 
 K^. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 621 
 
 work in Rockford. He combines in a happy de- 
 gree marked ability as a writer and business man. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was born December 9, 1863, in 
 Cherry Vallej', Winnebago County, and resided 
 with his parents until starting out in life on his 
 own account. The latter were natives of Sweden 
 and on emigrating to America, located in this 
 county, where they were married and resided on 
 a farm in Cherry Valley Township. In 1865, the 
 father was accidentally drowned in the Kishwau- 
 kee River, leaving his wife and four children. 
 Our subject's mother had previously married, in 
 her native country, a Mr. Johnson, who left at his 
 decease three children, who came with their 
 widowed mother to the United States. She is 
 still living and makes her home at the present 
 time in the city of Rockford. 
 
 Miss Tillie Olson was united in marriage with 
 our subject. Mrs. Johnson accompanied her par- 
 ents on their removal to the United States when 
 quite young; they still reside in this city, and like 
 the Johnson family are active members of the 
 Swedish Lutheran Church. To our subject and 
 Ms wife have been born two children. Hazel and 
 Sidney. In his political relations, Mr. Johnson is 
 a sound Republican, and socially, is a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias. 
 
 •^S 
 
 ON. ROBERT SIMPSON. This great Re- 
 
 l) public owes a larger debt than she can ever 
 
 pay to the loyal citizen-soldiers who rallied 
 
 ^ to her defense in the darkest hours of the 
 Rebellion and heroically fought and suffered until 
 the glorious Stars and Stripes once more waved 
 over an undivided country. As a representative of 
 those heroes, it gives us pleasure to present the 
 portrait and record briefly the life of Robert 
 Simpson, who did honorable service in the Union 
 Army during the late war. He has acquired a 
 fortune by a persistent course of industry and 
 economy, and is therefore enabled to spend his later 
 years in comfort in the city of Rockford. 
 
 Our subject was born in Yarmouth, London 
 District, Province of Ontario, Canada, on the 15th 
 of March, 1836, and is a son of Peter Simpson, a 
 
 native of Edinboro, Scotland, where also his fa- 
 ther, Robert, Sr., as far as is known, was born. The 
 grandfather of our subject came to America in 
 1833, settling in the above-named district of 
 Canada, where he resided for six years, then came 
 to Illinois and bought a "squatter's" claim in Rock- 
 ford Township, Winnebago County, which was lo- 
 cated on section 6, Township 43, Orange 1, East of 
 the third principal meridian. He improved and 
 resided upon the tract until his decease. Tlie 
 maiden name of the grandmother of our subject 
 was Mar3'^ Knox; she also was a native of Scotland, 
 and departed this life in Centerville, Winnebago 
 County. 
 
 Peter Simpson was reared and married in his na- 
 tive Scotland, where lie practiced as a pliysician in 
 Edinboro until the year 1833. He then emigrated 
 to America and located in Yarmouth, Canada, and 
 came to Illinois the same year as did his father. 
 With his family, he made the entire journey over- 
 land, crossing the Detroit River on the 4th of July, 
 1839, and in the latter part of the same year landed 
 in this county. At that time all the land in this 
 vicinity was owned by the Governrnent, and the 
 few settlers in the county were living in or near 
 the timber, it not being thought possible that the 
 prairies would ever be settled upon. The timber 
 land was held by claimants who were glad to sell 
 their rights, so they could move farther Westward. 
 
 The father of our subject purchased a claim to a 
 tract of land in Rockford Township, and when the 
 land came into market bought it from the Govern- 
 ment. The maiden name of his wife was Henrietta 
 Currie. She was a native of Edinboro, Scotland, 
 and bore her husband two children: Susan and 
 Robert. He of whom we write was three years of 
 age when he came to Illinois with his parents and 
 resided with his father until 1862. August 6th of 
 that year, he enlisted in Company C, Seventy- 
 fourth Illinois Infantry, and was mustered into the 
 regiment as Corporal. He was soon promoted to 
 be Lieutenant and participated in the following 
 named important battles: Perrysville, Nolansville, 
 Stone River, Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, Missionary 
 Ridge, and with Sherman in his Atlanta campaign, 
 taking part in the battles from Chattanooga to At- 
 lanta and in the siege and capture of that city. 
 
622 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 After its fall, be went with his regiment in pursuit 
 of Hood and fought in the battles of Spring Hill, 
 Franklin and Nashville. He was honorably dis- 
 charged with his regiment and was mustered out 
 June 10, 1865, when he returned home and engaged 
 in farming. 
 
 Previous to entering the army, our subject pur- 
 chased eighty acres of land, located on section 5, 
 and included in his present farm. He has at dif- 
 ferent times purchased property until Jiis estate 
 now includes four hundred and fifty acres in Rock- 
 ford Township. He has been more than ordinarily 
 successful in agricultural pursuits, and in the fall 
 of 1891 he rented his farm and purchased a home 
 in the city of Rockford, where he now lives re- 
 tired. 
 
 The date of our subject's marriage to Eliza 
 Davis, a native of New Brunswick, was April 17, 
 1867. She was the daughter of John and Ellen 
 Davis and departed tliis life in 1872. Mr. Simpson 
 the following year was married to Catherine 
 Spottswood, a native of Kemptville, Grenville 
 County, Province of Ontario, Canada, and the 
 daughter of Robert and Mary (Graham) Spotts- 
 wood. The father was born in or near Roxboro, 
 Scotland, where also his father, Robert Spottswood, 
 was born, and came to America in 1833, settling 
 in Grenville County, Canada. He had married 
 Elizabeth Frater, also a native of Scotland, who 
 died in Canada in June, 1866. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Simpson was a blacksmith by 
 trade, and on coming to America in 1833, landed 
 in Quebec, whence he went to Kemptville and was 
 engaged in the mercantile business. Later, he 
 removed to St. Lawrence County, N. Y., and after 
 a few years' residence there, returned to Kempt- 
 ville, where he followed his trade of a blacksmith 
 until 1867, tlie date of his arrival in Illinois. He is 
 now engaged at his trade in Westfield Corners. 
 Mrs. Simpson's mother is the daughter of James 
 and Catherine (Clinkscales) Graham, and was born 
 in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and is still living. The 
 only daughter of our subject by his first marriage 
 died when twelve years of age. The two children 
 born of his second union are still living and named 
 respectively Mary II. and Arthur G. 
 
 The Hon. Robert Simpson was elected to the 
 
 State Legislature on the Democratic ticket in 1888. 
 He has also served his fellow-townsmen in other 
 capacities and for a period of ten j'ears was Super- 
 visor of Rockford Township. 
 
 -' I I I I 6 
 
 m* m * i< i< . ^ <- 
 
 SiHOMAS D. REBER, Treasurer of the Rock- 
 ford Lumber and Fuel Company, of which 
 business he was one of the promoters, has 
 filled his present position since the organization of 
 that company in April, 1890, and is one of the 
 leading business men of the place. He was for- 
 merly a member of the firm of Perry & Reber, 
 lumber dealers, the company being formed on the 
 6th of January, 1885, and he is now a Director 
 and President of the Rockford Driving Club, in 
 which he is a large stockholder. This club was 
 organized in 1890 and has since laid out a park 
 and built a mile-race track. Mr. Reber, who is 
 deeply interested in the breeding and raising of 
 standard-bred horses, is the owner of the well- 
 known horse "Independence," record 2:30, and 
 also owns other promising animals. He is a stock- 
 holder of the Ingersoll Milling Company, organ- 
 ized in the early part of 1891, is a Director of the 
 same, and he is also Vice-President of the Board of 
 Control of the Rockford Commercial Club, organ- 
 ized in February, 1891. He is a stockholder in 
 the Excelsior Furniture Company, was President 
 of the same in 1890 and Vice-President in 1891, 
 and he is also a stockholder and an ex-Director of 
 the Rockford Paint Company. He is a stockholder 
 in both the Manufacturers' National Bank and the 
 Forest City National Bank; the latter was organ- 
 ized in the early part of 1890. He was an original 
 stockholder in the Superior Brick Company, or- 
 ganized in 1891, and a stockholder in the Nelson 
 Hotel Company. 
 
 Mr. Reber was born in Reading, Pa., on the 11th 
 of December, 1863, passed his boyhood and youth 
 there, and received his education in the Reading 
 Business College. He subsequently attended the 
 State Normal near Lancaster, Pa., and in April, 
 1883, with very little means to assist him in the 
 struggle for a livelihood, he came to Rockford, 
 111., and began working for the modest sum of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 623 
 
 $1.25 per day. He is of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, 
 and his parents, B. B. and Mary E. (Dechart) Re- 
 ber were natives of the Keystone State. The fa- 
 llier died when our subject was eighteen months 
 old, but the mother, who is still quite active al- 
 though well along in years, resides in Reading, Pa. 
 Mr. Reber was married to Miss Lydia Logue, a 
 native of Chicago, but who was reared and edu- 
 cated in Rockford, where her ])arents are still liv- 
 ing. He has just completed a $6,000 residence 
 at No. 305 South Third Street, and a 12,000 barn 
 at the same place. He is a live man and full of 
 energy and business. He and Mrs. Reber are 
 classed among the leading young people of the 
 city and regular attendants at the First Christian 
 Union Church. Socially, Mr. Reber is a Thirty- 
 second degree Mason, a member of the Consistory 
 of Freeport, charter member of the Uniform 
 Rank Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order of 
 Eedmen, of Rockford, and of the German society, 
 Germania. He is also a charter member of the 
 Royal Arcanum. In politics, he is a Democrat in 
 national affairs. He was formerly a member of 
 the local militia, the Rockford City Grays, and 
 was First Lieutenant of his company for two years. 
 Although not at all superstitious, Mr. Reber re- 
 gards the 7th of each month as his "lucky day," 
 and really has been very fortunate on those days. 
 To his marriage have been born two interesting 
 children, Helen J., about three years old, and Ed- 
 win Periy, six months old. 
 
 j^RANK WARD, President of the Ward Pump 
 \t^ Company, of Rockford, was born in the 
 li Province of Ontario, Canada, and was a 
 son of Mark Ward. His grandfather and father 
 were both natives of the Empire State. The latter 
 learned the trade of a molder when a young man, 
 and was thus employed when, with his parents, he 
 went to Ontario, where he worked as a molder 
 until 1854. In that year he brought his family to 
 Rockford, III, afterward removing to Milford, 
 where he died at about the age of fifty years. His 
 wife, whose maiden name was Ann M. Johnston, 
 was^bom in Canada, but her parents were natives 
 
 of New York, and were of Dutch descent. She is 
 still living in Rockford, at the advanced age of 
 eighty -nine years, and is a member of tlie Baptist 
 Church, to which Mr. Ward also belonged. 
 
 In the family of this worthy couple were six 
 children. Our subject remained under the parental 
 roof until he attained his majority, and under liis 
 father, learned the trade of a molder. At the age 
 of seventeen, he came with the family to Rockford 
 in 1854, and in this city was subsequently married 
 to Helen Wortman, who was born in Pennsylva- 
 nia, and wlien a child, came to Illinois witli her 
 parents, William and Mary (Milleck) Wortman, 
 who were also natives of the Keystone State, and 
 were of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. On coming 
 to the West, they located on a farm in Scott Town- 
 ship, Ogle County, where both Mr. and Mrs. Wort- 
 man spent the remainder of their days. His death 
 occurred at the age of seventy-seven years, and 
 his wife died in her fifty-second year. They were 
 members of the Presbyterian Church, and were 
 highly respected people. In their family were 
 three sons and four daughters, who are yet living. 
 
 Five children have graced the union of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ward: Elmer, who married Anna Wetenhall, 
 and is a molder in his father's shops; Mary E., an 
 intelligent young lady, occupying the position of 
 Treasurer of the Ward Pump Company; Mark A., 
 a molder by trade, emplo3-ed as shipping agent in 
 his father's shops; Belle and Carrie, at home. All 
 of the family are stockholders in the Pump Com- 
 pany. The mother and children are members of 
 the Centennial Methodist Church. The father 
 and sons are stanch Republicans in politics. The 
 family have a pleasant home at No. 302 Third 
 Street, and is well and favorably known through- 
 out the community. 
 
 After coming to Rockford, Mr. Ward was em- 
 ployed as a molder for some time, and later became 
 connected in that capacity with Emerson & Taleott, 
 continuing with those gentlemen for some years. 
 In company with M. D. Gebler, he then established 
 business as a molder and foundry man, and after 
 three or four years became sole proprietor. That 
 was the beginning of his present business. He 
 commenced the manufactui-e and sale of pumps, 
 and in August, 1889, the company of which he is 
 
624 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 president was incorporated. They now do a suc- 
 cessful and rapidly growing business, and in con- 
 nection with the manufacture of pumps, now do 
 repair and job casting. The ofBcers of the com- 
 pany are Frank Ward, President; George S. Stan- 
 ley, Vice-President; Frank Lane, Secretary; and 
 Miss Mary E. Ward, Treasurer. Our subject is an 
 enterprising business man, sagacious and far- 
 sighted, and by the exercise of good business 
 principles has steadily worked his way upward to 
 a position among the leading manufacturers of this 
 thriving city. 
 
 EDWARD G. SHELDEN. Among the many 
 prominent agriculturists of Winnebago 
 ,. County who are now living retired in the 
 
 village of that name, we are pleased to mention 
 Mr. Shelden, who ranks among the well-to-do and 
 progressive citizens of this section. He was born 
 in Granger, Medina County, Ohio, and, it is sup- 
 posed, is a direct descendant of the seventh gener- 
 ation from William Slielden, who emigrated from 
 England in 1634, and located at South Kensing- 
 ton., R. I. The line of ancestry is as follows: 
 John, sou of William; Isaac, son of John; Joseph, 
 son of Isaac; Jonathan, son of Joseph; David, son 
 of Jonathan, was the father of our subject. He 
 was born in Schoharie County, N. Y., October 29, 
 1794. 
 
 Jonathan Shelden, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was born June 21, 1770, probably in New 
 England; he resided for a number of years in 
 Schoharie County, N. Y., thence moved to Ohio 
 and located on a farm in Richfield Township, 
 Summit County, where he was living at the time 
 of his demise. The full name of his wife, and 
 grandmother of our subject, was Abiali Northrup, 
 who was born April 16, 1770, and died on the 
 home farm in Richfield Township. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared in his na- 
 tive State, and when eighteen years old went to 
 Ohio, his destination being Cleveland. There 
 being a severe storm, the passengers on the vessel 
 on which he had taken passage were obliged to 
 
 land, and he made his way on foot to Richfield 
 Township, Summit County. He resided there for 
 a time and then returned to the Empire State and 
 was married, whence he again came to Ohio and 
 purchased a tract of timber land in what is now 
 Granger Township, and there erected a log house, 
 in which our subject was born. His decease oc- 
 curred March 31, 1873, and his wife, who bore 
 the maiden name of Anna Searles, also died on 
 the same farm. 
 
 The parental family of our subject included 
 eight children: Phcebe A., Ezra D., Edward G., 
 Isaiah J., Clinton G., Myron S., Albert D. and 
 Frances E. Our subject was reared in his native 
 town and attended the pioneer log schoolhouse, 
 which contained slabs set on wooden pins for 
 seats. He assisted his father in carrying on the 
 farm in the woods until 1851, when he paid his 
 first visit to Illinois. At that time Cherry Val- 
 ley was the Western terminus of the railroad, and 
 Rockford was reached by stage. Our subject 
 started on foot to explore the country, and, re- 
 turning to Ohio, resided there until June, 1853, 
 when, accompanied by his wife and one child, he 
 started to Illinois. Mr. Shelden purchased a tract 
 of wild prairie land on section 1, Seward Town- 
 ship, for which he paid $5 per acre. After im- 
 proving his property, he sold it and bought two 
 hundred and forty acres on sections 14 and 23. 
 He later removed to the farm which he still owns 
 and rents. 
 
 In October, 1848, the original of this sketch 
 was married to Aurenda M. Stimson, who was 
 born in Mendon, Monroe County, N. Y., January 
 29, 1829. Her father, Jason Stimson, was a na- 
 tive of Vermont, whence he removed to New 
 York State, residing for a time in Mendon, when 
 he removed to Granger Township, Medina County, 
 Oiiio, and for a number of years was engaged in 
 the mercantile business. During that time, he 
 studied medicine, and when completing a course 
 in the college and ready to practice, he was taken 
 sick and died. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of Mrs. Shelden 
 was Mary J. Phelps. She is now living at the age of 
 eighty-seven j-ears, and makes her home with her 
 sons, Milton and Jason, in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. 
 
\ 
 
 ROBERT COLTON. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 627 
 
 Slielden have four cliildren, namely: Elwin, who 
 married Rosepha Copeland, has two sons, Frank 
 and Homer; he resides in Topeka, Kan. George 
 E. married Artelissa Bentley, has three children, 
 Lena, Elmer and Clarence, and also resides in To- 
 peka. Clara, the wife of Edward L. Copeland, 
 has two children, Harold and Malcolm, and also 
 makes her home in Topeka. Mary J. is the wife 
 of Walter Whittlesey and lives at Oak Park, Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 The maternal grandfather of our subject, Isaiah 
 Searles, was born April 7, 1759, and served in the 
 War of 1812. He was wovmded in the battle of 
 Chippewa, Canada, September 17, 1814, taken a 
 prisoner and carried to Montreal, where his death 
 occurred in December, 1814. The maiden name 
 of his wife was Anna Dean, who was born July 
 19, 1762,and died at Royalton, Cuyahoga County, 
 Ohio. 
 
 
 jOBERT COLTON. The English-American 
 \/ citizens of Winnebago County have an ex- 
 cellent representative in the person of Mr- 
 Colton, whose portrait and life sketch are 
 here presented. He is one of the pioneers of 1846, 
 and his splendid estate in Durand Township, which 
 consists of three hundred and twenty-five fertile 
 acres, is supplied with all the needful buildings, 
 erected substantially and designed attractively. 
 He has put forth his best efforts to make of it a 
 home suited to his tastes and the needs of his fam- 
 ily, and well has he succeeded. 
 
 The natal day of Mr. Colton was October 15, 
 1819, and his birthplace, Nottingham County, 
 England. He is the youngest child in the family 
 circle, that included three children, the others be- 
 ing Ann, who married John Ballader, and John. 
 Our subject was a lad when his parents died, at 
 which time he was compelled to start out in life on 
 his own account. He resided with one man three 
 years, and, when old enough to receive wages, 
 hired out to a man named Richard Scott, whom 
 he served five years, receiving as compensation for 
 his labors, from 140 to 175 per year. 
 In the spring of 1843, Mr. Colton concluded to 
 28 
 
 try his fortune in the New "World, and, setting sail 
 in the American vessel "Mississippi," after a voy- 
 age of twenty-three days, landed in New York 
 Harbor. He at once proceeded to Steuben County, 
 N. Y., and worked by the day, job, and month, at 
 anything he could find to do. He was thus em- 
 ployed for two years, and during that time saved 
 $201, which served to start him in life. Coming 
 to Winnebago County, he purchased from the Gov- 
 ernment a tract of one hundred and twenty acres, 
 located on section 29, Durand Township. 
 
 January 17, 1848, Robert Colton and Miss Mar- 
 tha Jane Himes were united in marriage. The 
 lady, who was the daughter of Kingsley and Lu- 
 cinda (Campbell) Himes, was born in New York 
 State, and came to Illinois with her parents. Mr. 
 Colton finally sold the farm above referred to, and 
 purchased one hundred and sixty acres, located 
 on section 28. The laud was covered with timber 
 and underbrush, and here our subject settled, and 
 soon placed it under excellent tillage, and erecting 
 good buildings on the place, resided there until 
 October, 1889, when he removed to another farm 
 on section 21. His property in the county aggre- 
 gates three hundred and twenty-five acres. 
 
 Mrs. Martha Jane Colton departed this life at 
 her home in April, 1358, leaving five children: 
 Letitia C, Mrs. George Krone, makes her home in 
 Monona County, Iowa; Elizabeth L. resides in Dur- 
 and Township, and is the wife of George Cole; 
 Grace A. married Warren Pettingill, and lives in 
 Green County ,Wis.; Anna E. is the wife of Charles 
 Hammond, and makes her home in this township; 
 one son died in childhood. 
 
 The lady whom our subject chose for his second 
 wife was Mrs. Ann Ranney, nee Jayiie; she was 
 born in New York, and was a daughter of William 
 Jayne. By her marriage with our subject she be- 
 came the mother of two children: George Robert, 
 who died in infancy, and William Walter, a grad- 
 uate of Rush Medical College, at Chicago, and en- 
 gaged in the practice of his profession in that city. 
 After the death of Mrs. Ann Colton, our subject 
 was married, October 10, 1887, to Mrs. Carrie A. 
 Moore, nee Bradley. The lady was born in High- 
 gate, Franklin County, Vt., June 5, 1847, and was 
 a daughter of Stephen and Phoebe Bradley. She 
 
628 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was reared to womanhood in the Green Mountain 
 State, and was there married to Richard Moore, by 
 whom she became the mother of six children, viz.: 
 Phoebe, Frederick, Jennie, Richard, May and 
 Stephen. 
 
 He of whom we write is Democratic in liis poli- 
 tical affiliations. During the war he was a strong 
 Union man, and a member of the Union Le.ague. 
 He has become fully identified with the interests 
 of the county, and has contributed in no small 
 degree to its growth and prosperity. His present 
 large property has been acquired through excellent 
 judgment, and his position is among the foremost 
 agriculturists of the county. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 lEAM C. PHILLIPS, a successful pattern- 
 maker and mechanical draughtsman, of 
 Roekford, was born in the Empire State, 
 and is descended from English ancestors. 
 His parents, Jarvis and Nancy J. (Campbell) Phil- 
 lips, were also natives of New York State, the 
 father born in Saratoga and the mother in Albany 
 County. The elder Mr. Phillips was reared on a 
 farm, and was married in his native countj'^ to Miss 
 Campbell, whose grandfather was a Scotchman. 
 After all their children were born, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Phillips came West to Black Hawk County, Iowa, 
 settled on and improved a fine farm, and there his 
 death occurred when nearly three-score years and 
 ten. He was quiet, industrious and thrifty and 
 accumulated a comfortable fortune. In politics, 
 he was a Republican, and, in religion, he was liberal. 
 His wife, who survives him, is now a resident of 
 Waterloo, Iowa, and is sixty-seven years of age. 
 
 Our subject, the only son of his parents, has 
 three sisters, who make their homes in Iowa and 
 Nebraska. He came West with his parents in 1865, 
 and, later, went to Moline, 111., where he learned 
 his trade. He subsequently spent one winter in 
 the "Lone Star State," but returned to Iowa, and 
 was engaged in superintending the building of the 
 Insane Hospital, at Independence. Early in the 
 '70s, he came to Roekford, and for about twelve 
 years he has resided on his present property. For 
 some time, he has been an experimental pattern- 
 
 maker, and most of the time has been engaged in 
 business on his own account. He is thoroughly 
 familiar with his business in every detail and is a 
 skillful mechanic and pattern-maker. Since his 
 residence in this city, Mr. Phillips went to Califor- 
 nia, and for some time was in Los Angeles and 
 San Francisco, working while in the latter place 
 on the cruiser "Charleston" as a pattern-maker. 
 After this, he spent one year in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 with the Milwaukee Harvester Company, and then 
 returned to the thriving little city of Roekford. 
 
 Our subject was married in this city to Miss Libby 
 Shearer, a native of Winnebago County, 111., who 
 received her schooling and attained her growth in 
 Roekford. Her father, George Shearer, came to 
 Winnebago County at a very early day, and died 
 here when about sixty years of age. He was a 
 wheelwright by trade. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Lizzie Whisen, is still living, and makes 
 her home with her children. She is about sixty- 
 four years of age. They were natives of Wheel- 
 ing, Va., and both were strict Methodists in their 
 religious views. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are pleasantly located on 
 a very valuable tract of land on Corey's Bluffs, 
 South Main Street, and are well respected iu the 
 community. They are the parents of four daugh- 
 ters: Eva, Myrtle, Cora and Florence, all at home. 
 
 f^€* 
 
 "ll OSEPH W. FAULKNER died at his home 
 I in Roekford, February 24, 1888, having 
 ^^ I removed here from his farm, which was 
 ^^f/ located in Roekford Township, about one 
 year prior to his decease. He was a very old resi- 
 dent of this county, having come hither when a 
 youth of seventeen years with his parents, and 
 when attaining his majoritj' secured land in Sew- 
 ard Township and was engaged in its cultivation 
 for a number of j^ears. He later became the owner 
 of a fine piece of improved land, located three 
 miles from Roekford, which he made more valua- 
 ble by the erection thereon of first-class buildings. 
 Pie left at his death an excellent estate of one hun- 
 dred and three acres, which is now in the posses- 
 sion of his widow and children. 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 629 
 
 Ml'. Faulkner was born in Bedfordshire, Eng- 
 land, January 3, 1834, being the son of John and 
 Mary (Read) Faulkner, also natives of that shire, 
 where they were farmers. After the birth of seven 
 children, the parents of our subject came to Amer- 
 ica early in the '50s, making the journey on a 
 sailing-vessel, which landed them in New York 
 after a tedious ocean voyage of seven weeks. 
 They came direct to Chicago, thence overland 
 with teams to Winnebago County, where they 
 were among the earlj' pioneers of Seward Town- 
 ship. The father entered a tract of Government 
 land, which he improved and brought to an excel- 
 lent state of cultivation, and ranked among the 
 well-to-do agriculturists of this section. 
 
 Our subject, as before stated, was a young man 
 when coming to this county, and assisted his father 
 in developing the new farm and was frequently 
 sent to Chicago where all their farm products 
 were marketed. John Faulkner, the father of 
 our subject, departed tliis life at his home in Win- 
 nebago village in 1884, after having attained to 
 the age of three-score and ten years. His wife is 
 still surviving him at the age of eighty-four years, 
 making her home at No. 704 Winnebago Street, 
 Rockford. Like her husband, she is a member of 
 the Methodist Church, to the support of which she 
 is a liberal contributor. The father of our sub- 
 ject was known in this locality as "Uncle Johnny," 
 and was active in all good work wliich tended to 
 the upbuilding of his community. He erected the 
 first warehouse in Winnebago and was held in 
 high esteem for his honorable and upright life. 
 
 The parental family of our subject included fif- 
 teen children, of whom two sons and seven daugh- 
 ters are living. Joseph W. is the eldest son and 
 second child, and on attaining mature years was 
 married in this city to Miss Catherine Faulker, 
 spelled in Scotland Falconer. She was born in 
 Ross-shire, Scotland, in 1836, and was only six or 
 seven years old when she accompanied her parents 
 on their removal to America, where they located 
 near Rockford. This was early in the '4os, and 
 as this vicinity was sparsely settled and most of 
 the laud in its primitive condition, they endured 
 all the hardships and privations incident to 
 pioneer life. They made their home for some 
 
 time in a hut which did not even boast the luxury 
 of a floor. This rude structure, however, later 
 gave way to a comfortable residence, and the 
 father, Hugh Falconer, later removed to Winne- 
 bago, where he died in advanced life. He was 
 widely and favorably known throughout the 
 county, being one of those sturdy Scotch citizens 
 who have contributed so much to the upbuilding 
 of this section. Mrs. Falconer died twenty years 
 after her husband's decease, passing away at the 
 home of her daughter, Mrs. F.iulkner. She was 
 at that time seventy-three years of age and a con- 
 sistent member of the Congregational Church, with 
 which denomination her husband was also con- 
 nected. Our subject's wife has three brothers, all 
 farmers, now living in this county, where she was 
 reared and has always resided. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner two daughters have 
 been born: Mary, who is the wife of James Ben- 
 nett, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, who is con- 
 ducting a fine tailoring business at No. 210 West 
 State Street, is the mother of two children, Ethel 
 F. and Josephine; Katie L., the second daughter, 
 resides at home with her mother. 
 
 -4- 
 
 -^^ 
 
 1I^_^ENRY FISHER, one of the prominent busi- 
 ness men and representative citizens of 
 Rockford, died on the 21st of January, 
 1871, at Fennville, Mich., where he had been 
 on business. He was originally from Vermont, 
 his birth occurring in Springfield of that State, 
 and his parents, Isaac and Harriet (Johnson) 
 Fisher, were natives respectively of Massachusetts 
 and Vermont. After their marriage, this worthy 
 couple resided in Vermont, where Mr. Fisher, who 
 owned woolen mills and who was a skilled machin- 
 ist, had a very extensive business. As the years 
 passed by, they retired from the active duties of 
 life, moved to Rockford, 111., and there the moth- 
 er's death occurred a few months later, when 
 seventy years of age. The father survived her 
 only a few years. Both were exemplary members 
 of the Congregational Church and active workers 
 in the same. He affiliated with the Republican 
 party in his political views. Their son, Henry 
 
630 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Fisher, received a good common-school education 
 in his native vState and subsequently went to Alle- 
 gan, Mich., where he met and married Miss 
 Alma L. Parkherst, a native of Bethel, Vt., and 
 the daughter of Judge Ebenezer and Lucy (dish- 
 ing) Parkherst, both natives of Windsor County, 
 Vt. Early in the '40s, Mr. and Mrs. Parkherst 
 moved to Michigan, making the trip overland 
 with teams, and located at Allegan when it was 
 but a hamlet. They had the first frame residence 
 in the place, and there the father received his final 
 summons, his death occurring when sixty-four 
 years of age. For years he was one of the leading 
 men of the county and held many positions of 
 trust and honor, the duties of which he discharged 
 with ability, fidelity and excellent judgment. He 
 was Probate Judge, County Treasurer and Register 
 of Deeds for a great many years. He had taken 
 decided views as a Whig in politics and was known 
 as a live and active worker for his party. He was 
 a descendant of an old and prominent Vermont 
 family, the members of which suffered much frOm 
 the Indians during the War of 1812, and his 
 brother was captured and held by the savages for 
 some time. After the death of Judge Parkherst, 
 his widow moved to Iowa and there died at the 
 age of sixty-four. Both were Congregationalists 
 in their religious views. Mrs. Fisher was but 
 twelve years of age when her parents moved to 
 Michigan and in that State she made her home 
 until 1854, when she came with her husband to 
 Rockford. Since his death, she has resided at the 
 old home. No. 107 South West Street, where she 
 owns a comfortable residence and a valuable lot. 
 After locating in Rockford, Mr. Fisher became 
 connected with the lumber business and owned 
 large yards in that city and Cherry Valley. He 
 also owned a sawmill at Oconto, Wis., and was 
 engaged in the lumber business there and at Fenn- 
 ville, Mich. Aside from this, he owned some val- 
 uable property in Rockford, and was considered a 
 very successful and prosperous business man. He 
 had for partners such well-known business men 
 as Phineas Howes and John Lake, both prominently 
 connected with the business interests of the city 
 at the present time. For a number of years, Mr. 
 Fisher was Superintendent of the Third Ward,where 
 
 he had made his home since his residence in that 
 city, and was holding that position at the time of 
 his death, which occurred when he was fifty-four 
 years of age. In politics he advocated the prin- 
 ciples of the Republican party, and in religion he 
 was identified with the Congregational Church. 
 He had a host of warm flriends and his death 
 was the occasion of universal sorrow. Mrs. Fisher 
 is well preserved for her years and still takes 
 much interest in passing events. She has a 
 brother living in Baltimore and a sister in Chi- 
 cago. To her marriage were born four children: 
 Alice, the wife of George Eking, a prominent 
 banker, "Alderman of the Third Ward, a member of 
 the School Board and one of the live men of 
 Rockford, and they reside with Mrs. Fisher; G. J. 
 at home; William H., with the firm of Holland & 
 Ferguson, real-estate dealers, married Miss Rosa- 
 mond Littlefied, and Frank P. married Miss Lena 
 Cammon and is now a resident of Rockford. 
 
 SETH C. WILDER, who has long been en- 
 gaged in farming on section 29, Harlem 
 Township, was born on the 5th of Decem- 
 ber, 1819, in Jericho, Chittenden County, 
 Vt. Tradition says that the great-grandfather 
 was born in London, England, and came to 
 America in Colonial times, settling in or near 
 Lowell, Mass., and at one time he owned a tract of 
 land now included in Lowell. The grandfather, 
 Oliver Wilder, was born in Massachusetts and was 
 a blacksmith by trade. He married Huldah Cut- 
 ter and spent his last years in Jericho, Vt. His 
 wife afterwards again married and, having sur- 
 vived her husband some years, died in Franklin 
 County. 
 
 Oliver Wilder, Jr., the father of our subject, was 
 born in Townsend, Mass., and was reared on a 
 farm. After the death of his father he located on 
 the old homestead and settled up the estate. Sub- 
 sequently, he purchased a farm in the town of 
 Underbill, where he made his home for twelve 
 years, when he bought land and located in Jer- 
 icho, there making his home until 1844, when he 
 disposed of his property in the East and came to 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 631 
 
 Illinois. At that time, Winnebago County was 
 sparsely settled and tlie work of civilization and 
 progress seemed scarcely begun. He bought a 
 farm on section 29, Harlem Township, at $16 per 
 acre, upon which a log house and stable had been 
 built, while twent3'-five acres of the land were bro- 
 ken. He there resided until called to the home 
 beyond, April 6, 1863. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Lemira Lee. She was born in Jericho, 
 Vt., and was a daughter of John and Sarah (Coch- 
 ran) Lee. Her grandfather, John Lee, Sr., was 
 boiTi in Connecticut, and afterward became one of 
 the first settlers of Jericho, Vt., where he secured a 
 large tract of timber land, cleared a farm and made 
 his home until his death. His son, after his mar- 
 riage, removed on a part of liis father's land and 
 also followed agricultural pursuits throughout his 
 entire life. Mrs. Wilder, the mother of our sub- 
 ject, died in May, 1865. She reared a family of 
 ten children: Chauncey, Sarah, Lemira, Huldah, 
 Seymour, Page, Van Buren, Mary and Laura. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of Seth C. 
 Wilder, who spent his bojMiood days in a manner 
 not unlike that of other farmer lads. In 1843, he 
 bade good-bye to his old home in the East, and in 
 the autumn of that year came to Illinois, locating 
 upon the farm which is yet his home. Soon after- 
 wards, he was joined by the rest of the family, who 
 came in the spring of the following year. With 
 his parents he remained until 1853, then spent 
 one year in the East, and since that time has never 
 left the old homestead. With the history of the 
 county from a very early day, he has been promi- 
 nently identified and deserves no little credit for 
 the part he has taken in its upbuilding and ad- 
 vancement. 
 
 In 1861, Mr. Wilder led to the marriage altar 
 Miss Polly Ann Sherman, who was born in Fair- 
 field, Franklin County, Vt., and is a daughter of 
 William Sherman, a native of Connecticut. His 
 father was also a native of the Nutmeg State 
 and after his marriage removed to Vermont, be- 
 coming one of the pioneers of the town of Fair- 
 field. Upon the farm which he there purchased 
 and improved he made his home until his death. 
 His wife bore the maiden name of Polly Phelps. 
 Their son William was only two years old at the 
 
 time of their removal to Vermont, where he was 
 reared and educated. Inheriting the old home- 
 stead, he spent the remainder of his days upon it. 
 He was one of the prominent citizens of that com- 
 munity and represented his district in the State 
 Legislature. He passed away November 1, 1857. 
 His wife, Betsy Lee, was a daughter of John and 
 Sarah (Cochran) Lee. She was born in Jericho, 
 Vt., and died in May, 1882, having long survived 
 her husband. 
 
 As before stated, during his entire residence in 
 this county, Mr. Wilder has resided only on the 
 one farm. Nearly all the improvements upon the 
 place are his handiwork and its neat appearance 
 tells of the thrifty and industrious life which he 
 has led. To the duties of citizenship he is ever 
 true and since the formation of the Republican 
 part}' he has been one of its stanch supporters. 
 
 )HOMAS LANCASTER. In noting the lead- 
 ing incidents in the life-record of this gen- 
 tleman, who is numbered among the leading 
 men in Shirland Township, Winnebago Countj^, 
 we find that he was born in Yorkshire, England, in 
 1821, and is a son of Thomas Lancaster, who lived 
 and died in his native England. His mother bore 
 the maiden name of Mary Clark. 
 
 The parental family of our subject included 
 fourteen children, twelve of whom grew to adult 
 age, our subject being the fifth child and second 
 son of the family. He has one sister, Mary, Mrs. 
 George Lockwood, whose husband is engaged in 
 ranching and goldmining in Tasmania, whither 
 they were taken free by the English Government, 
 to aid in the settlement of that country. 
 
 The original of this sketch, when twenty-five 
 years of age, embarked on a sailing-vessel, "The 
 Garrick," and after a tedious voyage of five weeks 
 on the water, landed on the American shore, at 
 New York City, whence he went to Albany, and 
 thence by way of the canal to Buffalo, and sailed 
 tlience by the lakes to Southport, now Kenosha, 
 Wis. He had been preceded to the New World by 
 his twin brother, who died a few months after our 
 
632 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 subject located here. The bi'others settled upon a 
 tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Newark, 
 Wis., which they had purchased from the Govern- 
 ment, and the abundant products of their farm 
 were marketed at Beloit, eight miles distant. 
 
 Living a single man eight or nine years after 
 coming to this country, our subject, in February, 
 1856, was married to Sarah, daughter of John 
 Hydes, who was killed in a public house in Eng- 
 land, when Mrs. Lancaster was two years of age. 
 She took passage for this country in 1855, when 
 thirty -three years of age, and, after her marriage, 
 resided on the farm in Newark, Wis., until 1882, 
 when, with her husband, she came to Winnebago 
 County, where Mr. Lancaster purchased one hun- 
 dred and sixty-four acres, where they at present 
 reside, for which they paid the sum of $29 per 
 acre. Their property in Wisconsin was disposed 
 of at the rate of $30 an acre. 
 
 Mr. Lancaster was thrown upon his own resources 
 when a lad of twelve years, and was given the ad- 
 vantages of only a few months' schooling. By en- 
 ergy and perseverance united with economy and 
 good business qualifications, he has secured a hand- 
 some competency, and is now living in the enjoy- 
 ment of the comforts and luxui'ies which wealth 
 affords, being worth at least !i!l 2,000. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lancaster have had no children of their own, but 
 have taken into their home and hearts a young 
 man, who bears the name of Frank; he is married 
 to a niece of Mr. Lancaster's, and is working the 
 farm on shares. In politics, our subject is, and 
 always has been, a Republican, and, although not 
 identified with any church organization, gives lib- 
 erally of his means to all denominations. 
 
 
 L^l.— I 
 
 v 
 
 (^ j^ILLIAM H. POLLOCK. This gentleman 
 of whom we write, whose pleasant home is 
 to be found in Shirland Township, is de- 
 scended on both sides from heroic and high- 
 minded people. He was born in St. Lawrence 
 County, N. Y., September 25, 1844, and his father, 
 Samuel Pollock, who was born in Ireland in 1804, 
 and who was of Scotch descent, came to the 
 United States when sixteen years of age, and after 
 
 reaching mature years was married to Miss Betsey 
 A. Sackett, a native of New York State. Mr. Pollock 
 was a farmer all his life but also followed the 
 trade of a mason. .His wife died at the age of 
 forty-eight years and he followed her to the grave 
 when about seventy-two years of age. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was the first son and 
 fifth child of eight children born to his parents. 
 He was the first one of this family to make his 
 way Westward, and he came to Winnebago County, 
 Shirland Township, April 12, 1866. For the first 
 five years he worked on the farm and in the lum- 
 ber regions, and in December, 1870, he was wedded 
 to Mrs. Phoebe Strail, nee Lippitt, afterwards lo- 
 cating on the farm where his wife was reared. 
 She is the daughter of Dr. John W. and Almira 
 (Yarrington) Lippitt, the father a native of 
 Rhode Island and of English descent, and the 
 mother a native of New York, and of Scotch par- 
 entage. The Lippitts are of the English nobility. 
 Mrs. Pollock's parental grandfather was Loudon 
 Lippitt, who came from England and settled in 
 Rhode Island at a very earlj'' date. He had two 
 sons and a daughter: John Weslej', Daniel, who 
 was a school teacher and later a farmer of Penn- 
 sylvania, and Nancy, who passed away. 
 
 John Wesley Lippitt was thoroughly educated 
 for the medical profession and was an eminent 
 practitioner in his native State. He came to Ill- 
 inois at a very early date, probably about 1836, 
 and obtained one-fourth section of Government 
 land where his daughter now lives. He came first 
 from New York prospecting in 1835, and traded 
 his team and outfit for a claim in Rockton 
 Township, after which he returned on foot to New 
 York, and the following yeav returned with an ox- 
 team bringing his famil}', consisting of his wife 
 and four children, back with him. On arriving 
 here, he found his claim covered by a Government 
 claim, known as Indian Float. He then purchased 
 another claim of one hundred and sixty acres 
 of one Baker and moved into a new log house 
 erected by himself. Three years later, his wife 
 died, leaving him with the four children above 
 mentioned: Maria, a resident of Beloit; Jane, Mrs. 
 W. A. Phelps, of Rockton Township; Ann, Mrs. 
 C. B. Ayer, of Beloit, and Francis, who died at 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 633 
 
 Eockton when twenty-seven j'ears of age. The 
 father was again married, in 1843, to Mrs. Almiru 
 Warren, nee Yarrington, who was a native of 
 Chautauqua County, N. Y., but who came to this 
 State about 1840. She bore him one daughter 
 and four sons: Phcebe A., born in February, 1844, 
 now Mrs. William Pollock; Loudon, the second 
 son, enlisted in the army when but eighteen, where 
 he served one year in Company A, One Hundred 
 and P'orty-seventh Illinois Volunteers, coming 
 home on account of failing health, and died at the 
 age of twenty; John and Albert Wesley, both 
 drowned, and Ira, who died when two years of 
 age. Albert Wesley and John were promising 
 boys and were drowned in Sugar River in 1856. 
 The body of the former was not found by the 
 family, although anxiously searched for, but about 
 tliirty-flve years later, Mrs. Pollock learned that 
 Deacon Patten Atwood had taken the body from the 
 Rock River at Roscoe, many miles below, and bur- 
 ied it there. Dr. Lippitt died in Shirland Town- 
 ship, where his daughter now lives, in 1863, when 
 sixty-nine years of age. His wife followed him 
 to the grave one year later, wlaen fifty-eight years 
 of age. 
 
 ToMft and Mrs. Pollock were born eight children, 
 one of whom died in infancy, and they now have 
 four daughters and three sons: Cora at home, a 
 graduate of the Beloit High School when nineteen 
 years of age, and now conducting a class in instru- 
 mental music; Samuel E., a student in the Beloit 
 Preparatory Department; Wilbur H., attending 
 the district school; Alice L., attending the home 
 school; Mary Agnes, also in the home school, as 
 are Clara M. and Truman A., the two youngest 
 of this bright and interesting family. Mrs. Pollock 
 has one child, Hattie Strail, by her first marriage. 
 This daughter is now Mrs. Samuel Bennett, her 
 husband being a photographer in Wisconsin. Mr. 
 Pollock has been Commissioner of Highways for 
 nine years and has been School Director for some 
 time. The past spring he was elected Supervisor 
 of the township. He and wife are worthy mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which 
 he has ever been a liberal contributor, and in which 
 he has served officially for some time. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Pollock have one hundred and sixty-flve 
 
 acres free from all encumbrances, and they are keep- 
 ing twenty cows, selling the milk to the creamery in 
 Shirland. They are wide-awake and enterprising 
 and have been successful. 
 
 E^^- 
 
 eORNELIUS E. KNUDSON, the efficient and 
 well-known Superintendent of the Co- 
 operative Furniture Company, was born in 
 Norway, October 16, 1846. He lost his father, 
 Knutson Olsen, when he was only four years of 
 age. Mr. Olsen left a widow with ten small chil- 
 dren to support. Of this family two brothers and a 
 sister are married and reside in Norway, being 
 well-to-do people. Crist, a brother of our subject, 
 emigrated to this countrj'. The mother, who was 
 born in 1801, died at her old home in 1888, at the 
 age of eighty-seven years. The parents and chil- 
 dren all held membership with the Lutheran Church 
 and were worthy people. 
 
 Our subject is the youngest of the family. At 
 a very early age, he was thrown upon his own re- 
 sources and since that time has made his own way 
 in the world. In his native land, he served a full 
 term of apprenticeship to the trade of cabinet- 
 making, after which he ran a lathe for some time 
 on his own account. At length, he bade good-bye 
 to his old home, with the intention of trying his 
 fortune in the New World. He sailed in April, 
 1871, and landed a± Quebec, Canada, from whence 
 he came to Illinois, and afterward went to 
 Kentucky. He was a resident of Paducah,Ky.,for 
 two and a half years, following his trade at that 
 place, and then removed to Chicago, where he 
 resided only a short time. He then came to Rock- 
 ford in the fall of 1873, and has since made his 
 home in this city. 
 
 Mr. Knudson began working here as a cabinet- 
 turner and was thus employed for several years 
 before becoming connected with the Co-operative 
 Furniture Company. He is not only Superintend- 
 ent and manager of that company and a stock- 
 holder and Director, but is also a designer and 
 draughtsman. He is a skilled workman, as his 
 work in the different departments shows, and is a 
 most industrious and energetic man. For four 
 
634 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORt). 
 
 years, he was on the road as a commercial traveler 
 for this company and traveled extensivelj', especi- 
 ally on the Pacific slope. In this way, he became 
 acquainted with the countrj', its people and its 
 business methods, and the experience was very 
 valuable to him. 
 
 In Chicago, Mi'. Knudson was united in marriage 
 with Miss Randia Brondstad, who was born near 
 the old home of her husband and was reared and 
 educated in the same school district. With her 
 sister Maggie, she came to the United States in 
 May, 1871, locating in Chicago, where a brother, 
 Lars, had settled a few j'cars previous. He and 
 Maggie are still living in that city and the former 
 is married. The father died when Mrs. Knudson 
 was quite young. He was long survived by his 
 wife, who departed this life a few years ago in 
 Norway. They were both Lutherans in religious 
 belief. 
 
 Unto our subject and his wife were born four 
 children, but three are now deceased: CarlJ., Anna 
 D. and Anna E. 0.,all of whom died in childhood. 
 Rose E., an intelligent maiden of thirteen summers, 
 is still with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Knudson 
 are well-known people of this community and 
 have the respect of all on account of their many 
 excellencies of character. In politics, he is inde- 
 pendent, voting for the best man, regardless of 
 party affiliations. 
 
 ENRY BROWN. In the monetary and 
 mercantile fields, our subject is known to be 
 a man of undaunted integrity and sub- 
 stantial abilitjr. He is careful and con- 
 scientious, ever adhering to the dictates of his con- 
 science in matters both of a public and private 
 nature. After removing to Rockford in 1869, he 
 was for ten 3'ears actively engaged in the livery 
 business and was one of the prime movers in the 
 organization of the Co-operative Furniture Com- 
 pany, with which branch of business he was inter- 
 ested for eight years. Since that time, however, 
 he has lived retired from active labor. 
 
 Our subject was born in Springfield, Windsor 
 County, Vt., March 26, 1826, and was a son of 
 
 Jonathan Brown, who was also a native of that 
 place. His grandfather, Elisha Brown, hailed from 
 Cohasset, Mass., and was active in the cause of 
 American liberty, having participated in the battle 
 of Bunker Hill and served through the entire 
 Revolutionary struggle. His father served in the 
 French and Indian War and bravely endured all 
 the privations which fell to the lot of a soldier. He, 
 in company with his brother Abel, and a Mr. 
 Stevens were the third settlers in Springfield, Vt. 
 The grandfather secured a large tract of timber 
 land, which he cleared from the wilderness and re- 
 sided upon for many years. There being no rail- 
 road in the vicinity of his home, the farm prod- 
 ucts were conveyed by team to Boston, ninety- 
 two miles away. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Merrill Bates, a native of Cohasset, Mass., 
 who lived to the advanced age of one hundred 
 years, lacking four months. The father of our 
 subject was reared on the old home farm and when 
 starting out in life for himself, settled on a tract 
 of land owned by his father, which was located one 
 mile from the village, on which he made his home 
 until a short time before his death, wlien he re- 
 moved into the village. The mother of our sub- 
 ject bore the maiden name of Hannah Stocker, who 
 was born in Springfield, Vt., and whose father was 
 a Revolutionary soldier, having participated in the 
 battle of Bunker Hill and was present at the sur- 
 render of Cornwallis. Our subject removed to 
 Winnebago County, where he was among the early 
 settlers. Mrs. Hannah Brown, his mother, died in 
 Springfield, having borne her husband six children: 
 Horace, Henrj', Homer, Augusta, Abbie and Emily. 
 
 Henry Brown was reared in Springfield, Vt., and 
 resided with his parents until reaching his twentieth 
 year, when he removed to Lansingburg, N. Y., and 
 engaged in the manufacture of oilcloth. In 1849, 
 he came to Rockford by way of the Lakes to Chi- 
 cago and overland to this city. After spending a 
 few months here, he returned to the Empire State 
 and was again engaged in the manufacture of oil- 
 cloth at Lansingburg. In 1869, however, he made 
 permanent settlement in Rockford, where, as before 
 stated, he conducted a livery stable for ten years. 
 
 In December, 1849, Miss Ellen Brooks, who was 
 born in Lansingburg, N. Y., became the wife of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 637 
 
 our subject. To tbem have been born two sons, 
 Harry W. and Howard B. The former married 
 Fannie Gaskett and is the father of three children : 
 Clara, deceased, Chessie and Sarah A. 
 
 ill T£' 
 
 ^ UTHER LAWRENCE. The family to which 
 gentleman belonged traces its ancestry 
 Robert Lawrence, of Ash ton Hall, 
 who was knighted about 1190. John Lawrence, 
 of Suffolk, England, came to America in 163.5, set- 
 tled in Watertown, Mass., and died at Groton, in 
 1667. A descendant of that gentleman in the 
 eightli generation, Luther Lawrence was born at 
 Groton, Mass., ,Tuly 29, 1812. He was reared on 
 his father's farm, and after having acquired his 
 education in the district and village schools, 
 learned the trade of a miller, which he followed 
 for several years with success. 
 
 In eompanj' with six young men, Mr. Lawrence 
 left Groton October 26, 1837, for the new West. 
 The journey was slowly made, the first part being 
 by stage and railway; then passing through the Erie 
 Canal, they Anally resorted to horses and wagon, 
 and lastly to ox-teams as they neared their Western 
 goal. Our subject reached his destination amid 
 the same difficulties experienced by the men and 
 women who often left peaceful homes to become 
 the brave pioneers of Illinois. He had heard of 
 the far-famed beautiful valley of Rock River, and 
 forthwith set to work with youthful ambition and 
 manly integrity to aid in the start of one of the 
 most fertile and prosperous countries the world 
 possesses. Sufficient wealth crowned his efforts — 
 the result of success in business. No notable event 
 or grand achievement occurred to give special tone 
 to his life, as he was one of the few who never 
 craved public office. He gave generously of his 
 means for the support of every good cause in a 
 Christian way, and in his home was courteous and 
 most hospitable. 
 
 It cannot be said of Mr. Lawrence that he was a 
 hero worshipper, although he cherished a sincere 
 admiration for true, manly worth in all men, and, 
 in short, was a good friend, and at the same time a 
 strong enem}^ to self-conceit. The last years of 
 
 his life were spent in the village where he died, 
 and in the house he built nearly a half-century 
 ago. This structure of stone, the first of any con- 
 sequence in the village at that time, was consid- 
 ered quite "recherche." The facilities for trans- 
 porting building material being somewhat limited, 
 it became necessary to employ a local mechanic to 
 make by hand the various parts of the house — the 
 blinds, mouldings, stair-rails, etc. — all of which 
 were neatly executed in a praiseworthy manner. 
 
 Of the personal characteristics of Mr. Lawrence, 
 one deserves special mention: he had a tenacious 
 memory, and late in life was never more at ease 
 than when exploring the halls of memory, recall- 
 ing events long past, and dwelling on genealogies 
 with guarded care. Perhaps his chief fault was in 
 living over the past. Shortly before his death, he 
 remarked to a friend: "The outlook of the new 
 countries, Alaska and Africa, of which I have been 
 reading, is most promising, but of their possibili- 
 ties and probabilities, we may only judge by the 
 past; that we absolutely know. We may safely 
 predict for them, by comparison with the wonder- 
 ful progress our own country has made." 
 
 In politics, Mr. Lawrence was always a Repub- 
 lican; his first vote, in 1833, was for Andrew Jack- 
 son, the last one he heartily gave for Benjamin 
 Harrison. His love of nature was somewhat un- 
 usual, and through nature he would moralize and 
 prophesy to his nearest friends. He was an ear- 
 nest member of the Congregational Church, whicii 
 lie joined in early manhood. 
 
 The friends of Mr. Lawrence who cherish his 
 memory will welcome his portrait, which appears 
 on an accompanying page. 
 
 /,J LEXANDER JOHNSON, Superintendent 
 Ol of the Rockford Chair and Furniture 
 (a Company, was born on the 24th of Dec- 
 ember, 1839, in Sweden, where his parents 
 spent their entire lives. His father, Jolianns L. 
 Johnson, was a cabinet-maker by trade, and died 
 at the ripe old age of eighty-four years, in the 
 faith of the Lutheran Church, of which he was long 
 a member. His wife, who was born in 1807, is 
 
63.8 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 still living and is also a member of the Lutheran 
 Church. Three members of the family reside in 
 this country: our subject; Frank, a cabinet-maker 
 by trade, who is married and works in the Rock- 
 ford Chair and Furniture Company, and Carrie, 
 wife of C. J. Johnson, who is also an employe of 
 the Rockford Chair and Furniture Company. 
 
 No event of special importance occurred during 
 the childhood of our subject which was passed in 
 his native hmd, where he learned the trade of a 
 cabinet-maker. He was the first of the family to 
 come to the United States, sailing from Gottenburg 
 in May, 1869. He landed at New York City and 
 after his arrival in America learned the machinist's 
 trade, becoming a practical and efficient workman 
 in that direction. He possesses much mechanical 
 skill, is a man of gooil judgment and executive 
 ability and is physically very strong. For a time 
 after locating in Rockford, he worked at his trade 
 but for the past nine years has been Superintendent 
 of the Rockford Chair and Furniture Company. 
 He was one of the original stockholders and 
 organizers of this company, which began business 
 in 1882. They now employ about two hundred 
 men and do a large and constantly increasing 
 business, theirs being one of the leading industries 
 of the city. Mr. Johnson is also a stockholder in 
 the Union Furniture Company and in the Mantel 
 and Furniture Company. 
 
 The wife of our subject bore the maiden name 
 of Miss Clara Johnson, She too was bom and 
 reared in Sweden and her parents there spent their 
 entire lives. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are members 
 of the Mission Lutheran Church. Their union has 
 been blessed with seven children and the family 
 circle yet remains unbroken. In order of birth, 
 they are as follows: Tilla, Elmer, Enoch, Anna, 
 Cora, Eli and Florence, all of whom are still under 
 the parental roof. 
 
 Mr. Johnson is a self-made man. Although now 
 one of the prosperous citizens of Rockford, he 
 came here empty-handed, but his industrious and 
 enterprising efforts in the legitimate pursuit of his 
 business has won •liim a well-merited success. He 
 takes an active interest in all that pertains to the 
 growth and upbuilding of the city and gives his 
 support and co-operation to those enterprises cal- 
 
 culated to prove of public benefit. Public-spirited 
 and progressive, he is one of the valued residents 
 of Rockford and holds a high rank among his fel- 
 low countrymen. 
 
 eHARLES F. TRITLE, editor and proprietor 
 of the Reflector, at Winnebago, is a native of 
 this county, having been born in the town 
 of Seward, June 19, 1865. His father, Franklin 
 Clay Tritle, is a native of Philadelphia, Pa., and 
 the son of Daniel and Mary Tritle, also natives of 
 the Keystone State. There the father of our sub- 
 ject was reared, and when twenty-five years of age 
 came West and after spending some time in travel, 
 finally located in Rockford. 
 
 The ladj' to whom Franklin C. Tritle was mar- 
 ried in 1858 bore the name of Caroline Faulkner. 
 After their marriage, the young couple lived in 
 Rockford, where they were classed among the re- 
 spected and honored citizens. Mrs. Caroline Tritle 
 was born in Marston, Bedfordshire, England, Aug- 
 ust 10, 1832 and is the daughter of John Faulk- 
 ner, a native of that shire, whence he came to Am- 
 erica in 1845. The trip across the Atlantic was 
 made on the sailer "Eleanor," which landed its 
 passengers at New York after a voyage of eleven 
 weeks and three days. After a stay there of six 
 weeks, Mr. Faulkner went to South Middletown, 
 Orange County, that State, and in August, 1846, 
 came to Illinois, where he remained at Chicago for 
 two months and then removed to Rockford on the 
 20th of November. For four years, he was em- 
 ployed at various kinds of work, when he removed 
 to what is now Seward Township, and purchased 
 land warrants of the Mexican soldiers, which cost 
 him $1 per acre. There the father of Mrs. Tritle 
 improved and resided upon his land until his de- 
 cease. The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth 
 Two; she also hailed from Bedfordshire, and died 
 at the home of her daughter in Winnebago. The 
 grandparents reared seven children: John, Mary, 
 Joseph, George, Rachel, Samuel and Caroline. 
 
 Charles F. Tritle of this sketch was a lad of ten 
 3'ears when taking up his abode in Winnebago. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 639 
 
 Here he attended tlie district school and for a time 
 was emploj'ed as a clerlf in the different stores in 
 the place. In 1887, a stock company was formed 
 and opening a printing-office established the Re- 
 flector. Our subject was appointed business man- 
 ager of the concern and for the past three years 
 has iiad sole charge of the establishment and, if we 
 may judge from the circulation and reading mat- 
 ter of the paper, is making a success of his under- 
 taking. In political matters, he votes the Republi- 
 can ticket and for three years served his fellow- 
 townsmen as Justice of the Peace and for a like 
 period was Mayor of the village. He is at the 
 present time Secretary of the Winnebago Memorial 
 Society and was appointed Notary Public bj' Gov. 
 Fifer. 
 
 \!^ETER H. PALMER, Vice-President, stock- 
 
 Jl) holder and one of the directors of the 
 
 ^ Standard Furniture Company of Rockfoi'd, 
 
 , \ was born April 25, 1861, in Wester 
 Gothland, Sweden, and is a son of Andrew and 
 Nellie (Bowman) Palmer, who are now residents 
 of Rockford, as is their daughter and all of their 
 five sons. Our subject is the eldest of the family; 
 Paul F., the next in order of birth, is now mar- 
 ried and works for the Standard Furniture Com- 
 pany; John E. is in the employ of the same com- 
 pany; Aaron J. is engaged with the Rockford 
 Electric Manufacturing Company; Carrie D. and 
 Simon E. are still at home. 
 
 Under the parental roof, our subject spent the 
 days of his childhood, no event of special impor- 
 tance occurring during that time. On attaining 
 his majority, he determined to seek a home in the 
 New World, where he believed better opportunities 
 were afforded young men, and on the 15th of 
 April, 1881, he sailed from Gottenburg, landing at 
 Boston three weeks later. Since that time, all the 
 family have come to this country. He learned 
 the cabinet-maker's trade and became a skilled 
 workman, being employed for some seven years 
 by the Union Furniture Company of this city, his 
 long-continued service giving proof of his faith- 
 fulness and prompt discharge of duty. Since that 
 time, he has been connected with the Standard 
 
 Furniture Company, one of the leading industries 
 of the city, which was established in 1887, and is 
 now doing an excellent business, furnishing em- 
 ployment to some two hundred men. He is both 
 Vice-President and Superintendent, having held 
 the latter position for three years and the former 
 for two years. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Palmer and Miss Amanda 
 0. Swansen was celebrated in this city. The lady 
 was born in Sweden, near the old home of her 
 husband, in October, 1862, and when a young 
 lady of twenty summers crossed the broad Atlantic 
 to America in 1882, since which time she has re- 
 sided in Rockford and Belvidere, 111. Both of her 
 parents died in Sweden. One sister, Emma, is 
 now the wife of John C. Osburg, who is in the 
 employ of the Mechanics' Furniture Company, of 
 this city. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Palmer has 
 been blessed with one daughter, Rachel. 
 
 This worthy couple hold membership with the 
 Swedish Baptist Church, in which our subject 
 served as a trustee. He is independent in politics, 
 voting for the man whom he thinks best qualified 
 to fill the office, regardless of party affiliations. 
 He has devoted his entire energies to his business 
 since 1887, and the result of his efforts is shown 
 in the success with which the business has been 
 carried on. Mr. Palmer is one of the well-known 
 Swedish residents of Rockford and, although his 
 residence here is of comparatively short duration, 
 he has already made many warm friends, who 
 esteem him highly for his sterling worth and up- 
 right life. 
 
 E^ILS J. HANSON, one of the mail carriers 
 ]]j of Rockford, was born in Southern Sweden^ 
 ^ June 10, 1853, and the days of his boyhood 
 and youth were spent in the usual manner of 
 farmer lads. His parents were Hans and Mattie 
 (Hockinson) Johnson. The father was born on 
 the 17th of November, 1819, and now lives with 
 his son Andrew in this city. His wife died in 
 Sweden in 1869, at the age of forty-nine years. 
 Like him, she was a member of the Swedish Luth- 
 eran Church. The first of the family to cross the 
 
640 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Atlantic was Andrew, before mentioned. Two sis- 
 ters are also living in Rockford: Hannah, wife of 
 J. M. Manson, who is employed by the Union 
 Tea Company; and Alice, wife of Peter Nelson, a 
 farmer of Boone County. One In-other, Martin, 
 died in Wichita, Kan., at the age of twenty-five. 
 
 On the 3d of May, 1872, at the age of nineteen, 
 Mr. Hanson bade good-bye to his old home and 
 sailed for the New World. He landed in Quebec, 
 Canada, whence he came at once to this city. On 
 the 2d of December, 1876, he was united in mar- 
 riage to Miss Clara S. Bengtson, who was born in 
 Sweden in the year 1850, and came to this coun- 
 try in 1870. She has since resided in Rockford 
 with the exception of one year spent in Chicago. 
 Her father, Andrew Bengtson, had' previously 
 come to the United States, and his death occurred 
 in October, 1886, at the age of sixty-two. His 
 wife is still living with her sons at the age of 
 seventj^-thrce. 
 
 When Mr. Hanson came to America, he was 
 not only empty handed, but was $40 in debt for 
 his passage. He came on to Rockford in 1872, 
 and began to earn his liveliliood as a day 
 laborer. For some time, he worked near Rock- 
 ford, but his industry and enterprise soon made 
 it possible for him to engage in business for him- 
 self, and for ten years he was a leading grocer of 
 this city. For six years, he was also engaged in 
 the manufacture of furniture and met with excel- 
 lent success in that venture. He also organized 
 the Skandia Coal Company, which has been a de- 
 cided success. For some years, he engaged in 
 business on Seventh Street and built what is known 
 as the Hanson Block, at No. 701 Seventh Street, a 
 large three-story building with store rooms be- 
 neath and flats above. During the administration 
 of President Harrison, he has served as one of the 
 cit}^ postal deliverers. Great credit is due Mr. 
 Hanson for his success in life. The obstacles and 
 difficulties in his way he overcame by persistent 
 effort, and has arisen bj^ his own merit to a posi- 
 tion of which he may well be proud. He is a 
 prominent Swedish gentleman of this communit}' 
 and well deserves representation in the history of 
 his adopted county. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Hanson is a Republican, a stal- 
 
 wart advocate of party principles, and, socially, he 
 is a Master Mason. He and his wife are leading 
 Swedish people. They have had a family of six chil- 
 dren, but Alice died at the age of six years. The 
 living are: Nellie C, Oscar W., Julian N., George 
 A. and Leona E. 
 
 ^;'NDREW J. ANDERSON, a real-estate 
 S^Ol loan and Insurance agent ^and Notary 
 Public, claims the honor of being a native 
 of Rockford. He was born in this city, 
 June 7, 1862, and is of Swedish descent. His fa- 
 ther, Jonas R. Anderson, a native of Rydaholm, 
 Sweden, grew to manhood in that country, and 
 while a young man sailed for America, in 1854, 
 landing in New York City after a voyage of six 
 weeks. By way of the Hudson River and Canal he 
 went to Buffalo, and thence by the Lakes to Chi- 
 cago, and on to Geneva, 111., where he resided for 
 some months. Subsequently he came to Winne- 
 bago County, and turned his attention to farming. 
 He was then in limited circumstances. He af- 
 terward came to Rockford, learned the trade of 
 a blacksmith, and secured the position of foreman 
 in the shops of F. H. Manney, which position he 
 filled for seventeen years. He later aided in the 
 organization of, and became a stockholder in, the 
 Central Furniture Company, and for some years 
 ha.s been one of its Directors. He is now living a 
 retired life at No. 906 Kishwaukee Street, at about 
 the age of sixty years. In politics, he is a stal- 
 wart supporter of Republican principles. 
 
 Jonas Anderson was married in this city to Miss 
 Helen Stockenburg, also a native of Sweden. 
 Wlien a young lady, she came to this country with 
 friends in 1856, and resided in Rockford until her 
 marriage. By this union were born five children, 
 but Jennie died at the age of eighteen years, and 
 Olivia died in infancy. Those who still survive 
 are Marie, wife of A. J. Eustam, a Lutlieran clergy- 
 man of Minneapolis; Andrew J., of this sketch; 
 and Amanda, who was for some years a dry-goods 
 clerk, and now owns an interest in a store in Wake- 
 field, Neb. The family are all members of the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
'■-'^l^^i^ 
 
 
 4 
 
 JAMES H. BONNEY 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 643 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our sub- 
 ject, who has spent his entire life in this city, ac- 
 quiring his education in the public schools and the 
 Rockford Business College. He is a young man 
 of excellent ability and good habits, temperate and 
 upright in all things. Soon after starting out in 
 life for himself, he became connected with the 
 Eockford Watch Company, becoming employed in 
 the motion mechanical department, where he re- 
 mained for some years. In 1881, the Excelsior 
 Furniture Company was organized with a capital 
 of $50,000, and for eight years Mr. Anderson was 
 its Secretary and Treasurer as well as a stockholder 
 and Director. He yet holds stock in the company, 
 but gives the greater part of his time and atten- 
 tion to the real-estate business. In 1890, he opened 
 an office at No. 421 East State Street, as a real- 
 estate, loan and insurance agent, and is doing an 
 excellent business. His success is assured, for he 
 possesses the qualities essential to a successful 
 career, and his course already has a bright outlook 
 for the future. Tlio.se who have known Mr. An- 
 derson from his boyhood, know him to be a young 
 man of sterling worth, deserving of the confidence 
 and respect of all, and his best friends are among 
 his oldest acquaintances, a fact of which he may 
 well be proud. At present he is Alderman from 
 the Second Ward, having just been re-elected to 
 that position. In his political affiliations he is a 
 Eepublican. 
 
 i-^+^P=— 
 
 ■> AMES H. BONNEY. For twenty-five years 
 prior to his death, the original of the por- 
 trait on the opposite page resided in Rock- 
 ford,where he was known as a quiet, unobtru- 
 sive and upright citizen. He was born in Massa- 
 chusetts, November 16, 1812, and died in Rockford, 
 March 25, 1891, aged seventy-eight years, four 
 months and nine days. To the last he retained 
 considerable activity and mingled with the busi- 
 ness men of the Forest City, attending to his finan- 
 cial affairs, which consisted mainly in loaning 
 money. 
 
 Harvey Bonney, father of our subject, was bom 
 in the Bay State, September 23, 1786, and died 
 
 September 26, 1850. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Hannah Fish, was born May 22, 1790, 
 and died October 4, 1874. Their family consisted 
 of twelve children, nine sons and three daughters, 
 all of whom attained to mature years and still 
 survive, excepting two. Enos T., who was born 
 November 25, 1834, died in Galveston, Tex., shortly 
 after the close of the Civil War, in which he had 
 been an active participant as surgeon. His only 
 son, Evans, now makes his home in Hattiesburg, 
 Miss. Charles W. died in Osceola, Iowa, at the age 
 of sixty-one years. 
 
 The surviving members of the parental family 
 are as follows: A. H., who was born December 1, 
 1808, and now resides in Farmington, Me., a re- 
 tired merchant, vigorous in mind and bodj'; Sarah 
 A., born October 27, 1810, now of Portage, Wis.; 
 our subject; Hannah, Mrs. Snow, born December 
 27, 1814, and now residing at Cambridgeport, Mass. ; 
 Hiram B., born April 22, 1817, and at present liv- 
 ing in Missouri; Emily B., Mrs. Prentice, born 
 April 24, 1819, a resident of Portage, Wis.; Dr. 
 Stephen F., born April 5, 1821, now practicing 
 his profession at Taylor, Mo.; William L., born 
 September 27, 1823, and a resident of Boston; Dr. 
 Joel W., born February 23, 1826, and a leading 
 physicisln of Quincy,Ill.; and Perez F., born March 
 14, 1828, now in Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 Although a native of Massachusetts, Mr. Bonney 
 received his education mostly in Maine, where he 
 learned the carpenter's trade of his father and 
 followed that occupation during the summer seasons 
 while he taught school in the winter. A.t the age 
 of twenty-three, he went to Boston and a few 
 years later proceeded South ; from there he returned 
 North to Illinois and remained at Quincy for a 
 time. Afterward he resided for a time in Daven- 
 port, Iowa, where he married Miss Sarah Ann Par 
 ker, who died two years after their union, leaving 
 an infant daughter, now Mrs. James II. Winn, of 
 Rockford. 
 
 After residing for a short time in Galena, 111., 
 Mr. Bonney returned to Maine, and there was 
 married to Miss Betsey Sylvester, who survives 
 him, residing in the old home at No. 204 South 
 West Street. In 1846, Mr. Bonney settled on a 
 farm in Wisconsin, where he remained some twenty 
 
644 
 
 JfOETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 3'ears and became closely identifled with local and 
 State affairs. At the breaking out of the Civil 
 War, he was a member of the legislature and he 
 also served as Chairman of the Board of Supervi- 
 sors. When he came to Rockford, he made his 
 home on Avon Street for two years and later pur- 
 chased the property which his widow still owns. 
 He was one of the organizers of the Burial Case 
 Compan}', in which he was a stockholder and Direc- 
 tor and also served as President for a time. Gener- 
 ous and kind, ready to bear his part in the church 
 of his choice — the Congregational— active in sup- 
 port of the Republican party in his early life and 
 later a strong Prohibitionist, a man of wide travel, 
 having visited almost every State in the Union, it 
 is not strange that at his death he was widely and 
 sincerely mourned. 
 
 ii I I I 
 
 VILLIAM THRONE, deceased, was one of 
 the prominent early settlers of Winnebago 
 County, where he located in 1836. He 
 was a native of County Derry, Ireland, and a son 
 of John Throne, also a native of the Emerald Isle. 
 The grandfather, William Throne, was born in 
 that country, and was a descendant of one of three 
 brothers who went to Ireland with William the 
 Prince of Orange. He followed farming through- 
 out his entire life, and was a member of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. 
 
 The father of our subject never left his native 
 land. Pie wedded Rebecca Stephenson, and she 
 spent her entire life in County Derry, the place of 
 her birth. Both were members of the Presbyterian 
 Church, and in that faith they reared their family. 
 Five of their children came to America: William, 
 Margaret, Robert, John and James. 
 
 The subject of this sketch acquired his educa- 
 tion in the public schools, and spent the days of 
 his boyhood and youth in the land of his nativity. 
 At the age of twenty, he crossed the broad Atlan- 
 tic, and the vessel in which he sailed was wrecked, 
 the passengers being detained on an island for two 
 weeks. For some time he resided in Lower Can- 
 ada, the year 18.36 witnessing his arrival in Illi- 
 nois. He became one of the first settlers of Har- 
 
 lem Township, Winnebago County, and securing 
 a tract of Government land on section 36, erected 
 a log cabin, in which he and his bride began their 
 domestic life. He was an industrious and enter- 
 prising man, and to the occupation of farming suc- 
 cessfully devoted his energies until called to his 
 final rest on the 27th of December, 1880. 
 
 Mr. Throne was married, January 30, 1847, to 
 Elizabeth J. Jack, who was born in Canada in 
 1826, and is a daughter of James Jack, a native of 
 County Tyrone, Ireland. His father, Archibald 
 Jack, was born in the same county, and through- 
 out his entire life there followed the occupation of 
 farming. James Jack crossed the Atlantic to Amer- 
 ica about 1835, and in Canada made his home for 
 twenty years, when he came to Illinois, traveling 
 by team to Montreal, and thence by the Lakes to 
 Milwaukee, where he procured a lumber wagon 
 and thence journeyed to Beloit, Wis. About three 
 miles east of that place, he bought a tract of land 
 and engaged in farming. He was one of the pio- 
 neer settlers of that region, and was a prominent 
 and highly respected citizen. Upon his farm he 
 resided until his death. His wife, Elizabeth Jack, 
 was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, and died on 
 the old homestead near Beloit. In the family were 
 nine children, as follows: William, Rebecca, Sarah, 
 Mary, Archibald, Elizabeth, James, Joseph and 
 John. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Throne were born ten chil- 
 dren, but only three are now living: William, 
 Clarinda and Edward. John, who was born De- 
 cember 26, 1847, died October 7, 1860; Elizabeth, 
 born April 4, 1849, died October 5, 1860; Mary 
 Rosanali, born April 5, 1851, died November 10, 
 1860; Sarah M., born July 3, 1853, died October 
 19,1860; Frances, born September 10, 1855, died 
 October 5, 1860; Margaret F., born October 4, 
 1858, died April 27, 1887; and James M., born Oc- 
 tober 22, 1861, died on the 26th of August fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 Mr. Throne was a life-long member of the Presby- 
 terian Church, and lived an upright and honorable 
 life, which won him the respect of all who knew 
 him. He was an intelligent citizen, and a prosper- 
 ous man, who by his own efforts acquired a hand- 
 some competence. He left to his family one of the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 645 
 
 most highly improved farms in the county. Mrs. 
 Throne has also long been a member of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, and her daughter has united with 
 the same organization. They are worthy people, 
 highly respected in this community, and it is with 
 pleasure that we present the record of their lives 
 to our readers. 
 
 <A felLLIAM E. CANNIFORD. Many of the 
 \pJli ^^^^^'^S ™^^ of Winnebago County have 
 
 ^^ been born across the Atlantic, as in the 
 case of Mr. Canniford. His native place was Dev- 
 onshire, England, and his natal day February 
 7, 1836. He is at the present time residing in 
 Winnebago Village, engaged in the manufacture 
 of pumps, windmills, etc., and is making a success 
 of this line of work. 
 
 William Canniford, the father of our subject, is 
 a native of Exeter, Devonshire, where the grandfa- 
 ther was also born and spent his entire life. The 
 latter-named gentleman was a contractor on public 
 works, and apprenticed his son, the father of our 
 subject, to a farmer, when a lad of seven years. 
 After reaching his majority, William Canniford 
 was turned out into the world penniless, and with 
 no education, having had to work on the farm 
 both summer and winter. Being desirous of gain- 
 ing an education, he secured books and taught 
 himself. Later he filled the position of a teacher 
 in his native shire for two years, and then go- 
 ing to Gloucester, taught in the National school 
 at Ebrington for fourteen years. He was then ap- 
 pointed city missionary to Cheltenham and Bris- 
 tol, which position he resigned and became con- 
 nected with the Ratcliff Gaslight Company, of 
 Wapping, London, as inspector of gas meters. He 
 continued in the employ of that company for 
 twenty-two years, when he was retired on half-pay 
 for life, his decease occurring in 1888, when sev- 
 enty-nine years of age. 
 
 The mother of our subject was known in her 
 maidenhood as Elizabeth Every, also a native of 
 Devonshire. Her father was a farmer, in addition 
 to which he also kept a public house. Mrs. Canni- 
 
 ford died in Bristol while her husband was en- 
 gaged as a missionary. She reared three sons, of 
 whom our subject was the oldest, the others being 
 named John and Herman. 
 
 The father of oursubject, appreciating the value 
 of a knowledge of books, gave his children a good 
 education, teaching them himself. Our subject 
 at the age of fourteen was apprenticed to learn the 
 trade of a carpenter and joiner. He served until 
 he was twentj' years and six months of age, when, 
 being given the last six months of his time, he went 
 to London, and was engaged in journeyman work 
 until 1857. On Good Friday of that year, he set 
 sail in the vessel "Pearl," commanded by Capt. 
 Davids, and landed in Quebec eight weeks later. 
 From that place he went to Ottawa, where he was 
 engaged at his trade for two years, when he came 
 to the States, and at Whitewater, Wis., worked at 
 the carpenter's and joiner's trade until 1860. 
 
 Returning to London in the above-named year, 
 our subject spent two years in his native place, 
 and then accompanied by his bride, returned to 
 America, and came immediately to Illinois, stop- 
 ping for a time in Chicago. In May, 1863, became 
 to Rockford and devoted a part of his time to his 
 trade until February, 1871, when he came to Win- 
 nebago, and engaged in his present business, that 
 of making pumps. He ranks among the well-to-do 
 upright and honest citizens of the county, always 
 casting his influence on the side of progress and 
 reform. 
 
 Mary A. Gardner became the wife of our sub- 
 ject at Shad well Church, East London, in 1862. To 
 them have been born three children: William J., 
 Lizzie and Ada. 
 
 ^ra©^(s)l^^^ 
 
 Jl SAIIEL HOWARD, deceased, was born in 
 the town of Sherburne, Chenango Count}', 
 N. Y., September 24, 1824, and was a son 
 of John Howard, a native of Rhode Is- 
 land, in which State the grandparents were also 
 born. The latter removed to the Empire State, 
 and were pioneers of Chenango County. John 
 Howard was quite j'^oung when, with his parents, 
 he went to New York. He was reared to manhood 
 
646 
 
 POSTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD= 
 
 upon his father's farm, and followed that occupa- 
 tion in the town of Sherburne until 1826, when he 
 removed with his family to Eaton, Madison Count}', 
 and purchased a farm, which he occupied some 
 years. On selling that place, he bought other land 
 in the same township, and there made his home 
 until the death of his wife, when he removed to 
 the village of Oneida, and there remained until 
 called to the home beyond. 
 
 Mr. Howard, whose name heads this sketch, was 
 a lad of twelve years when he went with his par- 
 ents to Madison Count}', N. Y. He there attained 
 his majority, and on the 24th of January, 1848, 
 was united in marriage to Lavina Sexton, who was 
 born in Plymouth, Chenango Count}', December 9, 
 1820, and was a daughter of Pliny Sexton, a na- 
 tive of Connecticut. His father, George Sexton, 
 was also born in Connecticut, but removed to the 
 Empire State, where he spent the remainder of his 
 hfe. Pliny Sexton was a young man when he 
 went to New York. He was married in tlie town 
 of Lebanon, Madison County, to Clarissa, daugh- 
 ter of Constant and Chloe (Bisbee) Crandall, anda 
 native of Connecticut. They began their domestic 
 life upon a farm in that locality, and there resided 
 until called from this life. 
 
 Mr. Howard continued to engage in agricul- 
 tural pursuits in the State of iiis nativity until 
 1850, when he came to Boone County, 111., by way 
 of the Erie Canal and the great Lakes to Detroit, 
 then crossed Lake Michigan to Chicago, and from 
 Elgin came witii teams to Boone County. He had 
 visited in this locality the year previous and pur- 
 chased a tract of land in Flora Township, at $6.50 
 per acre, upon which was a small frame house. He 
 was an enterprising farmer, successful in his busi- 
 ness dealings, and placed all of his land under a 
 high state of cultivation. He also erected good 
 buildings, made other necessary improvements, and 
 set out shade and ornamental trees, which added 
 greatly to the value and attractive appearance of 
 the place. He died on the old homestead May 11, 
 1890, respected by all who knew him. 
 
 The family continued to reside on the home 
 farm until 1892, when they removed to Belvidere. 
 Mrs. Howard has four children: Emory L., who 
 married Laura M. King, lives in Iowa and has two 
 
 daughters; Frank L., Addie and Gertrude are at 
 home. Mrs. Howard is a consistent member of tlie 
 Methodist Church, to which Mr. Howard also be- 
 longed. He took a great interest in the work of 
 the Sunday-school, and did much for its advance- 
 ment. In politics, he was a Republican from the 
 formation of the party. The upright life which 
 he lived is well worthy of emulation. 
 
 r^ 
 
 :£l^k3*«*=^ 
 
 OZRO M. LA PORTE, an enterprising farmer 
 residing on section 8, Guilford Township, 
 Winnebago County, was born in Jefferson 
 County, N. Y., April 10, 1833. His father, Nacis 
 La Porte, was born^in Toronto, Canada, there reared 
 and educated, and learned the blacksmith's trade. 
 He went to New York when a young man, and 
 was there married to Minerva Gardner, who was a 
 native of the Empire State, and a daughter of 
 Silas Gardner, who was of English descent. He 
 was a millwright, and removed from New York to 
 Illinois in 1830, becoming one of the first settlers 
 of Kane County. He improved a farm four miles 
 west of Aurora, and there resided until his death. 
 His wife was in her maidenhood Catherine Garner. 
 She was born in the Mohawk Valley of New York, 
 and died on the home farm in Kane County. 
 
 Mr. La Porte, father of our subject, followed his 
 trade in New York until 1837, when he emigrated 
 to this State by way- of the Lakes to Chicago, and 
 arrived at his destination after ten weeks. He 
 bought a farm four miles west of Aurora, upon 
 which he resided for nine years, and then removed 
 to Paw Paw Township, De Kalb County, where he 
 purchased land and followed farming until his 
 death. His wife now resides with her daughter, 
 Mrs. Minerva Faile, in De Kalb County. 
 
 Our subject was only four years of age, when, 
 with his parents, he came to Illinois. He acquired 
 his education in Kane and DeKalb Counties, and 
 was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life, 
 sharing with the family in all its hardships and its 
 experiences. He remained under the parental roof 
 until twenty-two years of age, and then began life 
 for himself in De Kalb County, working by the 
 day and month. In 1857, he came to Winnebago 
 
^th^r^^^^ ^-^Z^ /tO). 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 649 
 
 County, and took up his residence in Gviilford 
 Townsliip. A few years later ho purchased the 
 farm on which he now resides, and to its cultiva- 
 tion and improvement has since devoted his ener- 
 gies, being recognized as one of the leading and 
 successful agriculturists of the community. 
 
 A marriage ceremony performed in 1858 united 
 the destinies of Mr. La Porte and Elizabeth Ben- 
 jamin, who was born in Orange County, N. Y., and 
 is a daughter of John Benjamin, who, like his fa- 
 ther, Silas Benjamin, was also a native of the Em- 
 pire State. The former learned the trade of a 
 carpenter and joiner, and followed his chosen oc- 
 cupation in New York until 1835, when he re- 
 moved to Canada. Three years later, he decided 
 to try his fortune in Illinois, and coming to Win- 
 nebago County, purchased the farm on which his 
 daughter is now living. He entered the land from 
 the Government, buying it when it came into 
 market. His first home was a log cabin, which he 
 afterward replaced by a commodious frame resi- 
 dence which he made his home until his death in 
 November, 1858. His wife bore the maiden name 
 of Esther Mapes. She was born in Orange County, 
 N. Y., and died on the home farm in 1856. 
 
 Since she was a very j'oung maiden, Mrs. La 
 Porte has resided upon the farm where she is now 
 living, and has been an eye-witness of almost the 
 entire growth and development of the county. 
 Our subject and his wife have a pleasant home, and 
 arc highly respected in this community, where they 
 have many warm friends. 
 
 ■S^ LISHA C. DUNN, M. D. In the line of 
 fe] history, science, and religion, this gentle- 
 l iLi^i man possesses an inexhaustible fund of in- 
 formation, and, as a lecturer, has won a national 
 fame. He has a practical knowledge of every 
 country, its people, politics and religion, and has 
 been a thorough student of languages, speaking 
 several different tongues with fluencj'. A man of 
 fine ph3'sique, with military carriage and genial 
 face, he has a welcome grasp of the hand for his 
 many friends, and is most companionable. It is 
 our privilege and pleasure to present his portrait 
 
 to our readers. Of recent years, he has given special 
 attention to the study of the sagacity of the lower 
 animals, particularly the horse and dog, and not 
 long since edited a remarkable work, published by 
 a Boston firm, entitled "The Sagacity of Dogs." 
 The volume is beautifully illustrated, and is so 
 arranged with attractive stories as to be a most 
 popular juvenile work. 
 
 Now retired from the active duties of life, Dr. 
 Dunn resides in his palatial home at No. 807 West 
 State Street. This residence, which was erected by 
 an architect from New York, is of an oriental 
 design of architecture, externally, with an interior 
 Queen Anne finish, and is a model of elegance, fit- 
 ted with the most complete modern improvements, 
 such as steam-heating, gas and water accommoda- 
 tions. The parlor is finished in ebony and gold, 
 and is furnished with light througii double French 
 plate glass windows. The octagon dining-room is 
 finished in walnut and cherry, and the windows 
 are of opalized glass, while the other rooms contain 
 all the conveniences desirable. The residence is a 
 delightful combination of comfort and magnifi- 
 cence, and is an important addition to the archi- 
 tectural beauty of the Forest City. 
 
 The Doctor has made his home in Rockford 
 since 1863, although many of the intermediate 
 years have been spent either in the lecture field or 
 in travel. He has lectured on scientific and polit- 
 ical subjects, and on the human anatomy and 
 diseases, and has addressed audiences as small as 
 twelve persons (in Saugatuck, Mich.) and as large 
 as five thousand people (in Prince Albert's Hall, 
 London, England). He often relates in a bright 
 and interesting manner, stories of his travels, which 
 have extended into every habitable country of the 
 globe, except the Arctic regions, and he has lec- 
 tured in most of the large cities of the world. 
 While abroad, ho collected gems and precious stones, 
 some of which, worth at least $9,000, were de- 
 stroyed in a museum, in the great fire at Chicago. 
 He has come in contact with many of the greatest 
 minds of the woild, and numbers among his friends 
 many of the leading men of different kingdoms. 
 
 In social organizations, the Doctor has for years 
 been ver^- prominent. He is an Aide-de-Camp of 
 the Supreme Commander, Gen. Carnahan, of the 
 
650 
 
 i'OETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Knights of Pythias, aad meets with the Order in 
 their State and National conventions. He is also 
 a Knight Templar, belonging to Crusader Com- 
 mandery No. 17, and is well known to the mem- 
 bers of State and National lodges. In the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows, he takes an equal 
 interest, and is a member of the Encampment at 
 Rockford. 
 
 While visiting in Palestine, with the intention 
 of collecting material to assist him in his lectures 
 against religion, he became thoroughly convinced 
 of the Divinity of the life of Christ, and has since 
 been a consistent and faithful member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. He advocates Pro- 
 hibition principles, and has never drunk liquors or 
 used tobacco in anj- form. In his political belief, 
 lie adheres to the principles of the Republican party, 
 and takes the stump in its behalf whenever neces- 
 sary. 
 
 When seventeen years old and a wild, reckless 
 lad, our subject was taken into the home of Dr. 
 Peebles, whom he calls his benefactor, and was given 
 a thorough education, being a graduate of the Uni- 
 versity of Pennsylvania. He remembers his bene- 
 factor with an affection which will last as long as 
 life itself, for he owes him a debt of gratitude 
 which naught can efface. He was young when he 
 began the study of medicine, and soon afterward 
 was able to support himself, although he resided 
 with Dr. Peebles for fifteen years. Although a 
 native of New York, he spent only a few years of 
 his life there, and has resided in Illinois during 
 the most of his life. 
 
 In Marshall, Mich., the Doctor was united in 
 marriage with Miss Carrie Etts, a native of the 
 Empire State, and a member of a worthy family. 
 Early in life, she displayed great ability as an art- 
 ist, and has in later years executed some very fine 
 pieces, which in style and coloring are far superior 
 to the work of amateurs. Her work has received 
 the commendation of the best artists, and her last 
 effort, "Pythias Before the Block," a painting six 
 feet by four feet and six inches, is valued at more 
 than 11,000. She devotes much time to her artistic 
 studies, and is a lady of dignity of presence and 
 noble character. Dr. and Mrs. Dunn are the par- 
 ents of two children. Aeola, wife of Richard 
 
 Hamlyn, resides in Rockford, where her husband 
 is a member of the firm of Hamlyn <fe Bingham, in 
 the meat-market business. James married Emma 
 Patterson, and resides in Rockford. 
 
 <| IjtelLLIAM U'lTON, the owner of one hundred 
 \aj// and thirty acres of fine farming land near 
 V5^/ Manchester, 111., is entitled to a promi- 
 nent place in this history, for he has been usefully 
 and honorably identified with the interests of this 
 county, and with its advancement in every worthy 
 particular. He was born in England, in the town 
 of Gissleham, Suffolk County, in the year 1821, 
 and his father, John Utton, as well as his grand- 
 father, John Utton, Sr., were natives of that coun- 
 try also. Both father and grandfather followed 
 agricultural pursuits for a livelihood. 
 
 When twenty-two years of age, our subject was 
 led by the prospects of the Western prairies of this 
 country to cross the ocean to the United States. 
 He took passage at Liverpool on the sailing-vessel 
 " Rusush, " commanded by Capt. Eldridge, who 
 was afterward on the steamer ''Pacific," which 
 was lost at sea. Our subject's brother-in-law, John 
 Balls, who was assistant engineer on that vessel, 
 was lost at that time. William Utton was five 
 weeks in crossing the ocean but at the end of that 
 time landed safely in the city of New York. He 
 had very little means to assist him, and going to 
 Geneva, of that State, he worked for a wealthy 
 gentleman. Dr. G. L. Rose, whose farm he carried on. 
 
 In April, 1851, our subject was married, in the 
 city of Geneva, to Miss Hannah Balls, of the same 
 place. Her parents, Samuel and Jemima (Auldis) 
 Balls, were both natives of England, and in that 
 country the mother passed away. Mr. Balls then 
 brought his famil}' to America (this was about 
 1841), and followed farming on the Hudson River 
 for two years. In 1855, he came to Manchester 
 and bought sixty acres of land and resided on the 
 same for many years. His death occurred in 
 Michigan, in 1882, leaving a wife and three chil- 
 dren. Mr. Utton lost his wife on the 17th of Jan- 
 uary, 1892, when in her seventy-first year. She 
 
PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 651 
 
 •was a most excellent lady, and her death was a 
 severe blow to her afflicted husband and devoted 
 children. They were the parents of two children: 
 Mary Jane, who married John Grout, is deceased; 
 the son, William S. Utton, married Mrs. Hannah 
 North, nee McNally, of Illinois, and is now en- 
 gaged in carrying on the farm for his father, who 
 is crippled with rheumatism. 
 
 On first coming here, in 1855, our subject 
 bought one hundred acres of land, with but very 
 few improvements, and for this paid $12 per acre. 
 He has since added to the original tract thirty acres, 
 for which he paid $1,000, and now has one of the 
 finest farms in his section. He is engaged in gen- 
 eral farming, raises all the cereals and is also en- 
 gaged to some extent in raising stock. He built 
 his present fine, substantial residence in 1862, and 
 in 1866 he erected a good barn, and another in 
 1872. He is an enterprising, progressive, well-to- 
 do farmer, who is respected by the community at 
 large. He has served the town as pathmaster and 
 also as School Director, and is well qualified to fill 
 any of the township offices. He votes the Repub- 
 lican ticket, and is a member of the Anti-Horse 
 Thief Association. He is an attendant of the 
 Episcopal Church and his wife held membership 
 in this church. 
 
 -^-=^=^>-^<! 
 
 ■^ 
 
 \|p^^,OBERT B. COLEMAN. Probably few of 
 the enterprising farmers and merchants of 
 Winnebago County have met with more 
 ^) uniform success in their business under- 
 takings than this gentleman who is now living in 
 retirement at Pecatonica. For thirty years a gen- 
 eral merchant, the inception of his business during 
 the early history of the village was marked by suc- 
 cess, which constantly increased with the progress 
 of the community and the increase in number of 
 its inhabitants. 
 
 Mr. Coleman was born in Chester Township, 
 Morris County, N. J., December 22, 1824, and is 
 the son of Jabish and Sarah (Bunn) Coleman. His 
 father was born on Long Island and came to this 
 county in October, 1839, entering land with his 
 son at Dixon and remaining on the farm thus pur- 
 
 chased until he died, at the age of seventy-five. 
 Mrs. Sarah Coleman, who was a. native of New 
 Jersey, was a daughter of John Bunn, who came 
 from Germany to this country when quite young 
 and entered the army during the Revolutionary 
 War, serving until its close and receiving a pension 
 on account of a wound received in the hand; he 
 died at the age of ninety. The mother of our subject 
 attained to the venerable age of nearly ninety-five 
 years, when she passed away at the home of a 
 daughter in Hancock, 111. Her family included 
 five children, three of whom are living at this 
 writing (1892). 
 
 When his father sought a home in Northern 
 Illinois in 1839, our subject accompanied him 
 hither, and for three years thereafter carried mail 
 on what was known as the Rockton & Savanna 
 route. His journey to this State was made over- 
 land with a team from New Jersey to Wellsville, 
 Ohio, thence by steamboat down the Ohio and up 
 the Mississippi River to St. Louis, thence to Ga- 
 lena, where a team was hired at $5 per day to con- 
 vey the family to Winnebago Coujity. In that 
 early day, Chicago and Mineral Point, Wis., were 
 the principal markets for produce, and journeys to 
 those places were frequently taken. It was by no 
 means easy to exchange grain and vegetables for 
 good cash, and the mining towns were the best 
 places to go for this purpose, as gold and silver 
 could be there procured. 
 
 The wife of our subject was known in her 
 maidenhood as Miss Emily F. Thompson, and was 
 born near Hudson, Ohio, in 1828, and died in 
 Pecatonica March 25, 1878. Her parents, J. W. 
 and Emily (Mills) Thompson, were pioneers of 
 Winnebago County, and died at the home of Capt. 
 A. W. Thompson when about ninety years old. 
 They were the parents of eleven children, six of 
 whom now survive. Mr. and Mrs. Coleman had 
 three children, but one alone survives — Lizzie, who 
 was born in 1860; she married Joseph Wright and 
 has one daughter, named Berdena. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Coleman resided on the 
 land which he entered from the Government and 
 continued to devote his attention to its improve- 
 ment until 1856, when he removed to Pecatonica 
 and, buying a slock of goods, entered the mercan- 
 
652 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tile business. He continued thus engaged witii 
 marked success until a number of years ago, when 
 he disposed of his store and retired from active 
 business interests. Formerly, he was an extensive 
 property owner, but at present has sold all his 
 landed possessions, excepting one and one-half 
 section in Missouri, his home in Pecatonica, and 
 several other lots in this thriving village. In his 
 social connection, he is a member of the Indepen- 
 dent Order of Odd Fellows, and the A. W. Rawson 
 Lodge, F. & A. M. 
 
 1^^ IMEON SPENCER, after many years spent 
 ^^^ in agricultural pursuits, is now living a 
 (lL£_j) retired life in Belvidere, enjoying the rest 
 which he has so truly earned and richly 
 deserves. He was born in Greene, Chenango County, 
 N. Y., on the 1st of August, 1840, and is a son of 
 Darius and Annie (Walker) Spencer, both of whom 
 were natives of Chenango County. The grand- 
 father, Jesse Spencer, was a native of New Eng- 
 land, and became one of the early settlers of the 
 town of Greene, where he spent his last years en- 
 gaged in farming. The father of our subject was 
 reared in the usual manner of farmer lads, and 
 made his home in the Empire State until 1843, 
 when, with his wife and four children, he emi- 
 grated Westward to Illinois, making the entire 
 journey overland. They traveled for. six weeks, 
 and at length reached Boone County. Mr. Spencer 
 secured a tract of land near Marengo and after- 
 wards traded it for a tract of land in Belvidere 
 Township, of which seventy-five acres had been 
 broken, while a log house constituted the improve- 
 ments thereon. Into this the family moved, but 
 the cabin home was afterwards replaced by a sub- 
 stantial frame residence, wherein Mr. Spencer con- 
 tinued to reside until his death in August, 1878. 
 His wife long preceded him, having departed this 
 life March 18, 1847. She reared a family of six 
 children, as follows: Louisa, Lorenzo, Sylvester, 
 Simeon, Cyrenus and Cyrena. The two last named 
 are twins. 
 
 Our subject spent the first five years of his life 
 in the State of his nativity, and was then brought 
 
 by his parents across the country to Illinois. He« 
 was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life 
 sharing with the family in the hardships and trials 
 of the pioneer, and also experiencing the pleasures 
 of those days. He conned his lessons in the log 
 school house, furnished in a primitive manner, and 
 when his time was not occupied in this way, as- 
 sisted his father in the cultivation and improve- 
 ment of the farm. He remained with his parents 
 until their death, and then continued to oper- 
 ate the old homestead for two years, when he 
 sold and purchased a place in Bonus Township, 
 three miles east of the city. Upon that farm he 
 continued to reside until 1888, when he sold and 
 has since been a resident of Belvidere. 
 
 A marriage ceremony, performed January 27, 
 1862, united the destinies of Mr. Spencer and Miss 
 Helen, daughter of John and Caroline (Barton) 
 Powell, who were natives of the Empire State, and 
 came to Illinois in 1847. The lady was born in 
 Oswego County, N. Y., and has two children: Le- 
 onice is now the wife of Charles Bruce and they 
 have two children: Zora and Elmer. Jesse is still 
 with his parents. 
 
 Mr. Spencer cast his first Presidential vote for 
 Abraham Lincoln, and has since been an advoca'e 
 of Republican principles. However, he has never 
 sought or desired public ofHce, preferring to de- 
 vote his entire attention to his business interests, 
 in which he has met with signal success. He has 
 worked his way upward from an humble position 
 to one of affluence, and is now numbered among 
 the substantial citizens of the community. 
 
 ENRY E. HARRIS, the present popular 
 Postmaster of Durand, is well and favor- 
 ablj' known in this county, as he was born 
 P November 27, 1842, in the village where 
 he makes his home. He is a son of Klisha and 
 Calista C. (Robb) Harris, the former of whom was 
 born in Chenango County, N. Y., July 19, 1817. 
 He was a son of Joseph and Julia Harris, natives 
 of Connecticut. 
 
 The father of our subject, in 1837, came to Illi- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 653 
 
 nois and purchased a claim to a tract of land in 
 what is now Durand Township, Winnebago County. 
 His marriage occurred in 1842, and with his wife he 
 continued to reside for a number of years on the 
 farm which he improved with all the necessary 
 farm buildings and machinerj', and which included 
 one hundred and forty-five acres. IVIrs. Harris died 
 in 1885, and a few years later her husband retired 
 from active life and is now residing in Durand 
 with his second wife. 
 
 The parents of our subject reared a familj^ of 
 ten children, of whom Henry E. is the eldest. 
 Erastus P., during the late war, became a member 
 of Company H, Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry, 
 and died while in the service at Murfreesboro, 
 Tenn., in March, 1863; William Eugene resides in 
 Greenwood County, Kan., where also Lewis F. 
 makes his home. Julia departed this life in No- 
 vember, 1869, when in her eighteenth year; Charles 
 is residing in Durand ; Joseph Scott departed this 
 life February 2, 1892, when thirty-four years of 
 age; Willis 8. makes his home in Sycamore, this 
 State; Elmer E. occupies the old homestead and 
 Jesse F. is a teacher in the schools of Durand. 
 
 Henry E. Harris had his birth in the old log 
 house on the home farm, and attended the best 
 schools which the country district afforded. He 
 was prepared to enter an academy at the outbreak 
 of the Civil War, but on August 10, 1861, became 
 a member of Company D, Eleventh Illinois In- 
 fantrj% and with his regiment was sent to Bird's 
 Point, Mo. He participated in the following im- 
 portant battles: Port Henry, Ft. Donelson, Shiloh, 
 Corinth, Jackson (Tenn.), Paducah,and was on the 
 expedition with Grant to Coffeeville, Miss. Thence 
 he returned to Memphis and camped at Lake Prov- 
 idence, La., as a member of the Seventeenth Army 
 Corps, and in August, 1864, was mustered out of 
 service. He was very fortunate, and only received 
 one wound during his entire service. 
 
 At the close of the war, Mr. Harris returned to 
 Durand and continued his occupation of a farmer 
 for three years. Then, on account of ill-health, 
 worked at the carpenter's trade until 1889, when 
 he received his present appointment. The lady to 
 whom he was married, December 29, 1864, was 
 Miss Ann C, danghter of George Fritz. She is 
 
 also a native of this township, and by her union 
 with our subject became the mother of four chil- 
 dren: Frederick, Lewis, Raymond and Lillian. 
 
 Our subject has always been deeplj^ interested 
 in politics, and on the Republican ticket has been 
 elected to All many of the local offices. Socially, 
 he is a member of Durand Lodge No. 302, A. F. & 
 A. M., and Ellis Post No. 320, G. A. R. His ma- 
 ternal grandfather, Scott Robb, came to Illinois in 
 1836, and located in Durand, where he died. 
 
 ^^ ALVIN WELTY. Among the many beauti- 
 [l( ful farms for which Winnebago County is 
 
 ^^^ so justly celebrated, conspicuous mention 
 belongs to the estate of Mr. Welty, which is loca- 
 ted on section 19, Guilford Township. It com- 
 bines all the pleasures to be derived from rural 
 life and surroundings with the advantages of city 
 life, for it is only two miles distant from the court- 
 house, and its value is considerably enhanced by 
 its proximity to the thriving city of Rockford. 
 
 One of the pioneers of Winnebago County was 
 the father of our subject, John Welty, who was born 
 in Frederick, Md. He was the son of Jacob Welty, 
 who, so far as is known, was born iu Maryland and 
 followed the trade of a miller in his native State, 
 Pennsylvania, and New York. Coming to Illinois 
 about 1845, he located in Dn Page County, where 
 he engaged in farnling until his death at an ad- 
 vanced age. The father of our subject was about 
 twelve years old when he accompanied his parents 
 to Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood and 
 was married. He came to Illinois in 1841, locating 
 in Cherry Valley Township, and purchasing a farm 
 where he remained until 1872. His next removal 
 was to Rockford, where the closing days of his 
 life were passed. 
 
 The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
 was Elizabeth Leinheart, was born in Switzerland, 
 and came to America with her parents when she 
 was seven years old. She now resides in Rockford, 
 and at the age of eighty-two still enjoys good 
 health as well as the full possession of her mental 
 faculties. Her children were as follows: Mary, 
 who died at the age of twenty-nine; Elizabeth; 
 
654 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Calvin, of this sketch; Timothy, who died when 
 ten years old; Jefferson; Erastus, who passed from 
 earth when twenty-four. Sarah and Alsetta died 
 at the ages of twenty-six and twenty-three, respec- 
 tively. 
 
 Calvin Welty was born in the town of Liberty, 
 Tioga County, N. Y., December 2, 1836. He was 
 fifteen years old when he came to Illinois with his 
 parents, and he remembers well the incidents of 
 pioneer life in this section of the State. October 1 , 
 1861, he enlisted in Company L, Eighth Illinois 
 Cavalry, serving until the close of the war, and 
 with his regiment participating in the following 
 battles: Fair Oaks, Turkey Creek, Malvern Hills, 
 Poolsville, Barnstown, Catoilin Pass, Middletown, 
 South Mountain, Antietam and Martinsburg. In 
 the last-named engagement he was captured by the 
 enemy, but was at once parolled and sent to Ann- 
 apolis, Md., thence to Parole Camp, at Springfield, 
 where he was granted a furlough of twenty days. 
 He then returned to the parole camp and remained 
 there until exchanged. 
 
 After his exchange, Mr. Welty was an active par- 
 ticipant in the following battles: Beverly Ford, 
 Kelly's Ford, Rapidan Station, second battle of 
 Beverly Ford, Upperville, Fairfield, Gettj^sburg, 
 Williamsport, Boonesboro, Funkstown, Falling 
 Waters, Chester Gap, Culpeper, Madison Court 
 House, Raccoon Ford, Stevenburg, Brandy Station, 
 Bull Run, Beattown Station and Hazel River. In 
 January, 1864, he veteranized' and was granted a 
 furlough of thirty days, at the end of which time 
 he returned with his regiment to Washington. 
 After doing garrison duty there some time, they 
 were sent in pursuit of Moseby's band of guerrillas, 
 captured a portion of them and drove the others 
 out of Maryland, where they remained doing gar- 
 rison duty until after the assassination of President 
 Lincoln. They were then sent in pursuit of Booth, 
 and after his capture they returned to Maryland, 
 and shortly afterward were sent to St. Louis, where 
 they were mustered out of service. They were 
 honorably discharged in Chicago in 1865. 
 
 Soon after his return from the war, Mr. Welty 
 purchased a farm in Monroe Township, Ogle 
 County, and resided there until 1876, when he sold 
 it and purchased the place he now owns and occu- 
 
 pies. After engaging in general farming for four 
 years, he embarked in the dairy business, which he 
 has since successfully followed. In 1867, he was 
 united in marriage with Trocelia, daughter of Rob- 
 ert Dawson, and a native of Belvidere, 111. They 
 are the p.arents of four children: Grace D., Gene- 
 vieve L., John R. and James E. Mrs. Welty is a 
 prominent member of the State Street Baptist 
 Church, and a lady of refinement and kindliness 
 of heart. Mr. Welty is identified with Nevius 
 Post No. 1, G. A. R., and, in his political sympa- 
 thies, is a firm Republican. 
 
 ■ » |p >l i» ^' ^ * !■ >■ ( > ■ 
 
 ? I ' I ' V '- 
 
 II^ANIEL B. REDINGTON. It is said of 
 
 I J)) the subject of this notice that he has been 
 <^3^ one of the most useful men in the com- 
 munity. He has certainly been very 
 active and industrious and maintained a uniform 
 interest in the welfare and advancement of his 
 township, and at the present time occupies the 
 honorable position of Supervijor of Rockford 
 Township, Winnebago County, where he was born 
 July 24, 1844. 
 
 Henry P. Redington, the father of our subject, 
 was one of the earlj' settlers in this county, where 
 he watched with interest the growth and develop- 
 ment of this section and where his name is held in 
 kindly remembrance. He was born in Keene, 
 Christian County, N. H., and was a son of Isaac 
 Redington, who, as far as is known, was also a na- 
 tive of that place, where he was engaged for a 
 number of years in the mercantile business and 
 spent his last j'ears. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Mary Dana. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native town, where he resided until 
 1836, at which time he came to Illinois, which was 
 then considered the Far West. He arrived in 
 Rockford in September of tiie above-named year, 
 when most of the surrounding country was owned 
 by the Government. He, however, made a claim 
 to a tract of land in the northern part of Rockford 
 Township, and, as he was a single man, kept 
 "batch" with Ephraim Wyman. When finally 
 making a permanent location, he settled upon the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 656 
 
 farm which is now the property of our subject, 
 whera he erected a small frame house which later 
 gave way to a comfortable farm residence. There 
 he made his home until his decease, which occurred 
 August 21, 1887. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Jerusha Bradford, who was married to Mr. 
 Redington in Rockford in 1838. She was born in 
 Keene.N. H., and was a daughter of William Brad- 
 ford. Her death occurred in California, whither 
 she had gone in 1879, in search of health. The 
 parental family included five children: Caroline 
 D., who died in her twentieth year; Charles H., 
 who is Paymaster on the Southern Pacific Riilroad; 
 Daniel B., our subject; Louisa, the widow of S. S. 
 Montague, of Oakland, Cal.; and Sarah, Mrs. M. 
 T. Morse, of Leominster, Mass. 
 
 The original of this sketch in his youth attended 
 the district school, and when old enough assisted 
 his father in performing the duties of the farm. 
 He remained with his parents until 1864, when, 
 June 23 of that year, he enlisted in Company M, 
 Eighth Illinois Cavalry, and in August was sent 
 to Washington and saw service in the District of 
 Columbia, Virginia and West Virginia, until the 
 close of hostilities. He was honorably discharged 
 in June, 1865, and, returning home, resumed farm- 
 ing on the old homestead which he now owns and 
 occupies and which is pleasantly located four miles 
 northwest of Rockford. He has added to his acre- 
 age from time to time, until he is now the possessor 
 of an estate including three hundred and six cul- 
 tivated acres. 
 
 Miss Louisa Steward became the wife of our sub- 
 ject in 1871. She is a native of Owen Township, 
 Winnebago County, and is the daughter of Will- 
 iam and Sophia (Long) Steward. To them have 
 been born two children: Alice and Leta. Our 
 subject and his worthy wife are influential mem- 
 bers of the Christian Union Church, and, socially, 
 Mr. Redington is connected with Nevius Post No. 
 1, G. A. R. He is also a member of Farmers' 
 Lodge No. 616, M. W. A. He votes the straight 
 Republican ticket, and, in 1888, was elected Super- 
 visor of his township, which position he now 
 holds. He is a very pi-ominent business man and 
 is Director of the Forest City National Bank. In 
 
 the early days when his father first came to this 
 county, all the letters addressed to the people of 
 this section were sent to Chicago. It was through 
 such efforts as those put forth by the elder Mr. 
 Redington that this section was transformed from 
 its original dreariness to its present prosperous 
 condition. 
 
 ♦^♦^4- 
 
 _y 
 
 V 
 
 <^ j^^ILLARD CON VERS, one of the pioneer 
 settlers of Guilford Township, Winnebago 
 County, residing on section 9, was born 
 on the 20th of January, 1822, in Litchfield Town- 
 ship, Bradford County, Pa., and is a son of Henry 
 and Susanna (Latham) Convers, both of whom 
 were natives of New England. The father was 
 born April 30, 1779, and removed from Vermont 
 to Pennsylvania, residing in Bradford County for 
 a few years, after which he became a resident of 
 Machias Township, Cattaraugus County, N. Y. In 
 1832, he emigrated to Ohio, accompained by his 
 wife and five children. Locating in Portage 
 County, he there made his home until 1839, when 
 he came to Illinois, settling in Winnebago County. 
 He spent a few days on the Pecatoniea River, and 
 then located on section 9, Guilford Township, 
 where he rented a log cabin and made his home 
 until 1844. In that year, he removed to section 
 16 of the same township and there lived until 
 called to the home beyond, January 3, 1853. His 
 wife died on the old home farm September 15, 
 1869. Their children were Reuben, Betsy R., 
 Polly, James and Willard. 
 
 The subject of this sketch accompanied his par- 
 ents on their various removals and was a young 
 man of eighteen years when he came to Illinois. 
 This county was then sparsely settled; the greater 
 part of the land was still in the possession of the 
 Government, and deer and other wild game roamed 
 at will over the prairies. There were no railroads 
 and the nearest market was Chicago. In 1844, Mr. 
 Convers made his first purchase of land, a tract on 
 section 16, Guilford Township, now included within 
 his present farm. Upon it, he erected good build- 
 ings and has made many other improvements 
 
656 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORI). 
 
 which add greatly to its value and attractive ap- 
 pearance. It continued to be his home until 1886, 
 when he purchased adjoining land and upon that 
 farm has since lived a retired life. He still owns 
 one hundred and sixty-two acres of arable land, 
 supplied with two sets of farm buildings. 
 
 On the 23d of August, 1855, Mr. Convers 
 wedded Matilda (Beers) Whittle, who was born in 
 Orleans County, N. Y., January 22, 1831, and is a 
 daughter of Daniel and Mary (Herrick) Beers, 
 who are mentioned in the sketch of Russell Marsh 
 on another page of this work. Mrs. Convers was 
 only five years old when, in June, 1836, she came 
 with her parents to AVinnebago County, and with- 
 out doubt has resided longer in the county than 
 any other lady living within its borders. She was 
 first married, on the 25th of March, 1849, to Fred- 
 erick Whittle, who was born in Canada, September 
 5, 1818, and came to Illinois about 1840, locating 
 in Guilford Township. His death occurred on the 
 26th of April, 1854. By that union were born 
 two daughters: Emily J., who was born February 
 28, 1850, became the wife of Leonard Marsh, and 
 died September 17, 1885; and Amelia B., who was 
 born December 15, 1853, is now the wife of George 
 A. Stevens, of Rockford. 
 
 This worthy couple have a pleasant home and 
 have a wide circle of friends and acquaintances 
 throughout the community who esteem them 
 highly for their sterling worth. Mr. Convei'S is a 
 self-made man, who by his own efforts has worked 
 his way upward to a position of affluence and is 
 now enjoying a well-earned rest. Politicallj', Mr. 
 Convers affiliates with the Republican partj'. 
 
 ^^ EORGE A. BURRITT, an extensive farmer 
 'II ,— -, and resident of Owen Township, Winne- 
 ^^41 bago C'ounty, was born in Ira, Cayuga 
 County, N. Y., June 17, 1840. His father, Charles 
 Burritt, was born in Roxbury, Litchfield County, 
 Conn., in 1812. Grandfather Lewis Burritt was 
 also a native of Connecticut and was there reared 
 to agricultural pursuits. At an early day he re- 
 moved from the Nutmeg State to New York, and 
 bought a farm in Ira, Cayuga County, where he 
 
 followed agricultural pursuits several years. He 
 spent his last days in the village of Weedgport, 
 dying J'ebruary 8, 1873, aged eighty-four years. 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Polly Wanier, 
 was born in Connecticut, and spent lier last years 
 in Sennett, Cayuga County, N. Y., where her death 
 occurred October 21, 1865, at the age of seventy- 
 six. 
 
 When about twenty years old, Charles Burritt 
 accompanied his parents to New York State. He was 
 principallj' reared to agricultural pursuits but did 
 not alwaj'S follow farming. He purchased an in- 
 terest in a machine shop at Weedsport and was 
 connected with that business for three years. 
 After serving for two years as Superintendent of 
 the County Infirmary, he pursued farming in Cay- 
 uga County, but in 1855 sold his interest there 
 and removed to Winnebago County, 111. The 
 winter following his arrival he passed in Rockford 
 and during that time purchased a tract of land in 
 Owen Township. A portion of it was broken 
 and fenced, and a log house was on it, these consti- 
 tuting the sole improvements. He placed the land 
 iinder good cultivation, planted fruit and shade 
 trees, erected a nice set of farm buildings and con- 
 tinued to own and reside upon the place until his 
 death, March 12, 1885. 
 
 The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
 was Laura M. Remington, was born in 1816, the 
 daughter of Ruf us and Deborah (Olmsted) Reming- 
 ton, and died at the home farm in April, 1877. 
 She was the mother of seven children, all of whom 
 are still living, namely: Lucy A. Moore, George 
 A., Rufus H., Francis M. Brown, Dwight N., Ida 
 M. Knapp and Charles L. At the time the family 
 removed to Illinois, George A. was fifteen years old 
 and he has been a resident of the old homestead 
 since his parents settled here in 1856, with the ex- 
 ception of five years spent in Rockford. 
 
 At the time of his marriage, Mr. Burritt bought 
 sixty acres of the home farm and soon after pur- 
 chased one hundred and sixty acres adjoining. 
 Since that time he has purchased the old home- 
 stead and is now proprietor of three hundred 
 and twenty acres of well-improved land. Else- 
 where in this volume will be found a view of the 
 place, which is one of the finest in this section of 
 
im^^'^h-*' ' 'ti?r^-~?4- '*« 
 
 m 
 
 My^ 
 
 i.^> 
 
 RESIDENCE OF O.J. SK0F5TAD,5EC.l , MANCHESTER TP, BOONE CO JLL. 
 
 -?ipr^;r^qss?^F-rr:r-^ 
 
 ;<^ "^ ■t3sfS^^>^-4iiin'> ■"«-<&*-< '^•^■:-)! a^;^'- 
 
 RESIDENCE OFG. A . BURRITT^SEC, 2G ,OWEN TP,W1NNEBAG0 CO JLL 
 
PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 659 
 
 the county. In 1866, he was united in marriage 
 with Harriet M., daughter of Royal and Sophronia 
 (Dunshee) Drake, and a native of Vermont. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Burritt are the parents of five cliildren, 
 namely: Lewis L., Jessie M., Neenah S., Roy W. and 
 Frank C. In his political belief, Mr. Burritt is a 
 stanch adherent of the principles of the Republi- 
 can party but is not active in political affairs, his 
 time being wholl}' occupied with the duties of 
 farm life. 
 
 r^ 
 
 '^ 
 
 OLE J. SKOFSTAD. Among the foreign- 
 born citizens of Manchester Township, 
 Boone County, who have established reputa- 
 tions as farmers of thorough-going enterprise and 
 system, we are pleased to mention the name which 
 we have now given. This gentleman was born in 
 Norway, June 1, 1835, and was the son of Johanes 
 Evenson, who was also a native of Norway and 
 emigrated to the United States, settling in Racine 
 County, Wis., in 1840. He was accompanied on 
 the journey by his wife and three children, of 
 whom our subject is the first-born. 
 
 Johanes Evenson took up six hundred acres of 
 Government land in Wisconsin, upon which he 
 built a good hewed log house, 30x49 feet in di- 
 mensions, and became one of the pioneers of that 
 State. Several of his fellow-countrymen emigrated 
 to this country at the time he came hither, and the 
 entire party set sail from Drammond, Norway, on 
 the "Captain Onkerson." The fare was $80, and 
 Mr. Evenson, being a man of means, paid his own 
 passage and that of many of the emigrants, whom 
 he also loaned money to buy their first forty acres 
 of land. He lived in Racine County for ten years, 
 and at his death left a widow and five children. 
 
 On the outbreak of the Civil War, three brothers 
 of Mr. Skofstad, Evan, Albert and Martin, together 
 with their cousin, Hans C. Heg, enlisted in the Fif- 
 teenth Wisconsin Infantry, of which Hans was the 
 organizer and Colonel. Evan was taken prisoner, 
 and while being conveyed from Andersonville 
 jumped from the car with many others and made 
 good his escape by reaching the army of Gen. Sher- 
 man. At the close of the war, the young men re- 
 
 turned home in fair health, having never been 
 wounded in battle. Albert served as a Captain 
 throughout the struggle; he was married to a lady 
 from his native land. Miss Cornelia Germanson, 
 and died in Lawrence, Kan., in the fall of 1873, 
 leaving a widow and three children. 
 
 Ole J. Skofstad lived on the old homestead from 
 1840 to 1860. He was married there in September, 
 1857, to Miss Anna M. Anderson, who was born 
 in Norwa}^, in April, 1839, and by her union with 
 our subject has become the mother of nine children, 
 four of whom are living. John Edward is mar- 
 ried and resides in Bessemer, Mich.; Annia E., 
 Mrs. Henry S. Anderson, makes her home in Wis- 
 consin; Orville M. B. is a young farmer and resides 
 at home; Albert Leander has been given a common 
 education and aids in conducting the home farm. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Skofstad emigrated from Nor- 
 wa}' to America in 1843, and died at his home in 
 Greenwood, this State, while his good wife passed 
 away in Chicago, being a victim of cholera. They 
 were the parents of two children: Mrs Skofstad 
 and Anna, who died at Sharon, Wis., when sixteen 
 years of age. 
 
 Among the finest farms in the township may be 
 mentioned that of Mr. Skofstad, a view of which 
 adorns another page. 
 
 '\f? OHN BURCH. He with whose name we in- 
 1 troduce this biographical outline was one of 
 I the pioneers of Winnebago County', and 
 _ ' may be pi'operly designated as a "gentle- 
 man to the manor born." He is in the enjoyment 
 of large means and has a pleasant home in Winne- 
 bago, where he is surrounded by all the comforts 
 of life and lives in a manner much less pretentious 
 perhaps than his means might justify. 
 
 Our subject was born in what is now the city of 
 London, Province of Ontario, Canada, August 3, 
 1823, and is the son of John Burch, Sr., whose birth 
 occurred in Woodstock, Windsor County, Vt. The 
 grandfather of our subject, who was also a native 
 of the Green Mountain State, was of English an- 
 cestry and spent his last years near Kensington, 
 Canada. John Burch, Sr., was a lad of fourteen 
 
660 
 
 POSTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years when his father removed to Canada, where 
 he grew to manhood and was married. He then 
 removed to London District and purchased a tract 
 of timber land, which is now included in the city 
 of London. He erected a log house on the place, 
 in which our subject was born, and, as the markets 
 were very inconvenient to reach, the family lived 
 mostly' off the products of the farm. 
 
 In 1834, the father of our subject sold the prop- 
 erty above mentioned and removed to Port Stan- 
 ley, where he bought a farm and resided until 
 1839, which was the date of his advent into Illi- 
 nois. He was accompanied on the journey to this 
 State by his wife and seven children, and made the 
 entire journey overland with teams, the trip con- 
 suming four weeks. On locating in Winnebago 
 County, Mr. Burch found the land still owned by 
 the Government, and making a claim to a tract, he 
 purchased it when it came into market and erected 
 thereon a double log house. Commencing at once 
 the improving of his new home, there the father 
 resided until 1848, when he sold out, and removing 
 to Guilford Township, lived there for ten years. 
 His last days were spent in F'ayette County, Iowa, 
 whither he went in 1858, and purchased property 
 in the city of Fayette, where he was engaged in the 
 combined occupations of druggist, shoe merchant, 
 monej'-lender and a tanner. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Lydia Hogaboom, whose birth occurred in Saratoga 
 County, N. Y. She was of German ancestry and 
 accompanied her parents on their removal to 
 Canada when quite young, the journey being 
 made in the winter with teams. When crossing 
 Lake Champlain the ice broke and her mother and 
 one sister were drowned. She resided with her 
 father until her marriage, and departed this life at 
 her home in Fayette County, Iowa. The father 
 of our subject was a Whig and joined the Republi- 
 can ranks on the formation of that party. He 
 filled various positions of trust and was the first 
 Justice of the Peace in Winnebago Township. 
 With his wife he was a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and before a building was erected 
 meetings were frequently held in his home. 
 
 John Burch had seven brothers and sisters: 
 William, Benjamin, Levi B., Laura Samantha, 
 
 Hiram, Henry and Charlotte. He had reached his 
 sixteenth year when he came to Illinois with his 
 parents and with them he remained until reaching 
 his majority. Starting out in life on his own re- 
 sponsibility, he purchased three yoke of cattle, for 
 which he went in debt, and engaged in breaking 
 prairie for $1.75 or $1.50 with his board. Mr. 
 Burch was thus occupied for two seasons, and then 
 having saved a suflBcient sum of money, purchased 
 a tract of land which is included in his present 
 farm. The grain raised on his place was marketed 
 at Chicago, and on the return trip our subject 
 would bring back a load of goods for the merchants 
 at Freeport, Galena or Rockford. 
 
 In 1850, the original of this sketch went to Cali- 
 fornia, starting with teams from Westfleld, this 
 township, on the 4th of April and traversing Iowa 
 to the present site of Council Bluffs, which was 
 then called Kanesville, where he was taken sick 
 with smallpox. He had made a contract to take 
 two men through to the Western coast and board 
 them on the way, for which he was to receive one- 
 half of what they made in two years. Council 
 Bluffs was a Mormon town at that time and the 
 party secured a vacant Mormon cabin, in which our 
 subject and one of the gentlemen, who was similarly 
 afflicted, lay during their sickness, cared for by a 
 Mormon doctor and nurse. His companion, Daniel 
 Case, died and the remainder of the party carried 
 out their plan of visiting the Golden State, leav- 
 ing a team of horses and a wagon for our subject 
 to return home. 
 
 On recovering his health, Mr. Burch joined an- 
 other party of emigrants bound for the Western 
 country, led by Capt. Duncan from Michigan. 
 They landed in Nevada City in September, where 
 our subject engaged in mining and resided until 
 1853. In June of that year, he started home by 
 the way of the Isthmus, and had his first ride on 
 the railroad, paying $11 for eleven miles. Again 
 coming to his old home, he resumed farming on the 
 old place and at the time of his marriage located 
 on the farm which is his present property, and 
 which includes seven hundred and fifteen acres of 
 land, besides which he owns a quarter-section in 
 Greene County, Iowa, and fifty-flve acres in Ogle 
 County. 
 
POETRAIT AND BlOGEAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 661 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married Jan- 
 uary 22, 1866, was Sarah Martha John, a native of 
 Northumberland County, Pa., and the daughter 
 of Jehu and Patience (Housewert) John. The fa- 
 ther was a native of the Keystone State, of Welsh 
 ancestry, while the mother was born in New Jersey, 
 of German stock. Mr. and Mrs. Burch have been 
 granted a family of seven children: Georgiana, 
 Judson, Willard, Preston, Nellie Thressa, Jessie 
 and Mildred. Our subject cast his first Presidential 
 vote for Henry Claj^ and since the formation of 
 the Republican party has been a firm adherent of 
 its principles. When Mr. Barch crossed the Mis- 
 souri River on his California trip, buffalo were 
 seen in great numbers and ho saj^s the only way to 
 compute their number was to estimate how many 
 would stand on an acre, and in that way calculate 
 how many acres a herd covered. 
 
 A portion of the house in which our subject lives 
 w.is the first frame building erected in Winnebago 
 County. 
 
 ' VERILL MARSH, one of the early settlers 
 of Winnebago County, residing on section 
 16, Guilford Township, is one of the 
 worthy citizens that the Keystone State 
 has furnished Illinois. He was born in Bradford 
 County, Pa., December 14, 1822, and is a son of 
 Russell and Abigail (Averill) Marsh, a sketch of 
 whom appears on another page of this work. Our 
 subject was in his sixteenth year when he came to 
 Illinois with his parents, but remembers well the 
 incidents of the removal here, and the experience 
 of pioneer life in Winnebago County. At that 
 time there were no free schools or public school 
 buildings, but the teacher was paid by subscrip- 
 tions, and school was held in any unoccupied 
 building which could be secured. 
 
 Mr. Marsh remained with his parents until 
 twenty years of age, and then engaged in farming 
 for himself. In the early spring of 1849, in com- 
 pany with two companions, he started for Califor- 
 nia, going in a skiff down the Rock River to Rock 
 Island, where they boarded a steamer, and by way 
 
 of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, reached St. 
 Joseph, Mo. There they bought four yoke of 
 oxen and a wagon and started across the plains. 
 There wore then no white settlers between the 
 Missouri River and California, except the Mor- 
 mons, at Salt Lake. In August they arrived at 
 Hangtown, now Placerville, and Mr. Marsh went 
 to the mines near Coloma, where he engaged in 
 digging gold for two years, when he went to Sacra- 
 mento, and formed a partnership with an experi- 
 enced blacksmith, Mr. Marsh furnishing the capital. 
 They opened a shop and con'inued in business for 
 one year, when he resumed mining, and to that 
 occupation devoted his energies until 185.5, when 
 he started on the return trip bj* way of the Isth- 
 mus of Panama and New York. 
 
 On the 28th of February, 1854, Mr. Marsh was 
 joined in wedlock with Frances Robinson, who was 
 born in Paris, Oxford County, Me., September 30, 
 1831. Her father and grandfather both bore the 
 name of Stephen Robinson. The latter was a 
 farmer of Paris, and spent his entire life in the 
 Pine Tree State. He married Jemima Haskell, 
 who also lived in Maine until called to the home 
 beyond. Stephen Robinson, Jr., was reared in Paris, 
 and there married Sophrona Cushman, a native of 
 Buckfleld, Me., and a daugliter of Caleb and Polly 
 (Buck) Cushman. In 1844, they emigrated to Illi- 
 nois, by way of Buffalo and the Lakes, and, on 
 reaching Winnebago County, purchased a farm on 
 section 8, Guilford Township, where both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Robinson spent their remaining days. 
 
 Five children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Marsh, but only one is now living: Lizzie, wife of 
 Ward Shaw, by whom she has one child, Ellis. 
 Eva, their first-born, became the wife of Byron 
 Meech, and died in 1891, leaving four children, 
 Lloyd A., Anna, Frank and Ralph; Bruce died at 
 the age of six months; Dora died at the age of 
 twelve, and Clinton died in his third j'oar. 
 
 On his return from California, Mr. Marsh located 
 upon the farm which he now owns and occupies. 
 Within its boundaries are comprised one hundred 
 and eighty acres of valuable land under a high 
 state of cultivation and well improved with good 
 buildings. He is recognized as one of the leading 
 agriculturists of this community and is a public- 
 
662 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 spirited and progressive citizen who manifests a 
 commendable interest in all that pertains to the 
 upbuilding of the county and the promotion of 
 the general welfare. Politicallj', Mr. Marsh is a 
 stalwart Republican. 
 
 ^>^^<m 
 
 -^- 
 
 \i7 E. B E N S O N , a veteran of the Mex- 
 
 I (^ ican War, was born in Cazenovia, Madison 
 j^M, County, N. Y., March 10, 1826. His father, 
 Isaac Benson, was a native of Albany County, N. 
 Y., and was of Prussian descent. When a young 
 man, he went to Madison County, and, after a short 
 residence in Cazenovia, removed to Fayetteville, 
 Onondaga County, where he followed the black- 
 smith's trade until 1845. He married Julia Thomas, 
 a native of Williamstown, Mass., and with his wife 
 and seven children emigrated to Illinois, making 
 the entire journey overland with teams. He lo- 
 cated in the village of Belviderc, opened a smithy 
 and followed his trade for a number of years, af- 
 ter which he lived retired until called to his final 
 rest. Botli Mr. and Mrs. Benson died in this city. 
 Our subject was an infant when his parents re- 
 moved to Faj'etteville, where he was reared and 
 educated. At the age of sixteen, he commenced 
 working with his fatlier at the blacksmith's trade, 
 and continued with him until 1847, when he en- 
 listed in Capt. Shepherd's Companj- of the Sixth 
 Illinois Infantry, and went with the command to 
 Mexico, where he participated in several engage- 
 ments, serving about a year and a half, when he 
 returned to Alton, and was honorably discharged. 
 His health was greatly impaired during his service. 
 On the 3d of March, 1849, he started with a com- 
 pany for California, making the journey across the 
 plains with ox-teams. At that time there were no 
 white settlers between St. Joseph, Mo., and the Pa- 
 cific Slope, except the Mormons at Salt Lake. Large 
 herds of buffaloes were seen on the prairie, also 
 deer and antelopes. After one hundred and eighty 
 days of travel, the party arrived at Bidwell's 
 ranch, in Butte County, whence they went to the 
 Feather River country. Mr. Benson continued to 
 engage in mining in California, with the exception 
 of two winters spent in Illinois. In 1862, he re- 
 
 turned to Belvidere, where he made his home un- 
 til 1870, when he purchased a farm in De Kalb 
 County. 
 
 On the 8th of January, 1860, Mr. Benson mar- 
 ried Adeline A. Harper, who was born in Huron 
 County, Ohio, and was a daughter of Joseph 
 Harper. She died in 1887, leaving five children: 
 Frank, Eben,Cora, Mary and Jessie. In his politi- 
 cal affiliations, our subject is a Republican, and has 
 served as Street Commissioner for the past three 
 years. Socially, he is a member of the Belvidere 
 Lodge No. 60, A. F. & A. M.; Kishwaukee Chap- 
 ter No. 90, R. A. M.; Crusader Commandery No. 
 17, K. T.; Freeport Consistory and La Fayette 
 Garrison No. 27, K. G. His life has been a varied 
 one. There are few men who served in the Mex- 
 ican War, and also made the trip to California 
 among the '49ers. He has likewise borne the experi- 
 ences of pioneer life. In every community where 
 he has resided he has been recognized as a valued 
 citizen, and wherever he goes, he wins friends. 
 
 
 ATTHEW McMillan. We are gratified 
 to be able to present the life history of 
 this progressive, intelligent and thrifty 
 agriculturist, who enjoys the confidence 
 of the business community and resides on section 
 21, Caledonia Township, Boone County. Both he 
 and his worthy wife are highly esteemed among 
 their neighbors, and in the accumulation of his 
 farm he has been ably seconded by his faithful 
 helpmate. 
 
 The original of this sketch was born in Kintyre, 
 Scotland, December 25, 1815, and is a son of James 
 McMillan, who was also a native of that portion of 
 Scotland, where he spent his entire life. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Mary McLain, who 
 departed this life in her native shire. Matthew, of 
 this sketch, was reared and educated in Scotland 
 and served an apprenticeship of four years at the 
 shoemaker's trade, but did not follow that branch 
 of work, preferring to give his time and attention 
 to agriculture. 
 
 Desiring to see something of the New World, of 
 which he had heard so much, he of whom we wiite. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6G5 
 
 in 1852, came to America, accompanied by liis wife 
 and two children, setting sail from Glasgow in 
 April on the vessel "Conrad" and landed at New 
 York seven weeks and three days later. Our sub- 
 ject immediately went to Cincinnati, where for five 
 years he was engaged in teaming and at the end 
 of that time came to Illinois and, locating in 
 Caledonia Township, rented land until 1878, when 
 he became the proprietor of the two hundred and 
 ten acres which he now owns adjoining the village. 
 The lady to whom our subject was married, De- 
 cember 28, 1841, was also born in Kintyre, Scot- 
 land, and bore the name of Agnes, daughter of 
 John and Mary Kelly. They have become the 
 parents of eight children, namely: Mary, Barbara, 
 James, John, Matthew, Libby. Nettie and Charles. 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. McMillan are earnest and active 
 members of the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church, 
 and their influence in every way is used for the 
 upbuilding of society and the forwarding of the 
 interests of morality and religion. 
 
 OBERT RIDGE. Among the most highly 
 esteemed and respected residents of the vil- 
 lage of Capron, Boone County, HI., there is 
 10 not one who has been a more faithful soldier 
 and pleasant member of society, or a more thorough 
 and sagacious business man, than the original of 
 this notice, whose portrait is shown on the oppo- 
 site page. His life of industry and usefulness and 
 his record for honesty and uprightness have given 
 him a hold upon the community which all might 
 well desire to share. 
 
 The parents of our subject, George and Eliza 
 (Crozier) Ridge, were natives of Ireland, in which 
 country the mother died when comparatively a 
 young woman. In 1860, the father came to the 
 United States, settled in New York State, at 
 Lawyersville, Schoharie County, and two years 
 later sent for his family of five children. In 1874, 
 he came to Illinois and made his home with his 
 son, our subject, until his death, when eighty- 
 three years of age. He was a hard-working man, 
 a tiller of the soil, which occupation most of his 
 
 ancestors had followed, and was honest and 
 upright in every walk of life. Of his children, 
 only three are naw living: Robert in Capron, 111., 
 and Thomas and James in New Haven, Conn. 
 
 Our subject was born in County Cavan, Ireland, 
 June 4, 1839, and when but an infant was sent to 
 his grandparents, with whom he remained until 
 twelve years of age, or until coming to America. 
 When thirteen years old, he began working out )iy 
 the month for Horace Wakeman, but received little 
 compensation. From 1858, when he came to 
 Boone County, 111., until the opening of the war, 
 he received more substantial returns for his serv- 
 ices, and his prospects were brighter in every re- 
 spect. Although he worked on the farm during 
 the summer seasons, he was in school during the 
 winter months, and attended the South Belvidere 
 school for one term. On the 12th of August, 1862, 
 he enlisted in Company B, Ninety-fifth Illinois 
 Infantry, under Capt. C. B. Loop, and was with 
 his regiment until after the siege of Vicksburg, 
 when he was taken sick and confined in the Mc- 
 Pherson Hospital for about three months. Recov- 
 ering, he went to the frontand joined "Sherman's 
 dasidng Union boys," at Kenesaw Mountain, re- 
 maining with them until after the capture of 
 Atlanta, when he returned to his own regiment at 
 Nashville. He was mustered out at Springfield, 
 111., August 17, 1865, after being in many prom- 
 inent engagements, and having his hat shot through 
 twice — once at Vicksburg and once at Spanish Ft., 
 Ala. 
 
 Returning to Boone County after cessation of 
 hostilities, Mr. Ridge began clerking in a store at 
 Capron for Stow & Lambert, and this continued 
 until his marriage, November 24, 1867, to Miss 
 Hattie A. Scott, a native of Canada, and the daugh- 
 ter of Francis and Mary Scott. The mother died 
 in Canada, but the father moved to Illinois in 
 1857, and became quite an extensive landowner. 
 He died in Capron when eighty-three years of age. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ridge became the parents of four 
 children: The eldest, Alice, born January 1, 1871, 
 died March 22, 1874; George S., born in Capron, 
 Boone County, June 2, 1874, died June 4, 1892, 
 aged eighteen years; Clara B., born January 5, 
 1876, and Benjamin Harrison, born June 26, 1888, 
 
666 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 are the surviving members of the family circle. 
 After his marriage Mr. Ridge engaged in general 
 merchandising, In company with William Andrews, 
 for eighteen years, and at the same time cariied on 
 a successful grain business; then dissolving part- 
 nership with Mr. Andrews, he bought the Capron 
 elevators, and has been in the grain and feed busi- 
 ness exclusively for the past six years. He is now 
 interested in tile works and also owns a good farm 
 of two hundred and fifty-three acres in Lc Roy 
 Township. He is a self-made man, and all that 
 he now owns is the result of hard work and un- 
 ceasing industry. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Ridge is a Republican. He has 
 been School Treasurer for sixteen years, and has 
 held other local positions in the township. He lias 
 been a member of the Christian Church for many 
 years, and had charge of the township bible deposi- 
 tory for over twenty-three years, resigning that 
 position about two years ago. He also gave up 
 the position of School Treasurer, which he had 
 held for sixteen years. Socially, he is Adjutant 
 of Cornwall Post No. 314, G. A. R., of Capron, 
 and was one of the charter members. He is a 
 member of Camp No. 623, M. W. A. 
 
 A conscientious and devout Christian, Mr_ 
 Ridge is honored and esteemed by all who enjoy 
 his acquaintance, and the family is one of the 
 most prominent in the township. He is public- 
 spirited, and is actively identified with all good 
 movements. He is President of the tile and brick 
 works of the village of Capron, and was largely 
 instrumental in establishing that enterprise in the 
 v illage. 
 
 ' LEXANDER RALSTON. This gentleman, 
 though born across the ocean, was one of 
 the early pioneers of AVinnebago County, 
 and has given the best efforts of his life 
 to its development, and, as a reward for his 
 industry, has accumulated a handsome compe- 
 tency. In Mr. Ralston, we find a splendid exam- 
 ple of what may be accomplished by an energetic, 
 determined and economical man. His birthplace 
 was Argylesliire, Scotland, the date thereof being 
 
 May 1, 1808. His father, David Ralston, was also 
 born in that place, where he was reared to the call- 
 ing of an agriculturist and spent his entire life. 
 
 Our subject's mother, Helen Ralston, was born 
 in the same shire as was her husband, coming to 
 America in 1842, and departing this life in Winne- 
 bago County. She became the mother of five chil- 
 dren: Robert, Alexander, Margaret, Jane and Da- 
 vid, all of whom came to America. Robert settled 
 in what is now Harlem Township, Winnebago 
 County, where his decease occurred; Margaret was 
 married to John Caldwell, and makes her home in 
 Caledonia, Boone County; David resided in this 
 county until his decease. 
 
 Alexander Ralston was reared and educated in 
 his native shire, and when fifteen years of age 
 went to Greenock and was engaged for four years 
 as a clerk in a hardware store. After that he emi- 
 grated to St. Johns, Newfoundland, and was in the 
 employ of the same man for five years. Returning 
 to Scotland, he remained there until 1834, at which 
 time he sailed from Greenock on the "Roger 
 Stewart," and six weeks later landed in New 
 York. He came directly West to Ohio, where he 
 engaged to work out by the month for a time. 
 Later, being enabled to become the owner of prop- 
 erty on his own account, he secured an eighty- 
 acre tract of timber land, upon which he erected a 
 log house and there resided until 1843. On the 
 above-named date, Mr. Ralston came to Winnebago 
 County, making the journey hither b}' teams, and 
 settled in what is now Harlem Township. At that 
 time Northern Illinois was very sparsely settled, 
 the greater portion of the land being in the pos- 
 session of the Government. Our subject, however, 
 made a claim to eighty acres, upon which he 
 erected a small frame house, doing the carpenter- 
 work himself, and going to Cliicago with a team 
 for the shingles. He from time to time added to 
 his farm, until his estate included one hundred and 
 eighty acres, well improved with good buildings. 
 In 1879, Mr. Ralston disposed of his property and 
 came to Rockford, where he has since lived retired 
 from active labors. 
 
 Mr. Ralston was married in Scotland to Jane 
 Gordon, who was a native of the same shire as was 
 her husband, and died after coming to this coun- 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 667 
 
 try, in 1836, in Washington County, Ohio. In 
 1852, our subject was again married, this time td 
 Ehzabeth Harvey, a native of Argyleshire, Scot- 
 land, and the daughter of "William and Mary 
 (Greenlees) Harvey. She came to America with 
 her parents, where she died. Two daughters were 
 born of that union, Charlotte E. and Nellie. The 
 first union of Mr. Ralston resulted in the birth of 
 one son, John C, wlio resides in St. Louis. 
 
 The original of this siietch was reared under the 
 influence of the Pi'esbyterian Church, with which 
 denomination he became connected in early life. 
 He is at the present time a member of the West- 
 minster Church, at Rockford, to the support of 
 which he is a liberal contributor. He stands very 
 high in business circles, being a founder of the 
 People's Banjj of Rockford. In 1875, Mr. Ralston 
 returned to Scotland, after an absence of forty 
 years, and visited friends and relatives. Our sub- 
 ject is a Republican, and has held various offices, 
 among them that of Justice of the Peace for three 
 terms. 
 
 »»»>.^>.l»bi 
 
 ■ « ■ ! ' I ' 
 
 M 
 
 <| I^ILLIAM C. CHAPMAN, a successful pat- 
 tern-maker of Rockford, who has been in 
 the employ of John and W. F. Barns since 
 March, 1866, is highly esteemed for his ability, en- 
 terprise and integrity. He has been a resident of 
 the city since 1852, except about four years that 
 he spent in Chicago, 111. He learned the trade of 
 a cabinet-maker and designer, and was in the em- 
 ploy of J. Gr. Marsh, a furnituie-maker in this city, 
 for sixteen years. While in Chicago, he also fol- 
 lowed his trade. 
 
 Our subject was born in Greenwich Townsliip, 
 Washington County, N. Y., November 15, 1830, 
 and received his rudimentary education in the 
 common schools of that county. He afterward 
 attended Unionville Academy, where, during the 
 four years of his attendance, he was a schoolmate of 
 Ex-President Chester A. Arthur. Later, he was 
 under the tutelage of his father in learning to be 
 a mechanic, and when twenty-one 3'-ears of age, 
 came West to Rockford, 111., and grew up with this 
 city. His record as a citizen and business man is 
 
 very good indeed, and he is a man of excellent 
 habits, never touching whisky or tobacco in any 
 form. He has been a member of the First Congre- 
 gational Church nearlj- all his life, and is a strong 
 supporter of the principles of the Republican 
 party. _ 
 
 Miss Linda Neal,whom our subject married m this 
 county, was a native of the Province of Ontario, 
 Canada, and came to the States, and to Winnebago 
 County, 111., when twenty years of age. She died 
 March 27, 1876, when thirty-three years of age, 
 leaving the following children, all now living: 
 Frank W., now a resident of Southern Dakota; Le 
 Roy, a railroad man, residing in Rockford, who 
 married Miss Hattie Andrews; Lucy E., engaged 
 with the Rockford Watch Compan}'; and Charles 
 H., residing in Minnesota. 
 
 Mr. Chapman's second marriage occurred in 
 Guilford Township, this county, to Miss Andrews, 
 who was born, reared and educated in that town- 
 ship. She died at her home in this city in October, 
 1878, when thirty-three years of age, leaving one 
 child, Albert H., who is at home. 
 
 The third marriage of our subject occurred in 
 Rockford, and the lady of his choice was Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Warner, iiee Judd. She was also born, 
 reared and educated in Guilford Township, her 
 birth taking place on the 4th of May, 1851. She 
 was the daughter of old settlers of this county, 
 both of whom died here. The parents, Benjamin 
 and Mary A. (Carman) Judd, were natives of 
 Canada, but after marriage they came to the States, 
 settling in Cherry Valley Township, Winnebago 
 County, 111. Later, they removed to Guilford 
 Township, located on a farm, and died when quite 
 aged. 
 
 Mrs. Chapman, the present wife of our subject, 
 was first married in her native township to Mr. 
 Alexander B. I. Warner, who was a brick-molder 
 in Rockford for many years, but subsequently went 
 to Michigan. He was in Antrim County, of that 
 State, until his death, on the 25th of December, 
 1878, when forty-two years of age. He was a 
 soldier in the Civil War, enlisting in the Eleventh 
 Illinois Infantry and serving three years, .and was 
 in many prominent engagements. He veteranized 
 after serving the last of four years in the Seventy- 
 
668 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fourth Illinois Infantry, and his discharge was 
 covered with the battles in which he engaged. He 
 escaped with only a slight flesh wound on the left 
 cheek, but was the hero of many a battle. He died 
 leaving five children: George A., in the employ 
 of the Rockford Street Railroad; Ida P., wife of 
 John Robinson, a farmer of Nelson, Neb.; Clara 
 M. and Dora E. at home, both having received 
 good educations at the Business College; and Ben- 
 jamin J., at home. To the present union have 
 been born two children, Chester A. and Darwin E. 
 
 ♦=:^^=^ 
 
 _J 
 
 %^ ENRY A. LATHAM. Prominent among 
 'i' the pioneers of Winnebago County stands 
 the name of our subject, who has resided 
 ■^j for the last thirty years on the old home- 
 stead in Owen Township. His estate includes two 
 hundred and fifty-two acres located on the Rock 
 River, and the honorable and successful career of 
 Mr. Latham stands forth as a fitting example of 
 what can be attained by persistent and earnest 
 effort. 
 
 Our subject had his birth November 12, 1843, in 
 Schoharie County, N. Y., while his direct progeni- 
 tor, Francis E. Latham, hailed from Connecticut. 
 Darius Latham, the grandfather of our subject, was 
 also born in the Nutmeg State, whence he removed 
 to Albany, N. Y., and later came to Rockford, 
 where he remained a short time and then went 
 farther West to Kansas. Returning to Illinois, he 
 departed this life at the home of his son in Lincoln. 
 When the parents of Francis E. Latham removed 
 to Albany, N. Y., he was a lad of about twelve 
 years, and when attaining mature life learned the 
 carpenter's trade, which he followed for a time and 
 then entered the employ of the New York & Erie 
 Railroad, being engaged in building bridges. He 
 continued to make his home in the Empire State 
 until 1854 when he came to Rockford and was en- 
 gaged in contracting and building for about three 
 years, at the expiration of which time he purchased 
 his farm in Owen Township and cultivated the soil 
 until his decease. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Maria Zimmer; she was born in New York 
 
 State and died on the home farm, after having 
 •borne her husband four children: Henry A., Sarah 
 Abbie and Emma. 
 
 The original of this sketch was a lad of ten years 
 when he accompanied his parents on their removal 
 to the Prairie State. He attended school during 
 the winter months and assisted his father in per- 
 forming duties on the farm, then on the outbreak 
 of the late war enlisted at the first call for volun- 
 teers. His company, however, was not accepted, 
 their services not being needed. Our subject again 
 enlisted in August of that year, joining Company 
 D, Eleventh Illinois Infantry, and served with his 
 regiment until July, 1863, and was then trans- 
 ferred to the navy. He participated in many im- 
 portant battles while a member of the Eleventh 
 Regiment, among which were Ft. Donelson and 
 Shiloh, while in the navy he fought on the gun- 
 boats "Cincinnati," "Lexington," "Hastings," and 
 the "Mortar Fleet," serving under Commodores 
 Foote and Porter. The principal naval battles were 
 Snyders Bluff, Arkansas Post, Yazoo Pass. On the 
 26th of May, 1864 the vessel on which oursubject 
 was aboard, the "Cincinnati," was sunk, and 
 forty-two of the ninety-five men were lost. Mr. 
 Latham was put on board the "Mortar P'leet" and 
 later participated in the siege of Vicksburg, after 
 which he was transferred to Lexington and went 
 on the Red River expedition. 
 
 His term of service expiring in the fall of 1864, 
 ou)' subject received his honorable discharge and 
 returned home. In February, 1865, he again en- 
 listed, becoming a member of the Eleventh lUinois 
 Cavalry, serving his country until October of that 
 year, and then returning home was engaged with 
 his father until the death of the latter, which oc- 
 curred in 1880. The original of this sketch then 
 went to Benton County, Mo., where he purchased 
 an unimproved tract of land, upon which he re- 
 sided for three years. Then returning to Illinois, 
 he bought the interest of the other heirs of the old 
 homestead which he at present owns and occupies. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Rice and Henry A. Latham were 
 united in marriage in 1865. The lady, a native 
 of New York State, bore her husband two children, 
 Francis E. and Elwilda. Mr. Latham is a Grand 
 Army man being a member of Nevius Post No. 1 
 
.$ ^ - 
 
 '» »• 
 
 '' • <* 
 
 •V 
 
 t \ 
 
 N// 
 
 'iSi'-,,^^''^ 
 
 ^::^-t-c4^ 
 
. i'ORTRAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 671 
 
 at Rockford. He is also connected with "Winnebago 
 Encampment No. 44, I. O. O. F., and the Farm- 
 ers' Camp M. W. A. and the Kishwaukee Tribe No. 
 34 Independent Order of Redmen. Our subject 
 is a member of the Illinois National Guards, Third 
 Regiment, and has filled the office of Commissary 
 Sergeant for four years, and has belonged to the 
 Regiment for seven years. 
 
 y'^dLLARD A. BROLIN, Secretary and Treas- 
 urer of the Skandia Furniture Company, 
 has the honor of being a native-born citi- 
 zen of Rockford, his birth having occurred in this 
 city on the 2d of January, 1866. His parents, 
 Charles and Eva (Carlson) Brolin, were both na- 
 tives of Sweden, and when young people came to 
 the United States. After locating in Rockford, 
 they were married and have since been residents 
 of this city, where they still make their home. For 
 some time the father was employed in the machine 
 department of the N. C. Thompson Manufacturing 
 Company, but has subsequently been a finisher in 
 the cabinet works of the Skandia Furniture Com- 
 pany of Rockford. He and his wife are members of 
 the First Swedish Lutheran Church, and, in politics, 
 he is a supporter of the principles of the Republi- 
 can party. Unto them were born a family of six 
 children, but onlj' two are now living: Willard 
 and Arthur. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our sub- 
 ject, whose portrait appears in this connection, and 
 who is known as one of the enterprising young 
 business men of Rockford. His education was ac- 
 quired in the city schools, and since he has attained 
 his majority he has been engaged in doing clerical 
 work. He was employed for a time as agent for 
 the East Side Illinois Central Railroad, and has 
 been connected with several local enterprises. He 
 is a stockholder in the Skandia Loan Association, 
 and for the past three years has held the position 
 of Secretary and Treasurer of the Skandia Furni- 
 ture Company, and is also one of its Directors. 
 
 This corporation has its factory on North Second 
 Street, on the east bank of the Rock River. The 
 business was established in 1889, and has been car- 
 30 
 
 ried on successfully since. They manufacture 
 hall-trees, book-cases, cylinder desks, ladies' secre- 
 taries, extension-tables, etc., employing one hun- 
 dred and fifty men. They have a constantly 
 increasing trade, of which the members of the firm 
 are well deserving. Mr. Brolin is also a stock- 
 liolder and Director of the Royal Mantel and Fur- 
 niture Company; stockholder and Director in the 
 Rockford Furniture and Undertaking Company; 
 and has a third interest in the Oscar Larson Com- 
 pany, wholesale and retail dealers in fruit and 
 confectionery. 
 
 Our subject and his brother reside at home with 
 their parents. They hold membership with the 
 First Swedish Lutheran Church and both exercise 
 their right of franchise in support of the Republi- 
 can party. Our subject is aai energetic and ambi- 
 tious young man, and though now only twenty-six 
 years of age, is already regarded as one of the 
 leading young business men of the city. Follow- 
 ing out the course which he is now pursuing, he 
 will undoubtedly make his life both useful and 
 successful. 
 
 AVID A. ELMORE, dealer in wood, coal, 
 flour and feed, fire-proof brick, roofing 
 material, etc., carries on a flourishing busi- 
 ness at No. 516 South Main Street, Rock- 
 ford, where he established in business in 1875. He 
 is a man of superior attainments and accurate 
 principles, and to this fact, coupled with industry 
 and energy, is due the prosperity by which his en- 
 terprise has been attended. He came to Rockford 
 from Rochelle,. wliere for fifteen years he was en- 
 gaged as a coal-dealer, his efforts there being so 
 satisfactory as to favor the removal to the larger 
 city. 
 
 Mr. Elmore is a native of Ohio, and was born in 
 Columbus, December 25, 1829. "When about one 
 year old, he was brought by his parents to this 
 State, settlement being made at Beardstown, Cass 
 County. His father, Jacob Elmore, was born at 
 Cobleskill, N. Y., and was a son of Daniel Elmore, 
 who passed his entire life in the Empire State, dy- 
 ing at an advanced age. In his youth, Jacob El- 
 
672 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL EECORD. 
 
 more learned the trade of a cabinet-maker, and 
 after he came to Illinois, engaged as a mill-wriglit. 
 He was thus employed when he was accidentally 
 drowned in the Illinois River, at Beardstown, leav- 
 ing a widow and one child. 
 
 ' A few years after the death of Jacob Elmore, 
 his widow became the wife of John Acker, and, in 
 1837, removed to Ogle County, which remained 
 their home for some years. Later, they removed 
 to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where Mrs. Acker 
 died at the age of seventy-six, leaving five sons 
 and two daughters by her second marriage. Mr. 
 Acker died May 16, 1892, at the advanced age of 
 ninety-two years. His entire life had been spent 
 in farming pursuits. 
 
 In the home of his mother and stepfather, our 
 subject grew to man's estate, coming with them to 
 Ogle County in 1837, and attending the common- 
 schools of that county. When twenty-one years 
 and three months old, he started out to earn his 
 own living, and since that time he has not only 
 been self-supporting, but has accumulated a 
 comfortable property through shrewd business 
 management and judicious investments. He is 
 genial and whole-souled, and never forgets, either 
 in business or society, that the duty one man owes 
 to another is courtesy. He has in his possession 
 some highly-prized keepsakes in the shape of old 
 letters written to his father in the days when post- 
 age was twenty-five cents and envelopes were un- 
 known. 
 
 The lady who, February 14, 1857, became the 
 wife of Mr. Elmore was Miss Addie E. Reynolds. 
 She was born in Cattaraugus County, N. Y., in 
 1839, and was quite young when she accompanied 
 her parents, James S. and Rosamond (Geer) Rey- 
 nolds, to Illinois. They were natives of the Em- 
 pire State, passed their entire lives on a farm, and 
 now lie buried side by side in Ogle County, where 
 they died full of years. Mr. and Mrs. Elmore are 
 the parents of seven children, of whom the follow- 
 ing is noted: Addie was for same years a teacher, 
 but is now a stenographer, in Chicago; Kate is 
 saleslady in a State Street millinery store, in Chi- 
 cago; Grace is the wife of E. M. Burns, a druggist 
 at Mason City, Iowa; Arthur E., Secretary for his 
 father and the company, is a graduate of Evanston 
 
 College, and a young man of great promise; Isa- 
 belle is stenographer for the Rockford Watch Com- 
 pany; Helen M. is an accomplished and gifted 
 pianist and a music teacher; Anna R. is a student 
 in Rockford High School. 
 
 ^^m^^^-^^m^ 
 
 
 AVID J. ANDERSON, who has been a 
 resident on his line farm in Winne- 
 bago Township since 1854, was born in 
 Essex County, N. J., October 30, 1822. 
 He is a son of John Anderson, who was born in 
 Hunterdon County, that State, January 15, 1796. 
 Capt. Jacob Anderson, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was also a native of the above-named State, 
 and received his title while a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary War; he died in Hunterdon County 
 about 1838, and his widow drew a pension of 1800 
 during her last j'ears. 
 
 John Anderson was one of triplets born to bis 
 parents, one of whom died in infancy and one 
 when six years of age. He was reared on the farm 
 and died in June, 1850, in Hunterdon County. 
 The maiden name of his wife was Eleanor John- 
 son, whose birth occurred in the same State, No- 
 vember 1, 1795. She came to Illinois in 1852, and 
 died in Winnebago Township, August 7, 1874. 
 
 The parental family included the following- 
 named children: David J., Catherine, Kachel, 
 Ruth T., Hannah M., Mary M., Wesley B. and 
 Henry M. Pie of whom we write was very young 
 when his father removed to Hunterdon County 
 and as soon as old enough began to assist in the 
 cultivation of the home farm. When seventeen 
 years of age, he served an apprenticeship of three 
 years at the blacksmith's trade, and, in 1840, went 
 to Tioga County, N. Y., where he was engaged as 
 a smith for six years. At the end of that time, he 
 came to Illinois, locating in Rockford, where he en- 
 tered the employ of Frink & Walker, proprietors 
 of the stage line, as their horse-shoer. As there were 
 no railroads in Rockford at that early day, all 
 transportation was made with teams. 
 
 In the fall of 1851, Mr. Anderson returned to 
 New York State, and the following spring, accom- 
 panied by his mother, brothers and sisters, came to 
 
PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 673 
 
 this county, where he purchased, two years later, 
 the farm which is his present home, and on which 
 may be found all the improvements which go to 
 make of it a first-class estate. Fruit, shade and 
 ornamental trees enhance its beauty and value 
 and not the least among its good buildings is a 
 comfortable farm residence. 
 
 February 23, 1869, Elizabeth Forester, who was 
 born in Northumberland County, Pa., March 24, 
 1834, became the wife of our subject. Her father, 
 James Forester, was born in New Jersey, October 
 17, 1796, and was a lad of ten years when he re- 
 moved with his parents to Pennsylvania. When 
 starting out in life for himself, he purchased a farm 
 in Northumberland County, which he cultivated 
 until his decease, March 7, 1872. The maiden 
 name of Mrs. Anderson's mother was Sarah 
 Mettler, also a native of New Jersey, where her 
 birth occurred March 24, 1798. She departed this 
 life, February 7, 1885, when eiglity-seven years 
 old. Her thirteen children bore the names of 
 Francis, George, William, John, Samuel, Henry M., 
 Jane, Ira, Elizabeth, Philip, Charles, Sarah A., and 
 James. 
 
 Two children have been granted our subject and 
 his wife: Sarah Eleanor, who was born December 
 23, 1869, died January 4, 1873; and Gertrude, born 
 June 20, 1874. Our subject and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in 
 politics Mr. Anderson votes the straight Republi- 
 can ticket, with which party his wife is in full 
 sympathy although not permitted to vote. 
 
 ^^EORGE J. THORNTON, one of the leading 
 111 "^ contractors and builders of Rockford, 111., 
 \^Jl is pleasantly domiciled in one of the fine 
 residences of his own building, at No. 414 Whit- 
 man Street, and at the head of Grant Avenue and 
 Thomas Street. This is one of the many beauti- 
 ful building spots of the thriving city of Rockford. 
 Since 1881, Mr. Thornton has been a resident of 
 this city. He has attended strictly to his busi- 
 ness, winning a just reputation as to his ability as 
 a contractor and builder. He was born in the Prov- 
 
 ince of Ontario, Canada, and his parents. Bowler 
 and Hannah (Blackburn) Thornton, were natives 
 of England. 
 
 Bowler Thornton was born in Yorkshire, in the 
 year 1816, and comes of an old Yorkshire fam- 
 ily. He grew to manhood there, and learned the 
 blacksmith trade of his father, John Thornton. 
 In 1829, the family came to America, settled at 
 Port Hope, Province of Ontario, and in Clark 
 Township, of that province. Bowler was united in 
 marriage with Miss Blackburn. She was also a 
 native of Yorkshire, England, born in 1821, and 
 in 1832 she came with her parents, James and 
 Rachel (Ware) Blackburn, who were natives of 
 Yorkshire, to Canada. They settled on a timbered 
 farm in Clark Township, Province of Ontario, and 
 there the parents spent the closing years of their 
 lives, having passed the allotted age of man. Both 
 were prominent members of the Methodist Church. 
 Of their eleven children, Mrs. Thornton was the 
 youngest in order of birth. Her last remaining 
 sister died in the Province of Ontario, March 14, 
 1892. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Thornton followed 
 blacksmithing for some time, but later engaged in 
 the grain business, and made a fortune at this. 
 He was also actively engaged in merchandising, 
 but soon met with reverses and lost all. In 1865, 
 he came to Illinois and settled in Winnebago 
 County, where he became manager of a sheep and 
 stock farm of six hundred and forty acres in Owen 
 Township, known as the L. W. Owen farm, and 
 received as compensation $65 per month. Three 
 years later, he purchased one hundred and sixty 
 acres of wild land in that township, and resided 
 on the same, making many improvements, until 
 his death in August, 1876, when nearly fifty-nine 
 years of age. Although he met with many dis- 
 couragements and reverses, he was never disheart- 
 ened, and at his death left a fortune of $12,000. 
 His wife, who is still living and who is seventy 
 years of age, has a comfortable home with a daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. H. H. Wilcox, in Burritt Township. 
 She is a member of the Methodist Church, and 
 her husband was also associated with that church. 
 
 George J. Thornton was one of eleven children, 
 and was seven years old when he came with his 
 
674 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 parents to Illinois. He remained in this State until 
 seventeen years of ago, and then returned to Can- 
 ada. Later, he entered the Medical Department of 
 the University at Ann Arbor, Mich., and then the 
 Chicago Medical School, after which he went West. 
 He had followed the drug business in Canada for 
 some time before going to Ann Arbor, and in 
 1881, as before mentioned, he returned to Illinois. 
 He was married in Rockford to Miss Ida J. Corlett, 
 a native of Guilford Township, this county, where 
 she was reared and educated. Her parents, .James 
 and Emma A. (Wood) Corlett, were natives of the 
 Isle of Man and New York State, respectively. Mr. 
 Corlett came to the United States with his parents 
 when a child, settled with them in Ohio, and, later, 
 came to Winnebago County, where he followed 
 farming in Guilford Township. He was first mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary A. Von Alstein, who died when 
 a comparatively young woman, leaving four chil- 
 dren. His second marriage was with Miss Wood, 
 by whom he became the father of nine children. 
 Mr. Corlett died at his liome in Guilford Town- 
 ship, December 21, 1885, when sixty-three years of 
 age. He was a very successful and popular busi- 
 ness man, and left at his death an estate valued at 
 175,000. Mrs. Corlett is a resident of this city, 
 and is now not quite fifty years of age. She resides 
 at No. 412 Whitman Street. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Thornton became the parents of 
 two children: Birdie A., who died at the age of 
 about five months, and Bessie A., a bright little 
 girl of six years. Mr. and Mrs. Thornton are 
 members of the Centennial Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. Mr. Thornton is a Republican in politics. 
 Socially, our subject belongs to the Modern Wood- 
 men of America. 
 
 |-g,^^^| 
 
 ENRY A. POSSON. There is no doubt that 
 Jj a sketch of this popu'ar citizen of R ckford 
 will interest all the residents of this part 
 of the county, as he is a very prominent 
 man in social and bi sin ess circles. Orleans 
 County, N. Y., is the place of his birth, the 
 date thereof being July 8, 1836. Jacob Posson, 
 his fa her, was one of the first settler j in RockforJ, 
 
 and it is thought he was born in Schoharie County, 
 N. Y. He was the son of Frederick and Kate 
 Posson, and was reared and married in New York 
 State, where he learned the trade of a cooper. He 
 removed to Niagara County soon after his mar- 
 riage, where he was employed until 1836, the time 
 of his coming to Rockford. In that early day all 
 tht surrounding country was owned by the Gov- 
 ernment, and but few families resided in this now 
 wealthy city. 
 
 The father of our subject purchased a lot on the 
 northeast corner of Second and Market Streets, and 
 made his residence on the south side of Secor.d 
 Street, which property he also owned. In the fall 
 of the above-named year he was joined in his new 
 home by his wife and child, who came hither from 
 the East by way of the Lakes to Chicago, and was 
 twenty eight days in making the journey. They 
 were met in Chicago by Mr. Posson, and were con- 
 veyed by a team to Rockford. In 1837, he bought 
 a claim to a tract cf land four miles from thecit}', 
 on which he erected a log house and commenced 
 at once the improvement on his farm. As there 
 were no railroads in the vicinity for a number of 
 years and Chicago was the nearest marke and 
 depot for su plies, the pioneers were compelled to 
 haul their products to that city, and on the return 
 trip brought back necessary articles for the family. 
 
 Jacob Posson resided for five years on the farm 
 above mentioned, when he rented his estate and, 
 coming to Rockford, erected a shop on the south- 
 east corner of Second and Market Streets, where 
 he intended to engage at his trade of coopering. 
 His decease occurred, however, November 1, 1842, 
 before the shop was completed. The maiden n ime 
 of the mother of our subject was Mary Sherwood. 
 She was born in Salem, Washington County, N. 
 Y., November 7, 1806, and was the daughter of 
 James and Sarah (Smith) Sherwood, natives re- 
 spectively of New York City and Now Hampshire. 
 Mrs. Posson is still living, at the advanced age of 
 eighty-five years. She became the mother of three 
 children: our subject, Frederick L. and Mary A. 
 Frederick L. resides at Portland, Ore., and Mary 
 A. married James M. Forbes, and makes her home 
 in Santa Barbara. 
 
 Heury A. Posson, of this sketch, was an infant 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 675 
 
 when bis parents emigrated to Winnebago County, 
 and at that time was the first white babe in the 
 county. He attended the early schools of Rock- 
 ford, and at the age o'' twenty years went to 
 Medina, N. Y., to learn the trade of house and car- 
 riao-c I ainting. After spending three years in the 
 Empire State, he returned to Rockford, where he 
 prosecuted his trade until 1861, when, in Septem- 
 ber of that year, he enlisted in Company G, Forty- 
 fifth Illinois Inf ntry, and participated in he 
 battles of Ft. Henry, Ft. Donelson and Sbiloh. He 
 was wounded at the latter-named conflict on Sun- 
 day, April 6th, receiving a gun-shot wound in his 
 right arm, which was amputated the following 
 week at the Central Hospital, Paducah. Our sub- 
 ject was honorably discharged July 2, 1862, and 
 on returning ho-ne resumed work at his trade, 
 which he followed for six years. He has been in 
 tlie postal service in Rockford since January, 1890. 
 Miss Hannah McClafferty became the wife of our 
 subject September 19, 1867. She was born in An- 
 napolis, Nova Scotia, and was the daughter of Roger 
 and Mary McClafferty, and by her union with our 
 subject has become the mother of two children: 
 George A. and Mary A. Mrs. Posson is a member 
 of the Baptist Church and her daughter is con- 
 nected with the Centennial Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. Our subject is a member of Nevius Post 
 No. 1, G. A. R., and is greatly respected by the 
 entire community. 
 
 r^)ICHARD MOORE. The occupation which 
 ^^ this gentleman now follows has received 
 
 his attention the greater part of his life, 
 ^ and it is, perhaps, not to be wondered at 
 that he is meeting with success in his chosen call- 
 ing, for he has always attended strictly to the de- 
 tails of farm work, and is one of the intelligent and 
 enterprising class of citizens who would give life 
 to any community in which they might settle. He 
 was born in Clarion County, Pa., on the 25th of 
 May, 1826, to the union of John and Mary (Moore") 
 Moore, natives of Ireland and Centre County, Pa., 
 respectively. They were the parents of twelve chil- 
 dren, four of whom are living at the present time. 
 
 The parents both died in this State, the father when 
 sixty-two years of age, and the mother at the age of 
 seventj'-one. Both were worthy people and highly 
 esteemed in the community in which they lived. 
 
 The paternal grandfather came from Ireland to 
 America at an early date, and met with some excit- 
 ing adventures in crossing the Atlantic. The cap- 
 tain of the vessel in which he took passage became 
 drunk, the vessel was wrecked, and of the three 
 hundred passengers who started, only about twentj^- 
 flve were saved. The grandfather of our subject 
 succeeded in reaching land, and was Anally res- 
 cued and landed in Philadelphia, where he passed 
 the remainder of his days, dying at the age of 
 sixty-two. He lost all his belongings and was 
 obliged to commence at the beginning again. 
 
 The subject of this sketch remained under the 
 parental roof, working for himself and his father, 
 until October 25, 1855, when he was united in mar- 
 riage to Miss Margaret Gordon, a native of Clear- 
 field County, Pa., born May 21, 1832. She is the 
 daughter of Patrick and Elizabeth (Cook) Gordon, 
 the fatlier a native of Scotland, and the mother 
 of Centre County, Pa. Mr. Gordon came to this 
 country when a young man, and here married. 
 His death occurred in Illinois, when fifty years of 
 age. His widow was married the second time, her 
 husband being John Fleming, and by this union 
 became the mother of one child. She received 
 her final summons in Oi'egon, her death occurring 
 when eighty-eight years of age. Mrs. Moore's 
 grandmother, Margaret Cook, died in Illinois, and 
 was a very old lady at the time of her demise. 
 Her husband was in the Revolutionary War, and 
 was a brave and gallant soldier. The Gordons and 
 Cooks were for the most part agriculturists by oc- 
 cupation, there being but few exceptions. Mrs. 
 Moore has four brothers and sisters living, and one 
 brother, William Gordon, has been identified with 
 the interests of Winnebago County, 111., for many 
 years, and has a street in Rockford named after 
 him. Both Mr. and Mrs. Moore had brothers in 
 the late unpleasantness between the North and 
 South. 
 
 To our subject and wife have been born six chil- 
 dren, five sons and one daughter: John A. is in 
 Iowa engaged in farming; he married Miss Minnie 
 
676 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Norman, find they have five daughters. William 
 A., who is in Spring Township, this county, mar- 
 ried Miss Mina Wilcox, and has four daughters. 
 George G., in this township, married Miss Ida Wil- 
 cox. James T., who resides in South Dakota, mar- 
 ried Miss Jennie Stanton; they have one child, a 
 son. Lizzie married Frank Tanner, a contractor 
 and builder of Belvidere; and Clarence R. married 
 Miss Philre Case, and resides in Belvidere. 
 
 Mr. Moore came to Boone County, 111., in 1854, 
 and for some time rented land. By industry and 
 good management, he accumulated enough means 
 to invest in land, and bought eighty acres, paying 
 $1,400 for it. He erected a small but comfortable 
 and convenient house, also a small barn, and thus 
 equipped he began to gather around him many of 
 the comforts and conveniencies of life. He subse- 
 quently purchased fifty acres more, paying $4.5 per 
 acre for this, and it is now valued at $65 per acre 
 at least. Mr. Moore was formerly a Republican 
 in his political views, and cast his first Presidential 
 vote for Col. John C. Fremont. He is now a Pro- 
 liibitionist, and an active worker in the cause of 
 temperance. He is a member of the Baptist-Church, 
 while Mrs. Moore leans toward the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Oiurch. 
 
 ^M UGUSTUS NELSON, a successful dealer in 
 Wf^\ gents' furnishing goods, hats, caps, etc.. 
 Ill 14' located at No. 320 East State Street, is a 
 ^ man of energy, push and enterprise, and 
 
 is thoroughly conversant with every detail of his 
 business, of which he has made such a pronounced 
 success. This enterprise was inaugurated by Mr. 
 Nelson in 1877, and at once bounded into popular 
 favor and confidence, securing a flattering and 
 steadily increasing patronage from its inception. 
 He has a large room, 20x80 feet, and the secret of 
 his success is not far to seek, as he handles none 
 but strictly first-class and reliable goods, and gives 
 prompt and polite attention to all customers. 
 
 Like many of the representative business men 
 of Rockford, Mr. Nelson is a Swede, his birth oc- 
 
 curring on the 13th of October, 1834, and he was 
 the first of his relatives to come to America. After 
 reaching this country, he resided for a short time 
 in Indiana and Michigan, thence he went to Chi- 
 cago, where he was engaged m diffei-ent occupa- 
 tions until 1861, when he made his first appearance 
 in Rockford. Here he has since made his home. 
 He was engaged as a carriage-maker for some time 
 but in 1870, he embarked in the merchant tailoring 
 trade with Messrs. Erlander & Johnson, with which 
 firm he continued for seven years. He then with- 
 drew and established business on his own account. 
 Shortly after coming here, he enlisted as a me- 
 chanic in the Rebellion, and was in service seven 
 months. 
 
 Mr. Nelson is in every respect a self-made man, 
 and worked hard to lay the foundation to his sub- 
 sequent prosperous career. He learned his trade 
 in Batavia, Kane County, Hi., although when he 
 first came to this country, in June, 1854, he resided 
 in Chicago for some time. He has since been joined 
 by two brothers, Lars P. and Carl J., the latter now 
 deceased, dying at Garfield, Kan., from injuries re- 
 ceived by his team running away. He was a farmer. 
 Lars P. is also a farmer, and was married at Ho- 
 bart, Ind. 
 
 The parents of these children died in their na- 
 tive country, Sweden, where the father, Nels P. 
 Olson, followed agricultural pursuits. Both were 
 quite aged, and both were members of the State 
 Church. 
 
 Augustus Nelson was married in Geneva, 111., 
 to Miss Christina M. Peterson, who was born in 
 Sweden, and who came to America with her fa- 
 ther. The mother died while crossing the ocean, 
 and was buried in the deep. The father, Carl Pe- 
 terson, and only child, came to Geneva, 111., and, 
 later, the father found a home under the roof of 
 his daughter, Mrs. Nelson, remaining with her until 
 his death, in 1888, when seventy-nine years of age. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are the parents of four 
 living children: Alice M. at home; Ada T., wife of 
 Fred W. Blake, of Minneapolis, Minn.; Delia E. 
 at home; and Carl A., a book-keeper in the Rock- 
 ford National Bank. Mr. Nelson is a member of 
 the Masonic fraternity, and, in politics, is a Repub- 
 lican. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are members of the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 677 
 
 Emanuel Lutheran Church, and he has been Trustee 
 in the same for some time. They have a good 
 home at No. 203 North Third Street, Rockford. 
 
 OSCAR B. HARDING. The dealing in gro- 
 ceries, flour and provisions is an industry 
 that occupies the attention of no inconsid- 
 erable portion of our mercantile community, and 
 employs a capital aggregating a very large amount. 
 A leading house in that line is that conducted by 
 Oscar B. Harding, located at No. 305 East State 
 Street, where he has been in business for the last 
 five years. The store is very tastefully fitted up, 
 admirably arranged and well stocked with a fine 
 line of staple and fancy groceries, teas of the finest 
 brands, canned goods in great variety, table deli- 
 cacies of every description, etc. The store is now 
 conducted under the title of the Great Western 
 Tea Company. 
 
 A native of Sweden, born January 8, 1854, 
 young Harding was but fifteen years of age when 
 he came with his parents, .John and Anna C. Har- 
 ding, to American soil. He first came to Rockford 
 and there finished his growth, after which he went 
 to Omaha, Neb., where he was in the grocery busi- 
 ness for five years. Returning subsequently to 
 Rockford, he embarked in his present enterprise 
 and conducted the business with so much vigor 
 and push, and accorded his patrons such prompt 
 and courteous service, that he soon became a leader 
 in his line. He is also interested in other enter- 
 prises, and is classed among the substantial men 
 of the city. Mr. Harding is a Director in the 
 Skandia Plow Company, Rockford Baking Com- 
 pany, of which he is also a promoter, a large 
 stockholder in the Union Furniture Company, 
 Folding Bed Company, Mantel Company, Royal 
 Sewing Machine Company, Rockford Manufactur- 
 ing Company, Third National Bank, of Rockford, 
 and is also a member of Peterson Land Com- 
 pany, and North Chicago Land Syndicate. By 
 his energy and economy he is now worth from 
 $40,000 to $50,000. 
 
 The father of Mr. Harding followed the occu- 
 pation of a farmer, and made his home in Rock- 
 
 ford untd his death, in 1872, when fifty years of 
 age. He was a hard-working, industrious citizen, 
 and a member of the Lutheran Church, in which 
 his wife, who is now living and sixty-nine years 
 of age, also holds membership. Their family con- 
 sisted of four sons and two daughters. One daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Selma Nelson, is now deceased; Albert, a 
 molder in the Rockford Manufacturing Company, 
 married Miss Carrie Thurston; Claus, now a painter 
 with the Rockford Manufacturing Company, wed- 
 ded Miss Ida Ekeberg; Oscar B., our subject; Ma- 
 tilda, wife of John Bumberg, a farmer near Stone 
 Lake, Iowa; and Theodore, a molder by trade, 
 married Miss Nettie Blunt. 
 
 Our subject has never married. Mr. Harding 
 and his brothers are Republicans in politics, and 
 all the members of the family hold membership in 
 the First Lutheran Church. 
 
 "v.^-^W'^^'*"^"^*"^*" 
 
 ? I I ' I ^ I 
 
 T— ^ 
 
 UGENE C. HANCE. The ordinary, every- 
 day life, with its duties and cares, affords a 
 splendid opportunity for acquiring prac- 
 tical experience, and its most common and oft- 
 traveled highroads give to the earnest worker 
 available openings toward success. The honored 
 position occupied by Mr. Hance in business and 
 social circles is not the result of accidental fortune 
 or what is usually termed "luck," but lias been se- 
 cured by a life of industry, in which he has ever 
 displayed toward others the spirit of the Golden 
 Rule. Now in the prime of a stalwart manhood, 
 he is in the possession of a competency, and, what 
 is better, has gained the confidence of his fellow- 
 men. 
 
 For an account of the parentage and descent 
 of Mr. Hance, the reader is referred to the sketch 
 of his brother Ogden, which appears in another 
 portion of this volume. In Pecatonica Township, 
 Winnebago County, where he was born June 6, 
 1849, Eugene C. Hance grew to manhood amid 
 such surroundings as prevailed here during the 
 middle of this century. His home was with his 
 parents until he was married, March 22, 1875, to 
 Miss Mary A. Morrison, a native of Canada, and 
 the daughter of Moses and Lucinda Morrison. 
 
678 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORt). 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ilance are the parents of two chil- 
 dren: Gertrude A. and Susie E., aecomplislied 
 young ladies, wlio are at home. 
 
 For one year after his marriage, Mr. Hance re- 
 sided in the village of Pecatonica, and then re- 
 moved to a farm which was originally a part of 
 the land entered by his father. Here he purchased 
 three hundred and five acres, which are devoted 
 to general farming and stock-raising. For sev- 
 eral years, he resided on that place, which he 
 brought to a high cultivation and embellished 
 with substantial buildings. In January, 1892, lie 
 rented the farm and purchased a residence in 
 Pecatonica, where he has established a comfort- 
 aljlc and attractive home. 
 
 In his political belief, Mr. Hance is a Democrat, 
 and, although he is by no means a partisan in 
 public affairs, he pays considerable attention to 
 the prominent questions of the age, and is careful 
 to deposit his ballot in favor of what he deems 
 right and true. Socially, he is a member of the 
 Modern Woodmen of America and the Farmers' 
 Alliance, and is influential in both organizations. 
 Mrs. Hance was born in the town of Waterloo, Can- 
 ada, November 17, 1854, and is one of eight chil- 
 dren, five sons and three daughters. She is a 
 sincere Christian, and a lad}- whose generous dis- 
 position and hospitality are widely known. 
 
 _y 
 
 ^^ HARLES H. MELLEN, one of the influ- 
 (l( _ ential citizens of the village of Winne- 
 ^^^J bago, lives just outside the corporation, on 
 a beautiful tract of eighty acres of land, which is 
 cultivated in the most intelligent and thorough 
 manner. Born in Skaneateles, Onondaga County, 
 N. Y., December 11, 1829, he is the son of Erastus 
 Mellen, whose birth occurred in Franklin County, 
 Mass., October 12, 1800. His father, Jeremiah 
 Mellen, was also a native of the Bay State, and of 
 Scotch ancestry. 
 
 There is a tradition that two sons of the Mellen 
 family accompanied their parents to America, 
 where the}^ were among the first settlers of Massa- 
 chusetts. There they secured a tract of timber 
 
 land and commenced to clear the property. One 
 son was killed by the falling of a ti-ee, so the other 
 was the ancestor of all the Mellens in the United 
 States. The grandfather of our subject removed 
 from Massachusetts to New York State, where he 
 was a pioneer in the town of Skaneateles. Pur- 
 chasing a tract of partially cleared land, he re- 
 sided upon it for a number of 3-ears, and died 
 October 15, 1826, in Mottville. The maiden name 
 of ills wife was Nancy Lindsey, who was born 
 March 4, 1771, and died May 4, 1841. 
 
 Erastus Mellen was twenty 3'ears of age when 
 his parents removed to the Empire State, where he 
 met and married Sarah Mandevill, a native of 
 Canterbury, that State. Her father, Jacob Mande- 
 vill, was born in New York, on the 22d of April, 
 1752, and was of Huguenot ancestry. He was a 
 patriot of the War of the Revolution, being Corn- 
 missary under Gen. Putnam. His last years were 
 spent in Sennett, Cayuga County, where his death 
 occurred January 19, 1839. He had married 
 Sarah, the daughter of Jeremiah Clark, who was 
 born at Cornwall, N. Y., March 5, 1774, and died 
 in Sennett. 
 
 The father of our subject lived for a time on a 
 farm in the town of Skaneateles, thence removed 
 to Sennett, Cayuga County, and after a stay of 
 two years there went to Tompkins County, where 
 he purchased a tract of partially improved tim- 
 ber land. In 1834, he located on the Mandevill 
 Homestead in Sennett, which he sold in 1853, and 
 became the owner of a farm near Auburn, where 
 he lived eight or nine years, then, also disposing 
 of that tract, purchased a smaller farm near Pal- 
 myra, N. Y. Residing upon that estate until 1875, 
 he came to Winnebago Countj', and made his 
 home with his children until his decease, June 1, 
 1890; his wife had died September 30, 1876. 
 
 The six children reared by the parents of our 
 subject were as follows: Jeremiah Clark, Charles 
 H., Eliza, Jndson, William and Albert. William 
 served as a soldier in Company C, Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Infantry, during the War of the Rebel- 
 lion, and fell mortally wounded before Kennesaw 
 Mountain in 1864. His remains now lie buried 
 in the National Cemetery at Chattanooga. Charles 
 H. Mellen, of this sketch, was given a good edu- 
 
^s 
 
 
 
 W .If' 
 
 %M-> 
 
 cMM, d-^^-^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 681 
 
 cation, and, when old enough to do so, assisted 
 his father in carrying on the home, residing under 
 the parental roof until 1854, at which time he 
 came to Illinois. Four years later he purchased a 
 tract of land in Ogle County, which he farmed 
 until 1876, and then, disposing of it, was engaged 
 in the drug business at Winnebago until going 
 West to Nebraska a few years later. In the West- 
 ern country, our subject purchased six hundred 
 and forty acres of land in Fairmont, Fillmore 
 County, to the cultivation of which he gave his 
 attention for one year and then rented it to ten- 
 ants. He is still the owner of that tract, and in 
 1880 purchased the property spoken of in our 
 opening paragraph. 
 
 September 5, 1858, Mr. Mellen was united in 
 marriage to Annis St. John, whose birth occurred 
 in Weedsport, Cayuga County, N. Y. To them 
 have been born three children: Elmer, Elida and 
 Clarence. Mrs. Mellen is a member of the Con- 
 gregational Church, in Ogle County, and, in poli- 
 tics, our subject is an out and out Eepublican. He 
 has managed his affairs shrewdly and well, and 
 may well be pleased with what he has accom- 
 plished by his own hands and steady persevering 
 toil. lie and his wife are greatly esteemed in the 
 neighborhood, and cordially support all enter- 
 prises calculated to aid the social, moral and finan- 
 cial progress of their community. 
 
 yt-^ ON. THOMAS B. TALCOTT, who is un- 
 ij) doubtedly the oldest living settler of Win- 
 nebago County, was born in Hebron, Conn., 
 
 P April 17, 1806, the son of William and 
 Dorothy (Blish) Talcott. When a child of five 
 years, he accompanied his parents in their removal 
 to Rome, Oneida County, N. Y., where the father 
 settled upon an unimproved tract of land in the 
 midst of a sparsely settled country. Amid such 
 pioneer scenes, the lad grew to a rugged and stal- 
 wart manhood, well fitted to bear his part in the 
 battle of life. 
 
 In 1830, our subject was elected Major of the 
 One Hundred and Fifty-seventh New York Mili- 
 tia. One year later, he went to Horseheads, Che- 
 
 mung County, the same State, and engaged in the 
 mercantile business in partnership with his broth- 
 ers, Wait .and Sylvester. With his father, he came 
 West in 1835, driving all the distance from Rome, 
 Oneida County, N. Y., with a horse and buggy, 
 and arriving on the east bank of the Rock River, 
 near the present site of Rockton, on Saturday, July 
 23. The only white man then in the vicinity was 
 Stephen Mack, an Indian trader, who many years 
 before had come from Boston in the employ of a 
 fur company. At that early date there were not 
 more than six families in the entire territory now 
 embraced in Boone and Winnebago Counties. 
 
 Shortly after coming hither, the father of our 
 subject returned to his home in Rome, N. Y., but 
 in October, 1835, he was joined by his brother 
 Henry, and, aided by him, he commenced to pre- 
 pare the un tilled soil of the prairie for their farms. 
 It required arduous labor and great energy to 
 bring the land to a state of cultivation, and none 
 but a man of heroic nature would have braved the 
 hardships attendant upon pioneer life. Maj. 
 Talcott became closely identified with the public 
 affairs of the community, and was elected a mem- 
 ber of the first Board of County Commissioners. 
 In connection with William E. Dunbar and Simon 
 P. Doty, he organized the County of Winnebago, 
 which then included all of Boone and half of 
 Stephenson County. 
 
 In 1849, a still greater honor was conferred upon 
 Mr. Talcott, by his election to the State Senate, 
 and he was the first Whig candidate elected to that 
 body from this Senatorial District. During his 
 term in the Senate, the Illinois Central Railroad 
 was chartered, with the condition of paying the 
 State seven per cent, of its gross earnings. He was 
 greatly interested in the Civil War, served as As- 
 sistant Revenue Assessor through the four years of 
 the conflict, and gave his best efforts to aid in the 
 preservation of the Union. In 1870, he took the 
 census of the northern part of the county. He 
 has also held various township offices in Rockton. 
 His portrait, on an accompanying page, perpet- 
 uates the lineaments of one of the best-known cit- 
 izens of Winnebago County. 
 
 June 5, 1843, the marriage of Mr. Talcott to 
 Miss Sophia E. Willard was solemnized in Rockton. 
 
682 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mrs. Talcott was born in Vernon, Oneida County, 
 N. Y., November 11, 1824, the daughter of Asa 
 and Lucy (Whiting) Willard. She is a descendant 
 of Rev. Samuel Whiting, D. D., and Elizabeth 
 St. John, his wife, who came to America in 1636, 
 and through them her genealogy is traced back to 
 William the Conqueror in two distinct lines. She 
 has been the cheerful and efficient helpmate of 
 her husband, and occupies a warm place in the 
 affection of her acquaintances. 
 
 r^ 
 
 ^f^HILANDER COPELAND, M. D., is famil- 
 iar to most of the residents of Winne- 
 bago as one having his full share of busi- 
 ness and who has attained to a good 
 position in the medical fraternity of the county. 
 He has a fine office, thoroughly equipped with 
 everything pertaining to the profession, wliile his 
 prompt attention to the calls made upou him and 
 his conscientious methods of practice have fully 
 established him in the esteem and confidence of tlie 
 people. 
 
 Our subject was born in Bridgewater, Mass., 
 March 6, 1811, and is a son of Alfred Copeland, 
 also a native of that place as was his father, Daniel. 
 Jonatlian Copeland, the great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was also born in the above-named town 
 and State, and his f atlier, the great-great-gran dfa- 
 ther of the Doctor, William Copeland, was born in 
 Brain tree, Mass., and his father, Lawrence Copeland, 
 was one of the passengers who came over in the 
 "Mayflower" in 1620. The latter-named gentle- 
 man settled in Braintree, Mass., was married to 
 Lydia Townsend and died in 1699, aged one hun- 
 dred and ten years. 
 
 The great-great-grandfather of our subject mar- 
 ried Mary, daughter of .John Alden, the Pilgrim, 
 and died in 1716, in his sixtieth year. Jonathan 
 Copeland was a farmer, and spent his entire life in 
 Bridgewater, Mass., dying in 1790 in his ninetieth 
 year; he bad married Miss Betsey, daughter of 
 Thomas Snell. Daniel Copeland, the grandfather of 
 our subject, was married to Susan, daughter of 
 Joseph Ames. He was a farmer by occupation 
 and with this he combined the trade of a car- 
 
 penter. His farm is now owned and occupied by 
 a grandson, he dying in 1827, at the age of eighty- 
 six years; his good wife died when ninety years of 
 age in 1834. 
 
 Alfred Copeland was reared a farmer, and when 
 starting out in life for himself engaged in the mer- 
 cantile business, residing in Bridgewater and Taun- 
 ton until 1840, when he emigrated to Illinois and 
 spent his last years in Byron Township, Ogle 
 County. His decease occurred in 1871, when 
 seventy-five years of age. The maiden name of 
 the mother of our subject was May Williams, a na- 
 tive of Taunton, Mass., and the daughter of 
 Nathaniel and Lucildia (Hodges) Williams; she de- 
 parted this life in 1860, when seventy-eight years 
 of age. 
 
 The parental family included ten children, all of 
 whom were well educated. Our subject was reared 
 in Taunton and early in life turned his attention 
 to the study of medicine, reading with Dr. Bayles, 
 of Taunton and afterward commenced practice at 
 Fishliill, N. Y. After remaining there a short time, 
 he went to Poultney, and after a stay of seven 
 years in this cit}', came West to Michigan and was 
 graduated from the Detroit Medical College. In 
 1853, he came to Winnebago County, and has been 
 a resident of the village since 1866. 
 
 The ladjr to whom our subject was united in 
 marriage in 1836 bore the name of Louisa Watkins 
 and to them were born ten children, eight of whom 
 are now living: Philander W., Louisa, Elizabeth, 
 Frances, Rosephia, Nettie, Jessie and Edward L. 
 Joseph, the first-born, served during the late war 
 in the Forty-fifth Illinois Infantry for a period of 
 two years, and at the end of that time was trans- 
 ferred to the First Tennessee Artillery and received 
 the commission of First Lieutenant. He also 
 served as Adjutant on the staff of Gen. Kepner at 
 Ft. Pickering. He departed this life in 1881. 
 Philander W. was also a soldier, enlisting Septem- 
 ber 17, 1861, in the Forty-ftfth Illinois Infantry, 
 and served in his regiment as principal musician 
 until July, 186,5. 
 
 Mrs. Copeland was born in the town of Spauld- 
 ing, Dutcliess County, N. Y., in May, 1816. Her 
 father, Josepli Watkins, was a native of New Jer- 
 sey, and was a tailor by trade, which he followed 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 683 
 
 the greater part of 'his life together with farming. 
 His place of business was in the town of Matteawan, 
 near Fishkill, and he departed this life at the home 
 of his son in Prattsburg, Steuben County, N. Y. 
 His wife was known in her maidenhood as Abigail 
 Watts. She was also a native of Dutchess County 
 and died in Prattsburg. Her father was a soldier 
 in the Revolutionary War and his demise occurred 
 on the farm in Dutchess Countj-. Mrs. Watkins 
 was a decendant of Dr. Watts, tlie celebrated author 
 of some of our popular hymns. The Doctor and 
 his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and, in politics, he casts his vote in favor 
 of Republican candidates. 
 
 eP. NELSON, who has been Secretary, Treas- 
 urer and manager of the Skandia Boot and 
 Shoe Company since the 1st of July, 1890, 
 claims Sweden as the land of his nativity. He was 
 bom on the 27th of January, 1855, and when quite 
 young lost his parents. Thus at an early age he 
 was thrown upon his own resources, and his suc- 
 cess in life has all been due to his own efforts. 
 One brother, Louis, resides in Roekford, as do two 
 of his sisters, Tilla and Sophia. The latter is the 
 wife of Frank Coburg, of this City. 
 
 Our subject was the first of the family to emi- 
 grate to America. He took passage on a vessel 
 which left Liverpool. During the voyage, they en- 
 countered very severe weather, and at length the 
 ship struck on the rocks of Newfoundland. Thir- 
 teen minutes later it sank with five hundred and 
 eighty on board. Only two hundred and thirteen 
 of the passengers were saved, and most of these 
 were young men who were better able to withstand 
 the cold and exposure. The accident occurred at 
 three o'clo(!k in the morning, and it was not until 
 six that they were rescued. As it was night time 
 when the vessel sank, the passengers were in their 
 night clothes, and thus attired, our subject hung 
 on the rigging for three hours, beaten by the cold 
 and merciless waves. At length, he with the oth- 
 ers was landed on the bleak rocks and taken to 
 Halifax, but they did not receive very humane 
 treatment at that place. The few survivors finally 
 
 reached Boston, which seemed to them a blessed 
 haven after all they had undergone. Here they 
 were treated in the kindest manner, fed and 
 clothed, and societies in New York City sent them 
 on to Chicago. The generous people of the latter 
 place gave them money and other aid, and in that 
 city Mr. Nelson got his start in life. He has never 
 yet fully recovered from the exposure and hard- 
 ships of that awful experience. He spent a year 
 in Chicago, and then came to Roekford, where he 
 has since resided. 
 
 Mr. Nelson was married in this city, to Abertena 
 Johnson, who was born in Roekford, October 23, 
 1859. Her father, Andrew Johnson, who died some 
 years ago, was a soldier of the late war, having 
 served in Company K, Seventy-fourth Illinois In- 
 fantr3'. He participated in many engagements, 
 and was wounded at Mission Ridge. He died in 
 this city at the age of fifty-three. His wife is still 
 living at the age of sixtj'-ejght years. Unto Mr. 
 and Mrs. Nelson have been born two children: 
 George L. and Elsie M. The parents are both 
 members of the Swedish Lutheran Church, and in 
 politics, he is a Republican. 
 
 Mr. Nelson has led a busy and useful life, and 
 by his own efforts has worked his way upward. He 
 has become thoroughly acquainted with the boot 
 business, and is now the efficient manager of the 
 Skandia Boot and Shoe Company, which was or- 
 ganized in 1880. Its prosperity is largely due to 
 his labors, for he has worked untiringly in its 
 behalf. 
 
 DGUST HOLMIN. In the complexities 
 of city life the business of merchant tailor- 
 ing may be regarded as one of greatest 
 importance in furnishing those evidences 
 of refinement and taste that are represented in 
 fashionable and well-fitting garments. Few estab- 
 lishments in mercantile lifeattract more general at- 
 tention in these days of tasteful attire than those de- 
 voted to the manufacture and sale of gentlemen s 
 garments, for at no period during its entire history 
 has the tailor's art been so highlj' appreciated or 
 
684 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 better understood than at the present day. Among 
 the most popular and prosperous houses devoted 
 to this important branch of industry in Roekford, 
 and well worthy of more than passing notice, is 
 the concern of Marsales & Holmin, located at No. 
 Ill South Main Street. This firm has been at this 
 number since the spring of 1891, when they became 
 sole proprietors of the Merchant Tailor Stock 
 Company, of which Mr. Marsales and Mr. Holmin 
 were members, the same being in existence for fif- 
 teen years. Thej^ carry all the latest and most fash- 
 ionable styles and do first-class \rork. 
 
 Mr. Holmin, who has been a resident of Roekford 
 since 1869, began here as a tailor and, with the ex- 
 ception of about eighteen months, has been a resi- 
 dent of the city ever since. He became one of the 
 promoters and organizers of the Merchant Tailor 
 Stock Compan}', was President and Treasurer for 
 many years, and a Director of the company from 
 its organization. Experienced and progressive, lie 
 is well and favorably known all over the city. 
 
 A native of Wester Gothland, Sweden, our sub- 
 ject's natal day was the 8tli of January, 1849. As 
 he grew to manhood, he received a common-school 
 education and learned the tailor's trade in Sweden, 
 and has followed this trade ever since he came to 
 America in 1869. He was the first of his kins- 
 men to come to this country, but one year later his 
 parents and other members of his family joined 
 him. His parents, John and Bertha S. (Larson) 
 Holmin, now reside on South Sixth Street, and al- 
 though both are over seventy years of age, they 
 are comparatively free from the ills and pains usual 
 to their years. They are excellent citizens and 
 have been members of the Swedish Methodist 
 Episcopal Church for years. The father has been 
 a tailor all his life. In politics, he has affiliated 
 with the Republican party since coming to this 
 country. He has another son, Frank, who is a 
 resident of Roekford, and a tailor by trade, work- 
 ing for the firm of which our subject is a member. 
 Frank married Miss Anna Liud, a Swedish lady, 
 and they now reside on South Sixth Street. A 
 sister of our subject, Tilda, married S. Rybbum. 
 
 He of whom we write was married in Roekford 
 to Miss Tilda Jolinson,a native of that city, where 
 she was reared and educated. Their union has 
 
 resulted in the birth of three children: Oscar S., 
 educated in the city schools; Esther A., and Joseph 
 Rudolph. Mrs. Holmin 's father, August Johnson 
 was a native of Sweden, but died many years ago 
 in Roekford, where he was one of the early Swed- 
 ish settlers. The mother is still living and finds a 
 comfortable home with her daughter, Mrs. Holmin. 
 She is now sventy years of age and a worthy and 
 consistent member of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 In his political views, Mr. Holmin, like his fa- 
 ther, leans to the Republican party and gives that 
 the weight of his influence and vote. He has a 
 pleasant residence at No. 407 South Second Street, 
 and is one of the prosperous and much-esteemed 
 citizens. 
 
 =^^>^^<1 
 
 .&^^ 
 
 ^iflAMES WHITTLE. This gentleman, who 
 has been actively engaged in agriculture for 
 a number of years in Caledonia Township, 
 Boone County, is now living retired in the 
 village of Poplar Grove. He was born in Mercer, 
 Essex County, Ontario, Canada, April 16, 1823. 
 His father, Thomas Whittle, was also born in Can- 
 ada, while his father, John Whittle, it is thought, 
 had his birth in Ireland and was of Scotch ances- 
 try. The latter-named gentleman came to Amer- 
 ica when a young man, and spent the remainder of 
 his life in Canada. 
 
 Thomas Whittle came to the New World when a 
 young man, and was married in Quebec, soon after 
 which he went to Ontario and became a pioneer in 
 Essex County. He purchased timber land and 
 built a log house, in which our subject was born. 
 His death occurred on that place m about 1855. 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Betsey Levi, the daughter of Thomas and Betsey 
 Levi. She was born in Quebec, Canada, and died 
 on the home farm in Mercer, in 1837. 
 
 The parental family included thirteen children, 
 of whom our subject was the ninth in order of 
 birth. He remained in Mercer until 1843, then, 
 in company with his brother Charles, came to 
 Illinois, making the entire journey overland with 
 teams. The trip consumed thirteen days, and on 
 arriving in Winnebago County, our subject found 
 
2y(/h^yi /vw^>-^^' 
 
PORTRAIT AND T5I0GRAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 687 
 
 Rockford to be little more than a village. He im- 
 mediately commenced working out on farms in the 
 vicinity, and a few years later was enabled to pur- 
 chase a tract of partly improved land near Cale- 
 donia Village, this county, where he made his 
 home for seven years. Then selling out, Mr. 
 Whittle removed to Guilford Township, Winne- 
 bago County, where he cultivated the soil for six 
 years, and then removed to near Somonauli, De Kalb 
 County, and four years later purchased property 
 southeast of Rockford. That was his abiding place 
 for two years, when he sold his farm and returned 
 to Caledonia and purchased the Early homestead, 
 upon whicli he resided for twelve jears. He is 
 now living retired in Poplar Grove, fully enjoying 
 the ease and comfort which his life of industry so 
 well deserves. 
 
 In June, 1851, Miss Josephine, daughter of John 
 and Julia Early, became the wife of our subject. 
 She was born in Gossfield, Canada, and departed 
 this life in March, 1887. The lady whom our sub- 
 ject chose as his second wife, in 1889, was Miss 
 Minta Webster. She wjs born in this county, and 
 is the daughter of Willet S. and Mary (Wheeler) 
 Webster. Our subject reared a family of four chil- 
 dren, only one of whom is living, E. J., who 
 married Alice Hillyer, and has two children, Cura 
 and Fied. Phiietus, the second son, died when 
 twenty-six years of age. Cora departed this life 
 at the age of fifteen years, and Fred whe i an 
 infant of nine months. Our subject is a Republic n 
 in politics and is well respected in liis community. 
 
 OHN WOODRUFF. There is probably no 
 ' family in Boone County better known for 
 ^^ intelligence and character, or more uni- 
 vj^f' versally respected than that which is repre- 
 sented by the name just given. Our subject was 
 born in Middlebury, New Haven County, Conn., 
 July 9, 1813, the son of Philo and Lucy (Tuttle) 
 Woodruff, natives also of the Nutmeg State, born 
 in the town of Waterbury. Philo Woodruff's 
 parents, Jonah and Mabel Woodruff, were born in 
 New England and died in Connecticut when very 
 old. 
 
 Like most of his ancestors, Philo Woodruff was 
 a prosperous farmer and followed that occupation in 
 his native State for many years. He subsequently 
 moved to Broome County, N. Y., and there he 
 and his esteemed wife received tiieir final summons, 
 the father dying at the age of eighty-seven, and 
 the mother at the age of seventy-three years. Of 
 the eleven children who blessed this union, all 
 grew to mature years and three are yet living. The 
 eldest child was a carpenter, the next a farmer, the 
 third (our subject), a tailor, the next two (twins) 
 became tinners, and the youngest son became the 
 editor of a paper at Johnstown, Pa. He was living 
 there at the time of the great flood, but escaped 
 without injury. He still edits a paper, the Democrat^ 
 at that place. The father of these children hired a 
 substitute for the War of 1812. 
 
 The original of this notice remained at home 
 until fourteen years of age, and then learned the 
 trade of a tailor, which he followed in Broome 
 County, N. Y., until 1849. In the fall of that 
 3ear, he decided to push further West, and reaching 
 Illinois, settled on his present property. He pur- 
 chased one hundred and sixty acres, erected a 
 small house and there resided, engaged in tilling 
 the soil, until 1860, when he bought his present 
 town property. He was married on the 24th of 
 April, 1834, to Miss Lucinda M. Dimick, who 
 was born in Livingston County, N. Y., December 
 29, 1816. Her parents, Nathan C. and Temperance 
 (Russell) Dimick, were natives of the Excelsior 
 State, but her father spent the closing scenes of his 
 life in Madison, Wis., dying at the age of sixty- 
 five. The mother passed away when eighty-seven 
 years of age, in Wyoming, N. Y. They were the 
 parents of two children, but only Mrs. Woodruff 
 is now living. 
 
 The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Woodruff 
 were Riverius and Charity (Hotchkiss) Russell, 
 natives of England and America, respectively. 
 When Riverius Russell came to this countiy dur- 
 ing the Revolutionary War, he forsook the Eng- 
 lish vessel and joined the Colonists in their strug- 
 gle for independence, fighting all through the war, 
 and afterward receiving a pension for his services. 
 He had a brother who also fought bravely for the 
 Colonists. He and his wife passed their last days in 
 
688 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 New York. The representatives of the Dimick and 
 Russell families were originally for the most part 
 farmers and mechanics, but in subsequent genera- 
 tions there were many professional men. The Dim- 
 icks were of Welsh descent and settled in Ver- 
 mont. 
 
 The family of our subject consisted of eleven 
 children, four of whom are living at the present 
 time: Russell D., born in Broome County, N. Y., 
 on the 11th of January, 1843, married Miss Laura 
 Ball and is the father of two children, a son and 
 daughter. During the Civil War, he enlisted in 
 the Fifteenth Illinois Infantry and served all 
 through the war. For seven months he was in 
 Andersonville Prison, and only those who were in 
 that horrible place can understand what he suffered 
 during that time. A wonderful constitution alone 
 brought him through. He is now residing in Rock 
 Springs, Wyo., and is a painter and decorator. He 
 is prominent in Grand Army circles and is Com- 
 mander of the post at Rock Springs, and Quarter- 
 master of the State troops of Wyoming. 
 
 Our subiect's second child, John D., was also born 
 in Broome County, N. Y., December 20, 1847, and 
 took for his wife Miss Josephine Doty, who bore 
 him three sons. He is now residing in Lander, 
 Wyo., and is engaged in raising sheep, of which he 
 owns between thirty and forty thousand head. 
 He was one of the first State Senators elected in 
 Wyoming, and there was considerable talk of run- 
 ning him for Governor of the State, of which he is 
 one of the most prominent men. 
 
 The third child born to our subject, FMward D., 
 M. D., is a resident of Salt Lake, but has retired 
 from professional life on account of being over- 
 worked. He married Miss Minnie M. Roberts and is 
 the father of a little daughter. Our subject's other 
 cliild, Mary K., was born in this county, on the 20th 
 of December, 1852, and became the wife of Payson 
 E. Lamb, a farmer of Iowa, and they have four 
 children, three daughters and a son. The subject 
 of this sketch has one grandchild married, a daugh- 
 ter of Russell D. All these children are well edu- 
 cated and are intelligent and excellent people. 
 
 John Woodruff and his wife are regular attend- 
 ants at the Methodist Episcopal Church when able, 
 and their children are nearly all members of the 
 
 same. He was formerly an old-line Whig in pol- 
 itics, and his first Presidential vote was ca,st in 
 1836. Later, he voted for Fremont, and since then 
 has affiliated with the Republican party. He has 
 been Justice of the Peace for twenty years and has 
 held nearly every local office in the township. 
 
 On another page appears a portrait of Mr. 
 Woodruff. 
 
 ylLLET S. WEBSTER. The business men 
 of Poplar Grove are a class of whom the 
 city may well feel proud, as they have 
 added greatly to her financial strength and also 
 to her reputation among the cities of Northern 
 Illinois. Our subject, who is deceased, was a man 
 of genuine and widespread popularity, was self- 
 made and a worthy representative of the business 
 community. 
 
 The original of this sketch was born in East 
 Hamburg, Erie County, N. Y., March 7, 1819, and 
 was the son of William Webster who, like his fa- 
 ther, Joseph, was born in New Jersey. The latter- 
 named gentleman on removing to the Empire 
 State, purchased a tract of land in the town of 
 East Hamburg, where he made his home until his 
 decease. William Webster remained on a farm in 
 his native State until removing to New York 
 when a young man and was one of the pioneers of 
 East Hamburg. He also purchased a tract of tim- 
 ber land, upon which he built a sawmill, and was 
 engaged in its operation with his farming pur- 
 suits. About 1850, he came West to Boone 
 County and died in Poplar Grove. 
 
 Miss Catherine Willet, the maiden name of our 
 subject's mother, was born in New Jersey and died 
 in Poplar Grove. He of whom we write was edu- 
 cated in East Hamburg, and when sixteen years 
 of age commenced clerking in a store in Buffalo, 
 where he was employed for five years. He was 
 then engaged in the mercantile business in his 
 native place until 1845, when he sold out and 
 came to Illinois. They came from Buffalo by way 
 of the Lakes to Chicago, and by team to Poplar 
 Grove, and purchased three hundred and twenty 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 689 
 
 acres of land in this county. He farmed for about 
 fifteen years, at the expiration of whicli time he 
 removed to the village of Poplar Grove, and 
 launched out in the lumber and grain business, 
 from which he retired with a handsome compe- 
 tence, and lived retired until his death in 1885. 
 
 September 20, 1842, Mr. Webster was married, 
 in East Hamburg, N. Y., to Mary J., daughter of 
 Thomas Wheeler, who is a native of Massachu- 
 setts. She was born in East Hamburg, February 
 16, 1824, and by her union with our subject has 
 become the mother of the following children : Kath- 
 erine B., ]\frs. Harry M. Hudson; Minta, who mar- 
 ried James Whittle; Julia, the wife of D. C. Cowan; 
 Elida M., the widow of A. O. Woodard; Albourne 
 L., who married Edwin Willet; Warren M., the 
 husband of Edith Clark; Adelbert, who married 
 Eulia Miller; and two children Albourne and War- 
 ren A. are deceased. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Webster, on removing to 
 New York, located in East Hamburg, where he 
 followed his trade of a blacksmith until his death, 
 in 1829. His wife, who was born in Rhode Island, 
 was known in her maidenhood as Martha Baxter. 
 She came to Illinois and died at the home of Mrs. 
 Webster in Poplar Grove. Our subject was a stanch 
 Republican. 
 
 _=] 
 
 ^HJH^ 
 
 [S- 
 
 "S] 
 
 ^TniENJAMIN B. HOVEY, of Cherry Valley, 
 l^^ was born January 16, 1825, in Washington 
 (((M)jl; County, Ohio, and is a son of Harvey C. 
 ^5~=^ and Clarissa (Stanley) Hovey. His father 
 was bom in Vermont, in November, 1793, and was 
 a son of William Hovey, a native of Rutland, Vt., 
 and a fa mer, who served through the Revolution- 
 ary War. He was born in 1748, and died October 
 20, 1834, at the age of eighty-six years. His fam- 
 ily numbered three sons and six daughters, all of 
 whom grew to mature years and became heads of 
 families. The mother died January 20, 1853, at 
 the very advanced age of ninety-three years. Her 
 last days were spent at the home of her son, Harvey 
 C, in Ohio. 
 
 The parents of our subject were married in Fear- 
 ing, Washington County, Ohio, November, 14, 
 
 1822. The lady was a daughter of Thomas and 
 Mixenda (Dix) Stanley, natives of New England, 
 who emigrated to Ohio in an early day. Our sub- 
 ject was the second child in the parental family, as 
 follows : William T., B. B., Lucy, Edmund D.,George 
 S., Selden C, Mary Ann, Simon, Lucin da, Mixenda, 
 Angelina, who died at the age of three years; 
 Esther C; Joseph R., who died in infancy, and 
 Charles C, who was blind from early childhood, 
 and after being an inmate of the blind asylum of 
 Columbus, Ohio, two years, fell from a third-story 
 window and died April 6, 1860, at the age of thir- 
 teen j'ears. The only brother of our subject yet 
 living is George S., a resident of Ohio. His sisters 
 who are living are: Lucy, wife of Jonathan Alden, 
 of Hollenburg, Washington County, Kan.; Mary 
 Ann, wife of II. A. Stiles, of California; Lucinda, 
 wife of Hiram Kyes, a farmer near Los Angeles, 
 Cal.; and Mixenda, wife of Melvin True, an archi- 
 tect and builder of Lower Salem, Ohio. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was married on Christ- 
 mas Day, 1850, to Miss Elizabeth Farley, of Lower 
 Salem, a daughter of James and Ellen (Taylor) 
 Farley. Hei- mother was a native of England, and 
 her father of Washington County, Pa. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hovey, as children, were reared near each 
 other. When a young man, he learned the carpen- 
 ter's trade, and did business for himself in Ohio 
 for four years before coming to Illinois in 1856. 
 In the spring of that year, he settled in Cherry 
 Valley and bought a house upon the grounds 
 where his present residence is now located. He 
 built a store soon after locating here, and, fill- 
 ing it with a stock of hardware, did business 
 in that line until 1859, when he was burned 
 out. He then embarked in the grocery and pro- 
 vision trade, and, during the war, did an immense 
 business, but after the close of the war he pur- 
 chased a large stock of merchandise at inflated 
 prices, which soon depreciated, and lie was forced 
 to the wall. He did not take advantage of the 
 bankrupt act, and has never regretted his course, 
 for he and his wife braved this adversity and at 
 length paid off the indebtedness of 112,000. In the 
 spring of 1880, Mr. Hovey became an employe in 
 the land department of the Chicago and North- 
 western Railroad, and has since been actively em- 
 
690 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ployed in that line. During this time, bis sales of 
 the lands belonging to the company will aggregate 
 $100,000,000. On one occasion he made a sale of 
 $100,000. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ilovey have one son and seven 
 daughters: Edward II., born December 3, 1851; 
 Mary F., Minnie F., Josephine L., Esther C, Nellie 
 H., Clara S., and Nina Blanche. They were all 
 given good educational advantages, and some of 
 them have received instruction in music. All have 
 now left the parental roof. Mr. and Mrs. Hovey 
 also had another son: James Harvey, who died 
 July 8, 1859, at the age of four years. The little 
 fellow was playing in the bay-loft of bis father's 
 barn, and, with matches picked up from the fac- 
 tory close by, be probably set the hay afire, and 
 was burned to death. 
 
 Mr. Hovey was Justice of the Peace one term, 
 and was a Notary Public for about twenty years. 
 His last commission was given him by Gov. Fifer, 
 and expires in 1893. In his early manhood he was 
 an Abolitionist, and for many years was an ardent 
 supporter of the Republican party, but is now a 
 stalwart Prohibitionist. He was reared in the faith 
 of the Presbyterian Church, but for many years he 
 and his wife have been active members of the 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 "yt-rifin 
 
 -H- 
 
 ^^^r^. 
 
 '>JJ 
 
 "if OHN C. STARR, who is engaged in the 
 manufacture of harness and saddlery in Bel- 
 videre, is a wide-awake and enterprising 
 business man of this city. His life record 
 is as follows: He was born in Whitehall, Washing- 
 ton County, N. Y., March 16, 1839, and is a son of 
 Humphrey G. Starr, who was born in County Cavan, 
 Ireland, April 10, 1810. His father, Thomas Starr, 
 and the great-grandfather of our subject, Jeremiah 
 Starr, were both born in the same locality, and fol- 
 lowed the occupation of farming. In 1824, Jere- 
 miah Starr, accompanied b}' his wife and five chil- 
 dren, sailed for America, and after a voyage of 
 thirty-three days landed at Quebec. He located 
 thirty miles east of Montreal, where he purchased 
 land and engaged in farming until his death, 
 which occurred at the advanced age of eighty nine 
 
 years. He married Sarah Nesbitt, who was born 
 in Countjr Cavan, and was a daughter of Humph- 
 rey and Catherine (Knight) Nesbitt, natives of Ire- 
 land, and of English descent. The grandparents 
 of our subject were Episcopalians in religious be- 
 lief. 
 
 Humphrey Starr was only fourteen years of age 
 when he crossed the briny deep, locating with the 
 family in Canada. The following year, he began 
 to learn the trade of a harness-maker in Montreal, 
 serving a five years' apprenticeship, after which he 
 went to Whitehall, N. Y., where he was employed 
 at his trade for five years. He then began busi- 
 ness for himself in Hartford, Washington County, 
 N. Y., but after two years returned to Whitehall, 
 and there carried on business until 1855. In the 
 autumn of that year, he came to Belvidere, and af- 
 ter a few months went to Forreston, Ogle County, 
 where he carried on harness-making for four years. 
 The succeeding year and a half of his life were 
 passed in Freeport, after which he returned to Bel- 
 videre, where he still makes his home. He first 
 married Lucy M. Black, who was born in Vermont, 
 and was a daughter of Asa Black. Her death oc- 
 curred in Whitehall in 1846, after which Mr. Starr 
 wedded Harriet J. Wicker, a native of Rutland 
 County, Vt., and a daughter of B. P. Wicker. 
 
 By the first marriage there were five children, 
 three sons and two daughters : George, Mary J., 
 John, Lucy and Frederick. Four children were 
 born of the second marriage: Harriet, Lucy, Ame- 
 lia and Frank. In politics, he was formerly a Whig, 
 but has been a Republican since the organization 
 of that party. 
 
 At the age of eleven j'ears, John C. Starr began 
 working in his father's harness shop and learned 
 tlie trade. He remained with him until he had at- 
 tained his majority, when he came to Belvidere and 
 commenced business for himself in company with 
 his brother George H. They continued to engage 
 in the manufacture of harness and saddlery for four 
 years, when our subject bought out his brother's 
 interest, and has since been alone. He has built 
 up an excellent trade and secured a liberal patron- 
 age as the result of his persistent industry, good 
 management and fair dealing. 
 
 In his political aflaiiations, Mr. Starr has always 
 
^^-e^-^-tfaX^.-e^ 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 693 
 
 been a Republican, and has filled several offices. 
 He served for four years as Alderraau of the First 
 Ward four years as Assistant Supervisor, and at 
 the present time is a member of the City School 
 Board. Socially, he is a member of Belvidere Camp 
 No. 52 M. W. A. In business and social circles, he 
 ranlis high, and is well deserving of the warm re- 
 gard in which he is held. 
 
 Mrs. Starr bore the maiden name of Angeline E. 
 Pendleton. She was born in Mclienry County, 
 111., and is a daughter of Chancey and Eliza Pen- 
 dleton. Their union was celebrated in November, 
 1863, and unto them have been three sons and a 
 daughter: Chancey, Mary E., "William and John 
 Irvin. The family circle yet remains unbroken. 
 
 ^^EORGE S. CATE. The gentleman whose 
 j/|_-, portrait and biography are here presented 
 ^^j is a prominent citizen of Spring Township, 
 Boone County. He is a general farmer and the 
 owner of a fertile and productive estate, located 
 on section 3. Born in Salem, Mass., November 2, 
 1816, he is the son of Samuel and Mary (Stacey) 
 Gate, natives respectively of New Hampshire and 
 Massachusetts. The father departed this life in 
 Ohio when eighty-seven years of age, and the 
 mother died in Salem, Mass., in her forty-fifth year. 
 Both the paternal and maternal grandfathers of 
 our subject were patriots in the War of the Rev- 
 olution, one of them being crippled for life in 
 that struggle, and in prison for eleven months iu 
 New York City. George S. of this sketch was one 
 in a family of seven children, of whom he is the 
 only survivor. He remained at home until fifteen 
 years of age and then, learning the trade of a cur- 
 rier, followed that occupation for eleven years. 
 He had resolved to seek a home in the Far West, 
 and accordingly took passage on a boat at Buffalo, 
 landing in Cleveland and proceeding thence in a 
 canal boat to Chillicothe, where he again embarked 
 on a steamer. After sailing down the Ohio River 
 and up the Mississippi, he arrived in St. Louis, from 
 which city he traveled to Galena, 111., and there 
 met a gentleman, who, for a small compensation, 
 31 
 
 gave him a ride to Boone County. Arriving here, 
 he purchased a farm consisting of one hundred 
 and forty acres and at once commenced its im- 
 provement. The old log house which stood on the 
 place remained his home for ten years, when he 
 erected a more substantial residence. 
 
 Miss Marille Ileaton, who was born.-in 1821, in 
 New York, became the wife of our subject in 1853. 
 She bore her husband two sons, who are now de- 
 ceased, and departed this life in February, 1891, in 
 her sixty-ninth year. Mr. Cate is one of the larg- 
 est landowners in the county, his estate including 
 at the present time three hundred broad acres. He 
 has recently erected a handsome farm residence 
 and has improved his estate with all the necessary 
 buildings and machinery which make of agricul- 
 ture a pleasant as well as profitable business. He 
 came to Boone County with no knowledge what- 
 ever of cultivating the soil, a,nd to-day is known 
 throughout Northern Illinois as the owner of one 
 of the best estates in this section. 
 
 Our subject cast his flist Presidential vote for 
 Martin Van Buren, but since the organization of 
 the Republican party he has been a stanch adher- 
 ent of its principles. For four years he filled the 
 ofllce of Justice of the Peace and has been the in- 
 cumbent of various other positions of honor and 
 trust. Modest and unassuming, his sturdy integ- 
 rity has won the confidence of all with whom 
 business or social intercourse has brought him iu 
 contact, and his place is among the most successful 
 and prominent residents of Boone County. 
 
 ^^I@"^@l^^ 
 
 EROME B. ELLSWORTH was brought up 
 to the life of an agriculturist by his father, 
 Sherwood A. Ellsworth, and like the ma- 
 jority of boys, has followed in his ances- 
 tor's footsteps, and is now one of the leading farm- 
 ers of Boone County. His fine farm attests his 
 thrift and industry and his success in life. He is 
 a native-born resident of Boone County, 111., born 
 in Manchester in March, 1851, and the son of 
 Sherwood A. and Sarah J. (Sherman) Ellsworth. 
 
 Sherwood A. Ellsworth was born in New York State 
 in 1814; when an infant he was taken by his par- 
 
694 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ents to Bennington, Vt., and there with his brother 
 and sister grew to mature years. His parents were 
 intelligent, Christian people, and were well thought 
 of. The father died there at an advanced age, but 
 the mother afterward came to Manchester, 111., 
 where she resided with her son Sherwood A. for 
 about five years, or until her death, when eighty 
 years of age. Their children were: Orville, Sher- 
 wood; Mary E., Julia A., and Louisa are deceased. 
 The latter married John Brown, a prosperous 
 farmer of Bennington, Vt. They had two daugh- 
 ters and one son, Elbridge Brown. Orville was a 
 farmer of Bennington and died in the prime of 
 life, leaving three daughters and one son. 
 
 The father of our subject was first married in 
 Vermont to Miss Maria S. Steel, of the same State, 
 who bore him four children, all sons: Elmer, re- 
 tired, makes his home in Clarence, Shelby County, 
 Mo.; John, when twenty-two years of age, volun- 
 teered in the army and served one year. He died 
 in the year 1862. George volunteered in the 
 Ninety-fifth Illinois Infantry and served four 
 and one-half years; and Erwin D., is now 
 a farmer of Manchester. Mr. Ellsworth's second 
 marriage was to Miss Sarah J. Sherman, of Ben- 
 nington, Vt. In 1842, Mr. Ellsworth left the 
 Green Mountain State and with his wife and four 
 sons came by water to Ciiicago. From that city 
 they walked out to his eighty -acre farm, or claim, 
 which his father had purchased for him, and which 
 is now one-half of the present farm owned by our 
 subject. Here Mr. Ellsworth passed away on May 
 15, 1883, when sixty-nine years of age. His 
 widow and our subject carrj' on the farm at the 
 present time. Mr. Ellsworth was active and indus- 
 trious and worked hard all his life. 
 
 Our subject was reared on his present farm and 
 has ever attended strictly to his chosen occu- 
 pation and with such substantial results as can be 
 seen by glancing over his fine farm. He has trav- 
 eled very little, and was never in a railroad coach 
 nor had he been to Chicago until twent3'-seven 
 years of age. He has seldom been farther from 
 home than Rockford, Beloit or Belvidere. On 
 April 2, 1872, he was married to Miss Catherine 
 Campbell, daughter of Alexander J. and Ann (Mc- 
 Eachren) Campbell. She was one of nine children. 
 
 Her father died in Manchester, March 15, 1872, 
 when sixty years of age and the mother is living 
 at Hunter, 111. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth have buried one child, 
 an infant, and they have four sons and four daugh- 
 ters now living: Clarence J., now nineteen years 
 of age; Princess Beatrice, aged seventeen; Eunice, 
 aged fifteen; Florence, aged thirteen; John A., aged 
 eleven years; Stanley A., now nine years of age; 
 Ernest Everett, aged seven years, and Ada, aged 
 five years. All have attended the district school 
 and three are taking music lessons, showing much 
 ability and talent in their musical studies. Mr. 
 Ellsworth moves in the Republican ranks and is an 
 enthusiastic supporter of the principles of his party. 
 Our subject has erected on his fine farm a tasty 
 residence 20x36 feet, with an L 16x24 feet, under 
 which is an excellent cellar, at a cost of S3 ,000. 
 He also has a good barn, 24x40, and has a granary 
 and tool house combined, one and a half stories 
 high, 24x40. He also has other substantial out- 
 buildings. He keeps about a dozen cows, twenty- 
 five head of horned cattle, ten or twelve horses, 
 and annually sells about forty hogs. 
 
 DONIRAM JUDSON SWEZEY, a horti- 
 culturist residing on section 16, Guilford 
 Township, Winnebago County, was born 
 in the town of Harmony, Chautauqua 
 County, N. Y., February 22, 1836. His great- 
 grandfather, Daniel Swezey, was born in Suffolk 
 County, Long Island, N. Y., in June, 1753, and 
 was a son of Christopher Swezey, and a grandson 
 of Stephen Swezey, one of six sons who lived in 
 Swezey town, Suffolk County; he there spent his 
 entire life, as did also Christopher. Daniel was 
 there married, and in 1796 went to Norway, Her- 
 kimer County, N. Y., where he bought four hun- 
 dred acres of land, erected a log cabin and made a 
 farm. The grandfather of our subject, Daniel 
 Swezey, was born on Long Island, December 25, 
 1778, and was eighteen years old when his parents 
 went to Herkimer County, where he resided until 
 1836, when he removed to Chautauqua County, 
 and purchased a farm, upon which he spent the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 695 
 
 remainder of his days. He married Clarissa Siierry, 
 who was born in New Haven, Conn., September 
 15, 1789. She was descended from an old family 
 of English origin, founded in Massachusetts in 
 1635.' 
 
 The father of our subject, Darius A. Swezey, was 
 born in the town of Russia, Herkimer County, 
 N. Y., August 15, 1808, and in 1833 became one 
 of the early settlers of Chautauqua County, where 
 he bought a tract of timber land and erected a 
 substantial log cabin, in which our subject was 
 borrt. In 1845, he sold his farm and removed to 
 Erie County, Pa., where he bought land, upon which 
 he resided until 1851, when he emigrated to Win- 
 nebago Count}', 111. Purchasing the farm upon 
 which our subject now resides, he there made his 
 home until his death. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Esther Brooks. She was born in Cort- 
 land County, N. Y., September 30, 1815, and was 
 a daughter of James and Rhoda Brooks. The for- 
 mer was born in New Marlboro, Berkshire County, 
 Mass. He went to New York when a young man 
 and resided in Cortland County until 1827, when 
 he went to Chautauqua County, where he made 
 his home until 1854. He then sold out and re- 
 moved to Erie County, Pa., where he spent his last 
 days. In the Swezey family were six children, 
 one of whom, Edward, enlisted in the Seventy- 
 fourth Illinois Infantry and was afterward trans- 
 ferred to the One Hundred and Thirty -fourth 
 Regiment. He died nine days after his discharge. 
 
 Mr. Swezey whose name beads this record ac- 
 quired his early education in the public schools of 
 Cliautauqua County, N. Y.,and Erie, Pa., and later 
 attended Waterford Academy, of Pennsylvania, 
 and the National Normal School, of Ohio. When a 
 young man, he commenced teaching and followed 
 that profession until his marriage. The latter part 
 of the time he occupied the chair of languages and 
 literature in Elgin Academy, but on his marriage 
 resigned that position and bought the home farm 
 in Guilford Township. For some years he engaged 
 in general farming, but now gives his attention 
 almost exclusively to horticultural pursuits. 
 
 In 1866, Mr. Swezey led to the marriage altar 
 Miss Melinda Bruner, who was born in Canada and 
 is a daughter of Philip Bruner, who is mentioned 
 
 in the sketch of M. L. Bruner on another page of 
 this work. Four children have been born to our 
 subject and his wife: Etta, Otto, Royal and Fannie. 
 The parents arc both members of the State Street 
 Baptist Church, of Rockford. Mr. Swezey is a 
 member of Grange No. 6, with which he has been 
 connected since its organization, seventeen years 
 ago, and for three years he managed a store in the 
 interest of the Grange. Throughout life he has 
 been a strong advocate of temperance principles 
 and since 1884 has affiliated with the Prohibition 
 paty. In 1889, he was its candidate for the State 
 Legislature and received a larger vote than any 
 other candidate of his party. He is a public-spirited 
 and progressive citizen, prominent and influential, 
 and has the high regard of all with whom he has 
 been brought in contact. 
 
 
 'S^I CHARD E. BROWN was born on the farm 
 IWif in Owen Township, Winnebago County 
 Is^ l\y where he is at present residing, September 
 8, 1858. Before giving a notice of his life, 
 we deem it our duty to first briefly advert to the 
 life history of those of whom he draws his origin. 
 His direct progenitor, Mowry Brown, was born in 
 Burrillville, R. I., December 29, 1813. His father, 
 Joseph Brown, was also a native of that State, 
 where he carried on farming. He passed his last 
 days in Winnebago County, dying at the home of 
 his son Mowry. 
 
 The maiden name of the grandmother of our 
 subject was Elsie Mowry, who, as far as known, 
 was also born in Rhode Island, where she spent 
 her entire life. The father of our subject was 
 reared in his native State, and, when starting out 
 in life for himself, served an apprenticeship) at the 
 carpenter's trade. In 1835, he came to Illinois 
 and worked until 1839 in Alton, at the end of 
 which time he came to Winnebago County, ac- 
 companied hither by his wife, who made the jour- 
 ney by steamers on the Mississippi and Rock 
 Rivers to Rockford Township. Here Mr. Brown 
 purchased an acre of land on North Main Street, 
 on which he erected a small frame house, and 
 began working at his trade. His first contract 
 
696 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was building a house for Dr. George Haskell. He 
 made his home in the city until 1840, then moved 
 to a claim which he had made on section 26, in 
 what is now Owen Township. He bought a log 
 house, which he moved on to his land and occu- 
 pied until able to replace it with a more comfort- 
 able edifice. Mr. Brown prosecuted his trade a 
 part of each year until able to give his entire 
 time and attention to the cultivation of his land. 
 His death occurred on the farm June 4, 1879. 
 
 The lady to whom Mowry Brown was married, 
 F'ebruary 26, 1837, was Miss L\icy Pease. Her 
 birth occurred in Lyons, "Wayne County, N. Y., 
 March 31, 1815. Her paternal grandfather was 
 Ebenezer Pease, a native of Ballston, Saratoga 
 County, N. Y., and the son of Abel Pease, a na- 
 tive of Massachusetts, who went to New York 
 State when a very young man, where he was mar- 
 ried in Saratoga County, in 1785, to Lucy Mar- 
 tin, also a native of the Bay State. On her death, 
 Abel Pease married Mabel Campbell, a widow. 
 
 Ebenezer M. Pease was a natural mechanic and 
 was employed in various lines of work in New 
 York State until 1834, when, in company with 
 his wife and seven children, four sons and three 
 daughters, he came to Illinois via the Erie Canal 
 to Buffalo, and by way of the Lakes and Ohio and 
 Mississippi Rivers to Alton. They made their 
 home for a number of years in the latter-named 
 city, and then removed to Jersey County, where 
 the father passed his last days. T)ie maiden name 
 of his wife was Pamelia Wandell; she -was a na- 
 tive of New York State, where her decease oc- 
 curred. 
 
 The mother of our subject was eighteen years 
 old when she came to this State, and resided in 
 Alton until her marriage. She is. now residing on 
 the old homestead which her husband entered 
 from the Government. Seven of her eleven chil- 
 dren grew to mature years: George S. and Charles 
 E. reside in Rockford Township; Mary E. married 
 Egbert Phelps and makes her home in Owen 
 Township, as does also Henry A.; Fred 0. lives 
 near Fairbury, Neb., and Richard E. is on the 
 old homestead. William C, the fifth child, died 
 when nineteen years of age, Florence E. when 
 twelve years old and Ellen M. in her tenth year. 
 
 Emeline, the flrst-born, died in infancy, and Har- 
 riet E. is also deceased. 
 
 Richard E. Brown, like many of the farmer lads 
 was educated in the district schools and later 
 prosecuted his studies in the Rockford st'hools. 
 He was reared to agricultural pursuits and for a 
 number of fyears managed the old homestead, 
 which has always been his place of residence. He 
 devoted his entire time on the farm until 1890, 
 when he engaged in the manufacture of brick. 
 December 7, 1880, Miss Fannie Martin, who was 
 born in Rockton, became his wife. She was the 
 daughter of Edwin and Caroline Martin, and by 
 her union with Mr. Brown has become the mother 
 of two children, Gertie E. and Clifton Martin. 
 Our subject and his estimable wife are devoted 
 members of the Christian Union Church, and in 
 his social relations, ]Mr. Brown is connected with 
 the Farmers' Mutual Benevolent Association. 
 
 WJaCOB ROSE. About three miles from 
 Rockford is a splendid farm, embellished 
 with good buildings and brought to a fine 
 ^^_^ state of improvement. This was the home 
 of the late Jacob Rose, who, after cultivating the 
 soil for many years and introducing modern ma- 
 chinery and methods of agriculture in his farming 
 operations, there passed away December 12, 1887. 
 A man of great industry, unflagging perseverance, 
 the soul of honor, scorning deceit in every form, 
 he was beloved by all with whom he came in con- 
 tact and his death was mourned as a public calam- 
 ity. 
 
 This pioneer of Winnebago County was born in 
 Pennsylvania, the son of St. Clair Rose, who, as 
 far as is known, spent his entire life in the Key- 
 stone State. Early orphaned, our subject became 
 self-supporting when quite young and when about 
 seventeen came to Winnebago County, where he 
 resided until his death. By industriously saving 
 his wages, he was enabled to purchase a farm in 
 1859, five years after his marriage with Catherine 
 Scougall. This estimable lady was born in England, 
 and was the daughter of James Scougall, a native 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 697 
 
 of EdinboTO, Scotland, and the granddaughter of 
 James Scougall, Sr., who probably spent his entire 
 life in the Land of the Thistle. 
 
 James Scougall, Jr., learned the trade of a stone- 
 mason, which he followed for a time in Liverpool, 
 then returned to Edinboro. In 1846, accompanied 
 by his family, he emigrated to America, taking 
 passage at Glasgow in the sailing-vessel "Sault 
 Anna," and landing in New York six weeks later. 
 From there he proceeded by the Hudson River, 
 Erie Canal and Lakes to Chicago, then a small 
 village, and followed his trade in the last-named 
 place for a few years. Coming thence to Rock- 
 ford, his remaining years were passed here. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Margaret Blair; she 
 was born in P^ngland and died in Scotland. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Rose became the parents of seven living 
 children, namely: Walter, Jessie, Jennie, Harry, 
 Laura, Kittle and Lucius. Since the death of his 
 -father, the eldest son superintends the farm, which 
 under his capable supervision is kept in the high 
 state of improvement to which it was brought by 
 the father. 
 
 •^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 IL^ KNRY ROLFE, now retired and residing at 
 ' No. 710 North Second Street, where he owns 
 a comfortable home, was born in Tompkins 
 P County, Endfield Township, N. Y., on the 
 13th of August, 1833, and was reared and educated 
 there. His father, Chester Rolfe, and his grand- 
 father, Samuel Rolfe, were natives of New Jersey, 
 and of English descent. Samuel Rolfe passed his 
 boyhood and youth in his native State and was 
 there married to Miss Hannah Ellison. After the 
 birtii of several of their children, they moved to 
 New York State, where Samuel and a brother, Jon- 
 athan Rolfe, made a settlement in the wilds of 
 Endfield Township, Tompkins County. There 
 they began clearing their land of the heavy timber 
 with which it. was covered, and after years of hard 
 labor became the owners of comfortable homes. 
 Samuel Rolfe and wife lived long and prosperous 
 lives and died on the home place. They were 
 well-known pioneers and representative citizens, 
 Mr. Rolfe holding the office of Justice of the Peace 
 
 for many years. Their son, Chester Rolfe, was one 
 of a large famil}"^ of children, all of whom lived to 
 be grown, and one, George, is now engaged in 
 farming in Endfield Township, that being the oc- 
 cupation of most of the family. 
 
 Chester Rolfe was married in Endfield Township 
 to Miss Matilda Corkendall, who was born and 
 reared there and who was of Pennsylvania-Dutch 
 extraction. After marriage, Mr. Rolfe and wife 
 began life on a farm in Endfield Township, and 
 there they lived and labored until the death of 
 Mrs. Rolfe in 1863, when fifty-five years of age. 
 Mr. Rolfe survived her many years. He came 
 West to visit his son in 1881 and died on the last 
 day of that year. His body was carried back and 
 interred in the old family graveyard in Endfield 
 Township. He was then about seventy-six years 
 of age. In his early life he was a Whig and later a 
 Democrat. He held a number of local offices in 
 his township, and was a man of well-rounded char- 
 acter. He left a large family, five of whom are 
 yet living. 
 
 Henry Rolfe was reared to the arduous duties 
 of the farm and it was but natui-al that' when 
 starting out in life for himself he should choose 
 agricultural pursuits as his occupation in life, for 
 his ancestors had all been tillers of the soil. When 
 a young man, he came to Ogle County, 111., and was 
 married, in Scott Township, to Miss Adelaide Ash- 
 ton, a native of Mt. Morris, Livingston County, 
 N. Y., born May 19, 1844, and the daughter of 
 Sidney and Eliza (Downs) Ashton, natives, respect- 
 ivel3', of Pennsylvania and Vermont. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ashton resided on a farm in Mt. Morris 
 Township for many j'ears and the mother died on 
 the 27th of September, 1866, her birthday, while 
 returning from a visit to Illinois. She was just 
 fifty-five years of age. 
 
 Mr. Ashton spent the last years of his life with 
 his daughter, Mrs. Rolfe, in Rockford, and received 
 his final summons on the 7th of March, 1887, when 
 over eighty-eight years of age. He and Mrs. Ashton 
 were members of the Universalist Church, and, in 
 politics, he was a Democrat. Their children, eight 
 in number, are all living but one. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Rolfe have no children. They attend the Christian 
 Union Church, take an active interest in all worthy 
 
698 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 movements and are classed among the best citizens 
 of the couutj^ Ml'. Rolfe is the owner of three 
 hundred and twenty acres of good land in Scott 
 Township, Ogle County, this State, and has good, 
 substantial buildings on his place. He also owns 
 some propertj' in West End addition to the city. 
 He came to Rockford in 1877, and since 1883 he 
 has made his home at No. 710 North Second 
 Street. 
 
 ^^IJST JOHNSON. In 1877, or fifteen years 
 (11 (— — ago, Mr. .Johnson began his business in the 
 ^^:^' 'bus and express line with a single horse, 
 and bj' his industry and excellent business acumen 
 soon accumulated a handsome competence. He 
 now does a large and lucrative business, employs 
 three men and has three or four good outfits. The 
 result of his industry and able management is that 
 he now owns a fine double house at Nos. 116, 
 and 118 North Third Street, and is also a stock- 
 holder in the Skandia Plow Company, the Rock- 
 ford Furniture and Undertaking Company, the 
 Skandia Hardware Company, and is interested in 
 the Union Grocer}' Store and other institutions. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was born in Jonkoping Lan, Swe- 
 den, September 26, 1852, and remained there 
 until fifteen years of age, or in 1868, when he came 
 to this country by waj' of Quebec, Canada. He 
 subsequently came to the States, passed the first 
 two years laboring on a farm, and with the money 
 thus earned brought his parents to this country. 
 He made a home for them and later learned the 
 trade of a gardener and florist, being in the employ 
 of G. A. Sanford & F. H. Manney for a number of 
 years. His father, John Grabrilson, was a tiller of 
 the soil and died in Rockford, in 1875, when fifty- 
 eight years of age. His mother was also of that 
 age when her death occurred, on the 18th of Oc- 
 tober, 1883. Both were members of the Lutheran 
 Church. Of their large family of children. Gust 
 Johnson was the eldest. He was married in Rock- 
 ford to Miss Anna Olson, a native of Wester Goth- 
 land Province, Sweden, who when five years of 
 age was brought to this country by her parents, 
 Olof and Mariah (Bringlesdauter) Olson. The 
 
 mother, who had always been a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, died when sixty years of age, 
 but the father is still living and is now residing 
 on Fourth Avenue. He, also, has ever been a de- 
 vout Lutheran in his religious belief. 
 
 Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. John- 
 son two are deceased, one who died in infancy, and 
 a daughter, Edna L. Those living are William G. 
 and Ernest V. (twins), who so closely resemble 
 each other that is difficult to tell them apart. They 
 are bright and healthy, and about twelve years of 
 age. Arthur L. is an intelligent little fellow of 
 seven. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are active members of the 
 First Swedish Lutheran Church and are worthy 
 and esteemed citizens. Mr. Johnson is a sound 
 Republican in his political views, and in pubHc 
 movements he has ever taken a deep interest, but 
 has never been an office-seeker. 
 
 -^ 
 
 'jl^ETER A. LARSON, who does an extensive 
 ])) business as a plaster contractor, was born on 
 
 f^ the island of Orland, near Sweden,rebruary 7, 
 I \ 1849. His father, Lars Pearson, died when 
 our subject was only nine years of age. His 
 mother is still living at the age or sixty-four and 
 yet makes her home in Sweden. She is a mem- 
 ber of the Lutheran Church, as was her husband. 
 Three children of the family are living in this 
 country. A. O. Larson works for his brother and 
 is married. The sister, Louisa, is the wife of Aug- 
 ust Johnson, a tailor on Second Avenue. 
 
 No event of special importance occurred during 
 the childhood of our subject, which was passed 
 in his native land, where he partially learned 
 the trade of a plasterer. The year 1871 witnessed 
 his emigration to America. He sailed in the spring 
 and landed in New York City, whence he made 
 his way to Chicago, where he resided for two 
 years, there completing his trade. He then came 
 to Rockford, in 1873, and has since made his home 
 in this city. From the beginning, his trade has 
 constantly increased and by good work and mod- 
 erate prices he has secured a liberal patronage and 
 acquired a handsome competence. His handiwork 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 699 
 
 is seen in many of the leading homes in this city 
 and compares favorably with any done. In con- 
 nection with work at his trade, he is interested 
 in the Rockford Manufacturing Company, is a 
 stockholder and Director in the Union Grocery 
 Company and holds some $2,000 worth of stock in 
 the Swedish Building and Loan Association. He 
 owns a large three-story brick store and flats, a val- 
 uable property, located at No. 303 Seventh Street, 
 and a fine brick residence at No. 1103 Third Avenue, 
 tlie family residence. 
 
 A marriage ceremony performed in this city 
 united the destinies of Mr. Larson and Mrs. Oleda 
 C. (Lundwall) Borg, who was born in Sweden, May 
 17, 1853, and" when a maiden of fourteen summers 
 came to this country. She afterwards gave her 
 hand in marriage to S. A. Borg, a Swedish gentle- 
 man and a mason by trade, who died in 1877, at 
 the age of twenty-seven years. One child was 
 born of this union, A. Leonard, who is a graduate 
 of the Rockford Business College and now occu- 
 pies a position as book-keeper with the firm of Carl- 
 son ik Co., on Seventh Street. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Larson was born a family of seven children, three 
 of whom are now deceased, two named respec- 
 tively Arthur, and Harold. The living are Ellen 
 C, Gertie A., Elmer E. and Hazel V., and all under 
 the parental roof. With the First Lutheran Church 
 the parents hold membership and in social circles 
 tliey rank high. In his political views, Mr. Larson 
 is a Republican. 
 
 PANIEL BEERS, deceased, was one of the first 
 settlers of Winnebago County, and it may be 
 truly said that he was one of its most es- 
 teemed citizens. He came to this county when 
 there was one store and a few log cabins in Rock- 
 ford, and the same year took up Government 
 land in what is now Guilford Township, his house 
 being one of the first in that township. There, 
 with the boundless prairie stretching on every side 
 and with neighbors many miles distant, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Beers settled down to the duties of life. For 
 a number of years they experienced many hard- 
 ships and privations, but they finally got a start, 
 
 and their subsequent prosperous career was the re- 
 sult. In those early days, they took all their grain 
 to Chicago with ox-teams and many were the mis- 
 haps that occurred in crossing streams, for there 
 were no bridges. There were no churches, but it 
 must not be supposed there were no meetings, for 
 the few neighbors would meet at each other's homes 
 and have a season of prayer and thanksgiving. 
 Mr. Beers' log house was the scene of many a relig- 
 ious gathering, and his good wife would get sup- 
 per for the whole congregation. All in the com- 
 munity were Methodists and when they met to- 
 gether they enjoyed themselves as only Methodists 
 can. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beers resided for many years 
 on the farm they had improved in every way^and 
 then moved to Monroe, Wis., where they resided 
 for seven years. They owned a farm near that 
 city. About 186G, they came to Rockford and here 
 Mr. Beers' death occurred in 1880, when seventy 
 years of age. Liberal, generous, and high-minded 
 his life was filled with good deeds. He was a 
 model American citizen. A Methodist in his re- 
 ligious belief, he was one of the leading men of 
 his church, and was Class-Leader for many years. 
 He was a Republican in politics and a strict tem- 
 perance man. In pioneer days, when his first 
 barn was to be raised, and whiskey was expected 
 on such occasions, he informed his neighbors that 
 no whiskey was to be given, but th.at his wife 
 would giv^e them a fine supper. 
 
 Mr. Beers was born in Pennsylvania and reared 
 on a farm in that State. When a young man he 
 went to LeRoy, N..Y., and was married there to 
 Miss Mary Herrick, a native of that city. She is 
 now past the eightieth milestone of her life but is 
 still quick and active, and is one of the most pleas- 
 ant and agreeable old ladies to meet. She has en- 
 deavored to make her life a useful one and to 
 follow the teachings of the Golden Rule. She yet 
 lives in the kind remembrances of the good old 
 days of yore and her reminiscences of them are 
 very interesting. 
 
 Mrs. Beers became the mother of a large family 
 of children, and of them these are deceased: John, 
 William D., James, Henry and Lucius. All died 
 young but Henry, who was married. The children 
 
700 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 now living are Matilda, wife of Willard Convers, 
 a farmer of Guilford Township; Louisa M., wife 
 of Russell Marsh, a farmer of Guilford Township; 
 Richard, a wealthy farmer of Nebraska, married 
 Miss Rhoda Marsh; Ella is the wife of a Mr. Camp- 
 bell, a farmer of Nebraska; Sarah, wife of Alfred 
 Ufford, now resides on a farm in Iowa; Flora, wife 
 of David Ralston; Lucy, wife of Henry Thompson, 
 a farmer of Nebraska, and Olive resides in Butte 
 City, Mont., and is a dressmaker there. 
 
 
 ITET 
 
 
 NDERS J. ANDERSON, a successful 
 farmer,who rents and operates two hundred 
 
 (/ 14) and seventy acres of well-improved and 
 v5gj, valuable land in Rockford Townsliip, was 
 
 born in Sweden, October 28, 1848. His mother 
 died in that land when our subject was only four- 
 teen years of age. His father was born in the same 
 province as Anders and followed the occupation 
 of farming throughout his entire life. He was a 
 second time married and some eight years later the 
 familj' emigrated to the New World, in 1876. The 
 father is now living at the age of eighty-two 
 years and his wife is about seventy-six years of 
 age. Both have been life-long members of the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 Our subject is the eldest of the family and was 
 the first to come to America. One brother, Claus 
 H. Anderson, is now a farmer of Cherry Valley 
 Township, where he resides with his family. Gust 
 and August both died in childhood. Anders 
 crossed the Atlantic in 1870, and for a time resided 
 in Chicago, 111., after which he made his home for 
 one year in Stephenson County. He has been a 
 resident of Winnebago Count}^ for seventeen 
 years and for thirteen years has resided upon the 
 farm which he now occupies. He is an enterprising 
 farmer and industrious man and is widely known 
 in this community. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was married in the city of Rock- 
 ford to Mrs. Johanna Hallgren, nee Johnson. She 
 was born in Sweden, October 9, 1832, and when a 
 young lady came to this country. Her parents, 
 Joseph and Anna (Swanson) Johnson, were natives 
 of Sweden, where they spent their entire lives as 
 
 farming people, dying at the ages of eighty-two 
 and eighty-seven 3'ears, respectively. They were 
 members of the Lutheran Church and were worthy 
 and respected people. 
 
 Mrs. Anderson is the youngest of three daugh- 
 ters. Charlotte, who came to the United States in 
 the year 1864, is now the wife of John Lidell, a 
 cabinet-maker in the employ of the Standard Fur- 
 niture Company; Mary came to the United States 
 and located in Rockford in 1879, and is now the 
 wife of Gust Rappson. The wife of our subject 
 crossed the water in 1868, and has since resided in 
 Rockford. She was first married to John Hallgren, 
 who was born and reared in Sweden, and in 1868 
 emigrated to this country. He became a resident 
 of Rockford and after his marriage settled upon a 
 farm near that city, where his death occurred at the 
 age of thirty-seven. In politics, he was a Repub- 
 lican, was a member of the Lutheran Church and a 
 good citizen. He died respected by all, and at his 
 death left a daughter, Ellen, an accomplished and 
 intelligent young lady, who resides with her mother. 
 Mr. Anderson takes an active interest in political 
 affairs, votes with the Republican party and is a 
 stalwart supporter of its principles. He and his 
 wife both hold membership with the Luthcr.an 
 Church and are active workers in its interests, aid- 
 ing in its upbuilding in all possible ways. 
 
 ^E 
 
 ^ 
 
 f^4\0TAL HANCE, widely and favorably known 
 liiir throughout Pecatonica Township, is one of 
 the well-to-do farmers of this section. The 
 family occupies a high position in social 
 circles, and Mr. Hance may be properly classed 
 among the representative men who are uniformly 
 found on the side of enterprises calculated to pro- 
 mote the best interests of the community. 
 
 Our subject was born November 30, 1834, in 
 Seneca County, Ohio, and is a son of Thomas and 
 Ph(]ebe(DeWitt) Hance; his mother was born in Cay- 
 uga County, N. Y. The paternal grandparents of 
 our subject were Adam and Elizabeth (Bunn) 
 Hance, the former passing away in his seventy- 
 seventh year, and his wife when seventy years of 
 asje. 
 

 
 -?*;*^^'«l«= 
 
 <0 (^J^^C^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 703 
 
 The life of Ogden Ilance, a brother of our subject, 
 will be found portrayed on another page in this 
 volume, to which sketch the reader is referred for 
 the family history. He of whom we write remained 
 at home until twenty-three years of age, when he 
 was married, November 12, 1863, to Libbie Kel- 
 logg, who was born July 2, 1842, in St. Lawrence 
 County, N. Y. Mrs. Hance is the daughter of 
 Albert and Nancy (McDonald) Kellogg, the Mc 
 Donalds coming from Scotland. The father of 
 Mrs. Hance was a son of David and Henrietta 
 (Wells) Kellogg, both of whom died in Messina, 
 N. Y., aged respectively ninety and eighty-four 
 years. 
 
 Royal Hance is one of the best-known men in 
 Winnebago County, as soon after his marriage he 
 located on a part of the land his father liad taken 
 up from the Government, which has been his home 
 up to the present time. His estate comprised sixt}' 
 acres, to which he has since added thirty-four acres 
 and has the entire amount under the best of culti- 
 vation. Mr. and Mrs. Hance have become the 
 parents of four children, one of whom died in in- 
 fancy; Earl C, who was born December 8, 18G4, 
 married Miss Hattie Martin and has one son; Ray 
 D., who was born August 15, 1872, is a graduate 
 of the Pecatonica High School, and resides with 
 his parents; LaMont, who was born November 12, 
 1876, is also at home. 
 
 j^AVID P. MESICK, who is at present resid- 
 ing in Rockford, was born in Athens, Greene 
 County, N. Y., January 2, 1824. His father 
 was a native of that State, where, as far as known, 
 his grandfather was born. The latter named gen- 
 tleman was a farmer, and departed this life in Al- 
 bany County. Peter Mesick was rearfed in his 
 native State and followed the occupation of a 
 farmer until reaching forty years of age, when he 
 learned the trade of a stonemason. He later re- 
 moved from Albany to Cayuga County, where he 
 made his home till the fall of 1854, at which time 
 he came to Illinois and located in Rockford, where 
 he died. 
 
 The mother of our subject was known in her 
 maidenhood as Sarah Remer. She was born in 
 Albany County, N. Y., and became the mother of 
 thirteen children, viz: Catherine, Henry, Jacob, 
 David P., Andrew, Margaret, Sarah, Joseph, Lydia 
 J., Peter, Chauncey, William L. and Kate R. Jacob 
 served in the late war and died soon after its close; 
 William was also a soldier in that struggle. 
 
 The original of this sketch was very young 
 when his parents moved to Albany County, and 
 was a lad of seven years when they made their 
 homo in Cayuga County. There he was reared 
 and educated, and in early life learned the trade 
 of a carpenter and joiner, serving an apprentice- 
 ship of five years. He worked as a journeyman 
 for a time and afterward became a contractor. In 
 1854, lie came to Rockford, arriving here on the 
 16th of November. He at once began his trade 
 of contractor and builder, at which business he 
 was employed for seventeen years. At the ex- 
 piration of that time, he purchased a farm in 
 Cherry Valley Township, and was engaged in its 
 cultivation for twelve years. Tlien, making liis 
 home in Rockford, he has resided since that time 
 in a pleasant residence on Catlin Street. 
 
 Susan Cram, who was born in the town of Keys- 
 ville, Clinton County, N. Y^, February 25, 1829, 
 became the wife of our subject October 5, 1862. 
 Mrs. Mesick was the -daughter of Jacob Cram, a 
 native of New England, where his father, Eben- 
 ezer Cram, was also born. The grandfather of 
 Mrs. Mesick was a shoemaker by trade and spent 
 his last daj^s in the town of Sennett, Onondaga 
 County, N. Y. Her father removed from Ver- 
 mont to Clinton County, N. Y., and thence to 
 Onondaga County in October, 1833, the journey 
 being made via Lake Champlain and Erie Canal. 
 He resided in the town of Elbridge until 1846, 
 when he came to Illinois, accompanied by his 
 wife and five children. 
 
 At that time Rockford was little more than a 
 village and neighbors in the surrounding country 
 were few and far between. Mr. Cram settled on 
 the west side of the river, where he made his 
 home for a few months, and then leased a farm, 
 which he cultivated one year. Then, on account 
 of ill-health, he returned to Rockford and resided 
 
704 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 there until liis dececase. The maiden name of the 
 mother of Mrs. Mesick was Armina Perry; she was 
 reared in Clinton County, N. Y., and was the 
 daughter of Eli Perry. Our subject and his wife 
 are members of the State Street Baptist Church. 
 Mr. Mesick voted the Republican ticket until the 
 organization of the Prohibition party, when he 
 joined its ranks. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Mesick adds value to the 
 record of tbe county which he has aided so ma- 
 teriallj' in developing. 
 
 V 
 
 <^ /i^ILLIAM ATKINSON, a well-known resi- 
 dent of Rockford and an honored pioneer 
 of the county of 1837, was born in Cum- 
 berland County, England, January 11, 1813. His 
 father, James Atkinson, was also born in that county 
 and married Jane Foster, a native of the same lo- 
 cality. After the birth of six of their children, 
 they emigrated to America, sailing from England 
 on the 8th of May, 1832, and landed in Quebec, 
 Canada, after a voyage of seven weeks. They 
 spent a little more than a year in that country, 
 after which they became residents of Syracuse, N. Y., 
 where the father and his son followed the carpen- 
 ter's trade. The year 1837 witnessed their arrival 
 in Winnebago County, 111., and a settlement was 
 made in Harrison Township, where the father died 
 some eight years later, at the age of fifty-eight 
 j^ears. His wife survived him two j^ears, dying at 
 the age of sixty-two. In politics, Mr. Atkinson 
 was a Whig. He and his wife were members of the 
 Methodist Church, and lived quiet, unassuming 
 lives, worthy of the esteem in which they "were 
 held. Our subject is the only son of the family 
 now living. However, he has four sisters, all mar- 
 ried, one residing in Marengo, another in Iowa 
 and the remaining two in this county. 
 
 William Atkinson of this sketch remained in the 
 land of his birth until twenty years of age and 
 learned the carpenter's trade under his father, 
 with whom he worked in S3'racuse, N. Y., for some 
 years, as before stated. For more than half a cen- 
 tury, he has resided in this county and has been 
 prominently identifled with its upbuilding. His 
 
 first location was in Harrison Township, where he 
 obtained Government land, and after buildino- a 
 log cabin, began life in true pioneer style, experi- 
 encing many hardships and trials of frontier life. 
 In those days their market was Chicago or Milwau- 
 kee, and as roads were poor it was often a hard 
 task to reach those places. About 1839, he formed 
 a partnership with Mr. Elwood, an Englishman, 
 and they began operating a distillery, but were un- 
 successful, and Mr. Atkinson lost all he had and 
 was forced to begin life anew. From that time, he 
 gave his entire attention to agricultural pursuits 
 and improved nearly three hundred acres of land. 
 This is divided into two farms, furnished with 
 two sets of buildings and is highly cultivated and 
 improved. The old home is situated on section 26, 
 Harrison Township, and there Mr. Atkinson resided 
 until September, 1890, when he came to Rockford, 
 and has since lived a retired life at his present 
 home at No. 1110 West State Street. He built 
 this residence and four other nice places on the 
 same block, including a compartment house. 
 
 Mr. Atkinson was first married, near Syracuse, 
 N. Y., to Miss Nancy Bebee, who was born in Eng- 
 land, and during her childhood came to this 
 country with her parents, who died in the Empire 
 State. Her death occurred in La Salle County, 111., 
 at the age of twent3'-seven. She died in the faith 
 of the Methodist Church. The second wife of Mr. 
 Atkinson was Miss Lucy Phillips, a native of Ohio, 
 who was a true helpmate and companion to her 
 husband for forty years. She died when past the 
 age of sixty, leaving twelve children, two of whom 
 are now deceased : Hiram, who died in childhood: 
 and George, who was killed at the battle of 
 Chickasaw Mountain while fighting for the Union 
 during the late war. Nancy is the wife of H. 
 Collins, of Rockford; James, who wedded Miss 
 Gaylord, resides in Beloifc, Wis.; Charles, a farmer 
 of Sheldon Township, wedded Zetta Conklin; Jane, 
 who married Robert Oliver, lives in Rockford; 
 Marilla is the wife of David Kinney, a farmer of 
 Rock Rapids, Iowa; Mary A. is the wife of H. 
 Douglas, of Rockford; Thomas, who married Mary 
 Shepardson, is a farmer of Harrison Township; 
 William, a resident of Rockton, married Lydia 
 Leffenwell; Frank, a commercial traveler residing 
 
POETEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 705 
 
 in Racine, Wis., married Minnie Baker, who is now 
 deceased, and Lucy, who married Fred Morgan, 
 lives in Rockford. 
 
 For his next wife, Mr. Atkinson chose Maggie 
 Miller, who died a few years later. His present 
 wife was Mrs. Elizabeth (Van Dike) Wishop, who 
 was married, in New Jersey, to Sanuial Van Ars- 
 dale,who died fighting for his countrj'. She then 
 came to Illinois, and in this county married Andrew 
 Wishop, who died in middle life. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Atkinson attend the Court Street Methodist Church, 
 of which Mrs. Atkinson is a member. He is 
 a stanch Republican in polities, and voted both 
 for William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harri- 
 son. He has held many local offices, including 
 that of Supervisor, which he has held for seven- 
 teen years, and his public duties were ever prompt- 
 ly and faithfull3' discharged. As an upright man, 
 a valued citizen and an honored pioneer, he well 
 deserves representation in this volume. 
 
 j-n^i - t» ' p> i 
 
 I' '• ^ ' ■ 
 
 ^ OEL B. POTTER (deceased) was born in 
 Sherman Township, Fairfield County, Conn. 
 July 25, 1810, and died in Rockford, No- 
 vember 30, 1880. He was sixteen years old 
 when his parents, William C. and Anna (Hubble) 
 Potter, moved to Orleans County, N. Y. Agricul- 
 tural pursuits had been the father's chief occupa- 
 tion in life and at that he prospered. The father 
 and mother were members of the Congregational 
 Church in Fairfield and members of the Presbyte- 
 rian Church of Orleans County, and both were 
 worthy and exemplary people. They passed the 
 remainder of their days in that county, the father 
 dying when over eighty years of age and the 
 mother when over seventy. They reared a large 
 family of children, a number of whom are still re- 
 siding in Orleans County. 
 
 Joel B. Potter received the advantages of a 
 good collegiate education and had prepared 
 himself to enter the Presbyterian ministry. Fail- 
 ing health, however, caused him to abandon this, 
 and although in after years his health was restored, 
 he never entered the pulpit. He came to Rock- 
 ford, 111., in 1839, and after some years purchased 
 
 a drug store on East State Street, and was thus 
 engaged for a number of years, having for a part- 
 ner J. F. Harding. This business prospered until 
 the death of Mr. Harding, about 1867, when Mr. 
 Potter withdrew from the business and retired. 
 During his early days in Winnebago County , he 
 had been the owner of a good farm and this he 
 carried on for some time before he went into the 
 drug business. He took much interest in politics 
 and supported the principles of the Republican 
 party. He was a man of excellent business quali- 
 fications and good habits, and a citizen who had 
 the highest regard of all who knew him. He wit- 
 nessed many changes in the country and was a 
 potent factor in its growth and development. He 
 had two brothers, Hubble and Herman Potter, 
 both now deceased, who were early settlers of 
 Winnebago County. The former was a promi- 
 nent dry-goods merchant and later a banker of 
 Rockford. He was one of the pioneers of the city 
 and was a well-known business man. The latter 
 was a prosperous farmer. Joel B. Potter selected 
 as his companion in life Miss Adaline Lathrop, a 
 native of Vermont, born May 18, 1813, and their 
 nuptials were celebrated in Genesee County, N. Y., 
 in July, 1836. Mrs. Potter was reared and edu- 
 cated in Genesee County and there made her 
 home until her marriage. She is a lady of much 
 business ability and since the death of her hus- 
 band has managed his affairs with excellent judg- 
 ment. Her parents, Adgate and Martha (Moss) 
 Lathrop, were natives of Connecticut, but emi- 
 grated to Vermont in early life and were there 
 married. Mr. Lathrop followed the combined 
 business of carpenter, joiner and farmer, and was 
 fairly successful in all. In 1816, the family moved 
 to Genesee County, N. Y., and there the parents 
 died when seventj^-five and eighty years of age, 
 respectively. They were Baptists in their relig- 
 ious views. Mrs. Potter is one of ten children, 
 but only a brother, Harry Lathrop, of Otsego, 
 Mich., and a sister, Mrs. Orange Sherman, of 
 Buffalo, N. Y., besides herself, are now living. 
 Mrs. Potter is the mother of seven children ; two 
 died in infancy, and Mrs. Mary Willis died 
 when twenty-two years of age. Those living 
 are: Caroline A., who was the wife of Col. C. M. 
 
706 
 
 i'ORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Brazee, how deceased, formerly an attorney and 
 an ex-soldier; Harriet J., widow of J. F. Harding 
 (formerly a partner with our subject), is now re- 
 siding on Oak Street, Rockford; Francis L. has 
 been a teacher in the High Schools in Chicago for 
 the past twenty years and is a prominent educator; 
 and Laura J. is the wife of Edward S. Gregory, 
 who owns a wholesale and retail store in sanitary 
 goods and heating apparatus on State Street, Rock- 
 ford. All his life Mr. Potter was a consistent 
 member of the Westminister Presbyterian Church 
 and Mrs. Potter is a worthy member of the same. 
 The Potter family occupies a leading position in 
 Rockford society. Mrs. Potter is well preserved 
 for her j'ears, her hair is scarcely tinged with gray 
 and she walks with the elasticity of youth. 
 
 «. - — . -^:"^ 
 
 M>^^<^^ 
 
 \Ir=^OBERT M. BRANTINGHAM. The com- 
 l!s^ modious, two-storj' brick residence at No. 
 *v '^^^ Horsman Street is owned and occu- 
 pied by the gentleman whose name intro- 
 duces these paragraphs, and who has become well- 
 to-do through judicious investments in real estate. 
 Coming to Winnebago County in 1856, he has 
 since been an important factor in the growth of 
 the county, and especially in the progress of Rock- 
 ford, which he has seen change from an unimport- 
 ant village, to a city numbering twenty-five thous- 
 and people. In addition to valuable land in 
 Rockford, he owns considerable real estate in South 
 Chicago. 
 
 The father of our subject, Robert M. Branting- 
 ham, Sr:, was a native of Statcn Island, where he 
 grew to man's estate. He engaged for some years 
 in business in New York City, meanwhile contin- 
 uing his residence on Staten Island. He was mar- 
 ried on the island of his birth to Miss Jane 
 Simonson, who was there born and reared, her par- 
 ents being New York people and well-to-do. The 
 parents of our subject had a family of three sons 
 and seven daughters; of these two sons and two 
 daughters are deceased. All of the children have 
 married excepting the subject of this sketch, who 
 is tlie eldest member of the family. 
 
 When the parental family sought a home in 
 
 Winnebago County, our subject was a lad of eight 
 years and he has spent almost his entire life in this 
 county. His father was the owner of about eight 
 hundred acres of land in this vicinity; he also had 
 large possessions in Iowa, and in Staten Island. His 
 various financial enterprises proved remunerative 
 and placed him on a solid footing as a capitalist. 
 He died at his home, two miles south of Rockford, 
 in 1865. His wife survived him many years, pass- 
 ing away January 1, 1890, at the age of seventy- 
 five years, at the home of her son, our subject. Mr. 
 Brantingham, Sr., was a firm Republican in his po- 
 litical affiliations, and with his wife held member- 
 ship in the Episcopal Church. 
 
 All the local interests of Rockford have been 
 heartily promoted by Mr. Brantingham, who has 
 endorsed all measures having for their object the 
 progress of the religious, educational, moral and 
 philanthropic status of the city. He is a pro- 
 nounced Republican in his political belief, and in- 
 variably casts his ballot and gives his influence to 
 the support of the principles which he considers 
 best adapted to our Government. He is a stock- 
 holder of the Rockford Watch Company, and is 
 interested in various other establishments and 
 organizations which have been of great value to 
 the city. 
 
 ARTLEY S. GIELDSETH. During the com- 
 paratively brief time in which our subject 
 has been engaged in business in Durand, he 
 has built up a fine trade as the proprietor 
 of a meat market, being a member of the firm of 
 Funnell & Gieldseth. He was born in Hammer- 
 fest, Norway, February 28, 1857, and is the son 
 of B. H. and Eliza (Patterson) Gieldseth. The 
 family resided in Norway until 1872, where the 
 father was a baker by trade, which business 
 our subject also followed together with that of a 
 printer. The elder Mr. Gieldseth died in his 
 native country in 1870, in his sixty-first year. 
 
 He of whom we write was the eldest but one in 
 a family of five children, his brothers and sisters 
 being Thomas; Nicoline, who is a teacher of 
 
O-^ 
 
 (yc^JlJi 
 
 62^ 
 
 'cle/rj 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD; 
 
 709 
 
 music; Christine and Amanda, the two latter of 
 whom keep house for our subject. The family 
 set sail for the New World in 1872, and arriving 
 here located in Durand, where the mother departed 
 this life May 21,1891. 
 
 Upon locating in Winnebago County, Mr. Gield- 
 beth purchased land in Laona Township, and fol- 
 lowed farming for twelve years, during which 
 time, by the quiet course of persistent effort and 
 constant devotion to duty, he left poverty far 
 behind and accumulated a handsome property. 
 In 1886, our subject engaged in his present business 
 in company with James Funnell. They also deal ex- 
 tensively in live-stock and do a general packing 
 business. 
 
 Hartley S. Gieldseth and Miss Anna Garder were 
 united in marriage in 1878. The lady was the 
 daughter of Ole Garder and was born in Rock 
 Grove, April 23, 1859. She boie her husband 
 three children, Raymond, Earl and Anna, and de- 
 parted this life July 2, 1884. Our subject, relig- 
 iously, is an influential member of the Lutheran 
 Church. In politics, he votes with the Democratic 
 party but does not aspire to office as he prefers to 
 give his time to his private interests. He is a 
 member of Durand Lodge No. 302, A. F. & A. M., 
 and is also connected with Durand Camp of the 
 Modern Woodmen. Mr. Gieldseth still owns 
 his farm property of eighty acres in Laona Town- 
 ship, which is under an excellent state of improve- 
 ment, and in addition to that has considerable real 
 estate in Durand. 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 r^=' 
 
 ® ' ■°-^i 
 
 OTIS EDDY. In point of energy, enterprise 
 and determination, the subject of this notice 
 is looked upon as one of the leading men 
 of Rockford, where he has a beautiful home lo- 
 cated on Main Street. He was born in Burrillville, 
 R. I., August 28, 1804, and is a son of John Eddy, 
 a native of that place, as was also his father, Ste- 
 phen Eddy. The latter-named gentleman was a 
 farmer and spent his entire life in Burrillville. 
 The father of our subject inherited a portion of 
 the old homestead and there resided until his 
 death. The maiden name of his wife was Marcy 
 
 Sayles, who was born in the same town as was her 
 husband and departed this life on the old home 
 farm. 
 
 The parental family of our subject included five 
 sons and one daughter, namely: Celia, our subject, 
 Esten 0., Elliott E., John S. and Marcius. The 
 original of this sketch was reared and educated in 
 his native town, where he attended the common 
 school, and after reaching his majority engaged in 
 the mercantile business in the village of Pascoag, 
 and continued to be so employed for thirteen 
 years. In 1840, he removed to Mobile, Ala., of 
 which city he was a resident for four years, dur- 
 ing the greater part of that time being engaged 
 as a wood merchant. From there he went to 
 New Orleans in 1844, and was engaged on a levee 
 for a twelvemonth, returning thence to Rhode 
 Island and locating at Blackstone. In 1851, he 
 went to California via the Nicaragua route, being 
 a passenger on the second boat which ever made 
 the journey over that route. For two years he 
 followed mining pursuits in the far West, and 
 afterward engaged in the real-estate business at 
 Downieville, where he has built and sold several 
 houses at a handsome advance. Later, in 1856, he 
 returned to Panama, and from there pursued the 
 homeward journey. 
 
 In 1861, Mr. Eddy came West to Illinois and 
 purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land 
 near the city of Rockford, and three years later 
 became the owner of the farm which he now owns 
 and occupies and which is pleasantly located one- 
 half mile from the city. Our subject has been 
 twice married; his first wife, Azubah Mathewson, 
 was born in Burrillville, R. I., and departed this 
 life in Blackstone in 1850. Mr. Eddy was then 
 married to Lucy Carpenter, a native of Charlton, 
 Mass. He became the father of the following- 
 named children: Welcome J., Warren 0. and 
 Mathewson, all of whom are deceased, excepting 
 Warren O. Welcome J. married Isabel Severans, 
 and both have passed away, leaving four children: 
 Lillie M., Ella, Ida and Walter L. Warren O. 
 married Augusta Willoughby, by whom he became 
 the father of two children : Flora and Alice. Mrs. 
 Eddy is an active member of the Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
710 
 
 POSTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECOED= 
 
 When the "boom" struck the city of Rockford, 
 our subject sold the greater portion of his land, 
 reserving only a few acres for himself. He has a 
 pleasant home and, surrounded by all the com- 
 forts of life, is passing his last days in that ease 
 and comfort which his earlj^ industry has won. He 
 has attained the advanced age of eighty-eight 
 years and is widely and favorabl3' known through- 
 out the county. 
 
 OMER DENTON. The career of a self- 
 made man is finely illustrated in the history 
 of Mr. Denton, who commenced the battle 
 of life dependent upon his own resources 
 and who through the difficulties and draw-backs 
 common to most men has acliieved successs. Upon 
 coming to Winnebago County, he in due time ac- 
 quired a large amount of real estate, and as the 
 property increased in value, he, of course, grew in 
 wealtli and has become one of the most prosperous 
 men in the county. He has been an energetic, 
 wide-awake man, Iteenly observant of what is 
 going on around him and lias contributed his full 
 quota to the growth and development of his 
 adopted county. 
 
 The original of this slsetch was born in Middle- 
 field, Otsego County, N. Y., December 19, 1812. 
 He is the son of John Denton, a native of Dutch- 
 ess County, N. Y., where his father, .Joel Denton, 
 as far as is known, was born. The latter-named 
 gentleman served as a patriot in the Revolutionary 
 War, for a period of seven j'ears. He was a far- 
 mer by occupation and removed from Dutchess to 
 Otsego County in about 1825, spending his last 
 years in Middlefleld. The maiden name of his 
 wife, grandmother of our subject, was Harriet 
 Brown. 
 
 John Denton was reared to the life of a farmer 
 and removed to Otsego County in 1805, where he 
 was one of the early settlers in Middlefleld. He 
 there purchased a tract of timber land and erected 
 a log cabin, which was the birthplace of our sub- 
 ject. He was then employed in subduing nature, 
 clearing land, breaking prairie, etc., but with all 
 this labor was social and happy, having a care for 
 
 the morals and education of his children. The 
 maiden name of the mother of our subject was 
 Hannah Hubbell,who was born in Connecticut and 
 spent her last days in Middlefleld, N. Y. The par- 
 ental family consisted of eight children, one of 
 whom is deceased. Those living are Amanda, 
 Ambrose, Homer, Theron, Richard H., RoUin and 
 Joel. 
 
 Homer Denton, of this sketch, was reared on the 
 old homestead and remembers when there were no 
 railroads nor canals near his home and Albany, 
 which was sixty- five miles distant, was the nearest 
 market and depot for supplies. He resided under 
 the parental roof assisting his father in carrying 
 on the farm work until 1835, when, having been 
 married, he came with his wife to Indiana, making 
 the journey overland with teams to Ft. Plain, 
 from there by canal to Buffalo, where they boarded 
 a lake steamer, which conveyed them to Detroit, 
 thence by team to La Porte. He jnirchased, at a 
 Government sale, eighty acres of land which was lo- 
 cated three miles from La Porte. The place bore 
 but few improvements, and Mr. Denton began 
 industriously the work of cultivating the soil, and 
 resided in the log cabin for two years. In 1837, 
 he started overland with his family in an ox-team, 
 his destination being Rockford, which was at that 
 time little more than a hamlet, containing but 
 twenty families. The land in the vicinity of this 
 now prosperous city was owned by the Govern- 
 ment, and our subject, locating in the northwestern 
 part of Winnebago County, made a claim on what 
 is now the site of Durand. He there erected a log 
 house and a barn and by his persistent industry 
 and perseverance brought his estate to good cul- 
 tivation. For a time the emigrants coming into 
 the county bought all the surplus grain. After- 
 ward, Chicago becoming their place of marketing, 
 Mr. Denton sold his produce there, the city being 
 one hundred miles distant and the trip consuming 
 the greater part of a week. 
 
 The original of this sketch lately puj-chased one 
 hundred acres of land, which is now included in 
 the city of Rockford. With the exception of 
 twenty-three acres, he laid out the entire acreage 
 into lots, which he sold at a good profit. In 1871, 
 Mr. Denton erected a commodious residence on 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGKAFHICAL RECORD. 
 
 711 
 
 North Main Street, where he made his home for 
 twentj' years. He is at the present time residing 
 with his granddaughter, Mrs. Lockwood. 
 
 In 1834, the gentleman of whom we write was 
 united in marriage with Miss May, daughter of 
 Jafnes and Sallie (Harrison) A^an Volkenburg. She 
 T\ as born in Middlefield, N. Y., and departed this 
 Ufe in March, 1883, greatly beloved by ail who 
 knew her. Of that union was born one son, De- 
 Los H., who married Martha Thomes. She died 
 three years later. He was a second time married, 
 this time to Ann Lambert, by whom he became 
 the father of five children. One daughter, May, 
 was born of the first union of De Los H. Denton, 
 who is the wife of Elmer E. Lockwood . 
 
 Our subject casts his vote and influence in favor 
 of Democratic principles and candidates. He cast 
 his first vote for Martin Van Buren. His career 
 has been one eminently worthy and useful to the 
 community in which he has resided, and his neigh- 
 bors and old friends unite in their testimony 
 to his sterling worth, integrity and valuable ser- 
 vices as an old resident of Rocliford. 
 
 The father of our subject was a member of the 
 New York militia, and as a non-commissioned 
 oflicer in the War of 1812 for some months com- 
 manded a company. He with a company of 
 others was captured by the British and imprisoned 
 in Canada, having crossed into that country from 
 Lewiston, N. Y. 
 
 OLIVER N. DRAKE, who is now living a 
 retired life and spending his last days in 
 his pleasant home on First Street, in Rock- 
 ford, was born four miles from Cooperstown, N. Y., 
 July 23, 1808. That was the home of J. Fenimore 
 Cooper, the noted writer," and our subject was an 
 old friend of the author. Mi-. Drake grew to man- 
 hood under the parental roof. He was one of two 
 sons born unto Clinton and Nancy (Newell) Drake. 
 His father died in the prime of life when Oliver 
 was less than two years old. His mother was again 
 married, becoming the wife of Homer Beadle, and 
 her death occurred in Otsego, N. Y., at the age of 
 
 fifty-four years. "By her second marriage she had 
 six children. 
 
 Our subject in his youth learned the shoemaker's 
 trade and has been a merchant in that line through- 
 out almost his entire life. In the county of his 
 nativity, he married Harriet Waterman, who was 
 born in Otsego Township, July 25, 1811, and there 
 si)ent the daj'S of her maidenhood. She was a 
 true and affectionate wife and tender mother. Her 
 deatli occurred at Cooperstown, N. Y., at the age 
 of forty-two years. Soon after his marriage, our 
 subject moved to Auburn, N. Y. lie was keeper 
 in the prison for several years. There were five 
 children born of tiiis union, but only one is now 
 living: Oliver, who is a hardware merchant of 
 Rockford and a prominent and successful busi- 
 ness man, doing business on West State Street, 
 opposite Court House Square. He is a Knight 
 Templar Mason and a member of Nevius Post No. 
 1, G. A. R., of Rockford. He married Miss Alice 
 Cobb, of Creston, 111. In the late war, he served 
 as a member of the Fifty-eighth Illinois Infantry, 
 enlisting when merely a boy. His brother, George 
 W.,also wore the blue as a member of the Fifteenth 
 Illinois Infantry. He served three years with his 
 regiment, then veteranized and became First Lieu- 
 tenant of Company B, One Hundred and Eighth 
 Regiment United States Colored Troops. After 
 serving more than four years, he was honorably 
 discharged, and went to New Orleans, joining the 
 police force of that city. He died very suddenly 
 in 1868. 
 
 Mr. Drake, whose name heads this record, came 
 with his family to Illinois in December, 1855, lo- 
 cating in Belvidere, where he resided for five 
 years. He then came to Rockford, but one year 
 later, removed to Princeton, thence to Bloom- 
 ington, and later to Decatur, where he spent seven 
 years. His next place of residence was Clinton, 
 where he resided for twelve years, and there, as in 
 other places, he was a boot and shoe merchant. He 
 has followed that business throughout his entire 
 life and in its pursuit has achieved success, gain- 
 ing a competence whicli now enables him to live 
 in retirement. His business career was marked by 
 straightforwardness and fair dealing and he won 
 the confidence and regard of all with whom he 
 
712 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 came in contact. About three years ago he came 
 toRockfoid, purchased his pleasant home on First 
 Street and has since lived in retirement. He is a 
 member of tlie Universalist Church, to which his 
 wife also belongs, and, in politics, he has been a 
 stanch Republican since the organization of the 
 party. 
 
 iiUSSELL MARSH, a well-known farmer resid- 
 ir ing on section 17, Guilford Township, Win- 
 \\ nebago County, is a native of the Keystone 
 State. He was born in Bradford County, 
 December 19, 1819, and was one of seven children 
 in the family of Russell and Abigail (Averill) 
 Marsh. His grandfather, Eliphalet Marsh, was born 
 in New England, of English ancestry, and spent 
 his last days in Vermont. Russell Marsh, Sr., was 
 born in the Green Mountain State, whence he re- 
 moved to Pennsylvania, and after a few years 
 spent in Bradford County, went to Tompkins 
 County, N. Y. 
 
 Five years later, Mr. Marsh, Sr., became a resi- 
 dent of Cattaraugus County, and afterwards spent 
 three years near Hudson, Ohio. Removing to Can- 
 ada, he there resided a j'ear and a half, after which 
 he came to Illinois, locating in what is now Guil- 
 ford Township, whe're he purchased a tract of Gov- 
 ernment land on section 8, and began its develop- 
 ment. The last years of his life were spent at the 
 home of our subject. His wife was also a native 
 of Vermont, and a daughter of Thomas Averill. She 
 died at the old homestead. Their children were: 
 Maria, George, Rhoda, Richard, Lucy, Russell and 
 Averill. 
 
 Russell Marsh, whose portrait and life-sketch are 
 herewith presented, accompanied his parents on 
 their various removals, and with them came to Ill- 
 inois when nineteen j'ears of age. This county- 
 then seemed to be on the borders of civilization. 
 It was an unimproved tract of wild prairie; Rock- 
 ford was a mere hamlet and many of the towns 
 and villages had not sprung into existence. Farm- 
 ing was done with very crude implements as com- 
 pared with the improved machinery of to-day, 
 and the products were hauled to market in Chicago, 
 eighty-five miles distant. 
 
 Mr. Marsh remained under the parental roof 
 until his marriage. On the 10th of February, 
 1845, he wedded Mary A. Hayes, a native of Can- 
 ada, and a daughter of Samuel B. Hayes. Her death 
 occurred October 5, 1857. She left three children: 
 Lucy A., wife of "William Kane, of Kansas; Rhoda 
 E., wife of Richard Beers, a resident of Syracuse, 
 Neb., and George W., who married Emily Snow, 
 and is living on the home farm. Mr. Marsh was 
 again married, March 16, 1864, to Mrs. Maria 
 (Beers) Haley. They have an adopted daughter, 
 Flora. Mrs. Marsh was born in Guilford Town- 
 ship, May 22, 1837. Her father, Daniel Beers, was 
 born in Northampton County, Pa., August 6,1806, 
 and was of German descent. At an early age, he 
 was left an orphan, and for a time lived with an 
 uncle. When a young man, he went to New York, 
 and was there married, February 11, 1830, to Mary 
 Herrick, who was born in Batavia, N. Y., and was 
 a daughter of Luther and Mary (Johnson) Herrick. 
 
 In 1836, Mr. and Mrs. Beers came to Illinois, 
 few pioneers having preceded them to Winnebago 
 County. They found here an almost undeveloped 
 tract of land, the Government surveys not having 
 yet been made, and the few settlers were widely 
 scattered. Mr. Beers made a claim on what is now 
 section 20, Guilford Township, and built a log 
 cabin, which was the birthplace of Mrs. Marsh. He 
 afterwards sold this farm and bought another tract 
 on the same section. In 1855, he removed to 
 Green County, Wis., where he made his home for 
 ten years, and then returned to Illinois, becoming 
 a resident of Rockford. He afterwards spent three 
 years upon a farm in Harlem Township, and then 
 returned to Rockford, where his death occurred, 
 April 3, 1880. His widow is still living in that 
 city, and undoubtedly has longer resided in this 
 county than any other of its residents at this time. 
 She and her husband were members of the first 
 Methodist class organized in the city, and she is its 
 only survivor. Her long life has been well and 
 worthily spent, and she has won the love and es- 
 teem of all with whom she has been brought in 
 contact. 
 
 Her daughter Maria became the wife of Oscar 
 Haley, September 25, 1856. He was born in Chat- 
 ham, N. H., August 18, 1833, and emigrated to 
 
, 'i . 
 
 A| 
 
 
 >^Tv, ; 
 
 ^:ti^/^ 
 
4yU^-t^^ ^A'ule^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 717 
 
 Wisconsin in 1855. In the summer lie worked at 
 farming and in the winter season he taught school. 
 Durinw the late war, he enlisted Sei)tember 12, 
 1861 in the Fifth Wisconsin Battery, and died 
 diu'in<T the service at Jackson, Tenn., November 13, 
 1862, thus giving his life in defense of his coun- 
 try. 
 
 Immediately after liis first marriage, Mr. Marsh 
 located upon the farm which is still his homo, in- 
 cluding one hundred and sixty acres of highly im- 
 proved land on section 17, Guilford Township. 
 He is an industrious and enterprising agriculturist 
 and a worthy citizen. In politics, he is a Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 Sr^ICHARD MARSH, who has long been a 
 piif resident of Guilford Township, Winnebago 
 (li\v\ County, and now resides on section 16, 
 ^P claims Pennsylvania as the State of his na- 
 tivity. He was born in Litchfield Township, Brad- 
 ford County, and is the second son of Russell and 
 Abigail (Averill) Marsh, who are mentioned in the 
 sketch of Russell Marsh, Jr., on another page of 
 this work. Our subject came to Illinois with his 
 parents in 1838, and has been a resident of Guil- 
 ford Township since that time. He has witnessed 
 the development of the county from an almost 
 unbroken wilderness, has seen its wild lands trans- 
 formed into beautiful farms, while cities and vil- 
 lages have sprung up and the work of progress 
 and civilization been carried forward until Winne- 
 bago County ranks among the best in the State. 
 
 On starting out in life for himself, Mr. Marsh 
 began working as a farm hand by the month. He 
 was industrious and enterprising and by 1844 had 
 saved enough from his earnings to purchase a 
 forty-acre tract of land, a part of his present 
 farm. He has been very successful as an agricul- 
 turist and from time to time has added to his 
 landed possessions, until now two hundred and ten 
 acres of highly improved land pay tribute to his 
 care and cultivation. His improvements are 
 among the best in the township, including good 
 buildings and all the accessories of a model farm. 
 
 On the 12th of September, 1842, Mr. Marsh was 
 32 
 
 joined in wedlock with Miss Sarah C.Watson, who 
 was born in Lyth, Yorkshire, England, September 
 12, 1824. Her father, Leonard Watson, was born 
 in the same county and in 1832 came with his fam- 
 ily to America, locating in Toronto, Canada. He 
 participated in the Patriot War of the rebellion of 
 Canada in 1837, was captured, taken as a prisoner to 
 England, tried for treason and was sentenced to 
 banishment in Van Diemen's Land. He was par- 
 doned, however, on condition that he would not 
 settle within fifty miles of the British possessions 
 in America, and so he returned to this country- in 
 1839 and became a resident of Guilford Township, 
 where he purchased a tract of land on section 8, 
 and engaged in farming until his death, which 
 occurred in 1841. He was killed by the falling of a 
 tree. His wife bore the maiden name of Ann Hill. 
 She, too, was born in Yorkshire, England, and there 
 spent her entire life. After her death, he wedded 
 Sarah Hill, a sister of his first wife, who survived 
 Mr. Watson some years and passed away in 1867. 
 The union of Mr. and Mrs. Marsh has been 
 blessed with three children: Leonard, Averill A. 
 and Fannie A. The parents have a pleasant home 
 and are people held in high regard throughout 
 this community. In politics, Mr. Marsh is a stal- 
 wart Republican. An enterprising and progress- 
 ive farmer, a public-spirited and valued citizen, 
 he justly deserves mention in the history of his 
 adopted county, where he has so long made his 
 home, and we are also pleased to present his por- 
 trait to our readers. 
 
 -2?^ 
 
 "52:: 
 
 ^y^i'^mm^i 
 
 •5o~ 
 
 LEXANDER C. LANSING, Rockford, 111. 
 Among the popular grocers doing business 
 in this section of the city none enjoy a 
 better reputation than Mr. Lansing, who 
 is a member of the well-known firm of Lansing & 
 Fiddock, whose business quarters are at No. 517 
 East State Street. This establishment, which was 
 started under its present title in 1891, could not 
 be more admirably arranged and provided with 
 every convenience for business purposes, and con- 
 tains one of the finest lines of staple and fancy 
 groceries to be found in this part of the city. The 
 
718 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 firm was originally Swets & Lansing, continuing 
 so for two years, when Mr. Swets. retired. 
 
 Mr. Lansing came to Rockford in 1871, and was 
 engaged for about eighteen years in the flour and 
 feed business, and has been all these years on East 
 State Street, near his present place of business. He 
 is an excellent business man, looks after the inter- 
 ests of his customers with zealous care, and guar- 
 antees all orders being filled with the best in the 
 market. As might be supposed, he has met with 
 well-merited success. 
 
 Our subject was born in Saratoga County, N. Y., 
 January 12, 1840, and was eight years old when his 
 parents removed to Montgomery County, of that 
 State. He there grew to manhood, and became 
 familiar with the duties of farm life, his father 
 being a successful agriculturist. He was carefully 
 reared by good Christian parents and he has ever 
 endeavored to follow in their footsteps, being at 
 the present time a worthy member of the Centen- 
 nial Methodist Episcopal Church, in wliich he has 
 been Steward for six years. 
 
 Our subject's father, Cornelius Lansing, was born 
 in the Empire State and was descended from a long 
 line of agriculturists; he liimself followed farming 
 all his life. He was a much esteemed citizen, and 
 his death, which occurred when he was seventy-one 
 years of age, was the occasion of universal sorrow. 
 He had married Miss Lydia Reed in Saratoga 
 County, N. Y., of which place she was a native. 
 Her death occurred in Lewis County in the summer 
 of 1883, when seventy-eight years of age. She was 
 a Methodist in her religious belief and her husband 
 attended the same cliurch. Of the large family 
 of children born to this worthy couple, two sons 
 and six daughters still survive. 
 
 Alexander C. Lansing took for his life com- 
 panion Miss Sarah E. File, and their union was 
 celebrated in New York State. She was born near 
 Troy, of that State, on the 12th of January, 1844, 
 but was reared in Montgomery County, whither 
 her parents, Joshua and Mary File^ removed 
 when she was quite young. Both parents, who are 
 now deceased, were exemplary members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Lansing of 
 this notice is a prominent member and worker in 
 the same church as her husband. He is a strong 
 
 temperance advocate. The only child born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lansing, George, died when eleven 
 years of age. He was a bright, promising boy 
 and his death was a severe blow to his parents 
 whose hopes were all centered upon him. 
 
 l^ANIEL BARNUM, deceased, well de- 
 I J|) serves representation in this volume, for 
 ^^^ lie was one of the most honored pioneers 
 and oldest settlers of the county. He was 
 born in the Empire State, not far from the boun- 
 dary line of Connecticut, in 1778, and was a kins- 
 man of P. T. Barnum. His father, Elias Barnum, 
 was also born in New York and there spent his en- 
 tire life, following the occupation of farming. 
 
 Our subject passed the days of his boyhood and 
 youth in the State of his nativity, and when a 
 young man went to Connecticut, where he met and 
 married Lorana Hoyt, a native of that State, and a 
 descendant of a prominent Connecticut family. 
 After their marriage, they began their domestic 
 life in the township of Danbury, Fairfield County, 
 Conn., and upon that farm all of their six children 
 were born, viz: Adelia who died in Rockford at 
 the age of eighty-two years, at the home of her 
 sister Cynthia; Maria B., wife of Phenias Howes; 
 Emily died in early maidenhood, in 1838; Hoyt 
 B., a retired citizen of Rockford, whose sketch ap- 
 pears elsewhere in this work; Harrison is living a 
 retired life on East State Street; and Cynthia is 
 living at her palatial home at No. 113 East Street. 
 She also owns a farm in Cherry Valley Township 
 and other valuable property. 
 
 In 1838, Mr. Barnum came with his wife and 
 family to this county, and purchased a claim of 
 one hundred and sixty acres belonging to a Mr. 
 Jewett in Cherry Valley Township. As soon as the 
 land came into market, he went to Galena, and 
 purchased it of the Government. The family bore 
 all the hardships and trials of frontier life and met 
 with all the experiences of the pioneer, but as the 
 years passed by and the county became more 
 thickly settled, those early difl3culties passed away 
 and they enjoyed prosperity. In his agricultural 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 719 
 
 pursuits, Mr. Barnum was quite successful and at 
 length accumulated a comfortable competence. His 
 wife, who proved a true and faithful helpmate to 
 him, died in 1849, at their home in Cherry Valley 
 Township, at the age of sixtj'-eight years, and was 
 mourned by many friends. 
 
 Mr. Barnum afterwards came to Rockford 
 and spent the remainder of his life in retirement, 
 enjoying the rest which he so truly earned. He lived 
 to a very advanced age, but retained his mental 
 and physical faculties to the last. He passed away 
 November 8, 1870, at the age of ninety-two years. 
 He had long been a resident of the county and had 
 borne an important part in its upbuilding and ad- 
 vancement in an early day. His success in life was 
 all due to his own efforts. He left to his daughter 
 a handsome property and a fine lionie. Miss Bar- 
 num is a kind and sympathetic lady, well known 
 throughout this community and held in high es- 
 teem for her sterling worth. 
 
 — > ^>j M^ 
 
 f^ 
 
 PAVID W. EVANS, who is engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits on section 31, Harlem 
 Township, has been a resident of Winne- 
 bago County since 1856, and is numbered among 
 its honored early settlers. He has, therefore, been 
 an ej'e-witness of its growth and development, 
 and has participated in its upbuilding and ad- 
 vancement, so that he is well worthy of repre- 
 sentation in this volume. 
 
 Our subject was born in Grenville, Argenteuil 
 County, Canada, November 30, 1840, and is of 
 English descent. His grandparents, John and 
 Jane Evans, were both natives of Hull, England, 
 and the latter died in that country. Mr. Evans 
 afterwards mai-ried again and came to America, 
 settling in Canada in 1820. He there spent the 
 remainder of his days. The father of our subject, 
 James Evans, was also born in Hull, England, 
 and was quite young when his mother died. He 
 was afterwards apprenticed to the wagon-maker's 
 trade, serving a term of six and one-half years. 
 On attaining his majority, he crossed the broad 
 Atlantic to Canada, and engaged in farming in 
 Grenville until 1856, which year witnessed his 
 
 arrival in Illinois. He bought a tract of land in 
 Cherry Valley Township, Winnebago County, 
 and there engaged in farming until his death. He 
 was married in Canada to Ann Campbell, who was 
 born in 1802, and was a daughter of Robert Camp- 
 bell, who was of Scotch-Irish parentage. She still 
 survives her husband and makes her home in 
 Rockford. The family numbers eight children, 
 as follows: Rebecca J., James, Ephraim, John, 
 Robert, David, Joseph and Janet. 
 
 Wc now take up the personal history of Mr. 
 Evans whose name heads this record. He spent 
 his early boyhood days in his native land, and at 
 the age of sixteen came witli his parents to Illi- 
 nois. He aided his father in the farm work until 
 the spring of 1861, when he rented land and en- 
 gaged in farming on his own account, but in Sep- 
 tember of tiiat year he abandoned his work in the 
 field and enlisted in tlie Eighth Illinois Cavalry, 
 serving in the Arm}- of the Potomac until after the 
 close of the war. He participated in all the cam- 
 paigns, marches and battles of the regiment and 
 served under MacClellan, Burnside, Hooker, Mead 
 and "Grant, and the following cavalry officers: 
 Pleasanton, Bufert and Sheridan. He partici- 
 pated in the Grand Review at Washington at the 
 close of the war, and, with his regiment, was hon- 
 or.ably discharged on the 25th of July, 1865. He 
 proved himself a faithful soldier, ever found at 
 his post of duty. He also had two brothers in the 
 army — one who died in Tennessee, and the otiier 
 who was killed in Virginia. 
 
 During his service, Mr. Evans had purchased a 
 farm in Cherry Valley Township, and on his re- 
 turn engaged in its cultivation. On the 27th of 
 April, 1868, he married Emma J. Conklin, a na- 
 tive of Oneida County, N. Y., and a daughter of 
 James S. and Theresa J. (Martin) Conklin. Their 
 union has been blessed with seven children. They 
 are as follows: Jesse R., Olive G., Nettie N., 
 Ruby F., Alice J., Harry G. and Florence. 
 
 The family continued to reside on the farm in 
 Clierry Valley Township until 1883, when Mr. 
 Evans purchased a tract of land on section 31, 
 Harlem Township, where he has since made his 
 home. He is a progressive and intluential citizen 
 of this community and is widely and favorably 
 
720 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAIHICAL RECORD. 
 
 known throughout the county where he has re- 
 sided since a lad of sixteen years. He is higlily 
 esteemed for his sterling worth and the upright 
 life he has led. Socially, he is a member of Nevius 
 Post No. 1, G. A. R.; Harmony Grange No. 957; 
 and Harlem Camp No. 661, M. W. A. 
 
 f)HOMAS BUCHANAN. It is with pleasure 
 that we recount the history of this gentle- 
 man, who is at present residing in Rock- 
 ford. He has undergone many hardships and 
 privations that he might bring about the prosper- 
 ous condition of this section which we see to-daj'. 
 He has been very successful in his business inter- 
 ests and for the past two years has lived re- 
 tired from active life. 
 
 Lanarkshire, Scotland, was the native home of 
 our subject, his birth occurring in the village of 
 Shotts in May, 1835. His direct progenitor, John 
 Buchanan, was a native of that shire, as was also 
 his grandfather, Thomas. The latter-named gen- 
 tleman was a molder by trade and spent his en- 
 tire life in Scotland. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Ann Glen; she was born in Scotland, 
 and there her decease occurred. 
 
 The father of our subject also followed the oc- 
 cupation of a molder, and in his native town mar- 
 ried Miss Agnes Black, the mother of our subject, 
 who was born in the parish of Shotts and is a 
 daughter of William Black. To them were born a 
 family of five children, namely: Thomas, Agnes, 
 William, John and Robert. Our subject and his 
 brother John are the only members of the family 
 who came to the New World. The latter resides 
 in Sacramento, Cal. 
 
 The original of this sketch commenced at the 
 early age of ten years to learn the trade of a 
 molder, which occupation he followed for seven 
 years in Glasgow, then, in 1847, he set sail from 
 that city on the packet "Henry Clay," and landed 
 in New York after a voyage of thirty-three days. 
 From that city he went to Woonsocket Falls, R. I., 
 and was employed until 1855 with the Woon- 
 socket Furnace Company. 
 
 On the above-named date, Mr. Buchanan came 
 
 to Illinois and located on a farm which he had 
 previously purchased eight miles north of Belvi- 
 dere. There he was engaged in cultivating the 
 soil for a twelvemonth, and in the spring of 1856 
 came to Rockford, at once entering the employ 
 of Fmerson, Talcott & Company. Remaining with 
 them a few weeks, our subject engaged to work 
 with Clark & Utter, by whom he was employed 
 until 1858, when he went to California via New 
 York and the Isthmus of Panama. He worked in 
 the mines for seven months, then started a foundry 
 at Downieville, Sierra County, where he remained 
 until 1862, and then returned to Rockford and 
 worked for F. H. Manny, with whom he con- 
 tinued for twenty-six years, the greater part of 
 the time acting as foreman of the foundry. As 
 before stated, Mr. Buchanan has retired from ac- 
 tive work and is residing in his present home on 
 the street which bears Ids name. 
 
 Our subject and Miss Jane Smith were united 
 in marriage in July, 1847. Mrs. Buchanan was 
 born in Renfrewshire, town of Neilston, Scotland, 
 and departed this life in 1878. To them was 
 born one son, Thomas J., who married Alice 
 Brownell and is the father of two children, Jennie 
 and Bertha. He of whom we write is an Elder in 
 the First Presbyterian Church and, in politics, 
 votes with the Republican party. For six years 
 he was a member of the School Board and has 
 been otherwise very actively interested in local 
 affairs. The present wife of our subject, to whom 
 he was married in 1878, was Miss Mary Cunning- 
 ham, a native of Renfrewshire, Scotland. 
 
 AMUEL C. WINTHROW. In the line of 
 fine carpets, draperies, brass goods, etc., etc. 
 the city of Rockford stands second to 
 none, a fact in which its citizens may well 
 take pride in these days of intense competitive 
 effort. In this age of refinement, wealth, and 
 enterprise, the demands of all classes for artistic 
 productions .are more exacting than ever before, 
 and in no branch of trade is this more evident 
 than that in which the firm of Winthrow, Baud & 
 
POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 721 
 
 Co. is engaged. This firm make a specialty of 
 interior decorating, the same introduced lately, 
 and are located in the Stewart Block, where they 
 have a fine room, 135x44 feet. Winthrow&Baird 
 have been in business together since April, 1889, 
 and have, until quite recently, been located at No. 
 122 South Main Street, where, besides doing a de- 
 corating business, they carried a large and full line 
 of dry-goods. Seeing the need of a house in Rock- 
 ford that would make a specialty of interior de- 
 corating, they established themselves in the most 
 favorable location for the business, and have been 
 rewarded by the signal success they have achieved. 
 
 Mr. Winthrow has been actively engaged in busi- 
 ness in this citj' for many years, while Mr. J. N. 
 Baird, who came here from Mc Gregor, Iowa, 
 where he was engaged for a number of years as a 
 dry-goods merchant, has only resided here since 
 1889. During that time, however, he has impressed 
 the people as a man of sound judgment, excellent 
 taste, and much energy. Mr. Winthrow came to 
 Rockford in June, 1861, and engaged in the dry- 
 goods business on his own account, but at the end of 
 ten years, having a true artist's eye for harmony of 
 colors and beautiful effects, he connected with his 
 business a line of house decorations, which he car- 
 ried on jointly and successfully with his former 
 business until 1892. Since that time, the firm has 
 established the latter line of business entirely. 
 With the exception of a Mr. Dennett, who is still 
 in business in this city, Mr. Winthrow is the oldest 
 dry-goods merchant in Rockford. The honorable 
 and equitable methods of this gentleman and his 
 partner inspire the utmost confidence, and their 
 energy and enterprise are reaping a well-merited 
 reward. 
 
 Our subject came to this city from Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, where he had a thorough training as a seller 
 of dry-goods, in both the retail and wholesale de- 
 partments, being connected for some time with the 
 old dry-goods firm of Shaw, Buel, Barber & Co., 
 and having a natural aptitude for that business, he 
 has been unusually successful. He was born in 
 London, Madison Count}^, Ohio, and there passed 
 his boyhood and received his education. At an 
 early age, he began clerking in a dry-goods store 
 in his native town and subsequentlj' went to Cin- 
 
 cinnati, Ohio, where he remained, actively engaged 
 in business, until coming to this city. 
 
 Prominent in all enterprises of a laudable na- 
 ture, Mr. Winthrow is particularly so in educa- 
 tional and religious matters, having been one of 
 the greatest, if not the greatest, Sunda3r-school 
 worker in the county. Out of the thirty years he 
 has been a resident of this city, twenty years have 
 been spent as Superintendent of the Court Street 
 Methodist Episcopal Church and he has been an 
 official member of the same for years. He has been 
 a delegate to the State Sunday-school Convention 
 a number of times and when the National Conven- 
 tion ,raet at Newark, N. J., he was one of the de- 
 legates from this State. He has been an energetic 
 worker in this direction and has been in ever3^ 
 church and schoolhouse in the county. He gives 
 new impetus and life to old Sunday-schools and 
 organizes new ones; he seems never to tire, and 
 still the good work goes on. A stanch Republican 
 in his political views, Mr. Winthrow works hard 
 for his party, and is a live man in all local affairs. 
 
 The parents of our subject, Robert and Ann 
 (Carr) Winthrow, were natives of Madison County, 
 Ohio, and there passed their entire days. The fa- 
 ther was a prominent farmer of his native county, 
 but the last twenty years of his life were spent as a 
 shipper of cattle. He died when seventy-seven 
 years of age. His father was a Virginian, of Eng- 
 lish descent, and became an early settler of London 
 Township, Madison County, Ohio, where he took 
 up and improved Government land. He assisted 
 in building the old National Road and was a 
 prominent man in his day. The wife of Robert 
 Winthrow died when seventy-two years of age. 
 Her parents "had come to Ohio from the Old Dom- 
 inion at an early day, improved Government land, 
 and were well known to the people of that county. 
 Both the Winthrow and Carr families were Meth- 
 odists in their religious views, and were Wliigs 
 and Republicans in politics. 
 
 Samuel Winthrow was married, in Peoria, 111., to 
 Mrs. Sallie Irwin, nee McFarland, a native of Pitts- 
 burg, Pa., who came of Scotch-Irish ancestors, in- 
 heriting her thrift and industry from the former 
 and her wit and sociability from the latter. She 
 was reared andeducated in her native city and was 
 
722 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 there married to Mfij. S. C. Irwin, wlio was in an 
 Ohio Regiment and wlio was killed at the battle 
 of Lookout Mountain, when in the prime of life. 
 He received his regular promotions, was a brave 
 and gallant officer and fought bravely in defense 
 of the Union. He left no children. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Winthrow are without children of 
 their own but they have adopted one son, christ- 
 ened Fritz, who is now in the fruit business in 
 Gait, Cal., and who is a promising young man. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Winthrow are prominent in social and 
 religious matters, and are pleasantly located on 
 Remington Bluff, south of the city. 
 
 -=1. 
 
 ^+^e 
 
 I^^ ARMON B. SOt'ER, who is now living a 
 jij retired life at his pleasant home at No. 703 
 East State Street, has been a resident of 
 Rockford since 1862. He is a native of 
 Oneida County, N. Y., born in 1819. His father, 
 Philo .Soper, was a native of Connecticut and mar- 
 ried Hannah Goodwin, who was also born in that 
 State. After their marriage, they removed to 
 Oneida County, N. Y., locating in the wilderness 
 of Vernon, and there made their home until called 
 to their final rest. The death of the father oc- 
 curred at the age of seventy-eight years, and his 
 wife died in the sixty-sixth year of her age. They 
 were both members of the Congregational Church 
 and highly respected people. Mr. Soper served 
 throughout the War of 1812 as Fife Major and 
 was stationed at Sackett's Harbor. His parents 
 were also natives of the Nutmeg State, and both 
 lived to an advanced age. The husband, who 
 followed farming throughout his entire life, 
 reached the advanced age of ninety-six years. 
 
 Our subject is the only surviving member in a 
 family of seven children. He made his home in 
 the county of his nativity until his emigration 
 Westward. For eight years he had served as a 
 clerk in a large mercantile establishment of Syra- 
 cuse, N. Y., and there gained an excellent knowl- 
 edge of business and its methods. On coming to 
 Rockford, he opened a fancj^-goods store and did 
 business in that line until 1880, at the same time 
 keeping wagons on the road as dealers with coun- 
 
 try merchants. For some years, he has also sold 
 goods, as a commercial traveler, for the Rockford 
 Clothing Company, the Rockford Overall Com- 
 pany and the H. W. Price Mitten Company. He 
 has an excellent reputation as a successful sales- 
 man and much of his life has been devoted to 
 that business. 
 
 In the township of Vernon, Oneida County, 
 N. Y., Mr. Soper was united in marriage with Miss 
 Susan P. Brown, daughter of Leonard and Phebe 
 (Snow) Brown. They were early settlers of On- 
 eida County, and there her father developed and 
 improved a farm, upon which he made his home 
 until his death at the age of three-score years and 
 ten. His wife had also reached the age of seventy 
 years at the time of her death. Both were members 
 of the Congregational Church and were descended 
 from old New England families. Their eliildren 
 were nine in number, but Mrs. Soper is the only 
 one now living By her marriage she has become 
 the mother of three children: Elizabeth, who died 
 at the age of fourteen; Nellie B., wife of H. A. 
 Leland, of Portland, Ore., an emploj'e of the North- 
 ern Pacific Railroad Company, and Mattie G., wife 
 of George W. Leach,of Philadelphia, Pa., an employe 
 of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad Company. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Soper hold membership with 
 the Methodist Church, and, in politics, he is a sup- 
 porter of Republican principles. His life has been 
 well and worthily spent and the success with 
 which it has been crowned is entirely due to his own 
 efforts. 
 
 "S^ LIZABETH S. (FOX) WHITl'LE is num- 
 |U) bered among the early settlers of Winne- 
 [l — ^ bago County. It was the husbands and 
 fathers who cleared the land, made the farms and 
 in that way developed the county, but the wives 
 and mothers also bore an important part in its up- 
 building, and among these should be mentioned 
 the lady whose name heads this record. She was 
 born in Porter, Oxford County, Me., and is de- 
 scended from an old New England family. Her 
 father, Luther Fox, was also born in I'orter and 
 was a son of Edwin Fox, a native of New England 
 
PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 723 
 
 and of English descent. He followed farming 
 throughout his entire life, served in the War of 
 1812, and died in the town of Porter. His wife 
 also passed away in that locality. 
 ' The father of Mrs. Whittle was reared to agri- 
 cultural pursuits, and to that work devoted his 
 energies throughout life. He continued to make 
 his home in Maine until 18C9, when he came to 
 Illinois, his death occurring at the home of his 
 daughter, Mrs. Whittle, in 1889, at the age of 
 eighty-five years. He married Betsy Sawj'er, 
 also a native of the Pine Tree State and a daugh- 
 ter of the Rev. James Sawyer, a Baptist clergy- 
 man of Maine, who preached in various places 
 and died in Buxton, Me. The Fox family num- 
 bered six children, namely: Mrs. Whittle, of this 
 sketch; Thaddeus, Abigail, Mitti, James and 
 Marcia. 
 
 Elizabeth Fox spent the days of her maiden- 
 hood in the county of her nativity, and in 1855 
 became the wife of Hiram H. Cole, also a native 
 of Maine, and a son of Hiram and Sophronia (War- 
 ren) Cole. lie had previously engaged in teach- 
 ing in that State, but after his marriage emigrated 
 Westward, accompanied by his young bride. They 
 came to Rockford, where they resided until 1858, 
 when they removed to Arkansas, and in that State 
 Mr. Cole engaged in teaching school until his 
 death, which occurred in August, 1862. His widow 
 afterward returned to Rockford, and in January, 
 1865, became tfie wife of Charles Whittle, an hon- 
 ored pioneer of Winnebago County and an ex- 
 tensive and wealthy farmer of Guilford Township. 
 He was born in Canada, about twenty miles east 
 of Detroit, and was a son of John and Betsy Whit- 
 tle. His boyhood days were spent in his native 
 land, where he resided until 1837, when he came 
 to Illinois and spent one season in Winnebago 
 County. He then returned to Canada, but in 
 the year 1838 again came to this State. Nearly 
 all of the land was still in its primitive con- 
 dition and yet in possession of the Govern- 
 ment. Mr. Whittle purchased a squatter's claim 
 in Guilford Township and at once began the 
 development and improvement of a farm. He 
 hauled his grain to Chicago, for no railroad had 
 been built at that time. He was industrious and 
 
 enterprising, a man of good judgment and excel- 
 lent business ability, and became well-to-do. At 
 the time of his death, which occurred in 1884, he 
 was the owner of a valuable farm of two hundred 
 and forty acres, under a high state of cultivation 
 and well improved with good buildings. 
 
 Mrs. Whittle is still living on the old homestead 
 and is one of the highly esteemed ladies of this 
 community. She has three children. Charles S., 
 who was born of her first marriage, is now a resi- 
 dent farmer of Guilford Township, and the chil- 
 dren of her second marriage are Carrie A., wife of 
 Abram Davis, of the same township; and Fred J., 
 who operates the home farm. 
 
 AVID A. MOORE, late of Caledonia Town- 
 ship, Boone Countj'^, was born September 
 18, 1836, in Taunton, Mass. His father, 
 Alexander Moore, was born in Ireland, of 
 Scotch ancestry, and on coming to America lo- 
 cated in the Bay State, where he made his home 
 for a number of years, and later, coming to Boone 
 County, died on his farm in Boone Township. 
 The maiden name of his wife was Ellen Kii'k, also 
 a native of Ireland, who died on the home farm in 
 this county. Like her husband, she was a devoted 
 member of the Presbyterian Church in early life, 
 but during her last years united with the Method- 
 ist Episcopal denomination. 
 
 David Moore was quite young when brought to 
 the Prairie State by his parents, and was reared on 
 the farm, and educated in the schools of his dis- 
 trict. Soon after his marriage, which occurred in 
 September, 1861, he settled on the farm where his 
 family now reside, it being a portion of the old 
 Cornwell homestead. The maiden name of the 
 wife of Mr. Moore was Fannie Cornwell, a daughter 
 of William Cornwell. She was born October 3, 
 1843, in this township, while her father, and grand- 
 father, Thomas Cornwell, were natives of Canada. 
 The latter-named gentleman came to Illinois about 
 1846, and, locating in Boone County, purchased a 
 large tract of land, upon which he was residing at 
 the time of his death. The grandmother of our 
 
724 
 
 PORTRAIT AND ETOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 subject, prior to her marriage, was Chloe Emery; 
 she was also a native of Canada, and died on the 
 home farm in Boone Township. 
 
 William Cornwell was married in Canada, where 
 he resided until 1844, at which time he came to 
 Illinois, making the removal overland with ox- 
 teams. He located a tract of Government land on 
 what is now section 25 of this township, and 
 erected the log house in which Mrs. Moore was 
 born. Here he made his home until his decease in 
 1849. His wife, who was born in New Jersey, was 
 Miss Sarah, daughter of Christopher and Fanny 
 (Barcroft) Little, the latter of whom is still living 
 in Poplar Grove. To our subject and his wife has 
 been born one son, Will A. Our subject is a mem- 
 ber of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. 
 
 ARTIN B. NEFF. Among tlie well-to-do 
 farmers of Flora Township, Boone County, 
 who have been the architects of their own 
 fortunes, we may properly mention the 
 subject of this notice who was born in Antis Town- 
 ship, Blair County, Pa., October 31, 1844. He is 
 the representative of a substantial old family of 
 German ancestry, being the son of John and Mary 
 Neff, also natives of the above-named State and 
 county. The grandfather of our subject, Jonathan 
 Neff, was likewise born in the Keystone State and 
 on removing from New York to Blair County pur- 
 chased a tract of land in the latter place which he 
 farmed until his decease. 
 
 Tlie father of our subject was reared in his na- 
 tive county, where his decease occurred in 1865. 
 He had been married to Mary Chrisraan, whose 
 birth occurred in the county of which lie was a na- 
 tive. Prior to her marriage with Mr. Neff, she was 
 the wife of Lewis McCartney. In 1861, she came 
 to Illinois and spent her last days in Flora Town- 
 ship, dying in 1865. She was the mother of three 
 children: Jonathan, David, who died in infancy, 
 and Martin B., our subject. The surviving broth- 
 ers are associated together in farming and are 
 more than ordinarily successful in their calling. 
 
 He of whom we write was a lad of twelve years 
 when Ills father died and he continued to reside 
 
 with his mother and attend school in seasons when 
 not engaged upon the farm. When nineteen years 
 of age, he came to Illinois and located on section 
 27, which is his present farm. In December, 1865, 
 he was married to Martha E. McKee, who was born 
 in this county, the daughter of Samuel McKee. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Neff are the parents of seven chil- 
 dren: Zilda M., Mary, Bernice, Gertie, Wallace, 
 Ralph and Harr3^ The mother is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church and with her husband 
 is connected with the Royal Neighbors' Lodge. Mr. 
 Neff is a Republican in politics, and in social mat- 
 ters is a member of Belvidere Lodge No. 60, A. F. 
 & A. M., Flora Lodge No. 624, M. W. A., Excelsior 
 Lodge No. 2654, P. of I., and during the war was 
 a member of the Union League. 
 
 Elsewhere in this volume will be noticed a view 
 of the attractive homestead of Mr. Neff. 
 
 |— ^^'RANK E. HOLMES. This gentleman needs 
 little introduction to the people of Winne- 
 
 bago County, as he has long been recog- 
 nized as one of the leading citizens of Rockford, 
 where his birth occurred May 7, 1855. He is uni- 
 versally popular in both social and business cir- 
 cles and is possessed of more than ordinary ability, 
 together with the energy and enterprise which sel- 
 dom fail to win. He is at present residing in a 
 beautiful home located at No. 1802 East State 
 Street, a view of which is shown on another page, 
 and which is finished and furnished in a manner 
 that indicates its inmates to be people of educa- 
 tion and means. The home farm of Mr. Holmes 
 has been laid out in city lots, but has not yet been 
 annexed. It is located in what is conceded to be 
 the finest suburb of Rockford, and it is only a 
 question of a short time until it will become a por- 
 tion of the city. 
 
 Hollis H. Holmes, the father of our subject, was 
 one of the pioneers of Rockford, having been a 
 resident here since 1839, at which time he made 
 the removal from Sparta, Elgin County, Canada. 
 He was born in North East, Putnam County, N. Y., 
 April 15, 1810. His father, William Holmes, was 
 born in Greenwich, Fairfield County, Conn., on 
 
RESIDENCE OF F. E. HOLMES , N9. 1802 ,E. STATE 5T, ROCKFORD, 1 LL. 
 
 
 RESIDENCE OF M.B. NErF,5EC.27 .FLORA TP, BOONE CO, ILL. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 727 
 
 the 1st of June, 1779, and died in Danbury, the 
 same State, when advanced in years Hollis H. 
 Holmes when a young man went to Canada, where 
 he learned the trade of a shoemaker, and was en- 
 gaged in that business until his removal to Rock- 
 ford, as above stated. 
 
 At the time the elder Mr. Holmes located in this 
 county, the city of Rockford was little more than 
 a hamlet and the surrounding country was mostly 
 owned by the Government. Mr. Holmes followed 
 his trade in the town for a time and in 1845 
 purchased a farm near the city, for which lie paid 
 112 per acre and which includes one hundred and 
 twenty acres. Chicago and Savanna were the 
 nearest markets of the settlers, and they were thus 
 obliged to live mostly off the products of tlie farm. 
 The father of our subject soon established a nurs- 
 ery in this county, which he successfully operated 
 until his decease, August 2, 1859. He was married, 
 June 15, 1837, to Sarah Moore, a native of Sparta, 
 Elgin County, Canada. Her father, John Moore, 
 was a native of New York City, as was also the 
 grandfather, who was a real-estate dealer. The 
 latter-named gentleman removed from New York 
 to Canada, where his decease occurred in Sparta. 
 
 The maternal grandfather of our subject went 
 to Canada when a young man, where he was one 
 of the pioneers of Elgin County. He purchased 
 two thousand acres of land in Norwich, Oxford 
 County, and eight hundred acres in Yarmouth 
 Township, Elgin County. Upon the latter tract 
 he erected a log house, where he resided with (he 
 family until 1836, when a comfortable brick resi- 
 dence was constructed. Mr. Moore cleared six 
 hundred acres of the estate where his decease oc- 
 curred. In addition to farming, he dealt exten- 
 sively in live stock, driving them through to St. 
 Catherines, to Buffalo, and occasionally to New 
 York City. 
 
 The m.aiden name of his wife, the grandmother 
 of our subject, was Deborah C. Stockton, a native 
 of New Jersey, and the daughter of John and Hes- 
 ter (Wilson) Stockton; she died at the home of her 
 daughter in Norwich, when seventy-one years of 
 age. The mother of our subject passed away in 
 1885 after having reared a family of three chil- 
 dren: George House, Edward Moore and Frank E. 
 
 He of whom wo write was educated in Rockford, 
 which has always been his home. In 1890, the 
 home farm was laid out in city lots and is now 
 known as the "Highlands." Mr. Holmes was mar- 
 ried, September 21, 1876, to Clara Wiley, who 
 was born in Hanover, Jo Daviess County, 111., 
 and a daughter of Mead and Jane (Johnson) Wiley. 
 The fatlier of Mrs. Holmes was born in Phila- 
 delphia, Pa., and his father, Henry Wiley, hailed 
 from Ireland and when making his home in this 
 country located in Philadelphia. He finally came 
 to Illinois and departed this life at Galena. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Catherine Leighey, 
 who died in Hanover, this State, firm in the faith 
 of the Methodist Cliurch. Mead Wiley was reared 
 in Pennsylvania and going to Galena when a 
 young man resided there for a few years and then 
 settled on a tract of land in Hanover. In 1873, 
 however, he went to Washington Territory, and 
 now resides at San Juan, where he has a fine fruit 
 farm. He was prominent in local affairs and 
 served his fellow-townsmen as Justice of the Peace. 
 
 The mother of Mrs. Holmes, who was also born 
 in England, came to this country wlien quite 
 young, both of her parents dying while en route 
 on the ocean. The mother died in Hanover, this 
 State, at a good old age. To our subject and his 
 wife have been born three children: George Ed- 
 ward, Hattie Wiley and Harry Ellsworth. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Holmes are members of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church and, in politics, our subject votes with 
 the Republican party. Socially, he belongs to the 
 Riverside Camp No. 20, M. W. A. 
 
 SWEN A. JOHNSON, one of the well- 
 known Swedish residents of Rockford, and 
 President of the Rockford Central Furni- 
 ture Company, was born on the 12th of 
 November, 1831, in Sweden. In his youth he 
 learned the tailor's trade, which he followed until 
 coming to America in the year 1852. Bidding 
 good-bye to his old home, he sailed on the 13th of 
 AprU, and, after a long and tedious voyage of 
 forty-seven days, landed in New York City on the 
 
728 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 30th of May. lie afterward started Westward to 
 Rockford, and along the way did journeyman 
 work at Geneva and Elgin, arriving at his destina- 
 tion in November. His parents never left their 
 native land, but lived and died in Sweden. The 
 fatlier was eiglity-four years of age at the time of 
 his death. A sister and two brotiiers, however, 
 followed our subject to this country and lived in 
 Minnesota and Wisconsin. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was married in Rockford to Miss 
 Emily Peterson, who was born in Sweden in 1842, 
 and when a maiden of ten summers came to this 
 country and to Rockford, with her parents, C. N. 
 and Johanna Peterson, who settled on a farm in 
 Seward Township, where they made a good farm. 
 Subsequently, they removed to Pecatonica, where 
 Mr. Peterson is still living at the age of seventy- 
 five years. His wife died in 1891, at the age of 
 eight}' years. They were both members of tlie 
 Lutheran Church, and the parents of our subject 
 were of the same belief. Nine children graced the 
 union of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson: Hilma; Amanda, 
 wife of August Peterson, of Rockford, Secretary 
 of the Central Furniture Company; Eda D., book- 
 keeper for that company; Armer E., book-keeper 
 in the Third National Bank; Victor M., a gradu- 
 ate of the High School, now assisting his father in 
 business; Cora, Edmund M., and Maud and Linus 
 (twins) are still under the parental roof. The 
 children have all been provided with good educa- 
 tional advantages, and their family is one of which 
 the parents may well be proud. 
 
 Mr. Johnson is connected with many leading 
 business enterprises of the city. In 1879, the 
 Rockford Central Furniture Company was organ- 
 ized, and he has since been its President. They 
 employ one hundred and twenty-five hands in the 
 factory, and two commercial travelers are on the 
 road selling their goods. Mr. Johnson is also a stock- 
 holder in the Star Furniture Company, the Royal 
 Sewing Machine Company, recently organized, and 
 has been Treasurer of the Swedish Building and 
 Loan Association since it was established. He is a 
 member of a land syndicate in this city, and other 
 local enterprises, and is a stockholder in the Third 
 National Bank. In 1862, he opened a merchant 
 tailoring establishment, and some time later formed 
 
 a partnership with John Erlander. About 1870, 
 he established a gents' furnishing goods store, and 
 in 1885 admitted to partnership G. A. Wanstrom, 
 who had purchased John Erlander's interest. They 
 now have a fine and well-kept store, 80x22 feet, 
 located at No. 420 East Slate Street. Mr. Johnson 
 is a man of excellent business ability, enterpris- 
 ing, sagacious and far-sighted. He has been suc- 
 cessful in almost everytiiing that he has under- 
 taken, yet hard work has been required to achieve 
 this prosperity. Upright and honorable in all 
 things, he is a worthy and valued citizen, and too 
 much cannot be said in praise of what he has done 
 for Rockford and its interests. Himself and family 
 are members of the First Swedish Lutheran Church, 
 of which he was one of the organizers. It now has 
 a membership of over two thousand, and is the lead- 
 ing church of its denomination in the city. He 
 has also been its Trustee for many years. In poli- 
 tics, he is a stalwart Republican, and has served as 
 Alderman of the Sixth Ward. He owns a com- 
 fortable residence at No. 402 Kishwaukee Street. 
 With his family he holds a high position in social 
 circles, and well deserves the warm regard tendered 
 them. This work would be incomplete without the 
 sketch of Mr. Johnson, who is indeed one of the 
 most prominent and influential citizens of Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 I!@'^@l^.^^ 
 
 OHN THORESON, the well-known and 
 prosperous Norwegian citizen of Rockford, 
 has now retired from the active duties of 
 life, and is spending the remainder of his 
 days in the enjoyment of the accumulation of 
 former years. He resides at No. 330 South Main 
 Street, and there enjoys the rest and quiet becom- 
 ing his years. He also owns other property on 
 that street, and recently refused $20,000 for it. 
 
 Our subject was born in Christiana, Norway, 
 April 16, 1820, and, as he grew to manhood, learned 
 the wagon and carriage makers' trade, following 
 business on his own account for five years before 
 coming to the States. He was seven weeks in 
 crossing the ocean, and after reaching this coun- 
 try he located in Chicago, 111., where he was en- 
 gaged in business for two years before coming to 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 729 
 
 Rockford. He was the only one of the family to 
 come to the United States. Ilis only brother, 
 Fredrick Thoreson, was born in 1815, and was a 
 Lutheran clergyman until his death, in 1876. Ho 
 was a prominent man in his native province, and 
 carried on his ministerial duties in Trondhjem all 
 his life. 
 
 The parents, Thor and Adelaide (Olson) Syver- 
 son, were natives of Norwaj', and there passed 
 their entire lives, both living to a good old age. 
 The father was a shoemaker bj' trade, a good and 
 worthy man, and a quiet and unassuming citizen. 
 He and his wife were members of the Lutheran 
 Church of their native cit}', and were active work- 
 ers in the same. 
 
 John Thoreson came to Rockford in 1855, and was 
 engaged as journeyman for some of the carriage and 
 wagon establishments of the city until 1866, when 
 he began for himself as a manufacturer of carriages 
 and wagons. For a number of years after begin- 
 ning business on his own account, he turned out 
 much new and complete work, keeping from ten 
 to twelve men constantly employed. He invested 
 in valuable property in the city, and continued to 
 do so until he is now a large property owner, and 
 one of the most substantial men of the city. He 
 was married in his native country, in 1848, to Miss 
 Martha Oslund, who was born not far from Chris- 
 tiana, Norway, December 4, 1822, and who was a 
 true helpmate to her husband until her death in 
 Rockford, on the 31st of August, 1887. She was 
 a devoted wife and mother, and a consistent mem- 
 ber of the Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church 
 of Rockford for thirty years. Mr. Thoreson is also 
 a charter member of that church, and has been an 
 official member for many years. In politics, he ad- 
 heres to the Republican party. 
 
 His marriage resulted in the birth of seven chil- 
 dren, only two of whom are living: Thomas, a 
 carriage painter of Rockford; and Matilda J., wife 
 of Alfred Abrahamson, who resides with her father. 
 Mr. Abrahamson is a designer, stockholder and Di- 
 rector in the Mantel and Furniture Company, 
 of Rockford. He and his wife are the parents 
 of two children, Herbert and Amy. 
 
 In the year 1862, Mr. Thoreson enlisted from 
 Rockford, in Company K, Seventy-fourth Illinois 
 
 Infantry, and served as a private with his regi- 
 ment in the Cumberland Army. lie was in the 
 battles of Perryville, Stone River and Murfrees- 
 boro, where he was severely wounded in the left 
 arm. He was sent to the hospital, and was there 
 taken as a prisoner of war, being afterward con- 
 fined in Libby Prison for two months. He was 
 then exchanged and a few months later was honor- 
 ably discharged for disability. He fought bravely 
 for the Union, and was in many fierce battles, lie 
 is a member of the G. L. Nevius Post, No. 1, G. A. R., 
 at Rockford. 
 
 ' 1 I I > ■ 
 
 fMOS C. SAMMONS stands among the 
 leaders of the stockraising and farming 
 interests of Harlem Township, Winnebago 
 County, where he owns a farm, wliich in 
 point of cultivation and general improvement 
 is scarcely surpassed by any in the neighborhood. 
 He was born in Lincoln County, Province of On- 
 tario, Canada, November 4, 1839. His father, 
 John J. Sammons, is a native of Orange County, 
 N. Y., his birth occurring December 18, 1782. His 
 father, also named John, hailed from the Empire 
 State, while the great-grandfather of our subject 
 ■was born in Holland and came to America during 
 Colonial days. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject was a farmer and 
 died in Orange County, N. Y., in his ninety-sixth 
 year, his wife departing this life at the age of 
 ninety-four years. He was a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary War and was highly respected in his com- 
 munity. John J. Sammons was reared and mar- 
 ried in New York and in 1812 served in the war 
 of that period. He went to Canada about 1823, 
 and purchased a tract of timber land in Lincoln 
 County, where he erected the log house in which 
 our subject was born. He followed his trade of a 
 'blacksmith and resided there until 1856, when, ac- 
 companied by his wife and three children, he 
 came to Winnebago County. Locating in Har- 
 lem Township, he purchased the farm where our 
 subject now resides, for which he paid $22.50 per 
 acre, including the crop, which was in. Mr. Sam- 
 mons devoted his time to the cultivation of his 
 
730 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 farm until the infirmities of old age caused liim to 
 retire. His decease occurred December 14, 1883, 
 at the advanced age of one hundred and one years. 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Anna Snnre, a native of Lincoln County, 
 Canada, her birth occurring October 6, 1796. She 
 was the daughter of John Snure and died on the 
 home farm September 17, 1860. 
 
 Amos C. Sammons was seventeen years of age 
 when he came to this county, and at once com- 
 menced to assist his father in the work of the 
 farm; he was never separated from his parents 
 until their decease. He now owns and occupies 
 the old homestead, which he is cultivating in a 
 manner which brings him in the largest returns. 
 June 20, 1867, he was married to Laura J. Rhodes, 
 a native of Roscoe Township, Winnebago County, 
 and the daughter of John J. Rhodes, who was born 
 in Oneida County, N. Y. The grandfather of 
 Mrs. Sammons, also named John, was born in Ire- 
 land, of English parents, and on emigrating to 
 America resided for a time in Rome, N. Y., whence 
 he removed to Marcellus, and operated a woolen 
 mill until his decease. The maiden name of his 
 wife was Hannah Combes. 
 
 The great-grandfather of Mrs. Sammons, Thomas 
 Rhodes, was born in England, and with three 
 brothers came to America, locating in Rhode 
 Island about 1740. He there married a Miss But- 
 ler, soon after which event he returned to Europe 
 and settled in Roscrea, Ireland, where lie built a 
 stone house and spent the rest of his days. 
 
 John J. Rhodes was reared in New York State, 
 and after the death of his wife went to Canada and 
 established a woolen mill near London, in com- 
 pany with his brother Joseph. They operated 
 successfully together until 1837, when Mr Rhodes 
 came overland to Illinois, bringing with him a 
 quantity of the cloth he had manufactured. 
 Locating in what is now Roscoe Township, he 
 entered a tract of Government land and erected a 
 sawmill which he conducted for a number of years, 
 his decease occurring in 1859. The mother of 
 Mrs. Sammons, known in her maidenhood as Pa- 
 melia Wilson, was born in Kilham, Niagara 
 County, Canada, and was a daughter of Crowell 
 and Hester Wilson; she died in 1875. Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Sammons have four children: Fred E., Harry 
 L., William G. and Anna Laura. The family are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, 
 in his political relations, our subject is a Republi- 
 can, casting his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 'HEODORE JOHNSON is a practical and 
 progressive farmer of Winnebago County, 
 residing on section 19, Cherry Valley Town- 
 ship, where he owns and operates seventy-six and 
 one-half acres of land. His fields are well tilled, 
 and the many improvements seen upon the farm 
 indicate the thrift and enterprise of the owner. 
 
 The father of our subject, Montraville Johnson, 
 was born in Rensselaer County, N. Y., January 
 21, 1809, and was a son of Henry Johnson, a na- 
 tive of Rhode Island, who died in Jefferson County, 
 N. Y., about 1842. He was the father of a large 
 family numbering ten sons and a daughter. Four 
 died in childhood, but seven grew to mature years 
 and became heads of families. Three are yet liv- 
 ing: Warren, who resides in Ashtabula Countj^, 
 Ohio; Mrs. Patience Wliitney, and Montraville 
 Johnson. He was reared in the usual manner of 
 farmer lads, and acquired but a limited education. 
 In Hoosic, N. Y., he was united in marriage to 
 Sarah Richmond, daughter of Frederick and Elsie 
 Richmond. They were both about nineteen years 
 of age when married, and upon a farm in the Em- 
 pire State they began their domestic life. The 
 year 1866 witnessed their emigration to Illinois, 
 and the following year Mr. Johnson purchased 
 fifty-six acres of land in Boone County, five miles 
 northwest of Belvidere, where he carried on agri- 
 cultural pursuits until 1883. He then sold his 
 farm and removed to Rockford, where he made 
 his home for two years, after which he settled upon 
 his present farm. 
 
 The parental family numbered eight children, 
 but five have passed away, all dying when quite 
 young. The surviving members of the family are 
 Delia, widow of George W. Tyler, who lives with 
 her father and brother; Edward R., who is living 
 in Hoosic Falls, N. Y.; and Theodore, of this 
 sketch. Neither of the sons is married. Mr. John- 
 
H. H. STONE. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 733 
 
 sou has but one grandchild, Sanford N. Tyler, 
 son of Mrs. Tyler, who resides with her father. 
 The young man now resides in Spokane Falls, 
 Wash. Mrs. Johnson was called to her final rest 
 on the 5th of July, 1880, and her remains were 
 interred in the Tobine burial ground, near the old 
 home in Boone County, where the son Lorenzo 
 also lies. 
 
 Our subject was reared in the usual manner of 
 farmer lads, and to farming has devoted his entire 
 time and attention. He now operates his father's 
 land, and is considered a successful farmer, indus- 
 trious and enterprising. He is widely and favor- 
 ably known throughout this community, and has 
 many friends in the county. In politics, lie is a 
 supporter of Republican principles and his father 
 has been a life-long Democrat. 
 
 lALMER H. STONE. A position of prom- 
 inence among the citizens of Rockford is 
 occupied by this gentleman, who has made 
 his home in this city since March, 1884. 
 However, he had resided in Winnebago County 
 for ten years prior to his location in this city, hav- 
 ing come hither in January, 1874, and spent some 
 time in Rockford, where he was connected with the 
 Hess-Hopkins Manufacturing Company. After- 
 ward he purchased a well-improved farm three 
 miles from the city, in Rockford Township, and 
 operated that place until, on account of failing 
 health caused by sunstroke, he relinquished his 
 active labors and retired to the city. 
 
 Although no longer a resident of his farm, Mr. 
 Stone still retains an interest in its management, 
 and does a large business as a wholesale dairyman, 
 supplying large hotels and restaurants with milk. 
 He is one of the original stockholders in the Rock- 
 ford Burial Case Company, of which he is now a 
 Director, and has contributed not a little to the 
 growth of this corporation, one of the most exten- 
 sive in the Forest City. He came to this city from 
 Minnesota, where he was engaged in business as a 
 dry-goods merchant, furniture dealer and under- 
 taker at St. Charles for some seventeen years. 
 
 Mr. Stone, whose portrait accompanies this 
 sketch, was born in Franklin County, Vt.,in 1835, 
 and learned the trade of a mechanic in iiis youtli. 
 His father, James Stone, belonged to a worthy New 
 England family, of English descent, his ancestors 
 having emigrated to America prior to the Revolu- 
 tionary War. He grew to manhood in the Green 
 Mountain State, and in 1844, accompanied by his 
 wife and children, removed to Sheboygan County, 
 Wis., where he commenced life as a pioneer farmer 
 within two miles of the last house on the west m the 
 State at that time. It will thus be seen that he was 
 one of the earliest settlers of that part of Wiscon- 
 sin, and amid primiti-ve surroundings he toiled for 
 years, rearing a family of eight children, and im- 
 proving a good property. One child died at the 
 age of seven, but the remaining seven are all liv- 
 ing, and, with the exception of our subject, are 
 farmers. 
 
 James Stone continued to live in AVisconsin un- 
 til his death in 1857, at the age of sixty-one 3'^ears. 
 He was prominent in local politics, and served as 
 Justice of the Peace for many years. He named 
 the town of Wiuooski, Sheboygan County, Wis., 
 and was its first Postmaster. In political belief, 
 he was a Republican, and favored all measures cal- 
 culated to advance the welfare of his community. 
 His widow, who still survives, makes her home 
 with a daughter, Mrs. Selden Akin, in Wisconsin. 
 In February, 1892, she celebrated her ninety-third 
 birthday, and although so old, is hale and active, 
 writes with a steady hand, and has full possession 
 of her physical and mental powers. Lucinda Dan- 
 forth, as she was known in girlhood, was born in 
 Vermont, and was of English extraction, and has 
 for many years been identified with the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 In the parental family our subject is the young- 
 est with one exception. He became of age in Wis- 
 consin, and afterward went to Minnesota, where he 
 lived a number of years. In the winter of 1863- 
 64, he enlisted in the service of his country 
 as a member of Company D, Seventh Minnesota 
 Infantry, Capt. Rolla Banks and Col. William R. 
 Marshall, ex-Governor of Minnesota, commanding. 
 The regiment was an integral part of the Army of 
 the Cumberland, and engaged in active battle as 
 
734 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 well as in detached duty. At the close of the war, 
 Mr. Stone was honorably discharged in September, 
 1865, and returned to his Minnesota home. 
 
 In Wisconsin, Mr. Stone was married to Miss 
 Lucy McMurphy, of Painesville, Ohio, who died 
 in St. Charles, Minn., nine years after marriage, 
 leaving one sou, Roy, now in Colorado. After- 
 ward Mr. Stone was married, in this county, to 
 INIary Etta Millard, who was born in Massachu- 
 setts, and came to Illinois when twenty years old, 
 in 1865, settling with her parents on a farm near 
 Rockford. Her father, John W. Millard, departed 
 this life March 20, 1801, aged eighty yeai'S, his last 
 daji^s having been passed at th^ home of his daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Stone. His widow, whose maiden name 
 was Martha Harmon, still survives at the age of 
 eighty years, and makes her home with her daugli- 
 ter in Rockford. Mr. and Mrs. Stolie have one 
 son, Frank, who is attending school in Rockford. 
 In their religious connections, Mr. and Mrs. Stone 
 are members of the Christian Union Church, and 
 socially, he belongs to the Eastern Star. He is a 
 Master Mason, and a prominent member of the 
 G. L. Nevius Post No. 1, at Rockford. 
 
 "i*' OHN A. CARLSON, Superintendent of the 
 Skandia Plow Company, in which he has 
 been a stockholder and Director since its 
 inception in 1880, has also filled his pres- 
 ent position and that of foreman most of these 
 years. With the correct business principles and 
 efficiency with which this business is conducted, 
 it has not failed to contribute largely to the con- 
 venience of the community, and to its own estab- 
 lished prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Carlson was born in Kalmar Lan, Smoland 
 Province, Sweden, December 18, 1845, and re- 
 mained there until 1868, when he left home and 
 friends to seek his fortune in the New World. He 
 arrived in New York City in June of that year, 
 and for a year following was a resident of Ford 
 County, 111. From there he went to Chicago to 
 learn the blacksmith's trade, and afterward was 
 foreman for Brown Bros., manufacturers of that 
 oil}', until 1874, when he came to Rockford. For 
 
 a number of years after coming to this city, he 
 followed the blacksmith's trade, but finally became 
 connected with the present plow company, and 
 has since given this business his entire attention. 
 He is a very skillful workman and thoroughly 
 understands his business. 
 
 Since his residence in this country, Mr. Carlson 
 has been joined by two brothers, Conrad and C. 
 Alfred. The former is a grain dealer of Farnham- 
 ville, Iowa, and is married. The latter is single 
 and resides in the mining regions of Beaverville, 
 Cal. A sister, Tilda, is the wife of Gus Lindstrom 
 and resides in Chicago. The parents are still liv- 
 ing in Kalmar Lan, Smoland Province, Sweden, 
 and are now quite aged, the father, Carl Peterson, 
 born in 1819, and the mother, Gustavia (Johnson) 
 Peterson, born in 1822. The former is a Swedish 
 farmer and both are members of the Swedish Luth- 
 eran Clmrch. 
 
 Our subject was married in Rockford to Miss 
 Lotta Anderson, a native of Wester Gothland, 
 Sweden, who came to the United States with her 
 mother in 1868. She was quite young when her 
 father died in his native country, and her mother 
 died after reaching this country, in going from 
 Chicago to Rockford. Mrs. Carlson went on to 
 Rockford, where she had two sisters living, and 
 has since made her home in this city. She and 
 her husband are members of the First Luth- 
 eran Church, and Mr. Carlson was Trustee of the 
 same at one time. He is a Republican in politics. 
 They are the parents of four interesting children: 
 Alfred C, C. Alma, Henry and Leonard, all at 
 home. Mr. and Mrs. Carlson have a very pleasant 
 and comfortable home at No. 1204 Fourth Avenue, 
 Rockford. 
 
 eHARLES FLETCHER. The career of our 
 subject as a pioneer citizen has been one 
 eminently worthy and useful to the com- 
 munity in which he has resided, and his neighbors 
 and old friends unitedly bear testimony to his 
 sterling worth and valuable services. He is at the 
 present time living a life of ease and retirement on 
 South Main Street. Mr. Fletcher has been a resi- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 735 
 
 dent of Winnebago County since 1854, and of the 
 State since 1838, having spent the intervening 
 years in Ogle County, where he located on a tract 
 of three hundred acres of land in what is now 
 Pine Rock Township. At that time the country 
 was very sparsely settled, and Indians were often 
 seen while traveling through that region. Mr. 
 Fletcher went to Oregon for his mail, and hauled 
 wheat to Chicago for many years to the market, 
 receiving as low as fifty cents per bushel for it. 
 The land in that part of Ogle County did not 
 come into market until five years after our subject 
 located there, and as Dixon was the land office, he 
 went tliither and entered his claim of three hun- 
 dred acres. One-half of this he improved and re- 
 sided upon until 1854, which was the date of his 
 coining to Rockford. 
 
 Bom in Kennebunk, York County, Me., October 
 30, 1818, our subject came hither from Massachu- 
 setts where his parents removed when he was a 
 lad of nine years. He is a son of the Rev. Na- 
 thaniel H. Fletcher, a native of the Baj- State, who 
 was married to our subject's mother at Wells, Me. 
 The lady bore the maiden name of Sarali Story, a 
 native of that place, and the daughter of Capt. 
 John Story. The young couple later returned to 
 Middlesex Countj', Mass., where they spent the re- 
 mainder of their lives, having become the parents 
 of nine children. 
 
 Charles Fletcher is the youngest and only sur- 
 viving member of the parental family. His father 
 died September 4, 1834, having been connected 
 with the Congregational Church as a minister for 
 the greater part of his life. He was a well-educa- 
 ted man, being a graduate of Harvard College in 
 the Class of 1793, and occupied a high position 
 among his fellow-preacliers. The decease of our 
 subject's mother occurred May 26, 1834; she was 
 also a member of the Congregational Church, and a 
 true, consistent Christian lady. 
 
 Miss Anna M. Cory became the wife of our 
 subject in Lowell, Mass. She is a native of Ver- 
 mont, and a daughter of James and Deborah 
 Cory, natives, of New England and Ontario, re- 
 spectively. To our subject and his wife have been 
 born four children, all of whom are deceased. 
 They are members of the Court Street Method- 
 
 ist Episcopal Church of this city, to the support 
 of which they are liberal contributors. In his po- 
 litical relations, be has always been an ardent Re- 
 publican. 
 
 <:<l IfelLLIAM HENRY SCHOONMAKER. In 
 \/iJll ^'^^^ gentleman Winnebago County has a 
 \y'^ flue representative of its native-born citi- 
 zens, one who by his enterprise, progressiveness 
 and marked ability, is materially forwarding its 
 financial welfare in several ways. He is at present 
 residing on a portion of the old homestead, and is 
 making a success of his occupation as a farmer. 
 
 Our subject, who was born in this county, May 
 5, 1852, is the son of Henry Schoonmalier, one of 
 the pioneers of the county, who had his birth in 
 the town of Knox, Albany County, N. Y., where 
 also Henry Schoonmaker, the grandfatlier, as far 
 as is known, was born and carried on the combined 
 occupations of a blacksmith and farmer. 
 
 The father of our subject learned the trade of a 
 carpenter and joiner, but was later employed in an 
 ax factory at Cohoes, N. Y. In 1838, accompan- 
 ied by his wife and one child, he came to Illinois, 
 at a time when Rockford was but a hamlet and all 
 the land was owned by the Government. He made 
 a claim to one hundred and sixty acres of land in 
 what is now Winnebago Township, and when it 
 came into market made the first entry in this 
 countj^ He built a log house on liis place, into 
 which the family moved and where our subject 
 was born. The elder Mr. Schoonmaker married 
 Mary Lown, and departed this life on the old 
 home farm in 1872, having at his death tlie mag- 
 nificent estate of three hundred and twenty acres. 
 The mother of our subject was a native of Schoha- 
 rie County, N. Y., and made her home on the old 
 farm in Winnebago Township, until her death, 
 April 11, 1892. 
 
 The eight children included in the parental fam- 
 ily were Cornelia A., Eraeline, John, David, Mar- 
 garet N., William H., Charles E. and Mai\y. Our 
 subject attended school in his youth, and assisted 
 his father in cultivating tlie farm. He was married. 
 
736 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1873, to Belinda Tanglier, who was born in Pec- 
 atoniea, this county, and was the daughter of 
 James Taugher. The father was a native of Belle- 
 nair, Ireland, where also his father was born, and 
 married Nora McCale. After the deatli of his 
 wife, he came to America and died in Boston, two 
 months later. The father of Mr. Schoonmaker was 
 fifteen years old when he came to America, and 
 after a short stay in Boston, went to Dunkirk, N. 
 Y., and resided there until 1852, when he came to 
 Pecatonica. Eighteen montlis later, he made Win- 
 nebago his liome, being one of the oldest residents 
 of the village. The maiden name of liis wife was 
 Mary Smith; she came from her native country, 
 Ireland, with a brother, when eighteen years of age, 
 and died February 10, 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Schoon- 
 maker have five children: Mary, Jennie, Laura, 
 Winnie and Nellie. In his yjolitical views, Mr. 
 Sclioon maker votes with his Republican party. 
 
 G 
 
 r^ 
 
 jUSTAF V. LINDBLADE, who is engaged in 
 the grocery business in Rockford, was born 
 "^^Jfi on the 14th of April, 1862, in the Province 
 of Jensenping, Sweden, and is a son of John G. 
 and Stena (Anderson) Lindblade. When he was 
 only seven years of age, his parents came to this 
 country and have since made their home in Rock- 
 ford, where they are recognized as worthy people 
 and valued citizens. Both are members of the 
 Swedish Tabernacle of this city, Mr. Lindblade 
 being one of the founders of the church and an 
 active and leading member. He has also been one 
 of its officers for some time, serving both as Dea- 
 con and Trustee. He votes with the Republican 
 party. Only two of the children are now living. 
 Alfred, the elder, married Charlotte Nord wall, and 
 is living in Rockford. 
 
 Our subject is the younger of the two brotliers. 
 He was reared to manhood under the parental roof 
 and acquired his education in the public schools of 
 Rockford He entered upon his business career as 
 clerk in the grocery store, and after attaining his 
 majority started out in business for himself. He 
 ran a dairy for some eighteen months, and in May, 
 1889, as a partner of Mr. Peterson, began business 
 
 as proprietor of a grocery store. Since December, 
 1891, he has been alone in business and has carried 
 on a successful and lucrative trade. 
 
 In this city, Mr. Lindblade was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Anna S. Stockenberg, of Rockford, 
 who was born in Sweden, and in 1868 came with 
 her parents to this country. Her father, N. G. 
 Stockenberg, is a farmer and dairyman of New 
 Milford Township, and a well-known Swedish gen- 
 tleman of this county. He and his wife were 
 among the first, and are still leading, members in 
 the Tabernacle Swedish Church, and are highly 
 respected citizens. 
 
 Mrs. Lindblade remained with her parents until 
 her marriage. By the union of our subject and 
 his wife has been born a little daughter, Esther, 
 March 11, 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Lindblade are 
 among the prominent young Swedish people of 
 this city. They are adherents of the same religious 
 faith as their parents, and the husband is a Trustee 
 in the church, in which he and his wife are faith- 
 ful workers. In politics, he is a supporter of Re- 
 publican principles, but has never sought or desired 
 public office. He takes an active interest in ail 
 that pertains to the welfare of the city, its growth 
 and its upbuilding, and gives his support to every 
 worthy enterprise. He is a prosperous and prom- 
 ising young man who is bound to succeed in life, 
 for he possesses the essential qualities of success 
 and has excellent business ability, as his career has 
 already demonstrated. 
 
 ^ I^ILLIAM G. JOHNSON, who for a number 
 of years did a good business in Rockford 
 as a house painter and decorator, but is 
 now living a retired life, claims Scotland as the 
 land of his nativity. He was born near Glasgow, 
 while his parents were sojourning there, but dur- 
 ing his youth, the family resided at different places. 
 His father, John Johnson, was born in Scotland, 
 and was of English extraction. He became a com- 
 mercial traveler and from Manchester and Leeds, 
 his headquarters, traveled all over the British 
 provinces. He was thus engaged until his death. 
 
 ¥ 
 
d^Sn^ ^£idiy. 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 r39 
 
 He died very suddenly of a fever when sixty-five 
 years of age. 
 
 Our subject is the only son of the family in this 
 country. He acquired a good Englisli education, 
 and remained at home until fifteen years of age, 
 when he started out in life for himself. He then 
 went to Liverpool, where he served a seven years' 
 apprenticeship under Mr. Beard, an English house 
 painter and decorator, and after the death of his 
 employer worked for his widow, serving as a jour- 
 neyman. At length, he determined to try his for- 
 tune in America, and in the latter part of Novem- 
 ber, 1852, sailed from Liverpool to the United 
 States on the "Manhattan," landing in New York 
 City, whence he went to Hamilton, N. Y., and sub- 
 sequently to Earlville, that State, doing business 
 as a boss painter until he came to Rockford. 
 
 Not long after his arrival in this countrv, Mr. 
 Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Jennie M. 
 Murphy. Unto them have been born three daugh- 
 ters: Lutitia, wife of L. M. Saley, editor of the 
 Northwestern Lumberman, of Chicago, where they 
 make their home; Sadie, wife of Dell E. Trahern, 
 proprietor of the Rockford Brass Works, living 
 with Mr. Johnson; and Nettie B., wife of C. R. 
 Duncan, a dealer in fine arts at Detroit, Mich. 
 
 On coming to Rockford in 1856, Mr. Johnson 
 embarked in business on his own account as a 
 house painter and paper hanger, and did a success- 
 ful business for many years. He was an expert at 
 his work, aud a skilled grainer and decorator. He 
 built up a large trade, and from the beginning his 
 efforts were crowned with prosperitj^, so that in 
 the course of years he won a handsome competence. 
 He was a straightforward and upright business 
 man, enterprising and progressive, and well de- 
 served his success. In December, 1890, he sold out 
 to J. C. Pilkington, who had been in his employ 
 for many years, and since that time has lived a re- 
 tired life. He has a wide acquaintance in Rock- 
 ford, and is well and favorablj^ known. Himself, 
 wife and children are members of the Westminster 
 Presbyterian Church, and, in politics, he is a stal- 
 wart Republican, taking an active interest in the 
 work of that party and its success. He is also a 
 Knight Templar Mason and prominent in Masonic 
 circles. Public-spirited and progressive, he gives 
 33 
 
 his support and co-operation to all tliat pertains to 
 the welfare of the community and the advance- 
 ment of its best interests. The family is well 
 worthy of representation in this volume. His 
 daughters are all well married, their husbands be- 
 ing leading and successful business men in their 
 various lines. Mrs. Trahern and her -husband re- 
 side With her parents, and the lady is an artist of 
 no inconsiderable ability. 
 
 fi;_^ ENRY W. PIER. More than one half- 
 century ago in the Green Mountain State, 
 a little district school was taught by a 
 )j young gentleman, who, although a native 
 of New York, had passed most of his life in Ver- 
 mont. Among his pupils was a young lady in 
 whom he had more tlian ordinary interest. She 
 was about to leave Vermont for Illinois, together 
 with her mother and sister, to join the other 
 members of the family near Springfield. Teacher 
 and pupil had a little private understanding in 
 their business affairs, for they were to be in com- 
 mon, and it was arranged that he was to come 
 West the ensuing 3rear. 
 
 True to his promise, the year 1840 found our 
 subject journeying Westward, and he finally 
 reached Rochester, Sangamon County, 111., his des- 
 tination. There he found Nancy J. Taft in charge 
 of a village school, and ready to step out of her 
 position as teacher to give way to him. For six 
 months the school was conducted in that manner, 
 with an attendance of one hundred pupils. But 
 neither was satisfied. They longed for a change and 
 earnestly desired a home. Although the country 
 was beautiful, yet the people were subject to fever 
 and ague, and to establish a permanent home there 
 would be to invite sickness and perchance an un- 
 timely death. 
 
 Henry W. Pier, for such was the name of the 
 young gentleman, began to prepare to remove 
 further North, and soon had a covered wagon, a 
 span of bays and a trunk. Miss Taft, who was 
 interested in the enterprise, also had a trunk and a 
 dry-goods box filled with such things as only a 
 
740 
 
 POSTEAIT AND BIOGRA.riIlCAL EECORD= 
 
 woman's foresight could see the need of. In 1841, 
 they were married and commenced their journey 
 Northward, not knowing at that time just where 
 they would locate. 
 
 Tr.aveling through Peoria, Dixon, Kockford, 
 Janesville, Madison and Ft. Winnebago, Mr. Pier 
 and his young wife at last reached Fond du Lac, 
 Wis. Around them was a seemingly endless prai- 
 rie, wild but beautiful. During their journey, wild 
 animals would frequently cross the road, deer 
 would gaze at them from the distance, and when 
 the darkness of night would prevent further travel 
 and they would lie down to sleep in the wagon, 
 wolves would howl around them — the only noise 
 that broke the silence of the night. The country 
 to which they had come was healthj^, but the Rock 
 River region, through which they had passed, was 
 ever uppermost in their mind and it was not long 
 before they resolved to return hither in search of 
 a home. 
 
 Accordingly, in the winter of 1841-42, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Pier came to the vicinity of Belvidere, and 
 here they have since resided, participating in the 
 wondrous changes of fifty years and more. Mr. 
 Pier has been principally engaged in farming, in 
 which he has been very successful. In addition to 
 his personal affairs, he has occupied positions of 
 trust, both of a public and private character, and 
 has discharged the duties of those offices with 
 efficiency and fidelity. In politics, he is a Repub- 
 lican with Prohibition tendencies. Religiously, he 
 is a firm believer in Jesus Christ as more than hu- 
 man, and the only One whose practices and teach- 
 ings are safe to be accepted as our guide to eternal 
 life. Those pioneers with whom he was associated 
 in his younger years have mostly passed from the 
 scenes of earth, but their places have been taken 
 by others equally worthy, in whose hands the in- 
 terests of Boone County are being upheld, and the 
 principles of equity and justice are being promul- 
 gated. 
 
 As above stated, Mr. Pier Is a native of New 
 York and was born in Chenango County, January 
 9, 1815,theson of AlbertD. andClemma (Adams) 
 Pier. Mrs. Pier was born in Addison Country, Vt., 
 .September 5, 1819, the daughter of Josiah and 
 Phebe (Davis) Taft. When our subject was a 
 
 mere infant, his parents returned to Addison 
 County, Vt., their native place, where the father 
 soon afterward died. The mother was left desti- 
 tute but struggled along bravely and untiringly, 
 inculcating lessons of virtue and honesty in her 
 two children, our subject and a younger brother. 
 Her memory is precious to our subject, who re- 
 members that to her teachings he owes much. 
 
 Mr. and JNIrs. Pier are the parents of two living 
 children: the elder, Phebe L., married Marvin E. 
 Woods, in 1870, and has since resided mostly in 
 Iowa, although recently she removed to Colorado, 
 where Mr. Woods died and lies buried. Their four 
 children are all living. Frances C, the younger 
 daughter, married Dr. Frank S. Whitman, in 1875, 
 and has since made her home in Belvidere. This 
 worthy family occupies a high place in the regard 
 of the people of Boone County and there are few 
 who have not either met them or heard much con- 
 cerning their pioneer labors and noble characters. 
 
 The lithographic portrait of Mr. Pier accom- 
 panies this sketch. 
 
 If^\ OSES D. MARTIN, The attractive and 
 commodious residence at No. 1007 Kil- 
 burn Avenue, Rockford, is owned and oc- 
 cupied by the gentleman whose name 
 introduces this sketch and who is here passing his 
 declining years in retirement. He has resided in 
 the West since three years old, when he was 
 brought by his parents to Ogle County, locating 
 on a farm five miles from the city of Oregon. 
 There he grew to man's estate, operated a farm, 
 which he sold, and removed to Lee County in 1857. 
 After improving a farm in China Township, he 
 sold the place and returned to Ogle County, where 
 he resided some four years. 
 
 We next find Mr. Martin a resident of Ashton, 
 Lee County, where he operated as a lumber and 
 grain merchan t and was successful in accumulating 
 a competency. With the earnings thus industri- 
 ously obtained, he purchased one hundred and 
 twenty acres of land, which he still owns and which 
 is a well-improved farm. Afterward he removed 
 to Cherokee County, Iowa, and after a sojourn of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 741 
 
 several years there, returned to Rockford, where 
 he has since lived in retirement. However, his 
 life is by no means an idle one, for in tlie over- 
 sight of his large landed interests he finds sulfici- 
 ent to occupy his attention and demand his super- 
 vision. He owns a substantial store building in 
 Rockford, and other property of considerable value. 
 
 Born in the Province of Ontario, Canada, our 
 subject is the son of John Martin, likewise a na- 
 tive of Canada. The paternal grandfather, James, 
 was the son of an Irish nobleman, who, on account 
 of his marriage with a lady of the Catholic faith, 
 was disinherited and sent to America, thus found- 
 ing the farail.v in this country. After attaining 
 his majority on the home farm, John Martin was 
 married to Miss Annis Nettleton, who was born in 
 Ontario, her parents being Connecticut people of 
 New England ancestry. In 1838, Mr. and Mrs. 
 John Martin removed with teams from Canada to 
 Ogle County, camping by night and journeying in 
 primitive fashion by day for six weeks, at the ex- 
 piration of which time they reached Lafayette 
 Township. 
 
 The first home of the family was a little log 
 cabin which the father erected during liis lirst visit 
 to Lafayette Township on the land whicli he 
 entered from the Government. So barren and 
 drear was the surrounding country, that when the 
 new home was pointed out to the wife and niotlier 
 she burst into tears, but soon other settlers estab- 
 lished homes near them and she became reconciled 
 to the change. For many years, the bandits of the 
 West were their neighbors, including sucli men as 
 Norton Rich, Bill Bridge, and Dick and Tom Akins, 
 but the only loss suffered on their account was 
 that of a valuable horse. 
 
 The father, who was born in 1800, died at the 
 home of our subject, in Ashton , in 1876. He was 
 a good citizen and a worthy member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. His wife, who was also 
 born in 1800, survived him a number of years and 
 died in Rockford, in 1887, leaving to her descend- 
 ants the memory of a true Christian life. Three 
 of lier sons, James N., Henry L. and John W., are 
 prominent ministers in the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church and are scholars of wide reputation, the 
 first-named having for twenty years been professor 
 
 in the Pacific College, of California. Another son, 
 Philetus S., is a ranchman near Pomona, Cal., on 
 the Cheno Ranch. A daughter, Sarah J., formerly 
 the wife of Joseph Earl, died in the prime of life, 
 leaving two children. 
 
 The marriage of Moses D. Martin at Light 
 House Point, Ogle County, united him with Miss 
 Burella Paddock, who was born in Indiana and 
 was brouglit by her parents to Ogle County when 
 six months old. She was here reared, and received 
 her education in a seminary at Willoughby, Ohio. 
 Her father, Riley Paddock, an old settler of Ogle 
 County, died in 1886, at an advanced age. Her 
 mother, Eliza (Snoddy) Paddock, survives at a 
 good old age and makes her home in Ashton. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Martin are the parents of six chil- 
 dren, namely: Luna M., wife of W. B. King, of 
 Redwood Falls, INIinn., a prominent business man 
 of that city; Elmer E., who operates a steam grist- 
 mill in Marcus, Iowa, and there makes his home, his 
 wife having in former years been known as Miss 
 Cora Over; Lillian E., who is a teaclier in tlie Lin- 
 coln Schools, at Rockford; Riley P., who is taking 
 a post-graduate course in chemistry at the North- 
 western University at Evanston, 111.; M. DeWitt, a 
 pharmacist and druggist at Redwood Falls, Minn., 
 and Maud L., who is in the public schools of Rock- 
 ford. In their religious convictions, Mr. Martin 
 and his estimable wife are members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church. Socially, he is a Mason, 
 and in politics is a stanch Republican. He has 
 served as Supervisor and School Treasurer of Ogle 
 and Lee Counties, and is deeply interested in all 
 public measures. 
 
 >iPiU|iii^fc« 
 
 » 1)1 I ( 
 
 AVID A. BARNARD, one of the foremost 
 business men of Rockford, is now residing 
 at No. 204 South First Street, where he 
 has made his home for many years. He 
 seems to be one of those quiet, unassuming gen- 
 tlemen whose chief aspiration is an honest living, 
 without that morbid ambition which sometimes 
 leads to the wreck of fortune and character. He 
 came to Rockford in 1853, when twenty-one years 
 of age, and began business as a carpenter, but two 
 
742 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGKAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years later gave this up and embarked in the lath- 
 ing business which he has followed with marked 
 success up to the present time. He has witnessed 
 the wonderful growth of the city since his resi- 
 dence here, and has contributed his share towards 
 its advancement and prosperity. 
 
 Our subject was born in Deerfleld, Mass., on 
 the 5th of October, 1831, and is a descendant 
 of an old and prominent family of that State. 
 His grandfather, David Barnard, was of English 
 descent and a Revolutionary patriot, serving 
 bravely and gallantly for independence. He 
 -married a Massachusetts lady, and died at .Shel- 
 burne, that State, when quite aged. His wife also 
 died in that State. He was a cabinet-maker by 
 trade. Their son, David Barnard, Jr., father of 
 our subject, was one of a large family of children, 
 and passed his boyhood and youth on a farm in 
 his native State, Massachusetts. He married Miss 
 Eliza Whitcomb, a native of Williamsburgh, Mass., 
 and the daughter of David and Abigail (Hunt) 
 Wliitcomb, natives also of that State, in which 
 they passed their last days, both dying at an ad- 
 vanced age. 
 
 Mr. Barnard passed almost his entire life in his 
 native State, but died in Fair view, Pa., in the 
 year 1843, while on his way home with a drove of 
 cattle. He was fifty years of age. His widow 
 died in 1850 when little past middle age. Of the 
 six children born to this union, four grew to ma- 
 ture years, but only bur subject and Calvin, 
 who resides in Waukesha, Wis., and who has been 
 a conductor on the St. Paul <fe Milwaukee Railroad 
 for the last thirty-five years, are now living. 
 
 D. A. Barnard was married in Troy, N. Y., to 
 Miss MaryHamm, who was reared and educated in 
 tliat city and who followed teaching for a few 
 years before her marriage. Her parents, Henry 
 and Mary (Miller) Hamm, are natives, respectivelj', 
 of Troy, N. Y., and Hookeynorton, Oxfordshire, 
 England, and now reside a short distance from 
 Troy, N. Y. Mrs. Hamm's grandparents live in 
 England, where they are classed among the best 
 of its citizens. They are now seventy-six and 
 sixty-seven years of age, respectively, and have 
 been members of the Dutch Reformed Church for 
 many years. They had ten children, eight of 
 
 whom are yet living and generally prosperous in 
 life. Mrs. Mary Hamm was left motlierless at an 
 early age and came with her father, Timothy Mil. 
 ler, to the United States when six years of age. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Barnard's union was blessed by the 
 birth of three children, who were as follows: Au- 
 gustus, wlio died when nine years of age; Harry S. 
 will soon graduate from the High School of Rock- 
 ford; and Charles D., a bright little fellow of three 
 years. Mrs. Barnard and Harry S. are members of 
 the First Congregational Church. Mr. Barnard is 
 a Republican in his political views. 
 
 <Q>^^ 
 
 ^^USTAVUS A. SALSTROM, Secretary, Treas- 
 [|[ (=, urer and manager of the Union Grocery 
 ^^Jj Company of Rockford, was born in Saby 
 Socken, Sweden, on the 18th of August, 1841, and 
 at the age of twelve years, bade good-bye to his 
 old home, and, in company with his family, sailed 
 from Gottenburg, August 3, 1853. Aftera long 
 and tedious journey, they landed in Charleston, 
 S. C, and thence went to New York City. They 
 had to wait nine weeks for a vessel to bring them 
 to this country, and during that time the wife and 
 mother died of cholera, which was then epidemic, 
 leaving eight children, all under the age of thir- 
 teen years. On arriving in this country, the father 
 had to leave his children in Pittsburg while he 
 went to seek a home. Some very generous people 
 aided him in reaching Pittsburg, and there three 
 of the younger children were left for a time in an 
 orphan's home, while the father and the four older 
 children went to Chicago, where he sought work. 
 Subsequently, he went to St. Peter, Minn., where 
 he was later joined by his children. He bore many 
 hardshii)S and trials, but at length overcame such 
 difficulties, meeting with a fair degree of success. 
 He died in Minnesota, in 1860, at the age of forty- 
 six years. Both he and his wife were members of 
 the Swedish Lutheran Church, and were people of 
 sterling worth. Two of the children are also de- 
 ceased. John served throughout the Rebellion as 
 a member of the Fourth Minnesota Infantry, vet- 
 eranized, and died after his return from the army; 
 Charles also wore the blue during the late war, 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 743 
 
 and is now located in Duliitli, Minn., a pvospcrous 
 business man of that place; Eve is now the wife of 
 Dr. L. Liljencrantz, of Oakland, Cal.; Charlotte E. 
 is the wife of John Green, a retired farmer of St. 
 Peter, Minn.; Hattie is living with her sister in 
 Oakland, Cal. Gustava is now deceased, and the 
 whereabouts of Andrew are unknown. 
 
 Gustavus A. Salstrom, whose name heads this 
 sketch, was married in this city to Miss Gustava 
 Hegberg, who was born in Lundby, Sweden, De- 
 cember 26, 1847, and when a small child came with 
 her parents to the United States in 1854. The 
 family settled in Roctford, but the father and 
 mother are now living near Winthrcip, Minn., on 
 a farm. Since coming to this country they have 
 achieved success, and are now living retired, rest- 
 ing in the enjoyment of the fruits of their former 
 toil. Mrs. Salstrom was the third in order of birth 
 in their family of seven children, of whom three 
 sons and three daughters are yet living. 
 
 Nine children grace the union of our subject 
 and his wife: Charles F., Secretary of the Excel- 
 sior Furniture Company; Rachel, Gustavus A., a 
 carver in one of the furniture factories of Rock- 
 ford; David B., a carver by trade, now foreman in 
 the Northwestern Parlor Furniture Company of 
 Chicago; .John E., book-keeper for the Union Gro- 
 cery Company; Peter B., Luther A., Mary M. and 
 Eva A. 
 
 Mr. Salstrom and his wife are active members of 
 the First Lutheran Cliurch, in which he has been 
 Trustee and Deacon for some years, and Sunday- 
 school Superintendent for four years. He exer- 
 cises his right of franchise in support of the Re- 
 publican party, of which he is a stalwart supporter, 
 and has been Alderman of the Sixth Ward for six 
 years, and at present holds that office. After coming 
 to this country, he spent three years in Chicago, 
 and eight years in Minnesota, ere locating in Rock- 
 ford. He then came to this city in 1864, and for 
 one year was employed as clerk, after which he 
 formed a partnership with H. F. Peterson, in the 
 grocery business. The firm continued as Peterson 
 & Salstrom for fourteen years, after which the busi- 
 ness was merged into the Union Grocery Company, 
 which has met with a prosperous career. They 
 have recently built a beautiful block, which is oc- 
 
 cupied by the company. They carry a large and 
 complete line of staple and fancy groceries, and do 
 an excellent business, having a large trade. In 
 connection with his interest in this company, Mr. 
 Salstrom was one of the men who was instrumental 
 in establishing the Rockford Central Furniture 
 Company in 1879, which he has served as a Director, 
 and was a traveling salesman in its interest for 
 several years prior to the time that he became man- 
 ager of the grocery company in 1886. He is also 
 connected with the Skandia Plow Company, and 
 has an interest in two hundred and sixty-five acres 
 of land near Worthington, Minn. In business cir- 
 cles he ranks high as a trustworthy and upright 
 man, and his friends throughout the community 
 are many. 
 
 -i^^;^ 
 
 _y 
 
 r 
 
 •5*=*=* 
 
 I^^UFUS LORD was born in Norwich, Conn., 
 [^ on the 17th of April, 1826, and his father, 
 Lynds Lord, was born at the same place in 
 1787. The elder Mr. Lord followed farming in 
 his native State, then in Pennsylvania and finally 
 in Ohio. His wife, the mother of our subject, 
 was Priscilla (Potter) Lord, of Norwich, Conn., 
 the daughter of William and Olive (Fitch) Potter, 
 of Lisbon, Conn. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lord occurred on the 31st of January, 1821, and 
 resulted in the birtli of nine children, six sons and 
 three daughters, viz.: Nathan L., Eleazer, William 
 T., Laura A., Rufus (our subject), David H., Mary 
 A., Caroline and Charles F. Only four of these 
 children are now living. The parents removed 
 from the Nutmeg State to Walnut Creek, Erie 
 County, Pa., in the spring of 1829, and brought 
 with them their six children. They settled on a 
 farm with some improvements, made by an elder 
 brother who had died, and a sawmill and gristmill 
 on the place, run by water from the Walnut 
 Creek, was operated by Mr. Lord. This mill was 
 very near Lake Erie, and no matter how dry the 
 season happened to be, Walnut Creek never failed. 
 Often when streams were failing all over the State, 
 grist was brought to this mill from a distance of 
 one hundred miles. 
 
744 
 
 POETEAIT AKD BIOGEAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 After residing on tliis farm for about seven 
 years, Mr. Lord sold out and removed to Trum- 
 bull County, Ohio, where he bought a farm of one 
 hundred and twenty-eight acres, well improved 
 with a good hewn-log house. Here this contented 
 couple resided many years, but finally sold out to 
 their son, David H., and the father died near 
 Quincy, 111., whither he had gone on business, in 
 the spring of 1857. He was seven ty-two years of 
 age and was buried there. His widow survived him 
 twentj' years, and died in Ravenna, Ohio, in 1877, 
 when eighty-eight yettvs of -age. Five of her chil- 
 dren were then living. 
 
 In 1846, the subject of this sketch left home, and 
 with his brother, "William T., went across the coun- 
 try to Illinois, driving over one thousand head of 
 sheep. They were flfty-one days on the way and 
 arrived in Rockford Township the 3d of August 
 of that year. The next spring they sold the sheep 
 not killed by the wolves, and Rufus took eighty 
 acres of State land in Rockford Precinct, settling 
 on it with his bride, Esther M. Campbell, to whom 
 he was married November 28, 1849. She was a 
 native of Yates County, N. Y., born June 20, 1825, 
 and the daughter of Delmount and Permelia (Ben- 
 nett) Campbell, the father a native of New York, 
 and the mother of Vermont. Mrs. Lord came 
 West with her parents when eighteen years of age 
 and settled with them on a farm near Rockford. 
 The father died at tlie home of our subject, in 
 1862, when sixty-three j'ears of age. The mother 
 had died in 1851, when about fifty-seven years of 
 age. Mrs. Lord has one sister, Mrs. Walter Crow- 
 ley, who resides near her. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lord sold their first farm in Janu- 
 ary, 1852, and bought one hundred and sixty-one 
 acres where they now reside, for which they paid 
 $700. On this was a small log house and there 
 were about fifty acres cleared. Here they have 
 resided ever since and have made many and vast 
 improvements. In 1871, they erected a nice, 
 roomy house, and the same 3'ear tlieir mammoth 
 barn, 42x64, with a basement nine feet high and 
 a shed, 32x14, was erected. This gives good stab- 
 ling room for forty-five head of cattle and six 
 horses. Mr. Lord keeps but few cows, jnst enough 
 for their own use, and he has rented out his farm 
 
 for the past fourteen years. He has held a number 
 of local positions and has served many years as 
 School Trustee and Justice of the Peace. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lord are Free-will Baptists in their religious 
 views. 
 
 Mrs. Lord's niece, Mary J. Crowley, was taken 
 into the family at the age of five years, and re- 
 mained with them until she married Henry J. 
 Fritz, and sixteen years afterward. She is the 
 mother of three children, Walter R., Alma and 
 Florence E. 
 
 ¥ARREN ANDREWS. Among the woith- 
 iest of the representative agriculturists in 
 this portion of the country is Mr. Andrews, 
 who owns a fine fai-m of two hundred and sixty- 
 nine acres in Bonus Township, Boone County, 111. 
 Like many of the prosperous citizens of the countj', 
 he is a native of the Empire State, born in Onon- 
 daga Count}', April 12, 1824. He is a son of Elea- 
 zer and Daphnse (Goodale) Andrews, natives of 
 the Green Mountain State, but who passed the 
 closing scenes of their lives in Onondaga County, 
 N. Y., the father when about ninety-three years of 
 age. 
 
 Warren Andrews remained at home until nine- 
 teen years of age, and then served three years' ap- 
 prenticeship at the carpenter's trade. After this 
 he got pay b}' the daj', and by economy and good 
 management he accumulated sufficient means to 
 justify him in taking a wife. On the 8th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1847, he celebrated his nuptials with Miss 
 Louisa Keeler, who was born in Cortland County, 
 N. Y., on the 25th of February, 1825. She is a 
 daughter of Martin and Sally (Webster) Keeler. 
 (See sketch of A. Keeler for family history.) To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Andrews were born five children, 
 who are as follows: Adelia, born in New York 
 State, on the 5th of November, 1844, married Smith 
 Marvin and is the mother of one child; Adelbert, 
 also a native of New York, born March 27, 1849, 
 married Miss Sarah Goodyear and is the father of 
 two children, a son and daughter; Ella, born in 
 this county, June 24, 1851, married Theodore Huff- 
 man and has one child, a daughter; Alda, also a 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 745 
 
 native of this county, born October 29, 1853, mar- 
 ried George Dean; and Frank, born in this county 
 on the 3d of February, 1868, married Miss Ida 
 Eobbins and is the father of one child, a daughter. 
 
 After marriage, our subject rented his father's 
 farm until 1849, when, in the spring of that year, 
 he resolved to seek his foi'tune in the Far West. 
 He came to Illinois in search of a suitable location, 
 and in the spring of 1850 moved his family to 
 Boone County, where he purchased seventy-three 
 acres, on which stood an old log house. Into this 
 he moved with his wife and little children and 
 this roof sheltered them for four \-ears, when Mr. 
 Andrews sold out and bought his present fine farm 
 of two hundred and sixty-nine acres. On this he 
 has made many very extensive improvements, and 
 not only has he a fine, comfortable house, but his 
 barns and outbuildings are all substantial and com- 
 modious. He conducts liis farming operations in 
 a manner suggestive of much thoroughness and 
 experience, and is one of the active tillers of the 
 soil in the community. 
 
 Politically a Republican, his association, as far 
 as part}' is concerned, has always been with that 
 body. He has never aspired to office and has never 
 held any other than a few minor positions. He 
 no doubt inherits his thrift and energy mostly 
 from his Scottish ancestors on the mother's side of 
 the family, but there were many successful farmers 
 and professional men on the other side. Mr. An- 
 drews had several nephews in the Civil War, and 
 they became prominent men, both in serving their 
 country in the war and in their different occupa- 
 tions. 
 
 ^RANCIS BROCKMAN, of Rockford, who 
 is now living a retired life, claims Germany 
 ll\ as the land of his nativity. He was born 
 in Hanover, June 24, 1826, and at the early age of 
 six years was left an orphan, his parents dying ten 
 months apart. In the family were seven children, 
 but four died in the Fatherland and two in this 
 country, and for the past twenty-six years our 
 subject has been the only survivor. They were all 
 members of the Catholic Church. 
 Francis Brockman at a very early age began 
 
 earning his own livelihood. He remained in his 
 native land until eighteen years of age, when he 
 determined to seek his fortune in the New World, 
 and crossed the broad Atlantic from Bremen, Land- 
 ing in New Orleans in December, 1844. He went 
 from there to St. Louis, Mo., where for two years 
 he was employed in a brick yard, after which he 
 began working in a cigar factory. On completing 
 the trade in A.pril, 1848, he went tu Chicago, and 
 in the autumn of the same year took up his resi- 
 dence in Peoria, where he remained until the fol- 
 lowing spring, when we again find him in St. 
 Louis. At length, the cholera broke out in that 
 city and he went up to Wurtemberg, Clayton 
 County, Iowa, where his brother was living. In 
 1849, he returned to Peoria, where he spent the 
 succeeding eight years of his life, running a cigar 
 store for other parties until 1857. 
 
 While in that city, Mr. Brockman was united in 
 marriage with Miss Louisa G. Schlink, who was 
 born in Baltimore, Md., August 13, 1832. The 
 same year, her parents had emigrated to this coun- 
 try from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. Her father, 
 Valentine Schlink, was a cooper bj' trade. He be- 
 came a resident of Peoria County, 111., where he 
 purchased and improved a good farm, making it 
 his home until a few years before his death, when 
 he moved to McLean County, 111., where his death 
 occurred May 12, 1890, at the age of eighty-four 
 years. His wife, whose maiden name was Mar}^ 
 Ebler, died in Peoria County, in 1877, in the sev- 
 enty-first year of her age. They were members of 
 the German Catholic Church and had a large fam- 
 ily of children. From the time she was six years 
 of age until her marriage, Mrs. Brockman was 
 a resident of Peoria County. 
 
 In 1857, Mr. Brockman came with his family to 
 Rockford, and purchased the stock of Julius Mayr, 
 carrying on a successful business as a tobacconist 
 for many years. He secured a large and lucrative 
 patronage and won a place among the well-to-do 
 citizens of Winnebago County. He is now the 
 owner of the business house at No. 311 State Street 
 and several valuable residences in this city and 
 Peoria, and the income derived therefrom enables 
 him to lay aside all business cares and live a re- 
 tired life, enjoying the competence which he won 
 
746 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECOEl). 
 
 by his industry and enterprising efforts. Unto Mr. 
 and Mrs. Brockman were born four children: 
 Frances L., wife of Charles Guillman, foreman of 
 the chemical department of the Fire Department 
 of Peoria, III.; Tillie M. and Emma I., at home; 
 and George, who is assistant Superintendent of the 
 Hackensack Electric Light Company, of Hacken- 
 sack, N. J. In St. Paul's Church of Brooklyn, he 
 was united in marriage with Hattie Hanley, of 
 Jerseyville, 111. 
 
 Mr. Brockman is an Odd Fellow and Trustee of 
 his lodge. His wife is a member of the Catholic 
 Church. The3- are worthy people, highly respected, 
 and our subject is regarded as one of the valued 
 citizens of Rockford. For years, he has been a 
 prominent member of the Germania society of 
 this city and has been its Treasurer for fifteen 
 years. 
 
 ^AMES H. COMPTON, a successful dealer 
 in all kinds of carriages, buggies, harness, 
 farm implements, farm machinery, etc., and 
 one of .the popular and most successful 
 business men of this citj', has been a resident of 
 Rockford since 1881, but has been engaged in busi- 
 ness on his own account only since January, 1890. 
 He is admirablj' located at No. 517 West State 
 Street and has gained an enviable reputation as a 
 successful business man. From the time he first 
 came to this city he has been engaged in his pres- 
 ent business, but for nine years of the time he was 
 with Matthew Harvey, at the stand he now occu- 
 pies, three years of that time. Mr. Compton's 
 object now is to carry a fine and high grade of 
 carriages to satisfy the demands of the best trade. 
 Our subject came to this State in May, 1852, 
 and resided in Rockford for one year. Since then 
 he has made his home in Winnebago County and 
 was engaged in business as a mechanic and con- 
 tractor for some time. After this, agricultural 
 pursuits occupied his attention in this and Ogle 
 Countjr for eighteen 3rears and his reputation as a 
 bard-working, industrious man is well known. 
 Since his residence here he has been identified with 
 the business interests of this city, and the enter- 
 
 prise he has established is second to none in its 
 line, and he may well feel a justifiable pride in it. 
 
 Born in Somerset County, N. J., our subject 
 there grew to manhood and learned the trade of a 
 carpenter and joiner, which he followed for seven 
 years before coming West. He came of New Eng- 
 land stock, and was the son of Reuben Compton,who 
 was also a native of New Jersey, born in 1798. The 
 elder Mr. C'ompton followed agricultural pursuits 
 all his life and remained in his native State until 
 1853, when he decided to move Westward. He 
 came to Winnebago County, 111., settled on a par- 
 tiallj' improved farm in Owen Township, and made 
 many decided improvements in the same. He 
 passed the remainder of his days on this, and died 
 when over eighty years of age. The companion 
 of his joys and sorrows remained a few years on 
 the old home place and then too passed away, be- 
 "ing also over eighty years of age. She had been 
 formerly Miss Elizabeth Poison, a native of New 
 Jei'sey, and her ancestors came from Holland, the 
 original stock being members of the old, or regular, 
 Baptist Church. They were the parents of ten 
 children, four sons and one daughter now living. 
 Two of the sons, John and Saul, were soldiers in 
 the Rebellion, serving in the Seventy- fourth Illi- 
 nois Regiment. The latter was killed in battle 
 while bravely bearing his National colors. He had 
 married, and by his death left a sorrowing wife 
 and two little children who are still living. John 
 was wounded at the battle of Ft. Donelson, and 
 died soon afterward. He was single. Both were 
 loyal and brave boys and are now numbered with 
 the thousands of other brave lads who gave up 
 their lives for their country. 
 
 In Somerset County, N. J., in 1847, our sub- 
 ject married Miss Hester A. Vandercook, who was 
 born and reared in the same State, but in a county 
 adjoining Somerset. She came of Dutch ances- 
 tors as the name indicates, and of New Jersey 
 parentage. Her father, Henry Vandercook, was 
 accidentally drowned when in the prime of life, 
 while trying to save the life of another. His 
 friend's life was saved but he himself was drowned.' 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Lydia Whale, 
 having moved to Illinois in 1860, afterward mar- 
 ried a Mr. C. Van Dyke, and both are now deceased, 
 
'l^^yH^^^^^ ^ 
 
 
PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 749 
 
 the latter dying when eighty-four years of age and 
 the former when seventy -seven years of age. They 
 were the parents of three children, and after the 
 death of her father, Mrs. Compton was reared by 
 her mother and step-father, remaining with them 
 until her marriage. She is a very intelligent and 
 amiable lady. 
 
 In his poUtical views, Mr. Compton advocates 
 the principles of the Republican party, and in re- 
 ligion Mr. and Mrs. Compton are members of the 
 Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 both liberal contributors to the same. They have 
 been blessed in their union by the birth of five 
 children, one, Reuben, being now deceased. Those 
 living are: Henry, a foreman in the Emerson-Tal- 
 cott Manufacturing Company, married Miss Mary 
 Forsyth, of Rockford; Nathan assists his father in 
 the business and resides at home; Ella, wife of 
 Robert McAvoy, an attorney of the firm of Frost 
 & McAvoy; and Nellie at home. 
 
 AMUEL F. PENFIELD, senior partner in 
 the firm of S. F. & G. F. Penfield, in 
 Rockford, was born at Pitts ford, Rutland 
 County, Vt., in January, 1822. His par- 
 ents were both natives of Fairfield County, Conn., 
 the father having been born at Fairfield in 1780, 
 and the mother at Sherman in 1786. They were 
 both connected with large and influential families 
 who were among the early settlers of Massachu- 
 setts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and took an 
 active and prominent part in forming the religious, 
 educational and political institutions of those 
 States. 
 
 About 1796, John Penfield, the grandfather of 
 Samuel F., removed with his wife and unmarried 
 children from Fairfield, Conn., to Pittsford, Vt., 
 where he spent the remainder of his daj's, dying in 
 November, 1829, aged eighty-two years. His family 
 of five sons and five daughters all lived to a good 
 old age, their average age at death being seventy- 
 five and three-tenths years. All but one settled in 
 Vermont and the near vicinity, taking and main- 
 taining high positions in the communities where 
 they resided, and leaving families which followed 
 
 in their footsteps, and did credit to then- memories. 
 Their descendants have since become greatly scat- 
 tered, being found in nearly all of the New Eng- 
 land States, as well as most of the Middle and 
 Western States. 
 
 Sturges Penfield, the fatlier of Samuel F., re- 
 turned to Fairfield County, Conn., in Januarj', 
 1806, and brought Laura Giddings as a bride from 
 Sherman to Pittsford, making the winter journey 
 on horseback, instead of in a Pullman sleeper as 
 his degenerate descendants would do now. Upon 
 the spot where they first settled, they spent the re- 
 mainder of their lives. There their six sons and 
 six daughters were born and reared,, all of whom 
 reached maturity except one boy, who was acci- 
 dentally poisoned. When a young man, Sturges 
 learned the trade of a hatter, and carried on that 
 business for many 3'ears, adding to it later the 
 manufacture of woolen cloths and carpets, and also 
 carried on a general ttierchandising store. He 
 was a man of the strictest integrity, and of decided 
 moral convictions. He at one time owned and 
 operated a distillery for making whiskey, from 
 which he derived a large revenue; but when the 
 subject of temperance began to be agitated, some 
 sixty years ago, he became convinced of the wrong 
 of that kind of business, tore out the worm and 
 the still, sold them for old copper, and converted 
 the distillery into a tenement house, and he was 
 ever afterward a strong advocate of total absti- 
 nence and prohibition. In early life, he was a 
 Whig, but when the slavery question began to be 
 agitated, he embraced Abolition sentiments, and 
 early joined the Abolition party, and acted and 
 voted with them until that party was merged in 
 the Republican party. He lived to see the liquor 
 business outlawed in the State of his adoption, and 
 slavery abolished in the nation. He and his wife 
 were during most of their lives consistent Chris- 
 tians, and ardent and liberal supporters of the 
 Congregational Church of Pittsford. 
 
 Samuel F. spent his childhood and 3'outh at 
 home, attending the district and select schools, and 
 working on the farm and in the factory when not 
 attending school. When about fourteen years old, 
 he became a Christian, and united with the Con- 
 gregational Church. He shortly afterward became 
 
750 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 animated with a desire to obtain a liberal educa- 
 tion and prepare himself for the Gospel ministry. 
 Having obtained the consent of his parents, he 
 commenced fitting himself for college, stud3-ing 
 with his pastor, the Rev. Willard Child, and at- 
 tending the select schools, which were usually pro- 
 vided in the neighborhood each fall and winter. 
 In Februarj', 1838, his father took him to Burr 
 Seminary, at Manchester, Vt., to complete his prep- 
 aration forcoUege, and in July, 1839, he was grad- 
 uated with honor from that institution, and in 
 August following entered the Freshman class of 
 Middlebury College. He took a good stand in his 
 class, and during the latter part of his college life, 
 was employed as private tutor to the children of 
 Prof. A. C. Twining, one of his college instructors. 
 He was ambitious and studious, and in order to 
 maintain his standing in his class, and perform 
 faithfully his duties as tutor, he was obliged to 
 "burn the midnight oil" a good deal, the result of 
 which was, that when about half through his Sopho- 
 more year he was compelled to leave college and 
 abandon stud}' entirely on account of the failure 
 of his eyes. 
 
 After resting a few months, Mr. Penfleld found 
 his eyes so much improved, that he ventured toen- 
 g.age in teaching, and in the spring of 1841, ac- 
 cepted the situation of Principal of the Boys' 
 Academy in Pottstown, Pa. After filling that po- 
 sition for a year, he found his eyes so far restored 
 that he decided to return and try to complete his 
 college course, and accordingly went home and 
 made up the rest of his Sophomore studies, and at 
 Commencement, in August, 1842, was examined 
 and admitted to the Junior class of Middlebury 
 College. But before the fall term commenced in 
 September, he was again attacked with inflamma- 
 tion of the eyes, and reluctantly compelled to 
 abandon the idea of completing his college course. 
 He then returned to Pennsylvania and engaged as 
 Principal of the Boj's' Academy, in Orwigsburg, 
 Schuylkill County. After teaching there a year 
 and a lialf to the full satisfaction of the Trustees 
 of the institution, he resigned his position and re- 
 turned to Pittsford to assist his father in his busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Subsequently, Mr. Penfield formed a partnership 
 
 with H. F. Lothrop (who afterward became his 
 brother-in-law), under the name of Lothrop & 
 Penfield, and fitted up a thread mill for the manu- 
 facture of cotton thread in a building owned by 
 Mr. Lothrop, near his father's factories. This busi- 
 ness he followed until 1852, but finding it unre- 
 munerative, gave it up and returned to teaching. 
 He taught private schools about two years in New 
 Durham and North Hoboken, N. J., from which 
 place he went to Pottsville, Pa., taking the posi- 
 tion of Principal of the Grammar School, where he 
 gave good satisfaction. This position he occupied 
 until the spring of 1857, when he heard the call 
 "Go West, young man," and obeyed it, locating at 
 Rockford, 111., where his two brothers, David S. 
 and John G., were in business. Here he was em- 
 ployed as a teacher in the East Side High School 
 and Grammar School for the first two 3'ears after 
 they were organized. In 1860, he engaged in the 
 insurance business, occupying the office with his 
 brothers D. S. and J. G. Penfleld, who were engaged 
 in the real-estate and loaning business. In August, 
 1862, he enlisted as private in Company K., Sev- 
 enty-fourth Regiment Illinois Infantry, and went 
 into camp with the regiment at Camp Butler, Rock- 
 ford, but upon examination by the regimental sur- 
 geon, for the purpose of being mustered into service, 
 he was rejected on account of defective ej-esight, 
 so that he was not permitted to serve his country 
 in that way. He then resumed the insurance busi- 
 ness, and pursued the even tenor of his course. 
 
 In 1871, Mr. Penfield made a slight diversion 
 from his usual labors, and spent most of that j'ear 
 in Kansas, as one of the Locating Committee, and 
 General Manager of the so-called "Illinois Prohibi- 
 tion Colony" which located in the northern part of 
 Dickinson County, and later became one of the 
 influences which ultimately made Kansas a Prohibi- 
 tion State. He, however, kept up his insurance 
 business in Rockford, which during his absence 
 was looked after by his son George F. 
 
 In 1876, Mr. Penfield formed a partnership with 
 George F. to carry on the insurance and real-estate 
 business under the firm name of S. F. Penfield & 
 Son. George F. had for several years been engaged 
 in the insurance business in Chicago in connection 
 with the Firemen's and Globe Insurance Compan- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 751 
 
 ies of that city, and had developed an uncommon 
 aptitude for that kind of business. Owing to the 
 energy and si^ill which the junior partner brought 
 into the concern, the business began to grow, and 
 has continued to increase year by year until the 
 present time. In January, 1884, the firm name 
 was changed to S. F. & G. F. Penfield, which it has 
 retained ever since. The firm probably represents 
 at the present time a larger amount of insurance 
 capital than any other one concern in the State, 
 being upwards of $80,000,000, and probably does 
 a larger fire insurance business than any other firm 
 in the State outside of Chicago. 
 
 In April, 1881, the Home Building & Loan 
 Association of Rockford was organized, chiefly 
 through the instrumentality and efforts of George 
 F. Penfield. S. F. Penfield was made its first Secre- 
 tary, which office he held for three years. At the 
 end of that time, George F. was elected Secretary, 
 and has held that office ever since. The business 
 of the Association has always been carried on in 
 tiie ofHce of S. F. & G. F. Penfield, and has grown 
 to large proportions. The Association has loaned 
 during the eleven years of its existence upward of 
 $825,000, mostly in the city of Rockford, and has 
 now in force loans amounting to $328,875. It has 
 proved a blessing to many a poor man, who has, 
 through its instrumentality, secured a home for 
 his family, and formed habits of economy and 
 thrift which will bless him and his family through 
 life. 
 
 The earliest resident of the Penfield family in 
 Rockford was David S., brother of our subject, who 
 became a permanent resident of the place in 1838, 
 and soon afterward gained prominence in business 
 circles as a merchant and banker, a member of the 
 old firm of Briggs, Spafford & Penfield, bankers. 
 That banking institution was Anally merged into 
 the present Third National Bank, which is one of 
 the successful and solid institutions of the city. 
 He took an active interest in the enterprises of the 
 city and its advancement until his death, which 
 occurred in May, 1873, at the age of sixtj'-one. 
 
 In the fall of 1851, Samuel F. was married to 
 Miss Lemira B. Clark, of Pawlet, Rutland County, 
 Vt., who belonged to a large and influential family 
 in Southern Vermont, and which is now, like 
 
 many of the old New England families, scattered 
 throughout the Middle and Western States. They 
 have had five children, four sons and one daugh- 
 ter. The eldest, George F., is the active member 
 of the firm of S. F. & G. F. Penfield. He is an en- 
 ergetic business man, stockholder and Director in 
 several of the manufacturing companies of the 
 cit}"-, and interested in several of the recent addi- 
 tions to the city. Ho was married, in the fall of 
 1876, to Miss Addie F. Sherman, at Jersey Shore, 
 Pa., and they are the parents of six children, four 
 daughters and two sons. They have a delightful 
 residence on the west bank of Rock River, in the 
 north part of the citj. 
 
 The second son, Charles 8., was married in 1879 
 to Miss Adella S. Potter, of West Springfield, Pa., 
 and is the father of four children, one son and 
 tliree daughters. He is a thorough-going business 
 man, active, energetic and prompt, and readily se- 
 cures the confidence and respect of all with whom 
 he has business relations. He was for some six or 
 seven years engaged in the real-estate and loan 
 business in Spencer, Iowa, but for the last four 
 years has been a railroad contractor of tlie firm of 
 McDonald & Penfield, with headquarters at Fre- 
 mont, Neb. ^ 
 
 Edward M., the third son, is an expert book- 
 keeper, and has been employed in the Rockford 
 post-offlce, and in various manufacturing establish- 
 ments in Rockford and elsewhere. He is now in 
 the Government employ, gathering and compiling 
 the statistics of the last census, and lias merited 
 and received high commendatiop from Hon. R. P. 
 Porter, Superintendent of the Census Bureau. 
 
 Robert S., the youngest son, died of diphtheria 
 when about nine years old. He was a bi'ight and 
 lovable boy, who easily won the hearts of his par- 
 ents and teachers and all who knew him. Mabel 
 S., the youngest child and only daughter, is a stu- 
 dent in the Conservatory of Music at Oberlin, 
 Ohio, and is a young lady of decided musical tal- 
 ent. Mr. and Mrs. Penfield have been for about 
 thirty-five years members of the First Congrega- 
 tional Church of Rockford, in which he has been 
 for many years a Deacon. Politically, he was as a 
 young man a Whig, helped to make Vermont a 
 Pi-ohibition State, was in at the birth of the Re- 
 
752 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 publican party, and clung to it until he was forced 
 out by liis Prohibition principles. He now labors 
 and acts with the Prohibition party, and will ever 
 pray and labor for the suppression of the liquor 
 traffic. 
 
 A lithographic portrait of Mr. Penfleld accom- 
 panies this sketch. 
 
 '^1 ACOB VAN ALSTINE, for many years one 
 of the prominent agriculturists of Winne- 
 bago County, has since 1884 lived retired 
 in the citj^ of Rockford, at No. 606 Rockton 
 Avenue. He was born in the town of Glen, 
 Montgomer}' County,N.Y., April 6, 1814, in which 
 place his father, John A. Van Alstine, was also 
 born. 
 
 Abraham Van Alstine, the grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in the above-named county and 
 was of Dutch ancestry. He served as a patriot in 
 tlie Revolutionary War and died in 1832, in the 
 town of Glen. His wife, who was Miss Quacken- 
 busli, died on the same day and one hour later 
 than her husband. The father of our subject 
 learned the trade of a carpenter, in addition to 
 which business he followed farming in the town of 
 Glen for many years. Later, going to Michigan, 
 he departed this life at the home of a daughter, 
 near Vassar. The maiden name of his wife was 
 Catherine Gardinier, a native of Montgomery 
 County, and the daughter of Nicholas Gardinier. 
 Her grandfather, Jacob Gardinier, was also a na- 
 tive of New York, and was a Captain during the 
 Revolutionary War. His house was burned by the 
 Indians during that period and on that same spot 
 he erected another building, the nails which were 
 used in its construction being manufactured by 
 himself. The maternal grandfather of our subject, 
 Nicholas Gardinier, was a farmer, and died in his 
 native county in 1832. He was also a soldier in the 
 Revolutionary War, and after his decease his 
 widow, Rachel Gardinier, drew a pension. She was 
 a native of the same county wliere his birth oc- 
 curred. 
 
 Jacob Van Alstine learned the trade of a car- 
 
 penter and joiner, and when very young com- 
 menced boating on the Erie Canal, later owning a 
 boat which was used in freighting, first from 
 Montgomery County to Albany, and later from 
 Buffalo to Albany and New York, which he fol- 
 lowed for several seasons. While thus employed, 
 he had an experience which came near costing him 
 his life. About midnight two men came along 
 and asked for a ride on the boat. Our subject con- 
 senting, they boarded the vessel. Leaving his 
 brother to steer, Jacob retired to his bunk, but 
 soon awoke to find one of the strange men stand- 
 ing over him with a revolver and demanding of 
 him money or his life. Our subject reached for 
 his pocketbook, which he handed to the robber, and 
 as he did so, the robber attempted to shoot him, 
 but the revolver missed fire, when Mr. Van Alstine 
 grappled with his assailant, who was a much heav- 
 ier man, and during the scuffle the robber fired 
 twice but. without effect. They struggled in the 
 cabin for several minutes, when the stranger made 
 his escape. During all that time, the brother of 
 our subject had been having a similar experience 
 with the other robber on deck. They both fell 
 into the canal, and the driver on the shore cut the 
 horses loose and ran for his life. 
 
 In 1853, Mr. Van Alstine of this sketch came to 
 Winnebago County and purchased eighty acres of 
 land in Burritt Township, of which seven acres 
 were broken. He found a shell of a house set on 
 blocks on the land, which he made more comforta- 
 ble and resided in while he improved his farm, 
 splitting the rails for the fences himself from the 
 timber on the land. Our subject resided there for 
 fifteen years, when he sold the property and pur- 
 chased a farm on the State Road in Winnebago 
 Township, seven miles west of Rockfoi'd. There 
 was a house and barn on the farm and our subject 
 erected a fine set of frame buildings, residing there 
 until 1884, when he came to Rockford. 
 
 January 16, 1843, Mr. Van Alstine and Miss 
 Margaret Coventry, a native of Utica, N. Y., were 
 united in marriage. The lady's father. Dr. Alex- 
 ander Coventry, was born in Scotland, and early 
 turned his attention to the study of medicine. 
 He was educated in Edinburg, and after coming to 
 America became a successful physician in Utica, 
 
'6^noC 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 755 
 
 where he made his home until his decease. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Margaret Van 
 Vac ton. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Van Alstine of this sketch ten 
 children have been born: John W., Ciiarles, Jane, 
 Alonzo, Martha, Mary, William, Leonard, Belle, 
 and Gyrenus. The parents are members of the 
 Presbyterian Church, and, in politics, our subject is 
 a Republican. John W., the eldest son of our 
 subject, served in the late war as a member of 
 Company G, Forty-fourth Illinois Infantry, and 
 was killed in the battle of Stone River. Charles 
 W. served as a member of the Twelfth Cavalry. 
 
 ^ALMER PICKARD, who for many long 
 years has resided upon his present farm 
 ^ on section 21, Harlem Township, Winne- 
 bago County, was born in Sterling, Cay- 
 uga County, N. Y., on the 5th of January, 1820, 
 and is one of a family of eleven childi-en. His 
 great-grandfather, Nicholas Pickard,was a native 
 of Germany and, on emigrating thence, settled in 
 the Mohawk Valley, in New York, where he died 
 at the advanced age of one hundred and one 
 years and eleven months. His son, who also bore 
 the name of Nicholas, was born in the Empire State, 
 whence he removed to Ohio about 1825, and there 
 resided until his death. 
 
 Smith W. Pickard, father of our subject, was 
 born in Onondaga County, N. Y., and in his youth 
 learned the blacksmith's trade. However, he fol- 
 lowed the occupation of farming in Cayuga County 
 until 1829, when he returned to Onondaga County, 
 where he resided until 1835. The three succeed- 
 ing years of his life were spent in Orleans County, 
 N. Y., and in 1838, accompanied by his wife 
 and seven children, he came to Illinois, making 
 the entire journey with teams. After five weeks 
 of travel, he arrived in Lucas County, Ohio, where 
 he remained during the winter, and the following 
 spring pushed on to Stephenson County, locating 
 nine miles west of Freeport, where he secured a 
 tract of Government land. 
 
 The family lived in the wagon until a log house 
 could be built, and all the hardships and experiences 
 
 of frontier life fell to their lot. Mr. Pickard re- 
 sided there until 1848, when he sold out and re- 
 moved to Richland County, Wis. He there pur- 
 chased and resided upon a farm near Richland 
 Center, but after some years rented it and removed 
 to the village, where he lived a retired life until 
 called to his final rest at the age of seventy-six 
 years. His wife, whose maiden name was Affa 
 Skeel,was born in the Empire State and was a daugh- 
 ter of Abyram Skeel, who was born in the eastern 
 part of New York, and spent his last days in Ster- 
 ling, Cayuga County, after having followed farm- 
 ing for many years. Mrs. Pickard survived her 
 husband a few years, and died at the home of her 
 daughter, Mrs. H. G. Fowler, at Lena, 111. 
 
 At the age of fifteen. Palmer Pickard began 
 learning the trade of a woolen manufacturer, serv- 
 ing an apprenticeship of four years. In 1839, he 
 came to Illinois by way of the Erie Canal and the 
 Great Lakes and landed at Toledo, whence he 
 walked the remaining distance to Stephenson 
 County. During the winter, he aided his father 
 in splitting rails and chopping wood, and the fol- 
 lowing spring began working by the month in Jo 
 Daviess County, being in the employ of one man 
 for two years. He then returned to Stephenson 
 Countj'^, where himself and brother built a cabin 
 and kept bachelor's hall for a time, devoting their 
 energies to the development of a farm. 
 
 Mr. Pickard resided with his brother until May, 
 1844, when he sold his teams and entered forty 
 acres of Government land. In the above-men- 
 tioned year he went to Roscoe, this county, and 
 assisted in establishing the woolen mills at that 
 place, where for four years he occupied the posi- 
 tion of foreman in the carding department. In 
 the fall of 1848, he returned to New York, spend- 
 ing the winter in Cainden, Oneida County. In 
 May, 1849, we again find him in this State, engaged 
 in the development of the farm which he had pur- 
 chased in February, 1846. When he located at that 
 place, there was a log house upon it, 16x16 feet, 
 and thirty-five acres had been broken and fenced. 
 After ten years the cabin was replaced by a small 
 frame dwelling and in 1876 he built the com- 
 modious residence which is now his home. His 
 farm comprises two hundred and twelve acres of 
 
756 
 
 JPOETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Iiighly improved land, and he also owns a twenty- 
 acre tract of timber in the same township. 
 
 In September, 1847, Mr. Pickard was united in 
 marriage with Lydia Atwood, and their union has 
 been blessed with Ave children: Jane E., Edgar J., 
 Ella M., Alfred F. and Albert H. The family is a 
 prominent one in this locality, ranking high in 
 social circles. Mr. Pickard has long been a sup- 
 porter of the Republican party, and in his religious 
 views he is liberal. 
 
 The attention of the reader is invited to the 
 portrait of Mr. Pickard, and a view of his attrac- 
 tive home, presented elsewhere iu this volume. 
 
 bEMUEL TIBBETS, M. D., a successful and 
 skilled medical practitioner of Rockford, 
 who since 1878 has made his home in this 
 city, has prosecuted his profession here during all 
 that time and has won a place in the foremost rank 
 among his professional brethren in the county. 
 The Doctor is a native of Adams County, 111., and 
 is descended from a familj' of English origin. 
 
 In the year 1686, the first ancestors of our sub- 
 ject to come to America crossed the Atlantic Ocean 
 from their native land and settled in Dover, 
 Stafford County, N. H. Members of the family 
 figured prominently in New England history and 
 fought for independence during the War of the 
 Revolution. Samuel Tibbets, grandfather of our 
 subject, lived and died in the Pine Tree State, 
 where the father, Joshua Tibbets, was born and 
 reared. He emigrated Westward in a very early 
 day, becoming a pioneer of Quincy, 111., and for 
 many years was prominently connected with the 
 growth and development of Adams County, and 
 still makes his home in Quincy. He married Lu- 
 cmda M. Ames, who was born and reared in New 
 England, and when a young lady came to the 
 West. She proved a true and faithful helpmate to 
 her husband, and died in 1877, at the age of sixty- 
 five years. The history of Adams County in an 
 early day is largely concerned with the actions of 
 the Tibbets, Ames and Woods families. 
 
 Our subject was educated at St. Paul's College, 
 of Palmyra, Mo., after which he engaged in teach- 
 
 ing. Later, he entered upon the study of medicine 
 with a physician of Quincy, afterward was gradu- 
 ated from the medical department of the Michio-an 
 University, in the Class of '64, and was graduated 
 from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, of New 
 York City, in 1867. He made his first location in 
 Dallas City, 111., and subsequently engaged in 
 practice for six years in Kn-kwood, 111., after which 
 he came to Rockford. As before stated, he has 
 been most successful and has performed some very 
 difficult surgical operations which iiave won him a 
 high reputation for skill in this line. He is now 
 engaged in general practice but also makes a speci- 
 alty of the eye and ear. Since locating here, he 
 has spent eight months in New York City, study- 
 ing for special treatment of the eye, ear and throat, 
 the latter study being under Dr. F. II. Bosworth, 
 while his study of the eye and ear treatment was 
 with Dr. Mittendorf, both gentlemen being pro- 
 fessors in the Bellevue Hospital. 
 
 The Doctor was married in this city to Miss 
 Cornelia E. Bradshaw, who was born in Rockford 
 when it was a hamlet. Her father, Robert E. Brad- 
 shaw, one of the pioneers of the city, now resides 
 at No. 1 108 South Court Street. For many years 
 he successfully followed farming in Winnebago 
 Township, but for eighteen years has made his 
 home at his present place of residence. He was 
 born iu the Empire State, but in early life went to 
 London, England, where he learned the carpenter's 
 trade and afterward worked on Windsor Castle. 
 He later married Mrs. Cornelia E. Miller, who died 
 in middle life. 
 
 The Doctor and his wife attend the Second Con- 
 gregational Church, of which the lady is a member, 
 and thejr rank high in the circles of society in 
 which they move. He is one of the most promi- 
 nent physicians of the city and is now enjoying 
 a large and lucrative practice. He holds member- 
 ship with the State Medical Society, with the 
 American Medical National Association, and. lias 
 also been a member of the Military Tract Medical 
 Society, and Quincy Society. He was President of 
 the Board of Medical Examiners of Pensions for 
 four years and has been the examiner for various 
 insurance companies. He is a Thirty-second De- 
 gree Mason, belonging to the Consistory of Free- 
 
POETEAIT AND BIOGKAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 757 
 
 port and the Crusade Coinmandery of Rockford. 
 In politics, the Doctor is a Democrat. He has long 
 been a close student of his profession and by his 
 merit and ability has worked his way upward to 
 the enviable position which he to-day occupies. 
 
 ^AVID R. PETERSON, a wide-awake and 
 enterprising young business man of Rock- 
 ford, has been connected with the Stand- 
 ard Furniture Company since its organ- 
 ization in 1887. He is one of its stockholders and 
 Directors and from the beginning has held the 
 office of Secretary and Treasurer. The success of 
 the company is largely due to our subject, who has 
 devoted iiis entire energies to it and its advance- 
 ment and upbuilding. The company now employs 
 about two hundred men and the business is in a 
 flourishing condition. 
 
 Mr. Peterson first opened his eyes to the light of 
 da}' in Central Sweden, December 8, 1865, and 
 came of pure Swedish stock. His parents are both 
 now deceased. His father, Peter Pehrson, was a 
 prominent and well-known business man of the 
 community in which he resided and took an active 
 part in public affairs. He died in the faith of the 
 Lutheran Church when sixty- five years of age. 
 His wife, who was a most estimable lady and an 
 active worker in the Lutheran Church, died in 
 middle life. Their family numbered six children 
 who are yet living, four being residents of Am- 
 erica. Two of these came to this country prior to 
 the emigration of our subject: August, who is now 
 Secretary and Treasurer of the Central Furniture 
 Company of this city, and G. A., who is now en- 
 gaged in business in Wakefield, Neb. Since the 
 arrival of Mr. Peterson, one sister has sought a 
 home in the New World — Matilda, now the wife of 
 F. A. Wall, a contractor and builder of Rockford. 
 The subject of this sketch acquired an excellent 
 education in his native land in its academies and 
 colleges. Thinking to better his financial condi- 
 tion, he decided to emigrate to America, and in 
 1882 crossed the Atlantic to New York, whence he 
 came to Rockford. Since his arrival here, he has 
 pursued a course of study in the business college. 
 
 He did clerical work for the Excelsior Furniture 
 Company for some time and at the organization of 
 the Standard Furniture Company became interested 
 in it. In 1888, they began business and for about 
 five years our subject has been its efficient Secre- 
 tary and Treasurer. 
 
 Mr. Peterson is yet a 3'Oung man but he has 
 shown that in his composition are the elements 
 necessary to success in business life. He is an in- 
 dustrious and energetic workman who has already 
 secured an enviable position. With the First 
 Lutheran Cliurch he holds membership, and his 
 right of franchise he exercises in support of the 
 Republican party. Those who know him esteem 
 him highly for his sterling worth and uprightness, 
 and it is with pleasure that we present this sketch 
 of his life to our readers. 
 
 =4 -= 
 
 i>-^^<J 
 
 m^^ 
 
 (S:^ 
 
 -> 
 
 ZB. STURTEVANT. There is no country in 
 the world more distinguished for its flour 
 than the United States. It is one of the 
 leading articles of industry, and as such we have 
 much reason to be proud of it. Our millers are men 
 of enterprise and push, with which they combine 
 that energy which never fails to secure success, and 
 are ever ready to adopt a system that will produce a 
 finer grade of flour. It need not be wondered 
 at, therefore, if the millers here prosper, and find 
 a ready demand for their flour. Flour and grain 
 are among the staple articles of commerce in Rock- 
 ford, and there is one extensively engaged as a 
 manufacturer of flour and a wholesale dealer in 
 flour and feed, Mr. Z. B. Sturtevant, who is widely 
 known, having been before the public for the; last 
 twelve years. He has been the leading miller of 
 Rockford since 1880, and has met with a wonder- 
 ful degree of success. He is a stockholder in the 
 Rockford Cracker Factoiy, and is Vice-President 
 and a Director of the Rockford Driving Club, of 
 which he was one of the promoters. He is a well- 
 known horseman and is very fond of that noble 
 animal. 'At present, Mr. Sturtevant is Alderman 
 of the Third Ward, is a Republican in politics, and 
 has ever taken a decided interest in local matters. 
 Mr. Sturtevant is a native of Oneida County, 
 
758 
 
 POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 N. Y., born in the year 1847, and came West with 
 his parents when a small boy. The family located 
 at Delavan, Walworth County, Wis., in 1855, and 
 there our subject passed his youthful days. He 
 came to Rockford in 1867, and with tiie exception 
 of three years, from 1877 until 1880, when he re- 
 sided at Oregon, 111., he has been a resident of 
 this city. His father, Z. B. Sturtevant, Sr., was 
 a native of Vermont, and came of New Eng- 
 land ancestry. When a young man, he went to the 
 Empire State, and was married in Utica to Miss 
 .Tane A. Story, afterward following his trade of con- 
 tractor and builder, also of brick and stone mason, 
 for many years. He then retired and returned to 
 Delavan, Wis., where his death occurred in 1891, 
 when eighty-five years of age. He was a promi- 
 nent man and a much-esteemed citizen in the 
 county and city where he had passed forty-five 
 years of his life, and was a Congregationalist in 
 his religious belief. His wife, who is now living 
 with her daughter, Mrs. Dr. McLaughlin, of Jack- 
 sonville. 111., is now sixty-eight years of age, but 
 bears the burden of her years lightly. She ad- 
 heres to the Congregational Church in religion. 
 
 Of the five sons and five daughters born to the 
 worthy couple mentioned above, all are now mar- 
 ried except one. Our subject married in Rock- 
 ford Miss Fannie Simpson, who passed her early 
 life in Rockford, and who was graduated at the 
 High School of the city. She is a lad}' of much 
 ability, was a school teacher for a number of 3'ears 
 before her marriage, and as an educator ranked 
 among the foremost. Her father, John Simpson, 
 was an Eastern man, and after he came to Win- 
 nebago Count}' was prominently identified with its 
 growth and development. He had four children, 
 three sons and one daughter. One son, M. D., is 
 an old day clerk of the Plankinton House, Milwau- 
 kee, Wis., and another son, Edward L., is with 
 the Monitor Publishing Company, of Rockford, 
 and has been a newspapei- man for a number of 
 years. One son, Henry, also a clerk in the Plank- 
 inton House, died October last in Milwaukee. M 
 Simpson was a Jjlacksmith and manufacturer u 
 Rockford for a number of years, and built tiJ 
 mills at Cherry Valley. Mr. and Mrs. Sturtevant 
 are social leaders in the community, and their 
 
 pleasant home, which bears every evidence of the 
 taste and culture of its inmates, is the meeting 
 place for the best class of people in the vicinity. 
 Both are regular attendants at the Congregational 
 Church. They have one child, a daughter, named 
 Mabel. 
 
 •5'=*='» 
 
 _J 
 
 r 
 
 ♦^^.^H- 
 
 "A 
 
 ^^ USTAVE A. PETERSON, a cabinet-maker 
 jlj (=-, by trade, and a stockholder in the Central 
 ^^Jj Furniture Company, is a gentleman who 
 has won for himself an excellent reputation by his 
 honorable methods of business and his intrinsic 
 social qualities. 
 
 Our subject was born in Rockford, 111., Novem- 
 ber 28, 1860, but comes of Swedish parentage, his 
 father, P. A. Peterson, being a native of Smoland 
 Provine, Sweden. The latter passed his boyhood 
 and youth in the Old Country, learned the trade of 
 a machinist, and was the first of the family to cross 
 the ocean to America. He followed his trade in the 
 East for some time, and with the money thus accu- 
 mulated, returned to his native country and married 
 Caroline Wettehall, who was born in the same 
 province and near her husband. Shortly after- 
 ward, they took passage for the States, and after 
 three years spent in New York State, near Brews- 
 ter, they came to Rockford. 111. This was in the 
 latter part of the '50s, and since then Mr. Peterson 
 has labored, following his trade as a machinist. He 
 is now retired and is pleasantly situated at No. 
 1007 First Avenue, this city. He is rapidly near- 
 ing the age of seventy years, but is a weL-pre- 
 served man. His wife, who was born in 1819, died 
 in this city in 1881. She spent the last years of 
 her life with the Methodist Episcopal Swedish 
 Church, in which her husband holds membership 
 at the present time. He is a Repubhc j in poli- 
 tics. Of the two childxen born to his much 
 esteemed couple, our subject is the yc^ager. The 
 sister. Rose, was born in Brewster, N. Y., was reared 
 and educated in that city, and is now the house- 
 keeper for her brother. She is a young lady pos- 
 sessed of more than the ordinary degree of amla- 
 bilit}', and is well educated. 
 
 Except for about two years sper '^he West, on 
 
C/tyy^^t^&i^ J ij^y^^^t/yyuL/i^iAj^ 
 
POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 761 
 
 the Pacific Slope, our subject has been a resident 
 of Bockford. While growing up, he received a 
 wood practical education in the public schools and 
 learned his trade in this city. He lias ever been 
 industrious and enterprising and is in eveiy branch 
 of his ti'ade thoroughly versed and experienced. 
 He owns a comfortable home at No. 1603 Charles 
 Street, and there he has resided for some time. 
 
 -J J NTON NEUMEISTER, who is engaged in 
 WKm the manufacture of wagons and carriages, 
 in connection with which he has a repair 
 shop, has carried on business in Rockford 
 in this line since 1865. He is located at Nos. 115 
 and 119 North Madison Street, and is doing an ex- 
 cellent business, for, being a skilled mechanic, he has 
 won a good trade. Whatever success he has won 
 in life is due to his own efforts, and he may well 
 be called a self-made man. 
 
 Mr. Neumeister was born in Furstenthum, Reuss, 
 Germany, November 27, 1837, and is a son of 
 Frederick Neun-.eister, a native of the same prov- 
 ince. There the latter grew to manhood and 
 learned the iron-maker's trade with his father, who 
 had followed it for many years. In his native 
 land, he married Rosina Sack, who was also a 
 native of the same locality. A.fter the birth of all 
 of their children, they came to America, taking 
 passage at Bremen on a sailing-vessel in May, 
 1848. After a voj'age of seven weeks, they reached 
 New York, and went at once to the West by canal 
 and the Great Lakes to Milwaukee. A year later, 
 they removed to their new home, sixteen miles 
 from that city, and Mr. Neumeister engaged in 
 farming until his death, which occurred at the age 
 of sixty-seven years. His wife afterwards returned 
 to Milwaukee, and died in that city in September, 
 1891, when eighty-six years of age. Up to the 
 last she retained her faculties, both physical and 
 mental, to a wonderful degree. They were both 
 members of the Lutheran Church, and Mr. Neu- 
 meister supported the Republican party by his 
 ballot. 
 
 With his parents, our subject came to this coun- 
 try when a lad, and grew to manhood in Wiscon- 
 34 
 
 sin, where he learned the trade of a wagon and 
 carriage maker. In 1862, he enlisted as a member 
 of the Twenty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry, which 
 was incorporated in the Armj'^ of the Potomac. 
 After participating in several engagements, he was 
 transferred to the Army of the Cumberland, and 
 during the battle of Kennesaw Mountain was 
 wounded in the left arm. On being discharged in 
 1865, he came at once to Rockford and embarked 
 in business, as before stated. As a companion on 
 life's journey, Mr. Neumeister chose Miss Theresa 
 Staps, their marriage being celebrated in Mil- 
 waukee. She was born in Saxony, Germany, in 
 April, 1844, and during her girlhood came with 
 her parents to America in 1852, sailing from 
 Bremen to New York City. Her people located in 
 Milwaukee, and there her father died when in 
 middle life. Her mother is still living in Wiscon- 
 sin, with one of her daughters, and is now eighty 
 years of age. Like her husband, she is a Lutheran 
 in religious belief. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Neumeister also belong to the 
 same ciiurch, and are well-known and prominent 
 German people of Rockford. He has been for 
 a number of years a member of the Germania so- 
 cieties, in which he takes an active interest. His 
 right of franchise he exercises in support of 
 the Republican party, but has never been an olBcc- 
 seeker. Empty-handed he began life for himself, 
 and has steadily worked his way upward to a posi- 
 tion of affluence, now owning at his place of busi- 
 ness three lots, built up with good business blocks, 
 besides his pleasant residence on North Madison 
 Street. 
 
 
 
 V*^X^ATHANIEL MARKS. The farmers of 
 Winnebago County are, almost without 
 exception, thrifty, enterprising, industri- 
 ous and progressive, meriting their success by 
 judicious methods and excellent management. A 
 worth}' representative of the class, and one who 
 stands especially high in the estimation of all with 
 whom he comes in contact, is the owner of one of the 
 finely-improved estates in Pecatonica Township. 
 Since Mr. Marks located upon the place in 1882, 
 
762 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he has added to its buildings, increased its acreage 
 from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and 
 eighty-two, and, by a proper fertilization of the 
 soil and rotation of crops, reaped large harvests of 
 golden grain. 
 
 Mr. Marks was born in Mt. Bethel, Northampton 
 County, Pa., April 26, 1834. His father, John, 
 likewise a native of Northampton County, died in 
 Lycoming County, Pa., at the age of fifty-three. 
 His mother, whose maiden name was Mary John- 
 son, was born in the same county as her husband, 
 and died in Jackson County, Mich., at the age of 
 three-score and eleven years. They were worthy 
 people, whose upright lives proved the possession 
 of honorable principles inherited from a long line 
 of Irish ancestors, and both belonged to families 
 whose members followed agricultural pursuits 
 through many generations. 
 
 During the late war, two of the brothers of our 
 subject enlisted in the service of their countrj^ and 
 fought valiantly until their death. Isaac enlisted 
 in the Home Guards of Missouri and died in Jef- 
 ferson City, Mo., during the war. Levi became a 
 member of the Fifty-first Pennsj'lvania Infantry 
 and was killed at the battle of Antietam. Their 
 memories are dear in the hearts of their relatives, 
 who are justly proud of these noble defenders of 
 the country's honor. 
 
 After the death of his father, our subject re- 
 mained on the old homestead with his mother un- 
 til 1860, meanwhile gaining a practical knowledge 
 of farming and acquiring a limited education. The 
 family of which he was a member consisted of 
 eight children, three of whom survive at this date 
 (1892). The lady who became the wife of our 
 subject, January 12, 1860, was Miss Mary A. Miller, 
 a native of Berks County, Pa., born October 16, 
 1832. Her father, John Miller, died in Lycoming 
 County, Pa., at the age of seventy years; her 
 mother, Mary (Boyer) Miller, departed this life in 
 Lycoming County, at the good old age of four- 
 score and two. They were the parents of ten chil- 
 dren, of whom three have passed from earth. 
 
 Soon after his marriage, Mr. Marks came to 
 Winnebago County and purchased a farm com- 
 prising eighty acres in Seward Township. In 1861, 
 he brought his wife to the new home, and for three 
 
 years was actively engaged in improving the place. 
 Then selling out, he removed to Iowa and for one 
 year operated a rented farm. Thence he proceeded 
 to Miller County, Mo., where he resided about five 
 years, but not feeling satisfied with the soil or sur- 
 roundings, again sought a home in Winnebago 
 County, where he operated as a renter for ten 
 years. By frugality and good judgment he was 
 enabled at the expiration of that time to purchase 
 the place where he now resides. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Marks have had a family of seven 
 children, one of whom died when two and one- 
 half years old. Kate, who was born in Lycoming 
 Count}-, Pa., married F. R. Benson and they have 
 five children ; Hunter C, who was born in Seward 
 Township, Winnebago County, married Miss Mattie 
 Sheldon and now resides in Seward Township; 
 John M. was born in Seward Township and is at 
 home, renting a portion of land adjoining the old 
 homestead; Mary A., born in Black Hawk, Iowa, 
 married A. L. Comly and they have two children; 
 Charles W., born in Miller County, Mo., is aiding 
 his father on the farm; and Sarah A., who was born 
 in Pecatonica Township, is with her parents. In 
 his political adherence, Mr. Marks is a Republican 
 and cast his first Presidential ballot for John C. 
 Fremont. He is a stockholder in the shoe factory 
 and a charter member of the company organizing 
 the creamery, besides which he has been interested 
 in various progressive measures for the growth of 
 the community. 
 
 '^ AMES ALBERT, retired, has been a resident 
 of this city for the most part since 1850, 
 and now resides in his comfortable home at 
 ^_^ No. 1011 North Second Street. He has 
 Ijeen one of the most successful contractors and 
 builders of the city and for many years had in his 
 employ from forty to sixty men. He also had an 
 interest as a grain and commission merchant, and 
 had associated with him in business such prominent 
 men as Elisha Kirk and Phil Armour; the latter, 
 the well-known stockyards-man of Chicago, worked 
 for them at $26 per month. Our subject was un- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 763 
 
 usually successful and became the owner of some 
 valuable property in Rockford, real estate in the 
 southeastern part of the county, and large tracts 
 of land in Wisconsin and Iowa. He is quite 
 wealthy and can pass the remainder of his days in 
 peace and plenty. He has witnessed the marvel- 
 ous growth of the State since his residence here, 
 and has aided materially in the advancement and 
 prosperity of Rockford. He is an active local 
 politician and was formerly a Whig, voting and 
 working for William H. Harrison. He assisted in 
 nominating Col. Fremont and since 1856 he has 
 been an Independent Republican. He is well 
 known as a progressive, public-spirited man, who 
 is fully abreast of the times in all matters of public 
 interest that tend to develop the resources of the 
 State and improve the condition of the masses. 
 Intelligent and well-read, he has ever made his 
 presence felt. 
 
 Mr. Albert was born in Lancaster County, Pa., 
 and comes of good old fighting stock, both his 
 grandfathers, Peter Albert and Daniel Brenana- 
 man, having served in the Revolutionary War. 
 They were faithful and gallant soldiers, were with 
 Gen. Washington during that terrible winter at 
 Valley Forge, and one was an aide-de-camp to that 
 General. Both passed their lives and received 
 their final summons in Westmoreland County, Pa. 
 Daniel Brenanaman had two sons in the War of 
 1812 and Peter Albert had a son-in-law, James 
 Morrow, in the same war. Our subject and seven 
 nephews were through the Rebellion and all were 
 known as brave soldiers. 
 
 James Albert's parents, Peter and F'anny (Bre- 
 nanaman) Albert, were natives of Germany and 
 Pennsylvania, respectively, and were prominent 
 people of the Keystone State, where they made 
 their home. Peter Albert, Jr., was but two years 
 old when his parents emigrated to America and 
 settled in Pennsylvania. This was prior to the 
 Revolutionary War. His father, Peter Albert, Sr., 
 was the soldier referred to above. Peter Albert, 
 Jr., was a tailor by trade and subsequently became 
 a merchant of Westmoreland and Lancaster Coun- 
 ties, Pa. Later, he and his wife moved to Wayne 
 County, Ohio, and there died when quite aged, the 
 mother living eighty-seven years. They were 
 
 members of the Lutheran Church for many years 
 but Mrs. Albert finally became a Methodist. 
 
 James Albert, the subject of this sketch, is one 
 of five children yet living, the eldest now eighty- 
 nine years of age. Mr. Albert is himself seventy- 
 six. During the Civil War, he enlisted in the 
 Sixth Missouri Infantry, Company I, and served 
 faithfully for seventeen months. Then, on ac- 
 count of disability, he was discharged by special 
 ord€r. Since his return from the army, he has 
 lived in Rockford. Mr. Albert has been twice 
 married but has no children by either union. 
 He is at present an advocate of Prohibition in 
 politics. In his religious convictions, he is a 
 Methodist. For some time, Mr. Albert held a 
 Colonel's commission from an Ohio regiment in 
 the local militia of the State. 
 
 /,.., MOS RUGG, one of the well-to-do farmers 
 LUl of Seward Township, Winnebago County, 
 
 is a son of David and Eunice Rugg, and 
 had his birth August 11, 1825, in Heath, 
 Franklin County, Mass. He was married Decem- 
 ber 26, 1850, to Miss Eunice F., daughter of Luther 
 Purrington, by whom he became the father of four 
 children, one of whom is. deceased. Those living 
 are: Ada L., George A. and Edith L. Mrs. Eunice 
 Rugg departed this life in Excelsior, Minn., March 
 15, 1863. Our subject, on the 4th of November, 
 1865, was again united in marriage, this time to 
 Mrs. Mary T. Andrews, who was born August 16, 
 1820, in Steuben County, N. Y., and is the daugh- 
 ter of David and Nancy (Taylor) Weld. The 
 father was a son of Luther and Betty (Rogers) 
 Weld, the mother being in direct line of descent 
 from John Rogers, who was burned at the stake. 
 The grandfather of Luther Weld was a native of 
 Wales, and on emigrating to the United States lo- 
 cated in Chatham, Mass., where Luther was born, 
 April 14, 1761; his wife was born at Guilford, Vt., 
 April 9, 1772. They were both farmers in the 
 Green Mountain State, where their decease oc- 
 curred. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Weld was one of a family of 
 ten children, and April 20, 1852, Miss Mary, his 
 
764 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 daugliter, was married to Austin Andrews, who 
 was born November 30, 1810, in Stockbridge, Mass. 
 When an infant, he was taken by his parents to 
 New York, and from there to Ohio, and after com- 
 ing to Illinois, died in Winnebago County, Maroh 
 9, 1857. Mr. Andrews came hither in 1836 in 
 company with Judge Whittlesey, where he was 
 numbered among the pioneers and prominent res- 
 idents. His first marriage, which occurred May 6, 
 1840, united him with Miss Sarah J. Vance, bj' 
 whom he became the father of two children, Sa- 
 rah J. (Mrs. A. N. Bates), and Mary E., deceased. 
 Mrs. Sarah J. Andrews was the daughter of John 
 Vance, one of the first settlers of Seward Town- 
 ship, and after ten years of wedded life she died 
 in 1850. 
 
 David Weld, the father of Mrs. Rugg, made 
 his advent into this count}'^ in 1844, at which time 
 he was accompanied by his daughter. He entered 
 a tract of land from the Government, upon which 
 he resided until his decease, May 2, 1859. He was 
 very prominent in local affairs, and for several 
 years was Supervisor, being the first of the 
 township. County Judge and Justice of the Peace. 
 In early life an old-line Whig, he later joined the 
 Republican party, in whose ranks he was an ardu- 
 ous worker. Prior to coming to this State, Mr. 
 Weld was an influential resident of his Eastern 
 home, and for a number of years had been Deacon 
 in the Congregational Church. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Rugg were married Septem- 
 ber 1, 1819, the lady bearing the maiden name of 
 Nancy Taylor. Her birth occurred in Massachu- 
 setts, she being the daughter of Jonathan Taylor, 
 a native of New England. Her father was a mem- 
 ber of the party who threw the tea overboard in 
 Boston harbor. Nancy Taylor had eight brothers 
 and sisters, many of whom were professional men 
 and women, some of the latter being physicians 
 with an income of $20,000 per year. The male 
 members of the family participated in the Revolu- 
 tionary War, and were fine men and soldiers. 
 
 Amos Rugg has traveled extensively tlirough- 
 out the United States, but is content to follow the 
 occupation of a farmer, in which branch of work he 
 has been so successful. With his wife, he is an 
 influential member of the Congregational Church. 
 
 David W. Andrews, the eldest son of Mrs. Rugg, 
 was born in this county, March 15, 1854. He left 
 home years ago for the West, and has not been 
 heard from since. Abijah Andrews had his birth 
 March 26, 1856, and on October 14, 1879, was 
 married to Miss Addle Coburn, who was born in 
 this State, August 3, 1861. They have had two 
 children, Linnie May, who was born February 15, 
 1881, and died the following April; and Louis C, 
 whose birth occurred January 24, 1883. 
 
 ^ OSEPH J. M. MYERS derives a comfort- 
 able income from his farming operations, 
 which he carries on successfully in Peca- 
 
 tonica Township, Winnebago County. He 
 
 is a representative of the German element that 
 has played so important a part in the settlement 
 and development of Illinois, and was born in Sar- 
 nico, Germany, June 16, 1841. His home is most 
 beautifully located, and the residence, which is a 
 handsome modern structure, cost $8,000. The home 
 is supplied with all the comforts and conveniences 
 which stamp its owner to be a thrifty and well-to- 
 do citizen of the county. 
 
 The original of this sketch is a son of John and 
 Elizabeth Myers, and from the age of ten to six- 
 teen years he was employed at herding cattle in 
 the Old Country. In 1857, when his parents emi- 
 grated to the New World, he immediately found 
 employment on farms, receiving as remuneration 
 for his services $2 per month and his board. He 
 also cut cord-wood for three shillings a cord, and 
 later, going to Milwaukee, spent two years in the 
 Cream City and then came to Winnebago County, 
 where he did farm work for four years at from $10 
 to $17 per month. 
 
 Mr. Myers, of this sketch, was married February 
 26, 1864, to Miss iSophia Glawe, who died four 
 years later, when twenty-four years of age. Soon 
 after his marriage, our subject rented a farm, which 
 he operated for twelve years, and in the spring of 
 1875 moved to his present property, which he had 
 purchased the year previous. 
 
 He of whom we write was married a second time 
 to Miss Charlotte Dethwiller, who was born in 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 765 
 
 Strasburg, France, August 21, 1847. She was the 
 daughter of Henry and Charlotte Dethwiller, and 
 was nine years old when brought to this country 
 by her parents. By her union with our subject 
 eight children were born, viz.: Eda, who was born 
 June 27, 1871, married John Schmoock, a farmer; 
 John F.H., born February 27, 1874; Frank, Novem- 
 ber 13, 1875; Anna C, February 2, 1876; William 
 C, April 16, 1878; Louisa E., February 10, 1880; 
 Rosa C, December 5, 1881, and Albert, the eldest 
 of the family, who died at the age of four months. 
 Our subject later added to his farm in Peca- 
 tonica Township, and is now the proprietor of 
 as fine a tract of land as is to be found in the 
 county. His first one hundred and sixty acres cost 
 him $40 per acre, and the last eighty, 160 per acre. 
 With his wife he is a devoted member of the Luth- 
 eran Church, and takes a deep interest in all church 
 matters. He takes a prominent pai't in public 
 affairs, and votes the straight Republican ticket. 
 
 W OUIS C. BLAKE, a well-known resident of 
 I ^ Rockford, now living a retired life, was 
 j]L3i born in Newburg, N. Y., in 1833, and there 
 acquired his education in the High School and an 
 academy. While still in his teens, he became an 
 auctioneer, learning the business in Albany, N. Y., 
 with his grandfather, with whom he worked for 
 some time. He later became advance agent for 
 circus companies, and in this way traveled for 
 many years through the South, becoming well ac- 
 quainted with all the Southern States and the 
 manners and customs of the people. His first 
 connection was with the famous "Wizard of the 
 Bugle," Almon Mentor, who was killed by a bur- 
 glar at Covington, Ky. Mr. Blake afterward went 
 upon the stage in the role of an Irish comedian. 
 For some years he was with the Bailey Theatrical 
 Company and played in all the leading cities of 
 the North and South. He seemed especially adapted 
 to this role and was very successful. 
 
 Mr. Blake at length came to Illinois, locating in 
 Rochelle, where he spent about four years. During 
 that time the Civil War broke out and he enlisted 
 
 in Company D, Eleventh Illinois Infantry, under 
 his friend, Capt. Andrus, and Col. W. H. L. Wal- 
 lace. He went with his command to the front and 
 in October of the same year was made Sergeant of 
 the company. The following April he was made 
 Sergeant-Major of the regiment and in November, 
 1862, was commissioned Second Lieutenant of 
 Company G, to which he had been transferred 
 from Company D. His promotion was an acknowl- 
 edgment of his meritorious conduct at the battle 
 of Ft. Donelson. In the latter part of 1863, he 
 resigned and was honorably discharged. His first 
 colonel having been killed at Ft. Donelson, he was 
 afterward under the command of Col. Ransom and 
 participated in every engagement of his regiment 
 until mustered out of the service. Rheumatism 
 was the cause of his resignation and it afterward 
 confined him to his bed for nearly a whole year. 
 
 Mr. Blake married Miss Anna Kissam, of New- 
 burg, N. Y., who was there reared and educated. 
 She is a refined and cultured lady and is descended 
 from the old Knickerbocker stock of New York. 
 Her great-uncle. Col. Richard M. Varrick, was the 
 first Recorder and Mayor of New York City. In 
 their home they have some of the valuable silver 
 plate that belonged to the Colonel which is treasured 
 by them as a family heirloom. They also have a 
 chair which belonged to Col. Varrick and was fre- 
 quently occupied by Gen. Washington while the 
 Colonel was serving on his staff; Other branches 
 of the family, including the Livingstons and 
 Rooseveltes, have figured prominently in the his- 
 tory of the country. 
 
 Mr. Blake came to Rockford in 1877, and secured 
 a position with the Chicago & Iowa Railroad, now 
 belonging to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
 Raili-oad. Three years later, he became ticket 
 agent for the latter road and also for the Chicago 
 & St. Paul, both having the same depot. A few 
 months since, he severed his connection with the 
 railroad companies, having acquired a comfortable 
 competence. He is a genial, jovial man, warm- 
 hearted and well-read, and is quite prominent in 
 social circles. He belongs to G. L. Nevius Post 
 No. 1, G. A. R., and to the order of Red Men. He 
 has filled all tlie oflSces in the latter lodge and has 
 been representative to the Great Council of the 
 
766 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL HECORD. 
 
 State and the United States. He has also passed 
 through all the chairs of the Ancient Order of 
 United Workmen, and has been its representative 
 to the Grand Lodge of the State. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Blake were born three sons 
 and two daughters, but May died in childhood. 
 Cora is now the widow of C. H. Largent, and has 
 one child; Louis C, Mason K. and Collins K. are 
 all at home. The parents attend the Episcopal 
 Church. Their beautiful home is at No. 527 North 
 Church Street. Mr. Blake also owns a residence 
 next to his home, which is one of the finest in the 
 city. 
 
 ^ir^RANK S. WEBBER, whose pleasant homo 
 ?Hfe) in Flora Township, Boone County, com- 
 \ prises ninety acres of land, was born in 
 Dover, Piscataquis Countj'jMe., February 21, 1834. 
 He is a son of Alvin Webber, who was also born 
 in the Pine Tree State, as was his father, Daniel 
 Webber. The grandfather of our subject followed 
 the sea for a number of 3'ears, and in 1845 came 
 to Illinois and located in this township, where he 
 spent his last years. 
 
 Alvin Webber was reared to agricultural pur- 
 suits, and resided in his native State until the re- 
 moval of his parents to Illinois. When locating 
 here, although the land was very cheap, ranging in 
 price from $1.25 to $5.00 per acre, his means were 
 not sufficient to enable him to invest in property. 
 He was not, however, particularly pleased with the 
 country, which bore little resemblance to its pres- 
 ent prosperous condition, and so rented land for 
 five years; during this time the country became 
 more settled, and he was induced by his children 
 to purchase land, and so became the proprietor of 
 the east half of the southwest quarter of section 
 27, Flora Township. Here he improved a good 
 farm, and resided until his death. 
 
 The mother of our subject bore the maiden name 
 of Susan Grover, the daughter of Abraham and 
 Susan Grover. Frank S. was a lad of eleven years 
 when he came with his parents to Illinois, and re- 
 members well the incidents of the overland journey 
 and the pioneer life in this county. He attended 
 the pioneer school, assisted the father on the farm. 
 
 and resided at home until his marriage, when he 
 purchased a farm in Monroe Township, Ogle 
 County. After a residence there of seven years, 
 our subject located upon the farm which he now 
 occupies, and which is well improved with first- 
 class buildings. He has, besides, fifteen acres of 
 the old homestead and ten acres of timber land in 
 Cherry Valley. 
 
 He of whom we write was married. May 18, 1857, 
 to Arvilla, daughter of Newell and Clarinda 
 (Hovery) Watkins. She was bom in Tioga County, 
 N. Y., and departed this life in 1876. The lady 
 whom Mr. Webber chose as his second wife was 
 Caroline Hammill, the ceremony being performed 
 May 23, 1883. Mrs. Webber was born in Iowa 
 County, Wis., while her father, Richard Hammill, 
 was born, reared and married in England. On 
 coming to America, he made his home in Dodge- 
 ville. Wis., and later purchased a tract of timber 
 land two and one-half miles from Linden, which 
 was his home until his decease. The maiden name 
 of the mother of Mrs. Webber was Ann Yolton, a 
 native of Cornwall, England, who died on the 
 home farm in Wisconsin. 
 
 The wife of our subject was the youngest but 
 one in a family of sixteen children born to her 
 parents, and by her union with our subject is the 
 mother of two children, Flora Belle and Earl S. 
 Our subject has one child living by his first mar- 
 riage, Frank S., the husband of Maggie Robinson. 
 In politics, he votes the Republican ticket, and his 
 wife, in religious matters, is identified with the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 '^ EMUEL FULLER is an enterprising and cx- 
 ^ tensive farmer of Rockford Township, 
 ^ Winnebago County, residing on section 
 19. He is also a representative of one of the 
 pioneer families of this locality and his parents 
 should certainly be represented in this work. His. 
 father, John Fuller, was born in Worthington, 
 Hampshire County, Mass., May 2, 1800, and was 
 a son of Lemuel and Susan (Haskell) Fuller. On 
 the 3d of September, 1831, he married Lucy 
 Wilder, who was born in Hampshire County, 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 767 
 
 Mass., April 5, 1808. Her grandfather, Seth 
 Wilder, was a native of Salem, that State, whence 
 he removed to Hampshire County, there making 
 his home upon a farm until his death. Upon the 
 same farm, Abel Wilder, father of Mrs. Fuller, 
 was reared. On attaining to man's estate, he pur- 
 chased land in that locality and engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, taking his grain to market in 
 Albany and Troy, N. Y., for there were no rail- 
 roads in those days. In 1816, he sold his land 
 and removed to Windsor, Berkshire County, 
 where he made his home until after the death of 
 his wife, when he removed to the Empire State. 
 The maiden name of Mrs. Wilder was Lucy Pratt. 
 She was born in Weymouth, Mass., and died when 
 Mrs. Fuller was but ten years of age. 
 
 After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Fuller, they 
 settled in Genesee County, where they made their 
 home until 1839, which year witnessed their emi- 
 gration Westward to Illinois. They went by way 
 of the Lakes to Chicago, and thence with teams 
 to Rockford, which they found to be a small ham- 
 let in the midst of an unbi'oken tract of country. 
 Mr. Miller made a claim on section 19, Rockford 
 Township, and, as there were no buildings upon 
 it, the family made their home in a store which 
 had been erected about a mile and a half above 
 their farm. They later moved into a log house in 
 the same locality, and the following spring took 
 up their residence in a log cabin adjoining the 
 claim. In 1842, Mr. Fuller erected a frame resi- 
 dence on his own land, and there continued to 
 make his home until his death, which occurred 
 October 27, 1858. The family had borne all the 
 hardships and privations of pioneer life, for when 
 they came here the work of civilization and pro- 
 gress had scarcely been begun. The few settle- 
 ments were widely scattered, all kinds of wild 
 game were plentiful, and Chicago was the nearest 
 market. 
 
 Mr. and Mi's. Fuller were the parents of seven 
 children: Lemuel, Levi B., Charles, Nancy, John, 
 Eliza and Ellen. The mother of this family is 
 still living on the home farm, where she owns two 
 hundred and seventy-eight acres of valuable land 
 under a high state of cultivation. She is now 
 well advanced in years, but is remarkablj- well 
 
 preserved for one of her age, both physically and 
 mentally, and still directs and assists in the house 
 work. She is an estimable lady and has a wide 
 circle of friends and acquaintances throughout this 
 communitj'. 
 
 Lemuel Fuller was born in Covington, Genesee 
 County, N. Y., on the 16th of May, 1832, and 
 was therefore onl^' about seven years of age when 
 he came with his parents to Illinois. Since that 
 time, he has resided in Winnebago County. His 
 education was acquired in the district schools of 
 the neighborhood, and until his father's death he 
 assisted him in the labors of the farm, with the ex-' 
 ception of one year, which he spent in Harlem 
 Township. He now resides with his mother on 
 the home farm and is the owner of an adjoining 
 farm of two hundred and flftj' acres. Mr. Fuller 
 is numbered among the enterprising and successful 
 agriculturists of this community, and is a worthy 
 representative of so prominent a pioneer family. 
 
 ENRY OLSON, polisher for the Skandia 
 Plow Company, of Rockford, is a stock- 
 holder and ex-Director of that concern, 
 and is a leading exponent of his branch 
 of industry. He was one of the original pro- 
 moters of this enterprise, and since it was started, 
 in 1880, he has devoted his time, money and 
 interest to its advancement. 
 
 Our subject is one of the many influential citi- 
 zens of Rockford who claim Sweden as their na- 
 tive country, his birth occurring in Smoland 
 Province, January 13, 1838, and he was twenty- 
 nine years of age when he first touched American 
 soil. This was about the 1st of May, 1868, and 
 he first located in Muskegon, Mich. One year 
 later, or in 1869, he came to Rockford, and has 
 since been an industrious, hardworking man. For 
 some time he was polisher for the N. C. Thomp- 
 son Manufacturing Company, but since 1 880 he has 
 been with the present company. He has been suc- 
 cessful, has accumulated considerable means, and 
 recently erected a modern and very pleasant resi- 
 dence at No. 509 Second Street. 
 
 Mr. Olson lost his parents, Olof and Christian 
 
768 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 (Peherson) Pebcrson, when but a child. They 
 were members of the State Church and died when 
 about middle age. He is the only one of the 
 family in America. He selected as his companion 
 in life Miss Martha Olson, also a native of Smo- 
 land Province, where she was reared and edu- 
 cated, and where her father, Harold Olson, is yet 
 living. She was the only daughter of six chil- 
 dren, all of whom are living in Rockford (see 
 sketch of Robert Lind). She came to this country 
 alone in October, 1868, resided in Michigan for a 
 short time, and then came to Rockford, where she 
 . was married to Mr. Olson. Her father, who is 
 seventy- two years of age, was for a number of 
 years a resident of Rockford, his wife dying in the 
 latter [ilace in 1874, when sixty years of age. Her 
 maiden name was Marie Christafson, and she was 
 a member of the Lutheran Church, in which her 
 husband still holds membership. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Olson have been members of the Krst Lutheran 
 Church of Rockford for twenty years. They are the 
 parents of a bright and intelligent child, Alice A. 
 
 ^^- 
 
 Sij SAAC V. SEBRING. It is always a pleasure 
 I to record the events in the life of a member 
 J^ of one of those grand old families who have 
 been identified with the history of this country 
 since its earliest settlement, and who have been 
 men of mark. The genealogy of the maternal 
 ancestors of our subject, which is now being pub- 
 lished, shows that their first representative in 
 America was William Hartwell, who came over in 
 the "Mayflower."' There are now about one thou- 
 sand of the name, who for the past eight years 
 have held annual reunions at Concord, N. H. 
 Their patriotism has been proved in the dark 
 days of warfare, Grandfather Hartwell having 
 served as a soldier from Vermont in the War of 
 1812, and his father, William, having faithfully 
 defended the Colonies during the Revolutionary 
 War. 
 
 The paternal ancestors of our subject originated 
 in Holland, where Grandfather Sebring followed 
 farming pursuits until he emigrated to America. 
 Isaac B., father of our subject, was born in Penn- 
 
 sylvania, in December, 1811, and passed his youth 
 on a farm. In 1841, near Erie, Pa., he was united 
 in marriage to Miss Eunice Whitney Hartwell, who 
 was born in Vermont in 1818 After the birth of 
 their first child, they removed West, in the spring 
 of 1845, making the journey by water to Milwau- 
 kee, and thence by team to Boone County, where 
 they entered one hundred and twenty acres of 
 Governnient land on section 25, Manchester 
 Township. 
 
 The first step toward the improvement of the 
 farm was the erection of a log house, a portion of 
 which still stands, and which was roofed with 
 sod. Other improvements followed as opportunity 
 offered, and when the father died, in 1862, lie left 
 his family comfortably provided for. He was an 
 upright man, firm in his convictions and a stanch 
 adherent of the principles of truth and justice. 
 During the Civil War, lie enlisted as a member of 
 Company C, Thirteenth Wisconsin Infantry, Capt. 
 Cummings commanding. He served with valor 
 for several months, but, while marching to Kan- 
 sas with his regiment, was taken ill and died at a 
 farmhouse, in April, 1862, at the age of flfty-one 
 years. 
 
 The family of which our subject is a member 
 consisted of eight children, one of whom died 
 when eighteen months old, and Orinda when three 
 years old. Tlie others were Nathan B., born De- 
 cember 21, 1841; Harriet, September 30, 1845; 
 Isaac v., .January 27, 1850; Jane, February 6, 
 1852; Sarah, .January 6, 1854; and Ella, March 
 25, 1855. All are still living with the exception 
 of Nathan, who died in Washington, D. C, in 
 August, 1862, from the effects of a gunshot wound. 
 He entered the army in his twentieth year, he- 
 coming a member of Company K, Seventh Wis- 
 consin Infantry, Capt. Gordon commanding, and 
 served as a private until his death. 
 
 The mother of our subject was a daughter of 
 William and Jane (Whitney) Hartwell, natives of 
 New England, who removed to Illinois in 1845. 
 She died in February, 1866, at the age of seventy- 
 four years, leaving to her children a small estate 
 of forty acres. All the children are married ex- 
 cept our subject. Harriet is now Mrs. Augustus 
 Cushman, of Shirland, Winnebago County; Jane 
 
^k 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 771 
 
 became the wife of J. H. Livingston, a carpenter 
 and mason; Sarali married "Willis Hollister, of Bel- 
 videre; Ella is the wife of Oliver Webster, of 
 Manchester Township, Boone County, 
 
 Our subject has passed his entire life in Boone 
 County, and is now numbered among the prosper- 
 ous farmers of Manchester Township, where he 
 has a fine farm on section 35. The place com- 
 prises one hundred and sixty acres, including the 
 forty acres of the old homestead. In 1872, he 
 bought forty acres, paying therefor the sum of 
 $1,150, and in 1885 he purchased eighty acres for 
 $3,000, including some splendid faiming land. 
 He conducts a general farming business and also 
 engages in stock-raising to some extent. In 1884, 
 he improved his farm by the erection of a large 
 and substantial frame residence, in which he makes 
 his home. He is a man of public spirit, has served 
 his fellow-citizens as Highway Commissioner and 
 School Director, and exerts his influence in behalf 
 of those measures which are conducive to the 
 good of the community. 
 
 -i- 
 
 -^ 
 
 eAFr. WILLIAM D. E. ANDRUS. One of 
 the oldest and most highly-respected citi- 
 zens of Winnebago County, who has been 
 prominently connected with its growth and devel- 
 opment for many years, is Capt. William D. E. 
 Andrus, of Rockford, whose portrait is shown on 
 another page. 
 
 A native of Chautauqua County, N. Y., our 
 subject came West with his parents and with them 
 settled in Illinois as early as 1843. Since then, 
 with the exception of about four years spent in 
 the army and a few years in Dakota, he has been 
 a resident of this county. He has ever been in- 
 dustrious and practical, and as a result of his en- 
 ergy and good management he is the owner of a 
 large amount of property in Rockford and exten- 
 sive tracts of land in Bon Homme County, S. Dak., 
 which is fast developing as a farming and dairy 
 county. He has been interested in Dakota real 
 estate since 1879, about which time he filled the 
 position of Indian Agent at the Yankton Agency 
 for three years and a half. He became interested 
 
 in that State but not sufficiently to cause him to 
 leave Illinois, his adopted State, in which he was 
 reared and educated. 
 
 When the war broke out, our subject was among 
 the first to respond to his country's call and was 
 in the company that first telegraphed its services 
 to the Governor in February, 1861, and that was 
 one of the first to be accepted. The ofl9cial record, 
 direct from Washington, D. C, was as follows: 
 •'Entered service as a private, Rockford Zouaves, 
 April 20, 1861. Mustered into service as Second 
 Lieutenant, Company D, Eleventh Illinois Infantry, 
 April 30, 1861. Regiment organized at Spring- 
 field, 111., for three months' service. Ordered to 
 Villa Ridge, 111., May 5, 1861. Duty there un- 
 til June 20, and at Bird's Point, Mo., until July 30. 
 Mustered out July 30, 1861, expiration of term 
 of enlistment. Re-enlisted in three years' serv- 
 ice as Captain of Company D, Eleventh Illinois 
 Infantry, July 30, 1861. Assigned to W. H. L. 
 Wallace's Third Brigade, District of Southeast Mis- 
 souri, August, 1861, to January, 1862. Second 
 Brigade, First Division, Military District of Cairo, 
 to February, 1862. Second Brigade, First Division, 
 Army of Tennessee, to August, 1862. Paducab, Ky., 
 to November 1862. First Brigade, Sixth Division, 
 Left Wing, Thirteenth Corps. Department of the 
 Tennessee to December, 1862. First Brigade, Sixth 
 Division, Seventeenth Corps, Army of Tennessee,to 
 September. 1863. Second Brigade, Fourth Division, 
 Seventeenth Corps, to February, 1864. Second 
 Brigade, First Division, Seventeenth Corps, to 
 August, 1864. Skirmish at Charleston, Mo., Au- 
 gust, 1861. Expedition toward New Madrid, 
 September 9, 1861; another toward Charleston, 
 October 6. One against Thompson 's forces, Novem- 
 ber 2, 1861. Expedition to Charleston, January 7, 
 1862. Ft. Henry, Tennessee, February 2. Capture 
 of Ft. Henry, February 6. Assault on Ft. Donel- 
 son, February 11 to the 15th. Severely wounded 
 by gunshot in right hip. Absent with wounds 
 until April. Rejoined regiment at Shiloh, April 7. 
 Siege of Corinth, Miss., April 30 to May 30. 
 March to Jackson, Tenn. Duty there until August. 
 Trenton Ferry, July 1 and 2. March to Lexington, 
 July 23 to 28. Ordered to Cairo, 111., August 2. 
 Ordered to Paducah, Ky., August 23. Trenton 
 
772 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ferry, July 1 and 2. March to Lexington July 23 
 to 28. Expedition to Hopkinsville, Ky., October 
 31 and November 13. Moved to La Grange, Tenn., 
 November 20 to 24. Grant's Central Mississippi 
 Campaign. Operations on Mississippi Central 
 Railroad to the Yocknapatafa River from Novem- 
 ber, 1862, until January, 1863. Action at Talla- 
 hatchie River, November 30. Moved to Memphis, 
 Tenn., and thence to Young's Point, La., January 
 17, 1863, and to Lake Providence, February 11. 
 Expedition to American Bend, March 17 to 28. 
 Movement on Bruinsburg and Grand Gulf, April 
 25 to 30. Battle of Port Gibson, May 1; Raymond, 
 May 12; Jackson, May 14; Champion Hills, May 
 16; Big Black River, May 17; siege of Vieksburg, 
 May 19 to July 4; assault on Vieksburg, May 19 
 and 22; surrender of Vieksburg July 4. Detached 
 on recruiting service in Illinois from July to Sep- 
 tember. Rejoined tegiment at Natchez and tem- 
 porarily on staff of Gen. Ransom, commanding at 
 that point. Expediton into Louisiana, September 
 1 and 8. Moved to Vieksburg, October 12;on duty 
 there until July, 1864. Yazoo Expedition, February 
 1 to March 8. Liverpool Heights, February 5. 
 Yazoo City, March 6. Black River Bridge, until 
 April 26. Expedition to Yazoo City, May 4 to 21 
 Benton, Miss.. May 7, Vaughan May 12; Yazoo City 
 May 13; Vaughan Station, May 14. Duty at 
 Vieksburg, as Assistant Provost Marshal, June 
 and July. Expedition to Jackson, Miss., July 1 
 to 7. Clinton July 4; Jackson, July 5 and 6; 
 Clinton, July 7. Mustered out, July 31, 1864, 
 expiration of term." These facts, taken from the 
 Adjutant-General's Report, show conclusively that 
 the war record of Capt. Andrus is a good one. 
 
 After his return to the city of Rockford, Capt. 
 Andrus embarked in business enterprises and has 
 been fairly successful. He has a pleasant, cheerful 
 disposition, is sociable and agreeable and his friends 
 are legion. He has been an active worker in the 
 G. L. Nevius Post No. 1,G. A. R., which he organ- 
 ized and of which he was the first Commander. 
 The name it bears was suggested by Mr. Andrus, 
 who gave it that title in honor of the first Captain 
 of Company D, who subsequently became Colonel 
 of the Eleventli Regiment and was killed in the 
 battle of Vieksburg. 
 
 Mr. Andrus is a Thirty-second degree Mason, 
 being a member of the Oriental Consistory of Chi- 
 cago. He was a charter member of the Crusader 
 Commandery No. 17, of Rockford, and was the 
 Commander under a second dispensation, also 
 filled the same position after the lodge was char- 
 tered. He has filled several of the offices of the 
 Chapter and Blue Lodges, the former, Winnebago 
 Chapter No. 24, and the latter, Star of the East 
 No. 166. In politics he is a strong Republican. 
 
 Our subject was married in Chicago, 111., to Miss 
 Isabella Westfall, a native of Brooklyn, N. Y., who 
 was reared and educated at Sag Harbor. Her death 
 occurred at the family residence in Rockford, in 
 1873, when in the prime of life. She was an in- 
 telligent, accomplished lady, and a devout mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian Church. They were the 
 parents of two children, both of whom died j'oung. 
 
 LEXANDER SMITH. The farming com- 
 munity of Harlem Township, Winnebago 
 Countjr, recognizes a worthy representa- 
 tive in the subject of this notice, who pur- 
 sues the even tenor of his way on a magnificent 
 tract of three hundred and twenty acres on section 
 35. He exercises considerable influence in the 
 community, and is looked upon as one of its most 
 reliable men. His industrious, frugal and temper- 
 ate habits have gained him a competence which 
 will enable him to pass his declining years in peace 
 and comfort. 
 
 A number of the best residents in Harlem 
 Township have been born in Argyleshire, Scotland, 
 which is also the birthplace of our subject, his 
 natal day being June 21, 1832. His parents were 
 Daniel and Mary (Montgomery) Smith, whose 
 sketch will be found in the biography of Robert 
 Smith, on another page of this book. Our subject 
 was a lad of ten years when making the trip to 
 America with his parents, and remembers well the 
 ocean voyage and the pioneer life in this country- 
 After the death of his father, he carried on farm- 
 ing in company with his brothers, and in 1852, 
 when a division of the property was made, they 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 773 
 
 owned nearly six hundred acres. Daniel and our 
 subject settled on the farm where Mr. Smith resides 
 at the present time, and continued to work to- 
 gether until 1858, when the latter purchased his 
 brother's interest in the old homestead, and be^an 
 its cultivation. He has been very successful in all 
 his undertakings, and is now one of the largest 
 land-owners in the county, his farm being well im- 
 proved and stocked with the best grades of horses, 
 cattle, etc. 
 
 In 1858, our subject was married to Ann Smith, 
 also a native of Kintyre, Scotland, and the daughter 
 of James and Martha (Johnson) Smith. To them 
 have been born six children: Barbara J., Hugh J., 
 Mary A., and three deceased. The family are all 
 members of the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church 
 and have m.any friends in their wide circle of ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 |SRAEL SOVEREIGN. Among the men who 
 I cast their fortunes in Winnebago County, 111., 
 (li in 18-tO, and whose memory is respected by 
 the people of this region is John Sovereign, 
 the father of our subject. He was born in New 
 Jersey, on the 28th of February, 1797, and was of 
 German descent, although his parents were natives 
 of New Jersey. He was four years of age when his 
 parents moved to Ontario, Canada, and there he 
 grew up to farm life, and was married to Miss M. 
 Mabee. She was born in Canada, of Canadian par- 
 entage, and was probably of English descent. 
 After marriage, John Sovereign and wife moved 
 to Malihide Township, and there the latter died, in 
 1839, when just thirty-nine years of age. She left 
 ten children, nearly all of whom grew to mature 
 years. Two are now in California, one in Mis- 
 souri and two in this State. 
 
 After the death of his wife, in 1839, John Sov- 
 ereign came with teams and wagons and brought 
 bis family to Winnebago County, and November 
 10 of that year settled in Guilford Township. 
 Being left with a large family, Mr. Sovereign 
 took for his second wife Mrs. Mary Mason, a native 
 of Illinois, and their marriage occurred in Boone 
 County. She had a number of children by her 
 
 first marriage, and died in this countj^ when quite 
 aged. M)-. Sovereign and both wives were mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he 
 was a local minister in Winnebago County, being 
 known far and wide as a good, earnest Christian. 
 He passed most of his life in that count}', but died 
 in California while on a visit to his son George, 
 August 20, 1870. He was then seventy-two years 
 of age. He was one of the leading pioneers of 
 Guilford Township, and one of its best citizens. 
 Active in benevolent and charitable enterprises, 
 strong in his friendship, and brave in his defense 
 of the right, few men were better respected than 
 John Sovereign. 
 
 Israel Sovereign, our subject, was born in tJie 
 Province of Ontario, Canada, November 6, 1827, 
 and finished his growth in Guilford Township, 
 this county. In 1857, he came to Rockford, and 
 became connected with the hardware business, 
 which he followed until 1883, being one of the 
 leading hardware dealers on the West Side. He 
 yet owns a business block on South Main Street. 
 Mr. Sovereign was one of the promoters of the 
 Rockford Watch Company, is a stockholder in the 
 same, and was one of the committee to investigate 
 the watch-making business. Since its organization, 
 he has been a Director, and has represented the 
 watch company on the road for five years. He is 
 a live business man, and has met with wonderful 
 success for his house in the Northwestern States 
 and parts of Canada, being very popular in his 
 business, and justly merits the large measure of 
 success achieved by his skill and industry. He is 
 sociable and genial, a very pleasant conversation- 
 alist, strictly temperate in his habits, and, although 
 sixty-four years of age, is free from ills and pains, 
 and is as active as most men of forty. Our sub- 
 ject was married in this county to Miss Laura 
 Judd, who came from Ohio to this State in early 
 girlhood. Her parents, Jason and Rebecca (Shaw) 
 Judd, settled on a farm in Durand Township, and 
 there passed the remainder of their days. They 
 were natives of Vermont and Massachusetts, re- 
 spectively, and were representative people of their 
 community. Mr. and Mrs. Sovereign have three 
 children: C. Eugene, a prominent business man of 
 Rockford, who first married a Miss Doyle, and after 
 
774 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lior death marriod Miss Elsie Irvine; Fred J., pro- 
 prietor of the City Ice Company, married Luella 
 Rhoades; and Alice M., at home. The family are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Churcli, and 
 Mr. Sovereign is a Republican in politics. 
 
 ■^fj OHN ERLANDER is now living a retired 
 I life after many years devoted to active 
 ,--, I business in Rockford, where he has made 
 ^^fJ his home since 1854. He is one of the 
 worthy citizens tliat Sweden has furnished to this 
 community. His birth occurred .in that country, 
 April 7, 1826, and he is a son of John and Steine 
 (Pearson) Johnson, who spent their entire lives in 
 their native land. The father died at the age of 
 eighty-two j'ears, his wife at the age of seventy- 
 nine, and her mother reached the advanced age of 
 ninety-four. They were life-long members of the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 In 1854, our subject, his brother Peter, and sis- 
 ter Katie bade good-bye to their old home, and 
 sailed from Gottenburg to New York City, reach- 
 ing their destination after a voyage of seven 
 weeks. They came on at once to Rockford, and 
 all are yet living in this dty. Mr. Erlander was 
 married, in 1855, to Miss Christine Peterson, a na- 
 tive of Sweden, who came to Rockford the j^ear 
 previous, and died in 1857, at the age of twenty 
 years, leaving one son, William, who departed this 
 life at the age of fifteen. Our subject was again 
 married, in 1857, this union being with a sister of 
 his first wife, Ingas Peterson, who was born in 
 Sweden, July 9, 1833, and is a daughter of Peter 
 and Katie (Orvid) Johnson, who were also natives 
 of that country, and who came to Rockford in 
 1854. Thej' both died of cholera during the first 
 week after locating in this city, at the ages of 
 forty-eight and fifty-two years, respectively. They 
 were members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Erlander have been born 
 seven childien: Frank, who died in childhood; Al- 
 fred is living in Chicago; Frank C, a watch-maker 
 of Rockford; Peter E., who carries on a confec- 
 tionery establishment in Chicago; Hannah C, a 
 dressmaker of this city; Mary 0., a milliner; and 
 
 John J. The children all received good educa- 
 tional ad van tages, and are doing well in life. They 
 and the parents are all members of the First Luth- 
 eran Church. They have a pleasant home at No. 
 402 South Third Street, supplied with all the com- 
 forts and many of the luxuries of life, and in so- 
 cial circles they rank high. 
 
 Mr. Erlander came to this city a poor man, with 
 no capital except a knowledge of the tailor's trade. 
 After working for some time for S. P. Franklin 
 and John Frella as a journeyman, he opened a 
 little shop of his own, and in the spring of 1861, 
 went into the tailoring business with S. A. John- 
 son, the partnership continuing uninterrupted un- 
 til 1885. In the meantime, they enlarged their 
 business and carried a complete and extensive 
 stock of ready-made clothing and gents' furnish- 
 ing goods. From the beginning, their trade con- 
 stantly increased, and it proved to Mr. Erlander a 
 successful enterprise. In company witli a few oth- 
 ers, he became the founder of the Rockford Union 
 Furniture Company in March, 1876, which has be- 
 come one of the leading enterprises of the city. 
 He was its first President, holding the office for 
 three years, and was one of its Directors as long as 
 he continued his connection with the company. 
 He aided in establishing the Excelsior Furniture 
 Company in 1880, became a member of the Board 
 of Directors, and at one time the burden of the 
 whole business rested almost entirely upon him. 
 This was during the critical period of its existence, 
 but he tided it safely over its threatened failure, 
 and has made it one of the important industries of 
 the city. He has been one of its Directors and its 
 President for some years. 
 
 Mr. Erlander is a stockholder and Director in 
 the Central Furniture Company; a stockholder in 
 the Manufacturers' Bank; a stockholder and Di- 
 rector in the Rockford Brick Company; and was 
 one of the chief organizers of the Swedish Mutual 
 Fire Insurance Company, established in 1873. He 
 became President of the company after its organi- 
 zation, and still holds that office. The important 
 part he has borne in these enterprises has aided 
 materially in the upbuilding of the city, the pros- 
 perity of his fellow-townsmen , and his own success. 
 In politics, he is a stalwart Republican, and has 
 
)^i:i^^^pu'u<r^. c^ 
 
 9?ircc^i/i 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 777 
 
 been Supervisor of the Second Ward for nine 
 years. He was one of the first members of the 
 First Swedish Lutheran Church and Sunday-school, 
 in whicli he has always been very much interested, 
 has given liberally to its support, and taken an ac- 
 tive part in ils work. Whatever tends to benefit 
 the community is sure to receive his hearty co-op- 
 eration, and his aid is never withheld from any en- 
 terprise. He is an honored and valued citizen, 
 respected by all, and it is with pleasure that we 
 present this sketch to our readers. 
 
 _£3E2_ 
 
 
 <JJ pLLIAM C. PROUTY, deceased, was born 
 in Brattleboro, Vt., in 1810, a descendant 
 of an old and prominent New England 
 family. He was educated in the High School of 
 his native town and entered upon his business ca- 
 reer in New York City, where he carried on trade 
 iu Chatham Square, then a prominent business 
 quarter of the metropolis. 
 
 Returning to his native town, Mr. Prouty was 
 joined in wedlock with Miss Adeline A. Wheelock, 
 who was born in Wardsboro, Vt., in 1812. She 
 was graduated from the Brattleboro Academy and 
 engaged in teaching for a short time before her 
 marriage. Her father. Judge Henry Wheelock, was 
 also a native of Vermont and was a son of Asa 
 Wheelock, a native of Massachusetts and a promi- 
 nent citizen of Windham County, Vt., where he 
 resided for many years. His son Henry was Judge 
 of that countj' for some years and afterward came 
 to Illinois, bringing with him a stock of goods. 
 He established a store in Byron, and was thus en- 
 gaged for some time, becoming a prominent citizen 
 of Ogle County. In politics, he was first a Whig 
 and afterward a Republican, and held membership 
 in the Congregational Church. In the Green 
 Mountain State, he was married to Adelphia Con- 
 verse, who was born in Massachusetts, but spent 
 the greater part of her girlhood in Windham 
 County, Vt. She proved to her husband a true 
 lielpmate until her death, which occurred in Rock- 
 ford at an advanced age. Judge Wheelock later 
 died at the age of eighty-two, at the home of his 
 daughter, Mrs. Lewis, of this city. A brother, Fred, 
 
 is now living on the old homestead in Byron, 111.; 
 Erastus resides with Mrs. Prouty, and Mrs. Charles 
 Lewis makes her home in Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Prouty first came to Illinois in 1844 and did 
 business for some time in By ion, Ogle County, 
 with his father-in-law. Judge Wheelock. He after- 
 ward established a general merchandise store in 
 Pecatonica and subsequently came to Rockford. 
 He was one of the leading men in this county for 
 years and was well and widely known in business 
 circles. He came to Rockford in the spring of 1875, 
 and here engaged in the boot and shoe business 
 until his death, when he was succeeded by his son 
 Henry, who died just seven years later. Fred 
 Prouty, another son of our subject, then became 
 proprietor of the store and still carries on business 
 at No. 126 State Street. 
 
 Our subject ever took a prominent part in polit- 
 ical affairs and was a co-worker and a great friend 
 of Horace Greeley. He was one of the leaders in 
 the W. H. Harrison campaign and his widow now 
 has in her possession a letter written at that time, 
 which reads as follows: 
 
 Williamsburg, November 17, 1840. 
 Sir: 
 
 You are requested to attend a regular 
 meeting of the Williamsburg Tippecanoe Associa- 
 tion on Tuesday evening, November 17, at seven 
 o'clock, at the log cabin. 
 By order of 
 
 Temple Fay, President, 
 William C. Prouty, Secretary. 
 
 Our subject was well fitted to be a leader of the 
 people, and wherever he went occupied that posi- 
 tion. He was straightforward and upright in all 
 things, an honored and worthy man who was held 
 in high regard by all who knew him. He died at 
 his home in Rockford, September 8, 1878, at the 
 age of sixty-eight years, and many friends mourned 
 his loss. As pioneer, friend and neighbor, he won 
 the esteem of all, and his portrait, which is pre- 
 sented on another page, will be regarded as a val- 
 uable addition to this work. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Prouty were born five chil- 
 dren but two sons, both bearing the name of Will- 
 iam H., died in the Empire State. Henry died at 
 his home in this city when thirty-six years of age. 
 The living are Adelaide A., wife of Dr. T. M. 
 
778 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Butler, a resident of Detroit; and Fred C, wlio 
 married Sadie Kemp, of Chicago, and is now car- 
 rying on the shoe business established by his 
 father. Mrs. Prouty is a most estimable lady, warm- 
 hearted and true, and possessing many noble 
 qualities and excellencies of character which endear 
 her to all. 
 
 ^ 
 
 =^ 
 
 AMPSON GRE'rrON, Jr. The following 
 is a brief sketch of the career of Mr. Gret- 
 ton, a man whose present substantial posi- 
 tion in life has been reached entirely 
 through his own perseverance'; and the facts con- 
 nected with his agricultural operations and their 
 results only show what a person with courage and 
 enlightened views can accomplish. The subject 
 of this sketch first saw the light of day in New 
 York State, his birth occurring in Monroe County, 
 near the town of Brockport, September 19, 1843. 
 The father of our subject, Sampson Gretton, Sr., 
 was born in Staffordshire, England, and was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Berry, who was also a native of 
 England, born in Lancashire. They came to Amer- 
 ica at an early date, settled in New York State, 
 where they were married, and there made their 
 home until the spring of 1849, when they came lo 
 Uiuois. They located on the farm now owned by 
 our subject and bought the land of a brother, who 
 had taken it from the Government. Here they 
 passed the remainder of their days engaged in till- 
 ing the soil, and were much esteemed in the com- 
 munity. The father died when about seventy-eight 
 years of age, and the mother at the age of seventy- 
 six. They were the parents of three children, but 
 lost two in infancy, our subject being the only one 
 now living. They made many improvements on 
 their fine farm, and lived to see the wilderness 
 blossom like the rose. 
 
 Sampson Gretton, Jr., has been a resident of the 
 old home-place for many years, and the improve- 
 ments begun by his parents he has completed and 
 made perfect. He still lives in the house first 
 erected by his parents, is the owner of one hun- 
 dred and fort^-two acres of land and is prosperous 
 and contented. On the 23d of November, 1869, 
 
 our subject was united in marriage to Miss Sarah 
 Lawman, a native of Lincolnshire, England, born 
 December 30, 1848, and the daughter of John and 
 Rebecca (Fillingham) Lawman, also natives of that 
 country. In the year 1851, her parents came to 
 the United States and settled in Spring Township, 
 Boone County, 111., where they still reside. They 
 are classed among the best citizens of the county, 
 and are active in all movements that have for their 
 object the improvement and development of the 
 county and township. 
 
 Three children have blessed our subject's union: 
 Alice M., born on the 22d of May, 1871; Wallace, 
 May 3, 1876, and Charles H., born on the 22d 
 of January, 1890, all natives of this township 
 and county. At an early age, our subject became 
 familiar with the duties of the farm, and agricul- 
 tural pursuits have been his principal occupation 
 since. He is thorough and enterprising, and every- 
 thing about his well-kept farm indicates that he is 
 one of the prosperous and substantial men of the 
 county. His excellent wife is a noted housekeeper, 
 and is a lady of culture and intelligence. Her 
 paternal grandparents were William and Amelia 
 Lawman and her maternal grandparent-s, AVilliam 
 and Sarah (Thursby) Fillingham, natives of Not- 
 tinghamshire, England. The great-grandfather, 
 John Thursby, was also a native of Nottingham- 
 shire, England. Like his father, our subject is a 
 decided Republican in his political views, and is a 
 strong advocate of the principles of that party. 
 
 0~ MRI J. CUMMINGS, who carries on general 
 ) farming on section 17, Guilford Township, 
 ^__ ' Winnebago County, claims Ohio as the State 
 of his nativity. He was born in Thompson, 
 Geauga County, December 28, 1832. His grand- 
 fatlier, John Cummings, was an agriculturist, and 
 spent his entire life in West Swanzey, N. H. He 
 wedded Mary Hawk. Their son, Nehemiah Cum- 
 mings, was born in West Swanzey, there acquued a 
 common-school education, and, when a young 
 man, started for the Far West. He became a pio- 
 neer of Geauga County, Ohio, and purchased a 
 tract of heavily timbered land in Thompson Town- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 779 
 
 ship, upon which he built a log cabin. There the 
 family lived in true frontier style, and, while the 
 father worked in the fields, the mother spun and 
 wove the cloth used in making her children's gar- 
 ments. It was in 1844 that they left that home, 
 and with their four, children started with a team 
 to Winnebago Coimty, where they arrived seven- 
 teen days later. Mr. Cummings purchased land in 
 Guilford Township, a tract of wild prairie land, 
 and again the family experienced the hardships 
 and privations of pioneer life. He there made his 
 home until his death, in January, 1866. His wife, 
 who bore the maiden name of Rebecca Coltam, 
 was a native of Lincolnshire, England, and a daugh- 
 ter of Vincent Coltam. 
 
 Mr. Cummings, of this sketch, has long been a 
 resident of Winnebago County, whither he came 
 with his father when a lad of twelve years. He 
 aided in the farm work, and remained at home 
 until 1853, when he spent one year in Ohio. In 
 1854, he went to Iowa, but after a few months re- 
 turned to this State, and in 1856 again went to 
 Iowa, entering a tract of Government land in 
 Floyd Township, but did not make a permanent 
 location there. He afterwards exchanged that farm 
 for his present home, upon which he has resided 
 since his marriage. 
 
 On the 28th of October, 1858, Mr. Cummings 
 wedded Anna Butler, a native of Franklin Town 
 ship, Lycoming County, Pa. Her father was born 
 in the North of Ireland, and was a son of John and 
 Elizabeth (Bradley) Butler, who were natives of 
 the Emerald Isle, and of Scotch descent. With his 
 parents, he came to America when five years of 
 age, and was reared and married in Pennsylvania, 
 wedding Hannah Farr, a native of the Keystone 
 State, as were her parents, William and Anna 
 (Smith) Farr. They were of English lineage, and 
 both the paternal and maternal grandfathers, Wil- 
 liam J'arr and George Smith, were Revolutionary 
 soldiers. Mr. Butler served in the War of 1812^ 
 and in 1854 came to Illinois, locating in Rockford 
 Township, Winnebago County. He bought a farm 
 upoQ which he resided until his death, four years 
 later. 
 
 Four children have been born unto Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cummings: Lillian, now the wife of Charles 
 
 Fitts; Mary E., wife of Edwin Gorham; Abigail, 
 wife of Elmer Knoud, and Butler N., who married 
 Ella Elliott. The parents attend the Christian 
 Union Church, of Rockford, and are worthy Chris- 
 tian people, possessed of many excellencies of char- 
 acter. In politics, Mr. Cummings is a Republican, 
 and, socially, is a member of Nevius Post No. 1, G. 
 A. R. During the late war, he manifested his loy- 
 alty to the Union by enlisting, July 28, 1862, as a 
 member of Company D, Seventy-fourth Illinois 
 Infantry. He served until the 1st of January fol- 
 lowing, when, on account of disability, he re- 
 ceived his discharge. For two or three years he was 
 unable to work, after which he resumed farming, 
 and has since followed that occupation with signal 
 success. 
 
 ^^-=^^>^^<i 
 
 s 
 
 a?==;~^ — T' — 
 
 'S^^ETER M. NELSON, a contractor and 
 builder of masonry and brick work, who 
 has made his home in Rockford since 1874, 
 is another of the worthy citizens that Swe- 
 den has furnished to Winnebago County. He was 
 born in England, on the 12th of January, 1852, 
 and was reared and educated in his native coun- 
 try. His father, Nelso Peter Danielson, died 
 in Sweden when forty-two years of age. His wife 
 is yet living and is about sixty-seven years of age. 
 Her maiden name was Chesta Hawkinson, and she 
 has been a life-long member of the Swedish Lu- 
 theran Church, to which her husband also belonged. 
 Three brothers, Alfred, John A. and Gust, have 
 joined our subject in this country and now live in 
 Rockford. Alfred wedded Christina Begeholdt, of 
 Sweden; John A. married Emma Danielson, of the 
 same country; and Gust was joined in wedlock 
 with Anna Johnson. 
 
 Our subject was the first of his family to leave 
 his native land and seek a home in the New 
 World. He crossed the Atlantic from Sweden 
 to Baltimore, and went Westward, landing in 
 Chicago on the 12th of May, 1872. For two 
 years he resided in that city and there learned his 
 trade as a mason and brick layer. In 1874, as be- 
 fore stated, we find him a resident of Rockford, 
 where he has since been engaged in business. He 
 
780 
 
 PORTRAIT AND EIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 has met with signal success in his undertakings 
 and lias worked his way upward from an humble 
 position to one of affluence. He is now enjoying a 
 liberal patronage, and has helped build some two 
 hundred and forty-seven of the good homes and 
 public buildings of the city, and is the owner 
 of some valuable property, including a brick and 
 stone block at No. 405 Seventh Street, together 
 with his residence at No. 407 Sixth Street. 
 
 In this city Mr. Nelson led to the marriage al- 
 tar Miss Selma Harding, who was born in Sweden 
 in 1863, and came to the United Stales when a 
 child of only three years with her parents, who 
 took up their residence in Rockford and have 
 since made their home in this city. The death of 
 Mrs. Nelson occurred on the 26th of June, 1891. 
 She left three children to mourn her loss: Herbert 
 A., Elmer L. and Verna A. 
 
 Mr. Nelson holds membership with the Lu- 
 theran Church, as did also his wife. In politics, 
 he is a supporter of Republican principles but has 
 never sought or desired political preferment for 
 himself, as his time and attention have been 
 wholly taken up with his business, in which he 
 has met with signal success. He is |)ublic-spirited 
 and progressive, manifesting a commendable in- 
 terest iu all that pertains to the welfare of the city, 
 and is regarded by his fellow-townsmen as a man 
 of sterling worth. He ranks high in business cir- 
 cles and is well known throughout this commun- 
 ity, where he has made his home for eighteen con- 
 secutive years. 
 
 IIARI.ES T. SPACEMAN, one oC the prom- 
 inent citizens of Belvidere, claims Illinois 
 as the State of his nativity. He was born 
 December 28, 1842, and is a son of William Spack- 
 man. The grandfather, George Spackman, was a 
 native of England, and became a Baptist preacher. 
 He came to America in 1826, and, after a year 
 spent in New York, removed to Canada, locating 
 four miles from St. Thomas, at what is now known 
 as the Five Stakes. He erected a commodious 
 house and opened a tavern. He also engaged in 
 farming, and on Sunday filled a neighboring pul- 
 
 pit. At Five Stakes he resided until his death, 
 which occurred at the advanced age of one hun- 
 dred and three years, while his wife reached the 
 age of ninety-seven. They had a family of six 
 sons and five daughters. 
 
 William Spackman was a lad of twelve years 
 when he came to America with his parents. He 
 remained on the old home farm until 1837, when 
 he emigrated to Illinois and cast in his lot with 
 the pioneer settlers of Ogle County. He was a car- 
 penter by trade and erected the first building 
 which could properly be called a store in Rockford. 
 He was a member of the vigilance committee 
 which was organized for protection against horse 
 thieves and banditti of the prairie and is said to 
 be one of the eleven men who shot the Drinalls. 
 He was one of those arrested and held for trial, 
 but the vigilantees visited the judge in large num- 
 bers and secured their release. Mr. Spackman se- 
 cured a tract of land iu Marion Township, a short 
 distance from Byron, and there resided until 1852, 
 when he came to Boone County, and purchased 
 the Blood farm in Spring Township, engaging in 
 agricultural pursuits at that place until 1861, when 
 he enlisted in Company F, Forty-fifth Illinois In- 
 fantry, and participated in the battles of Ft. 
 Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg and many others. 
 He was afterwards taken sick, transferred to the 
 invalid corps, and went to Washington with Col. 
 Boyd. Although using his crutch, he went out 
 from there and fought Early's troops in Virginia. 
 He served three years and three months, after 
 which he was honorably discharged and returned 
 home. He continued to reside in this county un- 
 til 1872, when he went to Arkansas, and bought 
 a plantation at Grand Lake, engaging in agricul- 
 tural pursuits until his death, in 1886. He wed- 
 ded Mary Smith, daughter of John Smith, one of 
 the pioneers of Michigan. She now resides with 
 her children in Arizona. The family number the 
 following children: Charles T., Mary A., Phila, 
 Himma, Hattie and Willi.am. 
 
 The early educational advantages which our 
 subject received were those afforded by the com- 
 mon schools. He afterwards attended school in 
 Belvidere, and in 1866 and 1867 was a student in 
 the State University at Ann Arbor, Mich. On his 
 
^?-kv 
 
 G. W. REEVES. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 783 
 
 return home he resumed farmiug, which hcffollowed 
 until 1871, when lie began the study of law with 
 0. II- Wright. He studied one year and then again 
 eno-aged in farming until 1876. Having been ad- 
 ■initted tO'the Bar, he commenced practice in that 
 year and is now numbered among he prominent 
 attorneys of Belvidere. 
 
 In 1872, Mr. Spackman wedded Miss Eliza 
 Roach, who was born near Marietta, Ohio, and is a 
 daughter of John and Sarah Roach. They have 
 ten children and the family circle yet remains un- 
 broken. In order of birth they are as follows: 
 Charles, Hattie, Emma, Bessie, Frank, William, 
 Vina, Daisy, Grace and John. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Spackman is an ardent Republi- 
 can and has frequently served as delegate to the 
 county, district and State conventions. He was 
 a charter member of T. G. Lavvler Camp, tf which 
 1 e is now Captain, was one of the organizers of 
 L lone Camp No. 52, M. W. A., is a member of the 
 Royal Arcanum, Knights of Pythias, and of Bel- 
 vide-e Lodge No. 543, National Union. His wife 
 is St'te President of the L. A. S. of S. of V. of 
 lUinoi ■. Mr. Spackman was elected Police Magis- 
 trate in 1885 and served continuously until 1890, 
 when he was elected Justice of the Peace and now 
 holds that office. He is an able lawyer and his 
 merit has w on him high rank at the Bar of Boone 
 County. 
 
 ^^EORGE W. REEVES, deceased, is num- 
 ll SS7 bei'ed among the early settlers of Rockford, 
 ^yS! and for many years was one of its leading 
 
 citizens. He was born in Gloucestershire, England, 
 October 15, 1800, and was descended from an old 
 English family which liad resided in that country 
 since the days of William the Conqueror. His 
 parents lived and died in Gloucestershire, where 
 they were highly respected residents and prominent 
 Episcopalians. 
 
 Under the parental roof our subject was reared 
 to manhood and in his native county learned the 
 trade of a carriage-maker which he followed for 
 twenty years in England, becoming an efficient and 
 skilled mechanic, and throughout his life the char- 
 35 
 
 acter of his work justified the complimentary 
 words passed upon it. Ere leaving his native land, 
 he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth 
 Reeves, who was born and reared in Gloucester- 
 shire, but, though of the same name, was not of the 
 same family as her husband. After the birth of 
 three children, they left their old home and took 
 passage upon a sailing-vessel at Liverpool, in the 
 summer of 1851. At length they landed at New 
 York City, whence they came directly to Rockford. 
 
 Two of the children have since died. Mary A., 
 the eldest, became the wife of George Reeves, now 
 a resident of California, and died leaving two 
 children: Charles E., who married Miss Cora Moore 
 and now resides in Pomona, Cal.; and Clara A., 
 wife of D. N. Burrett, also of Pomona. Another 
 child, Frank E., is deceased. George C, the only 
 son of Mr. and Mrs. Reeves, died in middle life. 
 He married Myra B. Weldon, who is also deceased. 
 They were the parents of one daughter, Daisy C, 
 now a student in the Normal of Los Angeles, Cal. 
 Fannie M., the only surviving child of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Reeves, is the widow of Rev. John H. Reeves, 
 who died in 1885. He was a Methodist clcrgj-man, 
 belonging to the Rock River Conference, and his 
 consistent Christian life endeared him to all his 
 acquaintances. His widow now resides with her 
 mother and is a most estimable Christian ladj- 
 whose life is devoted to the work of the Master. 
 She is especially interested in missions and is the 
 Corresponding Secretary of the Women's Foreign 
 Missionary Society in the Methodist Church of 
 the Rockford district. 
 
 On coming to Rockford, our subject established 
 a blacksmith and wagon and carriage making shop, 
 and for some years the firm of Reeves & Co., his 
 son-in-law, George Reeves, being his partner, did 
 an extensive and successful business, located on 
 West State Street. Their constantly increasing 
 trade caused them to give employment to a num- 
 ber of men, and in the pursuit of business Mr. 
 Reeves acquired a good competence, which enabled 
 him to spend his last years in retirement. Soon 
 after coming to Rockford, he purchased the lot on 
 which he built his home and there resided until his 
 death, which occurred October 22, 1887. He had 
 been a resident of Rockford for more than thirt}'- 
 
784 
 
 J'ORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 six years, during which time he had proved his 
 worth as a citizen, a straightforward business man 
 and honorable gentleman. His lineaments are per- 
 petuated for coming generations by his portrait on 
 another page. 
 
 Mrs. Reeves still survives her husband and re- 
 sides at their old home. She is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and her earnest 
 Christian life is worthy of emulation. On March 
 27, 1892, she was seventy-nine years of age, but 
 her years rest lightly upon her and her hair is 
 hardly streaked with silver. 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 .(^L 
 
 "SI 
 
 ^ll? YMAN TAYLOR, who resides on section 28, 
 I (^ Harlem Township, is numbered among the 
 Jl— ^ early settlers of "Winnebago County, of 
 1840, and during the half-century which has since 
 passed has been prominently identified with its 
 upbuilding and advancement. He was born in 
 Middlefleld, Hampshire County, Mass., October 21, 
 1821. Tradition says that William Taylor, his 
 grandfather, was born in Scotland and came to 
 America as a soldier during the Revolutionary 
 War. He settled on a farm in the town of Middle- 
 fleld, where he spent the remainder of his daj'S. 
 His wife bore the maiden name of Priscilla Love- 
 land. 
 
 Asa Taylor, the father of our subject, was also 
 a native of the Bay State, born August 26, 1797. 
 He was reared upon a farm and followed that oc- 
 cupation in the town of Middlefleld until about 
 1840, when he emigrated Westward and settled in 
 Harlem Township, Winnebago County, 111., where 
 his remaining years were passed; he departed this 
 life in 1847. His wife, Lovisa Taylor, was born 
 in Washington, Berkshire County, Mass., November 
 19, 1799, and was a daughter of Amos and Louisa 
 (Bills) Haskin, who are mentioned in the sketch of 
 Charles Haskin on another page of this work. Mrs. 
 Taylor died February 7, 1881. Both parents were 
 members of the Methodist Church, Their family 
 numbered flvc children: Lyman, Harriet, Henry P., 
 Mary and Josephine. 
 
 The subject of this sketch spent the days of his 
 boyhood and youth in his native State, there resid- 
 
 ing until October, 1840, when he came with his 
 father to Illinois, making the journey by team to 
 Albany, thence by the Erie Canal to Buffalo, 
 and on by the Lakes to Chicago, where he again 
 procured a team and proceeded to Winnebago 
 County. The journey consumed nearly a month. 
 During the same autumn, Mr. Taylor purchased a 
 tract of land on section 29, Harlem Township. 
 About twenty acres had been broken but there 
 was not a building there or any other improve- 
 ments. Mr. Taylor built a small frame house, do- 
 ing most of the carpenter work himself; this was 
 one of the first frame houses in the place. He then 
 began life in earnest, and although he came to the 
 county empty-handed, by his industrious efforts he 
 gained a comfortable competence. He had to bear 
 all the hardships and trials of pioneer life, but he 
 overcame these and steadily worked his way up- 
 ward. 
 
 In 1844, our subject married Elizabeth Bowman, 
 who was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, April 
 27, 1824, and is a daughter of James and Ann 
 (Steven) Bowman, both of whom were natives of 
 Scotland. They came to America in 1836, accom- 
 panied by six of their seven children, and after a 
 voyage of seven weeks landed at Quebec, whence 
 they went to Huron County, Ohio, where the death 
 of Mr. Bowman occurred in the fall of the same 
 year. His widow continued to make her home in 
 that locality until 1842, when she came by way of 
 the Lakes to Illinois. She found Rockford to be a 
 mere hamlet and the surrounding country but 
 sparsely settled. In this county she made her 
 home until her death. The Bowman family num- 
 bered seven children: Alexander, George, Ann, 
 John, Elizabeth, Mary and James. Unto Mr. and 
 Mrs. Taylor have been born five children: Andrew, 
 Oliver, Louisa A., James, and one who died in in- 
 fancy. 
 
 The parents are both members of the Harlem 
 Methodist Church, and in this community where 
 they have so long made their home have a wide 
 acquaintance and many friends. In politics, Mr. 
 Taylor is a Republican, having supported that 
 party since its organization. He sold his first farm 
 in 1872 and purchased that upon which he now 
 resides on section 28, Harlem Township. He has 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 785 
 
 erected a good set of farm buildings and made 
 other improvements of both a useful and orna- 
 mental character. His fields are well tilled and 
 the neat appearance of the place indicates the 
 thrift and enterprise of the owner. Mr. Taylor is 
 a leading farmer, a valued citizen and an honored 
 pioneer, who well deserves representation in this 
 volume. 
 
 I M 1 1 J I F H i ^ I ^ 
 
 } I I I I 
 
 I^HILIP W. MARSH, one of the prominent 
 jl) residents of Roekford, was bom in New 
 
 ^ Milford, Litchfield County, Conn., Decem- 
 , \ her 22, 1815. His father, Bradley Marsh, 
 was also a native of that place, as was his father, 
 8amuel Marsh. The latter-named gentleman was 
 of English ancestry and a farmer by occupation, 
 spending his entire life in New Milford. 
 
 Bradley Marsh was reared on the home farm, 
 where he followed agricultural pursuits. His 
 daughtei', Betsey A., who married Moody J. 
 Howes, now owns and occupies the old place. The 
 maiden name of the mother of our subject was 
 Sally Wells; she was also born in New Milford, 
 Conn., and was a daughter of Philip and Elizabeth 
 Wells. The parental famil}^ of our subject in- 
 cluded five children: Eliza L., Orin B., Betsey A., 
 Philip and Sophia. 
 
 Our subject went to school in his native town 
 and resided with his parents until reaching his six- 
 teenth year, when he made his home with his sister 
 Eliza at New Haven. He there learned the trade 
 of a joiner but followed that occupation but a 
 short time. He assisted in making the survey for 
 the Housatonic Valley Railroad and after the road 
 was completed from Bridgeport to New Canaan, 
 our subject acted as conductor on the road for four 
 months. 
 
 In 1845, Mr. Marsh came to Illinois via the rail- 
 road to Albany, then by way of the canal to Buf- 
 falo, where he embarked on the steamer which 
 conveyed him to Chicago. He there met a farmer, 
 who was in the city to dispose of his grain, and 
 bargained with him to take him to Kishwaukee, a 
 village located at the mouth of the Kishwaukee 
 Creek in Winnebago County. At that time, this 
 
 section of the country was very sparsely settled, 
 deer, bears and other wild animals roaming at will 
 over the country, and most of the land was in 
 the possession of the Government. Mr. Marsh 
 started in the mercantile business at Kishwaukee, 
 and after remaining there a twelvemonth disposed 
 of his store and removed to New Milford, Conn. 
 In 1851, he returned to Winnebago County and 
 for two months was engaged as clerk in a general 
 store. At the expiration of that time, he pur- 
 chased a farm in what is now New Milford Town- 
 ship, and at the organization of the same, our sub- 
 ject, in company with Horace Miller and a Mr. 
 Moore, was appointed a committee to select a 
 name for the township, and it was thus named 
 New Milford in honor of the old home of Mr. 
 Marsh. 
 
 The original of this sketch continued to cul- 
 tivate the soil until 188.3, at which time he traded 
 his farm for property on Charles Street, Roekford, 
 which he has lately platted into city lots. He was 
 married, December 22, 1845, to Nancy E. Miller, 
 who was born in Livingston County, N. Y., and 
 who was the daughter of the Hon. Horace and 
 Hannah (Clark) Miller. To Mr. and Mrs. Marsh 
 have been born three children, namely: Philip, 
 Arthur A. Clarence and Frank M. Mrs. Marsh is 
 a member of the Methodist Episcopal Churcli, and 
 in his political views, our subject, in early life a 
 Whig, casting his first vote for Gen. Harrison in 
 1840, now votes the straight Republican ticket. 
 He has been the recipient of various township 
 offices within the gift of the people, the duties of 
 which he has performed in a most satisfactory and 
 creditable manner. 
 
 /^ 
 
 A^=^= 
 
 SIDNEY LUFKIN, whose life has been an 
 active one, and who has by his own indus- 
 try and intelligent management secured a 
 substantial footing among the citizens of 
 this community, was born in North Yarmouth, 
 Me., in 1821. His parents, Jacob B. and Elizabeth 
 (Ludden) Lufkin, were natives of Cape Ann, 
 Mass., and Maine, respectively, the father born in 
 
786 
 
 POUTEAIT AND BI0GIIA.PI1ICAL RECORD, 
 
 May, 1778. They were the parents of eleven 
 children, two of whom died young, and of the 
 nine who grew to adult years our subject was the 
 youngest. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, Na- 
 thaniel Lufkin, was born in Cumberland, Me., Sep- 
 tember 4, 1791, and the maternal great-grandfather, 
 Nathaniel Ludden, was a Revolutionary soldier. 
 He was one of the minute men before the war and 
 was among those who threw the tea into the At- 
 lantic Ocean. He was very powerfully built, 
 weighed two hundred pounds, and was six feet 
 two inches in height. He died at his son's home 
 in Maine when eighty-three years of age, his death 
 having occurred in Pownal. 
 
 Our subject was reared to farm life and con- 
 tinued to cultivate the soil on his father's farm 
 until seventeen years of age, when he went to sea 
 on a merchantman from Portland and Boston, 
 first on the bark "Ontario," going to the "West 
 Indies under Capt. Hambieton, and next on the 
 "Henry Leeds," with Capt. Humphrey, to Havana, 
 Cuba. He was on the ocean five years, and from 
 before the mast at $16 per month, he was final I3' 
 made second mate with a salary of $25 per month. 
 He had a good common-school education and had 
 kept his wages from the time he was seventeen years 
 of age. He was married in Beloit, when twenty- 
 eight years of age, to Miss Mary A. Bam let, of 
 England, daughter of Joseph and Alice Bamlet. 
 
 Mr. Lufkin came West in the year 1844, coming 
 from New Orleans on the Mississii^pi River, and 
 he soon after settled in Manchester Township on 
 a quarter-section, with his brother, David T., oc- 
 cupying an adjoining farm. They built a saw- 
 mill soon after and conducted this until 1849 or 
 1850, when our subject was taken with the gold 
 fever and went to California. During the ten 
 years he remained in that State, he made a great 
 deal but also lost heavily, so that when he re- 
 turned he brought back little more than he started 
 out with, save experience. During the Indian 
 outbreak in 1854-55 in California, our subject 
 raised a company of sixty men and was engaged 
 for about three months subjugating the redskins. 
 
 Our subject's union was blessed by the birth of 
 the following children: (George W. is married and 
 
 has four children; Elmer E.,a farmer of Wyoming, 
 is married; Alice May, now Mrs. Duncan McLean, 
 her husband a farmer on the old homestead; Jesse 
 W. is a carpenter in California; Edward A. is 
 married and resides in Beloit, Wis.; and William 
 W. is a teacher in Wyoming. The mother of 
 these children passed away on the 2d of March, 
 1887, when sixty years of age. 
 
 Mr. Lufkin formerly owned three hundred and 
 ninety acres of land, but he recently sold one hun- 
 dred and seventy acres. He is very successful in 
 all his farming operations and, in connection with 
 this, also engages in stock-raising to some extent. 
 He raises cattle, horses, hogs and a good grade 
 of sheep, and everything about his place indicates 
 a thrifty and progressive owner. Socially, he is a 
 Master Mason, but in religion is a freethinker and 
 a member of no church. He has been School Trus- 
 tee and a member of the Committee on Highways. 
 In 1860, our subject was a Douglas Democrat and 
 a strong adherent and supporter of Peter Cooper, 
 and still adheres to those principles. 
 
 ~g^ ^ 
 
 ^^EORGE G. WHEELER. This gentleman 
 III (_ — owns and occupies a valuable estate in 
 ^^11 Flora Township, Boone County, and is 
 numbered among the enterprising and progressive 
 agriculturists of his community. He was born 
 August 19, 1832, in Portland, Chautauqua County, 
 N. Y., and is the son of Lyman Wheeler, who was 
 born in Westmoreland, N. H., in which State 
 Aaron Wheeler, the grandfather of our subject, 
 died. 
 
 Lyman Wheeler removed to New York State 
 when a young man, and was married in Hoosic, 
 soon after which event he went to Chautauqua 
 C^ounty, and located in Portland Township, where 
 he was engaged in cultivating the soil until 1842. 
 Mr. Wheeler then became a resident of Cattaraugus 
 County, and later came to Illinois in company 
 with his wife, four children and his brother Adam 
 and family. The brothers each possessed a team 
 of horses and wagon, in which they made the jour- 
 ney West, and in Michigan traded the horses for 
 two yoke of oxen and bought a third pair. 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 787 
 
 On locating in this State, Mr. Wheeler went to 
 Eoscoe, Winnebago County, and there operated a 
 sawmill and farm for one year and at the end of 
 that time came to Belvidere. He resided in the 
 village for one and one-half years, then, entering a 
 tract of land in Spring Township, erected a frame 
 house and at once commenced the work of improv- 
 ing his purchase. He resided there for seven 
 years, when he moved to the place which our sub- 
 ject now occupies and where his death occurred, 
 November 29, 1872. 
 
 Sabra Wright, our subject's mother, was the 
 daughter of Phineas and Asenath (Burnham) 
 Wright and was born in Chester, Vt. She reared 
 a family of four children and departed this life 
 on the 31st of May, 1887. The sisters of our sub- 
 ject were Sarah, who died April 17, 1891; Susan 
 S. and Calista A. He of whom we write was the 
 only son of his parents and was nine years of age 
 when he accompanied them on their removal to 
 Illinois. He attended the pioneer schools of Belvi- 
 dere, which were conducted on the subscription 
 plan. He commenced when very young to assist 
 his father in carrying on the farm and resided at 
 home until the decease of his parents. 
 
 In 1862, Mr. Wheeler and Miss Helen M. Foster, 
 who was born in Warsaw, Wyoming County, N. Y., 
 were united in marriage. She was the daugliterof 
 Silas and Fannie (Smith) Foster, her father dying 
 in 1846, in New York, which was his native State. 
 The grandfather of Mrs. Wheeler, Luther Foster, 
 was born in Southampton, L. I., in 1770, and, re- 
 moving from there to Montague, N. J., resided for 
 a time, and in 1823 became a resident of Warsaw, 
 N. Y., where his decease occurred. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Ruth Hedges. She was also 
 a native of Southampton, who departed this life 
 in 1860, at the advanced age of ninety-four years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler have three children liv- 
 ing: Arthur F., Charles O. and Hettie Grace. 
 George B. died in infancy and Robie B. when thir- 
 teen years. of age. The maternal grandfather of 
 our subject, Phineas Wright, was born in Hinsdale, 
 N. H., .January 1, 1779, and in early life moved to 
 Chester, Vt., and from there to Hoosic, Rensselaer 
 County, N. Y., where he was engaged in the manu- 
 facture of slate rooiing. He later removed to a 
 
 farm in Sand Lake, where he died when ninety- 
 one years old. He had been twice married, and 
 was the father of twenty-six children, all of whom 
 were living, with the exception of three, at the 
 time of his death. 
 
 ii****|: 
 
 ^^IDEON HOLLEM, of the firm of Hollem 
 i|[ =7 Bros., grocery men, whose business quarters 
 ^^^ are located at No. 504 East State Street, 
 with a branch store at the corner of Seventh Street 
 and Fourteenth Avenue, is an energetic business 
 man and abundantly worthy of the large measure 
 of success achieved. This business was first started 
 under the firm name of Hollem Bros. & Co., but 
 later, in 1888, it became known as Hollem Bros., 
 and this has since continued to be its title. The 
 individual members of tliis firm are Albert and 
 Gideon Hollem, and a younger brother, Elmer, 
 manages the Fourteenth Avenue store, which was 
 started in 1892. He is a bright, capable young 
 "fellow and full of push and energy. Hollem Bros, 
 have been at their present location since 1883. 
 They have by their fair and honest dealing built 
 up an extensive trade. They carry on their affairs 
 on the soundest business principles, and their re- 
 cord lends to these pages and Rockford credit and 
 standing. 
 
 When eighteen years of age, Gideon Hollem be- 
 gan clerking for the Globe Tea Compan}', and four 
 years later became a partner. He was born in 
 Rockford, on the 1st of August, 1860, and he was 
 carefully reared by good parents, and educated in 
 the city schools. He was the third in order of 
 birth of five children, three sons and two daugh- 
 ters, born to his parents, Andrew and Gustava 
 Hollem. (For further particulars of parents see 
 sketch of Albert Hollem.) 
 
 Gideon Hollem was married, in Rockford, to 
 Miss Lizzie Flannery, who was born, reared and 
 educated in this city, and who is of Irish parent- 
 age. Her father, Martin Flannery, died in Rock- 
 ford when but little past middle age, and left his 
 widow with a comfortable competence. The latter 
 is now residing at No. 502 South Fourth Street, 
 and is well along in years. 
 
788 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ilollem have a pleasant and com- 
 fortable home at Ko. 109 Longwood Street and 
 this is further brightened by their little son Ed- 
 ward. They are classed araong the best citizens 
 of the city, and are interested in all movements 
 that have for their object the development and 
 prosperity of their native town. 
 
 ?RED L. MILLER, a prosperous and enter- 
 prising young farmer, residing on section 
 18, Cherry Valley Township, Winnebago 
 County, is the only son of John and Lucy A. (Meri- 
 thew) Miller. His father was a native of New 
 Jersey and was of German descent. When a young 
 man he removed with his parents to Mt. Morris, 
 Livingston Countjr, N. Y. In the family were 
 four sons and four daughters, all of whom grew 
 to mature years. One daughter, Catherine, who 
 married Samuel Crowley, died in Tuscarora, N. Y., 
 in 1884, aged sixty-four years. 
 
 John Miller died where his son now resides, Octo- 
 ber 9, 1886, and was sixtj' four j'ears of age. In 
 Livingston County, February 16, 1850, he married, 
 and then removed West to Janesville, Wis. Two 
 years later he came to Illinois, locating upon a 
 farm now occupied by our subject. He purchased 
 one liundied and five acres of land from the Gov- 
 ernment, and in connection with farming followed 
 his trade of carpentering. He worked very hard 
 and his arduous labors at length brought him a 
 competency. He started with nothing, but at his 
 death left to his son four hundred acres of valua- 
 ble land, all in one body, besides other property. 
 He and his wife were both members of the Method- 
 ist Church of New Milford and did all in their 
 power for its upbuilding and advancement. In 
 politics, Mr. Miller was a Republican. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared to man- 
 hood under tlie parental roof, spending his boy- 
 hood days in the usual manner of farmer lads. On 
 the 1st of August, 1881, he led to the marriage 
 altar Miss Jennie Bartholomew, daughter of Charles 
 B. and Hester (Weaver) Bartholomew. Her par- 
 ents were natives of England and on emigrating 
 
 to America about 1850, settled near Milwaukee, 
 Wis., whence they afterward came to Roekford, 
 and still later they became residents of Mason 
 City, Iowa. They had a large family, but three 
 sons and a daughter are now deceased. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Miller have had three children: 
 Daisy died January 18, 1884, at the age of six- 
 teen months. Edna was born December 4, 1883, 
 and Jesse on the 24th of February, 1889. The 
 family reside at their pleasant home, a commodious 
 and elegant residence situated in the midst of 
 beautiful grounds. Mr. Miller has sold all of his 
 farm, with the exception of this and one hundred 
 acres of timber land. He raises about fifty hogs 
 a year, but gives most of his time to the operation 
 of his portable engine. Though reared to agricul- 
 tural pursuits, his taste runs to machiner}^ and he 
 takes great pleasure in using the power of steam 
 for threshing, plowing, etc. He has proved how ex- 
 tremely useful his machine is in breaking among 
 the grub oaks, in cutting large roots and in turning 
 over stumps. When his engine is not used in this 
 way, he utilizes it for elevating ice, for threshing, 
 or in helping some manufacturer's broken engine. 
 He is a practical mechanic and in the business which 
 he now follows is meeting with excellent success. 
 Other than devoting his attention to this line of 
 work, he is living retired, for he possesses a com- 
 petence amply sufh'cient for all his wants. He and 
 his wife are held in high esteem and rank high in 
 social circles. 
 
 'Jr^ALPH ROBERTS, editor and proprietor of 
 i^ii^ the Belvidere Standard, has published this 
 paper longer, probably, than any other ed- 
 itor in the State of Illinois. He is a prom- 
 inent and influential citizen of this community 
 and well deserves representation in this volume. 
 He was born in East Hartford, Conn., December 15, 
 1822, and belongs to the good old Revolutionary 
 stock. His grandfather, William Roberts, served 
 in the Revolutionary War and was captured by the 
 British, but made his escape from the old prison 
 ship in New York harbor and swam ashore. He 
 was a cooper by trade, and spent his last years in 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 789 
 
 East Hartford. He married Abigail Stanley, of 
 Coventry, Conn., who after her husband's death 
 received a pension. She died at the advanced age 
 of ninety-seven. 
 
 Isaac Roberts, father of our subject, was born in 
 East Hartford, and learned the trade of a hatter. 
 For some years he was foreman in the factory of 
 Hoadley & Chalker, of Hartford, after which he 
 began business for himself in East Hartford as a 
 partner of Hubbard Hills, the connection continu- 
 ing for some time. He married Anna Ensign, 
 daughter of Solomon Ensign, and both died at 
 their home in East Hartford. 
 
 Our subject acquired his education in the schools 
 of his native town, and, at the age of sixteen, started 
 out in life for himself. He commenced to learn 
 the printer's trade in the office of the Congrega- 
 twnalist, in Hartford, and after a short time went 
 to New York City, where he was employed in a 
 book and job printing office until 1843. In that 
 year he determined to try his fortune in the 
 West, and emigrated to Chicago, where he se- 
 cured employment with the Brm of Ellis & Fergus, 
 book and job printers, but remained with them 
 only a few months, when he went to St. Louis, and 
 then to the American Bottoms, on the Illinois side 
 of the Mississippi River, where he engaged in 
 clerking for a time. His next place of residence was 
 in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was employed in a 
 stereotype foundry until the spring of 1845, when 
 he returned to his old home in Connecticut, and 
 was again employed at his trade in that place until 
 1850. On again coming "West, he located in "Wood- 
 stock, 111., in 1850, where, in company with F. D. 
 Austin, he established the Woodstock Democrat, 
 and continued its publication for a year, when he 
 sold out to his partner and came to Belvidere. 
 Here he established the Belvidere Standard in 1851, 
 and has conducted the paper as sole proprietor 
 continuously since. 
 
 After locating here, in September, 1856, Mr. 
 Roberts was united in marriage -with Phoebe L. 
 Cowderey, who was born in Troy, N. Y., and is a 
 daughter of Asa and Laura Cowderey. They have 
 bad three children : Anna, wife of William Sower, 
 now deceased; Bertha E., now the wife of H. W. 
 Ames, a resident of Chicago; and Jessie, at home. 
 
 In early life, Mr. Roberts was a Democrat, but 
 was an opponent of slavery, and when the Repub- 
 lican party sprang into existence to prevent its 
 further extension, he was one of the first to espouse 
 its cause and was a delegate to the first Illinois 
 Stale Convention of that party. The fact that he 
 has so long published the Belvidere Standard is 
 sufficient evidence of its success. He is a bright 
 and interesting writer and his paper is well de- 
 serving of the liberal patronage which it receives. 
 
 -!- 
 
 =^>-^^<i 
 
 (QV— ■ 
 
 /,.., LBERT HOLLEM, groceryman, Rockford, 
 £JI 111. "The food we eat" is a vitally im- 
 portant question, and one which concerns 
 the health and happiness of every man, 
 woman and child. It is but natural to suppose 
 that the best groceries are to be found in those 
 establishments which transact the largest business. 
 One of the finest appointed grocery stores in Rock- 
 ford is that of Hollem Bros., located at No. 504 
 East State Street. The business has attained a 
 wonderful degree of success under its present 
 management, and the stock embraces everything 
 in the line of fancy groceries, provisions, teas, 
 coffees, etc., in fact, everything that is found in 
 a first-class house. This business was formerly 
 under the firm title of Hollem Bros. & Co., known 
 as the Globe Tea Company, and was started in 
 1883. In 1888, it took its present title. 
 
 Our subject is the senior, and his brother the 
 junior, member of the firm, and both are active 
 young men, conducting their business on the sound- 
 est principles and carrying on an institution 
 worthy of being called representative. Both were 
 born, reared and educated in Rockford, where 
 they are well and favorably known, and Albert 
 clerked in this city for about eight years previous 
 to starting in business for himself. These young 
 men are interested in various local enterprises, 
 are public-spirited, and are respected in social and 
 commercial circles. 
 
 Our subject's father, Andrew Hollem, was a native 
 of Sweden, but came to the United States and 
 Rockford in 1854. Since then, he has been promi- 
 nently connected with the growth and prosperity 
 
790 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the city, and has a fine home at No. 606 Elm 
 Street. He is well thought of in the city and is 
 now quite well along in years. He was married 
 in Kane County, 111., to Miss Gustava Anderson, 
 who was also a native of Sweden, and came to this 
 countrj' when a young woman. Both parents are 
 much respected and have a wide circle of friends. 
 Their f.amily consisted of five children, three sons 
 and two daughters: Paulina, wife of T. F. Strom- 
 merts, a butcher running a meat-market in Rock- 
 ford; Albert, our subject; Gideon married Miss 
 Elizabeth Flannery, and is a partner with Albert; 
 Julia, wife of Adolph Ekstein, a druggist at Los 
 Angeles, Cal.; and Elmer, who resides with his 
 parents and is running a "branch store for his 
 brothers at the corner of Seventh Street and Four- 
 teenth Avenue. 
 
 Albert Hollem was married in Rockford to 
 Miss Amanda Huldt, a native of Sweden, who 
 came to America when a 3roung girl, and who 
 was reared and educated in this cit^^. Her 
 father, Charles M. Huldt, was a well-known and 
 very skillful machinist and mechanic of the Utter 
 Manufacturing Company. To Mr. and Mrs. Hol- 
 lem have been born one daughter. Hazel C. They 
 are prominent young people of the county and 
 have a great manj'^ friends. Mr. Hollem is a mem- 
 ber of Rockford Lodge No. 102, A. F. & A. M., 
 and he and his father and brothers are stanch Re- 
 publicans. 
 
 
 -So~ 
 
 ' OSEPH BARNINGHAM was born in Mars- 
 den, Yorkshire, England, April 27th, 1816, 
 and served as an apprentice to the trade of 
 a machinist in his native country. Poor 
 and without friends, he came alone to America in 
 1842, and after being employed in machine shops 
 in different places, finally secured a position as an 
 engineer on the New York & Erie Railroad. 
 Later, coming West, he became engineer on the 
 Chicago & Galena Railroad, now the Chicago & 
 Northwestern Railroad, and was soon given the 
 position of Master Mechanic of the shops at Free- 
 port, where he remained fourteen years. 
 
 Afterward Mr. Barninghara went to Cincinnati, 
 
 Ohio, and entered the employ of the Ohio & 
 Mississippi Railroad and was in its shops at Coch- 
 ran, Ind. At one time he was also engaged in 
 manufacturing street cars in Chicago, in company 
 with John Ebbert, and, in connection with him 
 manufactured the first dummy engine used on the 
 street railway in Chicago, which was employed in 
 carrying passengers to and from the Stock Yards. 
 In 1847, Mr. Barningham married Viletta A. 
 Brewer at Buffalo, N. Y. She was born in Milford, 
 Otsego County, N. Y., August 31, 1825. In 1849, 
 accompanied by his wife, he came to Illinois and 
 located in Durand Township, Winnebago Countv. 
 Eight children were born to them, six of whom, 
 Frances, Addison, Delos, J. D., Angerona and 
 Gager are now living. His wife died October 5, 
 1882, and he survived her ten years, dying March 
 2, 1892. He was prominent in the development of 
 the resources of the country and was one of its 
 foremost citizens until his death. 
 
 'DDISON J. BARNINGHAM, the eldest 
 (^jO| son of Joseph Barningham, was born March 
 
 Ijf li 3, 1850, in Durand Township, Winnebago 
 County, where he now owns and occupies 
 a fine farm on section 22. He was reared to farm- 
 ing pursuits. In 1876, he purchased eighty acres 
 of his present farm, and three years later added 
 forty acres, which now includes as fine land as can 
 be found in Durand Township. 
 
 In 1879, Mr. Barningham was married to Miss 
 Hattie S., daughter of Wilson H. and Eliza Cran- 
 dall, whose sketch is published on another page of 
 this work. Mrs. Barningham died at her home in 
 1881. November 21, 1885, Mr. Barningham was 
 united in marriage with Mattie, daughter of Rich- 
 ard and Matilda (Tombs) Sackett. She was born 
 in Chicago, July 2, 1864. They have one son, 
 Dewitt B., who Was born November 26, 1886. In 
 his political relations, our subject votes for the man 
 instead of the party. 
 
 Mr. Barningham was elected President of the 
 Durand Mutual Fire Insurance Company in 1891. 
 He is also a member of Durand Lodge No. 302, 
 
Ot^—y 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 793 
 
 F. & A. M., and is serving his ninth term as Secre- 
 tary of that order. His possessions are the result 
 of his industry and good judgment. In his farm- 
 ing pursuits he is conducting his affairs in the mos' 
 intelligent and profitable manner. He occupies an 
 honored position in the business and social circles 
 of the community. 
 
 "■S) 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 [=_ 
 
 \^~ 
 
 eHARLES A. STOCKHUS. The gentleman 
 wliose portrait appears on the opposite page 
 has been a stockholder and Director of the 
 Skandia Plow Company since its organization and 
 is also Superintendent of the smithing department. 
 He was bora in Smoland, Sweden, and is a son of 
 Gustaf and Sarah (Mangson) Stockhus, the former 
 born in August, 1809, and the latter in 1811. 
 Both are yet living and have been life-long mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church. By trade the father 
 is a mechanic and his business career has been a 
 successful one. The eldest daughter of the familj', 
 Mrs. Anna C. Elm, is yet living in Sweden. A 
 brother, J. P., was the first to cross tlie Atlantic, 
 having come to this country in 1868. He is now 
 married and with his family resides on a farm in 
 McPherson County, Kan. Another brother, John 
 G.,now resides on Eighth Street in Rockford and 
 is a mechanic in the employ of the Skandia Plow 
 Company. 
 
 Charles Stockhus spent the days of his boj^hood 
 and youth in his native Province and while still 
 young served a five years' apprenticeship to the 
 blacksmith's trade. With the hope of bettering 
 his financial condition in America, he bade good- 
 bye to home and friends and in the spring of 1869 
 sailed for the New World. He landed at Quebec, 
 Canada, and thence came to Rockford, where he 
 joined his brother, J. P. He has since been recog- 
 nized as one of tiie cnei-getic and enterprising 
 Swedish citizens of the county. He was instrumen- 
 tal in organizing the Skandia Plow Company, one 
 of the leading industries of the city. He is him- 
 self a practical and skilled workman and now has 
 under his charge forty employes. Much of the 
 success of the business is due to his excellent man- 
 agement and he has made it one of the paying in- 
 
 stitutions of the city. Mr. Stockhus has been con- 
 nected with the Union Grocery Company of 
 Rockford since coming to the city and lias aided 
 in the promotion of other enterprises calculated to 
 promote the genei-al welfare. His own industry 
 and perseverance have won him success, and in ad- 
 dition to his other business he is the owner of some 
 improved real estate in Rockford, including his 
 comfortable home at No. 608 South Third Street. 
 
 At Rockford, Mr. Stockhus was joined in wed- 
 lock with Miss Christina Pherson, who was born in 
 Smoland, Sweden, July 21, 1850. She spent the 
 days of her maidenhood in her native land, and in 
 1869 came alone to this country, settling in Rock- 
 ford, where she joined her brother, James P. Tal- 
 bot, who had located here a year previous and is 
 now a farmer of JlcPherson County, Kan. Her 
 father. Per Bengston, was born in 1806, followed 
 farming throughout his entire life and died in 
 Smoland, Sweden, in 1878. His wife, who was born 
 in 1818, is still living and is well preserved for one 
 of her years. She is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Stockhus is a stalwart Republi- 
 can and maintains a deep interest in public affairs. 
 He and his wife are faithful members of the First 
 Lutheran Church of Rockford. Unto them have 
 been born four children: Alice, Frank R., Per E., 
 and Gust A., and the family circle yet remains un- 
 broken. 
 
 S. MORSE has for seventeen 
 
 years engaged in the liverj' business in 
 
 N.EN.IAMIN 
 
 years engf 
 f*>)))f) Rockford. His residence in the county 
 
 dates from 1849, when, a young man of 
 seventeen j'cars, he came with his parents to this 
 county. His father, William Morse, was a native of 
 Grimsby, Ontario, Canada, born March 2, 1806. He 
 learned the trade of a mechanic and carpenter and 
 became a skilled and successful workman. In Pa- 
 lermo, Canada, in 1830, he married Miss Lavina 
 Smith, the eldest of three children born to Benjamin 
 Smith, an early settler in the Province of Ontario. 
 In the midst of the forest, he hewed out a farm 
 and became a successful agriculturist, owning two 
 
794 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 hundred acres of fine land. His deatli there oc- 
 curred in 1850, at an advanced age. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Catlierine Shook, had died 
 at the advanced age of ninety-seven years. They 
 were both members of the Methodist Church and 
 were devoted Christian people. 
 
 William Morse and his wife continu.ed to reside 
 in the Province of Ontario, for some years, where 
 he followed his trade and also engaged in the dry- 
 goods business. He made considerable money, but 
 when the Canadian Rebellion broke out, he lost all 
 and removed to New York, settling near Lockport. 
 In 1840, he returned to Canada, and in 1849 came 
 with his family to Illinois, making the journey by 
 team and camping out along the wayside at night. 
 In this county, he made a good farm but after- 
 ward lost it through misplaced confidence. Later, 
 he went to California with teams, returning to 
 Rockford after seven years. The mother of our 
 subject died August 21, 1870, after which Mr. 
 Morse wedded Mrs. Clarissa Woodworth, nee Hills, 
 who was born in Melbourne, Lower Canada, Sept- 
 ember 9, 1805, and now with her husband resides 
 with our subject. William Morse is past his 
 eighty-sixth year but is still well preserved for one 
 of his age. For many years he has been a mem- 
 ber of the Baptist Church. In politics, he formerly 
 supported the Republican party, but now votes 
 with the Prohibition party. 
 
 Benjamin Morse was born in Palermo, in 1834, 
 and there resided until with his parents he came 
 to Illinois. He has borne many of the hardships 
 and experiences of pioneer life and is a well-known 
 citizen of this community. In Guilford, he mar- 
 ried Miss Caroline Woodworth, who was born in 
 the Province of Ontario, September 13, 1839, and 
 was brought by her parents to this county in July, 
 1840, the family settling in Guilford Township, 
 on a new farm, where she was reared. Her father, 
 Gershon Woodworth, also a native of Canada, fol- 
 lowed farming in Guilford Township until his 
 death in 1872, since which time his widow has be- 
 come the wife of William Morse, as before stated. 
 
 Unto our subject and his wife were born three 
 children: Charles P., a graduate of the city schools, 
 now living on Avon Street, in Rockford, is a 
 messenger for the Adams Express Company. He 
 
 wedded Miss Maggie McPherson. Fred R. holds 
 a position as agent for the Adams Express Com- 
 pany in Kirkland, 111., and John H. is still attend- 
 ing school. The parents attend the Christian 
 Church, and the father and sons are Republicans in 
 political sentiment. 
 
 As before stated, Mr. Morse has long engaged in 
 the livery business in Rockford and for fourteen 
 years carried on two stables. His courteous man- 
 ner and attention to the wants of his customers has 
 won him a liberal patronage and thereby he has 
 secured a good income. He also owns a fine farm 
 of two hundred and nineteen acres in Guilford 
 Township, well improved and highly cultivated. 
 He has a wide acquaintance throughout this com- 
 munity and is highly esteemed by his many 
 friends. 
 
 ♦ — ♦= 
 
 _y 
 
 \f7 EVl LANDERS, who is engaged in general 
 I (^ farming on section 32, Harlem Township, 
 JL^ Winnebago Countj', is a native of the Em- 
 pire State. He was born in Somerset, Niagara 
 County, April 16, 1819, and is descended from an 
 old New England family. His grandfather, Aquilla 
 Landers, was born in Shoreham, Vt., whence he 
 removed to Orleans County, N. Y., where he spent 
 his last year engaged in farming. Benjamin Lan- 
 ders, the father of Levi, was also born in Shore- 
 ham, where he was reared and married. Miss 
 Cynthia Intin becoming his wife. They removed 
 to New York and were among the early settlers 
 of Niagara County. Mr. Landers there purchased 
 eighty acres of land in the town of Somerset, and 
 upon it built the log cabin in which our subject was 
 born. There were then no railroads in the county, 
 no convenient markets, and no mills or post-offices 
 nearer than Rochester, fifty miles away. Tlie 
 people lived mostly off the products of their farms 
 and the wild game and fish which could be ob- 
 tained in abundance. Mr. Landers cleared his 
 land and made it his home for some years, after 
 which he sold out and bought a tract of limber 
 land in the same township, where he improved a 
 farm and made his home until called to his final 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 795 
 
 rest. His wife died also on the old homestead 
 about 1825. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject, who has ever been identified with agri- 
 cultural pursuits. Almost as soon as he could 
 reach the plow handles, he began assisting his 
 father in the farm work and remained at home 
 until after the latter's death. As a companion 
 and helpmate on life's journc}-, he chose Mrs. 
 Anna (Wood) Landers, their union being cele- 
 brated January 22, 1844. The lady was born in 
 New York, Januarj' 20, 1825. Her father, Samuel 
 D. Wood, was a native of Connecticut, whence he 
 removed to the Empire State when a young man. 
 He there engaged in farming and was married in 
 the town of Henrietta to Eunice Herrick, a native 
 of New York, and a daughter of Luther and Mar^^ 
 (Johnson) Herrick. He bought a farm a few miles 
 from Rochester, where he resided some years, and 
 then took up his residence in the town of Somer- 
 set, Niagara County, where he made his home 
 until about 1847. In that year, he came West- 
 ward to Winnebago County, 111., and bought a 
 tract of land which is now included in the village 
 of Winnebago. After a time, he removed to Shir- 
 land Township, where he bought a farm and 
 made liis home for a few years, after which he 
 resided with Mrs. Landers until his death, about 
 1862. His wife long survived him, passing away 
 in 1887. Their daughter was first married at the 
 age of fifteen, when she became the wife of Caleb 
 Landers, a brother of our subject. His death oc- 
 curred in January, 1841. 
 
 It was in 1846 that our subject, accompanied 
 by his wife and two children, came to Illinois, 
 making the journey by way of the Lakes. He was 
 then not only empty-handed, but was $50 in 
 debt, so we see that his entire possessions have been 
 made since that time. For three years, he rented 
 land in Guilford Township, and then bought forty 
 acres of timber land in Shirland Township, upon 
 which a frame house had been built. Two years after- 
 ward, he sold the place and removed to Green 
 County, Wis., but lived there for only two years, 
 when he returned to Shirland Township and 
 bought one hundred and twenty-seven acres of 
 land near his former home. He there resided 
 
 until 1867, since which time he has been living 
 on his farm in Harlem Township. His life has 
 been well and wortliily spent, and, though a quiet 
 and unassuming man, he has gained the high re- 
 gard of those with whom he has come in contact. 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Landers wei-e born three 
 children: Roderick, the only son; Eunice, now the 
 wife of William Rogers, of Rockford; and Eliza, 
 wife of Oliver Taj^lor, of Harlem Township. 
 
 •^^ 
 
 ..^ 
 
 RS. ISABELL COY' has for the long 
 period of forty-six years been a resident 
 14) of Winnebago County, and well deserves 
 * representation in this volume. She now 
 
 resides on section 15, Guilford Township. She 
 was born in Buffalo Township, Union County, Pa., 
 and is descended from an old family of that 
 State. The great-grandfather of ]Mrs. Coy, Mr. 
 Royer, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. 
 Her grandparents, .John Paul and Eva (Royer) 
 Ziebach, were natives of the Keystone State, and 
 there the father followed teaching throughout his 
 entire life. The father of Mrs. Coj^ Jacob Zie- 
 bach, was born in Berks County, Pa., and on at- ■ 
 taining his majority wedded Anna Pollock, who 
 was born in Chester Count}', that State, and was a 
 daughter of John and Isabella (Rolance) Pollock, 
 also natives of Pennsjdvania, where they spent 
 their entire lives. The young couple began their 
 domestic life upon a farm in Buffalo Township, 
 Union County, where they continued to reside 
 until called to the home beyond. Their family 
 numbered eleven children. 
 
 Mrs. Coy spent the days of her girlhood in her 
 native county and remained with her parents until 
 1846, when, with her married sister and her hus- 
 band, she started from Pennsylvania to Illinois, on 
 the last day of August. The entire journey was 
 made in a spring wagon, and after four weeks of 
 travel they reached Winnebago County, which 
 was then situated on the frontier. On the 11th of 
 April, 1847, Isabell gave her hand in marriage 
 to William Coy, a native of England, born in Lin- 
 colnshire, and a son of Thomas and Mary Coy, 
 who were also natives of England, and there spent 
 
796 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL EECORD. 
 
 their entire lives. Mr. C03' came to America in 
 1844, and at once made his way to Rockford, 
 soon afterward purchasing the farm on which the 
 family now reside. The young couple there lo- 
 cated immediately after their marriage. It was a 
 tract of wild land but he transformed it into rich 
 and fertile fields, and added greatly to its beauty 
 and value by erecting good buildings, such as 
 are found on a model farm, and planting fruit 
 and ornamental trees. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Coy was born a family of 
 four children, who were reared to habits of indus- 
 try and are now occupying useful and responsible 
 positions in society. The eldest, Robert, is a 
 graduate of the Chicago Medical College and is 
 now engaged in the practice of his profession in 
 Rockford; Anna is an artist and resides in the 
 same city; William manages the home farm for his 
 mother; and Emma is successfully engaged in 
 teaching in Rockford. This family ranks high in 
 social circles and its members are well deserving 
 the warm regard in which they are lield. Will- 
 iam Coy died December 14, 1885. 
 
 j****!^^****! 
 
 I****'!^^****? 
 
 ■^OHN J. MERRILL. Perhaps there is no 
 resident of the county more generally ad- 
 ^^ mired, or who has a larger circle of friends, 
 '^^ than the subject of this sketch, who has won 
 the regard of all, not onl>' on account of his genial, 
 pleasant disposition, but for his uprightness and 
 unquestioned honesty. A native of New York 
 State, he was born in Herkimer County on the 
 15th of May, 1833, and is a brother of Thomas S. 
 Merrill (see sketch for family history). 
 
 The happy domestic life of our subject began on 
 the 1st of January, 1856, b}' his marriage to Miss 
 Sarah D. Beebe, also a native of the Empire State, 
 born in Tioga County, in the town of Apalachin, 
 on the 30th of July, 1836. Her parents, David 
 and Nancy (Heaton) Beebe, were natives of 
 Broome County, N. Y., where they resided for 
 many years. Subsequently, however, they moved 
 to Iowa and there passed the dosing scenes of 
 their lives, the father dying at the age of eighty- 
 two, and the mother when in her eighty-first 
 
 year. David Beebe was the son of Joel and Mary 
 Beebe, who were also natives of Broome County, 
 N. Y., and came with his parents to Boone County, 
 111., in the spring of 1837. He built the third 
 house in the town of Belvidere and resided there 
 for some time. Joel Beebe died in Minnesota 
 when seventy years of age and his wife died in 
 Iowa at the advanced age of ninetj'-three. Mrs. 
 Merrill was one of six children, four now living, 
 and all farmers. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Merrill were born four chil- 
 dren, but three are deceased. The one now living 
 is Mary D., who was born in Bremer County, 
 Iowa, on the 5th of September, 1856, and who 
 married F. A. Winne. She is the mother of three 
 children and she and her husband reside in Spring 
 Township, this county. 
 
 Our subject was reared on the farm and re- 
 mained under the parental roof until twenty-three 
 years of age, when he went to Bremer County, 
 Iowa. There he purchased forty acres of land and 
 there resided until 1861, when he enlisted in the 
 army. He volunteered in Company B, Ninety- 
 fifth Illinois Infantry, and served three years, 
 two years of the time as clerk in the Commissary 
 Department. He was mustered out in the fall of 
 1865 and returned to his home, where he clerked for 
 some time. Later, he and his wife went to Mitcli- 
 ellville, Iowa, and his wife was matron of the sem- 
 inary at that place for three years and he was jan- 
 itor for some time. He then came to this county, 
 and two years later built a store at Herbert, the 
 first one in that place, and was the Postmaster 
 there four years under Grover Cleveland. He 
 then sold out and moved to Belvidere where he 
 has lived retired ever since. He lost his health in 
 the war and has never been very strong or well 
 since. 
 
 Mr. Merrill is a Republican in politics and bis 
 first Presidential vote was for James Buchanan. 
 Later he voted for S. A. Douglas, then for U. S. 
 Grant, and has voted with the Republicans ever 
 since. He has held a number of local offices in 
 this county, also held office while a resident of 
 Bremer County, Iowa, and is one of the represen- 
 tative men of this section. Socially, he is a Royal 
 Arch Mason, Eastern Star Lodge No. 60, and a 
 
^-^/hK^ -'"^^^-^^^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 799 
 
 member of the Chapter. He is also a member of 
 Hurlbiu't Post No. 464, G. A. R., and has been 
 Serffeant for two or three years. Mrs. Merrill 
 is associated in her church relations with the Uni- 
 versalist denomination. She is a member of the 
 Ladies' Aid Society, No. 9, and was Treasurer of 
 the same for some time. Mr. Merrill has in his 
 possession a number of coat buttons on which are 
 engraved tlie letters C. A. These, Mr. Merrill 
 says, his grandfather Smith had on his coat during 
 the Revolutionary War and he has been offered 
 120 apiece for them. 
 
 HALOR S. KILBURN. For about forty- 
 seven years, this gentleman was a worthy 
 resident of Winnebago County. He was 
 a man who possessed an original and 
 thoughtful mind, whose advanced ideas and pro- 
 gressive principles resulted in his own good and 
 the good of those around him. He was born in 
 Berkshire County, Mass., on the 10th of June, 
 1813, and his parents, Shalor and Betsy E. (Brown) 
 Kilburn, were natives also of the Old Bay State. 
 The father, who was a tanner and shoemaker by 
 trade, passed his life in his native State, and Con- 
 necticut, and died in the latter State when in the 
 prime of life. 
 
 Our subject's mother afterward married a Mr. 
 Hewitt, and removed to New York State, wheceher 
 husband died. She then made her home with her son 
 Shalor S., in Harlem Township, this county, until 
 her death, when seventy-seven years of age. She 
 was an exemplary member of the Methodist Church 
 and an excellent woman. Shalor S. Kilburn was 
 one of five children born to his parents. In boy- 
 hood, he went to Oneida County, N. Y., and re- 
 mained there until twenty-five years of age. 
 
 There Mr. Kilburn was married to Miss Mary 
 Bartholomew, a native of New Haven County, 
 Conn., born December 29, 1818. She was but six 
 months old when her parents, Eben G. and Anna 
 (Simons) Bartholomew, settled in Oneida County, 
 N. Y. They resided in that county for a number 
 of years and then returned to Connecticut to care 
 
 for Mr. Bartholomew's father, Osee Bartholomew, 
 who died at an advanced age. Six months later, 
 his son Eben followed him to the grave. He was 
 a well-informed man and had spent his early life 
 as a teacher. The widow returned to Oneida 
 County, N. Y., and her second marriage was to 
 David Hulbert, with whom she came to Illinois in 
 1847. They settled in Harlem Township, Winne- 
 bago County, and there remained until called 
 hence, Mr. Hulbert dying when about seventy-five, 
 and Mrs. Hulbert when seventy-four years of age. 
 Both were original charter members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church in Harlem Township. 
 
 Mrs. Kilburn was one of a small family of 
 children born to her parents and was fourteen 
 years of age when her father died. She is a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church and takes 
 a deep interest in all religious work. Mr. Kilburn, 
 accompanied by his family, came to Harlem Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, in 1845, when the coun- 
 try was comparatively new. He purchased eighty 
 acres of land here, hauling lumber from Chicago 
 with ox-teams to build a house, and followed farm- 
 ing pursuits until his death. He was also a com- 
 mercial traveler and for many years was on the 
 road for the firm of Savage & Love, of Beloit, 
 Wis. He was also with John P. Manny and N. C. 
 Thompson, of Rockford. 
 
 The genial disposition and upright character for 
 which Mr. Kilburn was known, drew around him 
 a large circle of friends, and his place in business 
 and social circles was found hard to fill. His death 
 occurred on the 15th of January, 1874, when 
 seventy-one years of age. He was a Methodist in 
 his religious belief, and, in politics, was a strong 
 supporter of the Republican party. He was one 
 of those solid, substantial citizens who honor the 
 community in which their lot is cast. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kilburn became the parents of four children: 
 Charles O., who died when eleven years of age; 
 Anna, who became the wife of Rodger Miller, a 
 farmer; Sarah, who married Herbert R. Parker, a 
 retired farmer, and Mary, the wife of James Roney, 
 who is in the express business at Rockford. Mrs. 
 Kilburn has some old family relics which she val- 
 ues very highly. Now in the twilight of her useful 
 life, she is surrounded by the comforts which she 
 
800 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 aided ber husband in accumulating, and has the 
 love of those wlio have had the privilege of asso- 
 ciating with her. 
 
 In this connection will be found a portrait of 
 the late Mr. Kilburn. 
 
 ^^ riARLP:S p. BRADY. This pioneer of Win- 
 jlf^' nebago County, on coming hither in 1836, 
 ^^J{^ found the country new and the land unim- 
 proved, and has witnessed the wonderful trans- 
 formation which the passing years have brought. 
 His first purchase of land was made from the 
 Government, and consisted of a tract in Burritt 
 Township, on whicii not a furrow had been turned. 
 Returning to Pennsylvania, lie there resided until 
 1840, and in July of that year once more came 
 West, and commenced active operations as a tiller 
 of the soil. 
 
 Success crowned the arduous exertions of Mr. 
 Brady, and he improved considerable valuable 
 property, which he still owns. He may justly be 
 termed a self-made man, as what he has and what 
 he is may be attributed to his industry and judi- 
 cious management. Prior to coming to Illinois in 
 1836, he had made his home for a time in New 
 York State, and in journeying Westward had for 
 a traveling companion one James Hoffman. The 
 two 3'oung men came via the river and canal to 
 Buffalo, N. Y., thence by boat on Lake Erie to 
 Detroit, and from there on foot over the country 
 to Rockfoi'd, working their way and carrying good 
 guns, with which they killed enough game to sub- 
 sist upon. 
 
 Mr. Brady explains as his reason for coming to 
 Rockford on foot, that there was no other way of 
 reaching the place except by stage, and the one 
 who came in the latter vehicle had to walk and 
 carry a rail, while the one who walked had no rail 
 to carry, hence his decision to walk. When he re- 
 turned East in 1837, he went down the Mississippi 
 in a row-boat, thence up the Ohio to Pittsburg, 
 and from there across to Philadelphia. The return 
 trip in 1840 was made In a similar way. The 
 usual pioneer experiences fell to the lot of Mr. 
 Brady, who was obliged to go to Chicago, the 
 
 nearest market, while Dixon was the nearest post- 
 ofHce. Occasionally he would take pork and o-rain 
 to the Wisconsin pineries, trade them for lumber 
 which he would raft down the rivers and sell in 
 order to purchase Government land. 
 
 Born in Bucks County, Pa., December 14, 1814, 
 our subject is the only son of Benjamin Brady, 
 who died when his son was only six years old. 
 The mother of our subject was Miss Betsy Pett- 
 ett, who died when her son was only three months 
 old. Thus early orphaned, Charles P. was reared 
 by an uncle, and while quite young gained a prac- 
 tical knowledge of farming. He was married in 
 Rockford to Miss Mercy L. Huntsman, the cere- 
 mony being performed by the late Rev. John 
 Morrell. Mrs. Brady was born in Ohio, of which 
 State her parents were early settlers, later remov- 
 ing to Illinois and settling in Rockford. Here the 
 father, George Huntsman, died when quite old; 
 her mother died in Indiana. 
 
 Mrs. Brady was born in July, 1815, and died in 
 Rockford in 1883, mourned by all who knew her. 
 She was an active member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, and a devoted worker in the cause 
 of temperance. She was the mother of four chil- 
 dren, one of whom, Roy, is deceased. Annjenett, 
 widow of James Atkinson, resides in Burritt, 
 this county; Philura I. is the wife of Edgar A. 
 Van Wie, Secretar}', Treasurer and manager of the 
 Rockford Electric Company. Mr. and Mrs. Van "Wie 
 reside at No. 701 North Court Street, and are the 
 parents of three children. Henry H. married Geor- 
 gia Terrell, and resides in Chicago. Religiously, 
 Mr. Brady is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and in his political affiliations was form- 
 erly a Republican, but is now a Prohibitionist. 
 
 "% 
 
 ^=^>-^^<! 
 
 ifiy- 
 
 ^ OHN PEHRSON has filled the position of 
 Superintendent of the wood department in 
 the Skandia Plow Company since its organ- 
 ization, except four years when he was sales- 
 man on the road, and from almost the first he has 
 been a stockholder and Director in that enterprise. 
 This company is thoroughly typical, not alone of 
 the comprehensive growth and increasing import- 
 
I>0RTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 801 
 
 ance of Rockford, but its career is a source of 
 public pride, delineating, as it does, the general 
 business enterprise and sagacity of some of the 
 leading citizens. 
 
 Our subject, who is by trade a wood- worker and 
 pattern-maker, and upon whose shoulders the care 
 and charge of the wood department immediately 
 rests, has been a resident of Rockford since 1865, 
 and during that time he been industrious and 
 frugal, thus accumulating a handsome competence. 
 He was one of the first stockholders of the Union 
 Furniture Factory and he was formerly a stock- 
 holder of the Excelsior Furniture Factory, in which 
 he was Superintendent for about three years. For 
 four years, he was on the road as salesman for the 
 Skandia Plow Company and met with much suc- 
 cess in that capacity. 
 
 Mr. Pehrson came to Rockford from his native 
 country, Sweden, his birth occurring in Skania 
 Province, March 1, 1840, and this city has been 
 liis home up to the present. He is a descendant 
 of worthy Swedish ancestors and inherits all those 
 characteristics of energy and perseverance usual to 
 this class of people. After learning his trade in 
 his native country, he took passage for America, 
 and after a reasonable length of time on the briny 
 deep, landed in the Empii*e City, where he re- 
 mained but a short time. From there, he went to 
 Michigan, but a few weeks later he came on to 
 Rockford, where he has been actively engaged in 
 business and is now one of the foremost, substantial 
 citizens. Since his residence in this country, he 
 has been joined by two sisters: Anna, wife of An- 
 drew Nelson, a farmer of Marengo, Iowa, and 
 Hannah, wife of Oscar Ackeson, a boot and shoe 
 merchant, who is quartered in the Exchange Bank 
 Building, on Seventh Street, Rockford. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Pehrson never came to the 
 United States but have passed their entire lives in 
 that grand old country, Sweden, whose sons and 
 daughters are among the most thrifty and enter- 
 prising people of the world. The father, Peter 
 Pehrson, was a butcher and meat dealer, and a man 
 whose honesty and uprightness were proverbial. 
 He died when sixty-seven years of age. The mo- 
 tuer, who is still living and closely verging on 
 eighty-four years, finds a comfortable home with 
 
 her son Andrew, at Malmo, Sweden. A life-long 
 member of the Swedish Lutheran Church, this 
 venerable old lady is well known in her section 
 and is highly respected. 
 
 John Pehrson was first married, in Rockford, to 
 Miss Sophia Ekbock, who is also of Swedish na- 
 tivity, born in Smoland Province. She remained 
 in her native country until twenty-two years of 
 age, and then braved Neptune's tender mercies 
 and came to America and Rockford. She was 
 identified with the First Lutheran Church and was 
 a lady possessed of many virtues of mind and 
 heart. One child, Frederick William, was born to 
 this union, and he is now at home. 
 
 Mr. Pehrson 's second marriage was to Miss Anna 
 Bergandal, a native of Kalmar Lan, Sweden, born 
 March 18, 1862, but who was grown when she 
 came to tlie United States. She has a brother. 
 Axel, and a sister. Alma, both living in Chicago 
 and single. Mr. Pehrson is a firm believer in the 
 advantages of the platform held by the Republican 
 party, and casts his vote most unreservedly with 
 that partj\ He and Mrs. Pehrson are members of 
 the First Lutheran Church. 
 
 ^ OHNSTON WELDON MONTEITH, one of 
 the prominent business men of Rockford, is 
 at present successfully engaged in contract- 
 ing and building. His birth occurring in 
 1848 in far-away Glasgow, Scotland, lie is the son 
 of Thomas and Eliza (Weldon) Monteith, both of 
 whom were natives of that country, the male 
 members on both sides of the house for many gen- 
 erations back being carpenters and builders. Tlie 
 father of our subject followed that trade in his na- 
 tive land; since coming to America in 1882, he has 
 made his home with our subject; the mother died 
 in Scotland. 
 
 The following are the names of the seven chil- 
 dren comprising the parental household: James, 
 Martha, Johnston, Mary, Sallie, Thomas, and Lizzie, 
 all of whom, with the exception of our subject, 
 make their home in Philadelphia. Johnston re- 
 ceived a good education in the parish schools of 
 Scotland and came to the New World with an 
 
802 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 elder brother, when a lad of thirteen years. Lo- 
 cating in Philadelphia, and being ambitious to 
 learn the English language, he became a student 
 in the log school of that place and is to-day an 
 intelligent and well-read man. A natural me- 
 chanic, Mr. Monteith soon began to work at the 
 trade of a carpenter with his brother, which busi- 
 ness they followed in Philadelphia until 1881, 
 when they came to Bradford, 111., and one year 
 later to Rockford, since which time our subject has 
 been identified with the business interests of this 
 city. 
 
 The ceremony which united our subject in mar- 
 riage with Miss Genevieve Menah was performed 
 December 22, 1871. Mrs. Monteith was a native 
 of the Quaker City and was a daughter of Alex- 
 ander Menah, also a native of Scotland, who emi- 
 grated to America soon after his marriage and en- 
 gaged in the mercantile business in the above- 
 named cit3', where he is still one of the prominent 
 dry-goods merchants. His wife, the mother of 
 Mrs. Monteith, was Rebecca McClellan; her birth 
 also occurred in Scotland and the date of her de- 
 cease was December 14, 1891. She was the mother 
 of seven children, viz: Maggie, Nellie, Letitia, 
 Genevieve, Lucy, Mary and Willie. Lucy and 
 Maggie are deceased. The two children born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Monteith are Lillian W. and J. Alex- 
 ander. 
 
 \ir-y77RANClS H. CLARK, a successful and skill- 
 
 ful mechanic residing at No. 400 East 
 Street, where he has a pleasant and com- 
 fortable home, has been a resident of Rockford 
 since 1883. He was a native of Ontario, Canada, 
 where his birth occurred November 23, 1831, and 
 his parents, Francis and Cornelia (Ross) Clark, 
 were natives, respectively, of New York and Con- 
 necticut. The paternal grandfather, Francis Clark, 
 Sr., was a native of the Emerald Isle but came to 
 America when a young man and settled in New 
 England. 
 
 During the Revolutionary War Francis Clark, 
 Sr., served in defense of his adopted country, and 
 subsequently married a New England lass, a Miss 
 
 Hamilton, with whom he settled in Franklin County, 
 N. Y. They were among the pioneer settlers of 
 that county and Mr. Clark followed agricultural 
 pursuits in a small way, his trade being that of a 
 tanner and currier, at which he was unusually suc- 
 cessful. Later he was a boot and shoe dealer. He 
 and his wife died in the Empire State when well 
 along in years, and both were members of the 
 Episcopal Church. 
 
 Francis Clark, Jr., passed his boyhood days on a 
 farm and in learning the lumber business, follow- 
 ing the lattter principally in Ontario, Canada, until 
 1835, when he came to New York State. He set- 
 tled on a new farm in St. Lawrence County, and 
 there he and his wife soon liad a good home. He 
 died there in 1861, when seventy-three j'ears of age, 
 and his wife followed him to the grave four years 
 later, in 1865. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. 
 Mrs. Clark was born in Danbury, Conn., in 1790, 
 but was reared and educated in Canada. She was 
 a cousin of P. T. Barnum, the showman. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Clark were for years members of the Episco- 
 pal Church, but later in life she joined the Meth- 
 odists. Of the seven children born to this worthy 
 couple, six are now living and Francis H. Clark is 
 the youngest. He was four years of age when his 
 parents moved to New York State and he was a 
 resident of that State until 1869, when he came to 
 Illinois, settling in Poplar Grove, Boone County. 
 While a resident of New York, he learned the 
 trade of a millwright and pattern-maker. In 1864, 
 he enlisted from St. Lawrence County, that State, in 
 the Sixth New York Regiment, Company M, and 
 served as a private until his discharge on the 25th 
 of August, 1865. 
 
 Our subject was in a number of prominent en- 
 gagements, and after the battle of Fisher Hill he 
 was one of thirty-two who reported at roll-call. 
 While in service he was sick for some time from 
 exposure, and he was crippled while doing drill 
 duty. After remaining in the hospital for some 
 time, he was honorably discharged and returned to 
 New Y'ork State. There he was married to Miss 
 Sophronia Richardson, a native of St. Lawrence 
 County and the daughter of Samuel Richardson, 
 who lived and died in that county. The latter 
 was seventy-four at the time of his death. He 
 
ff- 
 
 9^ccu,:iC. S.^rd^j^ 
 
 CH^L^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 805 
 
 served in the War of 1812. His wife, whose 
 maiden name was Mary Jolinson, died when 
 eio-hty-five years of age. Mrs. Clark was reared and 
 educated in her native county and taught school 
 there six years before her marriage. This union 
 resulted in the birth of three living children: 
 Preston, an attorney, and proprietor of the ]\Iin- 
 eral Springs at Peoria, was married to Miss Julia 
 Eaton, who was County Superintendent of Schools 
 of Boone County, but is now deceased; Burton F., 
 an engraver in the Rockford Silver Plate Com- 
 pany, is now at home; Etta S., at home and a 
 musical graduate, is a teacher of vocal music and 
 is now chorister in the Christian Union Church. 
 Mr. Clark is a Republican in politics, and he is a 
 member of the Grand Army of tlie Republic. Mrs. 
 Clark is a member of the Methodist Church. 
 
 pRANK S. WHITMAN, M. D., a practicing 
 ^ physician of Belvidere, has the honor of 
 being a native of this city. He was born 
 September 27, 1849, and is descended from an old 
 New England family. His grandfather, Jacob 
 Whitman, was a native of Connecticut and became 
 one of the early settlers of Fairfield, Vt. He was 
 a hatter by trade, but engaged in farming in the 
 Green Mountain State. He afterward purchased a 
 farm in Portland, Chautauqua County, N. Y., 
 where he made his home until 1840, removing 
 thence to Boone County and locating in Belvidere, 
 where he made his home until his death in 1851. 
 He married Sarah Spencer, who died in Portland, 
 N. Y. 
 
 Hiram Whitman, father of our subject, was born 
 in Fairfield, Vt, December 12, 1806, and when a 
 young man went to New York, purchasing a tract 
 of land in Chautauqua County. There he engaged 
 in farming until 1837, after which he spent two 
 years upon his father's farm in Portland. On the 
 5th of October, 1830, he married Clarinda Hanch- 
 ett, who was born in Herkimer, N. Y., December 
 19, 1808. She is a daughter of Zacheus and Lucy 
 (Cottrell) Hanchett, the former a native of Suffolk, 
 Conn., and the later of Washington, Mass., where 
 they were married in 1793. They removed to 
 36 
 
 Herkimer, N. Y., and after a few years went to 
 Chautauqua County, being numbered among its 
 pioneer settlers. They purchased a tract of heavily 
 timbered land and in the midst of the forest dev- 
 eloped a farm, experiencing all the privations and 
 hardships of frontier life. Mr. Hanchett there 
 died in his ninety -sixth year. 
 
 In 1839, with his wife and one child, Mr. Whit- 
 man came to Illinois, making the entire journey 
 overland with teams. After twenty days of travel, 
 he arrived at Belvidere on the 25th of October, 
 and after a few months made a claim in Belvidere 
 Township. To the cultivation and improvement 
 of his land, he devoted his time and attention un- 
 til his death, which occurred on the 10th of May, 
 1855. His wife survives him and makes her home 
 in Belvidere. She enjoys good health and her 
 faculties are still unimpaired. She has a family of 
 four children: Royal T., Emily M., Gilbert R. and 
 Frank S. 
 
 No event of special importance occurred during 
 the Doctor's youth. After acquiring his early 
 education in the public schools of Belvidere, he 
 became a student in the Chicago University and 
 subsequently engaged in teaching one year, being 
 Principal of the schools in Roscoe, Winnebago 
 County. Wishing to make the practice of medi- 
 cine his life work, he began studying with Dr. 
 James K. Soule, of Belvidere, and attended lectures 
 at Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, from 
 which he was graduated in the Class of February, 
 1872. The same year, he opened an office in 
 Belvidere and has since successfully engaged in 
 practice. 
 
 On the 20th of January, 1875, Dr. Whitman 
 married Frank C. Pier, a native of Belvidere. 
 This worthy couple rank high in social circles and 
 are widely and favorably known throughout the 
 community. The Doctor is a member of the Illi- 
 nois State Medical Society and the American Insti- 
 tute of Homeopathy, the oldest national medical 
 assocation in the United States. He also belongs 
 to Belvidere Lodge No. 289, K. T. He is a member 
 of Court Clair No. 183, I. O. of F., and of Garrison 
 No. 27, K. G. He exercises his right of franchise 
 in support of the Republican party, and has served 
 as President of the School Board, member of the 
 
806 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Common Council, was two terms Mayor of the city 
 and for three terms was County Coroner. He is a 
 member of the Congressional Committee of Boone 
 County, is President of the Boone County Board 
 of Pension Examiners, and is Vice-President of the 
 People's Bank, of Belvidere. He was also an alter- 
 nate delegate-at-large for the State of Illinois at 
 the last National Republican Convention held at 
 Minneapolis. The Doctor is now enjoying a liberal 
 patronage, gained through his skill and ability, and 
 he ranks deservedly high among his professional 
 brethren. 
 
 Elsewhere in this volume will be noticed a litho- 
 graphic portrait of Dr. Whitman. 
 
 i i I I ' 
 
 ? I I 1 ' I I I 
 
 eAPT. HENRY KNOWLES, who is now liv- 
 ing a retired life at the corner of North 
 and Winnebago Streets, was born in Or- 
 leans, Mass., July 20, 1834, and is a son of Elijah 
 and Abigail (Freeman) Knowles. His father lived 
 and died on a farm in Brewster, Mass., passing 
 away at the age of eighty-one years. His wife died 
 November 5, 1891, at the advanced age of eighty- 
 seven. She too was a native of the Bay State, and 
 died in Brewster. Our subject comes of a long 
 line of sea-faring men. His maternal uncle was a 
 prominent master of vessels, and two of his broth- 
 ers followed the sea. One of them, Elijah F., is 
 now a retired shipmaster residing in Brewster, and 
 the other brother, Albert C, was master of a vessel 
 which was destroyed by a cyclone on the Indian 
 Sea, and all on board were lost. 
 
 Capt. Knowles, whose name heads this sketch, 
 was reared and educated in Bj'ewster, Mass., and 
 when fourteen years of age, went with a friend of 
 the family, Capt. Crosby, to sea as a cabin boy, and 
 thus became connected as a sailor in the cotton 
 trade between this country and Europe. He rap- 
 idly won promotion, and on the Captain's death, 
 which occurred on a voyage between New Orleans 
 and Liverpool, Mr. Knowles, though only nineteen 
 years of age at that time, took charge of the ves- 
 sel. He continued in command of that vessel for 
 some time, and later was master of the "Albatross," 
 the "Massachusetts," the "Western Star" and the 
 
 'Belle Creole." Of the two former he was master 
 for only a few years. He was part owner, and was 
 master of the "Western Star" for eight years, and 
 was similarly connected with the "Belle Creole" for 
 four years, or until 1870, when he left the sea and 
 came West. He has sailed over many of the most 
 important seas, has visited Liverpool, Bombay, and 
 all the ports of South America. He did business 
 as a shipper of guano, and in 1869, with a load 
 of that product on board, his vessel sprung a leak. 
 The guano filled the pumps, which prevented them 
 from being worked, and the ship sunk, but all on 
 board were saved. The Captain was the last to 
 leave the vessel, just as it sank in the waters of the 
 tropics. He stood in great favor with his men, 
 and he had many warm friends among the leading 
 captains of Boston, including Benjamin Bangs and 
 Elijah Williams. 
 
 Mr. Knowles was married in the Bay State to 
 Miss Lizzie D. Collins, who was born in West Den- 
 nis, Mass., January 30, 1842, and a daughter of 
 Capt. Seth and Anna (Knowles) Collins, both of 
 whom are now deceased. Her father was a prom- 
 inent business man of the Merchants' Service, and 
 was master of a merchant vessel for some years. 
 He continued to own an interest in a ship, but 
 spent his last years on his estate at West Dennis, 
 where he died at the age of seventy-two. Af- 
 ter his death, his widow came to the West, and 
 made her home with Mrs. Knowles, in Rockford, 
 until called to her final rest. In the family were 
 two sons, Jonathan and Ansel, who were large com- 
 mission merchants of Philadelphia for many years. 
 The former is now living a retired life in West 
 Dennis, Mass., and the latter is now deceased. They 
 were both prominent and well-known business men 
 of Philadelphia for many years. 
 
 Unto Capt. Knowles and his wife have been born 
 seven children, but John C. and EfHe M. are both 
 now deceased. Grace Pacific was born on the Pa- 
 cific Ocean, off the coast of Peru, and is the wife 
 of Alfred Holt, an attorney of Chicago; Herbert is 
 a member of the firm of Johnson & Knowles, real- 
 estate dealers of this city; Abbie F., Royal E. and 
 Edwin W. are all at home. 
 
 The Captain and his wife are member of the Sec- 
 ond Congregational Church, and, in politics, he is 
 
PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 807 
 
 a Republican. He also belongs to the Masonic or- 
 der of which he became a member on the Island 
 of Malta. On coming to Rockford in 1870, he 
 formed a partnership with Ansel Collins, and for 
 five years they engaged in the grocery business, 
 after which the Captain became a wholesale dealer 
 in butter, cheese and eggs. To this he devoted his 
 time and attention until about three years since, 
 when, on account of failing health, he sold out 
 and has since lived retired. His life has been a 
 varied one, and well and worthily spent. 
 
 r 
 
 SHEODORE C. DECKER. This gentleman 
 is classed among the wide-awake, thorough- 
 going business men of Winnebago County, 
 and the active manner in which he has taken ad- 
 vantage of every method and idea tending towards 
 enhancing the value of his property has had 
 considerable to do with his success in life. Mr. 
 Decker was born in Orange County, N. Y., as were 
 also his father, Cornelius S. Decker, and his grand- 
 father, Levi Decker, both tillers of the soil. The 
 grandfather married Miss Roxanna Mould, and 
 they became the parents of seven sons, only two 
 now surviving; one of these, William Decker, is 
 seventy-six years of age and a resident of New- 
 burg, N. Y. Levi Decker died at the advanced 
 age of ninety-eight years and his wife survived 
 him until 1877, dying when sixty-eight years old. 
 The, father of our subject, Cornelius Decker, 
 was born in the year 1818 and was married in his 
 native county to Miss Jane Ashby, a native also 
 of Orange County, N. Y., and the daughter of 
 John Ashby, of the same county and State and a 
 farmer by occupation. In 1861, Mr. Decker sold 
 his farm in New York State and moved to 
 Zanesville, Wis., where he purchased a tract of 
 eleven hundred and eighty acres, settling on 
 the same with his wife and nine children, 
 seven sons and two daughters. There he con- 
 tinued to cultivate the soil on a large scale for 
 about twenty-eight years, or until 1888, when he 
 concluded to try his fortune in another part of the 
 county. He purchased forty acres in Rock Town- 
 
 ship, the same State, and there he and his admir- 
 able wife reside at the present time, both enjoying 
 good health. They lost four children in infancy, 
 two of each sex, and those now living are Jona- 
 than M., Frank D., William, Theodore C, John A. 
 and Anna G., the latter now Mrs. David Mould, a 
 resident of Sioux Citj', Iowa. 
 
 Theodore C. Decker, the subject of this sketch, 
 was born on the 8th of February, 1851, and was 
 but ten years of age when his parents moved to 
 Wisconsin. He was early trained to the tedious 
 details of farm life, and in 1880 he selected his life 
 companion in the person of Miss Mary McNamara, 
 of Chicago. Her parents, Lawrence and Harriet 
 (Hickox) McNamara, were natives of Williams- 
 town, Mass., in which State Mrs. Decker received a 
 thorough education, graduating at the Westfield 
 Normal School there. After teaching in her na- 
 tive town and in Worcester, and still later in the 
 Graylock Institute at Williamstown, Mass., she 
 came West to Chicago, where she taught in the 
 public schools for eight years. She was thor- 
 oughly in love with her calling and must have 
 been a very successful educator, for she has the 
 happy faculty of winning and keeping friends. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Decker commenced housekeeping 
 in 1882, and the same year purchased twenty acres 
 of choice land on section 3, Roscoe Township, 
 111., two miles east of Beloit, for which he paid 
 $115 per acre. On this Mr. Decker has erected 
 two large tobacco sheds and a large stock barn, in 
 which he has a large silo tank, or cellar, with a 
 capacity of one hundred and thirteen tons. He 
 has rebuilt his residence, and everything about the 
 place indicates to the beholder that the owners 
 are people of culture and refinement. Mrs. Decker is 
 quite a horticulturist and takes as much pleasure 
 with her fine strawberries as her husband does 
 with his fifteen acres of tobacco, if she does not real- 
 ize as much profit as he does from his twenty-four 
 thousand to thirty thousand pounds of the weed 
 per year. Mr. Decker has some fine Jersey cattle 
 and keeps from fifteen to twenty cows. He makes 
 thousands of pounds of the choicest butter and 
 sells it to the consumers of Chicago, where he has 
 some customers among the best people. By grow- 
 ing corn fodder, which is made into ensilage, he 
 
808 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 can feed many head of stock from these twenty 
 acres, and the eight acres which he hires. He has 
 raised some of the finest of Jersey cows, there being 
 in his herd Muriel the Third, who was on exhibi- 
 tion at the Philadelphia Centennial, 1876. 
 
 Mr. and Mis. Decker lost an infant son, and 
 they now have one son living, Frank D., born Sep- 
 tember 16, 1881, who is a promising boy, having 
 made four grades in three years. Mr. Decker has 
 been a Democrat, but under the salutary influence 
 of his wife is likely to become a good Republican. 
 They are both members of the Congregational 
 Churcli, and are held in high esteem in the com- 
 munity. 
 
 SHLEY KNAPP. The results of industry, 
 thrift and wise judgment have been mani- 
 fested in the career of this gentleman, who, 
 in all matters pertaining to his financial 
 standing, has fairly earned the title of a self-made 
 man. He is one of the oldest settlers of Burritt 
 Township, Winnebago County, having come here 
 about the year 1842, and he now owns and occu- 
 pies a tract of two hundred acres of fine land. 
 
 The gentleman of whom we write was born in 
 Eldred, McKean County, Pa., January 7, 1821. 
 His father, Jacob, was born in New York State, and 
 his father, Luke Knapp, came from Connecticut, and 
 spent his last days in New York. The father of 
 our subject was reared on the home farm, and as 
 soon as old enough went to Pennsylvania, where 
 lie bought a tract of timber land in Eldred Town- 
 ship, and cleared and improved a farm, residing 
 there until his demise, January 18, 1863, at the ad- 
 vanced age of ninety years and six months. The 
 maiden name of our subject's mother was Mary 
 Cahoon ; she was a native of the Empire State, and 
 the widow of a Mr. Brainard. She spent her last 
 days on the home farm in Eldred Township, dying 
 February 28, 1854, when past sixty-nine years. 
 
 The original of this sketch received his educa- 
 tion in his native township, attending the pioneer 
 schools taught in the old log schoolhouse with its 
 home-made furniture. He resided with his parents 
 until reaching his majority, when he started out 
 
 in the world for himself with $1.50 in his pocket. 
 He walked to Erie County, N. Y., and secured 
 work in a harvest field two months, and in the fall 
 was engaged in stacking straw. In October of 
 1842, Ashley Knapp started with his earnings in his 
 pocket for Illinois, and came by steamer to Mil- 
 waukee, on foot to Beloit, and rode the remainder 
 of the way to Burritt Township. His brother hav- 
 ing previously come to this State, he stopped with 
 him a short time, then went to Joe Daviess 
 County, and secured a job splitting rails at fifty 
 cents per hundred and his board. He was very in- 
 dustrious and saved his earnings, and was soon en- 
 abled to purchase ten acres of timber land which 
 he still owns, which is located on section 6, Burritt 
 Township. The next j'ear he received $13 per 
 month for his labors, and with this, in 1844, bought 
 forty acres more, a part of which was improved 
 prairie land on section 8 of the same township, 
 and there commenced his career as an independent 
 farmer. Four years later, our subject bought the 
 farm where he now resides, paying for it $3.50 per 
 acre, it including the northwest quarter of section 
 16, and tlie west half of the northeast quarter of 
 same section. He did not have the money to pay 
 down for his land, and had to pay ten per cent, 
 interest. 
 
 At the time of Mr. Knapp's coming here there 
 were no railroads, and Chicago was the principal 
 marketing place, and he had to haul his wheat 
 there, fording the river at Rockford, and seUing 
 his wheat for fifty and fift}--five cents per bushel. 
 On the return trip, he would bring mercliandise 
 and other necessaries for family use. The lumber 
 with which he erected his first house was all hauled 
 from Chicago by himself. His present farm con- 
 tains two hundred acres, and is one of the best 
 in the county, its good substantial buildings show- 
 ing it to be in the hands of a sagacious manager. 
 A number of springs of pure water, which flow 
 from one hundred and fifty to two hundred bar- 
 rels an hour, are to be found on the place. He has 
 built a dam and formed a beautiful pond, in which 
 are to be found the speckled-back trout. 
 
 The subject of this life notice, was married, in 
 1844, to Elizabeth (Herrington) Williams, a native 
 of Canada, and a daughter of the Rev. Richard 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 809 
 
 Herrington, and the widow of Warren Williams. 
 Mrs. Knapp died December 14, 1888. Mr. Knapp 
 has three children living, namely: Loretta Bate, 
 Aurella Franklin and Warren J. Lucretia, the 
 youngest daughter, married John S. Bates, and died 
 in Rockford, in Julj^, 1890. Lovina, the third 
 child, died when eight years old. Mr. Knapp is a 
 consistent member of the Baptist Church, of which 
 his estimable wife was also a valued member. From 
 a genealogy of the Knapp family, we find they are 
 of Saxon origin, . three brothers having come to 
 America, William, Nicholas and Roger, in 1630. 
 Their descendants are numerous, and settled in the 
 various different States of this continent. Mr. 
 Knapp is a most excellent man, highly spoken of 
 by all who know him, his habits being unexcep- 
 tionable, and his whole life most exemplary. 
 
 GUST A. WANSTROM, junior partner of the 
 firm of Johnson & Wanstrom, dealers in 
 clothing and merchant tailoring goods, lo- 
 cated at No. 420 East State Street, has been a part- 
 ner in this concern since the 1st of May, 1885. 
 He is a wide-awake and enterprising young busi- 
 ness man and one well known throughout the 
 community. He was born in Sweden on the 17th 
 of March, 1861, and was still quite young when 
 he crossed the Atlantic to America with his parents, 
 Gust and Gustava (Barson) Wanstrom. The fam- 
 ily came at once to Rockford, where they have 
 since resided. His father, a carpenter by trade, is 
 now living a retired life at his home on Third 
 Avenue. Both himself and wife are about sixty- 
 five years of age. They are membei-s of the 
 First Lutheran Church and are highly respected 
 people. Of their family two sons and two daugh- 
 ters are yet living. 
 
 Our subject was reared to manhood in this city, 
 and when a youth applied himself to study and 
 got a practical education. In the early part of 
 1871, he went to Chicago and was a clerk in a 
 meat-market in that city for two years, after which 
 he returned to Rockford and has here since resided. 
 Having learned the trade of a cabinet-maker, he 
 
 became connected with the Central Furniture 
 Company and was one of its stockholders. He 
 also was employed in the Forest City Furniture 
 Company and is now a Director in the Royal Sew- 
 ing Machine Company, which was organized in 
 this city in the summer of 1890. He is also inter- 
 ested in other concerns, and by close attention to 
 business has already won a handsome competence. 
 
 Mr. Wanstrom was married in this city in 1888, 
 the lady of his choice being Miss Emma Anderson, 
 who was born and reared in Rockford and is a 
 daughter of Andrew Anderson. Her father is 
 now a successful farmer, living in the town of 
 Newport, and is a prominent citizen there. Him- 
 self and wife are members of the First Lutheran 
 Church of Rockford and take an active interest in 
 its work. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wanstrom occupy a pleasant home 
 at No. 909 Kishwaukee Street, where hospitality 
 abounds and good cheer reigns supreme. They 
 are active members of the First Lutheran Church, 
 in which Mr. Wanstrom has been a Trustee for 
 nine years. In politics, he is a supporter of Re- 
 publican principles. He has been the architect of 
 his own fortunes, and that he has worked truly 
 and well is shown by the success that has crowned 
 his efforts. He is recognized as one of the leading 
 business men of the city, and is now one of its 
 prosperous residents, enjoying a competence well 
 earned and richly deserved. 
 
 ^'^N-- 
 
 ^M ARTIN HILLI ARD, who is engaged in the 
 m \\\ grocery business at No. 412 Seventh Street, 
 m Is has carried on operations in that line in 
 ^ Rockford for about twenty years. His 
 
 life has been full of varied and interesting exper- 
 iences and its record, we feel assured, will be re- 
 ceived with interest by many of our readers. He 
 has sailed all over the globe and traveled through 
 several countries. From his native home in 
 Sweden he went to Germany, and later took pass- 
 age at Hamburg on a sailing-vessel which three 
 months later landed him in New York City. He 
 afterwards went to sea, shipping before the mast, 
 and became second mate on a merchant ship, of 
 
810 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BlOGEAPHlCAL RECOED. 
 
 which he formed one of the crew for several years. 
 It sailed in nearly all the waters of the globe and 
 he landed at the chief seaports of the world, espec- 
 ially in the European countries, the South Ameri- 
 can provinces and Australia. He rounded Cape 
 Horn and Cape Good Hope, and went through all 
 the experiences of the old tar. After one voyage 
 which lasted for thirteen months, he left his vessel 
 at Liverpool, England, and thence again crossed 
 the w.iter to New Orleans and proceeded up the 
 Mississippi River, on whose waters he then sailed 
 for two years, from the mouth to St. Paul. 
 
 Later, Mr. Hilliard's mode of life was completely 
 changed, and he became a member of the United 
 States Artillery, serving for five years at Key West, 
 Fla. On his discharge from the service, he opened 
 a grocery store in that place, where he did business 
 for some time. While in the army, nearly the 
 whole of his company died of j^ellow fever and 
 Mr. Ililliard himself took the fever, barely escap- 
 ing death. He afterwards sold his interest in the 
 store and came to the North, locating in Chicago, 
 where he opened a grocery on the corner of Chi- 
 cago and La Salle Avenues. Subsequently, he did 
 business at the corner of Superior and North Clark 
 Streets, but later sold out and went to California 
 across the plains. After a wearisome journey of 
 six months, he arrived at his destination and for 
 ten years engaged in mining in Placer County, 
 not far from the American River. After that var- 
 ied but successful period in his life, he started on 
 the return trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama. 
 At Aspinwall he took the smallpox and was con- 
 fined in the hospital for thirty-one days. He then 
 proceeded to New York, where he had a severe 
 attack of Shagers fever, from which he had not 
 recovered on reaching Rockford. 
 
 In Chicago, Mr. Hilliard wedded a Swedish lady, 
 Miss Amelia Long, who was a good wife and help- 
 mate to her husband until her death, which occurred 
 in the autumn of 1873. She left two small children: 
 Joseph, the elder, a promising young man, grad- 
 uated from the Rockford Business College and 
 now assists his father in the store; Emma A., 
 who for some time has been house-keeper for her 
 father and brother, is a cultured young lady, well 
 educated. The family attend the First Lutheran 
 
 Church and are held in high regard in the circles 
 of society in which they move. Mr. Hilliard is a 
 member of the Odd Fellows' Society, and, in politics, 
 is a supporter of Republican principles. He is now 
 seventy-three j^ears of age, but his years rest 
 liglitljr upon him and his faculties are still unim- 
 paired. He has led a busy and useful life and has 
 seen much of the world. His varied experiences 
 have made him a well-informed man and a pleas- 
 ant and entertaining companion. 
 
 
 <^ IfeELLS FISH. In scanning the lives and 
 \/sJ// enterprises of the citizens of Rockford, it 
 V^^ is pleasant to note the exercise of enterprise 
 in every walk of life, and the achievement of suc- 
 cess in every department of business. This we are 
 able to discern in the career of our subject, who 
 was formerly a farmer but is now retired. He came 
 here from his farm in Winnebago Township, this 
 conntjf, early in the^'^ear 1892, located on Eockton 
 Avenue, and has since been connected with the 
 Rockford Galvanizing Works. 
 
 Our subject made his first appearance in Winne- 
 bago County in the fall of 1868, and purchased a 
 good farm of one hundred and fifteen acres on 
 section 4, of Winnebago Township, where he re- 
 sided for twenty-three years. He made many im- 
 provements, erected good buildings of all kinds, 
 and was considered one of the most progressive 
 and successful agriculturists of his section. During 
 the last twelve years of his life on the farm, he 
 carried on a dairy business and was as successful 
 in this as in all previous enterprises. 
 
 The Keystone State claims him as her son, and 
 he was born in Pike County, of that State, on the 
 15th of January, 1831. He was but a small child 
 when he moved with his parents to New York 
 State, and settled with them in Tompkins County, 
 where he remained until he came West to Illinois. 
 His parents, Joseph J. and Sarah (Cole) Fish, were 
 natives of Pennsylvania, and were of German and 
 English descent, respectively. After the marriage 
 of this worthy couple, they continued to make 
 their home in Pennsylvania for a number of years 
 and then moved to New York State, where both 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 811 
 
 passed the remainder of their lives. The father was 
 a mason bj' trade and an honest, hardworking man. 
 He was a Methodist in religion, and a Whig in 
 politics. The mother was also a Methodist in her 
 religious views. Both died on the old homestead 
 in Tompkins County, the father when sixty-two 
 years of age, and the mother about twelve years 
 later. They were worthy and much esteemed 
 people. Her father was a patriot of the Revolu- 
 tion and was in Gen. Washington's army. 
 
 Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Fish, 
 five sons and four daughters, and three of the sons, 
 William, John and James, were in the Civil War, 
 the last two serving through the entire conflict. 
 William was Captain of the company in his regi- 
 ment (the One Hundred and Ninth) and was 
 killed while gallantly leading the same in the 
 first charge on Petersburg, Va., during the dis- 
 astrous explosion of the mines under that place. 
 He was then a single man. James and John re- 
 turned to the parental roof, bat the former is now 
 deceased. Another son, Joseph C, now resides in 
 Kansas City, Mo. All the daughters are de- 
 ceased. 
 
 Wells Fish was married first in Tompkins County, 
 N. Y., to Miss Margaret Theal, who was born in 
 Westchester County but reared in Tompkins 
 County. Mated in temperament and in nature, 
 this union proved most happj', and as the years 
 passed one child was born to them, Willard, who 
 died when about nine years of age. Mrs. Fish 
 passed away from this life while yet in the vigor 
 of her womanhood, when about forty-nine years 
 of age, her death occurring in Winnebago County. 
 
 The second marriage of Mr. Wells occurred in 
 Winnebago. County, to Mrs. Mary Colson, nee 
 Wygant, who was born and reared in Steuben 
 County, N. Y. She was first married to Ezra 
 Colson, who was a New York State merchant and 
 who served through the Rebellion, dying a few 
 years after returning from the army. He left one 
 child, Ada, who is now the wife of James Rodgers, 
 present proprietor of the Rockford Galvanizing 
 Works, which he has controlled for the past three 
 years. Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers now reside in Rock- 
 ford and are prominent and much esteemed young 
 people. To Mr. Push's present union has been 
 
 born one child, Harry, who is attending the public 
 schools of the city. Mr. Fish is a Republican in 
 politics and two years previous to coming to Rock- 
 ford he was Assessor for two years. He was also 
 Township Trustee for fifteen years. He and Mrs. 
 Fish attend the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 ZRA B. SACKETT has been a resident of 
 Rockford since the spring of 1855, when he 
 came to this city and established business 
 as a painter and house decorator. He began on a 
 small scale, but has steadily worked up a growing 
 trade until he now has a liberal patronage. Many 
 of the private residences and public buildings of 
 the city have been beautified by his handiwork, for 
 he is an expert in this line. 
 
 Mr. Sackett was born in Volney Township, Os- 
 wego County, N. Y., in 1822, and at the age of 
 fifteen removed with his parents to Chautauqua 
 County, where he was reared and educated. The 
 Sackett family was founded in America by three 
 brothers of English birth who emigrated to this 
 country prior to the Revolutionary War. His 
 father, Anson Sackett, was a native of Vermont, 
 and in that State married Theodosia Ruggles, who 
 came of a good old New England family. Soon 
 after their marriage, they removed to the Empire 
 State, locating on a farm in Oswego County, and 
 there all their children were born. As before 
 stated, the family subsequently went to Chautauqua 
 County, where the parents spent their remaining 
 days, residing on a farm in the township of Han- 
 over until called to their final rest. Mr. Sackett 
 died at the age of eighty-four and his wife died 
 five years previous, in her seventy-sixth year. 
 They were members of the Episcopal Church and 
 lived unassuming, upright lives. Their family 
 numbered thirteen children, four of whom died in 
 infancy. Of the nine who grew to mature years, 
 three sons and three daughters are yet living. One 
 sister, Mrs. William Swits, resides in Rockford. 
 
 No event of special importance occurred during 
 the childhood of our subject. In Westfleld, N. Y., 
 after arriving at man's estate, he married Miss 
 
812 
 
 POUTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Siraena R. Ward, daughter of Ricliard and Lois 
 (Wilcox) Ward, natives of Connecticut. After 
 their mai-riage, her parents removed to what was 
 then Log City, Madison County, N. Y., where Mr. 
 Ward establislied a tannery and carried on a shoe 
 store. Subsequently, he removed with his familj^ 
 to Chautauqua County, where he followed agri- 
 cultural pursuits until his death, at the age of 
 eighty-two. His wife had passed away a good 
 many years previous, when sixty years of age. 
 They were members of the Congregational Church 
 and were known as kind, hospitable and Christian 
 people. With one exception, all of their thirteen 
 children grew to manhood and womanhood and 
 were all married but two. There is but one sister 
 of Mrs. Sackett now living, Mrs. R. E. Morris, of 
 F'ond du Lac, Wis. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sackett have been born four 
 children: Minnie, who died at the age of two and 
 a half years; Jennie S., wife of Dr. Clinton B. 
 Helms, a successful dentist of Rockford, residing 
 on Walnut Street with his wife and their two chil- 
 dren, Charles and Raymond; Charles T., who occu- 
 pies a clerical position with the Rockford Insurance 
 Company, wedded May Manny, by whom he has 
 one daughter, Edith, and their home is on North 
 Church Street; Harry B., the youngest, is a special 
 agent for the Rockford Insurance Company. The 
 family is widely and favorably known throughout 
 this community. The parents are both members 
 of the Episcopal Church and Mr. Sackett has served 
 as Vestryman. In politics, he is a Republican, and, 
 socially, is a Master Mason. He owns a good busi- 
 ness house at No. 119 First Street and a comforta- 
 ble and modern home at No. 205 South First 
 Street. His success in life has all been due to his 
 own efforts and he may well be termed a self-made 
 man. 
 
 GEORGE 
 in Erie 
 founder 
 
 ^^^ EORGE H. S. KENT, of Roscoe, was born 
 County, Pa., April 7, 1821. The 
 3r of the family in America was Asa 
 Kent, who was brought when a babe from England 
 to America about two years after the landing of 
 the "Ma3'llower." The grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, who also bore the name of Asa Kent, was 
 
 born in Connecticut in 1759. He removed from 
 Oneida County, N. Y., to Ashtabula County, Ohio, 
 where he died at the age of sixty-eight years, 
 leaving a wife and six children, two sons and four 
 daughters. Asa Kent, Jr., father of our subject, 
 was born in Oneida County, N. Y., in 1792, and at 
 the age of twenty-two years went to Erie County, 
 Pa., where he bought one hundred acres of tim- 
 ber land at $4 per acre. Many years afterward, he 
 came to Illinois, locating in Winnebago County, 
 where he died at the age of sixty, leaving three 
 sons and a daughter, namely: George H. S., of 
 this sketch; Sarah, who was born in 1825; Hiram, 
 who was born in 1830, and died in Roscoe, of 
 smallpox in 1853, at the age of twenty-three years; 
 and Elphinstone, named for Lord Elphinstone, of 
 England, who is a farmer of Potter County, S. Dak. 
 
 Our subject spent the first twenty-three years 
 of his life upon his father's farm in Erie County, 
 which he helped to clear. On completing his edu- 
 cation, acquired in the common schools, he en- 
 gaged in teaching for four successive winters. The 
 spring of 1844 witnessed his arrival in Roscoe. 
 He came on the old steamer "Madison" com- 
 manded by Capt. Wilkinson, of Erie, who spent 
 almost a lifetime on the Lakes and died on his 
 boat. They were seven days coming from Erie 
 to Chicago, and Mr. Kent rode from there to Bel- 
 videre with a farmer who had been to market. He 
 traversed the distance between Belvidere and 
 Roscoe on foot. Here he purchased a team and 
 followed teaming to Chicago and many other 
 points in the Northwest, carrying prospecting 
 parties. He made his first purchase of land in 
 1849, becoming possessor of forty acres, for which 
 he paid $10 per acre. It is still his property, but 
 is worth five times that sum to-day. He after- 
 wards added to his landed possessions from time 
 to time, until now four hundred and fifty acres 
 yield to him a good income. He continued to 
 engage in active farming until 1891, when he 
 bought his present residence, which was the home 
 of Mrs. Kent's parents from 1847 until 1874. 
 
 In this house, in the fall of 1853, Mr. Kent and 
 Miss B. P. Smith were united in marriage. The 
 lady was born in Mercer County, Pa., in 1830, 
 and when a maiden of sixteen summers came to 
 

 p. M . R E E D 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 815 
 
 Roscoe with her parents, John C. and Charlotte 
 (Croy) Smitli, the former a native of the Key- 
 stone State, and the latter of Vermont. With 
 their eight children, they came West during a 
 pleasant autumn, and after an enjoyable journey 
 of twenty-three days, arrived at their destination, 
 but soon after locating here the family were all 
 taken with chills and fever. The parents died 
 at the home of Mrs. Kent in February, 1881. Both 
 died of paralysis within a few hours of each other, 
 at the age of eighty-one years, and were buried 
 in the same grave. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kent have been born six 
 children, but three are now deceased. Charles 
 and Fred died in childhood, and William Forest 
 died of typhoid fever in Fargo, N. Dak., in Janu- 
 ary, 1883, at the age of twenty-three years; Francis 
 Smith, born in 1854, is operating the home farm; 
 Mary E., born in 1855, has been suffering from in- 
 sanity since 1883; and Ernestine D. is now the 
 wife of Victor G. Coe, of Iowa City, Iowa, who was 
 graduated from tlie State University and is now 
 pursuing a law course. The parents of this fam- 
 ily are members of the Congregational Church. 
 Mr. Kent has been a life-long Republican, and is a 
 stanch supporter of that party. He may truly be 
 called a self-made man, for by his own efforts he 
 has worked his way upward to a position of afflu- 
 ence, and certainly deserves great credit for the 
 prosperity which has crowned his labors. 
 
 ^^^>*-<i 
 
 JETER M. REED. At one time this gentle- 
 ) man was a leading contractor and builder 
 ^ . of Rockford, and many evidences of his 
 I \ ability and skill in that direction are to be 
 seen in the city. He was regarded as a first-class 
 workman, a reliable and straightforward man, and 
 an excellent citizen. For many years he was one 
 of the foremost contractors and builders of Rock- 
 ford and had in his employ most of the time from 
 forty to fifty men. Were it necessary to add more 
 as to his ability as a mechanic or builder, perhaps 
 the greatest compliment that could be paid him 
 would be to point out those monuments of his 
 
 handiwork which now grace the city. He was 
 seriously injured by a fall from a grain elevatfir 
 he was building, and died on the morning of the 
 7th of November, 1889. Honored and respected 
 alike in business and social circles, his sudden 
 death was lamented by all. 
 
 Mr. Reed was born in the Valley of Karlmeir, 
 Sweden, September 16, 1838, and his parents, who 
 were natives also of that country, are still residing 
 there and are quite aged. The father is a farmer 
 by occupation. Peter M. Reed attained to man- 
 hood and learned the carpenter's trade in his na- 
 tive country. In 1864, he emigrated to America, 
 and, coming to Illinois, located in Rockford, where 
 he became the owner of some valuable property, 
 and where his widow is now residing. He also 
 owned stock in the shoe and upholstery factory 
 of that city. 
 
 For some time after coming to Rockford, Mr. 
 Reed was engaged as a bridge-builder throughout 
 the West and owned a construction car, which was 
 well-equipped for boarding his men. He was very 
 successful, but the work was not congenial to him, 
 and he entered the building and contracting busi- 
 ness in this city. In the meantime, he had gone to 
 Chicago, and for four years was in the employ of 
 the Street Car Companj^, laying tracks and building 
 houses for their use, etc. In 1873, he returned to 
 Rockford and there remained until his death. 
 
 In Chicago, Mr. Reed was married to Miss Jo- 
 hanna Peterson, a native of Sweden, born near the 
 birthplace of her husband, on the 11th of Novem- 
 ber, 1838, and she was there reared and educated. 
 Her parents, John and Christina (Daniels) Peter- 
 son, were natives of that country' and the father 
 is a farmer. Both are living, the father being 
 eighty years of age. They are members of the 
 Swedish Lutheran Church. Mrs. Reed belongs to 
 the Lutheran Church and her husband held mem- 
 bership m the same. In his political views, Mr. 
 Reed was a Republican, and, socially, he was a 
 member of the Independent Order of Mutual Aid. 
 He was the father of seven children, two, Dalia 
 and Anton, and one unnamed, having passed 
 away before him. The others are Ansel, a prom- 
 ising young man, who is now engaged in the silver 
 plate business in Connecticut; P. Victor, a ma- 
 
816 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chinist for the Bai'nes' Manufacturing Company of 
 Rockford; Selma and Tura, who are at home. 
 
 On another page a portrait of Mr. Reed is pre- 
 sented to our readers. 
 
 "02- 
 
 
 So' 
 
 -J 
 
 ■^ACOB BLP:WFIELD, now retired and liv- 
 ing comfortably with his daughter at No. 
 110 North Horsman Street, has only been 
 _^ with the latter about a year, having pre- 
 viously made his home on Auburn Street, in 
 the suburbs of the northwest part of the city, 
 where he owns eleven acres of very valuable prop- 
 erty. 
 
 Mr. Blewfleld was born in Rockland County, N. 
 Y., June 9, 1818, and came of an old and promi- 
 nent New York State family. His grandfather 
 Blewfleld was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, 
 and served with the Colonists in many engagements. 
 He was wounded in an engagement on the Hudson 
 River, and liis death resulted from these wounds a 
 few years later. He was an early settler of Rock- 
 land County, N. Y., and there spent all his active 
 life. He came of German parentage. He left a 
 large family of children, and one, John, was the 
 father of our subject. The latter, with the elder 
 members of the family, spelled their names Blofleld. 
 He was born near Haverstraw, in Rockland County, 
 and was engaged in different occupations until his 
 deathjWhen about four-score years of age. For some 
 time he was engaged in building the lighthouse on 
 Stony Point, in the Hudson River, where his 
 maternal grandfather had fought during the Rev- 
 olution. John Blewfleld, or Blofleld, was a man of 
 sterling traits of character, and was a worthy citizen 
 of his community. He was married on the Hud- 
 son River to Miss Hannah Dikens, who was also a 
 native of Haverstraw, Rockland County, and who 
 inherited French blood from her paternal, and 
 Dutch from her maternal, ancestors. Her father, 
 Richard Dikens, was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 War, and his knowledge of Stony Point, N. Y., 
 and of the most accessible route to it, was the 
 cause of his being selected as the leader of the 
 American forces in tlie successful attack on that 
 position. He died at an advanced age, near the 
 
 Hudson River, in Rockland County, and was an 
 excellent specimen of the old settlers of that day. 
 Many were the interesting stories told by this gen- 
 tleman and his worthy wife of the early days, 
 and our subject remembers most of them. He also 
 remembers when he wore pants made from flax 
 that had been woven by his grandmother. 
 
 The mother of our subject, Hannah Blewfleld, 
 was one of ten children, four sons and six daugh- 
 ters, all of whom lived to be aged people. Eight 
 were married and reared large families, but all are 
 now deceased. 
 
 Our subject was one of the following family: 
 Polly, John, Peggy, Abbey, Nancy, Tilley, Jacob, 
 Abraham and Samuel. All these reached mature 
 years, married, and all had families. Jacob and 
 his brother Abraham are the only ones now living. 
 The latter resides at Haverstraw, N. Y., and is 
 a successful agriculturist. Jacob was reared in 
 his native county, and when nearly of age, or 
 about sixty-three years ago, began boating on the 
 Hudson River, the name of his flrst boat being 
 "Mad Anthony," on which he remained and 
 cooked for some time. Later, he became a man 
 before the mast, and subsequently master of the 
 boat "Fair Play," that plied between Albany and 
 New York City. He saw the flrst steamboat that 
 made that trip. He has ever been industrious and 
 ambitious, and what he has accumulated is the re- 
 sult of hard work on his part. He assisted in 
 building many of the public works in the harbor 
 of New York City, including the dry-dock, and 
 worked on what is known as Gibitt's Island. 
 
 Mr. Blewfleld is now seventy-four years of age, 
 but remarkably well preserved for his j'ears, both 
 in mind and body. His memory is retentive, and 
 he remembers events of his early life very vividly. 
 He was married at Haverstraw, Rockland County, 
 N. Y., to Miss Rachel Springstead, who was born 
 and reared in that place. Her parents, Jacob and 
 Lotta (Forkingsou) Springstead, were also natives 
 of that county, in which they passed their entire 
 lives, dying when quite aged. Of the large fam- 
 ily of children born to them, four are now living: 
 Jacob, David, Sarah and Nancy, all of whom are 
 married and have families. 
 
 Mrs. Blewfleld died at her home in this city on 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 817 
 
 the 26th of April, 1891, when nearly seventy-tliree 
 years of age. She was an excellent woman, and 
 in every way a true companion to her husband. 
 She was a consistent member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. Of the eleven children born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Blewfield, two are deceased, Lotta 
 and Malinda, the latter dying when young. 
 The former married George Kilburn, of Detroit, 
 Mich. The living children are: Amelia, wife of 
 William Stewart; Sarah, wife of Ed Richardson, 
 a well driller, of Roclsford; S. Gus married Miss 
 Nellie Winchester, and is engaged in the saloon 
 business in Roeltford; Mary married Kit Sawyer, 
 a business man of Rookford; Matilda is the wife 
 of George Gailor, a blacksmith of Rockford; Jacob, 
 at home; Dell, wife of Jerome Blewfield, a bar- 
 tender for .Gus Blewfield, at the Holland House, of 
 Rockford ; Charles, agent for the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, of East Rockford, married Miss Flor- 
 ence Soul, and Hattie, wife of Wallie Furman, a 
 milk dealer. 
 
 Mr. Blewfield is one of the honest, upright citi- 
 zens of the city, and is public spirited and enter- 
 prising. In politics, he is a Democrat. 
 
 INER CLIKEMAN. A prominent posi- 
 tion among the prosperous and thrifty far- 
 mers of Winnebago County is occcupied 
 by this gentleman, who owns and operates 
 a fine estate in Owen Township. He was born in 
 Wright, Schoharie County, N. Y., February 26, 
 1832. He comes of German ancestry, his grand- 
 father, Lawrence Clikeman, having emigrated from 
 his native land, Germany, during the Revolution- 
 ary War, in which he served as a soldier in the 
 British army. During the conflict, he was taken 
 prisoner, and upon being liberated became a legal- 
 ized citizen of the United States. He died in the 
 town of Knox, Albany County, N. Y. 
 
 Peter Clikeman, father of our subject, was born 
 in Albany County, N. Y., was there reared and 
 married and followed farming pursuits. After the 
 Civil War, he came West to Winnebago County 
 and spent his last years with Ms children. His 
 
 marriage united him with Jane, daughter of John 
 and Magdaline Hilligass, and a native of New York, 
 her death occurring in the town of Wright. She 
 reared seven children, namely: Mary A., Magda- 
 line, John F., Miner, Seneca, Jacob A. and Peter H. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared in his na- 
 tive county and at the .age of nineteen engaged to 
 learn the trade of a carpenter and joiner, at which 
 he served an apprenticeship of three years and 
 then followed the trade for one year in the Flmpire 
 State. In 1862, he removed West to Illinois, and, 
 settling in Owen- Township, operated as a renter 
 for about six years and also worked a time at his 
 trade. His next venture was the purchase of the 
 farm where he now resides, which at that time 
 was entirely unimproved, having not a single tree 
 nor any building upon it. He has planted fruit, 
 shade and ornamental trees, erected a fine set of 
 farm buildings, and brought the two hundred and 
 sixty acres to fine cultivation. In 1886, he bought 
 one hundred and sixty acres in Jackson County, 
 Minn., which are well improved and embellished 
 with suitable buildings, and that place he now 
 rents. 
 
 June 4, 1852, Mr. Clikeman was united in mar- 
 riage with Ann Elizabeth Allen, who was born in 
 Berne, Albany County, N. Y. Her father, William 
 Allen, was, it is thought, born in the same county. 
 John Allen, her grandfather, was a farmer in Knox, 
 Albany County, N. Y., and there spent his last 
 years. William Allen learned the trade of a car- 
 penter, which he followed during most of his entire 
 life. He is now living at Reidsville, N. Y., with 
 his daughter and has reached the advanced age of 
 eighty-three years. The mother of Mrs. Clikeman , 
 whose maiden name was Eliza Ann Angle, was 
 born in Albany County, N. Y., the daughter of 
 Philip and Lydia (Miller) Angle, and passed her 
 days in Albany County. 
 
 The family of Mr. and Mrs. Clikeman includes 
 the following living children: Charles, Sidney, 
 Austin, Vernie A. and William C. Adella and 
 Laura are deceased. Charles Clikeman is a car- 
 penter and joiner, but is at present managing his 
 father's farm. Sidney, now residing in Rockford, 
 is a thorough and skilled mechanic. Austin is an 
 extensive farmer at Greene, Butler County, Iowa. 
 
818 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Vernie A., now residing at Rockford, lias followed 
 school teaching for ten years, and is one of the 
 best teachers in Winnebago County; he is an ex- 
 emplary young man, of good moral habits, and is 
 connected with the Court Street Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church. William C. is a professional tonsorial 
 artist of Chicago. The position occupied by the 
 family in social circles is an enviable one, and they 
 enjoy the esteem of a host of warm personal 
 friends. In his political belief, Mr. Clikemap is a 
 Republican, and his progressive spirit and en- 
 ergetic disposition have been instrumental in tlie 
 promotion of the public welfare. 
 
 -=^^+^1-- 
 
 ^^UST BERGQUIST, Superintendent of the 
 III (—, furnishing department of the Rockford 
 ^^Jj Manufacturing Company, has held that 
 position since its organization in 1889 and is a 
 stockholder in the same. For nineteen years, he 
 was a painter for Emerson, Talcott & Co., and this 
 has been his principal occupation through life. 
 Since 1869, he has lived in Rockford and he now 
 has a comfortable home at No. 904 Seventh Street. 
 He is a man of push, enterprise and reliability, and 
 a popular member of the company. 
 
 Mr. Bergquist was born in Vermland, Sweden, 
 July 7, 1836, and while growing up learned the 
 painter's trade. He is a brother of Oscar Berg- 
 quist, in whose sketch will be found a full history 
 of the family. Our subject was married, in his na- 
 tive countrjr, to Miss Mary Swensen, who was born 
 and reared in the same neighborhood and who was 
 the only one of her family to set foot upon Amer- 
 ican soil. Her mother was born in 1802 and died 
 in Sweden in 1888. The father, Swen Olson, was 
 born in 1799 and is still living. He has been a 
 member of the Swedish Lutheran Churcli all his 
 life and his wife was a worthy member of the same. 
 He has a son and two daughters living in Sweden, 
 all quite aged now. 
 
 After marriage, Mr. Bergquist and his wife lived 
 in their native province until after the birth of 
 three of their children when they came to the 
 United States, settling in Rockford, 111. Mr. Berg- 
 quist came over in 18G9 and his wife with her chil- 
 
 dren followed him in the fall of that year. Since 
 coming to this country, they have had four chil- 
 dren, seven in all, but two are deceased: Mathias 
 died when six months old in Sweden; a son, Fred 
 L., a promising young man, died in Rockford when 
 seventeen years of age. The children living are 
 Emma, wife of August N. A. Larson, who is a 
 cabinet-maker and assistant Superintendent of the 
 Desk and Furniture Company of Rockford; S. 
 Oscar, Secretary and Treasurer of the Desk and 
 Furniture Company, of Rockford (see sketch); 
 Gustaf A., a painter of the Skandia Plow Company, 
 married Hilma Johnson ; Axel T., at home, single, 
 and Andrew W., at home, single. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bergquist were among the early 
 settlers of Rockford and have witnessed the won- 
 derful changes made in the city during their resi- 
 dence here. They are honest, upright people and 
 are universally respected. All the family hold 
 membership in the Zion Lutheran Church. Mr. 
 Bergquist is active in politics and casts his vote 
 with the Republican party. 
 
 - V f f ^f^t ' I ' I ' 
 
 ? I ' I I I t I ' 
 
 /^^ HARLES A. FORSBERG is the Superintend- 
 (l( ent of the Rockford Machine Company, of 
 "^^^ Rockford, which he established in Novem- 
 ber, 1889. Two years later, it was incorporated 
 with a capital stock of $10,000, since which time 
 he has been President and Superintendent, while 
 F. A. Lindstedt occupies tlie position of Secretary. 
 Their plant is located at Nos. 902 and 904 Tenth 
 Street, and they employ thirteen men, who are en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of wood-working ma- 
 chinery, making a specialty of that used in furni- 
 ture factories. 
 
 Mr. Forsberg was born in Sweden, September 2, 
 1856, and is a son of Gustaf Forsberg, who was 
 born in that country in 1834, and there makes his 
 home. He is one of the old railroad engineers of 
 his native land, and is a practical machinist and 
 successful inventor. His wife, whose maiden name 
 was Caroline Lendstedt, died in Sweden in 1877. 
 
 Our subject is the only member of the family 
 residing in this country. The days of his boyhood 
 and j^outh were passed in Sweden, where, at the 
 
^/'^^z 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 821 
 
 age of thirteen, he began learning the machinist's 
 trade, which he followed for some years. Subse- 
 sequently, he became an engineer on board an 
 ocean steamer in the European waters, sailing as 
 far north as Hammerfest. He has been in the 
 northern regions, where the sun has shone for 
 months, and visited many ports in those waters. 
 In 1880, he determined to try his fortune in 
 America, and sailed for New York. The following 
 year he came to Rockford, where he has since made 
 his home. 
 
 Mr. Forsberg was united in marriage in this city 
 with Miss Emma Anderson, who was bom in 
 Sweden, October 9, 1858, and came to this country 
 in 1881. Soon afterwards, she gave her hand in 
 marriage to our subject, and their union has been 
 blessed with a family of six children, namely: 
 Guerda, Gustaf, Fritz, Olga, Mary and Edith, all 
 of whom are attending school in this city. The 
 parents attend the Baptist Church, of which Mrs. 
 Forsberg is a member. On questions of National 
 importance, Mr. Forsberg votes with the Republi- 
 can party. He is a public-spirited and progressive 
 citizen, and one of the prominent Swedish gentle- 
 men of Rockford. Following the business of a 
 machinist, he has won success, which is due entire-' 
 ly to his own efforts, and for it he certainly de- 
 serves great credit. A man of sterling worth, he 
 well deserves representation in the history of his 
 adopted county. 
 
 y 
 
 jf7 EWIS J. WING, who resides on section 20, 
 Rockford Township, Winnebago County, 
 was born in Roxbury, Delaware Countj-, 
 N. Y., on the 9th of December, 1809, and is a son 
 of Samuel Wing, a native of Fishkill, Dutchess 
 County, N. Y. The grandfather, Elihu Wing, was 
 also a native of the Empire State and a member 
 of the Society of Friends. He removed from 
 Dutchess County to White Plains, N. Y., in a very 
 early day. He met his death while assisting in 
 raising a building. 
 
 Samuel Wing was quite young when his father 
 died. He settled in Roxbury after his marriage 
 
 and bought a farm where he made his home until 
 1812, when he removed to Ulster County, N. Y. 
 Subsequently, he returned to Delaware County, 
 and later removed to Chenango Count^', where his 
 death occurred. He married Esther Bennett, who 
 was born in Fishkill, Dutchess County, N. Y., and 
 was a daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Kelly) 
 Bennett. She spent her last years with her daugh- 
 ter in the town of Hector, N. Y. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared to man- 
 hood in the State of his nativity, his boyhood 
 days being spent in the usual manner of farmer 
 lads upon the frontier.. His mother spun and 
 wove cloth and the children were all dressed in 
 home-spun clothing. Lewis remained at home un- 
 til about the time of his marriage, which was cele- 
 brated in 1834, Miss Eleanor Bartle becoming his 
 wife. She was a native of Chenango County, 
 N. Y., and died iri Boone County, 111., in 1853. 
 Mr. Wing was again married, on the 21st of May, 
 1855, his second union being with Susan Hickley, 
 who was born in Orleans County, Vt., and died in 
 June, 1891, leaving three children: Lewis, Emma 
 and Katie. By the first marriage were born' five 
 children: Elijah, Mary, George, Almena and Elea- 
 nor. 
 
 Mr. Wing's first purchase of land consisted of 
 twenty-five acres in Green Township, Chenango 
 County, N. Y. Upon his marriage, he settled 
 thereon, making it his home for four years. He 
 had learned the trade of a miller and followed it 
 in addition to farming. When he sold out in 
 Chenango County, he removed to Steuben County, 
 of the same State, where he rented a mill and en- 
 gaged in that business until 1844. That year 
 witnessed his emigration to Ohio, where he resided 
 in Ashtabula County for ten months. 
 
 In 1845, Mr. Wing came to Illinois, accompanied 
 by his wife and four children, making the journey 
 with teams. Locating in Belvidere, Boone County, 
 he there engaged in milling until 1849, when he 
 removed to Cherry Valley Township, where he 
 rented a tract of land for four years. He then 
 purchased a farm in Flora Township, Boone County, 
 where he engaged in farming until 1862, when he 
 sold and purchased a farm in Cherry Valley Town- 
 ship. Upon that land he resided until 1870, when 
 
822 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he again sold and bought the farm which is now 
 his home. It is located on section 20, Rockford 
 Township, and borders on the Rock River. The 
 well-tilled fields and manj improvements indicate 
 the thrift and enterprise of the owner, who is re- 
 garded as one of the successful and progressive 
 agriculturists of the community as well as a val- 
 ued citizen. In politics, Mr. Wing was a "Whig in 
 early life and also a stanch Abolitionist, and since 
 the organization of the Republican party has been 
 one of its stalwart supporters. 
 
 The lithographic portrait of Mr. Wing accom- 
 panies this sketch. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 <S^ DWARD MULFORD. This gentleman, who 
 i|^ is one of the prominent residents of Rock- 
 11' — ^ ford, personally superintends the operation 
 of Jiis two farms, one of which is in Ogle County, 
 and contains two hundred and forty-two acres, 
 while the other includes a quarter-section in Boone 
 County. 
 
 The original of this sketch was born in Guilford 
 Township, Winnebago County, March 31, 1844, 
 and is the son of William Mulford, a native of 
 Long Island. From a genealogical, chart of the 
 Mulford family, which was published by William 
 Remsen Mulford, of New York City, who was a 
 member of the New York Genealogical and His- 
 torical Society, we extract the following infoi'ma- 
 tion in regard to the early history of the family: 
 
 The first ancestor of our subject in America was 
 John Mulford, who was born in England, and on 
 emigrating to this country was accompanied by his 
 brother William, they making their home in Con- 
 necticut. Jolin's name appears many times in the 
 Minutes of the Council of Connecticut. He re- 
 moved from that State to Southampton, L. I., 
 previous to 1643. The next in line was his son, 
 Capt. Samuel Mulford, who was a town oflicer in 
 Southampton at a very early age, and was Cap- 
 tain in the Colonial militia. He went to England 
 in 1716 and appeared before a committee of the 
 House of Lords, and by his pleading, the duty on 
 whale oil was removed. He was a member of the 
 Provisional Assembly. The next in line was his 
 
 son, Capt. Mathew Mulford, who was a land-owner 
 in Southampton and also a Captain in the Col- 
 onial militia. Following him was Col. David Mul- 
 ford, also a native of Southampton and a Colo- 
 nel in active service in the Revolutionary War. 
 The next in line was Mathew Mulford, the grand- 
 father of our subject. He was born in South- 
 ampton and removed to Rensselaer County, N.Y., 
 in 1800, where he was one of the early pioneers. 
 He secured a tract of land which he improved and 
 resided upon until his death, on the 24th of March, 
 1845. The maiden name of his wife was Mary 
 Hutchinson; she departed this life July 31, 1834. 
 Mr. Mathew Mulford served in the War of 1812 
 and was a pensioner of the Government during his 
 last years. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared to agricul- 
 tural pursuits in his native State, where he resided 
 until 1835, at which time he came to Illinois, being 
 one of the early settlers of Winnebago County. 
 There were but one or two houses where Rockford 
 now stands, and at that early day the land surveys 
 were not yet completed. Wolves, deer, bears and 
 other wild animals were numerous and Indians 
 often proved troublesome. Mr. Mulford made a 
 claim to a tract of Government land in what is 
 now Guilford Township, where he erected a log 
 cabin , covering it with poles, on which he strewed 
 hay. Being single he kept "batch" for a time, and 
 in that humble, abode commenced housekeeping 
 after his marriage. He continued to reside there 
 until his death, March 2, 1862. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Lucy Stewart. She was born in Orleans County, 
 N. Y., and was the daughter of Nathan and Lydia 
 (Young) Stewart. The children born of her union 
 with Mr. Mulford were named respectively Eli H., 
 Edward, John H., William D., Charles L., Mary E. 
 and Ida Viola. Edward Mulford, of this sketch, 
 was reared on the home farm and attended the 
 pioneer school in Cherry Valley Township. The 
 first schoolhouse was built of brick, with seats made 
 of slabs placed on wooden pins for legs. In his 
 early youth, he remembers that there were no rail- 
 roads in this locality and Chicago was the nearest 
 market and depot of supplies. 
 
 The original of this sketch remained with his 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 823 
 
 parents until the outbreak of the Civil "War, when, 
 in June, 1862, he enlisted in Companj^ A, Sixty- 
 seventh Illinois Infantry, serving his country 
 bravely and honorably for three months, at the end 
 of which time he was discharged on account of 
 disability resulting from a sunstroke. Later, he 
 located at Cherry Valley, where he engaged in the 
 drug business and also in buying and shipping 
 grain, continuing thus actively engaged for about 
 ten years. In 1882, he came to Rockford, where 
 he has since resided. He has always maintained an 
 interest in agricultural pursuits and now owns a 
 farm of two hundred and forty-two acres in Ogle 
 County and one of one hundred and sixty acres 
 in Boone County, and gives his personal attention 
 to the supervision of both. 
 
 October 22, 1867, Edward Mulford was united 
 in marriage with Sophronia Johnson, who was born 
 in Cherry Valley, Winnebago County, November 
 22, 1844. To them have been born two children, 
 Mary Edna and William B. In his political views, 
 our subject votes with the Republican party, and, 
 being a Grand Army man, is a member of Nevius 
 Post No. 1. 
 
 Peter B. Johnson, the father of Mrs. Mulford, 
 was born in Sturbridge, Worcester County, Mass., 
 where his father, James Johnson, as far as is known, 
 was also born. The latter-named gentleman was a 
 farmer and passed his last days in Sturbridge. The 
 grandmother of Mrs. Mulford was the daughter of 
 Peter Belknap. She died on the home farm in 
 Sturbridge. The father of our subject's wife was 
 a tanner by trade, which occupation he did not 
 follow, however, being engaged in the manufacture 
 of boots and shoes at Sturbridge. In 1837, he em- 
 igrated to Illinois and located in what is now 
 Cherry Valley Township, this county, where his 
 twin brother, James B., had previously located. 
 There he entered a tract of land from the Govern- 
 ment, three miles south of the village, and erected 
 a log house in which the two families made their 
 home for a time. Mr. Johnson then erected a brick 
 residence, in which the two families again took up 
 their abode and here Mr. Johnson improved a 
 farm and resided until 1856. At that date, he sold 
 his property and removed to Rockford, where he 
 made his home a few months and then located on 
 
 another farm which he owned in Cherrj' Valley 
 Township, and there passed the remainder of his 
 life. His wife was Miss Sophronia Lamb, wlio was 
 born in Sturbridge, Mass., and was a daughter of 
 Luther and Lavinia (Willard) Lamb. She died on 
 the home farm in 1844. The father of Mrs. Mul- 
 ford served as Assessor of Cherry Valley Township 
 and also held the responsible position of Sheriff of 
 Winnebago Count3^ 
 
 JU OSEPH C. TRUMAN is one of those farmers 
 I whose places, by virtue of their well-tilled 
 I acres, their neat buildings and general ap- 
 .^;_J) pearance of prosperity, proclaim them to be 
 men who are ambitious to reach for a higher state 
 of perfection. His home is located on section 26, 
 Rockton Township, Winnebago County, where he 
 is engaged in mixed farming. 
 
 He of whom we write was born November 25, 
 1828, in Jefferson County, N. Y., and is a son of 
 Joseph Truman, who departed this life November 
 27, 1829, when thirty-one years of age, leaving a 
 widow and a son, our subject. His wife was prior 
 to her marriage Miss Fannie Fitch and had her 
 birth in Tolland County, Conn. She is the daugh- 
 ter of Converse and Aruma (Grant) Fitch, who were 
 farmers and lived and died in the Nutmeg State 
 at the respective ages of seventy-eight and eighty- 
 six years. They were the parents of the following 
 sons and daughters: William, Russell, Orsan, Hal- 
 sey, Augusta C, Warren, Hial, Nathan, Fannie and 
 Lorina, the only one living, and who is now Mrs. 
 Nelson W. Northrop, of Ellicottsville, N. Y. When 
 about ten or twelve years of age, Mr. Truman of 
 this sketch went to live with one Joseph Clark, a 
 farmer and silk manufacturer. After being in his 
 employ until seventeen years of age, he struck out 
 for himself and worked as a woolen manufacturer 
 in Massachusetts and Connecticut for nine years, 
 where he was boss weaver or, more properly speak- 
 ing, foreman of his department. 
 
 Joseph C. Truman and Miss Mary A. lloUister, 
 who was born September 28, 1832, were united in 
 marriage in 1851. Three years later, the young 
 couple came West to Rockton, where our subject 
 
824 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was engaged in the paper mill. Two years there- 
 after, the firm sold out and our subject then pur- 
 chased eighty acres of land, for which he paid 125 
 per acre and which is his present abiding-place. He 
 built thereon a house, 24x28 feet in dimensions, 
 and in 1871 erected his present commodious barn, 
 35x50 feet. He has since added other land to his 
 estate and is more than ordinarily successful in 
 cultivating the soil. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Truman have been born four 
 sons and one daughter, the first-born of whom 
 died when an infant. The other members of the 
 family are Burdett C, a farmer in this township,who 
 married Rhoda A. Weed, of Lanark, and has five 
 sous; Lissie M., now Mrs. Edwin S. Gleasman, re- 
 sides in Owen Township; Arthur died in 1856 
 when nine months old, and Fred C, who died, aged 
 eighteen years, in September, 1890. Although 
 brought up among Democratic friends, our subject 
 has only voted for one candidate of that per- 
 suasion — Franklin Pierce; he now casts a Republi- 
 can vote and has for eleven years been Assessor of 
 his township and School Director and Clerk of the 
 School Board for twenty-one years. With his wife, 
 he is a conscientious member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church at Rockton. 
 
 (^^^HOMAS HALL is numbered among the early 
 settlers of Winnebago County, where he has 
 made liis home for over a quarter of a cen- 
 tury. He is now living a retired life at No. 1504 
 Charles Street, Rockford. Of English birth, he was 
 horn in Shropshire in 1828, and was a son of 
 Richard and Sarah (Forgham) Hall, also natives of 
 that county, where they spent their entire lives. 
 The father by occupation was a farmer, and fol- 
 lowed that business throughout his entire life. He 
 died at the age of seventy and his wife passed 
 away in her sixty-sixth j'ear. Both were members of 
 the Methodist Church. In their family were seven 
 sons and three daughters, and all the daughters 
 and four sons reside in England. William and 
 James died in that land, and another brother, John, 
 who came to this country, enlisted in Company H, 
 
 One Hundred and Nineteenth New York Infantry 
 under Capt. Stevens, went to the front and partic- 
 ipated in many engagements. He finally took sick, 
 and died in the hospital at Fortress Monroe, thus 
 giving his life in defense of his adopted country. 
 
 In the usual manner of farmer lads, our subject 
 spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and at- 
 tained his majority in his native county. At length, 
 he bade good-bye to his old home, and, board- 
 ing the "Martha Jane Ward," sailed from Liverpool 
 to New York, where he arrived four weeks later. 
 He went to Westmoreland, Oneida County, N. Y., 
 and in the foundries of that place learned the 
 raolder's trade. AVhile in Westmoreland, he led 
 to the marriage altar Miss Elizabeth Hargraves, 
 a native of Lancashire, England, who, when a 
 maiden of fifteen summers, came to the United 
 States with her father, James Hargraves, and her 
 brothers. Her mother had died in England. The 
 familj' located in Westmoreland, where Mr. Ear- 
 graves resided for some years, and then removed 
 to Rondout, N. Y., where he died at the age of 
 fifty-seven years. His wife was forty-nine years of 
 age when her death occurred. They were both 
 members of the Church of England, and were de- 
 scended from old English families. Mrs. Hall has 
 one brother living, James Hargraves, who is Super- 
 intendent of the Wiltwick Seminary, of Kingston, 
 N. Y. He is married, but has no family. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hall have been born six chil- 
 dren: Mary, wife of Charles Cary, an emplo3'e of 
 the Northwestern Railroad Company, residing in 
 Rockford; William, who, with his father, operates 
 the dairy and fruit farm in Guilford Township, 
 married Amelia Kauffman; James wedded Grace 
 Craill and they reside in Rockford, where he is 
 engaged in clerical work with the Rockford Insur- 
 ance Company; Hattie, Edith and Nellie at home. 
 Edith, who was educated in the Business College 
 of Rockford, is now employed in Mr. Little's 
 abstract office in this city. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hall are members of the Centennial 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and in social circles 
 they rank high. On coming to Rockford, he began 
 business as a molder with the firm of Clark & Utter, 
 and afterwards was in the employ of N. C. Thomp- 
 son. He was industrious and enterprising, attending 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 827 
 
 carefully to the details of business, so that he won 
 considerable property, and, having made profitable 
 investments, is now enjoying a comfortable com- 
 petence. He is practically' living retired, but owns 
 a well-improved farm of ninety-five acres in Guil- 
 ford Township, where is carried on the dairy busi- 
 ness, and vegetables and fruits are also raised for 
 the city market. The farm is in charge of his son 
 William. 
 
 fj OHN D. W. RAY, of Belvidere, claims New 
 York as the State of his nativity. He was 
 born in Fallsburgh, Sullivan Count}', Julj' 
 ^^ 30, 1855, and is of English descent. His 
 great-grandfather, "Stephen Ray, was probably a 
 native of England and the founder of the family 
 in America. The grandfather was born in Dutchess 
 County, N. Y., and married Acey Crane, a native 
 of Litchfield County, Conn. Removing to Sulli- 
 van County, he became one of the earliest settlers 
 of Thompson Township, where both he and his 
 wife died in the month of March, 1812. 
 
 Miles S. Ray, father of our subject, was born in 
 Amenia, Dutchess County, and was only seven 
 years old when his parents died. He found a 
 home with a farmer residing in Monticello, Sulli- 
 van County, with whom he resided until he was 
 twenty years of age, when he began to leai-n the 
 carpenter's trade. He followed that occupation 
 for ten years, and then, purchasing land in the 
 town of Fallsburgh, engaged in farming until his 
 emigration to Illinois in 1856. He settled in 
 Flora Township, Boone County, and there made 
 his home until 1864, since which time he has been 
 a resident of Belvidere. Although he has now 
 reached the advanced age of eighty-six years, ho 
 is enjoying good health and his mental faculties 
 are still unimpaired. His wife, who bore the 
 maiden name of Ellen E. Hardenbergh, died in Bel- 
 videre in 1873. She was born in Sullivan County, 
 N. Y., in 1812, and was a daughter of Thomas R. 
 and Rachel (Be Vere) Hardenbergh. Her grand- 
 father. Rev. Johannus Hardenbergh, was a native 
 of Holland, and a minister of the Dutch Reformed 
 Church. 
 
 37 
 
 Mr. Ray of this sketch has been a resident of 
 Illinois since his third year. He acquired his early 
 education in the schools of Flora Township and 
 supplemented his common-school studies by a 
 course in the State University at Champaign. He 
 then started out in life for himself, and, going to 
 Chicago, was employed in various kinds of work 
 for about five years. He •then returned to Belvi- 
 dere, where he has made his home almost continu- 
 ously since, and for the past few years has devoted 
 his time to looking after his private interests. 
 
 Our subject has been twice married. He wedded 
 Carrie E. Roberts, a native of De Kalb County, 
 111., and a daughter of Alanson and Mary Roberts. 
 She died in December, 1886. In July, 1887, Mary 
 Lewis became the wife of Mr. Ray. She is a na- 
 tive of Troy Grove, La Salic County, and a daugh- 
 ter of Joseph and Jennie (Wallace) Lewis. Two 
 children were born of the first union, Thomas 
 Floyd and Ora Louise. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Ray is independent, voting for 
 the man regardless of party affiliations. Socially, 
 he is a member of Belvidere Lodge, No. 289 K. of P. 
 His wife holds membership with the Baptist Church. 
 They are people of sterling worth, whose many 
 friends throughout the community hold them in 
 high esteem for their excellencies of character. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Ray accompanies this sketch 
 of his life. 
 
 ^^->-^^<l 
 
 -i- 
 
 ■^ACOB LIGGET. This gentleman's early 
 identity with the farming and stock-growing 
 interests' of this part of Illinois entitles him 
 to representation in this Biographical Rec- 
 ord as a pioneer of Winnebago County. He is 
 also what may be termed a self-made man, as he 
 came to the county poor in this world's goods but 
 has by persistent industry and good judgment 
 acquired a competence which has enabled him to 
 retire from active life. 
 
 He of whom we write was born in Chester 
 County, Pa., August 26, 1823, and is at the present 
 time residing in the village of Winnebago. His 
 father, Samuel Ligget, was also born in the Key- 
 stone State, and was reared and learned the trade 
 
828 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of a wagonmaker and millwright in Chester Coun- 
 ty. He followed those trades during his entire 
 life, spending his last years in Pottstown, Berks 
 County. Our subject's mother bore the name of 
 Barbara Starrett, also a native of the same county 
 as was her husband, and the daughter of William 
 Starrett, who, as far as is known, hailed from 
 Chester County. 
 
 The maternal grandfather of our subject was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary War, and departed 
 this life in Chester County, Pa. His daughter, the 
 mother of our svibject, reared a family of seven 
 children, and died in Berks County; Jacob of this 
 sketch grew up on the home farm and lived with 
 his parents until fifteen years of age, when he be- 
 gan to care for himself, his first work being on 
 farms in the neighborhood. After his marriage, he 
 rented land in Chester County for five years, and 
 in 1854 emigrated to Winnebago County, having 
 visited the section the year previous and purchased 
 one hundred acres of land, eighty acres of which 
 were prairie and twenty timber; forty acres of the 
 former were broken, but did not boast of any 
 buildings. Mr. Ligget at once erected a comforta- 
 ble house on the new farm, into which the family 
 moved and resided for twenty-eight years. At 
 the end of that time, he rented the place and, as 
 before stated, is now residing in Winnebago. His 
 landed estate now comprises two hundred and two 
 acres of excellent land, the rental of which brings 
 him in a handsome income". 
 
 The lad}^ to whom our subject was united in 
 marriage Mai-ch 27, 1849, was born in Lancaster 
 County, Pa., January 15, 1823, and bore the name 
 of Ann, daughter of James Ayres. Her father 
 was also a native of the above-named county, where 
 also his father, Jacob, as far as is known, was born. 
 The latter-named gentleman was employed in the 
 iron works of that county, where his decease oc- 
 curred. The father of Mrs. Ligget married Nancy 
 Morrow, who was born and died in Lancaster 
 County. 
 
 The following are the seven children born to our 
 subject and his wife: Mary J. married Bryon Briggs; 
 Henry B. married Martha E. Bunn, and is the father 
 of four children: Willie, Lillian, Anna, and an in- 
 fant unnamed; Ann A. is Mrs. Edward H. Warner, 
 
 and her three children are Nellie, Myrtle and Blanch. 
 Clara E. married G. W. Bunn, and is the mother of 
 three sons: Albert J., Henry F. and Lee J.; Clinton 
 T. took to wife Alice Mack, and is the father of four 
 children: Howard C, Alma A., Cora A. and Ethel 
 M.; Ida L. is Mrs. Millard HoUenbeck, and has 
 one son, Henry J.; Ella F. is the wife of Charles 
 McManners, and has two children: Alta L. and 
 Olive Hazel. Mr. and Mrs. Ligget are members in 
 good standing of the Presbyterian Church and are 
 numbered among the well-to-do and honored citi- 
 zens of the county. 
 
 \^xETER J. OBERG, a live business man en- 
 
 Jl) gaged with the RockfOrd Manufacturing 
 ■^ Company, has made his home in this city 
 ] \ since 1868, and for a number of years has 
 resided at No. 708 First Avenue. He is a gentleman 
 of energetic and accomplished business habits, and 
 prompt and reliable in all transactions. 
 
 Like the majority of the residents of Rockford, 
 Mr. Oberg claims Sweden as his native land, and 
 was born in Smoland Province, that country, on 
 the 4th of December, 1830. Three years later, his 
 father, Andrew S. Oberg, died, when about forty 
 years of age. The latter was a soldier in the regu- 
 lar army in his native country, Sweden. In 1846, 
 the mother was struck by lightning and instantly 
 killed. She was about forty-five years of age. 
 
 Our subject was married in his native country 
 to Mrs. Inga S. Jacobson, who was born and reared 
 in the same province as her husband. Her father 
 died there when forty-nine years of age. He was 
 a farmer all his life. His wife is yet living at her 
 old home in Sweden, and, although ninety-five years 
 of age, is comparatively smart and active. She is 
 a member of the Lutheran Church, and her husband 
 held membership in the same. They were the 
 parents of but one child, Mrs. Oberg. 
 
 In the spring of 1868, our subject came to Amer- 
 ica and was followed by his wife and two children 
 in the fall of that year. He immediately located 
 in Rockford and, with the exception of one year 
 spent in the South, he has been a resident of 
 this city since. For some time after locating here. 
 
i'OETEAIT AND BIOGEAl'IIICAL RECOKD. 
 
 829 
 
 he was with the John V. Manney Manufacturing 
 Company, and ran the emery wheel for that corpo- 
 ration for nineteen years. He still follows that 
 business. 
 
 To his marriage have been born ten children , five 
 now deceased: Carl A. died when five years of age; 
 Matina C, at the age of fourteen months; Rug W., 
 when eleven months old; Bada M., when three 
 months old, and an infant unnamed. Those living 
 are Anna G., wife of John H. Larson, a farmer of 
 Cherry Valley Township; John A., now of the firm 
 of Oberg & Rahkar, leading tonsorial artists, is doing 
 a successful business at No. 401 East State Street. 
 He began for himself at the age of eighteen, and 
 later associated himself with his present partner, 
 Mr. Rahkar. He is a stockholder in the Rockford 
 Manufacturing Company, also the Rockford Land 
 Company, doing business in Chicago, and in the 
 Rockford Building and Loan Association. He is 
 chairman of the musical committee in the Christian 
 Union Church, which position he has held for two 
 years, and he is a member of that church. So- 
 cially, he is a member of Genevieve Lodge, No. 
 274, K. of P., and is Past Chancellor. He was 
 a charter member of tlie lodge, and one of its first 
 officers. Pie is a social, pleasant young man, ranks 
 well in social and musical circles, and has many 
 friends. Following this son are Olivia M., wife of 
 Gus. J. Johnson, a tonsorial artist of Rockford; 
 Frank A. and Charles G. W., at home. The parents 
 of these children are members of the Emanuel 
 Church. 
 
 j^R. JOHN W. THOMAS, a physician and 
 surgeon of Rockford, was born in Wau- 
 kesha County, Wis., in 1857. The family 
 was founded in this country by Capt. 
 "Whitemore Thomas, a sea-captain, who emigrated 
 from his home in Wales to America about 1700. 
 William Thomas, the great-grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, lived and died in Vermont. His son John, 
 the grandfather of the Doctor, was a mechanic and 
 farmer and married a Vermont lady. Miss Augusta 
 Spaulding, who traced her ancestry back to the 
 
 Pilgrim Fathers. On emigrating Westward about 
 1842, they became residents of Waukesha County, 
 Wis., locating on land in Vernon Township, which 
 they obtained from the Government. There Mr. 
 Thomas and his wife spent their remaining days, 
 the former dying at the age of three-score years, 
 and the latter when about eighty years of age. 
 They were well-known pioneers of that county 
 and highly-respected people. 
 
 Edwin B. Thomas, father of our subject, was the 
 only son and the fourth child in a family of five 
 children, all but one of whom are yet living, are 
 married and have families. He was about fifteen 
 years of age when he located in Wisconsin, and in 
 Waukesha County attained his majority. He has 
 since then engaged in farming and stock-raising, 
 making a specialty o' draft and road horses, Cleve- 
 land Bays, English Shire and Percheron. His cattle 
 are thoroughbred Red Polled. He is also exten- 
 sivel 3' engaged in market gardening and owns two 
 large greenhouses. His home, called the "Ever- 
 green Stock Farm," is well known throughout that 
 part of the State, and Mr. Thomas is a prominent 
 and very successful farmer. He was married in 
 Vernon Township, Waukesha County, to Cornelia 
 Munger, a native of Indiana, who in childhood 
 went to Wisconsin with her parents. Gains and 
 Celia (Smith) Munger, who settled in Vernon 
 Township upon a new farm which they developed 
 and improved. The death of the mother occurred 
 there, but the father died at the home of his 
 daughter, Mrs. Tiiomas, a few years previous. 
 Both had passed the age of eighty years. 
 
 Dr. Thomas was reared in Waukesha County 
 and began his literary education in Rochester Sem- 
 inary, in Racine County, Wis. In 1875, he entered 
 the scientific department of the University of 
 Wiscon-in at Madison, and was graduated in the 
 Class of '79. He was a hard student and always 
 at the head of his class. Then for ten years he en- 
 gaged in milling as a practical business man. 
 Subsequently, he took a term of lectures in Rush 
 iSIedical College, of Chicago, after which he en- 
 tered the Chicago Homeopathic College and was 
 graduated from that insti'ution in the Class of '91. 
 There he was also foremost in his classes, was Pres- 
 ident of the class organization and was President 
 
830 
 
 JPORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 of the Hahnemaun Society. He commenced prac- 
 tice in Eockford in April, 1891, and although only 
 a year has since passed, he has already won recog- 
 nition as a young man of superior ability. 
 
 The Doctor was married, in Waterford, Eacine 
 County, Wis., to Miss Luella Eccles, who was born 
 in that county and educated at Eochester Semin- 
 ary and the University of "Wisconsin. Her father, 
 Andrew Eccles, is now deceased, but her mother, 
 whose maiden name was Elizabeth Earnshaw, 
 makes her home with Mrs. Thomas. The Doctor 
 and his wife have an interesting family of four 
 children: Eoy E., Harold E., Bessie C. and Marjorie. 
 The parents are both members of the Second Con- 
 gregational Church. The Doctor was formerly a 
 Republican in politics but is now a Prohibitionist. 
 His studies have well fitted him for the work he 
 has undertaken, and his skill and ability will not 
 be many years in winning him a foremost place 
 among his professional brethren. 
 
 _^] 
 
 "=] 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 [^ 
 
 __a) 
 
 eAPT. C. HOVEY, deceased, was a resident 
 of Capron, Boone County, for a number of 
 years, but died in 1857 in California. He 
 was born November 29, 1821, in New York, and 
 was the son of Richard C. Hovey, also a native of 
 the Empire State, and a Captain in the militia. The 
 title of Captain was bestowed upon our subject in 
 honor of his father. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hovey went to Ohio from 
 New York and in an early day came to Illinois. 
 The mother's maiden name was Abigail Kimball; 
 she reared a family of thirteen children, five 
 of whom are sons. The parents farmed in Round 
 Prairie for many years, where they had purchased 
 one hundred and sixty acres of land from the 
 Government. The father died after the war at an 
 advanced age and the mother followed him to the 
 better land three years later, having attained her 
 three-score years and ten. Two children of the 
 parental family are residing in California, one in 
 Iowa and the rest in Illinois. 
 
 Miss Lavina, daughter of Jonathan and Martha 
 (Eogers) Webster, was united in marriage with 
 our subject in 1845, and in 1851 they crossed the 
 
 plains to Calif ornia, where the husband and father 
 died in 1857. Mrs. Hovey's parents were natives 
 of New York, and reared a family of six daugh- 
 ters and one son. One child died in infancy and 
 one son was drowned at Buffalo. A sister of our 
 subject's wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Lambert, makes her 
 home with Mrs. Hovey, and another sister, Fannie, 
 is the widow of Rowell Hovey and resides at 
 Capron. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born two 
 daughters: Sarah, Mrs. Charles Whitcomb, of Min- 
 nesota, and Amanda, who married Christopher 
 Ward , who also lives in that Stale. The sons-in-law 
 were both soldiers during the late war, serving a 
 period of nearly five years, Mr. Whitcomb being a 
 musician in the infantry and Mr. Ward serving 
 in a cavalry regiment. Mrs. Hovey had a son 
 George, who volunteered when seventeen years of 
 age, becoming a member of Company 1, Thirty- 
 seventh Illinois Infantry, and died of congestive 
 chills in Arkansas, where he lies buried. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Lambert, as before stated, resides 
 with Mrs. Hovey, and is the widow of James B. 
 Lambert, who died on Round Prairie, April 8, 1875, 
 leaving three sons. One son, Morris, died March 
 4, 1892, leaving a wife and three children, and 
 Mary Jane departed this life when twenty-three 
 years of age. Melville resides in Minnesota; and 
 John W. resides in Illinois. 
 
 ENRY A. WEBBER. He whose name 
 adorns this page is a worthy representative 
 of an honorable and ingenious English fam- 
 ily. The same traits which made his fa- 
 ther and brothers successful in the various inter- 
 ests in which they were engaged is discovered in 
 our subject in an augmented degree. He is resid- 
 ing at the present time in the city of Eockton and 
 is the manufacturer of the Webber Combination 
 Angle Sieve, whose capacity for separating mixed 
 grain is from thirty to forty bushels per hour. 
 
 He of whom we write was born in Somerset- 
 shire, England, August 19, 1849, and is a son of 
 William Webber, whose birth occurred in the same 
 country in 1807. In the fall of 1849, the latter- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 831 
 
 named gentleman, accompanied by liis wife and 
 eight children, set sail for American shores. On 
 reaching this country, he purchased five farms, 
 which aggregated six hundred and forty acres, all 
 in one body, for which he paid spot cash. The 
 wife and mother died while on a visit to her son 
 Herman, when eighty-four years of age. William 
 Webber departed this life in June, 1889, at the 
 home of his daughter in "Wempletown, this State. 
 
 Henry A. Webber of this sketch was reared on a 
 farm, and was given good educational advantages, 
 and when twenty years of age left the farm and 
 in company with his brothers, William and John, 
 began manufacturing what was known as the Web- 
 ber Reapers, of which they were the patentees. 
 In the course of fifteen years, our subject pur- 
 chased the interest of his brothers and managed 
 affairs for himself for some years, since which 
 time lie has been engaged in the manufacture of 
 the combination sieve. 
 
 June 26, 1866, Mr. Webber and Mrs. Sarah A. 
 Kennedy, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Hend- 
 erson) Jewett, were united in marriage in Hub- 
 bard, Ohio. They have made their home since 
 that time in Rockton, with the exception of four 
 years, when Mr. Webber was engaged as a merchant 
 in Mendota, this State. For a like time after com- 
 ing here, he was employed in the factory of John 
 Spafford, patenting machines. 
 
 The wife of our subject was born in Trumbull 
 County, Ohio, in 1841. Her father, who was a na- 
 tive of the same place, died in 1849, when thirty- 
 four years of age, leaving a widow and four chil- 
 dren. Her union with our subject has been blessed 
 bythebirthof three children, one of whom, Frank- 
 lin J., died when six years of age in 1882. Those 
 living are Mamie E., wife of William Alden, a 
 farmer in Rockton Township, and Gertie E., who 
 was born in October, 1883. In politics, Mr. Web- 
 ber is a Republican but is not so rabid, however, 
 but that he can see good in all men and parties. 
 His wife is a noble, true-hearted woman, and with 
 her husband is a member of the Congregational 
 Church, in which the latter has been Trustee for 
 eighteen years. 
 
 Mr. Webber is making a success of his grain and 
 seed separator, his sales amounting to $4,000 per 
 
 3'ear and constantly on the increase. James N. 
 Jewett, a brother of Mrs. Webber, was a soldier 
 during the late war and met his death, January 2, 
 1863, at the battle of Stone River. Her mother, 
 who was born in Eastern Pennsylvania in May, 
 1818, is now nearlj' seventy-four years of age and 
 makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Webber. 
 
 V_ 
 
 •{^♦s 
 
 _y 
 
 eHERRICK SCHOONMAKER, who is living 
 retired in the villaee of Latham, Winne- 
 bago County, owns three hundred acres of 
 well-improved land on the east bank of Rock 
 River, which is operated in a most intelligent 
 manner by his sons. Our subject was born in 
 Florida, Montgomery County, N. Y., October 4, 
 1824, where his father, Peter, and his grandfather, 
 Cherrick, Sr., as far as is known, were born. The 
 latter-named gentleman was of Dutch ancestry, 
 and carried on farming in Florida until his death. 
 Peter Schoonmaker learned and followed the 
 trades of tanner, currier, and harness-maker, car- 
 rying on business in Berne, Albany County, after 
 which he lived in different parts of the Empire 
 State, spending his last years in Knox, Albany 
 County, his death occurring July 29, 1856. The 
 maiden name of his second wife was Elizabeth 
 Schemerhorn, also a native of that State, and the 
 daughter of Frederick Schemerhorn, who, it is 
 thought, was born in Greene County. When a lad 
 of sixteen years, the maternal grandfather of our 
 subject was taken captive by the Indians and held 
 a prisoner for four years and four months, when 
 he was purchased by a white man for $40. He 
 wrote an interesting account of his experience 
 which he had published in book form. 
 
 The mother of our subject died at her home in 
 the town of Knox. Cherrick was reared to man- 
 hood in his native State and commenced to earn 
 his own living as soon as old enough, by working 
 out on f ai ms by the month. He began in business 
 for himself by working farms on shares, and 
 finally purchased eighteen acres in the town of 
 Knox, where he resided until 1857. Two years 
 previously he had come to Winnebago County and 
 
832 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArmCAL RECORD. 
 
 bought eighty acres of land in Owen Township, 
 of -which forty acres were broken; a log house 
 constituted the improvements. He paid the sum 
 of $1,300 for the propert}', and in 1857 took up 
 his abode in a log cabin in which he resided for 
 seven years, at the end of which time he erected a 
 substantial frame building in which the family 
 made their home until 1865. Mr. Schoonmaker 
 then disposed of that property and became the 
 proprietor of the Anson Owen farm, where he 
 lived until 1883; then selling that, he purchased the 
 farm which he still owns in Harlem Township. 
 This he improved with three sets of frame buildings 
 and after occupying it for two years left it in charge 
 of his sons and removed to Lapham, where he is 
 now living retired in a pleasant home. 
 
 August 19, 1848, Charity Dearing, a native of 
 Wright, Schoharie County, N. Y., became the wife 
 of our subject. She was born January 5, 1827, 
 and is a daughter of Frederick Dearing, also a na- 
 tive of the Empire State, of German parents. The 
 grandfather of Mrs. Schoonmaker was a pioneer 
 of Schoharie County, where his last few years 
 were spent. Her father, in addition to carrying 
 on a farm, was engaged in the lumber business, and 
 passed his entire life in the above-named county. 
 The maiden name of her mother was Catherine 
 Hillsey, a native of New York State and of German 
 parents. 
 
 Our subject and his wife have two children liv- 
 ing: David, who married Ida Wright, and Fred, 
 the husband of Minnie Brighton. Catherine, the 
 second child, died at the age of thirteen years and 
 two months; Elizabeth, the next in order of birth, 
 passed away when eleven years and one month of 
 age. 
 
 "OSEPH G. LYFORD, Esq., formerly the 
 efficient County Treasurer of Winnebago 
 ^^ I County, residing on section 11, Guilford 
 ^^fJ Township, first opened his eyes to the light 
 of day on the 2d of December, 1839, in Canter- 
 bury, N. H. His grandfather, Dudley Lyford, was 
 a farmer, and spent his entire life in the Granite 
 State. The father, Thomas Lyford, was also a na- 
 tive of New Hampshire, was reared to agricultural 
 
 pursuits, and at the age of eighteen commenced to 
 learn the trade of a stone-cutter. He married 
 Eliza Greely, who was born in Gilmanton, N. H., 
 and was a daughter of Joseph Greely. Immedi- 
 ately after his marriage, Mr. Lyford engaged in 
 farming in Canterbury, where he resided until 
 1842, when, with his wife and three children, he 
 started with teams for Illinois, and, on reaching 
 Winnebago Count}', located in Roscoe Township, 
 among its early settlers. The following spring, 
 he purchased a farm of his brother-in-law, upon 
 which was a log house. Into this the family re- 
 moved and began life in the West in true pioneer 
 style. Mr. Lyford died in December, 1869, on the 
 home farm which is now owned hy his son Dud- 
 ley. His wife survived him some years, and died 
 in Rockford in June, 1874. Their family num- 
 bered seven children, as follows: Dudley, Eliza- 
 beth G., Joseph G., Alice H., Thomas, Augusta A. 
 and Charles C. 
 
 Our subject was only in his third year, when, 
 with his parents, he came to Illinois, and his recol- 
 lections are of Winnebago County. He was reared 
 amid the wild scenes of frontier life, and his early 
 education was acquired in the common schools, af- 
 ter which he was a student in the High School of 
 Roscoe, and in Beloit College, of Beloit, Wis. He 
 then engaged in teaching for one term, and in 
 1865 went to Albany, N. Y., entering the Albany 
 Law School, from which he was graduated in the 
 Class of '66. He then embarked in the practice of 
 law in Rockford, and continued to follow that 
 profession until 1870, when he was appointed 
 County Treasurer, filling the office until the au- 
 tumn of 1871. Until 1877, he continued to reside 
 in Rockford, when he rented the farm in Roscoe 
 Township which was his iiome for two years. He 
 then bought his present farm, and to its cultiva- 
 tion has since devoted his energies. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1868, Mr. Lyford was 
 joined in wedlock to Miss Emily M. Brown, a na- 
 tive of Shirley, Mass., and a daughter of Rev. 
 Hope Brown, who was born in Concord, Mass., 
 February 16, 1798. He acquired his literary edu- 
 cation in Amherst College, and for two years stud- 
 ied theology in Princeton, after which he was 
 ordained a minister of the Congregational Church 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 833 
 
 in Shirley, Mass., June 22, 1830. At the same 
 time he was installed as pastor of that church, but 
 after fifteen years resigned and removed to Naper- 
 ville, 111., where he had charge of the chirrch from 
 1845 until 1856. In that year he went to Rock- 
 ford, and was financial agent for the Rockford Fe- 
 male Seminary for thirteen years. During the 
 remainder of his days, he lived retired at the home 
 of his daughter, Mrs. M. S. Hinman, of Beloit. He 
 passed away in 1883, at the age of eighty-five 
 years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of 
 Mary P. Fuller, was born in Fitchburg, Mass., and 
 was a daughter of Benjamin Fuller. She died at 
 the home of Mrs. Lyford, in August, 1890. This 
 worthy couple were prominent people, highly re- 
 spected by all who knew them. 
 
 Unto our subject and his wife have been born 
 two children, Starr and May. The mother is a 
 member of the First Congregational Church of 
 Rockford, and a most estimable lady. Mr. Lyford 
 was a Republican in politics for some years, but 
 has been a Democrat since 1876. He has a wide ac- 
 quaintance throughout Winnebago County, where 
 almost his entire life has been passed, and is recog- 
 nized as one of its valued citizens. 
 
 J****^ 
 l****^ 
 
 
 * OHN SEATON. Many of the most active 
 and enterprising residents of Shirlaud Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, are natives of this 
 county and have here spent the greater part 
 of their lives. In them we find men of true loy- 
 alty to the interests of this part of the State, and 
 who understand, us it were by instinct, the needs, 
 social and industrial, of this vicinity and have a 
 thorough knowledge of its resources. They are, 
 therefore, better adapted to succeed here than a 
 stranger could and are probably, without exception, 
 warmly devoted to the prosperity of their native 
 place. 
 
 Mr. Seaton was born at his present home in 
 Shirland Township on the 19th of April, 1846. 
 His father, George Seaton, was born in Westmore- 
 land, N. Y., in 1803, and his grandfather, George 
 Seaton, was a native of Vermont who, with his 
 wife, Hannah (Wheeling) Seaton, went to New 
 
 York at an early day. They reared six children, 
 George Seaton, Jr., being the fourth son and child. 
 The elder George Seaton was a millwright by trade 
 and also a miller, rearing his son George Seaton, 
 Jr., to the same trade. The latter was married in 
 Oneida County, on the 28th of April, 1830, to 
 Miss Abigail Makinstry, a native of Stafford, Conn., 
 born November 29, 1805, and the daughter of 
 Solomon and Jerusha (Baldwin') Makinstry, both 
 New Englanders and the father a farmer and 
 carpenter. Mr. and Mrs. Makinstry reared eleven 
 children, five sons and six daughters, and died in 
 the East, the father at the age of eighty-six, and 
 the mother at the age of seventy-three years. 
 
 The parents of our subject left New York in 
 1838 and with a three-horse team started for the 
 State of Illinois. They were well equipped with 
 a stove, cooking uten.sils, bedding, &c., &c., and 
 with their four small children were quite comfort- 
 able in making the trip. They were several 
 weeks en route and after reaching their Western 
 home set up housekeeping in the crude log house 
 Mr. Seaton had erected on his two hundred acres 
 the year previous. He paid $1.25 per acre for his 
 land and at once set work to clear his farm and 
 make improvements. He followed agricultural 
 pursuits all his life and was well known for his 
 thrift and enterprise. He died on the 4th of July, 
 1857, when fifty-four years of age, of lung fever 
 and quick consumption, and left his widow and 
 eight living children. Mrs. Seaton is still living 
 and, although now nearly eighty-seven years of 
 age, is still quite strong, both mentally and phys- 
 ically. She has been a hard worker all her life 
 until within the last nine years, since which time 
 her daughter has taken the best and tenderest care 
 of her. She has been a Methodist for sixty- years 
 and expects to pass away triumphant in that faith. 
 Mr. Seaton was a Republican in polities. 
 
 Eight of the ten children born to this worthy 
 couple lived to be grown, but two, Francis and 
 Eli, died in early boyhood. The others were 
 named Leonard C, Julia Ann, Adaline, Delani, 
 Laura, Abbie, John (our subject) and Dorothy, 
 respectively. Of these there are five living: Leon- 
 ard C. volunteered in a regiment of Minnesota 
 cavalry in 1862 and served three years in the 
 
834 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 West, fighting the Indians. His death occurred in 
 Ellensburg, Wash., October 13, 1890, when nearly 
 sixty years of age. Julia Ann, who married Steven 
 Card, died' April 19, 1885, when fifty-three years 
 of age, leaving five children; Abbie died in Red- 
 fleld, Iowa, in 1887, when forty- three years of age 
 John Seaton, the subject of this sketch, was reared 
 on the farm where he now resides and has spent 
 his whole life in tilling the soil. He was married, 
 May 15, 1883, to Mrs. Alice L. Ryan, nee Tambling, 
 a daughter of William H. and Miranda (Small) 
 Tambling, both natives of New England. Her pa- 
 rents later moved to Stockholm, St. Lawrence 
 County, N. Y., and there Mrs. Seaton was born on 
 the 19tli of November, 1843. Slie came with her 
 parents to Wisconsin in 1852. Her mother died 
 in Forest, Livingston County, 111., in January, 
 1877, when sixty-nine years of age, and the father 
 passed away at Eagle River, Wis., May 20, 1889, 
 when eighty years of age. They were the parents 
 of six children. Mr. Seaton is a member of the 
 Farmers' Mutual Benevolent Association, and al- 
 though formerly a Republican in politics, is now 
 a Prohibitionist. INIrs. Seaton 's first marriage re- 
 sulted in the birth of six children, but only one, 
 Maggie, is now living. She makes her home in 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 "lU^ENSLY KEZAR, an intelligent and highly 
 I Jij respected farmer living on section 24, Guil- 
 ^f^ ford Township, Winnebago Count}', has 
 been identified with the history of this commu- 
 nity for more than half a century. He has ever 
 borne his share in the work of development and 
 upbuilding, has been an eye-witness of its progress 
 and advancement, and well deserves mention 
 among its honored pioneers. 
 
 Mr. Kezar was born in Shirley, Middlesex County, 
 Mass., June 22, 1813, and is a son of Moses Kezar, 
 who was born in Groton, Mass., July 26, 1790. 
 The great-grandfather of our subject also bore the 
 name of Moses. He was born in 1710, and became 
 an early settler of Shirley, Mass., where he improved 
 a farm, making it his home until his death. His son 
 
 Jonathan was born January 9, 1750, was reared to 
 agricultural pursuits, and died in Shirley in 1829. 
 His wife bore the maiden name of Abigail Stowe. 
 
 Moses Kezar, Jr., learned the trade of a carpen- 
 ter and joiner, which he followed in Shirley, Mass., 
 throughout his entire life. His death occurred in 
 July, 1825. He married Celinda Page, who was 
 born in Shirley, and who was a daughter of Jonas 
 and Lucy (llolden) Page. Her mother died Feb- 
 ruary 10, 1841. The father was an agriculturist, 
 and spent his entire life in Shirley, passing away 
 on the 26th of January, 1822. He was a descend- 
 ant of John Page, who came from Durham, Eng- 
 land, to America in 1630. The mother of our sub- 
 ject survived her husband some years, and was 
 called to her final rest while living in Groton, 
 Mass. Their family numbered five children: Bens- 
 ly, Charles, Walter, Elvira and Maria S. 
 
 Our subject went to Groton when a lad of six- 
 teen j'ears, and began learning the trade of a hat- 
 ter, serving as an apprentice until he reached his 
 majority. He then followed the business on his 
 own account until 1836, when he decided to try 
 his fortune in the Far West, and started for Illi- 
 nois, making the journey via the Erie Canal and 
 the Great Lakes to Detroit, and by team the re- 
 maining distance. He located in what was then 
 Winnebago County, but is now a part of Boone 
 County. At that time Chicago was a mere vil- 
 lage, and the greater part of the land in this vi- 
 cinity was not yet surveyed. Deer and other kinds 
 of wild game roamed over the prairie at will, the 
 settlers were few, and many of the towns had not 
 yet sprung into existence. Mr. Kezar made a 
 claim about a mile east of Cherry Valley, upon 
 which he erected a log cabin covered with shakes, 
 but soon afterwards sold to William Fitch and 
 Henry Lawrence. Our subject then turned his 
 attention to milling, being connected with the 
 first gristmill in either Winnebago or Boone Coun- 
 ties. It was located in Newburg, and he continued 
 to engage in its operation until 1850, when he 
 purchased land in the town of Flora and engaged 
 in farming. In 1865, he sold and bought a farm 
 in Guiford Township, his present home. 
 
 On the 5th of January, 1844, Mr. Kezar married 
 Catherine Bartle,a native of the Empire State, and 
 
cJ(dJ. 
 
 C/T^^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 837 
 
 a daughter of John and Rose Bartle. Her death 
 occurred April 9, 1845, and he was again married, 
 his second union being with Mrs. Amanda M. 
 (Wilder) Holcomb. She was born in New York, 
 and was a daughter of Orin Wilder. She became 
 the wife of our subject January 30, 1849, and was 
 called to her final rest June 23, 1886, leaving five 
 children: Jerome M., Ilosea B., Charles F., Walter 
 P. and Helen A. The last-named is the wife of 
 Fred H. Chamberlain. 
 
 In religious belief, Mr. Kezar is a Universalist. 
 He is a well-informed man and a public-spirited 
 and progressive citizen. To the pioneers we owe 
 a debt of gratitude for what they have done for 
 the county, and among them our subject deserves 
 honorable mention. 
 
 ♦^^l 
 
 3^^- 
 
 Andrew OLSON, foreman of the Forest 
 City Furniture Company, has for some 
 years been identified with the business in- 
 terests of Rockford, where he has made his 
 home since 1862. He came to the United States 
 from Sweden, his native land. He was born in 
 1851, and with his parents crossed the Atlantic to 
 this country. His father, L. O. Johnson, is still 
 living at the age of seventy-three years, and makes 
 his home in Rockford. His wife died in this city 
 in 1889, at the age of sixty-two years. Mr. John- 
 son is a member of the First Lutheran Church, to 
 which the mother of our subject also belonged. 
 
 Under the parental roof Andrew Olson remained 
 until after he had attained his majority. He 
 learned the trade of a cabinet-finisher in his native 
 land, and it has since been his life work. He is an 
 experienced and expert workman, and well capa- 
 ble of filling the responsible position which he has 
 held since 1875, a period of seventeen consecutive 
 years. He is ever watchful over the interests of his 
 company, attends carefully to every detail of busi- 
 ness, and has the entire confidence and respect of 
 his employers. 
 
 At Rockford, in 1876, Mr. Olson led to the mar- 
 riage altar Miss Christina Hedland, who was born 
 m Sweden in 1858, and came with her parents to 
 the United States, the family locating in Rockford, 
 
 where the death of her father occurred. His wife 
 is still living at an advanced age. They were both 
 members of the First Lutheran Church of this city. 
 With that congregation our subject and his estima- 
 ble wife also hold membership. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Olson is a supporter of Repub- 
 lican principles, and while he feels an interest in 
 political affairs, has never sought or desired official 
 preferment for himself. He is public-spirited and 
 progressive, manifesting a commendable interest 
 in all that pertains to the welfare of the commu- 
 nity, its growth and its upbuilding. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Olson rank high in the circles of society in which 
 they move, and have a commodious and fine home 
 at No. 1202 Seventh Street, which is the abode of 
 hospitalitj'. Unto this worthy couple were born 
 five children, four of wliom are yet living, two 
 sons and two daughters: Edward H., George II., 
 Edna R. and Delia R. By his own efforts, Mr. 
 Olson has worked his way upward, and has now a 
 comfortable competence. 
 
 In connection herewith may be found the litho- 
 graphic portrait of Mr. Olson. 
 
 ^j^ UGUSTUS DEVILLO HALE, an entcrpris- 
 WmJW ing farmer residing on section 6, Bonus 
 Township, is a representative of one of 
 ,^ the honored pioneer families of Boone 
 
 County. His father and grandfather, both of 
 whom bore the name of Oliver Hale, were natives 
 of Tompkins, Delaware County, N. Y., where the 
 great-grandfather, a native of New Hampshire, 
 had settled in an early daj'. The grandfather 
 served in the Commissary Department during the 
 Revolutionary War. He was a farmer and spent 
 his entire life in the town of Tompkins. Un- 
 der the parental roof, Oliver Hale, Jr., was reared 
 to manhood, and engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 and stockraising. It was before the daj's of rail- 
 roads, and he drove his stock to market in Phila- 
 delphia and New York. 
 
 In 1836, with his wife and three children, he 
 came to Illinois, making his first location in Ot- 
 tawa, whence he came to Boone County with ox- 
 teams. At that time the land was all owned by 
 
838 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Government, and had not yet been surveyed. 
 There were four log cabins where Belviderc now 
 stands, and no other buildings were in sight, and 
 the nearest settler north was thirty-one miles dis- 
 tant. Deer and other kinds of wild game were seen 
 in abundance. Mr. Hale purchased a tract of Gov- 
 ernment land four miles northeast of Belvidere, 
 and their first home was a double log cabin, cov- 
 ered with shakes. The floor was made of punch- 
 eons, and the chimney of clay and sticks. They 
 bore all the experiences and hardships of pioneer 
 life, had to go eighty miles to mill and market, and 
 in consequence were forced to live mostly off the 
 products of their farm. Mr. Hale engaged in 
 the cultivation of his land for many years, and 
 then removed to Belvidere, where he spent eight 
 years, after which he returned to the home farm, 
 where the remainder of his days were passed, his 
 death occurring in December, 1885. His wife was 
 in her maidenhood Miss Susan Bradt. She was 
 born in Chenango County, N. Y., and was a daugh- 
 ter of Augustus and Anna (Evans) Bradt, tlie 
 former a native of Holland. Her death occurred 
 in 1879. She was the mother of seven children, 
 two of whom are yet living, Augustus and Cath- 
 erine M. 
 
 Our subject was born in Tompkins, Delaware 
 County, N. Y., June 22, 1831, and was only five 
 years of age when he came with his parents to Illi- 
 nois. He has witnessed the entire growth and de- 
 velopment of Boone County. His education was 
 acquired in the pioneer schools. The first one 
 taught in the township where he resided was held 
 in the shade of a burr oak tree, and later in a log 
 building, where the seats were made of slabs setup 
 on wooden pins, while a writing desk was formed 
 of a board laid on long pins which bad been driven 
 into the wall. Mr. Hale was early inured to the 
 arduous task of developing a farm from the wild 
 land, and has never left the old homestead, the 
 title of which his father secured from the Govern- 
 ment. The farm now comprises two hundred and 
 forty acres of highly improved land, and the rich 
 and fertile fields yield him a golden tribute in re- 
 turn for his care and cultivation. 
 
 On the 13th of December, 1855, Mr. Hale was 
 joined in wedlock with Marj' Hull, who w.as born 
 
 in Putnam County, N. Y., and was a daughter of 
 Walter B. and Martha (Hill) Hull. Unto them 
 were born six children: Abigail Adelia, Addie C, 
 John P., Frank D., Meeker 0. B. and Fred N. The 
 mother was called to her final rest on the 1st of 
 April, 1889, and her death was deeply regretted 
 by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Mr. 
 Hale is a Republican in politics, having been one 
 of its stalwart supporters since the organization of 
 the party. Few have longer resided in this com- 
 munity than our subject, who for more than half 
 a century has resided upon the farm which is yet 
 his home. As an honored pioneer he well deserves 
 representation in this volume, and it is with pleas- 
 ure that we record his sketch. 
 
 '• ' ^- 
 
 E^^ 
 
 ^ AMES F. RAMSEY. The results of indus- 
 try and unflagging perseverance are shown 
 in the life of the above-named gentleman, 
 who owns, and is living retired upon, a 
 good estate in Caledonia Township, Boone County. 
 A brief outline of the labors in which Mr. Ramsey 
 has been engaged, will be of interest to our read- 
 ers. He was born in Ohio, in 1823, and is the son 
 of James Ramsey, who came from Scotland when 
 a young man, and immediately located in Ohio, 
 where he was married to Hannah Richardson, and 
 moved to and settled in Boone County, 111., in 1838. 
 The parental family of our subject included ten 
 children, all of whom lived to mature years, and 
 of whom four sons and two daughters are still liv- 
 ing. Three of the brothers of our subject were 
 volunteer soldiers in the late war, two of them 
 serving during the entire struggle. The father de- 
 parted this life in Manchester, and his good wife, 
 who survived him many j-ears, died June 18, 
 1889, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. 
 
 The original of this sketch was married in 1849, 
 in Ohio, to Abigail Watts, who was born in that 
 State in 1 829. Her parents, James and Anna Watts, 
 died when Mrs. Ramsey was an infant. By her 
 union with our subject, five children have been 
 born, namely: George, who married Mary Clem- 
 ent, of Wisconsin, is station agent at Jackson 
 Junction, and has one son and one daughter; 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 839 
 
 Edwin, who married Ella Barmore, of Manchester 
 Township, lost his wife in February, 1891, after 
 having become the father of three children: Stella, 
 Nettie and Leah; Charles, who is station ag-ent 
 at Babcock, Wis., married Maud Henderson, and 
 has had born to him one son, Guy, and a daughter, 
 Grace; Bina, now Mrs. John Elliott, of Morgan 
 Park, 111., is preparing for the Baptist ministry; 
 Carrie married John Howell, of Capron, who is 
 the foreman of the creamery. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey started in life empty-handed 
 and, being blessed with health, by Industry and good 
 judgment have accumulated a handsome property, 
 and are the possessors of a quarter-section of land, 
 under good cultivation, in Floyd County, Iowa; 
 one hundred and ten acres in Caledonia Township, 
 this county, and also a pleasant two-story house 
 and one acre of ground in Clinton, Wis. They 
 are members in good standing of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and our subject, in politics, is an 
 unswerving Republican. 
 
 "S^S I— 1-^ 5'=i™ 
 
 USAIAH J. SHELDEN. No location on the 
 continent excels that of Northern Illinois for 
 
 It the encouragement offered to agriculturists in 
 supplying the means for their success. With a de- 
 lightful climate, fertile soil and every facilitj'- for 
 transportation, it is not strange that the farming 
 population has increased with a rapidity seldom 
 witnessed elsewhere, and that examples of success 
 are very numerous. 
 
 Among the farmers who have become prospei-ous 
 through industry and energy, may be mentioned 
 the gentleman whose name introduces these para- 
 graphs, and whose position is among the most in- 
 fluential agriculturists of Seward Township, Win- 
 nebago County. He was born in Granger, Medina 
 County, Ohio, October 17, 1829, and is the son of 
 David and Anna Shelden, of whom further men- 
 tion is made in the sketch of G. G. Shelden, pre- 
 sented on another page. 
 
 In the youth of our subject, the biographical 
 writer finds little of especial importance to chron- 
 icle, his time being devoted to the usual routine of 
 school studies and farm labor. He was married 
 
 May 19, 1853, in Granger, Ohio, to Miss Orenda 
 Phelps, who was born October 4, 1831, in the town 
 of Kent, Portage County, Ohio. Her parents were 
 Silas and Clarinda (Williams) Phelps, the father 
 being a native of Connecticut, and the son of Jo- 
 siah and Roxina Phelps, natives of New England, 
 and descended from English forefathers. Mrs. 
 Shelden is one of ten children, of whom six are 
 now living (1892). Two brothers were in the 
 war, Silas in the Forty-fifth, and Will in the Sev- 
 entj'-fourth Illinois Infantry. 
 
 The record of the children of our subject and 
 his estimable wife is as follows: Silas 3., born 
 March 2, 1855, is married to Lavina Everette, and 
 has one child, Charles Jay; Elnora died October 
 18, 1859, aged nine months; William D., born July 
 29, 1860, married Miss Lillie Stockburger, a school 
 teacher, has one child, Verna May, and lives 
 in Seward; Charles I., born November 5, 1863, 
 married Miss Watie Everette, a school teacher, and 
 has one child, Clare Isaiah; Mattie O., born April 
 20, 1867, is the wife of Hunter Marks, and resides 
 in Seward; Sarah A. died May 17, 1891, aged 
 twenty-one years and three months; Edward J., 
 born March 13, 1872, and Frank L., July 20, 1874, 
 are still with their parents. 
 
 After his marriage, our subject came to Winne- 
 bago County, where, with his hard-earned cash, he 
 bought a tract of land comprising about one hun- 
 dred and ten acres. His labors being crowned with 
 success, he continued to add to the original pur- 
 chase until he acquired six hundred and forty acres, 
 of which he subsequently sold two hundred and 
 forty acres to his sons on easy terms. He still owns 
 two hundred and forty acres, and eleven lots in 
 West Rockford, and devotes much time and at- 
 tention to Hol&tein cattle. The high grade of 
 dairy cows in this section of country is largely due 
 to his untiring exertions in introducing that ex- 
 cellent breed of bovine. His success in that de- 
 partment of agriculture is worthy of special men- 
 tion. He also breeds the finest of Norman horses. 
 
 Mr. Shelden is a Republican, but never meddles 
 in political affairs, although at the request of his 
 fellow-citizens he has filled several local offices for 
 years, and his services have been efticient in the 
 best interests of the community. He and his wife 
 
840 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 are highly esteemed throughout the community, 
 and although their attention is largely devoted to 
 home cares and duties, they nevertheless And time 
 to aid in church and charitable work, Mrs. Shelden 
 being a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 Mattie and Sarah were graduates of Winnebago 
 High School, and taught school many terms. 
 
 -5- 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ■^- 
 
 ^ AMES WALSH is one of the prosperous and 
 substantial business men of Rockford, 111., 
 and is interested indirectly with his sons in 
 general merchandising. He is also proprietor 
 of the Rockford Bottling Works at No. 408 South 
 Main Street. The sons are engaged in the general 
 grocery business and are quartered at No. 402 Elm 
 Street, where they have a lucrative business. 
 
 Mr. Walsh came to Rockford in the spring of 
 1858 and, with the exception of a few years, has 
 been a resident of this city ever since. In 1869, 
 he formed a partnership with Michael Joyce 
 and they continued in business together until 
 March, 1882, since which time Mr. Walsh has had 
 his sons in business with him. Mr. Walsh has been 
 frugal and industrious, has made money, and is 
 owner of some excellent property in this city, in- 
 cluding the business house at No. 402 Elm Street 
 and a fine residence at No. 719 South Winnebago 
 Street. 
 
 Our subject came here from the Keystone State, 
 and was but fifteen j'ears of age when he left his 
 native place. County Tipperary, Ireland, and 
 came to the United States. He was born in 1838, 
 and when about ten years of age, his father, Pat- 
 rick Walsh, and his mother, Bridget Lubey, both 
 died. The father died on the 8th of Februarj', 
 1849, when only fifty-seven years of age, and the 
 mother followed him to the grave in May of the 
 same j'car, when fifty-five years. They were both 
 life-long members of the Catholic Church. The 
 father was a native of Walshbog, County Tipper- 
 ary, Ireland, the same being named in honor of 
 the family, and was a carpenter by trade. Of the 
 eight children born to this union only one beside 
 our subject is now living, Mary, wife of Thomas 
 Slaterly, who was a prominent contractor and 
 
 builder in Indiana, and who is now engaged in 
 farming near Crawfordsville of that State, owning 
 his farm of two hundred acres. 
 
 The original of this sketch was married, in Rock- 
 ford, to Miss Mary Delaney, a native of County 
 Tipperary, Ireland, born in 1842, and the daugh- 
 ter of Edward and Johanna (Tracy) Delaney, both 
 of that county. There the father died when in 
 the prime of life and when his daughter, Mrs. 
 Walsh, the only one born to her parents, was 
 but a small child. In 1856, she came with her 
 mother to the United States and they made their 
 home in West Chester, Chester County, Pa. until 
 1862, when they came to Rockford, 111. In this city 
 the mother's death occurred in March, 1891, when 
 seventy-eight years of age. She, as well as her 
 husband, was a life-long member of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Walsh, two are deceased: William, Sr., and Will- 
 iam, Jr., both of whom died young. Those living 
 are Thomas F. and James P., in the' grocery busi- 
 ness at No. 402 Elm Street and successful young 
 men ; John J., book-keeper for his father in the 
 bottling works; Alice C, now at school at St. 
 Joseph's Academy, Dubuque, Iowa, and M. Bessie, 
 at home, going to St. Mary's School. All the fam- 
 ily are members of St. Mary's Catholic Church. 
 Mr. Walsh is a Democrat in national politics, and 
 his first Presidential vote was cast for Stephen A. 
 Douglas. 
 
 EYMOUR FULLER, who is prominently 
 identified with the agricultural interests of 
 Flora Township, Boone County, was born 
 in Shaftsbury, Benniitgton County, Vt., 
 July 8, 1817. His father, Solomon Fuller, it is 
 thought, was born in Connecticut and followed the 
 life of a farmer. He removed to Shaftsbury, Vt., and 
 after residing there a number of years, in 1835 
 took up his abode in W3'oming County, N. Y., and, 
 purchasing a farm in the town of White, made that 
 place his home until his decease at the advanced age 
 of ninety-one years. His wife, prior to her mar- 
 riage, was known as Persis Bennett; after the deatli 
 

 jQ^oJ-Ju<^ Aw^X^ 
 
POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 843 
 
 of her husband she came to Illinois, and departed 
 this life at the home of our subject, when in her 
 eighty-third year. 
 
 Seymour Fuller, of this sketch, was eighteen 
 years of age when his parents removed to the Em- 
 pire State, where he was married and resided in 
 Wyoming County until 1844, the date of his com- 
 ing to Illinois. He was accompanied hither by his 
 wife and two children, and came by teams to Buf- 
 falo, then by way of the Lakes to Chicago, where 
 he purchased a team of horses and a wagon , which 
 conveyed the family to this county. The country 
 round about in that early day was very si)arsel3' 
 settled, but our subject determined to make this 
 his future home, and consequent!}' purchased 
 eighty acres of land, which is now included in his 
 present farm. His means being very limited at 
 that time, he erected a small frame house in accord- 
 ance with his means, in which his family lived 
 comfortably for a number of years. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married in 
 Wyoming County, N. Y., in 1840, was Eliza A. 
 Mordoff; she was born in the above-named county, 
 and was the daughter of James and Polly Mordoff. 
 By her union with Mr. Fuller five children were 
 born, James A., George H., Charles E., DeFay A., 
 and May. She departed this life in November, 1 885. 
 
 Our subject is now the proprietor of a splendid 
 estate of two hundred and forty acres, which are 
 well improved in every particular, and bring him 
 in good returns. In early life, he voted the Whig 
 ticket, but since the formation of the Republican 
 party has always been found in its ranks. 
 
 "I^OBERT PARKHILL. The portrait on the 
 i*^ opposite page perpetuates the features of 
 one of the well-known and enterprising 
 business men of Belvidere. For about thirty 
 yeai-s he has been a coal dealer of this city, and 
 has built up an excellent trade which has con- 
 stantly increased from the beginning. Fair and 
 upright in all his dealings, and courteous in his 
 treatment of his customers, he has thus secured a 
 liberal patronage, of which he is well worthy. 
 
 A native of Renfrewshire, Scotland, Mr. Park- 
 hill was born March 18, 1826, and belongs to an 
 old Scotch family. His. grandfather and father, 
 both of whom bore the name of John, were natives 
 of Ayrshire. The latter was for some years fore- 
 man in a cotton factory in Renfrewshire. In 1848, 
 he bade good-bye to his old home, and took pass- 
 age on the "Ann Harley," which sailed from Glas- 
 gow on tlie 3d of April, and reached New York on 
 the lOtli of May. He was accompanied by six of 
 his children. His wife, whose maiden name was 
 Margaret Smith, was born in Ayrshire, and died 
 in Renfrewshire before the emigration of the fam- 
 ily to America. Mr. Parkhill went at once to 
 Rhode Island, where he was employed in a cotton 
 factory until 1853, when he came; to Illinois and 
 made his home with his children until his death. 
 His last da3'S were spent in the home of a daugh- 
 ter, in Boone County. The six children were 
 Elizabeth, John, Robert, Agnes, Margaret and Jen- 
 nie. 
 
 Robert Parkhill, of this slietch, may well be called 
 a self-made man. At the early age of nine years, 
 he commenced life for himself, working in a cot- 
 ton factory, where he was employed with his fa- 
 ther until he crossed the briny deep. He then 
 secured work in a mill at Providence, R. I., and 
 there remained until the year 1855, when he came 
 to Boone County, and then, in company with liis 
 brother, purchased a tract of land. For tliree 
 years he engaged in farming, after which he went 
 to Rockford, and was employed for about three 
 years in the sliops of tlie N. C. Thompson Manu- 
 facturing Company. He next came to Belvidere, 
 and embarked in the business in whicli he is now 
 engaged, and which he has followed continuously 
 since. 
 
 In 1854, Mr. Parkhill was united in marriage to 
 Jane Cunningham, who was born in Lanarkshire, 
 Scotland, and died in Belvidere in 1887, leaving 
 three children: Margaret, Charles E. and Marietta, 
 wife of Charles M. Peale. In religious belief, Mr. 
 Parkhill is a Presbyterian, and his wife was a mem- 
 ber of the same church. He has been a standi sup- 
 porter of the Republican party since its organiza- 
 tion, and has filled various ofHces of honor and 
 trust. He was a member of the first Board of Aid- 
 
844 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 men after the organization of the city, was for 
 some years a member of the City School Board and 
 has represented his township on the County Board 
 of Supervisors. He is now a member of the County 
 Central Committee of the Republican party, and 
 for some years was its Chairman. His public duties 
 he has ever discharged with promjjtness and fidel- 
 ity, thereby winning the commendation of all con- 
 cerned. 
 
 '* P. B. JONES. The history of every com- 
 munity is made up, so far as its more inter- 
 esting features are concerned, of the events 
 and transactions of the lives of its promi- 
 nent, representative citizens. In any worthy his- 
 tory of Boone County, an outline of the life of the 
 subject of the present sketch should not fail to 
 be given, together with a sketch of the family. 
 Mr. Jones was born in Rensselaer County, N. Y., 
 June 6, 1854, and is a son of J. P. Jones, of Cherry 
 Valley. 
 
 Our subject received a good practical education 
 in the schools of Belvidere and finished in Rock- 
 ford. He remained home until twenty-three years 
 of age, but began fighting his own way in life at the 
 age of twenty-one. He purchased a one-half interest 
 in his father's farm and in other ways demonstrated 
 that he had much energy and push about him. 
 He was married, on the 31st of December, 1878, to 
 Miss Elvira Howard, a native of Cherry Valley, 
 111., born November 7, 1861, and a daughter of 
 Weslej^ and Elvira (Brown) Howard. Mrs. Jones 
 was well educated in Evanston, 111., and was sub- 
 sequently in a convent in Chicago. 
 
 Since starting out for himself, our subject has 
 been engaged in breeding Hereford cattle in con- 
 nection with agricultural pursuits and is one of 
 the most successful stockmen and farmers in the 
 county'. He has one of the finest residences in his 
 section. All his farming operations are conducted 
 in a manner which clearly proves his efHciency as 
 a tiller of the soil, and as a stockman his reputa- 
 tion is firmly established. He usually has about 
 seventy-five head of choice Hereford cattle and 
 keeps nothing but full-blooded stock. Besides 
 
 having a fine herd of Herefords,our subject makes 
 a specialty of breeding trotting horses, and owns 
 some most promising stock in this line. At the 
 head of his herd of Herefords is "Prince Edward 
 the II," No. 14,117. At some of the most note- 
 worthy exhibits of blooded stock, this animal has 
 taken first prize. In trotting stock, Mr. Jones 
 keeps standard-bred horses, and an animal coming 
 from the J. P. B. Jones farm is sufficient guarantee 
 of its pedigree and qualities generally. 
 
 Mr. Jones is a member of Blue Lodge No. 173, 
 of Cherry Valley, A. F. &. A. M.; Kishwaukee 
 Chapter No. 90, R. A. M., of Belvidere; Crusader 
 Commandery No. 17, K. T., of Rockford; Cherry 
 Valley Lodge, L O. O. F.; Vesper Lodge, K. P.; 
 Cherry Valley Camp No. 277, M. W. A.; and the 
 National Union, of Belvidere. He votes with the 
 Republican party. His rural home is the abode of 
 domestic happiness and the center of true hospi- 
 tality. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^^^EORGE SANDS, one of the well-known and 
 prosperous farmers of Boone County, III.^ 
 descendant of I^nglish ancestors, whose 
 principal occupations were as merchants. How- 
 ever, they finally drifted into tillers of the soil 
 and that has been the occupation our subject has 
 pursued all his life. He was originally from New 
 York State, born in Hancock, Delaware County, 
 October 7, 1818, and his parents, Samuel and Arte- 
 mecia (Covey) Sands, were natives of the same 
 State, the father born in the same county. Samuel 
 was engaged in the lumber business for many years, 
 also followed merchandising, and in connection 
 carried on a small farm for many yeai's. In 1838, 
 he sold out and came via the canal and Lakes to 
 Chicago, and then, with the four horses brought 
 with him, he and his family pushed on to this 
 county. They first settled in Bonus Township, 
 and cultivated the soil for many years. The father 
 made his home with his children during the latter 
 part of his life, but died at his own home when 
 eighty-nine years of age. The mother died in 
 Placer County, Cal., when seventy-eight years of 
 age. Samuel Sands was a son of George and Jem- 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 845 
 
 ima (Smith) Sands, both natives of the Empire 
 State, who died in Delaware County of that State 
 when well along in years. 
 
 Our subject was one of seven children, four 
 sons and three daughters, and remained with his 
 parents until twenty-one years of age, woriiing on 
 the farm for his father. After reaching his ma- 
 jority, he branched out for himself, and after com- 
 ing to the West, in 1838, he took up three hundred 
 and fifty acres of Government land and began 
 making improvements. On the 18th of January, 
 1844, he was married to Miss Betsey Sands, a na- 
 tive of Tompkins Township, Delaware County, 
 N. Y., born April 2, 1826, and a sister of Frederick 
 Sands (see sketch). Mrs. Sands' father was the 
 very first settler on Bonus Prairie, Boone County, 
 111., and experienced in every way the trials and 
 privations incident to early settlement. He was 
 born July 8, 1801, and his wife was born in 1802. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Sands were born seven chil- 
 dren, only three now living: George H., a native 
 of Bonus Township, Boone County, married Miss 
 Esther D. Ricks, and has one daughter. He is in 
 Idaho and is engaged in the stock business; Clar- 
 ence 0. was also born in this county, and married 
 Miss Martha Cooper, who bore him one son. He 
 is also engaged in the stock business in Idaho. 
 Edward F., born in the same place, married Miss 
 Clara Susie Ricks, who died January 20, 1890, 
 leaving a little girl. Edward is also in the stock 
 business in Idaho, and the boys have a thousand 
 acres of ranch land. 
 
 After marriage, our subject settled in a log house, 
 16x20 feet, built by his own hands on the Gov- 
 ernment land, and there he lived for ten years, all 
 of his children having been born there. In 1850, 
 like thousands of others, he was filled with a great 
 desire to reach the gold regions of California and 
 went overland with a company. He remained 
 there for eighteen months, and then returned by 
 way of the Isthmus to his home in Illinois. In 
 1852, he returned to the Pacific coast, and for two 
 years was engaged in mining and merchandising. 
 He then sold out and returned to Boone County, 
 III., and sold his old home in Bonus Township. 
 After this he bought his present farm of about two 
 hundred acres which was then mostly wild and 
 
 uncultivated, and this has since been transformed 
 into one of the finest tracts of land in the county. 
 His home is very pleasant and cheerful and is pre- 
 sided over by that noted housekeeper, his worthy 
 wife. Mr. Sands is engaged in general farming, 
 but stock-raising is his principal occupation. He 
 is also interested in the stock ranches owned by 
 his sons in Idaho. They first thought of locating 
 in that State in 1883, and in March of that year 
 Mr. Sands and his sons took some blooded stock 
 with them, a dairy outfit for one hundred cows, 
 and then bought a few hundred head after reach- 
 ing that State (then a territory). Mr. Sands sold 
 out his stock and returned to Illinois, leaving his 
 boys to conduct further operations there. They 
 are now classed among the largest ranchmen of the 
 Great West. 
 
 Mrs. Sands, who is a most intelligent and refined 
 lady, was elected School Director in her township, 
 the first time in the histor}' of the county that a 
 lady has filled that position. She is also a member 
 of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, 
 in which she has held office, and she and her hus- 
 band are members of the Patrons of Husbandry 
 No. 2,349, to which they have belonged ever since 
 its organization. Mr. Sands voted the Democratic 
 ticket once, and since then he has been a most 
 earnest supporter of Republican principles. He 
 voted for Gen. Fremont, was with that noted man 
 in the mountains, and returned to the East by way 
 of the Isthmus with him. His sons are all Repub- 
 licans and bright business men in the young State 
 of Idaho. 
 
 UILLIAM MALTBIE ROWLAND was born 
 in Fairfield, Conn., June 25, 1796. His 
 ^J^/ father and grandfather were honored law- 
 yers. His grandmother was Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Thomas Fitch. Governor of Connecticut (1754-66). 
 He himself read law, but relinquished it for a mer- 
 cantile life, into which he entered at an early age 
 in the city of New York. He married Clara -Leon- 
 ard, daughter of Rev. Henry Wight, D. D., of Bris- 
 tol, R. I., a graduate of Harvard, and a soldier of 
 the Revolution, as was also her maternal grandfa- 
 
846 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ther, Col. Zephaniah Leonard, of Taunton, Mass. 
 While still young, Mr. Rowland removed to Au- 
 gusta, Ga., where he was first amerchant and later 
 was connected with the Iron Steamboat Company, 
 a corporation running a line of steamers between 
 Augusta and Savannah. 
 
 During his residence in Augusta, Mr. Rowland 
 was an honored citizen, and was vigorous and 
 prompt in support of all measures for the public 
 good. Soon after the repeal of the Missouri Com- 
 promise in 18.54, the Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, 
 then Member of Congress, informally received the 
 leading citizens of Augusta. Long his warm friend, 
 Mr. Rowland alone did not join in the congratula- 
 tions offered Mr. Stephens, but assured him that 
 the repeal would be most calamitous to the coun- 
 try at large, and especially to the South. 
 
 In 1855, our subject removed with his family to 
 Rockford, 111. Here he lived until his death, April 
 29, 1869, leaving in the hearts of those who knew 
 him the memory of those virtues which most 
 adorn our human nature. In 1871, Mrs. Rowland 
 and her daughters removed to Chicago, where she 
 died December 26, 1880. Two sons still reside in 
 Rockford: William L. was graduated at Yale Col- 
 lege in 1852, and has been Librarian of the Public 
 Library since its establishment in 1872; and Robert 
 C, a soldier in the Union army, and since the war 
 a well-known druggist. 
 
 /ir^ EGRGE S. BROWN bears the distinction of 
 [II ,_— , being the oldest living native-born resident 
 ^^i|j now making his home within the confines 
 of Rockford Township, Winnebago County. He 
 is highly honored for tlie active part he has taken 
 in developing its resources and in furthering its 
 material prosperity. He is the fortunate possessor 
 of large and splendidly cultivated lands in this and 
 other townships, and on his homestead is success- 
 fully engaged in farming pursuits. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, whose portrait will 
 be noticed on the opposite page, was born in the 
 city of Rockford on June 23, 1839, to Mowry and 
 Lucy (Pease) Brown. When an infant of one 
 year, his parents removed from the city to a farm 
 
 in Owen Township, where he grew to mature 
 years. His education was obtained in this district 
 and he attended the first school taught in the first 
 schoolhouse ever erected in Owen Township, Mercy 
 Nichols, who afterward became the wife of William 
 McKindley, being his teacher. Remaining on the 
 old homestead until reaching his twentieth year, 
 our subject commenced to learn the trade of a car- 
 penter, which occupation he followed until the 
 year 1865. He was very industrious and saved his 
 earnings and in the j^ear above mentioned was en- 
 abled to buy one hundred acres of land on section 
 35, Owen Township, paying one-third cash for his 
 place. He at once commenced the career of a suc- 
 cessful farmer, and devoted his attention closely to 
 cultivating his place. 
 
 On that farm our subject resided until 1884, 
 when, having purchased an estate of seventy acres 
 on North Main Street, near the city of Rockford, 
 he removed to this place and has since been a resi- 
 dent here. The original one hundred acres still 
 remain in his possession, and besides that he owns 
 one hundred and forty-four acres on sections 25 
 and 36, of the same township, and another tract of 
 one hundred and thirty-one and one-half acres on 
 sections 17 and 18, Guilford Township. These 
 several fine estates Mr. Brown rents to tenants and 
 is in receipt therefrom of a profitable income. 
 When the "boom" of 1890 "struck" the city of 
 Rockford, he sold sixty-five acres of his Rockford 
 farm, retaining five acres for his home. 
 
 Mr. Brown's home is made pleasant and his life 
 is cheered by the presence of his amiable wife, 
 with whom he was united in marriage in 1868. 
 Jennie Rogers, as she was formerly known, was 
 born in England and came to America with her 
 parents, John and Jane Rogers, when a child of 
 five years. She was reared in Guilford Township, 
 this county, receiving her education in the district 
 schools. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Brown 
 there have been born eight children, namely: 
 William, Flora, Edith, Lucy, George, Jessie, Ruby 
 and Norma. Flora married Fred W. Johns. Mrs. 
 Brown is a member in good standing of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. Mr. Brown casts his Presiden- 
 tial vote with the Republican party, never swerv- 
 ing from its principles at any time. Their pleasant 
 
^M'OXiA-n^ 
 
/ .-/ 
 
 : '\M^'' 
 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 851 
 
 and attractive home is the frequent resort of the 
 friends whom they have gathered around tliem 
 during their residence here, and by whom they 
 will be kindly remembered long after they have 
 departed hence. 
 
 w^g , 
 
 %>^^<m^ 
 
 fir 
 
 CHARLES E. BROWN. This gentleman, 
 owned a fine farm of sixty-one and 
 -half acres, located one-half mile from 
 Rockford, during the "boom" of 1890 sold all of 
 bis tract but seven acres, on which he is residing 
 at tlie present time. He is also the proprietor of 
 an excellent estate of three hundred and twenty- 
 five acres in Owen Township, Winnebago County, 
 which is operated by his son. 
 
 September 15, 1841, the birth of our subject oc- 
 curred in Jersey County, this State. He was one of 
 eleven children born to Mowry and Lucy (Pease) 
 Brown, the former a native of Rhode Island. His 
 grandfather, Joseph Brovra, followed farming pur- 
 suits in his native State (Rhode Island), where he 
 passed the greater part of his life, although his 
 death occurred at tlje home of the father of our 
 subject in Illinois. Mowry Brown was reared and 
 educated in his native town and, when choosing 
 an occupation for himself, learned the carpenter's 
 trade, soon after which he came to the Prairie State, 
 and located near Alton, following his trade until 
 1838. 
 
 At that date Mowry Brown made his advent into 
 Winnebago County, when most of the land in this 
 section was owned by the Government, and the 
 city of Rockford was little more than a hamlet. 
 He prosecuted his trade in Rockford for a time, 
 then entering a tract of land in what is now Owen 
 Township, erected thereon a log cabin and made 
 that place his home for a nvimber of years. As 
 there were no railroads in this locality, and Chi- 
 cago was the nearest market, all the farm products 
 were conveyed thither by means of ox-teams. Mi'. 
 Brown carried on the carpenter's trade, at the same 
 time superintending the improvement of his new 
 home where he resided until his death. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Lucy Pease. She was born in Medina, N. Y., 
 38 
 
 and now resides on the old homestead in Owen 
 Township. She was on a visit in Jersey County, 
 this State, when our subject was born, and as he 
 was an infant when his mother returned to Win- 
 nebago County, he very naturally feels that he is 
 a native of this place. He has been a permanent 
 resident of this county and has witnessed its en- 
 tire growth and development. In his early days 
 he attended the pioneer log schoolhouse, which 
 was furnished in the most primitive manner. On 
 attaining his seventeenth year, in company with 
 his brother George, he rented a tract of land in 
 Owen Township and engaged in farming. They 
 also purchased a threshing-machine which they op- 
 erated with extraordinary success for a number of 
 3ears, and continued to work together until about 
 six years previous to the marriage of our subject. 
 After celebrating that important event, Mr. Brown 
 became a fireman on an engine running on the At- 
 lanta & Great Western Railroad, and was thus en- 
 gaged for a twelvemonth, when he located on a 
 tract of land which he had purchased in Owen 
 Township. He cultivated the soil for four years, 
 then, disposing of his estate, was employed in 
 manufacturing brick in company with his father 
 and brother, operating together for nine years. 
 
 Believing agriculture to be the most profitable 
 business in which he could engage, Mr. Brown pur- 
 chased two hundred and forty acres of land in 
 Owen Township, where he cultivated the soil for 
 six years, and then became proprietor of the sixty- 
 one and one-half acres located one-half mile from 
 Rockford and which has been mentioned above. 
 
 December 27, 1864, Mr. Brown was married to 
 Miss Frances Mary Burritt, a native of Auburn, 
 Cayuga County, N. Y. She was one of seven chil- 
 dren born to Charles and Laura (Remington) Bur- 
 ritt, the former a native of Bridgeport, Conn. Her 
 paternal grandparents, Eben and Polly Burritt, 
 were natives of the Nutmeg State, whence they re- 
 moved to New York State and located in the town 
 of Sennett, where the grandfather bought a tract 
 of timber land and followed farming pursuits until 
 his demise. 
 
 In early manhood, Charles Burritt, father of Mrs. 
 Brown, removed to New York State, where he pur- 
 chased a farm in Ira, Cayuga County, and there 
 
852 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 resided for a few years. Later, disposing of his 
 estate, he embarked in the liardware business in 
 Weedsport, and remained thus engaged until 1855, 
 when he came to Illinois and settled on a tract of 
 partially-improved land in Owen Township, "Win- 
 nebago County. Tliere he continued to cultivate 
 his land and improve the farm for many j^ears. He 
 departed this life at the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Brown. His wife, whose maiden name was Laura 
 Remington, was, it is thought, a native of Connec- 
 ticut. She removed to New York with her parents 
 at an early day, and died on the home farm in 
 Owen Township, "Winnebago County. "With her 
 husband, she was a faithful member of the Second 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 The six children born to Mr. Brown and his es- 
 timable wife are named as follows: Harry "W., Nel- 
 lie L., Mabel F., Mowry C, Ralph E. and Maude E. 
 Harry "W. married Miss Fannie M. Johns and they 
 are the parents of two children: Orville and Au- 
 rilla. In political matters, Mr. Brown affiliates 
 with the Republican party and is known as one of 
 the most public-spirited citizens of the community 
 He and his wife are devoted members of the Chris- 
 tian Union Church and are people of high social 
 standing in Rockford and vicinity. 
 
 In connection with this sketch will be found a 
 portrait of Mr. Brown, on another page. 
 
 HOMAS SCOTT, who does an extensive busi- 
 ness as a dealer in coal and wood in Rock- 
 ford, his office being located on East State 
 near Bridge Street, is of English birth. He is a na- 
 tive of Kent County, England. His paternal grand- 
 father, Robert Scott, Sr., was born in Norfolk, 
 England, but after his marriage removed to Epsom, 
 in Surrey County, where he spent the remainder 
 of his life. He was a shopkeeper, and died when 
 past the age of eighty years. Robert Scot]t, Jr., 
 father of our subject, was born in Epsom, and was 
 a small merchant or shopkeeper. He spent much 
 of his life in Aldington, Kent County, and both he 
 and his wife passed away at about the age of eighty 
 years. The latter's maiden name was Charlotte 
 
 Simmons, and she was one of sixteen children, all 
 born in Kent County. Both Mr. and Mrs. Scott 
 were members of the Episcopal Church and were 
 worthy and respected people. Only two of the 
 children are yet living: Thomas and Mrs. Tapley, 
 of Racine, "Wis., and they are also the only ones 
 who came to the United States. 
 
 Thomas Scott was married in his native county 
 to Miss Mary Tunbridge, who was born and roared 
 in Kent County, and came with her husband to 
 America. They left London on the last day of 
 March, 1850, and after a voyage of six weeks on 
 a sailing-vessel, landed in New York, whence they 
 came to the "West. Mrs. Scott died of consump- 
 tion at her home in Rockford, in 1864. She was 
 a true and faithful wife and a member of the Epis- 
 copal Church. Mr. Scott has been again married, 
 his second union being with Margaret Williams, 
 who was born in Canada, of English descent. Her 
 death occurred in this city in 1882, and her loss 
 was deeply mourned by her husband and many 
 friends, for she was a worthy woman, possessing 
 many excellencies of character. Miss Frances A. 
 Suthern, an intelligent and cultured young lady, 
 a niece of Mr. Scott, has made her home with him 
 for ten years and is now acting as his house- 
 keeper. 
 
 Mr. Scott came to Rockford in 1862, in connec- 
 tion with the railroad now known as the North- 
 western. He had been in the employ of the 
 company since August, 1852, having become a 
 railroad builder in Chicago. He shipped the first 
 load of coal sent "West of Chicago on the North- 
 western, and since that time has been more or less 
 closely connected witli the railroad interests. He 
 has paid the company more than $300,000 for 
 freight, which shows that his success has been ex- 
 cellent. He began dealing in wood and coal in 
 1863, at his present location, on a small scale, but 
 as his trade increased, he likewise increased his fa- 
 cilities, and now has a storage capacity for five 
 thousand tons of coal. He also has a large wood 
 supply whicli he cuts from his timbered tracts in 
 Sauk County, "Wis., and now handles a large amount 
 of fuel, in fact, is doing a very extensive business 
 in this line, and is one of the prosperous merchants 
 of the city. 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 853 
 
 Mr. Scott may truly be called a self-made man, 
 for all that lie has he has made through his own 
 efforts. Since coming to America, he has made 
 four trips back to his native home in England, but 
 while he enjoys visiting that country he would 
 not change his home in America for one in the 
 land of his birth. He is a public-spirited and 
 progressive man, a wide-awake and enterprising 
 merchant and one of the valued citizens of Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 ^•{•♦•5'*'<S 
 
 ^.{.^^.^F 
 
 Ij^EWITT C. CADY. Among the promi- 
 I jl nent and successful agriculturists and 
 /aj^***^ stock-raisers of Winnebago County, we 
 "^ take pleasure in introducing to our read- 
 
 ers the worthy subject of this sketch, one of the 
 pioneers and representative citizens of Manchester 
 Township. Mr. Cady was born in Oneida County, 
 N. Y., in 1828, the son of Alvali and Catherine 
 (Brookins) Cady, his father a native of the Old 
 Bay State. The grandparents, Chester and Mary 
 A. (Nichols) Cady, were originally from Massa- 
 chusetts, but after the birth of all of their chil- 
 dren, four sons and four daughters, they removed 
 to New York State and there passed the remainder 
 of their days, the grandfather dying at the age of 
 eighty-four and the grandmother at the age of 
 seventy-eight years. 
 
 The marriage of Alvah Cady and Catherine 
 Brookins occurred in Oneida County, N. Y., and 
 when their son Dewitt C. was three years of age, 
 or in 1831, thej"- removed to near Tyrone, Steuben 
 County, that State, and purchased land. Their 
 tract was covered with heavy timber, but Mr. Cady, 
 who was a strong man and a great worker, went 
 resolutely to woik to clear the land. About this 
 time, many Eastern people were emigrating West- 
 ward and Mr. and Mrs. Cady determined to try 
 their luck with others. 
 
 In 1836, with their five children, this ambitious 
 couple pushed into Illinois and took up a quarter- 
 section in the northwest corner of Boone County, 
 all timber and marsh land. They resided there un- 
 til after the war, and in 1867 sold out and moved 
 to South Haven, Mich. There Mrs. Cady died in 
 1880, when eighty years of age. Mr. Cady sur- 
 
 vived his wife ten years and died at the home of 
 his son in 1890, when ninety years of age. They 
 were the parents of six sons and one daughter: 
 Francis R., at South Haven, Mich.; Sylvester B., 
 who died at home when twenty years of age; D. C. 
 (our subject); Chester C, a farmer and mason at 
 Waverly, Iowa; Mary E., Mrs. Cornell, of Man- 
 chester Township; William IT., who died at Iowa 
 Falls, Iowa, in 1891, when forty-eight years of 
 age; and Jay, a farmer in Michigan. 
 
 Alvah Cady and wife were the first settlers in 
 Manchester Township, having removed there 
 November 10, 1836. They came from New York 
 by Erie Canal and Buffalo, starting in September, 
 and from Buffalo to Chicago on the old steamer 
 "Pennsylvania," Capt. Cotton, and John Smith, 
 mate. There was not a public wharf in Chicago 
 then, nor a public landing-place, and the}' had to 
 pay twenty-five cents a hundred for all goods 
 landed. They crossed the Chicago River on a 
 rope f err}' and all other streams were forded. They 
 paid $20 for a team to talvc their goods to Downer's 
 Grove, and there the family remained with an 
 uncle, Hiram, while Alvali Cady and his brother 
 started on foot for the Rock River country, with 
 only the Indian trails to follow. They came to 
 Gen. Brown's place near Roscoe, and later re- 
 turned for the family and goods with an ox-team 
 and wagon belonging to the latter. 
 
 Their first stopping place was St. Charles, where 
 Mr. Cady paid $1 for one hundred friction matches, 
 the first he had ever seen, and about one-half of 
 which were worthless. They stalled in the mud on 
 Kite River, near the present site of Rochelle, and 
 had to remain in the woods all night, being sere- 
 naded during that time by prairie wolves. They 
 tried to cross the Kiskwaukee River at Belvidere 
 on the new bridge not yet finished, and had a nar- 
 row escape from going into the stream. The motlier 
 was on foot and blocked the wagon wheel, or the 
 team and load would have fallen into the water. 
 The next stop was made at Drakes, near Beaver 
 Creek, and the next place was Gen. Brown's. 
 
 After much trouble, Mr. Cady selected a claim, 
 and in one day erected a log cabin. Gen. Brown 
 furnishing boards from the nearest sawmill for the 
 floor and roof and for beds. The first school in the 
 
854 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Township of Manchester was during the winter of 
 1837-38, which Mrs. Cady taught in her own log 
 cabin, the pupils being her own children and Gen. 
 Brown's. During the first winter, Mr. Cady 
 worked for wages to support his family, and in ad- 
 dition cut and split enough rails to fence ten acres, 
 his wife and three eldest sons setting up the rails. 
 Thus by the hard work and energy of these sturdy 
 pioneers were made possible the pleasant homes of 
 to-day. 
 
 In those pioneer times, it required a month to 
 get a letter from New York, and twenty-five cents 
 to get it out of the postofHce. The nearest post- 
 office was Belvidere, twenty-five miles distant. Mr. 
 Cady, learning that there was a letter for him at 
 the office, went nine miles to borrow the necessary 
 twenty-five cents, then walked to Belvidere, and 
 secured the letter. Opening it, he found it was 
 from a party in Galena requesting his vote. Had 
 the writer been present, it is probable that there 
 would have been one less office-seeker, at least so 
 Mr. Cady said. In the winter of 1837-38, he 
 walked to Southport (now Kenosha), a distance of 
 sixty-five miles, in one day, and two days later re- 
 turned home, bringing with him some leather with 
 which to make the children's shoes for the winter. 
 
 When twenty-eight years of age, our subject 
 married Miss Lavina Hill, of Boone County, and 
 they have resided on their present farm since 1867. 
 During the late war, Mr. Cady enlisted in Company 
 H, Twelfth Illinois Cavalry in 1863, and his 
 brother William, and cousin, Horace D. Cady, en- 
 listed at the same time. Our subject served until 
 the close of the war and was mustered out at 
 Houston, Tex., in 1866. He then returned to his 
 home and bought the farm he now owns the fol- 
 lowing year. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cady have lost two children : Alice 
 M., who died in 1862, when nearly two years of 
 age, and Sylvester B., whose death occurred in 1868, 
 when eleven years of age, the result of being 
 kicked by a horse. They have five sons and one 
 daughter living: Herbert J., a farmer,who resides in 
 Rock County, Wis., married Miss Blanch Bebee, of 
 Manchester Township; Edward, a carriage-maker of 
 Kalamazoo, Mich., married Miss Alvira Haines, of 
 Michigan; Ray, a young man of twenty-three, is a 
 
 farmer; Minnie is at home; Wayne is a young man 
 of eighteen years; and Ross, a youth of fifteen, is 
 quite a farmer with his father. 
 
 Mr. Cady does general fanning and is also 
 somewhat of a stock-raiser, having some good horses 
 on his place, and raises all the cereals but wheat. 
 He has ever been a Republican in politics. He is 
 a member of the Anti-Horse Thief Association, and 
 the L. H. D. Crane Post, No. 52, G. A. R., of Beloit. 
 
 NDREW G. NELSON. A picture of the 
 grocery business of Rockford would be in- 
 complete without a space on the canvas be- 
 ing devoted to the name of Nelson. Mr. 
 Nelson came to Rockford in December, 1869, when 
 ten years of age, and for some time was with the 
 well-known firm of McCormack & Johnson, oatmeal 
 merchants of this city. In the spring of 1888, he 
 began business for himself at No. 311 Kishwaukee 
 Street, and soon built up a lucrative trade, the same 
 increasing to such an extent that he was obliged to 
 move into larger and better quarters. He is now- 
 located at No. 413 Seventh Street, has a business 
 house 65x23 feet, and the trade he enjoys is un- 
 questionably one of the most successful of its line 
 in the city, and from its very inception has enjoyed 
 a reputation consistent with its management. All 
 that is handled is selected with the greatest care, 
 and is sold at moderate prices. He has seven em- 
 ployes constantly at work. 
 
 Mr. Nelson was born in Sweden, February 18, 
 1859, and in 1869 he came with his mother and 
 his brothers and sisters to the United States to 
 join his father who had crossed over the previous 
 year. The first of the family to come to the 
 United States was an uncle of our subject's, Peter 
 Heiberg, and his family, formerly of Rockford but 
 now residing at St. Peter, Minn. 
 
 Our subject's parents, Peter and Hannah (Chris- 
 tofson) Nelson, are now residing in Rockford, at 
 No. 1301 Seminary Street, and are about sixty years 
 of age. Both hold membership in the Zion Luth- 
 eran Church. Of the nine children born to their 
 union, part are in Minnesota and part here. 
 They are as follows; Oscar, dealer in crockery at 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 855 
 
 Duluth, Minn., married Miss Hilda Hnlquist; Au- 
 gust resides at home and is an engineer in the Me- 
 chanics' Furniture Factory in this city; Andrew 
 G. (our subject): Tilda, wife of Charles Hult, now 
 resides on a farm near Jackson, Minn.; Emma, 
 wife of Erick Lagerquist, resides at No. 807 Second 
 Avenue, Rockford; Albert, now of Brainard, 
 Minn.; Fena L. resides at home and is a book- 
 keeper for her brother, A. G., and is an intelligent, 
 wide-awake young lady; and Emel, with the sister 
 in Jackson, Minn. 
 
 The immediate subject of this sketch was mar- 
 ried in Rockford to Miss Ida M. Wargber, a native 
 of Sweden, born in 1865, and the fruits of this un- 
 ion were three children: Cora A., Daisy M., and 
 Enoch E. They have adopted one cliild, a boy 
 named Albon. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson hold member- 
 ship in the Emanuel Lutheran Church. Mr. Nel- 
 son is independent in polities. Mrs. Nelson's 
 father, Gus Wargber, and family came to the 
 United States about 1868, and are now residing at 
 No. 504 Pope Street, this city. They are about 
 sixty years of age and are worthy members of the 
 First Lutheran Church. 
 
 EUGENE HOVEY. He whose name is at the 
 head of this sketch is one of the intelligent 
 and progressive young farmers of Boone 
 County and is residing on the place where he was 
 bom, October 23, 1849, and which is pleas- 
 antly located on section 33, LeRoy Township. 
 He has proved himself efficient in promoting the 
 growth and developing the resources of the old 
 homestead and none is worthy of more esteem than 
 is Mr. Hovey. 
 
 Eowell R. Hovey, the father of our subject, was 
 born in New Hampshire, in 1817, and his father, 
 E. H. Hovey, was born in New England, about 
 1796. The latter-named gentlemen was self-made 
 in all that the term implies, was well informed on 
 topics which interested his communitj', and, after 
 emigrating to Illinois, was for many years Justice 
 of the Peace. He was married in New England 
 and moved West to Ohio about 1832, where he 
 
 made his home a few years, and in 1835-36 came 
 with a portion of his family of ten children to 
 Illinois, and settled on a quarter-section of land 
 which he had entered from the Government in an 
 early day. He resided on the tract until his de- 
 cease, in February, 1871, in his seventy-fifth year. 
 His wife survived him for four of five years and 
 died at a good old age, leaving a family of four 
 sons and four daughters, and buried three children 
 when young. 
 
 The direct progenitor of our subject was married, 
 in 1841, to Miss Sarah Norris, who lived only one 
 year after her marriage and departed this life in 
 Le Roy Township. The lady who became his sec- 
 ond wife was Fannie, daughter of Daniel Webster, 
 of New York. She resided on the home which is 
 the present property of our subject until the latter's 
 marriage, when the mother removed to Capron. 
 
 The father of our subject with three of his 
 brothers, during the gold excitement in California, 
 went overland to that State and worked in the 
 mines for nearly thirty-two years, during which 
 time he made and lost a great deal of money, and 
 when returning home was possessed of but little 
 means. He departed this life in Capron, April 10, 
 1889, when seventy-two years of age. His wife, who 
 survives him, has attained her three-score and ten 
 years. Our subject has one brother, Theron R., 
 who was born in 1847, and married Alice Draper, 
 of Capron. To them has been born a son, Henry. 
 
 In February, 1881, our subject was married to 
 Miss Sarah, daughter of John and Ann (Phillip) 
 Lascelles, natives, respectively, of Ireland and 
 Canada. The parents were residents of Chicago 
 for many years, where the father was a merchant, 
 which business he still carries on at Capron. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hovey have been born three children : 
 Roger M., John Earl and William T. Our subject, 
 in May, 1881, purchased eighty acres of his present 
 farm, which was the old homestead, and has since 
 added thereto until his estate now comprises two 
 hundred and seventy-five broad acres. He erected 
 his large barn in 1884 and is still living in a house 
 which was erected by his father a half-century 
 ago. It is a solid, hewed-log fortress, but Mr. 
 Hovey proposes to erect a comfortable and modern 
 residence in the near future. In politics, he votes 
 
856 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Democratic ticket and, in social matters, is a 
 Modern AVoodman. With his wife he is a mem- 
 ber of the Cliristian Church and gives liberally of 
 his means to its support. 
 
 He of whom we write has been a hard-working 
 and industrious man and has done his full share of 
 pioneer work in opening up this section of country. 
 He has been eminently worthy and useful to his 
 community, and his neighbors and old friends 
 unitedly bear testimonjr to his sterling worth, in- 
 tegrity and valuable services. His mother is still 
 living in Capron, andean relate many an interest- 
 ing tale of early settlement in Boone County. 
 
 y INFIELD S. BILLINGS, senior member of 
 the firm of Billings Bros., is one of the prom- 
 inent business men of Rockford. The estab- 
 lishment, in which the firm carries on a large and lu- 
 crative business, is located at No. 812 South Main 
 Street, is 22x104 feet in dimensions, and is stocked 
 with a complete line of hardware, tinware, and the 
 various other adjuncts of that line of business. 
 
 Prior to 1888, when the present firm was estab- 
 lished, our subject conducted business for some 
 four years under the title of Glassell & Billings, 
 and by reliable dealings and judicious business 
 methods, has gained an enviable reputation as a 
 business man. The junior member of the firm, G. 
 W. Billings, is a young man of great enterprise, 
 and the brotliers combine those qualities which 
 fit them for success in any chosen department of 
 labor. 
 
 The first eleven j'ears in the life of our subject 
 were passed in Montgomery County, N. Y., where 
 he was born May 6, 1839. At the above-mentioned 
 age, he came West with his parents, James and Tem- 
 perance J. (Bunn) Billings, settling in Rock County, 
 Wis. In 1863, the father and mother removed to 
 Butler County, Iowa, where the^"^ now reside on 
 the farm they secured on first locating there. They 
 have attained to advanced ages (1892), the father 
 being seventy-eight and the mother seventy-six, 
 and both are in good health. 
 
 The third son in a family of eleven children 
 surviving of the thirteen born to James and Tem- 
 
 perance Billings is the subject of this sketch. For 
 a time after he came West in 1850, he lived in 
 Rock County, Wis., but in 1865 removed to Grundy 
 County, Iowa, where he was engaged as a farmer, 
 and whence he removed to Rockford. In Rock 
 County, Wis., he was united in marriage with Miss 
 Amanda Snell, who was born in Montgomery 
 County, N. Y., in 1843. She was a young woman 
 when her parents, Charles and Nancy (Latliers) 
 Snell, removed from New York State to Rock 
 County, Wis., settling on a farm, where tlie father 
 died at the age of sixtj^-five. His wife afterward 
 went to Nebraska, where she passed away at the age 
 of sixty years. 
 
 Mrs. Amanda Billings died at her home in 
 Grundy County, Iowa, leaving one child, William 
 D., who now lives in South Dakota. The wife and 
 mother was a sincere Christian, identified with the 
 Baptist Church, and a lady of culture and refine- 
 ment, whose friends held her in high esteem. Al- 
 though by no means an active worker in political 
 matters, Mr. Billings is a sound Republican, and is 
 careful to cast his ballot for the candidates of that 
 party. Sociallj', he is connected with Lodge 
 No. 366, R. A. M., at Rockford, and is promi- 
 nently connected with the most important measures 
 originated in behalf of the city. 
 
 I ^ I > ^>^^yi^*>«*" 
 
 eHARLES A. LUNDVALL, a widely known 
 and highly respected Swedish-American 
 citizen of Winnebago County, owns and 
 operates a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-six 
 acres on section 19, Guilford Township. There are 
 good buildings, such as are seen upon a model 
 farm; the fields are well tilled, and the neat appear- 
 ance of the place indicates the thrift and enter- 
 prise of t^ie owner. He has won success in his 
 undertakings and is now numbered among tlie 
 substantial citizens of the community. 
 
 Mr. Lundvall was born in Smoland, Sweden, on 
 the 3d of May, 1850. His father is yet living at 
 the age of three-score and ten years and is the 
 owner of a large farm and store. His first wife 
 died in 1865, when in the prime of life, after 
 which Mr. Samuelson was a second time married, 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 857 
 
 this union being with Miss Lena C. Samuelson, 
 by wbom he had two children, both now mar- 
 ried and living in vSweden. Our subject is the 
 second of four children born of the first union, 
 three residing in this country; the other, Sophia, 
 is the wife of N. V. Dahlburg, a farmer of Sweden. 
 J. 0. Lundvall is now living on a farm near Day- 
 ton, Iowa, and the other sister is the wife of P. 
 Larson, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this 
 work. 
 
 Our subject spent his boyhood days in the land 
 of his nativity and in the spring of 1867, when 
 seventeen years of age, crossed the broad Atlantic 
 to America. In Chicago, lie led to the marriage 
 altar Miss Augustina C. Swanson, who in 1868 
 came with her sister to this country from Sweden, 
 her native land. Her sister Louisa is now living 
 in Rockford, where they first located. Their 
 parents are now deceased, both having been 
 called to their final rest in Sweden. By the union 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Lundvall have been boru six chil- 
 dren: Hulda R., Alice R., Abion S., Julia E., 
 Henry L. and Charles E. The two eldest daugh- 
 ters have been educated in the Rockford Business 
 College, and the family is one of which the parents 
 may well be proud. 
 
 Our subject and his wife are prominent members 
 of the First Lutheran Church of Rockford and 
 take an active interest in its work. He has served 
 as Trustee for many years and was a member of 
 the building committee at the time when the 
 elegant church edifice was erected. In politics, he 
 is a Republican, but has never been an office-seeker. 
 However, he has served as School Director for 
 some years and the cause of education finds in him 
 a warm friend. He gives his support to whatever 
 is calculated to benefit or improve the community 
 or promote the general welfare, and is a valued 
 citizen of Guilford Township, highly respected 
 by all. In connection with his other business 
 interests, he owns eight acres of land, now in- 
 cluded within tiie city limits of Rockford. It has 
 been platted and is a very valuable property. He 
 is also Secretary, Treasurer and Manager of the 
 Skandia Brick Company, which employs about 
 thirty-five hands and makes over three million 
 bricks annually. He is interested in the Union 
 
 Grocery Company, which has a capital stock of 
 $25,000, and is a stockholder in the Skandia 
 Furniture Company and the Rockford Manufactur- 
 ing Company, also an active member and a stock- 
 holder in the Swedish Building and Loan Associa- 
 tion. 
 
 ^., LBERT F. BAXTER. yVe are pleased to 
 Ol present the name of a highlj' respected 
 farmer, who resides in Spring Township, 
 Boone County, and who is a native of 
 this vicinity, his birth occurring December 10, 
 1855. His parents were John and Harriet (Smith- 
 son) Baxter, the father born in England, June 20, 
 1807. He was a farmer by occupation, and in 
 1832 left that country and after a voyage of seven 
 weeks landed at Montreal, Canada. He made his 
 home there for four years and in 1836 came to the 
 States and for a twelvemonth resided in Chicago. 
 At the expiration of that time, the elder Mr. Bax- 
 ter came to Boone County and purchased forty 
 acres which is included in the home farm. The 
 estate included now, however, two hundred and 
 eighty acres and is the joint possession of our sub- 
 ject and his mother. 
 
 John Baxter was a member of a family includ- 
 ing five children, all of whom are deceased. His 
 wife is a daughter of James and Elizabeth Smith- 
 son, of England, she being the eldest in a family 
 of seven cliildren. 
 
 The parents of our subject reared a family of 
 ten children, namely: Jonas, Mary A., Emeline, 
 William, John S., Eliza, Thomas M., Harriet E., 
 Rosanna and Albert F. He was married, April 14, 
 1880, to Miss Ella Stillwell, who was born in Madi- 
 son County, N. Y., and of their union have been 
 born five children: Gertie M., John C, Fred C, 
 Bert W. and an infant named Harry C. Mrs. Bax- 
 ter is the daughter of Charles and Jane (Gar- 
 lock) Stillwell, who make their home in Bclvidere. 
 
 The father of our subject was in early life a 
 Whig but during his last years voted the Prohibi- 
 tion ticket. He was an active worker in the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church and for years was Class- 
 Leader in that denomination. He was always a 
 
858 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 strong advocate of temperance measures and was 
 willing at any time to promote that policy which 
 looked at all times to the moral and business up- 
 building of his commanity. 
 
 HEPHERD LEACH was one of the earliest 
 settlers of Winnebago County, and this 
 work would be incomplete without this 
 sketch. His paternal grandfather, Abisha 
 Leach, was born in Scituate, Mass., in March, 1740, 
 and tradition says he was a descendant of Dr. 
 Leach, a physician to King George IV. He prob- 
 ablj' spent his entire life in Massachusetts. 
 
 Andrew Leach, father of our subject, was born 
 in Easton, Mass., December 14, 1768, and was a 
 pioneer of Pittsford, Vt., where he purchased a 
 large tract of unbroken land, which he developed 
 and improved. In connection with this, he oper- 
 ated a foundry and woolen mill, and did business 
 as a merchant. He was one of the leading citi- 
 zens of Pittsford and became quite wealthy. He 
 was married three times; his first wife was Mary 
 Powers, whom he married in 1807, his second 
 union being with Mrs. Bowman in Pittsford, in 
 1810. Her maiden name was Deborah Spooner, 
 and she was born in New London, Conn., Febru- 
 ary 8, 1777, being a lineal descendant of John 
 Alden, the Pilgrim. Her father, Juda Paddock, 
 was a Revolutionary soldier and participated in 
 the battle of Bunker Hill. After the war, he 
 edited a paper in Connecticut, but when the new 
 State of Vermont was organized and offered a 
 bonus of one hundred bushels of wheat to any 
 one who would start a paper there, he accepted 
 the offer and published the first paper in Ver- 
 mont. It was called the Vermont Gazette and its 
 motto was: 
 
 "Pliant as reeds where streams of freedom glide. 
 Firm as the hills to stem oppression's tide." 
 
 Our subject. Shepherd Leach, was born in 
 Pittsford, Rutland County, Vt., August 17,1811. 
 Here he was reared and educated, and, on at- 
 taining man's estate, became associated with his 
 father in business, but failing in health, he went 
 to Troy, N. Y., where he was a book-keeper for a 
 
 short time in the Stewart Stove Company, after 
 which he came to Michigan in 1837. Two years 
 were spent in Detroit and Ypsilanti, and in 1839 
 he came on horseback to Rockford, where he 
 formed a partnership with D. S. Penfield and en- 
 gaged in the hardware business on East State 
 Street. Later on, the firm purchased about two 
 thousand acres of new land, making a fine prop- 
 erty out of it. He became the owner of nearlj' 
 the entire amount and put many fine farm build- 
 ings upon it. At the time of his death, he owned 
 about one thousand acres of land and was one 
 of the best-known farmers in the county. His 
 land was watered by Kving streams, and his skill 
 and ability as an agriculturist made him owner 
 of one of the finest farms in Illinois. 
 
 In Massachusetts, in 1848, Mr. Leach married 
 Phoebe H. Allen, who was born in Heatii, Frank- 
 lin County, January 25, 1820. After acquiring 
 her education at Mt. Holyoke Seminary, she en- 
 gaged in teaching for some years. She came of a 
 prominent family of Franklin County, her father 
 being a mechanic and farmer. Both parents died 
 on the same day — August 7, 1847. Elijah Allen 
 passed away in the morning, being then sixty-five 
 j'^ears of age, and in the evening his wife, Rhoda, 
 was called to her final rest, at the age of fifty- 
 eight years. They were active members of the 
 Congregational Church and lived consistent Chris- 
 tian lives. In their family were twelve children, 
 David, and "Wealtha, widow of Yardley Hough, 
 both of whom reside in Highland, Kan., and Mrs. 
 Leach being the only ones now living. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Leach were born five chil- 
 dren: Ida, who died in infancy; Clara, wife of 
 W. L. Frisbie. a farmer of Rockford Township; 
 Lizzie, wife of Dr. Frank E. Waxhara, a promi- 
 nent physician of Chicago; Harriet S., wife of 
 Edgar E. Bartlett, President of the Rockford 
 Register-Gazette Companj'; and Emma Allen, the 
 wife of Joel B. Whitehead, a successful real-estate 
 dealer of Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Leach ever bore his share in the develop- 
 ment and upbuilding of the county. He came 
 here when it was in its primitive condition, and 
 did everything in his power for the general wel- 
 fare of the community. In politics, he was a stal- 
 
iS^ ^^^Hi^-ti^fS^r 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 861 
 
 wart Republican anrl took an 'active part in local 
 affairs, but was never an office-seeker. Owing to 
 poor health during the last fifteen years of his 
 life, his winters were spent in California and in 
 the Soutli. There was no more honest and hon- 
 orable man in the county, and no one had more 
 friends. The respect of the entire community was 
 given him, and he was worthy of that high regard. 
 A partial stroke of paralysis prevented his doing 
 any hard manual labor for many years. Although 
 his health was poor, his mental faculties remained 
 unimpaired to the day of his death, which oc- 
 curred July 9, 1885, thus closing a very active 
 and earnest life. 
 
 Mrs. Leach proved herself a true and faithful 
 helpmate to her husband, who was ever kind and 
 loving to her, and in his death she suffered an ir- 
 reparable loss. Her life also has been well and 
 worthily spent, and she has thus won the love of 
 all. She and her children are members of the 
 Second Congregational Church of this city. 
 
 W EVI RHOADES. Perhaps no citizen of 
 I /^ Rockford was better known than Mr. 
 iL^is Rhoades, and his career all through life was 
 unusually successful, which was largely due to his 
 great executive ability, and good common sense. 
 His opinion on any important subject was eagerly 
 sought for and highly respected, and although a 
 man who did not make intimate friends quickly, 
 he was always true as steel to those whom he knew 
 and loved. 
 
 The pen is almost too clumsy to do justice to 
 the life of Mr. Rhoades, and picture the ups and 
 downs with which he contended. He was born in 
 Hinsdale, Cattaraugus County, N. Y., June 25, 
 1830, and died at his elegant home. No. 710 North 
 Court Street, on the 19th of November, 1891, when 
 sixty-one years and four months old. Like many 
 of the old Eastern families, his parents were in 
 very moderate circumstances. In 1836, they re- 
 moved to Alabama, Genesee County, N. Y., where, 
 after a residence of seven years, they joined the 
 vast army which was moving Westward at that 
 time. Most of the trip was made by wagon, and 
 
 they finally settled at Troy, Wis., and engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits. 
 
 Levi was then quite young, and was compelled to 
 assist his father, David Rhoades, in the farm work, 
 gaining what education he could when not thus 
 engaged. When seventeen years of age, he made 
 a start for himself, coming to Rockford, where he 
 did almost any kind of work offered him, such as 
 splitting wood, etc. In 1848, he entered the 
 cooper-shop of Harry Landers, in thai city, and 
 there learned his trade. He was energetic in his 
 work, quick to pick up a point about the business, 
 and after three years of tireless effort had accumu- 
 lated sufficient means to purchase a half-interest 
 in the business. In 1853, he bought out Mr. Lan- 
 der's interest, their main plant being located just 
 south of where now stands the W. F. & John 
 Barnes' foundry, and ran the cooperage business 
 until 1884, supplying all the mills in that vicinity 
 with barrels. In 1865, he formed a partnership 
 with Isaac and C. M. Utter <fe Company, for the 
 manufacture of paper, and was still at the head of 
 the firm at the time of his death. 
 
 When the People's Bank was organized, in 1873, 
 Mr. Rhoades was one of the heaviest backers, and 
 always remained a Director in the institution. He 
 was a prime mover in the organization of the Rock- 
 ford Watch Company, which has done its full 
 share toward the upbuilding of the city, was the 
 first President of the company, and Director until 
 his death. With H. W. Price and Irvin French, he 
 was largely instrumental in securing the removal 
 of the Watch Case Company from Racine to Rock- 
 ford. Besides being a stockholder in the Phoenix 
 Furniture Company, and also many other indus- 
 tries in the city, at the time of his death he was 
 President of the firm of Rhoades, Utter & Co., 
 President of the Water-power Company, Vice-pres- 
 ident of the Rockford City Railway Company, and 
 Director in the following companies: Rockford' 
 Silver Plate Company, Rockford Watch Companj^ 
 Rockford Tack Company, People's Bank, Rock- 
 ford Shoe Company, Home Building & Loan Asso- 
 ciation, Merchants' and Manufacturers' Insurance 
 Company, and the Harlem Park Company. 
 
 Mr. Rhoades was regarded as one of the wealthy 
 men of the city. He led a Christian life, and was 
 
862 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 always most active in church work. At an early 
 day lie joined the Centennial Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and was one of the most devout believers 
 of the society. When he removed to the West 
 Side, he associated himself with the Court Street 
 Methodist Episcopal society by letter, and after- 
 ward was a regular attendant. To his efforts is 
 largely due the construction of the imposing edi- 
 fice occupied by this society. He was Chairman of 
 the Building Committee, also President of the 
 Board of Trustees, and gave the work his personal 
 supervision while the church was being built, to 
 be sure that no weak spots were left, and the best 
 of material used. He gave largely to the build- 
 ing fund, his donation, it is said, being in the 
 neighborhood of $6,000. No person ever applied 
 to him in yain for financial assistance in religious 
 work. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Rhoades was a stanch Repub- 
 lican, and a great believer in the principles of that 
 party, although of late years he had taken no ac- 
 tive part in campaigns. During the Greeley Pres- 
 idential campaign, he was a strong supporter of 
 that gentleman, and achieved the reputation of 
 making the best stump speeches of any man in the 
 district. He was himself a candidate on the ticket 
 that year for the Senate, running far ahead of his 
 colleagues, but was defeated. In 1876, he was 
 elected Mayor, and served one term in an able and 
 dignified manner, doing all in his power to pro- 
 mote the best interests of the city. In the school 
 sense of the word, Mr. Rhoades was not a scholar, 
 but in the practical sense, he was an educated man. 
 He was an excellent mathematician, and could 
 solve the most difflcult problems readily. He al- 
 ways believed in doing things well. 
 
 Mr. Rhoades was married on the 24th of Decem- 
 ber, 1854, to Mrs. Frederica (Reik) Rhoades, widow 
 of his brother, Stephen Rhoades, who died in Rock- 
 ford. For nearly forty years Levi Rhoades was 
 one of the most faithful and loving of husbands, 
 bestowing everything possible upon the home cir- 
 cle that could aid in his family's happiness. Three 
 children were born of this union: Clinton F., who 
 died when about twelve months old; Lucinda H., 
 now the wife of James N. Harris, foreman of 
 the Rhoades & Utter Paper Mill, resides with 
 
 her mother in Rockford and has one child, Flor- 
 ence F.; Luella I. married Frederick J. Sovereign, 
 proprietor of the City Ice Company, and they have 
 one child, Clinton I. 
 
 Mrs. Rhoades was born at Hazelstein, near Stutt- 
 gart, Germany, and her parents were natives of 
 the same country. The father, Michael Reik, was 
 a thoroughly educated and prominent farmer 
 of his native countr}-. He was a member of the 
 Evangelical Lutheran Church, in which his wife 
 also held membership, and was a liberal contribu- 
 tor to the same. He died when sixty-four years 
 of age, and his widow followed him to the grave 
 when seventy-seven years of age. Mrs. Rhoades 
 was the youngest daughter born to this worthy 
 couple, and she, with her brother John A., and sis- 
 ter, Anna M., who was married, sailed for the 
 United States in 1847, and were only twenty-one 
 days in crossing the ocean. They came to Mil- 
 waukee, Wis., but subsequently removed to Wal- 
 worth County, of that State, where Miss Reik grew 
 to womanhood. 
 
 The portrait of the late Mr. Rhoades accom- 
 panies this sketch. 
 
 i>^^<i 
 
 f BRAM CHAMPION. England numbers 
 many representatives among the best class 
 of citizens in Illinois. There is a sterling 
 quality about the nationality that particu- 
 larly fits them for pioneer life and we as Americans 
 are greatly indebted to settlers of English birth 
 for the rapid advancement made in our civiliza- 
 tion. He whose name heads this sketch and who 
 is a representative farmer of Harrison Township, 
 Winnebago County, 111., was born in England in 
 July, 1846. His father, Abraham Champion, was 
 born in the same place, Somersetshire, England, 
 in 1814, and was a farmer, as was also his father 
 before him. His first wife, the mother of our sub- 
 ject, was Elizabeth French, and she was born in 
 the same place in 1815. To this union were born 
 nine children, one of whom, Emma, died when 
 about six years of age. This family came to the 
 United States in the spring of 1856, and located 
 in Rockton, 111., but two years later rented a farm 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 863 
 
 in Owen Township. There the parents resided five 
 years and then purchased an eighty -acre farm in 
 Harrison Township, paying $16 per acre for it. To 
 the original tract was added land from time to 
 time until at the time of Mr. Champion's death it 
 numbered two hundred and twenty-five acres. His 
 wife died on this farm in August, 1871, and his 
 second marriage was to Mrs. Sophia Diamond, nee 
 Newman, widow of John Diamond. Mr. Champ- 
 ion passed away on January 1, 1890, when seventy- 
 six years of age, and his wife followed him to the 
 grave on the 22d of the following February. 
 
 The eight children of the flrst union are still 
 hving and are as follows: James, a farmer in 
 Harrison, married Miss Mary Diamond and they 
 have two children, a son and daugliter; Charles, a 
 contractor and builder, is a man of considerable 
 wealth; Mary Ann married Henry Gummon, a 
 farmer near the town of Harrison ; Elizabeth married 
 John Carpenter, a farmer near Harrison; Abram 
 (our subject) ; Jane, now Mrs. James Oliver, of Har- 
 rison ; Isaac, a wealthy farmer of Burlingame, Kan.; 
 and Henry, a carpenter of Chicago. Abram Cham- 
 pion started out at the age of twenty-five years as 
 an agriculturist, arid it was quite natural that he 
 should choose that as his calling in life for he had 
 been trained to it from an early age, and his an- 
 cestors for generations had followed the same oc- 
 cupation. He flrst rented a farm in companj^with 
 his brother Isaac, the David Jewett farm, in Owen 
 Township, and this they conducted successfully 
 for three years. They next rented the farm of 
 James Champion for five years. 
 
 On July 10, 1872, our subject married Miss Ida 
 F. Dobson, of Harrison, daughter of Edwin and 
 Ehzabeth (Hamer) Dobson, the father a native of 
 New England, and the mother of England. After 
 this union, Mr. Champion and wife resided on the 
 Jewett farm, also the James Champion farm, and 
 then bought about one hundred and tiiirty-three 
 acres, for which he paid $4,000. He went in debt 
 for the most of it but has since added to this 
 tract until he now owns four hundred acres, all 
 under the plow except fifty acres in timber and 
 seventy-five acres in pasture land. In 1882, he 
 built a barn 32x42 feet, and in 1890 he enlarged it 
 36x32. In 1885, his fine modern residence was 
 
 erected, and all his outbuildings are good and sub- 
 stantial. Mr. Champion has cleared most of his 
 land and marketed the wood in Rockton, Beloit 
 and Rockford. He raises all the small kinds of 
 grain, and keeps a dairy of sixteen cows, sending 
 the cream to the factory. 
 
 Mr. Champion's marriage resulted in the birth 
 of five children, viz: Lizzie M., Minnie M., Rena 
 M., Nork J., and Edna F., all attending the district 
 school except Miss Lizzie, who is in tlie Rockford 
 Academy fitting herself for a teacher, and the baby. 
 Mr. Champion was formerly a Republican in poli- 
 tics, but he is now Independent. He is not tlie 
 worker he was at one time, on account of an injury 
 received by a run-a-way team. Mrs. Champion 
 was a school teacher before her marriage and is a 
 lady of intelligence and a model wife and mother. 
 
 JETER McGEACHIE derives a comfortable 
 ) income from his farming operations, which 
 ^ , he is carrying on very successfully in 
 Winnebago Township, Winnebago County. 
 He is a representative of the Scotch element that 
 has played so important a part in the settlement 
 and development of the Great West, and his 
 thrift and industry make him a most desirable 
 citizen. 
 
 Mr. McGeachie was born in Kintyre, Argyleshire, 
 Scotland, May 10, 1830, a son of Duncan McGeachie, 
 born in the same county as his son, and his father, 
 Archibald McGeachie, was, as far as is known, 
 born in the same place, and farmed on land owned 
 by the Duke of Argyle; he spent his entire life 
 there. The father of our subject, who died in 
 1848, was reared and married in his native place and 
 spent his entire life there, following the vocation 
 of a farmer. He was married to Ellen Ralston, a 
 daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Pickan) Ral- 
 ston ; she came to America and spent her last years 
 with her children, dying at the home of our sub- 
 ject in February, 1867. The parents were valued 
 members of the Presbyterian Church, and reared 
 seven children : Thomas, Archibald, Margaret, Dun- 
 can, Peter, Ellen and Barbara. 
 
864 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated in bis na- 
 tive place, attending the common scliools and at 
 the same time assisting his father on the liome 
 farm until twenty years of age, when he commenced 
 farming for himself on land that his father and 
 grandfather had worked. In the j^ear 1863, he 
 gave up the lease, and, deciding to come to Amer- 
 ica, sailed from Livei-pool on the vessel "New York" 
 and arrived at that city after an uneventful voy- 
 age. Coming direct to Winnebago County, he 
 stopped for a time with his brother in Roscoe, and 
 in January, 1864, bought tlie land included in his 
 present farm. Going to Kansas in February of 
 the same year, he shortly returned and located 
 on the same land where he has ever since resided. 
 The farm is pleasantly located five miles west of 
 the Court House and is in a high state of cultiva- 
 tion, adorned with fruit and shade trees of various 
 descriptions, besides flue farm buildings, and every 
 part of the estate gives evidence of the prudence 
 and good judgment of its owner, and likewise 
 shows that he is a man of good taste and domestic 
 instincts. 
 
 Mr. McGeachie has had the assistance of a good 
 and faithful wife since his marriage, January 10, 
 1865, to Ellen Campbell, the ceremony taking 
 place at Atchison Mo. Mrs. McGeachie was born 
 in Argyleshire, Scotland, March 4, 1844, and 
 has borne her husband seven children: Donelda, 
 Marj', Archibald, Barbara, Edward Peter, Grace N. 
 and Florence M. The father of Mrs. McGeachie 
 was Donald Campbell, born in Argyleshire, and his 
 father, Archibald Campbell, was in early life a 
 merchant, later a farmer, and, as far as is known, 
 spent his entire life in his native land. Donald 
 Campbell was reared to agricultural pursuits and 
 resided in Argyleshire until 1851, when he sailed 
 from Glasgow in the sailing-vessel "Allen Kerr" to 
 America, accompanied by his wife and five of his 
 seven children. After a voyage of seven weeks, 
 they landed at Quebec, and thence came directly 
 to Illinois, settling in DeKalb County, where he 
 bought a tract of land and engaged in farming 
 for nine years. At the expiration of that time, 
 Mr. Campbell moved to Lyon County, Kan., on a 
 tract of land, but he sickened, and died two or 
 three weeks after his arrival in that State. The 
 
 maiden name of his wife was Barbara McGeachie, 
 a native of Scotland and a daughter of Archibald 
 McGeachie. After the death of her husband, she 
 bought a home in the village of Plymouth, Kan., 
 which was then but a hamlet, and has there resided 
 since. The names of her children are Mary A., 
 Catherine, Barbara, Neil, Malcolm, Jessie and 
 Ellen, respectively. 
 
 Our subject and his estimable wife are members 
 in good standing of the First Presbyterian Church 
 of Rockford. 
 
 /^^ EORGE S. ELLIS, a prominent figure among 
 III '^t' *^^ business men of Rockton, has for many 
 ^^fi years been engaged as a blacksmith, in 
 which department of trade he has acquired a good 
 understanding of all its details. He is a man who 
 attends strictly to business, and bears the reputa- 
 tion of being reliable and worthy of being trusted 
 in any business which his judgment may justify 
 him in undertaking. Our subject, who was born 
 in Canada in September 1840, is the son of David 
 Ellis, a native of New York who emigrated to Can- 
 ada, where he resided for a number of years and in 
 1845 came with his family to Owen Township, 
 Winnebago County. He departed this life two 
 years later, leaving his widow with eight children. 
 George S. Ellis was the fourth son and seventh 
 child in the parental family, six of whom still sur- 
 vive. The mother, whose maiden name was Maria 
 Spencer, departed this life at the home of her 
 daughter in Harrison Township, this county, in 
 1850, when forty-eight years of age. Our sub- 
 ject was thus wholly orphaned when nine years of 
 age and from that time he has had to "paddle his 
 own canoe." He obtained his schooling after 
 leaving home by working for his board and attend- 
 ing school during the winter. When seventeen 
 years of age, he rented land and engaged in farm- 
 ing on his own account. 
 
 In 1861, he of whom we write and Miss Ruth, 
 daughter of William Knapp, were united in mar- 
 riage. The young couple located in Rockton in 
 the fall of 1864, where our subject was for seven 
 years engaged in teaming, and in 1871 purchased, 
 
JOHN THOMAS PARKER. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 867 
 
 for 1400, a half interest in the blacksmith business 
 of Arthur Stiles. Five years later, he bought out 
 his partner, since which time he has built up a 
 lucrative trade as village blacksmith. He has 
 acted in the capacity of "mine host" of each of 
 the hotels here for about two years, and has served 
 as a member of the "Village Board for four years and 
 School Director some ten years. 
 
 Five children have been granted Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ellis, one of whom, a son Jesse, died when two and 
 a half years of age. Those living are Emma, now 
 Mrs. Byron Estes of Beloit, Wis.; Lena, who mar- 
 ried E. P. Shotliff, of Rockton; William and Flora. 
 Although our subject usually casts a Republican 
 vote, he reserves a right to vote for the man whom 
 he considers will best fill the oflice. He is a great 
 lover of horses and possesses one of the most 
 promising stock animals in this section, a very 
 swift pacer. Mrs. Ellis is a consistent and devoted 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 a ''■ c=Li <^r^\^ 9)- 
 
 f OHN T. PARKER. The old Bay State has 
 furnished to Boone County a number of rep- 
 resentative citizens, among whom may be 
 mentioned John T. Parker, who died at his 
 home in Spring Township, June 12, 1892. In 
 everything connected with the growth and pros- 
 perity of the county he took an active interest, 
 and as a tiller of the soil ever stood in the fore- 
 most ranks. 
 
 Born in Worcester County, Mass., in the town 
 of Fitchburg, October 27, 1810, our subject was 
 the son of Samuel and Lydia (Allen) Parker, na- 
 tives of Massachusetts, and the father of English 
 descent. The Parkers were New Englanders and 
 for the most part followed agricultural pursuits 
 for a livelihood. Samuel Parker died in Illinois 
 when sixty-three years of age,, and his wife re- 
 ceived her final summons in New York State when 
 eighty years of age. Our subject's maternal 
 grandfather was a valiant soldier in the Revolu- 
 tionary War and participated in the battle of Lex- 
 ington. 
 
 The original of this notice was one of thirteen 
 children, three of whom are living. One sister 
 
 resides with our subject and another sister makes 
 her home in the Empire State. John T. Parker 
 remained at home until twenty-one years of age, 
 and up to that time worked with his father at the 
 carpenter's and joiner's trade. He then started 
 out to make his own way in life and went to 
 Pennsylvania, where for three years he was en- 
 gaged in building mills. He subsequently tried 
 his hand at dressing feathers, and after working at 
 that for some time with an uncle and putting in 
 nearly all of his hard-earned money, he decided to 
 quit and embark in other enterprises more suited 
 to his taste. After this, he was in the saw-mill 
 business for a number of months but later returned 
 home and there followed the trade of a carpenter 
 until the spring of 1846, when he made his advent 
 into the State of Illinois. 
 
 Previous to this, on the 3d of September, 1837, 
 he was wedded to Miss Eunice Lindsay, a native 
 of Otsego County, N. Y., born September 3, 1813, 
 and one of twelve children, four now living, born 
 to David and Jemima (Crane) Lindsay, also na- 
 tives of the Empire State. Her father died in 
 Madison County, N. Y., when eighl^y years of age, 
 and his wife passed away in Minnesota. At the 
 above-mentioned date, 1846, our subject, with his 
 father and family, came by way of the Erie Canal 
 and Lakes to Chicago, and there hired a team to 
 take them to near Belvidere, Boone County. In 
 that place, on account of sickness, they remained 
 two months, and there our subject's father and 
 only child died. 
 
 Later, Mr. Parker and his wife settled on rented 
 land and in 1848, having accumulated consider- 
 able means by their frugality and industry, they 
 bought the farm where they spent their remaining 
 years. He first pre-empted eighty acres but later 
 added forty acres to this, thus making a snug farm 
 of one hundred and twenty acres. He first erected 
 a small frame house, in which they lived for years, 
 and in 1861 built the present substantial building. 
 To the original tract, he added enough to make 
 one hundred and, sixty acres, which is now worth 
 fully 165 per acre, and he put in over $1,500 worth 
 of tiling. The farm is one of the most productive 
 and best improved in the county. His early 
 market was Chicago and often he was eight or 
 
868 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nine days on the trip. He was tlirifty and enter- 
 prising, no doubt inheriting his energy from his 
 sturdy and energetic ancestors, and his ability as 
 an agriculturist was well known. 
 
 Owing to his intelligence and superior ability, 
 Mr. Parker was called upon to occupy most of the 
 local offices of the township and discharged the 
 duties of the same in a very creditable manner. He 
 affiliated with the Democrats up to the formation 
 of the Republican party, with which he afterward 
 voted. His first Presidential ballot was cast for 
 Andrew Jackson. He had several nephews, Park- 
 ers, in the Civil War, and some of them laid down 
 their lives for the Stars and Stripes. On the 3d of 
 February, 1891, Mr. Parker was called upon to 
 mourn the loss of his affectionate wife, who passed 
 away at the old home place. She was an excellent 
 woman and well worthy the esteem of all. They 
 had two children: Harriet, who died as above- 
 mentioned, at Belvidere, and Henry L., who died 
 before the familj' left New York State. Little 
 more than a year after the death of his wife, Mr. 
 Parker closed his ey^son the scenes of earth and 
 passed to the Great Iwyond June 12, 1892. To the 
 last, he retained his deep interest in the welfare of 
 his community and fellow-citizens, and was quite 
 hearty and active, notwithstanding his advanced 
 age. His friends will be pleased to notice his 
 portrait on another page of this volume. 
 
 0. N. WALL, the practical and fashion- 
 able tailor, whose artistic cuts and perfect 
 fits are known throughout the aristocratic 
 portion of the city, is located over No- 
 324 East State Street, where he keeps employed 
 from four to six of the most skilled workmen. 
 Among his permanent customers are many of 
 Rockford's best dressed citizens, who thoroughly 
 appreciate and understand the merits of a first- 
 class tailor, and who find in Mr. Wall's establish- 
 ment not only the best goods in the country, but a 
 place where the stj'le and trimming of a garment 
 is a matter of careful study. 
 
 Mr. Wall was originally from Helsingland, 
 
 Sweden, born September 1, 1846, and while grow- 
 ing up learned the tailor trade. He was left an 
 orphan when but a boy, his parents having died 
 when comparatively young people. His father, 
 Gust Nordenvall, was a prominent man in his 
 community, holding many minor offices, such as 
 town clerk, and organist in the State Ciiurch. The 
 mother, who died when about thirty-two years of 
 age, was a Lutheran in her religious convictions 
 and a devout and worthy Christian. They were 
 the parents of two children, but only our subject 
 is now living. The other, Gust, was a married man 
 and died in Chicago, leaving a widow and two 
 daughters. Gust Nordenvall, Sr., was three times 
 married and had children by each wife. To his 
 last union was born a daughter, Anna, who is now 
 the wife of Mr. Hess, the Methodist clergyman of 
 the Swedish Church of Rockford. 
 
 It was in the year 1865 that Mr. Wall crossed 
 the ocean to America and he first followed his trade 
 in Brooklyn, N. Y. Later he was in business in 
 different cities of that State and Pennsylvania, but 
 in 1877 he came to Rockford, 111., and in partner- 
 ship with George Johnson established a merchant 
 tailoring establishment on East State Street. They 
 continued together until January 1, 1885, since 
 which time Mr. Wall has continued the business 
 alone. He is a live, energetic business man and one 
 of the leading exponents of the merchant tailor's 
 art in the city. By industry and good business 
 management he has been unusually successful and 
 is now the owner of some valuable improved prop- 
 erty in the city, besides a comfortable home at No. 
 302 North Fourth Street. He also owns stock in 
 the Standard Furniture Company, and the Rock- 
 ford Manufacturing Company of the city. 
 
 Mr. Wall was married in Brooklyn, N. Y., June 
 6, 1869, to Miss Ida Hult, a native of Kalmar Lan, 
 Sweden, born in March, 1847, and who came alone 
 to the United States in 1866. Her father died in 
 Sweden and her mother subsequently came to the 
 United States, being now a resident of Jamestown, 
 N. Y. Mrs. Wall's brother, Capt. C. A. Hult, now 
 a resident of Jamestown, N. Y., was the first of the 
 family to come to this country. He fought for the 
 Union during the Rebellion. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wall became the parents of five chil- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 869 
 
 dren, two of whom died in infancy. Those living 
 are: Anna W., attending business college; "Walter 
 C. G., and Louis W. Socially, ]\h-.Wall is a Knight 
 Templar in the Masonic fraternity, and, politically, 
 he is an active worker for the Republican party 
 whose principles he advocates. He and his wife 
 are members of the Swedish Methodist Church and 
 he is an official in the same. 
 
 ' LEXANDER ANDERSON, a retired florist, 
 whose commodious and pleasant residence 
 is at No. 714 North First Street, came to 
 this city in May, 1853, and was first en- 
 gaged as a flower gardener by Mr. Townsend, with 
 whom he remained for a number of years. He was 
 subsequently with Mr. M. Starr, another old settler 
 of the city. Later still, he worked for others, in- 
 cluding G. A. Sanford, and Emerson & Company, 
 remaining with this company for fourteen years. 
 In this way he has passed his life thus far and has 
 saved a fair amount of his income, the same he 
 is now enjoying. He has been overseer for the 
 East Side Park for a number of years and holds 
 that position at the present time. He is well 
 known in Rockford, and is well liked by all. 
 
 Mr. Anderson claims Sweden as his native land, 
 and was born in Wester Gothland, of that country, 
 October 12, 1823. He remained there until twenty- 
 nine years of age, and in the spring of 1852 he 
 left home and fiiends to seek his foi'tune in the 
 States. On the 2d of July of that year, he reached 
 Boston and came thence to Chicago by cars, mak- 
 ing the distance in five days. After about a year 
 spent in the vicinity of that city he came on to 
 Rockford. 
 
 He was the only one of his family to set foot on 
 American soil, and the youngest of seven children 
 born to his parents, Andrew S. and Breta (Hallen- 
 berg) Anderson, natives of Sweden, in which 
 country both received their final summons, the fa- 
 ther dying when about eighty-nine years of age 
 and the mother also when quite aged. The family 
 were all members of the State Church of Sweden. 
 
 Our subject was married in Rockford to Miss 
 Erica Peterson, who was born in Wester Gothland, 
 
 Sweden, July 4, 1833, and whose parents, Peter 
 Maline and Ingra M. (Hollemberg) Peterson, were 
 also natives of that country. They passed their 
 entire lives there, the father engaged as a farmer, 
 and both lived to be quite old people. Mrs. 
 Anderson passed her youthful days in her native 
 province, and in 1855, with her sister, Ingra (who 
 is now deceased, having died in Rockford after 
 her marriage), came to the United States and settled 
 in Rockford, III. She was married shortly after- 
 wards, or in 1857, to Mr. Anderson, and bore him 
 five children, one deceased, Olivia L., who died 
 when about four years of age. Those children 
 living arc: Edward, in business in Belvidcre, mar- 
 ried Miss Ida Lindenle; Selma V., wife of John 
 Hult, a carver in the furniture factor}'; Victor L., 
 a machinist with the Nelson Knitting Company, 
 married Miss Jennie Lundine, and Mary at home, a 
 seamstress and dressmaker. All the family are 
 members of the First Lutheran Church, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Andersoa being among the older members of 
 the same. Mr. Anderson is an ardent Republican 
 and cast his first PresidemSft vote for Abraham 
 
 Lincoln. 
 
 ?• I ' I I \ < \ ' 
 
 FLETCHER COFFIN. The agricultural ele- 
 ment that has been so largely instrumental 
 /li, in the upbuilding of Winnebago County 
 is well represented by this gentleman, who is one 
 of the foremost farmers and stockraisers of Burritt 
 Township, where he owns a large and valuable 
 farm. Mr. Coffin was born November 6, 1841, in 
 Roscoe, this county, a son of Henderson W. ColHn, 
 born in Newport, Herkimer County, N. Y., and he 
 in turn was a son of Isaac, who was born in the 
 town of Deerfield, Herkimer County, N Y. His 
 father, the great-grandfather of our subject, was 
 from New England and was one of the first settlers 
 of the town of Deerfield. He cleared a farm from 
 the wilderness and resided there until his death. 
 Isaac Coffin was reared on a farm and always fol- 
 lowed farming as a vocation, assisting in clearing 
 seven different farms. From Herkimer County, he 
 went to St. Lawrence County about the year 1839, 
 bought a tract of timber land, and with the assist- 
 
870 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ance of his sons cleared it and spent his remaining 
 days there. His wife was known in her maiden 
 days as Peggy Patton; she was a native of Eastern 
 New York and the daughter of a Revolutionary 
 soldier. She passed away in St. Lawrence County. 
 
 The father of our subject went to Canada when 
 a young man and there learned the trade of a 
 brickmaker with his brother Horace. From there 
 they came to Illinois in 1838, and located in Win- 
 nebago County, Henderson still remaining in 
 the employ of his brother. Sometime later, he 
 started in farming for himself and went to Beloit, 
 prospecting for a short time, and then established 
 a brickyard. He had previous to this time entered 
 a tract of Government land in what is now Burritt 
 Township, and in 1860 settled on tliat land. There 
 he engaged in farming some years, then removed 
 to Winnebago Township, and bought a tract of 
 land and made his home thereon until his death in 
 May, 1876. The maiden name of his wife was 
 Mary H. Ken ear; she was born in New York State 
 and now makes her home in Rockford. The father 
 of our subject was a very industrious man, possessed 
 of good judgment, and was one of the most suc- 
 cessful farmers in the county, and at one time 
 owned upwards of one thousand acres of land. 
 
 Our subject is one of eleven children born to his 
 parents and he received his education in the pub- 
 lic schools of this county. Reared to farming pur- 
 suits, he has always followed that vocation and is 
 now the owner of a fine tract of land comprising 
 two hundred and forty broad and fertile acres 
 which are finely improved, and good and substan- 
 tial buildings are erected thereon. 
 
 The date of the marj-iage of our subject and 
 Miss Harriet Keeling was December 22, 1 879. Mrs. 
 Coffin was born in Philadelphia, Pa., and is a daugh- 
 ter of ,Jolin Keeling, who was born near Liver- 
 pool, England, and a son of William and Harriet 
 Keeling. The grandfather of Mrs. Coffin was a 
 tailor by trade and on coming to America settled 
 in Philadelphia and followed his trade there some 
 years. From there he came to Rockford, and re- 
 sided here until his death. His son John learned 
 the trade of a tailor and also followed it for some 
 time after coming to America. He is still a resi- 
 dent of Rockford and is now engaged as a house 
 
 decorator. The maiden name of his wife was 
 Elizabeth Taylor, a native of England, and a 
 daughter of William Taylor, and came to this 
 country with a brother and sister. 
 
 Our subject and his estimable wife have had born 
 to them two children: Gertrude May and Alta 
 Marie. Mr. Coffin votes the Republican ticket in 
 politics. 
 
 / i=*£ 
 
 ^^EORGE A. WADDELL, who resides on 
 (if ^ii ^^^^^^'^ ^2> Guilford Township, is an enter- 
 ^^j! prising and representative agriculturist of 
 Winnebago County, and one of the worthy citi- 
 zens that the Empire State has furnished to Illinois. 
 He was born in the town of Bethel, Sullivan 
 County, N. Y., April 1, 1853, and is of Scotch de- 
 scent. His paternal grandfather was born in Scot- 
 land, and came to America accompanied by his wife 
 and one son. He located in Sullivan County and 
 there purchased a farm, upon which he spent the 
 remainder of his life. James Waddell, father of 
 our subject, was a native of Sullivan. County and 
 was there reared and acquired a common-school 
 education. On attaining his majority, he was 
 joined in wedlock with Mary J. Breakey, also a na- 
 tive of that county and a daughter of John and 
 Elosia Breakey. The maternal grandfather of our 
 subject was born on the Emerald Isle and was of 
 Scotch descent. His wife was a native of New 
 England. Mr. and Mrs. Waddell began their do- 
 mestic life upon the farm in Bethel Township 
 where the former now resides. His wife was called 
 to her final rest in 1874. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of George 
 A. Waddell, whose boyhood and youth were passed 
 in the usual manner of farmer lads. He aided in 
 the labors of the farm during the summer months 
 and in the winter season attended the district 
 schools of the neighborhood. Remaining under 
 the parental roof until he had attained his major- 
 ity, he then started out in life for himself and went 
 to Orange County, N. Y., where the succeeding 
 year and a half of his life were passed. On the ex- 
 piration of that period, he determined to try his 
 
yUXy^<yT^ ^^^^§(e-^^ 
 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORI) 
 
 873 
 
 fortune in Illinois, and emigrated to Winnebago 
 Count}', wbere he was employed as a farm hand for 
 a month and a half. He then rented land, and it 
 was not until 1888 that he purchased the farm on 
 which he now resides. 
 
 As a companion and helpmate on life's journey, 
 Mr. Waddell chose Miss Minnie C. Scoville, a na- 
 tive of Ogle County, 111., and a daughter of 
 Stephen T. and Lucy (Preston) Scoville. Her par- 
 ents are mentioned elsewhere in this work in con- 
 nection with the sketch of Hon. H. C. Scoville. 
 The union of our subject and his wife was cele- 
 brated in 1879, and the worthy couple are held in 
 high regard throughout this community. They 
 are both members of the Centennial Methodist 
 Church of Rockford, and, in politics, Mr. "Waddell 
 is a Republican but has never sought or desired 
 pubhc office, preferring to give his entire time and 
 attention to his business interests. On removing 
 to the farm, he erected good buildings and has 
 made many other improvements, which have 
 greatly increased its value and made it a desirable 
 place of residence. His home is pleasantly and 
 conveniently situated about three miles and one- 
 half from the court house. 
 
 ^ 
 
 :=m^.i.^. 
 
 =^ 
 
 GBERT PHELPS, who is the oldest native- 
 orn citizen of Winnebago County now 
 /1=^ residing within its limits, was the owner and 
 occupant of two hundred and forty acres of ex- 
 cellent land in Owen Township. His portrait and 
 life sketch will therefore possess unusual interest 
 for the reader. His birth occurred in Rockford 
 Township, April 20, 1837, while his father, John 
 Phelps, was born and reared in St. Albans, Vt. 
 The latter-named gentleman was a carpenter by 
 trade, and when a young man removed to Buffalo, 
 N. Y., where he was engaged in that line of work 
 for a time, and early in 1836 came West to the 
 Territory of Michigan, where his marriage oc- 
 curred. 
 
 Immediately after that event, the young couple 
 
 started for the Prairie State, making the journey 
 
 overland with a team. Their first stop was made 
 
 at Paw Paw Grove, where Mr. Phelps left his wife, 
 
 39 
 
 and, starting out to seek a location, came to Win- 
 nebago County when Rockford contained but a 
 few families, and the Government surveys to the 
 land in the surrounding country had not yet been 
 completed. Deciding to locate in Rockford, he 
 purchased property on South Second Street, oppo- 
 site the present site of the Centennial Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and, bringing his wife hither, 
 they established themselves in this community. 
 
 Mr. Phelps prosecuted his trade there until 1846, 
 when he removed to what is now Cherry Valley 
 Township, and making settlement on a tract of 
 Government land, erected a log house and com- 
 menced the work of subduing nature, erecting a 
 cabin and improving his farm. He worked at his 
 trade a part of each year for some time, and occu- 
 pied that farm until 1864, when he sold it and re- 
 moved to Pecatonica Village, and was there for a 
 number of years engaged in the hardware business. 
 He later became identified with the business inter- 
 ests of Davis, Stephenson County, where he carried 
 on a profitable lumber trade. On account of fail- 
 ing health, however, he was compelled to retire 
 from active work, and died in the village ofe Du- 
 rand, July 7, 1874. 
 
 Mrs. Lucretia (Kimball) Phelps, the mother of 
 our subject, was born in the Green Mountain State 
 and now resides with her son at Plymouth, Mo. 
 She became the mother of the following-named 
 four children: Egbert, John A., Hannibal, and 
 Helen M., who became the wife of O. H. Davis, and 
 died at Durand. The original of this sketch was 
 ten years of age when he was brought to Cherry 
 Valley Township, and after attending the schools 
 first in Rockford and then in that township, en- 
 tered the High School in Rockford. He assisted 
 his father on the farm, and remained at home un- 
 til twenty-two years of age, when he was employed 
 at surveying in and around Rockford for two 
 years. 
 
 In 1863, our subject enlisted in Company K, 
 Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry, and served until af- 
 ter the close of the war, most of the time being 
 under Pope in Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas, 
 fighting the guerrillas and bushwhackers, which was 
 the most dangerous kind of warfare. In Decem- 
 ber, 1865, he was discharged, and returning home. 
 
874 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 engaged in teaming at Pecatonica. Two years 
 later, he settled upon the farm which he now owns 
 and occupies, and on which may be found all the 
 buildings necessary for carrying on a first-class 
 estate. 
 
 The ceremony which united Miss Mary E. Brown 
 and Egbert Phelps was performed November 29, 
 1B66. The lady was born in Owen Township, this 
 county, September 12, 1843, and was the only 
 daughter of Mowry and Lucy (Pease) Brown, for 
 a further sketch of whom the reader is referred 
 to the biography of R. E. Brown. The two 
 children comprising the household of our subject 
 and his wife are Charles E. and Zora E. Republi- 
 can in politics, Mr. Phelps takes an active interest 
 in all local affairs. Socially, he is a member of 
 Nevius Post No 1, G. A. R.,while Mrs. Plielps is con- 
 nected with the Woman's Relief Corps, of Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 )ENJAMIN F. GARRETT, one of the enter- 
 ' prising farmers of Guilford Township, 
 "Winnebago County, has demonstrated the 
 fact that perseverance and zeal will prevail 
 to conquer circumstances and gain a competence 
 for him who exercises those qualities. He now 
 owns two hundred acres of fine land. All of the 
 improvements — and they are many and excellent — 
 have been made by the present owner of the farm 
 and reflect credit upon his judgment and thrift. 
 
 Born July 10, 1835, in Lake County, Ohio, our 
 subject is the youngest son of Thomas and Mar- 
 garet (Kewish) Garrett, whose history will be 
 found in the biography of Robert Garrett on an- 
 other page of this volume. Benjamin was three 
 years of age when his parents came to this county, 
 so he has but little recollection of other than his 
 adopted home. He began working on the farm as 
 soon as old enough and, making his home with his 
 parents until his marriage, then rented land until 
 1864. 
 
 In August of the above-named year, Benjamin 
 Garrett enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and 
 Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and served his coun- 
 try faithfully and well until the close of the war. 
 
 when he received his honorable discharge in Au- 
 gust of 1865. Returning home, our subject engaged 
 in work at the carpenter's trade in partnership 
 with his brother Robert, and a twelvemonth later 
 purchased the farm where he now resides. There 
 was on the place a house 14x20 feet in dimensions, 
 also a board stable. Mr. Garrett added to his 
 propei'ty until his estate now includes two hun- 
 dred acres, which its owner has beautified by plant- 
 ing ornamental fruit and shade trees and erecting 
 a good set of buildings thereon. 
 
 Miss Esther A. Hayes was married to our subject 
 in 1860; she is a native of this county and town- 
 ship, her birth having occurred in July, 1849. Her 
 father, Samuel Baker Hayes, was born, reared and 
 married in Connecticut, whence he removed to 
 Canada, purchasing a farm near St. Thomas. His 
 wife dying at that place, he later married the 
 mother of Mrs. Garrett, whose maiden name was 
 Catherine Grovcro. She was a native of Canada 
 and of French ancestry. In the fall of 1838, the 
 parents of Mrs. Garrett came to Winnebago 
 County, where the father purchased a claim to a 
 tract of Government land on section 17, Guilford 
 Township. There he erected tlje log house in 
 which Mrs. Garrett was born and in which the 
 family resided until the decease of the parents. 
 
 Our subject and his wife have one son, Bruce 
 H. Mr. Garrett is a member of Nevius Post No. 1, 
 G. A. R., and in politics casts a straight Republican 
 vote. 
 
 eHARLES M. KEELER has the honor of 
 claiming Belvidere as his native city. He 
 here first opened his eyes to the light of 
 day, October 31, 1857. His grandfather, Calvin 
 Keeler, was a farmer and spent his last years in 
 Cortland County, N. Y., where Milton E. Keeler, 
 father of our subject, was born. He there resided 
 until sixteen years of age, when, in 1849, he left 
 the parental roof and came to Illinois, where he 
 engaged in clerking until the war. In September, 
 1862, he joined the boys in blue of Company B, 
 Ninety-fifth Illinois Infantry, and was mustered in 
 as First Lieutenant. He participated in the Vicksburg 
 campaign, and the Red River expedition, and after 
 
POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHJCAL RECORD. 
 
 875 
 
 serving two years returned home, having resigned 
 on account of ill-health. lie then embarked in the 
 mercantile business in Belvidere and continued 
 operations in that line until 1871, when he pur- 
 chased the creamery at Garden Prairie and con- 
 ducted that business until 1877. He then sold 
 and returned to Belvidere. He was elected County 
 Clerk in the fall of 1877, and so faithfully did he 
 perform his duties that he was re-elected at each 
 succeeding election, holding the office until his 
 death, which occurred January 29, 1884. Mrs. 
 Keeler still survives her husband. She bore the 
 maiden name of Louisa Owen and was born in 
 Canandaigua, N. Y. Her father, Joseph Owen, was 
 a soldier in the War of 1812, and during his last 
 years received a pension in recognition of his ser- 
 vices. His father was one of the heroes of the 
 Revolutionary War. 
 
 Charles Keeler is one of eight children as fol- 
 lows: George H., Charles M., Willis E., Frank H., 
 May B. Dunton, Helen L. Tousley, Grace M. 
 Dawson and Emma C. 
 
 Our subject acquired his early education in the 
 schools of Belvidere, and after the removal of the 
 family to Garden Prairie assisted his father in the 
 creamery. On returning to this city, he served as 
 Deputy County Clerk for four years, after which 
 he went t Chicago and was employed as assistant 
 book-keeper by the firm of Clement, Bane & Co., 
 with whom he remained until his father's death, 
 when he was appointed to fill the unexpired term 
 of County Clerk. In 1884, he was elected to that 
 office, re-elected in 1886 and again in 1890, and is 
 the present incumbent. 
 
 Mr. Keeler was married, June 25, 1884, to Julia 
 Nixon, who was born at Ringwood, McHenry 
 County, m., and is a daughter of the Hon. Alex- 
 ander H. and Frances (Condict) Nixon, who were 
 early settlers of McHenry County. Her father was 
 a man of prominence who served one term in the 
 Senate and three or four terms in the State Legis- 
 lature. He died during the war. By the union of 
 our subject and his wife have been born two inter- 
 esting children, Clara L. and Marguerite. The 
 parents are both members of the First Presbyterian 
 Church, and Mr. Keeler is Adjutant of the Illinois 
 Division Sons of Veterans. His efficiency as County 
 
 Clerk and his faithful performance of duty are well 
 attested by his long continued service, which also 
 indicates his popularity and the high regard in 
 which he is held by all. 
 
 m 
 
 ■^ AMES AUGUSTUS BENNETT, of Belvidere, 
 has for more than half a century resided in 
 Boone County, and is a worthy representa- 
 ' five of one of its honored pioneer families. 
 His grandfather was a farmer of Groton, Middlesex 
 Count3% Mass. His father was born in that local- 
 ity, and resided in Groton until 1839, when, in the 
 month of May, he started Westward, accompanied 
 by his wife and four children. They went by way 
 of the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo, where 
 they embarked on a steamer and in that way 
 reached Chicago, whore Mr. Bennett purchased a 
 team of horses and a pair of oxen, and, attaching 
 them to wagons he had brought with him, made an 
 overland journey to Boone County. At that time 
 few improvements had here been made, the few set- 
 tlers lived in log cabins and their homes were widely 
 scattered. The family moved into a log house 
 with another family and there resided until fall, 
 when Mr. Bennett purchased a tract of land near 
 Newburg, where they spent the winter. He suf- 
 fered very much from ague during the winter and 
 in the spring concluded to leave that location, so 
 purchased a tract of wild land on South Prairie, 
 now included in Flora Township. Building a 
 bam, the family occupied that as a place of resi- 
 dence during the summer, while the house was 
 being moved from Newburg. Four years later, he 
 purchased a farm on the north bank of the Kish- 
 waukee River, a portion of which is now included 
 within the city limits, and erected a commodious 
 brick residence, frame barn and other buildings. 
 He made it one of the desirable farms of the local- 
 ity and continued its cultivation until his death in 
 1868. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Marj' Shattuck. She was born in Groton, Mass., and 
 died in January, 1892. She had a family of seven 
 children, six of whom grew to mature years: James 
 
876 
 
 yOETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Augustus; Samuel, now deceased; John H., a resi- 
 dent of Belvidere; Sarah J., who is living in Bonus 
 Township; George, of Coffey County, Kan., and 
 Charles, a resident of Flora Township. Since the 
 death of Mrs. Bennett, the farm has been sold to the 
 Lincoln Avenue Land Company and it is platted 
 and known as Fair View, and the company have 
 already sold a large number of lots. 
 
 The subject of this sisetch was a lad of only nine 
 years, when, with his parents, he came to Illinois. 
 He remembers well many incidents of the long 
 journey. Pie was reared amid the wild scenes of 
 the frontier to habits of industry, and at an earlj'^ 
 age became inured to the hard labors of the farm. 
 In the winter season he attended the schools of the 
 neighborhood, while in the summer months he 
 assisted his father in the cultivation of the land, 
 remaining under the parental roof until he had 
 attained his majority, when he started out in life 
 for himself. Since June, 1839, he has resided con- 
 tinuously in Boone County, and is numbered 
 among its worthy pioneers. He has ever borne his 
 share in its upbuilding and advancement and is 
 recognized as a pubHc-spirited and progressive 
 citizen of the community. 
 
 (S_ 
 
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 "SD 
 
 ^^f^ 
 
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 1 EUBEN H. IRONS, who is now living a 
 retired life in Rockford, was born near 
 Zanesville, Ohio, August 18, 1826, and is a 
 ) son of David Irons, a native of Schuylkill 
 County, Pa., and was reared on a farm and worked 
 in a sawmill owned by his father. About the time 
 the war broke out, he enlisted as a soldier of the 
 navy and fought in many engagements during 
 that second struggle for American independence. 
 On his return to Pennsylvania, he learned the 
 blacksmith's trade, which proved to him a lucrative 
 occupation. Subsequently, he removed to Ohio, 
 becoming one of the early settlers of Zanesville. 
 He there established a smithy and did much work 
 on the first bridge that spanned the Maskenyuns 
 River at that place. Subsequently, he purchased a 
 farm in Franklin County, Ohio, not far from 
 Columbus, and carried that on in connection with 
 blacksmithmg. After some years he brought his 
 
 family, with teams, to Illinois in 1847, again be- 
 coming a pioneer. He settled on a farm in Shir- 
 land, where his death occurred when past the age 
 of seventy years. His wife survived him and died 
 at the home of her son Reuben, while the latter was 
 living in Clinton County, Iowa. She was then 
 sixty-eight years of age. In the family were nine 
 children, all of whom grew to manhood and woman- 
 hood, while two sons and six daughters are yet 
 living. 
 
 The subject of this sketch remained upon his fa- 
 ther's farm in Ohio until nineteen years of age, 
 when he came to Illinois, locating in this county 
 in 1847. After some years he removed to Clinton 
 County, Iowa, where he spent sixteen years, after 
 which he returned to Illinois and made a settle- 
 ment in Cherry Valley Townshi[), where he carried 
 on farming. He is numbered among the honored 
 pioneers of the county and has borne the usual ex- 
 periences of frontier life. In those early days he 
 has hauled grain to Chicago and Milwaukee and 
 then frequently received only twenty-five cents 
 per bushel for it. He began life empty-handed but 
 has worked his way upward to a position of afflu- 
 ence. He still owns some good property in "Wood- 
 bury County, Iowa, two hundred and forty acres 
 of fine and well-improved land; and also has one 
 hundred and sixty acres near Huron, S. Dak., and 
 some property in Kansas. His property in Rock- 
 ford is quite valuable also. 
 
 Mr. Irons was married in this county to Miss 
 Eliza Atwood, who was born near Chatham, in the 
 Province of Ontario, Canada, March 23, 1830, and 
 is a daughter of Patten and Anna (Brooks) At- 
 wood, natives of Massachusetts and Canada, re- 
 spectively. They were married in the latter coun- 
 try and settled not far from Chatham, where Mr. 
 Atwood engaged in the milling business for twelve 
 years. In 1839, he caipe to the United States and 
 made a settlement in this countj^, where he has 
 since resided. He is now a well-to-do farmer of 
 Owen Township, and is eighty-seven years of age. 
 His wife died July 30, 1890, at the age of eighty- 
 three years, in the faith of the Baptist Church, to 
 which Mr. Atwood also belongs. He was an Aboli- 
 tionist and joined the Republican parly on its 
 organization. For sixty- five years he and his wife 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 877 
 
 traveled life's journey together and were highly 
 respected people. Unto them were born fifteen 
 children, and, with the exception of one who died 
 in childhood, all are yet living and have married. 
 The eldest is sixty-five and the youngest forty-one 
 years of age. They have all been quite successful 
 in life and the family is noted for longevity. 
 
 Mrs. Irons was the third in order of birth. She 
 was carefully reared and is a lady of noble and 
 generous character, held in high esteem by all. 
 "With the Baptist Church she holds membership. By 
 her marriage she has become the mother of four 
 children, three living: Frank L., who was a farmer 
 of Marshall County, Kan., wedded M. L. Scovill, 
 and passed away November 10, 1891, at the age of 
 thirty-eight years, leaving three daugliters; he 
 had buried a son Reuben nine months before his 
 death. Charles L. married Emma Alger and is a 
 farmer of Woodbury County, Iowa; Anna E., wife 
 of Walter Belshaw, a carpenter residing in Oregon 
 City, Ore.; and Vina M., wife of Henry Foote, a 
 carpenter of the same place. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Irons is a Republican. He has 
 resided in this city for some seventeen years and 
 is now living a retired life at No. 410 North First 
 Street. He is numbered among the early settlers 
 of the county and since locating hcire more than 
 forty years ago has been identified with its up- 
 building and progress. 
 
 ORATIO C. DeMUNN, ex-Circuit Clerk of 
 Boone County, is at present residing in 
 Belvidere. He was born in Alexander, 
 Genesee County ,.N. Y., November 12, 1824, 
 and is a son of John DeMunn, who, as far as is 
 known, was born in New York State, of French 
 parents. The latter-named gentleman was well 
 educated and practiced law to some extent. He 
 was also engaged in agricultural pursuits on a farm 
 which he owned in the town of Alexander, where 
 his death occurred in November, 1826. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Clarissa Goodwill. She was born in Tolland 
 County, Conn., and was first married to William 
 
 C. Tisdale, by whom she became the mother of 
 seven children. By her union with Mr. DeMunn 
 four children were born. She continued to reside 
 on the farm in Alexander until 1860, when she 
 sold out and, moving one mile west, lived there 
 until 1865, which was the date of her advent into 
 Boone County, where her decease occurred. 
 
 Horatio C. DeMunn received his early education 
 in the district schools of his native town, which 
 was later advanced by attendance at the Genesee 
 and Wyoming Seminary. When twent}' years of 
 age, he began teaching school, and was so employed 
 until 1846, in Genesee County. Our subject then 
 came to Boone County, settling in the town of Le 
 Roy, and, in addition to cultivating the soil, was 
 employed as a teacher until 1857. That year 
 he received the appointment of Deputy Circuit 
 Clerk, which office he held until 1864, when he was 
 elected Circuit Clerk, being elected to that posi- 
 tion for three full terms of four years each. Since 
 that time he has served either as Deputy or Assist 
 ant Clerk. 
 
 Miss Abigail Stackpole, who was born in the 
 town of Camden, Me., November 24, 1830, became 
 the wife of our subject in 1849. Her father, James 
 Stackpole, was born in Belfast, Me., and was a son 
 of Aaron and Hannah (Young) Stackpole, natives, 
 also, of the Pine Tree State, where they spent their 
 entire lives. The parents of Mrs. DeMunn were 
 reared and married in Maine, and in 1838 went to 
 Wisconsin, traveling via Boston and Philadelphia 
 to Pittsburg, thence by way of the Ohio, Missis- 
 sippi and Illinois Rivers to Peru, this State, where 
 they engaged a team and went overland to the 
 Badger State, locating at Beloit. There the father 
 was engaged as a produce and provision merchant. 
 At that early day the land in Wisconsin and 
 Northern Illinois was very sparsely settled and 
 the greater portion of it was owned by the Gov- 
 ernment. Mr. Stackpole often teamed from Beloit 
 to the pineries, where he sold his provisions. In 
 1844, he purchased land in Manchester, Boone 
 County, where he made his home and operated a 
 farm until about 1852, when he went West to 
 Garnaville, Clayton County, Iowa, and for about 
 four years he carried on a thriving business in 
 grain. From tliat place he went to Prairie du 
 
878 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Chien and became the possessor of one of the 
 islands in the river in front of that citj', from 
 which he supplied the shippers of cattle with hay 
 and grain. His death occurred in that place in 
 1886. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of Mrs. DeMunn 
 was Eliza Dunton. She was born in Waldo, Me., 
 and was the daughter of Isaac and Abigail Dunton. 
 Her death occurred in Beloit, in 1840. The four 
 children born to our subject and his wife are George; 
 Ella, Mrs. George Vickers; Kittie, the wife of L. 
 C. Palmer; and Gertrude. Our subject has cast 
 a Republican vote since the formation of the partj', 
 and has aided in many wa^'s in the upbuilding of 
 his community. 
 
 \UFUS W. GRAVES, who owns two hun- 
 dred and forty acres of land on section 11, 
 Roscoe Township, Winnebago County, was 
 ^^! born in Norwich, Chenango County, N. T., 
 in the region which he thinks the most desolate in 
 this fair land. His grandfather, Israel Graves, a 
 native of Connecticut, was one of the pioneer set- 
 tlers of Norwich. He married Lydia Wells and 
 they reared four sons and three daughters. One of 
 the latter is still living. Mr. Graves died in Rock 
 Count}', Wis., at an advanced age, and his wife 
 passed awaj^ in Ohio. 
 
 Obed Graves, father of our subject, was the third 
 child in that family and was born in Cortland 
 County, N. Y., in 1797. He was reared as a 
 laborer and for some years followed teaming. 
 When a young man, he married Allie Monroe, who 
 at a very early age was left an orphan in Cortland 
 County. They came West from Chenango County 
 in September, 1847, settling in Roscoe Township. 
 Their eight sons and one daughter were all born 
 in Chenango County. One son died in infancy 
 but the others grew to mature years. Mr. Graves 
 engaged in farming on rented land for some time 
 and spent the last ten years of his life with his son 
 at his present home. His death occurred in De- 
 cember, 1889, at the age of ninety-three. He re- 
 mained physically strong up to the last, but two 
 years before his death his mind gave way. His 
 
 wife died in March, 1887, at the age of eighty-four 
 j'ears. Four children of the family are yet livino-: 
 Perry O., a farmer of Wisconsin; Rufus W.; Cal- 
 ferna, widow of Spencer Brown and a resident of 
 Minnesota; and George, who makes his home in 
 Beloit, Wis. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native State, and 
 in 1846 came to Illinois by way of the Erie Canal 
 and the Great Lakes. He had embarked for Racine, 
 but a heavy gale was encountered and the passen- 
 gers were landed at Chicago. Mr. Graves was mar- 
 ried on the 25th of February of that year to Julia 
 A. Thornton, of Norwich, N. Y., daughter of Smith 
 D. and Asha (Bolton) Thornton, who were among" 
 the early settlers of Roscoe Township. The young 
 couple on reaching their destination had only 
 money enough to buy a $14 cow and a fifteen-cent 
 skimmer. They commenced keeping house in a log 
 cabin with his eldest brother, who had come to the 
 county in 1845. For ten years Mr. Graves rented 
 land and then worked on the railroad for two 
 years. His first purchase of land consisted of 
 twelve and one-half acres, and he also bought a 
 third interest in a house. He next purchased fifty- 
 five acres, the old Thornton homestead, which his 
 father-in-law had entered from the Government. 
 He then bought his present home, which yet con- 
 tains two hundred and forty acres, although he 
 has given fifty-five acres to his eldest son, fifty 
 acres to his daughter, and has sold forty acres. 
 
 Mrs. Graves was called to her final rest in Sep- 
 tember, 1890, at the age of sixty- two years, leav- 
 ing two sons and a daughter: Orlando, a resident 
 of Beloit, Wis.; Frances, wife of George Much- 
 more, who resides on an adjoining farm; and Jaj', 
 who operates the home farm. Jay married Laura 
 Frank, a native of New York, born of German 
 parentage. 
 
 Mr. Graves is now serving as Road Commis- 
 sioner, which position he has held for thirty years, 
 and for twelve years he has been Justice of the 
 Peace. This statement is the highest testimonial 
 which could be given of his efl5cient and faithful 
 service. In politics, he was a Democrat until ap- 
 pointed to solicit subscriptions for bounty money 
 to send men to the front during the late war. He 
 found that the Republicans subscribed willingly, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 879 
 
 while nearly every Democrat refused, or gave 
 grudgingly, and since that experience, Mr. Graves 
 has been a stalwart Republican. His life has been 
 well and worthily spent and he is now enjoying a 
 well-earned rest. He has the confidence of all 
 with whom he has been brought in contact, and is 
 held in high regard by his many friends. 
 
 Ips^HILETUS S. DOOLITTLE, one of the 
 I J* proMinent and honored pioneers, in fact, 
 the earliest settler of Harlem Township, 
 Winnebago County, now residing on sec- 
 tion 19, was born in Boston, Erie County, N. Y., 
 August 6, 1811. His father, Calvin Doolittle, was 
 born in the Green Mountain State and was a son 
 of Amzi Doolittle, also a native of Vermont. His 
 mother, Susanah Cary, was born in Westfleld, 
 Mass., and was married October 12, 1801. Her 
 parents were Richard and Marsina (Ford) Cary. 
 The father was a Revolutionary soldier who served 
 under Gen. Washington. Amzi Doolittle, on re- 
 moving to New York, settled in the town of 
 Nelson, Madison County, and in the midst of the 
 forest hewed out a farm, upon which he made his 
 home until the year 1820, when he started West- 
 ward, journeying with a team to Morgan County, 
 111. He bought Government land and then started 
 to return to the East for his family, but was taken 
 sick before reaching home and died in Indiana. 
 His wife, who bore the name of Mary Hazelton, 
 died in Austin, Erie County, N. Y. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared to man- 
 hood in the Empire State and settled in the town 
 of Boston, Erie County. Subsequently, he became 
 a resident of Pennsylvania, where he made his 
 home until 1823, when he went to Cattaraugus 
 County, N. Y., where he resided about twelve 
 years; he then came to Michigan, where he re- 
 sided for two years, and from there to Illi- 
 nois, locating in what is now Harlem Township, 
 Winnebago County. He made a claim, purchasing 
 the land of the Government at the land sale in 
 Galena, when it came into market. Some time 
 later he removed to Guilford Township, where he 
 purchased a farm, on which he made his home un- 
 til called to his final rest. 
 
 Our subject spent the first nine years of his life 
 in the State of his nativity and then accompanied 
 his parents to Mercer County, Pa. After three 
 years, they became residents of Little Valley, Cat- 
 taraugus County, N. Y., where they lived until 
 1835, which year witnessed their removal to Mich- 
 igan. Mr. Doolittle remained there two years, and 
 in 1837 came to Illinois. He made the entire dis- 
 tance with teams and after six weeks of travel 
 reached his destination. In March, 1837, he lo- 
 cated on the land which he now owns and occu- 
 pies. He entered it from the Government and 
 every improvement on the place is a monument to 
 his thrift and enterprise, for when he came into 
 the possession of his farm not even a furrow had 
 been turned upon it. 
 
 On September 14, 1834, Mr. Doolittle wedded 
 Sally A. Knox, a native of Augusta, Niagara 
 County, N. Y., and a daughter of Elijah Knox. 
 She was killed by lightning in 1864, leaving three 
 sons living: Russell C, Alonzo P., and Myron H. 
 Edwin H. is deceased. Russell C, Alonzo P., and 
 Edwin H. served in the Union Army. On May 6, 
 1857, our subject was again married, his second 
 union being with Mrs. Paulina Arnold, who was 
 born in Essex County. Canada, and is a daughter 
 of Edward and Ann (Abbott) Reynolds. Her fa- 
 ther was born in Mercer Countj', Pa., and was quite 
 young when his parents, George and Jane (Morton) 
 Reynolds, removed to what is now Michigan, and 
 thence to Essex County, Canada, where they were 
 among the early settlers. After his marriage, he 
 went with his wife to Ohio, and purchased a farm 
 in Cuyahoga County, upon which he made his 
 home until his death. In Canada, Paulina Rey- 
 nolds became the wife of David Arnold, who was 
 born in that country and there spent his entire life, 
 passing away in 1841. Three children were born of 
 that union: Solon F.; Ann J., who is now the wife 
 of Russell Doolittle, and William W. 
 
 Mr. Doolittle of this sketch bore all the usual 
 experiences and hardships of pioneer life. He came 
 to this country at a very early day, when Chicago 
 was one of the nearest markets. The settlements 
 were few and far between and deer and other wild 
 game roamed over the prairies at will. He bore 
 his share in the development and upbuilding of 
 
880 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the county and with the history of Harlem Town- 
 ship his name is inseparably connected. No other 
 man residing within its borders has so long there 
 made his home as Mr. Doolittle, and this work 
 would be incomplete without his sketch. Our sub- 
 ject has held several offices, among which was 
 that of Justice of the Peace for twenty-seven years, 
 and Supervisor two terms, and Clerk and Treas- 
 urer of the Free-will Baptist Quarterly Meetings 
 for thirtjr-flve years. 
 
 *?«-—-— «s« *^ 
 
 J- 
 
 ,.J UGUSTUS W. ROBINSON, one of the early 
 (@/lI|I t,ettlers-of Flora Township, Boone Count}', 
 was born in the town of Atkinson, Pisca- 
 taquis County, Me., October 7, 1831, where 
 also his father, Elijah, and grandfather, Capt. 
 James Robinson, were born. The great-grandfa- 
 ther of our subject hailed from Scotland, and, 
 coming to America during Colonial times, located 
 in that part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony now 
 included in the State of Maine. He was a seafar- 
 ing man and commanded a vessel. 
 
 Capt. James Robinson was Commodore of a ves- 
 sel, and during the War of 1812 was captured by 
 the British but soon retaken bj' the French. He 
 then returned to Portland, and, fitting up a priva- 
 teer, commanded the vessel until the close of the 
 war. In 1844, he came to Illinois and purchased 
 land in this county in company with his son-in- 
 law, Augustus Harron. This was in Flora Town- 
 ship, where he was residing at the time of his 
 decease. The lady to whom he was married bore 
 the name of Sarah Mitchell; she was also a native 
 of Maine and died in this township. 
 
 Elijah Robinson followed the sea until thirty- 
 five years of age, and in the year 1842 came with 
 his wife and six children to Illinois with teams, 
 and, after about eight weeks' travel, located in 
 Flora Township. The famil}' moved into a vacant 
 log house, the roof of which was covered with 
 shakes held in place with weight poles. Mr. Rob- 
 inson entered a tract of Government land, and 
 while the family were living in tiie log house, he 
 cut logs from his place which he drew to the mill 
 
 at Newburg, had them sawed and erected a frame 
 house. He improved the greater portion of his 
 land, upon which he resided for several years, then 
 selling out, removed to Hamilton County, Mo., 
 where he spent the remainder of his days. His wife, 
 Miss Deborah A. Cochran, was the daughter of 
 John Cochran and departed this life in Flora 
 Township. 
 
 Augustus W. Robinson came to Illinois with his 
 parents when eleven years of age, and has witnessed 
 the entire growth and development of this section 
 of country. He attended the pioneer schools of 
 Flora Township, the first being taught in the logf 
 house with home-made seats. He resided with his 
 father until eighteen years of age, then went to 
 the pineries of Wisconsin and was employed in 
 chopping until the following spring. He then 
 rafted lumber down the Wisconsin and Mississippi 
 Rivers for a time, and on returning home aided his 
 father in conducting the farm. Returning to the 
 pineries, he was there employed for about three 
 years, and before reaching his majority had saved 
 money enough to pay for sixty acres of land, 
 which were located on sections 27 and 34. He did 
 not locate on the property, however, and a few 
 months afterward traded for eighty acres on sec- 
 tion 22, where he made his home for ten years. 
 This he sold, and now owns two farms in Flora 
 Township, on the southwest quarter of section 14, 
 where he is successfully engaged in mixed farming. 
 Mr. Robinson is now living retired in a pleasant 
 home in Belvidere. 
 
 Miss Mary, the daughter of David Russell, was 
 united in marriage with our subject in 1852. She 
 was born in Vermont, while her father was a native 
 of Massachusetts. Mr. Russell removed to the 
 Green Mountain State in early life, where he re- 
 sided until 1835, then came overland with teams to 
 this State, being one of the first settlers in what is 
 now Franklin Township, De Kalb County. He 
 made a claim to a tract of Government land when 
 it came into market, on which he erected a log 
 house where he lived for two years, at the end of 
 that time taking up his abode in this township, 
 where his death occurred. The maiden name of 
 his wife was Lydia Woodward; she was bom in 
 Vermont and died on the home farm in this county. 
 

 H-i 
 
 m 
 
 
 ■ai-iAjo' 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 883 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have been born two 
 children: Freddie, who died at the age of twenty 
 months, and Annie, whose death occnrred when 
 seventeen montlis old. They have an adopted 
 daughter, Maggie, now Mrs. Frank Webber, Jr. 
 Our subject is a Republican in politics, and for four 
 years served on the County Board of Supervisors. 
 
 4 
 
 
 IL^ GRACE BROWN. Like all other cities of 
 Vjll note, Rockford has been built up by a class 
 l£i^ of energetic men, among whom may be 
 (^ properly mentioned Mr. Brown, whose por- 
 trait and biographical sketch are here presented. 
 He is one of the charter members and Vice-presi- 
 dent of the Rockford National Bank, which impor- 
 tant position he has held since its organization in 
 1871. He has also been a charter member of the 
 Forest City Insurance Company and has served as 
 a member of its Board of Directors, and as Treasurer 
 and A^ice-president of the company. He was elected 
 President of the Skandia Furniture Company 
 at the time of its organization. 
 
 Born in Springfield, Windsor County, Vt., June 
 24, 1824, our subject is the grandson of Elisha 
 Brown, who was, from the best information at 
 hand, a native of Winchendon,Mass., and of Eng- 
 lish ancestrj'. The latter-named gentleman was 
 a patriot of the Revolutionary War, participating 
 in the battle of Bunker Hill. He emigrated to the 
 town of Springfield in 1788, where he was among 
 the very early settlers. He purchased a tract of 
 land on the east side of the village, which he 
 cleared, and sold with the intention of going to 
 Western New York, but, being prevailed on by his 
 wife and friends to remain, he bought another 
 tract of timber land on the west side of the village. 
 This he improved and put under excellent cultiva,- 
 tion and continued to reside upon it until his death, 
 September 10, 1827, when in his seventy-ninth 
 year. 
 
 The maiden name of the grandmother of our 
 subject was Merril Bates; she was born in Coliasset, 
 Mass., in 1754, and was also of English ancestry. 
 Her father was killed in the battle of Bunker Hill. 
 Mrs. Merril Brown departed this life in Springfield, 
 
 Vt., August 22, 1851, after having attained the ad- 
 vanced age of ninety -seven years. 
 
 Jonathan Brown, tlie father of him of whom we 
 write, was a native of Springfield, Vt., where his 
 birth occurred, October 5, 1796. His father oper- 
 ated a tannery and shoe factory in connection 
 with his farming interests, and the father of our 
 subject learned the trade of a shoemaker under 
 him. After attaining his majority, he was in the 
 employ of his father for five years, at the expira- 
 tion of which time he located on land given him 
 liy the latter and which was located one and one- 
 _^half miles northwest of Springfield. He continued 
 to make his home on that estate for a number of 
 years, and later moving into the village, lived 
 retired until his decease, August 8, 1878. 
 
 Hannah Stoeker was the maiden name of our 
 subject's mother; she was born in Springfield, Vt., 
 November 1, 1801, and was the daughter of Elijah 
 Stoeker, a native of the Bay State, and of English 
 ancestry. Mr. Stoeker was a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary War, and, like many of the ancestors of 
 our subject, participated in the famous battle of 
 Bunker Hill. He was among the early settlers of 
 Springfield, where he departed this life in 1807. 
 He had married Sallie Scholey, who was born in 
 Lynn, Mass., of Scotch ancestry. Hannah Stockes, 
 on the death of her husband, was married to a Mr. 
 Towne, and spent her last days in Windsor County, 
 Vt. The children of whom she became the mother 
 bore the respective names of Emil3' Lois, Horace, 
 Henry (see sketch), Augusta, Homer, and Abbie. 
 The eldest child was born May 1, 1823, and died 
 December 17, 1824. 
 
 Horace Brown was reared and educated in his 
 native county, and assisted his father in operating 
 the home farm until reaching his twentieth year. 
 He then engaged to work one summer for William 
 Thayer, whose daughter he afterward married. In 
 1845, he went to Lansingburgh, N. Y., where he was 
 engaged in the manufacture of oilcloth, continu- 
 ing to be thus employed until 1850, when he came 
 to Illinois to look over the country, with a view 
 to securing a location for his future home. He 
 came by the way of the railroad to Buffalo, where 
 he embarked on the steamer "Niagara," Capt. 
 Pease commanding, to Chicago, which was then a 
 
884 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 city of about tliirt}' thousand population. From 
 there he went to Elgin, at that time the Western 
 terminus of the railroad, and thence by stage to 
 Rockford, a village of eighteen hundred. He 
 immediately secured two hundred acres of land in 
 what is now New Milford Township, paying for 
 the same $10 an acre. One hundred acres of this 
 tract was under cultivation, and he spent the first 
 winter on the farm. He then returned to Vermont 
 and was married, in September, 1850, to Mary A. 
 Thayer. He at once started with his bride for 
 Rockford, coming hither via the same route as 
 when making the trip alone, some time previously. 
 
 It was the intention of Mr. Brown to make his 
 permanent home upon the above-named farm, but 
 as wheat at that time sold for forty-five or fifty cents 
 a bushel, and as there was no market whatever for 
 corn, except as feed, he spent the winter in Rock- 
 ford. He returned to Lansingburgh, N. Y., and re- 
 sumed work in the oil-cloth factory, where he was 
 employed until the fall of 1852, when he again 
 came to Rockford and traded his farm for West 
 Side city property, opening up in the livery 
 business in partnership with G. W. Reynolds. Mr. 
 Brown was thus successfully engaged for two 
 years, when he disposed of his interest in the busi- 
 ness and returned to his native town. After 
 spending the winter in the village of Springfield, 
 he purchased a farm near that village, which he 
 sold at a good profit a few weeks later. He then 
 became owner of a sawmill, which was operated by 
 water-power on the Black River, and at the same 
 time purchased a pleasant home in the village. 
 Later, he bought sixty acres of his Grandfather 
 Brown's homestead, in addition to which, he be- 
 came the owner of a like amount of timber land, 
 which was located three miles from the village. 
 
 In the fall of 1858, he disposed of his interests 
 in his native State, and in the spring of the fol- 
 lowing year came to Rockford, where he has been 
 a continuous resident since. When locating in 
 that section, Luke Joslin, the uncle of his wife, 
 owned a large tract of land, now known as Park 
 Ridge. He deeded forty-four acres of his prop- 
 erty to our subject, which is his present beau- 
 tiful home. The Ridge extends from north to 
 south, with a western slope, on the top of which 
 
 is located his commodious residence. This is a farm 
 structure of a modern style of architecture and 
 is finished and furnished in a style which indicates 
 that its inmates are people of culture and means. 
 The dwelling is so located that it commands a 
 magnificent view of the Rock River and also the 
 city, the interests of which he has been an active 
 factor in promoting. 
 
 Mrs. Horace Brown was born in Springfield, Vt., 
 and is the daughter of the Hon. William Thayer, 
 whose birth occurred January 17, 1790, in Rock- 
 ingham, that State. His father, Capt. William 
 Thayer, was a native of Massachusetts and was 
 one of the early settlers in the town of Rockmg- 
 ham, where he improved a fine farm and spent the 
 remainder of his days. The maiden name of his 
 wife, the grandmother of Mrs. Brown, was Susan 
 Lincoln; she was also born in Massachusetts, and 
 departed this life on the home farm in Rocking- 
 ham. The father of Mrs. Brown, when a young 
 man, joined the State militia, of which he was com- 
 missioned Captain. After his marriage, he located 
 in Springfield, Windsor County, and there operated 
 a tannery and was engaged in the manufacture of 
 shoes for a number of years. Desiring to pass his 
 remaining years on the old homestead in Rocking- 
 ham, he returned there and died December 23, 
 1853. 
 
 The maiden name of Mrs. Brown's mother was 
 Sarah Joslin; her birth occurred on tlie 15th of 
 August, 1794, in Winchendon, Mass. Her father was 
 Peter Joslin, whose birth occurred October 12, 
 1759, in Lancaster, Mass. He was married, in 1786, 
 to Sarah Kidder, who was also a native of that 
 place, having been born August 30, 1764. They 
 continued to reside in Winchendon some years 
 after their marriage, thence went to Walpole, 
 N. H., where they passed the remainder of their 
 life. Mrs. Sarah Thayer died January 5, 1858, in 
 Rockingham, after having become the mother of 
 the following six children : Sarah, Mary A., Her- 
 man, John, Harriet and George. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Horace Brown of this sketch have 
 one son living, William Thayer, who married 
 Mary L. Spalding, and has two children: Horace 
 Spalding, and Harriet Irene. He resides at Ken- 
 wood, Chicago, and is a man of broad and compre- 
 
PORTRAIT -AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 885 
 
 bensive business attainments. He is a member of 
 the firm of A. G. Spalding & Bros., wholesale and re- 
 tail dealers in sporting goods, with their main 
 office in New York and branch establishments in 
 London, Chicago and Philadelphia. 
 
 The eldest daughter of our subject, Alice C, 
 was bom in Springfield, Vt., April 28, 1856; she 
 married Duncan H. Ferguson, and died March 23, 
 1890, leaving one son, Donald Brown. Carrie A., 
 the second daughter of our subject, was born July 
 27, 1860, and passed to the world beyond April 
 10, 1885. Our subject and his estimable wife are 
 influential members of the First Congregational 
 Church, to the support of which they are liberal 
 contributors. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Brown has been an ardent Re- 
 publican since the organization of that party. He 
 has been the recipient of many positions of trust 
 in local affairs, and for nine years was City Treas- 
 urer. Being of a retiring disposition, he has always 
 shrunk from notoriety and public notice, and al- 
 though he has often been urged by his friends to 
 allow the use of his name as a candidate for the 
 highest office in the gift of his fellow-townsmen, 
 he has invariably declined. A man of decided 
 ability, he is very popular with the people of this 
 city, and is well calculated to aid in the upbuilding 
 of a new country, being a citizen of sterling worth 
 and integrity. 
 
 ( OHN BEATTIE, deceased. The subject of 
 this sketch was a man whose sterling worth 
 of character was recognized by all, and his 
 _ death, which occurred at his residence in 
 Rockford, on the 3d of December, 1889, was deeply 
 deplored by a large circle of friends and acquaint- 
 ances, as well as by his own immediate and sorrow- 
 ing household. For more than fifty years he had 
 been a resident of Rockford, and during his 
 whole life naught was ever said derogatory to his 
 character and honor. Kind and warm-hearted, 
 his memory will live in the hearts of the people 
 long after his body has moldered to dust. He 
 had a beautiful home in Rockford, and was sur- 
 rounded by all that made life enjoyable — domes- 
 
 tie happiness and prosijerity, a clean conscience 
 and abundant means. To his praise, it may be 
 said that his accumulations were made without 
 loss or injustice to others, and that he was strictly 
 upright and honorable in all his dealings. 
 
 Mr. Beat tie was born in the North of Ireland, 
 on the 21st of June, 1811, and was of Scotch par- 
 entage. In 1834, he left the land of his birth for 
 America, and, like so many other successful citi- 
 zens, his only patrimony was his vigor of body 
 and mind. He landed in the city of New York 
 and followed carpentering until the 3'ear 1837, 
 when, in company with the late William Peters, 
 he moved to Rockford, where he became identi- 
 fied with the push and bustle of that frontier 
 town. Success followed his efforts, and he soon 
 became the owner of a block of land in the prin- 
 cipal part of the city, and this has been the home 
 of the family for many years. He owned several 
 business houses on West State Street, also other 
 valuable property, and was one of the city's most 
 prosperous and thorough-going men. In politics, 
 he was a Republican. 
 
 Previous to coming to Rockford, Mr. Beattie 
 went to Canada, and was married in Niagara to 
 Miss Mary A. Davidson, who was then residing 
 with her brother at that place. Miss Davidson, 
 like Mr. Beattie, was of Scotch parentage, born in 
 the North of Ireland, February 2, 1815, and both 
 were reared in the same neighborhood. She came 
 with her husband to Rockford in 1838, and during 
 all the subsequent years stood side by side with 
 him in the journey of life. She survived him a 
 little over two years and died at her home in this 
 city on the 7th of December, 1891. She was 
 reared in the faith of the Episcopal Church and 
 was a most excellent woman. Mr. Beattie's par- 
 ents were natives of Scotland, and were represent- 
 ative citizens of their community. Both were 
 members of the Presbyterian Church, and their 
 son, the subject of this sketch, also held member- 
 ship in the same. The latter was the only one of 
 the family to come to the States. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Beattie were born seven 
 children, but four of whom survive: P^dward W., 
 a real-estate dealer, resides in Helena, Mont., is 
 quite an active and extensive business man, and 
 
886 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 is largely interested in mines. He married Miss 
 Caroline O. Berry, who is now deceased. Mary I. 
 and Anna reside at the old home and are cul- 
 tured and intelligent ladies; George D. is a 
 partner with his brother in business at Helena, 
 and is engaged in extensive business operations. 
 The children deceased are Alexander H., who had 
 been admitted to the Bar, and had a successful 
 professional career opening before him, but he en- 
 listed in the Seventy-fourth Illinois Regiment, 
 and the wounds he received during service were 
 in the end the cause of his death, December 20, 
 1884. He was a prosperous business man of 
 Helena, Mont. John H. died February 26, 1863, 
 when about twenty-one years of age, and Anna 
 died when young. The surviving members of the 
 family in Rockford attend the Second Congrega- 
 tional Church. 
 
 'OHN W. BEATSON, County Treasurer of 
 Winnebago County, was elected to that 
 office in Movember, 1890, which position he 
 fills to the general satisfaction of the com- 
 munity. In politics, he is a decided Republican 
 and is recognized as a great worker in the ranks. 
 Being a Grand Army man, he is a member of 
 Nevius Post No. 1, and Winnebago Lodge No. 31, 
 I. O. O. F., in which order he has many friends by 
 whom he is highly regarded. lie is also connected 
 with Eastern Star Lodge No. 166, A. F. & A. M., 
 Winnebago Chapter No. 24, R. A. M., Crusader 
 Commandery No. 17, K. T., and Rockford Camp 
 No. 51, M. W. A. 
 
 Mr. Beatson was born in Kinross-shire, Scotland, 
 April 20, 1840, being the son of William Beatson, 
 also a native of that place, as was his grandfather. 
 The father of our subject learned the trade of a 
 stonemason, which he followed in his native land 
 until 1843, when, with his wife and three children, 
 he set sail from Edinboro and landed at New 
 York, after a voyage of seven weeks. Going to the 
 town of Florida, Montgomery County, N. Y., Mr. 
 Beatson lived there for six years, when he came to 
 Winnebago County hj the way of the Lakes to 
 Milwaukee, and thence overland with teams to this 
 
 section. He bought eighty acres of Government 
 land in what is now Burritt Township, where he at 
 once erected a house of slabs and resided with his 
 family for a number of years. Later coming to 
 Rockford, he lived retired until his decease, June 
 6, 1882. His wife at the time of their marriage 
 was known as Elizabeth Wilson, a native of Scot- 
 land; she now resides in Rockford, in the seventy- 
 eighth year of her age. 
 
 The original of this sketch was the second in 
 order of birth of the parental family of seven chil- 
 dren, his brothers and sisters being George A., 
 Janet, Agnes, David, Caroline and Julia. He 
 was three j^ears of age when brought to the New 
 World and thus has no recollection of his native 
 land. In 1859, Mr. Beatson went to Colorado in 
 company with five other gentlemen, they traveling 
 with teams to Quincy, where they embarked on a 
 steamboat to Hannibal, then by way of railroad to 
 St. Joseph, Mo., where they secured teams and 
 journeyed across the plains. At that time Denver 
 was a city of wigwams, containing but one white 
 man, who kept store in a log building. Our sub- 
 ject, going to Gregory Diggings, engaged in quartz 
 mining, remaining there for a twelvemonth, when 
 he returned and resumed farming on the old home 
 farm. April 18, 1861, however, at the first call for 
 troops, Mr. Beatson enlisted in Company D, 
 Eleventh Illinois Infantry for three months. He 
 was mustered in at Springfield, whence he went to 
 Bird's Point, where he remained until the expira- 
 tion of his term of service, and receiving his dis- 
 charge in August, returned home, and resumed 
 farming until the following year, when he again 
 became a member of Company D, Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Infantry. Going South with his regiment, 
 our subject participated in all the marches and bat- 
 tles in which it was engaged until the close of the 
 war. Among the more important battles in which 
 he fought we make mention of Stone River, Chat- 
 tanooga, Missionary Ridge, and the Atlanta Cam- 
 paign, and he was later with the command of 
 Thomas in the pursuit of Hood's army, and thus 
 occurred the battles of F'ranklin and Nashville. 
 Being wounded at Mission Ridge twice, our subject 
 remained with his regiment in preference to going 
 to the hospital. He was appointed First Sergeant 
 

 *j«^ ( / ^ t^i 
 
 (y^u^aJi(:l ^'^^ 
 
f'ORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 889 
 
 at the organization of the regiment, and in April, 
 1863, was promoted to be Second Lieutenant, and 
 again, in April, 1864, was honored with the rank 
 of First Lieutenant, commanding the company 
 from November, 1863, until his discharge at Nash- 
 ville, Tenn., June 10, 1865. 
 
 Returning again to the peaceful pursuits of 
 farm hfe, Mr. Beatson was engaged in cultivating 
 the soil until 1869, when he went to Winnebago 
 Township and purchased a farm, upon which he re- 
 sided until 1875, when he removed to another por- 
 tion of the township, on a tract which came into 
 his possession, and there made his home until 1882. 
 At that date coming to Rockford, our subject has 
 since been actively engaged in promoting its wel- 
 fare. 
 
 Jennie E. Van Alstine, December 14, 1865, was 
 united in marriage with our subject. She is a na- 
 tive of Montgomery County, N. Y., and the daugh- 
 ter of Jacob G. and Margaret (Coventry) Van 
 Alstine. To them have been born four children, 
 Rosilla, Daisy, Margaret, and Hattie, who all reside 
 with their parents. 
 
 sentative of the industrious and intelligent 
 English pioneers of Winnebago County, 
 ^) who have been so useful in developing its 
 rich agricultural resources. Coming here in 1851, 
 he identified himself with the farmers and stock- 
 raisers of Burritt Township, and is living retired 
 at the present time on his splendid estate of two 
 hundred and forty-five acres. 
 
 Born in Landsallas Parish, County Cornwall, 
 England, January 29, 1824, our subject is a son of 
 William Lightfoot, who, with his father, Richard, 
 was a native of the above-named shire. The father 
 of our subject was reared on a farm and spent his 
 entire life in Cornwall. The maiden name of his 
 wife was Mary Hocken ; she was also a native of 
 the above-named parish and county, and the 
 daughter of William Hocken. Mrs. Lightfoot 
 reared a family of nine children: Richard, Eliza- 
 beth, Mary A., Jane A., William, Nathaniel, Sophia, 
 Anna and Maria. Nathaniel came to the New 
 World, and died in the service of the United States 
 
 during the late war. Jane is at the present time 
 residing in California. 
 
 Richard Lightfoot commenced when very young 
 to assist his grandfather on the home farm, resid- 
 ing with him until twenty -four years of age, when 
 he returned home, and in 1851 came to America, 
 setting sail from Plymouth, and landing in Quebec 
 after a tedious voyage of eight weeks and four 
 days. Our subject immediately came to Winne- 
 bago County by way of the water route to Hunt- 
 ley, McHenry County, this State, and as there were 
 no railroads in the vicinity, engaged a team to 
 convey him to this county. He commenced life 
 here by working out by the month for four years, 
 and rented land for four years, at the end of which 
 time, being industrious and economical, he was en- 
 abled to purchase a tract of eighty acres in Burritt 
 Township. There were a small frame house and 
 log stable on the place, into the former of which 
 Mr. Lightfoot moved and commenced the work of 
 improving his land, for which he had paid $20 per 
 acre. At one time he was the proprietor of three 
 hundred and twenty-five acres, but, disposing of a 
 portion of it, still owns two hundred and forty- 
 five acres which he has improved with good build- 
 ings and machinery. In 1881, lie built a beautiful 
 residence one-quarter of a mile distant from the 
 old home, in which he purposes to spend his declin- 
 ing years in peace and quietness. 
 
 Susannah (Statham) Swindall became the wife 
 of our subject, October 10, 1859. She was born in 
 the village of Draycott, Derbyshire, England, 
 June 14, 1825, and is a daughter of AVilliam and 
 Anna (Astell) Statham. Her father was born in 
 the same village in which her birth occurred, and 
 was the son of Thomas and Mary (Allen) Statham. 
 The mother of Mrs. Lightfoot was born at Winn 
 Mills, Derbyshire, England, and was a daughter of 
 Charles and Elizabeth (Boxou) Astell. Mrs. Light- 
 foot was married in Stockport, Lancashire, when 
 twenty-one years of age, to John Swindall a na- 
 tive of that county, with whom she came to Amer- 
 ica in 1849, sailing from Liverpool, March 21, on 
 the vessel "Washington." Arriving in Boston, one 
 month later, the young couple located in Salem, 
 Mass., where they resided until 1857, and then 
 came to Rockford, where the husband died in 1859 
 
890 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lightfoot have one son, Nathaniel, 
 who married Melissa Franklin, and is the father of 
 two children: Eva May and Albert Richard. By 
 her first union, the wife of our subject is the 
 mother of three children: William J., Margaret 
 Ann and Emma J. William married Sarah Sulli- 
 van, and is the father of two children, Guy and 
 Glenn; Margaret is the wife of Henry Heiestand, 
 which union has resulted in the birth of four chil- 
 dren: Gu}^, Orate May, Floyd and Robbie; Emma, 
 Mrs. George Franklin, has six children: Susie, Ed- 
 ith, Carroll, Walter, Bertha and Irmy. Our sub- 
 ject and his wife are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and by the members of the con- 
 gregation, as well as by the citizens in general, they 
 are respected as their good qualities deserve. 
 
 The portrait of Mr. Lightfoot is presented on 
 an accompanying page. 
 
 ^=^EORGE C. TALLERDAY, M. D., has been 
 '|( ,=-- engaged in the practice of medicine in 
 ^^ Belvidere since 1890. His life record is as 
 follows: He was born in Cass County, Mich., on 
 the 2d of September, 1851. His father, David S. 
 Tallerday, was born near Auburn, N. Y., and was 
 a son of James Tallerday, Esq. The great-grand- 
 father of our subject, James Tallerday, Sr., was a 
 native of France and with La Fayette came to 
 America. He commanded a vessel in the interests 
 of the Colonies during the Revolutionary War. 
 On one occasion, he went ashore to get some water, 
 and as he was returning to his vessel in a skiff, was 
 shot by a poisoned airow and died from the effects 
 of the wound. His two sons were taken ashore 
 and reared by a Dutch family in New York. One 
 of the brothers spelled the name Talady. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared and mar- 
 ried in the Empire State and went to Elkhart 
 County, Ind., becoming one of its early settlers. 
 He there secured a tract of land and engaged in 
 farming until 1854, when he removed to Williams 
 County, Ohio, and bought a farm in Bridgewater 
 Township. After operating it for four 3'ears, he 
 removed to Stryker, where he engaged in merch- 
 
 andising until the breaking out of the war. At 
 the first call for troops, he assisted in raising Com- 
 pany E of the Fourteenth Ohio Infantry and was 
 commissioned Second Lieutenant and afterward 
 promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant. The 
 troops were mustered in for three months but 
 served nearly five. When honorably discharged, 
 Mr. Tallerday returned home and raised another 
 company, which became Company C, of the Thirty- 
 eighth Ohio Regiment. He was mustered in as 
 Captain. After the battle of Mill Spring, he was 
 taken sick and sent to Louisville, Ky., where he 
 was placed in charge of the transfer office, directly 
 under the orders of Secretary Stanton. He re- 
 mained in charge at that place until the spring of 
 1863, when he was placed in charge of the United 
 States steamer "Baltic," with the rank of Major, and 
 continued in the marine service until after the 
 close of the war, when he settled in Mississippi. 
 He purchased a plantation at Canton, and engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits until 1867, when, on ac- 
 count of the hostility of the people in that region, 
 he returned to the North and engaged in mercan- 
 tile pursuits in Chicago. For the past eight 3'ears, 
 he has been engaged in the real-estate business in 
 Washington, D. C. His wife bore the maiden name 
 of Caroline Graves. She was born in Niagara 
 County, N. Y., and is a daughter of Josiah and 
 Eunice Graves. 
 
 The Doctor began his education in the district 
 schools of Williams Count}', and afterward at- 
 tended the village schools of La Grange, Ohio. He 
 was in Louisville at the time his father was 
 stationed there and daily made the rounds of the 
 hospital. Though but a bo}' at the time, he deter- 
 mined then that he would become a physician. 
 After the war, he attended a select school in Vicks- 
 burg and later the graded school of Kendallville, 
 Ind., and Bryan, Ohio. At the age of thirteen 
 years, he began supporting himself, and from that 
 time forward not only earned his own livelihood 
 but paid his own tuition through college. Unti4 
 seventeen years of age, he traveled quite exten- 
 sively and at the age of eighteen years commenced 
 teaching, which he followed until 1872. In the 
 meantime, he spent all his leisure hours in study- 
 ing medicine. From 1872 until 1877, he engaged 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 891 
 
 in merchandising in Chicago and during that time 
 kept up his medical studies. In the latter year, 
 he entered the office of Prof. W. H. Davis, of Chi- 
 cago, and in 1880 was graduated from the Bennett 
 Medical College. In June of that year, he located 
 at Poplar Grove and at once entered upon a lucra- 
 tive practice, which he continued until 1890, when 
 he came to Belvidere. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1872, Mr. Tallerday and 
 Susan Markley were married. The lady was boi-n 
 in Fulton County, Ohio, was a daughter of Andrew 
 J. Markley and died June 22, 1888. On the 11th 
 of May, 1891, the Doctor wedded Julia Markley, a 
 sister of his first wife. By the former union were 
 born four children but Jesse, who was born March 
 9, 1875, died April 17, 1881. Myrta, George C. 
 and Lottie are still living. 
 
 The Doctor is a member of Belvidere Lodge No. 
 60, A. F. & A. M.; Harvard Commandery, K. T.; 
 Poplar Grove Lodge, A. O. U. W- ; Boone Camp 
 No. 52, M. W. A., and T. G. Lawler Camp, S. V. 
 Dr. Tallerday has secured a liberal patronage, the 
 result of his skill and ability, and among his pro- 
 fessional brethren ranks high. His career has al- 
 ready been a successful one and undoubtedly he 
 will steadily continue to work his way upward. 
 
 1^+^ 
 
 .!S_ 
 
 ENRY GABLE, who has been a resident of 
 the village of Cherry Valley since March, 
 1890, was born in Erie County, N. Y., in 
 5(; 1836. His father, who had his birth in 
 Pennsylvania in 1804, emigrated to the Empire 
 State, where he resided until his death in 1865, 
 when sixty-one years of age. His wife, Miss Bet- 
 sey Leib, hailed from Lancaster County, Pa., and 
 died in 1875 in her sixty-eighth year. The parents 
 of our subject were married in New Y''ork, where 
 they became the parents of seven children, one of 
 whom, a daughter, Sarah, died when eighteen years 
 of age. A brother of our subject, William Gable, 
 was a volunteer during the late Civil War, and saw 
 much active service in the Union army. 
 
 He of whom we write was given but limited ad- 
 vantages for obtaining an education, and at the 
 time his parents emigrated to Cherry Valley, 
 
 Winnebago County, he accompanied them hither. 
 His father was also a volunteer in the late war, but 
 after serving ninety days was rejected. The elder 
 Mr. Gable located eighty acres of Government 
 land, which was then called The Island, where he 
 erected a comfortable house and resided for a num- 
 ber of years. That property was the last Govern- 
 ment land that was entered in this township. He 
 later traded his property, whicli was valued at $25 
 an acre, for one hundred and twenty acres of land 
 in Fayette County, Iowa. After a residence there 
 of three years, in 1859 he returned to Cherry Val- 
 ley Township, where he. was residing at the time 
 of his decease. 
 
 Henry Gable and Miss Minerva Wood, of Canada 
 East, were united in marriage in 1860. The lady 
 was the daughter of Peter and Laura (Hitchcock) 
 Wood. Her mother was a sister of Chester Hitch- 
 cock, of Califounia. They farmed on rented land 
 after their marriage, and the first property which 
 Mr. Gable owned consisted of fifty acres which he 
 purchased in Belvidere Township, in 1868. After 
 a residence there of three years, our subject dis- 
 posed of that property and moved onto a farm of 
 one hundred and ten acres which he had purchased 
 in Fayette County, Iowa, and after residing upon 
 it three years, in 1871 retwrned to this county and 
 farmed on the historic Black Hawk property, which 
 place was his home until 1879. Our subject then 
 became the proprietor of one hundred and five 
 acres on section 16, known as the Frick Farm, for 
 which he paid $25.50 per acre, with fair improve- 
 ments. This he cultivated in a most profitable 
 manner, until in March, 1890, he disposed of it at 
 $50 an acre, and moved into the village of Cherry 
 Valley. 
 
 To our subject and his estimable wife have been 
 born one daughter and one son: Fannie B., who 
 was born in September, 1862, and Chester B., who 
 was born in February, 1867. The daughter is 
 now Mrs. Alden Cramer, a broom manufacturer of 
 Cherry Valley; they have one son, Earl B., a bright 
 lad of seven years. Mr. Gable has cast his vote 
 and influence in favor of the candidates of the 
 Republican party. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Gable was one of the pioneers 
 of West Shefford, Canada, and came to the States 
 
892 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and located in this townsliip in 1857, where he 
 died at the advanced age of seventy-one years. 
 Mis wife, who preceded him to the better land, 
 died in 1862. They were the parents of four 
 daughters, all of whom are living in different 
 States. 
 
 ylLLIAM L. GRONEMAN, now deceased, 
 was foi many years a well-known and 
 prominent citizen of Rockford. He was 
 born in Prussia, in the year 1823. His father 
 was a Lvitheran minister, who devoted his entire 
 life to Gospel work. Our subject was reared to 
 manhood in his native land, his early life passing 
 uneventfully, and at length he engaged in merchan- 
 dising on a small scale. It was in 1854 that he 
 carried out his determination to come to America. 
 Bidding good-bye to his old home, he crossed the 
 Atlantic, taking passage on a sailing-vessel at Bre- 
 men. He made his first location in Rockford, but 
 after a short time went to Dubuque, Iowa, where he 
 spent some ten years. He then returned to this 
 city, where he made his home until his death in 
 1878. 
 
 In 1864, Mr. Groneman led to the marriage altar 
 Miss Justena Sander, who was born on the banks of 
 the Rhine in Germany, June 14, 1838. Her parents, 
 John and Susanna (Loudenbeimer) Sander, spent 
 their entire lives in that country. About eighty 
 years ago, Peter Sander, the grandfather of Mrs. 
 Groneman, lived a few years in Philadelphia, and 
 then returned to his native land. Her father was 
 a cattle-dealer and butcher, and died at the age of 
 seventy years, his wife passing away the year 
 previous. They were both members of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. Their familj' numbered six chil- 
 dren, four of whom are living in this country: a 
 brother in New York, a sister in Rockford, Mrs. 
 Groneman, and a brother Jacob in Milwaukee, 
 Wis. It was in 1859 that Mrs. Groneman came to 
 the United States. Her residence in Rockford 
 dates since 1863, and here she has a wide circle of 
 friends and acquaintances. Two children were 
 born unto Mr. and Mrs. Groneman, butAVilliam T. 
 died in Dubuque, Iowa, at the age of three months. 
 
 Herman, the surviving son, resides at home with 
 his mother. He is a prominent young man, and 
 prosperous. Being industrious and enterprising, 
 he is meeting with excellent success, and is recoo'- 
 nized as a wide-awake and enterprising young busi 
 ness man. He is an honored member of, and takes 
 quite an active interest in, the Odd Fellows' Soci- 
 ety. 
 
 After his return to Rockford in 1866, Mr. Grone- 
 man opened a restaurant in this city, carrying on 
 business in that line until within a few years of his 
 death. From the beginning, he secured a liberal 
 patronage, and had an excellent trade. As his fi- 
 nancial resources increased, he made investments 
 in real estate, and at his death owned some fine 
 property, including a business house atNo. 108 West 
 State Street and another at No 601 West State Street, 
 which is now owned by his widow. She manages 
 the property which he left, and in its care shows 
 excellent executive and business ability. In poli- 
 tics, Mr. Groneman was a supporter of Republican 
 principles, held membership with the Lutheran 
 Church, and was a charter member of the Germania 
 Society. He was recognized as one of the leading 
 German citizens, public-spirited and progressive, 
 and was held in high esteem for his sterling worth 
 and the many excellencies of his character. 
 
 1^^- 
 
 !l' 
 
 l(U-^OWARD 0. HILTON, editor-in-chief of the 
 Yfjl] Rockford Republican, has occupied that 
 /IW^ position since its first issue, April 10, 1890. 
 (^) Possessing natural newspaper ability and 
 tact, he has made his calling a success. He is a 
 stanch Republican in politics and has figured 
 prominently in party conventions and on the 
 stump. 
 
 Born near Atchison, Kan., about twenty-eight 
 years ago, Mr. Hilton is a young man whose ability 
 is attested by his present position as editor-in- 
 chief of an influential paper like the Bepublican, with 
 two editions daily and semi- weekly and weekly edi- 
 tions, in a city like Rockford. ' He was educated in 
 the public schools of his native city and of Chicago 
 and at the Lincoln Universit}', at Lincoln, this 
 State, at which latter place he was engaged in his 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 895 
 
 first newspaper work, on the Lincoln Times. He 
 was later city editor of the Grand Island (Neb.) 
 Independent, and afterward held a like position on 
 the Lincoln Journal, this State, and again with the 
 Bloomington Leader. Coming to Rockford in 
 1884, he was engaged on the Register staff ixntil the 
 liepvblican was founded. 
 
 Our subject comes of good old New England 
 stock on his father's side, the latter being a native 
 of the Pine Tree State, who went West during the 
 early days and became one of tbe leading business 
 men of Atchison, Kan. His death occurred there 
 in the prime of life, when our subject was but 
 seven years of age. The maiden name of his 
 mother was Julia M. Mannen, a native of McLean 
 County, 111. She was born of Southern parents, 
 and now lives at EfHngham, Kan. 
 
 Howard 0. Hilton and Miss Etta Leslie, of Chi- 
 cago, were married in that city in 1888. The lady 
 was born in Logan County and was educated in 
 the public schools at Lincoln and Bloomington. 
 She is the mother of two daughters: Leslie L. and 
 Helen. She is a member of the Court Street Meth- 
 odist Church. 
 
 -H- 
 
 ' I ' I I - 
 
 eARL E. CARLSON is but a late resident of 
 Rockford, yet is a well-known real-estate, 
 loan and insurance agent of the city. He 
 was born in the Province of Halland, Sweden, July 
 24, 1858, and is the only surviving child of Carl 
 and Fredericka (Hard) Carlson. His mother is de- 
 scended from a titled family. His father, who was 
 born October 16, 1822, is a contractor and builder. 
 Both are yet living, the mother being seventy-five 
 years of age. They are prominent members of the 
 Swedish Lutheran Church. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth in his native land, where he learned the 
 trade of a machinist, there following it until his 
 emigration to the United States. After attaining 
 his majority, he sailed for New York City, and 
 thence went to Pennsylvania, afterward coming 
 to Rockford, where his brother. Prof. M. E. Carlson, 
 was living. The latter was a graduate of a musical 
 conservatory in his native country and served for 
 40 
 
 five years as a Professor in the Royal Conservatory. 
 On coming to this country, he took charge of the 
 musical department in the Gustavus Adolphus 
 College, of St. Peter, Minn., which position he held 
 until 1889, when he came to Rockford. His death 
 occurred on the 4th of August of the following 
 year. His wife had died some years previous, leav- 
 ing one son, Carl G. M. Carlson, who has been 
 adopted by our subject. 
 
 C. E. Carlson was married in the land of his na- 
 tivity to Christina Anderson, who spent her 
 maidenhood days in Sweden, where her mother is 
 yet living at the age of sixty-seven years. Her 
 father, Andrew Anderson, is deceased. She has 
 one sister in this country, Mrs. Anna Fostberg, 
 who is living in Manistee, Mich. Unto Mr. and 
 Mrs. Carlson have been born three children: Emma 
 J., Clara L. and Annett P. The parents are both 
 members of the Swedish Methodist Church, in which 
 he holds office and is also Superintendent of the 
 Sunday-school. In politics, he is a supporter of 
 Republican principles. 
 
 It was in 1885 that Mr. Carlson came to Rock- 
 ford. He had previously resided for a short time 
 in Sheffield, Pa. On coming to this city, he en- 
 gaged in business as a contractor and builder, be- 
 ing a practical architect, but has later given his 
 attention to the real-estate, loan and insurance 
 business. He has a commodious and fine office 
 over the American Exchange Bank, on Seventh 
 Street. For four years he has been engaged in this 
 line and has built up an excellent business, having 
 since coming to Rockford made a handsome prop- 
 erty, worth about $40,000. He also owns an in- 
 terest in the Rock River Subdivision, containing 
 one hundred and twenty acres of platted ground, 
 on which will be built the Rock River Planing 
 Mill. The company has a capital stock of $50,000 
 and Mr. Carlson has been its Treasurer from its 
 organization. He also owns stock in the Rockford 
 Desk and Furniture Company, Star Furniture 
 Company, Diamond Furniture Company ,West End 
 Furniture Compan}', Skandia Shoe Company, Rock- 
 ford Paint Manufacturing Company, and others, 
 and has been Director in a number of these enter- 
 prises. Those who know Mr. Carlson esteem him 
 highly for his sterling worth, and he has a wide 
 
896 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 circle of acquaintances. He has steadily worked 
 his way upward, and his own efforts have been the 
 stepping-stones by which he has arisen to the en- 
 viable position which he to-day occupies. 
 
 The attention of the reader is invited to the ac- 
 companying portrait of JMr. Carlson. 
 
 ♦=^='8* 
 
 _y 
 
 AMUEL . COOK. The credit for a large 
 share of the enterprise which helps to 
 make Harrison Township one of the most 
 progressive of any in the county, is due 
 to the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. 
 He is full of push and energy, and is progressive 
 and advanced in his ideas. Mr. Cook was born in 
 Zora, Oxford County, Canada, on the 23d of No- 
 vember, 1844, and his father, James Cook, also a 
 native of Canada, was born in Niagara County, 
 seven miles from the Falls, whose mighty roaring 
 could easily be heard at that distance, on the 27th 
 December, 1812. The grandfather, Daniel. Cook, 
 was a native of New York, and a farmer all his life, 
 as was his father before him. The latter was a Rev- 
 olutionary soldier, and was probably slain in action. 
 Daniel went to Canada when a young man, married 
 there, and raised a family of nine children, six 
 daughters and three sons. He remained there until 
 about seventy-three years of age, when he and his 
 wife came to the States. Their eldest son, Joel Cook, 
 came to Winnebago County, 111., from Canada, 
 about 1850, and purchased a farm in this township. 
 A few years later, he was joined by his aged par- 
 ents, and with them moved to Boscobel, Wis., 
 where they passed away within two months of 
 each other, when about eighty-four years of age. 
 
 James Cook, the father of our subject, was the 
 third son and the third child in order of birth 
 of the nine children born to his parents. He mar- 
 ried Sarah Hill, of Canada, daughter of Amos and 
 Sarah (Phillips) Hill, both natives of New Bruns- 
 wick where this daughter was born. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Cook purchased a farm in Canada, and resided on 
 this for about ten years, Ave of their children 
 being born there. Subsequently, they sold this 
 property and moved to Harrison, Winnebago 
 
 County, 111., purchasing one hundred and thirty- 
 five acres on section 20, at $16 per acre. There 
 were good improvements on this place for the 
 times, and the stone house on it at that time is 
 part of Mr. Cook's present dwelling. There was 
 also a frame barn, 30x40 feet, on this farm. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cook brought with them five children: 
 Samuel (our subject) ; Daniel, probably a resident 
 of Minnesota; Amos, an invalid for the last three 
 years, resides in Durand; Isaac, a farmer near the 
 village of Harrison, and Elizabeth, who died in 
 Harrison, on the 14th of February, 1870, when six- 
 teen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have had 
 two children since coming to this State: Hannah 
 L., who married William S. King, of Chicago, 
 and Phoebe A., who died on the 14th of February, 
 1878, at the same hour her sister Elizabeth passed 
 away feight years before. The father of these chil- 
 dren received his final summons on the 29th of 
 October, 1884, when nearly seventy-two years of 
 age, and his wife survived him about six years, 
 dying on the old home-place June 17, 1890, when 
 nearly seventy years of age. This most exemplary 
 and worthy couple started in life empty-handed, 
 but they accumulated a comfortable fortune, and 
 passed their last days in ease and plenty. 
 
 The subject of this notice remained under the par- 
 rental roof until after the death of his parents) 
 and since then he has bought out the other heirs. 
 He has no hobby as a farmer, except in raising 
 mules, and of these he has raised from six to 
 twelve each j'ear since 1875. He has not raised as 
 nlany mules as S. K. Blodgett, but no man in this 
 part of Illinois has made this business so much of 
 a success as has Mr. Cook. He not only breeds and 
 raises large, fine mules, but he matches and breaks 
 them. He owns his own jacks, the same costing 
 from $600 to $1,500 each, and he has sold several 
 teams for $400. He grows the cereals, corn, oats, 
 wheat and rye, and bales his hay, sometimes ship- 
 ping it. All his land is fertile and productive, and 
 near his house he has twenty acres of fine second- 
 growth timber. Mr. Cook rebuilt and added to his 
 barn in 1885, making it 40x57 feet, and other out- 
 buildings, erected before and since, make the 
 place look like a small village from a distance. 
 He grinds his own and neighbors' feed with the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 897 
 
 wind from liis wind mill which he put in in June, 
 1891. His f.arm is well watered. 
 
 Mr. Cook has been a Republican, but has broken 
 ranks, and is now a freeman, politically. His 
 brother Daniel was the first to volunteer in the 
 army,^oing out when sixteen years of age, August, 
 1862, in Company B, Twenty-second Wisconsin 
 Infantry, from Beloit; next, Amos, .it seventeen 
 years of age, volunteered from Harrison, June, 
 1864, in Company E, One Hundred and Forty-first 
 Illinois, and in February, 1865, our subject went 
 out in Company L, Eleventh Illinois Cavalry, 
 under Capt. Cole. Samuel was discharged 
 in June, 1865. His brother Daniel served until 
 April, 1863, when he was taken prisoner near 
 Franklin, Tenn., and confined in Libby Prison 
 thirty days. He was then paroled, and later dis- 
 charged for disability. However, in 1864, he again 
 entered the army for one hundred days, and was 
 discharged as Corporal at the end of that time. 
 Amos was in the one-hundred-day service and 
 came home without a wound, although his present 
 infirmity is no doubt the result of exposure and 
 hardship during that time. The subject of this 
 sketch is a member of Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R. 
 He is still in the rank and file of single bless- 
 edness. 
 
 =^4 
 
 =l.j..;..^^t; 
 
 i\'5''5'"{**t 
 
 J'•i••^•5••5•F 
 
 JUDGE WILLIAM R. WELD, a prominent 
 attorney. Justice of the Peace, and insurance 
 and loan agent of Rockford, has made his 
 home in this city since 1872, and has been 
 a resident of the county for nearly half a century. 
 With its history he has been connected since that 
 early day, lias done much for its upbuilding and 
 progress, and has aided largely in its development. 
 The Judge was born in Le Roy, Genesee County, 
 N. Y., in 1820, and is of English descent, the fam- 
 ily being founded in this country during early Col- 
 onial days by Presbyterian missionaries from Eng- 
 land, who are referred to in the history of New Eng- 
 land, by Bancroft, and also by Bryant. It was also 
 a prominent family of P:ngland, one branch thereof 
 being Catholic, as indicated by the fact that Cardi- 
 nal Weld, an eminent Catholic scholar and prelate. 
 
 was of the same descent. Washington Weld, fa- 
 ther of our subject, removed from Massachusetts to 
 LeRoy, Genesee County, N. Y., in 1808, when 
 Le Roy was a mere hamlet in the wilderness. He 
 made the journey on foot, carrying his worldly 
 possessions in a bundle on lus back, and began the 
 development and improvement of a home from 
 land which he had obtained from the Government. 
 He there resided until his death in 1851, at the 
 age of seventy-three years. He was long an Elder 
 in the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 In regard to politics, the father was a stanch 
 Democrat, and having served as Justice of the 
 Peace, was known as Squire Weld throughout the 
 community. He married Elizabeth Strickland, 
 who survived him some years and died in Le Roy, 
 N. Y., at the age of seventy-seven. She was a 
 member of the Baptist Church, and was a noble 
 Christian woman. Our subject is the youngestin 
 the famil}- of five sons and one daugliter, all of 
 whom were married and reared families, and are 
 now deceased, with the exception of the Judge. 
 One brother, Washington, Jr., was a member of 
 the Michigan State Legislature for some years. 
 
 Judge Weld was reared in Le Roy, N. Y., and 
 was graduated from Brown's University, of Provi- 
 dence, R. I., in the Class of '42. He afterward 
 studied law at the office of Hascall & Barton, of 
 LeRoy, N. Y., and was admitted to the Bar in 
 1844. In that year, he came West, but did not 
 make a permanent location until June, 1845, when 
 he opened his first office in Geneva, Wis., where 
 he engaged in legal practice for four years, after 
 which he came to Illinois, settling in Rockton. He 
 was an attorney at that place until 1872, when he 
 came to Rockford. For some time he was connec- 
 ted with the hardware trade, and was Deputy Post- 
 master of Rockton for eight years, under Presidents 
 Polk and Buchanan. He was also Township Clerk 
 for some years. 
 
 Ere leaving the East, the Judge was married in 
 Livingston County, N. Y., in January, 1845, to 
 Mary W. Smith, who was born in Lima, N. Y"., and 
 for some years before her marriage was there en- 
 gaged as a teacher in the Genesee Wesleyan Semi- 
 nary teaching music. Their union has been blessed 
 with five children: W. I., who married Florence 
 
898 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPPHCAL RECORD. 
 
 Hasney,of Momence, 111., and handles the insurance 
 business in his father's office; Emma L., one of the 
 Sisters of the Holy Cross, at the convent of South 
 Bend, Ind.; Lizzie, who was graduated from the 
 Sisters' school and the Rockford Conservatory, is 
 now engaged in teaching music; Charles F. is a boot 
 and shoe merchant and extensive real-estate dealer 
 of Oakland, Cal.; F. J., a phj'sician and surgeon of 
 Rockford, wedded Mary Murtagh, formerly a suc- 
 cessful teacher of this city. 
 
 From the year 1847 to 1883, Judge Weld was 
 an active member of the Independent Order of 
 Odd Fellows, serving in various official positions 
 of the Subordinate and Grand Lodges of t)ie State 
 of Illinois, and, as Deputy Grand Master, institu- 
 ting most of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 low Lodges in this county. During most of the 
 same period, he was also an active member of the 
 Masonic order, serving about twelve years as Master 
 of a Subordinate Lodge; also in official positions, 
 both in Chapter and Commandery. He served as 
 Justice of the Peace, and Associate Justice of this 
 county, from 1856 until 1864. In 1872, he came 
 to Rockford and established a law and insurance 
 office, and in 1877 became Justice of the Peace, 
 which office he has since filled. He is one of the 
 prominent residents of this city, whose upright life 
 has made him highly esteemed, and is an honored 
 pioneer, who, for nearly half a century, has been 
 connected with the history of this community. The 
 Judge and his family are all members of the Cath- 
 olic Church. 
 
 «^ 
 
 -^§» 
 
 "lyl AMES M. GREEN, one of the enterprising 
 and progressive farmers of Winnebago 
 ,^^. , County, Cherry Valley Township, was born 
 (^^ May 25, 1838, at Berry's Ferry, on the his- 
 toric banks of the Shenandoah River, in Clarke 
 County, Va. His parents were William H. and 
 Eliza (Reiley) Green, the former born in 1792, and 
 the latter in 1801. The father died February 25, 
 1838, three months before the birth of our subject. 
 In the family were three sons and a daughter: 
 our subject, William H., Andrew J., and Edna J., 
 wife of John Blough, residents of Kirkland, 111. 
 
 The maternal grandfather of our subject, John 
 Reiley, was a native of Virginia and his ancestors 
 for some generations were Virginians. He was a 
 private soldier in Capt. Richardson's Company in 
 the War of 1812, and participated in the battle of 
 Lundy's Lane. 
 
 Our subject was eighteen years of age when his 
 mother, then the wife of Abraham Shipe, removed 
 with their family of twelve children to Athens 
 County in the spring of 1856. They made the 
 journey of three hundred miles by team, and on 
 reaching their destination purchased one hundred 
 and thirty acres of land along the Big Hocking 
 River, where they lived for three years. On sell- 
 ing, they removed to Washington County and 
 located in the small village of Belpreville. There 
 Mr. Shipe opened a wagon and blacksmith shop 
 and did business until the close of the war in the 
 spring of 1866. Five sons of the family had aided 
 their country in the struggle to preserve the 
 Union. When the war was over, they came to Illi- 
 nois and Mr. Shipe purchased sixty acres of land 
 in Cherry Valley Township, Winnebago County. 
 His death occurred in November, 1878. His widow 
 is still living at her home in Flora, Boone County, 
 and, although sevent5'-flve years of age, is remark- 
 ably well preserved. 
 
 Mr. Green was married, November 29, 1871, to 
 Miss Flora J. Campficld, of New Milford, daughter 
 of William 0. and Henrietta (Sanford) Campfleld, 
 who came from Nunda, Livingston County, N. Y., 
 to Milford in 1844. They bought a farm, upon 
 which the death of the father occvirred in January, 
 1856. His wife survived him twenty-two years and 
 died in January, 1878, at the age of sixty-three 
 years. They left two sons and three daughters, all 
 of whom are yet living. Mr. and Mrs. Green have 
 four sons: Arthur C, Claude B. and Clarence E., 
 twins, and Leroy M. The eldest is sixteen years of 
 age and the youngest ten. 
 
 During the late war, Mr. Green enlisted in 
 Washington County, Ohio, in April, 1861, for three 
 months, and when that term had expired joined 
 the Thirty-ninth Ohio Infantry, in which he served 
 three years, most of the time as Orderly-Sergeant. 
 In August, 1864, he was mustered out at Cincin- 
 nati, Ohio, after which he helped to recruit a com- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 899 
 
 pany which left Columbus and went to Nashville, 
 where it joined the One Hundred and Seventy- 
 ninth regiment. Mr. Green remained with that 
 company until the close of the war and was mus- 
 tered out at Nashville in June, 1865, holding the 
 rank of Second Lieutenant at the time of his dis- 
 charge. He was wounded in the ankle and- thigh 
 at Corinth. 
 
 Soon after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Green 
 rented the farm on which they reside and four 
 years later purchased it. He now owns one hun- 
 dred and four acres in Cherry Valley and twenty 
 acres in Guilford Township, and successfullj' car- 
 ries on general farming. Socially, he is a member 
 of the Grand Army of the Republic, and he and 
 his wife are faithful members of the Christian 
 Church of Rockford. In politics, he is a stalwart 
 Republican, and has served as Road Commissioner 
 for six years, but has never been an office-seeker. 
 He was a faithful soldier during the late war and 
 is now a valued citizen. 
 
 20. 
 
 
 ^^EGRGE L. WINN, M. D., of Rockford, has 
 III ^t7 ^^^^ engaged in the practice of the medi- 
 ^^Jf^ cal profession in this cit^^ since 1882. On 
 the 21st of February of that year, he opened an 
 office at No. 435 West State Street, and has since 
 been a well-known and leading physician of the com- 
 munity. In the ten years which have since passed, 
 his practice has constantly increased, until it has 
 now assumed large proportions. He is a close 
 student of his profession and bj^ his merit and 
 ability has won the position which he to-day oc- 
 cupies. 
 
 The Doctor was born in Oswego County, N. Y., 
 March 10, 1851, and is descended from an old 
 family of the Mohawk Valley. His gi-andfather, 
 Joseph Winn, was a life-long farmer of that valley 
 and died at the age of ninety years. The parents 
 of our subject, Morris and Nancy (Simmons) Winn, 
 were born in that locality. They afterward re- 
 moved to Oswego County, where Mr. Winn en- 
 gaged in the lumber business for about eighteen 
 years, after which he became a resident of Syra- 
 cuse, where he established a cooper shop, and man- 
 
 ufactured barrels for three years. He then came 
 with his family to Wisconsin, where he engaged in 
 farming for some time, after which he i-emoved to 
 Rockford. Mrs. Winn died in this city in 1889, 
 when sixty years of age. She was a member of 
 the Methodist Church and lived a consistent Chris- 
 tian life. Mr. Winn is now living retired, making 
 his home with his son, Charles S., in Rockford. He 
 was born in 1818, and, though now seventy-four 
 years of age, is yet hale and hearty. Since the 
 organization of the Republican party, he has been 
 one of its stanch supporters, and is a member of 
 the Methodist Church. 
 
 Our subject is one of a family of four children, 
 three sons and a daughter. At the age of twelve 
 years, he accompanied his parents to Wisconsin, 
 and subsequently came with them to Illinois and 
 became a student in the State University of Cham- 
 paign, 111. Having determined to engage in the 
 practice of medicine, he began that study in the 
 office of Dr. D. C. Green, of Woodstock, 111.; he 
 afterward spent one year in the medical depart- 
 ment of the Michigan State University of Ann 
 Arbor. He was graduated from the medical de- 
 partment of the Northwestern University of Chi- 
 cago in the Class of '76, after which he entered 
 upon the practice of his profession in Walworth 
 County, Wis., where he spent five years. He then 
 spent one year in Bellevue and other hospitals of 
 New York City, after which he came to Rockford, 
 as before stated. 
 
 In Walworth Count}', Wis., Dr. Winn wedded 
 Miss Kate Dickson, who was born in that county 
 and is a daughter of Dr. John Dickson, an old 
 physician of Walworth County, who died in De- 
 cember, 1875. He was a prominent practitioner 
 and had served as President of the Wisconsin State 
 Medical Society. He was a' native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, and after graduating from Allegheny Col- 
 lege of that State, emigrated at once to Wisconsin, 
 establishing practice at Allen's Grove. His wife is 
 still living at that place and is fifty-seven years of 
 aoe. The wife of our subject was carefully reared 
 in her native county and for some years engaged 
 in teaching. By her marriage she became the 
 mother of two children, Josephine and Marjorie, 
 but both are now deceased. The Doctor is a mem- 
 
900 
 
 POSTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL EECOED= 
 
 ber of the Odd P^ellows' Society, belonging to the 
 Encampment and Canton lodges of Rockford, and 
 is a supporter of Republican principles. He is an ac- 
 tive, progressive and ambitious young man and 
 will no dovibt win much success in the line of his 
 profession. Of a genial nature, he makes friends 
 wherever he goes. 
 
 il^ENRY RICHINGS, M. D. This highly es- 
 
 ^^ teemed physician of Rockford was born in 
 what is now Pecatonica Township, Winne- 
 bago County, 111., on the 15th of May, 1842, 
 and is the son of the late Dr. Charles H. Richings, 
 who was born in Atherstone, Warwickshire, Eng- 
 land, February 26, 1815. Our subject is following 
 closely in the steps of his distinguished father, and 
 is recognized as one of the leading men in his pro- 
 fession in Rockford, and indeed in the county of 
 Winnebago. 
 
 Dr. Charles H. Richings enjoyed exceptional 
 advantages in an educational vfny in his boyhood, 
 and his associations were of the best. When he 
 left school, he joined, as a medical cadet, his uncle, 
 who was a surgeon in the French army then occu- 
 pying Brussels, and here he remained until he 
 came to America, at the age of twent3'- three; he 
 traveled in a party of seventeen from Buffalo to Chi- 
 cago, and came on to Winnebago County, reach- 
 ing here July 27, 1836, having walked the whole 
 distance from Chicago. 
 
 When Dr. Richings located his half-section about 
 twelve miles west of what is now the city of Rock- 
 ford, his was the nearest house to the site of this 
 city on the west. Here he at once erected a log 
 house of goodly proportions and comforts and 
 devoted himself to agricultural pursuits and stock- 
 raising. The year following. Dr. Richings, the 
 elder, returned to England for his bride, and upon 
 the return of the young couple settled down to the 
 stern realities of pioneer life. 
 
 It was in 1855, when Rockford had grown to be 
 a pleasant village, that the Doctor removed hither 
 and made his home within its boundaries during the 
 remainder of his days. He early proved himself a 
 physician of ability and skill, but as he was ambi- 
 
 tious to keep up with the times, he pursued a reg- 
 ular course of medical study at Rush Medical Col- 
 lege, Chicago, and received therefrom the degree 
 of M. D. During the first five years of his settle- 
 ment in the county, he liad devoted his time to 
 farming and stock-raising, but after that, until 
 within two years of his death, he engaged in an 
 active and extensive practice of medicine and sur- 
 gery. His interest in the formation of the Winne- 
 bago County Medical Society was recognized by 
 its members, and he was for some time its Presi- 
 dent. He was a man of strict integrity, exacting 
 with himself and others in business, but alwaj's 
 just, and delighted in acts of charity wliich were 
 unknown to the community. 
 
 Dr. Charles H. Richings was baptized and reared 
 in the Episcopal Church, but in his later years he 
 did not recogTiize church relations as regards him- 
 self, yet strove ever to embody Jiis religion in liv- 
 ing the Golden Rule. In 1875, he visited his old 
 home in England, and on his return experienced 
 an illness on shipboard which was the beginning 
 of the end. He was again taken very sick on 
 Thanksgiving Day, 1882, and suffered much at va- 
 rious times, going at one time to Kew York for 
 treatment, but with no good result. An operation 
 which was performed with a hope of saving his 
 life was in vain, and he died August 12, 1889, 
 leaving a widow and the son whose name has been 
 placed at the head of this sketch. While he was 
 not an enlisted surgeon during the Civil War, it 
 was understood by Gov. Yates that his services 
 were to be commanded whenever necessary, and 
 he was called as surgeon to various battlefields, 
 notably those of Ft. Donelson, Pittsburg Landing 
 and Pea Ridge. He was a verj- active member of 
 the Masonic fraternity and received most notable 
 degrees in the order. 
 
 The mother of our subject still lives and resides 
 in Rockford, and the Doctor is her only child. He 
 received his early edcation in the district school 
 and later attended the public school of Rockford, 
 after which he took a scientific course at Beloit 
 College. He commenced the study of medicipe 
 with his father and in 1860 entered the medical 
 department of the University of Michigan. At- 
 tending there for the period of one year, he en- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 901 
 
 tered the medical department of the University of 
 New York, from which he was graduated in the 
 Class of '63; then receiving the appointment of 
 Sergeant in the United States army, served iintil 
 the close of the war. He commenced his practice 
 in Rockford, but after eigiit years went to "Wash- 
 ington, D. C, where, during seven years, he built up 
 an extensive practice. But as his interests were 
 largely in Rockford, in 1879 he returned here and 
 has pursued his profession actively since that time. 
 He was married, in 1869, to Miss Maria Cammaun, 
 of Rockford. The Doctor and his wife have one 
 child, Mary H. 
 
 eHARLES W. SHIRLEY. This gentleman, 
 who is now living retired from active work 
 of any kind, formerly owned an excellent 
 tract of land of ninety-one acres, one-half mile 
 from Rockford, to the cultivation of which he 
 gave his personal attention. He has, however, 
 platted the greater part of it into city lots, which 
 he has disposed of at a handsome advance. He 
 was born in La Porte County, Ind., August 17, 
 1835, while his father, Lewis Shirley, was born in 
 Pennsylvania. As far as is known, the grandfather 
 of our subject was also a native of the Keystone 
 State, where he spent his entire life. 
 
 Lewis Shirley was reared to man's estate in his 
 native town, and when attaining mature years re- 
 moved to Ohio and resided for a time on the Mus- 
 kingum River. He later went to Indiana, where 
 he was one of the pioneers in La Porte County, 
 and, entering from the Government a large tract 
 of timber and prairie land, there made his home 
 until 1835, which was the date of his advent into 
 HIinois. He was accompanied hither by his wife 
 and a family of six children, making the journey 
 with teams. Mr. Shirley settled in what s now 
 Cherry Valley Township, at a time when Northern 
 Illinois was owned by the Government, and the 
 surveys of that early day had not been completed. 
 The father made a claim to a tract of land, and 
 later, when the land came into market, went to the 
 land office in Dixon and entered his tract. 
 
 The elder Mr. Shirley erected on his new place 
 a double log house in which he established his 
 family, and industriously commenced the work of 
 clearing and improving his farm. He was very 
 successful in his undertaking and added from time 
 to time to his acreage until his estate included 
 twelve hundrc'd acres. He erected a saw and 
 flouring mill, which he operated in addition to farm- 
 ing and which netted him a handsome income. He 
 continued a resident of the above-named farm 
 until his decease. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Julia Keith, a native of Ohio, who departed 
 this life on the home farm in Cherry Valley Town- 
 ship. Her parents came to Winnebago County 
 and located on the creek which was named after 
 the father, and which extended through Rockford 
 Township. 
 
 Charles W. Shirley was an infant when his par- 
 ents came to Illinois, and, being reared to manhood 
 in a new country, the hardships and privations 
 which they were called upon to endure have made 
 lasting impression upon his mind. There were no 
 railroads in this vicinity for years, and while an 
 inmate of the parental household he often hauled 
 grain to Chicago, which was seventy-five miles dis- 
 tant. After reaching his twenty-first year, he 
 worked for his father one season, and then, employ- 
 ing a good carpenter at $1 per day, built a house 
 on the land which he purchased from his father, 
 in Boone County, and in the spring of 1857 
 moved into the dwelling before it was lathed or 
 plastered. He was engaged in farming there for 
 two years, when, renting his estate, he went to 
 California via New York and the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama. Going into the mines in Placer County, Mr. 
 Shirley was thus engaged for sixteen months, at 
 the end of which time he returned home via the 
 same route and commenced farming in Boone 
 County. In 1868, he sold the farm and purchased 
 land in Cherry Valley Township, Winnebago 
 County, where he was employed as an agriculturist 
 until 1883. Then coming to Rockford, he became 
 the proprietor of a good home in the city and 
 later bought a farm of ninety-one acres, located 
 one-half mile from Rockford. As before stated, he 
 has platted this into lots and sold. 
 
 Miss Matilda A. Ream was married to our sub- 
 
902 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ject in 1856. She was a native of Thompson Town- 
 ship, Seneca County, Ohio, and was the daughter 
 of Samuel and Sarali Ream, natives of Philadelphia, 
 and later pioneers of Seneca County. The two 
 children comprising the household of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Shirlej^ are Lafayette B. and Jessie C. The son 
 married Katie Pratt and is the father of two chil- 
 dren: Nettie and Dayton. Jessie became the wife 
 of Frank L. Lake and has one child, Francis Al- 
 meda. Our subject and his wife are members of 
 the Centennial Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 in politics Mr. Shirley votes the Republican ticket. 
 
 _=D 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 [3_ 
 
 Br 
 
 ~® 
 
 U. EDGAR T. BILLMYER, physician and 
 surgeon, of Cherry Valley, Winnebago 
 County, was born in Carroll County, Md., 
 in 1832, and is a son of John and Harriet 
 (McFarland) Billmyer, both of whom were natives 
 of the same State. His father was a boot and shoe 
 manufacturer and followed that business through- 
 out his entire life. His lirst wife died in 1842, at 
 the age of thirty-two years, leaving three sons and 
 a daughter, and he afterward wedded Margaret 
 Blacksten, by whom he had a number of children, 
 but onljr two sons and two daughters are living. 
 The Doctor is the only survivor of the first familj', 
 Eleanor, William and Joseph C. having all passed 
 away. 
 
 The Doctor's father tried to make our subject 
 learn the shoemaker's trade, but gave it up after 
 attempting it for three autumns. He would find 
 euclid, trigonometry and similar books on his 
 bench, and, seeing that the son had an ambition to 
 become a civil engineer, the father gave him a 
 good common-school education and abandoned the 
 attempt to teach him shoemaking. At the age of 
 eighteen, the Doctor began teaching school, and 
 after three years went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where 
 he attended the celebrated Physio-Medical College 
 under Alva Curtis, graduating on the 16th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1855. With his diploma in his possession, 
 he came to Cherry Valley and has since engaged 
 in practice. In 1858, he bought one hundred acres 
 of land in this township and lived as a farmer and 
 physician until 1864, when he sold his land at a 
 
 good advance. Since that time he has engaged in 
 the practice of medicine and in the raising of 
 blooded horses. He has bred and owned some of 
 the best horses in this part of the country, includ- 
 ing "Dr. Sheperd," with a record of 2:29|; "De- 
 light," with a similar record in pacing; and 
 "Glidess," with a record of 2:26^. He sold the 
 first-named for $1,500, the second for $1,450 and 
 the last for $1,000 when twenty-four years old. 
 He now has in his possession some five blooded 
 horses of his own and has in his care some belong- 
 ing to other parties, being kept for breeding to 
 his fine stallions. 
 
 June 2, 1858, the Doctor was married to Miss 
 Mary A. Mittler, whose death occurred February 7, 
 1884. He was born and reared as a Democrat but 
 cast his first Piesidential vote for John C.Fremont 
 and has since been an ardent Republican. Through- 
 out this community, he is widely and favorably 
 known and has the high regard of a large circle of 
 friends and acquaintances. 
 
 n 
 
 :^^ 
 
 ARSHALL H. REGAN, deceased, was one 
 of the pioneer settlers of Winnebago 
 Countjr, and a man of exemplary habits 
 * and character. He located in Rockford in 
 
 1842, was a pioneer lumberman, and for many 
 years was associated in business with Seely Perry. 
 In connection with his lumber business, he was also 
 a contractor and builder, and was regarded as one 
 of the thrifty, enterprising business men of the 
 place. He was a large contractor of both public 
 and private buildings, and by his industry and 
 good business acumen accumulated a handsome 
 competence. At the time of his death, which oc- 
 curred at his fine residence on East State Street, 
 Rockford, in 1875, he was the owner of a consider- 
 able fortune. He had large interests in Wisconsin, 
 especially in a large sawmill which he had estab- 
 lished first on his own account, but later owned in 
 partnership, and was well known for his push and 
 energy. He was a good, reliable citizen. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Regan advocated the principles 
 of the Democratic party. He was a liberal con- 
 
--"'ri^'^i.M 
 
 A.MARCELLUS. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 905 
 
 tributor to all worthy enterprises, especially those 
 relating to churches and schools, and a willing 
 hand was always extended to the needy and afflic- 
 ted. He was born in Rochester, N. Y., and was 
 partly reared in that State, and partly in Canada. 
 He was still single when he came to Rockford, 
 and bei-e he was married to Miss Louisa Dewey, a 
 native of the East. She died when thirty-seven 
 years of age, having had six children, three of 
 whom are now living: Emma, wife of 0. A. 
 Richardson (see sketch); George and William, the 
 two sons now residing in Kansas. 
 
 Mr. Regan's second marriage was in Troy, N. Y., 
 to Miss Adelaide Stewart, a native of Vermont. 
 She was the daughter of Lyman Stewart, a Ver- 
 tnonter, who died when eightj'-three years of age, 
 and who was a prominent and successful farmer. 
 Mrs. Stewart, whose maiden name was Orpha Kel- 
 sey, was also a native of Vermont, and died when' 
 she was sixty-four years of age. Both held mem- 
 bership in the Baptist Church. Mrs. Regan re- 
 ceived a thorough education in Tro3', N. Y., and 
 since the death of her husband has resided at her 
 home at No. 815 North Court Street. She is a lady 
 possessed of more than ordinary intelligence and 
 has a host of warm friends. Her marriage resulted 
 in the birth of two children: Frank S., a partner 
 with G. 0. Williams, of the Rockford Abstract 
 Company, located at No. 313 West State Street, is 
 a promising young man, and Mamie S., a refined 
 and cultured young lady, is at home. 
 
 ARON MARCELLUS. The gentleman 
 whose portrait adorns the opposite page 
 was well known to the residents of Win- 
 nebago County, and was respected alike 
 for his straightforward and honorable career and 
 for his noble. Christian qualities of mind and heart. 
 He was originally from the Empire State, born in 
 Montgomery County, on March 13, 1829, and there 
 he grew to manhood and learned his trade, that of 
 a machinist. 
 
 The parents of our subject, A. and Mary 
 (Manny) Marcellus, were also natives of the State 
 of New York, but their ancestors were originally 
 
 from Holland. The father was engaged as a me- 
 chanic and boat manufacturer, and died when past 
 middle life. He and his wife were the parents of 
 thirteen children, Aaron being among the elder 
 members of the family. The latter was married in 
 his native county to Miss Catherine Chalmers, who 
 was born in Upper Canada, October 28, 1832. 
 Her parents, James and Helen (Dixon) Chalmers, 
 were natives of Scotland, and came to America in 
 ] 828 or 1829, after the birth of their first child, and 
 lived for a number of years in Canada. After- 
 wards, about 1833, thej' removed to Lockport, N. Y., 
 and the father became overseer of the locks on the 
 Erie Canal, holding that position for many years. 
 Later, Mr. Chalmers settled in Amsterdam, of 
 that State, and there passed the remainder of his 
 days, his death occurring in 1883. He was by trade 
 a stone cutter and was a skilled workman. His 
 first wife died in Amsterdam, N. Y., when a com- 
 paratively young woman, and his second marriage 
 was to Miss Mary Burns, a native of Scotland. The 
 latter died at Amsterdam, N. Y., in 1888, when 
 eighty-three years of age. She was a member of 
 the Baptist Church for more than fifty years and 
 was in every sense a true Christian. Mr. Chalmers 
 and his first wife were also active members of the 
 same church. 
 
 Mrs. Marcellus was the second of five children 
 born to her parents and was but seven years of age 
 at the time of her mother's death. She was reared 
 and educated principally in Amsterdam, N. Y., 
 and was there married to Mr. Marcellus. In 1853, 
 this young couple came to Rockford, and Mr. Mar- 
 cellus, being a practical machinist, was engaged for 
 some time with the J. P. Manny Reaper Company. 
 Later he established for F. H. Manny the Rockford 
 Bolt Works. A number of years after this, he and 
 L. B. Wilkins became sole proprietors of the busi- 
 ness and he was thus engaged at the time of his 
 death, which occurred at his residence. No. 304 
 North Main Street, on October 5, 1876. He was a 
 quiet, unassuming man, and those who knew him 
 best loved and appreciated him most. 
 
 After her husband's death, Mrs. Marcellus dis- 
 posed of her interest in the bolt works. Her beauti- 
 ful home on Main Street is filled with all the com- 
 forts and conveniences of life and here she expects 
 
906 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to pass the remainder of her days. She is the 
 mother of one son, William H.,a skilled machinist, 
 who is now engaged in the machine department of 
 the Rockford Watch Company. Mrs. Marcellus has 
 an adopted daughter, Josephine, and a niece, Cor- 
 rinnc, both of whom make their home with her. 
 All attend the Christian Union Church. 
 
 > » » l ^i l . > i L . 
 
 R. K. A. NORDERLING, the leading 
 Swedish physician and surgeon of Rock- 
 ford, was born on the 23d of February, 
 1857, in Greena, Sweden, and is a son of 
 Gust A. Norderling, who died in his native land 
 in middle life. He was a prominent resident of 
 Greena, where his wife is still living at an ad- 
 vanced age. Three of the brothers of our subject 
 had graduated from the high schools with the de- 
 gree of A. B., and two are now in the postal ser- 
 vice. One brother, Henry, is in business in Ran- 
 toul. 111. 
 
 The Doctor spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth in his native land and graduated from a 
 college of pharmacy in Sweden in the Class of 
 '75. He then secured a position as drug clerk and 
 was thus employed until his emigration to the 
 United States. After his arrival in this country, 
 he joined an uncle, Gust Ashoitz, who had come 
 to this counti-y about half a century before and 
 settled in the South. He became the owner of a 
 plantation, and married a Southern lady who 
 owned a number of slaves. He afterward entered 
 the Southern army, and was captured and held in a 
 Northern prison until peace was declared, when he 
 returned to his home, but most of his property 
 was gone. He was one of the prominent citizens of 
 Montgomery, Ala., and died recently at quite an 
 advanced age. 
 
 On coming to Rockford, Dr. Norderling engaged 
 in the drug business for some time, and while thus 
 employed, prepared himself to enter the College 
 of Physicians and Surgeons, of Chicago, in which 
 he became a student in 1884. After pursuing a 
 three-years' course, he was graduated in the Class 
 of '87, receiving his diploma on his thirtieth birth- 
 day. He then came to Rockford and opened an 
 
 office, continuing practice for two years, when he 
 made a trip to the Old World and took a special 
 course of medical study in the schools of Paris, 
 Vienna, and Stockholm, Sweden. After a year 
 spen t in Europe, he returned to the United States 
 and has since been successfully engaged in practice 
 in this city. The excellent course of instruction 
 which he has received is shown in his work, and 
 he enjoys a well-deserved reputation for skill and 
 ability. The Doctor is not only well versed in his 
 profession, but is a highl}^ educated man in other 
 directions. In the colleges of his native land he 
 studied Latin, Greek and French, and is conversant 
 with those languages, as well as the Swedish and 
 English tongues. His library is very large and 
 contains many of the works of the best-known 
 authors. 
 
 In Paxton, 111., the Doctor led to the marriage 
 altar Miss Lindia Nelson, who was born in Ithaca, 
 Ind., July 1, 1859, and when a young lady came 
 with her parents to Illinois. Her father, John 
 Nelson, made a fortune as a merchant, and he and 
 his wife are now living retired. They are both 
 natives of Sweden. The Doctor and his wife are 
 among the leading Swedish people of this city, 
 rank high in social circles and have many acquaint- 
 ances and warm friends in the community. In 
 politics, he is a Republican. A well-informed and 
 cultured man, he has traveled extensively, seen 
 much of the world and is a pleasant and genial 
 companion. He ranks deservedly high among his 
 professional brethren, and the liberal patronage 
 which he receives is a just tribute to his merit. 
 
 r 
 
 ♦^•j-^* 
 
 ARCELLUS G. LEONARD, one of the 
 early settlers of Belvidere, was born in 
 Gloversville, Fulton County, N. Y., May 
 20, 1824. His grandfather, Josiah Leonard, 
 was a native of Massachusetts, and on removing to 
 the Empire State, located in Kingsboro, Mont- 
 gomery Countjr, where he purchased a large 
 tract of land and engaged in farming throughout 
 the remainder of his life. 
 
 Daniel Leonard, father of our subject, was born 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 907 
 
 in the Bay State, and was one of the early glove 
 and mitten manufacturers of Gloversville, N. Y., 
 and one of the originators of the business there. 
 He carried on operations at that place for some 
 time, and afterward removed to St. Johnsville, 
 where he engaged in milling, and spent the last 
 years of his life at Gloversville. He wedded Mary 
 Potter, a native of Connecticut, who died while 
 visiting in Fulton, 111. He had been previously 
 married and had three children: Margaret, Horace 
 and Frederick. Seven children were born of the 
 second union: Edward, Polly, Elizabeth, Josiah, 
 Anna, Daniel and Marcellus G. 
 
 Our subject acquired his earl 3' education in the 
 public schools of his native town. Wlien he was 
 a lad of ten years, his parents removed to St. 
 Johnsville, N. Y., where he attended school quite 
 steadily until seventeen years of age, when he en- 
 tered the military school in Oswego, and, on com- 
 pleting a course there, engaged in teaching in 
 Oswego Countj' until 1846, which year witnessed 
 Ills emigration to Illinois. He chose as the scene 
 of his future labors the town of Belvidere, then 
 a small place of about one thousand inhabitants. 
 The surrounding country was but little improved, 
 and he secured forty acres of Government land in 
 Boone County. There were no railroads here, and 
 all goods were hauled from Chicago, where the 
 farmers marketed all their produce. Mr. Leonard 
 embarked in the mercantile business in Belvidere, 
 keeping a general store, and continued operations 
 in that line for five years, when he turned his at- 
 tention to dealing in real estate and grain, the in- 
 surance business and banking. During the war, he 
 also established a glove and mitten factory, which 
 he operated in addition to his other business inter- 
 ests for some years. For forty years, he has been 
 engaged in buying and shipping grain, and, in ad- 
 dition to this, for the past few years has dealt in 
 coal. 
 
 An Important event in the life of Mr. Leonard 
 occurred September 27, 1847, when he was joined 
 in wedlock with Mary Root, a native of Burling- 
 ton, Vt., and a daughter of Silas Root. They be- 
 came the parents of two children, but both are now 
 deceased. Mary Gertrude died on the 10th of 
 October, 1864; and Jessie died two days later. The 
 
 mother was also called to her final rest July 22, 
 1886. She was a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church, to whicli Mr. Leonard also belongs. In 
 politics, he is a Republican and has served as a 
 member of the Common Council. From an hum- 
 ble position he has worked his way upward to one 
 of affluence, and has now a good business which 
 yields him a comfortable competence. 
 
 lENJAMIN F. ANDERSON has derived a 
 comfortable income from his farming oper- 
 ations, which he carries on successfully in 
 this section. His birth occurred September 
 19, 1843, in Warren County, N. J., where also his 
 father, Henry, and grandfather, Daniel Anderson, 
 were born. The great-grandfather of our subject, 
 Jacob Anderson, was a Captain in the Revolution- 
 ary War, and spent his entire life in New Jersey, 
 of which State he was a native. 
 
 Daniel Anderson was a farmer in Hunterdon 
 County, where he spent his entire life. The fatlier 
 of our subject learned the trade of a blacksmith 
 which he followed in Warren County for a time, 
 and then removing to Hunterdon County pros- 
 ecuted his trade, in a place called Union. Later, 
 removing to Morris County, he purchased a farm 
 near the locality known as Drakestown, and was 
 engaged in cultivating his place until his death in 
 1869. His wife prior to her marriage was Margaret 
 Fritts; she was born in Hunterdon County and died 
 on the home farm about 1862. Mrs. Anderson was 
 a daughter of Benjamin Fritts and bore her hus- 
 band seven children. 
 
 The original of this sketch was five years old when 
 his parents removed to Morris County, where he 
 was reared and where he resided until attaining 
 his majority. He then began life for himself by 
 working out on farms by the month, and in 1871 
 came to Illinois, where he was similarly employed 
 for the succeeding five years. In company with 
 his father-in-law, he then purchased a farm, which 
 is his present property, and for five years they 
 were engaged in its cultivation, when our subject 
 purchased the entire amount, which includes two 
 hundred acres. 
 
908 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Benjamin F. Anderson was united in marriage, 
 June 26, 1876, to Caroline Bunn,a native of Hun- 
 terdon County, N. J. The lady is the daughter of 
 John E. Bunn, while her grandfather bore the name 
 of Jacob. The latter-named gentleman was also a 
 native of New Jerse}'. The grandfather of Mrs. 
 Anderson spent his entire life in New Jersey, 
 where her father was also married and made his 
 home until 1856, when he came to Illinois and lo- 
 cated in the vicinity of Byron, Ogle County. In 
 1867, he came to Winnebago County, and in 1876, 
 as before stated, purchased a farm in company with 
 his son-in-law. On disposing of his interest in the 
 estate, he removed to Byron, where his death oc- 
 curred in 1889. The maiden name of his wife was 
 Sarah Conover, the daughter of William and Jane 
 (Petty) Conover. Our subject and his wife have 
 two children: Henry and Herbert. Mrs. Ander- 
 son is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and, 
 in politics, her husband is a Republican. 
 
 OASON J. LOVEJOY, who was engaged in 
 general farming on sections 8 and 9, Har- 
 lem Township, is numbered among the 
 early settlers of Winnebago County, and is well 
 worthy of representation in this volume. He was 
 born in New York City, August 8, 1818. Plis 
 grandfather, Joshua Lovejoy, was a New England 
 farmer, who reared four sons and several dauarh- 
 ters and died in Sanbornton, N. H., at an ad- 
 vanced age. His wife survived him some years 
 and spent her last days on the old homestead in 
 New Hampshire. 
 
 Andrew Lovejoy, father of our subject, was 
 born in Andover, Mass., June 18, 1772, and mar- 
 ried Mary Taylor, who was born in Sanbornton, 
 N. H, April 17, 1783, and was a daughter of Na- 
 son and Sarah Taylor. Her father died at the age 
 of ninety years, and her mother when about eighty 
 years of age. They reared two sons iind several 
 daughters. He was a Royal Arch Mason, a well- 
 educated man and was Deacon in the Presby- 
 terian Church. Andrew Lovejoy engaged in gen- 
 eral merchandising in New Hampshire until our 
 subject was nine years of age, when he removed 
 
 with his family to Shipton, Lower Canada, where 
 he ran a branch store. He also manufactured lum- 
 ber and pearl ash and there did business for twelve 
 years, when he took a trip to New York and then 
 with his son came to Rockford, 111., where they 
 arrived February 12, 1837. They first settled on 
 a claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Harlem 
 Township, upon which our subject's son now re- 
 sides. They built a log cabin and by the follow- 
 ing spring were ready for the reception of the 
 family, who then joined them. The mother died 
 in Harlem Township, October, 1, 1840, at the age 
 of fifty-seven j^ears. Mr. Lovejoy passed away, 
 April 15, 1856, having survived his wife sixteen 
 years. He was a well-known and prominent citi- 
 zen of this community. They had a family of 
 nine children, all of whom grew to mature years 
 and became heads of families: Marcia, born in 
 New Hampshire in 1802; Hannah, March 18, 1804; 
 Lucia, March 21, 1806; Andrew J., March 1, 1810; 
 Charles Henry, March 5, 1812; Mary, April 9, 1814; 
 Sarah Ann, in Boston, Mass., December 25, 1815; 
 Nason J., in New York in 1818; Sophia Hill, in San- 
 bornton, N. H., May 25, 1823. Only two are now 
 living, our subject and Mary, widow of T. A. Per- 
 kins, who for many years was a physician of Taze- 
 well County, 111. 
 
 Mr. Lovejoy of this sketch came with his father 
 to this county when a young man of nineteen 
 years and has since been identified with the history 
 of this community. He was married in Tazewell 
 County, March 17, 1845, to Harriet E. Piatt, a na- 
 tive of Connecticut, who in 1835 came West with 
 her parents. She died in Harlem, June 22, 1866, at 
 the age of forty-one years. Five sons and four 
 daughters were born of their union, of whom six 
 survive their mother. Andrew James, born De- 
 cember 5, 1845; Leslie Augustus, December 2, 1847; 
 Mary, March 3, 1850; Nathan Taylor, April 28, 
 1852; Emily Annette, May 5, 1853; and Henry 
 Stillman, April 4, 1865. Mr. Lovejoy was again 
 married, in Harlem Township, September 24, 1867, 
 his second union being with Miss Louise R. Wood, 
 a native of Maine, and a daughter of John and 
 Mary (Patton) Wood, who removed from Maine 
 to Roscoe in the summer of 1850. Their family 
 of eleven children have all passed away except 
 

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 911 
 
 Mrs. Lovejoy and. her brother, G. A. Wood, of 
 Roscoe. 
 
 Mr. Lovejoy has served his Township as Super- 
 visor for three terms and was Township Treasurer 
 for eighteen years. His long continued service 
 shows the conlidence reposed in hiiu by his fellow- 
 citizens and his faithfulness to that trust. In 
 politics, he was formerly a supporter of Republi- 
 can principles but now votes with the Prohibition 
 party. He is a member of the Methodist Church 
 and has lived an upright life, winning the high 
 esteem of all with whom he has been brought in 
 contact. 
 
 jjEv. DAVID Mcdonald o'farrell, 
 
 .^J now residing in "Winnebago, was born De- 
 '^\ comber 15, 1809, in Pompey, Onondaga 
 ^ County, N.Y. William O'Farrell, his father, 
 was a native of the same State, and, being left an 
 orphan when an infant, was adopted into the fam- 
 ily of a lady who bore the name of Mc Donald. 
 She later married a Mr. Parmalee, residing near 
 Rome, N. Y. 
 
 The father of our subject learned the trade of a 
 shoemaker, and after his marriage resided for a 
 few years in Pompey, and later removed to Spaf- 
 ford. There he purchased one hundred acres of 
 heavily-timbered land, from which he cleared a 
 farm, and there resided until his decease, December, 
 1863, when in his seventy-eighth year. The 
 mother of our subject in those early days carded 
 and spun wool and flax, and thus dressed her chil- 
 dren in homespun material. She bore the maiden 
 name of Dina Turbush, and was born in Dutchess 
 County. She was the mother of ten children, and 
 departed this life on the home farm in the town 
 of Spafford. 
 
 The brothers and sisters of our subject were 
 named respectively: Jeremiah, Francis A., William 
 Mc, John W., Elihue, Maria, Catherine, Cornelia 
 and Henry T. David, of this sketch, received his 
 education in the pioneer schools of Onondaga 
 County, and assisted the father in performing the 
 farm duties until sixteen years old, when he com- 
 menced to learn the trade of a carriage-maker in 
 
 Preble, Cortland County, completing his apprentice- 
 ship at Amber, Onondaga County. He did "jour" 
 work for a time, and when twenty-two years of age 
 attended school during the winter months, and, 
 later took a year's course at the Cazenovia Semin- 
 ary. He abandoned his studies for six months on 
 account of ill-health, and on again resuming them 
 entered Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, where he re- 
 mained for nine months. 
 
 Mr. O'Farrell was then engaged in teaching and 
 in working at his trade until 1836, when he joined 
 the Oneida Ann.ual Conference. He was licensed 
 as a local preacher while at the Genesee Wesleyan 
 Seminary, was ordained Deacon in 1838, at Ithaca, 
 and Elder, in 1840, at Cazenovia. He preached in 
 different places in New York State for fifteen 
 years, but on account of ill-health was compelled 
 to abandon the ministry and purchase a farm of 
 fifteen acres, adjoining his father's estate in the 
 town of Spafford, and there engage in farming. 
 To this he added from time to time until in 1863 
 he had seventy-eight acres. 
 
 In the year above named. Rev. David O'Farrell 
 disposed of his interests in the Empire State, and, 
 coming to Illinois, purchased his present home in 
 Winnebago County. September 4, 1836, he was 
 married to Adeline Whitney, whose birth occurred 
 in New York, January 11, 1812. She was a daugh- 
 ter of William and Clarinda (French) Whitney, 
 and departed this life July 2, 1879. Our subject is 
 the father of three children by this marriage: 
 Adeline E., the wife of Menzes Stebbins; William 
 M. and Noah P. He has also thirteen grandchildren 
 living. The second marriage of our subject oc- 
 curred in 1880, at which time Eunice J. (Shedd) 
 Hudson became his wife. She was born in Sar- 
 dinia, Erie County, N. Y., August 14, 1826, and 
 was a daughter of Andrew W. and Emily (Harris) 
 Shedd, and the widow of Richmond L. Hudson. 
 
 Mrs. O'Farrell 's father was a native of Vermont, 
 and when a young man removed to Erie County, N. 
 Y., where he bought a tract of timber-land from 
 the Holland Purchase Company. There he cleared 
 a farm in the wilderness, erected a good set of 
 frame buildings and resided until his decease, in 
 1882, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. 
 His wife, who was a native of the Empire State, 
 
912 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 died two years previously, when in her eighty- 
 second year. Mrs. O'Farrell was first married, in 
 1850, to Richmond Hudson, immediately after 
 which she came to Winnebago County, where Mr. 
 Hudson had purchased property in 1842. He was 
 also the owner of land at Westfleld Corners, but 
 on selling that property purchased a farm about 
 one-half mile southwest of the village, where he 
 was engaged in farming until his death in 1863. 
 The son born of this marriage, Frederick Hudson, 
 is a graduate of the Cleveland (Ohio) Medical 
 College, and is engaged in the practice of his pro- 
 fession at Hoosick Falls, N. Y. 
 
 On an accompanying page is a portrait of Rev. 
 Mr. O'Farrell. He is a man of broad intelligence, 
 and maintains a deep interest in the welfare of the 
 communit}'. While residing in Spafford, N. Y., he 
 was elected Justice of the Peace three times, the 
 last time being chosen by the unanimous vote of 
 the people. He was for many years an adherent 
 of the Republican party, but is now a stanch Pro- 
 hibitionist. 
 
 •^^= 
 
 eLAUDIUS B. RICHARDSON, a retired far- 
 mer residing at No. 308 South Winnebago 
 Street, Rockford, was for twenty-four 
 years the occupant of a finely improved farm on 
 section 16, Rockton Township, and was known as 
 one of the progressive agriculturists of Winne- 
 bago County. He was born in St. Lawrence 
 County, N. Y., December 24, 1833, and is the son 
 of AVilliam and Sabina (Parker) Richardson. His 
 father, who was born in Massachusetts in 1780, 
 was reared to the vocation of a farmer and in his 
 early manhood removed from the Bay State to 
 New York, where he purchased one hundred acres 
 of timber land. He was three times married, his 
 third wife being the mother of Claudius B. 
 
 In 1855, the Richardson family started on the 
 Westward journey from the Empire vState, coming 
 from Ogdensburg to Racine on a steam propeller, 
 and thence proceeding by stage to Rockton. The 
 father purchased two farms in Winnebago Count}^, 
 one consisting of eighty acres in Rockton Township, 
 and the other comprising one hundred and sixty 
 
 acres in Siiirland Township. He settled on the Rock- 
 ton farm and later sold the other place and bought 
 a home in the village of Rockton, where he died 
 in the prime of life. His widow survived until 
 1889, and attained to the advanced age of eighty- 
 six years. Their children were: Henry, Claudius 
 B., Amanda and Oscar. 
 
 The oldest child, Henry, had a passion for ad- 
 venture and when about sixteen ran away from 
 home, shipping on board a revenue cutter, where 
 he remained two years. Soon after his honorable 
 discharge, he shipped as a sailor and was before 
 the mast a number of years but was afterward pro- 
 moted from time to time until he was Captain. 
 During one of his voyages, he sailed to China, re- 
 turning via Cape Horn, and in 1854 crossed the 
 plains to California. He was a man whose travels 
 extended to almost everj' portion of the habitable 
 earth, and his fund of information was inexhaust- 
 ible. His death occurred in Chicago in 1864. 
 
 Claudius B. Richardson was also fond of travel 
 and made five trips to California, going across the 
 plains and returning via the Isthmus of Panama. 
 His first journey to the Pacific coast was made in 
 1859, and the last trip in 1864, while the longest 
 sojourn there was eighteen months. His marriage, 
 on New Year's Day, 1864, united him with Emroy 
 Gray, daughter of James L. and Sarah I. (Mitchell) 
 Gray. Mrs. Richardson was born in Vermont, 
 whence she accompanied her parents to Rockton 
 in September, 1852, at the age of nine years. 
 She was one of three children, her sister, Gertrude 
 D., dying in infancy, and her brother, Henrj' M., 
 dying in Fayetteville, Ark., as the result of a wound 
 received while in the service. He enlisted in Com- 
 pany E, Thirty-seventh Illinois Infantry, at Men- 
 dota. 111., and served first as a private and after- 
 ward as an Orderly, until the battle of Prairie 
 Grove, Ark., where he was mortally wounded. He 
 was an only son, honest and upright, and the 
 pride of his parents who deeply mourned his death. 
 Soon after his decease, his mother died, at the age 
 of fifty-four years. 
 
 Mr. Gray afterward married again, his wife 
 being Frances A. Locke, who still resides in Rock- 
 ford. His death occurred in May 1888, at the 
 age of seventy-two years, and his large property 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 913 
 
 was willed to his onlj' daughter, who is adminis- 
 tratrix. Mrs. Richardson is a quiet, true and tal- 
 ented lady, and prior to her marriage engaged 
 for a time in teaching. She is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and has decided 
 opinions on all the important questions of the 
 age. She is firm in her support of Prohibition and 
 will not rent out any of her stores either in Rock- 
 ton or Rockford for the use of the liquor traffic, 
 even though she might thereby receive large ren- 
 tals. 
 
 Since their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Richardson 
 have resided mostly on their farm in Rockton 
 Township, although they kept a hotel in Rockton 
 for one year. A short time since they located in 
 Rockfoi'd, where they expect to spend their re- 
 maining years. They have three children: Henry 
 Gray; Nellie, the wife of Edgar Austin, of Shirland 
 Township, and Sarah, who married "William Sears, 
 of Rockford. Mr. Richardson owns a farm of 
 three hundred and twenty acres in Buena Vista 
 County, Iowa, upon which he has expended consid- 
 erable money and has made many valuable im- 
 provements. He still owns the Rockton Township 
 farm of two hundred and sixty-three acres, and his 
 large possessions represent his labor and judgment 
 in business transactions through many years. 
 While he has gained material success, he has never 
 stooped to deceit in order to enlarge his fortune, 
 but has been so upright, so conscientious and so 
 honorable in the accumulation of a competency, 
 and so generous in its distribution, that he has 
 won a warm place in the confidence of his fellow- 
 men. 
 
 ^#=- 
 
 •i^- 
 
 ^ OL. A. LUNDEN, brick mason of Rockford, 
 is a thorough-going, persevering and en- 
 terprising business man, and is eminently 
 deserving of all business success. He has 
 been a resident of Rockford since the year 1870, 
 has followed his trade as brick and mason me- 
 chanic from that time up to the present, and by 
 his honorable and reliable business methods has 
 been unusually successful. He owns a most beau- 
 tiful residence at No. 1410 Charles Street, and this 
 
 bears every evidence of the taste and culture of its 
 inmates. 
 
 Mr. Lunden is a Director and stockholder in the 
 Palace Folding Bed Company, is also interested in 
 other enterprises of the city, and takes an active 
 part in all movements for the growth and prosper- 
 ity of this thriving city. Like the majority of the 
 residents of Rockford, Mr. Lunden is a Swede, and 
 has inherited all the sturdy traits of character of 
 that class of people.. He was born in ElsboroLan, 
 Wester Gothland Province, on January 12, 1853, 
 and his early life was passed in much the usual 
 manner of boys of that country, in getting a good 
 practical education and learning a trade. Mr. 
 Lunden seemed to have a natural talent for brick 
 and mason contracting and was three years in per- 
 fecting himself in this line of business. Many of 
 his countrymen had crossed the ocean to America, 
 and young Lunden was filled with a desire to make 
 his future home in this country. He has since been 
 joined by his sister Mina, who is now the wife of 
 Mr. Lindquist, of Rockford, but our subject was 
 the first of his kinsmen to settle here. 
 
 The father of our subject, John Peterson, has 
 always followed agricultural pursuits in his native 
 country and is prosperous and contented. He is 
 now seventy-six years of age and is a devout mem- 
 ber of the Lutheran Church. His wife received her 
 final summons in Sweden in 1869, when about 
 middle age. She was also a member of the Luth- 
 eran Church. Five children were the fruit of 
 this union and all are living and fairly prosperous. 
 
 Anna J. Peterson was the maiden name of 
 the lady whom our subject wedded in Rockford, 
 and she is also a native of Wester Gothland Prov- 
 ince, Sweden, born December 15, 1852. She at- 
 tained her growth and received a good practical 
 education in her native country, where she re- 
 mained until coming to the United States, in 1873. 
 She was one of five children born to Peter and 
 Margaretta (Larson) Larson, the parents natives 
 of Wester Gothland Province, Sweden, where the 
 father is still living. He is an aged man, hav- 
 ing passed the seventieth milestone, but he holds 
 his years very well. His wife died there a num- 
 ber of years ago. Both were prominent Lutherans 
 in their religious belief. Mrs. Lunden was the 
 
914 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 only one of the family to come to the States. She 
 and her husband, our subject, are also members of 
 the Lutheran Cluirch. He is a Republican in poli- 
 tics. They are the parents of five children: Oscar 
 E., Alga, Alexes, Victor II., and Bertha. 
 
 <* I^ILLIAM G. WOODRUFF is a fair speci- 
 \/iJ// ™®'^ '-'^ ^ successful farmer who has gained 
 W^ -I competence by zealous and well-directed 
 efforts, and at the present time is living retired in 
 the village of Pecatonica. He has one of the most 
 beautiful homes in the place, where his excellent 
 business traits and well-trained mind have placed 
 him in the front ranlcs of its best citizens. He 
 was born in New Marlboro, Mass., September 2, 
 1819, and is a son of John L., Jr., and Hann.'ih 
 (Sanford) Woodruff. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, John 
 L. Woodruff, Sr., was born in Watertown, Conn., 
 and spent his last days in Massachusetts. The 
 Sanfords were also natives of the Nutmeg State. 
 One of that name, Elisha Sanford, participated in 
 the War of 1812, and was a pensioner of the Gov- 
 ernment. Gran dm other San ford in her maidenhood 
 was Hannah Treat, a native of England. 
 
 He of whom we write was the j^oungest in a 
 family of ten children, and when thirteen years of 
 age left home and engaged to work on a farm for 
 $3.50 per month. Two years later, he returned 
 home and assisted his father in operating the estate 
 until nineteen years of age; at the end of that 
 time he embarked on a steamboat as deck hand for 
 a year and later worked in a sawmill for $13 per 
 month. 
 
 In 1840, he of whom we write came to Illinois, 
 and, locating in Carroll County, worked by the 
 month until his marriage, March 8, 1842, to Miss 
 Mary C. Tucker. The lady was born April 30, 
 1821, in Newfleld, Tompkins County, N. Y., and 
 is the daughter of Calvin and Mercy A. (Rice) 
 Tucker, the former of whom was born in Halifax, 
 Vt., February 21, 1792. He came to Carroll 
 County, 111., in 1840, and, purchasing a home near 
 Elkhorn Grove, was Postmaster there for fifteen 
 years, in addition to the duties of which office he 
 
 carried on his trade of a blacksmith until 1860. 
 His decease occurred on the old farm February 16, 
 1882, and he left a family of eight children, five of 
 whom are yet living. So far as is known, the 
 Tuckers were all agriculturists. 
 
 The mother of Mrs. Woodruff was born in 
 Providence, R. I., November 15, 1798, and was the 
 daughter of Wanton Rice, who was Captain in the 
 War of 1812. She died October 8, 1878, and lier 
 father passed away in his eightieth year. The 
 maternal grandmother of our subject was Mercy 
 Garner and many of her uncles were seafaring 
 men. The father of our subject was born Decem- 
 ber 4, 1789, in Waterbury, N. Y., and his wife had 
 her birth October 25, of the same year. They were 
 married November 22, 1801, and died respectively 
 in 1873, and 1871. 
 
 The four children horn to Mr. and Mrs. Wood- 
 ruff are Harriet E., whose birth occurred March 
 22, 1843, and who died March 11, 1856; Frances 
 A., who was born December 24, 1845, died August 
 8, 1874; Emily C, born April 9, 1850, remains at 
 home, and a babe whose decease occurred July 9, 
 1852 After his marriage, Mr. Woodruff continued 
 to reside in Carroll County, where he operated 
 rented land for three years. In 1846, he went to 
 Boone County, where he remained for six months, 
 and selling out his small farm there removed to 
 Stephenson County, where he entered a tract of 
 forty acres from the Government, to which he 
 added one hundred and thirty acres and there re- 
 sided until 1881, a period of thirty-five years. Mr. 
 Woodruff, disposing of that property-, purchased his 
 present home in Pecatonica, where he has since 
 lived retired. 
 
 During the early days in this county our sub- 
 ject remembers having driven hogs to the Galena 
 market, which he sold for ten shillings per hun- 
 dred pounds, and then had to pay for half of 
 dressing. He sold wheat from thirty-seven cents 
 to ninety-eight cents a bushel in Chicago, after 
 having hauled it a distance of one hundred and 
 twenty miles. He had the misfortune to lose his 
 first team of horses by drowning and had not a 
 dollar with which to purchase another. He was 
 given credit for an outfit, however, and was soon 
 enabled to pay for it. He did the most of his 
 
-:'ORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 917 
 
 trading at Savanna in tlie larly days, and often 
 drove ten or flftcen miles i)elore seeing a house. 
 He purchased bis first now wagon by paying one- 
 half cash and tlie balance i i corn at twelve cents a 
 bushel. 
 
 Mr. Woodruff upholds the policy of the Republi- 
 can party, having cast his first vote for William 
 Henry Harrison. He is a member in good stand- 
 ing of the Congregational Church, while his good 
 wife is a communicant of the Baptist denomina- 
 tion. Personally, Mr. Woodruff is looked upon as 
 one of the leading men of the township. He is 
 progressive, liberal and i)ublic-spirited and his ca- 
 reer is indicative of the esteem and confidence 
 with which he is regarded by his fellow-citizens. 
 
 On March 8, 1892, M". and Mrs. Woodruff cele- 
 bri^ted their golden wedding. All the children were 
 in attendance, in addition to many friends and ac- 
 quaintances. They were the recipients of many 
 useful presents. 
 
 ^OHN F. PETTENGILL. A high place 
 among the farmers of Winnebago County 
 must be accorded to the gentleman whose 
 portrait accompanies this sketch, and who 
 has made a fortune by hard labor, prudent econ- 
 omy and business shrewdness. He is at present 
 occupying a fine homestead in Durand Township 
 and has alwaj^s managed his affairs in a thor- 
 oughly business-like manner, evincing retnarkahle 
 discernment and discretion. 
 
 A native of Massachusetts, and the son of James 
 and Betsey (Averill) Pettengill, our subject was 
 born in Boxford, February 23, 1813. His parents, 
 who were well-to-do, were natives respectively of 
 New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Two brothers 
 originally came from England in an early day 
 and settled in Maine, one of whom, Enoch, had a 
 large family of sons, from whom the Pettengills 
 in the United States arc descended. 
 
 The father of our subject was a farmer, and in 
 an early day moved to Ohio, where he was taken 
 sick, and, becoming very much discouraged, de- 
 cided to return to his native State. Being very 
 41 
 
 poor, he was only enabled to get as far as Buffalo, 
 which was then a small place, and there remained 
 for several years. Finally reaching home, he re- 
 cuperated his health, and later, coming to Illinois, 
 spent the remainder of his life at the home of our 
 subject. His wife also met her death in this State 
 while residing with a daughter. 
 
 Six children comprised the parental family: 
 James, who was born December 21, 1811, died 
 while en route across the plains to California; 
 our subject was the second in order of birth; 
 Eliza Ann, who was born November 30, 1814, 
 married John A. Johnson and died in this town- 
 ship; Warren, who was born December 28, 1816, 
 was a sailor and died in early life; George A., 
 who was born August 19, 1820, died in Durand 
 in March, 1890; Ruby Foster, who was born Au- 
 gust 1, 1828, is now Mrs. Charles Harvey, of Du- 
 luth, Minn. 
 
 John F. Pettengill was quite young when the 
 family removed to Ohio. He spent the years 
 from eight to seventeen in Buffalo, and when re- 
 turning to Massacliusetts was engaged as a con- 
 tractor and builder. In March, 1837, he came to 
 Illinois, and, stopping for a time in Chicago, 
 worked on the construction of the canal at Joliet, 
 where he had charge of a number of teams. In 
 May of the above year, he came to Winnebago 
 County and purchased a claim on section 15, Du- 
 rand Township, for which he paid 1 100. After 
 putting up hay for his cattle, he went to Fox 
 River and was employed in working by the 
 month for a time. The following year he broke 
 land on his own purchase and was also occupied 
 in that kind of work for other parties. For the 
 next three seasons, he was engaged in teaming in 
 the lead regions with four yoke of cattle, during 
 which time he made about $50 per month. 
 
 Our subject gives his entire attention to farm- 
 ing pursuits and is now the possessor of four hun- 
 dred broad acres, all of which, he has placed under 
 excellent tillage. In addition to his farm prop- 
 erty, he owns several houses and lots in Durand, 
 the rental of which brings him in a handsome in- 
 come. His dwelling is a very large structure, 
 having been built for an hotel and stores. It was 
 erected at a cost of $10,000, and occupies a front 
 
918 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGEAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 rank in the list of Winnebago County's rural 
 homes. 
 
 For the past forty years, Mr. Pettengill has 
 acted as a local preacher of the Methodist Church. 
 With his estimable wife, lie is honored and re- 
 spected, not only for what he is but for what he 
 has done to promote the growth of the county 
 and establish its material prosperity. In early 
 life a Whig, he now votes with the Prohibition 
 partj', and in local affairs has been the incum- 
 bent of various positions, among which is that of 
 Supervisor. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married in 
 January, 1842, was Miss Maria Judd; she departed 
 tills life in February, 1870. September 15, 1873, 
 Mr. Pettengill was united to Katie, daughter of 
 the Rev. S. and Mary Ann (Jewel) Helsby, natives 
 of Maryland, where the mother died. Mrs. Pet- 
 tengill was born January 2, 1838, in Baltimore, 
 that State. After the death of her mother, her 
 father married Sarah Ann Ridgeway. In 1859, he 
 came West, and died January 25, 1892, in Ga- 
 lena, 111. 
 
 LISHA A. COOK. Every community is 
 bound to have among her citizens a few 
 men of recognized influence and ability, 
 who by their systematic and careful, thorough 
 manner of work attain to a success which is justly 
 deserved. Among this class is Elisha A. Cook, a 
 man esteemed to be a prominent and substantial, 
 as well as progressive, farmer of Bonus Township. 
 He was born in the town of Lawrence, Otsego 
 County, N. Y., March 30, 1841, and his parents, 
 Chauncey and Lovina (Andrews) Cook, were na- 
 tives of the Excelsior State also. The parents passed 
 their lives in their native State and died in Otsego 
 County, the father when about sixty-one years of 
 age, and the motlier at the age of thirty years. 
 Our subject's paternal grandparents, Holden and 
 Ruth (Joslyn) Cook, were originally from Rhode 
 Island, but died in Otsego County, N. Y., at the 
 age of sixty-five and seventy -seven years, respect- 
 ively. They were the parents of eight children, 
 all now deceased. Holden Cook was a son of 
 
 Samuel Cook, also a native of Rhode Island, but 
 who received his final summons in New York State. 
 The maternal grandparents of our subject, Eleazor 
 and Daphnse (Goodale) Andrews, were natives of 
 Vermont, but died in Onondaga County, N. Y., 
 when quite aged, the father at about ninety-three 
 years. 
 
 The subject of this sketch remained with his 
 parents until twenty years of age, and then enlisted 
 at Albany, N. Y., August 8, 1861, in Company B, 
 Forty-fourth New York Regiment, and served until 
 November, 1862. He was wounded at Malvern Hill 
 and was on the battle field for a week. Afterward 
 he was in Libby Prison, and after getting out he 
 was for four months in the hospital. He partici- 
 pated in the following battles: Siege of York- 
 town, Hanover Court House, Gaines'Mills, Malvern 
 Hill, and in many skirmishes. He was mustered 
 out at Philadelphia for disability on the 26th of 
 November, 1862, and returned to his home in New 
 York State. On the 20th of February, 1864, he 
 came to Boone County, 111., and as his means were 
 limited he worked by the month for three years. 
 
 On the 18th of February, 1866, Mr. Cook was 
 united in marriage with Miss Sarah J. Hoppen, a 
 native of Holman, Dearborn County, Ind., born 
 May 18, 1846. Her parents, Reuben and Martha 
 M. (Givan) Hoppen, are natives of Prospect, New 
 Haven County, Conn., and Maryland, and now 
 reside near our subject in Bonus Township. Mrs. 
 Cook's mother was the daughter of Joshua Givan, 
 who was also a native of Maryland, but who died 
 in Dearborn County, Ind. 
 
 After his marriage, our subject worked by the 
 month for a year and then, having accumulated 
 sufficient means, he purchased his present farm of 
 one hundred acres, which had some improvements 
 on it. A poor man at the outset, Mr. Cook has 
 worked his way up until he is now in the enjoy- 
 ment of a comfortable competency. He has ever 
 taken a deep interest in all public enterprises, and, 
 in politics, is a supporter of Republican principles, 
 casting his first Presidential vote for Grant. He 
 has held a number of local offices in the county, 
 and for years has been a member of the Committee 
 on Highways, also a member of the School Board. 
 Socially, he is a member of Hurlburt Post, G. A. R., 
 
i'ORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 919 
 
 of Belvidere. Mr. Cook is of English ancestry, 
 and many of bis ancestors were professional men. 
 One of his uncles was a Colonel in the Civil War, 
 and a cousin held the rank of Captain. Grand- 
 father Holden Cook was in the War of 1812, and 
 the ancestors farther back were in the Revolution- 
 ary War. 
 
 S[^ ICHARD N. MOFFATT. Perhaps there are 
 |ll*i7 no more enterprising residents of Winne- 
 Il.\ bago County than those who, like our sub- 
 \^ ject, one of the first-class farmers of Shir- 
 land Township, are natives of this county. The 
 father of our subject, George M. Moffatt, was born 
 in England, December 11, 1819,and was brought by 
 his parents to Canada when an infant, they locating 
 near Kingston, Canada. At the age of twenty- 
 eight, he and his wife came to Winnebago County. 
 The grandfather of our subject, Richard Moffatt, 
 was a farmer in Canada, where his decease occurred 
 at an advanced age. His wife bore the name of 
 Charlotte Wood and reared eleven children. One 
 of the sons, Peter, who was six feet and two inches 
 in height and a good swimmer, was drowned when 
 a young man. 
 
 The mother of our subject was, prior to her mar- 
 riage, Lydia M. Hicks, born July 13, 1826, a native 
 of Canada, where she met and married Mr. Moffatt at 
 the age of eighteen years. July 6, 1846, they came 
 to Owen Township, Winnebago County, where 
 they entered a claim of Government land in com- 
 pany with Mrs. Moffatt's father. They occupied 
 that property for the succeeding four or five yeai's, 
 when, by the rascality of one Dr. Kellogg, they were 
 compelled to leave their home. Mr. Moffatt then 
 rented land for six years and then again occupied 
 a home with his father-in-law, who died in the 
 spring of 1865. The mother of Mrs. Moffatt passed 
 away April 12, 1859, leaving two children. Her 
 sister Zilpha Mahala, the wife of Henry Harndon, 
 now resides in Nebraska. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Moffatt lost an infant son in Can- 
 ada, and since residing in Illinois have laid away 
 Sylvester H., who died aged two years and three 
 months, and Alfred L., who was drowned in the Pec- 
 
 atonica River, July 11, 1886, in his sixteenth year. 
 He was a bright and promising young man and his 
 death was a severe blow to the family. The chil- 
 dren living are Richard N., George E., Lydia B. 
 and Manford M. Mrs. George Moffatt, mother of 
 our subject, departed this life, April 27, 1888, aged 
 sixty-one years, nine months and fourteen days. 
 The family are descendants of wealthy ancestors in 
 England. 
 
 The original of this sketch resided with his par- 
 ents until thirty-four years of age, and January 16, 
 1881, was married to Miss Maurilla J., daughter of 
 Jonathan and Hannah P. (Vadakin) Todd, natives 
 of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Todd emigrated from New Jersey to 
 this State in 1855, when Mrs. Moffatt was six 
 months old. The fatlier died in Harrison Town- 
 ship, this county, in April, 1871, leaving his widow 
 with four children: Milton I., George R., Daniel 
 D. and Mrs. Moffatt. Mrs. Todd is still living at 
 the age of seventy-two years; she comes of a 
 long-lived race, her mother, who still survives, 
 being ninety-four years of age, and many of the 
 latter's sisters are in the nineties. 
 
 -f- 
 
 ^^ 
 
 -f- 
 
 ylLLIAM C. GORDON, a resident farmer 
 of Guilford Township,Winnebago County, 
 owns and operates a fine farm conveniently 
 and pleasantly situated on section 30, within half 
 a mile of Rockford. He is a native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, his birth having occurred in Clearfield 
 Count}', November 13, 1828. His father, Patrick 
 Gordon, was born in Ireland, of Scottish parentage, 
 was reared in the Emerald Isle, and when a young 
 man went to England, whence he came to America. 
 He was married in Centre County, Pa., to Elizabeth 
 Cook, who was born in Lancaster County. They 
 afterward removed to Clearfield County, where 
 Mr. Gordon purchased a farm of one hundred and 
 seven acres, and there resided until 1846, when he 
 came to Illinois, locating in Monroe Township, 
 Ogle County, where he secured a tract of Govern- 
 ment land. His death occurred in November of 
 the same year. His wife long survived him and 
 died in Ogle County at a ripe old age. With one 
 
920 
 
 yOETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 exception, all of her nine children grew to mature 
 years. They were as follows: Thomas, "William C, 
 Arthur, Margaret, John, James, George and May. 
 
 We now take up the personal histor}' of our 
 subject, who was reared in his native county, and 
 with his parents he came to Illinois. The journey 
 was made by team and canal to Pittsburg, and 
 thence down the Ohio and up the Mississippi 
 Rivers. He here began working by the month, 
 following that occupation until early in 1852, 
 when he made preparations to go to California. 
 He made the journey with James Riddle and his 
 wife, leaving Peru, 111., in April of that year. 
 They crossed the plains and at length arrived at 
 their destination. The only white people living 
 between the Missouri River and California were 
 the missionaries and soldiers, and the Mormons, at 
 Salt Lake City. Mr. Gordon engaged in mining 
 for a time, and was then employed at $4 per day. 
 Later, he received $75 per month and his board. 
 He remained in California until 1854, when he 
 started for home, making the journey by way of 
 the Isthmus of Panama and New York. 
 
 During his absence, Mr. Gordon had sent monej'^ 
 home and purchased the interest of the other heirs 
 in the eighty acres of land which his father had 
 secured in Ogle County. On his return, he did not 
 at once locate thereon, but worked by the month 
 until 1857, when he built upon his land and thei-e 
 resided until 1864. In that year he sold out and 
 purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in 
 Spring Township, upon which he made his home 
 for a period of two years. He then again sold 
 his land, and returned to Ogle County, purchas- 
 ing a farm of two hundred acres on the line of 
 De Kalb County. That property he still owns, 
 but in 1883 he rented it, and made purchase of 
 seventy-nine acres in Guilford Township. This is 
 yet his property and is a well-improved farm 
 with good buildings and other such accessories. 
 Leaving his son-in-law in charge of it, in 1888 he 
 purchased and removed to his present farm, com- 
 prising twenty-eight and one-half acres of land 
 within a half mile of the cit3^ of Rockfor '. 
 
 In 1864, Mr. Gordon wedded Mary (Foulk) 
 Steele, who was born in Cumberland County, Pa., 
 and is a daughter of Peter and Susan (Schowalter) 
 
 Foulk, the former a native of Berks County and 
 the latter of Lancaster County, Pa. After his 
 marriage, Mr. Foulk settled in Cumberland County, 
 whence he afterward removed to Perry County, 
 and in 1851 he emigrated to Illinois. For some 
 time he was a resident of Stephenson County, and 
 then purchased a farm on the dividing Ime between 
 Ogle and De Kalb Counties, where he resided for a 
 few years. On selling out, he became a resident 
 of Black Hawk County, Iowa, where he purchased 
 land and engaged in agricultural pursuits for some 
 years. During his remaining days he lived a re- 
 tired life in Waterloo, Iowa, his death occurring in 
 1887. His wife was called to her final rest in 1888. 
 Their daughter Mary first became the wife of 
 Cadwallarder Steele, who died in 1854, leaving one 
 son, Frank P., now a resident of De Kalb County, 
 111. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon have one daughter, Min- 
 nie J., wife of N. P. Wilson, a resident of Guilford 
 Township. They have also lost three children : one 
 who died in infancy; Emma, who died at the age 
 of three years; and Ida May, who died at the age 
 of seventeen. Mrs. Gordon is a member of the First 
 Christian Church of Rockford. Mr. Gordon is a 
 public-spirited and progressive citizen of this com- 
 munity and a self-made man who deserves great 
 credit for his success in life. 
 
 N"t^»^^ 
 
 <L ->0 . 
 
 -SO~ 
 
 \f' ABEZ D. HART, who is engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits on sections 7, 8 and 18, Guil- 
 ford Township, Winnebago County, claims 
 
 New York as the State of his nativity. He 
 
 wai born in Ontario County, November 28, 1834, 
 and traces his ancestry back to Deacon Stephen 
 Hart, of Brain tree, England, who came to America 
 in 1632, locating in Cambridge, Mass., whence 
 he removed to Connecticut. He was one of tlie 
 fifty-four first settlers of Cambridge, Mass., became 
 one of the proprietors of Hartford, and one of the 
 eighty-four proprietors of Farmington. In 1647, 
 he became one of the Deputies of the General 
 Court of Connecticut, and served fifteen consecu- 
 tive sessions. In 1653, he was appointed for the 
 town of Farmington to assist the Constables to 
 impress men into the army then being raised. He 
 
iF''^-'^#^^i^-*' 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 921 
 
 was the first Deacon of the church of Farmington, 
 and died in March, 1682. His descendants in reg- 
 ular order were: John Hart, Capt. John Hart, 
 Isaac Hart, Job Hart and Jabez, the grandfather of 
 our subject. 
 
 Jabez Hart was born in Kensington, Conn., 
 in 1756, and there married Jemima Brace. In 
 1785, he removed to Victor, Ontario County, N. 
 Y., becoming one of the first settlers of that local- 
 ity. He purchased a tract of timber land a mile 
 square and cleared a farm, the family enduring all 
 the hardships and privations of pioneer life, such 
 as grinding their corn in a coffee-mill, etc. The 
 grandparents both died on that farm. Their chil- 
 dren were Harvey, Tryphena, Theodocia, John, 
 Demas, Cyrus, George, Eunice and Frederick. 
 
 Frederick Hart was the father of our subject. 
 He was born in Ontario County, N. Y., August 6, 
 1802, was there reared and educated, and, for a few 
 years engaged in the manufacture of fanning- 
 mills. He purchased two dififerent farms in Victor 
 Township, and there resided until 1854, when he 
 emigrated to Illinois and settled in Guilford Town- 
 ship, purchasing a farm on section 5, where he 
 made his home until called to his final rest in 
 1864. His wife bore the maiden name of Sylvia 
 Rowley, and was born in the town of Victor, in 
 1800, her parents being early settlers of that lo- 
 cality. She died at the home of her daughter, 
 Mrs. Collins. The children of the family were 
 Sophia, Augustus, Melvina, Jabez and Eliza. 
 
 The subject of this sketch spent the days of his 
 boyhood and youth in the county of his nativity, 
 and acquired his education in its public schools. 
 With his parents he came to Illinois in 1854, and 
 engaged in teaching school during the winter sea- 
 son for some time, while in the summer months he 
 followed farming. In 1857, he was united in mar- 
 riage with Charlotte Mclntirc, and immediately 
 thereafter took charge of the home farm, to the 
 development and improvement of which he de- 
 voted his energies. He has owned several farms in 
 the vicinity of Rockford, 111., and has been quite 
 extensively interested in dealing in Iowa land and 
 in stock-raising. In 1866, he settled upon the farm 
 which is yet his home. It is an arable tract of land, 
 under a high state of cultivation, and well im- 
 
 proved with good buildings and all the accessories 
 of a model farm. The home, which is situated on 
 an eminence, commands an extended view of the 
 Rock River Valley. 
 
 Four children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hart, two sons and two daughters: Belle C, Albert 
 E., Fred A. and Jennie May. Belle and Fred are 
 both members of the Methodist Church. Mr. Hart 
 holds membership with Harmony Grange No. 557, 
 and Rockford Lodge No. 102, A. F. & A. M. In 
 politics, he is a supporter of Republican principles, 
 but has never sought or desired public office, pre- 
 ferring to devote his entire attention to his busi- 
 ness, which he has followed with signal success. 
 
 —J 
 
 -^=^®. 
 
 M^^^<m= 
 
 RS. AUGUSTA HARDY, daughter of John 
 J. Crill, was born on her father's farm in 
 Monroe Township, Ogle County, 111., and, 
 after acquiring her education in the pub- 
 lic schools, received a teacher's certificate. Had 
 she been in poor circumstances and obliged to 
 earn her own livelihood, she would doubtless have 
 followed that profession, but was not called upon 
 to do so. Seventeen years ago, at her home in 
 Monroe Township, she gave her hand in marriage 
 to Henry Hardy. He is a native of the Empire 
 State, and was only about seven years of age when, 
 with his parents, he came to Winnebago County, 
 111., the days of his boyhood and youth being spent 
 in the vicinity of Rockford, and his education be- 
 ing acquired in the common schools. 
 
 Henry Hardy's parents, John and Margaret 
 (Smith) Hardy, are both deceased. They were 
 natives of the Empire State, and the father fol- 
 lowed farniing as his chosen occupation. He was 
 a very successful agriculturist, and continued to en- 
 gage in that pursuit in this county for many years, 
 but later went to Michigan, where he died. He was 
 then advanced in life. His wife had died some years 
 previous in this county in the faith of the Method- 
 ist Church, of which she was a member. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hardy were excellent people, and will be re- 
 membered by many of their old friends and ac- 
 quaintances in this community. Their family 
 numbered eight children. 
 
922 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Heni-y Hardy for some years has been engaged 
 in business in Rockford, and is regarded as one of 
 the wide-awake, enterprising and progressive citi- 
 zens. He and his wife own some valuable prop- 
 erty, and are in comfortable circumstances. In 
 polities, be is a su^Dporter of Republican principles, 
 and himself and wife attend the First Congrega- 
 tional Church. They have one daughter, M. 
 Blanche, who was educated in the Rockford cit}' 
 schools, and is an accomplished young lad^^, yet at 
 home. 
 
 elTARLES A. WORKS, Prosecuting Attorney 
 for Winnebago County, residing at Rock- 
 ford, was born in Guilford Township, Win- 
 nebago County, this State, May 4, 1848. His fa- 
 ther, Charles, one of the pioneers of this coUnty, 
 was born in Westmoreland, Cheshire County, N. H., 
 November 24, 1803. His grandfather, Aaron, 
 was a New England farmer, and spent his last 
 years in Westmoreland. After receiving a com- 
 mon-school education in his native village, the 
 father of our subject removed to New York State, 
 where he engaged in teaching and made his home 
 until 1834. 
 
 Coming to Illinois during that year, Mr. Works, 
 Sr., located in Ottawa and resided there until Feb- 
 ruary, 1836, when he came to Winnebago Count}'. 
 At that time, two or three families occupied the 
 present site of Rockford, and the surrounding 
 country was but sparsely settled, tlie county itself 
 not having been organized nor any land surve3'^s 
 completed. He made a claim to a tract of Govern- 
 ment land in what is now Guilford Township and 
 erected a log house, in which the subject of our 
 sketch was born. In 1863, after having spent a 
 lifetime in the occupation of farming, he came to 
 Rockford and lived retired until he passed away 
 in 1881. His fellow-citizens recognized his fitness 
 for positions of trust and he was frequently called 
 upon to occupy official posts of honor. In 1868, 
 he was elected .Justice of the Peace and held the 
 office until his death. He was the first Supervisor 
 of Guilford Township, also served as Collector and 
 Assessor and for four years as County Treasurer. 
 
 In his political belief, he was a firm Republican and 
 was one of the voters at the first election ever 
 held in Winnebago County. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Jeanette Sanford and she was born in Ver- 
 mont. She was the mother of three children: 
 Charles A., Mary H. and Laura J. The son, who 
 is the subject of this notice, received his education 
 in the public schools of the district and was gradu- 
 ated from the East Side High School in 1868. 
 Afterward he entered Beloit College, where he 
 completed his literary education in the Class of '73. 
 
 Upon starting out in business, Mr. Works ac- 
 cepted the position of clerk in the office of the 
 Clerk of the Supreme Court at Ottawa, where 
 he remained until 1875. In September of that 
 year, he was elected Superintendent of Schools 
 in the city of La Salle and occupied that posi- 
 tion two years, when he entered the office of 
 the Circuit Clerk at Ottawa and served as Deputy 
 Clerk until the spring of 1878. During the en- 
 tire period of his residence in La Salle County, he 
 devoted his leisure hours to the study of law, and 
 was admitted to practice at the Bar of Illinois in 
 1878. About the same time, he received an ap- 
 pointment to a position with the United States 
 Superintendent of Indian Affairs stationed at 
 Yankton, Dak. 
 
 During the latter part of 1878, Mr. Works re- 
 turned to Rockford, and in January of the follow- 
 ing year opened an office for the practice of law, 
 since which time he has been engaged actively as 
 an attorney and counselor-at-law. He was elected 
 States Attorney in 1880 and has served ever since 
 (1892) with universal satisfaction and honor to 
 himself. A Republican politically, he cast his first 
 vote for Gen. Grant, and has always upheld the 
 principles of the party of his choice. In 1888, he was 
 a delegate to the Republican National Convention. 
 He was instructed for Gresham, voting for him 
 first and for President Harrison afterward. Sc- 
 cially, he is a member of Rockford Lodge No. 102, 
 A. F. & A. M., Winnebago Chapter No. 24, R. A. 
 M. and Crusader Commandery No. 17, K. T., Free- 
 port Consistory, and attained the Thirty-third 
 Degree in Boston, in September, 1891. 
 
 In November, 1880, the marriage of Mr. Works 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 923 
 
 to Miss Eva Enoch took place, and they are the 
 parents of three children: Marion S., Mabel J. and 
 Helen C. They are members of the Westminister 
 Presbyterian Church, and liberal supporters of re- 
 ligious and benevolent enterprises. Mrs. Works 
 was born in Guilford Township, Winnebago Coun- 
 ty, 111., November 24, 1853. Her grandparents, 
 Henry and Mary Enoch, were natives respectively 
 of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and the former 
 erected the first building in Guilford Township, it 
 being a log cabin. 
 
 Hon. Abraham I. Enoch, father of Mrs. Works, 
 was born in Dayton, Ohio, and in September, 
 1835, accompanied his parents thence to Winne- 
 bago County. The family was one of the first tp 
 settle in the township, and the mother was a 
 charter member of the first Methodist Episcopal 
 Church organized in the county. Abraham I. 
 Enoch engaged in farming in Guilford Township 
 until 1867, when he removed to Rockford and was 
 associated with James B. Skinner and C. C. Briggs in 
 the manufacture of agricultural implements until 
 his death in 1883, April 30. He served two terms in 
 the Illinois State Legislature, and held many other 
 positions of trust during his life. The maiden 
 name of the mother of Mrs. Works was Catherine 
 J. Davis, and she was born near London, Canada, 
 the daughter of Thaddeus and Catherine Davis. 
 She is still living and makes her home in Rockford. 
 
 I SAAC A. CORNP.LL. Among the progressive 
 I farmers and stockraisers of Boone County, we 
 _!, are pleased to present a sketch of the gentle- 
 man whose name appears at the head of this para- 
 graph, and whose pleasant home and excellent farm 
 are to be found in Manchester Township, where he 
 has resided for the past thirty-eight years. His 
 father, Amos Cornell, Jr., was born in Vermont, 
 March 25, 1807, and was brought to Hamilton 
 County, N. Y., when an infant, by his parents, 
 Amos and Rhoda Cornell, the former a native of 
 Vermont, born February 3, 1779, and the latter of 
 the same State, born April 9, 1781. Amos Cornell, 
 Sr., was a farmer, and after coming to New York 
 State, settled in the wilderness on one hundred 
 
 and forty-flve acres of land, the same being in 
 three counties, Hamilton, Fulton and Saratoga. 
 He erected a rude log house on the Saratoga cor- 
 ner of his farm, and there he and his thrifty and 
 economical wife resided many years, and reared 
 their three children. When quite advanced in 
 years, they removed to an adjacent village, named 
 Northville, and there Mr. Cornell passed away 
 when seventy-seven years of age. 
 
 Amos Cornell, Jr., father of our subject, selected 
 his wife in the person of Miss Hannah S. Ayles- 
 worth, of Rhode Island, and four living children 
 blessed this union. They buried one son, John A., 
 who was drowned in a small pond near the house, 
 when but twenty months old. This was a crushing 
 blow to the bereaved parents. The children 
 who grew to adult years were as follows: Mar- 
 tha A., deceased; Isaac A-, our subject; Laura 
 M., now Mrs. Halsey G. Clark, of Rockford; and 
 Lottie A., deceased. The father of these children 
 died at the early age of thirty-seven jears, and 
 the mother received her final summons in North- 
 ville, April 3, 1864, when fifty-five years of age. 
 
 Isaac A. Cornell, our subject, was born in Hamil- 
 ton County, N. Y'., in 1830, and when twenty-four 
 years of age, he was filled with a desire to try his 
 fortune in the Far West. In 1854, he came to 
 Boone County, 111., and in June of that year pur- 
 chased one hundred and thirty acres at $12 per 
 acre, part of his present fine farm. In the pleas- 
 ant month of June, 1859, he was united in mar- 
 riage to Miss Mary E. Cady, a native of Steuben 
 County, N. Y., who was brought to Manchester 
 Township when four 3-ears of age, by her father, 
 Alvah Cady, one of the first settlers of Manchester 
 Township (see sketch of Dewitt C. Cady). After 
 their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Cornell settled at 
 once on their present farm, and went vigorously 
 to work to make improvements, and get a comfort- 
 able home. They now have four hundred and ten 
 acres of good, productive land, for which they paid 
 from $12 to $45 per acre, and Mr. Cornell is en- 
 gaged in general farming. He has worked hard 
 all his life until within the last five years, and has 
 been unusually prosperous. When first starting, 
 he received a gift of $600 from his mother, and 
 since then he has inherited $1,100, but the most of 
 
924 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his wealth has been accumulated by years of hard 
 work on the part of himself and wife. Although 
 thej' met with some reverses and discouragements, 
 as the best of farmers do, they still persevered, and 
 can now enjoy the fruits of their labor. 
 
 Our subject and his wife lost one infant son, 
 Charles, in 1862, and they now have four living 
 children, a daughter and three sons: Amos E., en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits on one of Mr. Cor- 
 nell's farms, married Miss Mary Roth, a neighbor's 
 daughter; Alvali A. carries on Mr. Cornell's farm, 
 and married Miss Eva Johnson, of this township, 
 and has one daughter three 3'ears old; Alice M., 
 now Mrs. Clarence Adams, resides in Beloit, Wis., 
 and has one son; and Charles A., a young man at 
 home, and a sturdy son of the soil. Mr. Cornell 
 has voted with the Republicans generally, but is 
 not a strict partisan, and will vote for a good 
 Democrat. He is a member of but cine secret so- 
 cietj-, the Anti-IIorse Thief organization, started 
 in 1868, and he has been its Secretary for many 
 years. This society has proved a fine thing in the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 m 
 
 ellARLES H. HOPKINS, another prominent 
 farmer, whose time thus far has been spent 
 in furthering the agricultural interests of 
 the county, is a native of Erie County, N. Y.,born 
 in 1835. His father, Cyrus H. Hoplcins, was a na- 
 tive of Massachusetts, as was also Grandfather Hop- 
 kins, who passed his entire life in that State, 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits, dying when in 
 the prime of life. His family consisted of five 
 sons and one daughter, and his widow was long 
 known as the Widow Ransom, having married 
 again. 
 
 Cyrus Hopkins was born in the year 1782, but 
 removed from the old Bay State to Erie County, 
 N. Y., in 1801, and was there engaged in opening up 
 a road from Batavia to Buffalo. While on his way 
 to New York State, he stopped at an hotel in Ver- 
 mont, and there met two sisters (twins) with whom 
 he became deep]}^ enamored. The admiration 
 seemed mutual all around, but Mr. Hopkins found 
 himself in a dilemma, for he could not tell one 
 
 from the other, so striking was the resemblance. 
 However, he was not the one to get discouraged 
 over this novel situation, and, as he was deter- 
 mined to marry one of the young ladies, lie selected 
 Charlotte, and their nuptials were celebrated on 
 the 3d of March, 1811. The other sister was named 
 Loretta. This happy union resulted in the birth 
 of twelve children, six sons and six daughters. 
 Mrs. Hopkins' father, Mr. Bissell, was the proprie- 
 tor of an hotel in Randolph, Vt., in connection 
 with which he also carried on agricultural pur- 
 suits. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins settled in Erie County, 
 about eighteen miles East of Buffalo, on a timber 
 tract, where they continued to reside until 1855, 
 except for about seven years, when they resided 
 twenty-three miles west of Buffalo. At the above- 
 mentioned date, seeing a better opening for them 
 in the West, they sold out, and with their four 
 youngest children, having buried one m New 
 York State, they came to Roscoe Township, Win- 
 nebago County, 111. They reared to adult years the 
 following children : Cyrus B., Henry L., Loretta M., 
 Charlotte S., Dorothy A., Eliza A., John 0., Will- 
 iam W., Sarah B., Nelson F., Charles H. and 
 Jane W. Of these the following are now deceased: 
 Sarah B., Doroth}^ A., Loretta M. and Cyrus B. 
 Those now living are married and the heads of 
 families. Mr. Hopkins' son William came to 
 Winnebago County in 1854, one year prior to his 
 father's settlement here, and located in Beloit, 
 where he followed the carpenter's trade. 
 
 Mr. Hopkins purchased of Dewey Brown sev- 
 enty-one acres on section 3, where our subject is 
 now living, and paid $28 per acre for this. On it 
 was a fair house and barn, and here Mr. Hopkins 
 and the partner of his joys and sorrows, his estim- 
 able wife, passed the closing scenes of their lives, 
 he dying September 6, 1863, when eighty-one 
 years of age, and his wife on the 16th of March, 
 1885, when ninetj^-four years of age. Mrs. Hop- 
 kins was a frail and very delicate woman all her 
 life, but preserved her mental faculties up to the 
 last. Mr. Hopkins was an active participant in 
 the War of 1812, and was in the Quartermaster's 
 department. His brother Timothy was a General 
 in that war, and both came out unscathed. 
 

 V 
 
 
 
 f.JT It ^ ' 
 
 ^^.^^^ <^2ie^i^d2^ r^,:^~-?^y^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 &27 
 
 Cliarles H. Hopkins, tlie subject of this sketch, 
 has been a life-long farmer, and has resided on the 
 old homstead in Roseoe Township since 1855, ex- 
 cept for two j'ears, 1870 and 1871, when he visited 
 relatives in Erie County and Brooklyn, N. Y. In 
 1876, he was married to Miss Emma L. Lund, who 
 was left an orphan when six or seven years 
 of age. She was adopted by the parents of our 
 subject and was reared as one of the family. This 
 union has pi'oved a most happy one, and all their 
 children, three in number, are living: Clara M., 
 born in 1878; Nellie J., in 1881; and Isadore, in 
 1885. These children are attending school at Be- 
 loit. The eldest, Clara, has marked taste and tal- 
 ent for art, and both she and her sister Nellie are 
 apt musical scholars. Mr. Hopkins' business is 
 farming in a general way, but his stock is mostly 
 sheep, of which he prefers and raises the medium 
 grade. He is in no sense a politician, nor an ultra 
 partisan, but votes with the Republican party. 
 
 iUS LENDSTROM. The brick and stone 
 mason trade is of primary significance, and 
 foremost among those engaged in it in 
 Rockford is Mr. Lendstrom, a contractor and first- 
 class workman. This gentleman, whose portrait is 
 shown on the opposite page, first came to this city 
 in 1867, but afterward, in 1869, went to Topeka, 
 Kan., where he resided for four years. From there 
 he went to Kansas City, and one year later to Chi- 
 cago, where he resided for fourteen years. In the 
 meantime, in 1882, he removed his family to Rock- 
 ford, and since 1887 he has made his permanent 
 home in this city. He has been very successful in 
 his business enterprises, and besides owning a good 
 home at No. 727 North First Street, owns three lots 
 in the North End, with a fine brick residence on 
 one. 
 
 Mr. Lendstrom was born in Wester Gothland 
 Province, Sweden, March 6, 1841, and was the first 
 of the family to come to the United States. He 
 commenced learning his trade in Stockholm, but 
 finished in New York City. He has been a very 
 progressive and skillful workman, and the thor- 
 
 ough training he received in Stockholm, and the 
 special training he gained in the Empire Cit}^, are 
 apparent in his work. His parents, Lawrence and 
 Maria C. (Dolberg) Lendstrom, were natives of 
 Sweden, the father born in 1808, and the mother 
 in 1803. They were prominently identified with 
 the Lutheran Church, and died in tlieir native 
 country. They had another son beside our sub- 
 ject residing in the States, William Lendstrom, a 
 grocer at Austin, Tex. 
 
 Gus Lendstrom selected his wife in the person of 
 Miss Henrietta Haltgren, and their nuptials were 
 celebrated in Wester Gothland Province, Sweden, 
 whore her birth occurred December 1, 1843. Her 
 parents, Henry and Gustava (Strembach) Haltgren, 
 came to the United States in 1871, and settled in 
 Cliicago. They were the parents of five children, 
 one deceased, and three now living in Rockford. 
 The father died when sixty-four years of age, and 
 the mother when sixty. Both held membership in 
 the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Mr. Lendstrom and his wife became the parents 
 of ten children, two deceased: John and Hickla. 
 Those living areas follows: Charles R., a grocer of 
 Rockford, who married Miss Cartensa Lundstrom; 
 Anna, who became the wife of Frank Lundstrom, 
 of the firm of Larson & Lundstrom, on North 
 Madison Street; Jennie, a clerk at Hills & Olson's 
 dry-goods store; Lawrence H., a brick-mason; Os- 
 car G., who is emplo3'ed in Wilkins' Factory; 
 Laura, Nina and Matthew, who are at home. Mr. 
 Lendstrom and family are members of the Swedish 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 ly? AURENCE McDONALD. It affords the 
 I (® biographical writer pleasure to be able to 
 JLAy^ record in this volume the main incidents 
 in the life of Mr. McDonald, who has been Justice 
 of the Peace in Seward Township, Winnebago 
 County, for the past twenty-seven years. He has 
 also held the office of Assessor for nine years. 
 School Director for fifteen jears, and Township 
 Trustee for nine years. He was elected to the 
 State Legislature in 1881-82, during which time 
 he served on many important committees. He is 
 
928 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a member of the Agiiciiltural Board, and is now 
 the oldest officer in that body, having served in all 
 the chairs. He is also Vice-president of the Old 
 Settlers' Society of Seward, which he has served on 
 various occasions as Historian. 
 
 January' 6, 1833, our subject was born in County 
 Meath, Ireland, his parents being Patrick and Julia 
 McDonald, natives of the above-named county. 
 The father was a shepherd and stock-dealer, and 
 died in his native place when seventy-seven j'sars 
 of age. Our subject was one in a family of eleven 
 children, and in 1854, in company with his mother 
 and a niece, emigrated to the United States, and 
 located in New Jersey, where Mrs. McDonald 
 passed away in 1866, when eightj'-four years of 
 age. 
 
 The original of this sketch, in 1855, landed in 
 Winnebago Count}' with but §1 in his pocket. He 
 immediately went to work for ex-Gov. Bcbb, by 
 whom he was employed for several years, and at 
 the end of that time purchased his present property 
 and established a home of his own. September 1, 
 1867, he was married to Miss Mary, daughter of 
 David and Elizabeth L. Williams, who was born 
 May 24, 1846, in this county. Her father was a 
 native of Maescar, Carmarthenshire, South Wales, 
 and was the son of George and Mary (Jones) 
 Williams, also natives of Wales. The father 
 of Mrs. McDonald came to Rockford, this State, 
 in 1840, and in 1877 returned to Wales, where 
 his death occurred when seventy-three years old. 
 His wife,the mother of Mrs. McDonald, still resides 
 on the old home in Wales; she was the mother 
 of four children, two of whom are deceased. 
 
 Mr. McDonald is the proprietor of a magniBeent 
 estate of eight hundred and sixteen acres, ail of 
 which are cultivated and well stocked. He is 
 shrewd, careful and persistent in his operations, 
 and displays great vigor in his undertakings, but 
 with all is modest and conscientious in his deal- 
 ings. Of his family of thirteen children, two are 
 deceased. Those living are as follows: Elizabeth A., 
 Edward, John, Julia F., Mary, Charlotte, Emily, 
 Patrick, David, Laurence, Jr., and Margaret. Those 
 deceased are Katie and Rose. 
 
 Mr. McDonald had several nephews who were 
 soldiers in the late war, they being sons of a sister 
 
 who resided in New Jersey. He has^voted the 
 Republican ticket from the organization of the 
 party, with the exception of twelve years when 
 he voted the Democratic ticket for Greeley, Til- 
 den and Plancock. He has ever been active in 
 political work, as his continuance for so many 
 years in office would indicate. He has. the ready 
 speech and quick intelligence of the race from 
 which he descends, is respected as his good qual- 
 ities deserve, and like other members of his family, 
 is a devout member of the Catholic Church. 
 
 '^ON. SEELY PERRY. Among the resi- 
 dents of Rockford who have devoted 
 themselves untiringly to the development 
 of the business resources of this place, we 
 find the name of Mr. Perry, who is President of 
 the Rockford Lumber and Fuel Companj', one of 
 the important industries of Winnebago County. 
 He is truly honored by his neighbors, and his long 
 life of industry, usefulness and integrity has 
 given him a hold on the community which all 
 might well desire to share. He is an old settler in 
 Rockford and is seventy years of age, having been 
 born in Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Mass., Aug- 
 ust 22, 1822, and it is universally conceded that 
 he has not an enemy in the world. 
 
 The father of our subject, Ezra Perry, was also 
 born in Stockbridge, in 1793. His father, Peter 
 Perry, was a native of Rhode Island, where the 
 great-grandfather of our subject, also named Peter 
 Perry, was born. The latter-named gentleman was 
 of Welsh ancestry and spent his entire life in his 
 native State, where he carried on the occupation of 
 a farmer. Grandfather Perry removed from Rhode 
 Island to Berkshire County, Mass., where he was 
 among the early settlers of Stockbridge, locating 
 midway between the present sites of Glendale and 
 Housatonic. There he cleared a farm in the wil- 
 derness and resided until his death. The maiden 
 name of his wife, the grandmother of our subject, 
 was Lydia Wilmarth. 
 
 The father of him of whom we write was reared 
 to agricultural pursuits and remained a resident of 
 Stockbridge until 1836, at which time he removed 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 929 
 
 to Monroe County, N. Y., where he purchased a 
 farm in the town of Riga. There he made his home 
 until 1851, at the expiration of which time he came 
 to Rockford, making this city his home until liis 
 decease, whicli occurred in 1875. He was married 
 to Miss Anna Ball, who was born in Salisbury, 
 Conn., and reared to womanhood in Vermont. She 
 became the mother of seven children, and departed 
 this life in 1877 in Rockford. Seely Perry of this 
 sketch received his early education in the public 
 schools of Stockbridge, wiiere he made the best of 
 his opportunities, and is to-day an intelligent and 
 well-read gentleman. After his parents removed 
 to New York, he attended the Oneida Institute, and 
 in 1841 entered the Oberlin University at Oberlin, 
 Ohio. He was a student there for a twelvemonth 
 and then entered Union College at Schenectady, 
 N. Y., from which institution he was graduated in 
 the Class of '45. 
 
 In the fall of the above-named year, Mr. Perry 
 came west to Kentucky by the most convenient 
 route at that time, which was via the railroad to 
 Buffalo, thence on board a steamer to Toledo, from 
 which city he traveled on the Toledo and Maumee 
 Canal to Cincinnati, thence by steamer to Louis- 
 ville, and by stage to Springfield, Ky., where for 
 four years he was engaged in teaching a private 
 school. In 1849, our subject came to the Prairie 
 State, and, locating in Winnebago County, engaged 
 as a teacher at Rockton for two years. Later, 
 he came to Rockford, where he followed that pro- 
 fession for a year, at the end of which time he en- 
 gaged in the lumber business, in which he has ac- 
 tively continued the greater portion of the time 
 since. He is one of the most prominent men of 
 the city and has aided greatly in its upbuilding, 
 being energetic, affable and kind-hearted. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Perry occurred in 1846, 
 at which time Miss Elizabeth Benedict became his 
 wife. That lady was born in Verona, Oneida 
 County, N. Y., and was a daughter of Lewis Bene- 
 dict. She departed this life in 1874, and Mr. Perry 
 was again married, March, 16, 1876, this time to Ma- 
 rie Thompson, the daughter of James and Sarah 
 Thompson, who was born in the Dominion. Mr. 
 Perry by his first marriage became the father of 
 two children, Lewis Seely, and Eva, the latter of 
 
 whom is the wife of Philip Moore. One daughter 
 was born by the second union who bears the name 
 of Marie. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Perry are both members in very 
 good standing of the First Congregational Church, 
 where they are liberal contributors and active 
 workers. Our subject has always been a Demo- 
 crat, one who docs not swerve from the views and 
 principles promulgated by that organization. He 
 has served his fellow-townsmen in many impor- 
 tant oflflces and his interest in school matters 
 caused him to be placed on the Board of Educa- 
 tion, which he served as its President for a number 
 of years. For three terms he was Alderman of 
 Rockford and one term discharged the duties of 
 the responsible office of Mayor. Sociallj', he is a 
 member of Rockford Lodge No. 102, A. F. & A. M., 
 and is identified with Winnebago Chapter No. 24, 
 R. A. M. He is also connected with Crusader 
 Commandery No. 17, K. T. He was one of the 
 organizers of the Rockford Lumber and Fuel 
 Companj-and by his energy and perseverance, uni- 
 ted with economy and good business qualifications, 
 he has secured a competency whicli enables him to 
 live in the enjoyment of the comfort which wealth 
 affords. 
 
 v 
 
 * IfelLLIAM C. LAWSHE. In LeRoy Town- 
 ship, Boone County, may be seen a beau- 
 tiful farm, adorned with a comfortable resi- 
 dence and first-class farm buildings, which is the 
 property of Mr. Lawshe, who is living retired from 
 active work of any kind at his home in Sharon, 
 Wis, He was born in Union County, Pa., June 7, 
 1832, and is the son of Abrara Lawshe, whose birth 
 occurred in the same State and county, in '1806. 
 The father was a blacksmith, which trade he fol- 
 lowed his entire life. In 1837, he moved with a 
 horse team to Franklin County, Ohio, where he 
 was ranked among the well-to-do citizens. 
 
 The lady who became the mother of our subject 
 prior to her marriage was Hannah Parks, daughter 
 of Thomas and Elizabeth Parks. On emigrating to 
 Ohio, Mr. and Mrs. Lawshe were accompanied by 
 
930 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 four children. They resided in the Buckeye State 
 for twelve years, where their son Theodore was 
 born, and died when eight j^ears of age. In the spring 
 of 1849, the father disposed of his property and 
 again came West, this time locating in Boone 
 Count}', after twenty-one daj's' travel. The first 
 land of which he became the owner was eighty 
 acres on section 8, Le Roy Township, where he 
 erected a shop and followed his trade in addi- 
 tion to his farm operations. 
 
 Our subject aided his father in the shop in the 
 summer months and attended school in the winter 
 season. About twenty years after locating here, 
 the father sold his farm, making on the transaction 
 $2,800, and moved to Sharon, Wis., where he pur- 
 chased a home and resided with his wife until their 
 death, the father passing, awa}' in 1871, and the 
 mother two 3'ears later. Thej' were the parents 
 of the following-named children: William C, our 
 subject; Mary, Mrs. Isaac Cramer, now deceased; 
 Eleanor, the widow of the Rev. W. D. Skelton ; and 
 Cherokee, Mrs. H. B. Crofts, of Iowa. 
 
 William C. Lawshe was married in this county, 
 in the spring of 1868, to Sarah, daughter of .lohn 
 and .lulia (Greene) Winkler, natives of Penns3-1- 
 vania, who came to Illinois in an early day. They 
 were farmers, and reared a family of nine children. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lawshe made their first home on 
 twenty acres of land on section 16, for which our 
 subject paid $15 per acre. Four j^ears later, he 
 sold at a handsome advance, and bought sixty acres 
 on section 14 at $24 per acre. They farmed there 
 for thirteen years, during which time they added 
 forty acres totheir estate, which is included in their 
 present farm. In 1879, Mr. Lawshe sold his sixty 
 acres and became the owner of two hundred ad- 
 joining his forty-acre tract, which cost $40 an acre, 
 and is^now valued at $70. In 1890, he erected a 
 large barn on his place, which has a gambrel roof 
 and is 44x64 feet in dimensions, with twenty-four 
 foot posts. 
 
 Mr. Lawshe retired from busy life in August, 
 1891, and, moving to Sharon, erected a comfortable 
 home where ho lives with his two youngest chil- 
 dren and wife. They have buried one daughter, 
 Marba, who died when twelve years of age, those 
 living being Fuller A.,Isa.ac G., William W., Mary 
 
 C, and Charley F. Mr. Lawshe has been Assessor 
 and Township Treasurer, also Town Clerk. In pol- 
 itics, he was first a Whig, later a Republican, and 
 in 1882 joined the Prohibitionists, on which ticket 
 he ran for the Legislature and was only defeated 
 by a small majority. Mr. and Mrs. Lawshe have 
 been the architects of their own fortunes, as they 
 started even with the world, and by toil and econ- 
 omy have gained a comfortable competency. 
 
 ^^ TTO A. BECKSTRAND, who is engaged in 
 |( I general farming on section 9, Cherry Valley 
 ^^f' Township, Winnebago County, was born on 
 the 14th of March, 1852, in Sweden. His parents 
 are both now deceased: His father, P. M. Peter- 
 son, was a Swedish farmer, and died in 1872, at 
 the age of sixty-seven years. His wife died in 
 1863, when fifty years of age. They were mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church, and lived consistent 
 Christian lives. Their family numbered nine chil- 
 dren, seven of whom are now living, the following 
 being residents of this country: A. W., of Minne- 
 apolis; Mrs. A. S. Gronquist, of Chicago; and Mrs. 
 S. I. Johnson, of Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Beckstrand, whose name heads this record, 
 spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his 
 parents' home, but at the age of eighteen deter- 
 mined to seek his fortune in America, and bidding 
 good-bye to friends and native land, sailed for 
 New York City. On reaching this country, he 
 came at once to Rockford, where his brother, A. 
 W., was then living. Some years later, our subject 
 was united in marriage in that city to Miss Anna 
 A. Carlson, a native of Sweden. Her father was a 
 Lutheran minister, and died in middle life in his 
 native land. Her mother is still living. Mrs. 
 Beckstrand is the only member of her family that 
 has located in this country. She crossed the At- 
 lantic in 1876, came to Rockford, and has since 
 been a resident of Winnebago County. She is an 
 intelligent and cultured ladj-, and has proved a 
 good wife and mother. Two children have been 
 born unto this worth j^ couple, a son and daughter, 
 Celia V. and Otto G. 
 
 Since coming to this county in 1870, Mr. Beck- 
 

 ? 
 
 t 
 
 i^^QJ2/ ^.^ 
 
 -^■t-O-z^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 933 
 
 strand lias continuously engaged in farming, with 
 the exception of two years spent in the employ of 
 the Forest City Furniture Company. He worked 
 as a farm band near Rockford for a year, but for 
 the past eleven years has owned and operated his 
 present farm, comprising forty-two acres of arable 
 land on section 9, Cherry Valley Township. He 
 has his farm well-improved, and under a high state 
 of cultivation, and is a well-known agriculturist 
 of this community, who has led a busy and upright 
 life, well deserving the high regard in which he is 
 held. In politics, he is a supporter of Republican 
 principles. 
 
 ^RICE LEWIS, deceased, was a prominent 
 citizen of New Milford Township, Winne- 
 bago County, and his portrait and biog- 
 raphy add value to this volume. He was 
 born in Steuben, Oneida County, N. Y., and was a 
 son of William Lewis, of Utica, N. Y., who made a 
 fine farm in Steuben Township, Oneida County, 
 where he was a prominent citizen. He served as 
 Justice of the Peace many years, was Supervisor, 
 and represented his district in the State Legisla- 
 ture. He married Janette Williams, a native of 
 Wales, who came with her parents to this country 
 when a child. In politics, he was a stanch Repub- 
 lican, a warm admirer of Roscoe Conkling, whom 
 he considered a most able statesman, and during 
 the late Rebellion was active in recruiting soldiers 
 for the war. He was twice married, and had six 
 children. 
 
 Our subject was reared to manhood on a farm in 
 Oneida County, N. Y., and on the 15th of June, 
 1870, married Miss S. L. Ilizer, of that county, a 
 daughter of Adam and Lucy W. Hizer, both of 
 whom were natives of Herkimer County, N. Y., 
 and the parents of five children, two sons and 
 three daughters: Mary A., Harriet, Charles W., 
 Silas H. and Sarah L. In May, 1871, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lewis came West to Rockford, 111., and after a 
 year spent in that city, went to Flagg Station, 
 Ogle County, where our subject engaged in buying 
 and shipping grain for three years. 
 In December, 1874, Mr. Lewis purchased a 
 
 farm of two hundred and seventy-one acres. The 
 land was arable, but without buildings. He erected 
 a pleasant residence on a hillside, in the midst of a 
 beautiful oak grove, and devoted his energies to 
 farming until his death. He made a specialty of 
 dairying and raising stock, and was very success- 
 ful in his undertakings, being an industrious and 
 enterprising man, possessed of good business abil- 
 ity. For about a year prior to his death, his health 
 was impaired, but on the morning of April 22, 
 1891, he had been around attending to his affairs, 
 and lay down to rest, when he soon dropped off 
 into that sleep from which there is no awakening. 
 He was an active member of the Methodist Church, 
 and belonged to the New Milford Lodge of Mod- 
 ern Woodmen, of which he was a charter member 
 and at the time of his death was Head Counsel. He 
 was highly respected by all who knew him, and his 
 death proved a loss to the community as well as 
 to his immediate family. 
 
 Mrs. Lewis has a family of six sons and a daugh- 
 ter: William A., Charles S., Elias, Price, Harriet, 
 Matthew Simpson and John A. Elias is attending 
 the High School of Rockford, from which William 
 was graduated in 1892, and the family is one of 
 which the mother may well be proud. She lost 
 one son, Ralph, who died in November, 1887, at 
 the age of two years. Mrs. Lewis and her family 
 are in comfortable circumstances, and with the aid 
 of her sons she manages the home farm. She is an 
 active and faithful member of the Methodist 
 Church, and a lady whose many excellencies of 
 character have endeared her to all with whom she 
 has come in contact. 
 
 RS. ELIZABETH KIN YON, of Belvidere, 
 is a native of Stark County, Ohio. She 
 was born in Massillon, November 16, 1835. 
 Her father, Thomas Marshall, and her 
 grandfather, Daniel Clarkson Marshall, were both 
 natives of London, England. The latter married 
 Sarah Lincoln, and they spent their entire lives in 
 London. Thomas was the only one of the family 
 who came to America. He was reared and educa- 
 ted in London, and sailed for the United States in 
 
934 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1813, landing in New York on tlie lltli of June. 
 He went to Ohio a few weelis later, making the 
 trip on horseback, and there engaged in teaming, 
 making his home in Stark County until his death. 
 He wedded Isabel Greenwood, a native of Liver- 
 pool, England, and a daughter of John Henry and 
 Mary (Martin) Greenwood, who emigrated with 
 their family to America in 1813, and spent the 
 remainder of their days in Ohio. Mrs. Marshall 
 died at her home in Belvidere in 1880, having 
 long survived her husband. 
 
 Under the parental roof Mrs. Kinyon spent the 
 days of her girlhood, and in 1855 gave her hand 
 in marriage to Thomas Hannali, wlio was born near 
 Montreal, Canada, and was a son of Thomas and 
 Sarah (Swail) Hannah. He was reared in Canada, 
 and when a young man went to Ohio, where he 
 engaged in farming until 1855, when he came with 
 his wife to Boone County and bought a tract of 
 land in Flora Township, wliere he engaged in farm- 
 ing until 1862. In August of that year, he en- 
 listed in Company G, Ninety-flfth Illinois Infan- 
 try, and participated in many important battles 
 with his regiment. He continued to serve until 
 tlie close of the war, when he was honorably dis- 
 charged, October 22, 1865, and iris death occurred 
 OJie month after his return. 
 
 Mrs. Hannah was again married, 1872, this time 
 to Job Kinyon, who was born in Huntington, Vt., 
 and was a son of Sylvester and Mary Kinyon, and 
 is numbered among the settlers of Boone County 
 of 1844. Purchasing a tract of land in Flora 
 Townsliip, he engaged in farming until 1861, 
 when, at the first call for troops, he enlisted and 
 was mustered in as Sergeant when Company B, of 
 the Fifteenth Regiment, was formed. He served 
 until October 18, 1862, when he was honorably 
 discharged on account of disability, and returned 
 home. He resided upon his farm until 1868, when 
 on account of ill health he removed to Belvidere, 
 where he lived retired until his death in April, 
 1890. 
 
 By her first marriage, Mrs. Kinyon has two sons: 
 Jesse, the elder, married Jennie Louise Huntoon, 
 who was born in Peru, 111., and is a daughter of 
 Charles H. and Emma (Duncan) Huntoon. They 
 have three children: Margaret E., Robert H. and 
 
 Marshall C. Thomas, the younger son, wedded 
 Louise Bennett, a native of Belvidere, and a daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Louise (Hipley) Bennett. Mrs. 
 Kinyon is a most estimable lady, held in high 
 regard by all who know her, and her friends 
 throughout the community are many. 
 
 f)IIOMAS FARLEY. The subject of this 
 sketch was born January 12, 1834, in Mor- 
 gan County, Ohio, and at the present time 
 resides on section 17, Flora Township, Boone 
 County. His father, James Farley, was born No- 
 vember 30, 1804, in Marshall County (the Pan- 
 handle district), W. Va., while his father, Andrew 
 Farley, was a native of York County, Pa., his birth 
 occurring in 1749. The great-grandparents, Thomas 
 and Jennie (Finley) Farley, emigrated from the 
 North of Ireland from the vicinity of the Boyne, 
 the former having taken part in the battle and 
 siege of that place in behalf of the Protestants. 
 
 Andrew Farley, the grandfather, was a man of 
 influence and wealth, and took an active part 
 in expelling the Indians from the western part 
 of Pennsylvania and Ohio. During that pe- 
 riod, from some unknown cause, he lost his 
 property, and thus his family of three daughters 
 and four sons were thrown upon their own re- 
 sources and the charities of the world at the time 
 of his decease in 1813. Thomas, one of the sons, 
 who now makes his home in Pittsburg, Pa., at the 
 age of ninety-one years, pursued the cabinet- 
 maker's trade for a number of years, or until his 
 ambition led him into politics. He was the incum- 
 bent of the offices of Clerk of the Court, Sheriff, 
 Postmaster, etc., on the Democratic side, and was 
 an able stump speaker; his sons and sons-in-law 
 are in the employ of the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & 
 Chicago Railroad Company, holding the respective 
 positions of Auditor, Clerk, Division Superintend- 
 ent and Civil Engineer, one of his sons having 
 been Auditor for twenty-five years. 
 
 James Farley, the second son of Andrew, and 
 the father of our subject, learned the trade of a 
 brick-maker, which he followed successfully until 
 twenty-four years of age, pursuing the calling in 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 935 
 
 Pittsburg and Washington, Pa., where he spent tlie 
 most of his youth and early manhood. At the 
 age of twenty-four, he emigrated to Eastern Ohio, 
 where he was first engaged in farming, and later 
 in selling goods and operating a mill, until Octo- 
 ber 20, 1853, when he removed to Cherry Valley. 
 In that vicinity, he carried on his farm, and was 
 engaged in mercantile pursuits for some twenty 
 years, or until he retired from active business. 
 
 James Farley's surroundings during his early 
 youth and manhood were unfavorable, but the 
 foundations of true and noble manhood were so 
 laid in his nature as not to be removed by adverse 
 surroundings. He borrowed copies of Plutarch's 
 Lives, Pope's Translation of Homer's Iliad, the 
 poems of Burns, and the lives of Franklin and 
 Washington, and, as opportunity offered, read these 
 standard and useful works in connection with his 
 Bible. Being possessed of apolitical tui'n of mind 
 and fine retentive memory, he made these few vol- 
 umes do the service of a good library. He, in op- 
 position to his brother, was a Whig, casting his first 
 vote for Henry Clay, and, on the organization of 
 the Republican party, voted for its candidates, al- 
 though his sympathies were with the Prohibition- 
 ists. He joined the Christian Church when young 
 and had the pleasure of seeing his family and 
 many of his friends become identified with that 
 church. He died at the home of his son in Flora, 
 January 27, 1890, aged eighty-five years and three 
 months. 
 
 Joseph, the third son of Andrew Farley, died at 
 Barnesville,Ohio, in 1840. David, the fourth son, 
 was drowned at Beverly, Ohio, July 4, 1840. Han- 
 nah Craig, the eldest daughter, who was the mother 
 of six sons and three daughters, died in 1854, at 
 Claysville, Pa. One of her sons is an attorney- 
 at-law at Keokuk, Iowa; one, now deceased, was 
 President of Jefferson College, Pa.; another is now 
 a Member of Congress; one died while teaching in 
 the South; the youngest is a merchant in Clays- 
 ville, Pa., while the remaining son is farming at 
 Reserve, Kan. Sarah, the second daughter, died in 
 1883, at Marietta, Ohio, in the vicinity of which 
 her large family of descendants now reside. Dru- 
 silla, the youngest, died near Beverly, Ohio, in 
 1882. The average age of the five older members 
 
 of James Farley's family was eighty-one and a 
 quarter years. 
 
 The grandmother of Thomas Farley bore the 
 maiden name of Hannah Terapleton. Her ances- 
 tors emigrated from Scotland and located at Old- 
 town, Md. Mrs. Farley died near Wheeling, W. Va., 
 in 1825. Thomas Taylor, the maternal grand- 
 father, was born at Wigan, near Manchester, Eng- 
 land, April 24, 1766. His wife, Margaret Nevel, 
 was born December 23, 1771, and was married Jan- 
 uary 1, 1793. She became tlie mother of ten chil- 
 dren, as follows: John, born in 1794; Mary, in 
 1796; Betsey, in 1798; Mary, in 1800; Ellen, the 
 mother of Thomas Farlej', in 1802; Thomas, in 
 1804; Ann, in 1807; Peter, in 1809; James L., in 
 1810; and Sarah, in 1818. 
 
 Thomas Taylor early showed indications of unu- 
 sual musical talent and compiled a musical work. 
 He was a tradesman, or merchant, in England, until 
 attaining his forty-ninth year, when, with his fam- 
 ily, he emigrated to America, setting sail from Liv- 
 erpool on -Easter Sunday, and lauding in Philadel- 
 phia eleven weeks later. They crossed the Alleghany 
 mountains with teams to Pittsburg, at which place 
 they took passage down the Oliio River upon 
 keel-boats, landing at Marietta, Ohio. Going back 
 into the almost unbroken forest about fifteen miles, 
 Mr. Taylor established a home, erecting a log house 
 which later gave way to a brick dwelling. For 
 thirty-eight years this sjjot was their home, or until 
 their decease in 1852, their deaths occurring only 
 about ten days apart. 
 
 In 1848, eight of the family were married and 
 located within a radius of six miles of the old 
 homestead. The youngest one died at the age of 
 forty-nine. The average of tlie ages of the ten was 
 seventy-one years, four of the number having lived 
 to be over eighty years of age. 
 
 Peter Taylor went to Kentucky to prepare him- 
 self to be a minister in the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, in which State he remained until his 
 decease, which occurred near Ghent, on the Ohio 
 River, in 1867. Two of the family are still living: 
 James L.,of Flora, and Ann Bacon, of Sioux City, 
 Iowa. Of their grandchildren, fifty -seven grew to 
 manhood and womanhood, forty of whom are liv- 
 ing, whose average ages are about forty-nine years_ 
 
936 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAI'HICAL RECORD. 
 
 The children comprised in the family of James 
 and Ellen Taylor Farley were Hannah, who was 
 born in 1828, and married William Kirkland; 
 Sarah, who was born in 1830, became the wife of 
 Philip Ileckman; Elizabeth, who was born in 1832, 
 married B. B. Ilovey; Thomas, born in 1834; Mary 
 Carpenter, now deceased, born in 1836; Lucj'', born 
 in 1854, married Austin G. Sprague, wlio was killed 
 in 1863, in a charge on Champion Hill, in the war 
 of the Rebellion. IMrs. Sprague was married again 
 to John Brooks. Maria L.,who was born in 1840, 
 is now Mrs. Keith; Beccie, now Mrs. Dun well, and 
 Nellie (twins), were born in 1843. The latter be- 
 came the wife of Capt. J. W. Hicks, of the regular 
 army, who died of jellow fever in Louisiana, in 
 1867. Three years later, Mrs. Hicks was married 
 to Edwin Thomas Ironmaster, at Portland, Me., 
 who died in 1872, and in 1881 his widow became 
 the wife of David Eckert, of Topeka, Kan. Carrie, 
 the youngest of the family, who was born in 1849, 
 is now Mrs. E. T. Frowe. Thirty-seven grand- 
 children are living, five of whom are attorneys-at 
 law, three physicians, nine students, five farmers, 
 or farmers' wives, three clerks, two merchants, and 
 one engineer. Ellen Taylor Farlej^, the mother of 
 Thomas Farle}^, died in Cherry Valley, October 25, 
 1880, aged seventy-eight years. The average of 
 the .ages of the nine now living of the family is 
 flfty-flve years. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was married, December 
 25, 1859, to Lottie E. Spr.ague, of Washington 
 County, Ohio, whose distant ancestors, Jonathan 
 and Joshua Sprague, were among the first colonists 
 of New England. Mr. and Mrs. Farley were the 
 parents of two daughters: Euretta IL, born No- 
 vember 10, 1860, died in February, 1886, and 
 Marietta, who was born in February, 1862, and 
 died .January 10, 1863. The wife and mother de- 
 parted this life July 23, 1865. 
 
 The lady whom Mr. Farley chose as his second 
 wife was Mrs. Jennie P. (Haydon) Houghton, their 
 marriage being celebrated September 3, 1868, at 
 Galva, this State. She died November 5, 1880. 
 Her ancestor on the paternal side, William Haydon, 
 emigrated from England to Fayette County, Pa., 
 which place was their home for some five genera- 
 tions, his descendants there being as follows: John, 
 
 and two in succession by the name of Jonathan. 
 Her father's name was Jonathan Jefferson. The 
 family lived for a time in Maysville, Kj'., emi- 
 grating from there to Indiana, and thence to Fulton 
 Countj', this State. Mrs. Farley's mother's name 
 was Reeves. Her family were from Virginia, while 
 she was born in Fountain County, Ind. Her only 
 son. Prof. F. A. Houghton, is a graduate of Cam- 
 bridge University, and for a number of years was 
 Professor of Natural Science in the Englewood 
 High School; Eunice and Eugenia, her twin 
 daughters, born in Cherry Valley May 13, 1870, 
 are students of Hillsdale College. These two 
 daughters are the only children Mr. Farley has 
 living. In addition to her fine natural abilities, 
 Mrs. Farley had considerable training in music 
 and other accomplishments. 
 
 -^1. 
 
 ^-^l 
 
 PANIEL RYAN. In the annals of Seward 
 Township, Winnebago County, the name of 
 this gentleman occupies an honorable place 
 as one of its efficient pioneers, who has given prac- 
 tical aid in making it one of the finest farming 
 regions in this section of the countj-. By steady 
 toil and excellent management, he has acquired a 
 valuable property since coming to Illinois, and has 
 a large tract of two hundred acres, all lying in 
 one body, besides ten acres in Ogle County, his 
 entire acreage being under the best of cultivation 
 and exceedingly well improved. 
 
 Like many of the prominent residents of Win- 
 nebago County, our subject was born in County 
 Kilkenny, Ireland, November 28, 1829, and is a 
 son of Thomas and Julia Ryan, who were born, 
 reared and died in their native Ireland. Daniel 
 remained at home until 1847, when, desiring to 
 see something of the New World, he emigrated to 
 the United States, and for seven years worked by 
 the month on farms in New York State. At the 
 end of that time, he came to Winnebago County, 
 with whose interests he has been identified ever 
 since. 
 
 The ladjr to whom our subject was married June 
 22, 1862, was Miss Mary Flynn, a native of West- 
 meath, Ireland, where her birth occurred March 
 
f \ 
 
 
 ■O-^^-i^^ ^/y^iu~/y 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 939 
 
 17 1831. She was the daughter of Laurence and 
 Kate Flynn, also natives of the Emerald Isle, who 
 came to America in 1847, and died soon after in 
 Canada. Mrs. Ryan is the only survivor of the 
 parental family of thirteen children, all of whom 
 died in Canada. Mr. Ryan is the only survivor in 
 a family of ten children. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born 
 nine children, six of whom are living: Daniel is 
 married and has four children; Kate, Mrs. Markan, 
 is the mother of five children; Elizabeth, who 
 married William Leary and has a family of six 
 children; Julia, the wife of George Koch, has two 
 children; William, who married Ella Hudson, is 
 the father of one son, and Mary, who married Fred 
 Blair, also has one child. Mr. and Mrs. Ryan 
 have an adopted son named Joseph. 
 
 A Democrat in politics, Mr. Ryan cast his fli'st 
 Presidential vote for President Pierce, having 
 taken out his naturalization papers one week 
 after landing in this country. He is one of the 
 most prominent men in tlie county and devotes 
 his entire time and attention to carrying on his 
 splendid estate. 
 
 ^^EGRGE POWELL. This prominent gen- 
 ii! <^ tleman is numbered among the early settlers 
 ^^ of Boone County, having located one and 
 one-half miles west of Belvidere, June 2, 1838. 
 The country at that time presented a widely diff- 
 erent appearance from that of to-day, and with his 
 neighbors he bore the usual toils and hardships of 
 pioneer life, meanwhile gaining for himself a good 
 record, morally, socially and financially. He has 
 been a resident of the city of Rockford since 1867, 
 enjoying the competence which his unflagging in- 
 dustry has won, together with the esteem aud con- 
 fidence of those around him. 
 
 He of whom we write was born in Goole, York- 
 shire, England, June 2, 1824. His father, William 
 Powell, was born October 23, 1782, in the same 
 shire, where he was reared on a farm and for a 
 number of years was overseer of a large estate near 
 Goole. In 1831, he came to America, accompanied 
 by his wife and six children, and landed at Quc- 
 42 
 
 bee after an ocean vojage of six weeks and four 
 days. He went immediately to Dunham Township, 
 fifty-four miles east of Montreal, where for three 
 years he rented a tract of land, which he later pur- 
 chased and resided upon until 1838, the year of his 
 advent into Illinois. The journey was made over- 
 land with two teams as far as Cleveland, where 
 they embarked on a vessel which conveyed them 
 to Detroit, whence they came by teams to Belvi- 
 dere, at that time a mere hamlet. 
 
 Joseph and William Powell, two brothers of our 
 subject, preceded the family to this section, where 
 they purchased claims near Belvidere, upon one of 
 which the father settled. A log house was erected, 
 into which they moved, and when the laud came 
 into market it was entered at the C4overnmenL land- 
 offlce at Galena. The elder Mr. Powell and his 
 two sons became the possessors of four hundred 
 and eighty acres, upon which they erected a good 
 brick house, where the father resided for a number 
 of years. Later removing to Belvidere, his decease 
 occurred there in 1855. Tlie maiden name of his 
 wife was Jane Spacey, also a native of England, 
 where her birth occurred October 1, 1788. She 
 was the daughter of James Spacey, and died June 
 25, 1873, aged eighty-four years. 
 
 Six of the seven children born to our subject's 
 parents were reared to manhood, all of them sons, 
 and named Joseph, James, William, John, Samuel 
 and George respectively. The last-named was a lad 
 of seven years when he emigrated to America with 
 his parents, and fourteen years old when he became 
 a resident of Boone County, this State. He ob- 
 tained his primary education in the pioneer schools, 
 and later attended the academy, and also a select 
 school. When quite young, he commenced to assist 
 in the farm work, and as there were no railroads 
 in the county until 1852, after locating here it 
 was often his duty to drive the team to Chicago 
 to market wheat. He resided on the home farm 
 till twenty-six years of age, and during the last 
 six years of his stay there, worked the farm on 
 shares. 
 
 George Powell and Elizabeth Quackenboss, a na- 
 tive of Dunham, Province of Quebec, Canada, were 
 united in marriage in 1850. The}' then located on 
 the farm just across the street from the old home, 
 
940 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 upon which they resided until 1867, when they re- 
 moved to Rockford. The daughter born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Powell, Ella, is now Mrs. Harry Allen, 
 and the mother of one son, George. Mrs. Powell's 
 father, Conrad Quackenboss, was a native of Lower 
 Canada, and resided on a farm near Dunham until 
 1845, when, with his wife and four children, he 
 came to Illinois. Locating in Boone County, he 
 purchased land two and one-half miles from Bel- 
 videre, which was his home at the time of his de- 
 cease in 1847. The maiden name of his wife was 
 Jane Mcintosh, whose birth occurred near Bedford, 
 Province of Quebec. She was a daughter of John 
 and Elizabeth (Astletine) Mcintosh, and is at the 
 present time residing with Mrs. Powell, at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-eight years. On another 
 page may be found a portrait of Mr. Powell. 
 
 •v ^^^-{^^ / 
 
 RS. LAVINIA LAKE has lived in Winne- 
 bago County longer than any other woman 
 residing in its borders at the present time. 
 She was born in Somersetshire, England, 
 on the 10th of April, 1806, and is a daughter of 
 John and Jane (Williams) Atkins. Her parents 
 were also natives of Somersetshire, and there spent 
 their entire lives, the father engaging in the butch- 
 ering business and in farming. 
 
 Mrs. Lake resided with her parents until twelve 
 years of age, wlien she went to live with her grand- 
 mother, Mrs. Atkins, and there remained until 
 twenty-five years of age, when she gave her hand 
 in marriage to Thomas Lake, who was born at 
 Blackford Farm, Somersetshire, England, July 4, 
 1806, and was a son of William and Elizabeth Lake. 
 In May, 1832, the young couple sailed from Bristol 
 to New York as passengers on board the vessel 
 " Charlotte," which dropped anchor in the Ameri- 
 can harbor after a voyage of seven weeks and 
 three days. Cholera at that time raged in New 
 York City, so Mr. and Mrs. Lake went up the river 
 to Troy, where he worked for a short time, when 
 cholera there broke out and they left for Buffalo. 
 As the inhabitants of that city were very much 
 afraid of the disease, they embarked on a schooner 
 
 bound for Cleveland, where again they found the 
 same dread of the disease. However, they were 
 finally permitted to land, but Mr. Lake could not 
 secure employment in Cleveland. He then went into 
 the country about fifteen miles distant and engaged 
 to work as a farm hand. In the fall of the same 
 year, he entered the employ of a carpenter, who 
 was to pay him 110 per month. The following 
 summer, he went to Cleveland, where he again 
 worked at the carpenter's trade. It was his inten- 
 tion to secure a farm on coming to America and 
 engage in agricultural pursuits, so with this end 
 in view he bought a tract of timber land a few 
 miles from the city, hiring ten cleared acres. He 
 then worked a half day himself but in that time 
 was convinced that he was not suited for such 
 arduous employment. 
 
 In 1835, Mr. Lake sold his property, and in the 
 fall of that year started for Chicago, where he 
 arrived in October. At that time, Chicago was 
 but a village, and the surrounding country was 
 sparsely settled, in fact, some of the land was still 
 owned by the Government. Mr. Lake there 
 worked at his trade until February of the follow- 
 ing year, when with his family he started for 
 Rockford, accompanied by an old acquaintance, 
 Mr. Toogood, and his family. They were to make 
 the journey by teams. On arriving at the Kish- 
 waukee River, owing to the thinness of the ice 
 they could not cross, so took possession of a vacant 
 log cabin, where they spent two weeks. They 
 then pushed on to Rockford, where Mr. Lake made 
 a claim now included in the township of Rockford. 
 In a log cabin which he built, himself and wife be- 
 gan life on the Western frontier in true pioneer 
 style. He engaged in carpenter work for some 
 time and assisted in building the first frame house 
 in Rockford. A few years later, he purchased a 
 farm in Guilford Township and there made his 
 home until his death, which occurred in 1886. He 
 was a very successful farmer and improved a 
 beautiful and valuable home. The residence is a 
 story and a-half brick house, which sits well back 
 from the road and is surrounded by a grove of 
 trees, including maple and shrub cedars. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lake were born two children 
 who are yet living: Robert W., now a resident of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 941 
 
 Plymouth County, Iowa and Eliza J., who resides 
 with her mother. Mrs. Lake is still living on the 
 old homestead and is a most estimable lady. She 
 has a wide acquaintance throughout this com- 
 munity and is held in high regard by all who know 
 her. Her long residence in the county well en- 
 titles her to a representation in this volume and it 
 is with pleasure that we record her sketch. 
 
 ^****| 
 "***♦'« 
 
 JpNDREW G. LOWRY, retired, is one of the 
 01 pioneers of this county and one of its 
 most substantial citizens. He was born in 
 "Warren County^, Pa., on the 17th of May, 
 1827, and was five years of age when his parents 
 removed to Lake County, Ohio, where he received 
 his education and grew to manhood. He became 
 familiar with the arduous duties of the farm at an 
 early age, but when about twenty-one years old 
 went to Mercer County, Pa., and was engaged in 
 the coal business for a few years. Selling out to a 
 brother, he left Pennsylvania and came to Rock- 
 ford, III., where he has been a resident since 1852. 
 
 Mr. Lowry began business in this city^as a buyer 
 of grain and produce, which he continued until 
 his retirement. He was also engaged in business 
 in Milwaukee, Wis., as a grain dealer and was fairly 
 prosperous in all his transactions. He has a pleas- 
 ant home at the comer of Peach and West Streets, 
 and is well known throughout Winnebago County 
 as an honorable, upright citizen, who has many 
 warm friends. 
 
 Morrow Lowry, father of our subject, was born 
 in the North of Ireland, of Scotch parentage. He 
 was but seven years of age wlien his parents, in 
 the latter part of the last century, came to America 
 and made a settlement in or near Erie, Pa. The 
 members of this family became the owners of large 
 tracts of valuable land in the Keystone State, and 
 over this was great litigation, costing the family 
 many thousands of dollars. 
 
 After living in Ohio for some time. Morrow 
 Lowry returned to Pennsylvania where he passed 
 the closing scenes of his life. He was a Presbyte- 
 rian in his religious belief and a Democrat in pol- 
 itics. His wife survived him two years and died 
 
 when seventy-seven years of age. She was form- 
 erly a Miss Mary Gibson, of American parentage, 
 and a native of Pennsylvania, where she passed 
 her early life. Three children were the result of 
 this marriage, Andrew G. being the eldest. Alex- 
 ander, the second son, lost his life at the first battle 
 of Bull Run, fighting for his country, and Israel 
 H. is a grain commission merchant of Milwaukee. 
 Morrow Lowry was the father of ten children by 
 his first marriage, all of whom lived to grow to 
 manhood and womanhood, but all are now deceased. 
 
 Andrew G. Lowry, after coming to Rockford, 
 married Miss Eliza Bingham, a native of Bradford 
 County, Pa., in which State she was reared and 
 educated. Her father died in the prime of life and 
 his widow afterward came to Illinois with her 
 three children and died when full of years. She 
 left three daughters, Mrs. Lowry, wife of our sub- 
 ject, being the youngest. 
 
 Three children have blessed the union of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Lowry: Hugh I., in the employ of A. 
 Ashton's dry -goods house of Rockford; Walter B., 
 a banker of Kirkland, 111., now married to Miss 
 Nellie French, of Rockford, and Mary E., at home, 
 and a graduate of Rockford College. 
 
 4r^ 
 
 OBERT ROSS. The venerable and highly- 
 esteemed citizen of Rockford whose life 
 sketch is presented to the readers of this 
 S) volume is a native of Scotland, born in 
 Dyke, Murrayshire, April 28, 1815. His father, 
 William, died in tliat shire when seventy-nine 
 years old, and his grandfather, Alexander, was a 
 native of Rothshire. For generations, the family 
 has been devoted to agricultural pursuits and 
 Robert was reared to rural life, early learning to 
 till the soil and harvest the grain. In 1836, he 
 came to America, and remembers well the ruins of 
 the great fire of December, 1835, at New York. 
 
 The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
 was Christine McDonald, reared nine children, 
 four sons and five daughters, all of whom have 
 passed away except our subject and his sister Jane. 
 After Mr. Ross came to the United States, he served 
 three years at his trade of a stone mason, since 
 
942 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGKAPHICAL EECOED. 
 
 which his attention has been devoted exclusively 
 to the business. Since 1846, he has been actively 
 engaged as contractor and Superintendent of 
 bridge building, and is probably the oldest inspector 
 of bridges in the country, his reputation having 
 extended throughout the nation. In Eockford, he 
 is particularly known as the builder of the three 
 bridges across Eock Eiver, and he received calls to 
 every part of the United States to erect bridges. 
 
 In February, 1845, occurred the marriage of 
 Mr. Eoss and Catherine, a daughter of George and 
 Eflie Birney, natives respectively of Scotland and 
 New York. They have one son, William George, 
 who is married and resides with his family near 
 the parental home in Eockford. Notwithstanding 
 his advanced years, Mr. Eoss is in robust health, 
 and his wife is also as keen and sprightly as in 
 days long gone bJ^ Their friends unite in wish- 
 ing for them many years of continued happiness 
 and comfort. 
 
 The following are some of the bridges and water 
 works on which Mr. Eoss has been engaged during 
 construction: 1839-40, Superintendent of Ma- 
 sonry, Boston & Albany Eailroad bridges in Green 
 Mountains; 1841, Superintendent of Masonry, 
 bridge over Quinebaug Eiver, Norwich, Conn.; 
 high bridge over Harlem Eiver, N. Y.; bridge over 
 Connecticut Eiver for Hartford & New Haven 
 Eailroad; 1846-47, Superintendent of Masonry, 
 bridge over Eichelieu Eiver, near Montreal,Canada; 
 1847-48, bridge over Connecticut Eiver for 
 Hartford & Willimantic Eailroad; 1854, five 
 bridges over Harlem Flats, Fourth Avenue, N. Y.; 
 1855, railroad bridge over Harlem Eiver at North 
 Haven, N. Y.; railroad bridge over Susquehanna 
 Eiver at Havre de Grace, Md.; 1855-56, bridges 
 and aqueducts for United States Armory Build- 
 ings, Springfield, Mass.; 1858, Brooklyn, N. Y., 
 Waterworks; 1859, bridge No. 7, Central Park, 
 N. Y.; 1860, bridge over Connecticut Eiver at 
 Northampton and Amherst, Mass. During war, 
 Springtown, N. J., and P]lizabeth, N. J., for Jersey 
 Central Eailroad; 1865, New Haven, Conn.; 1866, 
 Windsor, Conn.; 1867, Quincy, HI., over Mississippi 
 Eiver; 1868-69, St. Louis, Mo., Waterworks; 1870, 
 Hannibal, Mo., railroad bridge over Mississippi 
 Eiver; 1871, St. Joseph, Mo., railroad bridge over 
 
 Mississippi Eiver; 1873, Louisiana, Mo., railroad 
 bridge over Mississippi Eiver; 1876, Boston 
 Waterworks; bridge over Missouri Eiver at Glas- 
 gow, Mo., and another at Plattsmouth, Neb.; 
 1881-82, railroad bridge over Missouri Eiver at 
 Bismarck, Dak.; 1883, railroad bridge over Missouri 
 Eiver at Blair, Neb.; over the Blue Eiver at Beat- 
 rice, Neb., and another at Blue Springs, Neb.; rail- 
 road bridge for Union Pacific at PapiUion, Neb.; 
 1883-84, railroad bridge over Mississippi Eiver at 
 Minneapolis, Minn., for the Northern Pacific Eail- 
 road, and two other bridges for the same road, 
 twenty-five or thirty miles from Minneapolis; 
 1886-87, railroad and passenger bridge over Mis- 
 souri Eiver at Omaha, Neb. Also three bridges at 
 Eockford, and many others involving a vast ex- 
 penditure of money and enormous responsibility. 
 
 yj NDEEW BOWEE, a retired farmer residing 
 Oi at No. 1011 Charles Street, Eockford, 111., 
 
 where he owns a good home, is another of 
 the many prominent citizens of the county 
 who is of foreign birth. He was born in Wurtem- 
 berg, Germany, on the 5th of December, 1835, and 
 his parents, Frederick and Eegina Bower, were na- 
 tives of the same city in which they passed their 
 entire lives. Their deaths occurred almost at the 
 same time and they were buried in the same grave, 
 both when about seventy years of age. They were 
 Protestants in their religious belief. Andrew Bower 
 was but seventeen years of age when he left his 
 native country, and, with his brother Michael, 
 crossed the ocean to America. They landed in New 
 York City in February, 1852, after a voyage of 
 forty-seven days, and there Andrew remained for 
 four years. He then went to Cook County, 111., 
 and in the year 1856 removed to Winnebago 
 County, where, by industry and economy, he 
 accumulated a handsome property. He was still 
 a single gentleman, and in 1861 he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Sarah Sheer, a native of York 
 County, Pa., born March 25, 1837, and the daugh- 
 ter of Peter and Catherine (Hass) Sheer, also 
 natives of that county and of German descent. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 943 
 
 There both passed the closing scenes of their lives, 
 the father dying at the age of seventy-six and the 
 mother at the age of eighty-four years. Mr. Sheer 
 was a blacksmith by trade. He was a member of 
 the Lutheran and she of the Congregational 
 Church. After his marriage, Mr. Bower purchased 
 a good farm, began making improvements, and 
 soon became well known for his thrift and energy. 
 He is the owner of four hundred and twenty acres 
 of excellent farming land, and his buildings are 
 all substantial and commodious. He remained on 
 this until 1891 and then removed to Rockford, 
 leaving the farm to be managed by his son. Mrs. 
 Bower was one of twelve children born to her par- 
 ents, and six are still living. She remained under 
 the parental roof until 1855, when she came to 
 this State and county and was married, in Cherry 
 Valley Township, to Mr. Bower. The fruits of this 
 union were three children: Sadie who died when 
 eighteen years of age; Lizzie, wife of C. J. Ratliff, is 
 now residing on a farm in New Milford, this 
 county, and Eugene N. has the management of his 
 father's farm in Cherry Valley. He married Miss 
 Jessie Clark. Mr. and Mrs. Bower are classed among 
 the wealthy and much esteemed citizens of the 
 county, and all they have accumulated is the re- 
 sult of their own efforts. Mr. Bower has held a 
 number of the township offices and discharged the 
 duties of the same in a very satisfactory manner. 
 Ho is a stockholder in the Forest City National 
 Bank, also a stockholder in^ the Star Furniture 
 Company, and Middle Furniture Company, and 
 owns much valuable property in Rockford. 
 
 I ' I <i 'I ' I' " 
 
 VJ 
 
 'jf ESSE BUCKBEE, deceased, was one of the 
 early settlers of Winnebago County of 
 1845. He was born in Orange County^ 
 N. Y., in 1796, and was a son of Russell 
 Buckbee, a Revolutionary soldier, who was born 
 in the Empire State and resided in Monroe Town- 
 ship, near Sugar Loaf, Orange County, N. Y., until 
 his death when about sixty years of age. The fam- 
 ily is of English descent, being founded by an 
 English baker, who, on coming to this countrj', lo- 
 cated in New York City. The mother of our sub- 
 
 ject was in her maidenhood Elizabeth Mapes. She 
 was also born in New York and died at the age 
 of ninety years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Buckbee were 
 members of the Methodist Church. 
 
 Jesse Buckbee was married in the county of his 
 nativity to Miss Mary Secor, who was reared and 
 educated in Orange County. She was born of 
 French parentage. Two of her brothers, James 
 and Abraham, were soldiers in the War of 1812. 
 Her father was a prominent landholder at High- 
 land Mills, Orange County, N. Y., who owned 
 much property and a number of slaves. 
 
 In 1845, with his family, Jesse Buckbee came 
 to Illinois, locating in this county. He made pur- 
 chase of three hundred acres of land and, with 
 the exception of forty acres, the entire amount is 
 now within the city limits, and much of it has 
 been laid out in lots and built up. He was not 
 long permitted to enjoy his new home, for his 
 death occurred in October, 1846. His wife sur- 
 vived him some yeai'S and died at the home of 
 her son in Rockford, in March, 1875, at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty-four years. 
 
 Unto this worthy couple were born ten children, 
 but six are now deceased. The living are Eleanor 
 W., who is now the wife of John Ames, a farmer 
 of Dane County, Wis., by whom she has had ten 
 sons; Francis A., a Justice of the Peace residing at 
 Lake Geneva, married Jennie Palmer; Charles W., 
 who is unmarried, resides with his younger brother 
 in Rockford, they being interested together in bus- 
 iness. Theodore E. completes the family. Here- 
 sides at No. 1107 Kishwaukee Street, and is a farmer. 
 He and his brother were the original proprietors 
 of the first and second Buckbee's Addition to 
 Rockford. So rapidly did their property increase 
 in value that they both have become wealthy 
 men and are prominent citizens of the commu- 
 nity. Miss Catherine E. Alhngton became the 
 wife of Theodore E. Buckbee. She was born and 
 reared in Chemung County, N. Y., and educated 
 at Lima, that State, after which she engaged in 
 teaching for some years. Her father, the Rev. 
 Jacob AUington, was a prominent lumberman 
 and landholder and also a Methodist minister. He 
 died in Chemung County, N. Y., and his wife, 
 whose maiden name was Catherine E. Westbrook, 
 
944 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was also called to her final rest wbile living in 
 that county. 
 
 Unto Mr. aijd Mis. Theodore E. Buckbee have 
 been born two sons: Hiram W., who is proprietor 
 of the Forest City Greenhouses, located on Kish- 
 waukee vStreet, and also owns a large seed store on 
 South Main Street, wedded May Brown, and they 
 reside with her mother, Mrs. Judge William 
 Brown. John T., who is living at home, is the over- 
 seer of his brother's seed store and is a young man 
 of excellent business and executive ability. Mrs. 
 Theodore E. Buckbee is a member of the Method- 
 ist Church. The Buckbee family is well worthj' 
 of representation in this volume, for its members 
 have long been connected with the history of the 
 county, and are numbered among the valued and 
 leading citizens. 
 
 - o^ ::^ 
 
 ^V'X^ ly ^t ^^1^^ J ^ ^ ^ m^m^J^^Bl X* 
 
 e!C$ra^jX:22_ 
 
 y 
 
 '^■"oi 
 
 ilL^ ENRY GRAHAM. The gentleman who is 
 following farming pvirsuits on section 32, 
 Rockton Township, is not only well and 
 W favorably known in the community where 
 he resides, but enjoys an enviable reputation 
 throughout Winnebago County. He is a native 
 of Pennsylvania, born in Northumberland County, 
 on the Susquehanna River, December 20, 1823. 
 The farm where he first opened his eyes to the 
 light had been purchased by his grandfather, 
 Henry Graham, soon after the close of the Revo- 
 lutionary War, in which he had served for seven 
 years. At the the time of its settlement, it com- 
 prised two hundred acres of wild timber land, as 
 yet unsurveyed by the Government and outside 
 the settled portion of the State. He had been at- 
 tracted thither by the excellent soil on the bot- 
 toms of Warrior Run, or Creek River, near the 
 Susquehanna. 
 
 One John Shannon, who had been Grandfather 
 Graham's comrade during those seven long years 
 of hardship and war, took a claim adjoining his, 
 and these two brave soldiers of the Revolution, 
 with commendable and undaunted courage, set 
 about the battle of civil life with a determination 
 to conquer the wilderness and gain an honest in- 
 dependence. In that effort, as in the war, success 
 
 crowned their exertions, and they made good 
 homes for their families, whom they surrounded 
 with the comforts of life. 
 
 The fourth among the seven children in the 
 family of Grandfather Graham was Matthew, who 
 was born on the Pennsylvania homestead in 
 1796. In his early manhood, he was married to 
 Miss Martha Shannon, a lady of Irish descent, 
 who was probably born in the North of Ireland. 
 Her parents had been wealthy and had owned an 
 estate on the Shannon River which was con- 
 fiscated by the British Government. When our 
 subject was fifteen years old, he accompanied his 
 parents to Centre County, Pa., where they bought 
 an improved farm five miles from Bellefonte. 
 
 In the above-named city, Henry Graham learned 
 the trade of a plasterer, which has been his occu- 
 pation during the most of his long and industri- 
 ous life. When Henry Clay was the Presidential 
 nominee, he would have voted for him as enthusi- 
 astically as he had already "carried the torch for 
 Tippecanoe and sung the songs for Tyler, too," 
 but he was six weeks under voting age. Befoie 
 he had an opportunity to cast his ballot, experi- 
 ence and observation had converted him to the 
 cause of the Abolitionists, and he has ever since 
 cast his vote for the oppressed and for good 
 morals. During his sojourn in the Southern 
 States, where he worked at his trade, he saw 
 "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in real life. He plastered 
 an elegant residence on a large plantation in 
 Mississippi, twenty miles east of Yazoo, where 
 from three to five hundred slaves were worked, 
 and between fifty and sixty little children were 
 cared for by one old crippled nurse during the 
 hours of field labor. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Graham took place in 
 Janesville, Wis., in May, 1850, when Miss Melissa 
 J. Shurtleff, of Beloit, became his wife. She died 
 in 1856, of consumption, and her two children, a 
 son and a daughter, died of the same disease when 
 quite young. In 1858, Mr. Graham was united 
 in marriage to Miss Ellen Foster, of Edwards- 
 burg, Cass County, Mich. Her father, Andrew 
 Foster, was born in Milton, Pa., and carried on 
 farming operations there and at Edwardsburg until 
 his death at the latter place, when eighty-three 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 945 
 
 years old. The mother of Mrs. Graham bore the 
 maiden name of Rachael McMichael and died at 
 Edwardsburg, in April, 1885, at the age of about 
 four-score years. 
 
 Mrs. Graham was the second among seven chil- 
 dren, two sons and five daughters, all of whom 
 are living, with the exception of one sister, Mar- 
 garet Foster, formed}' a teacher, who was drowned 
 while going to her school one day. Mrs. Graham 
 was born in Ohio, March 8,1831. They reared 
 eight children, one of whom, Matthew, died in 
 July, 1890, when twenty-four years old, leaving a 
 widow and one child. The survivors are as fol- 
 lows: Andrew F., born in December, 1858; Liz- 
 zie, in May, 1860; Margaret, in June, 1862; Rachael, 
 in June, 1864; Jennie, in June, 1868; Harry, in 
 December, 1870; and Lucy, in October, 1872. 
 
 From 1847 until 1852, Mr. Graliam resided in 
 Beloit, whence he removed to Winnebago County 
 and settled on eighty acres, a part of his present 
 large farm, trading his home in Beloit for this 
 farm. He continued in the business of plastering 
 and has plastered many of the best houses in 
 Roscoe, his first job being the Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church in 1849, and he has undoubtedly done 
 more and better work in that line than any man 
 in the county. While in Beloit, he plastered the 
 first Beloit College building, and well remembers 
 the first public meeting he there attended, it being 
 tlie services in connection with the laying of the 
 corner-stone of that structure. 
 
 l>-^^<! 
 
 '(a>^ 
 
 z?g) HESTER CLARK LEACH, one of the old 
 ' and honored residents of Boone County, is 
 the owner of a splendid estate in Caledonia 
 Township which his enterprise and good judgment 
 have brought to a good state of cultivation. He 
 was bom in Dorset, Bennington County^ Vt., Feb- 
 ruary 28, 1820. His father, Joseph Leach, was 
 born in Canterbury, Conn., where also his father, 
 Elisha Leach, was born The great-grandfather of 
 Mr. Leach was a native of Connecticut and of 
 English ancestry. 
 
 Grandfather Elisha Leach moved to Pawlet soon 
 after the Revolutionary War, where he purchased 
 
 timber land and spent his entire life. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Lucy Cady, a native of Can- 
 terbury, Conn., who survived her husband and 
 after her second marriage died at the home of her 
 son in Dorset, Vt. The father of our subject 
 learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner, and 
 after his marriage located in Dorset, where he 
 purchased a farm and resided until 1836. He 
 then disposed of his property and removed to 
 Genesee County, N. Y., locating in the town of 
 Stafford, where he bought jjroperty of the Holland 
 Land Company and resided until 1852, the date 
 of his removal to Michigan. The elder Mr. Leach 
 located in Calhoun County, which was his abiding- 
 place until his death. Our subject's mother, who 
 bore the maiden name of Clara Clark, was born 
 in Canterbury, Conn., and was the daughter of 
 Elisha and Clara (Starkweather) Clark. She reared 
 a family of eleven children and departed this life 
 at the home of a daughter in Albion, Mich. 
 
 Chester C. Leach was sixteen years of age when 
 his parents removed to New York, where he en- 
 tered the employ of the New York Central Railroad 
 Company, with whom he remained for six years, 
 and then commenced to learn the trade of a stone 
 mason, being employed in the public works of the 
 Empire State until 1845. Mr. Leach then decided 
 to try his fortune in the West and, coming to Illi- 
 nois in that year, located in this county at a time 
 when the land was owned by the Government. 
 He rented property, and as there were no rail- 
 roads in the vicinity for some time, he marketed 
 his farm produce at Chicago, which trip consumed 
 a week's time. 
 
 In 1852, he of whom we write engaged as fore- 
 man and contractor in the construction department 
 of the Northwestern Railroad Company, and three 
 years later located upon the farm which he now 
 owns and occupies. In 1860, he went to Pike's 
 Peak, and returning eight months later, again en- 
 gaged in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. He 
 is the proprietor of two hundred and sixty acres 
 of choice land in Caledonia and Belvidere Town- 
 ships, which, being intelligently cultivated, bring 
 him in handsome returns. 
 
 April 22, 1848, Miss Cynthia, daughter of Jo- 
 seph Smith, became the wife of our subject. She 
 
946 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was born in Greene, Chenango County, N. Y., of 
 which State her father, as far as is known, was also 
 a native. Mr. Smitli came to Illinois in 1839, 
 accompanied by his wife and six children, and 
 formed one of the early settlers of Belvidere Town- 
 ship. He improved a tract of Government land, 
 upon which he spent his last years. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Hannah Barker, a native of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born 
 three children, one of whom is living, namely, 
 Francis M., who married Susan Fuller; he is the 
 father of three children: Vernon S., Grace N., and 
 Norman. Fred G. died when twenty-four years 
 of age, and Grant when in his seventeenth year. 
 Mr. Leach for the past thirteen years has had 
 charge of the county poor. He has been a mem- 
 ber of the Republican party since its formation, 
 and enjoys the full confidence and respect of the 
 people of his community. 
 
 i^OBERT H. TINKER. The business inter- 
 ests of Rockford are well represented in 
 our subject, who for many years has been 
 prominentlj' connected with the history of 
 thiscitj', its development and its upbuilding. His 
 life record is as follows: He was boi-n at Honolulu, 
 in the Sandwich Islands, in 1837, while his father, 
 the Rev. Reuben Tinker, was there located as a 
 missionary. The letter came of a good New England 
 family of the Puritan stock and was a man of 
 more than ordinary abihty, a prominent Presby- 
 terian clergyman of the Empire State. He was 
 sent by the American Board of Missions to the 
 Sandwich Islands, and spent ten years in active 
 work among the people there. He then returned to 
 America and contined his laboi'S in Chautauqua 
 County, N. Y., as a minister of the Gospel until 
 his death, which occurred in 1854. He was an 
 original sermonizer, and known as such through- 
 out the entire State. He married a refined lady of 
 Massachusetts, Miss Mary T. Wood, who proved 
 an able assistant in his life work as a minister and 
 missionary. She is still living in Westfield, N. Y., 
 
 at the age of eighty-three, and her mental facul- 
 ties are yet unimpaired. 
 
 With his parents, Robert H. Tinker returned to 
 this country, and since 1856 has resided in Rock- 
 ford, a leading and influential citizen of the 
 county. He was married in this city, in 1870, to 
 Mrs. Mary Manny, widow of John H. Manny, one 
 of the leading inventors and manufacturers of 
 this city. Mrs. Tinker was in her maidenhood 
 Miss Mary Dorr. She was bom, reared and edu- 
 cated in the East and came to Rockford with her 
 first husband. Since that time, she has been one 
 of the prominent ladies of this city, ranking high 
 in social circles. Many public interests have re- 
 ceived her aid and, among other causes, she has 
 given liberally to the building of churches. 
 
 What Mr. Tinker has done for Rockford can 
 hardly be estimated in words, but we will mention 
 a few of the interests with which he is connected. 
 He is President of the Rockford Water-power 
 Company and a large owner in the Power Supply- 
 ing houses and machinery. One has to walk 
 over the grounds known in this city as "The 
 Power" to gain any idea of the magnitude of this 
 enterprise and the important part it has played 
 in the upbuilding of this thriving manufacturing 
 center. Mr. Tinker is also President of the Rock- 
 ford Bolt Works and of the Rockford Oatmeal 
 Company, and is a stockholder and Director in 
 many other corporations. When a live man is 
 wanted to take charge of any new enterprise, Mr. 
 Tinker at once comes to mind, for it is well 
 known that he took the laboring oar in bringing 
 the second railroad to the city after a struggle of 
 several years. He is not only energetic and in- 
 dustrious, but is far-sighted as well, and his sa- 
 gacity and enterprise have made his business 
 career a most successful one. 
 
 Mr. Tinker has taken some part in local politics 
 and in 1875 was elected Mayor of Rockford, 
 which position he held for one term. He possesses 
 much taste for landscape gardening and, owing to 
 this fact, was recently chosen to plot the addition to 
 the West Side Cemetery, of which he is one of the 
 trustees, and his talent in this direction, and his 
 willingness to bestow it without thought of re- 
 muneration on public and private grounds, have 
 
* -*• 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 949 
 
 given the city of his adoption a name for its 
 beauty and finish. His slsill in this direction has 
 found ample scope in the grounds of his pleasant 
 home, "Swiss Cottage," which is located on the 
 south bank of Kent Creek, overlooking the 
 Illinois Central Railroad. It is, perhaps, the 
 most picturesque home in the State, and has 
 frequently been used to embellish pictorial works. 
 A genial, cultured, modest gentleman, whose 
 upright life has won him many friends, Mr. 
 Tinker is well deserving of representation in his 
 county's history, and we feel that this work would 
 be incomplete were the record of his life omitted. 
 
 \T^ 0. UGARPH is a gentleman whose long ex- 
 Jl) perience and natural aptitude for business 
 ■^ have met with assured success and permanent 
 , \ prosperity. He is now a stockholder and 
 Director of the Union Furniture Company, the 
 Chair and Furniture Company, the Skandia Plow 
 Company, the Mantel and Furniture Company, the 
 Royal Sewing Machine Company, the Rockford 
 Folding Bed Company, and numerous other en- 
 tei-prises. He is a courteous and obliging gen- 
 tleman, whose reputation for sterling integrity 
 and personal worth is too well known in this city 
 to require mention. He came to Rockford in 
 1869, and for a number of years was connected 
 as stockholder and cabinet-maker with the Union 
 Furniture Company. He later became a com- 
 mercial traveler for that company and for the 
 Chair and Furniture Company. In 1883, he pur- 
 chased a stock of goods in Clinton, Iowa, and con- 
 tinued the business until 1888, when he sold out to 
 Sutten & Son. Since his return to Rockford, Mr. 
 Ugarph has erected a very handsome residence at 
 No 1008 Second Avenue. 
 
 Mr. Ugarph was born in Sweden, in 1852, and 
 received his scholastic advantages in tiie public 
 schools of that country. Miss Olga L. Ekstein, who 
 was wedded to him in Rockford, October 22, 1890, 
 was born in Wester Gothland Province, Sweden, 
 and was eleven years of age when her parents em- 
 igrated to America (1878) .Mr. and Mrs. Ugarph, 
 of this sketch, are prominent young people of 
 
 Rockford and are very ardent believers in the 
 capabilities of their adopted country. 
 
 In connection with this sketch we are pleased 
 to present a lithographic portrait of Mr. Ugarph. 
 
 ^^l@^@l 
 
 DOLPH PETERSON, a successful tailor 
 and skillful workman, is now in the em- 
 ploy of Marsales & Holmin, of Rockford,- 
 and is one of that firm's most competent 
 men. He has had many yeai-s' experience in tailor- 
 ing and has earned a well-deserved reputation for 
 excellence of workmanship, artistic skill and finish. 
 For some years he was with Mr. Atkinson, the 
 merchant tailor on West State Street, and after- 
 wards was a promoter, stockholder. Director, and 
 part of the time President of the Merchant Tailor- 
 ing Company. This company carried on business 
 for three years and was then succeeded by Marsales 
 <fe Holmin, in whose employ Mr. Peterson has been 
 ever since. He has met with substantial results in 
 his business enterprises and now owns a pleasant 
 and commodious residence at No. 405 South First 
 Street. 
 
 His birth occurred in Jonkoping, Sweden, Feb- 
 ruary 24, 1847, and there he spent his boyhood 
 and school days. He was reared to his trade and 
 became a journeyman. In the spring of 1868, he 
 came to the United States and the same year saw 
 him domiciled at Rockford. He was the first of 
 the family to set foot on American soil, but the 
 following year he was joined by his parents. Nils 
 and Christina (Larson) Peterson, and other mem- 
 bers of the family. The parents are both living, 
 are residents of Rockford, and are members of the 
 Lutheran Mission Swedish Church. Both have 
 now passed the allotted age of man, three-score 
 years and ten, but still enjoy comparatively good 
 health. Beside our subject, they have two chil- 
 dren in Rockford, Gustaf, and Mrs. Maris Munthe 
 (see sketch). The former is a cutter for the Rock- 
 ford Clothing Company. He married Miss Selma 
 Samuelson and they reside on First Avenue. 
 
 Adolph Peterson was married in Rockford to 
 Miss Hedveg Linstrom, a native of Sweden who 
 came to the United States in 1869 with the parents 
 
950 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Mr. Peterson, and was later joined by a sister, 
 Mary, who is now Mrs. Hollemberg. Mrs. Peter- 
 son's parents never came to the United States. 
 The father, Peter Linstrom, died in his native 
 country a number of years ago, but the mother is 
 still living at the age of seventy-five, and is a res- 
 ident of Jonkoping. 
 
 The fruits of Mr. Peterson's marriage are four 
 children : G. Edwin, in the Rockford Watch Factory; 
 Ellen A., at home; Nellie Y., at home, and F. Eaj-- 
 mond, also at home. Socially, Mr. Peterson is a 
 member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
 the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern 
 Woodmen, and, politically, he advocates the prin- 
 ciples of the Republican partj\ 
 
 ? LBERT IIULETT. This county is famous 
 for the richness of its soil, and for its 
 many farms that are scarcelj' exceeded in 
 production and in the value of their im- 
 provements by those of any other section of our 
 fair land, and this gentleman is represented as the 
 fortunate owner of a splendid estate in Owen 
 Township, that compares favorabl}' with any in its 
 locality. 
 
 Bom in the town of Veteran, Chemung County, 
 N. Y., August 14, 1833, our subject is a son of 
 John M. Hulett, one of the pioneers of this count}', 
 whose birth occvirred in Rutland County, Vt., in 
 1802. John Hulett, his father, came from his na- 
 tive England to America when a young man and 
 engaged in farming in Rutland County, Vt. From 
 there he removed to Chemung Countj', N. Y., and, 
 purchasing a farm in Veteran, there spent the re- 
 mainder of his life. 
 
 John M. Hulett, the father of our subject, after 
 reaching his majority, removed from his native 
 State to New York where he rented land near Ro- 
 chester, and was engaged in market gardening for 
 two years in company with his brother. He later 
 removed to Chemung County, where he met and 
 married, in June, 1832, Lucinda Jaj'. There the 
 elder Mr. llulett bought a farm of eighty acres, 
 upon which he resided until September of the fol- 
 
 lowing 3'ear, when he made his home in Chautauqua 
 County, becoming the owner of a tract of land, 
 twenty acres of which were improved. There the 
 family resided until 1837, when, disposing of his 
 estate, the father, accompanied by his wife and two 
 children, made the overland journey to Ohio. 
 After spending two months in Birmingham, he 
 went to Indiana and purchased a tract of land in 
 Elkhart County. In 1842, he made another re- 
 moval, this time coming to Illinois, and locating 
 in what is now Rockton Township, Winnebago 
 County, when the country round about was 
 sparsely settled and wild game of all kinds was 
 plentiful. Mr. Hulett purchased a tract of land, 
 located on section 35, and as there were no build- 
 ings on the place, lived on an adjoining farm un- 
 til the place was made habitable. After a few 
 years' residence thereon, he disposed of his property 
 and for the succeeding five or six years was the 
 owner of a farmer in Owen Township, which he 
 also sold later and bought the farm where his son, 
 L. T. Hulett, now lives. There he departed this 
 life, April 13, 1881. 
 
 The mother of our subject was bom in Lansing, 
 Tioga County, N. Y., August 9, 1812, and was the 
 daughter of Joshua Jay, a native of New Jersey, 
 who later removed to New York, where he was 
 one of the pioneers of the above-named countj'. 
 He was a blacksmith by trade, which occupation 
 he pursued while the farm in the town of Lansing 
 was operated by his son. Some years later, Mr. 
 Jay removed to Veteran and erected a log house 
 and shop on a tract of timber land, which he 
 brought to a good state of cultivation, and built 
 thereon a sawmill. After the death of his wife, 
 Mr. Jay removed to Ohio, and departed this life at 
 the home of his son in Birmingham. 
 
 The mother of our subject, who is still residing 
 on the old home with her son Luke, reared six 
 children: Albert, Gray, Martha, Luke, Zacharia T. 
 and Mary. Albert of this sketch was an infant 
 when his parents moved to Indiana, and in his 
 eighth year when they came to Winnebago County. 
 He attended the pioneer schools in Rockton and 
 assisted his father in the farm duties, remaining at 
 home until reaching his seventeenth year. He 
 then commenced to learn the trade of a carpenter 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 951 
 
 and joiner, and after serving an apprenticcsliip of 
 three yeare, bought bis time of liis father and 
 rented land of Hiram Lake for one year. He then 
 became the proprietor of eighty acres in Owen 
 Township, which is now included in his present 
 farm, bis estate comprising two hundred acres on 
 section 12 in one bod3'. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married. May 
 1, 1856, was Racbael Ann Lake. She was born 
 May 1, 1840, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, 
 her father being Hiram Lake. She was an only sis- 
 ter of Mrs. George Gleasman (whose sketch will be 
 found ou another page of this work) and died 
 November 25, 1876. The second marriage of our 
 subject occurred October 17, 1889, at which time 
 Mary M. Feakins became his wife; she is a native 
 of Schoharie County, N. Y., and the daughter of 
 George and Mary (Stockney) Feakins, natives of 
 England. The father was a miller and followed 
 that business in New York State until coming to 
 Illinois in 1855 at which time he opened up that 
 line of work in Belvidere, Rockford and Rockton. 
 He died at the latter-named place, where the mo- 
 ther of Mrs. Hulett now lives. 
 
 Of the present marriage of our subject one son 
 has been born, Paul M., and by the former union the 
 following-named four children: Marston W., Mary 
 Lorena, Mattie E. and John M. Mr. Hulett cast 
 his first vote for Abraham Lincoln and has since 
 voted the straight Republican ticket. He has re- 
 presented Owen Township five terms on the 
 County Board of Supervisors and is held in high 
 repute by all who know bim. 
 
 1^^. ILES R. GOSS. The beautiful residence on 
 l( 'Wi ^'^^ corner of West and Elm Streets, Rock- 
 %^l ford, is the home of Mr. Goss, whose suc- 
 cessful career as a business man fairly entitles him 
 to the esteem of bis associates and the confidence 
 of the community. He has resided in Rockford 
 since 1866, and during twelve years of the period 
 was engaged as a dealer in grain, but has been re- 
 tired from active business cares for some years. 
 
 Coming to Illinois in 185G, Mr. Goss located on 
 one hundred and sixty acres of land which he had 
 
 purchased prior to removing hither. He improved 
 a farm now occupied by the present site of the 
 village of Florence, erected the first grain elevator 
 in the village and other buildings, which materially 
 contributed to the value of his property. For some 
 time he engaged as a real-estate dealer, and by 
 judicious management accumulated a comfortable 
 property. After coming to this county, he pur- 
 chased a farm of three hundred acres in Winnebago 
 Township, which be still owns. 
 
 Mr. Goss was born in Fulton Township, Schoharie 
 County, N. Y., June 1, 1820, and made his home 
 in his native place until he removed to Illinois in 
 1856, meanwhile becoming familiar with every de- 
 tail of farm life. His father, Robert Goss, was a 
 native of New York State, living and dying on a 
 farm in the township of Fulton, and his death oc- 
 curring at the age of sixty-four years. The grand- 
 father of our subject, Col. John Goss, was born in 
 the Empire State and probably gained bis title 
 through his service in the War of 1812. He fol- 
 lowed agricultural pursuits until his death, which 
 occurred near Rochester at an advanced age. His 
 wife was a lady of Irish birth and parentage, and 
 died in the Empire State when quite old. 
 
 The mother of our subject was known in maiden- 
 hood as Mary Kirkland, and was born and reared 
 in Fulton Township, Schoharie Coun'y, of which 
 her parents were early settlers. She died at the 
 advanced age of eighty-three years. With her 
 husband, she was an active member of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, where be served as Class- 
 leader and Steward. Our subject is the third child 
 among eight, all of whom grew to mature years, 
 and five are yet living. Two brothers became 
 Methodist ministers of considerable prominence; 
 one of these still survives, and is the pastor of 
 the church at Newburg, N. Y. 
 
 When twenty-seven years old, Mr. Goss was 
 married to Elizabeth A. Wood, who was born in 
 Schoharie County, N. Y., the daughter of James 
 A. and Catherine (Lamont) Wood, natives of New 
 York State. Mrs. Wood died in 1851, and her hus- 
 band afterward came to Illinois and spent his last 
 years in Rockford, dying at the home of Mrs. 
 Goss in September, 1888, at the age of almost 
 ninety years. He was a man of splendid informa- 
 
952 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tion and great ability, and had served as President 
 of the College at Charlotte, and represented his dis- 
 trict in the State Legislature. His politics first 
 brought him into sympathy with the Democrats, 
 but after coming to Illinois be became an active 
 Republican. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Goss are the parents of one child, 
 Catherine A., wife of Thomas Haralyn, a native of 
 Devonshire, England. He came when five years 
 old to America with his parents, Thomas and Susan 
 (Pengilly) Haml}^!, making settlement at London, 
 Ontario, where the father died on his farm. The 
 mother still resides on the old homestead. In 
 1868, Mr. Hamlyn came to the States and has since 
 been a resident of Rockford. In their religious 
 connections, Mr. and Mrs. Goss are identified with 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, politically, 
 Mr. Goss is a Republican, with Prohibition pro- 
 clivities. 
 
 6F. HENRY is the junior member and city 
 partner and manager of the Golden Eagle 
 Clothing Store, located on the corner of 
 West State and Main Streets in Rockford. This 
 firm does a most extensive business as dealers in 
 gents' furnishing goods and children's clothing, 
 and has no superior outside of Chicago in Illinois. 
 Mr. Sterns, a prominent business man of Chicago, 
 is the non-resident partner, and the business is 
 represented by the firm title of C. F. Henry & Co. 
 They occupy a three-story building, 80x50 feet, 
 well arranged, ventilated and lighted, and well 
 filled with a complete stock of all kinds of goods 
 in their line. The ground floor is occupied b}'^ 
 men's clothing and gents' furnishing gnods, and 
 the upper story is the children's department, which 
 is unsurpassed in this citjr. 
 
 It will be interesting to know something of the 
 resident proprietor of the Golden Eagle Clothing 
 Store. He was born in the old shady town of 
 Plj^mouth, Mass., not far from that rock on which 
 the Pilgrim Fathers arc said to have first set foot 
 on coming to America. He was often lulled to 
 sleep by the roar of the ocean, and on the beach 
 many happy hours of his childhood were passed. 
 
 His parents were both natives of Germany, coming 
 to this country after their marriage. For a time 
 they resided in Massachusetts and then emigrated 
 to Rockford, 111., where the death of Mr. Henry, 
 Sr., occurred, December 25, 1883, at an advanced 
 age. His wife is still living in this city at the age 
 of seventy-six years. Like her husband, she has 
 been a life-long member of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 C. F. Henry was a small lad when he came to 
 this city, where almost his entire life has been 
 passed. His connection with the clothing trade 
 began at the age of ten years, when he secured a 
 position in a store. Of course he began at the 
 bottom, but when quite young he determined to 
 some day go into business for himself, and with 
 this resolution to be carried out, he labored indus- 
 triously and lived economically, until when he had 
 arrived at man's estate he had accumulated enough 
 capital to carry out his long-cherished desire, and 
 so looked about him for a favorable opening for 
 business. He had become a good salesman, and in 
 1863 he opened a store. In 1879, he became the 
 manager and leading partner of the Golden Eagle 
 Clothing House, which, as the result of his energy 
 and good judgment, has had a continuous run of 
 prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Henry was married in Rockford to an ac- 
 complished young lady. Miss Fannie S. Skinner, 
 one of this city's fair daughters. Her father, 
 James B. Skinner, is prominently known in this 
 locality as the inventor of the first gang plow and 
 President of the .J. B. Skinner Plow Company, of 
 Rockford. His death occurred in 1874, since which 
 time Mrs. Skinner has become the wife of David 
 Heyt, a wealthy citizen and honored early settler 
 of Winnebago County, still residing in Rockford. 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Henry have been born two in- 
 teresting children: Rupert J. and Charlotte A. 
 
 To the clothing business alone Mr. Henry has 
 not confined his attention, but, realizing the bene- 
 fit of various enterprises, he has done what he 
 could for the introduction of such to the city and 
 for their growth and improvement. At the present 
 time he is a stockholder in thirteen different in- 
 stitutions. He has also done much for the up- 
 building of Rockford, having erected a large two- 
 story brick building with basement on North Main 
 

PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 955 
 
 Street, divided into six storerooms, besides a large 
 livery stable three stories high. In politics, he is 
 a Republican, and is a prominent Knight Templar 
 Mason, belonging to Crusader Commandery No. 
 17, K. T., of Rockford, the Consistory of Freeport, 
 III., and the Medina Order of Chicago. He is also 
 an Odd Fellow and Knight of Pythias, has taken 
 both degrees of the Elks and is connected with 
 other insurance orders. In addition to this, he is 
 a charter member of the Rockford Commercial 
 Club, the leading club of ttle city. What Mr. 
 Henry has done for Rockford cannot be estimated 
 in words, and to say that he has been a most valued 
 citizen seems but poor praise; but though words 
 cannot requite him, his fellow-townsmen appreciate 
 his worth, as is evinced by the manner in which 
 they speak of him, and the high regard in which 
 he is held. 
 
 3 
 
 'SHEE E. JENNER is numbered among 
 the foremost citizens of Belvidcre and has 
 been prominently connected with its lead- 
 ing interests for many years, both ofH- 
 cially and in a business wa^'. He was born in 
 Moriah, Essex County, N. Y., April 10, 1818. His 
 grandfather, Stephen Jenner, was a New England 
 farmer and spent his last years in the Green 
 Mountain State, where his son, Stephen, Jr., the 
 father of our subject, was born, his birth occur- 
 ring in Pittsford, Rutland County. He learned 
 the trade of a carpenter and joiner, and was united 
 in marriage with Betsy E. Mather, a native of 
 Connecticut, and a daughter of Thomas and Han- 
 nah (Woodruff) Mather. Immediately after his 
 marriage, Mr. Jenner removed to New York, be- 
 coming an early settler of Moriah, and there he 
 followed his trade until 1831, when he came to 
 the West by way of the Erie Canal and the Great 
 Lakes. He settled in Ashville, engaged in car- 
 pentering there until 1839, when he located in 
 Belvidere. He and his wife both spent their last 
 days in this city. 
 
 Our subject was a lad of thirteen years when, 
 with his parents, he removed to Chautauqua, N. Y. 
 
 On his fourteenth birthday, ho became a jeweler's 
 apprentice in Jamestown, serving a term of six 
 years, after which he came to Belvidere, 111., in 
 1838, making the journey by way of the Lakes to 
 Chicago, and thence on foot to Belvidere. The 
 city was then a mere hamlet, containing nine 
 houses, while two others were in process of erec- 
 tion. All the surrounding country was owned 
 by the Government and the land was in its primi- 
 tive condition. At Belvidere, Mr. Jenner started 
 the first jewelry and watch-repairing establish- 
 ment between Chicago and Galena. At that time 
 there were no railroads here and the people from 
 the surrounding counties used to haul their pro- 
 duets to Chicago, and on their way would bring 
 Mr. Jenner work. He continued in the jewelry 
 business until 1856, when, on account of ill-health, 
 he was forced to discontinue it. In 1848, he had 
 added a stock of hardware, and continued to 
 carry on trade in that line until the war. 
 
 In 1840, Mr. Jenner wedded Mary J. Cook, a 
 native of Pembroke, Genesee County, N. Y., and 
 a daughter of Benjamin Cook. Her death oc- 
 curred in 1854. In 1856, Mr. Jenner wedded 
 Emmaroy E. Lyon, a native of Chittenden County, 
 Vt., and a daughter of George and Elizabeth 
 (Root) Lyon. By the first marriage were born 
 two sons: Charles J., now the Slieriff of Chau- 
 tauqua County, N. Y., and George C, a resident 
 of Jamestown. By the second marriage there is 
 one daughter 3ret living: Kittie H., wife of Will- 
 iam H. Williams, a resident of Chicago. One 
 daughter, Nellie A., died at the age of twenty-one 
 years. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Jenner was formerly a Whig, 
 but has been a Republican since the organization 
 of the party. He has been called upon to fill 
 various official positions. In fact, since his re- 
 tirement from business, he has given his entire 
 time to public life. He has served as Village and 
 City Clerk since 1857, as Town Clerk since 1860, 
 as Justice of the Peace since 1861, was School 
 Commissioner two terms, was Deputy Sheriff, 
 Deputy Circuit Clerk, Deputy Postmaster, and 
 has been County Treasurer for ten years. The 
 many offices which he has been called upon to fill 
 indicate his popularity and the high regard in 
 
956 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which he is held, while his long-continued service 
 in the various positions attests his efficiency and 
 faithful performance of duty. He is one of the 
 well-known and influential citizens of the com- 
 munity and well deserves representation in this 
 volume. In addition to this biographical sketch, 
 his portrait is presented on an accompanying page. 
 
 ii 1 1 f 
 
 ■r <^ ■ ■ 
 
 W ORENZO S. FYLEE. In tracing the gen- 
 I (© ^'''logy of the Fyler family in America, we 
 jl LJ^ find that Walter Fyler, an Englishman, who 
 came here as early as 1636, was the first to settle 
 in this country. He located at Dorchester, Mass., 
 was a man of wealth and influence, and lived to a 
 good old age. In fact, the P^yler family has ever 
 been noted for its longevity. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, who is of the eighth 
 generation following Walter Fyler, was born in 
 Sullivan, N. Y., June 1, 1818, and his father, 
 Erastus Fyler, and his grandfather, Silas Fyler, 
 were natives of Torrington, Litchfield County, 
 Conn., and both successful agriculturists all their 
 lives. Erastus Fyler was born on the 2d of Octo- 
 ber, 1789, and in 1810 moved to Madison Coun- 
 ty, N. Y., where he bought a small tract of 
 timber land with some improvements. A year 
 later, he was joined by his parents, who passed 
 their last days in the county, both dying in 
 August, 1812, within three weeks of each other, 
 and when about sixty-two years of age. They 
 left three sons and one daughter: Lucy, Silas, 
 Shayler and Erastus, all of whom are now de- 
 ceased. Lucy became the wife of Orange Soper 
 and died in Madison County, N. Y., in 1874, when 
 ninety-four years of age. She was the last of these 
 children. I-Ier mother, and the grandmother of 
 our subject, was formerly Miss Lucy Drake, of 
 Torrington, Conn., and her father, Moses Drake, 
 was of the same place. Erastus Fyler married Miss 
 Abigail Smith, of Massachusetts, who was the 
 daughter of Jonathan and Hannah (Elris) Smith, 
 both natives of the old Bay State. To this union 
 were born Ave children, a son and four daughters: 
 Lorenzo S., Harriet, Lucy, Hannah M. and Eliza 
 F. The father of these children died in Oswego 
 
 County, N. Y., in 1856, when sixty-seven years of 
 age, and the mother died in the same place, in 
 
 1860, when sixty-five years of age. 
 
 Lorenzo S. Fyler and his sister, Eliza F., now 
 Mrs. Reuben W. Slay ton, of TuUy, N. Y., are the 
 only survivors of this family. The former was 
 but four years of age when his parents removed to 
 Parish, N. Y., and he was early trained to the 
 duties of the farm. In connection with farming he 
 also taught school for fifteen winter terms, or 
 until 1856, when he exchanged his farm for a stock 
 of merchandise and followed storekeeping until 
 
 1861. From there he moved to Roscoe, 111., and 
 embarked in the wholesale Yankee-notion trade, 
 running one and two wagons in Northern Illinois 
 and Southern Wisconsin until 1877. He then sold 
 out the business, and on the 1st of May, 1879, he 
 opened a drug and grocery store in Roscoe. This 
 he carries on very successfully at the present time. 
 He took his daughter, Mary F., as an equal partner 
 in the business on the 1st of May, 1890, under the 
 firm title of L. S. Fyler & Co. 
 
 Before leaving New York State, Mr. Fyler held 
 the office of Justice of the Peace several terms, was 
 Superintendent of Schools, and held other responsi- 
 ble positions in a very creditable and satisfactory 
 manner. Upon removing West, he went out of 
 politics and gave his entire attention to domestic 
 duties and his business enterprises. His first Presi- 
 dential vote was cast for William H. Harrison in 
 1840, and since then every Presidential vote he 
 has cast has been for a Whig or Republican 
 nominee. He has voted for all, with the exception 
 of Rutherford B. Hayes, being at that time absent 
 in a distant part of the State on business. 
 
 On the 12th of September, 1841, Mr. Fyler 
 wedded Miss Cordelia Wiltse, who was born in 
 Hannibal, N. Y., January 21, 1822, and who passed 
 away in Roscoe, 111., on the 22d of May, 1864. The 
 result of this union was the birth of four children, 
 three sons and one daughter: Eldwin W., born 
 November 5, 1843, now of Dorchester, Mass.; War- 
 ren E.. born March 26, 1846, now of Durand, 111.; 
 Dewitt C, born March 8, 1850, now of Shellrock, 
 Iowa, and Mary F., born November 27, 1862, now 
 of Roscoe, 111. On the 1st of March, 1865, Mr. 
 Fyler married Miss Kate Wiltse, a cousin of his first 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 957 
 
 wife and a native of Hannibal, N. Y., bom Au- 
 gust 24, 1832. She has filled the place of an own 
 mother to his children and made a pleasant home, 
 around which their memories will gather in plea- 
 surable reminiscences in the years to come. 
 
 When fourteen years of age, the original of this 
 sketch united with the Free-will Baptist Church, 
 of which his parents had been members and the 
 father a Deacon for many years, thus early evinc- 
 ing a religious turn of mind. Subsequently, he be 
 came firmly established in the belief of the final sal- 
 vation of all mankind from sin and misery, and 
 that in the fullness of time- all humanity would be 
 better for having had an existence, as the All- Wise 
 God intended for them at creation, and that all 
 souls will eternally progress towards divinity. 
 After settling in Roscoe, in order to enjoy a 
 church home with its privileges and associations, 
 he has affiliated with the Congregational society 
 of his town and contributed liberally to its sup- 
 port and welfare. 
 
 ■* OSEPH B. ATWOOD, residing on his ex- 
 tensive farm in Roscoe Township, section 6, 
 Winnebago County, 111., near where he was 
 born in February, 1840, is a son of Patten 
 Atwood, who was born in Alexander, Grafton 
 County, N.H., on the 11th of January, 1805. The 
 elder Mr. Atwood was trained to the duties of 
 farm life in boyhood and when eleven years of age 
 went to Canada with his parents. His father, 
 Joseph Atwood, was also a native of the Granite 
 State and in 1816 moved to Canada, where he 
 subsequently died, when in the prime of life. He 
 met with an accident that resulted in his death. 
 His wife survived him a number of years but died 
 in that country. After the death of the father, 
 the family was left with limited means, but Patten, 
 who at an early age showed marked ability as a 
 manager, assumed the responsibility of looking 
 after affairs and assisted his mother in rearing the 
 younger children. He was married in Canada 
 to Miss Anna Brooks, a Canadian, whose par- 
 ents were born in Nova Scotia. In December, 
 1839, Mr. and Mrs. Atwood, with their eight 
 
 children, emigrated to Harlem, 111., and bought 
 one hundred and twenty acres of Government 
 land, on which they settled and which is now 
 known as the Peter Mabie farm. This land was 
 in a state of nature and they paid $1.25 per 
 acre for it. The jovirney from Canada to Harlem 
 was made with ox-teams and they were six weeks 
 on the way. They first moved into a house with 
 one Mr. Mead, and tliere remained until spring, 
 Mr. Atwood in the meantime erecting a good log 
 house on his land. He had but 130 left after pay- 
 ing for his farm, but he possessed a great amount 
 of energy and perseverance and began at once to 
 clear his land. He lived on this claim but oae 
 year and then traded for one hundred and ten 
 acres now in Owen Township, where he has resided 
 since. This farm had some improvements and he 
 paid some difference. To the original tract he 
 added from year to year until he owned six hun- 
 dred acres, but he gave each of his children a start, 
 and now has about two hundred acres with excel- 
 lent buildings, etc. Mrs. Atwood died at their 
 home in Owen Township July 30, 1890, when 
 eighty-two years of age. She bore her husband 
 fifteen children, six sons and nine daughters, all 
 now living except one, a daughter, who died in 
 early childhood. Of these children, the eldest is 
 sixty-five years of age and the youngest over 
 forty. They are named as follows: Sally, Henry 
 B., Eliza, Lydia, William, Candace, Anna, Mary, 
 Joseph B., Irene, Patten B., Harriet, John and 
 Philip, the youngest, at home. All are married. 
 In 1864, Joseph B. Atwood, the subject of this 
 sketch, left the parental roof and went to his farm 
 of one hundred and eighteen acres in the south- 
 west part of Roscoe Township, boarding with a 
 tenant in his house. Seven years later, he bovight 
 one hundred and sixty-five acres where he now 
 lives, on which was a house, and paid 160 per acre 
 for this. On the 5th of September, 1877, he was 
 married in Rockton Township, at the home of Fred 
 Gleasman, to Miss Lizzie H. Gleasman, daughter 
 of Godfrey and Henrietta (Schmenger) Gleasman, 
 both natives of German}', who came to this coun- 
 try in 1837. Mr. Gleasman and his brother 
 George enlisted from Oneida County in the Civil 
 War and both were killed at the battle of 
 
958 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Antietam. In speaking of the Gleasmans as 
 soldiers, Capt. Brendel, of Utica, N. Y., said that if 
 he had a regiment of such men as the two Gleas- 
 mans he could march into the mouth of hell. These 
 men were both over fifty and exempt, but they 
 were patriotic and loyal to the Union. Mrs. At- 
 wood's mother and her children came to Rockton, 
 just over the line from Roscoe, in the spring of 
 1858 and first settled on rented land'. She died in 
 Rockton, September 27, 1886, when seventy-six 
 years of age, leaving four sons and three daugh- 
 ters, having buried her youngest son, .John, when 
 twenty-seven years of age. He died August 12, 
 1878. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Atwood have buried one son, 
 Joseph L., an infant, who died October 30, 1886, 
 and two daughters, Alice H., who died December 30, 
 1888, a bright little girl of about four and one half 
 years, and Hazel L., who was born March 23, 1890, 
 and died March 10, 1892. The children now living 
 are John Roy, born February 14, 1879, and George 
 G., January 1, 1882. The sons are attending the 
 district school. Mr. Atwood is quite an extensive 
 farmer and owns about one thousand acres within 
 five miles of his home farm. He has an excellent 
 house, admirably presided over by his thrifty and 
 intelligent wife, and his barns and outbuildings 
 all show their owner to be a man of progress and 
 enterprise. Mrs. Atwood is a member of the Meth- 
 odist Church, and her husband afltiliates with the 
 Republican party in politics. 
 
 "i 
 
 l>^¥r<\ 
 
 ■fey-~ 
 
 I OBERT SMITH is one of the leading and 
 influential farmers of Harlem Township, 
 and one of the representatives of the pio- 
 neer families of Winnebago County. His 
 home is situated on section 26, and he owns and 
 operates three hundred and sixty acres of valuable 
 land, which is well tilled and yields him a golden 
 tribute for the care and labor which he bestows 
 upon it. It is well improved with good buildings 
 and has all the accessories of a model farm. 
 
 Mr. Smith was born in Kint^yre, Argj'leshire, 
 Scotland, August 22, 1824. His grandfather, 
 Daniel Smith, was born in Ayrshire, whence he 
 
 removed to Argyleshire, locating upon a tract of 
 wild land and residing in a sod house for many 
 years. Ue there improved a good farm and made 
 his home until his death. Only two of his children 
 ever came to America, Daniel and Janet. The latter 
 became Mrs. Brown and settled in Cincinnati, 
 Ohio. The former is the father of our subject. He 
 was born in Argyleshire, February 11, 1791, was 
 reared to agricultural pursuits and after attaining 
 toman's estate rented land and engaged in farm- 
 ing. He wedded Mary Montgomery, who was bom 
 in Kin tyre, January 12, 1795, and was a daughter 
 of Robert Montgomery. They became the parents of 
 nine children: Flora, Robert, John, Daniel, Alex- 
 ander, Archibald, Jane, William and Mary Agnes. 
 The parents with their family emigrated to America 
 in 1842, sailing on the vessel "Gleaner" from 
 Campbelltown, the first ocean vessel which ever 
 left that port. They weighed anchor on the 4th of 
 June and reached New York on the 4th of July. 
 They came at once to Winnebago County, making 
 the journey by way of the Lakes to Chicago, and 
 settled in Harlem Township. Mr. Smith bought the 
 land on which our subject now resides. Upon the 
 place was a log cabin and a large log building 
 which had been used as a distillery. Mr. Smith and 
 his brother-in-law, James Montgomery, bought the 
 farm at $5 per acre, and at once began its develop- 
 ment and cultivation. The trials of pioneer life 
 were not escaped by them, they bearing the usual 
 experiences of frontier families. Mr. Smith died 
 on the old homestead August 20, 1845, and his 
 wife there passed away May 31, 1872. They were 
 highly respected people and had many friends in 
 this community. 
 
 The subject of this sketch acquired his educa- 
 tion in his native land, and at the age of seven- 
 teen accompanied his parents on their emigration 
 to America. On his father's death, the care of the 
 home farm devolved upon him and to its cultiva- 
 tion and improvement he has since devoted his 
 energies, and in the undertaking has met with 
 signal success. 
 
 In 1855, Mr. Smith wedded Agnes Greenlees, 
 who was born in Kintyre, Argyleshire, Scotland, 
 and is a daughter of William and Martha (Harvey) 
 Greenlees. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been 
 
S/^K- 
 
 
 ..^. 
 
Jl'ORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 961 
 
 born Ave children: Mary J., Martha, Agnes, wife 
 of William Brown, William G. and Danie' Andrew. 
 The parents and their daughters are members of 
 the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church, and are 
 people widely and favorably known in this com- 
 munity. In politics, Mr. Smith is a standi Repub- 
 lican, having supported that party since its organ- 
 ization. 
 
 Vr=^ ZRA MAY, a well-known citizen of Belvi- 
 »] derc, whose portrait accompau ies this sketch, 
 /ik^ is one of the most extensive land owners of 
 Northern Illinois. He has always been interested 
 in agricultural pursuits and now has a farm which 
 is operated under his personal supervision. His 
 other farms are rented and yield to him a hand- 
 some income. 
 
 Mr. May was born in Phillipsburg, fifty miles 
 from Montreal, Canada, November 6, 1813, and is 
 of English descent. His grandfather, Elzra May, 
 Sr., was bom in England, and came to America in 
 Colonial days, settling in Goshen, Mass., where he 
 spent the remainder of his life engaged in farming. 
 His youngest child, Calvin May, was the father of 
 our subject. He was born and reared in Goshen 
 and in early life turned his attention to the study 
 of medicine, graduating from Yale College. He 
 afterwards went to Phillipsburg, Canada, becom- 
 ing one of its pioneer settlers. His practice ex- 
 tended over a radius of eighty miles, and he used 
 to make his rounds on horseback. He became 
 well known as a prominent citizen, and his death, 
 which occurred in 1828, was widely mourned. His 
 wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Hyatt, 
 spent her last days in Cherry Valley, 111. 
 
 Our subject was one of eleven children. His 
 boyhood and youth were spent in Phillipsburg, his 
 early days being passed upon a farm, and later he 
 was employed on Government work. He continued 
 to reside in Canada until 1836, when, in company 
 with two other young men, he went to Michigan 
 City, wliere he was employed by the Government 
 to buy machinery for six months. In the month 
 of May, 1839, he came to Illinois and located in 
 Winnebago County. He purchased a squatter's 
 43 
 
 claim to a tract of Government land in wliat is now 
 Cherry Valley Township, and when the land came 
 into market entered it at the land offlce in Galena. 
 Upon it he built a log cabin and on his marriage, 
 himself and wife commenced houselieeping iu that 
 humble abode. He was joined in wedlock on Bonus 
 Prairie, February 24, 1840, with Lovisa May, a 
 native of the Empire State. 
 
 After residing upon his farm in Winnebago 
 County for seven j^ears, Mr. May came to Belvidere 
 and engaged in the dry-goods business. He has 
 been prominently identified with the best interests 
 of this county from that time until the present. He 
 continued in the dry-goods business for some years, 
 and later purchased a flouring mill which lie operat- 
 ed for some time. He is now engaged in banking and 
 in 1890 was elected President of the Second Na- 
 tional Bank of this city. Mr. May possesses excel- 
 lent business ability, is sagacious and far-sighted 
 and his enterprise and good management have won 
 him a handsome property. 
 
 Eight children have been born unto our subject 
 and his wife, five of whom are j^et living: Mrs. 
 Ella M. Oluey, Mrs. Florence L. Smith, Mrs. Clara 
 H. Greenslit, Calvin D., a banker of Clinton, Iowa, 
 and Stephen Douglas, a lawyer of Chicago. 
 
 Mr. May has filled various public oIFk'cs of honor 
 and trust. He has served both as a member of the 
 City Board and of the County Board of Supervisors 
 and his duties have ever been discliarged witli 
 promptness and fidelity. He may well be termed a 
 self-made man, for to his own efforts alone is due 
 the credit of his excellent success. His upriglit 
 life has won him the confidence of all, and in many 
 respects his career is well worthy of emulation. 
 
 i]<"T^&=*^ " i' 
 
 UGH BROWN is a well-known agricultur- 
 ist of Winnebago Count}-, residing on sec- 
 tion 3, Guilford Township. He was born 
 on a farm a mile from the village of South 
 End, Argyleshire, Scotland, September 28, 1835. 
 His paternal grandfather, Edward Brown, a native 
 of the same county, followed farming tiiroughout 
 his entire life, and died at the advanced age of 
 ninety-six years. .James Brown, the father of our 
 
962 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 subject, also, spent his entire life in Argyleshire, 
 and was engaged in agricultural pursuits through 
 much of his life. His last years, however, were 
 spent in the village of South End, where he died 
 in 1859. His wife, whose maiden name was Mar- 
 garet Andrews, was born in Argyleshire, and there 
 died in 1846. In their family were nine children, 
 and by the second marriage of the father four chil- 
 dren were born. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our sub- 
 ject, who spent his bojiiood days in the usual 
 manner of farmer lads and gave his father the 
 benefit of his assistance until 1854, when, having 
 determined to try his fortune in America, he sailed 
 from Glasgow in July of that year, landing in 
 New York sixteen days later. He came directly 
 to the Scotch settlement in Winnebago County, 
 and began working as a farm hand at $13 per 
 month. In 1855, in connection with his brother, 
 he rented a farm in Boone County. Three years 
 later, he came to this county, where he rented land 
 for two years, when, in connection with his brother 
 James, he purchased the Dennis farm, which they 
 cultivated for ten years in pautnership. Our sub- 
 ject then bought an eightj'-acre tract of land, and 
 as he also owns forty acres of the Dennis place, his 
 landed possessions now aggregate one hundred 
 and twenty acres, which pay to him a golden 
 tribute in return for his care and cultivation. His 
 farm is well improved and is one of tlie valuable 
 places of the neighborhood. 
 
 On the 28th of April, 1870, Mr. Brown was uni- 
 ted in marriage with Miss Jane Picken, who was 
 born in Caledonia Township, Boone County, 111., 
 and is a daughter of George Picken, a native of 
 Arg3'leshire, Scotland. His father, Archie Picken, 
 spent his entire life in Scotland. The father of Mrs. 
 Brown was married in his native land to Jane Brown 
 a native of Argyleshire, and a daughter of Charles 
 Brown, who came to America when quite well ad- 
 vanced in years, and after spending a short time 
 in Cincinnati, became a resident of Winnebago 
 County, where his last days were passed. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Picken crossed the broad Atlantic in 
 1840, and became pioneer settlers of what is now 
 Caledonia Township, Boone County, where the 
 father purchased land of the Government and 
 
 developed a farm, upon which he resided until 
 his death, November 20, 1875, at the age of sixty- 
 nine years. His wife is still living on the old 
 homestead, and has reached the age of four-score 
 years. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brown have been born two 
 daughters, Maggie and Mary J. The parents are 
 both members of the Willow Creek Church, and 
 are most estimable people. Mr. Brown is numbered 
 among the early settlers of this community, hav- 
 ing long been identified with the history of the 
 county. He is also a self-made man, for he came 
 to America empty-handed, and has steadily worked 
 his way upward until he is now one of the well- 
 to-do citizens of this community. 
 
 UILLIAM JONES, deceased. The name 
 which introduces this sketch is one well 
 ^^^ known in Winnebago County, having been 
 borne by a gentleman who was acknowledged to 
 be an excellent representative of a self-made man 
 and intelligent agriculturist. He was born June 
 1, 1817, in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., and was a 
 son of John and Nancy Jones, the former of whom 
 came from England and located in Canada, where 
 he made his home until coming to Rockford. His 
 decease occurred when eighty-two years of age. 
 Our subject entered the tract on which his widow 
 resides from the Government in 1847, and placed 
 the entire amount under most excellent cultiva- 
 tion. 
 
 The litdy to whom our subject was married was 
 Mrs. Mary Carson, the widow of John Carson. 
 One child, a son, was born of that union, his birth 
 taking place November 6, 1841, in the Dominion 
 of Canada. He was married in 1872 to Miss Matha 
 Mathewson, who was born in Tolland, Conn., 
 November 24, 1850. To them have been born ten 
 sons and one daughter, namely: Clyde W., Bertram 
 W., George R., EfHe M., Clarence F., Howard L., 
 Earl N., Ellis D., Kenneth C, Stanley A. and Glenn 
 J. The daughter-in-law of Mrs. Jones, Mi's. Car- 
 son, was the daughter of Dearborn and Lavancia 
 Mathewson, natives respectively of Rhode Island 
 and Connecticut, The father died in Iowa when 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 963 
 
 seventy-three years of age, but the mother, who is 
 seventy-four years of age, still lives and makes her 
 home near Marion, Iowa. 
 
 Albert T. Carson, bugler during the late war, 
 enlisted in September, 1861, for three years, or 
 during the war, in Company K, First Illinois Cav- 
 alry. At the expiration of eighteen months, he 
 w.is discharged, and re-enlisted in 1864, and dur- 
 ing that time participated in many skirmishes. 
 His last enlistment was with Company M, Eighth 
 Illinois Cavalry. He was never wounded or cap- 
 tured, which is indeed quite remarkable for one 
 who took such an active part in numerous hard- 
 fought battles. He is a carpenter by trade. 
 
 Mrs. Jones was born August 3, 1822, in Ontario, 
 Canada, and was a daughter of George and Eliza- 
 beth Taylor, of England. Her parents emigrated 
 to Canada, where they spent the remainder of their 
 lives, the father dying when seventy-four years of 
 age and the mother in her seventy- eighth year. 
 Mrs. Jones remained at home until twenty-nine 
 years of age, and then, coming to Illinois to visit 
 her sister, she met our subject and was married to 
 him October 17, 1852. She is an able housewife, 
 a kind neighbor, and wins the regard of those about 
 her. 
 
 N, 
 
 ""\ 
 
 YLVESTER BURR WILKINS. This gen- 
 tleman who has for many years been one 
 of the leading citizens of Roekford, was 
 born on a farm in Chenango County, 
 Y., in 1833, and is descended from an old 
 and respected New England family. His edu- 
 tion was acquired in the public schools, and he re- 
 mained upon the farm until he had attained his 
 majority, when he started out for himself, his 
 father giving him $2.50. His first business venture 
 on his own account was in manufacturing wagon 
 supplies in Bingham ton, N. Y. 
 
 Afterward Mr. Wilkins went to Milton, Pa., 
 where he was engaged in the manufacture of 
 spokes and hubs for several years. Meanwhile 
 he invented a machine for making wheel spokes, 
 one half interest in which he sold for $1,000, it 
 being the first $1,000 which he could call his 
 
 own. While living in Milton, he was also in 
 the lumbering business a few years and in building 
 canal boats. 
 
 In 1861, Mr. Wilkins was united in marriage 
 with Miss* -Jane Goodlander, of Milton. They are 
 the parents of George L., Mary R. and Ruth 
 Wilkins. After spending twelve years in Milton, 
 in 1869 he removed his family to Roekford where 
 he has since been identified with the interests of 
 that city, its growth and rebuilding. He was one 
 of the promoters of the Roekford Bolt Works, an 
 industry of much consequence to the city, to which 
 he gave his personal attention for some years, 
 having been President of the company since its 
 organization. He was also the promoter and 
 principal owner of the S. B. Wilkins Company, 
 T^ich began the maniafacture of seamless hosiery on 
 a small scale in 1881. This enterprise prospered and 
 was incorporated in 1 885 under the name of the 
 S. B. Wilkins Company. Mr. Wilkins became the 
 President and has continued to hold that important 
 relation to this company, whose production has 
 become widely known throughout the West and 
 Northwest as "Roekford Hosiery." 
 
 In connection with his other duties in this con- 
 cern, Mr. Wilkins spent much of his time in the 
 invention and improvement of the special ma- 
 chinery which is used alone by this company. Re- 
 cently, this machinery and the patents of the S. B. 
 Wilkins' Company passed into the ownership of a 
 new company, incorporated under the laws of 
 Illinois and called the "Chicago-Rockford Hosiery 
 Company." Of this company, Mr. Wilkins has 
 also become the President and is one of its largest 
 stockholders. Its principal office is now in Chicago, 
 and its factories at Roekford, 111., and Kenosha, 
 Wis. He has also been connected with other en- 
 terprises, and has given liberally of his means to 
 the support of any interest calculated to prove of 
 public benefit. He was one of the building com- 
 mittee of Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 and recently built the beautiful Wilkins Flats on 
 North Church Street. His home is a fine residence 
 on North Main Street. 
 
 Mr. Wilkins is free from political ambitions but 
 consented at the solicitation of many, and the 
 suffrage of a large majority, to serve as Mayor for 
 
964 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 two terms. Like most men of inventive mind, he 
 is quiet and unassuming, not willing to claim mucli 
 credit for himself when it is really due, and at all 
 times giving to others their full share. He has the 
 con Aden ce and esteem of all with whom he comes 
 in contact in business relations, and he and his 
 family rank high in social circles. 
 
 ****(^^**** 
 
 ♦***F 
 
 ^•j»^»j»«5»' 
 
 t) ICHARD MERRILL. The family of which 
 the subject of this sketch is a worthy repre- 
 sentative is one well known to the people 
 of Boone County, and one which has been 
 identified with the interests of the same fi-om pio- 
 neer days. Richard Merrill, who is one of the 
 prosperous agriculturists and much esteemed citi- 
 zens of Boone County, is a brother of Thomas 
 Merrill (see sketch for further particulars of the 
 family). 
 
 Like many of the substantial and prosperous 
 citizens of the county, our subject is a native of New 
 York State, born in Herkimer County, in the town 
 of Litchfield, July 27, 1841, and when about four 
 years of age was brought by his parents, Asel and 
 Auretta (Smith) Merrill, to Illinois. Here he fin- 
 ished his growth and received his education. Like 
 his father, he selected agricultural pursuits as" his 
 occupation in life, and as he became thoroughly 
 familiar with the duties of the farm at an early 
 age, he has been unusually successful in his calling. 
 On November 27, 1883, he was wedded to Miss 
 Alice H. Hare, who was born in Schoharie County, 
 N. T., April 13, 1859, and is a daughter of Chaun- 
 cey S. and Harriet A. (Church) Hare, both natives 
 of the Empire State. The father is a blacksmith 
 by trade and is still a resident of his native State. 
 His wife was born in New Berlin, N. Y., and died 
 in Washington Mills, of that State, wheh forty-one 
 years of age. They were the parents of five chil- 
 dren all now living, but two. Mrs. Merrill's ma- 
 ternal grandparents were natives of New York, in 
 which State they passed their entire lives, he dying 
 when about middle age, and she when about eighty- 
 two. Mrs. Merrill came to Illinois about 1882, and 
 was here married to Mr. Merrill. 
 
 Three children are the result of our subject's 
 
 marriage: Fred C, born at his grandfather's old 
 home on July 2, 1886, and Nathan H., also born on 
 the old homestead, January 26, 1887, and Paul A., 
 born May 24, 1892. Mr. Merrill has resided on 
 that fine old place nearly all his life, but in the 
 year 1891 he removed to Belvidere and is practi- 
 cally retired. However, as he has rented his farm, 
 he still has considerable to keep him busy. The farm 
 is about three miles from the city and is the orig- 
 inal piece of land his father bought from the Gov- 
 ernment. Our subject remembers some of the ex- 
 periences of pioneer days and delights to relate 
 them. He remembers his mother taking a load of 
 wheat to market to get some jeans to make up in 
 clothing for the boys, but one load did not bring 
 enough to pay for the goods and the father had to 
 take in a second load the following day. Mr. Mer- 
 rill is a Democrat in his political affiliations, and 
 his first Presidential vote was cast for G. B. Mc- 
 Clellan. Socially, he is a member of the Knights 
 of the Globe. On all subjects of importance he 
 has decided opinions, which carry weight among 
 his fellow-citizens. 
 
 r^ 
 
 >~' ••• =^ 
 
 ^> 
 
 'SPANIEL KINSON, an enterprising farmer of 
 I Jl) New Milford Township, Winnebago County, 
 If^ is a native of the Green Mountain State, 
 born August 21, 1827. The grandparents were 
 farming people of Vermont, and had a family of 
 eight children, the youngest of whom, John Kinson, 
 was the father of our subject. He was born in 
 New Hampshire in 1803, and married Melinda 
 Lamphere, by whom he had three children, Lewis, 
 Daniel and Cynthia Sophia, all of whom were born 
 in Vermont. With his family, he removed to Essex 
 County, N. Y., where he worked in a glass factory, 
 and was afterwards employed in Boston. Later, 
 he went to Lower Canada, where he engaged in 
 farming for ten years, and in 1844 we find him 
 residing near Keeseville, N. Y., where he and his 
 sons chopped wood at thirty-seven and a half 
 cents per cord for a year, each averaging two 
 cords per day. With the money thus earned, they 
 went to Milwaukee, and for three months resided 
 in Whitewater, Wis, Mr. Kinson then went to Bel- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 965 
 
 videre on foot, and was so well pleased with this 
 locality that he hired a team and brought his fam- 
 ily to Illinois. For three years he resided upon a 
 rented farm, and then made a claim of one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres, on which our subject now 
 resides. In the fall of 1849, lie removed his fam- 
 ily to his own farm, and we can imagine the hap- 
 piness with which they took possession of their 
 own home, after so many years of hard labor. 
 From that time forward, prosperity attended their 
 efforts, and they became well-to-do. Mr. Kinson 
 died in New Milford, December 28, 1891, at the 
 age of eighty-eight years, and four months, and his 
 wife passed away September 7, 1889, when about 
 eighty-eight years of age. 
 
 Our subject had shared in all the experiences of 
 the family, and in those earlier years labored hard 
 to support himself and aid his parents in securing 
 a home. He was married in his own home. May 
 23, 1855, to Miss .Joanna Baxter, who was born in 
 Tompkins County, N. Y., May 29, 1833, and is a 
 daughter of John and Maria (Horton) Baxter, who 
 removed from New York on the 23d of September, 
 1843, and by the canal and Lakes came to Illi- 
 nois, accompanied by their family of six children. 
 They soon settled on twenty acres of land, south- 
 east of New Milford, and the log cabin which Mr. 
 Baxter built in 1849 was their home for fifteen 
 years, when it was then i-eplaced by a frame resi- 
 dence. Mr. Baxter died at the home of his daugh- 
 ter, November 30, 1869, at the age of seventy-nine 
 years, leaving a widow and eight children, seven 
 sons and a daughter. They had lost one daughter, 
 Rosetta Ann, who died at the age of two years. 
 The death of the mother occurred on Thanksgiv- 
 ing Day, November 28, 1888, at the age of seventy- 
 nine years. They were highlj' respected people in 
 this community and made many warm friends. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kinson have lost two sons: Irvin 
 Eugene, who died August 28, 1858, at the age of 
 two years; and Fred H., who died August 21, 1871, 
 when about fifteen months old. Their living chil- 
 dren are Clara H., who was born September 20, 
 1858; Ella T., June 8, 1860; Asa H., January 17, 
 1862; JohnL., June 18, 1864; Lourena M., March 
 11, 1866; Hattie R., October 24, 1872; Ora A., 
 September 2, 1875. All of the children have left 
 
 the parental roof except the two youngest. Hat- 
 tie has been deaf since her third year, the misfor- 
 tune being caused by scarlet fever. All have re- 
 ceived good educational advantages, and John is 
 a teacher in the Rockford Business College. Asa 
 H. was married, January 1, 1885, to Lourane 
 Graham, and is farming in Iowa; John L. mar- 
 ried Eva Eastman, March 6, 1885; Clara is the wife 
 of Frank Fitzgerald; Ella L. is the wife of Albert 
 S. McAvoy, and Lourena is the wife of Gilbert 
 Thompson, of Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Kinson of this sketch owns two hundred 
 acres of land in the home farm, besides an addi- 
 tional thirty-acre tract, thirteen acres of which are 
 covered with a fine growth of timber. He has also 
 bought two farms of one hundred and sixty acres 
 each for his sons in Iowa. In politics, he is a 
 Republican, and himself and wife are members of 
 the Methodist Cliurch of New Milford. 
 
 eORNELIUS H. BEAMER is a native of the 
 Empire State. He was born in Wheeler, 
 Steuben County, June 10, 1814, and was a 
 son of Philip and Nancy (Dixon) Beamer, the 
 former a native of Holland, and the latter of Scot- 
 land. When young, they came to this country, 
 and were married in New York. They passed 
 away in Ottawa, 111., the father dying at the ad- 
 vanced age of ninety years, his wife at the age of 
 seventy-eight. They had twelve children, all of 
 whom grew to mature years. One brother, Thomas, 
 was slain in the siege of Vicksburg, and Rosilla, a 
 teacher, took cold while going to her school, and 
 died of consumption at the age of twenty-two. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth upon his father's farm, and on the 11th of 
 November, 1837, arrived in Chicago, 111., then a 
 small village. He refused to buy a half-section of 
 land near where the court house now stands, but 
 instead purchased a horse for $35 and rode to Bel vi- 
 dere. Since that time he has been a resident of 
 this locality. Ere leaving the East, he was married 
 in North Cohocton, August 16, 1836, to Sarah 
 Walters, who was born in that place, and was of 
 
966 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 German descent. She died on the 20th of May, 
 1849, leaving four sons and two daughters. One 
 son, Albert, died quite young, and was buried by 
 his mother in Belvidere; Barbara became the wife 
 of Caleb Lewis, and died leaving six children; and 
 B. F. Beamer. Sarah Beamer died in Cairo, 111. 
 Mr. Beamer was again married, this time to Lois 
 Hartley, a native of England, who died April 11, 
 1890, leaving one son, Hartley, who is living in 
 Illinois. 
 
 Mr. Beamer has had a varied and rather adven- 
 turous life. He was a stage-driver for a number 
 of years, also followed farming, and was a dealer 
 in horses, but, as he is now well advanced in years, 
 he has laid aside all business cares, and is living a 
 retired life in Pontiac, 111. His son, Alva R. 
 Beamer, was only twelve years of age when his 
 mother died. He then went to live with George 
 Lemons, in Boone County, with whom he remained 
 until seventeen years of age, after which he re- 
 sided with George M. Crane, of Cherry Valley 
 Township, until he rented land and began farming 
 for himself. He was married, January 22, 1863, to 
 Mary C. Doolittle, of Harlem, 111., a daughter of 
 Henry and Catherine (Stedman) Doolittle, both 
 of whom were natives of New England, and emi- 
 grated to Illinois in 1837. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Beamer were born three children: Minnie L., wife 
 of Archie L. Rummelhart, of Harlem Township; 
 Etta M. and Herbert E., both at home. The chil- 
 dren have received good educational advantages. 
 
 Mr. Beamer is a friend to all that can benefit or 
 improve the community. In politics, he is a Re- 
 publican, and has served as School Director. He 
 has followed general farming throughout his en- 
 tire life, and is now a successful and enterprising 
 agriculturist. 
 
 tut ■>> I I I 
 
 /,.., NDREW PHINNEY, an honored veteran 
 ?Ol of the late war, and now a successful gro- 
 cer of Rockford, doing business at No. 
 206 Horsman Street, was born in Elbridge, 
 Onondaga County, N. Y., in 1836, and when 
 quite young went to Bradford County, Pa., with 
 his parents, William and Mary Phinney. They 
 
 were both natives of the Emerald Isle, and imme- 
 diately after their marriage came to this coun- 
 try. Mrs. Phinney died in Pennsylvania. Mr. 
 Phinnev was there again married, and again lost 
 his wife in that State, after which he emigrated to 
 Jonesville, Mich., where his death occurred in Sep- 
 tember, 1891, at the age of seventy-six years. 
 
 Our subject was the first of the family to come 
 to the West. He located in Illinois, in 1856, and, 
 after a year spent in Belvidere, came to Rockford, 
 where he has since resided. In 1862, however, he 
 left his home and joined Company A, of the Nine- 
 tieth Illinois Infantry, going to the South with his 
 regiment. After the battle of Mission Ridge, he 
 was commissioned First Lieutenant. At the battle 
 of Atlanta, July 22, 1864, he was captured by the 
 enemy, and held a prisoner of war until March, 
 1865, when he was exchanged. Subsequentl}', he 
 had charge of his company in St. Louis, where 
 they did service until honorably discharged after 
 the expiration of their three-years' term. Mr. 
 Phinney has a war record of which he may well be 
 proud. He saw much hard service, but was never 
 wounded, although he nearly lost his life from ex- 
 posure and hardship. His meritorious conduct on 
 the field of battle won him deserved promotion. 
 Other members of the Phinney family also fol- 
 lowed the old flag. His brother Michael, now of 
 Jonesville, Mich., was a member of the Armj' of 
 the Potomac and during his service was wounded. 
 Two other brothers, John and William, both laid 
 down their lives on the altar of their country, and 
 the father also followed the old flag through many 
 battles to victory. 
 
 On his return from the war, Andrew Phinney 
 began business as a merchant, in 1865, and has 
 since been selling groceries in this city. For a 
 time he was in partnership with William Lyons, 
 but is now alone in business. He has been at his 
 present location since 1888, and there a full and 
 complete stock of groceries is ready to supply the 
 wants of the public. The proprietor is recognized 
 as an enterprising and industrious business man, 
 who by his own efforts has worked up an excellent 
 trade, and is now enjoying a liberal and well- 
 earned patronage. 
 
 Mr. Phinney was married in Rockford, in 1865, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 967 
 
 the lady of his choice being Miss Mary Ryan, a 
 native of Dublin, Ireland, who, when quite young, 
 came to this countr}'^ with her parents, both of 
 whom died in Rockford some years since. Unto our 
 subject and his wife, have been born the following 
 children: Frank; Lillie, deceased, who was the wife 
 of James 0'Conner,who is a contractor; Josephine, 
 a book-keeper in her father's employ; Dollie, who 
 is engaged in teaching school; and Ida and Belle, 
 who are students in the High School of this city. 
 The parents are both members of the Catholic 
 Church, and socially, Mr. Phinney is a member of 
 Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R. In politics, he is a 
 supporter of Republican principles. 
 
 ^^EORGE W. CARMAN, who engages in 
 III (_-, fai-ming on section 34, Guilford Township, 
 ^^JJ is a representative of one of the pioneer 
 families of Winnebago County, and is descended 
 from an early New England family. His great- 
 grandparents were John and Anna Carman. The 
 former was born March 25, 1751. His grand- 
 parents were Jacob and Sarah (Haines) Carman, 
 both natives of New Jersey. They had a family 
 of two sons and four daughters who grew to ma- 
 ture years, but all have now passed away. They 
 were: Hannah, who was born February 5, 1772; 
 Ann, March 24, 1774; Ruth, January 27, 1776; 
 Hannah, November 30, 1778; Jacob, March 6, 
 1781; Elizabeth, December 3, 1782; John J., Sep- 
 tember 24, 1785; Joseph H., April 20, 1789; and 
 Mary C, January 10, 1792. 
 
 The father of our subject, John J. Carman, was 
 a native of Pemberton, N. J., and in Canada, in 
 1716, married Mar}' Fisher, also a native of that 
 State. His uncle, John Haines, after a long life 
 spent in New Jersey, passed away at the advanced 
 age of one hundred and fifteen years. 
 
 Unto the parents of our subject were born 
 twelve children, eight sons and four daughters: 
 John, Jr., born January 26, 1817; William W., 
 August 17, 1818; Henry, who was born Novem- 
 ber 15, 1819, died at the age of eight months; 
 Mary Ann, born February 19, 1821; Chauncey 
 C, November 15, 1822; Henry F., July 11, 1824; 
 
 Elizabeth, born March 20, 1826, died at the age 
 of nine j'ears; George W., born January 4, 1828; 
 Philip J., April 22, 1830; Alpheus W., December 
 18, 1832; Elizabeth, March 15, 1836; and Sarah, 
 September 20, 1838. Of this family, seven are yet 
 living, and their aggregate age is four hundred 
 and thirty-four years. They were all born in 
 Canada and, with the parents, came to Illinois in 
 1840, settling on the old homestead on the 19th 
 of June. The oldest son, John, Jr., had come 
 here two years previous and purchased a claim of 
 one hundred and sixty acres for his father. He 
 died on the 13th of March, 1845. Chauncey and 
 Alpheus were volunteers in the late war, serving 
 as privates throughout the struggle. The father 
 of the family died December 29, 1870, at the age 
 of eighty-five years, and his wife passed away 
 September 29, 1878, at the age of eighty-two. 
 
 George Carman, whose name heads this record, 
 was born near Brockville, Canada, January 4, 
 1828, and with the family came to Illinois when 
 a lad of twelve summers. In the usual* manner 
 of farmer lads, he was reared to manhood and has 
 since engaged in agricultural pursuits. He occu- 
 pies the old homestead in connection with Will- 
 iam W., and Sarah and Philip reside upon an 
 adjoining farm. The sons are among the leading 
 agriculturists of Guilford Township and, follow- 
 ing the example of their father, vote with the 
 Republican party. 
 
 ^>^^<^ 
 
 ^- 
 
 SIMON PETER BEST. Among the well- 
 regulated homes of Durand Township, 
 Winnebago County, none have about them 
 an air of greater comfort and content 
 than that which has been built up by the joint 
 efforts of Mr. Best and his estimable wife. Their 
 pleasant home is located on section 20, and is im- 
 proved with all the appurtenances required by the 
 progressive and industrious agriculturist. 
 
 Our subject dates his residence in this county 
 from the spring of 1855, at which time the fam- 
 ily settled in Durand Township. He was born in 
 Northampton County, Pa., April 13, 1844, and is 
 a son of Jacob N. and Susannah (Unagest) Best, 
 
968 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 who also hailed from the Keystone State. Tlie 
 ancestors of ovir subject came from Germany 
 about two hundred years ago and for several 
 generations resided in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Nicholas Best, the grandfather of our subject, 
 died in 1801, when twenty-eight years old. The 
 father of him of whom we write was a farmer, and 
 in early life worked at the trades of a shoemaker 
 and blacksmith. The parental family numbered 
 three children, his brother and sister being Nich- 
 olas and Polly. Jacob N. Best came to Illinois in 
 1855, and located on the southwest quarter of sec- 
 tion 20, Durand Township, where he purchased 
 one hundred and sixty acres of land which bore 
 some improvements. There he resided until his 
 doatii, which occurred Februar}' 20, 1885, at the 
 advanced age of eight^'-six years. His good wife, 
 who survived him until August 9, 1891, passed 
 away in her ninety -second year. They were the 
 parents of eleven children, one of whom died in 
 infancy. Those living are: William, Sarah (Mrs. 
 Unagest), Rosauna (Mrs. Glasser), Reuben, Anna 
 Maria (now the widow of A. Gold, and formerly 
 Mrs. G. Nolf); Sophia (the wife of Jacob L. 
 Weaver), Rebecca (who married Joseph Rich- 
 ard), Elizabeth (now Mrs. Adam Rheinges, and 
 formerly married to Thomas Jenewinie), Lovina 
 (Mrs. A. Baker), and our subject, who is the 
 youngest of the family. 
 
 Simon P. Best was reared to farm pursuits and 
 received a fair education in the schools of his 
 neighborhood. The date of his marriage to Eliz- 
 abeth H., daughter of Jonathan and Lydia J. 
 Matter, was February 13, 1868. Mrs. Best was 
 born in Stephenson County, this State, March 21, 
 1847, and, with her husband, removed in 1880 to 
 their present home. Our subject, who is the 
 owner of three hundred and sixty acres of finely 
 cultivated land, has been a resident of section 20 
 since 1855. 
 
 The nine children born to our subject and his 
 wife bear the respective names of Fernando, 
 Arthur J., .Jacob E., Wallace V., Signora, Sylva 
 D., Oscar L., Arvilla M. and Susan P. In his po- 
 litical relations, Mr. Best usuallj^ votes the Re- 
 publican ticket, but leans strongly toward Pro- 
 hibition and reform principles. He is a member 
 
 of the Evangelical Association and is active in all 
 good works. His father belonged to a company 
 of militia in Pennsylvania. He of whom we 
 write, in addition to raising cereals, devotes a 
 great deal of time and attention to the breeding 
 of Short-horn cattle and Norman horses. 
 
 OSCAR J. WIGELL, representing the world- 
 renowned Steinway piano house of Lyon, 
 Potter <fe Co., Chicago, has one of the finest 
 and bcst-equi'pped music stores in the State, outside 
 of Chicago, at No. 212 West State Street, Rock- 
 ford. He is one of the wide-awake, thorough-going 
 young business men of the place. Rockford is his 
 birthplace and he was born July 25, 1867. In edu- 
 cation, he received the best that Rockford afforded. 
 It was verj' evident in his early youth that he in- 
 herited the musical abilities of his parents. When 
 but fifteen years of age, he took thorough instruc- 
 tion in piano-tuning, and in that work he has an 
 enviable reputation as an expert. 
 
 During the winter of 1889-90, George W.Lyon, 
 of Chicago (who for twenty-eight yeai-s was senior 
 partner of the firm of Lyon & Healy), recognizing 
 the ability of Mr. Wigell, engaged him as tuner 
 and salesman for the magnificent new store of 
 Lyon, Potter & Co., who opened their doors to the 
 public January 15, 1890. During his first year 
 with this house, Mr. Wigell gave up piano-tuning 
 and devoted all his time to sales, in which he has 
 met with deserved success. As a dealer, his upright 
 and honorable conduct in all transactions has aided 
 him materially in building up the large business he 
 now controls. 
 
 October 18, 1887, O. J. Wigell was united in 
 marriage to Miss Eva M., the eldest daughter of 
 Rev. G. R. Vanhorn, of Rockford, of whom see 
 sketch elsewhere in this volume. She was born in 
 Minooka, 111., November 9, 1868, and supplemented 
 the education she received in the city schools of 
 Rockford by a course in the seminary at Aurora, 
 111. She is an accomplished and intelligent young 
 lady and is very much devoted to art. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wigell have been bom two bright little 
 
,4: 
 
 iiinif^"" lifaiiiiii 
 
 
 
 w 
 M 
 
 ■la.Sff'li'^*^'"] 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 971 
 
 boys: Garrett O. and Lawrence L. They are hap- 
 pily situated in a pleasant home on the East Side. 
 In religion, both are active members of the Cen- 
 tennial Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 The father of our subject, the late John Wigell, 
 was born in Sweden. There during his early life 
 he became a devoted and thorough student in 
 music, graduating with highest honors on piano, 
 organ and violin at the conservatory in Stock- 
 holm. In his early manhood he came to America, 
 where for a number of years he held a responsible 
 position in one of the largest piano factories in 
 New York. Early in the '60s, he came to Rock- 
 ford, where he won the respect and admiration of 
 all, especially of the musical fraternity, by his skill 
 and practical knowledge. He manufactured a great 
 many organs in Rockford, which have stood th^ 
 test these many years. 
 
 Mr. Wigell had plans drawn for a large piano 
 factory to be erected here, but these plans were 
 never consummated, as he was stricken down with 
 typhoid-pneumonia and died November 18, 1871, 
 when only twenty-nine years old, leaving a widow 
 and one son, Oscar J. His wife, to whom he was 
 married in 1866, was Miss Clara Johnson, a native 
 of Sweden, whence she came to America with her 
 parents when but two years of age. To them were 
 born two sons: Oscar J. and Lawrence Edward, the 
 latter dying September 28, 1871, when but two 
 years old. In 1874, Mrs. Clara Wigell was united 
 in marriage with 0. W. Haegg, of whom see sketch. 
 
 i^+^P-= 
 
 ^f OSIAH MANNING is the owner of one of 
 the fine farms of Winnebago County, lo- 
 cated on section 25, Guilford Township. 
 _ His life record is as follows: He was born in 
 Westminister, Middlesex County, Canada, on a 
 farm near the suburbs of London, April 19, 1833. 
 His grandfather was a resident farmer of the Em- 
 pire State and removed to Canada, spending his 
 last days in the Province of Quebec. 
 
 The father of our subject, Joseph J. Manning, 
 was born in the Province of Quebec, and at 
 the age of twenty-three removed to Middlesex 
 County, then a sparsely-settled region, where 
 
 he bought a tract of timber land from the Govern- 
 ment. In the midst of the wilderness he cleared 
 and improved a farm, upon which ho made his 
 home until the spring of 1844, when he came to 
 Winnebago County, 111. The year previous, he 
 had visited in this locality and purchased one 
 hundred and ninety-four acres of land for $950; 
 upon it were a log cabin, a small frame house and 
 a barn, and thirty acres had been placed under 
 the plow. Accompanied by his wife and eight 
 children, he came in 1844 and located upon this 
 farm, which he greatly developed and improved. 
 He made it his home until his death, which occurred 
 on the 8th of June, 1850 or 1851. 
 
 Mrs. Manning bore the maiden name of Cather- 
 ine Louisa Swart. She was born in Sehobarie 
 County, N. Y.,and was a daughter of Bartholomew 
 and Elizabeth (Lawyer) Swart. The former was 
 born of Dutch parentage, and removed from the 
 Empire State to Canada, settling in Middlesex 
 County, where he cleared and developed a farm, 
 upon which lie spent his i-emaining days. The 
 death of Mrs. Manning occurred on the 6th of 
 March, 1890, in the seventy-sixth year of her age. 
 She was the mother of nine children: Charles F., 
 Josiah, Julia M., Levi, Jacob B., Rosswell A., Jos- 
 eph J., Leonard and Eli. Josiah, Leonard and Eli 
 are the only ones now living. The last two are 
 residents of Chariton, Lucas County, Iowa. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was a lad of eleven 
 summers when he came to Illinois with his parents; 
 since that time he has been a resident of Guilford 
 Township. As soon as old enough, he began to 
 assist in the labors of the farm and aided in the 
 arduous task of developing the wild land. Three 
 years after his father's death, he purchased the in- 
 terest of the other heirs in the homestead and now 
 owns and operates two hundred and sixty acres of 
 highly improved land, constituting one of the 
 best farms in this locality. The rich and fertile 
 fields indicate the thrift of the owner, and the 
 good buildings there seen stand as monuments to 
 his enterprise. In this direction his farm will com- 
 pare with any in the county. In connection with 
 general farming, he also engages in raising fine 
 stock, making a specialty of standard-bred horses, 
 and upon his land has a race-course. 
 
972 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lu 1858, Mr. Manning was united in marriage 
 with Julia A. Hale, who was born in Newport, 
 Herkimer County, N. Y., and is a daughter of Al- 
 fred E. and Julia A. (Post) Hale. Their union 
 has been blessed with a daughter, Eleanor, now 
 the wife of Fred D. King, by whom she has had two 
 children, Edna, and one son who died when four 
 and one-half years old. In politics, Mr. Manning 
 is a stalwart Republican, and has served eight 
 terms as a member of the Board of Supervisors, 
 which fact indicates his efficiency and faithful dis- 
 charge of duty. He is a straiglitforward, upright 
 business man and is well known throughout Guil- 
 ford Township, and is one of its leading citizens. 
 
 In this connection a portrait of Mr. Manning is 
 presented to our readers. 
 
 <:<l, feESLEY D. CLARK, a baker of Rockford, 
 \/jJ// doing business at No. 107 Kishwaukee 
 W^ Street, is a native of Rockford, Kent 
 County, Mich., born in December, 1850. The family 
 was founded in New England, prior to the Revo- 
 lutionary War, and was represented in that strug- 
 gle. The grandfather of our subject, Ezra Clark, 
 was a native of Vermont and removed to New 
 York, spending the remainder of his life in Erie 
 County, where he engaged in the butchering busi- 
 ness. In politics, he was a Whig and a stalwart 
 Abolitionist, and his home was a station on the 
 famous Underground Railroad. He died at the 
 age of seventy years. 
 
 E. P. Clark, father of our subject, was born in 
 the Green Mountain State, where he grew to man- 
 hood and became a farmer. In New York, he mar- 
 ried Miss Julia I. Dennison, a native of Norwich, 
 N. Y. Her parents were natives of Connecticut. 
 On emigrating to Michigan, Mr. and Mrs. Clark 
 settled in the midst of a forest in Kent County, 
 and, procuring land from the Government, be- 
 gan the development of a farm. His death oc- 
 curred in 1857, at the early age of thirty-three 
 years. He was a standi Abolitionist, and died be- 
 lieving that the slaves would be free. His wife 
 yet survives, and although seventy years of age, 
 is still enjoying good health. Slie is now visiting 
 
 in California, but makes her home with our subject. 
 She is a member of the Christian Church. Her 
 father, Dudley Dennison, was a native of Connect- 
 icut, and after his marriage removed to the Em- 
 pire State, where he engaged in blacksmith ing, 
 also manufactured axes and hoes, and was the 
 owner of a large farm. He died in Erie County at 
 the age of seventy, and his wife was also well ad- 
 danced in years. He participated in the War of 
 1812, and took part in the battle of Stonington. 
 The only members of the Clark family now living 
 are our subject and his brother O. E., who married 
 Vera M. Hyde, a native of Michigan, and who is 
 now superintendent of an electric plant in Napa, 
 Cal. 
 
 Wesley D. Clark, whose name heads this record, 
 was only five years old when his father died, and 
 at the age of fourteen he came to Rockford, where 
 he has since resided. In this city, he married Miss 
 Eunice L. Keig, who was born in Rockford, and is 
 a daughter of Edward and Margaret Keig, who 
 were born on the Isle of Man, and, after their mar- 
 riage, came to the United States. Since that time 
 they have made their home in Rockford, being 
 numbered among its honored early settlers. They 
 are members of the Methodist Church, and are 
 both past seventy years of age. The union of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Clark is blessed with two children: 
 Belle M. and William A. In politics, Mr. Clark is 
 a Republican, and for the past six years has served 
 as Alderman of the Sixth Ward, proving a faithful 
 and efficient officer. He is a member of the Ma- 
 sonic order, the Knights of Pythias, the United 
 Workmen Lodge and the Odd Fellows' fraternity, 
 and in the latter has filled all the offices and rep- 
 resented the Encampment at the Grand Lodge. 
 His wife is a member of the Methodist Church. 
 They are numbered among Rockford 's citizens, 
 and by all who know them are held in high regard. 
 
 On coming to this city, Mr. Clark began business 
 with Adam McClure, now deceased, during which 
 time he became thoroughly familiar with the 
 bakery business. The partnership was then dis- 
 solved, and for two and a half years he was asso- 
 ciated with Joseph Basford, after which he was 
 with the Steam Bakery Company for two years. 
 He then began business for himself, and, buying 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 973 
 
 out C. 0. Asproth, now has a general and fancy 
 bakery, and is doing an excellent business, of which 
 be is deserving. Since coming to Rockford he has 
 given a helping hand to every enterprise calculated 
 to benefit the community and promote the general 
 welfare, and is numbered among its valued and 
 leading citizens. 
 
 *^gi^=*_ 
 
 _v 
 
 r 
 
 ♦=^='5» 
 
 rf^YLYESTER SCOTT. Among the promi- 
 ^^^ nent and leading pioneers of Winnebago 
 (|/^j County who are selected for representation 
 in this biographical work, we take pleas- 
 ure in presenting this worthy subject He is at 
 present residing in Rockford, where ho is respected 
 by all who liave the pleasure of his acquaintance. 
 Sylvester Scott was born in Machias, Cattarau- 
 gus County, N. Y., December 9, 1828. He is the 
 son of Reuben C. Scott, a native of Connecticut, 
 where his father, who also bore the name of Reu- 
 ben, was born. The latter-named gentleman re- 
 moved from his native State to Pennsylvania and 
 later to Cattaraugus County, N. Y. The father of 
 our subject accompanied him on these various re- 
 movals, and on locating in the last-named county, 
 purchased a tract of land in Machias, where he 
 resided until 1837, when, with his wife and family 
 of three small children, he came to this State, mak- 
 ing the journey overland with teams, via Canada. 
 Mr. Scott, on making his home in this county, 
 located in what is now Guilford Township, where 
 he entered a tract of land from the Government. 
 He erected a log cabin for his family, into which 
 they moved on the 14th of January. They made 
 that rude structure their home for the succeeding 
 five years, when Mr. Scott purchased eighty acres 
 of land in another portion of Guilford Township, 
 where he erected a brick house and resided until 
 his death, which occurred in 1845. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Anna Johnson. She was born in Cape May County, 
 N. J., and was a daughter of David Johnson, also 
 a native of that place, where his birth occurred in 
 1777. His father, the great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was the owner of a large estate near Den- 
 
 nis Creek Landing, which was operated by slave 
 labor. The grandfather of our subject bought and 
 educated slaves and gave them their freedom. 
 David Johnson removed to Pennsylvania, and, 
 locating on the Schoharie River, conducted a large 
 lumber business. This proving a failure, he went 
 to Cattaraugus County, N. Y., and entered a tract 
 of land in the town of Machias, where he resided 
 until 1837. Desiring to see something of the 
 Western country, he came to Winnebago County, 
 making settlement on a tract of Government land 
 in Guilford Township. He erected a log house on 
 his purchase, where he made his home until his 
 death, in 1856. His wife bore the maiden name 
 of Mary Young. She was also a native of Cape 
 May County, N. J., and died on the home farm in 
 this county in 1860, after having attained to the 
 advanced age of ninety-flve years. 
 
 The mother of our subject survived her husband 
 many years, and continued to reside on the home 
 farm. She became the mother of four children, 
 namely: Sylvester; Daniel, who resides on his grand- 
 father's estate in Guilford Township; Mary E., 
 who married D. C. Dean, and makes her home in 
 Denver, and Elvira, Mrs. Daniel Clay. Mr. 
 Clay was a member of the Seventy-fourth Illinois 
 Volunteers, and died in Denver, in 1886. 
 
 Sylvester Scott, of this sketch, was nine years of 
 age when he accompanied his parents on their 
 removal to this State, and the hardships and pri- 
 vations of life in this then unsettled region have 
 made a lasting impression upon his mind. The 
 country was then little more than a wilderness, 
 there being no railroad, and Chicago, which was 
 ninety miles distant, was the nearest market and 
 depot for supplies. The family did not suffer for 
 fresh meat, however, as deer and other animals 
 were numerous. On one occasion he remembers 
 seeing his mother shoot and kill a deer which was 
 very near the cabin. He resided with his mother 
 until attaining his majority, when he removed to 
 Ills Grandfather Johnson's homestead. The old 
 log cabin which they occupied upon the place soon 
 gave way to a modern brick residence, in which 
 they made their home until 1874. At that date, 
 the homestead being sold to his brother, our sub- 
 ject came to Rockford and purchased a farm, 
 
974 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where lie engaged in market gardening for seven- 
 teen years, in whicli business he was very success- 
 ful. In the fall of 1891, he disposed of his prop- 
 erty and purchased upon the west side of the river, 
 upon Montague Street, in South Rockford, a 
 twenty-acre tract, within the city limits. 
 
 In 1850, the original of this sketch was united 
 in marriage to Miss Alzina, daughter of Solomon 
 and Charity Arvilla (Chaffee) Greeley, natives of 
 New England, who came to Illinois in 1838, and 
 located in Winnebago County. Thej' made this 
 place their home for two years, when they removed 
 to Caledonia, Boone County, and later to Green 
 County, Wis., and here the mother died in 1849. 
 After remaining in the last-named place for some 
 time, the father made his home in Floyd County, 
 Iowa, and from there went to Worth County, 
 where his decease occurred, in 1874. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Scott have had born to them six 
 children: Henry W. married Cora A. Searles, of 
 Rockford; Lydia A. became the wife of John D. 
 Hardy; and Ella, the wife of Ira Purdy, all of 
 Guilford Township. Sophronia E. and Ida E. died 
 when small children, nearlj' forty years ago; Emma, 
 the youngest daughter, passed to the spirit land in 
 1871, aged nineteen years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Scott are members of Dr. Kerr's 
 Church, the Christian Union. In politics (al- 
 though liberal and a Spiritualist for forty years), 
 Mr. Scott has been a strong Republican. 
 
 
 »?AMES CORLETT (deceased), a prominent 
 agriculturist of Guilford Township, this 
 county, and a self-made man in every sense 
 of that much-abused term, died at his home 
 in that township on December 21, 1885. Became 
 to Winnebago County in the j'ear 1844, with but 
 fifty cents in money, began working by the day, 
 and thus accumulated sufficient means to enable 
 him to purchase an unbroken tract of land in Guil- 
 ford Township. He went in debt for an ox- team, 
 erected a log cabin in the wilderness, and, thus 
 equipped, began his struggle for a livelihood. 
 Although he met with many ups and downs, he 
 continued to persevere and by his industry and 
 
 good management soon became the owner of six 
 hundred acres of land, all of which he improved. 
 He was a progressive farmer, a successful stock- 
 raiser, and an excellent citizen and neighbor. At 
 his death, he left property valued at from $75,000 
 to $80,000. He always attended strictly to busi- 
 ness, and this, no doubt, was in a great measure 
 the secret of his success. In politics, he affiliated 
 with the Republican party, and in religion, he was 
 a Methodist. 
 
 Mr. Corlett was born on the Isle of Man and 
 was a posthumous child, his birth having occurred 
 after his father's death. The latter was a sea-cap- 
 tain, and a few months after his marriage went to 
 sea. The vessel was lost and he was never heard 
 from afterwards. James was but three years of 
 age when he was brought to this country by his 
 mother, who located near Plainville, Ohio. There 
 he remained until nineteen years of age, when 
 alone, and with very little money, he came to 
 Rockford, 111. His mother had married the second 
 time and had passed the closing scenes of her life 
 in Geauga County, Ohio. By her second husband 
 (who is also deceased), she became the mother of 
 six children. 
 
 James Corlett was first married in Winnebago 
 County to Miss Mary Van Alastine, who was born 
 in the Empire State, and who, when a young 
 woman, came to Illinois. She died in Guilford 
 Township when thirty-four years of age, and left 
 four children, three now living: William E., a 
 farmer of New Milford Township; Francis L., a 
 farmer of New Milford Township, and Mary A., 
 wife of C. C. Sanders, who resides on South First 
 Street, Rockford. The one deceased was Nel- 
 son A. 
 
 Mr. Corlett's second union occurred in this 
 county, and united him to Miss Emma G. Wood, a 
 a native of Genesee County, N. Y., born near Ba- 
 tavia, in 1843. She was nine years of age when she 
 came with her parents, Nathan and Adelia (Sargent) 
 Wood, to Boone County, 111. They settled on a farm 
 in that county, first near Manchester, but later re- 
 moved to Bonus and thence to Belvidere, where the 
 father died when forty-eight years of age. He was 
 a successful blacksmith and followed his trade for 
 many years. Mr. Wood was born in Cattaraugus 
 

 aZ^ t^lyu-(-^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 977 
 
 County, N. Y., and there learned his trade. After his 
 marriage to Miss Sargent, and after the birth of 
 three children, he removed with his family to Boone 
 County, 111., and there Mrs. Wood's death occurred 
 on March 13, 1891, when nearly sixty-eight years 
 of age. She was a member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church and her husband also held member- 
 ship in that church. He was a Republican in 
 politics. They were the parents of eight children, 
 six of whom lived to be grown and five are now liv- 
 ing. All but Mrs. Corlett are residing in Michigan. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Corlett were born nine chil- 
 dren, two deceased: Sherman, who died at the age of 
 two years, and Alice E., who died when nineteen 
 years of age. Those living are Ida, wife of G. J. 
 Thornton (see sketch) ; W. Mortimer, a farmer on 
 the old homestead, married Miss Olive Ritchie and 
 has one child. Faith; Fannie M., at home, a teacher 
 in the public schools; Bessie A., at home, a clerk in 
 Mr. Stevens' store in Rockford; Georgiana M.; J. 
 Ernest, and Mabel F., all at home. Mrs. Corlett is 
 a pleasant, agreeable lady, and resides in a com- 
 fortable home at No. 412 Whitman Street, Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 r^ 
 
 fc'ft^ 
 
 '^ 
 
 TIMOTHY LEWIS, a retired farmer residing 
 in Belvidere, well deserves representation in 
 this volume, for he is one of the oldest cit- 
 izens of Boone County, and one of its honored 
 early settlers. His portrait and life sketch will 
 therefore possess peculiar interest for the reader. 
 His grandfather and father both bore the name of 
 Timothy. The former was born in Massachusetts, 
 and spent his last days in Sunderland, Bennington 
 County, Vt. The latter was a native of Ashfield 
 Mass., and married Mollio Bradley, a native of 
 Sunderland, Vt., and a daughter of Stephen Brad- 
 ley. 
 
 After his marriage, our subject's father removed 
 to Essex, Chittenden County, where he purchased a 
 tract of timber-land from the Government, upon 
 which he resided until 1808, when he bought a 
 farm in Sunderland. His home and most of the 
 effects were burned a few years later. He soon re- 
 built, and resided upon that farm for a number of 
 
 years, when he went to Wyoming, N.Y., and spent 
 some time with his sons. He then came to Belvi- 
 dere, and resided with our subject until his death, 
 which occurred at the advanced age of ninety- 
 three years. His wife died in Essex, Vt., about 
 1806. 
 
 Our subject spent his early childhood days in 
 Sunderland, and at the age of twelve years started 
 out in life for himself, working by the month as a 
 farm hand. He made his home in Arlington until 
 eighteen years of age, when, with all his possessions 
 in a pack on his back, and about $7 in his pocket, 
 he started on foot for Le Roj^, Genesee County, in 
 the vicinity of which his uncle and brother were 
 living. He there resided for two years, when he 
 removed to China, now Arcade, Wyoming County, 
 where he bought a farm. After residing there for 
 a short time, he sold and bought another farm two 
 miles from the village of Arcade. 
 
 Upon it was a hotel, and in connection with 
 agricultural pursuits, he carried on hotel-keeping 
 until 1841, when, on account of ill-health, he sold, 
 and for the following three years was unable to 
 engage in business. In 1844, he concluded to try 
 a change of climate, and on the Fourth of July of 
 that year started with a team to Buffalo, thence 
 by the Lakes to Racine, Wis., and with a team 
 completed his journey to Belvidere. Here his 
 health at once began to improve, and he soon be- 
 gan work at his trade. He also purchased twenty 
 acres of land on the Rockford road, about one 
 mile from this city, and built a nice home, which 
 he traded a few years later for three hundred acres 
 of land on the same road, two and a half miles 
 west of Belvidere. About 1858, he settled upon 
 this farm, which he made his home until 1889, 
 when he came to Belvidere and built the residence 
 which he now occupies. 
 
 For more than fifty years Mr. Lewis has found 
 a faithful helpmate in his wife. He was joined in 
 wedlock, in 1829, with Mary Olmstead, a native of 
 New York. Her death occurred in that State, and 
 on the 21st of September, 1840, he married Almira 
 Smalley, who was born in the town of Ovid, Sen- 
 eca County, N. Y., August 12, 1815, and is a 
 daughter of Lewis and Susanna (Martin) Smalley, 
 both of whom were natives of New Jersey. They 
 
978 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 removed to Ovid, N. Y., becoming pioneer settlers 
 of that locality, and in 1825 took up tbeir resi- 
 dence in Friendship, Allegany County, N. Y., 
 where they made their home until called to their 
 final rest. 
 
 Hy his first marriage, Mr. Lewis has two sons 
 yet living, L. L. and La Fayette. By the second 
 union there are two children: Mary E. and Arthur. 
 Our subject and his wife are now well advanced in 
 years, but in their old age they can look back over 
 a well-spent life, for which they need feel no 
 regret. The}"^ have the highest regard of all with 
 whom they have come in contact, and their friends 
 throughout the community are many. Mr. Lewis 
 is a self-made man. From a very early age he 
 was dependent upon his own resources, and the 
 success that he has achieved is due entirely to his 
 own efforts. 
 
 <^^]DWARD M. HOLMES, a self-made man, 
 1^ now Secretary and Treasurer of the Palmer 
 Jt — ^ Hardware Company, has been a resident 
 of this city throughout almost his entire life. He 
 claims Rockford as his birthplace, having been 
 born in 1847. The Holmes family is one of the 
 old New England families of sterling worth. His 
 father, Hollis H. Holmes, was a native of Danbury, 
 Conn., and a son of Granville Holmes, who spent 
 his entire life in that State, dying at an advanced 
 age. The father of our subject was reared to 
 manhood upon a farm, and in his youth also 
 learned the trade of a shoemaker, which he fol- 
 lowed for a number of j^ears in Connecticut. 
 Subsequently, he removed to St. Thomas, Canada, 
 where he did business as a leather dealer for some 
 years. It was in 1839 that he came to Rockford 
 with his family', consisting of his wife and only 
 son. After a long and tedious journej^ by team, 
 he reached Rockford, then a small town, and es- 
 tablished a boot and shoe store, the first exclusive 
 business of the kind in the place. Owing to fail- 
 ing health, he afterwards sold out and bought of 
 Charles Oliver, the well-known bandit of the 
 prairie, a farm consisting of one hundred and 
 
 forty acres, lying near the city limits on the east, 
 and which is now known as the Highlands. He paid 
 $12 per acre, but the property is now very val- 
 uable, and within a short time will be embraced 
 within Rockford 's suburbs. There Mr. Holmes 
 engaged in fruit growing and the nursery busi- 
 ness until his death, which occurred August 12, 
 1859, at the age of fifty years. He was a Repub- 
 lican in polities, and a most worthy citizen. 
 
 Hollis Holmes' wife, the mother of our subject, 
 was in her maidenhood Miss Sarah Moore, a native 
 of the Province of Ontario, Canada, where their 
 marriage was celebrated. She survived her husband 
 some years, and died in 1885 at the advanced age of 
 seventy-one. She was a member of the Meth- 
 odist Church, and lived a consistent Christian 
 life. In the family were three sons, all yet living. 
 
 Our subject acquired his education in the city 
 schools of Rockford, and began his business career 
 as clerk in a hardware store in 1865. "With that 
 business he has been connected continuously since. 
 He proved himself an excellent salesman, and 
 served as such until 1881, when he was admitted 
 to partnership in the Palmer Hardware Company, 
 of which he is now Secretary and Treasurer. He 
 has led a busy and useful life, devoted to the 
 interests of the work in which he is engaged, and 
 by his own efforts has acquired a good property, 
 being, as before stated, a self-made man. 
 
 In Delavan, Wis., Mr. Holmes married Miss 
 Ruth Sturtevant, a native of the Empire State. In 
 an earl}' day she removed to Delavan with her 
 parents, Z. B. and Jane (Story) Sturtevant. After 
 locating in Wisconsin, her father carried on busi- 
 ness as a mason and contractor of Delavan until 
 his death, which occurred at the ripe old age of 
 eighty-six years. His widow still survives him, 
 and makes her home with her son, Edwin Sturte- 
 vant, a well-known contractor of Chicago. She 
 is a member of the Congregational Church, and 
 has attained the age of three-score years and ten. 
 
 Mrs. Holmes spent the days of her maidenhood 
 under the parental roof, and for a number of 
 years engaged in teaching, being employed in the 
 Deaf and Dumb Institute at .Jacksonville, 111., and 
 also in the Deaf and Dumb Institute at Delavan, 
 Wis. She was a member of the First Congre- 
 
POETRATT AND BIOGRAPHTCAL RECORD. 
 
 979 
 
 gational Church, and a true and noble woman. 
 She died December 12, 1886, at the birth of her 
 daughter, Ruth S., who is now a bright lass of 
 five summers. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Holmes is a 
 Democrat, and twice served as Alderman of the 
 First Ward, but has never given his attention to 
 office-seeking, preferring to devote his entire time 
 to his business, which he has followed with signal 
 success. By his industry, perseverance and good 
 management, he has worked his way upward, and 
 is now in comfortable circumstances, and con- 
 nected with one of the leading business houses of 
 the city. 
 
 ^^EORGE M. BLAKE, attorney -at-law in 
 III _-, Rockford, and who is also extensively in- 
 ^^5 tcrested in banking, real estate and other 
 interests, is a native of New York State. In 1704 
 the Test Act of Queen Anne, and the Antrim 
 evictions in the years following, drove many thou- 
 sands of the sturdy Presbyterian Scotch-Irish 
 from Ulster to America. Of these were Mr. Blake's 
 ancestors, who came to New England in 1718, there 
 to begin life anew. 
 
 Our subject's grandfather, Zara Blake, was born 
 at Litchfield, Conn., November 12, 1782. About 
 the year 1800, he removed to New York State, and 
 at Herkimer married, in 1803, Esther Ethridge. 
 This lady was bom at Stonington Conn., August 
 10, 1783, and was a daughter of Thomas and Anne 
 (Cleveland) Ethridge. Thomas Ethridge was also 
 horn at Stonington, on June 30, 1746, and his fa- 
 ther was Nathaniel Ethridge. The Ethridges orig- 
 inally were of English Quaker stock. Soon after 
 his marriage. Grandfather Blake removed to West- 
 ern New York, residing first at Livonia, then at 
 Dansville, Livingston County. He was engaged 
 in the lumber and cattle business until his death, 
 September 17, 1839, his wife having died in 1833. 
 
 The father of our subject was Zarah H. Blake, 
 and was born at Livonia, N. Y., October 23, 1821, 
 and received a good common-school education. He 
 taught school fo ■ a time, then took up the study of 
 medicine, graduating in the first class sent forth by 
 
 the Buffalo Medical College. Returning to Dans- 
 ville, he practiced medicine there until his death, 
 September 8, 1888. Dr. Blake was Examining Sur- 
 geon for his district all through the war of the 
 Rebellion. He had a high reputation as an operat- 
 ing surgeon and a fine business man, and accu- 
 mulated a handsome property. He was a well- 
 known Republican politician in his day and held a 
 number of honorary positions in medical and 
 other societies, but he was a man who permitted 
 nothing to interfere with his professional business 
 and he refused anything that might conflict there- 
 with. In 1849, he married one of his former pupils, 
 Lovisa Dorr, who was born in Dansville and was 
 the daughter of Samuel Griswold and Selima 
 (Phelps) Dorr. The Dorrs were originally Hugue- 
 nots whom religious persecutions drove to Eng- 
 land; thence they came to New England, and 
 took a leading part in all the movements of the 
 times. By intermarriage and descent, they are con- 
 nected with much of the best blood of New Eng- 
 land, such as the Griswolds, of New Hampshire, 
 Waites, of Connecticut, Walworths, Tremaines, etc. 
 Samuel G. Dorr was born at Chatham, Columbia 
 County, N. Y.,and was the son of Matthew Dorr; 
 they were woolen and flour manufacturers and a 
 wealthy family. Dr. Blake and his wife were the 
 parents of two children who grew to maturity: 
 George M., and Josephine D. 
 
 George M. Blake was born at Dansville, Novem- 
 ber 1, 1852, and attended the local schools until 
 1869, when he entered the classical school of Willis- 
 ton Seminary, at Easthampton, Mass., to prepare 
 for college. Owing to his father being involved in 
 several large business law suits at this time, he gave 
 up going to college and did not complete his 
 course at Williston, but in 1871 took up the study 
 of law. The lawsuits, however, came to a happy 
 end, and, at his father's earnest solicitation, he be- 
 gan reading medicine with him, with a view to 
 succeeding to his fine practice. He thus assisted his 
 father, graduating in medicine at Buffalo in 1874, 
 and continuing with his father until 1877, when his 
 dislike for medicine could no longer be repressed, 
 and he abandoned it completely, returning to law. 
 
 In 1879, he graduated from the law department 
 of the Michigan University, ranking third in a 
 
980 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 class of one hundred ;ind ninety-seven, and, settling 
 in Eockford, 111., began the active practice of law. 
 In October of the same 3'ear, he married Carrie 
 Gilman Brown, who was born at Horicon, Wis. 
 She is the daughter of Chauncey and Ann M. 
 (Smith) Brown, of New Hampshire, and of Yankee 
 descent. To them has been born one son, Chauncey 
 Ethridge. Mr. and Mrs. Blake are identified with 
 the Second Congregational Church of Rockford. 
 In politics, he is a Republican, and has served two 
 years as City Attorney. He is a Mason and a 
 Knight Templar and belongs to the Odd Fellows. 
 He is President of the First National Bank of Can- 
 ton, S. Dak., and of the Fidelity Building and 
 Savings Association of Eockford, and is connected 
 with other business enterprises. 
 
 -4- 
 
 -4-^ 
 
 ylLLIAM GENT, now deceased, is num- 
 bered among the early settlers of Eockford 
 and for many years was one of its lead- 
 ing and well-known business men. He was a na- 
 tive of Staffordshire, England, and descended from 
 a prominent family of that community, who had 
 settled in Staffordshire, coming from Normandy. 
 His maternal grandfather was the overseer of the 
 carpenter work on the Earl of Shrewsbury's estate, 
 and it is probably from him that our subject got 
 much of his inventive genius. William Gent, Sr.,the 
 father, was also a native of Staffordshire, and was 
 educated as a drill-master. He died in middle life, 
 when our subject was only four years of age. His 
 wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Bull, left 
 England in 1856, fourteen years after the death of 
 her husband, and came to the United States, set- 
 tling in Ironton, Ohio, where she spent one year, 
 when in 1857, with her four children, she came to 
 Eockford, 111. Her death occurred in this citj^ on 
 the 6th of March, 1886, at the age of seventy-five 
 years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gent were members of 
 the Church of England. 
 
 Our subject was nineteen years of age when he 
 came to Eockford. In this city, he married Miss 
 Mary Taylor, who was educated in Mt. Morris 
 Seminary and spent her maidenhood days in Eock- 
 ford. Her father, James Taylor, was a native of 
 
 Vermont, but was reared in New Hampshire and 
 afterward removed to Eochester, N. Y. His father 
 died when he was a lad of ten years, and from that 
 time he made his own way in the world. He came 
 to Illinois when Eockford contained only two 
 houses, and ran the first ferry boat on the river at 
 this point. He also became a farmer but lived in 
 the city most of the time, his land lying near the 
 town. It is now all within the corporation limits. 
 His death occurred in 1879, at the age of seventy- 
 five years. He was a man of prominence in Eock- 
 ford and was widely known. Before the war, he 
 was a stanch Abolitionist and later became a stal- 
 wart Eepublican. In his religious belief, he was a 
 Methodist, belonging to the Centennial Church. 
 In this city, he married Miss Jane Sovereign, a na- 
 tive of Canada and a daughter of John Sovereign, 
 a jnoneer of Eockford, who came to this State in 
 wagons through a new and unbroken country. 
 The latter died in California at the home of his son 
 George, at the age of seventy-three. Mrs. Tay- 
 lor died at the age of forty-three. She was a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Church, coming of an old 
 family of that denomination, several of her father's 
 brothers being Methodist ministers. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gent were born nine chil- 
 dren, but one died unnamed and Allen and Sidney 
 also died in infancy. Florence E., who was edu- 
 cated in Eockford and at Whitewater, Wis., is now 
 engaged in teaching; William, an electrician, is 
 employed in tlie electric works of St. Louis; Arthur, 
 Charles, Emily M. and Rufus are all at home. 
 
 All his life long, Mr. Gent was known as a man 
 of wonderful genius and a great inventor. For a 
 time he was associated with John Nelson, the great 
 knitting machine inventor, now deceased, and later 
 he became connected with the J. P. Manny Manu- 
 facturing Companj^ Subsequently, he built a shop 
 of his own, engaging in business for himself. His 
 inventions of various kinds have become well 
 known and many have been brought into general 
 use, notably the machine for making barb wire, 
 which is now in use in the Elwood & Haish Barb 
 Wire Factories, of De Kalb, 111. Another is his light- 
 ning staple machine. He would work out in his 
 mind a plan, then put on paper his draft, and when 
 the machinery was made it would go like clock- 
 
I' 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^p9-z.e^ 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 983 
 
 work. He was not a day-dreamer but a practical 
 inventor, but like many other inventors he never 
 got the full credit and benefit of what he did. He 
 won the respect and regard of all who knew him 
 and his loss was not only to his family but to the 
 county and community as well. 
 
 ^OIIN P. JONES. The world expresses its 
 approbation when it says "Here is a self- 
 made man." The foregoing is necessary to 
 .the complete understanding and appreciation 
 of the subject of this sketch, whose portrait ap- 
 pears on the opposite page. Mr. Jones, who has 
 been a prominent lawyer of Rockford, in addition 
 to the duties of which business he superintended 
 the operations of his fine farm, is now living re- 
 tired from active life, enjoying the fruits of his 
 early industry. 
 
 The original of this sketch was born in Cliester, 
 Warren County, N. Y., and is the son of Lindall 
 J. W. Jones, whose birth occurred in Petersburg, 
 Rensselaer County, N. Y., where also his father was 
 born, of Welsh ancestry. The latter-named gentle- 
 man was a farmer by occupation and spent his en- 
 tire life in his native State. The father of our 
 subject was reared and educated in Rensselaer 
 County, where he resided until after his marriage, 
 removing thence to Warren County, and becoming 
 one of the early settlers of the town of Chester. 
 He continued to make that place his home for a 
 short time, then purchased a portion of the Van 
 Rensselaer tract, which was partially improved. 
 At the time of his location in that part of the 
 county, there were neither railroads, canals nor 
 convenient markets, and the people lived mostly 
 off the products of their farms. As wild game was 
 plentiful, they were always supplied with the 
 choicest meats, as well as the finest fish. The elder 
 Mr. Jones carded flax, which his wife would spin 
 and weave, thus dressing her children in home- 
 spun material. 
 
 Lindall J. W. Jones cleared the greater portion 
 
 of his farm, erecting thereon a good class of farm 
 
 buildings and making that place his home for 
 
 nearly twenty years, at which time be disposed of 
 
 44 
 
 his estate and removed to Petersburg, where he 
 purchased a home and resided until his decease. 
 The maiden name of the motlier of our subject 
 was Mary White; her father, Aaron White, was a 
 native of Blassachusetts, whence he removed to 
 New York and spent his last years in Rensselaer 
 County. His wife, the grandmother of our sub- 
 ject, was Betsey Bigelow, a native of Douglas, 
 Mass. Her motlier died at the advanced age of 
 one hundred and three years, while the grand- 
 mother of Mr. Jones reached the good old age of 
 ninet3' years, departing this life in Berlin, Rens- 
 selaer County, N. Y. His mother was ninety-five 
 years old at her death. 
 
 John P. Jones, of this sketch, deciding to follow 
 the profession of law, at the age of twenty-one be- 
 came a student at the State and N^liional Law 
 School, at Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, N. Y., 
 having studied previous to this, however, in the 
 office of Martin <fe Townsend,at Troy, N. Y. Being 
 graduated at the age of twenty-five, he commenced 
 the practice of his profession in Troy, where he re- 
 mained for two years, at the expiration of which 
 time he went to Hoosick Corners and was tliere 
 similarly engaged until 186(). He then came to 
 Belvidere, Boone County, 111., where he became 
 the proprietor of an estate of six hundred and 
 sixty acres, which was then called the Newburg 
 Farm, and which place has the following history: 
 
 The house on the above premises was erected 
 fifty years ago by Benjamin F. Ho^t, who pur- 
 chased the property of Col. Mahlon Sayers, 
 when that portion of the county was known 
 as Sayersville. The building was used as an hotel 
 for a number of years and was a popular resort for 
 persons traveling overland between Chicago and 
 Galena. In those early days, the place was larger 
 than either Rockford, Belvidere or Elgin, or any 
 town between the Garden City and the lead mines. 
 In a few years, the name of the place was changed 
 to Cleveland and subsequently to Newburg, and 
 while it first bore the latter name it saw its palmi- 
 est days. Among its flourishing industries may be 
 mentioned a lai-ge gristmill, blacksmith shop, two 
 grocery stores, dry-goods shop, tailor shop, carding 
 mill, sawmill and distillery. Farmers for forty 
 miles around were in the habit of going to New- 
 
984 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 burg to do their trading and to have their grist 
 ground. At this time the people residing there 
 aspired to make tlieir town the county seat of the 
 county, but cruel fate ordered it otherwise. After 
 a heated contest between Newburg and Belvidere, 
 the latter led by fS. P. Doty and the former by 
 Col. Mahlon Sayers, Belvidere won the day. In 1855, 
 the property was purchased by our subject, who 
 engaged in stock-raising and dairying, having as 
 many as one hundred cows on his farm at one 
 time, and during two years of the Civil War sold 
 over $14,000 worth of cheese at twenty cents per 
 pound. 
 
 Our subject has been twice married. His first 
 wife was Miss Armenia, daughter of Peter and 
 Comfort Brimmer, the marriage ceremony being 
 performed February 22, 1851. To them were born 
 a daughter and son. Mary A., who was born De- 
 cember 3, 1851, is now Mrs. C. W. Fisher and resides 
 at Los Angeles, Cal. The son, J. P. B., was born 
 June 6, 1854, married Elvira Howard, and now 
 resides upon the Newburg farm above described, 
 where, in addition to cultivating the soil, he is a 
 breeder of thoroughbred Hereford and Short-horn 
 cattle. Mrs. Armenia Jones departed this life 
 December 8, 1886, and our subject in July of the 
 following year was married to Kate Conklin, 
 who was born in Cherry Valley and was the daugh- 
 ter of George Conklin. By the second marriage 
 of Mr. Jones, one son was born, who bears the name 
 of Martin Townsead. 
 
 He of whom we write resided on his farm in 
 Boone County until 1870, at which time he came 
 to Rockford, and for three years engaged in the 
 practice of law. He then removed to Cherry Val- 
 ley Township, where he resided until 1891, when 
 he returned to this city and is living retired from 
 business of any kind. He is the possessor of con- 
 siderable real estate in this locality, still owning 
 two farms in Boone County, and an excellently- 
 cultivated tract in Guilford Township. He has 
 made profitable investments, by which he has se- 
 cured a handsome competence, and now ranks 
 among the wealthy and prominent residents of 
 Winnebago County. In his social and public life, 
 he is one who is capable of forming his own opin- 
 ions and resolutely adhering to them. He is widely 
 
 known for his integrity, honesty and uprightness, 
 always contributing liberally to every good cause 
 and ever striving to suppress evil. With his good 
 wife, he is an influential member of the Court 
 Street Methodist Church, and, in politics, is a strong 
 Prohibitionist. 
 
 eAPT. M. L. BRUNER. This honorable gen- 
 tleman, who is a resident of Rockford, was 
 born in Gossfield Township, Essex County, 
 Canada, April 16, 1839. He is a son of Philip 
 Bruner, a native of the same county, while his 
 grandfather, Adam Bruner, hailed from Pennsylva- 
 nia and removed in an early day to Essex County, 
 where he cleared a farm and resided until his de- 
 cease. 
 
 The father of our subject grew to man's estate 
 in his native county, where he was married. He 
 located about six miles from the old homestead in 
 Gossfield Township, and continued to make that 
 place his home until 1849, when, with his family, 
 which included his wife and nine children, he emi- 
 grated to Illinois, making the journey with teams, 
 which consumed fourteen days. Locating in Win- 
 nebago County, he purchased a tract of eighty 
 acres, mostly timber land, in Harlem Township, be- 
 sides farming land in the same township. There 
 was a log cabin on his timbered land which he re- 
 moved to his farm and resided in for about six 
 years. In 1868, he sold that purchase and bought 
 a farm two and a half miles from Caledonia and 
 and was there actively engaged in farming until 
 his death. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Mary A. Munger. She was born in Essex County, 
 Canada, and was a daughter of Joseph Munger, a 
 native of Pennsylvania. He was a wagon-maker 
 by trade, and, on removing from his native State, 
 located in the above-named county in Canada, 
 where he was one of the pioneers of Colchester 
 Township. There he prosecuted his trade, in ad- 
 dition to which he carried on farming and contin- 
 ued to reside until 1855, when he removed to 
 Iowa and located in Black Hawk County, where he 
 spent his last days. The maternal grandmother of 
 
POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 985 
 
 our subject was Sarah (Geity) Munger and was also 
 a native of Pennsylvania. Her father, was Simeon 
 Geity. The grandmother died in Harlem Town- 
 ship and Mrs. Uruner passed her last days on the 
 home farm in Caledonia Township. 
 
 The children included in the parental fam- 
 ily bore the following names: Joseph, William, 
 Juha, Malcom, Augustus, Melinda, Orlando, An- 
 derson, Myron, Franklin and Walter. William 
 met his death by an accident when ten years of age ; 
 Walter departed this life at the age of twenty- 
 eight years. Our subject, when ten years of age, 
 accompanied his parents on their removal to this 
 State. At that early day the country bore little re- 
 semblance to its present prosperous condition, there 
 being no railroads in this locality, and Chicago 
 being their nearest market. He attended the district 
 school and assisted his father in performing the 
 duties on the farm, continuing to be so employed 
 until 1861. In September of that year, he en- 
 listed in Company C, Eighteenth Wisconsin Infan- 
 try, which company he assisted in raising, and upon 
 its organization was transferred to Company K, 
 entering the service in October, 1862, as Second 
 Sergeant. For meritorious conduct, he was soon 
 promoted to be Second Lieutenant and in March, 
 1863, was made Captain of his company. His first 
 battle was that of Shiloh, and in the first day's 
 fight his regiment was cut to pieces and disorgan- 
 ized, by ten o'clock, A. M., all on the line of fire 
 being either killed or wounded. Two hundred and 
 eleven men and eleven officers were taken pris- 
 oners, and on the second day of the conflict Mr. 
 Bruner was placed in command of the Sixth Regi- 
 ment, which numbered sixty-two men and was 
 held in reserve. At noon, he turned the command 
 over to a Second Lieutenant and later joined the 
 skirmish line on the left, forcing his way through 
 to the camp from which the rebels had driven 
 them on Sunday. There he alone captured two 
 prisoners, and after turning them over to the 
 proper authorities, gave his attention to caring for 
 his wounded comrades. He later participated in 
 the battles of luka and Corinth, during the latter- 
 named conflict being on detached duty for a time. 
 Soon thereafter, he joined the Fifth Michigan, of 
 which company he was placed in command, and 
 
 after the battle of Corinth went in pui'suit of the 
 enemy. With his company, Mr. Bruner spent the 
 winter at Young's Point, and in 1863 fought in the 
 battles of Jackson (Miss.) , Champion Hills, Black 
 River and the siege and capture of Vicksburg. At 
 the end of that time, he obtained leave of absence, 
 and on returning home was confined to his bed for 
 two months with typhoid-malarial fever. When 
 able to again endure the hardships of life in ttje 
 army, Mr. Bruner joined his regiment at Memphis 
 and marched with the command to Chattanooga 
 and engaged in the battle of Missionary Ridge. 
 His regiment was the first of Sherman's command 
 to cross the Tennessee River, crossing at two 
 o'clock in the morning, and before daylight had 
 thrown up two lines of breastworks, and a third 
 before ten A. M. In the fall of that year, the com- 
 mand went to Alabama, where they spent the win- 
 ter, and in the spring sojourned at Whitesbury, on 
 the Tennessee River, where they remained until 
 June. During that time, they destroyed the salt 
 works on the above-named river, and in the latter 
 part of June marched to Chattanooga, where our 
 subject celebrated the 4th of July by riding a mule 
 to the top of Lookout Mountain. 
 
 The next important battle in which our subject 
 engaged was Altoona Pass. At three A. M. on the 
 day of that conflict, he was ordered to take com- 
 mand of three companies to protect the left wing. 
 They there remained until 2 P. M., without orders, 
 when they concluded to repair to the fort. Upon the 
 arrival of our subject there, Capt. Rafferty, of Col. 
 Rouett's staff, asked him if he thought they would 
 have to surrender .Capt. Bruner answered," No, not 
 as long as there are men and ammunition left." He 
 remained with his company until the close of that 
 battle, when he returned home on a furlough. Re- 
 joining his regiment at Nashville, Tenn., he ac- 
 companied them, via the Cumberland and Ohio 
 Rivers, to Cincinnati, from there by railroad to 
 Baltimore, and then by steamer to Newburn, N. C. 
 Soon after landing, the regiment participated in 
 the battle of Wise's Fork, then joining Sherman's 
 forces, marched with them to Raleigh and finally to 
 Washington, where they participated in the Grand 
 Review. 
 
 At the close of hostilities, Mr. Bruner, on the 
 
986 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 18th of August, 1865, returned home by way of 
 Louisville, Ky. He then entered Beloit College, 
 where he prosecuted his studies until 1867. At 
 the expiration of that time, he purchased eighty 
 acres of land from his father and one hundred 
 acres of other parties, and, with the exception of 
 teaching three terms of winter school, devoted his 
 entire time and attention to cultivating the soil 
 for thirteen years. Then disposing of his estate, 
 our subject engaged as a commercial traveler, rep- 
 resenting H. W. Pierce, with whom he was con- 
 nected for six years. For a twelvemonth, he 
 traveled in the interests of the Rockford Mitten 
 and Hosiery Company, and a like period for P. P. 
 Argersinger, of Johnstown. Mr. Bruner then es- 
 tablished a carriage repository on North Madison 
 Street, where he has conducted a successful business 
 since that time. 
 
 April 23, 1867, Miss Sophronia Adelaide Swezey 
 became the wife of our subject. Mrs. Bruner was 
 a native of New York State and departed this life 
 in 1878. Our subject was a second time married, 
 August 3, 1884, this time to Emeline (Goodhoe) 
 Barnes, widow of William Barnes. Capt. Bruner 
 is the father of three children by his first marriage, 
 viz: Elmer Howard, Augustus Harlin and Rhoda 
 Adelia. The present wife of our subject became 
 the mother of two children by her first marriage, 
 Lutie and June. In social matters, the original of 
 this sketch is a member of Rockford Lodge No. 
 120, A. F. & A.M.,Nevius Post No. 1,G. A.R. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bruner are members in good standing of 
 the Congregational Church. 
 
 
 "SIS" 
 
 
 "Ir^OBERT K. WELSH, City Attorney of Rock- 
 
 ford, was born November 18, 1863, in 
 
 M 
 
 <*> \l^ Waukesha County, Wis. His father, Thomas 
 Welsh, was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, 
 where also the grandfather, who bore the name of 
 James, was born. The latter-named gentleman 
 was a stonecutter by trade, which occupation he 
 followed in his native land until 1841, the date 
 of his coming to America. He was accompanied 
 on the journey by his wife and three children, 
 and after a voyage of seven weeks on the ocean 
 
 landed in New York. Going to Delhi, Delaware 
 County, that State, the grandfather of our subject 
 rented a dairy farm for seven years, and in 1848 
 moved to Wisconsin, going by canal and Lakes to 
 Milwaukee, and then by teams to Waukesha 
 County, where he purchased a tract of heavily- 
 timbered land. Only a few acres of this expanse 
 were cultivated and improved, but a log house 
 had been erected. Mr. Welsh at once set about tlie 
 work of redeeming the tract from its original 
 wildness, and made that place his home until his 
 death. His wife, Cynthia Welsh, died from the 
 result of an attack of cholera soon after her ar- 
 rival in Wisconsin. 
 
 James Welsh's family of three children bore the 
 names of James, Elizabeth and Thomas. The fa- 
 ther of our subject was seventeen years of age 
 when he came to America with his parents, where 
 he was reared to agricultural pursuits. When at- 
 taining mature years, he bought the interest of 
 his brother and sister in his father's estate and re- 
 sided on the home farm until 1877, at which time 
 he sold and purchased another tract in the same 
 county, which is his present place of residence. 
 The mother of our subject prior to her marriage 
 was Miss Janet Watson. She also was born in 
 Scotland, in the city of Edinboro, and was the 
 daughter of Andrew and Catherine (Rogers) Wat- 
 son. Her father spent his entire life in his native 
 land, and after his decease the mother and five 
 children emigrated to America, making the trip to 
 Waukesha County in 1847. 
 
 The household of which our subject was a mem- 
 ber included four children: Catherine E., Robert 
 K., James A. and Ruth I. Robert was given a good 
 education, attending the district school in early 
 life, which was supplemented by a course of study 
 at the Waukesha High School, from which he was 
 graduated in the Class of '82. Our subject then en- 
 tered Beloit College and finished a course of study 
 there in 1887, when, at once coming to Rockford, he 
 accepted the position of first assistant in the High 
 School. Being desirous of becoming a lawyer, he 
 made good use of all his spare time in the study 
 of that profession, reading in the office of Charles 
 A. Works. So industrious was he, that in May, 
 1890, he was admitted to the Bar, and in Septem- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 987 
 
 ber of that year opened an office in Rockford, 
 where he has been engaged in active and success- 
 ful practice since 1889. 
 
 In July, 1889, Robert K. Welsh and Miss Min- 
 erva . E. Prouty were united in marriage. The 
 lady was born in Richland County, Wis., and by 
 her union with our subject has become the mo- 
 ther of two children, sons, Carlton K. and Frank 
 A. A Republican in politics, Mr. Welsh never fails 
 to vote the straight ticket at the polls, and in 1891 
 was elected City Attorney of Rockford, in which 
 responsible position he gives entire satisfaction. 
 In social matters, he is a member of Guinevere 
 Lodge, K. of P.; of the Royal League, Royal Ar- 
 canum and Knights of the Globe. He is a gentle- 
 man who has won a high position among his 
 fellow-men and is entitled to and possesses the 
 confidence of his neighbors and friends. 
 
 ♦^^ 
 
 E^ 
 
 lEAM BURTON. Nothing is of deeper in- 
 terest to th€ student of human nature and 
 human events than to trace the career of 
 one who has fought his way to a position 
 of prominence and financial success by dint of 
 his own pluck, prudence and perseverance. Such 
 a study do we find in the life of him whose name 
 appears at the head of this paragraph. 
 
 The splendid farm of Mr. Burton, which is lo- 
 cated on section 22, Bonus Township, Boone 
 County, is well worthy of a visit from any one 
 who admires a finely-tilled farm. This gentleman 
 is a native of Vermont and was born September 19, 
 1821. His parents, Stephen and Hannah Burton, 
 were also natives of the Green Mountain State and 
 departed this life in New York at the respective 
 ages of sixty -two and seventy-six years. He of 
 whom we write had ten brothers and sisters, four 
 of whom are yet living. 
 
 When reaching his majority, our subject worked 
 out by the month for a time, and July 17, 1853, 
 was married to Miss Minerva Paine, whose birth 
 occurred May 29, 1825, in New York. Her par- 
 ents, Daniel and Mahala (Sweet) Paine, were also 
 natives of that State and emigrated to this county 
 in 1856, where they died when about eighty-three 
 
 years of age. Mrs. Burton was one in a family of 
 five children, four of whom are living and are 
 scattered over the Western States. 
 
 Of the six children born to our subject and his 
 wife, four are now living, namely: Pluma, born 
 December 30, 1854, in New York, married M. G. 
 Gurney, and is the mother of five children ; Dan- 
 iel R., who was born January 6, 1855, is residing 
 near Olympia, Wash., where he is engaged in the 
 culture of fruit; Flora M., who was born November 
 14, 1859, married M. Brown, a farmer of this 
 county, by whom she has three children ; Hermus, 
 who was born February 26, 1865, resides at home 
 and operates the old home farm. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Burton are active and influential 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 in politics our subject casts a Republican vote. He 
 is engaged in mixed husbandry and ranks among 
 the foremost farmers in the county. He has re- 
 sided on his present farm since March, 1856, and 
 is the owner of two estates, comprising two hun- 
 dred and fifty acres, all of which is under cultiva- 
 tion, ^\ ith the exception of a tract of eighteen acres 
 of timber. He has recently repaired his farm 
 buildings so that they now rank among the best of 
 the kind in the county. Mr. Burton possesses ex- 
 ceptional character and has displayed considerable 
 ability in this particular line and has overcome 
 many disadvantages. He is a typical Vermonter 
 and well-to-do agriculturist. 
 
 OBERT NICOL, who is living a retired life 
 at No. 909 Rockton Avenue, in Rockford, 
 was born in Sterlingshire, Scotland, April 
 ^ 7, 1820, and comes of an old Scotch fam- 
 ily that has flourished in Sterlingshire for many 
 generations, the occupation of most of its members 
 being that of farming. His father, John Nicol, 
 lived and died in that country, dying at the age of 
 sixty-three. His wife survived him some time and 
 was called to her final rest at the advanced age of 
 ninety-two. The family were always Presbyterians. 
 Our subject was the eldest of their family which 
 numbered five sons and a daughter; he and two 
 
988 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 brothers, Thomas and Andrew, are yet living, the 
 last-named being a resident of "Washington County 
 Pa., where he has engaged in farming for thirty- 
 five years. Thomas follows the same pursuit in 
 the county of his nativity. No others ever came 
 to America except those just mentioned. 
 
 Robert Nicol, whose name heads this sketch, 
 spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his 
 native land, and after he had attained to man's 
 estate was married, in his native county, on the 
 17th of January, 1842, to Miss Mary McCoulgan. 
 She was born and reared near the home of her 
 husband and came from a good Scotch family that 
 had lived in the Lowlands since the days of perse- 
 cution. Her parents, Robert and Elizabeth (McMul- 
 len) MeCoullgan, came to this countrj' and settled 
 in the Province of Ontario, Canada, where they 
 spent their remaining lives. They died in the faith 
 of the Presbyterian Church, wlien well advanced 
 in years. 
 
 The year 1863 witnessed the arrival of Mr. Nicol 
 and his wife in Canada. For three years thej' lived 
 in the Province of Ontario, and thence came to 
 Rockford, where they have made their home since 
 the 17th of July, 1866. Our subject became con- 
 nected with the machine shops of Emerson and 
 Thompson, manufacturers of this city, and was thus 
 engaged until he retired from active business life. 
 He is now enjoying the rest which he has so truly 
 earned and richly deserves. He has ever taken an 
 active interest in all that pertains to the welfare of 
 the community and has aided in the advancement of 
 those enterprises calculated to promote the general 
 welfare. He has supported the Republican party 
 in politics, and he and his wife are prominent 
 members and active workers in the Presbyterian 
 Church. This worthy couple have traveled life's 
 journey together for half a century, sharing with 
 each other in its joys and sorrows, adversity and 
 prosperity, and now in their declining years they 
 are surrounded by manj' friends whom they have 
 won b3' their upright lives. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Nicol are the parents of seven chil- 
 dren: John, a photographer of Monmouth, 111.; 
 Robert, who is married and resides in Chicago, Ed- 
 ward, who is married, also makes his home there 
 and is employed us a commercial traveler for a tack 
 
 factory of that city; James, a traveling salesman 
 for Phelix, Marsh and Co., of Chicago; Hugh, 
 manager for the Illinois and Iowa Base Ball 
 League, and a resident of Rockford; and Elizabeth, 
 wife of Joseph E. Turner, a butter merchant, also 
 of Rockford. 
 
 lERNHARD FISCHER, now living a retired 
 life, was born in Saxonj% Germany, on the 
 24:th of September, 1834, and is a son of 
 William Fischer, also a native of that coun- 
 He was a lumber merchant, carrying on a 
 business which was established by his father and 
 is j^et run by his two sons. Mr. Fischer died at 
 the age of sixty-five years. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Dora Heimel, was born in the same town 
 as her husband, and died at the age of sixty-four. 
 In religious belief, they were Lutherans. They had 
 a family of six sons: George, who recentlj^ died in 
 New York and left a property worth $100,000; 
 George Louis, a wealthy brewer of South Rockford; 
 and Gearhard and Sigmond, who are extensively 
 engaged in the lumber business in German^', and 
 are also very wealthy. One of these latter came 
 to this country, and liere gained many ideas con- 
 cerning their business, which have materially aided 
 in its growth. 
 
 Our subject remained in his native land until 
 twenty years of age, when he determined to try 
 his fortune in America, and crossed the Atlantic. 
 He first came to Rockford in 1854. Five years 
 later, he went to New York City, and thence by 
 way of the Isthmus to San Francisco, Cal., on a 
 mining expedition. This was not very successful, 
 and in 1861 he went to Virginia City, near which 
 silver mines were said to be located. He was after- 
 ward in Dayton, Nev., where for some time he suc- 
 cessfully carried on a saloon. From here, in 1866, 
 he went to Reynolds City, Mont., and opened the 
 first brewery in that section. After some months, he 
 sold out and went down the Missouri River to St. 
 Joseph, thence to Grand Rapids, Wis., thence to Mil- 
 waukee, and across the Lake to New Haven, Mich., 
 and by the Grand Trunk line to Canada and on 
 to New York, where he remained until the spring 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 989 
 
 of 1867. He then again came to Rockford and 
 established a saloon, carrying on a successful busi- 
 ness for some years, or until his retirement in 
 1891. Since that time, he has made a trip to the 
 Old Country and spent about a year in the Father- 
 land. 
 
 Mr. Fischer was married, in this city, to Miss 
 Louisa Bringle, who was born in Buffalo, N. Y., 
 and is a daughter of Leopold Bringle, who was 
 born near Strausberg, Germany, and at the age of 
 twenty-six emigrated to the United States, and 
 was married in Eden, N. Y. His wife was born in 
 the same locality as her husband, and at the age of 
 thirteen came to this country with her parents, 
 who spent their last days in Eden, N. Y. After 
 the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bringle, they began 
 keeping hotel in Buffalo, and later went to Spring- 
 ville, Erie County. After some years they came 
 to Rockford, and subsequently removed to Chi- 
 cago, where Mr. Bringle died, August 12, 1889, at 
 the age of seventy-three years. He was a Catholic 
 in religion, and a Democrat in politics. His wife 
 is still living with Mrs. Fischer attlie age of sixty- 
 nine years. In their family were ten children and, 
 with one exception, all are yet living. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Fischer have many friends in 
 Rockford, where they have so long resided. He is 
 a member of Kent Lodge No. 169, 1. O. O. F., and 
 also of the Encampment Order of this city. He 
 gives his entire attention to the management of 
 his property, which includes his comfortable home, 
 a brick residence situated at No. 208 North Church 
 Street, together with four fine houses in the same 
 block, and two good business houses, a frame and 
 brick, on West State Street. 
 
 ^+^[ 
 
 ?RED H. MAXWELL, one of the promi- 
 nent and well-known farmers of New Mil- 
 ford Township, who has also served as 
 Justice of the Peace for many years, claims Massa- 
 chusetts as the State of his nativity. He was born 
 on the 12th of January, 1824, in Franklin County, 
 and is a sou of Luther and Elizabeth (Baldwin) 
 Maxwell, also natives of Massachusetts, the former 
 born March 17, 1797, and the latter in July, 1796. 
 
 The founder of the family in America came from 
 Ireland to Bedford, Mass., in 1733, on account of 
 religious persecution. He was one of seven sons 
 who died between the ages of sixty-seven and 
 ninety-flve years. He served in the French and 
 Indian War, and saw the achievement of American 
 independence. Having lost much of his fortune, 
 he made a trip to the West Indies with a cargo of 
 horses, hoping to sell at a profit, but died on tlie 
 return trip, and was buried October 14, 1799. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject, Hugh Maxwell, 
 a native of Massachusetts, was a wool-carder by 
 trade and a farmer. He married Olive Newhall, 
 and died February 23, 1849. His wife survived 
 him many years, passing away at the age of eighty- 
 three. Luther Maxwell was one of five children. 
 He bought one hundred acres of land in Massa- 
 chusetts, which he added to the old homestead, 
 and owned a half interest in an iron foundry, 
 which, on coming to the West in June, 1846, he 
 traded for seven hundred and twenty acres of 
 land on sections 25, 26, 35 and 36, New Milford 
 Township. Of this, four hundred acres were un- 
 der the plow, and a good house and barn had been 
 built. The mother of our subject died two months 
 after their arrival here, of the prevailing malarial 
 fever, at the age of forty-nine. Mr. Maxwell 
 survived his wife some years, and died November 
 20, 1856, at the age of fifty-nine. He was a prom- 
 inent and influential citizen of the community and 
 one of its honored pioneers. 
 
 Our subject was a 3'oung man of twenty-two 
 years when, with his parents, he came to the West. 
 On the 29th of March, 1846, he was joined in 
 wedlock with Miss Harriet M. Pierson, who was 
 born October 14, 1828, in Shelburne, Vt., which 
 town was founded by her great-grandfather, James 
 Pierson, who was kidnapped when a child and 
 brought from England to America in 1715. His 
 son, Moses, was an active participant in the Revo- 
 lutionary War. The parents of Mrs. Maxwell 
 were Hiram and Maria (Holabird) Pierson, both 
 natives of Vermont. 
 
 After their marriage, the young couple settled 
 on his father's farm, where they have since resided. 
 They lost an infant daughter, Ellen T., but have 
 eight living children: Edwin L.; Elizabeth M., wife 
 
990 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of Frauk Marsh, of Rockford; Arthur H.; Walter 
 B.; Ilattie M., widow of John Beale, of Rockford; 
 Fred B.; Beechcr H.; and Clarence Hugh. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Maxwell had liberal educations. The 
 lady was a student in Beloit, and for two years en- 
 gaged in teaching. They have also given their 
 children good advantages. Fred B., who was gradu- 
 ated from Beloit College and is a post-graduate of 
 Cornell Institute, was a teacher in the blind asylum 
 of Janesville for two years and was selected from 
 the Cornell Institute, of Ithaca, N. Y., to fill a va- 
 cancy in the University of Chapel Hill, N. C. 
 
 Mr. Maxwell was elected Justice of the Peace in 
 1857, and has held the office almost continuously 
 since. He was also Town Clerk for a term of 
 twent\' j-ears, serving as such when the town was 
 organized. He was Supervisor during the war. 
 On the 6th of August, 1847, he was one of three 
 who organized the first Odd Fellows' lodge in the 
 counter, called Winnebago Lodge No. 31, 1. O. O. F., 
 and he was elected its first presiding officer. 
 In 1875, he made a trip to New England, thinking 
 that he might not live to go again, but his health 
 was much improved, and, as his wife laughingly 
 remarked, "he now makes a very good chore boy." 
 Tlie j'ears rest lightly upon this worthy couple, 
 who are recognized among tlie best citizens of the 
 community, and are certainlj' deserving of repre- 
 sentation in the history of their adopted county. 
 
 ^^UST PETERSON, a member of the firm of 
 fj ,5= Peterson & Benson, real-estate dealers of 
 ^^jl Rockford, does business at No. 601 Seventh 
 Street, where he has a pleasant and comfortable 
 office. This firm was established in August, 1891, 
 and they do a general real-estate and loan busi- 
 ness. They have interests in Stockholm Park and 
 in Robinson's Addition, and have already secured 
 a liberal patronage, of which they are well deserv- 
 ing. For some years previous to the forming of 
 the partnership, our subject had dealt in real estate 
 in a private way and thus experience fitted liim 
 for the work to which he now devotes his energies. 
 Our subject was born in Sweden, on the 3d of 
 June, 1856, and is a son of Carl and Anna (Simon- 
 
 son) Peterson, who are yet residents of Rockford. 
 They were among the founders of the Swedish 
 Mission Church, of which they are still members. 
 They have reached the ages of sixty-six and sev- 
 enty years, respectively. The first of the family 
 to come to this country was Mary, who is now the 
 wife of Mr. Reble, a photographer of St. Peters, 
 Minn. Our subject was the next to cross the 
 Atlantic, and later the parents and the remainder 
 of the family also sailed for the New World. 
 
 Mr. Peterson, whose name heads this sketch, 
 spent his early boyhood days in his native land, 
 but when sixteen years of age bid good-bye to his 
 old home and started out to try his fortune in the 
 New World. He landed at New York Citj' and 
 thence he went to Geneva, 111., where his sister was 
 formerly located. He has made his home in Rock- 
 ford since 1872. For ten years after locating in 
 this city, he was employed as a gardener by G. A. 
 Sanford and with the money saved during that 
 time he embarked in business on his own account. 
 In connection with his real-estate business, lie is 
 ex-Director of the Star Furniture Manufacturing 
 Company, ex-President of the Globe Manufactur- 
 ing Company, and is interested in other lead- 
 ing enterprises of the cit}'. His business career 
 has been a successful one and he may well be 
 termed a self-made man, for whatever he possesses 
 has been acquired through his own efforts and he 
 is now recognized as one of the well-to-do citizens 
 of Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Peterson has been twice married; in this city 
 he wedded Miss Tilla Lindblade, who was born in 
 Smoland, Sweden, June 9, 1859, and when about 
 four years old was brought to this country by her 
 parents. She died of consumption at her home in 
 Rockford in the fall of 1886, leaving two children: 
 Earl and Grace. 
 
 For a second wife, Mr. Peterson chose Miss 
 Hilda Lindstrom, who was born and reared in the 
 city of Jonkoping, Sweden, her birth occurring 
 January 14, 1859. Her parents are still residents 
 of that country and are members of the Lutheran 
 Church. Mrs. Peterson was the first of her family 
 to cross the Atlantic, the year 1882 witnessing her 
 emigration. A daughter graces this union, Edith 
 B. Our subject and his wife are members of the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 993 
 
 Mission Swedisli Church, in the worli of which 
 thev take an active part and in which he serves as 
 Trustee. In politics, he is a Proliibitionist and 
 bis aid is given to every worthy enterprise calcu- 
 lated to promote the best interests of the city. His 
 success in business is well deserved, for he has led 
 a busy and useful life, deserving the confidence of 
 all. 
 
 >==.«!'='5' 
 
 ^1, UGUST KJELLGREN, Superintendent and 
 L!Ii foreman of the painting department of the 
 
 Rockford Chair and Furniture Company 
 is one of the fifteen stockholders of this 
 large factory, in which are employed several hun- 
 dred men, about one hundred being in the depart- 
 ment of whicii our subject has charge. He has 
 held the position for five years and is a well-known 
 Swedish business man of this city. 
 
 Mr. Kjellgren, whose portrait appears on the op- 
 posite page, was born in Wester Gothland, Sweden, 
 on the 29th of December, 1839, and is the eldest of 
 a family of three sons, whose parents were John and 
 Anna (Johnson) Kjellgren. The former was born 
 in 1812, the latter in 1810. They crossed the 
 broad Atlantic to America in 1866, came to Rock- 
 ford the same year and are still residents of this 
 city. With the Swedish Zion Church, they hold 
 membership. The brothers of our subject are Sam- 
 uel, a house painter of this city, and Andrew, a 
 cabinet-maker by trade, now President of the 
 Rockford Chair and Furniture Company. 
 
 Our subject spent his early boyhood days in the 
 land of his nativity, and at length emigrated to 
 the New World. He landed at New York City and 
 thence came to Rockford, joining his parents here 
 on the 25th of January, 1868. He afterward 
 learned the painter's trade and has since followed 
 that business, winning success ia that line. For 
 Ave y ars, he held the position of foreman in the 
 painting department of the Union Furniture Com- 
 pany of Rockford, and since that time has been 
 Superintendent and foreman of the painting de- 
 partment of the Rockford Chair and Furniture 
 Company. From a humble position, he has steadily 
 worked his way upward and is now one of the 
 
 well-to-do citizens of the community. In connec- 
 tion with his other interests, he is also a stock- 
 holder in the Union Grocery Company, of this city; 
 the Mantel and Furniture Company, and other local 
 interests, and has done much toward insuring the 
 success of these enterprises. 
 
 A marriage ceremony performed in Rockford 
 united the destinies of Mr. Kjellgren and Miss 
 Caroline C. Wetterlund, who was born in Sweden, 
 January 26, 1847, and came to this country in 
 1868. Her parents, who were Swedish Lutherans, 
 died in their native land. Unto our subject and 
 his wife have been born ten children, but Anna 0., 
 Alma J., Anna C. and Arvid S., are now deceased. 
 The living are Eric, a painter in his father's fac- 
 tory; Axel L., who also follows the same trade; 
 Ellen M., Hildur, O. B., Oscar S. and Keneth F., 
 who are still under the parental roof. 
 
 i>^r-<^ 
 
 JHEODORE L COLBY has for many years 
 been engaged in blacksmithing in Rock- 
 ford, and is now doing business at No- 
 128 North Madison Street. In the pursuit of that 
 trade he has acquired quite a little fortune and is 
 now well-to-do. His shop is 33x60 feet, and he 
 employs two men to help him. On coming to 
 Rockford, he did journeyman work for three 
 years for Sam Church, and then embarked in busi- 
 ness for himself. He came to this city from 
 Detroit, Mich., where he completed his trade, hav- 
 ing begun it in Canada. 
 
 Mr. Colby was born in the township of Rich- 
 ford, Tioga County, N. Y., and when a lad of ten 
 years removed to the Province of Ontario, Can- 
 ada, with his parents, Charles and Mary A. (Shaffer) 
 Colby. The paternal grandfather of our subject, 
 David Colby, was a native of Maine and of Eng- 
 lish descent. He married Miss Farrington, of the 
 Pine Tree State, and a part of their family was 
 reared in Maine, but in an early day they removed 
 to Tioga County, N. Y., where they resided upon 
 a farm throughout the remainder of their lives. 
 They were among the pioneer settlers of that 
 county and were highly respected people. In re- 
 ligious belief, it is thought they were Universalists, 
 
994 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 as was their son Charles, the father of our subject. 
 On removing to Canada, the latter located on a 
 farm at Chatham, where he is still living at the 
 vcrj' advanced age of ninety-one years. lie is still 
 liale and heartj^, the infirmities of age resting 
 lightly upon him. His wife died at their home in 
 Chatham at the age of sixty-flve. She was born in 
 the Mohawk Valley in New York, and was a daugh- 
 ter of Jacob Shaffer, a native of Schoharie County, 
 N. Y., of German lineage. Jacob Shaffer was twice 
 married, his first union being with Miss House, who 
 became the mother of Mrs. Colby. Slie died in 
 the Empire State, and he mairied Miss Cypher, of 
 the same State, who died in Canada when well ad- 
 vanced in years. Mr. Shaffer was called to his 
 final rest at the age of seventy-five. 
 
 Our subject is the eldest of five sons and three 
 daughters; the latter are all now deceased, but the 
 sons are j'et living and are all married. It was in 
 Chatham that T. I. Colby led to the marriage altar 
 Miss Barbara McKay, who was born on Prince 
 Edward Island in 1834, and came of an old Scotch 
 famii}^ Her parents were Donald and Huena 
 (McKa^') McKay, both natives of Scotland. They 
 were married on Prince Edward Island, and after- 
 wards removed to the Province of Ontario, where 
 as farming people they resided for some time. 
 Later, they removed to Ridgeway, Mich., where 
 they spent their last days, both having reached 
 the age of four-score years when called to their 
 final home. 
 
 For manjr years Mr. and Mrs. Colby have lived 
 and labored together, and their efforts have been 
 blessed with prosperity. They now have a pleas- 
 ant home at No. 403 North Third Street, which is 
 the abode of hospitality and a favorite resort with 
 their manj' friends. They attend the Centennial 
 Methodist Church, of which Mrs. Colby is a mem- 
 ber. Their union has been blessed by one son, 
 Charles E., who possesses great natural artistic tal- 
 ent and is a successful artist. He married Lillian 
 Baldwin, and they have a little daughter, Bessie, 
 who is the joy of their home and the pet of her 
 grandparents. 
 
 Mr. Colby exercises his right of franchise in 
 support of the Republican party, but has never 
 sought political preferment for himself. He is a 
 
 member of Ellis Lodge No. 104, A. F. & A. M. 
 His residence in Rockford covers a period of thirty- 
 six years, during which time he has won a hand- 
 some competence, and also by his upright life 
 has gained the respect and good- will of those with 
 whom he has been brought in contact. 
 
 ^M UGUST P. FLOBERG. One of the most 
 (@y/j|| popular, strong and flourishing financial 
 institutions of Rockford is the Manufac- 
 turers' National Bank, of which August P. 
 Flobcrg is the able and efBcient Cashier. He was a 
 Director and stockholder from this bank's incep- 
 tion and was one of the originators of the same. 
 He was also a promoter and is now President of 
 the Rockford Desk and Furniture Factory, whicli 
 employs one hundred and twenty-five men and 
 has a capital of $100,000; and is Treasurer and a 
 Director of the Mechanics' Furniture Companj', 
 which employs one hundred men and has a capital 
 of 175,000. Mr. Floberg was also one of the chief 
 organizers of the Rockford Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, which was formed in 1889 with a capital 
 stock of $200,000 and one hundred employes, 
 is Treasurer of the same, and is Director and Treas- 
 urer of the Globe Clothing Manufactorj', Director 
 and Treasurer of the Forest City Bit and Tool 
 Company, Director of the Rockford Cabinet Com- 
 pany, and is Treasurer and one of the founders of 
 the Rockford Posten Publishing Company. He is 
 also a member of the Peterson Land Association 
 and is a Director in the Swedish Building and 
 Loan Association. 
 
 Our subject was born in Wester Gothland Prov- 
 ince, Sweden, born October 5, 1856, and came to 
 this country with his mother in 1868. His father, 
 Gustave Pherson, came of a well-known Swedish 
 family and died when comparativel}^ a young man. 
 The mother came with her children to Rockford 
 and is still living. She married John Breadberg, a 
 cabinet-maker of this city, with the Standard Furni- 
 ture Company, and is now about sixty years of 
 age. She is a member of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 August P. Floberg was but eleven years of age 
 when he came to Rockford and he received a good 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 995 
 
 practical education in the schools of the city. 
 Later, he accepted a position as otBce boy, and 
 with the earnings thus saved, gave himself a good 
 education in the Business College of Rockford. 
 He was then book-lieepcr for different institutions 
 and later was for seven j-ears Secretary for the 
 Central Furniture Companj'. He soon became 
 famihar with his business and has developed into 
 one of the most thorough-going, enterprising men 
 of the city. He is a bank officer of marked ex- 
 ecutive ability and vast practical experience, and 
 is possessed of those characteristics of energy, 
 promptness and sobrietj^ which ever secure suc- 
 cess. 
 
 Miss Augusta Ekeberg, who became his wife in 
 Rockford in 1880, was born in Wester Gothland 
 Province, Sweden, and attained her growth and 
 received her education there. She came to this 
 country with her parents in 1870 and has since 
 been a resident of this city. The father, Jonas 
 Ekeberg, and the mother, whose maiden name was 
 Christina Ekeberg, are now residing in Rockford, 
 are quite aged, and are exemplary members of the 
 Lutheran Church. Mr. Ekeberg is a mechanic by 
 trade. 
 
 The political sympathies of Mr. Floberg have 
 brought him in line with the Republican party and 
 in public movements he has ever taken a deep 
 interest. He and Mrs. Floberg are identified with 
 the First Lutheran Church and he was Trustee for 
 six years and is the present Treasurer. Their mar- 
 riage resulted in the birth of three children: 
 Adelbert R., eight years of age; Frances E. and 
 Mary L. 
 
 1^ HARLES L. SUTHERLAND, M. D., now 
 il( located at Rockford, enjoys a large practice 
 ^^/ in the town and surrounding country. He 
 is quite young, possessed of abundant energy, and 
 thoroughly skilled in his profession, having been 
 graduated from the Chicago Medical College in 
 March, 1883. He is a native of Janesville, Wis., 
 his birth occurring November 26, 1858. 
 
 .Tames Sutherland, the father of our subject, was 
 born about 1821, in Ohio. His father, Thomas 
 
 Sutherland, was born in Pennsylvania, and, remov- 
 ing to Ohio, became a pioneer farmer near Ash- 
 land. His wife, the grandmother of our subject, 
 who bore the name of J.ane Smith, also hailed from 
 the Keystone State, and was the mother of a fam- 
 ily of four sons and three daughters, only two of 
 whom survive. The maiden name of our subject's 
 mother was Elizabeth Withington; she was born 
 near Ashland, Ohio, and was the daughter of Dan- 
 iel Withington. Her father went to Wisconsin in 
 1848, and became a resident of Rock County. His 
 wife, the mother of Mrs. Sutherland, was known 
 prior to her marriage as Temperance Gray, and 
 departed this life in Rock County, in 1871, her 
 husband, whose demise occurred in 1884, surviv- 
 ing her a number of ^ears. They reared a family 
 of seven daughters and four sons, one of the 
 former dying young. 
 
 Our subject was the sixth in order of birth of a 
 family of seven children, and spent his boyhood 
 and youth in attending school and in the book- 
 store with his father. The latter has been engaged 
 in that line of business since 1848, with the excep- 
 tion of two years, when he carried on a thriving 
 trade in grain. His store is one of the finest in the 
 city, and besides carrying a full and complete 
 stock of books, has a splendid stationery and wall 
 paper department. He served two terms as State 
 Senator, and was Mayor for two terms of Janes- 
 ville, Wis. 
 
 After graduating in the Chicago College, as be- 
 fore stated. Dr. Sutherland began the practice of 
 medicine at Birnamwood, Wis., where he remained 
 only a twelvemonth, and then he went from there 
 to Janesville, Wis., where he remained until De- 
 cember, 1885; he then came to his present field, 
 which has been his permanent abiding-place since 
 that time. He is a graduate of the Regular School 
 of Medicine, and is building up a fine practice, 
 both as a physician and surgeon. 
 
 In September, 1890, Miss Susan H. Thomas, who 
 was born in Rockton Township, became the wife 
 of our subject. Her father, William M. Thomas, 
 who was born in Wayne County, Pa., in Novem- 
 ber, 1805, came to Illinois in 1838, in company 
 with his wife and three children. Mr. Thomas lo- 
 cated on one hundred and twenty acres of laud on 
 
996 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 section 31, of this township, on which he erected a 
 log house and established his family until able to 
 erect a more comfortable dwelling. They were 
 the parents of nine children, three of whom died 
 in infancy. Mr. Thomas passed away in Julj', 
 1881, when seventy-six years of age. His wife, 
 who bore the maiden name of Eliza Conklin, was 
 born in 1811, and is still living, at the advanced 
 age of eighty-one years. Two of her sons, John C. 
 and Orvill P., were volunteers during the late 
 war, in Company F, Seventy-fourth Illinois In fan- 
 try. Tliey participated in the battle of Stone 
 River, Orvill never being absent from the regiment; 
 he took part in all its engagements, with the ex- 
 ception of Lookout Mountain, when he was detailed 
 on guard duty. Jolm C. was confined in tlie hos- 
 pital for about three months; he is now a farmer 
 in Kansas, while his brother is cultivating the soil 
 in Owen Township, this county. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Sutherland celebrated their 
 golden wedding, November 13, 1878, at their 
 liome on the old farm, where they had lived for 
 forty years. This was a happy and enjoyable occa- 
 sion, and was largely attended by friends from the 
 surrounding townships, bringing testimonials of 
 the high esteem in which this grand old couple 
 were held, who were pioneers of this State, and had 
 journeyed together for a half century. An excel- 
 lent and lengthy poem, composed for the occasion 
 by D. V. Waite, was read, and the entire occasion 
 was one to live many j^ears in pleasant memories. 
 
 **'^>^|*>'^^V<*^ 
 
 ■ ' I I 
 
 ^^SCAR BERGQUIST, Secretary and Treasurer 
 (( I ^^ ^''^ Desk and Furniture Company, lo- 
 ^^^ cated on North Second Street, where the 
 business was started in 1889, is a young man pos- 
 sessed of more than ordinary business acumen. 
 This company manufactures all kinds of desks, 
 making a specialty of ladies' desks, combination 
 desks, book-cases, etc., and the greatest care is 
 taken in the production of these goods, which, 
 while being of attractive design and finish, also 
 combine those qualities of strength and durability 
 which make them extremely popular with dealers 
 and customers. Under the able management of 
 
 A. P. Floberg, President; 0. W.Haegg, Vice-presi- 
 dent; and Mr. Bergquist, Secretary and Treasurer, 
 the company has prospered, and is at the head of 
 any establishment of the kind in the country. It 
 employs a staff of experienced and competent trav- 
 eling salesmen, and its affairs are managed upon 
 progressive and reliable principles. About one 
 hundred men are employed all the time. 
 
 Oscar Bergquist was born near the city of Carl- 
 stad, Sweden, on the 20th of October, 1863, to the 
 union of Gustave and Mary (Swensen) Bergquist, 
 both natives of that country. In 1869, the par- 
 ents came to the United States, and subsequently 
 settled in Rockford, 111., where the father has been 
 actively engaged as a painter, having followed that 
 business all his life. He is at present Superinten- 
 dent and Manager of the Rockford Manufacturing 
 Company, also a stockholder in the same, as well 
 as in the Skandia Plow Company of that city. Al- 
 though about fifty-five years of age, he is energetic 
 and enterprising, and one of the city's most prom- 
 inent business men. His wife, who is still living, 
 is about the same age, and both are members of the 
 Lutheran Church. They have a good home at 
 No. 904 Seventh Street. In politics, Mr. Berg- 
 quist is a stanch Republican. 
 
 Our subject, the second in order of birth of six 
 children born to the above worthy couple, was but 
 six years of age when he crossed the ocean with 
 his parents, and he has been a resident of Rock- 
 ford for about twenty-two years. He was educated 
 in the city schools, and learned the painter's trade 
 of his father as he grew up. He has followed that 
 trade for thirteen years, and is a successful work- 
 man. For two years he was manager of the Rock- 
 ford Paint Company. He is a live business man, 
 well informed, and is at present a Director and 
 stockholder in the Skandia Plow Company, Rock- 
 ford Paint Company, and a stockholder in the 
 Rockford Manufacturing Company, and tho Posten 
 Publishing Company. 
 
 Mr. Bergquist was married to Miss Amanda A. 
 Nygren, a native of Sweden, born January 7, 1865, 
 and the daughter of N. P. and Anna (Magnusom) 
 Nygren, natives also of that country. The family 
 came to the States in 1868, and settled in Rock- 
 ford, where the father's death occurred in 1885. 
 
I 
 
 YZiJ^;-^yLy' 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 999 
 
 His widow is still living in this city, and is about 
 sixty years of age. She is a member of the Luth- 
 eran Ciuirch, and her husband also held member- 
 ship ih that church. They were the parents of 
 seven children, five daughters and two sous, and 
 all but one are now living. Three are married. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bergquist's union was blessed by 
 the birth of two children, E. Wilhelmena and 
 Emily M. In politics, Mr. Bergquist is indepen- 
 dent, and, in religion, he and his wife are members 
 of the Lutheran Church. They are well liked by 
 all with whom they come in contact, and are 
 worthy members of society. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^■•'S 
 
 ^ LFRED G. LARSON, who is engaged in 
 business as a stone and brick mason con- 
 tractor at No. 308 Sixth Street, Rockford 
 claims Sweden as the land of his nativity. 
 He was born in Wester Gothland on the 5th of Sep- 
 tember, 1857, and there spent the days of his boy- 
 hood and youth. At the age of twenty-one, he 
 ' determined to try his fortune in America, and in 
 1878 crossed the broad Atlantic, making his first 
 location in Walnut, HI. His father, John Larson, 
 also came to this country and located in Walnut, 
 Bureau County, on a farm, after having followed 
 carpentering in Chicago for some time. His wife 
 and family later joined him at Walnut, and the 
 mother is still living there at the age of sixty-one 
 years. The father died February 16, 1892, aged 
 sixty-three years, lacking three days. A brother 
 of our subject, Charles Larson, is a city police oflfi- 
 cer of Rockford. He married Miss Nanna Levene, 
 of Sweden. 
 
 Mr. Larson, whose portrait appears on the op- 
 posite page, spent three years in Bureau County, 
 and then came to Rockford, where he has made 
 his home since 1881. For more than ten years, he 
 has been engaged in business as a contractor in 
 stone and brick woi'k and has built one hundred 
 and fifty houses. He also owns a fine business 
 block at No. 409 Seventh Street, including three- 
 story flats and storerooms, and also owns a dwell- 
 ing on Fifth Avenue. Being an expert work- 
 man and thoroughly understanding his business. 
 
 he has received a liberal patronage, which has made 
 his undertaking a successful one. In connection 
 with his other interests, tie is a stockholder in the 
 Rockford Globe Clothing Factory, owns an interest 
 in the Excelsior Furniture Company, of this city, 
 and is also stockliolder in the Rockford Baking 
 Company. 
 
 In Rockford, Mr. Larson was united in marriage 
 with Miss Salma Peterson, who was born near the 
 home of her husband in Sweden, May 17, 1862, and 
 was reared and educated in her native province 
 until the spring of 1879, when, with a brother, 
 John Peterson, she came to this countrj'. They 
 were the first of the family to cross the Atlantic 
 and have since been joined by two sisters. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Larson hold membership with the First 
 Lutheran Cliurcli. They have a little daughter, 
 Laura, who was born on the 7th of September, 
 1890, and have lost two children, Artliur and Vic- 
 toria, who died in early childhood. 
 
 Mr. Larson takes a considerable interest in polit- 
 ical affairs and by liis ballot supports the Repub- 
 lican party, of which he is a stanch advocate. He 
 was elected to the office of Supervisor in 1892, and 
 is serving with efficiencj'. He has led a busj- and 
 useful life, and the result of his efforts is seen in 
 the handsome competence which he now possesses. 
 He has taken an active interest in all that pertains 
 to the welfare of the community, and was instru- 
 mental in organizing the vSwedish singing society, 
 known as the Sveassoner. Since its organization, 
 on the 23d of January, 1890, he has been its Presi- 
 dent. For five years, he was also chorister of the 
 First Lutheran Church. 
 
 D 
 
 OHN G. PENFIELD, a successful real-estate 
 dealer and money loaner of Rockford, be- 
 gan business in this city soon after locating 
 here in the spring of 1854. He was first a 
 member of the firm of Spalding & Penfield, which 
 connection was continued for some time, when a 
 partnership was formed between our subject and 
 his brother David S. They continued together for 
 some time, and the latter was one of the well-to-do 
 
1000 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and prominent men of the city. He was a]so one 
 of its honored early settlers, having here located 
 in 1837. His death occuired in 1873. He was 
 prominent in all local matters, and a Republican 
 in politics. His widow, whose maiden name was 
 Mary H. Hodges, and several children are yet liv- 
 ing. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is a native of Rutland 
 County, Yt. His father, Sturgis Penfleld, was one 
 of the leading citizens of that county, and was 
 quite prosperous. He had been a farmer and 
 brewer, and afterward carried on a gristmill and 
 engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods. He 
 died at an advanced age, in the faith of the Con- 
 gregational Church. In politics, he was first a 
 Whig, but later became a stanch Abolitionist, and 
 was a strong temperance man, becoming prominent 
 in all moral reforms. In Connecticut, his native 
 State, he married Miss Laura Giddings, who was 
 also born in that State, whence they removed to 
 Rutland Countj^ Vt., where they spent nearly 
 their entire lives. Further mention of this worthy 
 couple is made in the sketch of S. F. Penfield on 
 another page of this work. The mem))ers of the 
 family who are still living are: Mrs. Laura A. Har- 
 mon, who resides in Bennington, Vt.; Mrs. Betsy 
 P. Mauley and Mrs. Eleanor P. Lohrop, now residing 
 in Pittsford, Rutland County; S. F. and John G., 
 residents of Rockford; Catherine J., a resident of 
 Bennington, Vt.; and Abel Ogdeu, who is living 
 in Battle Creek, Mich. 
 
 The subject of this sketch acquired his educa- 
 tion in the schools of his native county and in 
 Burr Seminarjf, of Manchester, Vt. He grew to 
 manhood under the parental roof, and began his 
 business career in connection with his father, hav- 
 ing charge of some of Mr. Penfleld 's manufactories. 
 After attaining to man's estate, he was married in 
 Rockford, to Miss Mary E. Crosby, who was born 
 in Troy, Cheshire County, jST. H., where she spent 
 the days of her maidenhood, her education being 
 finished in South Hadley Seminary. Her parents 
 were Alpheus and Mary (Fox) Crosby, both na- 
 tives of the Granite State. On coming to Illinois, 
 they settled in Winnebago County, where the par- 
 ents afterward died. He was born in New Hamp- 
 shire in 1798, and was one of five sons and five 
 
 daughters, all of whom grew to mature years, 
 though none are now living. The father of that 
 family was Alpheus Crosby, Sr., who fought in the 
 French and Indian War under his father, Josiah 
 Crosby, commander of the companj-. The latter 
 was a native of England, and came to America in 
 an early day. The family were members of the 
 Congregational Church, and figured quite promi- 
 nently in the early history of the State. Alpheus 
 Crosby, Sr., married Miss Elizabeth Gilmore, who 
 came of an old New England family. The parents 
 of Mrs. Penfleld were married in the East, and Mr. 
 Crosby followed his trade of blacksmithing in 
 Troy, N. H., until his emigration with his family 
 to Rockford. He became an influential and wealthy 
 citizen of this place, and the family is one unusu- 
 ally well and favorably known. The father was a 
 member of the First Congregational Church, as 
 was also his wife, and took an active part in poli- 
 tics, supporting the Republican party. Public spir- 
 ited and progressive, he also took a prominent 
 part in everything pertaining to the welfare and 
 advancement of the communit}'. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Penfield have been born three 
 children: Helen M., widow of Edwin M. Revell, a 
 real-estate and loan agent, who died on the 16th of 
 July, 1891; Fannie H., wife of Charles E. Sheldon, 
 who is Secretary of the Rockford Insurance Com- 
 jjany of this city; and Kate C. at home. They 
 have all been well educated, and Miss Kate has 
 been a student in Wellesly College, of Massachu 
 setts. 
 
 Mr. Penfield has been connected with a number 
 of business interests in Rockford, and is one of its 
 most enterprising and leading citizens. He laid out 
 an eleven-acre addition at the corner of Kishwau- 
 kee Street and Fourteenth Avenue, in a good and 
 rapidly developing part of the city, which he owns 
 Willi Mrs. Annie P. Moore. He is a stockholder in 
 the Watch Coippanj-, and is a Trustee in the Ran- 
 dolph Revell Land Association, which laid out High- 
 land subdivision. He owns stock in several in- 
 corporated companies, and is a man of enterprise 
 and spirit, who carries forward to successful com- 
 pletion whatever he undertakes. He, with his 
 brother D. S. and Mr. E. Gregory, laid out the 
 Gregory Addition. He and his brother D. S. laid 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1001 
 
 out tbe Penfleld subdivision of South Park, lot 
 No. 11, in East Rockford. He also has an interest 
 in Riverside Addition, which was laid out in 1890, 
 one of the largest Additions in the city, which 
 reaches from Reck River to the north limits.. 
 
 "023 
 
 ^tt-#-i^S^i^ 
 
 ^ROF. P. R. WALItER. Not only in Rock- 
 ford, where he resides, but also in Winne- 
 bago and Ogle Counties, and through the 
 State of Illinois, this gentleman is known as 
 a prominent educator, whose life has been spent in 
 the advancement of humanity and progress along 
 educational lines. In no way can his ability and 
 profound knowledge be better illustrated than by 
 mention of the various offices which he has held. 
 He has been an instructor in many of the Insti- 
 tutes held in Northern Illinois, has occupied the 
 principal offices in the State and local educational 
 associations, and has been a Director in the Na- 
 tional Teachers' Association for two years. 
 
 Born in Windham County, Conn., in July, 1835, 
 and the son of Albert G. and Patience E. Walker 
 (of whom see biography elsewhere in this volume), 
 young Walker was surrounded with such opportuni- 
 ties as were common to the boys of sturdy old New 
 England farmers back in the old Nutmeg State of 
 fifty years ago. He received such practical train- 
 ing as was a source of much general value to him 
 when he came in contact with a life's work that 
 has required all his energies. Having received the 
 rudiments of his education in the public schools, 
 he taught his first school at the age of seventeen, 
 in the county of his birth. 
 
 With the hope of improving his time and oppor- 
 tunities to the best advantage. Prof. Walker, with 
 his father's family, came to Illinois in 1856, and 
 settled in Ogle County. After teaching two years, 
 he entered the State Normal University at Normal, 
 111., graduating with high honors in 1861, and at 
 once returned to his home, where he taught for one 
 year in the district schools. His loyalty to the 
 Union, and the spirit of his forefathers, caused him 
 to throw aside his profession of a teacher and re- 
 spond to the call of the Government for brave 
 and gallant men to take up arms in defense of the 
 
 old flag. He enlisted as a private in Company K, 
 Ninety-second Illinois Infantry, Capt. Albert 
 Woodcock, of Ogle County, and Col. Smith D. At- 
 kins, of Freeport, commanding. 
 
 The history of the Ninety-second is one of in- 
 terest, for it is known as one of Illinois' greatest 
 and most valorous regiments throughout the en- 
 tire war. A-fter they were mustered into service 
 in the early part of 1862, they advanced into the 
 enemy's country, and fought with the Army of 
 the Cumberland, doing good service in many hard- 
 fought battles. After the battle of Chattanooga, 
 our subject was commissioned First Lieutenant, 
 soon after his regiment was assigned to Gen. 
 Killpatrick's cavalry division of Gen. Sherman's 
 army, and was with it on the march to the sea. 
 While at, Ringgold, Ga., Capt. Scoville, of Com- 
 pany K, was taken prisoner, and Lieut. Walker as- 
 sumed command of tlie company. He refused to 
 accept the Captaincy out of respect for his cap- 
 tured leader, but retained command for a year or 
 more, until his superior officer was released as a 
 prisoner of war. 
 
 The regiment fought bravely at all the battles 
 of the memorable campaign under Gen. Sherman, 
 including the siege of Atlanta, the march to the 
 sea, and from there to the North. For a short time, 
 Lieut. Walker was in the hospital on account of 
 sickness. He received a slight wound at the battle 
 of Raleigh. With that exception, he was in ac- 
 tive service until the close of the Rebellion, and 
 was honorably discharged July 10, 1865, when he 
 returned to his home in Ogle County. 
 
 Before his enlistment. Prof. Walker's worth as a 
 teacher had been established, and upon his return 
 home he was employed to return to the school 
 which he taught prior to his enlistment. It was 
 his constant aim to elevate the character of the 
 schools of the county, and he accomplished much 
 in that direction, many of his students to-day fig- 
 uring prominently in places of trust and responsi- 
 bility. Notable is the fact that while in that 
 county Prof. Walker taught one school for eight 
 years, and another for twelve years, his work al- 
 ways recommending him for a call to the same po- 
 sition. 
 
 When the School Board of Rockford commenced 
 
1002 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 to look around for a Superintendent of ability, 
 well versed in the system of public scliools, and 
 splendidly equipped as an educator and disciplina- 
 rian, they selected Prof. "Walker to fill the honor- 
 able and laborious place. This was in July, 1884. 
 Since that time be has labored continuously at his 
 post, giving that satisfaction which can be given 
 only by a man whose soul is in hiS work. His 
 proficiency is best attested by the universal satis- 
 faction he has given. He is a tireless worker, and 
 has won his way tiirough his unremitting exer- 
 tions to a front rank among the foremost educa- 
 tors of the day. He was married, August 16, 1865, 
 to Martha E. Webb, of Le Roy, Genesee County, 
 N. Y. One daughter has blessed their home. Prof. 
 Walker is a member of the State Board of Educa- 
 tion, having recently been re-appointed fpr a term 
 of six years. Socially, he is well known in 
 Rockford, and is a member of ihe G. L. Nevius 
 Post No. 1, G. A. R. In political matters, he affil- 
 iates with the Republican party, and takes great 
 interest in all the important issues of the day. 
 
 RS. MARIAM K. TAYLOR, born in New 
 Hampshire, April 9, 1814, and ]Mrs. Sally 
 Chamberlain, born in Franklin County, 
 N. Y., April 11, 1822, are the daughters of 
 Richard C. Hovey, who was originally from Grafton 
 County, N. H. The father was one of two chil- 
 dren, and was left fatherless when about two years 
 of age. He was reared by adopted parents, and 
 remained with them until twenty years of age, 
 when he married Miss Abigail Kimball, a native 
 of the same place, and began housekeeping at 
 Hanover, N. H., near Dartmouth College. Six 
 years later, they removed to New York, settled 
 at Ft. Covington, Franklin County, and there Mr. 
 Ilovey was engaged in lumbering during the 
 winter months and farming during the summer 
 seasons until 1833. He then sold out and, with 
 his wife and children, moved to Ohio, where he 
 was engaged in lumbering and milling for some 
 time. 
 
 Led by the promises of the Western prairies of 
 Illinois, Mr. Hovey came to Boone County, where 
 
 he took up three hundred and fifty acres of Gov- 
 ernment land. He erected a large log house and 
 resided in this for manj' years, but subsequently a 
 fine residence was built, in which he and his thrifty 
 and industrious helpmate passed the closing scenes 
 of their lives, the father dying when seventy-nine 
 years of age, and the mother at the age of eighty- 
 four years. The last-named was a daughter of 
 Pvzekiel and Mariam (Blake) Kimball, natives of 
 New Hampshire, who spent their entire lives in 
 that State, dying when quite aged. Mr. Hovey 
 served as Postmaster, and was Justice of the Peace 
 for thirty years. 
 
 Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Chamberlain are the sisters 
 ters of Mrs. Nathan H. Wooster (see sketch), and are 
 of a family of twelve children, ten of whom lived 
 to be old people. Mrs. Taylor was married on the 
 21st of April, 1835, to John G. Taylor, and be- 
 came the mother of four children, only one of 
 whom is now living, Mrs. Esther Larkin, who 
 has five children. Mrs. Taylor has about twenty- 
 flve great-grandchildren, the eldest of whom is 
 fifteen years old. Mr. Taylor was born in New 
 Hampshire, and died in Le Roy Township, Boone 
 County, when fifty-seven years of age. He was a 
 shoemaker by trade and came to this county about 
 1842. In connection with his shoemaking, he 
 was also engaged in farming in this county and 
 left a nice property at his death. 
 
 Mrs. Chamberlain was married to Joseph Cham- 
 berlain on the 23d of October, 1839, and became 
 the mother of eleven children, all of wlioni grew to 
 mature years, but only six are now living: Helen 
 M. married and had five children, three of whom 
 are now living; William W. was one of the first 
 to answer his country's call, enlisting in Company 
 I, Thirty-seventh Illinois Infantry, and died in 
 the army; Adelia married, and died in Nebraska, 
 leaving three children, one of whom is now mar- 
 ried and has a child; Eliza married and has four 
 children; Leroy married and has five children; 
 Harry D. married and has three children; and 
 Horace married and has two children. Mr. Cham- 
 berlain was born in Delaware County, N. Y., and 
 came to Boone County in 1832 or 1833, becom- 
 ing one of the very first settlers. He was a car- 
 penter by trade and built the first house in Rock- 
 
if' 
 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1005 
 
 ford, also the first mill in Beloit, Wis. Later in 
 life he took up three hundred and twenty acres 
 of Government land, but only proved up on one 
 hundred and sixty acres. At his death, which oc- 
 curred when he was seventy-eight years of age, 
 he left the fine farm on which he had resided for 
 fifty-lwo years. He only followed his trade for 
 five or six years after coming to this State, en- 
 gaging in agricultural pursuits instead. 
 
 Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Chamberlain have been 
 members of the Christian Church for years, the 
 former having professed religion at the age of 
 eighteen years, and both are highly respected for 
 their many estimable qualities of mind and heart. 
 Both husbands were Republicans in their political 
 views, and each held many of the different town- 
 ship offices. 
 
 H> 
 
 m\\ 
 
 /p^EORGE W. MURCH, a dea-ler in clothing, 
 '11 gents' furnishing' goods, boots, shoes, etc., 
 ^^( of Belvidere, was born in Truxton, Cort- 
 land County, N. Y., January 19, 1830, and is a son 
 of Martin and Polly (Keeler) Murch, the former a 
 native of Dutchess County, N. Y., and the latter 
 of Cortland, where their marriage was celebrated. 
 They afterward removed to Onondaga County 
 and there resided until 1861, when they came to 
 Belvidere and spent their last days in the home of 
 our subject. 
 
 Mr. Murch, whose portrait adorns the opposite 
 page, was reared under the parental roof, no event 
 of special importance occurring in his childhood. 
 In 1849, he located in Putnam County, 111., and 
 was employed in a warehouse on the Illinois 
 River until the winter season, when he engaged in 
 teaching school. "With three young men, in the 
 spring of 1850, he started for California, walking 
 to St. Joseph, Mo., where they joined others from 
 Putnam County who had teams, and in this way 
 they made the entire journey across the plains and 
 mountains. At that time, there were no white 
 settlers between St. Joseph and California, except 
 the Mormons at Salt Lake. 
 
 After one hundred and sixteen days of travel, 
 Mr. Murch arrived at Hangtown, where he en- 
 45 
 
 gaged in mining for a time and was afterward em- 
 ployed as a vegetable gardener until the spring of 
 1852. He returned home by way of the Isthmus 
 of Panama, leaving San Francisco in September 
 and thirty days later arriving in New York, 
 whence he returned to Putnam County. 
 
 The same autumn, Mr. Murch rented half an 
 interest in a sawmill, which he operated through- 
 out the winter. In August of the following year, 
 he came to Belvidere, where, in company with his 
 brother, L. H., he opened a harness shop and car- 
 riage-trimming establishment. A few years later, 
 they extended their business, purchasing a stock 
 of ready-made clothing, gents' furnishing goods, 
 boots, shoes, etc., and carried on the two stores, 
 one on the north side and the other on the south 
 side of the river. 
 
 In 1857, Mr. Murch secured as a companion and 
 helpmate on life's journey Miss A. Lavantia Ams- 
 den, who was born in Chautauqua County, N. Y., 
 and is a daughter of Benjamin C. and Achsah 
 (Nichols) Amsden. They have two children: 
 Idell B. and Nettie B. The former is the wife of 
 J. C. F. Dick, of La Grange, 111., and they have 
 two daughters: Jean Louise and Marjory Lavanch. 
 
 Mr. Murch and his brother continued partner- 
 ship until 1871, when the connection was dis- 
 solved, our subject retaining the harness business, 
 which he carried on until 1874. His brother going 
 to Minnesota, he then closed out the harness busi- 
 ness and took charge of the clothing store, of 
 which he is now proprietor. He has worked up a 
 good trade and is now enjoying a thriving business. 
 He is fair and honest in all his dealings and his 
 courteous treatment has won him a liberal patron- 
 age. He is one of the Directors of the People's 
 Bank and a stockholder of the National Sewing 
 Machine Company. He was chairman of the com- 
 mittee chosen by the citizens to investigate the 
 June Manufacturing Company and take steps to 
 secure the location of the plant here, which was 
 finally accomplished, and he served as Director 
 and Vice-president of that company. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Murch is a member of Big Thunder 
 Lodge No. 28, 1. 0. O. F. In politics, he is a Demo- 
 crat and has served as a member of the Village 
 Board of Trustees and of the County Board of 
 
1006 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Supervisors. Himself and wife are members of 
 tlie Presbyterian Church, of which he has been 
 Trustee for a number of j'ears and also one of tlic 
 workers in the Sabbath school. He is one of the 
 substantial citizens of Belvidere and a man of 
 sterling worth, who by his upright life has won 
 the confidence of all and gained many friends. 
 
 ♦^E»^» 
 
 _y 
 
 ylLLIAM WELLS FAIRFIELD was born in 
 Pittsfield, in 1805, and was the eldest son 
 of Capt. Nathaniel and Martha (Wells) 
 Fairfield. His paternal grandfather was a resident 
 of Boston, Mass., until 1748, when, becoming im- 
 patient to seek his own fortune, he went with a 
 friend to examine the settling lots of Pontoosuc 
 and lands in that vicinity; before being satisfied 
 with their exploration, they became short of pro- 
 visions, and the elder man, Daniel Cadwell, re- 
 turned to his home in Westfleld for a fresh supply, 
 leaving young Fairfield, then only eighteen years 
 old, the only white person in the county. Indians 
 were numerous and their voices he plainly heard 
 upon all sides as he lay in a hollow log which served 
 him as a lodging b}' night, and a hiding place by 
 day. He purchased a tract of land at that time, and 
 having made his clearing and built his log cabin, 
 revisited his home, and returned in 1752 with his 
 wife to their new home. 
 
 BIr. Fairfield and his wife had lived there but a 
 short time when the Indians became hostile, and 
 he sent his wife back to their former home on horse- 
 back, with marked trees for her only guide, the 
 distance being about forty miles. He then turned his 
 oxen out to pasture by Pontoosuc River, putting a 
 large bell on one of them, and leaving the place to 
 join in the fight of subduing the hostile Indians. 
 After peace was restored, he returned to find the 
 oxen unharmed and the bell tinkling a welcome 
 upon his approach. That bell is still in the family 
 of William W. Fairfield, and prized by them as an 
 historic relic. 
 
 Nathaniel Fairfield had three sons born to him 
 — John, Enoch and Nathaniel, all of whom were 
 born and died in Pittsfield, Mass., the last named 
 
 being the father of the subject of this narrative. 
 His wife was Miss Martha Wells, of Wethersfield, 
 Conn., and they had five children; the first, a 
 daughter, died in her third year; the second child 
 was William Wells Fairfield. His father was so re- 
 joiced at the birth of a son, that he negotiated for a 
 large tract of land to be deeded to him, which was 
 done as soon as practicable, which was before the 
 child was one month old. The next son lived to 
 his twentieth year, when he was killed by a falling 
 tree on the homestead at Pittsfield; the daughter, 
 Almyra Jenett, became the wife of William Tefft, 
 Jr., of Syracuse, N. Y., where she died in January, 
 1889, in the seventy-fifth year of hei- age; Eben- 
 ezer lived in Adrian, Mich., engaged in the prac- 
 tice of law, and was a candidate for Governor at 
 the time of his death. 
 
 William W. remained with his father until the 
 time of the death of the latter, which occurred m 
 the year 1837, in the seventieth year of his age. He 
 then felt that he must remain as a protector and 
 stay to his mother; he was appointed executor of 
 the estate, which was settled to the satisfaction of 
 all concerned. After some years his health becom- 
 ing impaired by rheumatism, he removed to Syra- 
 cuse, N. Y., where he soon recovered from his afflic- 
 tion, and, being inclined to an active life, he 
 invested in the manufacture of salt, buying a num- 
 ber of salt blocks. He continued in this business 
 until about 1852, when owing to the saline moisture 
 of the air, he contracted bronchitis, which was so 
 severe that his physician ordered him to try a 
 drier climate. He went to Wisconsin and was much 
 benefited by the change. He there became inter- 
 ested in school lands, bujdng many hundred acres 
 of those, also a large amount of farming land and 
 wood land also; much of those lands he owned 
 long after coming to Rockford. He was very suc- 
 cessful in his ventures, and amassed a large fortune; 
 he made many trips to and from the Northwest, 
 visiting the most important points of the same, and 
 came to love the country and people whom he met. 
 Their freedom from artificiality was very attractive 
 to him, he being a man of most unassuming man- 
 ners, plain speech, and perfectly honest in his in- 
 tentions. 
 
 It was during one of those visits that Mr. Fair- 
 
POETKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1007 
 
 field met the lady who subsequently became his 
 wife, Mrs. Eleanor G. .Siegfried, a native of Phila- 
 delphia, Pa., who was like himself in quest of 
 health, her's having failed during the sickness and 
 death of her late husband, William Siegfried, also 
 a native of the same place; they were married No- 
 vember 6, 1850, and ho died August 25, 1854, of 
 consumption. She contracted the same by long 
 continued vigils at his bedside. He was only 
 twenty-six years old at the time of his death, and 
 left a loving wife to mourn his early death. She 
 too was ordered by her physician to go to a drier 
 climate, as the only hope held out for recovery, 
 which, in the course of one year, seemed to gradu- 
 ally dawn upon the invalid. She returned to her 
 home, and soon found herself liable to a recurrence 
 of her trouble. She went again to the then Far 
 West, and seemingly as before, regained compara- 
 tive health, and as before, to be disappointed. In 
 this way some years were spent, when in 1858 she 
 met Mr. Fairfield, who obtained board at the house 
 in which Mrs. Siegfried was stopping, and an at- 
 tachment sprang from this acquaintance, which re- 
 sulted in marriage, the ceremony being performed 
 by the Rev. Robert Patterson, D. D., of Chicago, 
 on the 3d of July, 1862; they spent the interven- 
 ing years until 1867 in travel, visiting the relatives 
 of each at various times and places, and in look- 
 ing over Mr. Fairfield's Western possessions in 
 quest of a suitable location where they would be 
 likely to enjoy plain and healthy living. They 
 visited Rockford upon several occasions, each time 
 being more pleased with the place and people. 
 
 In March, 1867, Mr. P'airfleld came West, leav- 
 ing his wife in Philadelphia with her friends. 
 While there he purchased the Col. Marsh home- 
 stead of John Lake, who had bought it a short 
 time previous. In April of the same year they 
 came to Rockford, residing m the same place con- 
 tinuously, and Mr. Fairfield dying in the same 
 house, March 14, 1891, in the eighty-sixth year of 
 his age, esteemed by all who knew him. A good 
 citizen in all that the word implies, upright in all 
 his dealings, conscientious in all his deeds, his word 
 was his law, and no one ever thought of his break- 
 ing either. He ever respected the Sabbath, and 
 would allow nothing to occur, over which he had 
 
 control, to mar its holy influence, lie was pru- 
 dent, but enterprising, and possessed of excellent 
 judgment of men and matters generally, and made 
 very few mistakes in business matters, until in 
 1877 he to some extent lost his sight, not being 
 able to read or write ever again ; from that time he 
 met with many and heavy losses, being obliged to 
 depend upon the opinion of others. Previous to 
 this time he invested largely in railroad stock and 
 bonds, both in New York and Wisconsin, imnci- 
 pally in the New York Central and Hudson River 
 Railroad, holding stock in both the Milwaukee and 
 New York Central at the time of his decease. He 
 was ever liberal in causes which he deemed worthy, 
 contributing to colleges, both East and West, but 
 always in such a quiet way that the beneficiaries 
 alone had knowledge of his purpose, and to his 
 relatives he gave large sums. A goodly share of 
 his means was invested in Rockford property, and 
 was used in developing East Rockford especially. 
 From his earliest manhood Mr. Fairfield was a 
 Democrat in principle and practice, as no man 
 could gain his approval or his support until he was 
 fully convinced that he was honest and capable. 
 He was tendered official honors of much import- 
 ance, .both in his Eastern homes, as also in the 
 West, but he declined them ever, having no taste 
 in that direction. He enjoyed the acquaintance 
 of many men prominent in literary', financial and 
 political circles. He was a school mate of Oliver 
 Wendell Holmes, a warm friend of Wliittier. Ex- 
 Senator Vilas has been his friend and legal adviser 
 for many years. In religious matters he leaned 
 toward Presbyterianism, although his people, as 
 well as his wife, were Episcopalians. He formed a 
 great liking for the present Rector of the Emanuel 
 Episcopal Church of this city, the Dean of this 
 diocese, the Rev. D. C. Peabody, who faithfully 
 performed the duties of his divine offlce during 
 Mr. Fairfield's sickness, ministering to him of spir- 
 itual things, and conducted the services at the 
 funeral. Mr. Fairfield's death was caused by fall- 
 ing, which resulted in an impacted fracture of the 
 hip joint. He had no disease, and was but recov- 
 ering from the effects of a previous hurt when 
 his spine was injured; that was in 1889; he 
 suffered greatly from that, but as soon as he could, 
 
1008 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was impatient to see to liis affairs, and although 
 earnestly entreated not to venture out, he persisted 
 in doing so, with the above result; he struck in the 
 fall upon the stone coping in front of his grounds, 
 was carried into the liouse, was tenderly placed 
 upon his bed, from which he never arose, but suf- 
 fered for five weeks most intensely, when death re- 
 lieved him of his agony. His remains were de- 
 posited in the receiving vault until early in May, 
 when Mrs. Fairfield, having partially recovered 
 from a severe illness, incident to the great loss 
 which she had sustained, felt it to be her duty to 
 take the body to his birth-place, which she did, 
 and laid the dear remains to rest in the family 
 burial place in Pittsiield, Mass., where repose three 
 generations bearing the name of Fairfield. The 
 ceremony was performed by the Rev. Dr. Newton, 
 Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, of Pittsfield. 
 A fine polished shaft of granite and marble was 
 placed at his head, with an appropriate inscription, 
 with date of birth and death, whilst a far finer 
 monument of red sandstone is in course of erec- 
 tion in the city of his choice, which is to be known 
 as the Fairfield Memorial and Parish House of 
 Emanuel Episcopal Church, Mrs. Fairfield having 
 been a member of the same for many years. She 
 has the sympathy of all in her sad bereavement. 
 
 ^>^r<m 
 
 ' LEXANDER BLACK, who was one of the 
 well-known citizens of Rockford for many 
 years, was born in New Brunswick, at St. 
 Johns, in March, 1810, and was a son of 
 Dr. Daniel Black, a native of Paisley, Scotland, who 
 came of a prominent and noble family of the 
 Highlands. The Doctor was a fine scholar and 
 well-known physician, also a prominent member 
 of the Masonic order. When a young man, he em- 
 igrated to New Brunswick, opening an oflBce in 
 St. Johns, where he wedded Miss Mary McCart- 
 ney, by whom he had eleven children. The Doc- 
 tor was drowned while crossing the St. Johns 
 River on skates, at the age of fifty-four years. In 
 1825, his widow removed with her family to Can- 
 ada, where she married George Calvert and spent 
 the remainder of her da3'S. 
 
 Our subject was reared in Toronto and in ] 
 during the gold excitement, went to Californi 
 way of Cape Horn, on a sailing-vessel, whei 
 made about $5,000. He then returned to Toroni 
 water, and after spending some time with his 
 ily in Canada, went back to the gold digging 
 California, but found that the mine was ther 
 hausted. He afterwards went to Australia, w 
 he spent about a year and a half, returning 
 about $20,000. It was in 1854 that he came 
 his family to Illinois and purchased land in ' 
 is known as the Big Bottoms, in Guilford T< 
 ship, Winnebago County, where he engaged 
 tensively in farming and stock-raising andii 
 porting horses. For some years he was owm 
 "Royal George," one of the finest horses 
 brought to the county. His farm comprised 
 hundred acres of good land in Guilford T( 
 ship, and he also owned property in Rockford 
 spent the last fifteen years of his life in the i 
 living in retirement. 
 
 While in his native land, Alexander Black 
 ticipated in the McKenzie Rebellion, of whic! 
 was one of the leaders. He had many narrow 
 capes, and finally had to flee to the United St 
 for a price was placed on his head. In politic: 
 was a stalwart Republican, and was a membe 
 the Methodist Church. He lived an honorable 
 right life, true to every trust reposed in him, 
 when called to his final rest many friends mou 
 his loss. He passed away at home in Rockl 
 October 30, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Black was twice married. His first wife < 
 young, leaving a child who died in infancy, 
 then married Mrs. Orpha (Smith )Black, also a n£ 
 of Canada. Her first husband was Dr. D. N. B 
 a brother of our subject. Shortly after his gr 
 ation from medical college and only a few mo 
 after his marriage, he died of cholera in Tore 
 Canada. Unto Alex and Orpha Black were 1 
 seven children, six of whom are yet living, 
 mother was a true and faithful helpmate to 
 husband. She survived him about three years 
 died on the 3d of February, 1887, at the ag 
 seventy-seven. 
 
 Mrs. Mary McDonald, a daughter of this wo 
 couple, is now living at No. 209 North Sec 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1009 
 
 Street. She is a worthy lady and a member of the 
 Methodist Church. Her husband, Dr. James L. 
 McDonald, died in Pittsburg, April 9, 1891, of la 
 grippe. He was reared in that city and graduated 
 in the Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio, after 
 which he made his home in Pittsburg. Throughout 
 the Rebellion he served as a member of a Penn- 
 sylvania regiment. By a former marriage the 
 Doctor had two children : Rachel, wife of Dr. Sour, 
 of Milwaukee; and Jennie, wife of Ernest Godfry, 
 of Chicago. By her former marriage, Mrs. McDon- 
 ald has two children: Louis Nicholas, who mar- 
 ried Lydia Nelson and resides in Rockford, and 
 Eliza, now the wife of T. O. Largent, proprietor 
 of a river boat, "The Queen." They reside in 
 Rockford and have two children. May and Lee. 
 
 K 
 
 S/ UCIUS M. WEST. It is a pleasure to in- 
 " rporate in this volume a sketch of the 
 and labors of Mr. L. M. West, who is 
 so well and widely known. He is mentioned as 
 one of the most successful business men in the 
 county, and is held in high regard for his financial 
 ability and for the many pleasing traits of character 
 which he possesses. 
 
 Mr. West's modesty forbids his stating to us all 
 we desire to know of his long, busy life. We there- 
 fore leave this history to be traced by an old ac- 
 quaintance of Mr. West, who has known his life 
 and habits and can do it justice as we can not. 
 
 Mr. West suffered at two distinct periods of his 
 life the loss of all his possessions by destructive 
 fires in the East. He came to Rockford in 1858 a 
 poor man and opened a very small retail store in 
 rubber goods. 
 
 The Pike's Peak gold excitement, the Campaign 
 of 1860, and the opening of the Civil War made 
 business for Mr. West which he was not slow to 
 improve. Having knowledge of the manufacture 
 of rubber garments, etc., he solicited orders for 
 rubber suits and camp blankets for miners, for 
 wide-awake suits for the campaign, which he made 
 by the thousands, and for camp blankets and out- 
 fits for soldiers. 
 
 For two or three years, our subject worked nights 
 
 from 12 to 3 o'clock manufacturing, and ran the 
 store through the day. In 1862, he bought a 
 saloon property where M. M. Carpenter's shoe 
 store now stands, on West State Street, and built 
 that store, which was was then one of the best store 
 buildings on the block. He now added leather 
 boots and shoes to his rubbei' stock. This retail 
 business he pursued, all told, for twelve years, after 
 which he commenced a jobbing trade in his cele- 
 brated Enamel Carriage Top Dressing, which he had 
 manufactured in a small way for several years. 
 
 Mr. West has spent a small fortvine in advertising 
 his business, until he is now selling his goods in 
 every important town and city in the United 
 States and many parts of Europe. He has done 
 much to advertise his own city, having sent out 
 for some years into every part of this country as 
 many as Ave hundred thousand business circulars 
 annually, besides advertising in many American 
 and foreign periodicals. Beside this, he traveled 
 throughout thirty States of the Union, from three 
 thousand to six thousand miles ever}' year, for 
 fifteen years, to solicit and establish trade in his 
 goods. 
 
 In this way, Rockford has been advertised world 
 wide, until Mr. West's products have become 
 standard goods of the two continents. Such an 
 enterprise has been an important factor in lielping 
 to make Rockford what it is. No small amount of 
 money through this channel has come to Rockford 
 for the past twenty-flve or thirty years. A mod- 
 erate estimate would be several hundred thousand 
 dollars. 
 
 Besides this business, Mr. West has owned and 
 handled considerable real estate, having owned 
 acre land in Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, 
 Illinois, Ohio, and lots in Chicago, and not a few 
 houses and lots in Rockford. In 1885, he put his 
 manufacturing business into the L. M. West Manu- 
 facturing Co., with a capital stock of $40,000, him- 
 self and family retaining most of the stock. The 
 officers elected were: L. M. West, President; E. S. 
 West, Vice-President; L. J. West, Superintendent; 
 H. H. West, Secretary. All these officers now hold 
 their positions in the company except his youngest 
 son, L. J., who is now engaged in the real-estate 
 business. 
 
1010 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Benjamin West, grandfather of the subject of 
 this sketch, was born September 17, 1762. Although 
 a young man, he did good service in the War of 
 the Revolution. Elijah West, father of Mr. L. M. 
 West, was born July 2, 1785, and went through 
 the War of 1812. Both Benjamin and Elijah were 
 born and reared in Columbia Countj', N. Y., and 
 were of sturdj' Scotch descent. The mother of the 
 subject of this sketch was born in Hatfield, Conn., 
 December 9, 1890. Her maiden name was Sally 
 Smith Wate. 
 
 Our subject was born .June 19, 1820, at Vernon 
 Center, Oneida Count}', N. Y. He had his early 
 religious training for twelve 3'ears in the Presbj^- 
 terian Cluirch of that place, of wliich his parents 
 were members. He lived in this and the adjoin- 
 ing town of Verona eighteen j'cars. Sixteen years 
 of this time were mostly devoted to school. Many 
 and vivid are the scenes of the old school days of 
 nearly two generations ago. 
 
 Mr. West entered upon mercantile life in the 
 spring of 1837, jobbing goods in towns and cities 
 throughout the State of New York, with a pair of 
 heavy horses, as was the custom in those days, be- 
 fore railroads were so common and when the Erie 
 Canal was a small ditch, and the New York Cen- 
 tral Railroad, single track, was in its infancy, run- 
 ning on 6x1 0-inch timbers, running lengthwise 
 across the ties, with wagon tire iron, two and one- 
 half inches wide, for the wheels to run on — a big 
 thing in those days. 
 
 On the 22d of May, 1842, Mr. West was united 
 in marriage with Miss Sarah A. Sturtevant, of the 
 town of Verona, Oneida County, N. Y. This has 
 proved a most happy union, the result of which is 
 three highly-respected, young business men: Ham- 
 ilton H., Elliot S. and L. .Judson, all married and 
 well settled in business in Rockford. They are 
 sons of whose usefulness, culture and refinement, 
 any parents could justly be proud. 
 
 Mr. West, in speaking of his conversion to the 
 Christian religion in 1837, at which time he united 
 with the Baptist Church in Vernon Center, N. Y., 
 his native town, says: "The Lord took me into 
 business partnership with Him that same year, and 
 we have worked together harmoniously ever since. 
 No partner like Him. He furnishes all the capital 
 
 and skill, is a good Director, and safe Counselor." 
 Mr. West expresses unbounded faith in the Holy 
 Scriptures as the inspired word of God given to 
 man as his guide in this life and to the life to come, 
 through the Divine Christ, as therein revealed. 
 
 Being naturall}' averse to public political office, 
 he has never sought or accepted such position but 
 has devoted himself to moral and religious lines of 
 work. He has been a life-long Anti-slavery, Pro- 
 hibition Republican, always holding up these 
 principles in his party with strong faith, in the 
 ultimate triumph of the Temperance cause, as on 
 the question of human slavery. Church and Sun- 
 day-school mission work, combined with diligent 
 attention to secular business, has alwaj's been his 
 ambition. Mr. West attributes his success in busi- 
 ness life to this combination. He says his business 
 partner has carried him through all the great 
 financial crises from 1837 to the present without a 
 break; although the stones were sometimes set so 
 close that they ground pretty fine, j-et he never 
 lost faith in Divine Providence and hard work. 
 
 Mr. West spent twelve years in New Haven 
 County, Conn., where he was engaged with the 
 Goodyear Rubber Company three years, superin- 
 tending the manufacture of rubber clothing and 
 other fabrics, and nine years he superintended 
 the vulcanising, finishing, packing and shipping 
 departments with a large force of men. Product, 
 three hundred and fifty thousand pairs of boots 
 and shoes annually. Regular working time, twelve 
 hours per day all through the twelve years. 
 
 In this manufacturing district, Naugatuck, 
 Conn., was a large field for mission work, personal 
 religious work and family visiting. Here their 
 house was opened every week for seven years for 
 religious meetings for the operatives, always well 
 attended and many times crowded. 
 
 In 1854, Mr. West was chosen Deacon in the 
 Baptist Church of Waterbury, Conn., of which 
 church his wife and himself were members. In 
 1858, he moved his family to Rockford. The fol- 
 lowing year, they took up their abode on the 
 corner of South Madison and Walnut Streets, 
 where they still reside. Mr. West united with the 
 Second, now called the State Street, Baptist Church. 
 The same year, he was chosen Chairman of the 
 
i^OETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1011 
 
 building committee, for the erection of their first 
 house of worship, a cliapel on the corner of State 
 and Fifth Streets. The following year, he was 
 chosen Deacon of the church, in which office he has 
 served to the present time. In 1860, he was elected 
 Treasurer of the society, to which office he was 
 chosen for ten consecutive years, which in those 
 days, in a young church and during the building 
 of tlieir present large and commodious house of 
 worship on the corner of Third and State Streets, 
 meant work. The laborious duties then were to 
 solicit subscriptions and collect them and pay all 
 bills. A few words taken from the auditing com- 
 mittee report will not be amiss here. To erect this 
 church edifice within the prescribed limit of cost, 
 nine contracts for different parts of the building 
 were necessary. They say: "We, the undersigned 
 committee, appointed to audit the accounts of the 
 Treasurer of the State Street Baptist Church and 
 society, hi tracing the details of the accounts have 
 been enabled to understand, and appreciate Mr. 
 West's formable difficulties, which have been 
 bravely met, and the energy which characterized 
 his efforts, and his liberality in laboring for the 
 interests of the church and society." 
 
 In 1861, Mr. West was elected President of the 
 Young Men's Christian Association, then strug- 
 gling with depletion from the call for scores of 
 young men to enlist in the war for the Union. In 
 1862, he organized the first Sunday-school ever 
 convened in Caledonia, fourteen miles north of 
 this city, and met with and conducted this school 
 fifty-one Sundays in the twelve months. There 
 has been a flourishing school in that place ever 
 since. Aside from this year's work in Caledonia, 
 Mr. West was not a month without a Bible class 
 in his own church for thirty years. 
 
 In November, 1875, Mr. West apppointed the 
 first religious meeting ever held in Woodruff's 
 Addition, a Tuesday evening prayer meeting, and 
 also organized a mission Sunday-school, both of 
 which he sustained weekly for three and one half 
 years, furnishing the building for use, until failing 
 health prevented. He was five years Treasurer of 
 the Winnebago County Bible Society, He is a life 
 member of the Baptist Home Mission, Foreign 
 Mission, and Education Societies. He is also a life 
 
 member and life Director of the American Bible 
 Society. In his gifts for Christian work, he is 
 said to be liberal to a fault. These are a few of 
 the thousands of little things which we are glad to 
 note, that go toward making a useful and happy 
 life. 
 
 It will be seen that Mr. West's life has not been 
 unsettled and roving. He spent twenty-seven years 
 in his native State, twelve years in New Haven 
 County, Conn., and thirty-three years in Rockford. 
 Thus considerably more than half of his business 
 life has been spent on the site of his present beauti- 
 ful, commodious home, erected by himself about 
 ten years ago, where, with the loving companion of 
 his youth, with three sons and their families and a 
 host of old and young friends, they have just 
 celebrated their fiftieth marriage anniversary, or 
 golden wedding, and long may they live to bless 
 the world. 
 
 ^(AMES G. MANLOVE, deceased, was born 
 in Dover, Del., December 15, 1812, and died 
 at his home in Rockford, November 6, 1891, 
 at the age of seventy-eight. His parents and 
 grandparents were also natives of Delaware, but the 
 family is of Welsh descent, having been founded 
 in America, prior to the Revolutionary War, by 
 emigrants from Wales. John Manlove, father of 
 our subject, grew to manhood in his native citj^, 
 Dover, and there spent his entire life, a respected 
 and valued citizen. For thirty years he engaged 
 in the banking business and was quite prominent 
 in public affairs. He wedded Miss Mary A. Laf- 
 ferty, and both he and his wife were leading mem- 
 bers of tlie Methodist Church. His death occurred 
 at the age of fifty-six. His wife survived him 
 for some time, and died in Pennsylvania at an 
 advanced age. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was the eldest of 
 eleven children, but it is probable that none are 
 now living. The days of his boyhood and youth 
 were spent in his native State, after which he re- 
 moved to Pennsylvania, and in Saltsburg, that 
 State he formed a matrimonial alliance with 
 
1012 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Miss Juliet Sterett, who was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, August 10, 1817, her father and grand- 
 father both spending their entire lives within 
 its borders. Tiie former, Andrew Sterett, was 
 born in Franklin County and married Miss P]liz- 
 abeth McPheron, whose father was a prominent 
 Presbyterian clergyman of the Keystone State, 
 where he lived and died. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Elizabeth McCroskey, died in Franklin 
 County. Both she and her husband were of Scotch 
 descent. After his marriage, Andrew Sterett re- 
 moved to Westmoreland County, Pa., where he 
 engaged in the manufacture of salt. On the dis- 
 coverj' of gold in California, he crossed the plains 
 to that State, and there lost his health. Hop- 
 ing to benefit it, he started for Australia but 
 died on board the vessel, his remains being buried 
 in the sea. He was then in middle life and his 
 wife died at the age of forty-two years. Both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sterett were members of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. 
 
 The month of May, 1851, witnessed the arrival 
 of Mr. Manlove, our subject, in Rockford, where 
 he resided for forty years. He had formerlj' spent 
 seven years in La P^a^^ette County, Wis., and, hav- 
 ing studied law, was there admitted to the Bar 
 and elected Justice of the Peace. On coming to 
 Rockford, he opened a law office, and here began 
 the practice of his chosen profession. Again, he 
 was elected Justice of the Peace and Police Magis- 
 trate, serving as such for years, and was Alder- 
 man of the Fifth Ward for five years. In what- 
 ever position he was called upon to fill, he proved 
 a capable officer, discharging his duties promptly 
 and faithfully. In politics, he was a stalwart 
 supporter of Republican principles, and was a 
 warm friend of temperance. He lived to see the 
 many changes which transformed Rockford from 
 a village to a thriving and popular city and ever 
 bore his share in its upbuilding and advancement. 
 He was a prominent and influential man, a well- 
 known citizen, and was held in high esteem by 
 all. He had been reared in the faith of the Meth- 
 odist Church, but after locating in this city joined 
 the Second Congregational Church, in which he 
 was an active worker. He was a teacher and 
 Superintendent of the Sunday-school for many 
 
 years, and w.as also Clerk in the church. His life, 
 well and worthily spent, might well serve as an 
 example to others. 
 
 Mrs. Manlove is still living at the old home. 
 She, too, is a faithful member of the Second Con- 
 gregational Church, and, like her husband, de- 
 lights in doing good. Her children have been 
 reared in that way, and they, too, belong to the 
 same church. Of the family, four sons and a 
 daughter are yet living. 
 
 ■ ^ ^*< c^c 
 
 HARLES O. NELSON, of the firm of Nel- 
 son & Walgren, proprietors of a grocer3' 
 and meat market, located at No. 602 Seventh 
 Street, Rockford, is a native of Sweden. He was 
 born on the 22d of May, 1851, and is a son of 
 Nels G. Pearson. Flis parents and the entire 
 family came to this cpuntry, and his father is still 
 living in Rockford, at the age of seventy years. 
 His wife died about eight years ago, at the age of 
 fifty-six years. She was a member of the Zion 
 Lutheran Church, to which Mr. Pearson also be- 
 longs. Two daughters of the family are yet liv- 
 ing: Mrs. Emily Nelson and Mrs. Hannah Jones, 
 both residents of Rockford. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth in his native country, and about the time 
 he attained his majority, having determined to 
 try his fortune in the New World, he sailed from 
 Sweden to Quebec, Canada, and thence came 
 to the United States, locating in Rockford, where 
 he has since resided. This was in 1869, and he 
 was the first of the family to cross the broad At- 
 lantic. He learned the trade of a blacksmith and 
 was employed as a journeyman for some time, 
 after which he learned the cabinet-maker's trade 
 and was engaged in the Rockford Central Furni- 
 ture Company's woi'ks, whore he remained for 
 five years. In the meantime, he had become a 
 stockholder of the company. Since 1887 he has 
 devoted his entire attention to his present busi- 
 ness, having charge of the meat market, while his 
 partner attends to the grocery department. The 
 double store which they occupy was built by them 
 and is 40x50 feet. From the beginning, their 
 
J.AUC.JOHNSON. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1015 
 
 trade has constantly increased, and by the exer- 
 cise of good business ability and by their court- 
 eous treatment they have won a liberal patron- 
 age. IMr. Nelson is also a stockholder in the 
 Skandia Plow Company, the Central Furniture 
 Factory, the Skandia Brick Company and the 
 Eookford Manufacturing Company. He began 
 life empty-handed, having neither capital nor 
 influential friends to aid him, but has made the 
 most of his opportunities and has worked his way 
 steadily upward, winning success and prosperity. 
 He is now well-to-do and bids fair to obtain 
 affluence. Himself and sisters are all members of 
 the Zion Lutheran Church, and in his political 
 affiliations Mr. Nelson is a Republican. As every 
 true American citizen should do, he feels an inter- 
 est in political affairs, but has never sought public 
 office. 
 
 ^ AUGUST JOHNSON is a stockholder, Di- 
 rector and Superintendent of the Central 
 ^^ Furniture Company of Rockford, which was 
 ^^f) established in 1879, and now furnishes em- 
 ployment for one hundred and twenty-five men. 
 It is one of the leading industries of the city, and 
 much of its success is due to the untiring efforts 
 and earnest work of our subject. 
 
 Mr. Johnson, whose portrait is herewith pre- 
 sented, is a native of Sweden, born September 18, 
 1860. His father, John Nelson, is yet living in 
 that country, where throughout life he has fol- 
 lowed agricultural pursuits. He has long been a 
 member of the Swedish Lutheran Church, to which 
 his wife also belonged. Her death occurred in 
 1868, at the age of forty-five years. Two sons of 
 the family have come to this country since the emi- 
 gration of our subject: Gustaf, who is now de- 
 ceased; and Mangnes, a cabinet-maker in the Cen- 
 tral Furniture Factory of this city. 
 
 The early life of August Johnson was spent in 
 the land of his birth and his education was ac- 
 quired in the schools of his native Province. He 
 there learned the trade of a cabinet-maker, serv- 
 ing an apprenticeship and thus becoming a skilled 
 workman. In 1882, when tweuty-two years of 
 
 age, he bade good-bye to home and friends and 
 sailed for the New World, since which time he has 
 been a resident of Rockford. He chose as a com- 
 panion and helpmate on life's journey Miss Helen 
 B. Engbretson, their union being celebrated in this 
 city. The lady was born in Norway, in August, 
 1860, and in 1868 came to this country with her 
 parents, John and Ulricka Engbretson, who are now 
 residents of Durand, 111., and are well advanced in 
 years. Her father is a mason by trade but has also 
 followed the occupation of farming. Mrs. John- 
 son is an intelligent and cultured lady who has ac- 
 quired the greater part of her education in this 
 country. 
 
 By the union of our subject and his wife have 
 been born two children: Glen R. and Wayne 
 Leslie. The parents are both members of the First 
 Congregational Church and are people of wide 
 acquaintance in this community and prominent in 
 the circles of society in which they move. In 
 politics, Mr. Johnson has been a supporter of Re- 
 publican principles since becoming an American 
 citizen. It was a fortunate day for him when he 
 determined to make his home in America, for he 
 has here been blessed with prosperity and has 
 worked his way upward to a prominent position 
 and become well-to-do. He now owns a pleasant 
 home at No. 704 Seminary Street, where with his 
 family he resides, an esteemed citizen of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 '^i OHN H. MANNY. The history of Winne- 
 bago County, and indeed of the State of Illi- 
 nois, would not be complete without some 
 record of John H. Manny, the inventor of 
 the famous reaping and mowing machine, which, a 
 quarter of a century ago, made his name a house- 
 hold word throughout the States. Mr. Manny was 
 born in Amsterdam, N. Y., November 28, 1825. 
 He possessed a mechanical turn of mind, and atan 
 early age made invention a study. 
 
 About flfty-five years ago, our subject accom- 
 panied his father to Illinois, and settled in Stephen- 
 son County, where, although his advantages were 
 
1016 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 limited, be still continued to take deliglit in origi- 
 nating new ideas for invention, taking machinery 
 apart, altering and improving, or adding new 
 parts, as their utility seemed to require. He was 
 industrious at scliool, and among the other pupils 
 was noted for perseverance. 
 
 The attention of Mr. Manny was directed, about 
 1846, to the need of a reaper (a machine then com- 
 paratively unknown in this country), by the pur- 
 chase by his father of a lieading machine, which 
 failed entirely to do the work designed. He and 
 his fatlier promptly set to work to alter and im- 
 prove the machine to suit their wants, and to do 
 this, found it necessary to almost completely make 
 a new machine of it before it would do satisfac- 
 tory work. They then patented their improve- 
 ment, and commenced building heading machines 
 for sale. Their machine was very successful as a 
 header, but was so expensive to manufacture that 
 it was beyond the means of the farmers to pur- 
 chase, and the result was that thej^ lost nearly all 
 they had invested in the enterprise. 
 
 This failure, however, only spurred our subject 
 to greater exertions, and he set about experiment- 
 ing for a machine for cutting grain and grass. He 
 was discouraged and laughed at, but he toiled on, 
 overcoming one defect after another, until the ma- 
 chine could reap well and cut grass nicely, and 
 then his triumph was complete. His means had 
 been entirel3r exhausted in his experiments, but by 
 the aid of friends he proceeded, the ensuing year, 
 to build forty machines. Owing to a defect in the 
 sickles, which had been procured of a manufac- 
 turer who claimed to be experienced in the busi- 
 ness, tliese proved to be a disastrous failure. This 
 was another test of Mr. Manny's perseverance un- 
 der difficulties, which, to ordinary men, would 
 have been hopelessly discouraging. He was left 
 with an incubus of debt hanging over him, and, 
 worse than this, the damaging reputation of his 
 machines by their failure that year. These difficul- 
 ties, however, only served to stimulate him to re- 
 newed effort, and lie went patiently to work to 
 retrieve the disaster. From the experience of the 
 previous year, it was evident that to insure suc- 
 sess the sickle must be improved. No part of the 
 machine is so essentially important to be just right 
 
 as this, and upon it depends the success of the 
 whole machine. In this crisis, a series of experi- 
 ments was made for perfecting sickles, and a sat- 
 isfactory result arrived at. He also succeeded in 
 making arrangements to proceed with the manu- 
 facture of machines for 1852, and that year built 
 eighty-four, adding such improvements as prac- 
 tical experience suggested. These were a perfect 
 success. 
 
 In July of that year, the great reaper trial at 
 Geneva, N. Y., was held. In this contest for su- 
 premacy, Mr. Manny's reaper came in competition 
 with eleven other machines. The result of that 
 contest is well known to the public. We need not 
 repeat it. The excellence of Mr. Manny's ma- 
 cliine was more fully established, and henceforth 
 the demand for his machine continued to increase, 
 until at the time of his death he was at the head 
 of the largest reaper business in the world. 
 
 In the spring of 1853, Mr. Mannj^ was induced 
 to remove to Rockford, and manufactured for the 
 harvest of that year four hundred machines. The 
 popularity of the machines still continued to in- 
 crease, and the demand had now become so great, 
 and the business so extensive, that it was deemed 
 desirable to secure interested assistance in its man- 
 agement. Accordingly, in 1854, Messrs. Wait and 
 Sylvester Talcott became associated with Mr. 
 Manny in its management as partners, under the 
 name of J. H. Manny & Co., and during this year 
 upwards of one thousand machines were manufac- 
 tured and sold. In 1855, Jesse Blinn and Ralph 
 Emerson, Jr., were also added to the firm, and the 
 firm's name changed to Manny & Co., the business 
 also still continuing to increase. Mr. Manny's 
 overtasked brain had bj- this time so worn upon 
 his physical frame, that he was obliged to give up 
 the business management to his partners. He, how- 
 ever, continued to make improvements on his ma- 
 chine, until twenty-three patents were issued to 
 him — embracing thirty-three distinct claims. 
 
 In the year 1855, the competition between the 
 McCormick and the Manny reapers had become 
 fierce. McCormick commenced suit in the Fed- 
 eral Court at Chicago, to enjoin the successors of 
 Manny from using what was called the "divider" 
 or "shoe," which precedes the sickle, and parts the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1017 
 
 standing grain. The question was, wlio first in- 
 vented the divider used by Manny.? The Circuit 
 Court dismissed MeCormick's bill, and he carried 
 the case to the Supreme Court of the United States, 
 where the decision of the Circuit Court was affirmed, 
 thus sustaining Mr. Manny s right as an inventor. 
 The "clean swath" cut even in the field of lodged 
 grain was a mute witness to the unflagging toil 
 of John H. Manny, as well as to his genius. 
 
 This celebrated suit involved as counsel such 
 men as Reverdy Johnson and Edwin M. Stanton. 
 In the first trial of the cause, Abraliam Lincoln 
 was employed, and afterward referred to his $1,000 
 retainer in the case as enabling him to stump the 
 State of Illinois with Douglas, and wlirch logically, 
 it should be added, made him the most famous of 
 all the Presidents. 
 
 The suit also exemplified the extreme heights to 
 which a private property right will be carried in a 
 Republic, where the parties involved have the 
 means to carry on the contest. It was in this 
 justly, famous litigation, that Justice Daniel, in de- 
 livering a dissenting opinion, referring to the 
 testimony of professionals said: "The reveries, 
 they may often be called, of a class of men styled 
 experts are often as skillful and effective in pro- 
 ducing obscurity and error as in tlie elucidation of 
 truth." 
 
 Early in the autumn of 1855, it was seen that 
 Mr. Manny could not live long. That remorse- 
 less destroyer, consumption, had fixed its seal upon 
 him. He was an untiring worker, far above his 
 physical strength, which undoubtedly laid the 
 foundation of his disease, which first began to show 
 itself in 1852. To the very last moments of his 
 life he was devoted to his great work; and his 
 great ambition, after the commencement of his in- 
 vention, seemed to be to place it in advance of all 
 others in practical utility, and beyond all question 
 of infringement. 
 
 On the 31st of January, 1856, Mr. Manny died, 
 while yet in the full prime of life, scarce thirty 
 years of age, just as his fame was becoming known 
 on both sides of the Atlantic. Death, the great 
 reaper, claimed him as a victim, and he peacefully 
 passed to that "bourne whence no traveler re- 
 turns." 
 
 In his moral character, Mr. Manny led a spotless 
 life, and his memory is cherished by all who en- 
 joyed his personal acquaintance. Frank, open- 
 hearted, generous to a fault, and possessing the 
 attributes of a true man, he was emphatically one 
 of "nature's noblemen." 
 
 
 m^m^'^^m^ 
 
 ^OHN A. WALGREN is another of Rock- 
 ford's Swedish residents who has proved a 
 valued citizen of this community. He was 
 born in Sweden, October 11, 1860, and is a 
 son of Andrew J. Walgren. In 1873, his parents 
 with their family crossed the Atlantic to America, 
 and the father is now living a retired life in the 
 city of Rockford, being about sixty j'cars of age. 
 His wife, who is now sixty-three years of age, is 
 in quite feeble health. Both are members of the 
 Swedish Lutheran Church, and Mr. Walgren is a 
 Republican in politics. This worthy couple have 
 a family of four children, all of whom are now 
 living in Rockford. John A. is the eldest; Chris- 
 tina E. is the wife of F. A. Youngquist, of Rockford; 
 August, who is connected with the Co-operative 
 Furniture Company of this city, married Amanda 
 Friberg, and Andrew G., the youngest, is employed 
 in his brother John's store. 
 
 Our subject led to the marriage altar Miss Ma- 
 tilda I. Johnson, of Pecatonica, this county. The 
 lady was there born and reared, and acquired a 
 good education. She is higjdy respected among 
 the young Swedish people of this city, her intelli- 
 gence and worth fitting her for that position. 
 Her father, Carl J. Johnson, enlisted for the late 
 war and gave his life in defense of the old flag. 
 His wife died in 1879, at the age of forty years. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Walgren have been born two 
 children: Roy A. (deceased) and Rena A. In his 
 political affiliations, Mr. Walgren is a Republican. 
 Himself and wife are members of the P'irst Luth- 
 eran Church of this city. He resided upon a farm 
 in Pecatonica Township from 1873 until 1882, 
 when he came to Rockford. For four years he 
 engaged in the grocery business, before the firm of 
 Nelson & Walgren was established in 1886. In 
 this connection, he conducted a grocery and meat- 
 
1018 
 
 i'OETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 market, the management of the whole concern be- 
 ing entirely under his control. The business in- 
 creased to such an extent that the firm purchased 
 the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh 
 Street, where they built a double store, forty feet 
 front and fifty feet deep. 
 
 Recently, Mr. Walgren sold his interest in the 
 grocery and meat business to his partner, and has 
 opened a coal and wood yard in Rockford under 
 the firm name of Walgren & Co., his office being 
 at No. 802 Seventh Street, on the corner of Rail- 
 road Avenue. He has also been instrumental in or- 
 ganizing the Framtiden Publishing Company, with 
 a capital of $10,000 and formed for the purpose of 
 publishing a weekly journal in the Swedish 
 language. He is a Director in the company, which is 
 quite successful and rapidly growing in popularity. 
 He is also a stockholder in the Rockford Manufac- 
 turing Company, which has a capital of $200,000. 
 
 A wide-awake and enterprising young business 
 man, Mr. Walgren is steadily working his way 
 upward, and his career will undoubtedly be a pros- 
 perous one. The firm of which he is a member is 
 already well and favorably known, having by 
 their courteous treatment and fair dealing won a 
 liberal patronage. Mr. Walgren takes an active in- 
 terest in all that pertains to the growth and devel- 
 opment of the cit3' and is an ambitious and enter- 
 prising man who ranks high both in business and 
 social circles. 
 
 _=] 
 
 i^+^l 
 
 "^ OHN R. POST was born on the farm which 
 is still his home, on section 35, Guilford 
 Township, Winnebago County, June 1, 
 1842, and is a worthy representative of one 
 of the pioneer families of this communitj^ His 
 father, Nathaniel Post, was bom near Newport, 
 Herkimer County, N. Y., May 21, 1810. The 
 grandfather, Dan Post, was born in Saybrook, 
 Conn., whence he removed to New York, be- 
 coming one of the first settlers of Herkimer 
 Countj^ He purchased a tract of timber land, 
 and in the midst of the forest hewed out a farm. 
 After man}"^ years spent in agricultural pursuits, 
 he removed to Newport, where he lived retired 
 
 until his death. He first married Marcey Pratt, 
 who was born in Saj'brook, Middlesex County, 
 Conn., and died August 30, 1829. Mr. Post was 
 afterwards again married, and his second wife 
 reached the advanced age of one hundred and 
 three years. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared in his na- 
 tive county, and learned the trade of a carpenter. 
 In 1838, he removed to Ohio, and for one year en- 
 gaged in carpentering in Painesville. The year 
 1839 witnessed his emigration to Winnebago 
 County, 111. He was accompanied by his family, 
 and on the 29th of June they reached Newburg. 
 He bought a claim of the Government, upon which 
 was a log cabin, and during the first 3'ear built a 
 more comfortable log house, in which our subject 
 was born. In 1850, he erected a substantial frame 
 residence. He bore all the experience of pioneer 
 life, and was one of the prominent and influential 
 citizens of this community in an early day. His 
 death occurred November 11, 1888. He was 
 quite a musician, and in the early days made con- 
 siderable money with his violin. He married 
 Eliza Rich, who was born near Newport, N. Y., 
 January 31, 1816. This estimable lady died Feb- 
 ruary 2, 1890, leaving two children: John R., of 
 this sketch, and Erwin, a resident of Rockford. 
 
 Our subject acquired his education in the dis- 
 trict schools, and at Cherr3'- Valley and Rockford, 
 and is a well-informed man. On attaining his 
 majority, he went East, visiting for a few months, 
 and then accepted a situation as shipping clerk in 
 a wholesale house in Chicago, but after a year re- 
 turned home to take charge of the farm, upon 
 which he has since resided. He now owns one 
 hundred acres of the farm which his father entered 
 from the Government, and also has another farm 
 of one hundred and twenty-three acres in Guil- 
 ford Township. Fruit and ornamental trees add 
 to the value and beauty of the place, and the neat 
 appearance of the farm indicates the thrift and 
 enterprise of the owner. 
 
 Mr. Post was married May 31, 1866, to Ella G. 
 Fish, who was born in Erie County, Pa., February 
 19, 1849, and is a daughter of Andrew and 
 Miranda (Sherwood) Fish, natives of Washington 
 County, N. Y. Tiieir union has been blessed with 
 

PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 1021 
 
 two children: Minnie, who is a successful music 
 teacher, and Frank. The musical talent of Na- 
 thaniel Post was inherited by his children, and in 
 turn has been transmitted to liis grandchildren. 
 The Post family ranks high in social circles, and 
 its members are truly deserving of the warm re- 
 gard in which they are held. Mr. Post is a suc- 
 cessful farmer, and is recognized as one of the 
 progressive and valued citizens of the community. 
 
 ^^I@^@l^,l^^ 
 
 aHARLES J. JONES, a stockholder and Di- 
 rector in the Brown Briclc Company, is one 
 of the leading business men of Rockford, 
 and prominent in public affairs. He was born in 
 Sweden, November 15, 1849, and is a son of Pehrs 
 Jonas, who spent his entire life in his native land, 
 passing away at the age of about three-score years. 
 His wife, who bore the maiden name of Christina 
 Nelson, is still living, at the age of seventy, and is 
 a member of the Lutheran Church, to which her 
 husband also belonged. Their son Godfrey, an em- 
 ploye of the Skandia Furniture Company, and a 
 daughter, Matilda, reside with our subject. 
 
 Mr. Jones was reared and educated in his native 
 city, graduating from the High School, and in 
 1867 left his native land, coming alone to this 
 country. He sailed from Liverpool, England, to 
 New York, and after fifteen days upon the bosom 
 of the Atlantic reached his destination, arriving in 
 New York on the 16 th of April of that year. He 
 has since made a visit back to his native land but 
 thinks no country under the shining sun is equal 
 to America. He has not only found a pleasant 
 home in this land but has here prospered, and is 
 now a substantial citizen. His life has been a busy 
 and useful one and. he is recognized as one of the 
 enterprising and progressive Swedish gentlemen of 
 Rockford. As before stated, he is connected with 
 the Brown Brick Company, and is President and 
 Director of the Skandia Brick Company, a lessee 
 of the Rockford Brick Company, also of the Ex- 
 celsior Furniture Company, and is Secretary and 
 Director of the Rockford Tobacco and Snuff Com- 
 pany. He holds an interest in the Skandia Plow 
 Company and the Skandia Brick Company. 
 
 In 1883, Mr. Jones was joined in wedlock in this 
 city to Miss Hannah C. Nelson, who was born in 
 Kalmar, Sweden, September 4, 1858, and is a 
 daughter of N. E. and Louisa (Pearson) Nelson, 
 who were born, reared and married in the Province 
 "of Smoland. The year 1869 witnessed their emi- 
 gration to America and taw them located in Rock- 
 ford, where the father, a well-to-do citizen, is now 
 living retired at his pleasan home at No. 1006 
 Fourth Avenue. He has reached the age of three- 
 score j-ears and ten. His wife died at their home 
 on Fourth Avenue, July 23, 1881, when about 
 fifty-nine years of age. Their family numbered 
 four sons and four daughters, but only one son 
 and two daughters arc now living. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the parents of three chil- 
 dren: Ethel M., L. Eusebia and Ada F. The par- 
 ents attend the Zion Lutheran Church. In politics, 
 Mr. Jones is independent, and he is a sagacious and 
 far-sighted business man, industrious and enter- 
 prising, and by the exercise of good business abil- 
 ity has won for himself a handsome property. He 
 deserves all the more credit in that he is entirely a 
 self-made, man, and as a prominent citizen of 
 Rockford we take pleasure in presenting his por- 
 trait and biographical sketch. 
 
 V, 
 
 ♦ ri =-M:=:» 
 
 ^ 
 
 \ ' OHN LOVESEE, an enterprising and indus- 
 trious farmer of Roscoe Township, Winne- 
 bago County, residing on sections 34 and 35, 
 was born in the city of Reading, Berkshire 
 England, February 1, 1815. His grandfather, 
 John Lovesee, spent his entire life there, and 
 his father, William Lovesee, was born in the 
 same locality. At the age of fifteen, he entered 
 the army and served for twenty years, when he 
 was honorably discharged. He then followed 
 weaving in Berkshire until 1831, when he crossed 
 the Atlantic and settled in Pittsford, Monroe 
 County, N. Y. Five years later, he came to Win- 
 nebago County to join his children, making most 
 of the journey on foot, and spent the remainder of 
 his days in Roscoe Township. He married Ann 
 Hanley, who was born near Dabhn, Ireland, and 
 
1022 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was a daughter of John and Ann Hanley. Her 
 death occurred in Berkshire England. Their six 
 children were John, Ann, William, George, Henry 
 and Joseph. 
 
 At the early age of eleven years, our subject 
 began to learn the weaver's trade in London, and 
 after serving a four-years' apprenticeship returned 
 to his native county, where he resided until 1831. 
 On the 13th of September of that year, he sailed 
 for the New World, landing in New York on the 
 8th of November, after a stormy i^assage. He 
 went to Pittsford, N. Y., and after a few months 
 removed to Chautauqua County, where he resided 
 until the 1st of November, 1835, when he started 
 by way of the Lakes to Illinois. Landing at De- 
 troit, he came to Winnebago County on foot 
 and began boarding with Steven Mack, the first 
 settler of the county. Chicago was a mere hamlet 
 and Rockford contained two families, Kent and 
 Haight, living in a log house on the west side, and 
 Daniel Haight in a log cabin on the east side. The 
 Government surveys were not yet complete and 
 the work of civilization had hardly been begun. 
 There were no mills or markets within fifty miles 
 until Chicago became a trading point, when he 
 hauled his wheat to that city, selling it as low as 
 thirty-seven and a half cents per bushel. He made 
 a claim in what is now Rockton Township and 
 afterwards in Roscoe Township. His farming im- 
 plements were very crude. He harvested his 
 grain with a cradle and his oxen tramped it out. 
 In 1849, Mr. Lovesee sold that farm and pur- 
 chased that upon which he now resides on sec- 
 tion 35, Roscoe Township. 
 
 On the 29th of June, 1840, our subject married 
 Miss Permelia, daughter of James and Hannah 
 (Wilson) McCredy. She was born at Niagara 
 Falls, Canada, April 29, 1821. Her father and 
 grandparents were natives of Scotland and on 
 coming to America settled at Niagara Falls. Her 
 father learned the blacksmith's trade, which he 
 there followed until 1823, when he emigrated 
 Westward and settled on a tract of land which his 
 wife had inherited. A part of that he cleared, but 
 as he preferred blacksmithing to farming, he 
 bought land near Aylmer and erected a smithy, 
 making his home in that locality until his death. 
 
 His wife was born in New Jersey and was a 
 daughter of Cromwell and Hannah (Crane) Wil- 
 son, natives of the same State, and of English and 
 German descent respectively. While hunting in 
 the woods during the Revolutionary War, Crom- 
 well Wilson was captured by the Biitish and held 
 for three months. Some time after the war, he re- 
 moved to Canada, where he spent his last days. 
 Plis wife died when Mrs. Lovesee was quite young 
 and she was reared by her aunt, Mrs. John J. 
 Rhodes, with whom she came to Winnebago 
 County in 1839. 
 
 Unto our subject and wife were born two chil- 
 dren who are yet living: Mary A., widow of 
 Henry Schellenger, a resident of Rockford; and 
 Edwin R., who graduated from two medical col- 
 leges of Chicago and is now practicing his profes- 
 sion in Geneva Lake, Wis. He first married Dor- 
 cas A. Lundy and after her death wedded Lizzie 
 Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. Lovesee are both mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Church, and in politics he is 
 a Republican, having supported that party since 
 its organization. Among the most honorable pio- 
 neers of Winnebago County he is numbered and 
 with one exception he has spent a longer time 
 within its borders than any other resident. From 
 a very early day he has been identified with its 
 growth and upbuilding and has done much for its 
 progress and advancement. He has the high re- 
 gard of all with whom he has come in contact and 
 is one of the prominent and influential citizens of 
 the community. 
 
 ■>^-= 
 
 i>-^<! 
 
 (gs^ 
 
 AMUEL N. MEECH, who is engaged in 
 farming in Guilford Township, Winne- 
 bago County, was born in tlie town of 
 Bridgewater, Mass., December 6, 1811. His 
 father, Asa Meech, was born April 7, 1775, and 
 became a minister of the Presbyterian Church. 
 He resided for a time in Bridgewater and later re- 
 moved to Connecticut, being pastor of the church 
 in Canterbury until 1820, when he went to Can- 
 ada, and located at Hull. As that was a new 
 country and the people in limited circumstances, 
 he could not depend altogether upon his parish- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1023 
 
 ioners for support and so vented land for two years. 
 He then secured four hundred acres of heavily-tim- 
 bered land, upon which he erected a log house and 
 afterwards a frame residence, managing his farm 
 throughout the week and preaching on Sunday. 
 He there resided until his death. For his second 
 wife he married Maria DeWitt, who met her death 
 the following spring after the family located in 
 Canada. She was crossing a bridge with a wagon 
 and oxen, and the water, which was very high, 
 waslied the wagon from the bridge and she and 
 four children were drowned. 
 
 Our subject was a lad of nine years when his 
 parents removed to Canada, where he acquired his 
 education. When a young, man he went to visit 
 a sister in Merrickville, where he remained for a 
 time, operating a farm in hor interest. He then 
 bought land and engaged in its cultivation until 
 1857, when he sold out and came to Winnebago 
 County, 111., where he first purchased one hundred 
 and sixty acres of land. He has been very suc- 
 cessful in his farming operations and is now the 
 owner of one hundred and ninetj'-five acres, con- 
 stituting a valuable farm. 
 
 Mr. Meech was married in Canada, November 
 26, 1835, to Eliza English, who died in Greenville, 
 Canada, November 7, 1838. He was again mar- 
 ried, March 7, 1839, his second union being with 
 Anna Bolton, who was born in Merrickville, Can- 
 ada, January 7, 1823. Her father, Richard Bolton, 
 was born in County Wexford, Ireland, March 25, 
 1797, of English parentage, his father there own- 
 ing a large estate. He emigrated to America with 
 some neighbors when quite j'oung and located in 
 Canada, where he wedded Mary, daughter of 
 Bemslee and Lois (Sherwood) Buel, natives of the 
 United States. Her father was a pioneer of Can- 
 ada and was the first to settle on the site of Brock- 
 ville. He became an extensive land owner and 
 spent his last years in Leeds County. His daughter 
 was born in Elizabeth town, November 24, 1801, 
 and inherited two hundred acres of land. Mr. 
 Bolton located near Merrickville, where he secured 
 a tract of Government land and cleared a farm. 
 
 By his first marriage, Mr. Meech had one son, 
 Thomas E., who was born in Merrickville, Canada, 
 September 16, 1836, and married Miss Hutch- 
 
 ings. He resides in North Augusta, Canada, 
 where he operates a cheese factory. By tlie 
 second marriage, four children have been born : 
 Richard, born January 2, 1840, wedded Alice 
 Bently and is now living near Rockton ; Martha 
 A. M., born August 6, 1847, is the wife of 
 Caleb E. Feakins, of New Richmond, Wis. ; 
 Mary E., born July 20, 1852, is the wife of 
 Albert C. Carr, of Beloit. The parents have trav- 
 eled life's journey together for fifty-three years, 
 sharing with each other its joys and sorrows, 
 pleasures and prosperity. Although well advanced 
 in years, they are enjoying good health and their 
 mental capacities are still unimpaired. They have 
 a pleasant home and are surrounded by many 
 warm friends. 
 
 ARVIN CLARK MAREAN, a well-known 
 resident of Belvidere, who is numbered 
 among the early settlers of tlie county, 
 was born in Broome County, N. Y., June 
 8, 1827, and comes of an old New England family 
 of French origin, founded b}' Dorman Marean, 
 who emigrated from Normandy, France, to Amer- 
 ica in 1636, and spent the remainder of his life in 
 the Colony of Massachusetts. Little is known of 
 the succeeding ancestors. In line of birth they 
 were William, Thomas and Thomas. The last- 
 named, the grandfather of our subject, was born in 
 Boston, Mass., October 17, 1753, and there resided 
 until his removal to Canaan, N. Y. In 1786, he 
 went to Broome County, becoming one of itseaily 
 settlers. He purchased a tract of timber land, and 
 in that county made his home until his death. He 
 married Esther Patterson, who was born in New 
 York, January 10, 1756, and died on the old home- 
 stead in Maine Township. 
 
 The father of our subject, Henry Marean, was 
 born in ColumbiaCounty,N. Y., November 21, 1777 
 and was reared in Broome County, where he mar- 
 ried Chloe Delano, a native of Kent, Conn., and a 
 daughter of Aaron Kent Delano, who was born in 
 Tolland, Conn., November 13, 1756. His father, 
 Sylvanius Delano, was born May 17, 1720, and was 
 a descendant of Philip Delanoye, a native of Ley- 
 
1024 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 den, Holland, who came to America in the ship 
 "Fortune," in 1621, and landed at Plymouth. He 
 married Esther Ducsbury, December 19, 1634, and 
 died in 1651, at the age of seventy-nine years. 
 Aaron Delano wedded Anna Slosson, who was born 
 in Kent, Conn., in December, 1761. He spent his 
 entire life in the Nutmeg State, and after his death 
 his widow went to New York, spending her last 
 days with the parents of our subject. Henry Marean 
 and his wife began their domestic life upon a farm 
 in the town of Maine, in a little log cabin, which in 
 1825 was replaced by a frame residence, in which 
 Marvin was born, and which is now the property 
 of his brother. The death of the father there oc- 
 curred in 1855, and the mother was called to her 
 final rest in 1858. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth on the old homestead, and after his marri- 
 age operated the farm for two years. In 1851, he 
 wedded Olive Howard, who was born in the town 
 of Union, Broome County, N. Y. Her grandfather, 
 Nathan Howard, was born and reared in Connecti- 
 cut, and when a young man went to New York, 
 becoming one of the early settlers of Broome 
 County. He married Clarissa Pomeroy, and their 
 son, Natlian Howard, who was born in Broome 
 Countjr, September 11, 1805, became the father of 
 Mrs. Marean. He learned the trade of a miller, 
 which he followed for many years in the East. In 
 1869, he came to Belvidere, where his death oc- 
 curred, March 7, 1873. He liad wedded Roxie 
 Councilman, who was born in Broome County, 
 Sepember 4, 1809, and was a daughter of Philip 
 and Betsy (Bundy) Councilman. Her death oc- 
 curred in Belvidere, on the 2d of July, 1882. 
 
 The year 1854 witnessed the arrival of Mr. Ma- 
 rean and his wife in Boone County. He purchased 
 land in Flora Township, upon whicli was a stone 
 quarry that he operated for two years. He then 
 successfully engaged in farming until 1868, when 
 he sold his land and came to Belvidere, where he 
 has since resided. He is a prominent and influ- 
 ential citizen of the community, who for seven 
 years served as Notary Public, for eiglit years was 
 Justice of the Peace of Flora Township, and for 
 the past eleven years has held that office in Belvi- 
 dere. In politics, he was first a "Whig, but since the 
 
 organization of the Republican party he has been 
 one of its stalwart supporters, and has served as 
 Chairman of the County Central Committee. He 
 takes a deep interest in political affairs, doing all 
 in his power for the upbuilding of the party, and 
 is a well-informed man, both on political questions 
 and otherwise. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Marean have two children: Wil- 
 he Marvin married Alice Wood, and they have 
 three children, Llewellyn, Blanche and Olive; 
 Harry, who was joined in wedlock with Hattie 
 Fay, has a little son named Hollis. 
 
 OHN A. STENVALL. For over twenty 
 years, Mr. Stenvall has been connected with 
 the business interests of Eockford and dur- 
 ing that time his reputation as an honor- 
 able, upright citizen and business man has re- 
 mained untarnished. At the present time, he is 
 connected with the Trahern Pump Works, and is 
 one of the foremost men representing that concern. 
 He has been a resident of this prosperous city since 
 1869 and is now pleasantly located at No. 709 
 South Third Street. 
 
 Claiming Sweden as his native land, his birth 
 occurred in Wester Gotten burg on the 19th of 
 October, 1851, and he was early trained to the 
 duties of the farm. His father, John Anderson, 
 passed his entire life in Sweden, where he tilled 
 the soil until he received his final summons, when 
 sixty years of age. He was a peaceful citizen and 
 was a prominent membejr and worker in the State 
 Church. The mother, left a widow, came with our 
 subject to the United States and settled with him 
 in Rockford, whither two sons-in-law had previ- 
 ously located. She died in this city in 1888, when 
 seventy-four years of age. A kind wife and mo- 
 ther, a good neighbor and exemplary member of 
 the Lutheran Church, she has gone to her reward. 
 Her daughter, Mrs. J. L. Segar, and a brother, John 
 P. Anderson, who is a tinner, are residents of 
 Rockford, and another daughter, Mrs. Peter An- 
 derson, is still a resident of Sweden. 
 
 John Stenvall selected as his companion in life 
 Miss Helmena Holmquist, a native of Skorbes Lan, 
 
cS. 
 
^ ,-;T7^n 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1027 
 
 Sweden, born March 10, 1855, and their nuptials 
 were celebrated in Rockford. The fruits of this 
 union are Hilma L., Anna 0., Elmer W., Oscar T. 
 and Etna C, all at home. Mr. Stenvall is a Re- 
 publican in his political views, and he and his wife 
 hold membership in the First Lutheran Church, of 
 which he has been Deacon for the past nine years. 
 The parents of Mrs. Stenvall, Peter and Carry 
 (Johnson) Holmquist, are now residing in Rock- 
 ford, and are in comfortable circumstances. They 
 have been residents since 1868, in which year they 
 came to the United States. Both are members of 
 the First Lutheran Church. They were the par- 
 ents of three children, but only Mrs. Stenvall is 
 now living, the two brothers, Gus and John, both 
 dying, the former after his marriage and after he 
 became the father of one child, Frank A., and the 
 latter when a young man. 
 
 ii I I I 
 
 T ' I ' 
 
 ES. PAMELIA MOULTON, who resides 
 in Belvidere, was born in Ascot, Canada, 
 October 28, 1832. Her father, Cephas 
 Gardner, was born in the town of Went- 
 worth, N. H., October 9, 1800, and was a son of 
 John Gardner, a native of Worcester County, 
 Mass. The latter married Dolly, daughter of 
 Ephraim Willard, of Sterling, Mass., removed to 
 New Hampshire, and in 1806 went to Bennington 
 County, Vt. His wife died in 1808, and two 
 years later he married her sister Lois. 
 
 Cephas Gardner was eighteen j^ears of age when 
 he started out in life for himself. He walked to 
 Sterling, Mass., one hundred miles, and there 
 worked for his uncle on a farm at $8 per month. 
 He next went to Francestown, N. H., where he 
 spent the winter, and then returned to Sterling and 
 apprenticed himself to his uncle, Manassah Willard, 
 a chair manufacturer, who soon afterwards es- 
 tablished a factory in Stanstead, Canada, Mr. 
 Gardner being placed in charge of that business. 
 When his term of apprenticeship had expired, he 
 bought that factory and continued in business 
 thereuntil 1831, when he removed to Ascot and 
 followed his trade at that place until 1837. 
 
 Although Mr. Gardner had been successful in 
 business there and his social surroundings were 
 46 
 
 pleasant, yet he longed to return to the United 
 States, where he could rear his children under the 
 republican form of government, so in 1836 he 
 visited Boone County and purchased a claim, now 
 included in the city of Belvidere. The next year 
 he brought his wife and three children, and the 
 family moved into a log cabin, where they re- 
 mained until a frame house could be built. When 
 the land came into market, he entered large tracts 
 and was extensively engaged in farming and also 
 carried on merchandising. He resided here until 
 his death, which occurred January 26, 1881. 
 
 On the 25th of March, 1824, Mr. Gardner had 
 married Pamelia Bodwell, who was born in Can- 
 ada, July 12, 1806, and was a daughter of Eli- 
 l)halet and Betsy Bodwell, natives of Vermont. 
 She died May 9, 1862, leaving four children: 
 Emeline, Jane, Pamelia and Mary A. The flrst- 
 named was born March 17, 1828, and married Hon. 
 Lucius Walker, a native of Vermont, who came to 
 Illinois about 1838, and in 1852 went to Minnesota, 
 becoming one of the early settlers of St. Anthony's 
 Falls. For a while he was engaged in the dry- 
 goods business, and at the time of his death was 
 Government agent at the Chippewa Indian reserva- 
 tion. He served in the Minnesota Legislature and 
 a prominent man of that State. 
 
 Jane, the next daughter, was born in Canada, 
 November 8, 1829, and became the wife of Hon. 
 Robert Waterman, who was born in Herkimer 
 County, N. Y., in 1826, and came to Illinois with 
 his parents at the age of twelve. For a time he 
 was employed as a clerk for his brothers, James 
 and Charles, at Newburg, and later for Alex Neely 
 of Belvidere. When a young man, he engaged in 
 business on his own account. In 1850, he went to 
 California, and returned after an absence of twenty 
 months, locating in Wilmington, 111., where he en- 
 gaged in business for several years. In 1873, he 
 returned to California with his family, and made 
 his home in San Bernardino until 1887, when he 
 went to Sacramento. Four years later, he removed 
 to San Diego, where he resided until his death, 
 April 12, 1891. He was elected Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor of California in the fall of 1886, and held 
 the ofHce of Governor a few months on the death 
 of his chief. 
 
1028 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Pamelia, the third daughter, was four years old 
 when she came to Illinois with her parents. She 
 was married, November 6, 1850, to Dorwin E. 
 Moulton, who was born in Ascot, Canada, February 
 17, 1822, and came to this State in 1840. He lo- 
 cated in Rockford and three years later went to 
 Shullsburgh, Wis., engaging there in merchandising 
 untit 1851, when he went to Minnesota, and lo- 
 cated at St. Anthony's Falls. At that time, the 
 Government mill and one dwelling were the only 
 buildings on the west bank of the river, where the 
 city' of Minneapolis now stands. He engaged in 
 the mercantile business and after residing there for 
 eleven j'ears came to Belvidere, where he again 
 engaged in merchandising for a number of years, 
 being associated a portion of the time with his 
 son-in-law, J. W. Darneille. The last years of his 
 life he lived retired at his pleasant home on East 
 Lincoln Avenue, where he passed away January 
 25, 1892. He was a worthy citizen, held in high 
 regard by all who knew him, and his portrait will 
 be found on another page. Mr. and Mrs. Moul- 
 ton had one daughter, Belle, who was born Septem- 
 ber 1, 1852, in St. Anthony's Falls, Minn., married 
 J. W. Darneille, and died November 22, 1876, 
 leaving one child, Mabel G., born May 27, 1874, 
 who makes her home with her grandmother, Mrs. 
 Moulton. Mrs. Moulton is one of the estimable 
 ladies of this community, where she has so long 
 made her home. 
 
 
 
 W ORENZO W. KING, who is engaged in the 
 I ^ drug business in Cherry Valley, is a mem- 
 /!'— \ ber of the firm of King Bros., his partner 
 being his brother Oscar. They established business 
 here in 1888, and have since enjoyed a good trade, 
 which is constantly increasing and has already as- 
 sumed excellent proportions. They well deserve a 
 liberal patronage for they are business men of 
 straightforward and honorable principles and are 
 industrious and enterprising. 
 
 Our subject was born in Maine, N. Y., in 1835, 
 and is a son of Harlo and Julia (Hovey) King, 
 both natives of the Empire State. In their family 
 were six sons and one daughter: Leander, Jewett; 
 
 Irving, deceased; Oscar, Origen, Lorenzo, and Lucy 
 Thankful, also deceased. The father of this fam- 
 ily died in Maine, N. Y., in the prime of life, leav- 
 ing his widow with her family to support. His 
 property was encumbered and his creditors took it 
 all. Oscar and Origen were the first of the family 
 to come to Illinois, settling in Belvidere and 
 Cherry Vallej- in the spring of 1853. In 1855, the 
 mother and other children joined them, the family 
 locating in Belvidere. Mrs. King died at the . 
 home of her son Origen in 1863, at the age of 
 sixty-seven years. 
 
 The early life of our subject passed uneventfully 
 until the autumn of 1861, when, at the age of 
 twen ty-six years, he enlisted in the Ninth Illinois 
 Cavalry and in the following January went from 
 Chicago to the front. He did service in the South- 
 west, in Missouri and Arkansas, but on account of 
 phj'sical disability was discharged after two years. 
 Since that time, he has never fully regained his 
 health but prior to the war was considered the 
 most robust one of the family. Shortly after his 
 return, he was married in Belvidere, April 29, 
 1863, to Nellie R. Howard, of Maine, N. Y., a 
 daughter of Nathan and Roxie (Councilman) 
 Howard, also natives of Maine, N. Y. Her father 
 was a miller and died in Belvidere, March 7, 1873, 
 at the age of sixty- two years. The mother died at 
 the home of Mrs. King, July 2, 1882, at the age of 
 seventy-three years. Their family numbered six 
 sons and two daughters, the wife of our subject 
 being the sixth in order of birth. 
 
 From 1862 until 1866, Mr. King engaged in 
 clerking in a grocery store for L. D. Collins, after 
 whicli he embarked in the grocery business for 
 himself. His wife opened a millinerj^ and fancy- 
 goods store and for twelve years did an excellent 
 business in that line. Mr. King sold his stock of 
 groceries in 1868 and in 1875 opened a drug store 
 in Fielding, where he carried on operations until 
 1888, when he came to Cherry Valley and has 
 since been engaged in business, as before stated. 
 
 Our subject and his wife have a pleasant home 
 which has been their property since 1890. They 
 have only one daughter, Lorena May, who was 
 born February 29, 1884, and is now a bright little 
 maiden of eight summers. She seems to possess 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1029 
 
 considerable elocutionary and musical talent and 
 is the light and joy of Ler parents' home. In poll- 
 tics Mr. King is a stalwart Republican. He and 
 his wife rank high in social circles and are held in 
 high esteem throughout this community. 
 
 P~ HILIP ATWOOD, a native-born resident 
 ) of Winnebago County, was born on the 
 old homestead in Owen Township, Sep- 
 tember 18, 1860. His father. Patten At- 
 wood, was born in Alexander, Grafton County, 
 N. H., January 11, 1805, where also his father, Jo- 
 seph Atwood, was born. The great-grandfather 
 of our subject, John Atwood, was likewise a native 
 of New England, of English ancestry. He located 
 on a farm in Hampstead soon after he attained his 
 majority, and resided there until his death, after 
 having reached the advanced age of one hundred 
 years. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject was reared in 
 his native town, and after his marriage located in 
 Alexander, Grafton County, where he was one of 
 the pioneers. He secured a tract of heavily tim- 
 bered Government land, which he cleared and re- 
 sided upon until 1816, then started for the Terri- 
 tory of Michigan, making the trip overland with 
 three horses, a wagon and buggy. The roads be- 
 ing very bad in Canada, Mr. Atwood 's wagon 
 broke down, and he was obliged to tarry there for 
 a time, and as during the winter his horses died , 
 he had no means of getting out of the country. 
 The following April he was injured while assisting 
 in raising a barn, and died about a year later. 
 
 Polly Powers was the maiden name of our sub- 
 ject's grandmother; she departed this life at the 
 home of her son Patten, fourteen miles from St. 
 Thomas. The father of our subject was one of a fam- 
 ily of six children, and was about eleven years of 
 age when his parents went to Canada, and settled at 
 Malahide, where they resided for some years. Af- 
 ter his marriage, he settled on a farm fourteen miles 
 from St. Thomas, and four years later removed to 
 Eekford, Middlesex County, where he erected a 
 gristmill, which he operated until 1839. In the 
 
 above-named year, the father of our subject, with 
 his wife and eight children, came to Illinois, 
 the journey being made with ox-teams, and con- 
 suming six weeks. Locating in Winnebago County, 
 the elder Mr. Atwood secured a tract of Govern- 
 ment land in what is now Harlem Township, and 
 there erected a log house and made his home for a 
 twelvemonth, when he traded for the place which 
 is now his home on section 12, Owen Township. 
 He is the oldest man and the oldest resident of the 
 above-named township, and is widely and favor- 
 ably known throughout the county. He is an in- 
 teresting conversationalist and a great reader, be- 
 ing thoroughly posted on the Scriptures, making a 
 practice of i-eading the Bible through each year. 
 With his wife, be is a member of the Baptist Church, 
 with which denomination lie has been connected 
 for man}' years. Mr. Atwood was residing in Can- 
 ada during the Patriot War, being at that time en- 
 gaged in operating a gristmill. Feeling that he 
 would not make a good British subject, he accord- 
 ingly came to the United States, and is now one of 
 the prominent residents of Winnebago County. 
 
 February 14, 1826, Miss Anna Brooks, who was 
 born near St. Thomas, Canada, March 20, 1808, be- 
 came the wife of our subject's father. She was the 
 daughter of William Brooks, a native of New Jer- 
 sey, and died after sixty-four years of married life, 
 July 30, 1890. She reared a family of fourteen chil- 
 dren, all of whom are now living, the eldest being 
 in his sixty- fifth year. They are named,respectively: 
 Sally, Henry, Eliza, Lydia, William, Candace, 
 Anna, Mary, Joseph, Irena, Patten, Harriet, John 
 and Philip. One daughter, Susannah, died when 
 three 3'ears of age. ' 
 
 Philip Atwood attended the common schools of 
 his native town, and resided with his parents until 
 attaining mature years. His marriage 'occurred 
 November 27, 1873, at which time Eliza Anna 
 Curry became his wife. She was born in the town 
 of Mosa, Middlesex County, Canada, and was the 
 daughter of James Curry, who, as far as is known, 
 was also a native of that country, where he spent 
 his entire life in farming. The maiden name of 
 the mother of Mrs. Atwood was Lydia Siddle; 
 she was a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth 
 (Brooks) Siddle. She now makes her home with 
 
1030 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 her daughter, Mrs. Atwood. Three children have 
 been born to our subject and his wife: Willis, Mel- 
 vin, and Ethridge, deceased. They have a large 
 circle of friends in their community, and are de- 
 voted members of the Baptist Church. 
 
 l-^-t^S^^ 
 
 
 ON. ABRAM H. VAN WIE, a retired 
 capitalist residing at No. 1307 South Main 
 Street, in Rockford, came West in 1845 
 and located on timber land in the town- 
 ship of Lyndon, Sheboygan County, Wis. His 
 resources of industry and energy were inexhaust- 
 ible, but his financial capital was exceedingly 
 limited, consisting, at the time of his arrival in 
 Wisconsin, of $5. Among the Indians, and sur- 
 rounded on every hand by the wild animals of the 
 forests, he located and commenced to clear a farm, 
 but six weeks later a heavy blow came to him in 
 the death of his devoted wife. 
 
 Amid hardships innumerable and obstacles 
 neither few nor small, he worked his way to a 
 prominent position among the successful farmers 
 of Sheboygan County. His fellow-citizens called 
 him to fill various positions of trust and honor and 
 he served as a member of the State Legislature. He 
 was President of the County Agricultural Society, 
 which he aided in organizing, and which under his 
 capable management was for years one of the most 
 successful institutions of the State. He won the 
 tirst premium for the best plowing done in the 
 county and carried off many prizes at the fairs. 
 
 In the fall of 1866, Mr. Van Wie sold his inter- 
 ests in Wisconsin and during the spring of the fol- 
 lowing year came to Rockford, purchasing twenty 
 acres within the city limits, which he recently sold 
 at a great advance on the original cost. Since he 
 located in Winnebago County, he has made consid- 
 erable money in different ways and is now one of 
 the most prosperous citizens of the place. He has 
 served as President, Vice-President and Director 
 of the Winnebago County Agricultural Society, 
 and still takes an active interest in its welfare. He 
 was for a time President of the Burial Case Com- 
 pany, of Rockford, and has interest as a stockholder 
 in other institutions, including the watch factory. 
 
 While engaging as a farmer in Wisconsin, Mr. 
 Van Wie was one of the most practical and suc- 
 cessful agriculturists in the State, and since he has 
 been a resident of Rockford he conducted for a 
 numl)er of years a garden, in which he raised 
 choice vegetables. An extensive traveler and a 
 close observer of men and things, he has gained a 
 valuable fund of information, and recently re- 
 turned from an extensive tour through the Rockies, 
 whither he went in search of health. In his poli- 
 tical affiliations, he is a firm Republican, and religi- 
 ously, with his wife, is identified with the Second 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 The ancestors of Mr. Van Wie were originally 
 from Holland and resided in New York State for 
 many years. His grandfather, Abraham Van Wie, 
 passed his entire life in the State of New York, 
 where he died in his old age, at the home of his 
 son, Garrett, in Cayuga County, N. Y. Tlie last- 
 named learned the trade of a shoemaker and 
 tanner, which he followed in Eastern New York 
 until he was fifty years old, and then removed to 
 Cayuga County, the same State. His wife was 
 formerly Rebecca Haver, and was a native of the 
 Empire State and a daughter of Abram Haver, who 
 came of Holland-Dutch stock. 
 
 Our subject was born in Ira Township, Cayuga 
 County, N. Y., April 22, 1816, and was reared and 
 educated on a farm there, making it his home un- 
 til he was thirty-two years old. He then removed 
 to Wisconsin with his wife and child, and two 
 relatives of his wife, making the trip over- 
 land and locating in Sheboygan County, Wis., 
 where, as above stated, his wife died some few 
 weeks later. Her maiden name was Lydia Osboru 
 and she was born and reared in Cayuga County, 
 N. Y. At her decease, she left one child, Edgar 
 A., now Secretary and Treasurer of the Rockford 
 Electric Works. He served four years in the Re- 
 bellion and afterward married Bliss Filura Brady. 
 The second marriage of Mr. Van Wie took place 
 in Wisconsin and united him with Miss Minerva 
 Swarts, of New York State, who came to Rockford 
 and died here, leaving one child, Mary J., wife of 
 E. L. Rannej', a ranchman in Landers, Wyo., and 
 the owner of a fine three hundred-acre farm. 
 Near Syracuse, N. Y., Mr. "\'an Wie was united 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1031 
 
 in marriage with Miss Emily E. Partridge, -whose 
 home was in the Empire State. She is a lady of 
 many pleasant attributes of character and disposi- 
 tion, and occupies a high place in the regard of 
 the people of Rockford. Both Mr. Van Wie and 
 his wife are benevolent and generous, giving 
 liberally of their means to the promotion of enter- 
 prises calculated to benefit others and uplift 
 humanity. 
 
 e HESTER C. BRIGGS. This former promi- 
 nent citizen of Rockford was born in Dover, 
 Vt., September 6, 1817, the son of Calvin 
 and Lucy (Washburne) Briggs, and died in Rock- 
 ford January 24, 1892. In the city of his birth he 
 grew to manhood, and early in life became inter- 
 ested in those matters that were of general inter- 
 est among the people. In his youth he commenced 
 to fight the liquor traffic, and never afterward 
 faltered in what he regarded as his duty to man- 
 kind. 
 
 After receiving an excellent education at Dart- 
 mouth College, from which famous institution he 
 was graduated, Mr. Briggs established and carried 
 on the Green Mountain Freeman, a paper which did 
 an immense good in the cause of anti-slavery, and 
 which is still in existence, although the cause it 
 first advocated no longer needs its active help. 
 In every way possible, Mr. Briggs urged tlie abol- 
 ishment of slavery, and was a conductor of an 
 underground railroad for the freeing of slaves, 
 having charge of one of the leading "depots" in 
 New England. With his own money, he purchased 
 one slave, in order that he might secure his free- 
 dom, and found great pleasure in afterward re- 
 counting his thrilling experiences in the days of 
 slavery. Especially was he pleased to tell how the 
 man whom he bought out of slavery rose from his 
 degraded condition to one of lionor and influence, 
 and has for thirty years or more been one of the 
 under clerks in the State Treasury at Boston. 
 When old age came to him, he was as enthusiastic 
 in the cause of temperance as in years gone by he 
 had been foremost in the cause of anti-slavery, and 
 he enjoyed the personal friendship of many men 
 
 who liave been influential factors in creating a 
 sentiment among the people against the liquor 
 traffic. He edited the Burlington (Vt.) Gazette ior 
 four years, and also edited other papers for some 
 j'ears. 
 
 In Montpelier, Vt., Mr. Briggs was married to 
 Miss Emeline M. Peck, an estimable woman who 
 during their long married life was the devoted 
 companion and cheerful helpmate of her husband. 
 They became the parents of five children. James 
 and one unnamed died in infancy, and Emma when 
 a small child. Charles E. married Anna Loree, of 
 Vinton, Iowa, and makes his home in Rockford, 
 111.; George S. married Miss Mary Taggart, and 
 is connected with Waverly & Co., of Rockford. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Briggs reared an adopted daughter, 
 Lizzie M., who died after her marriage to D. H. 
 Ferguson, of Rockford. 
 
 In 1853, Mr. Briggs removed from Vermont to 
 Illinois, where he located in Rockford, and soon 
 afterward became President of the firm of Briggs, 
 Spafford & Penfleld, bankers. He continued at 
 the head of the private bank for ten years, until 
 the business was merged into the Third National 
 Bank, which is now in operation. Later, Mr. Briggs 
 became financial manager for the company that 
 was organized to build twenty-eight miles of the 
 Kenosha Railroad, of which he was one of the 
 prominent supporters through the hardships at- 
 tending the financial crisis of 1857, and until the 
 road was completed in 1859. 
 
 For some years afterward, Mr. Briggs was en- 
 gaged very extensively as a real-estate dealer, and 
 was the owner of eight improved farms in the vi- 
 cinity of Rockford, besides much valuable city 
 property. In his business affairs he had times of 
 depression and also of prosperity, but never lost 
 courage, no matter what obstacles opposed his 
 progress. In 1868, he became connected with the 
 firm of Briggs, Mead & Skinner, dealers in agricul- 
 tural implements, and continued in that capacity 
 for several years, the business being conducted under 
 the name of the Briggs, Enoch & Skinner Manu- 
 facturing Company, and after Mr. Skinner's death 
 the firm was Briggs & Enoch until 1880, when it 
 was organized as a stock company, under the name 
 of the Rockford Plow Company. Mr. Briggs sold 
 
1032 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 out his interest in 188G,and afterward devoted his 
 attention to the insurance business, representing a 
 number of the leading companies. 
 
 Mr. Briggs was a Republican in politics and a 
 strong temperance man both in example and pre- 
 cept. He had firm convictions and the courage to 
 stand true to them, even under great opposition 
 and bitter enmity. His estimable wife, who sur- 
 vives him, has a host of friends in the community, 
 and is of such hospitable nature as to win the es- 
 teem of all whom she entertains beneath her roof. 
 
 '\1| OHN RALSTON, who is engaged in general 
 
 ' farming on section 25, Harlem Township, 
 
 ^~, I Winnebago County, is of Scottish birth. He 
 
 (fry) 
 
 ^^^ was born in Kintj-re, Argyleshire, Scotland, 
 
 in October, 1828, and there his grandfather, John 
 Ralston, spent his entire life. The father of our 
 subject, Gavin Ralston, was born in the same 
 county, and learned the trade of a tailor, but de- 
 voted the greater part of his time to farming. At 
 length he determined to try his fortune in America, 
 and sailed from Greenwich in the spring of 1841, 
 landing at New York after a voyage of seven 
 weeks. He came directly to Illinois, locating in 
 Boone County, where he obtained Government 
 land, located in what is now Caledonia Township. 
 There was mvich land to be obtained at $1.25 per 
 acre, but as his means were very limited, he could 
 only rent a farm. However, he was very indus- 
 trious, and with the aid of his sons, in the course 
 of time he was enabled to enter a tract of Gov- 
 ernment land and begin farming for himself. He 
 erected a log cabin which the family occupied 
 some years, but it was afterward replaced by a 
 more modern and commodious residence. He also 
 made other good improvements and at the time of 
 his death owned a fine farm. His wife, whose 
 maiden name was Jane Montgomery, was also a 
 native of Argyleshire, and, like her husband, died 
 on the old homestead in Boone County. They 
 were the parents of six children, who grew to ma- 
 ture years, all sons: Robert, John, Gavin, David, 
 Alexander and William. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was a lad of thirteen 
 
 summers when, with his parents, he left the old 
 home in Scotland and crossed the broad Atlantic 
 to America. He was reared to manhood in Boone 
 County, amid the wild scenes of frontier life, and 
 lessons of industry and economy were instilled 
 into his mind when a youth. At a very early age, 
 he began aiding his father in the arduous task of 
 developing a farm, and the other sons did like- 
 wise, so that the familj^ prospered, and as soon as 
 tlie first farm was paid for, the father purchased 
 other land and subsequently divided with his sons. 
 Mr. Ralston obtained his share of the land, so that 
 at the time of his marriage he had a home to which 
 to bring his bride. He now owns and occupies a 
 good farm on section 25, Harlem Township, where 
 well-tilled fields and all the necessary improve- 
 ments attest the fact that the owner is a man of 
 thrift and enterprise. 
 
 In June, 1858, Mr. Ralston was united in the 
 holy bonds of matrimony with Miss Jane, daughter 
 of William and Elizabeth (Andrews) Ralston. The 
 lady is a native of Argyleshire, Scotland, and by 
 her marriage has become tlfe mother of four chil- 
 dren: Gavin, William, John and Elizabeth. The 
 parents and family are all members of the Willow 
 Creek Presb3'terian Church. The Ralston house- 
 hold is the abode of hospitality and its representa- 
 tives rank high in social circles in this community. 
 In his business career, Mr. Ralston has met with 
 excellent success, such as comes to an energetic 
 and industrious man, and is now numbered among 
 the substantial farmers of Winnebago County. 
 
 i>-^<-( 
 
 (a>^ 
 
 ANIEL S. RICHARDS, who is one of the 
 pioneers of Winnebago County of 1838> 
 is a native of Livingston Countj-, N. Y., his 
 natal day being November 21, 1844. Our 
 subject is the son of Daniel and Clara (Luch) 
 Richards, natives of Litchfield, Conn. His grand- 
 father, Daniel Richards, hailed from England, and, 
 on coming to the United States when a young man, 
 located in Connecticut, where he was married- and 
 reared a family of three sons and two daughters. 
 He was a patriot in the Revolutionary War, hold- 
 ing the rank of a commissioned officer. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1033 
 
 The father of our subject commanded a com- 
 pany of militiamen just at the close of the War of 
 1812, but did not participate in any active en- 
 gagement. He removed from Connecticut to 
 Rochester, N. Y., but soon thereafter settled near 
 Lima, on a farm which is included in the present 
 site of that city, and on which is located the Lima 
 Seminary. He lived to attain the age of sixty-six 
 years, and was preceded to the better land by his 
 wife. They were the parents of nine children, 
 and Mr. Richards by his union with his second 
 wife, Mrs. Hannah Chapman, became the father of 
 three children. 
 
 Our subject was three years of age at the death 
 of his mother, and, being reared on the home farm, 
 was given a good education in the district schools 
 which he attended until reaching his sixteenth 
 year. In the town of Wethersfield, "Wyoming 
 County, he was married to Matilda Tyler, who 
 died within six months after her marriage. Mr. 
 Richards then disposed of his property, and, com- 
 ing to Illinois, made claim to a tract of land on 
 Sugar River Bottoms, near Durand. Later, re- 
 turning to New York, he was married to Charlotte 
 "Warren, and in 1841 again took up his abode in 
 the Prairie State, making his home on the claim 
 which he had entered in 1838. This he improved 
 and resided upon for five years, when he removed 
 to another farm, and later, in company with his 
 brother, Benjamin F., became interested in the 
 manufacture of lime. This connection lasted until 
 1855, when our subject removed from Pecatonica, 
 where he bought a small tract of land, and con- 
 tinued in the lime business for the two following 
 years. At the end of that time, he came to Durand 
 and engaged in farming, at the same time operat- 
 ing a threshing-machine in the fall of each year, 
 ■which he owned. Mr. Richards has since resided 
 in "Wyoming County, with the exception of the 
 time spent with his children in Iowa. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born six 
 children, viz.: Jane, Janet, Belle, Dora, Minnie, and 
 Louisa. In his political relations, he was first a 
 Democrat, then a Free Soiler, next a Republican, 
 and is now a Prohibitionist. He has never been 
 the incumbent of any public office, preferring to 
 give his time to his private interests, and even 
 
 wlien elected Justice of the Peace, refused to qual- 
 ify. In religious matters, he is a member of the 
 United Brethren Church, with which body he be- 
 came connected in 1844, and has since acted as a 
 local preacher. He is a well-preserved old gentle- 
 man, and bears the good-will and resjoect of all 
 who know him. 
 
 l^AVID CARLSON. A representative local 
 I jj] enterprise is that of Carlson & Nygren, 
 ^X^ contractors, carpenters and builders of 
 Rockford, where the firm is doing a very 
 successful business. Oui' subject was originally 
 from Kalmar Lan, Smoland Province, Sweden, 
 born December 15, 1856, and as he grew to man- 
 hood learned his trade in his native country. 
 "While still single, he came to the States and very 
 soon located in Rockford, where he has won an 
 enviable reputation as a contractor and builder. 
 He has erected many of the finest buildings in 
 Rockford, and is a skillful and reliable workman. 
 He lias a new residence at No. 709 Second Avenue, 
 which is one of the many nice Swedish homes in 
 the city, and although only a resident of Rockford 
 since 1880, he has many warm friends. For about 
 three years after coming to Rockford, Mr. Carlson 
 was in the furniture factory, and later embarked in 
 the carpenter and contracting business. 
 
 He was married in Rockford to Miss Mary A. 
 Benson, also a native of Sweden, born February 
 16, 1866, and who was two years of age when she 
 was brought by her parents to the United States. 
 The fruits of this union are two children, Elsie 
 V. and Roland D. Mr. and Mrs. Carlson are ener- 
 getic, enterprising young people and are well liked 
 in the community. Both are members of the Swed- 
 ish Zion Lutheran Church and he is a Trustee of 
 the same. In politics, he is identified with the 
 Republican party. He is a stockholder and Di- 
 rector in the Excelsor Furniture Company and a 
 stockholder in the Rockford Manufacturing Com- 
 panj'. 
 
 Mr. Carlson's father, Carl Johnson, and his step- 
 mother, Ann (Danielson) Johnson, now reside in 
 Kalmar Lan, Sweden, and are well along in 
 
1034 
 
 i^OHTRAIT AND BIOGEAfHiCAL RECORD. 
 
 years. The lather is a carpenter and operates a 
 sawmill in his native country. Our subject's 
 mother died when comparatively a young woman. 
 She was the mother of seven children, of whom our 
 subject is fourth in order of birth. All are mem^ 
 bers of the Lutheran Swedish Church. 
 
 Mrs. Carlson's parents, Jonas and Johanna 
 (Peterson) Benson, came to this country in 1868, 
 and settled in Rockford, where they have a com- 
 fortable home on Sixth Street. The father is sixty- 
 six j'ears of age and the mother is sixty-seven. 
 The former is a wood mechanic and is now with 
 the Skandia Plow Companj^. Both are members 
 of the Zion Lutheran Church. Mrs. Carlson is the 
 only child born of his union, although her mother, 
 by a former marriage, had three children. 
 
 ,^^0. 
 
 ^5^ 
 
 ylLLIAM F. ACKERLY (deceased). New 
 York State has given to "Winnebago 
 County, 111., many estimable citizens, but 
 she has contributed none more highly respected, 
 or, for conscientious discharge of duty in every 
 relation of life, more worthy of respect and esteem 
 than was the subject of this sketch. He was born 
 in Delaware County, N. Y., on the 12th of 
 September 1832, and his father, Jonathan Ack- 
 erlj% was also a native of that county, and a mill- 
 wright by trade. The elder Mr. Ackerly was mar- 
 ried in Delaware County to Miss Charlotte P'ree- 
 man but subsequently removed to Allegany County, 
 N. Y., and thence to Conneaut, Ohio, where he 
 was engaged in agricultural pursuits. There 
 his first wife died and he was afterwards married 
 to a Miss Barnes. Later he moved to Battle Creek, 
 Mich., and here his death occurred, when seventy- 
 five years of age. His widow, who survives him 
 and who is now quite aged, resides with a daugh- 
 ter in a town near Bradford, Pa. William 
 F. Ackerly was one of five children, three 
 daughters and two sons, born to his father's first 
 union. All but our subject are now living, and 
 are successful in their different occupations. The 
 father was a skilled mechanic and a very successful 
 businessman. In the spring of 1866, he came to 
 Winnebago County and engaged in the lumber 
 
 business in Cherry Valley. Later he sold out and 
 purchased two hundred and sixty-two acres of land 
 in Guilford Township, and this he carried on in 
 connection with his business as a contractor and 
 builder. He was possessed of excellent business 
 acumen, was well and favorably known all over 
 the county, and his death, which occurred on the 
 22d of May, 1890, was the occasion of universal 
 sorrow. He selected as his companion in life Miss 
 Adaline M. Alexander, a native of Maryland Town- 
 ship, Delaware County, N. Y., and their nup- 
 tials were celebrated in Cattaraugus County of 
 that State. Mrs. Ackerly was the daughter of 
 Nelson and Polly (Bacon) Alexander, the father a 
 native of New Hampshire and the mother of Con- 
 necticut. The father was of Scotch descent. After 
 marriage Mr. and Mrs. Alexander resided in Marj'- 
 land for some time but finally moved to Cattarau- 
 gus County, N. Y., where Mr. Alexander, in con- 
 nection with farming, followed the blacksmith 
 trade. He died April 5, 1892, in his eighty-fifth year. 
 He had ever been a prominent man in his county 
 and had held man}^ of the local offices. He was a 
 man of great intelligence, a great reader, and a 
 well-informed historian and Bible reader. He was 
 a Republican in his political views, with Prohibi- 
 tion proclivities. In his religious views he favored 
 the Universalist belief. His wife died November 
 2, 1887, when seventy-three 3'^ears of age. She was 
 a noble woman and had man}' warm friends. Mr. 
 Ackerly of this notice was also a Universalist in 
 his religious belief, and was recognized as one of 
 the county's most esteemed citizens. After his 
 death Mrs. Ackerly moved to the city of Rockford 
 and is now residing at No. 201 South Twelfth Street. 
 She was reared and educated in Cattaraugus 
 County, N. Y.,. and is a lady possessed of more 
 than the ordinary degree of intelligence and judg- 
 ment. To her marriage were born five children: Ella 
 M., wife of Selden Turner, who owns and resides 
 on a fine farm in Guilford Township, Frederick; 
 M., married Miss Nellie Adams, and resides at No. 
 205 Soutli Twelfth Street; Frank F., contractor 
 and builder at Pomeroy, Iowa, married Miss 
 Katie Blackington, of Iowa; Jessie M. became 
 the wife of B. E. Brown, a farmer- of Guilford 
 Township; and J. Clark, who is an intelligent 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1037 
 
 young mechanic, resides with his mother. Mr. 
 Ackerly, the fatlier of these children, was a 
 Master Mason of Cherry Valley Lodge No. 
 173 and was a Knight Templar of Rockford Lodge 
 No. 17. He took a deep interest in Masonic affairs 
 and was buried with those honors. 
 
 ^ 
 
 JETER J. LILJEHOLM, a successful carver, 
 ) designer and draughtsman, in the employ 
 of the Rockford Folding Bed Company, 
 
 I \ of Rockford, is connected with this flour- 
 ishing enterprise, and also with the Union Furni- 
 ture Company, as stockholder and Director. He 
 was born in Orebro City, Sweden, on the 10th of 
 April, 1845. His fatlier, John Johnson, spent his 
 entire life in that land, where he followed the oc- 
 cupations of farming and cabinet-making, being a 
 skilled mechanic. He passed away at the age of 
 sixty years. His wife and all the children, with 
 the exception of our subject, are still residents of 
 Sweden. Mrs. Johnson is now more than four- 
 score years of age, and is a member of the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church, to which her husband also be- 
 longed. 
 
 Mr. Liljeholm, whose name heads this record, and 
 whose portrait is shown on the opposite page, is 
 the only member of his father's family who lias 
 become a permanent resident of the United States. 
 The educational advantages which he received 
 were those of the common schools. In his native 
 city he was reared to manhood, and served an 
 apprenticeship to the trade of cabinet-making, 
 which he has followed more or less throughout his 
 entire life. Since coming to this country, he has 
 also learned the trade of designing. It was in 
 1870 that he bade good-bye to his old home and 
 crossed the Atlantic. On board the same vessel 
 on which he sailed was Miss Anna Lindstrom, who 
 was born and reared in the same locality as our 
 subject. Soon after their arrival in tliis county, 
 tliey were married in Chicago, and the following 
 year they became residents of this city. 
 
 Mrs. Liljeholm is also the only one of her family 
 residing in America. Her father, Eric Johnson, 
 was a successful farmer of Sweden, where he 
 
 died some years ago. His wife is also deceased, 
 but tlie children are still living in tlie old home, 
 and all are members of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church. The mother was well advanced in 3'ears 
 when she died. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Liljeholm have 
 been born seven children, six of whom are living: 
 Minnie W., a young lady of about twenty sum- 
 mers; Ida, a book-keeper in the employ of Gust 
 Lindblade, a grocer of this city; Helma, Alice, 
 Hattie and Wesley, who are still under the pa- 
 rental roof. 
 
 The parents hold membership with the Swedish 
 Methodist Ciiurch, in which Mr. Liljeholm has 
 served as Trustee, and in its upbuilding and ad- 
 vancement they take an active interest. He is also 
 a warm advocate of temperance principles, and 
 votes with the Prohibition party. His life has 
 been well and worthily spent, and he has thereb}^ 
 gained the respect of all with whom he has come 
 in contact. Since locating in this city, in 1871, 
 he has been connected with its furniture interests, 
 and has done some very fine work as a cabinet- 
 net maker and designer, acquiring a competence 
 through his industry and good judgment. 
 
 ? I ' I ' II I ( 1 ^ r . 
 
 V^^ATE L. COLBY. The Pecatonica News is 
 I jj a bright and newsy weekly, and has aided 
 \V\JlLi in no small way in promoting the inter- 
 ests of the village where it is published. It is a 
 successful representative of the people of the 
 place where it is located, and its value in the 
 community cannot be estimated. Tireless in its 
 defense of the right, and fearless in its denuncia- 
 tion of the evils of the age, it has won an envia- 
 ble reputation among the best people of tlie county, 
 and its popularity is proved by a constantly in- 
 creasing subscription list. 
 
 The editor and publisher of this paper was born 
 in Beloit, Wis., December 20, 1854, the son of 
 Nathan D. and Sybil W.(Pearse) Colby. The father, 
 who was born in Emden, Somerset County, Me., Oc- 
 tober 1, 1810, came west toWisconsin July 12, 1847, 
 where he followed the trade of a miller for a time, 
 and later took contracts for moving buildings. He 
 lived retired for some time prior to his decease. 
 
1038 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 which occurred July 12, 1891. He was a brave 
 defender of his country during times of peril; 
 politically, was a Republican, and in the variovis 
 county' offices which he held was distinguished for 
 elllciencj^ and faithful discharge of duties. He 
 was one of seven children born to Eben Colby, 
 who was born and married in and was a life-long 
 resident of Maine. 
 
 The mother of our subject, known in maiden- 
 hood as Sj^bil W. Pease, was born in South Nor- 
 ridgewock. Me., September 11, 1818, and died in Be- 
 loit, Wis., December 17, 1884. Her marriage, which 
 was solemnized in her native place in 1844, was 
 blessed by the birth of Ave children, four sons and 
 one daughter. She was a cheerful helpmate to her 
 husband, whom she aided in all his enterprises 
 and cheered with her sympathy. Obliged for years 
 after her marriage to use the strictest economy in 
 regulating the household expenses, it was in no 
 small degree due to her frugality and management 
 that prosperity afterward rewarded their efforts. 
 
 In his youth our subject learned the trade of a 
 printer in a printing establishment at Beloit, Wis., 
 and gained a good education in the schools of his 
 native city. In 1870, he went to Milwaukee, 
 where he became a compositor in the office of the 
 Sentinel, but the following j^ear removed to Davis, 
 111., and took charge of a newspaper there. A 
 few months after locating there, he purchased and 
 removed the plant to Pecatonica, and in partner- 
 ship with his brother, William A., established the 
 News. In 1880, he bought his brother's interest, 
 and has since conducted the paper with marked 
 success. 
 
 September 15, 1880, M)-. Colbj^ was married at 
 Freeport, 111., to Miss Ella M. Smith, who was 
 born in Stephenson County, this State, the daugh- 
 ter of Gilbert F. and Helen M. (Shaw) Smith. 
 They are the parents of three children, namely: 
 Gilbert F., born July 27,1881; Claude A., July 
 19,1883 and Smith W., May 15, 1887. The religious 
 home of the family is in the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, and Mr. Colby is a member of the Official 
 Board. Politically, he is a Republican and has 
 filled various positions of trust, serving as Town- 
 ship Clerk for five 3'ears, member of the Board of 
 Education and President of the Republican Club. 
 
 In his social connections, he is identified with the 
 A. W. Rawson Lodge, F. & A. M.; the Eureka Camp, 
 M. W. A., Monitor Garrison No. 19, Knights of 
 the Globe, and was formerly connected with the 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is chief 
 of the Fire Department, President of the Electric 
 Light jjlant, and otherwise identified with one of 
 the most progressive measures for the upbuilding 
 of the community. 
 
 ^^^ W. REYNOLDS is numbered among the early 
 III (— , settlers of Rockford. He first came to this 
 ^^(U city in 1840, but did not make a perman- 
 ent location until ten years later. For the past 
 forty-two years he has been one of the well-known 
 citizens of Winnebago County. He claims New 
 York as the State of his nativity and there re- 
 sided until 1835, when, with his parents, he be- 
 came a resident of Michigan. His educational 
 advantages were limited, but nature iiad endowed 
 him with a fund of common sense, and by experi- 
 ence and observation he has made up for the lack 
 of those privileges of schooling which many re- 
 ceive. His home for six years was in La Fayette, 
 Wis., where he went in 1847, and where he served 
 as Sherift. In 1840, he came to Illinois and was 
 employed in the Galena mines until 1850, when 
 he located permanently in Rockford. 
 
 The father of our subject, James Reynolds, as 
 before stated, brought his familj' to the West in 
 1835. He was born near Elmira, N. Y., and was 
 descended from a good New England fainily. He 
 made farming his life work and was successful in 
 his undertakings. In 1846, he left Wisconsin and 
 settled in Dixon, Lee County, 111., where both he 
 and his wife spent their remaining days. The 
 death of Mr. Re^'nolds occurred at the age of 
 seventy-six years, and his wife passed awaj' at 
 the age of three-score years and ten. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was married in Min- 
 eral Point, Wis., to Miss Esther Grover, a native 
 of Cattaraugus County, N. Y., who, when a 
 maiden of seventeen summers, came to Illinois, 
 and for a short time resided in Winnebago 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1039 
 
 County. She then went to the liome of her sister 
 in Mineral Point, Wis., where she was afterward 
 married. She has been a true and faithful help- 
 mate to her husband, and their united efforts and 
 labors have brought them a handsome competence. 
 They now have one of the finest homes on North 
 Court Street, and over tliis palatial residence 
 Mrs. Reynolds presides as a liind hostess, ever 
 ready to welcome lier friends, who are many. In 
 the family are two cliildren. 
 
 On coming to Rockford, Mr. Reynolds estab- 
 lished a livery stable and became a buyer and 
 shipper of liorses. His purchases were very large, 
 and he shipped extensively to the South and 
 Soutliwest, especially during the war. He ran a 
 large livery stable from 1850 until 1867, thus ac- 
 quiring a handsome competence, and while en- 
 gaged in that business became acquainted with 
 the leading horsemen of the country, many of 
 whom he 3^et numbers among his warm friends. He 
 is now practically living a retired life, but is yet a 
 stockholder in many of the local enterprises of 
 the city and is a stockholder and Director in the 
 Second National Bank. He has taken an active 
 interest in all tliat pertains to the welfare of 
 Rockford and its upbuilding and has been identi- 
 fied with its historj'. His life has been a success- 
 ful one, and as the result of his industr}' and per- 
 severance he has acquired considerable wealth. In 
 politics, he has long been a Democrat but has 
 never been an office-seeker. His acquaintance 
 throughout the community is extensive and em- 
 braces tlie best people. 
 
 il^ENRY P. KIMBALL. From the date of 
 his arrival in Rockford, in June, 1852, 
 until his death, May 10, 1889, Mr. Kimball 
 was closely identified with the progress of 
 this city in various ways and was especially promi- 
 nent as a horticulturist, having engaged in that 
 occupation for seventeen years. He was Secretary 
 of the County Agricultural Society, and contri- 
 buted his ablest efforts to promote its interests, as 
 well as the good of his fellow-citizens along social, 
 educational and philanthropic lines. 
 
 The same fearless independence which ever 
 characterized Mr. Kimball was displayed in his 
 political preferences. He was in no sense of that 
 word an office-seeker and at one time voted with 
 the Republicans. He afterwards voted for Horace 
 Greeley and became a Democrat. He was an up- 
 right, energetic man, a kind neighbor, an influen- 
 tial citizen, and true in every relation of life. Mr. 
 Kimball died May 10, 1889, when sixty years 
 of age. 
 
 Although a native of New Hampshire, Mr. 
 Kimball was reared and educated in Maine and 
 was a student in Colby University, of Maine, 
 later graduating from Rochester (N. Y.) Univer- 
 sity. After completing his education, he became 
 a teacher and was thus engaged in Maine for sev- 
 eral years, meeting with success in that profession. 
 In his young manhood he removed to the West, 
 and in Winnebago County was married to Miss 
 Ellen Haskell, a native of Massachusetts, wlio was 
 quite young when her parents came to Illinois and 
 located in Alton. She was nine years old when 
 they settled in Rockford in 1838, and since that 
 time she has made her home in this city. There 
 are few citizens of Rockford who are not ac- 
 quainted with her personally, or at least familiar 
 with her name, for her long life here has made 
 her well known, and her kindness of heart has 
 won for her the respect of all. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Kimball was Dr. George 
 Haskell, one of the first physicians of Rockford 
 and a leader in every measure which was calcu- 
 lated for the benefit of the place. On account of 
 ill health, he was compelled to relinquish his prac- 
 tice a few years after he came to this city, and 
 afterward led an out-of-door life as much as pos- 
 sible. He was employed in different ways but de- 
 voted much of his time to horticulture and was a 
 loving student of nature. His sympathy was 
 given in behalf of progress and advancement, and 
 his life was one of uprightness and honor. 
 
 In his native State, Dr. Haskell was married to 
 Miss Eunice Edwards, who was born and reared 
 in Acton, Mass., nol far from the old town of 
 Concord. She labored to assist her husband, 
 whose faithful helpmate she remained until his 
 death, since which time she has made her home 
 
1040 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 with her daughter, Mrs. Kimball. She has at- 
 tained to the age of eighty-eight (1892) years, 
 but retains full possession of her mental faculties 
 and is hale and hearty. Religiously, she is a mem- 
 ber of the Christian Union Church of this city. 
 
 The beautiful home of Mrs. Kimball, where she 
 resides with her mother and son, is located at No. 
 305 Fisher Avenue and, both within and without, 
 is one of the most attractive abodes in the city. 
 Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Kimball has 
 assumed charge of his business affairs, which she 
 conducts with judgment and success. She is the 
 mother of three sons, namely: Dr. Frank H., of 
 whom see biograph3' elsewhere in this volume; 
 Willis M., Alderman representing the F^ourth 
 Ward and Teller in the Second National Bank, and 
 Carl C, who is still with his mother and is highly 
 educated. Willis married Miss Isa Mears and 
 resides in a beautiful place at No. 307 Fisher 
 Avenue. 
 
 I^HJ^^I 
 
 l^~ 
 
 \y7 ORENZO L. BUNT, D. S., is engaged in the 
 I (@ practice of dentistry on East State Street in 
 j^'— ^^, Rockford, and has prosecuted his profession 
 in this city since the spring of 1877. He was as- 
 sociated with Dr. E. ,J. .Johnson, one of the oldest 
 dentists of the city, until October, 1879, when he 
 opened an offlce of his own at No. 418 East State 
 His rooms are pleasant, attractive and well ar- 
 ranged, and his work is satisfactory, as is proven 
 by the liberal patronage he receives. He is a close 
 student of his profession and keeps abreast with 
 .all its discoveries and improvements. 
 
 Dr. Bunt was born in the town of Wright, Scho- 
 harie County, N. Y., April 7, 1851, and is a son of 
 George Bunt, tvho was born in the same county, of 
 German parentage. He grew to manhood upon a 
 farm and followed that occupation until he came 
 to Illinois in 1853, when our subject was only two 
 years old. He then turned his attention to the 
 carpenter's trade, at which he worked until his 
 death in Rockford, in 1887, at the age of sixty-five 
 years. He was of a quiet and retiring disposition, 
 but a worthy citizen and upright man who had 
 many friends throughout the community. His 
 
 widow is still living and makes her home with the 
 Doctor. Her maiden name was Sarah A. Nashold, 
 and she too was born in Schoharie County, of Ger- 
 man lineage. She is a member of the Methodist 
 Church, to which Mr. Bunt also belonged. They 
 were the parents of three children: Anson, a packer 
 and shipper for the John Barnes Manufacturing 
 Company, of this city. He married Lizzie Carpen- 
 ter, and they have one child, Frank. The sister, 
 Delta, is the wife of W. A. McCaenmond, a prom- 
 inent portrait painter of Chicago, by whom she 
 ha? one son, Milford. 
 
 Our subject is the eldest of the three children. 
 Almost his entire life has been spent in this city, 
 where he was reared to manhood and acquired his 
 primary education. He afterward entered the 
 Michigan State University at Ann Arbor in the 
 fall of 1873, completing his studies in 1874. He 
 fitted himself for the practice of his chosen pro- 
 fession with Dr. M. H. Knapp, of Adrian, Mich., 
 now a prominent dentist of Jackson, that State. 
 He then came to Rockford and opened an offlce as 
 before stated. 
 
 Dr. Bunt was married in this city to Miss Min- 
 nie Johnson, a native of Elmira, N. Y., who was 
 reared by Dr. E. J. Johnson, of Rockford. She is 
 a lady of many excellencies of character, held in 
 high esteem by all who know her. They have two 
 children : C. Leta, a daughter of twelve summers, 
 and George L., a lad of four years. 
 
 The Doctor and his wife are members of the Cen- 
 tennial Methodist Church. They have a pleasant 
 home at No. 206 North Fifth Street and are held in 
 high regard by a large circle of friends and acquaint- 
 ances. The Doctor is a member of Rockford 
 Lodge No. 102, A. F. ife A. M.; Winnebago Chap- 
 ter No. 24, R. A. M.; Adrian Commandery No. 
 21, K. T., and Oriental Consistory No. 1, of Chi- 
 cago. Both he and his wife are past officers of the 
 Eastern Star Order, and he is a past officer in So- 
 cial Lodge No. 140, I. O. O. F.; Rockford Encamp- 
 ment No. 44; Eureka Canton, No. 6; Patriarch 
 Militant and Anchor Rebecca Degree Lodge, No. 
 84. He is also a member and has been presiding 
 officer of the Ancient Order of United Workmen; 
 is a past officer of the Knights of Honor, past 
 officer of the Sons of America, and is a charter 
 

 i 
 
 W. R. Ml LLARD, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1043 
 
 member of the first order in tliis State, Camp 
 Washington No. 61. He lias taken much inter- 
 est in civic societies and is an honored mem- 
 ber in tlie various organizations to whicli he be- 
 longs. He also holds membership with the Dental 
 Association of Northern Illinois. 
 
 •^^1 
 
 V 
 
 '^ j^ILLIAM R. MILLARD. This worthy and 
 honorable gentleman, who is engaged in 
 general farming on section 35, Le Roy 
 Township, Boone County, makes a specialty of the- 
 dairy business. He was born in Columbia County, 
 Pa., July 1, 1813, and is a son of Reese Millard, 
 a native of Berks County, Pa. The father was a 
 farmer, and removed to Columbia County when a 
 youth with his parents. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject, Joseph Millard, 
 was a miller by trade, and superintended the op- 
 erations of his father's gristmill near Reading, Pa., 
 where he was born. He was a Quaker, and never 
 went bey on d the boundaries of the Keystone State. 
 The maiden name of his wife was Phcebe John, 
 and to them were born a family of two sons and 
 one daughter. The grandmother died when about 
 sixty years of age, but her husband lived to attain 
 his ninetieth year. 
 
 Reese Millard was married to Catherine, daugh- 
 ter of William Rittenhouse, who was a native of 
 the same place where his birth occurred. To them 
 were granted a family of seven children, all of 
 whom, with one exception, grew to mature years, 
 namely: William R., our subject; Joseph P, who 
 died in Maruh, 1889, in Kalamazoo, Mich., when 
 about seventy-four years of age; Phcebe (second), 
 Anna R., Rebecca and Catherine. Phoebe, the first- 
 born, died in her third year. 
 
 The original of this sketch and of the portrait 
 found on the opposite page was reared on a farm, 
 and started out to do for himself when twenty 
 years of age. In 1832, he came overland to Mich- 
 igan, but on the death of his father he returned 
 home and remained until 1838. In the meantime, 
 he had married Mary Moore, a native of Luzerne 
 County, Pa., and in the fall of 1838 the young 
 couple came to Illinois, stopping in Dixon until 
 
 the spring of 1841. On locating in this county, 
 Mr. Millard purchased eighty acres of Government 
 land, and. within a few years was able to add to 
 his estate until he had two hundred and forty 
 acres. He comes of a very wealthy family, and has 
 made a success of his calling as an agriculturist. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Millard were born six children, 
 all of whom are living, namely: Frances Cather- 
 ine, now Mrs. Philip Stall, of Lc Roy; Dorcas Eliz- 
 abeth, who married D. H. Jones; Susan, the wife 
 of Thomas Robins, a farmer in Le Roy; Clarinda 
 R., Mrs. Hiram Day, of Caledonia; Emmor K., who 
 married Hattie Livermore, of New York, and Mary 
 M., Mrs. C. B. Winkapaugh. The wife and mother 
 departed this life March 2, 1891, when nearly 
 eighty-four years of age. 
 
 Our subject has served his fellow-citizens in 
 many positions of trust and responsibility, and is 
 well and favorably known throughout his com- 
 munity. He is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, to which his wife also belonged, 
 and in which body they were active workers. In 
 politics, he always votes with the Republican party.* 
 He visited his old home in Pennsylvania in the- 
 fall of 1891, spending some weeks with his two 
 surviving sisters. He is one of the leading agri- 
 culturists of Boone County, a public-spirited and 
 enterprising man, and warmly interested in the 
 movement of public affairs and the progress of all 
 good measures. 
 
 ♦=♦= 
 
 ^ 
 
 eHRISTIAN STIGMAN owns and operates 
 one hundred and twenty -seven acres of 
 land in Cherry Valley Township and is 
 numbered among the early settlers of Winnebago 
 County. He came here in the spring of 1852, and 
 has since been identified with its history, has aided 
 in its development and has watched with interest 
 its growth and progress. The pioneers certainly 
 deserve much credit and as one of them our sub- 
 ject should be mentioned in this volume. 
 
 Mr. Stigman was a native of Germany, lie was 
 born about ninety miles from Bremen in 1828, 
 and is a son of Henry and Christina (Colemeyer) 
 Stigman.^ His mother died when he was but an 
 
1014: 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 infant and his father died during his childhood. 
 Our subject had but one lirother and he died 
 young. Christian tl^en went to live with a ma- 
 ternal uncle and in the usual manner of farmer 
 lads was reared to manhood. On attaining his 
 majority, in accordance with the laws of the coun- 
 try, he entered the service, and for three years was 
 in the army, serving as a private. The year suc- 
 ceeding his dismissal was spent in his native land, 
 after which lie emigrated to America, in the spring 
 of 1852. He was accompanied by his wife and 
 daughter, having been married at the age of 
 twenty-one to Miss Caroline Kortie. After locat- 
 ing in this county, Mr. Stigman worked upon the 
 construction of a railroad at $1.00 per day. 
 Like most of his countrymen, he came to America 
 empty-handed and has since acquired all of his 
 property. 
 
 In 1854, cholera was epidemic and his wife fell a 
 victim to the terrible scourge. She, with four 
 others of the Kortie family, died within two 
 weeks. Mr. Stigman was also attacked and his 
 life was despaired of, but through good nurs- 
 ing and a strong constitution he recovered. He 
 has since been a second time married, this union 
 being with Christiana Possmeyer, of Germany, 
 daughter of Henry and Augusta (Brown) Poss- 
 meyer. Her parents spent their entire lives in 
 the Fatherland, the former dying in 1866, at the 
 age of sixty-one, and the mother dying in 1867, 
 at the same age. Their family numbered two sons 
 and three daughters, but only two are now living: 
 the wife of our subject, and William, who is living 
 in Germany at the age of lifty-eight years. Unto 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stigman have been born eight chil- 
 dren, four sons and four daughters, but two are 
 now deceased : Frank, who died in 1874 at the 
 age of thirteen years, and Louis, who died in 1880 
 at the age of two and a half. The living are 
 Anna ; Julia, wife of Fred Hay, of Rockford ; Lot- 
 tie, Edward, Charles and Lillie. 
 
 Some time after locating in this county, Mr. 
 Stigman in company with his two brothers-in-law 
 purchased ninety acres of land and his third 
 formed the nucleus of his present good farm of 
 one hundred and twenty-seven acres. This land 
 was mostly covered witli timber which he himself 
 
 cleared away, and then developed rich and fertile 
 fields which now yield to him a good income. He 
 has been very successful in his labors and the able 
 assistance of his estimable wife has also been an 
 important factor in his success. They are Luth- 
 erans in religious belief, and Mr. Stigman generally 
 votes with the Republican party but has never 
 taken an active part in political affairs. 
 
 i>^^<i 
 
 '\f] OHN CLARK, who follows general farming 
 on section 34, Cherry' Valley Township, 
 ^j^ 1 Winnebago County, first opened his e3'es 
 ^^/y to the light of day in Scotland, in 1828. 
 He is one of a family of eight sons and three 
 daughters, the parents being Samuel and Mar- 
 garet (Templeton) Clark. His father followed 
 farming upon rented land and died in Scotland at 
 the age of seventy-eight years, his wife passing 
 away at the age of sixty-five years. 
 
 Under the parental roof our subject was reared 
 to manhood, no event of special importance occur- 
 ring during his childhood days. He came to this 
 country in August, 1851, when twenty-three years 
 of age, and in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio, 
 followed the occupation of farming upon rented 
 land for some twenty years. As a companion and 
 a helpmate on life's journey, he chose Miss Cath- 
 erine Allison, a native of Scotland, and a daughter 
 of .James and Janet (Greenlees) Allison. Their 
 union was celebrated in August, 1855, and has 
 been blessed with a family of ten children, two 
 sons and eight daughters : James ; Margaret, wife 
 of Isaac Turrell, Principal of one of the schools of 
 Cincinnati, Ohio ; Samuel ; Jessie, wife of Hugh 
 McEvoy, of Dallas, Tex.; Catherine, who is engaged 
 in teaching in Dallas ; Flora, wife of Abram Davis, 
 a farmer ; Agnes, Mary, Mattie and Ella. The 
 family circle still remains unbroken, although 
 some have left the parental roof, and there are 
 also sixteen grandchildien. Of the two sons, one 
 is a farmer in McPherson County, Kan., and the 
 other is engaged in the real-estate business in 
 Canton, Kan. 
 
 It was in the autumn of 1871 that Mr. Clark re- 
 moved with his family to Illinois, coming through 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1045 
 
 Cliicago at the time the great fire was raging in 
 that city. He settled in Winnebago County, 
 purchasing a farm of one hundred and twenty 
 acres at $24 per acre, and to this he has since added 
 until now two hundred acres of valuable land pay 
 tribute to his care and cultivation. He has laid 
 eight hundred rods of tiling upon the place, has 
 erected a good residence and large barns and is 
 recognized as one of the successful agriculturists of 
 this county. He deserves all the more credit in that 
 his prosperity is due entirely to his own efforts. 
 In politics, he is a Democrat, and himself and wife 
 are members of the Presbyterian Churcli. During 
 the twenty years of their residence in this county 
 they have made many friends and are well and 
 favorably known in this community. 
 
 ^•{••{"{•♦t 
 y****? 
 
 RANCIS RUTGER was born in the Palatin- 
 ate of Bavaria, Germany, in 1829. After 
 /ii receiving a common-school education, he 
 chose teaching as his profession, and prepared 
 himself for the work at Spiers on the Rhine. The 
 troubles of 1848-49, in which he took part on the 
 liberal side, compelled him to seek a home in 
 another country, and he came to America in 1849. 
 "When the great Rebellion broke out, he enlisted in 
 the Twelfth Illinois Infantry as a private in Com- 
 pany K. With his regiment he took part in the 
 battle and siege of Ft. Donelson, and the battle 
 of Shiloh, where he was wounded. His first pro- 
 motion was to Second Lieutenant, and in the 
 spring of 1863 he was promoted to be First Lieuten- 
 ant for meritorious services rendered at Ft. Don- 
 elson and Pittsburg Landing. 
 
 In January, 1864, the regiment re-enlisted, and 
 its members returned to their homes to recruit. In 
 March of the same year, Lieut. Rutger was detailed 
 as Acting Adjutant of the regiment, which duties 
 he performed at the opening of the Georgia cam- 
 paign, taking part in all the engagements in 
 which the Second Brigade and Second Division 
 (to which the Twelfth belonged) participated. 
 Among the number were the battles of Snake 
 Creek Valley, Resaca, Altoona,Kenesaw Mountain, 
 Nickajack Creek, Atlanta, and the heroic defense 
 
 of Altoona Pass. While tlie regiment was sta- 
 tioned at Rome, Ga., in October, 1864, Lieut. Rut- 
 ger was honorably mustered out, and returned to 
 his home in Belvidere in very poor health. His 
 death occurred April 15, 1878. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married in 
 1871 was Miss Mary Case, a niece of John Case. 
 This gentleman settled in Boone County as early 
 as 1846, having been a resident of Skaneatelcs, 
 N. Y., until the Western fever seized him. He sold 
 his effects, with the exception of a few articles, 
 wiiich he put within a large closed coach, and 
 made the journey to Chicago in that vehicle, to 
 which he hitched a fine span of horses. Upon 
 reaching Chicago, he started out in search of a de- 
 sirable location, and, entering Boone County just 
 acros.s the DeKalb County line, in the town of 
 Spring, stopped at a log house which some 
 " squatter " claimed. He bought his interest in 
 the place, then returned to Chicago, where he 
 made a purchase of Government land. Afterward 
 he made several trips for the purpose of entering 
 land, the deeds to which were mostlj^ given under 
 the administration of James K. Polk. 
 
 Upon the farm where he first located, John 
 Case made his home until 1867, when he moved 
 into a house he had purchased in Oilman's Addi- 
 tion to Belvidere. In January, 1868, he passed 
 from earth at the age of eighty-four years, and his 
 remains were laid to rest in the pleasant cemetery 
 at Blood's Point, where he had expressed a desire 
 to be buried. He was one of four brothers, the 
 others being William, Ezekiel and Seth .The last- 
 named, who was the father of Mrs. Rutger, was 
 born in Massachusetts in 1800, and was of English 
 descent. In 1834, with his family, he removed 
 from the Bay State to Ohio, where he purchased a 
 tract of timber land two miles from Elyria, Lorain 
 County. Twelve years later, he went to Geauga 
 County, and purchased land in Huntsburg, where 
 he resided until 1848. At that time he removed 
 to Michigan, where he bought a comfortable home 
 in Clinton, Lenawee County. There he was be- 
 reaved by the death of his wife (whose maiden 
 name was Mary Miller), and afterward spent his 
 time in visiting his children, his death occurring 
 at the home of Mrs. Rutger. 
 
1046 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 At the time of the removal to Ohio, Mrs. Rut- 
 ger was quite young, and her early education was 
 gained in tlie schools of Lorain County. Later, 
 she attended the villageschool at Clinton, Mich., 
 and subsequently was a student in the Westfield 
 (Mass.) Academy. After completing her educa- 
 tion, she began to teacli, and was thus engaged 
 until coming to Boone County to reside with her 
 uncle. After his decease, she returned to Massa- 
 chusetts, where slie was married. She is connected 
 with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. 
 
 IjSAIAH IIIGHBARGER is numbered among 
 I the industrious, thrifty members of the farm- 
 /ll ing commvinity of Seward Township, Winne- 
 bago County, where he has an excellent farm that 
 is under good tillage, is provided with comfortable 
 buildings and yields a good income. Mr. High- 
 barger makes a specialty of breeding Short-horn 
 cattle and has several pedigreed animals. He has 
 been thus engaged for over twenty years and is so 
 managing affairs that he is making a financial suc- 
 cess of this branch of farming. 
 
 The birth of our subject tooli place in Shorts- 
 burg, AVashington Count}', Md., August 10, 1835. 
 He is tlie son of David and Leah Highbarger, also 
 natives of Maryland, who emigrated to Ogle 
 County, this State, in 1845; the father died on the 
 old farm, and the mother, surviving him many 
 years, passed away when eighty j'ears of age. The 
 maternal grandparents of our subject lived and 
 died in Pennsylvania, while on the paternal side 
 of the houses he is of Welsh and German descent. 
 
 He of whom we write when twenty-one years of 
 age left the old home and engaged to break prairie 
 by the month. Establishing a home of his own, 
 he was married, in February, 1855, to Miss Eliza- 
 beth, daughter of Henry and Mary Rhinehart, na- 
 tives of the Keystone State, but who came hither 
 from Maryland in 1846. Mr. Rhinehart was a 
 Captain in the War of 1812 and drew a pension 
 from the Government. His father, Henry Rhine- 
 hart, departed this life in Washington County, 
 Md. Mrs. Highbarger had two brotliers who par- 
 ticipated in the late war. 
 
 Tlie seven children who comprise the family 
 of our subject and his wife bear the respective 
 names of William F., Frances M., Martha, David 
 H., Ann E., Mary E. and LeMina. Mr. Highbarger 
 when taking up his present farm of two hundred 
 acres from the Government had only 825 to pay 
 for the propertj'. He borrowed the balance of the 
 money and bought soldiers' w.arrants, with which 
 he was enabled to get his land at seventy-five cents 
 per acre. 
 
 A Republican in politics, our subject cast his first 
 vote for Zachary Taylor. With his wife, he is a 
 member of the Presbyterian Church, in which body 
 he has been a Trustee ever since its organization 
 in his neighborhood. He has been successful m 
 worldly affairs and in gaining the esteem of his 
 fellow-men, to whom his honesty and kindliness 
 are well known. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 r-^tJ-.*-^ 
 
 "#!• 
 
 ETER G. BOWMAN, a shipping clerk and 
 / one of the stockholders of the Forest City 
 Knitting Company, was born in Sweden, 
 January 6, 1838, and is a son of Andrew 
 Peterson, who with his family crossed the Atlantic 
 to America in 1852. They sailed from Gottenburg 
 on the 19th of April and landed in New York the 
 30th of May. They came at once to St. Charles, 
 111., and there the father died at the age of forty- 
 five years, only a few months after his arrival. 
 His wife afterwards married a Mr. Bowman, a 
 Swedish gentleman, who died while in the service 
 during the War of the Rebellion. She then mar- 
 ried Robert Welton, who is now deceased, and at 
 this writing makes her home with her daughter, 
 Mrs. Long, of Rockford. Although now eighty 
 years of age she is very well preserved. 
 
 On coming to the United States, our subject set- 
 tled in Kane County, 111., where he resided for 
 some time. He first came to Rockford in 1865, but 
 subsequently removed to Chicago, where he en- 
 gaged in the grocery business until 1885. He then 
 returned to Rockford and for some time was con- 
 nected with Mr. Muntlie in the real-estate business 
 and yet owns an interest in an addition. He is 
 now shipping clerk for the Forest City Knitting 
 
fr-— ^Jj-si.. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1049 
 
 Company, with which he has been eounected since 
 its organization and is also one of the stockholders. 
 While residing in Chicago, Mr. Bowman was 
 united in marriage with Miss Sophia Floren, who 
 was horn and reared in the same province in 
 Sweden as her husband. When a young lady, she 
 crossed the broad Atlantic to America and made her 
 home in Chicago until after marriage. She has 
 been a true wife and helpmate to Mr. Bowman and 
 by her efforts has aided him materially. They have 
 two children, a son and daughter: Robert G., an 
 enterprising young man, employed in the works of 
 the Nelson Knitting Company; and Anna who is 
 still at home. The family have a pleasant home, 
 which is the old Sylvester Scott property on the 
 east bank of Rock River. The household is the 
 abode of hospitality and the members of the family 
 rank high in the social circles in which tliey move. 
 Mr. Bowman may well be called a self-made man 
 for whatever success he has achieved in life is due 
 entirely to his own efforts. By his industrj' and 
 enterprise he has worked liis way upward and has 
 acquired a good property. 
 
 »n».» l ^ W T.>. 
 
 ^ifOHN NELSON was one of the most promi- 
 nent citizens of Winnebago County. No 
 man ever resided in Rocfcford that left 
 behind him a memory more revered than 
 that of our subject, and this work would be incom- 
 plete without his sketch and the accompanying 
 portrait. He was born in West Gothland, Sweden, 
 April 5, 1830, and at a very early age became a 
 spinning-wheel maker. His father had died when 
 our subject was quite young. His mother was left 
 a poor widow, but she was a woman exceedingly 
 intelligent, and possessed of much natural ability 
 to penetrate the deep mysteries of complicated ma- 
 chinery, and this trait was inherited by her son. 
 
 When twenty-two years of age, John Nelson 
 bade good-bye to his old home, and crossed the 
 Atlantic from Gottenburg, arriving in New York 
 City after a voyage of six weeks. He at once 
 came Westward, and made his first home in St. 
 Charles, 111. While there, he married an intelligent, 
 pleasant and a' tractive young lady who had come 
 47 
 
 over in the same ship with him Their friendly 
 acquaintance formed on the vessel ripened into 
 love, and on the 4th of November, 1854, John 
 Nelson and Eva Christina Peterson were married. 
 She was born in West Gothland, Sweden, May 6, 
 1834, and is a sister of Mrs. Andrew Long, of this 
 city. 
 
 Our subject came to Rockford in 1852, and for 
 a time was a designer and pattern and model 
 maker. He did business irl connection with Mi'. 
 Ghent, and later was in partnership with A. C. 
 Johnson and Gust HoUem in the sash and door 
 manufacturing business. After the war, Mr. Nelson 
 was induced to go South, and in connection with 
 Gustaf Burgland, of Water Valley, Bliss., began 
 business at that place, but, not liking the people or 
 the climate, he soon returned to Rockford. His 
 active brain, during all these years, was working 
 out the plan of one of the most intricate machines 
 that has ever been invented, the Nelson Knitting 
 Machine, which has entirely revolutionized the 
 knitting of hosiery. The machinery is so complete 
 that hose are now made at about two cents per 
 dozen pair. Just about the time he had completed 
 his great discovery, he was called from this life, 
 dying April 15, 1883. His death was mourned by 
 all who knew him, for he was not only a great in- 
 ventor, but was a most worthy citizen and honora- 
 ble man. His concentration of thought was such 
 that he found it almost impossible to sleep at 
 night, and so his constitution, never very strong, 
 was undermined. He was a natural born mechanic, 
 and from his early boyhood his mind was filled 
 with ideas that gave promise of the rich fulfill- 
 ment of his mature years. His life was spent 
 as that of a true Christian, and we feel safe in saj'- 
 ing that no death was more deeply regretted in 
 Rockford than that of our subject's. 
 
 Mrs. Nelson still survives her husband. She 
 was ever a true helpmate to him and a faithful 
 and loving wife. Since his death, with the aid of 
 her children, she has developed a splendid busi- 
 ness from that started by her husband, and the 
 success of the machine is indicated by the follow- 
 ing incident: After President Grant had made his 
 tour around the world, he came to Rockford and 
 visited the shops of the Nelson Knitting Com^ 
 
1050 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pan}'. After looking over the machinery and see- 
 ing the wonderful work, he boldly declared that 
 after all his tour of the great world, including a 
 visit to the large cities and factories, he had never 
 seen an3'thing to equal this. Then picking up a 
 pair of the hose as they dropped from the machine, 
 he walked away. 
 
 The Nelson family once numbered seven chil- 
 dren, but two are now deceased. Alfred, who died 
 at the age of thirty-three years, inherited his 
 father's genius, and invented some necessary im- 
 provements, especially that for widening the leg 
 of the hose as it is being knitted. He was 
 known as a worthy and most promising young 
 man. He left a wife of a year, who is now living 
 in Colorado. Fritz died in childhood; William 
 and Oscar are represented elsewhere in this work. 
 Fritz is associated with his brothers in many of the 
 enterprises with which the Nelson boys are con- 
 nected, and John is a promising young man, also 
 interested in business. Anna C, who completes 
 the family, is an intelligent and entertaining 
 young lady residing with her mother. What the 
 Nelson family has done for Rockf ■ rd cannot be 
 estimated, for they have set in motion business in- 
 dustries whose good effect can only be measured 
 by time. 
 
 'jfj OIIN HUTCHINS, who is now living a re- 
 tired life at No. 308 North Third Street, 
 ^p. has been a resident of Rockford since 1855. 
 ^^l' He was born on the Isle of Man in .January, 
 1838, and is a son of Charles Hutchins, who was 
 also born on the Isle of Man, as was the grandfa- 
 ther, Isaac Hutchins. The latter there spent his 
 entire life as a fisherman and farmer. The former 
 is the onlj' surviving child of his parents. He grew 
 to manhood on his native isle and followed the 
 business of cabinet-making and carpentering for 
 many years. He is now eighty-six years of age 
 but is still hale and hearty. He is over six feet in 
 height and portly, and the infirmities of age rest 
 lightly upon him. His wife is eighty-four years of 
 age. In her maidenhood she was Jane Callin, and 
 
 was also born on the Isle of Man. Both Mr. and 
 Mrs. HiHchins are members of the Methodist 
 Church. Their family numbered six children, one 
 of whom died in Africa of the African fever. The 
 others are still living. 
 
 In his native land our subject acquired a com- 
 mon-school education and there remained until 
 seventeen j'ears of age, when he determined to try 
 his fortune in the New World. He crossed the 
 broad Atlantic in 1855, being the first of the family 
 to come to the United States. Making his first lo- 
 cation in Rockford, he here served an apprentice- 
 ship to the blacksmith's trade under Mr. Jockings, 
 for whom he afterward worked one year, and then 
 established a smithj- at No. 510 East State Street, 
 at the head of Kishwaukee Street. After two years 
 he removed his shop and built the large brick 
 block on East State Street, 44x84 feet. He has 
 been very successful in his business career, and in 
 connection with his trade has become a stockholder 
 in the Rockford Burial Case Company and also in 
 the Rockford Watch Case Company. 
 
 In Guilford Township, Mr. Hutchins was united 
 in marriage with Miss Hannah Black, who was 
 born in Palermo, Canada, April 5, 1843, and there 
 resided until eighteen years of age, when she came 
 to Illinois, locating in Guilford Township. She is 
 a daughter of Alex and Orpha (Smith) Black, the 
 former a native of New Brunswick and the latter 
 of Canada. They were married in Palermo, Canada, 
 and afterward came to Illinois, locating on a good 
 farm in Guilford Township, which they made their 
 home for some time and then removed to Rock- 
 ford, where they spent their last da js in retirement. 
 Mr. Black died in 1883, when past the age of 
 seventy years, and Mrs. Black died in 1887, at the 
 age of seventy-seven years. They were members 
 of the Methodist Church. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hutchins have been born three children, but one 
 died in infancy. Daniel, who graduated from the 
 High School of Rockford, is now studying sten- 
 ography and type- writing in a business college; and 
 Charles, also a graduate of the High School, is pur- 
 suing a course of study in the Rockford Business 
 College. 
 
 The parents of this family hold membership in 
 the Methodist Church and give liberally to its 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1051 
 
 support. They are well-known people in this com- 
 munity, and are held in high regard by their many 
 friends and acquaintances. Mr. Hutchins has led 
 a busy and useful life and is now enjoying the 
 fruits of his former labor. 
 
 ^=^^«-^"i^ilM#& 
 
 JETER FLEMING was born in Washington 
 ) County, Ohio, December 25, 1817. His 
 parents were Jesse and Eleanor (Collins) 
 
 1 1, Fleming and his paternal grandmother, 
 who came from Ireland to this country, died in 
 the above-named county and State when eighty- 
 years of age. The father of our subject, it is 
 thought, was also a native of the Buckeye State, 
 where he carried on farming and departed this life 
 in his seventy-eighth year. His mother was born 
 near Baltimore, Md., and died on the old homestead 
 in Ohio when seventy-two years of age. The par- 
 ents were old pioneers of Ohio, and were highly 
 respected throughout their community as people 
 whose principles, intelligence, and habits afforded 
 a worthy example to those about them. 
 
 He of whom we write assisted his father in carry- 
 ing on the farm until fifteen years of age when he 
 went to Newport, Ohio, and for two months was 
 engaged in working out on farms. He tlien learned 
 the cooper's trade which he prosecuted until his 
 marriage, September 23, 1841, at whicli time Miss 
 Betsey A. Lackey became his wife. Mrs. Pleming 
 was born December 21, 1814, in Swanton, Franklin 
 County, Vt., and was the daughter of Isaac and 
 Hannah (Wright) Lackey. Her father was a native 
 of Connecticut and spent his last days in Ohio, his 
 death occurring at the advanced age of ninety-two 
 years. The mother hailed from Massachusetts and 
 also departed this life in Ohio, when in her seven- 
 ty-eighth year. The Wright fam ily were of Eng- 
 lish descent and were generally well-to-do farmers. 
 Isaac Lackey was a patriot in the War of 1812. 
 Mrs. Fleming is a descendant of the celebrated 
 Peabody family, and on both sides of the house 
 our subject comes of people who were noted for 
 their longevity. 
 
 After his marriage our subject came to Durand, 
 this county, and purchased land upon which he 
 
 resided until February, 1891. At that time he sold 
 out and bought his present home iu Pecatoniea 
 village, where he ranks among the intelligent and 
 progressive citizens. Mr. Fleming poUtically sup- 
 ported the principles of the Democratic party, as 
 likewise did his father, but otherwise devoted his 
 time and attention to his private affairs. He cast 
 his first vote for Pi-esident Polk. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Fleming have had born to them eight 
 children and adopted a son, Charlie Hill, who went 
 to California and died at the age of twenty-two 
 years. The eldest daughter, Adelaide, was born 
 December 18, 1842, and is now Mrs. Edmund Der- 
 weut, Jr., and has two children: Marietta, who was 
 born January 23, 1845, married Charles Redding- 
 ton and is the mother of two sons and two daugh- 
 ters; Annette, whose birth occurred May 29, 1848, 
 became the wife of H. B. Farewell, and had born 
 to her two children, one of whom is deceased; 
 Delight, who was born October 3, 1849, married 
 John Frederick who died in Oakland, Cal., when 
 forty-throe years of age, leaving two sons; Alice, 
 now Mrs. John C. Ross, was born August 6, 1851, 
 and is the mother of two sons and two daugh- 
 ters. The remaining children of the family died 
 when young. They have all been given good edu- 
 cations in the Rockford and Pecatoniea schools and 
 with one exception liave been school teachers. 
 
 The family is now living retired in the village, 
 where they have a pleasant and attractive home 
 and are respected and useful members of the com- 
 munitj'. 
 
 ■jj^ORMAN JUDD. This old pioneer of Win- 
 I jjj nebago County was born March 4, 1828, in 
 111 /^ Sandusky Count}', Ohio, and was the son 
 of Jasen and Rebecca (Shaw) Judd, natives of the 
 Empire State. The family moved to Ohio, where 
 they resided until 1839, at which time thej- came 
 to this county and located on a claim in Durand 
 Township. The father disposed of the property a 
 year later and took up another claim on section 23, 
 which was his home at the time of his decease in 
 1863. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jasen Judd had a family of six 
 
1052 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 children: Nancy, Maria, Nelson, Norman, Laura 
 and Emeline. Our subject was reared on the home 
 farm and attended the district schools of that 
 earl}' day. He remained with his parents until at- 
 taining his majority, and on starting out in life 
 for himself purchased forty acres of land, upon 
 which he erected good buildings and made other 
 modern improvements. Three years later, he re- 
 moved to another farm, on which he resided for 
 the following fourteen years. In the spring of 
 1883, he moved to the village of Durand and built 
 the pleasant home which he now occupies. He is 
 the owner of considerable farm lands, having in 
 Clay County, Iowa, a tract of one hundred and 
 forty-three acres. 
 
 Norman Judd and Miss Sarah B. Miller were 
 united in marriage, August 14, 1856. The lady 
 was born in Franklin County, Pa., September 23, 
 1829, and departed this life October 12, 1859, leav- 
 ing one daughter and one son: Ellen L., who was 
 born July 17, 1857, died October 3, 1885, after 
 having become the wife of Andy Golley, of Rock- 
 ford, 111., and they had one child, Ella J.; Ansel 
 Norman, the son, was born August 31, 1858, and 
 died in infancy. 
 
 The lady whom our subject chose for his second 
 wife was Mrs. Harriet L. Hart, nee Ely. Their 
 marriage was celebrated December 21, 1860. Mrs. 
 Judd was the daughter of Elisha and Charlotte 
 (Chapman) Ely, natives of Connecticut; her birth 
 occurred in Westbrook, that State, April 5, 1830. 
 Her father removed to Madison County, N. Y., in 
 1835, the mother having died in Connecticut two 
 years previously. Mr. Ely then married a sister of 
 his first wife. Miss Electa Ann Chapman, and died in 
 Madison County, in September, 1863. By his first 
 union were born three children : Harriet L., Henry, 
 and one who died in infancy. Of his second un- 
 ion five children were born: Henry E., a soldier 
 during the late war in a New York regiment, died 
 in the service; Charlotte M., Mrs. A. E. Van Tassel; 
 Fannie E., who married David Bcbee; Frederick A., 
 a resident of Oregon City, and George C, who also 
 makes his home in that place. 
 
 Mrs. Judd, while residing in New York, was 
 married to L. D. Hart in 1851, by whom she became 
 the mother of one daughter, Frances C, now the 
 
 wife of Charles Crain, of Stockton, Kan. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Crain have eight children: May Bell, George 
 C, Bertha M., Hattie, John, Lottie, Nora and Nor- 
 man. The only daughter born to our subject and 
 his wife was Isabel J., who was born September 26, 
 1861; she was married to Frank Sheik, and died 
 April 1, 1884. 
 
 Our subject for four years was a successful shoe 
 merchant in Durand. He is now retired. In poli- 
 tics, he votes with the Republican party and has 
 been Treasurer of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance 
 Company. In religious matters, he is a devoted 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 USTIN COLTON. We are pleased to pre- 
 sent to our readers the following account 
 (!) of the life of this gentleman, sketched by 
 himself in fulfillment of a resolution passed 
 by the Rockford Society of Early Settlers, about 
 the year 1878, calling for personal reminiscences of 
 every member, to be placed on the file of the soci- 
 ety. 
 
 "Austin Colton was born in the town of North- 
 ampton, Hampshire County, Mass., January 30, 
 1817, and is a descendant of the sixth generation 
 from George Colton, who came from the vicinity 
 of Birmingham, England, about 1860. My pro- 
 genitors from George Colton bore, in the following 
 order, the ancient Scriptural names of Isaac, Ben- 
 jamin, Aaron and Reuben, the latter being my 
 father's name, and the list plainly denoting a 
 patriarchal religious reverence, and why, in finding 
 a name for me, the grand old Bible line should 
 have been abandoned, I cannot divine, unless it was 
 in special admiration of that unflinching champion 
 of Calvinistic dogmas. Dr. Austin, who created a 
 current of commotion in the Christian world about 
 that time and toward whose doctrines my parents 
 were somewhat inclined. 
 
 "My father, Reuben, like many others when strug- 
 gling against severe pecuniary pressure, was seized 
 with the notion that he could change, if not im- 
 prove, his circumstances by emigration, and so, 
 after finding his financial affairs considerably de- 
 moralized on the proclamation of peace with Great 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1053 
 
 Britain, following the War of 1812, took up his line 
 of march from his home in Hartford, Conn., to 
 Northampton, Mass. This was then a long way to 
 emigrate, and the Connecticut River Valley was 
 the only attractive region inviting the course 
 of the emigrant. My father being a mirror-frame 
 maker and gilder by trade, it was here that he 
 again tried lo lighten the burdens of life at his oc- 
 cupation, but with such a lack of proper materials 
 and tools that I have heard my mother say he 
 sometimes had to whittle out and joint even his 
 best jobs with a pocket-knife. 
 
 "It was in the midst of such parental privations, 
 and during that severe winter of 1816-17, that I 
 first drew the breath of life. After rowing against 
 the unseen tide of success until 1830, my father, 
 in connection with a company of his neighbors, 
 again conceived the idea that he could better him- 
 self and familj' by a removal to a Western home, 
 which country was then designated as Ohio, Ind- 
 iana and Southern Illinois (this northern part be- 
 ing then Indian Territory), famous for beauty and 
 fertility. In 1830, he was sent out as an exploring 
 agent for his neighbors. He worked his way in 
 various modes through Northern Ohio and Indiana 
 to St. Louis, and reported generally in favorable 
 terms of the country he had passed. On returning 
 a little further northward through the village of 
 Niles, Mich., then about three years old, he was 
 taken suddenly ill from fatigue and exposure, and 
 there died, without being sufficiently conscious to 
 disclose even his name or whence he came. 
 
 "The surprise and shock of this bereavement were 
 the complete reversal of our family plans. I was 
 then thirteen years of age and the eldest of three 
 sons by the second wife of my father. At this 
 period, my school days ceased and I had no further 
 instruction in that line than what was gained by 
 private application and experience. Instead of be- 
 ing directed Westward for farm life, I was dis- 
 patched Eastward fifty miles to Worcester, as an 
 apprentice to the printing business, in the office of 
 the Massachusetts Spy, a weekly patriotic paper 
 establisiied by Isaiah Thomas before the Revolu- 
 tion. It is yet prosperously published, being 
 consequently more than a century old, and at 
 that time my eldest half-brother was its managing 
 
 printer and partner. Thus early separated from 
 the enjoyments of home by the necessities of a 
 livelihood, it was the last I fully experienced of 
 the joy and independence of that institution until 
 lodged in one of my own creation in this delight- 
 ful prairie land. 
 
 "After serving a seven-years' apprenticeship,dur- 
 ing the most of the early part of which I was a 
 mere "hewer of wood and drawer of water" for 
 my more elevated associates, I attained my major- 
 ity and was honorably graduated. Spending about 
 two years working as a journeyman printer in 
 Worcester and the city of New York, being em- 
 ployed in the latter place for a time in Harper's 
 book establishment, and finding my health, which 
 had never been robust, was more and more giving 
 way by long, steady indoor confinement, I resolved 
 to shape vay course Westward to Illinois for ex- 
 emption from dubious Eastern prospects. Having 
 no particular place selected as the end of my jour- 
 ney, I was drawn hitherward by a brother-in-law, 
 whose glowing desc;iption of the place had aroused 
 ray eager desire to witness its beauties and re- 
 sources. Mentioning my resolution to my friends, 
 one of them, in deference to his views of its dis- 
 tance and possible desolation, ventured to remark 
 that he did not suppose I "intended to go out there 
 to live." To which I replied, "Certainly, or else to 
 die," for in my then state of health, I considered 
 the latter as probable as the former. 
 
 "I left friends and native State in April, 1839, 
 for the Far West, as this region was then called, 
 with all my earthly effects about my person or 
 contained in a small, square, black trunk,' among 
 which might have been found two ver}^ useful as 
 well as portable articles for pioneer duty, a helve- 
 less axe and a hoe. I also had about $100 in cash, 
 the accumulated savings of my eight or nine ye.ars 
 of Eastern toil. After a quick passage of thirty 
 days, via New York City, North River, Erie Canal 
 by boat to Detroit, thence across the State of Mich- 
 igan by wagon and on foot to St. .Joseph, and by 
 schooner across Lake Michigan, I reached Chicago 
 early in May, with the very economical reduction 
 of about sixty per cent, of my capital. Tarrying 
 there for two or three weeks in a plain wooden 
 shantjr called the Tremont House, and working in 
 
1054 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the interval on the Chicago American, under 
 the editorship of Mr. Stewart, but afterward trans- 
 formed into the present Journal, I found a team- 
 ster from Rockford, named Albert Sanford, who 
 agreed to bring me here within the lapse of four 
 days for $6, providing I would aid in lightening 
 him over the measureless sloughs. 
 
 "Embarking on the doubtful voyage, I arrived 
 here, only to find that my brother was about four- 
 teen miles down the river, nearly opposite tlie 
 present town of Byron. That evening I started 
 on my tramp for that point, procuring my ginger- 
 bread supper at the baking institution of our then 
 bachelor settlers, Wyman & Houghton, located on 
 Main Street, near tlie present Northwestern Rail- 
 road bridge. Between nine and ten o'clock that 
 night, I arrived opposite my brother's cabin, and 
 was charitably paddled across the river in a dug- 
 out by a settler named Norton. It was tliere on the 
 fair banks of the Rock River that I first ensconsed 
 myself amid the bliss and beauties of practical 
 ■'squatter sovereignty ' ' for a few weeks. So charmed 
 was I by the attractions of the country that I re- 
 solved to settle thereabouts. By invitation of a 
 resident, I next visited the region of the Pecaton- 
 ica River and, finding in the vicinity of what is 
 now called Elton a group of settlers of the New 
 England stamp, I was induced to take up a claim 
 there. I began to ply the pioneer's vocation of 
 log-building, fencing and farming, following it 
 about four years without being burdened with ex- 
 cessive profits. 
 
 "At that time, T received a call from the publisher 
 of the Winnebago Forum (whicli had been issued 
 weekly for about six months by J. A. Wight) to 
 come down to Rockford and take charge of his 
 subscribers, numbering two hundred. My health 
 had become well established and I was beginning 
 to feel willing to cope with almost any difficulty 
 or antagonism. At this post, I battled for nearly 
 eleven years, laboring for the advancement of the 
 best local interests of our charming city and 
 county, but with what success I leave others to 
 determine. 
 
 "I might revert to many pleasing, as well as pain- 
 ful, reminiscences of those different departments of 
 life during those years, but they are too numerous, 
 
 and perhaps inappropriate to a personal sketch. 
 Suffice it to say that that period (1843) witnessed 
 our now model town with but the weak and irregu- 
 lar outlines of infancy, yet of growing strength, 
 while our now first-class State was dragging her 
 financial character and rich resources in the slug- 
 gish slough of debt and despond, with rank repudi- 
 ation proclaimed by partisans. Those were also the 
 da^'S when to avow the superiority of railroads, 
 water-wheels and steam engines for the swiftest and 
 sureest developme ntof the material State, over the 
 old-time notions of turnpike, plank roads, inland 
 navigation and traffic on questionable streams, was 
 to be esteemed little else than an impracticable 
 theorist. Well do I remem.ber that some years after 
 this date, when, on such presumptions we were 
 calmly awaiting the grave destiny of our town, 
 some of the solid savants of its Government had 
 undertaken to engineer a channel through the 
 rocks forming the ford in Rock River, under where 
 the present dam and railroad bridges now stand, 
 at a cost of $1,500, the more rapidlj' to pour into 
 our hand? the mighty wealth of other lands, under 
 which our then expected wharves were to be bur- 
 dened. 
 
 "About 1853, finding the incessant claims upon 
 my time and strength were again beginning to tell 
 upon my health, and foreseeing that the demands 
 and responsibilities of my position must increase 
 with the growth of the town and county; and also 
 fully realizing the thankless predicament of the 
 dual publisher and printer, as well as pecuniarily 
 considering that I had long enough "written for 
 glory and printed on trust," I concluded to abdi- 
 cate my plice at the first suitable opportunitj'. 
 This soon occurred, and near the close of that 
 year I disposed of m}' establishment to E. W. 
 Blaisdell, Jr., who soon after changed into the Be- 
 publican the old time-tried Forum, which had in- 
 creased from about two hundred to six hundred 
 subscribers. It maj' not be amiss to notice that 
 while the Forum was the first successful paper pub- 
 lished in this town, it was not the first started here, 
 it having been preceded hy attempts on the Fk- 
 press, Star and Pilot, all of which yielded after a 
 trial of a year or less. For a period of about two 
 years, I rusticated and reflected, and also reached 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1055 
 
 the second of the three eras in man's existence 
 worth heeding, by finding and wedding, in May, 
 1856, my "better half," Harriet S. Fowler, only 
 daughter of Royal Fowler, of Westfleld, Mass. 
 From this union there are now living three cher- 
 ished sons and one daughter. 
 
 "From this time, I gradually promoted myself 
 into the useful and invigorating, if not popular, 
 calling of a farmer, and, having some wild acres 
 lying uselessly outside the city limits, I set myself 
 about the business of clearing the land, and for the 
 last twenty years have humbly and obscurely yet 
 cheerfully and healthfully followed up the pursuit 
 until I have made or improved no less than six 
 different farms since my residence in this county. 
 This, if not having yielded more than the usual 
 meagre money returns of such vocations, at least 
 affords me the pleasurable pride of having been of 
 some use to my fellow-men, according to the declar- 
 ation of another that "He who causeth two blades 
 of grass to grow where but one grew before, is a 
 public benefactor." 
 
 "And now, having passed the three-score goal of 
 life, and taking a retrospective glance over its va- 
 riegated fields, fully realizing the rapid transition 
 from that stage when myself and my now gray- 
 haired brother settlers, were all a band of free ac- 
 quaintances, strong in the impulses of youth or 
 manhood's prime, in the noble endeavor to build 
 up those institutions of public good now about 
 us; when, on sight, the familiar term of greeting to 
 me was "How do you do, boy?" to what it is now, 
 threading our busy streets as a comparative stran- 
 ger to the jostling multitudes, with perhaps the 
 careless, as well as valueless, salutation from the 
 later generation, or a careless loafer, of "How do 
 you do, old man?" Conscious of fast nearing the 
 most remote boundary of human life, when I 
 reach the uttermost limit vouchsafed me, and 
 yield my dust again to Mother Earth who gave it 
 me, may I 
 
 "Go not like the quarry slave at night, 
 Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and 
 
 soothed 
 By an unfaltering trust, approach my grave. 
 Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
 About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 
 
 "Craving no sculptured shaft of marble or granite 
 to emblazon virtues I may never have possessed, I 
 would rather prefer a thrifty tree or shrub for my 
 monument, as a living emblem of my love of nature 
 when on earth; and no worthier inscription,chlselled 
 by grateful memory on the heart's tablet of future 
 generations when basking amid the privileges and 
 pleasures we, as pioneers, helped to plant, than 
 that of " 'An Early Settler.' " 
 
 The biographer wishes to add a few lines to the 
 above. Mrs. Colton, whose life has been devoted 
 to her husband and children, and who is highly 
 esteemed, was born and reared in Westfield, Mass., 
 and is a daughter of Royal Fowler, a native 
 of the old Bay State who belonged to a substan- 
 tial and old family of New England people. Mr. 
 Fowler died in Westfield, Mass., when more than 
 eighty years of age. His wife was Miss Harriet 
 Smith, who was descended from an old family of 
 seafaring people in New Haven. Mrs. Colton was 
 carefully reared and educated at the "Westfield 
 (Mass.) Academy, and has been closely identified 
 with the social, religious and charitable institutions 
 of Rockford and is revered for the goodness of 
 heart which has characterized her life. She is the 
 mother of eight children, four of whom died in 
 infancy. The living areas follows: Albert L., who 
 married Edith Pitney, of Rockford, and resides on 
 one of his father's farms; A.. Lincoln, who resides 
 at home and is engaged in the grain and feed trade; 
 Miriam M., an amiable and accomplished young 
 lady, who is also at home; Royal F., a practical civil 
 engineer, formerly a student in Cornell University, 
 and now associated with the Rockford Construc- 
 tion Company. Mr. Colton is held in highest es- 
 teem for the aid he has given to the upbuilding of 
 Rockford, and he and his family are numbered 
 among the most prominent residents of the county. 
 
 <S^DWIN J. SCHOOLCRAFT, propietor and 
 11^ editor of the Durand Weekly Clipper, is a 
 /I' — ^ native of this place, having been born July 
 11, 1867. He is a son of James Schoolcraft, who 
 was born in St. Armand, Canada, November 9, 
 1816. He was reared a farmer, and February 1, 
 
1056 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1865, on removing to Franklin, Vt., was married 
 to Sarah A. Rogers, who was born in that place 
 June 28, 1830. Soon after his marriage, the elder 
 Mr. Schoolcraft came to Illinois and located in 
 Duraud Township. Here he resided until 1882, 
 when he removed to tlie village, where his demise 
 occurred September 30, 1889. 
 
 The original of this sketch received his primary 
 education in the district schools, which was after- 
 ward supplemented by attendance at school in the 
 village of Durand. In 1888, he engaged to learn 
 the printer's trade by working in ofllccs in Durand, 
 and Beloit, Wis. April 10, 1890, he purchased a 
 printing outfit and commenced publishing The 
 C'JIpppr at Durand. The paper is a six-column 
 folio and finds its way into many homes through- 
 out the county. It is a news^^, neatly printed 
 sheet and, although its owner is quite young in 
 the business, he is becoming well known through- 
 out this section .as a gentleman of ability who is 
 destined to make his mark in the newspaper world. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Schoolcraft were members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church, and also be- 
 longed to the Independent Order of Good Tem- 
 lars, and bore a part in every movement which 
 would upbuild their community. The paternal 
 grandparents of our su))ject were Peter and Mary 
 Schoolcraft, while on his mother's side they bore 
 the respective names of John and Rebecca Rogers. 
 
 ♦^♦= 
 
 ^ 
 
 /"^ 
 
 •^ •!•=♦ 
 
 rDWlN C. LAWRIiNCE, as a farmer of 
 large experience, gi-eat capability, and pru- 
 
 E 
 
 IV — ^ dence in the management of his affairs, is 
 considered one of the most successful of the well- 
 to-do agriculturists who are active in pushing for- 
 ward the material interests of Boone County in 
 general and of Bonus Townshi[) in particular. 
 
 Cuba, Allegany County, N. Y., was the native 
 place of our subject, where his birth occurred Oc- 
 tober 23, 1826. He is the son of John and Lydia 
 (Sweet) Lawrence, the former of whom was a son 
 of Isaac Lawrence, a native of Massachusetts. The 
 grandfather of our subject, and his brother John, 
 participated in the battle of Bunker Hill, where 
 the latter was killed. Isaac died in Pompey, N. Y., 
 
 in his sixty-second year. His good wife also passed 
 away in the Empire State, when seventy years of 
 age. 
 
 John Lawrence, the father of our subject, was 
 born in Middlesex County, Mass., and remained at 
 home until nineteen years of age, at which time he 
 was married, and, removing to Onondaga County, 
 N. Y., lived there until 1822. Later, making his 
 home in Allegany County, he followed the calling 
 of a farmer, and was quite prominent in local af- 
 fairs, having served as Constable at a time when 
 men were imprisoned for debt. In the spring of 
 1837, in company with a son, the elder Mr. Law- 
 rence came to Boone Count}', where they purchased 
 land, erected a log house, and in the fall returned 
 East, and brought his wife and five children to 
 their new home. 
 
 He of whom we write is residing at the present 
 time on the farm which was taken up from the 
 Government as early as 1 836. He had two brothers 
 who came here at that time, who helped in clearing 
 the home farm. The father, in 1839, built a new 
 house to take the place of the log cabin, and hav- 
 ing brought a few household goods with him, tlie 
 family were made quite comfortable. He landed 
 here with but fifty cents in cash, but, going to work 
 with a will, soon had the satisfaction of seeing his 
 land doubled and trebled in value. 
 
 While residing in New York, John Lawrence was 
 greatly interested in jjolitics, and on coming to 
 Boone County served as Justice of the Peace for a 
 number of years, and also held other responsible 
 positions. He was an old-line Whig politically, 
 and, on the organization of the Republican party, 
 voted for Fremont. He died on the home farm 
 when eighty-nine years of age, leaving a family 
 of nine children, and an estate which comprised 
 ninety-eight acres. Mrs. Lawrence owns two hun- 
 dred and thirty acres of v.aluable land which is 
 also included in the home property. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Lydia Sweet. She was born in Saratoga, N. Y., 
 and departed this life on the old farm when eighty- 
 six years of age. She was the daughter of David 
 and Deborah (Stafford) Sweet, also natives of the 
 Empire State, where they lived and died. The 
 lady to whom our subject was married on the 29th 
 
'f <■■*,* 
 
 
 
 
 ,^-,. 
 
 ^;W7>-Pi^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOORAVHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1059 
 
 of October, 1856, was Miss Charlotte Hurd, a native 
 of Vermont. She died in Bonus Township when 
 twenty-seven years of age, and February 7, 1867, 
 Mr. Lawrence was married to Sarah Jane Bennett, 
 whose birth occurred April 12, 1838, in Groton, 
 Mass. Slie is a sister of J. H. Bennett, whose 
 sketch will appear on another page of this work. 
 By lier union with our subject have been born four 
 children, viz.: John S., whose birth occurred Sep- 
 tember 25, 1868; Charlotte M., who was born De- 
 cember 7, 1869; Mary L., who was born February 
 8, 1873, and James B., who was born September 14, 
 1874. The children have all been given good ed- 
 ucations, two of them being graduates of the Bel- 
 videre schools. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence has expended more than $2,500 in 
 building his fine farm residence and accompanying 
 outbuildings. In politics, he is a Republican, and 
 held the office of School Director for a number of 
 yeai-s. The father of our subject was a soldier in 
 the War of 1812, and when mustered out was 
 given a land warrant. The Lawrence family is 
 of English descent, our subject being able to trace 
 the record back to John Lawrence, who came over 
 in the "Mayflower" in 1620. Mr. Lawrence has a 
 high standing in the county as a thorough-going 
 farmer and business man, and is greatly respected 
 in the most cultured circles of this part of the 
 county. His wife, who presides over his home, is 
 sharing with him the esteem and regard of their 
 neighbors. 
 
 i>-^^<! 
 
 '(a?== '' 
 
 \ OHN McDERMAID, a well-known manufac- 
 turer of Rockford, who for many years has 
 ^_x I been connected with the business interests 
 ^^l) of this city, was born in Argyleshire, Scot- 
 land, and is a son of Malcolm and Betsy (Mc- 
 Eachin) McDermaid, both of whom were natives of 
 the same county, and there spent their early lives. 
 After their children were all born and reared, they 
 came to this country, locating in Otsego, N. Y., 
 where the death of the father occurred at the age 
 of sixty-five years. His wife is still living in the 
 Empire State, at the age of seventy, and is an in- 
 telligent and active old lady. She has been a life- 
 
 long member of the Presbyterian Church, as was 
 her husband. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject, whose portrait is shown on the opposite 
 page. At the early age of twelve years, he went 
 to sea, and for many years followed a seafaring 
 life. He rose from the position of an apprentice- 
 boy to an able seaman, and worked on a trans- At- 
 lantic merchant vessel from 1858 to 1865, except 
 when he was in the army. In the spring of 1863, 
 he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and 
 Fourth New York Regiment, at Buffalo, and the 
 following year was transfei'red to the naval ser- 
 vice at Mitchell Station, Va., on the Rapidan 
 River. He did service as a seaman on the Gulf 
 Coast until September, 1865, when the ship was 
 taken out of commission, and the soldiers dis- 
 charged. The vessel "Otsego," on which he had 
 first sailed, was blown up December 9, 1864, near 
 the coast of South Carolina, and he was transferred 
 to the United States ship "Mattabassett," on which 
 he served until the close of the war. He had been 
 made Captain of a gun as soon as he went on 
 board the vessel "Otsego," and shortly afterward 
 received promotion, being at the time of his dis- 
 charge Captain of the foretop and drill-master. 
 
 After coming to this country, Mr. McDermaid 
 was united in marriage to Miss Isabelle Ralston, 
 who was born in Argyleshire, Scotland, and dur- 
 ing her girlhood came to this country with her fa- 
 ther, Andrew Ralston, who is now deceased. Her 
 mother is now living in Caledonia Station, at an 
 advanced age. She is a member of the Presby- 
 terian Church, to which Mr. Ralston also belonged. 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. McDermaid have been born 
 seven children: liizzie, an intelligent young lady, 
 acting as her father's secretary; William and Dan- 
 iel, who are employed by their father; Robert, Ma- 
 bel and Howard. The mother and her daughter 
 Lizzie are members of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Mr. McDermaid is an honored member of the 
 Odd Fellows' society, with which he has been con- 
 nected for a quarter of a century, and also belongs 
 to G. L. Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R. In politics, 
 he is independent, voting for the man regardless of 
 party affiliations. He first came to Rockford in 
 1865, where he worked at his trade of cooper, and 
 
1060 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 as a machinist for some time. It was in 1875 that 
 he began the manufacture of churns, and for more 
 than seventeen j'ears he has now carried ou busi- 
 ness in that line. He patented the Boss Churn, 
 and is now extensively engaged in its manufacture 
 at Nos. 212 and 220 North Madison Street. He 
 is also a stockholder m the Manufacturers' and 
 Merchants' National Bank. Mr. McDermaid may 
 well be called a self-made man, for since his thir- 
 teenth year he has been thrown upon his own re- 
 sources, and whatever be has achieved in life is 
 due entirelj' to his own efforts. 
 
 
 
 1 UGDST ZIMMERMAN is a dealer in wines 
 and liquors, located at No. 824 South Main 
 Street, Rockford, where he has carried on 
 business since September, 1873. Since that 
 time he has been actively engaged on his own ac- 
 count. He had located in Rockford in 1866, but for 
 seven years was employed by others. A native of 
 Saxon J', Germany, he was born on the 7tli of July, 
 1844, his parents being Moritz and Catherine 
 (Scharffenberg) Zimmerman, who were also natives 
 of the same province in Germany and came of 
 good families in that land. The father lived a 
 quiet, unassuming life and passed away at the age 
 of eighty-five years. His wife died when past 
 the age of three-score jears and ten. Like her 
 husband, slie was a member of the Lutheran Church. 
 In their family were seven children, of whom two 
 sons are yet living, August, and a brother Casper 
 Frederick, who still resides in the Fatherland, where 
 he follows the trade of a carpenter and mill- 
 wright. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our sub- 
 ject, who spent his boyhood days under the pa- 
 rental roof in his native land, and at the age of 
 twenty-one bade good-bye to his old home, pre- 
 paratory to sailing for America. He left Bremen 
 on the 19th of March, 1866, and on the 17th of 
 April landed in New York, whence he came at 
 once to Rockford, arriving in this city seven 
 days later. He was then a single man, but here 
 chose a companion and lielpmate on life's jour- 
 ne}' Miss Christiana Fischer, who was born in 
 
 Germany, not far from the birthplace of her hus- 
 band. She there grew to womanhood, acquiring a 
 common-school education in her mother tongue, 
 and, when a young lady, crossed the broad Atlan- 
 tic, the first of the family to come to America. 
 This was about 1867. Her father had died in Ger- 
 many when little past middle life. Her mother 
 afterwards came to this country and made her 
 home with her daughter, Mrs. Zimmerman, until 
 called to her final rest at the advanced age of 
 eighty-six years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Fischer were 
 members of the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman also hold that reli- 
 gious belief, and our subject is President of the 
 congregation. Their union has been blessed with 
 two children; one died in infanc}'^, and one daugh- 
 ter, Emma L., born on the 1st of March, 1877. 
 Socially, Mr. Zimmerman is on Odd Fellow, be- 
 longing to the subordinate lodge, the camp and the 
 canton. He also belongs to the E. F. W. Ellis Blue 
 Lodge No. 633, A. F. & A. M. He has made 
 his fortune by close application to business, indus- 
 try and enterprise, and is now the owner of a fine 
 two-story building, 71x21 feet, located on South 
 Main Street, also his comfortable residence on 
 Tenth Street. He takes an active interest in all 
 that pertains to the welfare of Rockford, its 
 growth and the promotion of its leading indus- 
 tries, and has a wide acquaintance in this commu- 
 nity where he has made his home for more than a 
 quarter of a century. 
 
 ■^T^ANIEL SMITH, one of the pioneers of 
 I ))] Harlan Township, but now residing in 
 (^3^ Winnebago Township, was born in Kin- 
 tyre, Scotland, in May, 1830, the third 
 son of Daniel and Mary (Montgomery) Smith. 
 His ancestors were from Ayrshire, and his grand- 
 father was a farmer who resided on leased land 
 belonging to the Duke of Argyle, spending his 
 last jrears on that estate. 
 
 The father of our subject was born on the home 
 farm in Kintyre, February 11, 1791, and was 
 reared to agricultural pursuits, which he followed 
 in his native land until 1842. Himself and his 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 1061 
 
 sister Janet were the only members of the family 
 who came to America. In the year above-men- 
 tioned, a company of about one hundred was 
 formed, who hired a vessel, which had formerly 
 been used in the lumber traflic, and sailed from 
 Campbellstown June 4, landing at New York on 
 Independence Day following. They came direct 
 to Illinois by the most expeditious route then 
 known, via river, canal and Lakes to Chicago, and 
 thence with team to Winnebago County. The 
 father of our subject located in Harlem Township, 
 and with his brother-in-law, James Montgomery, 
 bought a tract of partially improved land, where 
 he resided until his death, August 20, 1845. 
 
 Mary Montgomery, as the mother of our subject 
 was known in maidenhood, was born in Kintyre, 
 Scotland, January 12, 1795, the daughter of Rob- 
 ert Montgomery. She died on the old homestead 
 May 31, 1872. Her son Daniel, our subject, was 
 twelve j'ears old when he accompanied his parents 
 to America, and at the time of his settlement in 
 Winnebago County it was sparsely settled and but 
 little improved. Most of the people still lived in 
 rude log houses, there were no railroads here, and 
 Chicago was the nearest market and depot for sup- 
 plies. 
 
 After remaining with his mother on the home 
 farm until 1851, Mr. Smith located on a portion of 
 the estate which he had inherited, and there re- 
 sided until 1860. He then purchased a farm in 
 Guilford Township, and during the twenty years 
 in which he made it his home, was instrumental in 
 bringing about many improvements in its build- 
 ings, cultivation and embellishments. In 1880, he 
 sold the place and purchased the farm he now 
 owns and cultivates. This is well improved and 
 includes the northwest quarter of section 14, Win- 
 nebago Township, being a very valuable tract of 
 land. 
 
 In 1860, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with 
 Miss Agnes, daughter of James Smith, and a native 
 of the same place in Scotland as her husband. Her 
 grandfather, Hugh, lived and died in Kintyre, and 
 her father, who was there born and married, emi- 
 grated to America in 1858, in company with his 
 wife and eleven children, and bought a farm in 
 Winnebago Township, where his closing years 
 
 were quietly passed. The mother of Mrs. Smith, 
 whose maiden name was Martha Johnson, was born 
 in Kintyre and passed away at the old home in 
 Winnebago Township. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of six living 
 children, whose names are respectively: James, 
 Mary, Martha, Flora, Agnes and Robert. The relig- 
 ious membership of the family is in the First Presby- 
 terian Church at Rockford, and in political mat- 
 ters Mr. Smith was a Republican until 1872, since 
 which time he has been a firm adherent to Demo- 
 cratic principles. 
 
 ^^^IDEON DEUEL, a native of the Empire 
 State, has long made his home in Winne- 
 
 ^^ bago County, 111. He was born in Wash- 
 ington County, N. Y., in 1820, and is a son of Job 
 and Elizabeth (Ireland) Deuel, also natives of 
 New York State, where they followed farming, as 
 did their parents and grandparents before them. 
 Job Deuel and Miss Ireland were married in Gene- 
 see County, N. Y., near Batavia, and the wife died 
 there when about fifty years of age, leaving five 
 children, three daughters and two sons, viz: Gideon, 
 Mary, Clara, Eliza and Philip, all still living. The 
 father sold his property, and bought one hundred 
 and twenty acres in Alabama Township, Genesee 
 County, on which he removed with his five chil- 
 dren. He was again married, this time to Mrs. Sarah 
 Holmes, who made a good wife and a kind mother 
 to the little children depending on her, and who by 
 her union with Mr. Deuel became the mother of one 
 son, Wellington. This son is now the owner and 
 occupant of the old homestead. The parents died 
 in their native State, the father when eighty-four 
 years of age, and the step-mother at the age of 
 sixty-five years. 
 
 Our subject was reared to farm life, and, like the 
 average country boy, received his education in the 
 district schools. When twenty years of age, he 
 came West to Winnebago County, and in the fall 
 of 1840 began working for Darius Fish, in Cherry 
 Valley, receiving $13 per month for his services, 
 the same being considered very high wages at that 
 time. Mr. Deuel remained in this section for two 
 
1062 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years, and then went to Laona Township, where 
 he purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty 
 acres, which had been improved to some extent, 
 but on which were no buildings, and for this he 
 paid $13 per acre. He paid out the ready money 
 for this, liaving earned and saved it while work- 
 ing out. After this, he worked on the construc- 
 tion of the Illinois Central Railroad for Pearse, 
 Keith & Clark, and continued this for two years. 
 While at Bloomington, 111., and while engaged in 
 this work, he married Miss Emma Bowen, whom 
 he had met at Cherry Valley. She was born in 
 New England, .and came West with her parents 
 when a child. The}' were farmers, and died in 
 Ogle County, 111., leaving three daughters. 
 
 Mr. Deuel and his bride went to Laona and set- 
 tled on his farm, occupying at first a rude log 
 house, but they were contented and happy. To 
 the original tract, Mr. Deuel added forty acres, 
 but in 1862 he sold the entire farm at a consider- 
 able profit, and removed to Shirland Township, 
 his present home, where he purchased a quarter- 
 section, paying $11 per acre for it. On this were 
 two dilapidated log cabins, hardly tenantable, and 
 no barn. This purchase was a trust deed, which 
 was sold at public sale, and Mr. Deuel paying cash, 
 $1,760, became the owner. He soon erected a com- 
 fortable frame house, which has been the abode of 
 the family since, and is still in good condition. In 
 1875, our subiect erected a good barn 30x50, with 
 sixteen-foot posts. This farm had only about twenty 
 acres cleared, it being a timber farm, but now the 
 one hundred and thirty acres of rich, tillable land, 
 give little indication that at one time they were 
 covered with timber. All this has been cleared by 
 his own hands, and it represents a great many days 
 of hard work: Mr. Deuel now has two hundred and 
 sixty acres of land in this county, worth from $40 
 to $50 per acre, and he is free of all debt. He has 
 ever been public-spirited, and has contributed lib- 
 erally to all worthy movements, assisting in build- 
 ing four churches and two parsonages, and aiding 
 in all other enterprises. 
 
 The children who came to bless the union of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Deuel are William, a farmer of Missouri; 
 Mira, now Mrs. Levi Card, resides on a farm near 
 by; Ira A., a carpenter; May, now Mrs. Benjamin 
 
 Bennett, resides on a farm in Nebraska; Elmer, at 
 home on the farm; and Eva, attending Rockford 
 Academy. They lost two children in infancy. All 
 the children have had good school advantages. 
 Mr. Deuel was called upon to part from his wife, 
 the sharer of his joys and sorrows, on the I9th of 
 November, 1891, when fifty-eight years of age. 
 She was a member of the Congregational Church, 
 and her husband has held membership in the same 
 for j'ears. Mr. Deuel has held a number of local 
 oflfices in the township, having been Commissioner 
 of Highways for nine years, and School Trustee 
 several years. He has carried on the farm prin- 
 cipally by himself, for he let his boys branch 
 out for themselves when they were quito young, 
 and he has never kept a hired hand. He realizes 
 that he has been abundantly blessed with health 
 and strength, and probably no man in the county 
 has worked harder in the past than he. Many a 
 time in the past has he cradled live acres of 
 grain per day, and although not by any means a 
 large man, and now seventy-two years of age, he 
 is still vigorous and active. He has been a Repub- 
 lican in politics, and his first Presidential vote was 
 cast for William Henry Harrison. 
 
 W. l .p t .^ U 
 
 ^OHN GREENLEE, cashier of the People's 
 Bank of Belvidere, was born in Kintyre, 
 Argyleshire, Scotland, July 4, 1835. His 
 father, John Greenlee, a pioneer Scotch set- 
 tler of Winnebago County, was born in Kintyre, 
 Argyleshire, August 18, 1791, and was a son 
 of George and Martha (Wilson) Greenlee. The 
 grandparents spent their entire lives in Argyle- 
 shire. The father of our subject was reared to 
 agricultural pursuits and in addition to farming 
 followed the stone mason's trade a portion of the 
 time. He married Helen Brown, a native of 
 Kintyre, and a daughter of Charles and Elizabeth 
 (Ralston) Brown. In 1836, with his wife and six 
 children, he came to America, sailing from Liver- 
 pool to New York, whence he came to Illinois. He 
 found work as a stone mason on the acqueduct at 
 Ottawa. His nephews, George and John Armour, 
 then living in Ottawa, had previously visited 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1063 
 
 Winnebago and Boone Counties and gave a glow- 
 in" description of the country, so that in Decem- 
 ber of that year, Mr. Greenlee accompanied them 
 thither and made a claim to Government land in 
 what is now Harlem Township, Winnebago County. 
 After a short time, he returned to Ottawa, and in 
 the spring of 1837 brought his family to the new 
 home, becoming the first permanent settler in the 
 locality known as the Scotch Settlement of Win- 
 nebago and Boone Counties. The family first 
 moved into a vacant shanty until Mr. Greenlee 
 could build a log cabin on his own place. They 
 experienced all the hardships and privations of 
 pioneer life, such as come to those who locate on 
 the frontier. The father was very poor when he 
 first settled in this locality, but his industry and 
 good management brought him success, and he in- 
 creased his possessions until he was owner of three 
 highly improved farms. He lived upon his first 
 claim until 1870, when he came to Belvidere and 
 spent the remainder of his life in retirement. He 
 died December 30, 1882. His wife passed away in 
 1865. They were among the founders of the Wil- 
 low Creek Presbyterian Church, in which Mr. 
 Greenlee served as Ruling Elder for many years. 
 
 Our subject was one of eight children: Martha, 
 Elizabeth, George, Charles, Jannett, John, Helen 
 and Ann. He was only a year old when brought 
 by his parents to Illinois, so that his earliest recol- 
 lections are of the pioneer home. He received his 
 early education in the public schools of Harlem 
 Township and afterward attended a select school 
 in Marengo. At a very early age, he began assist- 
 ing his father in the labors of the farm and after 
 attaining his majority came into possession of the 
 old homestead, which he operated for two years, 
 when he came to Belvidere and engaged in the 
 hardware business with his brother Charles and his 
 brother-in-law, James O. Gregory. He was after- 
 ward associated with his brother George and 
 Robert Harvey, and continued in that line of 
 business until 1889, when he sold out. Upon the 
 organization of the People's Bank, he was elected 
 Cashier, which position he has since held. 
 
 In 1864, Mr. Greenlee was united in the holy 
 bonds of matrimony with Elizabeth Brown , a na- 
 tive of Ohio, and a daughter of Edward and 
 
 Elizabeth Brown, both of whom were born in Scot- 
 land. She died in 1870, in the faith of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, leaving two daughters: Helen 
 and Elizabeth B. Mr. Greenlee has also been a 
 life-long member of the Presbyterian Church, and 
 since attaining his majority has been a stalwart 
 Republican. He has filled various public oflices of 
 trust, has represented Belvidere on the County 
 Board of Supervisors, and in 1886 was elected 
 County Treasurer, serving one term. His official 
 duties were ever promptly and faithfully dis- 
 charged and won him the commendation of all 
 concerned. 
 
 <| I^ILLIAM C. De wolf, Se., who for many 
 \/jJ/l y^^*'® ^^^ "^'^^ *^^ ^li^ successful agricultur- 
 \^/^ ists of Boone County, at present resides in 
 Belvidere, where he bears the reputation of being 
 one of its most public-spirited citizens. A native 
 of Pennsylvania, he was born in Springfield, Erie 
 County, February 8, 1830. His father, Hiram De 
 Wolf, hailed from Rutland County, Vt., where his 
 birth occurred January 3, 1798. The grandfather 
 of our subject, Edgar De Wolf, was a native of 
 New York State and of French parentage. 
 
 Edward De Wolf was a farmer by occupation and 
 removed from Rutland to New York State, thence 
 later to Pennsylvania, where he was identified with 
 the farming interests of the town of Couneaut, 
 Erie County, until his decease. His wife bore the 
 maiden name of Sarah Colson and also died on the 
 home farm in Erie County. The father of our subject 
 was reared in the Green Mountain State and New 
 York and when a young man went to Erie County, 
 Pa., and purchased a tract of timber land in Spring- 
 field. There he erec'ed a house of logs, where the 
 birth of our subject occurred, and a few years later 
 built a more substantial and comfortable dwelling 
 in which he was residing at the time of his death, 
 July 6, 1872. The mother of our subject, who be- 
 fore her marriage was Miss Sibyl Coon, was born 
 in New York State, in 1798, and died June 3, 
 1859. 
 He of whom we write was reared and educated 
 
1064 
 
 JPORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Sprmgfield, and after attaining his nineteenth 
 year taught school each winter for nineteen sea- 
 sons. In 1852, he went to Pittsburg, and, taking 
 a course in the Pittsburg Commercial College, was 
 graduated therefrom and then resumed teaching. 
 The following year, he came to Boone County and 
 spent the summer, going in the fall of that year to 
 Cass County, Mich., and, returning to this county 
 the following year, located on eighty acres of land 
 which he had purchased from his father, and which 
 was located on section 14, Spring Township. He 
 began cultivating the soil, and, in the fall of that . 
 year going to Cass County, Mich., taught school. 
 
 Our subject was married in Pennsylvania, in 
 the spring of 1855, to Huldah J. Strong, and that 
 same year returned and settled on the farm which 
 was his home until 1866. Going back to the Key- 
 stone State, he made his home there until Novem- 
 ber, 1867, at which time he again took up his 
 abode in this county and purchased forty acres of 
 new land on section 13, Spring Township, which 
 he farmed until 1881; then renting his estate, he 
 went to Genoa, where he spent a twelvemonth, and 
 later, going to Kingston Township, De Kalb County, 
 made his home on one hundred and twenty acres 
 of land, located on section 20, until 1888, which 
 year found him again in Belvidere. 
 
 The five children born to Mr. and Mrs. DeWolf 
 are Nancy E., who was born December 25, 1855, 
 married Ernest L. Woodruff and resides in Rock- 
 ford; Hiram S.,born October 10, 1858, was drowned 
 in Coon Creek, May 27, 1876; Frank L.,born April 
 23, 1862, was graduated from the Genoa High 
 School, from the Chicago Veterinary College, and 
 from the Kansas City Medical College, and is now 
 engaged in practice in Kansas City; William C, 
 Jr., born November 4, 1865, was graduated from 
 the Genoa High School, after which he began the 
 study of law and was admitted to the Bar in 1887; 
 he is now engaged in practice with the Hon. 
 Charles E. Fuller and was married, April 4, 1888, 
 to Clara Moore. Nettie was born August 19, 1868, 
 and is now Mrs. Frank Parker, of Kingston, De 
 Kalb County, this State. 
 
 Mrs. DeWolf was born in Girard, Erie County, 
 Pa., February 16, 1832, and is the daughter of 
 Leonard Eufus Strong, who was born in Vermont, 
 
 April 15, 1803. His father, also named Rufus, 
 was born in the Green Mountain State, whence he 
 removed to Girard, Pa., about 1828, and purchas- 
 ing land, engaged in farming there until his death. 
 The father of Mrs. De Wolf i-emoved from Ver- 
 mont to Girard in 1835 and purchasing a tract of 
 timber land, cleared a farm from the wilderness, 
 which he later sold and purchased other property, 
 in this manner clearing and improving three farms 
 in Girard Township. He spent his last days in the 
 town of Conneaut, his demise occurring August 4, 
 1867. 
 
 The maiden name of Mrs. De Wolf 's mother was 
 Jane Silverthorn; she was born in Girard, Pa., May 
 15, 1810, and was the daughter of Abram and 
 Jane (Hunter) Silverthorn, natives, respectively, 
 of Vermont and Scotland, and the latter of whom is 
 still living in Conneaut. In his political relations, 
 our subject is a Republican and has been honored 
 with the various township offices of Spring Town- 
 ship, Boone County. 
 
 lENJAMIN F. UPSON. Since casting in 
 his lot with the citizens of Winnebago 
 County almost fifty 3^ears ago, Mr. Upson 
 has been prominently connected with its 
 development and has witnessed its growth from a 
 sparsely-settled and unimproved country to the 
 home of thousands of prosperous and enterprising 
 farmers and business men. During the summer 
 months, he occupies his pleasant home at No. 710 
 Kilburn Avenue, Rockford, but usually spends the 
 winter seasons in Florida, where he has extensive 
 interests. 
 
 For two years after coming to Winnebago 
 County, Mr. Upson operated a farm near the 
 county line on the south, and then, in 1850, re- 
 moved to a tract of land in Seward Township, 
 where he built a beautiful home and improved a 
 splendid farm. Failure of health caused his re- 
 moval to Rockford, where he has since resided. 
 With his son Jesse B., he became the owner of the 
 business of E. H. Skinner & Company and con- 
 ducted the same with success for a number of 
 years, but recently sold out. For some years past. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1065 
 
 he has conducted a nursery and raised berries and 
 small fruits extensively, both in Rockford and in 
 Florida. 
 
 With the growth of Rockford Mr. Upson has 
 been directly connected, and laid out ten acres in 
 the northern part of the city on Horsman Street, 
 known as Glenney & Upson's Addition, which has 
 been platted into city lots. He is a stockholder in 
 the Second National Bank, as well as financially 
 interested in other institutions. In Florida, he is 
 not only interested in nurseries, but also operates 
 a sawmill and conducts a general mercantile busi- 
 ness at DeLeon, where he owns valuable property. 
 
 Born in Mendham Township, Morris County, 
 N. J., December 24, 1816, the early life of Mr. 
 Upson was one of struggle against poverty, but 
 his strong personality and persistence enabled him 
 to overcome adverse fortune and crown his mature 
 life with prosperity, honor and respect. In his 
 youth, he learned the trade of a chairmaker, which 
 he followed a short time. His father, Dr. Jesse 
 Upson, a native of Connecticut, was for fifty years 
 the most prominent physician in the township of 
 Mendham, but came West to Indiana in 1838, and 
 died the same year at Greenfield, aged eighty- two. 
 He enlisted when only eighteen years old in the 
 service of his country and served until the close 
 of the Revolutionary War. His fellow-citizens 
 called him to occupy many posts of honor, and he 
 served as Justice of the Peace, and for ten years as a 
 member of the State Assembly of New Jersey, and 
 was influential in public matters. The mother of 
 our subject, whose maiden name was Mary Dayton, 
 accompanied her husband to Indiana and survived 
 him several years, dying in Greenfield when very 
 old. She was the daughter of the well-known 
 Judge Dayton, whose son, Senator Dayton, died 
 while Minister at the Court of St. James. 
 
 The only surviving members of this family are 
 our subject and his sister, Mrs. Mary D. Cory, of 
 Lima, Ind., the latter being seventy-nine years old. 
 Benjamin F. was married in Illinois to Miss Lucy 
 Bacon, who was born and reared in Massachusetts 
 and came to this State when twenty-five years old. 
 The marriage was blessed by the birth of one son, 
 Jesse B. The latter married Miss Mary Sibley, who 
 was educated at Terre Haute, Ind., and is the 
 
 mother of two children: Lent D. and Lucy H- 
 The religious home of the family is in the Congre- 
 gational Church, while the political affiliations of 
 father and son are in sympathy with the principles 
 of the Republican party. At an early day, Mr. 
 Upson served as Justice of the Peace, and still re- 
 tains in his possession a document bearing these 
 words: 
 
 "To all to whom these presents shall come, greet- 
 ing: 
 
 Know Ye, that Benjamin F.Upson, having been 
 duly elected to the office of Justice of the Peace 
 for the county of Winnebago, I, Augustus C. 
 French, Governor of the State of Illinois, for and 
 on behalf of the people of said State, do commis- 
 sion him Justice of the Peace for said county, and 
 do authorize and empower him to execute and 
 fulfill the duties of that office, according to law." 
 
 Jesse B. Upson is a young gentleman of superior 
 education and has devoted especial attention to 
 the study of the sciences. He is an acknowledged 
 authority on the subject of conchology and has 
 more than one hundred thousand shells of vari- 
 ous specimens, including the finest collection of 
 Northern Illinois. He is also a student of botany, 
 and has given many other sciences careful study, 
 having devoted twelve years to their research and 
 gaining more than a local reputation in that di- 
 rection. He is a member of the American Con- 
 chology Association, and other societies of a scien- 
 tific and social character. 
 
 ^RED H. MOFFATT. Among the many en- 
 ^ terprises necessary to complete the com- 
 l^ mercial resources of a town or city, none is 
 of more importance than that of the grocer, as be- 
 ing one of the main factors in the furnishing of 
 our food supplies. Prominent in this trade is the 
 establishment of Mr. Moffatt, located at No. 431 
 West State Street, where he carries a full line of 
 staple and fancy groceries, and where he has built 
 up a most valuable trade. All goods are procured 
 direct from first hands, and from the extended ex- 
 perience of the proprietor, this house is able to 
 compete in all respects with contemporaries. By 
 meeting his payments promptly and by his sharp 
 
1066 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 trade in buying, whicli entitles him to jobber's 
 prices, lie is enabled to sell at the lowest prices. In 
 connection with his retail trade lie is prepared to do 
 a wholesale trade in the fruit line. 
 
 Mr. Moffatt began his mercantile career in 1884, 
 when twenty-one years of age, at No. 429 West 
 State Street, known as the White Grocery Store, 
 and was assisted in a pecuniary way by his kind 
 and indulgent father, William Moffatt (see sketch). 
 The general predictions were that he would fail, 
 but there was never such a word in young Mof- 
 fatt's calendar. The business is conducted with 
 vigor and push, and patrons are accorded prompt 
 and courteous service, while the stock is contin- 
 ually being replenished and kept choice and at- 
 tractive. By his square dealing and honorable, 
 upright conduct, he has made many friends, and 
 although he met with many difficulties when first 
 starting out, his friends stood bj' him, and at the 
 end of a year he was able to move to a more desir- 
 able location, a few doors from his former estab- 
 lishment. Two years after he had started in busi- 
 ness, he was entirely out of debt and in compara- 
 tively easy circumstances. In 1891, his business 
 had increased to such an extent that he found it 
 necessary to move the second time, when he lo- 
 cated in a new building only a few doors from the 
 original starting place and where he now has a 
 flourishing trade. He is a gentleman possessing a 
 full and complete knowledge of every detail of the 
 trade, and customers have realized that at this 
 house they may depend upon obtaining terms and 
 inducements not readily to be duplicated else- 
 where. 
 
 Our subject is a promoter of the Retail Gro- 
 cers' Association, which was organized on the 11th 
 of February, 1892, with Charles Buit President; 
 George E. Olson, Vice-president; H. W. Burn, 
 Treasurer; Albert Hollem, Financial Secretarj^, and 
 Mr. Moffatt, Secretary'. The object of the asso- 
 ciation is to keep up unity and good feeling 
 among the grocerymen of the city. The leading 
 merchants of the city are united in this much- 
 needed organization, and a better state of feeling 
 exists among them. Mr. Moffatt is a young man, 
 but he has great business acumen and is deter- 
 mined to make his business a grand success. 
 
 Our subject is a native of this city, born twenty- 
 nine years ago, and he was thoroughly educated 
 in the city schools, where he applied himself dili- 
 gently to his books, with a determination that has 
 characterized his movements ever since. He is the 
 only son born to his parents and has always made 
 the city of Rockford his home. He is public-spir- 
 ited, takes a deep interest in all laudable move- 
 ments, and is one of the promising young men of 
 the city. No worthy enterprise is allowed to 
 languish for want of support on his part, and he 
 is a liberal contributor to churches, schools, etc. 
 He is truly a progressive young man, and while 
 he takes no active part in politics, his support is 
 given to the Republican party. He is not in the 
 least an office-seeker, but attends strictly to busi- 
 ness and depends on honest and fair dealing. 
 With his honesty, uprightness and fidelity to the 
 interests of his patrons, he can not fail to succeed 
 in whatever he undertakes. 
 
 The Register-Gazette gives the following notice 
 of the marriage of our subject: 
 
 "•Promptly at three o'clock this afternoon a 
 quiet home wedding was solemnized at the spa- 
 cious home of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Morrill, at No. 
 1104 East State Street. It was the marriage of their 
 daughter, Miss Nellie M. Morrill, to Fred H. Moffatt, 
 and modesty and elegance characterized the nup- 
 tial event. 
 
 "This morning the house was turned over to 
 Melcher, the florist, and in his usual artistic man- 
 ner he trimmed the parlors with rare floral gems, 
 making them present a very pretty appearance. 
 
 "At three o'clock, Mr. Moffatt and Miss Morrill 
 stepped into the front parlor, where they were met 
 by dignified Dr. Kerr, who pronounced the words 
 which united the young couple for life, the ring 
 service being observed. The bridal couple were 
 unattended, and the affair was pretty and unosten- 
 tatious all through. At the conclusion of the cere- 
 mony, the wedding partj' sat down to an elegant 
 lunch and were offered many warm congratulations 
 as they ate the choice edibles provided. 
 
 "Only the immediate relatives of the couple 
 were present to witness the marriage, none of the 
 many home friends of Miss Morrill or Mr. Moffatt 
 being included in the guest list. 
 

 
 <^'<ry^_y 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 1069 
 
 "The bride was attired in a very handsome 
 mode broadcloth traveling costume, and carried a 
 bouquet of bride roses. She was indeed a lovely 
 bride. Miss Morrill is so well known to social 
 Roekford that little can be added that will be news 
 to the general public. She is one of the most ac- 
 complished and talented musicians in the city and 
 has delighted audiences with her selections upon 
 many occasions. She is possessed of those qualities 
 of mind and heart which win, as well as hold, 
 warm friends. Her many admirers and pupils will 
 be glad to learn that she does not intend to give 
 up her music on account of her marriage, but will 
 continue it as usual upon her return to Roekford. 
 
 "Everybody knows Fred Moffatt. He is one of 
 the most enterprising and energetic young business 
 men in the city, and has rapidly acquired a large 
 trade. He has the best wishes of his hosts of 
 friends. 
 
 "Mr. and Mrs. Moffatt left on the 4:29 o'clock 
 train on the Central, this afternoon, for Chicago, to 
 spend the honeymoon, and will be absent until 
 the latter part of next week. Upon feeir return, 
 they will for the present have rooms and board 
 at the home of William Moffatt, at No. 902 North 
 Court Street. 
 
 "Those present from out of town at the wedding 
 were Miss Eloise Harford and Oscar Banghart, of 
 Chicago, and Mrs. W. B. Dean, of Yankton, S. Dak., 
 a sister of the bride." 
 
 ^ TEPHEN 0. THOMPSON. A high place 
 among the farmers of Winnebago County 
 must be accorded to the gentleman whose 
 portrait accompanies this sketch, and who 
 has made a competence by hard labor, prudent 
 economy and business shrewdness. He is at pres- 
 ent residing in Owen Township, where he is the 
 owner of a fine tract of two hundred and eighty 
 acres of land. 
 
 A native of New Jersey, Mr. Thompson was 
 born on the banks of the Delaware River, August 
 15, 1818. As far as is known, his father, Lewis 
 Thompson, was also a native of that State, where he 
 worked at the cooper's trade. About 1825, he 
 48 
 
 moved to Hackettstown, where he purchased a 
 farm, in addition to the cultivation of which he 
 owned and operated a gristmill. He emigrated to 
 Illinois in 1838, where he was numbered among 
 the pioneers of Canton, Fulton County. He built 
 a shop and carried on his trade there until his de- 
 cease. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah 
 Chitester, was a native of New Jersey, and departed 
 this life in Canton. 
 
 The parental family included ten children, nine 
 of whom grew to mature j'ears, and were named 
 respectively: James, Alfred, Stephen O., Lewis, 
 Joseph, Henry, Edmund,William and John. Stephen 
 O. was reared and educated in his native State and 
 made the overland trip with his parents to Illinois. 
 There were no railroads in Fulton County for a 
 number of years after their settlement, and the 
 river towns were the principal depots for supplies. 
 Our subject worked with his father, getting out 
 staves and timber, and was employed in teaming 
 until 1842. During that year, he came overland to 
 Winnebago County, at a time when most of the 
 surrounding countrj' was owned by the Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 On locating in this section, our subject pur- 
 chased and entered land in what is now Owen 
 Township. He was a single man at that time and 
 made his home with a brother until his marriage, 
 when he settled on the place of which he is a pres- 
 ent occupant. November 29, 1845, he was united 
 in marriage with Eliza Knapp. Mrs. Thompson 
 was born in Ontario County, N. Y., August 17, 
 1818, and was the daughter of Stephen Abbott 
 Knapp, a native of Branbury, Conn., and the son 
 of Noah Knapp, also born in the Bay State, whence 
 he later removed to New York, and died in Orleans 
 County. Annis Abbott was the maiden name of 
 his wife, and she, too, passed away in the above- 
 named county. The father of Mrs Thompson was 
 a resident of Connecticut until after his marriage, 
 when he removed to the Empire State, and for 
 a few years made his home in Orleans County. 
 From the town of Barre he removed to Genesee 
 County, and in 1840 came to Illinois, accompanied 
 by his wife and their family of five children. Mr. 
 Knapp located in what is now Harrison Township, 
 where he purchased and improved a farm. He and 
 
1070 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his wife departed this life at the home of our subject. 
 The maiden name of Mrs. Thompson's mother 
 was Maria Fowler, and her birth occurred in Put- 
 nam County, N. Y. 
 
 The two children comprising the houseliold of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are: Emily, who married 
 Luke T. Hullett, and Dudley, who has been twice 
 married. His first wife was Eva Cowan and his 
 second, Mary C. Mutimer. He is the father of three 
 children: Edward S., Carl J. and Fred M. Mrs. 
 Thompson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. In his political views, Mr. Thompson 
 votes with the Republican party. 
 
 ¥ILLIAM PINEGER, after a long life of 
 usefulness, is now living retired in Belvi- 
 dere. He is one of the well-known citi- 
 zens of tlie community, and it is with pleasure that 
 we present this record of his life to our readers. 
 A native of Wiltshire, England, he was born .Jan- 
 uary 26, 1835. His grandfather, William Pineger, 
 was a farmer, and spent his entire life in Wilt- 
 shire. The father of our subject, who also bore the 
 name of William, was reared upon a farm in Wilt- 
 shire, where he resided until 1849, when he crossed 
 the broad Atlantic and came directly to Boone 
 County, 111. He spent one year in Garden Prairie, 
 after which he removed to the town of Spring, 
 purchasing an improved farm, upon which he 
 made his home for some time. He is now living 
 in Chicago, at the advanced age of eighty-eight 
 years. His wife, Ann Wheatley, was born in Ashton, 
 Keynes, England, and was a daughter of Thomas 
 Wheatley. She died in Chicago, in 1878. The 
 family numbers nine children: Henry, Ann, Wil- 
 liam, Thomas, Elizabeth, Amy, Jane, Caroline and 
 Martha. 
 
 The first fourteen years of his life our subject 
 spent in his native land, and then sailed for Amer- 
 ica with his parents. They reached New York af- 
 ter a voyage of thirty-five days and went by way 
 of the Hudson River, the Erie Canal and the Great 
 Lakes to Chicago, whence they came by team 
 to Boone County. Mr. Pineger aided in the oper- 
 ation of his father's farm until 1869, when he was 
 
 united in marriage with Anna E. Tripp, who was 
 born in the town of Spring, Boone County, and is 
 the daughter of Edwin and Betsy (Peters) Tripp. 
 Her father was born in Somersetshire, England, 
 February 12, 1812, and was a son of John Tripp, 
 a farmer of that county. He was reared upon a 
 farm until 1842, when, on the 14th of April, lie 
 wedded Miss Peters, a daughter of Thomas and 
 Sarah (Lawrence) Peters, natives of Somersetshire. 
 Her father was a farmer and dealer in live stock. 
 After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Tripp sailed for 
 America, and after a voyage of six weeks landed 
 at New York, whence they came direct to Boone 
 Count}', 111. They saw it in its pioneer days, 
 and in those early j^ears lived in true fron- 
 tier style. Mr. Tripp improved a good farm of 
 two hundred and twenty acres, upon which lie 
 made his home until 1880, when he rented his 
 land and came to Belvidere, where he has since 
 lived a retired life. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Pineger operated a rented 
 farm for two years, and then purchased a part of 
 the old homestead, upon which he resided until 
 1889. He was a successful farmer, industrious and 
 enterprising, and the neat appearance of his place 
 indicated his thrift and energy. Three years ago 
 he rented his farm and came to Belvidere, where 
 he built a pleasant and commodious residence on 
 Pearl Street, where with his wife and daughter, 
 Fannie A., their only child, he now resides, rest- 
 ing from all business cares. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Pineger were reared in the Episco- 
 pal faith ; but the latter is now a member of the 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 
 MOS B. LANNING. For many years, or 
 since his location in this county, the rep- 
 utation Mr. Lanning enjoys has been not 
 only that of a most substantial and pro- 
 gressive farmer, but of an intelligent and thor- 
 oughly posted man in all public affairs. Al- 
 though now in his seventy-sixth year, time has 
 dealt leniently with him, and he is still in the en- 
 joyment of comparatively good health, and takes 
 as deep an interest in all public enterprises as in 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1071 
 
 his more youthful days. He was originally from 
 Yates County, N. Y., born March 10, 1816, and is 
 the son of James B. and Sarah (Raplee) Launing, 
 both natives of New Jersey. 
 
 James B. Lanning's parents, Richard and Mar- 
 tha (Bigger) Lanning, were natives of New Jersey 
 and Canada, respectively. They moved to New 
 York State at an early day, and there received their 
 final summons, both dying when about seventy- 
 five years of age. They were the parents of four 
 children. Mrs. Sarah (Raplee) Lanning's parents, 
 Andrew and Catharine (Adams) Raplee, were na- 
 tives of New Jersey, and died in Yates County, 
 N. Y'. On both sides they were honest, respected 
 citizens, and farmers, so far as known. James B. 
 Lanning with his wife and family moved to this 
 county in June of the year 1842. He was one of 
 the early settlers, and was prominently identified 
 with the growth and development of Boone 
 County until his death here, when seventy-seven 
 years of age. His wife also died in this county 
 when seventy-nine years of age. They were the 
 parents of twelve children, three of whom are liv- 
 ing at the present time. James B. Lanning and a 
 brother were in the War of 1812, and in all prob- 
 ability some of the ancestors were in the Revolu- 
 tionary War. 
 
 Amos B. Lanning remained with liis parents un- 
 til February 6, 1839, when his marriage with Miss 
 Catherine Strond occurred at the home of the lat- 
 ter. She was born in Sussex Count}'-, N. J., on the 
 19th of July, 1818, and died in this county on 
 the 8th of January, 1878. Her parents, Jacob and 
 Maria (Probasco) Strond, were natives of New 
 Jersey, and died in Steuben County, N. Y., when 
 eighty and fifty years old, respectively. Jacob 
 Strond was the son of Samuel and Catharine 
 Strond, who were also of New Jersey nativity, and 
 who died in Steuben County, N. Y., both when 
 about ninety-eight years of age. As before men- 
 tioned, our subject came with his parents to Boone 
 County, 111., in the spring of 1842, and made all 
 the journey by land, bringing his wife and house- 
 hold goods with teams. His father came by 
 water. They were quite well off for pioneers 
 when they landed here, and our subject took up 
 forty acres of Government land, on which he has 
 
 resided nearly ever since. His first bouse was a 
 very primitive affair, but in that log cabin, with 
 Ids thrifty and cheerful wife, he passed many 
 bright and happy j^ears. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Lanning was formerly an old- 
 line Whig, but upon the formation of the Repub- 
 lican party he transferred his allegiance to it and 
 has ever since been a consistent and faithful sup- 
 porter of that organization. He voted fii'st for 
 W. H. Harrison, tlien for Fremont and ever since 
 with the Republicans. Mr. Lanning has held a 
 number of local offices and is a worthy member of 
 the Baptist Church, having held membership in 
 that church since a resident of New Y'ork State. 
 To his marriage were born two children, as follows: 
 Sarah J., born in Illinois on the 14th of December, 
 1847, married E. S. Bowers, and both are now de- 
 ceased. They left one daughter, Jessie, who was 
 born in this county on the 6th of October, 1871. 
 This daughter married Arthur J. Cheever, and 
 they have a little daughter, Christie S., who was 
 born on the 13th of March, 1891, and who is the 
 delight and comfort of Mr. Lanning's declining 
 years. She is a bright, sweet, winsome little thing. 
 Our subject's second child, Daniel R., was born in 
 this county on the 7th of July, 1849, and died 
 when thirteen years of age. Mr. Lanning's grand- 
 son-in-law, Arthur J. Cheever, was born in Wis- 
 consin on the 8th of January, 1864, and is work- 
 ing on the farm for our subject. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Ei^ 
 
 ^|_^ ON. FREEMAN GRAHAM, of Rcckford, 
 
 )j) was born in Simsbury, Hartford County, 
 
 Conn., October 11, 1806. His boyhood 
 
 TJfj daj^s were passed in his native place, where 
 he received a common school-education, and 
 served an apprenticeship of seven years in making 
 cotton and woolen machines, becoming a practical 
 machinist. In 1854, he came West, entered the 
 employ of Charles Walker, of Chicago, and took 
 charge of his iron works in Beloit, Wis.,' where he 
 remained two years. 
 
 Receiving an offer of a larger salary, Mr. Gra- 
 ham came to Rockford and entered the employ of 
 Mr. Emerson. He became sole manager of the 
 
1072 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 well-known firm of Emerson, Talcott& Co., manu- 
 facturers of farm implements, and in that respon- 
 sible position was widely known as an enterpris- 
 ing and progressive business man. When the 
 Rockford Cotton Mills were started under his di- 
 rect supervision, he became part owner and re- 
 tained his connection with that flourishing en- 
 terprise for many years. He also erected and 
 owns the distillery now operated by his sons under 
 the firm name of Graham Bros. 
 
 A man of thrift and large executive ability, 
 Mr. Graham has aided in the upbuilding of Rock- 
 ford and has always taken a deep interest in local 
 affairs. While a resident of Connecticut, he 
 served some years in the State Legislature and 
 held the office of Justice of the Peace for many 
 years. For five years he served efficiently and to 
 the universal satisfaction as Alderman of the 
 Fifth Ward, in which position he contributed 
 effectively to the advancement of the city. An 
 extensive traveler, as early as 1828 he went to 
 South America, and spent one year in Yucatan, 
 where he was interested in introducing a machine 
 for dressing manila from the raw material into 
 practical use, and he still has in his possession a 
 certificate of grant from the Spanish authorities 
 for his machine. 
 
 At the age of eighty-five years, Mr. Graham is 
 quite active, retains the use of his intellectual 
 and physical faculties, has never used eye glasses, 
 and retains that sanguine and buoyant spirit char- 
 acteristic of youth. On May 3, 1892, he cele- 
 brated the sixtieth anniversary of his marriage. 
 The maiden name of his estimable and devoted 
 wife was Julia Driggs, and she was born in Bark- 
 hamsted, Litchfield County, Conn., October 2, 1814, 
 her ancestors being of Scotch origin. They have 
 been the parents of seven children, the eldest of 
 whom, Julia and Mary, died young. Byron is a 
 distiller in Rockford, and he and his brother. 
 Freeman, Jr., belong to the firm of Graham Bros. 
 Cotton Mills Company. The former married Miss 
 Mary Hight, of California, and the latter chose as 
 his wife Miss Elizabeth Gammon. Julius, general 
 manager of the firm of Graham Bros. Cotton Mills 
 Company, married Miss Emily Brantenham. Julia 
 is the wife of Henry Warner, who manages the 
 
 paper and cotton mills at Rock Island, 111. David, 
 the youngest son, is manager of the distillery. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Graham attend the Episcopal Church 
 and are highly esteemed in the city, where they 
 have resided for so many years. 
 
 The father of our subject, whose name was like- 
 wise Freeman, was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 War and followed the business of a clothier until 
 he died in middle age. Grandfather William Gra- 
 ham, who was of Scotch parentage, was a promi- 
 nent physician of the Nutmeg State. The mother 
 of our subject, whose maiden name was Hannah 
 May, was born in Connecticut, where she died at 
 the age of eighty-four. Her father, John May, 
 whose ancestors had been connected with the Colo- 
 nial settlement of New England, attained to the 
 great age of ninetj'-nme, at which time his death 
 was caused by injuries received from falling down 
 a flight of stairs. Our subject was the youngest, 
 with one exception, of ten children, all of whom 
 attained to mature years. One brother, Harvey, 
 served through the War of 1812 as Sergeant. Of 
 that large family our subject is the only survivor, 
 the others having preceded him in death. Poli- 
 tically, Mr. Graham was originally a Whig, and 
 subsequently became a Republican, and during the 
 war was a stanch Union man. 
 
 ^T$i^ ANIEL G. SPAULDING, Alderman of the 
 Seventh Ward, is one of the prominent cit- 
 izens of Rockford, where he occupies a 
 pleasant home at No. 402 North Court Street. For 
 many years he was one of the most successful and 
 enterprising business men of the city, engaging as 
 a grocer on West State Street until 1888, when he 
 was succeeded in business by his son George D. 
 and H. S. Crandall. He possesses a genial, com- 
 panionable disposition, keen discrimination and 
 the qualities of thrift which have contributed to 
 his prosperity, and has taken an active part in 
 everything which is conducive to the success of 
 himself personally or of the city, having erected 
 and improved fourteen fine residences, including 
 six brick flats that are conveniently located. 
 
 A native of New Hampshire, Mr. Spaulding 
 
POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1073 
 
 was born in Acworth, November 25, 1839, and 
 is the son of Nehemiah and Betsy (Hayward) 
 Spaulding. After receiving a eommon-school ed- 
 ucation in bis native village, he removed, at the 
 age of eighteen years, to the growing West and 
 sought a home in the bustling town of Rockford. 
 When the Civil War broke out and thi-eatened to 
 engulf the liberties of our people, he enlisted in 
 the defense of the Union, August 9, 1862, as a 
 member of Company I, Seventy-fourth Illinois 
 Infantry, Capt. Trvin and Col. Jason Marsh com- 
 manding. With his regiment he proceeded imme- 
 diately to the front and joined the Army of the 
 Cumberland, meeting the enemy at Perryville, 
 
 Ky. 
 
 Afterward the regiment marched into the en- 
 emy's country and fought at the battles of iStone 
 River and Lookout Mountain, in which Mr. 
 Spaulding participated actively, as well as in many 
 engagements of minor importance. After a val- 
 orous service of nearly three years, during which 
 time he was promoted to be First Lieutenant, 
 he was honorably dischirgcd, and going to Chi- 
 cago, joined the United vStates troops in May, 
 1865, as First Lieutenant. Upon the Western 
 plains, for nearly two years he did duty as a scout 
 and suppressor of Indian outbreaks, after which 
 he returned to Rockford in 1867. 
 
 By his first marriage, Mr. Spaulding had one 
 son, George D., a progressive young gentleman 
 who carries on a real-estate business. 
 
 January 1, 1872, at Rockford, occurred the mar- 
 riage of Mr. Spaulding and Miss Sophia R. Rannie. 
 Mrs. Spaulding was bom in Scotland and was a 
 small child when she came to the United States 
 with her parents, who located in this part of Illi- 
 nois and here died. She received her education 
 in the schools of the city and is a lady of culture 
 and unusual ability. The marriage has been 
 blessed by the birth of one child. Lulu, who is 
 at home with her parents. 
 
 A prominent Republican, Mr. Spaulding has 
 served as Supervisor of his ward and is the pres- 
 ent Alderman. With his wife, he holds member- 
 ship in the Presbyterian Church and aids those 
 projects which will promote the welfare of the 
 community, morally, religiously or educationall3^ 
 
 Mrs. Spaulding is President of the Woman's Re- 
 lief Corps of this city and Vice-President of the 
 State order, usually attending the State and na- 
 tional conventions of the order and aiding in its 
 deliberations and decisions. In charitable work, 
 she is foremost and is of a noble and devoted 
 character. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Spaulding is an influential member 
 of G. L. Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R., of Rock- 
 ford; is a Master Mason, and an active member of 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having 
 occupied all the chairs of Rockford Encampment, 
 No. 44. He is now Vice-President of the Rock- 
 ford Baking Company, a prominent concern estab- 
 lished here in 1889, and of which he was one of 
 the chief promoters. He is a stockholder in the 
 Rockford National Bank, and has perhaps done as 
 much toward advancing the various industries of 
 Rockford as any other citizen. 
 
 ^^EORGE TULLOCK, one of the enterpris- 
 III j—^ ing farmers of Owen Township, Winne- 
 ^^(Jl bago County, has demonstrated the fact 
 that perseverance .and zeal will prevail to conquer 
 circumstances and gain a competence for him 
 who exercises those qualities. He now owns a 
 good farm on section 34, upon which will be 
 found all the improvements which reflect credit 
 upon his thrift and judgment. Mr. Tullock was 
 born in the parish of Rothiemay, Banffshire, Scot- 
 land, July 4, 1815, and is a son of George and 
 Isabella (Cran) Tullock. The father was born in 
 Nairnshire, and the mother in Banffshire. George 
 Tullock was a contractor and builder by trade, but 
 in later life settled upon a small farm, where he 
 spent his last years, dying at the advanced age of 
 eighty-flve; the mother departed this life when 
 forty-two years of age. 
 
 The two children comprising the parental house- 
 hold were Ann, who married Alexander Clark, 
 and now makes her home with our subject; and 
 George, of this sketch. The latter was reared and 
 educated in his native parish and commenced at the 
 age of sixteen years to learn the shoemaker's 
 trade, serving an apprenticeship of three years. 
 
1074 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In 1839, he set sail for America, leaving Glas- 
 gow on the vessel "Horace," commanded by Capt. 
 White. He landed on American soil in September 
 of tliat }'ear, the voyage consuming ten weelis, 
 and he came directly to Illinois. He worked at his 
 trade in Chicago for two weeks and then found 
 employment on a farm twelve miles northwest of 
 the city. Nine months later, he moved to Will 
 County, where he worked at his trade until the 
 spring of 1841, at which time he settled on a farm 
 and remained until the fall of the 3'ear, when he 
 again went to Chicago and engaged passage with 
 a teamster for Rockford. The roads being in a 
 very bad condition, the}^ were enabled to travel 
 onlj' twelve miles the first day, and our subject, 
 thinking he could malie better time on foot, 
 walked the rest of the distance. 
 
 On his arrival in Rockford, George Tullock en- 
 tered the employ of Daniel Dow, and worked at 
 his trade until 1845. in the meantime, having 
 made claim to a tract of Government land on 
 what is now section 26, Burritt Township, he re- 
 moved upon it and commenced tlie work of its 
 improvement and cultivation. There being no 
 railroads in the vicinity, he hauled his produce to 
 Chicago, one hundred miles away, which journey 
 generally occupied a week. Mr. Tullock in 1862 
 sold the farm just mentioned and purchased the 
 tract where he now resides on section 34, Owen 
 Township. 
 
 The original of this sketch was married, Octo- 
 ber 3, 1845, to Mary A. Milne. She was born in 
 Kincardineshire, Scotland, and was the daughter of 
 James Milne. She departed this life October 27, 
 1890, after having become the mother of nine chil- 
 dren, viz: Margaret, William, Emma, Alonzo, Vol- 
 ney and George; those who are deceased are A. R.; 
 Oiiando, who died at the age of two years and eight 
 months; and Henry A. when ten years and two 
 months old. In his political views, Mr. Tullock 
 votes tlie Republican ticltet, and in religious mat- 
 ters is liberal. He served as Assessor of Burritt 
 Township ten years, and of Owen Township 
 twenty years. He has also been School Treasurer 
 the same length of time. Our subject stands very 
 high in the community, and is thoroughly honest 
 and upright in all his dealings. A compliment 
 
 was paid his character by a Baptist minister who 
 had been a neighbor of Mr. Tullock's for many 
 years, and who when making his will named him as 
 one of the executors. When asked why he did so 
 after he had pronounced Mr. Tullock an infidel, 
 he replied that he knew him to be an honest man. 
 
 , ETER JOHNSON is one of the most enter- 
 prising business men of Rockford that 
 Sweden has furnished to this country. He 
 is now Superintendent, a Director and a 
 stockholder of the Excelsior Furniture Company, 
 which position he has held for six years, and 
 much of the success of tiiat companj' is due to his 
 untiring efforts. He was born in Skona, Sweden, 
 September 11, 1844, and is a son of John Hanson, 
 who is yet living at the age of seventy-three 
 years. His wife, whose maiden name was Hannah 
 Pearson, died in 1890, at the age of sixty-nine 
 years. Like her husband, she was a member of 
 the Swedish Lutheran Church. The first of the 
 family to come to this country was a sister of our 
 subject, now Mrs. Carrie Munson, of Byron, Ogle 
 County, 111., her husband, Nelson Munson, being 
 a large farmer of that county. A brother, Nels 
 Johnson, who came to America after our subject, 
 is now married and is employed as a mechanic by 
 the Excelsior Furniture Company. 
 
 Our subject spent his childhood days in the land 
 of his birth, and there learned the trade of a gen- 
 eral mechanic with his father, who followed that 
 occupation as his life work. At length he deter- 
 mined to try his fortune in America, and sailed 
 from Malmo to New York City, from whence he 
 came at once to the West. In Rockford, he was 
 joined in wedlock with Miss Mary C. Carlson, who 
 was born in Smoland, Sweden, in February, 1860, 
 and came to the United States in 1888. Her 
 mother died in Sweden, where her father is still 
 living at quite an advanced age. Throughout his 
 entire life he has followed the occupation of 
 farming. Two sisters also reside in this country. 
 The union of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson has been 
 blessed with two children: A. Clarence and Edith 
 Hannah. The parents both hold membership with 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1075 
 
 the First Lutheran Swedish Church, and are highly 
 respected people, who have many friends through- 
 out this community. Their home is a pleasant res- 
 idence at No. 1013 Fifth Avenue, where they have 
 resided for some time. In his political affiliations, 
 Mr. Johnson is a supporter of Republican princi- 
 ples. 
 
 Since coming to Rockford, in 1876, he has been 
 connected with the furniture factories of this city, 
 first with the Central Furniture Factory, and 
 afterwards witli the Forest City Furniture Fac- 
 tory, being with the latter for eight years. His 
 experience, therefore, well fitted him to accept the 
 position which he occupies with the Excelsior 
 Furniture Company. He is also a practical me- 
 chanic and cabinet-maker, and thus thoroughly 
 understanding the business, is capable of super- 
 intending those engaged in that work. He has 
 carved out his own fortune, and the result shows 
 that it was no unskilled hand that did the work. 
 
 UILLIAM H. WORTHINGTON is Treasurer 
 of the Bepublican at Rockford, whose first 
 W^ issue was made April 10, 1890. The scheme 
 of setting on foot a first-class Republican paper 
 was undertaken by our subject, in company with 
 other well-known men of the city, it being incor- 
 porated with the following officers: H. H. Robin- 
 son, President; S. A. Johnson, Vice-President; 
 Will J. Johnson, Secretary, and W. H. Worthing- 
 ton, Treasurer; with H. 0. Hilton, Managing Edi- 
 tor, and C. D. Allyn, City Editor. The company 
 is formed of well-known young business men of 
 this section and its backers represent a large 
 amount of capital. From the beginning, the paper 
 has been issued morning and evening, semi- 
 weekly and weekly, and its wonderful growth has 
 far exceeded the expectation of its promoters. Our 
 subject is a native of Rockford, having been born 
 here in 1854. He received a practical education 
 in the common and High Schools of this city, and, 
 having spent a great deal of his time in his father's 
 drug store, became a student and graduated in 
 pharmacy, giving his entire time and attention to 
 
 compounding drugs until he connected himself 
 witli the enterprise to which he gives his best 
 efforts. His life has been a busy one and while 
 yet in his prime he has shown his ability to manage 
 with great skill the affairs in which he is interested. 
 
 The history of our subject's family in this city 
 is of a character worthy of some special mention. 
 In 1838, William Worthington, his father, came 
 to Rockford when a young man and was recog- 
 nized as one of its prominent business men and 
 good citizens from the very outset. In 1843, he 
 became the proprietor of a drug store on East 
 State Street, which is to-day in the possession of 
 the family and which is not only regarded as the 
 oldest drug house, but the oldest permanent busi- 
 ness firm in the city. The senior Mr. Worthington 
 managed the business for some years on his own 
 account, and later associated with him his sons, 
 when the firm became Worthington & Sons, and 
 later W. H. Worthington & Co. At the present 
 time, it is known under the firm title of Worthing- 
 ton & Slaid, who do a thriving business at the old 
 stand. 
 
 The death of William Worthington occurred in 
 this city in 1886, and in his death Rockford lost an 
 old settler, a worthy and upright citizen and a 
 man loved by all who knew him. He lived to see 
 the many changes that have been the means of 
 making it what it is to-day — the leading inland 
 city in the State. Mr. Worthington alwaj's took 
 an active interest in everything that was calculated 
 to benefit the city, and gave liberally of his income 
 in the furtherance of all good measures. He was 
 once in a position to become wealthy, but never 
 clamored for more of this world's goods than just 
 what was necessary to make him comfortable in 
 life. 
 
 The father of our subject was born in Enfield, 
 Conn., in 1819. Losing his parents when quite 
 young, he grew up and was educated in Springfield, 
 Mass., where the family were very prominent, 
 many of its members being associated with leading 
 enterprises in that city, one of the main streets 
 bearing their name. Mr. Wortliington was yet a 
 young man when he came to Rockford where he 
 met and married a worthy lady, who bore the name 
 of Eliza Kellogg. She was born in Cuyahoga 
 
1076 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 County, Oliio, June 14, 1823, and was brought to 
 this community by her parents in her girlhood 
 days where she completed her education. She is 
 yet living, is smart and active and one of Rock- 
 ford's recognized matrons and good Christian 
 women. Like her husband, she has done every- 
 thing to encourage that which is progressive and 
 good. 
 
 William H. Worthington of this sketch after be- 
 coming permanently settled in business, saw the 
 need of a true helpmate and was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Adelle Shaw, May 30, 1879. Tlie 
 lady was born in the Wolverine State in 1854 and 
 was quite young when her parents became resi- 
 dents of Rockford, where she was given a good 
 schooling and has since become one of the leading 
 ladies in social and religious circles. Her father, 
 C. A. Shaw, now deceased, was for manj' j-ears a 
 prominent merchant of this city, but at the time 
 of his demise was retired from active life, his death 
 occurring when sixtj'-flve years of age. His wife, 
 who was formerly Miss Clarissa Stowell, died here 
 when well advanced in years. 
 
 Our subject and his wife are members and active 
 workers in the Centennial Methodist Episcopal 
 Church of Rockford. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 -^ 
 
 ,«^ AMUEL M. PEARSALL, a retired farmer 
 ^^^ living in Poplar Grove, was born in 
 |ft^^ Greene, Chenango County, N.Y., Decem- 
 
 ber 24, 1832. His father, John Pearsall, 
 
 was also a native of the Empire State, where he 
 resided until 1839, and then with his wife and 
 four children came to Illinois, and located in 
 Boone County, at a time when all the land was 
 owned by the Government, and deer and other 
 wild animals were very numerous. Mr. Pearsall 
 purchased a claim to a tract of land in what is 
 now Belvidere Township, on which there was a 
 log house. He improved the farm, and resided 
 there until about two years before his decease, 
 when he disposed of his estate and lived a retired 
 life, dying in March, 1865. 
 
 The mother of our subject bore the maiden 
 name of Clarinda Walker. She was born in 
 
 Chenango County, N. Y., and is the daughter of 
 Samuel Walker, and is one of a family of seven- 
 teen children, all born of the same parents, eight 
 girls and nine boys. All lived to become the 
 heads of families. 
 
 Our subject is one in a familj- of six children, 
 four of whom are living, namelj'^: Albert L., 
 Samuel M., Martha and Mary. He of whom we 
 write was a lad of seven years when he came to 
 Illinois with his parents, and was thus old enough 
 to remember the incidents of the long journey, 
 and the pioneer life in this county. He attended 
 the district schools when they were taught in the 
 log school-house, furnished in the most primitive 
 fashion. 
 
 Samuel M. Pearsall remained with his parents 
 until seventeen years of age, when he went to 
 Iowa, making the journey with a team. The first 
 winter he operated a threshing-machine, then 
 began to learn the carpenter trade at Independ- 
 ence. He followed that trade most of the time 
 for seven years, then returned to Boone County 
 and worked at his trade for two years. He was 
 then married, September 26, 1859, to Annie 
 Candy, and removed to a farm near Poplar Grove. 
 Mrs. Pearsall was born in Brantford, London 
 District, Province of Ontario, Canada, June 27, 
 1838, and was the daughter of William V. Candy, 
 who was born in Somersetshire, England, and was 
 the only member of his father's family who came 
 to America, making his advent into the New 
 World in 1835. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Pearsall, on locating in this 
 country, was married at Albany, N. Y., Januarj^ 
 28, 1836, to Elizabeth Clark, and in the spring of 
 that year removed to Canada and located at 
 Brantford, where he died two j'ears later. The 
 mother, who afterward married Robert Dymond, 
 still resides in Caledonia Township. She was 
 born in Somersetshire, England, in 1810 
 
 The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Pearsall, 
 Charles Clark, was also a native of England, and 
 came to America with his family in 1835. Spend- 
 ing that winter in Albany, he then removed to 
 Brantford, Canada, where he purchased a farm 
 which contained a sawmill. Mr. Clark operated 
 the mill and superintended the improvement of 
 
<:^-tcyt^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1079 
 
 his farm until the time of his coming to Illinois, 
 where he departed this life in Boone County. 
 Tlie lady to whom he was married was Elizabeth 
 Porter. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Pearsall have been born two 
 children who are living, namely: Eva, who is now 
 the Wife of W. E. Gorman, and resides in Poplar 
 Grove, and Charles. James A., the second son, 
 who was a conductor on the Chicago & North- 
 western Railroad, was killed at Madison, Wis., 
 May 6, 1883, when nineteen years of age. In his 
 political relations, our subject is a Republican, and 
 greatly respected in his community. 
 
 *^^! 
 
 m^m 
 
 m 
 
 (^ J^ILLIAM "WATSON. The gentleman whose 
 life sketch and portrait are here presented, 
 ied at his home at No. 611 West State 
 Street, in October, 1881. He had come to this 
 county many years before, and was a well-known 
 and inflaential citizen. His birth occurred in Tren- 
 ton, N. J. His father was a native of Scotland, 
 and resided both in Glasgow and Edinburg. Hav- 
 ing served an apprenticeship as a silversmith, 
 while yet a young man he came to this country 
 and settled in Trenton, N. J., where he was mar- 
 ried. His death occurred in the prime of life, after 
 which his widow with her familj' removed to Roch- 
 ester, N. Y. 
 
 In that city, our subject was reared to manhood, 
 and acquired a good education. Indeed, he stood 
 so high in his class, that he received a compliment- 
 ary scholarship to the State Normal in Albany N. 
 Y., from which institution he afterward was grad- 
 uated. He then engaged in teaching for some 
 years in Western New York, after which he edited 
 and published a mental arithmetic, at the request 
 of the officers of the State Normal, who knew bis 
 ability as a mathematician. Throughout his life, 
 love of study was one of his chief characteristics, 
 and iiis large library contained the works of many 
 of the best ancient and modern writers. 
 
 When a single man, Mr. Watson came West and 
 in Flint, Mich., was joined in wedlock to Miss Lot- 
 tie L. Goodrich, who was born, reared and educa- 
 ted in Potsdam, N. Y. Her father, Truxton A. 
 
 Goodrich, was reared in St. Lawrence County, N. 
 Y., and was one of its prominent citizens. At the 
 breaking out of the late war, his eldest son, David 
 A., who was only sixteen years of age, determined 
 to enter the service, and not wishing him to go 
 alone, Mr. Goodrich joined him, and in 1861 they 
 enlisted in Company F, Ninety-second New York 
 Infantry. A few months later the son sickened, 
 and died May 30, 1862, in a Southern hospital, 
 when less than seventeen years of age. His father 
 survived him only about six months, and while 
 doing detached duty, died in October, 1862, at the 
 age of forty-three years. He was also buried on 
 Southern soil. The loss of husband and son was a 
 sad blow to Mrs. Goodrich, who, after six years of 
 sorrow, was called to join the loved ones gone be- 
 fore. She was fifty-two years of age at the time 
 of her death. Both husband and wife were among 
 the original members of the Congregational Church 
 in Potsdam, N. Y. 
 
 Mrs. Watson, wife of our subject, was carefully 
 reared and educated. She has a brother and sister 
 still living: Daniel J., who married Alice Furman, 
 resides on a farm in Hortonville, Vt., and they 
 have three children: Henry B., Lotta and Fred; 
 Mary M. is the wife of Joshua Curtis, a farmer re- 
 siding near Flint, Mich., and they have two sons: 
 Caleb and Fred. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Watson were 
 born three children, but Edith K. and Alice M. 
 died in childhood; Fannie is a student in the pub- 
 lic schools. 
 
 The year following his arrival in Rockford, Mr. 
 Watson established the Rockford Insurance Com- 
 pany, of which he was Secretary for some years 
 and chief manager. He served as Mayor of the 
 city for one term, but was never an office-seeker. 
 In politics, he was a Republican, prominent in the 
 circles of his party, and took a deep interest in its 
 success. He was a self-made man, but though he 
 was forced to start out in life empty-handed, he 
 won success by his own efforts. He was public- 
 spirited, and spent his money freely for the ad- 
 vancement of any cause calculated to upbuild the 
 community. His many worthy characteristics won 
 him the confidence and esteem of all, and in his 
 death it was believed the county had lost one of 
 her best citizens. He was a man of fine literarj' 
 
1080 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 attainments, as the following lines attest. They 
 were written after listening to a sermon in which 
 tlie simile of the tunnel was used: 
 
 PASSING THROUGH THE TUNNEL. 
 
 As we steam toward the tunnel, 
 
 Gentle banks on either side 
 Swiftly rising, frown upon us 
 
 And the fading landscape hide; 
 And a sad and solemn stillness 
 
 Gives a gloom to ev'ry face, 
 As the train, a-thund'ring onward, 
 
 Rushes in the narrow space. 
 
 In an instant all is darkness! 
 
 And we hold the list'ning breath. 
 As the heart is leaping upward 
 
 To escape the threatened death; 
 While the darkness grows the darker. 
 
 And the gloomier is the roll. 
 And a thousand hideous fancies 
 
 Fiercely glare upon the soul! 
 
 Till a glimmer, seen before us. 
 
 Swiftly opens into day, 
 And the danger and the darkness 
 
 Are forever fled away; 
 And a fresher, sweeter prospect 
 
 Spreads in beauty to the eye, 
 With its smiling hills and valleys 
 
 And its waters rippling by. 
 
 So is death to ev'ry Christian, 
 
 As he passes through the vale — 
 As the shadows darken round him. 
 
 And the glooms of death prevail; 
 How the spirit sadly lingers 
 
 Witli the passing joys of life. 
 And how Nature dreads the passage, 
 
 And the Soul the final strife. 
 
 First the darkness, then the glimmer, 
 
 Then the glorious light is seen. 
 And the heavenly land discloses. 
 
 Dressed in one eternal green! 
 All along the shining valley 
 
 Is the Tree of Life displayed! 
 And the Stream of Life is sweetly 
 
 Flowing on beneath the shade! 
 
 On the verge are liills of beauty. 
 
 With eternal cedars crowned. 
 And within, from choirs of angels, 
 
 Heavenly music floats around! 
 Christian brother, at the tunnel 
 
 Let no heaving sigh be given. 
 For if earth is lost in passing. 
 
 You shall win the joys of Heaven ! 
 
 Generous and sympathetic, he was ever a friend 
 to those suffering from misfortune. Did want 
 stare them in the face, his hand was open to help 
 them; did the burdens of life, or the weight of 
 years bow down upon them, his presence came like 
 a benediction, and by his countless kind acts he 
 brought gleams of sunshine through their gloom, 
 and warmed their hearts as they moved down the 
 rugged hills toward the Sunset Land. 
 
 Mrs. Watson still makes her home at her pleas- 
 ant residence on the corner of West State and 
 West Streets. She is an intelligent lady, true and 
 faithful, and in social circles ranks high. With 
 the Second Congregational Church she holds mem- 
 bership, and her life has been in harmony with her 
 profession. To the poor and needy she is a faith- 
 ful friend, and the distressed never seek her aid in 
 vain. 
 
 _y 
 
 EDWIN LANDER. Among the self-made 
 men of Boone County none deserve greater 
 credit than the subject of this notice, who 
 is in possession of a comfortable amount of this 
 woi'ld's goods, obtained by hard labor and good 
 management, and is living retired on his estate on 
 section 15, Spring Township. Like many of the 
 prominent residents of this county, he is a native 
 of England, having been born April 26, 1815, in 
 Wiltshire. 
 
 Edwin Lander, of this sketch, determined to try 
 his fortune in the New World, and, setting sail 
 from Bristol in the vessel "Java," April 6, 1849, 
 was eight weeks en route to tiiis country. Land- 
 ing in New York, he came direct to this county, 
 where he purchased eighty acres of land. He 
 later added to his possessions until he is now the 
 owner of one hundred and fifty and one-half ex- 
 cellently improved acres. 
 
 Miss Mary Skitterey was united in marriage with 
 our subject January 5, 1837. The lady was born 
 in Somersetshire, England, September 14, 1812, 
 and was the daughter of William and Ann Skit- 
 terey, both of whom died in their native England, 
 the father when fifty-four years of age, and the 
 mother in her sixty-seventh year. Mr. and Mrs. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1081 
 
 Lander have four children living, as follows: 
 William E., who was born in Somersetshire, Octo- 
 ber 22, 1837, is a farmer; Edward P., who also 
 had his birth in England, February 2, 1843, is 
 married and the father of three children ; Eliza, 
 who was born in Wiltshire, January 21, 1848, is 
 residing at home; Susan A., born January 31, 
 1852, in this county, is the widow of W. II. Terry 
 and the mother of four children. Another daugh- 
 ter of our subject, Marj% was married to Byron 
 Johnson, and at her decease left four children. 
 
 He of whom we write was a son of William and 
 Susan Lander, who lived and died in England at 
 an advanced age. Our subject had a brother 
 James, who came to America in 1816. His ma- 
 ternal grandfather was Edward Mathews, who 
 followed the occupation of a farmer. Mr. Lander 
 has four great-grandchildren, one of whom is 
 nine years of age. He owns and occupies a pleas- 
 ant home and, in company with his son William, 
 was the first to agitate the subject and to build a 
 creamery in this vicinity, which they have since 
 sold. 
 
 A Republican in politics, Mr. Lander cast his 
 first vote for Fremont. He is at present living 
 retired, his farm being managed by his son Will- 
 iam, in whose hands the acres are made to blos- 
 som as the rose. This son has been Treasurer of 
 the Board of Highway Commissioners, and has 
 held many other positions of trust, in which he 
 has served with credit to himself and benefit to 
 the community. 
 
 ^=^>-^<i 
 
 SJ"^ 
 
 ^— 
 
 'ir^RANK A. BAXTER, who is engaged in 
 rr^ general farming on section 23, New Mil- 
 'Ai ford Township, is one of the representative 
 citizens of Winnebago County, and a native citi- 
 zen as well. He was born on the 15th of Sep- 
 tember, 1845, and is a son of John and Maria 
 (Horton) Baxter, both of whom were natives of 
 Ithaca, Tompkins County, N. Y. The father was 
 a farmer and with his wife and seven children 
 emigrated Westward, settling on twenty-one acres 
 of land on section 30, New Milford Township. 
 Our subject was the fifth son and seventh child. 
 
 He left home at the age of fourteen years and be- 
 gan working as a farm hand at 16 per month, and 
 for three months during the year worked for his 
 board and schooling, for his father was poor and 
 had a hard struggle to support the family. After 
 working by the month for four years, he then be- 
 gan operating rented land and when twenty-four 
 years of age purchased forty acres of land in New 
 Milford Township, selling at a profit of $350. He 
 then bought eighty acres in Cherry Valley Town- 
 ship, upon which he built a house. A year later, 
 he secured as a companion and helpmate on life's 
 journey Miss Helen Conkling, of that township, a 
 daughter of James and Theresa J. (Martin) Conk- 
 ling. Her parents were natives of the Empire 
 State and were among the pioneers of this county. 
 By their union have been born one son and four 
 daughters: Bert, born January 12, 1873 ; Myrtle, 
 June 10, 1874; Emma, June 26, 1876; Effle, June 
 1, 1878, and Frankie, March 29, 1880. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Baxter resided in Cherry Valley 
 Township for six years, when he sold his farm and 
 removed to New Milford Township, purchasing 
 one hundred and seventy-eight acres on section 
 25. He paid $32.50 per acre for fortj' acres 
 and $26 per acre for the remaining amount. 
 It was but slightly improved and he has since ex- 
 pended upon it $4,200 in buildings, has planted a 
 good orchard, and set out many fine shade trees, 
 which are now growing: The land is also under a 
 high state of cultivation, and this farm is one of 
 the attractive and desirable places in the town- 
 ship. Mr. Baxter next purchased one hundred 
 and forty-four acres, called the Mill property, ad-' 
 joining the village of New Milford, and in March, 
 1891, bought and removed to his present farm of 
 one hundred and ninety-four acres adjoining the 
 village on the West. During all these years, he 
 has engaged in general farming and for the past 
 five years has also engaged in shipping cattle and 
 hogs to the Chicago Union Stock Yards. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Baxter are members of the Method- 
 ist Church of New Milford and are genial, social 
 people who have many warm friends throughout 
 the community. They have given their children 
 good educational advantages and have a family 
 of which they may well be proud. Bert is now 
 
1082 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 attending the Rockford High School and Emma 
 has fitted herself to enter the same school. In pol- 
 itics, Mr. Baxter is a Republican. He has never 
 sought or desired public office and was much sur- 
 prised when, in June, 1891, he received the appoint- 
 ment as Supervisor of his township to fill a 
 vacancy caused by the death of Price Lewis. 
 However, he will prove a faithful officer as he is 
 true to every trust reposed in him. His business 
 career has been a most prosperous one and for it 
 he deserves great credit as it is the result of his 
 own unaided efforts. He is a prominent and in- 
 fluential citizen of the community and is deservedly 
 popular among his fellow-townsmen. 
 
 RS. VALLONIA H. SHEDD, M. D., has for 
 
 twenty-one years engaged in the practice 
 of medicine in Rockford. Of those women 
 who have made a name and fortune for 
 themselves in the practice of medicine, none are 
 more deserving of mention than our subject, who 
 is known throughout the State as a skillful phj'si- 
 cian. She has made her home in Rockford since 
 1857, and is both widely and favorably known. 
 
 Dr. Shedd was born in Warsaw, Wyoming 
 County, N. Y. Her grandfather, Edward Putnam, 
 Sr., was a native of Vermont, and a kinsman of 
 Gen. Putnam, of Revolutionary fame. He himself 
 fought throughout the struggle for independence 
 and lived to be ninetj'-two years of age. He mar- 
 ried Rachel Reynolds, who was born in New Eng- 
 land, of English descent, and reached the very 
 advanced age of ninety-seven years. She was a 
 prominent and well-educated woman, and her last 
 days were speni in the West. PMward Putnam, 
 Jr., the father of the Doctor, was born in Grafton, 
 Vt., and with his parents removed to Warsaw N. 
 Y., in 1810. Two years later, he married Rachel 
 Hutton, who died at the age of fort3'-six years, af- 
 ter the birth of nine children. Mr. Putnam was 
 the first merchant of Warsaw, N. Y., and the mar- 
 riage of him and his wife was the second celebrated 
 in Wyoming County. He continued business for 
 many years in that city, and was one of its prom- 
 inent residents. He served as magistrate formanj'^ 
 
 years, kept a hotel for many years, and was a 
 leader of the people in all public matters. About 
 two years pi'ior to his death, he came to the West, 
 and after residing for about eighteen months with 
 his son in Wisconsin, came to Rockford. Six 
 months later, he died at the home of his son Lu- 
 cius, at the ajge of eighty-three years. 
 
 At the age of sixteen years. Dr. Shedd began 
 teaching school, and for seven years followed that 
 profession in her native State. In Warsaw, she 
 gave her hand in marriage to David Shedd, a na- 
 tive of Vermont, who, when a young man, re- 
 moved to New York. He was a molder by trade, 
 and followed that business for some years after 
 coming to Rockford in 1857. He was a quiet, un- 
 assuming man, upright in all the relations of life, 
 and for his honesty and morality was highly es- 
 teemed. His death occurred in this city in Sep- 
 tember, 1881, at the age of seventy-one years. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Shedd were born four chil- 
 dren: Henry C, a member of the firm of Putnam & 
 Shedd, furniture dealers of Rockford; Julia, wife 
 of Frank E. Trumbull, now a clerk in the Centen- 
 nial Clothing Store, of Rockford, and an enterpris- 
 ing young man, who has spent his entire life in 
 this city; Washington Irving, who died in child- 
 hood: and Helen Irene, deceased, who married Dr. 
 T. A. Proctor, now of Rochester, N. Y.; she had 
 been formerly married, and by her second union 
 she left three daughters and a son. 
 
 By nature, Mrs. Shedd was fitted for the work in 
 which she is now engaged, possessing natural abil- 
 ity in that direction She first began doctoring 
 her own family, but soon neighbors and friends re- 
 quested her services, and at length the calls made 
 upon her she found to be more than she could at- 
 tend to. When the law went into effect that a 
 doctor's license should be required, she secured 
 one without trouble, and has since been engaged 
 in the active practice of medicine. Her work has 
 been very successful, and she has never lost one 
 out of all the febrile cases which she has attended. 
 She is now making a specialty of chronic cases, 
 but, owing to increasing age and failing health, 
 she cannot now attend to so large a pi'actice as 
 was formerly hers. She has reached the age of 
 seventy-six, but with the exception of her hearing. 
 
ill. * ' "V* 
 
 ' *- jfl 
 
 
 
 re* 1 
 
 TiM J t 
 
 /^CfuA^ i/i- 
 
 
 
POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1085 
 
 which is partially impaired, she is still as well pre- 
 served as many much younger ladies. Her reputa- 
 tion has extended all over the State, and with it 
 she has gained many warm friends who esteem her 
 highly for her sterling worth. 
 
 ON. D. EMMONS ADAMS. The gentle- 
 man whose portrait and life sketch are here 
 presented to our readers, has been a resi- 
 dent of Winnebago County since July, 
 1846. Born in Rensselaer County, N. Y., February 
 23, 1818, he is a son of Hiel and Mary (Newton) 
 Adams, also natives of the above-named State and 
 county, where they resided on a farm. The father 
 died in 1843 in his fifty-fourth year and the mother 
 passed away five years later, aged fifty-six years. 
 
 Our subject was one of a family of eight chil- 
 dren, his brothers and sisters being Ezra, who re- 
 sides in Laona Township, this county; Hiel, who 
 departed this life in Rensselaer County, N. Y., in 
 1890; Elijah, who makes his home at Brodhead, 
 Wis.; Emma, who married D. Waterbury, and died 
 in Wayne County, N. Y.; Mary M., Mrs. John 
 Chaloner, who resides in Rensselaer County, N. Y.; 
 Sadie A., the wife of James M. Rockwell, who lives 
 in Pontiac, Mich., and Sarah, Mrs. Samuel R. Young, 
 who resides in Delaware County, Iowa. 
 
 D. E. Adams was reared to manhood on his fa- 
 ther's farm, and after obtaining his education in 
 the common schools, taught in the neighborhood. 
 In 1842, he was married to Palmyra Houghton, who 
 was born April 23, 1813, in Rensselaer County, 
 N. Y., and died eighteen months after her marriage. 
 August 9, 1845, Mr. Adams was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Palmyra Bills, who was born in 
 iBerkshire County, Mass., July 20, 1821. Mr. Ad- 
 ams came to Illinois in 1846, and purchased one 
 hundred and twentj' acres of section 29, Laona 
 Township, on which were a few acres broken and 
 a very rude log cabin. He then returned to the 
 Empire State, and, in the spring, brought his wife 
 and child with him to the new home. 
 
 Until 1886, our subject gave his attention to 
 agricultural pursuits, and at that time was the 
 owner of an estate comprising five hundred acres. 
 
 The tract upon which he resided included two 
 hundred and eighty acres, the entire amount being 
 under excellent cultivation and supplied with first- 
 class farm buildings of every description. Selling 
 out his property in the above-named year, he re- 
 moved to Durand, where he now resides. 
 
 Starting out in life poor in this world's goods, 
 the first employment secured by Mr. Adams was as 
 a farm-hand at $8 per month. He saved enough 
 of his earnings to bring him West, and in every 
 department of work has since been successful, be- 
 ing classed at the present time among the wealthy 
 citizens of Winnebago County. To himself and 
 estimable wife have been born four children: Ros- 
 coe E. was born May 17, 1846, and December 17, 
 1872, was married to Adella Stewart; he departed 
 this life in August, 1885. Mary A. was born Au- 
 gust 20, 1848, and is the wife of Charles R. Stewart, 
 of Dickinson County, Iowa. Elma A. was born 
 March 8, 1851, and is now Mrs. Thurrow W. Web- 
 ster, of Durand. Charlotte G. was born Septem- 
 ber 19, 1852, and is the wife of Warren E. Filer 
 of this place. 
 
 Our subject cast his first vote for William Henry 
 Harrison, in 1840, and since that time has voted 
 the Republican ticket. He has served his fellow- 
 townsmen as Assessor and Collector nine years, 
 and for a period of twelve years was Supervisor. 
 He represented his district in the State Legislature 
 in the Twenty -seventh General Assembly, which 
 was the first under the New Constitution and 
 hence was very important. He has always been 
 interested in local politics, and has frequently rep- 
 resented his party as a delegate to county, district 
 and State conventions. 
 
 Second to no other public interest has been the 
 deep concern felt by Mr. Adams toward the pro- 
 gress of educational matters. He was the first 
 School Trustee elected in Laona, his duty being to 
 oversee the surveying of land and appraise the 
 value of school land given by the Government for 
 educational purposes. While living in Rensselaer 
 he was a member of the State militia. His first 
 commission was that of Captain and he subse- 
 quently received promotion to Lieutenant-Colonel 
 and Colonel. In social matters, he is a charter 
 member of Durand Lodge No. 302, A. F. & A. M., 
 
1086 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and is contributing liberally to the support of all 
 schemes for the moral and material advancement 
 of this township that meet with his approval. 
 
 ^S^EUBEN J. TOUSLEY. The superior ac- 
 \i^ commodations offered by the Julien House 
 (£S '\\ has secured it a prominent place in the 
 ^p) favor of the citizens of Belvidere and 
 the traveling public. The hotel is a commodious 
 building, containing fifty sleeping rooms, conven- 
 iently arranged and nicelj' furnished, and under 
 the efficient management of Mr. Tousley has be- 
 come known as one of the finest houses in North- 
 ern Illinois. Since he assumed its entire control, 
 he has increased its accommodations by erecting an 
 addition which is larger than the original build- 
 ing, and his capable supervision invariably secures 
 the comfort and satisfaction of his guests. 
 
 Before giving in detail the principal events in tlie 
 life of our subject, it will not be amiss to briefly 
 mention his parentage. His grandfather, Reuben 
 Tousley, was born in New England and for many 
 years carried on an extensive trade with the West 
 Indies, his occupation being that of a merchant. 
 His death occurred at his home in Williamstown, 
 Mass., of which place he was long a citizen. The 
 father of our subject, Reuben Tousley, Jr., was born 
 in Massachusetts, and was a small ciiild when he 
 was left fatherless. Soon afterward, his mother 
 removed to EUisburgh, Jefferson County, N. Y., 
 and was there married a second time. 
 
 Coming West to Ohio at an early day, the father 
 of our subject landed at Cleveland when it was 
 a mere village. Thence he proceeded with a team 
 to Medina County and, purchasing a tract of tim- 
 ber land, erected thereon a small house. A few 
 years later, he removed to Streetsboro, Portage 
 County, and there made his home until 1846, 
 when he went to Wisconsin and secured a tract of 
 Government land in Walworth County. The near- 
 est marliet was at Milwaukee, thirty miles distant, 
 and Mr. Tousley suffered the usual privations in- 
 cident to pioneer life. After residing on that 
 place for a number of years, he sold and purchased 
 an improved farm in Jefferson County, Wis., 
 
 where he lived until 1865. Afterward he resided 
 for a time at Kenosha, Wis., but at the present 
 time is making his home at Walker, Linn County, 
 Iowa. His wife, the mother of our subject, bore 
 the maiden name of Terzah Cook. She was born 
 in Vermont and died in .Jefferson County, Wis., 
 in 1864. 
 
 In the pioneer home at Stone, Medina County, 
 Ohio, the subject of this sketch was bom Novem- 
 ber 28, 1834. In the public schools of Ohio he 
 received his early education, which was advanced 
 by attendance in the schools of Walworth County, 
 Wis. At the age of eighteen, he commenced to 
 teach, and in 1859 was clerk in the postofflce at 
 Waukesha. His next position was with the Clii- 
 cago & Milwaukee Railroad Company, with whom 
 he remained for a few months and then accepted 
 a position as commercial traveler. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Tousley purchased the Julien House 
 at Belvidere, and a year later resigned as commer- 
 cial salesman in order to devote his entire atten- 
 tion to the hotel, of which, as above mentioned, he 
 has made a complete success. With the exception 
 of three weeks, he has been proprietor of the hotel 
 continuously since his first connection therewith. 
 A Republican in politics, he is stanch in his ad- 
 herence to the party principles and is now serving 
 his second term as Alderman. Socially, he is a 
 memberof Big Thunder Lodge No. 28, 1. O. 0. F., 
 Belvidere Lodge No. 60, F. & A. M., Kishwau- 
 kee Council No. 883, Legion of Honor. 
 
 December 12, 1865, Miss D. Augusta, daughter 
 of Robert and Elizabeth (Rogers) Traver, became 
 the wife of our subject. She was born in Cort- 
 land County, N. Y., and belongs to one of the 
 oldest families of the Empire State. Her father 
 was born in Columbia County, N. Y., December 
 29, 1816, and when eight years old accompanied 
 his parents to Yates County, that State, where he 
 resided until eighteen. He then removed to Cort- 
 land County, and, when leaving home three years 
 later, purchased a farm in that county and was 
 there married, August 28, 1844, to Miss Elizabeth 
 Rogers, who was born in Tompkins County, June 
 7, 1820. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Traver resided in Fulton 
 County until 1857, when he sold his place and 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1087 
 
 removed to Wisconsin. After sojourning in that 
 State for iive months, he proceeded farther West 
 to McGregor, Iowa, where for one year he was 
 engaged as railroad contractor. He again removed, 
 making his home in Clermont, Iowa, and en- 
 gaging in different pursuits until 1865, when he 
 came to Belvidere and in partnership with our 
 subject purchased the Julien House. Ten years 
 later, he sold his interest in the hotel and lived 
 retired from business until his death, when sixty- 
 five years old. 
 
 The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Tousley were 
 John and Margaret (Rorahbacher) Traver. The 
 former was born September 22, 1788, and died in 
 Cortland County, N. Y., April 14, 1866. The 
 latter departed this life at the home of our sub- 
 ject February 16, 1878, at the advanced age of 
 ninetj'-five years. The first representatives of the 
 Korahbacber family in America came hither from 
 Germany, bringing a large fortune with them, and 
 became pioneers of Columbia County, N. Y., 
 where one of their number was the founder of the 
 iron works of Akron. 
 
 The mother of Mrs. Tousley was the daughter 
 of Amos and Rachel (David) Rogers, the former a 
 native of Connecticut who resided near Hartford 
 until reaching mature years. Thence he accom- 
 panied his mother to Brattleboro, Vt., and from 
 there went to Massachusetts. After his marriage 
 in 1805, he resided in Berkshire County, Mass., 
 until 1817, when he removed to New York and 
 settled in Tompkins County. Later, he removed 
 to Cortland County, where his death occurred 
 March 14, 1855. He was the father of ten chil- 
 dren, eight of whom grew to mature years, and 
 six are now living, the youngest being sixty- 
 eight years of age. 
 
 Amos Rogers, the grandfather of Mrs. Tousley, 
 was the son of Samuel Rogers, who died at Brattle- 
 boro, Vt., when forty years of age. The family 
 traces its lineage to John Rogers, the martyr, who 
 was burned at the stake, which relationship they 
 prove by authentic genealogy. Rachel Davis, as 
 the grandmother of Mrs. Tousley was known in 
 maidenhood, was born in the Bay State October 8, 
 1782, and died in Cortland County, N. Y., when 
 eighty-six years of age. She was the daughter of 
 
 John and Mary (Nichols) Davis, natives respect- 
 ively of England and Massachusetts. 
 
 Our subject and his excellent wife have two 
 children: Herbert was married May 6, 1891, to 
 Miss Helen L. Keeler, and is interested with his 
 father in the Julien House; Reuben F. is engaged 
 in the grain business and stock exchange at Rock- 
 ford. The members of the family are well and 
 favorably known in this city where they have re- 
 sided for so many years. 
 
 -^1. 
 
 -^ 
 
 ^-^ 
 
 IS- 
 
 sr 
 
 ylLLIAM MOFFATT, who has been en- 
 gaged in general blacksmithing in Rock- 
 ford since September, 1858, was born in 
 Youngstown, Niagara County, N. Y., December 
 29, 1830, and until twelve years of ago was reared 
 in Canada, after which he went to the Empire 
 State. His father, Capt. William Moffatt, was a 
 native of Northumberland, England, and was of 
 pure English descent. When a mere boy, he 
 went to sea and at the age of nineteen became mas- 
 ter of a vessel, a sea and lake ship engaged in the 
 merchant trade. He became well known all over 
 the Lakes from Buffalo to Chicago. At length, he 
 gave up a sailor's life and turned his attention to 
 farming. He died near Niagara, Canada, at the 
 age of seventy-four years. His wife, whose 
 maiden name was Ann Hayes, was a native of 
 Massachusetts, and also died near Niagara, at the 
 age of forty-four years. Both were well-known 
 people in the community where they resided. The 
 paternal grandparents of our subject were Rich- 
 ard and Charlotte (Wood) Moffatt, and the former's 
 death occurred in Canada at the advanced age of 
 eighty-two years. 
 
 William Moffatt, whose name heads this sketch, 
 learned the trade of blacksmithing in Monroe, 
 Livingston County, N. Y., and did work as a 
 journeyman on his own account in the Empire 
 State until his emigration Westward from Fowler- 
 ville. Before leaving the East, he was married in 
 Youngstown, Niagara County, N. Y., on the 12th 
 of July, 1854, to Miss Sarah J. Cannam, the Rev. 
 Mr. Craig, the great temperance lecturer, officiat- 
 ing. The lady was born in Livingston County, of 
 
1088 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 English parentage. Her father and mother were 
 both natives of England, and after their marriage 
 came to this country. They located in Livingston 
 County, N. Y., where Mr. Cannam became a suc- 
 cessful farmer, and in that county they spent the 
 remainder of their days, dying when well ad- 
 vanced in years. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Moffatt has been born 
 one son, who is yet living, Fred H., a successful 
 grocery merchant, carrying on business on West 
 State Street. Mr. Moffatt came with his family to 
 Rockford in 1858, and has since engaged in black- 
 smithing with excellent success. His business is 
 large, and to aid him he engaged Thomas Condon 
 and others. Thomas Condon has now been in 
 his employ for about twenty years. The latter 
 makes a specialty of horse-shoeing and the others 
 of flne repair work. Mr. Moffatt is himself a 
 skilled workman, and by fair and honest dealing 
 he has secured an excellent and constantly increas- 
 ing trade, which has brought him in a good in- 
 come and made him well-to-do. Both he and his 
 son are supporters of the Republican party. Mr. 
 Moffatt is public-spirited and progressive, true to 
 all his duties, and is a good citizen. His shop is 
 located at No. 109, and his pleasant home at No. 
 902 North Church Street. 
 
 ^SCAR NORTON, one of the prominent mer- 
 chants of Durand, located here in 1861, and 
 is thus numbered among the pioneers as one 
 of the leading citizens. A native of New York, 
 his birth occurred in Oswego County, October 4, 
 1837. He is the son of Birdsil and Almira (Harts- 
 horn) Norton, natives respectively of Massachusetts 
 and Madison County, N. Y. Ephraim Norton, the 
 grandfather of our subject, was also a native of 
 the Bay State, where he was a farmer, and on re- 
 moving to New York State lived to attain an old 
 age. 
 
 Birdsil Norton was a cabinet-maker and car- 
 ried on business in the town of Parish. He 
 was born in 1805 and departed this life in 1845, 
 when in the prime of life; his good wife, who lived 
 to attain the advanced age of eighty-four years. 
 
 
 
 died in Syracuse, N. Y. They became the parents 
 of seven children: Ephraim B., who follows the 
 trade of a carpenter in the above-named city; Cur- 
 tis M. was the second in order of birth; Ellen E., 
 Mrs. Miller; our subject; Birdsley, and Dwight A., 
 who died young. They are all residents of Syra- 
 cuse, with the exception of our subject. 
 
 Oscar Norton in early life learned the trade of a 
 cooper, to which he later added the occupation of a 
 farmer. In 1861, he came to the Prairie State, and, 
 locating in Durand, soon entered the employ of 
 Andrew Ashton, for whom he clerked fll f teen years. 
 At the end of that time, he established in his pres- 
 ent business and is now the oldest grocer in Dur- 
 and, and by his courteous treatment of customers 
 does about the largest business in that branch in 
 the place. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was mariied July 
 13, 1862, bore the name of Jane A., daughter of 
 D. S. and Charlotte (Warren) Richards. She is a 
 native of this place,her natal day being February 13 : 
 1845. To them have been born seven children: 
 Charles A., who was born May 2, 1863; James O., 
 who was killed by a runaway team May 18, 1891, 
 when in his twenty-sixth year; William B., who 
 was born September 20, 1867; Lottie L., born July 
 22, 1871, is attending school in Chicago; Morton 
 E., born January 3, 1874; Lawrence E., April 29, 
 1876, and Nina Nettie, April 26, 1880. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Norton votes with the Prohibi- 
 tion party, and has held the office of Town Clerk 
 and Collector. With his wife, he is a devoted 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 has aided materially in the upbuilding of this 
 community where he has resided so long. 
 
 RS. CELIA 0. THOMPSON, who is at 
 present residing on section 14, Manchester 
 111 Township, Boone County, is the widow of 
 Ole Thompson, formerly a well-to-do 
 farmer of this section. She was born in Norway, 
 September 15, 1852, and was the daughter of T. 
 Selland, also a native of Norway, where he was 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits. The maiden 
 name of his wife, the mother of Mrs. Thompson, 
 

 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1091 
 
 was Madella A. Opsangcr, and they reared a family 
 of eight cliildren, five daugliters and tliree sons. 
 
 Our subject is tlie third child and second daugh- 
 ter in order of birth, and has one sister and two 
 brothers in this country. Edmund Selland is a 
 successful farmer living in Sanborn County, S. Dak., 
 where also a sister, Anne, Mrs. Charles Thompson, 
 is residing. Nels Selland makes his home in Ben- 
 son, Swift County, Minn., where he is engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits in partnership with his nephew, 
 M. C. Thompson, the second son of Mrs. Anne 
 Thompson. 
 
 On June 12, 1877, our subject and her sister 
 came to America together and three years later 
 Miss Celia was married to Ole Thompson, of 
 Manchester Township. To them were granted two 
 daughters: Mary Amelia and Anne Eliza, aged, 
 respectively, eleven and eight years. By a previ- 
 ous marriage, Mr. Thompson was the father of 
 three children. He departed this life November 
 13, 1888, and his widow is now superintending the 
 farm which was willed by him to his daughters. 
 
 i^ 
 
 '=^ 
 
 r;ENJAMIN F. BANKS. Among the war 
 heroes of this county, none probably had 
 more interesting adventures or served 
 more bravely than the gentleman whose 
 portrait adorns the opposite page. He is at pres- 
 ent residing in a pleasant home at Eockfoi'd, 
 where his friends are as numerous as his acquaint- 
 ances. A native of Maine, he was born in Park- 
 man, Piscataquis County, March 17, 1839. His 
 father was born in Hartford, Me., July 14, 1806, 
 and his paternal grandfather, Joseph Banks, was 
 also born in that State, a descendant of English 
 ancestors. 
 
 Alfred Banks became the proprietor of a farm 
 in Parkman, where he made his home until 1845. 
 During that year he came to Illinois, accompanied 
 by his wife and four children. The trip was 
 made with teams, and six weeks were consumed on 
 the way. The elder Mr. Banks purchased a farm 
 in the town of Franklin, DeKalb County, where he 
 cultivated the soil until two years prior to his 
 decease, when he removed to Belvidere and spent 
 49 
 
 his last days. The maiden name of the mother of 
 our subject was Sarah Foster, and she was born in 
 the Pine Tree State. By her union with Mr. 
 Banks were born five children: Charles E., Se- 
 bastine S., Benjamin F., Sarah and George W. 
 
 Benjamin F. Banks was a lad of six years when 
 he accompanied his parents to the Prairie State, 
 and remembers well the incidents of the long over- 
 land journey and of pioneer life in De Kalb 
 County. For a number of years after their loca- 
 tion in that county there were no railroads, and 
 Chicago was the principal market and depot for 
 supplies. Our subject was reared to the duties of 
 a farmer's lad, and, when old enough to start out 
 on his own account, became an agriculturist. 
 
 In September, 1862, Mr. Banks enlisted in 
 Company G, One Hundred and Fifth Illinois In- 
 fantry, and served with his regiment vintil he was 
 disabled. Joining Sherman's forces, he marched 
 with them to the sea, and can give many an inter- 
 esting account of that famous tramp. He was 
 severely wounded at the battle of Kenesaw Moun- 
 tain, and after being sent to the hospital at Nashville 
 was granted a furlough and returned home. The 
 following spring he reported for duty at Chicago, 
 but was not accepted, on account of disability 
 caused by injuries received while in the service. 
 Returning again to the peaceful pursuits of farm 
 life, he purchased a farm in DeKalb County, upon 
 which he made his home until 1875, when, coming 
 to Rockford, he purchased city property, and has 
 since been numbered among the most prominent 
 citizens of the place. 
 
 The marriage of our subject occurred April 19, 
 1869, at which time Miss Frances Eliza Chittenden 
 became his wife. She was born in St. Joseph 
 County, Mich., and was the daughter of Daniel 
 Chittenden, a native of Wayne County,' N. Y., 
 where also his father, Benjamin, so far as is known, 
 was born. The grandfatlier of Mrs. Banks was a 
 cabinet-maker, and removed from Wayne to 
 Chautauqua County, where his decease occurred. 
 He had married Fannie Loper. The father of Mrs. 
 Banks removed from the Empire State to Michi- 
 gan in 1840, and purchased a tract of timber land in 
 Constantine Township, St. Joseph County, which 
 he cleared and placed under good cultivation. He 
 
1092 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 made that place his home until 1854, when he sold 
 and removed to Iowa, making location in Breiper 
 County, where he was one of the early settlers. He 
 had traded his farm in Michigan for that property 
 and resided in the Hawkeye State until his decease, 
 which occurred in 1886. 
 
 The mother of Mrs. Banks was Phoebe, a daugh- 
 ter of James Ray, and a native of New York. She 
 died on the farm in Bremer County in 1888, hav- 
 ing borne her husband ten children, six of whom 
 grew to mature years, namely: Ferdiando C, 
 Benjamin, Frances E., Eugene, Daniel A., and 
 Tina. Mr. and Mrs. Banks are the parents of six 
 children, who bear the names of Bert F., Viola, 
 Daisy, George, Pearl and Arthur E., respectively. 
 Our subject is a Republican in politics, and sociallj^ 
 is a member of Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R. 
 
 *^^l@«@@l^^ 
 
 ^^lEORGE CHAFEE, who is one of the most 
 jll (—-I successful and prosperous farmers of Spring 
 ^^5) Township, Boone County, was born in 
 Onondaga County, N. Y., August 16, 1811, his 
 parents being David and Eunice (Chapman) Chafee. 
 They were natives of Connecticut and departed 
 this life in Onondaga County at the respective 
 ages of seventy-five and fifty-two years. 
 
 Our subject remained at home until reaching his 
 majority, meanwhile, however, engaging in teach- 
 ing two terms of winter school. He then worked 
 by the month for his brothers for a period of eight 
 years, and in September, 1840, was married to Miss 
 Lucinda Kinyon, whose birth occurred March 12, 
 1813, in Onondaga County, N. Y. She departed 
 this life July 15, 1850, in the above-named county, 
 in her thirty-seventh year. 
 
 The lady whom Mr. Chafee took for his second 
 wife was Miss Lucy Waterman ; she had her birth 
 in Otsego County, N. Y., and died in Spring Town- 
 ship, this county, in her fortieth year. She became 
 the mother of two children, only one of whom is 
 living, Lillie K., now Mrs. E. J. Munn. This 
 daughter was born September 7, 1855, on the home 
 farm. The third marriage of Mr. Chafee oc- 
 curred May 19, 1857, at which time Miss Annitia 
 Smith, who was born in Herkimer County, N. Y., 
 
 November 12, 1813, became his wife; she was the 
 daughter of Richard and Rachel (Worth) Smith, 
 who lived and died in the Empire State. 
 
 The first property which our subject owned was 
 a small farm of twenty acres in New York State, 
 which he disposed of in 1852, and came to Spring 
 Township, this county, where he purchased a 
 quarter-section of partially improved land, for 
 which he paid $14 per acre. He has since erected 
 all the suitable farm buildings and made of his 
 estate one of the finest in Boone County. It is 
 thoroughly drained, Mr. Chafee having spent 
 $2,000 in laying tile over his farm. He is engaged 
 in mixed farming, ranking among the well-to-do 
 agriculturists in this section. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Chafee move in the best circles in 
 their community and are universally respected for 
 their sterling qualities and true neighborly kind- 
 ness. In his political relations, our subject votes 
 the Republican ticket, having served seven years 
 in the capacity of Supervisor, as Commissioner of 
 Highways for four years and also on the School 
 Board. Mr. Chafee has a fine education, although 
 he is a graduate from a country district school. 
 He is a great reader and one of the active workers 
 in educational affairs in the countj'. His first 
 Presidential vote was cast for Andrew Jackson 
 and, as before stated, he now votes for Republican 
 candidates. 
 
 The adopted son of our subject, George D. 
 Chafee, is at present living with him and is part 
 owner in the home farm. He married Miss Jane, 
 daughter of C. B. Lord, and has a family of three 
 children. 
 
 r 
 
 '^OHN BARNES is one of those to whom 
 Flora Township, Boone County, owes its 
 present highly cultivated and developed 
 ^^^ condition. He came hither in 1866, and not 
 only is he well known as a general dealer in all 
 kinds of grain and live stock, but he has also come 
 before the public as an official who has served with 
 credit to himself and to his constituents. He was 
 born October 20, 1847, in Vernon, Oneida County, 
 N. Y., while his father, Richard Barnes, was born 
 
POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECOED. 
 
 1093 
 
 in Kent County, England, in 1807. Tiie grand- 
 parents of our subject were also natives of the 
 British Isles where they spent their entire lives. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared in his na- 
 tive county and on emigrating to America in 1840 
 was accompanied on the journey by his wife and 
 three children. Locating in Vernon, Oneida 
 County, N. Y., he engaged in farming, and during 
 the years intervening between his settlement there 
 and 1866, had lived upon and cultivated several 
 different farms. On the above date, he came to 
 Illinois and resided for several years in Belvidere 
 Township, this county. He was very successful in 
 all his undertakings, and at the time of his decease 
 in May, 1887, was the proprietor of a handsome 
 estate. His last years were spent in retirement in 
 Belvidere. He had been twice married, the maiden 
 name of his second wife, who was the mother of 
 our subject, was Elizabeth Cackett; she was born 
 in Kent County, England, her parents being 
 Richard and Lydia Cackett. Mrs. Barnes reared a 
 family of seven children and is still living in Bel- 
 videre. 
 
 John Barnes of this sketch received his educa- 
 tion in the primitive schools of Vernon, N. Y.,and 
 in 1866 came to Illinois with his parents, with 
 whom he resided until his marriage. He then lo- 
 cated on a farm one mile north of Belvidere, which 
 was his home for ten years; at the expiration of 
 that time he purchased his present property. The 
 lady to whom he was married in 1872 bore the 
 name of Jessie A. Wrate, a native of Westfteld, Vt. 
 Her father, Francis S. "Wrate, was born in Cam- 
 bridgeshire, England, where also his father, Will- 
 iam Wrate was born and died. A brother of 
 Francis S. Wrate, who bore the name of Albert, 
 came to America and resided for a few years in 
 Chicago. He is now living in Nottingham, Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Francis S. Wrate was reared and married in 
 Cambridgeshire, and in 1852, in company with his 
 bride, embarked on a sailing-vessel, "The American 
 Eagle," for the New World. For ten years he re- 
 sided in Vermont and in 1861 came to Illinois 
 and located a farm in Belvidere Township, this 
 county. He later went to Geneva, Kane County, 
 111., and is now building the Wrate Block there. 
 
 His wife was Jane, the daughter of John and Ann 
 Jackson, who was born in the same shire as was her 
 husband. They reared a family of four children. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have one son, George R., who 
 was born July 5, 1888. In politics, our subject is 
 a Republican and at one time filled the office of 
 Supervisor, and in other ways has aided materially 
 in the upbuilding of his adopted township. 
 
 eARL L. C.EBBESEN is the editor and Gen- 
 eral Manager of the Rockford Posten, the 
 well-known Swedish-American newspaper 
 of Northern Illinois. It is issued every Saturday as 
 a seven-column, eight-page paper, and our sub- 
 ject was made its editor in 1888. The Rockford 
 Posten was incorporated with a capital stock of 
 15,000, and the following prominent Swedish men 
 of the city were selected as its officers: L. M. No- 
 ling, President; P. A. E. Peterson, Vice-president; 
 A. P. Floberg, Treasurer; J. A. Alden, Secretary; 
 and C. Ebbesen, editor and General Manager. 
 It is the oldest Swedish-American newspaper in 
 Illinois outside of Chicago. It has over three 
 thousand circulation in the city and count3r, and 
 is a live, newsy and well-printed paper, which is 
 bound to succeed. 
 
 Mr. Ebbesen is a practical printer and newspa- 
 per man, having come to Rockford eight years ago 
 and bought an interest in a newspaper run by the 
 Rev. A. Lindskog, which he was obliged to aban- 
 don on account of insufficient backing. He learned 
 the printer's trade in his native country of Sweden, 
 where also he was reporter for a time. Four years 
 after coming to the United States, he occupied the 
 same position on the Rockford Gazette and Morning 
 Star in this city. He was the originator and pro- 
 moter of the first successful Swedish newspaper in 
 the city. 
 
 He of whom we write was born and reared in 
 Stockholm and was given an excellent education 
 in the Grammar and High Schools of that city. In 
 1879, he emigrated to this country, and after spend- 
 ino- four years in St. Paul and Minneapolis where 
 he was employed on a newspaper of his native 
 tongue, he made his advent into Winnebago 
 
1094 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 County. Mr. Ebbesen was married, while in Minne- 
 sota, to Miss Charlotte Palmquist, who was born, 
 reared and educated in that State. Her parents 
 were Swedish people, wlio located in Minnesota 
 about forty years ago, and are still residing in 
 Central City. Her father is a prominent farmer 
 and citizen of that place and was for several years 
 Deacon in the Swedish Lutheran Church. He 
 served through the Rebellion as a private in a 
 Minnesota regiment, and, unlike many of his com- 
 rades, escaped being either captured or wounded. 
 The wife of our subject was given a good edu- 
 cation in the public schools, and remained with her 
 parents until her marriage. With her husband, 
 she is a member of the First Lutheran Church of 
 Rockford. Our subject is a Republican in politics, 
 and conducts his paper on Republican principles. 
 He is a man possessed of intelligence and good 
 judgment, and his reputation in the county is one 
 of which any man might well be proud, providing, 
 as in his case, the character is equal to the opinion 
 of men. 
 
 ■jl' OHN SMITH, who is living a retired life at 
 No. 606 George Street, Rockford, where he 
 has made his home for seventeen years, was 
 born on the 28th of May, 1813, about seven 
 miles east of Glasgow, Scotland, and, when six 
 years of age, was brought to America by his par- 
 ents, John and Mary (Hood) Smith, both of whom 
 were also natives of Scotland. After emigrating 
 to America in 1820, the father began life as a farmer 
 in Grenby Township, Shepherd County, in the 
 Province of Quebec. He worked hard, and did 
 quite a little toward developing a good farm amid 
 the forests of that region. In 1847, he came with 
 his family to this State, locating in Owen Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, where he and his wife 
 made their home until called to their final rest. 
 The father died at the age of eighty-two, and his 
 wife passed away in her seventy-fourth year. They 
 were both members of the Congregational Church. 
 Our subject spent his childhood days in Canada, 
 in the usual manner of farmer lads, and, after ar- 
 riving at years of maturity, was there married to 
 
 Laura Webster, who was born in Vermont, of 
 American parentage, but was chiefly reared in 
 Canada. After the birth of five of their children, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Smith determined to come to Illinois. 
 They traveled by the Lakes to St. Johns, thence 
 to Buffalo, from there around the Lakes, and over- 
 land to Cleveland, Ohio. Their money had given 
 out when they arrived in that city, so they were 
 forced to pause. Mr. Smith began cutting wood for 
 Deacon Lyman, at twenty-five cents per cord. He 
 was thus enabled to make about $1 per day, and 
 in this way he procured enough to make it possible 
 for them to complete their journey to Illinois. 
 When they had reached Winnebago County, how- 
 ever, Mr. Smith was again empty-handed, but they 
 began life in true pioneer style and bravely bore 
 the hardships of the frontier. All went well until 
 1856, when, on the 9th of November, the wife and 
 mother was called to her final rest. She left one 
 son and four daughters, all of whom are yet 
 living. 
 
 Mary, the eldest of these children, is now the 
 wife of James Stewart, a retired farmer residing 
 on Kilburn Avenue, this city; Lucena, is the wife 
 of S. Young, of Falls City, Wis.; Abigail, widow 
 of Benjamin Seaker, resides with her father; Pris- 
 cilla is the wife of John Hoy, a retired farmer of 
 Brown ville, Minn.; John D., who was one of the 
 boys in blue during the late war, is a dealer in 
 machinery in Rockford. Mr. Smith was a second 
 time married, in Beloit, Wis., his union being with 
 Mrs. Jerusha (Hill) Ward, a native of the Empire 
 State, born and reared in Wayne County, N. Y. 
 She came to Illinois in 1856, with her first hus- 
 band, John P. Ward, who died in December of that 
 year. He left three sons and a daughter, all of 
 whom are now deceased, with the exception of 
 Mary, wife of H. Chiles, a banker of Sterling, 
 Neb., and Eunice, who lives in Texas. One son, 
 Ransom L. Ward, served in the army during the 
 late Rebellion. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one son, 
 Adelbert, a mail carrier of Rockford, who married 
 Ellen McGhae. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith are well-known people 
 of this community and rank high in social circles. 
 He was formerly a Republican in politics, but now 
 supports the. Prohibition party, With the Congre- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1095 
 
 gational Church he holds membership. His wife 
 belongs to the Christian Church. After coming to 
 this country, he made farming his principal occu- 
 pation for a number of years and purchased and 
 improved one hundred and sixty acres of valuable 
 land, which he sold on his removal to the city. 
 
 ■^ A. LUNDGREN, who has held the position 
 of Secretary and Treasurer of the Skandia 
 Plow Company of Rockford since 1883, is 
 a well-known and successful business man 
 of Rockford, and it was an important day for both 
 the city and him when he located here. He was 
 born in Sweden, April 22, 1853. His parents, J. E. 
 and Christine (Joneson) Lundgren,are still living 
 in their native land, both being about seventy 
 years of age. His father has followed farming 
 throughout his life. He is well known in his 
 neighborhood as a respected citizen of sterling 
 worth and good Christian character. 
 
 Under the parental roof, our subject spent the 
 days of his boyhood, and when a young man came 
 to this country, the first of the family to cross the 
 Atlantic. He has since been joined by a brother 
 and sister, the former, F. E. Lundgren, being a 
 cabinet-maker by trade, and a stockholder in the 
 Standard and Star Furniture Companies of Rock- 
 ford. His sister Amanda only recently came to 
 the New World. 
 
 J. A. Lundgren led to the marriage altar Miss 
 Hildegard A. Wanstrom, who was born in Sweden, 
 July 26, 1857, and in 1864 came with her par- 
 ents to this countrj-. Their union has been blessed 
 with four children, but Laura died in infancy. Jo- 
 seph T., Esther C. and Lawrence A., all bright, in- 
 telligent children, are still witli their parents. 
 
 Our subject came to Rockford in 1870, when a 
 young man of twenty years. He was empty- 
 handed, but possessed an industrious and enter- 
 prising nature, and a determination to succeed, 
 come what would. He had acquired a good edu- 
 cation, and after working- as a farm hand for two 
 years, accepted a clerical position in Rockford. As 
 before stated, he has been connected with the Skan- 
 dia Plow Company as Secretary and Treasurer 
 
 since 1883. On the organization of the Central 
 Furniture Company in 1879, he became its first 
 Treasurer, and is still one of the stockholders. He 
 has been President of the Standard Furniture Com- 
 pany of Rockford since its organization in 1885, is 
 also a stockholder and Director, and is a Director 
 in the Swedish Mutual Fire Insurance Company, 
 the Skandia Coal Company, the Star Furniture 
 Company, the Royal Sewing Machine Company, 
 and the Rockford Fasten Publishing Company. 
 Mr. Lundgren 's business career has been one of 
 unalloyed prosperity, yet hard work has been the 
 means of achieving this end. If he were not indus- 
 trious and enterprising, he would not have won 
 the success which has so richly crowned his efforts. 
 Our subject is a public-spirited and progressive 
 citizen, whose life has been devoted to the interests 
 of his adopted city, his church and his family. He 
 is a member of the City School Board, and, in pol- 
 itics, is a stalwart Republican. He is also a stanch 
 advocate of temperance principles, and one ever 
 ready to aid in the bettering of humanity. His 
 life has been well and worthily spent, and there- 
 by he has won the esteem of all. 
 
 ii I I ' 
 
 ? I ' 1 I 1 f I 
 
 ?RANK SHEIK. The life of this gentle- 
 man has been too short to give the bio- 
 /1|, graphical writer much to do in outlining it, 
 but it gives the promise of filling an extended 
 sphere of usefulness should life be spared. He is 
 one of the prominent hardware anerchants of Du- 
 rand, where he has been in business for the past 
 seven years, and during that time he has sur- 
 rounded himself with friends whom he has gained 
 by his upright character. 
 
 Born in Armstrong County, Pa., August 31, 
 1857, our subject is a son of Christian and Sarah 
 (Troutman) Sheik, also natives of the Keystone 
 State. The father was a farmer and in 1864 emi- 
 grated to Illinois and located in the village of 
 Davis, Stephenson County, where he has since lived 
 a retired life, being advanced in years. He has 
 been three times married, the mother of our sub- 
 ject, who was his second wife, dying in 1874 at 
 the age of fifty-two years. She bore him three 
 
1096 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 children: Frank; David, who resides in Janesville, 
 Wis., and one who died in infancy. 
 
 Our subject came to the Prairie State with his 
 parents and, when eleven j'cars of age, left home 
 to battle with the world on his own account. For 
 six years he worked as a farm hand, at the end of 
 which time he engaged as a dry-goods clerk at 
 Durand, being engaged by several of the promi- 
 nent merchants. He then launched out in the 
 poulti-y trade, and in 1885 established his present 
 business as a hardware merchant. 
 
 In 1884, Mr. Sheik and Miss Belle, daughter of 
 Norman Judd,were united in marriage. The lady 
 died seven weeks after her union, and in 1885 
 our subject chose for his second wife Mollie O., 
 daughter of Humphrey and Calista Jennison, of 
 Durand. She was born in this county, December 
 3, 1864, and has borne her husband two children: 
 Harlan and Gertie. Mr. Sheik is a Republican in 
 politics, and in local affairs has served as Treas- 
 urer of the Village Board and been a member of 
 the Council. He is a go-ahead, enterprising citi- 
 zen and is rapidly taking a position among the 
 leading men of this community. 
 
 E> ~''" t=u <"■"">• B~^' a) 
 
 \f^ILEY HALL. In the death of Mr. Hall, 
 Rockford lost one of its oldest and most re- 
 spected citizens. His life was one of useful- 
 ness, and in his demise the commercial and 
 social world met with a serious loss. He embodied 
 all those traits of character which endear men to 
 their associates. He was broad minded, generous, 
 kind hearted, true to his convictions and friends, 
 and in every sense of the word an honest man. At 
 the home which he established in Rockford he de- 
 parted this life June 30, 1872, at the age of sixty- 
 four. 
 
 Mr. Hall was born in "Wallingford, New Haven 
 County, Conn., April 1, 1808, the son of Reuben 
 and Sallie (Miller) Hall. The father, who was a 
 native of Connecticut, belonged to a thrifty New 
 England family, and was extensively engaged in 
 farming operations until his death at an advanced 
 age. He was prominent in local affairs and was 
 regarded with respect by all his associates. After 
 
 the death of his first wife, by whom he became 
 the father of eight children, he married Keziah 
 Beach. 
 
 The next to the youngest in the parental fam- 
 ily was Riley, who was reared and gained his edu- 
 cation in Connecticut, becoming thoroughly fa- 
 miliar with farming pursuits when h« was a mere 
 lad. In his early manhood, he removed to tlie 
 South, taking with him a large number of books, 
 which he succeeded in disposing of at a handsome 
 profit. In the early part of the '30s, he came West to 
 Illinois and purchased a tract of land in Ottawa, 
 also property in Sycamore,which he entered from the 
 Government. A few years later, ho came to Win- 
 nebago County, where he purchased a large amount 
 of property in Rockford Township, three miles 
 from the city. There he improved nine hundred 
 acres, of which he remained the owner until his 
 death, and he also improved five hundred acres 
 in Winnebago Township, becoming known as one 
 of the largest and wealthiest propertj' owners in 
 the county. 
 
 In the progress of the Republican party, Mr. 
 Hall took an active part, but would never consent 
 to hold official positions, although he contributed 
 in every other way within his power to the pro- 
 motion of the welfare of the party to whose prin- 
 ciples he adhered. He was united in marriage 
 in the township of Rockford to Mrs. Janette 
 (Holcombe) Holcombe, on the 14th of Novem- 
 ber, 1865. She was born in Hartford County, 
 Conn., the daughter of Alexander and Tryphena 
 (Thrall) Holcombe, natives of the same county as 
 herself. Mrs. Hall was married to Tallcott Hol- 
 combe August 3, 1834. He passed away August 
 3, 1847. To this union were born five children: 
 two died in infancy; Ellen M., born April 29, 
 1838, died February 17, 1879; Caroline E., born 
 June 7, 1841, married September 16, 1873, Thomas 
 H. Brown; Thomas G., born June 7, 1846, died 
 July 11, 1882; he served his country during the 
 War of the Rebellion in Company F, One Hun- 
 dred and Fifty-sixth Illinois Regiment. Mrs. Hall's 
 parents resided on a farm in Connecticut until after 
 the birth of their children, when they removed 
 West to Geauga County, Ohio, and there engaged 
 in improving a farm until the death of Mrs. Hoi- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1097 
 
 combe at the age of sixty-five. Afterward, Alexan- 
 der Holcombe came to Illinois in 1854, and died in 
 Winnebago County when three-score and ten. He 
 was a successful man, a Whig in polities, and a 
 member of the Episcopal Church. Prior to his 
 removal from Connecticut, he served for fifteen 
 years as Justice of the Peace. 
 
 When the Holcombe family removed to Ohio, the 
 daughter Janette was sixteen years old, and she 
 grew to womanhood in the Buckeye State, where 
 she was united in marriage to Talcolt Holcombe. 
 The wedded life was terminated by the death of 
 Mr. Holcombe in Trumbull County, Ohio, at the 
 age of thirty-six years. Five children were born 
 of the union, only one of whom now survives, 
 Caroline E., wife of Thomas Henry Brown, a 
 farmer of Rockford Township, and the mother of 
 two children: Hermon H., who died, aged fifteen, 
 and Pembroke. Mr. Brown was born in Benson, 
 Vt., and was a son of Arthur and Jane (Dougan) 
 Brown, also of Vermont. He came to Du Page 
 County, 111., in 1843, at the age of nine years, 
 and to Rockford in 1856. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hall became the parents of one child, 
 Milie A., who died when fifteen years old. Mrs. 
 Hall and her daughter, Mrs. Brown, are attendants 
 at the Christian Union Church and sympathize 
 with the progressive teachings of Dr. Kerr. Mrs. 
 Hall resides with her daughter at the old home- 
 stead. No. 104 North West Street, Rockford. 
 
 WLONZO SMITH. The subject of this 
 H sketch was born in Madison County, N. Y., 
 November 3, 1821. His father, Clark 
 Smith, was born in Pennsylvania, March 
 31, 1780, and died January 17, 1852. He was mar- 
 ried, November 3, 1816, to Mrs. Sabrina (Maurice) 
 Morrow, who was born in New York State, March 
 7, 1789, and died July 31, 1870. Five children 
 were born unto them, wliose names were: Mary, 
 James, Alonzo, Clark and Dwight. 
 
 Reared to farming pursuits, our subject natur- 
 ally chose agriculture as his life occupation on 
 starting out for himself. In 1845, his parents re- 
 moved from Ohio to Illinois and, locating in Laona 
 
 Township, Winnebago County, there resided until 
 called hence by death. Our subject had received a 
 fair education and followednthe profession of a 
 teacher in the Buckeye State, and also after coming 
 to Illinois. However, he devoted his attention prin- 
 cipally to farming, and bj- persistent energy and 
 intelligent management, had secured a handsome 
 property at the time of his death. 
 
 November 13, 1851, Mr. Smith was united 
 in marriage to Miss Ann McClintic, who was born 
 in Port Gibson, Ontario County, N. Y. She had 
 one brother, Samuel, and seven sisters: Mary, 
 Sarah, Nancy, Eliza, Mahalia, Thirsey and Lucinda. 
 Her father, Samuel McClintic, was born in Hills- 
 borough, N. Y., in 1790, and died at Solon, Ohio, 
 in 1862. Her mother, Sarah Merdow, was likewise 
 a native of Hillsborough, N. Y., who was born in 
 1794, and died in 1830, at Port Gibson, N. Y. 
 
 When a child of three years, Mrs. Smith was 
 taken to Michigan by her father, and resided in 
 that State until nineteen years of age in the fam- 
 ily of her brother-in-law. Price B. Webster, at 
 which time she accompanied his family to Winne- 
 bago County. Here she met and married Mr. Smith 
 and with him made her home on sections 34 and 
 35, Laona Township, until the spring of 1889. 
 Mr. Smith then removed to Durand and purchas- 
 ing a lot in the village, erected thereon a substan- 
 tial residence, in which he resided until his death, 
 February 3, 1892. His farm comprised one hun- 
 dred and forty-one and a half acres, on which he 
 had erected all the necessary buildings, and was 
 successfully engaged in general agriculture. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born two chil- 
 dren: Charlie M. and Lottie E. The son, who was 
 born March 1, 1853, was married, April 12, 1875, to 
 Mary Sarver, whose birth occurred October 23, 
 1853, and they became the parents of two chil- 
 dren, Ethel M. and Carrie B. They resided in 
 Laona Township until February 18, 1886, atwhich 
 time they removed to Creighton, Neb., and there 
 he was engaged in the combined occupation of 
 farmer and liveryman at the time of his death, Oc- 
 tober 3, 1889. The daughter Lettie resides with 
 her mother. She was given a good education in 
 the schools of Laona and Durand Townships, in 
 which places she has taught twenty terms. 
 
1098 
 
 I'OETEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In political matters, Mr. Smith voted with the 
 Republican party until 1876, and afterward cast 
 his ballot for the man whom he considered would 
 best fill the office, regardless of party ties. In 
 township affairs, he was very popular and was made 
 the recipient of all positions within the power of the 
 people to bestow, including the office of Supervisor 
 which he held a number of years. He took an in- 
 terest in public improvements of the county, and 
 in the leading topics of the times, and received 
 from his fellow-citizens the respect to which his 
 virtues entitled him. 
 
 ^^.ICHAEL JOYCE (deceased). Nature 
 
 I IW ^®^™s to have intended Mr. Joyce for a 
 jj 1^ long and more than ordinarily useful life, 
 '' but, alas for human hopes and expecta- 
 
 tions, when but little past the prime of life his 
 career was closed forever. Of great energy and 
 much ability, he was not long in securing a com- 
 fortable home, and in every way he was a most 
 worthy man, a kind father and a considerate hus- 
 band. 
 
 Like most of the residents of Rockford, Mr. 
 Joyce was of foreign nativity, born in County 
 Tipperary, Ireland, in 1836, and he was but a small 
 boy when his parents and the family emigrated to 
 the States. They settled in the old Bay State. 
 The father, John Joyce, was also a native of 
 County Tipperary, Ireland, and was a tiller of the 
 soil all his life. He remained with his family 
 in Massachusetts until in the '50s, when he went 
 to Wisconsin and there continued his former 
 occupation in Green County until his death on 
 the 23d of December, 1875, when well along in 
 years. His wife, whose maiden name was Marga- 
 ret Burk, died one week later. She was born about 
 the same time and in the same county as her hus- 
 band. All their lives had been passed as devoted 
 members of the Catholic Church, and they were 
 worthy and most excellent people. They were the 
 parents of two sons and four daughters, the sons 
 now deceased. 
 
 After he grew up, our subject became a me- 
 
 chanic, and when his parents moved to Green 
 County, Wis., he accompanied them, and sub- 
 sequently was married in Janesville, of that State, 
 to Miss Maria Torpey, who was born in Galway, 
 Ireland, August 15, 1844. She was a daughter of 
 John and Mary (Cunningham) Torpey, natives of 
 County Galway, Ireland, in which county they 
 were married. After the birth of three children, the 
 parents came to the United States, early in the '50s, 
 and settled in New York State, where Mr. Torpey 
 was engaged as a section boss on a railroad in 
 that State. A few years later, they moved to Mad- 
 ison County, Wis., and then to Footville, of 
 that State, where Mr. Torpey passed the closing 
 scenes of his life, his death occurring in January, 
 1892, when eighty-two years of age. He was a 
 healthj' and well-preserved man almost to the last. 
 His wife is yet living, is quite well, and makes her 
 home with her daughter, Mrs. Joyce, in Rockford. 
 She is now eighty years of age and is a member of 
 the Catholic Church. Her husband was also a 
 member of that church. They were the parents of 
 eight children, four sons and four daughters, all of 
 whom grew to mature years. 
 
 Michael Joyce remained in Wisconsin a short 
 time after his marriage, and in 1863 came 
 to Rockford, 111. He followed his trade for a 
 number of years and about 1878 associated him- 
 self with James Walsh in the liquor and grocerj- 
 business at No. 201 South Main Street. A few ye!u-s 
 later, thej' dissolved partnership, Mr. Joj'ce era- 
 barking in business on his own account, and he 
 was very successful, subsequently purchasing a 
 large business house, a three-story brick, on South 
 Main Street, the same being yery valuable at the 
 present time, and in a fine location. He also pur- 
 chased a fine residence at No. 1005 Third Avenue. 
 Failing health caused him to retire from business 
 in 1877, and on the 18th of October, 1888, he 
 passed away. 
 
 After his death the business was taken up by 
 his sons, Edward and John, and has been carried 
 on successfullj' ever since, under the management 
 of the wife and mother, Mrs. Joyce, who shows de- 
 cided business ability. She is the mother of thii^ 
 teen children, two of whom are deceased, Isabella 
 and Lillian. Those living are: John W., with 
 
vV!^ ,/^^^..,^^>^ 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1101 
 
 the brother in the business left by the father; 
 Henr}' M., now of Chicago; Edward P., in the bus- 
 iness left by the father; Mary, George J., Frank 
 M., Margaret E., Agnes E., Laura C, Joseph P., 
 and Charles B., all but one at home. All the fam- 
 il}- are members of the St. James Catholic Church, 
 and the father was a Democrat in politics while 
 living. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^nTTO CRONWELL. The prosperous merch- 
 i| jj] ant- tailoring establishment at No. 310 South 
 ^^' Main Street, Rockford, has been conducted 
 by Mr. Cronwell since 1887 and the enterprise is 
 attended with marked success. The proprietor is a 
 first-class practical cutter and tailor, and the gar- 
 ments produced are remarkable for their elegance 
 of fit, quality and durability. He is perfectly 
 honorable in all his dealings and treats his custom- 
 ers with equity and fairness. 
 
 Mr. Cronwell was born near Skane, Sweden, on 
 the 23d of August, 1862, and passed his youth in 
 his native land. In 1881, he emigrated to the 
 United States with his brother August, and during 
 the same year came to Rockford, where for a time 
 he was engaged with a mitten company. Later, he 
 filled the position of Superintendent for the glove 
 and mitten department of the Rockford Mitten 
 Company. Subsequently, he succeeded his brother, 
 August Cronwell, who is now on Seventh Street in 
 business as a merchant tailor. Another brother, C. 
 Alfred, who was the first of the family to come to 
 this country, is a mechanic and resides in Cali- 
 fornia. Two other brothers, N. Ivar and Barn- 
 hardt J., are tailors in Chicago. A sister, Ida C, 
 wife of Nils Nelson, now resides on Fourth Avenue, 
 Rockford, and two other sisters, Selma and Hulda, 
 are also residents of this city. There is one sister 
 in Sweden, Esther N. 
 
 The parents of these children, Johanes and 
 Kjersti (Pearson) Cronwell, are now residing in 
 their native country, Sweden, and the father owns 
 a large shoemaking establishment, working from 
 four to five hands all the time. Both hold mem- 
 bership in the Lutheran Church. 
 
 Otto Cronwell chose his life companion in the 
 
 person of Miss Mary Roslin, a native of Sweden, 
 born October 22, 1862. She came to this country 
 in 1882, to join her parents, who had crossed the 
 ocean sixteen years previously, and settled with 
 them in Byron, Ogle County, 111. The father and 
 mother passed away in that county. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cronwell have been born three interesting 
 children: Agnes V., Ruth A. and Martha. Mr. 
 Cronwell and his wife are well liked by all acquain- 
 ted with them and are prominent young people of 
 the city. Both are members of the Swedish Mission 
 Church. In politics, our subject advocates the 
 principles of the Prohibition party. He has made 
 most of his property since coming to Rockford, and, 
 aside from his business on Main Street, is the owner 
 of a good home at No. 1013 Kishwaukee Street, be- 
 sides other propert}' on Seventh Street, one of the 
 leading Swedish business streets in the city. 
 
 A portrait of Mr. Cronwell is presented in con- 
 nection with this sketch of his life. 
 
 •^^1®^®!^^ 
 
 UGUST PETERSON, one of the self-made 
 men and a leading citizen of Rockford, 
 was born in Sweden in 1854, and there 
 his parents spent their entire lives, pass- 
 ing away when about sixty years of age. They 
 were both members of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church. Those of the family who are now resi- 
 dents of this country are D. R., whose sketch ap- 
 pears elsewhere in this work ; G. A., a merchant of 
 Wakefield, Neb., and Augusta M., wife of F. A. 
 Wall, a contractor and builder of Rockford. 
 
 Our subject spent his early life in his native 
 country, but when a lad of fifteen summers bade 
 good-bye to home and friends and crossed the 
 briny deep, sailing from Gottenburg in June, 1869. 
 The vessel at length dropped anchor in the har- 
 bor of New York, whence Mr. Peterson came to 
 Chicago and afterward to Rockford, where for 
 some time he attended the schools in this place. 
 After attaining to mature years, he chose as a 
 companion and helpmate on life's journey Miss 
 E. Amanda Johnson, a native of this city and 
 a daughter of S. A. Johnson, whose life record ap- 
 pears elsewhere in this volume. She acquired her 
 
1102 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 education in the Rockford schools and is an ac- 
 complished and cultured lady. The family circle 
 numbers Mr. Peterson, his wife and three children: 
 Edna B. A., Ruth E. and Eleanora C. 
 
 Since the Central Furniture Company was estab- 
 lished in 1879, Mr. Peterson has been one of its 
 stockholders and for the past three years has been 
 its Secretary and Treasurer, S. A. Johnson being 
 the President. One hundred and twenty-five men 
 find employment in the factory which is located 
 on Water Power. Other interests also engross the 
 attention of our subject. For five j'ears he was a 
 commercial traveler and in that way has seen 
 much of this country. He is now a stockholder in 
 the Rockford Chair and Furniture Company, the 
 Rockford Mantel and Furniture Company and the 
 Star Furniture Company, of which he is a Director 
 and Treasurer. He is likewise a member of the 
 Swedish Building and Loan Association. During 
 the twenty-three 3'ears of his residence here, he 
 has lived a life that has won him the respect and 
 esteem of all and gained him raanj' friends. He 
 has proved a valued citizen of the community and 
 one who has taken an active interest in all that 
 pertains to the welfare of Rockford. His business 
 career has been a successful one, and as the result 
 of his own industrious efforts, he has acquired a 
 good competence. 
 
 r 
 
 •5*=:^='{* 
 
 (I^ GRACE J. ROLASON, who is classed among 
 ifjY) the well-to-do agriculturists of Winnebago 
 /iW^ County, has been a resident here since De- 
 (^) cember, 1855. A native of New Jersey, he 
 was born April 27, 1827, in Sussex County, and is 
 a son of William and Eveline (Corcellius) Rolason. 
 The Rolason family in the United States are de- 
 scended from Charles Rolason, who came to 
 America from Liverpool, England, many years 
 ago. That gentleman made his home in Boston 
 where lie was married and reared a family of two 
 sons and one daughter: Isaiah, Henry and Mary. 
 
 Isaiah Rolason, the grandfather of our subject, 
 was a farmer and a patriot in the Revolutionary 
 War. He reared a family of eight children who 
 
 bore the respective names of John, Peter, William, 
 James, Mary, Katie, Anna and Sarah, the two latter 
 twins, and died at an advanced age in Sussex 
 County. Of those children, William, the father of 
 our subject, was bom December 31, 1788, and on 
 reaching mature years chose the occupation of a 
 farmer. He served six months in the War of 1812, 
 being stationed at Hoboken, N. J. The elder 
 Mr. Rolason resided in his native State until 
 his decease, which occurred June 2, 1836. His 
 wife survived him many years, passing away in 
 1861. They were both members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, in which denomination the father 
 was an Elder. 
 
 The original of this sketch was one in a family 
 of four children, his brother and sisters being Asa, 
 who died in Mansfield, Pa.; Maria, who married 
 Benjamin Crain, resides in Sussex Count}', N. J.: 
 and Martha, Mrs. Henry Cole, who passed away in 
 the above-named State and county. Horace J. 
 was given an education in the common schools and 
 was reared to the occupation of a farmer, which 
 business he has followed successfully his entire life. 
 January 1, 1853, he was married to Mary Jane, 
 daughter of John and Phcebe Van Sickle. She was 
 born in Sussex County, N. J., October 24, 1835, 
 and has become the mother of five children: Ella, 
 born April 5, 1854, married David Place and makes 
 her home in Durand where she has a family of two 
 children, Jesse E. and Vida ; Ida was born March 
 14, 1856; Lillie,born Oct. 12, 1858, married Eugene 
 Hoyt and is the mother of a son, Ralph E. ; John 
 V. was born August 24, 1861, and Horace B., Sep- 
 tember 12, 1865. 
 
 Mr. Rolason made several trips to the West be- 
 fore locating here and in 1850 purchased land in 
 Richland County, Wis., which he sold in the spring 
 of 1856 and then removed to Illinois, passing the 
 winter in Pecatonica. In the spring, he bought one 
 hundred and twenty acres of land, which he im- 
 proved and resided upon until May, 1881, at which 
 time he came to Durand. His first possessions in this 
 county included one hundred and forty-three 
 acres adjoining the village, to which he has since 
 added until he is now the proprietor of an estate 
 including two hundred and seventy-two broad 
 aci'es. He is engaged in mixed husbandry and by 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1103 
 
 a proper rotation of crops reaps a handsome in- 
 come from the soil. 
 
 In political affairs, our subject votes with the 
 Republican party, although he is in lull sympathy 
 with the temperance movement. He has held 
 many of the local offices and socially is a member 
 of Durand Lodge No. 302, A. F. and A. M. He is 
 connected by membership with the Presbyterian 
 Church, in which body he is an active worlier. 
 
 Mr. Rolason, in company with his sons, is inter- 
 ested in breeding Poland-China hogs, .Jersey and 
 Durham cattle and I'oad and draft horses in which 
 they are meeting with more than ordinarj^ success. 
 
 i>^^<! 
 
 ■(QV— 
 
 ERMON THAYER. This gentleman, who 
 has done much for the growth and devel- 
 opment of Winnebago County, is at pres- 
 ent residing in Roclsford, while at the same 
 time he superintends the operation of his farm in 
 Rockford Township. He has made his home in the 
 city since 1855, and is now taking his ease, so far 
 as labor for sustenance is concerned. 
 
 The natal day of our subject was November 17, 
 1829, and the place of his birth Springfield, Vt. 
 His father, William Thayer, was born in Rocking- 
 ham, Windham County, Vt., while his father, who 
 also bore the name of William, was a native of 
 Taunton, Mass. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject removed from 
 Taunton to Rockingham, Vt, in 1790, where he 
 purchased a tract of timber land, erected a log 
 house and cleared his farm, making that place his 
 home for a number of years. He later removed to 
 Springfield, where he established a tannery, contin- 
 uing in that line of work until his decease. The 
 old home in Rockingham is now occupied by Mrs. 
 Sarah Albee, a sister of our subject. 
 
 William Thayer, Jr., learned the trade of a tan- 
 ner and currier from his father, which he prose- 
 cuted in Springfield, but later, in 1833, returned 
 to Rockingham and settled on the old homestead, 
 where he engaged in farming and lived until bis 
 decease. The maiden name of his wife was Sarah 
 Joslyn; she was born in Walpole, N. H., and was 
 a daughter of Peter and Sarah (Kidder) Johnson. 
 
 Our subject was reared and educated in his na- 
 tive State, where he resided until 1835, at which 
 time he came to Winnebago County, and com- 
 menced life here working out on farms by the 
 month. Very soon, however, he was enabled to pur- 
 chase property of his own, and became the pos- 
 sessor of forty acres in Owen Township. Being sin- 
 gle, he did not locate on his purchase, and two years 
 later disposed of it, and in 1864 bought a farm 
 of two hundred and fourteen acres on sections 
 3 and 4, Rockford Township, upon which he made 
 his home until 1884, at which time he moved into 
 the city. He later purchased an adjoining seventy- 
 five acres in Owen Township. 
 
 Miss Harriet Whitiny and Hermon Thayer were 
 united in marriage October 18, 1866. The lady 
 was born in Rockingham, Vt., August 6, 1831, 
 where also her father, John G. Whitiny, was born 
 in 1808. Her grandfather, who also bore the name 
 of John, was, it is believed, a native of Rocking- 
 ham, and the great-grandfather, the Rev. Samuel 
 Whitiny, hailed from Taunton. The latter-named 
 gentleman was a minister in the Congregational 
 Church, and one of the pioneers of Rockingham, 
 where he was pastor of the church of that denomina- 
 tion. The maiden name of his wife, the great-grand 
 mother of Mrs. Thayer, was Goldsbury; she was 
 a native of England. The grandfather was reared 
 and educated in his native town, and was a farmer 
 by occupation; he died when a young man. His 
 wife, who before her marriage was Phebe Locke, 
 was born in the same town as was Mr. Whitiny, and 
 was the daughter of Ebenezer Locke, a native of 
 Taunton, and one of the early pioneers of Rock- 
 ingham, where he improved and resided upon a 
 farm until his decease. The father of Mrs. Thayer 
 learned the trade of a shoemaker, but after his 
 marriage purchased a farm three-quarters of a mile 
 from the village of Saxton's River and farmed for 
 two or three years, when he sold and located upon 
 the old homestead which he inherited from his 
 father, where he sojourned for the succeeding ten 
 or twelve years. At the end of that time, dispos- 
 ing of the estate, he became the proprietor of an- 
 other tract of land near the village of Saxton's 
 River, and, living there a few years, later bought 
 another farm, which he occupied until, on account 
 
1104 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of old age, he sold. He now resides with his 
 daughter, Mrs. Mary Weston, at Upper Meadows, 
 in the Connecticut River Valley. The maiden 
 name of his wife, the mother of Mrs. Thayer, was 
 Harriet Hailow; she was born in Springfield, Vt., 
 and was the daughter of David and Betsey (Stocker) 
 Harlow. She died in 1831, and Mr. Whitiny mar- 
 ried Crissana Bailey. 
 
 The wife of our subject was reared and educated 
 in her native town, and later attended the acad- 
 emj'- at Saxton's River. She commenced teaching 
 school when eighteen 3'ears of age, and remained 
 with her parents until her marriage in 1864. Two 
 children, William W. and Mary W., have been born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Thaj^er. In politics, our subject 
 casts a Republican vote. Mrs. Thayer, while on a 
 visit to her father at Upper Meadows, Connecti- 
 cut River, Rockingham, Vt., passed away from 
 this life, April 1, 1892. 
 
 W EVI G. HAYWARD. Agricultural pursuits 
 I (fS) have formed the chief occupation of this 
 JL-y^ gentleman, and the wide-awake manner in 
 which he has taken advantage of every method 
 and idea tending towards the enhanced value of 
 his property has had considerable to do with his 
 success in life. Mr. Hayward was born in Wey- 
 bridge, Vt., September 25, 1844, and was one of 
 six children born to Edwin and Lucy A. (Warner) 
 Hayward, the former a native of North Bridge- 
 water, Mass., and the latter of Cornwall, Vt. Mrs. 
 Hayward's parents were Dan and Eliza (Goodrich) 
 Warner, of Cornwall, Addison County, where the 
 father of our subject followed farming iintil his 
 death. Mrs. Hayward still survives him, and resides 
 with her daughter in Chicago. Although she num- 
 bers seventy-four years, she is still vigorous and 
 bright mentally. Mr. Hayward's paternal grand- 
 father was Asaph Hayward, of North Bridgewater, 
 Mass., where he followed the cabinet-maker's trade, 
 and where he reared a large family of children. He 
 died at Weybridge, Vt., when about ninety years 
 of age. His wife's maiden name was Polly Drake, 
 and she was of the same place. She was also about 
 ninetj- 3'ears of age at the time of her death. 
 
 When Grandfather Hayward removed from Mas- 
 sachusetts to Vermont he went horseback and car- 
 ried the tall eight-day clock, by which the sun 
 rose and set for many years, so the neighbors 
 said, and when he inquired the way of a man, the 
 latter said, "You are the first man I ever saw car- 
 rying his own movement." This old relic still 
 exists. Our subject has in his possession the family 
 record, in his father's writing, and recorded with a 
 quill pen. 
 
 The father of our subject followed the occupa- 
 tion of a farmer all his life, and accumulated a 
 handsome competency. He died on the 4th of 
 June, 1854, when fifty-one years of age, and left 
 a widow and six children, three sons and three 
 daughters, viz.: AzelD., Harriet F., Levi G., Laura 
 A., Miner W., and Susan M., all now living but 
 the eldest, Azel D., who died in the United States 
 service, having been a volunteer from Roscoe. He 
 was in the Seventy-second Illinois Infantry, served 
 three years, but was taken sick with a fever and 
 died at Natchez, Miss., July 23, 1864, when but 
 twent3'-flve years of age. The mother of these 
 children came West from Vermont in the fall of 
 1855, settled on sixty acres in section 3, Roscoe 
 Township, Winnebago County, and paid $60 per 
 acre for this. Her eldest son was then fifteen 
 years of age, and she took particular pains to give 
 each one every advantage for an education, send- 
 ing them to academies and colleges. As before 
 mentioned, the eldest son was in the Civil War, 
 leaving Beloit College to enlist. The home place 
 is now occupied by Miner W. 
 
 Levi G. Hayward was also in the Beloit College 
 when his eldest brother enlisted, and he was left to 
 take charge of the farm. Since then agricultural 
 Ijursuits have been liis chosen calling and he has 
 met with a fair degree of success. He was married 
 in Cornwall, Vt., March 10, 1868, to Miss Sarah J. 
 Baxter, whose parents died when she was a child. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hayward continued on the home- 
 stead for four years, and then purchased a farm of 
 one hundred and thirty-two acres adjoining that 
 farm, paying $50 per acre for it, but going in debt 
 for most of the land. By economy and industry' 
 they soon paid off the indebtedness, and now own 
 some citj' propert3\ Mr. and Mrs. Hayward are 
 
Z. A. CAMPBELL. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 1107 
 
 members of the Congregational Church of Beloit, 
 in which he has been Deacon for eleven years, and, 
 in politics, he is a stanch Republican. To their 
 marriage have been born four children, two sons 
 and two daughters: L.Grace, Edwin B., Henry H., 
 and Ruth P. The eldest child is a Sophomore in 
 Mt. Holyoke (Mass.) College, and the remainder 
 are at home. 
 
 ;— iS®:^©^ 
 
 ?ENO A. CAMPBELL. Although our sub- 
 ject has passed to the land beyond, he is 
 remembered by the citizens of Pecatonica 
 Township, Winnebago County, as a man of a pro- 
 gressive and enterprising spirit, as well as a promi- 
 nent farmer and stock-raiser of that section. His 
 death October 31, 1891, was' deeply mourned by 
 those among whom he had lived and labored dur- 
 ing his entire active life. 
 
 A native of this county, our subject was born 
 January 14, 1843, and was therefore still in life's 
 prime when his death occurred. His father, who 
 was born in 1812, is still living; his mother, whose 
 birth took place February 10, 1820, passed from 
 the scenes of earth October 31, 1891. Their fatn- 
 ily numbered four children, namely: Zeno A., Ade- 
 line A., Arba Z. and Louis. 
 
 After passing his boyhood days in much the 
 usual manner of farmer lads amid rural scenes, al- 
 ternating study in the pioneer schools with work 
 at home, Mr. Campbell was married, December 
 29, 1864, to Miss Kate C. Hulse. This lady was 
 born in Rock Run Township, Stephenson County, 
 111., February 20, 1842, and is a daughter of Henry 
 and Susan (Glynn) Hulsc. Her father was born 
 in 1818, and departed this life in Iowa, in 1848; 
 her mother is still living. For further particulars 
 in regard to their lives, we refer the reader to the 
 sketch of Joshua Hulse, found on another page of 
 this volume. 
 
 Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Camp- 
 bell, of whom the following may be mentioned: 
 Walton H., born in Winnebago County, December 
 26, 1866; Merton D., bom October 9, 1876; and 
 Vida, June 15, 1883. The eldest son was married 
 to Miss Nellie, daughter of David Mitchell, and 
 
 they are the parents of two children, David M. and 
 Jeanie. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Campbell was a strong Repub- 
 lican, and held many positions of trust among his 
 fellow-townsmen. He was a general farmer by oc- 
 cupation, making a specialty of stock-raising and 
 keeping on his place some splendid animals. In 
 his agricultural operation, he introduced modern 
 metliods, and the latest improved machinery, hence 
 success rewarded his efforts. Socially, he was a 
 member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen 
 and enjoyed the acquaintance of the best citizens 
 of Pecatonica Township. 
 
 In connection with this sketch of the life of Mr. 
 Campbell, we present his portrait to our readers. 
 
 mtrnti-rl-T^n^ 
 
 ? I ( I r I , ^.«H-* 
 
 T. TORBERT, a retired farmer residing 
 in Rockford, claims Pennsylvania as the 
 State of liis nativity. He was born in 
 Bucks County, not far from Philadelphia, 
 in 1834, and is one of seven children, five of 
 whom are yet living. The parents were James and 
 Mary S. (Simpson) Torbert, who spent their entire 
 lives in Bucks County, their native place. Both 
 were members of the Presbyterian Church, in which 
 Mr. Torbert served as Elder for some years. His 
 wife was a member of the Simpson family, from 
 which U. S. Grant was descended. The grandfather, 
 James Torbert, Sr., was a native of Bucks County, 
 and was of Scotcli lineage. He married a Miss 
 McNair, who was similaily descended, and both 
 died in the Keystone State, wlien well advanced in 
 years. They, too, were adherents of the Presby- 
 terian Church. 
 
 Our subject is the only member of the family re- 
 siding in Illinois. The days of his boyhood were 
 spent under the paternal roof and in attendance 
 at the public schools, and when a young man he 
 emigrated Westward, to try his fortune upon the 
 broad prairies of Illinois. He located in Ogle 
 County, and in Rockford was united in marriage 
 with Miss Jane E. St. John, who was born in New 
 York, and came with her parents to this State in 
 1855. Her father, L. St. John, who was a success- 
 ful farmer, is now deceased. His wife, whose 
 
1108 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 maiden name was Mary A. Pollock, died in 
 Winnebago, at about the age of seventy-eight 
 years. She was a member of the Methodist Church 
 and the mother of four children : Mrs. Torbert of 
 this sketch; James, who is married and follows 
 farming in Rockford Township; Mrs. Annie Mellen, 
 of Winnebago County; and Blary, who resides in 
 this county. 
 
 Four children have also graced the union of our 
 subject and his wife : Ettie, wife of William Som- 
 mers, who is operating the Torbert homestead in 
 Ogle County; Mary, wife of Walter Howland, of 
 Rockford; Belle, wife of John Delbridge, a farmer 
 of De Kalb County, 111.; and Edith, at home. 
 
 Mr. Torbert has been a resident of Illinois since 
 1855. He resided in Winnebago for some years 
 and then removed to Ogle County, where he pur- 
 chased his first land in Dement Township. From 
 a humble position he has worked his way upward 
 to one of affluence. By his industry and enter- 
 prise he placed his land under a high state of cul- 
 tivation, thus making it very valuable, and in con- 
 nection with general farming he engaged in the 
 breeding of Norman horses. He is now a member 
 of the Creston Horse Company, which owns some 
 fine Normans, and he yet has in his possession 
 some five hundred acres of valuable land in Ogle 
 County, which yields him a good income. Re- 
 cently, he came to Rockford, and now resides at 
 his beautiful home on West State Street, enjoying 
 the rest which he has so truly earned and richly 
 deserves. 
 
 ■^IIAMES 0. GREGORY, a retired hardware 
 merchant of Rockford, is a native of Dela- 
 ware County, N. Y. He was born in 1821, 
 and was the fourth in a family of six sons 
 and three daughters, but he and Jehiel, a retired 
 druggist of St. Paul, Minn., are the only two 
 brothers now living. The parents were Aaron and 
 Mary (Baile^') Gregorj', the former a native of the 
 Empire State, and the latter of Connecticut. The 
 grandfatlier, Abijali Gregory, was born in Con- 
 necticut and was of English descent. lie married 
 Miss Mollie Thorp and afterward removed to New 
 
 York, where he died at an advance age. His wife 
 survived him some years and passed away at the 
 age of eighty-seven. Both were members of the 
 Baptist Church. 
 
 The father of our subject was a farmer in early 
 life and afterwards carried on business in New 
 York City as a butter commission merchant. In 
 1842, he emigrated to Illinois, whither his sons had 
 come the year previous, and located in Harlem 
 Township. During the succeeding summer, he was 
 accidentally killed while trying to stop a run-away 
 team. He was then fifty-tiiree years of age. His 
 wife survived him some nineteen years and died in 
 Roscoc, 111., at the age of seventy-two. They held 
 membership with the Methodist Church and were 
 a worthy and respected couple. 
 
 The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood 
 days upon his father's farm in Delaware and Ulster 
 Counties, N. Y., and was subsequently employed 
 for three years as a salesman. He first came to 
 Winnebago County when eighteen years of age, 
 with his brother Harvey. They entered land from 
 the Government in Harlem Township, built a small 
 log cabin and began to make improvements, subse- 
 quentljf converting it into a fine farm. In 1868, how- 
 eve'r, our subject abandoned "agriculture and with 
 two brothers-in-law, John and Charles Greenlee, 
 purchased a stock of goods and established a hard- 
 ware store in Belvidere, under the firm name of 
 Greenlee Brothers & Co. They continued business 
 until 1871, when Mr. Gregory sold out and the fol- 
 lowing year came to Rockford. In 1873, he began 
 business as a hardware merchant of this city on 
 West State Street, where he carried on operations 
 for twelve years, when he was succeeded by Mr. 
 Van Arnham, an old settler, still engaged in that 
 trade. Mr. Gregory is now a stockholder, and was 
 formerly a Director, of the Rockford Woolen Mills; 
 he also owned stock in the Rockford Watch Com- 
 pany and was one of the promoters of the Chicago 
 & Iowa Railroad, now owned by the Chicago, Bur- 
 lington & Quincy Railroad, but does not now own 
 stock in that enterprise. 
 
 Mr. Gregory was married in this county to Miss 
 Janet Greenlee, a native of Argyleshire, Scotland, 
 born near Campbelltown, in 1832. She is a daugh- 
 ter of John Greenlee, who was born at Kintyre, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1109 
 
 Argjleshire. The grandfather, George Greenlee, 
 spent his entire life on a farm in that county and 
 died at the age of eighty j^ears. His father, John 
 Greenlee, reached the advanced age of ninety 
 years. The family was one of prominence and had 
 the coat of arms of a baron. In the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, the ancestors emigrated from France to Scot- 
 land, and there became Presbyterians. John Green- 
 lee was the only son in a family of five children. 
 He became a well-informed man and throughout 
 his life followed farming. He married Miss Helen 
 Brown, of the same county, and after the birth of 
 most of their children they emigi-ated to America, 
 in 1836, sailing from Liverpool to New York. 
 They came to Illinois and purchased unbroken 
 land on the dividing line between Winnebago and 
 Boone Counties, in Caledonia Township. Mr. 
 Greenlee built a log cabin and became the founder 
 of the Scotch settlement in this community. He 
 was very prominent in public affairs and proved 
 himself a valued and highly-respected citizen. He 
 did much for the development and upbuilding of 
 the county and well deserves mention in this 
 volume. He and his wife were among the foun- 
 ders, and were charter members, of the Willow Creek 
 Presbyterian Church. Mr. Greenlee was an Aboli- 
 tionist and a Republican and took an active part 
 in political affairs, but never sought preferment for 
 himself. His high Christian character and sterling 
 worth won him the love of all. He died December 
 30, 1883, at the age of ninety- one years and four 
 months, leaving a host of friends. His wife died 
 in March, 1865, at an advanced age. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gregory have been born 
 five children, but two are now deceased. John, a 
 promising young man, was employed as a com- 
 mercial traveler for a krge wholesale house in 
 Chicago at the time of his death; Mary died 
 in childhood; Helen M. is a graduate of the Rock- 
 ford Seminary; Wilbur J., a graduate of the Rock- 
 ford High School, and also of the classical de- 
 partment of the Michigan State University, was 
 Cashier of a bank in Arapahoe, Neb., for four years 
 and is now Cashier of the Manistee County Sav- 
 ings Bank of Manistee, Mich.; Elizabeth Greenlee, 
 the youngest, a graduate of the Musical Con- 
 servatory of Rockford, is now engaged in teach- 
 
 ing music. The Gregory family is one prominent 
 in social circles, and the young people take quite 
 an active part in society matters. The parents are 
 both members of the Court Street Methodist 
 Church, and in politics, Mr. Gregor}^ is a Republi- 
 can. They reside at their pleasant home at No. 
 601 North Horsman Street, and are highly es- 
 teemed people of this city. 
 
 J****(£ 
 
 •^♦•{••ft 
 
 '*'5"{"5-*^^**'5"5'l 
 
 ylLLIAM A. BOYD, M. D. This gentle- 
 man, who stands high in the professional 
 and social circles of Winnebago County, is 
 at present residing in Rockford, where he is held in 
 high esteem by all who know him. He was born 
 in Linlithgowshire, Scotland, December 11, 1841, 
 and is the son of John Boyd, who was also born in 
 that shire, as was his father, John Boyd, Sr. The 
 latter-named gentleman was a descendant of Lord 
 Boyd, of Kilmarnock, who espoused the cause of 
 Charles Stuart, in consequence of which his estate 
 was confiscated and he was beheaded. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject was a farmer and 
 spent his entire life in Scotland. The maiden name 
 of his wife was Janet Ellen Boyd, who although 
 bearing the same name was no relation; she de- 
 parted this life in Scotland. John Boyd, Jr., 
 learned the trade of a shoemaker, which business he 
 carried on for upwards of forty years, spending his 
 entire life in his native land. In 1889, he em- 
 barked on a vessel bound for America, which was 
 wrecked and eighty lives lost; he never attempted 
 the voyage again. The maiden name of the mother 
 of our subject was Janet Allan; she was born in 
 the same shire in Scotland as was her husband, 
 and there spent her last days. She was the daugh- 
 ter of John and Janet Allan and bore her husband 
 the following seven children: Margaret, John, 
 Janet, George, William, Marion and Mary. Of 
 these, Janet, George, William and Mary came to 
 America. 
 
 William A. Boyd of this sketch was reared in 
 his native shire and remained with his parents un- 
 til reaching his eighteenth year, when, March 27, 
 1861, he set sail from Liverpool on the steamer 
 "City of Edinboro" and landed in New York the 
 
1110 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 following month. Me remained in Brooklyn six 
 weelis, then came West to Wisconsin, where his 
 uncles, McNair, James and Thomas Bo3d, resided. 
 He worlied for the former-named gentleman until 
 October, when he enlisted for three years in the 
 First Wisconsin Infantry. Among the important 
 battles in which lie was engaged were .Stone River, 
 Chickamauga, and all the engagements of the 
 Fourteenth Army Corps, up to and including the 
 siege and capture of Atlanta. He was appointed 
 Orderlj'-Sergeant in 1864, and was honorably dis- 
 charged at the expiration of his term of service, 
 when he returned to Milwaukee and attended 
 school for three months. January 30, 1865, how- 
 ever, he enlisted in the Ninth Regiment United 
 States Veterans and served his adopted country 
 until January 30, 1866. 
 
 At the close of the Civil War, the original of this 
 sketch returned to his native land, where he re- 
 mained two }'ears amid the scenes of his boyhood, 
 but, feeling that he could gain both fame and for- 
 tune for himself, he again came to Milwaukee, de- 
 termined to make a success of his life in the New 
 World. He was appointed letter-carrier, and con- 
 tinued in the service of the Government in differ- 
 ent departments for ten years, during that time 
 being appointed to the position of Superintendent 
 of carriers. He resigned that ofHce in 1878, in 
 order to devote his time and attention to the study 
 of medicine, it being his desire to become a phy- 
 sician. 
 
 Dr. Boyd began his medical studies imder the 
 instruction of Dr. Willis Danforth, of Milwaukee, 
 and in the fall of 1878 entered the Chicago Home- 
 opathic College, being graduated in the fall of 
 1880. He commenced the practice of his profes- 
 sion at Baraboo, Wis., where he remained for two 
 years and then came to Rockford, where lie has 
 since been a continuous resident. In 1880, Dr. 
 Boj'd was married to Mary A. Leamon, a native of 
 Ohio. 
 
 The Doctor is a member of Nevius Post No. 1, 
 G. A. R., and is also prominently connected with 
 tlie Illinois and State Homeopathic Associations. 
 He is a member of Star of the East Lodge No. 166, 
 A. F. & A. M., Winnebago Chapter No. 24, and 
 Crusader Commandery No. 17, K. T. He is at 
 
 the present time Health Commissioner of Rock- 
 ford, and for four years was a member of the 
 Board of Pension Examiners. Dr. Boyd stands 
 veiy high in social circles and is the incumbent of 
 the position of President of the Burns Club. 
 
 In regard to the Doctor's politics, we extract the 
 following from an interview published in the 
 Gazette. "No sir, I am not a Democrat" said Dr. 
 Boyd to the reporter. "I have a liking for the 
 term Mugwump, which our Republican friends in- 
 vented for us last j^ear. I think I am a Mugwump 
 in politics, medicine, and religion. If in politics to 
 be a Mugwump is to prefer principle above partj^, 
 and integrity of character rather than political 
 regularity, then lam a political Mugwump. If in 
 religion to be a Mugwump is to prefer honest in- 
 vestigation, rational conclusions, and that which 
 goes to the making of better men and women, 
 then I am a Mugwump; and in medicine, if to be 
 a Mugwump is to prefer that which seems to be 
 for the best interest of the patient without stop- 
 ping to inquire to what school it belongs, then I am 
 a Mugwump in medicine." 
 
 ^XEL DAHLQUIST, who represents the 
 jyil Rockford Painting and Decorating Co. of 
 No. Ill South Third Street, has followed 
 ^^^ this business for the past three years, and 
 
 for about two years he was Secretary of that com- 
 pan}-. He came to Rockford in 1873, was for six 
 years a groceryman of Seventh Street, his being 
 the first grocery on that now busy street, and he 
 has ever been one of the live, thorough-going 
 business men of the city. Since that time lie has 
 been engaged in painting and decorating. For 
 one year after coming to this country he was with 
 Mr. Alraena, the prominent State Street painter. 
 
 Axel Dahlquist was born in Wester Gothland, 
 Sweden, November 10, 1845, and was but fourteen 
 years of age when he went to Stockholm to serve 
 a five-years' apprenticeship at his trade. When 
 twenty-six years of age, he bade farewell to home 
 and friends, crossed the ocean to the United States, 
 and arrived in New York City on the 8th of 
 
GEORGE A.PETTENGILL. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1113 
 
 August, 1872. He was then a single man, and the 
 Hrst of his family to come to America. His par- 
 ents, Adam and Eve Dahlquist, died in Sweden, 
 both when about sixty-seven years of age. They 
 had been members of the Lutheran Church for 
 many years. A son and daughter of this worthy 
 couple were brought to this country by our subject, 
 and the former, A. T. Dahlquist, is now a photo- 
 grapher of Duluth, Minn. The daughter, Minnie, 
 married Frank Long, and now resides in Rockford. 
 Our subject was married, in 1873, to Miss Lotta 
 Bargo, a native of North Land, Sweden, born De- 
 cember 12, 1845. She was left fatherless when 
 young, but her mother is still living and is the 
 wife of Thomas Hayes, whom she married in Chi- 
 cago, 111. The father was a sailor, and died of 
 cholera in Southern waters. Children have been 
 denied Mr. and Mrs. Dahlquist, but they have 
 adopted two: Gus, who is at home, and a carver 
 by trade, and May M., a bright little girl of eight. 
 Mrs. Dahlquist is a devout member of the Swedish 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Dahlquist is a 
 sound Democrat in politics. He is also a member 
 of the Ancient Free & Accepted Masons, and of 
 the Ancient Order of United "Workmen, and the 
 Select Knights. 
 
 4^ • **• • 
 
 /^ EGRGE A. PETTENGILL, deceased, a prom- 
 [i[ (— , inent farmer for many years of Durand 
 ^Jl Township, Winnebago County, held an im- 
 portant place among the business men of his sec- 
 tion and materially aided in placing it on a sound 
 financial basis. He was born in Buffalo, N. Y., 
 August 19, 1820, and was the son of James and 
 Betsey Pettengill, for a further sketch of whom 
 the reader is referred to the biography of John F. 
 Pettengill. 
 
 In the fall of 1837, our subject followed the tide 
 of emigration toward the Mississippi Valle}% and 
 came alone to Chicago, being the first member of 
 the family 6ircle who came West. After spending 
 the winter in Chicago, he proceeded thence to the 
 Fox River, where he was employed during the 
 summer of 1838. His next removal was to Du- 
 rand, where he was married, January 1, 1848, to 
 50 
 
 Sibyl Herring. He with his wife located on section 
 22, which he had entered from the Government, 
 and began the work of placing it under good cul- 
 tivation. So successful was he, that at his death, 
 which occurred ]\larch 19, 1890, he owned one 
 hundred and seventy-flve acres of excellent land, 
 which bore all the improvements in the way of 
 substantial buildings and useful machinery that are 
 generally to be found on estates of men of enter- 
 prise. Mr. Pettengill was for many years a stanch 
 Republican but during the latter period of his life 
 supported the Prohibition party, in whose ranks 
 he was an untiring and influential worker. He 
 was held in high esteem throughout the commu- 
 nity and his friends will notice with pleasure the 
 accompanying portrait. 
 
 The two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Pettengill 
 are Warren G., born February 21, 1851, who mar- 
 ried Miss Grace A. Coulton and has three children: 
 Martha Sibyl, Charlie and Ralph A.; and Gran- 
 ville, born October 1, 1861, married Mary Gary 
 and is the father of three children: Everett G., 
 Averill J. and Sibyl Kate. Mrs. Pettengill was 
 born in Waterford, Me., May 13, 1827, and is the 
 daughter of John and Mercy (Haskell) Herring. 
 Her father had his birth in New Gloucester, Me., 
 February 19, 1788, in which State his father, Ben- 
 jamin Herring, was a pioneer. The father of the 
 latter-named gentleman was a sea-captain, who on 
 one of his trips took his son Benjamin with him. 
 The latter, who was then quite a lad, begged hard 
 to be taken home, and resolved then and there 
 never to leave dry land again. He obtained a 
 handsome fortune in farming pursuits, and died at 
 the age of eighty-four years. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Pettengill was a mechanic 
 and came West to Illinois June 30, 1838. Pur- 
 chasing a tract of land in Durand Township, he 
 there made his home until his decease, which oc- 
 curred when ninety years of age; the mother de- 
 parted this life in her eighty-third year. The record 
 of the brothers and sisters of Mrs. Pettengill, all of 
 whom were born in Oxford County, Me., is as fol- 
 lows: Julia, born January 10, 1814, married Fred- 
 erick Krune, and died in Iowa; Mercy H., born 
 October 4, 1815, became the wife of Price B. Web- 
 ster and died in Durand. John R., born March' 30, 
 
1114 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1818, was a prominent man in Winnebago County, 
 and was the first surveyor in and around Durand, 
 spendingthe winter of 1838-39 in that occupation. 
 A Republican in politics, he has been the recipient 
 of many positions of trust and honor,and is at pres- 
 ent an influential citizen of Ransom City, N. Dak. 
 George H., whose birth occurred July 13, 1820, 
 departed this life in Wichita, Kan.; Granville, 
 born May 27, 1823, makes his home in Colorado; 
 and Benjamin, who was born June 30, 1825, resides 
 in Iowa, where he has been successfull3' engaged in 
 farming pursuits. George and Granville owned 
 good farms in Durand and were successful farmers. 
 
 j©^®!^^ 
 
 \T AMP:S McAFFEE was originally from the 
 Keystone State, born in Bradford County 
 in August, 1827, and his father, Alexander 
 ^_^ Mc Affee, was also a native of that State but 
 was born in Northumberland County in 1798. The 
 elder Mr. McAffee married Miss Jane McCartj^, of 
 Lycoming County, Pa., born at Muncy in 1800, 
 and one of thirteen children. The result of this 
 union was nine children, four sons and five 
 daughters, two ( f whom died in early child- 
 hood. Of the seven that grew to adult years, 
 only four now survive, and they are Amanda, 
 now Mrs. Henry A. Fahnestock, at Waverly, Iowa; 
 Mary A., widow of Melvin J. Wood, resides in 
 Roscoe, 111.; Edwin, a farmer of Audubon County, 
 Iowa, and our subject, who is the eldest of the 
 family. The fiarents of these children came West 
 from Pennsylvania in October, 1888, made the 
 journey with teams, and landed in Roscoe on 
 the 31st of January, 1839. While on the way 
 to this State, they were in Michigan, near South 
 Bend, Ind., for a short time, and the father 
 and his brother John came on to Roscoe Town- 
 ship, where they bought a claim of four hundred 
 acres one-half mile from the (then) village of Ros- 
 coe. They paid $400 for this tract, and, although 
 fifteen acres had been cultivated, there was no 
 house on it. They immediately erected a double 
 log house and then returned for the family. Here 
 the father passed the remainder of his days, dying 
 of an abscess in March, 1852, when not quite fifty 
 four years of age. His wife remained a widOw 
 
 and survived him twenty-six years, keeping the 
 family together until about 1870, when she went 
 to live with her daughter. About this time, the 
 old place was sold for $4,500. Mrs. McAffee died 
 in March, 1878, when about seventy-eight years 
 of age, her death occurring in Iowa, where she was 
 visiting her daughter. 
 
 James McAffee, subject of this sketch, and his 
 brother Edwin were volunteers in the Civil War. 
 The former enlisted in the Seventy-fourth Illinois 
 Infantry as a Sergeant, August, 1862, and was 
 discharged for disability in January of the fol- 
 lowing year. He and his brotliers and sisters were 
 all fairly educated, and our subject, being a man 
 of observation and study, has not allowed his 
 ideas to rust out, but is well informed on all sub- 
 jects and is thoroughly apace with the times. 
 After the death of his father, he carried on the 
 farm and was married to Miss AlmedaMcCausland, 
 of Ridott, 111., but a native of Canada. Her father 
 was William McCausland. Mrs. McAffee passed 
 away in 1856, leaving one daughter, Meda, who is 
 a resident of Iowa at the present time. Mr. Mc- 
 Affee's second marriage was to Miss Margaret L. 
 Cross, a native of Roscoe, born in that city (or 
 rather town at that time) in 1839. Her father, 
 Robert J. Cross, was a native of Newburgh, N. Y., 
 but moved to near Detroit, Mich., in 1825 and 
 thence to Coldwater in 1830. Vive years later, 
 he came to Roscoe, 111., where he became a success- 
 ful agriculturist, lie was quite a prominent man 
 in the county and held many positions of trust 
 and honor. He was the first Count}' Commis- 
 sioner appointed in 1836 and was the first County 
 Treasurer appointed by the Countj^ Commissioners, 
 serving in that capacity for three years. In 1846, 
 he was elected by the Whigs of Winnebago Coun- 
 ty to represent them in tlie General Assembly, and 
 in 1846 and 1847 he was a colleague of Judge 
 Church to revise the Constitution of the State. 
 In 1872, he was a member of the convention to 
 again revise the State Constitution. He was a 
 profovind thinker, a deep reasoner, and one of tlie 
 ablest men the county has ever had. He died in 
 February, 1873, when sixty-nine years of age, and 
 was at that time a member of the General Assem- 
 bly from Winnebago and Boone Counties. His 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1115 
 
 wife and four childivn still survive liim. One 
 son, John, is in Kansas; Margaret L. became the 
 wife of our subject; William Henry is a Congre- 
 gational minister of California, and Lewis is a 
 farmer of Iowa. The mother of these children 
 was born July 21, 1812, and, although nearly 
 eighty years of age, is as bright mentally as ever, 
 but her physical condition is not of the best. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. McAffee have been farmers in this 
 section nearly all their lives and settled on tlie 
 present farm, consisting of one hundred and 
 thirty-five acres, which formerly constituted the 
 home place of Mr. Cross. Their union has been 
 blessed by the birth of three children, two daugh- 
 ters and one son: Hannah J., now Mrs. P. "W". Ral- 
 ston, residing in Chicago, her husband being a 
 civil engineer; Julia E., now Mrs. Ernest I. Wor- 
 cester, of Chicago, her husband an architect, and 
 James C, a civil engineer working on the Colum- 
 bian Exposition grounds, Chicago. Mr. McAffce 
 is virtually a retired farmer, although living on 
 the farm, which he has rented out for a num- 
 ber of years. He was born and reared a Demo- 
 crat, but since 1860 has affiliated with the Repub- 
 lican party, although he is free to vote for the 
 best man always. 
 
 •5'=^:*^=n 
 
 _J 
 
 r~ 
 
 s-j-^* 
 
 IL^ ON. GEORGE REED. The subject of this 
 sketcli is well worthy of extended notice in 
 this volume, for his life at home and among 
 the law makers ( f Illinois is a model which 
 any young man might emulate with profit and 
 lienor. He has practically retired from farm work 
 and resides at his beautiful country home, the im- 
 provements on which have been brought .about by 
 his own hands, even to the planting of every tree 
 and shrub. His home farm is very efficiently man- 
 aged by his son Frank, while another estate of two 
 hundred and seventy-five acres, one mile and a 
 half distant, is successfully managed by his son 
 Fred. In addition to his public^ervice, he gives 
 his attention to the management of two creameries, 
 which he superintends with excellent success. 
 Throughout Boone County the name of the Hon. 
 
 George Reed is synonymous with public spirit, 
 progress and honesty. He was born in Westfleld, 
 Mass., May 26, 1824, the son of Samuel F. and Pa- 
 tience (Sibley) Reed. His father was born in Mans- 
 field, Conn., and died in Granville, Mass., when 
 seventy-seven years old. For seventeen years, he 
 was agent for and connected with the D. B. Cook 
 Publishing Company, of Hartford, Conn., but later 
 engaged in the grocery business, and for a time was 
 a contractor. While employed in the last-named 
 occupation, he built the bridges and aqueducts on 
 the New Haven and North Hampton canal, long 
 since in disuse, and the New Haven & North Hamp- 
 ton Railroad built on its bank. So far as is known, 
 the Reed family was first represented in America 
 by three brothers, who came from England about 
 1650. 
 
 The mother of our subject was born in Willing- 
 ton, Conn., and departed this life at the home of 
 her son, aged eightj^-eight years. Her parents, 
 Moses and Patience (Yeamans) Sibley, were natives 
 of the Nutmeg State, the father dying when eighty- 
 four years, and the mother when seventy. The 
 maternal grandfather of our subject was a farmer, 
 and during the last years of his life was a pen- 
 sioner, having served in the Revolutionary War. 
 He and his wife reared a family of eight children, 
 all of whom are deceased. 
 
 The familj' of which our subject is a member 
 consisted of six daughters and three sons. George 
 Reed, of this sketch, remained at home until arriv- 
 ing at his majorit}', when he removed to Hinsdale, 
 Mass., and there worked out by the mouth on a 
 farm for two years. In 1847, he came West, and 
 in the month of June reached Boone County, 
 where he visited a short time with his brother, 
 Charles, in Ohio Precinct, which, upon adopting 
 township organization, was called Spring. Thence 
 he proceeded to the northern part of Winnebago 
 County, where he remained two years, working by 
 the day and montli at odd jobs, for fifty or sev- 
 enty-five cents per day. 
 
 In 1849, Mr. Reed returned to Spring Township, 
 where he had purchased one hundred and twenty 
 acres of land of the Government, to which he has 
 since added until his estate comprises five hundred 
 and twenty-five acres, divided into two splendid 
 
1116 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 farms about one and one-half miles apart. He has 
 also a fine creamery plant, located near the center 
 of the town, at which he receives an aveiage of 
 ten thousand pounds of milk daily throughout the 
 entire year. He also has a third interest in the 
 Belvidere Butter and Cheese Manufacturing Com- 
 pany in Belvidere, which he manages successfully, 
 and is the owner of a commodious residence and 
 desirable lot in Belvidere. In addition to these in- 
 terests, he is a stockholder and Director in the 
 People's Bank of Belvidere. 
 
 On coming to Boone County, Mr. Reed had no 
 moneyed capital, and borrowed the wherewithal to 
 purchase a land warrant, paying fifty per cent, for 
 the money. The warrant called for one hundred 
 and sixty acres but he only received one hun- 
 dred and twenty acres (for the reason that there 
 was not another contiguous forty acies) and cost 
 him 1108 and interest. He secured the money 
 before the note became due, and, walking to Chi- 
 ago, paid the indebtedness, after which he returned 
 home on foot through the mud. 
 
 October 10, 1849, Mr. Reed was married to Miss 
 Eliza A. Wait, who was born in Warsaw, now 
 Middleburg, N. Y., August 23, 1828. Further men- 
 tion of her parents, Henry and Polly Wait, will be 
 found in the biography of her brother, W. H. Wait, 
 on another page. When the young couple com- 
 menced housekeeping, they had no furniture nor 
 any money to make purchases, but Mr. Reed being 
 quite handy with his saw and hammer, procured 
 some scantling and constructed their first bedstead, 
 also made a table, and benches for chairs. After 
 harvest, he hauled a load of wheat with oxen to 
 Chicago, and selling it for fifty cents per bushel, 
 brought home some needed furniture, which was 
 highly appreciated by his estimable wife, to whom 
 he accords her full share for their success in life. 
 
 The four children born to our subject and his 
 wife are as follows: Fannie E., born September 6, 
 1850; Franklin P., November 9, 1852; Frederick 
 A., .January 8, 1855; and Albert E., who was born 
 July 8, 1857, died May 9, 1863. Frederick A. mar- 
 ried Miss Caroline Wiggers, and the}' have become 
 the parents of five children, four of whom are 
 now living. 
 
 Mr. Reed has always taken an active interest in 
 
 affairs pertaining to his vocation. For twenty 
 years he was a Director on the County Board of 
 Agriculture, serving as its President for eight 
 years, and advancing its welfare materially during 
 his administration. In 1886, he was elected to the 
 office of Vice-president of the State Board of Agri- 
 culture for the Plfth Congressional District, and 
 was re-elected in 1888, in which position he served 
 with credit to himself and honor to the district. 
 In 1890, he was elected Director in the Illinois 
 State Dairymen's Association, of which organiza- 
 tion he is now a member. 
 
 In 1876, with a number of other farmers, Mr. 
 Reed aided in the organization of the Belvidere 
 Farmers' Mutual Fire and Lightning Insurance 
 Company as a township company with four towns. 
 Later, the law was changed, and it was re-organ- 
 ized into a county company, and is now one of the 
 most prosperous companies in the State, having at 
 present nine hundred members, with $1,589,548 at 
 risk. Mr. Reed has been a Director from the or- 
 ganization of the company, and its President for 
 the last ten years. At the annual meeting, Jan- 
 uary 6, 1891, the Secretary, Henry W. Avery, Esq., 
 made the following statement, which will be of in- 
 terest to the reader: 
 
 "The farmers of Little Boone as a whole, and 
 the members of this Insurance Company in par- 
 ticular, have reason for congratulation that they 
 are represented this year in the State Legislature 
 by one of their number, the honored President of 
 this organization, who to-day takes his seat as a 
 peer among the law-makers of this great State of 
 Illinois, one who can ever be trusted for honesty, 
 integrity and nobility of character, whose words 
 and votes are in harmony, and who can always be 
 counted upon for right, justice, temperance and 
 humanity." 
 
 In politics, Mr. Reed is a Republican, and has 
 held nearly all the offices in his town, such as Over- 
 seer of Roads, Commissioner of Highways, School 
 Director for twenty years. Town Clevk and Super- 
 visor and member of the County Board twelve years, 
 serving as Chairman of the latter a number of 
 times. He was elected to the State Legislature in 
 1890, and served on the Committee of Agriculture, 
 Warehouse, Public Charities, County and Township 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 111^ 
 
 Organization and State Municipal Indebtedness. 
 His vote is recorded on many good laws of the State, 
 and he has introduced several important bills, one 
 of which was with reference to creating the office of 
 Food and Dairy Commissioner, and prescribing the 
 duties of such an officer; also to prevent the color- 
 ing of oleomargarine in imitation of butter, and to 
 prevent the making and selling of filled cheese in 
 imitation of full cream cheese. 
 
 Mr. Reed may be justly termed "self-made," his 
 only schooling having been obtained in a country 
 district school; hence, too much credit cannot be 
 accorded him Cor the position which he now occu- 
 pies in social and business circles, and which was 
 obtained through his own ambition and persever- 
 ance. He has a keen appreciation of the high 
 honor his friends have conferred upon him, and 
 feels under greater obligations since they have re- 
 nominated him for the Legislature. He has no 
 opposition, and it maj' safely bo predicted that he 
 will be re-elected to the position which he has so 
 capably filled. 
 
 We cannot better close this sketch than by the 
 following high compliment to the worth of Mr. 
 Reed, which was published in a recent issue of the 
 Northwestern: "Mr. Reed is a man of the people, a 
 man of sound judgment, and one who may be re- 
 lied upon to guard the interests of the masses. His 
 record in tlie last Legislature will bear the closest 
 scrutiny. He was found on the right side every 
 time when the votes on important measures were 
 taken. With a clean record, and the experience 
 of one session to his credit, he will enter upon the 
 duties of a second term with undoubted recogni- 
 tion, and will be placed in position to exert a 
 wider influence with satisfactory results to himself 
 and his constituents." 
 
 i>^^<-! 
 
 (Qy-^ 
 
 kEVI P. H. MUNRO, who is engaged in 
 general farming on section 1, New Mil- 
 ford Township, is a worthy representative 
 of one of the honored pioneer families of Winne- 
 bago County. He was born on the 30th of June, 
 1828, in Troy, N. Y., and is a son of Levi and 
 Esther H. (Carmichael) Munro, both of whom 
 
 were natives of the Empire State. His parents 
 came to Illinois in July, 1838, and settled 
 on one hundred and sixty acres of land 
 on section 1, New Milford Township. The 
 land was then worth about $4.50 per acre and 
 is now valued at $300 per acre. It lies just out- 
 side the city limits of Rockford and is a verj- 
 desirable property. The father died January 3, 
 1875, at the age of seventy-four j^ears, and his 
 wife was called to her final rest August 29, 1857, 
 at the age of fifty years. They had three children: 
 Harriet A., wife of Isaac Rowley, a farmer of 
 Guilford Township; Levi, of this sketch; and Mil- 
 ton C, now of Cedar Falls, Iowa. 
 
 Our subject was a lad of only ten years when 
 with his parents he came to this country. His ed- 
 ucational advantages were very limited, for the 
 schools here were few and of an inferior order. On 
 the breaking out of the late war, he and his brother 
 enlisted, December 6, 1861, for three years' service 
 as members of Company E, First Illinois Light 
 Artillery. From Camp Douglas in Chicago they 
 went to Cairo, 111., and on the 27th of March 
 embarked for Pittsburg Landing. They took part 
 in the terrible battle of Shiloh, where our subject 
 was placed on the caisson to deal out the ammuni- 
 tion, his officer saying that his head would prove 
 level in the emergency. He was wounded but 
 stood at his post until ordered to fall back. His 
 brother was at gun No. 4. The battery held an 
 exposed position in front of Beauregard who 
 made the most determined and desperate effort to 
 capture the guns but did not succeed. Mr. Munro 
 was discharged on account of disability, resulting 
 from his wound and exposure, December 6, 1862, 
 and at the same time his brother was mustered 
 out. The latter almost lost his life and would 
 have done so had it not been for the faithful 
 nursing of Levi. 
 
 Mr. Munro has never married but has a pleas- 
 ant home on the old farm and is recognized as 
 one of the leading agriculturists of the commun- 
 ity and a valued citizen, as well as an upright 
 man. In politics, he is a supporter of Republican 
 principles and, religiously, holds the faith of 
 the Baptist Church but is not connected with any 
 congregation. For several years he has been a 
 
1118 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 member of G. L. Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R. For 
 more than half a century he has resided in Winne- 
 bago County and can well remember many inci- 
 dents of his pioneer days. The journey to Illinois 
 was made by the Erie Canal and the Lakes to 
 Chicago, and thence by ox-team to this place. 
 The farm products were marketed in Chicago, 
 where wheat brought only fortj' cents a bushel 
 and pork from II to $2 per hundred. Those days 
 have now passed awa}' and in the years which 
 have followed Mr. Munro has acquired a hand- 
 some competence and is now the owner of a very 
 valuable property. 
 
 yHIPPLE JILSON, now deceased, was one 
 of the most prominent citizens of Rock- 
 ford. An influential man, he exercised a 
 power for good in this community which will long 
 be felt though he has passed away. He was born 
 in Elbridge, Onondaga County, N. Y.,in 1819, and 
 was a son of David Jilson, of one of the leading 
 families of Massachusetts. In his native State our 
 subject was reared to manhood and in Weedsport, 
 N. Y., married Miss Caroline Bayles, a native of 
 Cayuga County, and a daughter of Aaron and Lydia 
 (Edmister) Bayles, natives of New Jersey. The 
 latter were married near Chenango, N. Y., where 
 they resided for some years, after which Mr. Bayles 
 became a grain dealer on the Canal. He subsequently 
 located in Weedsport, where he did business as a 
 merchant and became very wealthy. He and his 
 wife spent their last years with their daughter, Mrs. 
 .Jilson. Mrs. Bajdes' death occurred at the age of 
 eighty-one years and the husband and father was 
 called to his final rest at the age of eighty- 
 seven. Both were members of the Baptist Church. 
 A brother of Mrs. Jilson founded the first college 
 in Milwaukee and later established the Bayles 
 Business College, of Dubuque, Iowa, the first in 
 that city. Her only sister, Mrs. St. Johns, is living 
 in Rockford and she and Mrs. Jilson are the only 
 survivors of the familj'. 
 
 With his wife and children, Mr. Jilson came to 
 Rockford in 1855, and as a partner of E. St. Johns 
 embarked in the grocery business. After some 
 
 years, he became sole proprietor, and at length sold 
 out, removing to Ogle County, 111., purchasing a 
 farm near Byron. After operating his land for 
 some 3-ears, he returned to Rockford and cstablisJied 
 a tailor and repair shop, to which business he de- 
 voted his energies throughout nearly the remain- 
 der of his life. He accumulated a good propertj- 
 and was well-to-do at the time of his death. 
 
 It is meet that when a good man dies some trib- 
 ute should be paid to his memory. Mr. Jilson was 
 essentially a self-made man, and adversity seemed 
 only to draw out the latent energy and force of 
 his character, which he concentrated with renewed 
 effort on the work in hand. Truth, industry and 
 uprightness were cardinal points in his creed and 
 his word was as good as his bond. From his in- 
 fanc3^ he was crippled but he did not allow this 
 accident to stand in his wa}'. When a young 
 man he joined the Baptist Church but afterwards 
 became a liberal thinker. He possessed an inex- 
 haustible fund of wit and humor, which made hira 
 a pleasant and interesting companion, for he was 
 also a great reader and well informed. His life 
 was above reproach, his morality of the highest 
 character. He never used tobacco or intoxicating 
 liquors in any way, and ever exerted his influence 
 in behalf of temperance on those lines. He also 
 voted with the Prohibition party for manj- years. 
 In early life he vvas a stanch Abolitionist and his 
 home in New York, during slavery days, was a 
 station on the Underground Railroad, where he 
 helped many a slave on his way to Canada and 
 freedom. His first Presidential vote was cast for 
 James G. Birney, the Abolition candidate. To the 
 poor and needy he was ever readj' to lend a help- 
 ing hand and he had the respect of both young 
 and old. In 1891, he was stricken with the grip 
 and after a week passed away. 
 
 Mrs. Jilson has since her husband's death re- 
 sided on West State Street, and has successfully 
 managed the propertj^ left by him and her parents. 
 She is a most estimable lady and ranks high in 
 social circles. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jilson were 
 born three children. Carrie P. became the wife of 
 Charles Lundgren and died leaving four children: 
 her two daughters, Ethel and Carrie, now living 
 with their grandmother, Mrs. Jilson, and two sons, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1119 
 
 Frank and Lewis, residing in Indiana. Harriet 
 Helena is the wife of Lewis A. Weyburn, a manu- 
 facturer of Rockford, by wliom she has two daugh- 
 ters, Blanche and Jennie. Harry married Lida 
 Mellon and occupies a position with the firm of 
 Emerson, Talcott & Co. 
 
 eHARLES HASKIN. The results of unflag- 
 ging perseverance, prudent economy and 
 investment and good habits, probably find 
 no better exponent in the city of Rockford than 
 in the above-named gentleman who is residing at 
 No. 405 East Street. He is what may be trul}^ 
 termed a self-made man, having started at the bot- 
 tom round of life and now ranks among the sub- 
 stantial citizens of the county. He has always 
 taken an active interest in all public "enterprises, 
 and is an ardent advocate of both church and 
 school. He is now living retired in the city, and 
 with his wife is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, which body he joined in his youth. 
 As soon as it was possible to do so, Mr. Haskin or- 
 ganized a class in Harlem, which was composed of 
 eight members who congregated in a log house on 
 section 29. Our subject was made Steward of tlie 
 church, which position lie held for thirty years. 
 He was also a teacher of the Bible Class for many 
 years. On coming to Rockford, he transferred his 
 membership to the Centennial Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, where he is one of its active workers. 
 
 Born in Washington, Berkshire County, Mass., 
 March 14, 1817, our subject is a son of Amos Has- 
 kin, a native of Salisbury, Conn., from which place 
 his father removed to Washington, and operated a 
 gristmill for a number of years. The grandfather 
 made his own tombstone, working on the inscrip- 
 tion, with the exception of the date of his death. 
 His remains and those of his wife lie buried in the 
 cemetery in that place. 
 
 Amos Haskin was very young when his parents 
 removed to Washington, where he was reared and 
 married to Lovisa Bille, who was a native of that 
 place and the daughter of William Bille. She is 
 buried by the side of her husband in the same 
 
 cemetery in which the grandparents of our subject 
 are interred. Charles, of this sketch, was the 
 youngest member of the parental family of ten 
 children, and his father being in limited circum- 
 stances, he commenced when quite young to make 
 his own way in the world, his first employment 
 being working on farms in the neighborhood. He 
 later learned the trade of a stonemason, and when 
 sixteen years of age was able to superintend the 
 work. Soon after reaching his majority, he com- 
 menced contracting in Lee, Mass., where he resided 
 until 1841, the date of his coming to Illinois. He 
 was accompanied on the journey hither by his 
 young bride, and on locating in Winnebago County 
 found the greater part of the land west of Rock 
 River was still owned by the Government. He 
 purchased eighty acres on the east side, and later 
 rented an improved farm and began housekeeping 
 in a log cabin. Three years later, Mr. Haskin pur- 
 chased a partially improved farm of one hundred 
 acres on section 29, paying therefor the sum of 
 $700. He erected a temporary frame house on the 
 place, in which his family lived while he cleared 
 and further cultivated the property. Chicago was 
 the nearest market where he could get cash for the 
 farm produce, and as there were no railroads the 
 trip was made with ox-teams. The following year 
 oup subject purchased one hundred and sixty acres 
 of wild prairie land on section 31, stiU owning, 
 however, his property on section 29, on which lat- 
 ter tract he erected a good set of buildings and 
 resided until 1882, when he left it in charge of his 
 son and came to Rockford. 
 
 August 29, 1841, in Jefferson County, N. Y., 
 Miss Mary W. Atwood became the wife of our 
 subject. She was a native of Hinsdale, Berkshire 
 County, Mass., having been born November 21, 
 1819, and was a daughter of the Rev. Phineas and 
 Huldah (Haskell) Atwood, also natives of the Bay 
 State. Mr. and Mrs. Haskin, of this sketch, have had 
 four children: Amos, Emily L., Wright and Daniel. 
 Amos enlisted in Company A, Seventy-fourth Illi- 
 nois Infantry, and gave his life in the service of 
 his country, dying at the age of twenty-two. 
 All were members of the Centennial Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. The father of Mrs. Haskin was 
 a son of Hezekiah and Lydia (Heath) Atwood, and 
 
1120 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 removed from that State to New York, where he 
 resided for a number of years. In 1844, he came 
 to Winnebago County, and, settling in Harlem 
 Township, improved and lived upon a farm until 
 his death, when eighty-six years of age. He joined 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church in his younger 
 days, of which deaomination he was a local preacher 
 and later an ordained Elder. The mother of Mrs. 
 Haskin was the daughter of Roger and Mary (Web- 
 ster) Haskell; she also died in Harlem Township 
 when in her ninety-third year. The son of our 
 subject has been twice married, his first wife being 
 Frances L. Hall, by whom he has two children: one 
 who died young and one living, Emily Fern. His 
 present wife is Florence Poulton. In politics, our 
 subject is a Republican, and has filled various offi- 
 ces of trust in the township, having served as 
 Justice of the Peace, Assessor, Highway Commis- 
 sioner and member of the School Board. 
 
 tai>li 1^ bi 
 
 bHOMAS W. EVANS has for many years 
 been a leading farmer of Winnebago County 
 and now resides on his pleasant home which 
 is situated on a hillside on section 26, New Milford 
 Township. He is a native of Steuben Township, 
 Oneida County, N. Y., and is a son of John J. and 
 Anna (Williams) Evans, who were natives of 
 Wales. His grandfather, John Lee Evans, was 
 born in Carnarvonshire, Wales, and there died in 
 early life, leaving a widow and four children, the 
 youngest of whom was the father of our subject. 
 John J. Williams married in Wales and came at once 
 to America, sailing from Liverpool to New York, 
 where he arrived after three months. He com- 
 menced life in limited circumstances but at his 
 death owned one hundred acres of valuable land. 
 This worthy couple lost one daughter, Margaret, 
 who died at the age of twelve years. Three of their 
 children grew to mature years, Janet, John and 
 Thomas. The mother died in July, 1839, at the 
 age of sixty-one years, and Mr. Evans was after- 
 ward married again. By the second union he had 
 two sons and three daughters, but John and Jose- 
 phine died at the ages of ten and twelve years 
 respectively. The living are David, Margaret and 
 
 Phoebe. The first was a volunteer soldier in the 
 late war, serving as Standard Bearer of the Third 
 New York Battery. At the close of the war, he 
 went to Topeka, Kan., and for three years was 
 Superintendent of Scliools. He was afterwards 
 City Attorney of Great Bend, Kan., and Supervisor 
 of the United States Census for the northern dis- 
 trict of that State. He was called to Washington 
 by that department and is now in the Navy De- 
 partment there. Phoebe resides in Ransom, Oneida 
 County, being the widow of James Griffith. 
 Margaret is the widow of Paschal Enos and is 
 Postmistrefs at Kingsville, 111. 
 
 Our subject is the only survivor of the first 
 family. In the fall of 1843, he left New York and 
 spent the winter in St. Louis, Mo., working at the 
 carpenter's trade until the succeeding spring, when 
 he came to Rockford and erected many buildings 
 in that city during the next five years. On the 
 4th of July," 1848, he was united in marriage with 
 Caroline Crill, daughter of Henry and Betsy 
 (Brooks) Crill. Unto them were born eleven 
 children, seven sons and four daughters, six of 
 whom grew to mature years, while five are yet 
 living: Belle, wife of Russell Barrows, a farmer of 
 New Milford Township; .John O., who operates the 
 old homestead in Monroe Township, Ogle County; 
 Henrietta, wife of J. C. Thompson; Gene Paul, a 
 farmer of Ogle County; and Thaddeus Wilber at 
 home. 
 
 Mr. Evans first located in Ogle County and was 
 one of the organizers of Monroe Township. He 
 served as its first Assessor and was Justice of the 
 Peace for six years, when he resigned and re- 
 moved to Rockford. His first wife died April 28, 
 1874, at the age of forty-four years, and he was 
 again married, September 30, 1875, in Utica, N. Y., 
 his second union being with Laura E. Lewis of 
 Steuben, Oneida County, N. Y. They have one 
 daughter, Mattie Lois, a bright maiden of fourteen 
 summers. 
 
 Mr. Evans continued to reside in Rockford until 
 1856, and then returned to the old farm in Ogle 
 County, where he had purchased five hundred 
 acres of Government land at $1.25 per acre. His 
 first purchase where he now lives was a hundred- 
 acre tract, to which he added until he had six- 
 
1^ 
 
 Benj. Killburn 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1123 
 
 hundred acres. It is now occupied as three farms 
 by liis children. In 1880, he purchased his home 
 farm, comprising two hundred and forty-five acres 
 which pay to hira a golden tribute for his care 
 and cultivation. The pleasant home is beautifully 
 situated on a hillside and commands a good view 
 of the surrounding country. Mr. and Mrs. Evans 
 rank high in social circles and are genial, com- 
 panionable people who have many warm friends 
 in this community. Our subject has been blessed 
 with prosperity and is now enjoying a well-de- 
 served competence acquired through his own 
 industry, good management and enterprise. 
 
 -1^-1-^^-= 
 
 SHOMAS W. CARRICO. Probably no resi- 
 dent of Rockford has been more closely 
 connected with its growth from an un- 
 important village to one of the most enterpris- 
 ing cities of Northern Illinois, than the gentleman 
 whose life sketch is herewith presented. Although 
 not a native of the city, Beverly, Mass., being his 
 birthplace, and June, 1830, the date thereof, the 
 most of his active life has been passed within its 
 limits, and for many years he has resided in his 
 beautiful home at No. 913 Kilburn Avenue. 
 
 The parents of oui' subject, Thomas and Mary 
 (Raymond) Carrico, were natives of New Eng- 
 land, born and reared in Beverly, Mass. His pa- 
 ternal grandfather, Benjamin Carrico, was a 
 mechanic, and his maternal grandfather, who was 
 a merchantman, traded with southern islands in 
 mahogany and other choice woods. Our subject 
 is the only child, with the exception of a daughter, 
 Mary, deceased. After the death of his mother, 
 which occurred when he was quite small, he was 
 tenderly cared for by an aunt, Mrs. W. F. Parish, 
 of Beverly. His father removed to Ohio, and 
 some time in the '40s proceeded thence to Logan, 
 Iowa, where he married again and remained until 
 his death in 1881. 
 
 In the spring of 1854 Mr. Carrico came West to 
 Rockford, where three years later he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Mary L., daughter of Benjamin 
 and Eleanor (Maynard) Kilburn, natives of Massa- 
 chusetts, who had come to Rockford in 1837. 
 
 After their marriage, the young couple located at 
 once on a tract of land comprising one hundred 
 and sixty acres, which he purchased from the 
 Government, and which was located a short dis- 
 tance from the present post-ofiice, but at that time 
 considered out in the country. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Carrico were married in a house that stood on the 
 site of their present liome, where she was also born. 
 The stone quarry- and sand-bed, which have since 
 proved so valuable, are now in the thickly -settled 
 part of the city. 
 
 Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Carrico, one of whom died in infancy; Frank K., 
 died in 1890 of consumption, aged thirty years; 
 . and Mary E., wife of John Salter, Jr., of Chicago, 
 died in 1891, at the age of twenty -seven years, 
 leaving two little daughters to the care of the 
 bereft grandparents. The six children are bright 
 and beautiful, the comfort of their grandparents 
 as well as the solace of their father. Fred K., the 
 youngest son, now thirteen years old, lives with 
 his parents. Mrs. Carrico is one of seven children, 
 of whom she alone survives. Her father died in 
 1861, but her mother, at the advanced age of 
 eighty-one, still survives, and makes .her home 
 with Mrs. Carrico. 
 
 Mr. Carrico is still carrying on a large business 
 in building stone and sand. Politically, he affil- 
 iates with the Republican party, and although he 
 belongs to no sect or creed, preferring liberty of 
 thought and belief, yet he is an ever-willing sup- 
 porter of reformatory measures, and has a neat 
 little mission chapel on his beautiful grounds. 
 
 Benjamin Kilburn, whose portrait accompanies 
 this sketch, was born in Belchertown, Mass., in 
 1808, and was one of the very earliest of the pio- 
 neers of Rockford, there being but two or three 
 residents here at the time of his arrival. He lived 
 through the period of transition from the wild 
 waste to the flourishing city, and was always in- 
 terested in anything that tended to the advance- 
 ment of the place. Although he passed away in 
 the prime of life, when only fifty-two years old, 
 his influence was widespread, and he left a name 
 that is imperishable in the annals of Rockford. 
 Kilburn Avenue, a beautiful street, is named in 
 his honor, and the old residents still remember Mr. 
 
1124 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 Kilburn, to whom they always refer with affection. 
 We are glad to hand his portrait down to pos- 
 terity, so that coming generations may loolc upon 
 the features of one of the pioneers of Rockford, 
 who contributed so effectively to its progress. 
 
 J*-5"5-5>,^^(****t 
 
 l****'^!^****? 
 
 ^ AVID C. COWAN, a general merchant at 
 Poplar Grove, Boone Count}', was born in 
 (^j^ Fall River, Mass., January 1, 1851. He 
 is the son of Robert Cowan wlio was born 
 in Buteshire, Scotland, where also his grandparents 
 were born and spent their entire lives. Robert 
 Cowan was the only member of the family who 
 came to America, emigrating hither when a young- 
 man. He was engaged in the cotton mills in Fall 
 River and Bernan, R. I., residing in the East until 
 1848, at which time he came to Illinois. Making 
 a short stay here, he retiuned to New England, and 
 in the spring of 1851 came with his family to 
 Boone Township where he had purchased land. 
 There was a log house on the place, in which the 
 family resided and here Mr. Cowan engaged in 
 farming until his decease. 
 
 Our subject's mother, who bore the maiden name 
 of Mary Carmcnt, was a native of Glasgow, Scot- 
 land, and the daughter of Alexander and Eliza- 
 beth Carmcnt. She is at present residing in 
 Poplar Grove and is the mother of four children: 
 Robert; Mary E., Mrs. E. B. Ball; David C, and 
 Emma J., the wife of Arthur G. Edgell. Our sub- 
 ject was an infant when his parents removed to 
 the Prairie State and received his education in the 
 district schools of this vicinity. When nineteen 
 years of age, he began teaching school, being thus 
 employed for three terms. At the expiration of 
 that time, he entered the State Normal School at 
 Normal, 111., and after a course of two years was 
 again engaged as a teacher at Bulkley, Iroquois 
 County. Three years later, he came to Poplar 
 Grove, this county, and in company with his fath- 
 er-in-law engaged in the lumber business and later 
 as a hardware merchant. 
 
 In 1884, Mr. Cowan went to the Territory of 
 Dakota and pre-empted a tract of Government land 
 in Clark Countjf,and after a residence there of one 
 
 year returned to this place and engaged in the 
 mercantile business. He carries a large stock of 
 general merchandise, and by his courteous treat- 
 ment of customers is well liked by all who know 
 him and has a good share of patronage. 
 
 Julia Webster, who was born in this county, be- 
 came the wife of our subject in 1872. She is the 
 daughter of Willet S. and Mnvy J. (Wheeler) Web- 
 ster, and by her union with our subject has become 
 the mother of two children: Mabel A. and Frank C. 
 Mr. Cowan is a member of Poplar Grove Lodge 
 A. O. U. W. and is a demitted member of the Ma- 
 sonic lodge at Buckley. A Republican in politics, 
 he cast his first Presidential vote for Hayes, and 
 in local affairs has served as a member of the 
 County Board of Supervisors for six years, five 
 years as County Superintendent of Schools, and as 
 a member of the Republican County Central Com- 
 mittee, has often represented his party in county 
 and district conventions. 
 
 „., LSON H. KEELER, editor and proprietor 
 Uli of the Belvidere Northwestern, a weekly' 
 
 newspaper, was born in Belvidere Town- 
 ship, Boone County, March 13, 1854. His 
 paternal grandfather, Martin Keeler, a native of 
 Connecticut, went with his brother Joseph to 
 Cortland County, N. Y. Both purchased land in 
 the town of Truxton, cleared and developed farms, 
 and there spent the remainder of their days. Mar- 
 tin married Anna Woodruff, who was born in 
 Fabius, Onondaga County, N. Y., and died on the 
 home farm. 
 
 Warren Keeler, father of our subject, was born 
 on that farm June 12, 1821, and by purchasing 
 the interest of the other heirs became owner of 
 the old homestead, upon which he resided until 
 1849, when he sold out and emigrated to Boone 
 County, 111. He bought a tract of land of two 
 hundred and twenty-five acres in Belvidere Town- 
 ship, of which one hundred and twenty-five acres 
 were broken, the remainder being covered with 
 timber. The improvements consisted of a log 
 house and frame barn. Mr. Keeler there engaged 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1125 
 
 in farming until 1878, when he sold that land and 
 resided in the town of Spring until 1888, since 
 which time he has lived a retired life in Belvidere, 
 He was married, January 11, 1844, to Delotia 
 Keenej', who was born in Fabius, N. Y., July 21, 
 1818. The family numbered five children: Fele- 
 cia B., Horatio, Mary A., Alson H. and Emma L. 
 The parents arc both members of the First Bap- 
 tist Church and are highly respected people of 
 Belvidere. 
 
 The maternal grandfather of our subject was 
 Champion Keeney, a native of Connecticut, and a 
 son of Simon Keeney, who was born in the same 
 State and removed to New York in 1796, becom- 
 ing one of the early settlers of Fabius. In the 
 midst of the forest, he developed a farm and went 
 through all the experiences and hardships of pio- 
 neer life. While he worked upon the farm, his 
 wife spun and wove the cloth used in clothing the 
 family. Her maiden name was Polly Bates. The 
 grandfather of our subject was only two years old 
 when his parents emigrated to Onondaga County. 
 He married Esther Daniels, a native of that coun- 
 ty, and for many years tliere followed farming. 
 His last days were spent in retirement in the vil- 
 lage of Fabius, where he died at the advanced 
 age of ninety-one. He served in the War of 1812, 
 and his widow is one of its pensioners. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject who acquired his early education in the 
 country schools and supplemented it by study in 
 Belvidere and at Beloit College. In the autumn 
 of 1874, he went to Butler County, Iowa, where he 
 engaged in teaching through the winter, and in 
 the spring of 1875 returned to Belvidere und 
 opened a real-estate and insurance office with R. 
 W. Coon, publisher of the Belvidere Northwestern. 
 Mr. Keeler afterward became connected with the 
 paper as reporter and compositor, and later was 
 foreman of the office and local editor until 1888. 
 In that year he resigned his position and went to 
 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he spent two years, 
 after which he was foreman and city editor of the 
 Waukegan Gazette, of Waukegan, 111., for two 
 years. He then purchased the N'm-thwesle^-n, of 
 which he is now sole proprietor. 
 
 Mr. Keeler was married, September 23, 1880, to 
 
 Edith A. Swasey, who was born in Portsmouth, 
 N. H., and is a daughter of Samuel and Edith A. 
 (Holmes) Swasey. They have one son, Lawrence 
 S., born December 23, 1882. The parents are both 
 members of the Presbyterian Church. Since cast- 
 ing his first Presidential vote for R. B. Hayes, Mr. 
 Keeler has been a stanch Republican. Socially, he 
 is a member of Belvidere Lodge No. 60, A. F. & 
 A. M.; Kishwaukee Chapter No. 90, R. A. M.; Big 
 Thunder Lodge No. 28, 1. O. O. F., and several 
 other of the secret benevolent societies. 
 
 In the spring of 1892, Mr. Keeler w.as elected a 
 member of the City Council, representing the 
 Third Ward, and was also in the same spring 
 elected a member of the Board of Education of 
 the South Belvidere School. 
 
 Under its present management, the Norihivestern 
 has not only been enlarged but has been improved 
 in every way. The circulation has been greatij- 
 increased, and the liberal patronage which it now 
 receives is well deserved. In January, 1892, Mr. 
 Keeler removed to his owu new office building on 
 South State Street. He undoubtedly occupies one 
 of the finest buildings used for newspaper publi- 
 cation in Northern Illinois. It was built for th s 
 purpose, and is a handsome two-story brick build- 
 ing, conveniently arranged, and supplied witli all 
 the accessories of the modern office. It has a 
 complete outfit for a job office, and its machiner}' 
 is run by water power. 
 
 -^ 
 
 UGUST BLOMBERG, a prosperous busi- 
 ness man and stockholder in the Forest 
 City Baking Company, recently organized 
 ,^j, at No. 609 Seventh Street, was formerlj' 
 
 engaged in the bakery business here but sold out to 
 this company. He was born in Sweden, Septem- 
 ber 22, 1847, and learned his trade there after reach- 
 ing his fourteenth birthday. In September, 1879, he 
 came to the United States, and subsequently to 
 Rockford, where he established a bakery on Sev- 
 enth Street. He met with unusual success and 
 has accumulated a handsome competence. Pre- 
 vious to coming to Rockford, he was engaged 
 in the bakery business in New York City, Bos- 
 
1126 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ton, and other cities of the New England States. 
 He is the owner of much valuable property in 
 Rockford, and is a stockholder in the Excelsior 
 Furniture Company. Mr. Blomberg expects to 
 visit his native country in 1892, but will return 
 and take charge of the Forest City Baking Com- 
 pany. 
 
 Mr. Blomberg is the only one of his relatives in 
 tills country. His father, John Blomberg, is still a 
 resident of Sweden, and is seventy years of age. 
 He served his country faithfully as a soldier for 
 thirty-four years. He is a prominent man in his 
 native province and is highly respected. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Cathrina Bengston 
 and slie died in her native country many years 
 ago. She was a member of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church, and Mr. Blomberg holds membership in 
 the same at the present time. 
 
 Our subject is a public-spirited citizen and takes 
 a deep interest in all local matters. He is a worthy 
 member of the Zion Lutheran Church, and in pol- 
 tics supports the principles of the Republican 
 party. To his marriage with Josephine Bangs ton 
 were born three interesting children: Charles A., 
 John H. and Fred. 
 
 1,^^ 
 
 fjU-^UMPHREY TRIPP. The citizens of Peca- 
 / jV tonicaknow Mr. Tripp as not onlj^ a success- 
 \^ ful man, with large landed interests in vari- 
 ^ ous States, but thoyknowhim as something 
 more, a man who is earnestly striving in all hon- 
 orable ways to make the world better for his pres- 
 ence in it. He began life poor, and in all that the 
 phrase implies, is the architect of his own fortune, 
 of which he contributes constantly and generously 
 to foster education, promote the interests of the 
 people and relieve suffering. Orphaned at the age 
 of sixteen, he early became self-supporting, and 
 with no moneyed capital, but with plenty of de- 
 termination and perseverance, worked his way to 
 prosperity. 
 
 A Canadian by birth and parentage, our subject 
 was born in Oxford, May 20, 1830. His par- 
 ents, Michael and Rebecca (Sissan) Tripp, were 
 born in New Brunswick and had a family of eight 
 
 children. The mother died in Canada when only 
 thirty-eight, but the father survived until he was 
 about sixty, when his death occurred in Indiana. 
 Humphrey passed his boyhood in Canada whence 
 he removed to the States in 18.55, taking up his 
 residence in Pecatonica. From the first, he was 
 successful in his various enterprises, and it may 
 be said of him that he never knew the meaning of 
 the word "failure." 
 
 November 13, 1866, Mr. Tripp was married to 
 Cynthia A., widow of Jacob Manderville, who died 
 in Pecatonica at the age of forty years. Mrs. 
 Tripp was born in New York, July 20, 1826, the 
 daughter of Abel and Betsy (Buell) Buell. Her 
 father was born in Connecticut and died in Dela- 
 ware County, N.Y., at the age of seventy-six 3'ears; 
 while her mother was born in Connecticut and 
 passed away in Pecatonica at the ripe old age of 
 ninety-one years. Abel Buell was one of the 
 brave soldiers who, during the War of 1812, con- 
 tributed his services to the defense of his country, 
 and after his death a pension was granted to his 
 widow. 
 
 The members of the Buell family, with the ex- 
 ception of one brother, were stanch adherents of 
 Democratic principles, and they were uniformly 
 men of uprightness and honor, highly esteemed 
 wherever they resided. Mrs. Tripp was one of nine 
 children, three of whom are now living. She is a 
 lady whose kindness of heart and generosity arc 
 recognized by her large circle of acquaintances, 
 and she also possesses large executive ability and 
 excellent judgment, which enable her to assist her 
 husband in his business transactions by her sound 
 and active co-operation. 
 
 Mr. Tripp believes that the best interests of the 
 Government are subserved by Protection, hence is 
 firm in his allegiance to Republican principles. He 
 is a member of the Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Work- 
 man, and is prominent in both orders. In his re- 
 ligious connections, he is a member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church, to which his estimable wife 
 also belongs. Mr. and Mrs. Tripp are stockholders 
 in the shoe factory at Pecatonica, own considera- 
 ble valuable village property, including business 
 blocks and residence lots, and, besides this, are the 
 
f 
 
 
 
 
 /^ 
 
 \ 
 * 
 
 V 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1129 
 
 owners of more than thirteen hundred and twenty 
 acres of fine farming land in Kansas, Iowa, Min- 
 nesota and Illinois, so that their attention is closely 
 occupied by their landed interests. 
 
 ' 
 
 r 
 
 •{•^♦i 
 
 C»/ ANS F. PETERSON. In a city of the rapid 
 growth and development which has charac- 
 terized Rockford, the importance of the line 
 yj of industry in which Mr. Peterson is en- 
 gaged cannol be over-estimated. To the conti'actor 
 and builder in effect, conjointly with the architect, 
 belongs the task of imparting to the city that ap- 
 pearance of solidity, wealth, refinement and com- 
 fort which at once stamps its citizens as progres- 
 sive and enterprising. 
 
 Mr. Peterson has been a resident of Rockford 
 since 1859, and during that time has met with suc- 
 cess in his business. He is a skillful and reliable 
 workman, and has erected many fine homes in the 
 city, besides numerous business blocks. He has a 
 beautiful residence at No. 105 Baker Street, and is 
 one of the most prominent and highly respected 
 residents of Rockford. 
 
 The parents of our subject, Peter and Christina 
 (Hansen) Swanson, passed their entire lives in 
 Sweden, and died when fiftj'-two and seventy-two 
 years of age, respectively. They were members of 
 the Swedish Lutheran Church. Of the seven chil- 
 dren born to them, three are yet living in Sweden, 
 all of whom are married. Our subject and a 
 sister, Charlotte, were the only members of the 
 family to come to the United States. She became 
 the wife of Peter Johnson, and died in Rockford 
 when about middle age. Her husband is still re- 
 siding in this city. 
 
 Our subject was born in Jonkoping, Sweden, 
 on the 14th of October, 1847, and there learned 
 his trade of mason and contractor. He was mar- 
 ried in that country to Miss Eva C. Samuelson, a 
 native of the same province as her husband. Her 
 parents passed their entire lives in Sweden, and 
 she grew to womanhood in her native land. After 
 the birth of one son, Oscar, now deceased, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Peterson took passage for the United States, 
 
 arriving in this country soon after. They lived 
 for one year in Geneva, 111., where Mr. Peterson fol- 
 lowed his trade, then came to Rockford, and here 
 he has resided ever since. In 1888, he had the 
 misfortune to lose his estimable wife, who pos- 
 sessed many virtues of mind and heart. At the time 
 of her decease she was sixty-six years old. She 
 was a member of the Lutheran Church, to which 
 her children also belonged. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were the parents of six 
 children, but lost four: Carl A., an infant un- 
 named, Oscar F. and Alexander F. Those living 
 are Mary, an accomplished and educated young 
 lady, who is at home, and Samuel, a brick-mason 
 by trade, who is also at home. Mr. Peterson was 
 one of the first members of the Swedish Lutheran 
 Church, of Rockford, and has been Trustee of the 
 same. In politics, he upholds the principles of the 
 Republican party, and has been Supervisor of his 
 ward, the Second, for four years. 
 
 A portrait of Mr. Peterson accompanies this 
 sketch. 
 
 ^>^^<m 
 
 ENRY H. ROBINSON, a real-estate dealer 
 ' of Rockford, is a typical business man of 
 this day and age of the world, wide-awake 
 and enterprising, his entire life character- 
 ized by thrift and push. He was born in 1845, 
 and in 1847 the family made a permanent location 
 in Rockford, 111. In March, 1850, the father 
 crossed the plains to California in company with a 
 number of the prominent citizens of Rockford, and 
 about six months later landed at San Francisco. 
 He died soon afterward at Mud Creek, near Hang- 
 town, and was buried by his friends in that far-off 
 place. His wife was called to her final rest in 1870. 
 She was a member of the Congregational Church. 
 In the family were two sons and a daughter: Mary 
 H., wife of Dr. E. P. Catlin, of this city; Norman 
 S., who married Addie K. Davis, of Chicago, and 
 is a prominent citizen, now living a retired life in 
 Eugene, Ore.; and H. H., of this sketch. 
 
 Indolence and idleness are utterly foreign to the 
 nature of our subject. At the age of nineteen, he 
 left home and went to California where he spent 
 
1130 
 
 POSTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 one year. He has traveled considerably and has 
 thereby become a well-in ormed man, at the same 
 time gaining an excellent knowledge of men and 
 their manners. After his return to Rockford, he 
 engaged in the hardware business for some years 
 and then turned liis attention to real-estate deal- 
 ing. From the beginning, he has met with excel- 
 lent success. For about two years past, he has been 
 in partnership with Mr. Haines. They deal in 
 real estate in the West, in Chicago, other parts of 
 the country, and especially in Rockford. Mr. Rob- 
 inson is also a Director in the Third National 
 Bank, and a stockholder in many other enterprises 
 which add to the life and business prosperit\r of 
 the city. He was Secretary of the first Street Rail- 
 way Company, the road being built in 1880, the 
 first car being run on the 4th of March of the fol- 
 lowing year. He is a member of the Board of 
 Trustees of Rockford Hospital and of the execu- 
 tive committee of the Rockford Seminary. Of the 
 Young Men's Christian Association, he is a prom- 
 inent member and has held a number of its offices, 
 being President at this writing. He is a friend to 
 all educational and moral interests and never with- 
 holds his support from any enterprise calculated to 
 prove of public benefit. 
 
 
 zso' 
 
 ' OIIN L. WITBECK, proprietor of the Flora 
 Meadows Stock Farm, in the township of 
 ^^ Flora, Boone County, was born in Athens, 
 (^^ Greene Couuty, N. Y., February 19, 1842. 
 His father, Isaac T. Witbeck, was also born in that 
 place, where he ranked among the well-to-do citi- 
 zens. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared and edu- 
 cated in his native town and resided there until 
 1853, when he removed to Chicago and was en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of carriages, wagons, 
 plows and other kinds of vehicles and agricul- 
 tural implements, as a member of the firm of H. 
 Witbeck & Co., which was one of the largest manu- 
 facturing houses in the city at that time. He 
 continued in the business about four years. Then, 
 on account of ill-health, he sought a country home 
 and, coming to Belvidere, lived there one year, 
 
 and then purchased a portion of the farm where 
 our subject now resides. After occupying that 
 place a few years, the elder Mr. Witbeck removed 
 to the village and resided there until his death. 
 In politics, he was a Republican and held various 
 offices of trust, representing both Flora and Belvi- 
 dere Townships on the County Board of Super- 
 visors. He was one of the organizers of the First 
 and Second National Banks, and also one of the 
 Directors in the former institution. 
 
 Our subject's mother, Miss Miranda Onderdonk, 
 was born in May, 1816. She became the mother of 
 four children, three of whom are living, viz: Tunis, 
 John L. and Abraham O. Her only daughter died 
 in her fifth year. He of whom we write received 
 his early education in the schools of New York 
 State, supplemented by attendance in the city 
 schools of Chicago, and later in Belvidere. He 
 took a commercial course at Bryant & Stratton 's 
 College in the Garden City, and after his marriage 
 located on the farm which he now owns and occu- 
 pies, where he devotes much attention to the 
 breeding of fine stock. He has upwards of sixty 
 head of well-bred horses, including draft and 
 trotting stock. In the former, Clydesdales are his 
 favorite breed, and in the latter Hambletonians 
 and Mambrinos. 
 
 In 1864, John L. Witbeck and Miss Marietta 01- 
 ney were united in marriage. Their children are, 
 Maj^, now Mrs. Jesse Wheeland, who lives in Bel- 
 videre and has one child; Olney married Jennie 
 Bennett and lives in Belvidere; Alice, Ethel and 
 Isaac T. Mr. and Mrs. Witbeck are members 
 of the Presbyterian Church, and in his polit- 
 ical relations our subject votes the Republican 
 ticket. His wife was born in Girard, Branch 
 County, Mich., and was the daughter of Daniel 
 T. Olney, who was born September 22, 1816, 
 in Saratoga County, N. Y. The first ancestor 
 in America was Thomas Olney, of Hertfordshire, 
 England, who came to America with his family in 
 1635, in the ship "Planter," and located in Salem, 
 Mass. A 5'ear later, that gentleman was appointed 
 Surveyor, and was granted forty acres of land on 
 Jeffrey Creek, now in Manchester, Mass. He was 
 a freeman the same year and was early imbued 
 with the views of Roger Williams. March 12, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHTCAL RECORD. 
 
 1131 
 
 1 638, he was excluded from the Colony of Massa- 
 chusetts, and a year later from the church in Sa- 
 lem. He went to Narragansett Bay and located 
 on the west side of Seekonk River and, with 
 eleven others, founded a colony called Providence, 
 purchasing their rights from the Indians. 
 
 Thomas Olney was one of the founders of the 
 First Baptist Church of Providence, and at one 
 time was acting pastor and prominent in public 
 affairs. The next in line of descent also bore the 
 name of Thomas, and was born in England in 
 1632. His son, William, was born in Rhode Island, 
 June 25, 1663, and the next in line was his son 
 William, who was born October 6, 1694. Nathan 
 Olney, the son of William, Jr., was the next in 
 line and was born November 20, 1720, in Rhode 
 Island. That gentleman was the great-great-grand- 
 father of Mrs. Witbeck. He emigrated from Provi- 
 dence to Saratoga County, N. Y., between the 
 years 1765 and 1770, and was one of the first set- 
 tlers of the county, where he resided until his de- 
 cease in 1778. 
 
 The maiden name of the wife of Natiian Olney 
 was Elizabeth Goodspeed. She was born in Rhode 
 Island and died in Saratoga County, N. Y. The 
 great-grandfather of Mrs. Witbeck, Stephen Ol- 
 ney, was born in Rhode Island January 31, 1758. 
 He cleared a farm from the wilderness in Saratoga 
 County, upon which he died in 1833. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Sarah Irish. The grand- 
 father of Mrs. Witbeck, Thomas Olney, was born 
 in Saratoga County, in October, 1784. After his 
 marriage, he settled in the town of Northumber- 
 land, purchased a partially-improved farm, and 
 lived there until 1836, then went to the Territory 
 of Michigan, where he was one of the early set- 
 tlers in the town of Girard, Branch County, and 
 there his decease occurred July 22, 1861. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Mary Taylor; she 
 was born in Connecticut, and her father, the great- 
 grandfather of Mrs. Witbeck, was a native of Con- 
 necticut and a soldier in the Revolutionary War, 
 dying at the advanced age of one hundred years. 
 The grandmother of Mrs. Witbeck died at Girard, 
 Mich., in February, 1886. 
 
 Daniel T. Olnej' was reared in his native State 
 and was twenty years of age when he went to 
 
 Michigan and engaged in the mercantile business 
 at Girard. In 1848, he came to Illinois, and now 
 lives retired in Belvidere. In 1843, he was mar- 
 ried to Adelia M. Ames, who was born in Burling- 
 ton, Vt., and was the daughter of William Ames. 
 
 illOMAS LLOYD. No State in the Union 
 affords better encouragement to a man who 
 desires to devote himself to .igricultural life 
 than does Illinois. Its resources are almost inex- 
 haustible and the climate is adapted to the culti- 
 vation of various crops. Our subject is one who 
 has found success in the line of agriculture and 
 now follows general farming and stock-raising. 
 His birth occurred in P^ngland in 1836 and he was 
 one of eleven children born to Thomas and Char- 
 lotte (Kemp) Lloyd. 
 
 The father of our subject, Thomas Lloyd, was a 
 Welshman, born in the j'ear 1792, and when 
 seventeen years of age he was drafted for a soldier. 
 This was not at all to his taste and he took "French 
 leave" and went to England, where he met and 
 married Miss Kemp. He was a stone cutter by trade 
 and followed that trade in England until 1840,when 
 he became convinced that he could better his con- 
 dition very materially by crossing the ocean to 
 America. In the above-mentioned year, he left bis 
 wife and children and took passage for the United 
 States on the brig " Europe " which landed him in 
 New Y'ork after an ocean voyage of six weeks. 
 He then went earnestly to work to accumulate 
 means to send for his wife and five children and 
 found employment on the Erie Canal for two years. 
 When the canal was finished, he began working for 
 a man, one Brayton, with whom he remained for 
 some time. About a year and a half after his 
 residence in this country, he sent for his little 
 family and met them at Havana, Schuyler County, 
 N. Y. In the spring of 1844, he came with 
 his family to Chicago, by water, and he and his 
 eldest son William took one hundred and 
 seventy-three acres of Government land which 
 they soon deeded. Here he passed the re- 
 mainder of his days, dying in 1867 when seventy- 
 
1132 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 five years of age. He was a hard-working, indus- 
 trious man and no one in the community was more 
 highly esteemed. He was among the early settlers 
 of Winnebago County and soon became inured to 
 the hardships of iHoneer life. The sterling quali- 
 ties of his nature would not permit him to re- 
 linquish his hold upon the advantages that he 
 here saw before him. His wife followed him to 
 the grave on the 27th of November, 1879, when sev- 
 enty-nine years of age. They had been the parents of 
 eleven children, five of whom reached mature years: 
 William; Mary, Mrs. John Lovesee, who died in 
 Wisconsin when sixty-five years of age, leaving a 
 a family; Martha became Mrs. Irish and died in 
 Kansas; Thomas (our subject), .and Amelia, Mrs. 
 Henry Lovesee of Roscoe. 
 
 The original of this notice was reared to man- 
 hood in the locality where he now lives and 
 acquired a knowledge of the three R's in the dis- 
 trict school. He has been a life-long farmer and 
 has brought the whole strength of his mental 
 ability to bear upon his life work. He was married 
 on the 23d of September, 1880, to Miss Ellen 
 Brayton, a native of Byron, Ogle County, 111., born 
 November 29, 1852. Her father, Russell C. 
 Brayton, was a native of Canada, who died in 
 Manchester, 111., in 1 889, when eighty-four years of 
 age, and her mother, whose maiden name was 
 Susan Gurnee, was a native of New York. They 
 were the parents of eleven children, nearly nil the 
 younger members alive at the present time. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd became the parents of four 
 interesting children but three are deceased: Mary, 
 died March 14, 1888, when three years of age; 
 Thomas E. died February 27, 1891, when four- 
 teen months old, and Alma, who died suddenly- 
 on the 3d of March, 189 1^ when not quite four 
 years of age. They have one child living, Char- 
 lotte S., who was born .June 18, 1882. She is a 
 bright, pleasant little girl and the hope and pride 
 of her afHicted parents. Although Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lloyd started with limited means they are now the 
 owners of two hundred and fifty-four acres of 
 choice land and have one hundred and seventy 
 acres under cultivation. Tliey do general farming, 
 and keep a small dairy of eight or ten cows, sell- 
 ing the cream at Argyle. They keep about thirty 
 
 head of horses and horned cattle, and are among 
 the substantial people of the locality. Mr. Lloyd 
 is independent in his political views and votes for 
 the man rather than the party. He is a member 
 of the Methodist, and his wife a member of the 
 Baptist, Church. 
 
 ellARLES W. JOHNSON, of New Milford, is 
 a native of Clarkson, Monroe County, 
 N. Y. He was born April 13, 1829. His 
 father, Williams Johnson, was born at Haverstraw, 
 N. Y., December 29, 1799, and was a son of Theo 
 S. Johnson, a farmer, who died in 1848, at 
 the age of seventy years, leaving three sons and 
 four daughters. He was twice married and by the 
 first union he had five children: Williams, father 
 of our subject; Zebulon, who was born April 13, 
 1801, and is residing upon a farm in New York, 
 which has been his home since 1825; Mrs. Sarah 
 Bonnell, of Alexander Bay; Rebecca and Clarissa, 
 who are now deceased. The two brothers were 
 married at the same time to Sallie and Matilda 
 Paddock respectively and as partners engaged in 
 farming until two years before the death of Will- 
 iams, which occurred December 3, 1886, at the age 
 of eighty-six years, in Spencerport, N. Y., where 
 he had gone two years previous. His wife died 
 December 29, 1891, at the age of eighty-three, in 
 the same place. 
 
 Charles W. Johnson of this sketch acquired a 
 liberal education and at the age of twenty-five 
 years, in the fall of 1852, came Weston a visit. 
 Two years later, he again came to Illinois and pur- 
 chased lands in Ogle and Winnebago Counties, 
 making his home in New Milford Township. His 
 farm now comprises two hundred and forty acres 
 and has increased from 110 to $65 per acre in 
 value. On the 8th of May, 1857, he married 
 Phoebe Jane Horton, of Tompkins County, N. Y., 
 daughter of Levi D. and Susan (Polhamus) Hor- 
 ton, natives of the Empire State. They came West 
 in 1843 b}' teams and after four weeks settled in 
 New Milford Township, Winnebago County. They 
 had a family of seven children. Mrs. Johnson 
 acquired her portion of education under the in- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1135 
 
 structioii of Misses Caroline and Eliza Miller, in 
 the parlor of Esquii-e Miller. 
 
 Our subject and his wife resided upon a farm 
 for some twenty years and in 1876 rented their 
 land and made a visit to the East, since which 
 time they have been residents of New Milford. 
 Their home has been blessed with three children: 
 Charles S., who was born March 12, 1859, grad- 
 uated in music under Prof. Hood in 1879, and 
 from the New England Conservatory of Music in 
 Boston, where he is still living. He is a fine per- 
 former on both the piano and organ. Susan Ma- 
 rilda was born November 3, 1865, and is now the 
 wife of William Hill on the old homestead. Nellie 
 Eusebia Huntley, born December 11, 1875, is now 
 a student in the Allen Seminary, of West Newton, 
 Mass. The family is one held in high regard and 
 holds a high social rank. Mr. Johnson was first a 
 Whig and then voted with the Republican party 
 for twenty-five years but is now a Prohibitionist. 
 The upright life he has lived has won him many 
 friends and he is numbered among the prominent 
 and enterprising citizens of New Milford. 
 
 OW. HAEGG, a real-estate dealer and in- 
 vestment broker and merchant of Rockford? 
 who has resided in the city since 1869, 
 claims Sweden as the land of his birth. His 
 parents, S. J. and Charlotte (Lindstrom) Haegg, 
 are still living in that country, where they are 
 prominent people and active members of the 
 Lutheran Church. The father is a manufacturer 
 of furniture. 
 
 Mr. Haegg, was only sixteen years of age when 
 he came to Illinois, with nothing to depend upon 
 but his own efforts. He began clerking in a dry- 
 goods house, and, meriting promotion, steadily 
 worked his way upward. Later on, he purchased 
 a farm in the vicinity of Rockford, on which he 
 resided for three years. In 1880, he removed to 
 the city and organized the Skandia Plow Company, 
 of which he was Secretary and Director for some 
 years. This company started with a capital of 
 $25,000, which has since been increased to $200,000, 
 and has now capacity for the employment of two 
 51 
 
 hundred men. From the beginning, the work h.as 
 prospered and the plow company is now one of the 
 leading industries of the city. 
 
 Mr. Haegg was also a promoter and organizer of 
 several other prominent manufacturing institutions, 
 among which are the Excelsior Furniture Com- 
 pany, the Rockford Desk and Furniture Company, 
 and the West End Furniture Company, with which 
 companies he is connected as an officer and Direc- 
 tor. He also aided in organizing the Swedish 
 Building and Loan Association. He was one of 
 the organizers of the Rockford Brick Company in 
 1882, of which he has since been Secretary'. This 
 company owns seventy-five acres adjoining the 
 city limits, West Rockford, which lias recently been 
 platted into city lots and is now a ver}' valuable 
 tract. Mr. Haegg also purchased twenty-five 
 acres in the southeast part of the city, and later 
 organized the Rockford Manufacturing Company, 
 with a capital stock of $200,000. This land was 
 platted into city lots for the benefit of the company 
 and is kn6wn as Manufacturers' Addition. He is 
 also interested in the Phujnix Furniture Company, 
 Rockford lilectric Manufacturing Company, Rock- 
 ford Paint Manufacturing Company and Rock 
 River Planing Mill Company, and owns a large 
 interest in the Electric Light Manufacturing Com- 
 pany of Belvidere, 111. 
 
 In addition to other interests, Mr. Haegg was one 
 of the organizers and is Vice-president of the 
 West End Street Railway Company, which operates 
 a road of fourteen miles in the city. The latest 
 enterprise with which he is connected is the People's 
 Mantel and Furniture Company, which was recently 
 organized, with $100,000 capital, and is located on 
 Haegg Bros.' Southeast Addition. This addition 
 comprises one hundred acres and is most beauti- 
 fully located on the bank of Rock River, adjoining 
 the finest park grounds in the city. 
 
 As a real-estate dealer, Mr. Haegg does a large 
 business, owning two additions in the West End, 
 one addition in the North End and two additions 
 m the East End. He also owns and conducts one 
 of the most popular dry-goods stores, having one 
 of tlie most prominent locations in the city. 
 
 Mr. Haegg was married in Rockford to Mrs. 
 Clara Wigell, a native of Sweden, who was 
 
1136 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 brought to Eockford during her infancy. Her 
 fatlier, Lars Johnson, was an early emigrant from 
 Galesburg. Ill.,to Pike's Peak, and there died, leav- 
 ing some valuable mining possessions. Mrs. Mary 
 C. Johnson, Mrs. Haegg's mother, came to Eock- 
 ford after her husband's death, and is still liv- 
 ing in this city. By her former marriage, Mrs. 
 Haegg had one son, Oscar J. Wigell, manager of the 
 branch house of Lyon, Potter & Co., of Chicago, 
 of whom mention is elsewhere made. Unto Mr. 
 and Mrs. Haegg were born five children : L. Vernon, 
 a stenographer in the Architectural Metal 
 Works, of Beloit, Wis.; Lillie E., O. Vincent, Har- 
 old W. and Florence E. 
 
 In the Young Men's Christian Association of 
 this city, Mr. Haegg is a prominent member and 
 Director, and served as a delegate to Europe 
 to the World's Conference of that association. 
 Himself, wife and children are all members of 
 the Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is 
 an active worker in all that pertains to the welfare 
 and best interests of the people. He has led an 
 upright and honorable life, devoted not to self 
 alone, but to good works, and has been blessed with 
 prosperity, and at the same time has won the con- 
 fidence and high regard of those with whom he has 
 been brought in contact. His portrait is presented 
 in connection with this brief review of his life. 
 
 ^ SAAC UTTER died at his home at No. 211 S. 
 Winnebago Street, May 7, 1888, at the age of 
 
 /ll four-score years. He was well known in this 
 community and this work would be incomplete 
 without his sketch. A native of the Empire State, 
 he was descended from an old and prominent family 
 of New York, where his parents spent their entire 
 lives. He was there reared to manhood and be- 
 came a successful mechanic. He established a 
 woolen mill in Waisaw, N. Y., which he operated 
 for some j^ears, and then sold out, emigrating to 
 Rockford in 1852. He here formed a business con- 
 nection with Orlando Clark, one of the early set- 
 tlers of Rockford, who died in Portland, Ore., 
 and began the manufacture of farm implements. 
 This connection was continued for several years. 
 
 when Mr. Clark withdrew and Levi Rhodes became 
 a partner of Mr. Utter. For twenty-one years they 
 were engaged in the manufacture of paper, Mr. 
 Utter afterward continuing the business with his 
 son. Mr. Utter and Mr. Rhodes wore two gentle- 
 men possessed of qualities essential to success, and 
 by their industry, perseverance and good manage- 
 ment won a well-deserved prosperity. Both are 
 now deceased, and in their deaths the county lost 
 two of its best citizens. 
 
 Mr. Utter was a man of sound, reliable judgment 
 and gave his support to all enterprises calculated 
 to prove of benefit to the community or promote 
 the general welfare. He was a stockholder in ttie 
 People's Bank, the Winnebago National Bank and 
 a Director and stockholder in the Second National 
 Bank. A man of great determination and energy, 
 whatever he undertook he always carried forward 
 to a successful completion, and this characteristic 
 in his life proved one of the most important factors 
 in securing him prosperity. He took no very active 
 part in political matters, but was a stanch suppor- 
 ter of Republican principles and never failed to 
 cast his ballot with that party. He also held mem- 
 bership with the Christian Union Church. 
 
 Mr. Utter was twice married. In New York he 
 wedded Miss Eliza Smith, who was born in that 
 State, March 28, 1810, and died in this city October 
 26, 1871. She too belonged to the Christian Union 
 Church and was a most estimable lady. At her 
 death she left six children: Charles, who married 
 Anna Clark, is a member of the Utter Manufac- 
 turing Company and the Paper Manufacturing 
 Company; Morris L., who married Mrs. Mary J. 
 (Hitchcock) Simpson, is now living a retired life 
 on S. Church Street; Harriet is the wife of William 
 Trowbridge, a successful landscape and portrait 
 artist of Chicago; Harris B., who wedded Elizabeth 
 Adams, is President of the Utter Manufacturing 
 Company, of Rockford; Mary E. is the wife of Mil- 
 ton Fraley, Secretary and Treasurer of the Utter 
 Manufacturing Company; and Fidelia L. resides 
 in Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Utter was again married, in 1873, his second 
 union being with Miss Lydia A. Rush, who was 
 born in Somerset Count}', Pa., and is a daughter 
 of Hon. John and Margaret (Hanna) Rush, also 
 
i-ORTRAIT AND BICGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 1137 
 
 natives of Pennsylvania. Tliey were reared and 
 married in Somerset County, began their domestic 
 life on a farm and unto them were born twelve 
 children. Mr. Rush was for a number of years the 
 representative of his district in the Pennsylvania 
 Legislature, elected by the Democratic party, and 
 took quite a prominent part in politics. In 1852, 
 lie came with his family to Rockford,Ill., where he 
 engaged in keeping a hotel and became owner of 
 the large block where the magnificent hotel now 
 stands. His death occurred September 28, 1857, 
 at the age of seventy-one years. Ho was a member 
 of the Baptist Church and for a long time served 
 as its Deacon. His wife survived him only two 
 weeks, dying on the 1 1th of October. She was six 
 months his junior and she too was a member of the 
 Baptist Church. Of their twelve children, Mrs. 
 Martha McCall and John arc now deceased; Jacob 
 is married and follows farming in Fayette County, 
 Pa; Alexander married Sarah Fry, who is now 
 deceased, and is living in Fayette County; Mary, 
 widow of James Fry, resides in Boone, Iowa; 
 Reuben married Charlotte Mitchell, who is now 
 deceased, and he is now living retired in Cedar 
 Rapids, Iowa; James, who wedded Sabina Mitchell 
 is a fruit farmer of Maryland; Jane is the wife of 
 Jacob Hazlett, a retired farmer of Roclif ord ; Sarah 
 is living with a sister; Margaret resides atNo.710 W. 
 Mulberry Street, and Rebecca is living with Mrs. 
 Utter. 
 
 Mrs. Utter and her sister are members of the 
 Christian Union Church. She has continued to 
 make her home in Rockford since her husband's 
 death, and owns one of the most beautiful resi- 
 dences of the city, located at No. 211 8. Winnebago 
 Street. 
 
 v 
 
 <^ j^ILLIAM H ALLEY. There is probably no 
 family in Owen Township better known for 
 intelligence and character than that which 
 is represented by the name just given. Our sub- 
 ject was born in \he village of Markinch, in Fife- 
 shire, Scotland, on the 4th of June, 1818, and came 
 of a class of people noted for their integrity, 
 honesty and uprightness. His father was one of 
 
 the foremost men in the manufacture of linen, his 
 principal business being in preparing webs for the 
 weaver. He was the father of seven children, all 
 of whom he sent to America before he settled there 
 himself. In 1843, while on his third voyage to 
 this country, he was drowned in the St. Lawrence 
 River, near Montreal. His wife, the daughter of 
 David Mackey, who was a miller by trade, died 
 about 1828, when our subject was ten years of age. 
 
 Our subject sailed for Ameiica with an elder 
 brother when fifteen years of age, and after a voy- 
 age of eight weeks landed in Montreah From 
 there they went immediately to Newbury, Vt., 
 where our subject remained five years (with the 
 exception of one and a half years spent in Boston), 
 and during the time worked at the tailor trade,, 
 which he had learned in his native country. In 
 the spring of 1838, he became impressed with the 
 idea that he could do better in the West and he 
 started alone for Illinois, reaching Rockton, of that 
 State, on the 12th of June, after spending four 
 weeks on the way. At this time, the State was 
 sparsely settled, a few pioneers living along the 
 stream and in the timber, and the towns were just 
 starting. For two years Mr. Halley spent most of 
 his time in farm work, but in the spring of 1840 
 he opened a tailor shop in the village of Rockton, 
 at first as a working tailor, but subsequently he 
 purchased a stock of cloth and some readj'-madc 
 clothing. He had a good trade from the beginning, 
 for, being a skillful workman, he found plenty of 
 patrons who recognized his worth, and he contin- 
 ued his trade in that citj^. His was the second 
 tailoring establishment in the county, and he was 
 the first tailor who brought and kept for sale 
 tailor's goods. 
 
 The marriage of our subject, in 1846, united him 
 with Miss Christina Mackey, a native of the same 
 part of Scotland, and to them have been granted 
 three children, all of whom are living. In 1860 
 Mr. Halley and family moved on section 4, in the 
 Township of Owen, and engaged in mixed stock 
 and grain farming at which he was fairly success- 
 ful. Our subject is the owner of over eleven 
 hundred acres of as fine land as any in the country. 
 He put the first tile draining in the town of Rock- 
 ton; previous to that time there had been very 
 
1138 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 little draining done in the county. In all, Mr. Hal- 
 le}' used about fifteen car loads of tile, making 
 about as man}' miles of drain. He has also held a 
 nuralier of local offices and has filled them in a 
 very creditable and satisfactory manner. He filled 
 in succession the offices of Township Clerk, Justice 
 of the Peace, Assessor and Supervisor. His eldest 
 son, William, married Miss Sarah Armstrong, his 
 daughter Anna married John Wishop, and Edwin 
 R. married Miss Ida A. Cowan, and all are settled 
 on farms in the vicinity. 
 
 Mr. Halley was the first of his relatives to come 
 West but he was soon followed from the East and 
 from Scotland, many of them coming to Winne- 
 bago County, there being about one hundred in 
 this vicinity while many are in Southern and 
 Western States. Of Mr. Halley's brothers and sis- 
 ters, John, the eldest, has no living children ; Ann 
 married William Gilmore and they had four sons 
 and six daughters all living but one son William; 
 Jean married Alexander Patterson, and they have 
 two sons and two daughters living; Margaret 
 married Thomas Farmer, and they have seven 
 sons and two daughters living; David has 
 four sons and two daughters living, and Robert, 
 the youngest, one son and three daughters. 
 
 ■jfJAMES S. TERWILLIGER, Cashier of the 
 First National Bank of Belvidere, was born 
 in Pi'eble, Cortland County, N. Y., March 
 / 26, 1822. His paternal grandfather was a 
 native of Holland and the founder of the family 
 in America. By occupation he was a farmer and 
 spent his last days in Preble, N. Y. Green Ter- 
 williger, the father of our subject, was born in 
 Greene, Chenango County, N. Y., April 20, 1798, 
 and was reared to agricultural pursuits, which he 
 followed throughout his entire life. He died on 
 his farm in Preble Township, September 11, 1879. 
 His wife, who bore the maiden name of Martha 
 Pearsall, was born in New York, June 1, 1796, and 
 died August 6, 1863. The five children of the 
 family were Simmons, James S., Riley, Maria and 
 Philetus. 
 
 Mr. Terwilliger, whose name heads this record, 
 
 acquired his early education in the district schools 
 of Preble. At the age of fourteen, he left the 
 parental roof and walked to Camillus, where he 
 found employment in a woolen mill and there re- 
 mained one year. He then spent the succeeding 
 year in a mill at Marcellus Falls, after which he 
 entered Homer Academy and prepared himself for 
 teaching. He then taught school during the winter 
 season and the remainder of the 3'ear he devoted 
 to the study of law with his uncle, Gardner Knapp, 
 at Hooper's Valley, N. Y., and was admitted to the 
 Bar in the city of S3'racuse, where he resided until 
 1847. That year witnessed his emigration to the 
 West. He came by way of the Welland Canal and 
 Great Lakes to Chicago and thence went by 
 stage to Beloit, Wis., where he remained a short 
 time, after which he came to Belvidere. A short 
 time afterward he formed a partnership with 
 George Kretsinger and practiced law for a few 
 months, when he accepted a position as clerk in 
 the office of the Circuit Clerk, where he remained 
 for about three years. He was then elected Justice 
 of the Peace, but after a time resigned and ac- 
 cepted a position as clerk in the Fuller & Lawrence 
 Bank, where he remained until 1859. With three 
 others, in the spring of that year, he started for 
 Pike's Peak. They had three horses and a wagon 
 and plenty of provisions for the journey. They 
 traversed the State of Iowa, crossing the Mis- 
 souri River at Plattsmouth and thence went on 
 across the plains, over which deer, antelope and 
 buffaloes roamed in large numbers. It was on that 
 journey that Mr. Terwilliger killed his only buf- 
 falo. As prospects were not ver}' good at Pike's 
 Peak, the young men sold their team and soon re- 
 turned home. Our subject remained in Boone 
 County until the breaking out of the war, when 
 he went to Springfield and was engaged as clerk 
 in the mustering office for about one year. 
 
 In 1848, Mr. Terwilliger was united in marriage 
 with Elmily Mitchell, who was born in New Hamp- 
 shire November 23, 1822, and died October 24, 
 1887, leaving a daughter, Florence, who was born 
 September 12, 1851, became the wife of D. C. Hol- 
 lenshead, and died December 17, 1885, leaving one 
 child, lolene, who makes her home with her grand- 
 father. In November, 1888, Mr. Terwilliger wed- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1139 
 
 ded Elizabeth (Rigbtor) Martin. He is a member 
 of tbe Presbyterian Cliiirch, as was also bis first 
 wife, but bis second wife holds membership with the 
 Baptist Church. They are highly respected people 
 and have many warm friends in this community. 
 In early life he was a Democrat but since the or- 
 ganization of the Republican party has been one 
 of its stanch advocates. 
 
 On his return from Springfield, Mr. Terwilliger 
 became connected with tbe banking interests of 
 Belvidere and when tbe First National Bank was 
 organized in 1865, he was made Assistant Cashier 
 and later Cashier, which position be has held for 
 over twenty years. In 1890, he became one of 
 the organizers of tbe Second National Bank, of 
 which he is a Director. His faithful service as 
 Cashier of the First National has won him the con- 
 fidence and warm regard of bis employers and he 
 is held in high esteem throughout business circles. 
 
 ♦^^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ji? EWIS PATTERSON, another old and much- 
 ll ^ esteemed citizen of Winnebago County, 
 j^^ was born in Canada, on the 16th of Febru- 
 ary, 1818, and is the son of Jonathan Patterson, a 
 native of New Hampshire, born March 20, 1780. 
 The elder Mr. Patterson moved to Canada with bis 
 bride, Lydia (Parker) Patterson, be at the age of 
 twenty-one and she when twenty, and they pur- 
 chased land and began farming. There eight of 
 their thirteen children were born. In 1820 they 
 sold out and moved to Ellisburgb, Jefferson Coun- 
 ty, N. Y., settling on a small farm. In 1831, they 
 moved to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, near Cleve- 
 land, resided there about eight years and then 
 moved to Harrison Township, Winnebago County, 
 111., where they purchased one hundred acres, pay- 
 ing $100. Mr. Patterson died on his farm on 
 the 20th of March, 1845, on his sixty-fifth birth- 
 day, leaving a widow and eleven children. Eight 
 of the thirteen children born to this worthy couple 
 were sons, and five daughters, but two sons died 
 in early youth. Tbe paternal grandfather of 
 these children, Jonathan Patterson, Sr., was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary War and served 
 several years as a private. The maternal grand- 
 
 father, Caleb Parker, of Brattleboro, Vt., was a 
 Captain in the Revolution. Both came out of 
 tbe war unharmed. The mother of our subject 
 survived her husband many years and died at the 
 home of her daughter in Minnesota, in 1865, 
 when eighty-four years of age. 
 
 Tbe original of this notice has been a life-long 
 farmer, and has been a resident of Harrison Town- 
 ship since 1839, over half a century. As he grew 
 to manliood, he received but little schooling, and 
 when twentj'-one years of age; be wedded Miss 
 Emily Blackburn, of tbe Buckeye State, daughter 
 of John and Jane (Beers) Blackburn. Their mar- 
 riage was celebrated in May, 1839, and they took 
 the wedding trip to Illinois, the father and an elder 
 brotlier of our subject. Dr. Almond Patterson, go- 
 ing ahead of tbe family in March. Our subject 
 sent tbe household goods to Chicago by way of the 
 Lake, and then be and the rest of tbe family, five in 
 number, including the mother, made the trip with 
 a team. They were thirty-two days en route but 
 had a ver}^ pleasant journej' and escaped the mud 
 of tbe Maumee Swamps. Our subject and wife 
 commenced housekeeping on the claim of one 
 hundred and sixty acres, which Mrs. Compton 
 now owns, but within tw0 3'ears they sold this and 
 purchased forty acres near where they now reside. 
 About thirty years later, or in 1876, they bought 
 their present farm of eighty acres and erected a 
 good, comfortable residence on this. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have lost two sons ; one, 
 John A., enlisted with the Boys in Blue and died 
 in tbe Rebel prison at Macon, Ga., in 1862, prob- 
 ablj'^ of starvation. He enlisted at Harrison in tbe 
 fall of 1861, with the Fifty-fifth Illinois Infantry, 
 Company C, and was captured on the first day of 
 tbe battle of Sbiloh. He was taken to Montgom- 
 ery, Ala., on Sunday and had nothing to eat until 
 the following Tuesday morning. He was in that 
 state until his sad ending. George C, another 
 son, who fought bravely for the Old Flag, volun- 
 teered in August, 1862, in the Seventy-second Illi- 
 nois Infantry, Company B, under Capt. Curtiss, 
 went at once to Vicksburg, Miss., and was under 
 fire at that siege for forty-seven days. The next 
 engagement was at Natchez, Tenn. He served two 
 years and four months in the ranks and only had a 
 
1140 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 short furlough when he was sick with fever. He was 
 killed at Franklin, Tenn., November 28, 1864 — shot 
 dead while in action. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have 
 two children left: Frederick W., who is at home con- 
 dncting the farm. He married Miss Erdell Kil- 
 bourn, a native of Oneida County, N. Y., who 
 came to Illinois with her grandmother, Tliorne, 
 when a child. Her parents were Daniel and Kate 
 (Thorne) Kilbourn. Marion, the daughter of this 
 worthy old couple, married Elmer Richie, a farmer, 
 and resides in Floyd County, Iowa. She has two 
 daughters and one son. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson 
 have Ave grandchildren: Emily K. and Flora J. 
 Patterson, the son's children, at home. Emily is a 
 young lady of twenty-two years, and Flora J. 
 a sweet, pretty child of two years, the joy and 
 pride of her grandparents. Marion is a grad- 
 uate of the Durand School and is of a literary 
 turn of mind, writing much for the press. She 
 also delivered some vevy able addresses. Mr. Pat- 
 terson has served the township as Justice of the 
 Peace, Assessor, and Collector, and is an unswerv- 
 ing Republican in politics. He has retired from 
 active labor, and for the past twenty-five 3'ears his 
 health has not been of the best, but his mind is 
 still clear and bright as of old. Mrs. I'attorson is 
 a member of the United Brethren Church and is 
 still quite active and strong. Slie was one of the 
 heroines of the war, gave up her sons and fain 
 would have gone herself as nurse. 
 
 i****,^ 
 
 •5"5-4*'J'b 
 
 ■1*'5**5"}'*^^^'4'*4''5' 
 
 ■ NDREW HOLMQUIST, a successful mer- 
 chant tailor doing business at No.205South 
 Third Street, enjoj-s a wide reputation 
 for first-class workmanship and style. 
 He has a valuable and complete stock of both for- 
 eign and domestic goods which is made up to or- 
 der in the latest fashions, well trimmed and fin- 
 ished and warranted to give satisfaction. 
 
 Mr. Holmquist came to Rockford in the spring 
 of 1861, and was for a time, a tailor on the bench. 
 Later, he became a custom cutter, following this for 
 a number of years, and then opened a store at No. 
 407 East State Street. This was in 1884, and three 
 years later he located in the Holland House block 
 
 with a Mr. Hepbern, with whom he continued in 
 business for two years. He then opened up his 
 present establishment and has since been success- 
 ful. He owns a fine house at No. 513 Walnut Street, 
 and is one of the substantial, progressive men of 
 the city. 
 
 During the latter part of the war, he enlisted in 
 Company E, One Hundred and Forty-first Illinois 
 Infantry, from Rockford for one hundred days, 
 but was in service for four months. After being 
 honorably discharged he returned to this city. 
 
 Born in Jonkoping, Sweden, March 15, 1835, he 
 there attained his growth and received his scholas- 
 tic advantages. He also learned his trade in that 
 countr^^, and was the first of the family to come 
 to the United States. He sailed from Gottenburg 
 to New York City, and from there to Chicago, 
 111., where he remained six months. From 
 there he came to Rockford, and has since been 
 joined by a brother, Swan J., who married, and is 
 now a retired carpenter, residing atNo.302 Seventh 
 Street. A sister, Mrs. John Shult, died in this 
 city. The parents died in their native country, 
 Sweden; the father, Andrew Swansen, when ninety- 
 eight 3'ears of age, and the mother, whose maiden 
 name was Mary Samuelson, when sixty-five years 
 of age. The father followed the occupation of an 
 agriculturist. Both were worth}' members of the 
 Lutheran Church. The only daughter living 
 Sarah, widow of John Mathewson, is now a resi- 
 dent of the native country. 
 
 Andrew Holmquist was united in marriage to 
 Miss Inga Sophia Abrahamson, a native of Jon- 
 koping Lan, Sweden, born February 6, 1842. 
 When twelve years of age, she came with her 
 parents, John and Anna (Nelson) Abrahamson, to 
 the United States, and with them located in Rock- 
 ford. Mr. Abrahamson was born in 1816, and 
 died in Rockford in the fall of 1891. His wife 
 had died a number of years previously, when little 
 past middle life. Both were members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal (Swedish) Church during the lat- 
 ter part of their lives. They left three children : 
 Mrs. Holmquist; Albert, a designer in the Rockford 
 Mantel and Furniture Company, and August, a 
 painter for George Brown, in Galesburg, 111. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Holmquist became the parents of 
 
PORTEAIT AND BTOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1141 
 
 five children, one, Oscar, dying when seven years 
 of age. The others are Albert J., book-keeper in the 
 Winnebago National Bank of Rockford, who mar- 
 ried Miss Hilda Olaon, of Rockford, and now resides 
 on Third Street; Fred A. H. is book-keeper for his 
 father. Both are well educated. Esther A. and 
 Minnie G., both at home. Mr. llolmquist and 
 family are members of the Swedish Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and he is a local preacher. In 
 politics, he and his sons advocate the principles of 
 the Republican party. 
 
 i g ..^-S^ J^_^.l:S-^,. . ^ 
 
 (I felLLIAM KERR, born in the parish of Old 
 \/\l/ Deer, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, is a son of 
 VW George Kerr, also a native of that place. 
 He is at present residing on an excellent tract of 
 land located on the State Road in Winnebago 
 Township, six miles west of the court house. 
 
 The. father of our subject followed his trade of 
 a tailor in the village of Fiterangus, Scotland, 
 where he made his home until 1835, and then with 
 his wife and five children came to America, setting 
 sail from Aberdeen in the vessel " Carleton " in 
 the month of April, and landed at Quebec six 
 weeks later. The elder Mr. Kerr located near the 
 town of Cornwall, where he prosecuted his trade 
 until 1838, when he came to Hlinois and settled 
 near Lockport, Will County. Residing there till 
 the summer of 1841, he came to Winnebago 
 County and entered a tract of eighty acres of 
 Government land in Guilford Township, in addition 
 to which he purchased fifty acres adjoining. He 
 erected a good set of farm buildings on the place 
 and there made his home until his decease. His 
 wife was also born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and 
 prior to her marriage was Helen Legg, daughter of 
 George and Barbara Legg. She also departed this 
 life on the home farm in Guilford Township. 
 
 The five sons and one daughter comprising the 
 parental household were George, William, Alex- 
 ander, Charles, James and Helen. He of whom we 
 write was quite young when he made the trip to 
 America with his parents, and was a lad of ten 
 years when he commenced working out. When 
 the family came to this county it was very sparsely 
 
 settled; deer and other wild game roamed at will 
 through the forests, and the marketing of grain 
 was done at Chicago. William Kerr resided with his 
 parents until their decease, and still continued on 
 the old homestead until 1867. In 1852, having 
 visited Iowa, he entered a tract of prairie land in 
 Clayton County, and a tract of land in Allamakee 
 County, making the round trip to the Hawkeye 
 State with a team. Mr. Kerr never located on his 
 Iowa land, but in 1867 sold his prairie tract and 
 purchased the farm which he now owns and occu- 
 pies. 
 
 In 1864, Miss Ellen Ralston, also a native of 
 Argyleshire, Scotland, became the wife of our 
 subject. She sailed from Campbelltown in 1842 
 with a Scotch colony, which located in Holland 
 and vicinity. Mrs. Kerr was the daughter of Wil- 
 liam and Elizabeth (Andrew) Ralston, and de- 
 parted this life January 4, 1892. The two chil- 
 dren born of her union with our subject are 
 Amelia and George William. The family of Mr. 
 Kerr are all members of the Presbyterian Church 
 of Winnebago, and are highly esteemed by all who 
 know them. 
 
 ?OHN BLAKE. A well-regulated farm in 
 Pecatonica Township, Winnebago County, 
 is the home of the gentleman above named, 
 _ the estate being located upon section 5. Our 
 subject was educated in the public schools in his 
 township, and received from his father a thorough 
 understanding of agriculture which he chose as his 
 life work. The one hundred and forty-three acres 
 of land which he owns are improved by the use of 
 the best fertilizing agents and a proper rotation of 
 crops brings its owner handsome returns. 
 
 Born in Franklin County, Vt., March 31, 1813, 
 our subject is a son of John and Phylura (Camp- 
 bell) Blake. He was married in the fall of 1841 
 to Miss Miranda Barker and to them have been born 
 six children: Milan A. is married and has five 
 children ; Harlow E. is also married and the father 
 of six children ; his wife, who bore the maiden 
 name of Lydia Corwin, is the daughter of Captain 
 
1142 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Betsey (Hulsey) Corwin, who came to Winne- 
 bago County in 1840; Andrew S. Blake is mar- 
 ried and tlie father of four children; Hervey J.; 
 Mary A. is Mrs. A. H. Moore and the mother of 
 three cliildren, and Sarah A., wlio married Frank 
 Anshouts and resides in Iowa. 
 
 Mr. Blake of this sketch cast his first vote for 
 William Henrj' Harrison, and is a firm adlierent of 
 the Republican party. In religious matters, he is a 
 member of tlie Methodist Episcopal Church and is 
 active in all measures which have for their object 
 the upbuilding of his communitj\ He is of Eng- 
 lish descent on his father's side, three brotliers 
 having come to this country from England, and 
 his ancestors on the maternal side of the house 
 are Scotch. Mr. Blake has held many oltices of trust 
 within the power of the people to bestow and is 
 regarded by them as an upright and honorable 
 man. 
 
 , AVID CARPENTER. The farming com- 
 munity of Rockton Township, Winnebago 
 Count}', recognizes a worthy representa- 
 tive in the subject of this notice, who for 
 a number of years pursued the even tenor of his 
 way on a well-developed farm of one hundred and 
 sixty-four acres. In 1863, however, he removed 
 to the village, and has since that time lived re- 
 tired from work of any kind. He was born in 
 Adams, Mass., in 1808, and is the son of Nathaniel 
 Carpenter, who was born October 29, 1764, in Re- 
 hoboth, Bristol County, Mass. He departed this 
 life in October, 1842, when seventj^-eight years of 
 age. 
 
 The father of our subject emigrated to Rockton, 
 this count}-, in the spring of 1836, starting from 
 Stillwater, Saratoga County, N. Y., in May of that 
 year. The party, which was composed of our sub- 
 ject, his young bride, aged father, his brothers 
 John and Nathaniel, and four sisters, were ship- 
 wrecked en route, near Ripley. The maiden name 
 of our subject's wife was Julia M. Pettibone; she 
 was born in July, 1814, in Stockholm, St. Lawrence 
 County, N. Y., and is a daughter of Luman and 
 Almira (Rudd) Pettibone, natives, respectively, of 
 A^ermont and New York. 
 
 Our subject was heavily bereaved in 1833, by the 
 death of his mother, who died at Hoosick Falls, 
 N. Y. The parental family included twelve chil- 
 dren, two of whom are still living: Mary C, Mrs. 
 John Bachelder, makes her home in San Francisco, 
 Cal. A sister, Mrs. Susan Lawrence, died in Rock- 
 ton in 1892, when eighty-two j'ears of age. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Carpenter have buried one son, Philo 
 Pettibone, who died when eighteen months old. 
 Another son, Lyman N., has been a resident of 
 Lovelock, Nev., since 1865, where he is a prom- 
 inent and wealthy business man. The son was 
 married to a Miss Nellie Lovelock, whose father 
 was the founder of that place. During the late 
 war, he was a volunteer from Plover, Wis., going 
 to the front as Second Lieutenant. He partici- 
 pated in many important battles of that period, 
 but was prevented by sickness from being present 
 at the battle of Shiloli; he was taken prisoner at 
 Altoona. 
 
 An adopted daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter, 
 Anna Phidelia Lippitt, entered their home when 
 eight years of age, and was given an excellent ed- 
 ucation in the Rockton schools. In 1856, she mar- 
 ried C. B. Ayer, of Chicago, and is at present 
 residing at Beloit, Wis., where her husband has 
 charge of the Water Works. Our subject is not 
 only respected by his associates, but by all who 
 know him, for his uprightness and abilit}', while 
 the members of his family are likewise regarded 
 with favor by their acquaintances. 
 
 r^ 
 
 [lU^ON. JOHN RUSH, deceased, one of the 
 *^'^ early settlers of Rockford, was a native of 
 Somerset Count}', Pa. His father, Jacob 
 Rush, was also born in Somerset County, 
 and died on the old Rush homestead in that com- 
 munity at the advanced age of ninety-seven years. 
 He was a prominent man all through the War of 
 the Revolution, and was highly respected by all 
 who knew him. By occupation he was a farmer, 
 which business he followed throughout his entire 
 life. His wife was also a native of Somerset 
 County, and there they resided until called to their 
 final rest at an advanced age. 
 
POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1143 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared in the 
 usual manner of farmer lads in the county of his 
 nativity, and, after attaining to man's estate, was 
 joined in wedlock with Miss Margaret Hanna, who 
 was born in Little York, Pa., and was descended 
 from an old family of the Keystone State. They be- 
 came the parents of twelve children, and, with the 
 exception of John, who died at the age of sixteen 
 years, and Mrs. Martha McCall, all are yet living. 
 Jacob is now a retired farmer of Falls City, Pa.; 
 Alex is living a retired life in Brownsville; Mary 
 is now Mrs. Fry, of Boone, Iowa; Martha, deceased, 
 was wife of William McCall; Reuben is living 
 a retired life in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; James makes 
 his home in Friendsville, Md.; Jane is now Mrs. 
 Hazlett, of Rockford; Lydia is the wife of Isaac 
 Utter, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work; 
 and Sarah, Rebecca and Margaret are living in 
 Rockford, having a pleasant home on Mulberry 
 Street. 
 
 Mr. Rush followed farming in Pennsylvania for 
 some years. He was one of the most prominent 
 and influential citizens of his county, and twice 
 represented his district in the State Legislature, 
 being elected by the Democratic part^-. He proved 
 a faithful olHcer, giving great satisfaction to the 
 people. At length, he determined to leave the 
 East and seek a home in Illinois. Accompanied 
 by his family, he came to Rockford, and engaged 
 in keeping a hotel, being for eighteen months 
 proprietor of the Rock River House. After that 
 time he lived a retired life until called to his final 
 rest. He died at his home on South Main Street, 
 the present site of the new Nelson House, on the 
 27th of September, 1857, at the age of seventy- 
 one years. He was a man of sound judgment, of 
 kind and happy disposition, and won friends 
 wherever he went. In early manhood, he became a 
 member of the Baptist Church, to which he was 
 ever faithful, and served as Deacon and Church 
 Clerk for a great many years. His wife survived 
 him only two weeks, when she, too, was called to 
 her final home. Like her husband, she was a con- 
 sistent member of the Baptist Church, and had the 
 love of all who knew her. Mr. Rush was a prom- 
 inent member of the Masonic order for a gi-eat 
 many years and was buried with the honors of 
 
 that order. All of the children, who reside in 
 Rockford, are members of the Christian Union 
 Church, with the exception of Mrs. Hazlett, who is 
 a Baptist. The Misses Rush are intelligent and 
 cultured ladies, and have many warm friends 
 throughout tliis community, where the family has 
 been widely and favorably known since 1852. 
 
 UBREY A. SNYDER. One of the best- 
 known residents of Winnebago County, 
 is he whose name appears at the head of 
 this sketch and who is the incumbent of 
 the responsible office of Supervisor of Rockton 
 Township. A native of Livingston County, N. Y., 
 he was born October 28, 1842, in Springwater 
 Township, and is the son of Nelson F. Snyder, 
 whose birth occurred in the town of Scipio, N. Y., 
 May 24, 1820. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject, Benjamin F. 
 Snyder, was a pioneer of Springwater Township, 
 whence he came when a young man from Scipio 
 and followed the occupation of a farmer. His wife 
 was, prior to her marriage. Miss Amanda Cole, and 
 to them were born five song and one daughter. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Snyder died on the home 
 farm, the father in 1853; the mother's death oc- 
 curred a week before. Their children are all 
 deceased with the exception of Dewitt C. Snyder, 
 who is living retired in Springwater Township. He 
 is a man of influence and prominence in his 
 county and has been Representative from his Dis- 
 trict. 
 
 Nelson F. Snyder was a tradesman, carpenter 
 and builder, and his wife, who bore the maiden 
 name of Polly C. Ingoidsby, was married when 
 eighteen years of age and died in lier thirty-first 
 year when our subject was a boy. She reared seven 
 children: James F.,our subject, Eugene B., Charles 
 H.,an infant daughter who died unnamed, Charles 
 H. (second), and Allie R., now Mrs. W. W. Walker, 
 of Wayland, Steuben County, N. Y. Three of the 
 sons were volunteers during the late war, James 
 being the first to enlist, becoming a member of Com- 
 pany B, Thirteenth New York Infantry, in April, 
 
1144 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1861. He enlisted for a service of two years and 
 was killed at the second battle of Bull Run. Our 
 subject was very desirous of joining the army but 
 at first could not obtain the consent of his father. 
 Later, however, he received his permission and 
 joined the same regiment of which his brother 
 was a member and was mustered out with the title 
 of Second Sergeant. His term of service expiring, 
 he was discharged March 13, 1863, and re-enlisted 
 in the Twenty-first New York Cavalry in Septem- 
 ber, 1863. The regiment made a rendezvous at 
 Troy, N. Y., and went into winter qitarters at Bland- 
 dinsburg, going the following spring to the Shen- 
 andoah Vallej'. Eugene B. belonged to Mack's 
 Black Horse Battery of New York, whose service 
 was in Louisiana. After the surrender of Lee, and 
 the Grand Review at Washington, the Twenty- 
 first Cavahy was sent to Ft. Collins, Colo., to look 
 after the Indians. Mr. Snyder was mustered out 
 at Denver with the commission of Second Lieu- 
 tenant, July 1, 1866. 
 
 During our subject's four years and four months 
 of active service in the Union Army, he had two 
 horses killed and his clothing torn with bullets, 
 even to the cap on his head, at Ft. Royal. He was 
 confined in the hospital but a few weeks at David's 
 Island, L. I., and as soon as convalescent was given 
 charge of the Iron Guard. This was during his 
 first service. 
 
 On the death of his mother, Mr. Snj'der went to 
 Michigan and made his home with his uncle, D. C. 
 Ingoldsby, at Oakland, with whom he remained 
 until seventeen years of age, when he returned 
 home and enlisted in the army, as above related. 
 In 1866, he went again to his father's farm and 
 the following year came to Rockton, where he has 
 resided since that time, liaving established a fine 
 reputation as carriage painter, decorator and paper 
 hanger. His first work was with M. B. Morgan, 
 and, having a natural taste and talent for that line 
 of work, soon excelled his emploj'er and succeeded 
 him in the business. 
 
 Mr. Snyder was married, November 18, 1869, to 
 Cora L. Stiles, a native of Rockton and the 
 daughter of Erastus L. and Marantha (Capron) 
 Stiles, whose sketch will be found on another page 
 in this volume. Our subject and his wife have 
 
 buried one daughter, Alta, who died when two 
 years and four months old. Their living children 
 are Alma F., Murray S., Minnie Lee, Roy N. and 
 Luetta. Our subject purchased his snug little 
 home on the south side of the Rock River in 1882. 
 He cast his first Presidential vote for Lincoln 
 while a soldier and has since been a strong and 
 firm adherent of that party. He served in the 
 position of Town Collector several years, City 
 Marshal six years and is now serving his fifth 
 term as Supervisor. The subject of this sketch 
 has made some specimens of oil painting and cabi- 
 net bric-a-brac, which shows much natural genius. 
 
 W. BARNES has been a resident of Rock- 
 ford for nearly forty years, and during 
 that time he has won the confidence and es- 
 teem of nearly every one. He is at pres- 
 ent proprietor of the city scales, located on South 
 Plrst Street, and is also a prominent real-estate 
 dealer. He came to Rockford in 1853, and, in 
 partnership with C. A. Huntington, an ex-School 
 Commissioner, and for many years a prominent 
 man of that city, opened a stationery and book 
 store. This business was very successfully carried 
 on until 1857, when a severe fire swept over the 
 city and the company lost $20,000. As might be 
 supposed, this was quite a misfortune to Mr. 
 Barnes, but he went to work with great earnest- 
 ness, and, to some extent, retrieved his fallen for- 
 tune. He has taken a deep interest in every move- 
 ment for the upbuilding and prosperity of the city, 
 and assisted liberally with his means to build the 
 Kenosha Railroad (now the Northwestern Rail- 
 road) in Rockford. He, as well as others, lost in 
 this matter. Mr. Barnes has ever been industri- 
 ous and enterprising, and what he has accumuLated 
 in the way of this world's goods is the result of 
 his own good fighting qualities. He was born in 
 Burlington, Vt., in 1831, and was there reared and 
 educated. His father, Capt. Jackson Barnes, was 
 born in Ferrisburg, Xt., and died when only forty- 
 five years of age, after a short illness. The latter 
 followed the occupation of a farmer, and met with 
 substantial results in this pursuit. He was a Captain 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1145 
 
 of a company in the War of 1812, and took part 
 in the battle of Plattsburg. His father, Joshua 
 Barnes, was also from the Green Mountain State, 
 and was a Quaker in religion, devoting much of 
 his time to religious work. The latter was also a 
 farmer. Jackson Barnes was married in his na- 
 tive State to Miss Judah "Wing a descendant of 
 old Quaker stock, and the daughter of John and 
 Sarah Wing, both of whom were devoted Quakers 
 all their lives. Mrs. Barnes survived her husband 
 many years, and died in 1884, when very old. R. 
 W. Barnes was married in Burlington, Vt., to Miss 
 Mary J. Gray, who was born, reared and educated 
 there, and who comes of good old New England 
 stock. To Mr. and Mrs. Barnes was born one child, 
 who died when but a few years old. They have an 
 adopted child, Nettie, who is now the wife of 
 Frank Stewart, and who resides in Rockford. Mrs. 
 Barnes is a member of the Centennial Methodist 
 Episcopal Cliurch. Mr. Barnes is a stanch Repub- 
 lican in his political principles. 
 
 ii I I I 
 
 ^ 1 ■ 1 ' I t I I ■ 
 
 ^^EORGE G. LINDBLADE, who is engaged 
 li (— p in raising vegetables and small fruit at the 
 ^^^ corner of Sixteenth Avenue and Kishwau- 
 kee Street, where he owns son.e valuable land, has 
 lived in this city and on Kishwaukee Street nearly 
 all his life. For many years he has followed his 
 present business and has met with much encour- 
 agement. 
 
 Born in Princeton, 111., Januar3r 9, 1861, he was 
 but two years of age when he was brought to 
 Rockford by his parents, and he was here educated 
 in the public schools and the business college. He 
 was one of eight children, six of whom are yet 
 living: Augusta, wife of J. P. Johnson, a tailor 
 for the G. R. Atkinson Tailoring Compan}' ; George 
 G., our subject; Emma D., Minnie; C. William and 
 Henry E. C. William is a carver by trade and is 
 now in the furniture factories of Rockford. Henry 
 E. is completing his education in the Illinois School 
 of Pharmacy at Chicago, and will graduate with 
 the Class of '93. Elizabeth died in infancy, in Oc- 
 tober, 1855. Another sister, Jennie E., died at her 
 home in this city October 28, 1889, when thirty- 
 
 four years of age. From the time she was nine 
 years of age she had been an invalid, but during 
 all that time she displayed a true Christian spirit 
 and a sweet and cheerful disposition. She pos- 
 sessed all those qualities that make a grand and 
 noble woman, and was universally loved and ad- 
 mired. 
 
 "Dead, and where now are those earnest, loving 
 
 eyes 
 Which kindled in so many eyes the light? 
 Have they departed from our earthly skies 
 And left no ray to illuminate the night.? 
 Shall she thus die and waste away 
 And no fond hope be left.? 
 Is there no sweet, confiding ray for bosoms all 
 
 bereft? 
 Yes, yes, an earnest trust." 
 
 J. August Lindblade, the father of the above- 
 mentioned children, was born in Jonkoping City, 
 Sweden, March 22, 18.30, and came of pure Swed- 
 ish ancestry. His father was a goldsmith, and J. 
 August learned this trade while growing up with- 
 out help, for his father had died when J. Aug- 
 ust was but nine weeks old. The latter was reared 
 by stepfathers, and when twenty-one years of age, 
 he enlisted in the regular arm j', serving three years, 
 but participating in no active engagements. He 
 was married in his native city to Miss Emily S. 
 Anderson, whose birth occurred in Jonkoping, 
 November 18, 1832, and who was reared and edu- 
 cated in that city, as was also her husband. Follow- 
 ing their marriage, they came to the United States, 
 in June, 1853, and were very much pleased with 
 the green trees and lovely flowers of this country, 
 after the wintry and desolate aspect of the one 
 they had left. 
 
 They settled at once in Kane County, 111., and 
 there Mr. Lindblade worked in Elgin, Geneva and 
 St. Charles. In May, 1855, he located in Pecaton- 
 ica, Winnebago County, 111., but subsequently 
 moved to Princeton and thence to Rockford, where 
 the father died on the 11th of May, 1889. He 
 was a worthy and much-respected citizen and a 
 noble, warm-hearted man. During the last years 
 of his life he followed the blacksmith's trade. He 
 was a great lover of President Lincoln, and when 
 the Civil War broke out, being a natural-born 
 soldier, he was among the first to enlist in defense 
 
1146 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArmCAL RECORD. 
 
 of the Union. He helped mise a company and 
 served ninety days with it. Afterward he enlisted 
 in the Sixty-ninth Illinois Infantry, and served his 
 countrjr faithfully until he was honorably dis- 
 charged as First Sergeant. After returning to 
 Princeton, he went back on a visit to Sweden, but 
 after again coming to this countrj' he settled in 
 Rockford. Sociallj^, he was a worthy member of 
 the G. L. Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R., a Master 
 Mason, and was one of the Ancient Order of Uni- 
 ted Workmen at the time of his death. 
 
 His wife, who is now living in Rockford, is sixty- 
 years of age, but time has dealt leniently with her 
 and she is yet quite active. Her father, Lars An- 
 derson, who was born in Wester Gothland, but 
 reared in the Province of Smoland, Jonkoping Lan, 
 Sweden, was for years an overseer of the wharfs 
 of Jonkoping City. His wife died in Sweden. 
 Later, Mr. Anderson came to the United States 
 with his daughter, Mrs. J. August Lindblade, and 
 now resides in Rockford. On the 29th of Septem- 
 ber, 1892, he will have reached his eighty-sixth 
 mile stone. He and his family were members of 
 the Lutheran Cliurch, but since coming here he 
 has been idcntifled with the Methodists. 
 
 Our subject was married in Chilton, Wis., March 
 28, 1889, to Miss Mary E. L. Cressy, a native of 
 Calumet County, Wis., where she passed her girl- 
 hood and received her education. Her parents, 
 Ithiel and Luraney (Coy) Cressy, were natives of 
 Vermont. The father was a farmer and died in 
 the prime of life. The mother is still living and 
 makes her home in Chilton, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lindblade are prominent young people of South 
 East Rockford, and are well respected. 
 
 r' 
 
 |y^ ENRY C. WILSON died at his home, at 
 No. 809 South West Street, Rockford, 
 April 14, 1891. He was one of the old 
 ^' residents of the city, having come here in 
 1854, and was extensively interested in the grain 
 business, being thus engaged for a period of ten 
 3'ears. It was during that time that he purchased 
 improved property on tlie South Side, which lie 
 
 built up and rented to tenants, and has thus added 
 greatly to the development of this then unoccu- 
 pied section. He was an interested witness of 
 the advancement and growth of the city and 
 County, and few, if any, of the residents of Rock- 
 ford have been more successful in a business way 
 than was the subject of this sketch. 
 
 While a resident of Rockford, Mr. Wilson was 
 interested in a general store at Independence, 
 Iowa, for five years, and for two years had quite 
 an income from the manufacture of lime. He served 
 as Alderman of the Fifth Ward for six years, on the 
 Democratic ticket, and always took an active part 
 in all measures that tended to the upbuilding of 
 the city. It is due to his push and enterprise 
 that the streets in the Fifth Ward were macadam- 
 ized and that the lights thereon were improved. 
 
 Our subject was born in Hampden County, Mass., 
 September 1, 1827. His father and grandfather 
 were born in the same county, where the former 
 gentleman, Andrew Wilson, lived and died. His 
 father, who bore the name of Col. Justin Wilson, 
 was an officer in the State militia, and was proba- 
 bly in active service in the War of 1812. He was 
 a farmer in his native State, where he resided un- 
 til 1855, then coming to Winneb.ago County, died 
 in Rockford November 8, 1864, when in his sev- 
 entieth year, having been born March 25, 1794. 
 The lady who became his wife was also a native of 
 the Bay State, and bore the maiden name of Sa- 
 mantha Baird. Her disease occurred at Independ- 
 ence, Iowa, July 16, 1869, firm in the faith of the 
 Congregational Church. 
 
 Henry C. Wilson was one of two children born 
 to his parents, and received a practical education 
 in his native State. He was married in Berkshire 
 County, Mass., to Miss Abbie E. Baird, who was 
 born in the Township of Becket, that State, May 
 14, 1828. She was given an excellent education 
 at the schools in Pittsford and Mount Holyoke 
 Seminary, and was the daughter of Kendall and 
 Lucinda (Chaffee) Baird, also natives of the Baj' 
 State, where families of that name resided prior to 
 the Revolutionary War. Mr. and Mrs. Baird died 
 in their native State at the respective ages of six- 
 ty-four and sixty-seven j^ears. The wife of our 
 subject was one of the eldest of their family of six 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1147 
 
 children, one of whom is deceased. A sister, Mrs. 
 Kellogg, now lives in this city. 
 
 Mrs. Wilson has, with her son, since the death 
 of her husband, managed the business in a most 
 intelligent and profitable manner. Two of the 
 four children born to her are deceased: Edgar H. 
 and Prentice B.; the former dying when thirty- 
 two years of age, and the latter in his fifth 
 year. Those living are Egbert T., at home, 
 and George F., who manages the business left by 
 his father. He holds a. prominent place in local 
 affairs, and has held the office of Supervisor of the 
 Fifth Ward for the past four years. He is a stanch 
 Democrat, in the ranks of which party he is an ac- 
 tive worker. He married Emma Minziuger, who 
 is a native of this county, where she is quite a 
 leader in social matters, and a noble and high- 
 minded woman. 
 
 ^^^ AMUEL WOOD was born in the Forest of 
 ^^^ Dean, Gloucestershire, England, February 
 1^^ 25, 1812, and died in Belvidere, 111., De- 
 cember 10, 1887. He was three times mar- 
 ried. Unto him and his first wife, formerly Miss 
 Mary Drinkwater, of England, were bom two sons: 
 Joseph and Frederick. After the death of his first 
 wife, he married Miss Amelia Sulley, and they be- 
 came the parents of a daughter, Mary Amelia. In 
 1851, accompanied by his wife, daughter and 
 younger son, Mr. Wood emigrated from England 
 to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, whci-e his wife died 
 soon afterward. 
 
 In Syracuse, N. Y., Mr. Wood was married, Feb- 
 ruary 9, 1854, to Miss Lucy Angeline Stiles, who 
 survives him. In October of the year following 
 his marriage, Mr. Wood came with his family to 
 Illinois, where he purchased a lot eight rods square 
 in Belvidere, on the corner of what is now Logan 
 Avenue and Whitney Street. With the aid of his 
 son Fred, and his father-in-law, Mr. Stiles, he at 
 once erected a house, 16x24 feet, and, having es- 
 tablished his family comfortably, began an active 
 business life, engaging in buying and shipping 
 produce. During the progress of the Civil War, 
 he went to Vicksburg with a quantity of butter. 
 
 and also for the purpose of visiting his son Fred, 
 who was in the army. 
 
 Mr. Wood also dealt considerably in real estate, 
 buying and selling some valuable [iroperty in the 
 center of the city on the South Side. For several 
 years, he was in the grocery business on State 
 Street and during part of that time was proprietor 
 of a lunch room. For some eighteen years, he 
 owned the city scales. Beside his city property, 
 he owned a farm four miles south of Belvidere, 
 which, after managing for seventeen years, he sold 
 six months before his death. Until two months and 
 seven days prior to his demise, he resided in the 
 house first erected by him, to which he added as 
 needs and opportunities presented. His last enter- 
 prise was the erection of a double brick house on 
 Whitney Street, where he died. 
 
 In his church life, Mr. Wood always endeavored 
 to be useful. Reared an Episcopalian, he was con- 
 verted and joined the Baptist Church at his old 
 home in England. The stone church in which he 
 was baptized still stands, and a photograph of it 
 was shown at his funeral. After coming to Am- 
 erica, he united by letter with the Second Baptist 
 Church, of Syracuse, N. Y., and brought his letter 
 from that place to Belvidere, uniting with the 
 First Baptist Church and remaining in its fellow- 
 ship for ten years to a day. Then, with his wife 
 and daughter, he became a constituent member of 
 the South Baptist Church at Belvidere, and was 
 appointed a Trustee at its organization, October 
 26, 1865. 
 
 In Jul}-, 1866, Mr. Wood was elected Chairman 
 of a Church Building Committee, which erected a 
 beautiful edifice, dedicated September 12, 1867, 
 but unfortunately, was burned down December 19, 
 1871. Steps were at once taken to rebuild, but 
 Mr. Wood, observing that even after the founda- 
 tion was on the ground there was a seemingly un- 
 necessary delay, called on one of the Trustees to 
 inquire the reason, and was suprised on being in- 
 formed that the Trustees did not feel warranted in 
 beginning to build with the present subscription. 
 As they had no time to attend to the matter, they 
 had decided to rent or buy the Christian Church. 
 " Not build," ejaculated Mv. Wood, " and go into 
 the Christian Church! where is our room to grow.? 
 
1148 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 It will not hold our present membership." Then 
 as if impelled by some irresistible power, he 
 added, " I will undertake to build the church if I 
 can have Elder Fulton with me to help raise the 
 mone3'." He sketched an agreement, and on the 
 following morning met the Church Board and sub- 
 mitted it to them. They accepted his pioposition 
 and at once passed over into his hands all plans 
 and specifications. He began the work earnestly 
 and enthusiastically, while the pastor as faithfully 
 labored to raise the needed funds. At last, they 
 completed the substantial brick building which now 
 adorns Logan Avenue. 
 
 November 16, 1870, Mr. Wood was elected 
 Clerk and Treasurer of tlie church, serving in that 
 double office until the winter before his death, 
 when he resigned the office of Treasurer, but con- 
 tinued to serve as Clerk until summoned to the 
 Church Triumphant at 3:30 A. M.. December 10, 
 1887. The funeral services were held at the 
 church, conducted by Rev. E. C. Stover, and the 
 remains were interred m the family lot at Belvi- 
 dere Cemetery. 
 
 Lucy Angeline Stiles was born in Winfield, 
 Herkimer County, N. Y., June 3, 1823, and spent 
 her early years alternately in the homes of her par- 
 ents and paternal grandparents. From the age of 
 twelve until she was twenty, she resided altogether 
 with her grandparents. She was converted at 
 seven years of age, and at the age of twenty years 
 imited with the Baptist Church at Salisburj^, Her- 
 kimer County, N. Y. Returning soon afterward 
 to her parents, she united with the Baptist Cliurch 
 in Cazenovia, Madison Count}', N.Y. After com- 
 pleting her education at Oneida Conference Semi- 
 nary, she taught several terms and then engaged 
 in millinery and dressmaking. Removing from 
 Cazenovia to Syracuse with her parents, she united 
 with the Second Baptist Church, and was there 
 married to Samuel Wood, removing soon after- 
 ward to Belvidere. For ten years, she held mem- 
 bership with the P"irst Baptist Church and from 
 that time onward held membership with the South 
 Church. 
 
 The elder son of our subject, Joseph, was born 
 October 10, 1832, came to America about 1868, 
 and is now engaged as a cabinet-maker in Rock- 
 
 ford. His wife bore the maiden name of Martha 
 Jones. Fred, the younger son of our subject, was 
 born in BuUo Pill, Parish of Aure, England, Feb- 
 ruary 12, 1838, and remained at home in business 
 with his father and clerking in the grocery store 
 of S. Bennett until he enlisted in the army. At 
 the close of the war, he embarked in business at 
 Chicago and had a fair prospect of success as a 
 commission merchant, but in the great fire lost 
 everj'thing excepting the clothes that he wore. 
 His father sent him supplies with which to re- 
 plenish his wardrobe, but they were stolen before 
 they reached him. Nothing daunted by misfor- 
 tunes, he erected a shanty on the ruins of what 
 had been his place of business and once more re- 
 sumed the business which he still conducts. He 
 was married. May 1, 1878, to Miss Delia May, who 
 was born in Rockford, this State, October 11, 1857. 
 This estimable lady died October 14, 1885, leaving 
 one daughter. May, who was born in Chicago, 
 March 3, 1879. 
 
 The only daughter of our subject, Mary A., was 
 born July 30, 1845, in Bridgewater, Somersetshire, 
 England, and came to America when a mere child. 
 She attended school for a time in Syracuse, N. Y., 
 and made good progress in the graded schools of 
 Belvidere, and was graduated from the Rockford 
 Female Seminary in 1867. She taught successfully 
 several j'ears, closing her work in that line where 
 she was graduated. As a teacher, her characteris- 
 tics were conscientiousness and thoroughness. 
 Persevering and unassuming, she also accomplished 
 much earnest work for the Master through the 
 medium of her pen. Such was her devotion to 
 her work that she was alwaj's overtaxing her 
 energies. One of her pupils writes : " She pos- 
 sessed fine literary tastes. In her school discipline, 
 she kept the machinery of government out of 
 sight, but the most wayward was subdued by her 
 unvarying gentleness, her earnest persuasions and 
 sometimes by her tears. Her work as a teacher 
 was always done prayerfully, quietly and subject 
 to the Master's approval." 
 
 She early became a Christian, joining the First 
 Baptist Church at Belvidere. With her parents 
 and sixt)'-five others interested in the organiza- 
 tion of the South Belvidere Baptist Church, she 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1149 
 
 aided iu founding and enlarging the new churcb. 
 In early life began her longings for mission work, 
 and in the spring of 1874 she offered Iter services 
 to the Board and was accepted. Strong in her attach- 
 ments, few cculd more truly appreciate the blessed- 
 ness of home and the reflnements of social life. She 
 was an only and tenderly beloved daughter. As 
 th(! time of her departure drew near, she attended 
 farewell services in Roclsford, Milwaukee, Belvi- 
 dere and Chicago. Her father went East and 
 parted with her on shipboard. She sailed on the 
 steamer "Bolivia," September 19, in com])any with 
 other missionaries, stopped for a visit with friends 
 in the South of England, and arrived in Nellore 
 January 2, 1875. She at once commenced tlie 
 study of the Telugu language. In March follow- 
 ing her arrival, she went to Ramapatan, where her 
 interests were to center. 
 
 At Ramapatan Mission Chapel, India, Miss Mary 
 A. Wood was married to Rev. Alfred A. Newhall, 
 the ceremony being performed by Rev. D. Clough, 
 D. D. Dr. Newhall was born January 7, 1844, in 
 Cambridgeport, Mass. During the short mission- 
 ary career of Mrs. Newhall it was hers to witness 
 the horrors of a terrible famine. She died Octo- 
 ber 9, 1877. Loving hands robed her for burial, 
 and after a brief funeral service, conducted by Rev. 
 D. Downy, her remains were borne to Nellore 
 Cemetery and laid to rest under the shadow of a 
 margosa tree. Her husband has since erected upon 
 the grave a low monument of polished black 
 granite, bearing this inscription: "Sacred to the 
 memory of Mary A. Wood, wife of Rev. A. A. 
 Newhall, missionary at Ramapatan." After seven 
 years, Mr. Newhall married again, his wife being 
 Miss Marie Menke, and thej^ have one son, 
 Freddie. In the autumn of 1890, they returned 
 from India and are now in the pine regions of 
 North Carolina in quest of health, at a place known 
 as Southern Pines. 
 
 Some brief mention of the ancestry of Mrs. 
 Wood will be of interest to the reader. Her gi'eat- 
 grandfather Stiles died suddenly, while sitting in 
 a chair at the table. Her grandfather Stiles, born 
 May 10, 1780, married Lucy Ives, who was born 
 January 15, 1782, and they became the parents of 
 seven children. David Stiles, father of Mrs. Wood, 
 
 was born December 20, 1801, and died April 8, 
 1868. Elizabeth Breden burgh, mother of Mrs. 
 Wood, was born September 15, 1802, died April 
 17, 1855, and was buried near Syracuse, N. Y. 
 
 Taking a further glance at the descent of Mrs. 
 Wood, we find that in 1644 three brothers epii- 
 grated from Holland to America, who were bj' 
 name Peter, Jacob and Hendrick Marse Vroman. 
 Peter settled on Long Island, where he married 
 Volchin Peters about 1650. They had a family of 
 two children and became well-to-do, accumulating 
 property in New York and Long Island. They 
 made a joint will, deeding their property to their 
 children and the Dutch Church. Jacob returned 
 to Holland during 1644, and about six j'ears later 
 was elected Lord Mayor of Leiden. He owned a 
 large vineyard in Leiden and a block of buildings 
 in Amsterdam, besides a number of ships. His 
 death occurred in Leiden about 1680. His prop- 
 erty was sold and the money put in the Orphans' 
 Chamber of Holland, where it will remain until 
 the heirs in America call for it and prove their 
 descent. 
 
 The third brother, Hendrick, settled in Albany, 
 N. Y., whence he removed to Schenectady, N. Y., 
 about 1646, and two years afterward was married 
 there. He and his wife, who were Mrs. Wood's 
 grandparents in the fifth generation, had two chil- 
 dren: John, born in 1650, and Adam, in 1652, 
 The last-named married Engelica Bloom in 1677, 
 and they became the parents of six children. His 
 wife and youngest child were killed by the Indians 
 February 8, 1690, and he died at his plantation in 
 Schoharie, N. Y., February 25, 1730, aged seventy- 
 eight years. His second son, Wanter, was born in 
 1680, and married Maritie HoUenbech, September 
 24, 1708. Their family consisted of twelve chil- 
 dren, and Isaac, who was the sixth in order of 
 birth, married Dorothy Vanbuskirk vSeptember 24, 
 1744. They had eight children. Rachel, the eld- 
 est, was born October 24, 1745, married John Far- 
 rell, and became the mother of two children. One 
 of these, Dorothy, was born August 3, 1763, and 
 on May 25, 1788, married William Bredenburgh, a 
 Methodist minister, who was born May 8, 1763. 
 
 The sixth in the family of eleven children born 
 to William and Dorothy Bredenburgh was Eliza- 
 
1150 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 beth, who became the wife of David Stiles March 
 31, 1822, and died April 17, 1855. Tliey were the 
 parents of eight children, namely: Lucy Angelina, 
 Ann Eliza, Amanda Maria, David, Jr., Harriett C, 
 William Philo, Betsey Amelia, and George Wash- 
 ington. Ann Eliza, who was born May 18, 1825, 
 married Willard M. Hudson, August 22, 1846, and 
 they bad two children : George M. and Herbert; 
 Amanda Maria, born March 12, 1827, married 
 Alfred Darrow, September 1, 1855, and they had 
 four children: Flora Adell (deceased), Josephine, 
 Walter (deceased) and May, now Mrs. E. Hoyt. 
 David, Jr., born August 26, 1828, was married, in 
 1849, to Miss Esther Tuller, who was born April 26, 
 1833, and they had four children: Dewitt Monroe, 
 Ella Zepherine, Hattie Amelia and Ida Lorette. 
 Harriett C. Stiles, who was born March 24, 1830, 
 was married, February 17, 1851, to Wesley Peck, 
 who was born in Hamilton, Madison County, 
 N. Y., September 25, 1831. Their family consisted 
 of four children: Ellen Harriett, Anna Bell, Lillie 
 May, and Charles. William Philo, born February 
 16, 1832, married Syrine Ilelraer, and they had 
 three children: Ida, Anna Maria and D. May. 
 Betsej' Amelia, born March 12, 1834, died in in- 
 fancy; George Washington, born February 6, 1835, 
 died in Belvidero, September 19, 1856. 
 
 ^♦•{••{•♦.jE 
 
 i*>5"{*'i't- 
 
 ]f(^ ARRY M. JOHNSON is Secretary and 
 Treasurer of the Rockford Stm- Printing 
 Company, which was established in 1888, 
 and publishes the Daily, Semi-weekly and 
 Weekly Star. Mr. Johnson first became associated 
 with the business as City Editor and Business 
 Manager, but owing to the demands made of him 
 in the office, he now gives his entire time to the 
 business end of the enterprise, and under his 
 management of the Star it has steadily grown in 
 circulation and power. 
 
 Mr. Johnson has been connected with newspaper 
 work, in one capacity or another, all his life, be- 
 ginning when a boy as a carrier. After graduat- 
 ing from the High School, he became reporter for 
 the Rockford Register, when nineteen years of age, 
 and was associated in that capacity with the paper 
 
 for six years. Recognizing his ability, he was 
 offered an interest in the stock company being or- 
 ganized to found a new morning daily in Rock- 
 ford and the position of manager of the enter- 
 prise, which he accepted. He now controls more 
 of the stock of the company than any other stock- 
 holder in the concern. The paper was first issued 
 March 20, 1888, as the Morning Star, and has al- 
 waj^s been a strong Democratic organ. It is a 
 seven-column quarto, neatly printed, and has a large 
 circulation throughout the county. 
 
 Our subject has been a resident of Rockford 
 since 1872, coming here when a boy from Wiscon- 
 sin. His birth occurred in that State, near Madi- 
 son, Dane County, in 1863. His father, William 
 W. Johnson, was a native of Pennsylvania, where 
 also the paternal ancestors of our subject were 
 born for four generations back. The father of our 
 subject left his native State when a young man, 
 going to Wisconsin, where he became a pilot, ply- 
 ing on the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers in 
 the interest of the lumbermen. Later, he became 
 a resident of Dane Count3r, whence he removed 
 to Rockford in 1872, and was employed in the 
 manufacture of piano stools in this city. Later, 
 he was one of the organizers and first Superinten- 
 dent of the Co-operative Furniture Company. At 
 the presenit time, however, he is engaged as a con- 
 tractor and builder. 
 
 The parents of our subject were married in 
 Wisconsin, the maiden name of the lady being 
 Elizabeth P. Briggs. She was born in Michigan, 
 her father, Isaac Briggs, being a native of the 
 Green Mountain State and a veteran in the War 
 of 1812. His father was one of the Green Moun- 
 tain boys who fought in the Revolutionary War. 
 He was known as Dr. Briggs, and after having at- 
 tained to his majority came West to Michigan, 
 settling on an improved farm near Schoolcraft. 
 Owing, however, to the prevailing epidemic of 
 chills and fever, he disposed of his farm at a sac- 
 rifice and moved with his family to Wisconsin, 
 where he spent his last daj's in Dane County. He 
 had one son, M. J. Briggs, who was a soldier in 
 the late Civil War, enlisting as a private when 
 eighteen years old, and being mustered out with 
 the commission of Lieutenant. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1151 
 
 He of whom we write was married, in Rocli- 
 ford, to Miss Carrie Maj' Asliton,a native of Du- 
 rand, this county, but reared and educated in this 
 city. She is a daughter of Andrew Ashton, a 
 prominent dry-goods mercliant, having stores in 
 Rockford and in Durand. Slie is a most intelli- 
 gent lady, being a well known contributor to 
 many of the famous papers of the land. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Johnson have one child, W. Ashton Johnson. 
 
 "SJ 
 
 ^-f^ 
 
 [^_ 
 
 '' NDREW G. ORTLUND, a member of the 
 Arm of Carlson, Ortlund & Co., dealers in 
 gents' furnishing goods, hats, caps, etc., 
 claims Sweden as the land of his birth. 
 He was born in tlie Province of Westmoreland, on 
 the 6th of December, 1860, and is a son of Andrew 
 and Augusta Ortlund, both of whom are resi- 
 dents of Evanston, 111., and members of the Luth- 
 eran Church. The father is now seventy-two 
 years of age, and his wife has reached the age of 
 three-score years. All of the brothers of our sub- 
 ject and his sister reside either at Rockford or in 
 Evanston, having come to this country since An- 
 drew emigrated. 
 
 Mr. Ortlund, whose name heads this sketch, 
 acquired his education in the common schools of 
 his native land and there learned the butcher's 
 trade. At tlie age of twenty years, he bade good- 
 bye to his old home and family and in the month 
 of June, 1880, started for America, sailing from 
 Gottenburg to New York City. He went from 
 thence to Amburg, N. Y., where he resided for 
 nineteen months. It was in August, 1882, that he 
 left tlie Empire State and went South, spending 
 some time in the vicinity of New Orleans, after 
 which he went to Cuba. Later, he returned to 
 this country and made a location in Evanston, 
 111., where he resided for six years. During that 
 time, he learned the trade of a laundrj^man and in 
 his own interest established business, which he 
 carried on for five years before coming to Rock- 
 ford. The year 1890 witnessed his arrival in this 
 city. He formed a partnership with Mr. Carlson, 
 as a dealer in gents' furnishing goods, hats, caps, 
 clothing, etc., and the following year a change in 
 52 
 
 the Arm caused the change in the business title to 
 Carlson, Ortlund <fc Co. Their store is located at No. 
 525 Seventh Street and they are now doing a good 
 business, having built up an excellent trade which 
 is constantly increasing. 
 
 In Evanston, 111., Mr. Ortlund was joined in 
 wedlock with Miss Matilda C. Johnson, who was 
 born and reared in Sweden, and while a young 
 lady left the old home for the United States, to 
 which her parents afterwards emigrated. They 
 are still residents of Evanston. One child graces 
 the un ion of our subject and his wife, a daughter, 
 Minnie M. The parents are both members of the 
 Swedish Methodist Church, and although they 
 have resided in this city but a short time, are 
 already well known and have made many friends, 
 their excellencies of character having won for 
 them the high regard of those with whom they have 
 come in contact. In his political affiliations, Mr. 
 Ortlund is a Republican. 
 
 ■^ OHN H. BENNETT, an agriculturist resid- 
 ing in Belvidere, claims the old Bay State 
 as the place of his birth. He first opened 
 ^^ his eyes to the light of day in Groton, 
 Middlesex County, July 7, 1835. His grandfather 
 was a lifelong farmer, and spent his last years in 
 Groton. The father, James Bennett, was born in 
 that town, where he acquired his education, and 
 was reared to manhood. He wedded Mary Shat- 
 tuck. also a native of Groton, where they resided 
 until 1839, when, with their four children, they 
 came to Illinois. The journey was made by way 
 of the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes to Chicago, 
 and thence by teams to Boone County, which they 
 found to be a sparsely settled region, almost on 
 the borders of civilization. Mr. Bennett pur- 
 chased a tract of land near the locality known as 
 the Lone Tree, in Flora Township, built a house, 
 and there made his home for four years, when he 
 sold, and purchased the farm on the north side of 
 the river, a portion of which is now included 
 within the city limits. There he carried on his 
 chosen occupation until his death, which occurred 
 
1152 
 
 POKTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1868. His wife long survived him, and passed 
 away January 23, 1892. They had a family of 
 six children: James Augustus, Samuel, John H., 
 Sarah J., George S. and Charles. Samuel is now 
 deceased. 
 
 Our subject was only four years of age when, 
 with his parents, he came to Illinois. He literally 
 grew up with the country, and has been an eye- 
 witness of its development and progress from 
 almost the beginning. He has seen the growth of 
 Belvidere from a hamlet to a city of five thousand, 
 while some of the villages of importance had not 
 yet sprung into existence when he came here. 
 There were no free schools in those early days, 
 and his father, who was determined to give his 
 children an education, employed a teacher, who 
 taught two terms in his own home. John after- 
 wards attended a subscription school in the city. 
 He aided in the arduous task of developing the 
 wild land, and remained with his father until he 
 attained his majority, but on his twenty-first 
 birthday he left the parental roof, and started out 
 in life for himself. He found employment upon 
 a farm, where he remained until fall, when he 
 borrowed a sum of monej', went to Chicago, and 
 pursued a course in a commercial college of that 
 city. In the spring he returned, and entered the 
 employ of his father, and in July, 1857, started 
 for Minnesota. After tliree months spent in that 
 State, he returned home and engaged in chopping 
 wood for his father through the winter, .after 
 which he was in the employ of his brother Samuel 
 as a salesman for three years. 
 
 On the 31st of October, 1862, Mr. Bennett was 
 united in the holy bonds of matrimony with Sarah 
 Maria, daughter of George and Mary Vickery, and 
 a native of Pennsylvania. They have two chil- 
 dren living: Frank and Anna. The parents are 
 both members of the Seventh Day Adventist 
 Church, and in politics our subject is a Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 Mr. Bennett made his first purchase of land in 
 Caledonia Township. There was a water-power 
 on the place, and a sawmill, and he built a grist- 
 mill, which he operated in connection with the 
 other, while at the same time he engaged in rais- 
 ing stock. He ther^ resided for about ten years, 
 
 when he sold that farm and purchased land in Bel- 
 videre Township, which he operated until 1882, 
 when he again sold and bought the farm he now 
 owns and occupies, adjoining the city limits. He 
 is an industrious and energetic agriculturist, and 
 the neat appearance of his place, with its many 
 improvements, indicates his thrift and good man- 
 agement. He may well be termed a self-made 
 man, for his success is due entirely to his own 
 efforts. 
 
 kEWIS SHIRLEY, who is now living a re- 
 , tired life in Cherry Valley, Winnebago 
 , County, was born March 1, 1820, and was 
 
 a son of Joseph S. and Elizabeth (Keith) Shirley, 
 both of whom were natives of Huntingdon Countyi 
 Pa. His father was born March 26, 1798, and re- 
 moved to Ohio about 1810, with his parents. He 
 married Elizabeth Keith, in Morgan County, Ohio, 
 in 1814, and unto them were born six children: 
 Peter; Nancy, wife of Jacob Cline; Lewis, of this 
 sketch; George, who resides near Waterloo, Iowa; 
 Ruhama, wife of William Mervin; and Julia, who 
 married William Witter. The daughters are all 
 now deceased. 
 
 The subject of this sketch removed from Ohio 
 to La Porte County, Ind., with his parents, in 1837, 
 and three years later came to Illinois, locating near 
 his present home. The family crossed the prairies 
 with teams in the fall of 1840, and the father pur- 
 chased a tract, comprising one hundred and twenty 
 acres, in Winnebago County. Their market was 
 Chicago, and Mr. Shirley remembers to have taken 
 a load of pork and a load of wheat to that place 
 on one occasion, when the net proceeds of the two 
 were only $40. The family bore all tlie hardships 
 and privations of pioneer life, such as fall to the 
 lot of those who make homes on the frontier. 
 
 On the 6th of January, 1843, Mr. Shirley was 
 united in marriage, in this county, with Lncinda 
 Keith, daughter of Balser and Lucy (Smith) Keith. 
 They have buried two children, who died in in- 
 fancy, and six children, three sons and three 
 daughters are now living, namely: Elizabeth A., 
 born October 31, 1844, now the wife of Capt. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1153 
 
 William Van Wert, of DeKalb County; Silas "VV., 
 born Juno 26, 1848, of Cherry Valley; Lucretia 
 E., born January 6, 1850, of Cherry Valley; Phosba 
 Jane, born April 2, 1852, wife of William Thomp- 
 son, of De Kalb County; George B,, born Novem- 
 ber 28, 1855, of Cherry Valley Township; and 
 Lewis E., born March 13, 1861, also of Cherry 
 Valley. 
 
 Mr. Shirley has engaged in farming ever since 
 coming to this county, and has opened and im- 
 proved several hundred acres. At one time he 
 owned fifteen hundred acres in different farms. 
 The homestead comprises five hundred acres of 
 highly improved land; the large barns, the out- 
 buildings, and the commodious residence were 
 erected thereon in 1878. The place is now owned 
 by his son George B., who married Nellie Whit- 
 more; Silas W. married Julia Tayjor. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Shirley has been a Republican 
 since the organization of the party and has taken 
 an active interest in its upbuilding. He has always 
 been interested in the Methodist Church. His 
 wife died November 1, 1888, at the age of sixty- 
 eight years, one month and fifteen days, and was 
 buried at Flora Cemetery. She belonged to the 
 Free-will Baptist Church, of Cherry Valley, and 
 was a most estimable lady. Mr. Shirley is a self- 
 made man. When he started out in life to fight 
 its battles, he had nothing to aid him, but has stead- 
 ily worlied his waj' upward to a position of afflu- 
 ence and is recognized as one of the enterprising 
 and successful agriculturists of the community. 
 
 i^ 
 
 =^^ 
 
 VILLIAM T. MELTON. A higli place among 
 the farmers and stock-raisers of Winne- 
 bago County must be accorded the gen- 
 tleman above named, who lias m.ide a fortune by 
 liard labor, prudent economy, and business shrewd- 
 ness. He has experienced all that is known to a 
 poor man who makes a settlement in a new 
 country, and among the many disadvantages has 
 been enabled to lay by a handsome competence 
 and is at the present time occupying a beautiful 
 home on section 8, Owen Township. 
 That part of England which is known as Lin- 
 
 colnshire has furnished this country many of her 
 best citizens and most enterprising farmers. To 
 it we are indebted for the subject of this sketch, 
 who was born in that far-away land. May 13, 1844. 
 His father, William B. Melton, was also born in 
 that shire, as was also his father, George Melton. 
 The latter-named gentleman was a farmer and 
 spent his entire life in England. 
 
 William B. Melton was a lad of eight years when 
 he commenced to earn his own way in the world, 
 being in the employ of a wealthy gentleman for 
 some time. He later was engaged in training horses 
 for the track, for sale, etc., and in May of 1851 
 sailed from Liverpool, for America, accompan- 
 ied by his wife and four children. They landed 
 in New York six weeks later, when Mr. Melton 
 came directly to Rockford, which was at that 
 time a small but flourishing city. He purchased 
 a small house and entered the employ of the 
 Chicago & Galena Union Railroad, now the North- 
 western Railroad Company, and worked for them 
 in Rockford for two months. He then went 
 to Ridott, Stephenson County, where he was en- 
 gaged for ten years as bridge tender of the same 
 company. The elder Mr. Melton then purcliased 
 land and engaged in farming until his decease, 
 October 3, 1890. His wife, prior to her marriage, 
 was Mary A. Wiliner and still makes her home on 
 the old farm. 
 
 He of whom we write celebrated his eighth 
 birthday while on the ocean en route to America. 
 His father being in limited circumstances, he com- 
 menced when quite young to earn his own living, 
 making his first money by carrying drinking-water 
 for the railroad employes and which amounted to 
 fifty cents per day. He later worked out on farms 
 by the day and month until 1864, when, on the 
 30th of August, he enlisted in Company C, One 
 Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry, being 
 mustered in at Camp Butler. He served his country 
 for one year on detached duty, and being taken 
 sick in June, 1865, received his honorable dis- 
 charge. For a time after his return home, Mr. 
 Melton was in very poor health, and going to 
 Iowa worked on a farm for a twelvemonth, at the 
 expiration of which time he returned and took 
 charo-e of the home farm until 1868. Then in 
 
1154 
 
 POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 company with his brother-in-law, he rented and 
 operated a farm for two years and then purchased 
 eighty acres, which are included in his present farm, 
 and to which he has since added eighty acres ad- 
 joining. The entire tract is well fenced and im- 
 proved with a good set of buildings, not the least 
 among which is the comfortable farm residence. 
 
 William T. Melton was united in marriage to 
 Elizabeth Mayers, January 12, 1870. Mrs. Melton 
 was born in Stephenson County, this State and 
 has become the mother of four children: Alvin 
 William, Marj' Luella, George F. and Edward S. 
 Socially, our subject is a member of Nevius Post 
 No. 1, G. A. R., and with his estimable wife is re- 
 spected as a thoroughly upright and honest citizen. 
 
 \T^ETER G. BAUDER. Among the venerable 
 
 Jl) and highly esteemed residents of Rockford, 
 
 ■^ we are pleased to mention the name whieli 
 
 / \ appears at the head of this paragraph, that 
 of a man who was born in the town of Mendon, 
 Montgomery County, N. Y., near what was known 
 as the Mohawk Flats, in December, 1818. His 
 father, George U. Bander, was born in the same 
 town, and his grandfather, Uriel, had his nativity 
 in Germany, and was, as far as is known, the only 
 member of the family who ever came to America. 
 He crossed the seas in Colonial days, and served 
 America as a soldier during the Revolutionary 
 War. Montgomery County, N. Y., became his 
 home, and there he bought a large tract of timber 
 land, in the town of Mendon. 
 
 In the days when the grandfather of our subject 
 settled in New York, there were no canals or rail- 
 roads, and Indians were numerous. He cleared 
 quite a farm, and lived there until his death, after 
 which his son inherited his property in that place, 
 and, buying other land there, built a sawmill, 
 which he carried on in addition to farming, resid- 
 ing there throughout all his days. He served in 
 tlie War of 1812, following in the example of his 
 patriotic father. He had married Maria Dunkle, 
 a native of Mendon Township, whose father, 
 Peter Dunkle, had come to America from Ger- 
 
 many before the Revolutionary War, and who had 
 also fought in the War for Independence. He 
 subsequently bought large tracts of land in Men- 
 don Township, and resided there until his death. 
 His daughter, the mother of our subject, lived to 
 the venerable age of ninety-four, and ended her 
 days upon her son's farm. 
 
 Peter Bander was reared and educated in his 
 native town, and after he grew to man's estate 
 bought a tract of land near the old home, and 
 farmed there until 1854, during which year he 
 came to Winnebago County, reaching New Mil- 
 ford on the 16 th of October. He had visited 
 Illinois in the earlier part of that year, and had 
 bought two hundred and fourteen acres of land 
 on the south side of the Kishwaukee River, and a 
 house and lot in the village of Kishwaukee. 
 
 Our subject ^as married, August 14, 1839, to 
 Julia A. Allen, who was born in White Creek, 
 Rensselaer Countj', N. Y., January 29, 1819. Her 
 father, Hugh Allen, was a native of the same place, 
 a son of an Englishman, Ebenezer Allen, who 
 came to America and settled in Rensselaer County 
 during the War of 1812. The Indians were then 
 very troublesome. Mr. Allen and a neighbor were 
 set upon by Indians one day while thay were en- 
 gaged in splitting rails, and the red men demanded 
 that their prisoners follow them. Mr. Allen asked 
 them to wait till he finished splitting his log, and 
 induced the Indians to take hold of the log and pull 
 it apart. While their hands were thus engaged, 
 and their fingers in the crack, he knocked out the 
 wedge and the log came together, thus making the 
 Indians his prisoners. Later he was taken pris- 
 oner by Indians, and spent some time in bondage, 
 but finally escaped, and his last years were passed 
 upon the farm in Rensselaer County. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Bander lived in Rensselaer 
 County until 1823, and then removed to Otsego 
 County, where he bought land in the town of 
 Cherry Valley, and there resided until a few weeks 
 before his death, which took place at Mendon. 
 His wife was, before her union with him, Miss 
 Electa Lee. She was born in New York State, of 
 French ancestry, being a daughter of Samuel Lee, 
 and died at Ft. Plain, N. Y. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bander resided in the village of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1155 
 
 New Milford after coming to this county, and then 
 built a house upon the farm and removed there, 
 making it their home until 1878, when Mr. Bauder 
 decided to give his farm to his son, and removed 
 to Rockford, where he has resided ever since. He 
 has devoted himself largely to handling real es- 
 tate, and attending to busineis of that nature. He 
 has three children living: Judson J., George M. 
 and Franklin M. Mrs. Bauder is a devout and 
 earnest member of the Baptist Church, and is 
 highly esteemed in the social and church circles of 
 Rockford. 
 
 ^NDREW N. NELSON, Assistant Super- 
 intendent of the Forest City Furniture 
 Company, has for nineteen j'ears held his 
 present position, which fact shows that 
 he has been true to every trust reposed in him 
 and has faithfully discharged his duties. He was 
 born near Smoland, Sweden, on the 13th of Sep- 
 tember, 1850, and is the second child of the fam- 
 ily. His parents were Nelson and Swenborg (Hol- 
 lenbeck) Nelson. The father was a carpenter and 
 cabinet-maker, and is still living at the age of 
 seventy-two years. His wife died about two years 
 ago, at the age of sixty-six. Like him, she always 
 adhered to the Lutheran Church. 
 
 When quite a young lad, our subject learned the 
 trade of a cabinet-maker, and at the age of sixteen 
 went to sea, sailing as a ship carpenter, and as sec- 
 ond mate for five years. He sailed on the waters 
 of the Atlantic and many of the European seas 
 and touched at most of the ports iit that continent. 
 He crossed the Atlantic to America in 1871, with 
 the determination to try his fortune in this coun- 
 try. Four years previous, his brother, L. P. Nel- 
 son, had come to the United States and located in 
 Chicago, where he yet resides. The first eighteen 
 months after his arrival in this country, Andrew 
 Nelson spent in the State of Michigan and then 
 came to Illinois, locating in Rockford. 
 
 It was in this city that our subject led to the 
 marriage altar Miss Emily Eskelson, who was born 
 in Southern Sweden and when a maiden of sixteen 
 summers crossed the briny deep. She afterward 
 
 returned to her old home, but again came to this 
 country in 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson are promi- 
 nent and intelligent young people and favorably 
 known in this community. 
 
 Mr. Nelson has resided in Rockford since the 9th 
 of April, 1872, and, during all the succeeding 
 years, has filled the position which he now occupies. 
 The Forest City Furniture Company owns a large 
 factory on Railroad Avenue and is one of the 
 largest furniture enterprises of the city, doing an 
 extensive and constantly-increasing business. Our 
 subject is also a stockholder in the Excelsior Fur- 
 niture Company, and in other local enterprises, 
 and is recognized as one of the wide-awake and 
 energetic business men of this city. He certainly 
 deserves great credit for his success in life, which 
 has been achieved entirely through his own efforts 
 and since coming to Rockford. Socially, he is a 
 member of the Odd Fellows' society, and in politics 
 is a supporter of Republican principles, but has 
 never sought or desired public office, preferring to 
 give his attention to his business interests, in 
 which he has met with signal success. 
 
 ■ > L i.> A ^ I .». > » 
 
 ? I ' 1 f 
 
 "JJ 
 
 f" AMES BLACKLAWS. Among the promi- 
 nent agriculturists of Rockford Township, 
 Winnebago County, we take pleasure in 
 mentioning Mr. Blacklaws, who was born in 
 Kincardineshire, Scotland, January 10, 1833. His 
 father, William Blacklaws, was a native of the same 
 shire in Scotland, where he carried on agricultural 
 pursuits, and spent his entire life. The maiden 
 name of his wife was Margaret Milne, also a native 
 of Scotland, and who, upon emigrating to Amer- 
 ica, departed this life in this State. 
 
 The original of this sketch was seventeen years 
 of age when he accompanied his mother to the 
 New World, they setting sail from Aberdeen in the 
 month of August, 1850, embarking on a sailer 
 commanded by Capt. Pease. After a tedious voy- 
 age of five weeks and two days, they landed at 
 Quebec, soon after which they came to Winnebago 
 County, via the St. Lawrence River and Lake On- 
 tario to Lewistown, N. Y., where they boarded a 
 train which conveyed them to Buffalo, then by 
 
1156 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 way of the Lakes to Chicago, thence by railroad to 
 Elgin, which was then the Western terminus of 
 the road. Tlie remainder of tiie journey was made 
 with team. 
 
 James Blacklaws, on making his home in this 
 county, engaged to work out at 19 per month on 
 farms. He was very industrious and economical, 
 and after being engaged in various kinds of work, 
 purchased a well drill, which was one of the first 
 ever used in this county, and which he operated 
 together with a harvesting machine. After his 
 marriage, our subject located on the farm where he 
 has since resided, and which, by a proper rotation 
 of crops, is made to yield handsome returns. 
 
 Tlie frst marriage of Mr. Blacklaws occurred in 
 1859, at which time Jessie (Raney) Simpson, be- 
 came his wife. She was born in Scotland and de- 
 parted this life August 21, 1866. In 1870, our 
 subject was married to Ellen Walsh, who was born 
 in the North of Ireland, of Scotch parents. The 
 three children born to Mr. Blacklaws by his first 
 marriage were Henry W., Albert and Lewis. The 
 eldest son married Hattie Felch; he was born in 
 February, 1860, and died August 21, 1891. Lewis 
 married Stella Atkinson; Albert died November 
 29, 1892. The present union of our subject has 
 resulted in the birth of four children, namely: 
 Nellie, Hattie, James and Walter. 
 
 Mrs. Blacklaws, who was a member in good 
 standing of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 
 in which body she was an active worker, died 
 December 13, 1891. Our subject, who is interested 
 in all measures which tend to the upbuilding of 
 his community, votes the straight Republican ticket. 
 
 ♦^^♦; 
 
 _J 
 
 ^~ 
 
 \ ^\ ETER LARSON, who is engaged in farming, 
 ))) and alsq carries on the dairy business on sec- 
 •^ tion 30, Guilford Tpwnship, Winnebago 
 [ \ County, has for eighteen years resided in 
 this locality, and devoted his energies to his pre- 
 sent work. He owns forty acres of land under a 
 high state of cultivation and well improved, and 
 in addition to general farming, is engaged in dairy- 
 ing, keeping on hand forty-five cows for this pur- 
 
 pose. He came to Illinois from Michigan, where 
 he was engaged in mining for two years after com- 
 ing to this country. 
 
 Mr. Larson was born in Skona, Sweden, May 23, 
 1848, and grew to manhood in his native province 
 on a farm. His father, Lars Nelson, spent his en- 
 tire life in that land as an agriculturist, and passed 
 away at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife, 
 who was bom March 21, 1820, is yet living on the 
 old homestead in Sweden. She has been a life- 
 long member of the Lutheran Church, as was Mi-. 
 Nelson. In their family were six sons and a 
 daughter. One son, Ola, and the daughter, Anna, 
 are both married, and own farms in Sweden. Five 
 sons are living in tliis countrj', and all follow agri- 
 cultural pursuits. Lars is a farmer of Guilford 
 Township; Peter is the next younger; Nelsisalsoa 
 farmer of Guilford -Township; and John and Sam- 
 uel likewise make their home in that township. The 
 brothers are all successful farmers and industrious 
 and enterprising men, and, with the exception of 
 the first mentioned, all are married. 
 
 It was in Rockford that Mr. Larson was joined 
 in wedlock to Miss Charlotte Anderson, a native 
 of Sweden, who, when a young lady, bade good-bye 
 to her old home, and crossed the water to Amer- 
 ica, where all of the family have since found 
 homes. The father, Charles Anders Rapp, is liv- 
 ing on a farm near Donaldson, Marshall County, 
 Ind., at the age of seventy years. He is widely 
 known in his community, and is a member of the 
 Lutheran Church, as was his wife, who died in 
 1890, at an advanced age. Their family numbers 
 two sons and two daughters, who are yet living: 
 John A. Blomquist, who is married and is employed 
 as a tailor by the firm of Johnson & Wanstrom, of 
 Rockford; Mrs. Larson, of this sketch; Gust, a 
 milk dealer, who is married and resides on Charles 
 Street, Rockford; and Sophia, wife of John Sam- 
 uelson, a resident farmer of Marshall County, Ind. 
 
 Mr. Larson is regarded as one of the enterprising 
 and successful farmers of this community, and is a 
 public-spirited and progressive citizen. He exer- 
 cises his right of franchise in support of the Re- 
 publican party, and he and his wife are members of 
 the Swedish Mission Church of Rockford. Six 
 children grace their union, and the family circle 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 1157 
 
 yet remains unbroken. Thej-are as follows: Anna 
 C, J. V. Herbert, Harry L., Lillie E., Elmer and 
 Rosa v., all of whom are still under the parental 
 roof. In addition to his other business, Mr. Lar- 
 son is connected with the American Furniture 
 Company, which was organized with a capital 
 stock of $100,000. 
 
 W"^ 
 
 <| IfeORTMAN COMPTON. In the history of 
 jar late war, the name of our subject will 
 found as not having borne an unim- 
 portant part in that eventful struggle. He enlisted 
 August 9, 1862, for a three-years' service in Com- 
 pany D, Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry, and re- 
 mained with his regiment until the close of the 
 war. He is at the present time residing in the 
 city of Rockford, successfully engaged at his trade 
 of a carpenter and joiner. 
 
 Burnett Township, Somerset County, N. J., was 
 the native place of our subject, his birth occurring 
 July 27, 1830, he being the son of Reuben Comp- 
 ton, also a native of that State, where James Comp- 
 ton, the grandfather was born. The latter-named 
 gentleman was a farmer by calling, and spent his 
 entire life on a farm in Burnett Township. The 
 father of our subject bought the old homestead, 
 upon which he resided until 1857, when he sold it 
 and came to Winnebago County, purchasing a 
 tract of land in Owen Township, on which was a 
 small house and a few acres broken. He placed the 
 entire farm under good tillage, and made his home 
 upon it until 1875, when his decease occurred. His 
 wife, Mrs. Elizabeth (Powellson) Compton, was 
 also a native of Somerset County, N. J., and was 
 the daughter of John Powellson. She died on the 
 old farm in Owen Township, in 1884, having be- 
 come the mother of six sons and one daughter, 
 viz: Nathan, James, Mary, Wortman, Henry, Sam- 
 uel and John. 
 
 Samuel Compton, a brother of our subject, 
 served as a member of Company D, Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Infantry, and was killed in the battle of 
 Missionary Ridge, where he was color-bearer. John 
 was wounded at Pittsburg Landing, being a mem- 
 ber of the Fifteenth Illinois Infantry, and died 
 
 from the result of his wounds at the hospital at St. 
 Louis. Our subject participated in many of the 
 important battles of that period, being present at 
 Stone River, and was with Sherman on his Atlanta 
 campaign, engaging in the various battles of that 
 memorable march, including the siege and capture 
 of Atlanta. After the fall of that city, he was 
 under the command of Thomas in pursuit of the 
 Rebel Gen, Hood, and thus fought at the battles of 
 Franklin and Nashville. In the charge at Kene- 
 saw Mountain, Mr. Compton 's gun was broken in 
 his hand, in consequence of which he was slightly 
 wounded by a splinter, but with one other excep- 
 tion entirely escaped the fate of many a poor sol- 
 dier. At another time, while the command were 
 sleeping on the ground without even the shelter of 
 a tent, one of the horses broke loose and ran over 
 Mr. Compton, giving him a severe scalp wound. 
 He received his honorable discharge in Kentucky, 
 in June, 1865, and, returning home, resumed his 
 trade of a carpenter. 
 
 Our subject was reared in his native State, and 
 when eighteen years of age learned the trade of a 
 carpenter, serving as a journeyman for two years, 
 and in 1855 came to Illinois, and purchased twen- 
 ty-five acres of land in Harrison Township, Win- 
 nebago County, where he worked at his trade until 
 entering the army. In 1868, however, he sold 
 that farm and purchased the old homestead in 
 Owen Township, on which he erected a good set 
 of frame buildings, and otherwise improved the 
 farm, on which he resided until 1886, which was 
 the date of his coming to Rockford. 
 
 In November, 1852, Mr. Compton was married 
 to Mary Vanderhoof, a native of Somerset County, 
 N. J., and the daughter of Henry Vanderhoof, 
 who, as far as is known, was also born in New Jer- 
 sey. He died when Mrs. Compton was fourteen 
 months old. The maiden name of her mother 
 was Rachael Vail; her birth also occurred in the 
 above-named county and State. On the death of 
 Mr. Vanderhoof , she was married to Cornelius Van- 
 dyke, a patriot of the War of 1812. They came to 
 Illinois in 1860, settling in Winnebago County, 
 where the mother died at the home of Mrs. Comp- 
 ton. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born two 
 
1158 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 children, Agnes and Whitefleld. The daugliter is 
 the wife of Archibald Armstrong, to whom have 
 been born two children, Charles E. and Mary L. 
 Whitefleld married Nellie Johnson, and is the fa- 
 ther of four children: Maud B., Mabel C, John W. 
 and James 11. Mr. and Mrs. Compton are members 
 of the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church, 
 and our subject being a Grand Army man, is con- 
 nected with the Nevius Post No. 1. In polities, 
 he is a Republican. 
 
 
 
 eHRISTOPIIER MYERS. Among the many 
 enterprising and prominent citizens of Pec- 
 atonica will be noticed a number of retired 
 farmers, and it therefore gives us pleasure to men- 
 tion Mr. Myers, who rented his fine property and 
 removed to the village in 1887, where he has a 
 pleasant home and is surrounded bj' all that goes 
 to make life enjoyable. 
 
 A native of Germany, our subject was born in 
 Mecklenburg, April 23, 1843, being the son of John 
 and Elizabeth (Schoknecht) Myers, who hailed 
 from the Province of Mecklenburg. The father 
 came to the United States November 6, 1857, and 
 made his home for a time in Milwaukee, Wis., 
 whence he removed to Stephenson County, this 
 State, and passed his last days on his farm, dying 
 at the age of fifty-nine years. 
 
 Christopher Myers was one in a family of six 
 children born to his parents, only one of whom is 
 deceased. He remained at home until eight years 
 of age, when he was occupied for three 3-ears as a 
 shepherd boy, and three 3'ears more in watching 
 cattle. At the expiration of that time, he returned 
 home and soon afterward crossed the water to the 
 New World. He resided in Wisconsin until 1860, 
 when he came to Illinois and was employed in 
 working on farms by the month. He then rented 
 a tract, and on New Year's Day of 1868 was mar- 
 ried to Miss Ireni Atwood, who was born Novem- 
 ber 29, 1841, in Owen Township, Winnebago 
 County. The lady is a daughter of Patten and 
 Anna Atwood, of whom a sketch will be found in 
 another portion of this work. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Myers have been born eight 
 
 children, three of whom are living, namely: Mabel 
 A., whose birth occurred May 14, 1871; Walter C, 
 who was born April 14, 1879; Clifford P., who was 
 born July 2, 1880. 
 
 The first land of which our subject became the 
 owner was an eighty-acre tract, to which he later 
 added fifty-five acres, one hundred and fifty-one 
 and one hundred and twenty acres, at differ- 
 ent times. Ten acres of his estate is timber 
 land and twelve is city property, on the latter of 
 which is located his fine residence. He is deserv- 
 edly proud of his present financial standing, as he 
 commenced in life a poor boy and knows that his 
 accumulations have been the result of persistent 
 industrj' and wise management. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Myers aie attendants of the Con- 
 gregational Church, and in politics our subject is 
 a Republican, casting his first vote for U. S. Grant. 
 He is not interested in politics other than to cast 
 his ballot at election times. He is one of the en- 
 terprising men of the community and has stock in 
 a shoe factory, which is one of the leading indus- 
 tries of the village. In social matters, he is a Mason, 
 holding the office of Junior Warden in A. W. 
 Rawson Lodge No. 145. He is also connected with 
 the United Workmen and the Eureka Camp of 
 Modern Woodmen. 
 
 [=_ 
 
 "^ 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 H^AVID C. LEWIS. For many years the com- 
 I Jl mercial and agricultural interests of Win- 
 ^^ nebago County were prominently and suc- 
 cessfully represented by Mr. Lewis, who is now a 
 retired merchant residing in Winnebago. He is a na- 
 tive of the Buckeye State, and was born in Milan, 
 Huron County, February 4, 1823. His father, David, 
 was born in New England, and was a pioneer of 
 Ohio, where he located about 1820, residing for a 
 time at Sandusky, and removing thence to Milan. 
 From Ohio, the father of our subject removed 
 to the then Territory of Michigan, and resided at 
 Detroit for a time, thence returned to Milan, 
 Ohio, where he operated a distillery. In 1838, he 
 again sought a home in Michigan , and located in 
 St. Clair Countj^, where he died during the same 
 year. His wife, whose maiden name was Nancy 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1159 
 
 Champion, was born in New York State, the daugh- 
 ter ofSelden andHuldah (Hart) Champion. Her 
 first marriage united her with Stephen De Gate, 
 who died in St. Clair County. She came to Illi- 
 nois in 1846, and spent her last days in Winne- 
 bago County. 
 
 Orphaned by the death of his father when he 
 was fifteen, our subject gained a maintenance for 
 himself by fishing and trapping, and later engaged 
 in lumbering. He remained in Michigan until 
 1845, when, accompanied by his wife, he took 
 passage on a boat at Pt. Huron and sailed on 
 Lakes Huron and Michigan, landing at Racine, 
 whence he walked to Winnebago County. At that 
 time Roekford was a small village, and the sur- 
 rounding country was sparsely settled, some of the 
 land being in the possession of the Government. 
 For one year Mr. Lewis found employment upon a 
 farm, after which he worked at the carpenter's 
 trade for a short time. 
 
 In 1848, Mr. Lewis purchased eighty-five acres 
 of Government land, for which he paid $90, and, 
 locating there, he continued to follow his trade 
 while he hired men to cultivate the soil. In 1852, 
 he removed to Roekford and followed his trade 
 one year, later opened a restaurant, of whicii he 
 was the proprietor for one year, and then returned 
 to the farm. In 1860, he erected a building on 
 the corner of Main and Benton Streets, and for 
 twenty-six years was successfully engaged in mer- 
 cantile pursuits, building up a splendid reputation 
 as a reliable dealer and upright man. During a 
 portion of that time he was in partnership with 
 A. G. Rainey, but the remainder of the twentj'-six 
 years was alone. Meanwhile, he supervised his lum- 
 ber interests until 1876, when he sold out to Mr. 
 Parsons; and, in addition to other duties, was the 
 proprietor of the Winnebago Hotel for four years, 
 having altered and added to the hotel, which he 
 conducted under a highly improved management. 
 In 1891, he erected a brick block, the finest struc- 
 ture in the village, and, in addition to his city 
 property, is the owner of two good farms. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Lewis in 1845 united him 
 with Miss Lucy Burt, a native of London, Can- 
 ada, and they have two children: E. Chandler and 
 Etta H. The former married Etta Burgstresser; 
 
 and has five children: Mabel, Minnie, Grace, Stella 
 and Eddie. Etta married George Ades, and has 
 two children: Lewis and Floyd. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lewis are consistent members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and in his political affiliation he 
 is a Prohibitionist. Through the exercise of pru- 
 dence and industry he has arisen from a position 
 of poverty in his youth to one of affluence in his 
 declining years, and now, witli his estimable wife, 
 can enjoy all the comforts and many of the luxu- 
 ries of existence. 
 
 GUSTAF JERNBERG, a stockholder and 
 Director of the Roekford Manufacturing 
 Company, in which he has been pattern- 
 maker and mechanical draughtsman since the com- 
 pany was founded in 1890, has been a resident of 
 this city since 1878 and is one of its foremost cit- 
 izens. He began here in the last-named year for 
 the well-known manufacturer, N. C. Thompson, 
 with whom he continued eight years, and later 
 was with Savage & Love, with whom he remained 
 eighteen months. After this he embarked in the 
 pattern-making business on his own account. He 
 subsequently became connected as a stockholder 
 with the present company and has since invented 
 the Imperial Mower, which is manufactured exclu- 
 sively bj' this great manufacturing company. He 
 also owns a fine home at No. 301 South F'ourth 
 Street, designed and erected by his own hands, and 
 a well-improved farm of eighty acres, with build- 
 ings, on section 2, of Cherry Valley Township. 
 
 Sweden is his native land, and he was born in 
 Wester Moreland Province, on the 18th of March, 
 1849. He was there reared and educated, and was 
 taught his trade, serving an apprenticeship of a 
 few years. He, with his brother Eric, was the first 
 of the family to come to the States. The latter is 
 now married to Miss Christina Carlson, and is 
 cultivating the soil in New Milford Township. 
 The parents and other members of the family came 
 to this country in 1869, and located in Marquette 
 County, Mich., where they resided until 1875. 
 They then came to Illinois, settled in Milford Town- 
 
1160 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ship, Winnebago County, where the father, Jolin 
 E. Jernberg, died in 1888, when sixty-five years 
 of age. He was a Lutlieran in religion, and a 
 Republican in politics. His wife, who is still liv- 
 ing, and sixty-two years of age, finds a comfortable 
 home with her daughter, Mrs. John Odhner. She 
 is also a member of the First Lutheran Church. 
 
 Gustaf Jernberg, the second in order of birth of 
 eight children, five sons and three daughters, all 
 of whom are living and married but one son, was 
 a resident of Ishpeming, Mich., for ten years after 
 coming to the United States, and followed his 
 trade of pattern-maker. Just ten years after reach- 
 ing this country, he came to Rockford, and has 
 been a resident of this flourishing city since. He 
 was married in Chicago, 111., to Miss Axelina W. 
 Holmgren, who was born in Easter Gothland 
 Province, Sweden, November 8, 1857, and who 
 came to this country and settled in Marquette 
 County, Mich., with her parents in 1873. The 
 father, Andrew Holmgren, was born in Easter 
 Gothland, Sweden, as was also his mother, Anna 
 L. (Sjoberg) Holmgren, and after coming to Mich- 
 igan, they settled in the improved regions of that 
 State. There the father followed the occupation 
 of a mine mechanic. Later, they came to Rock- 
 ford, and here the father died when sixty-one 
 years of age and the mother, when fifty-four. 
 They were reared to the Lutheran faith. They 
 have one son, John Holmgren, who is a resident 
 of Traverse City, Mich. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jernberg's union has been blessed 
 by the birth of one daughter, Huldah V., who was 
 born December 25, 1878, and who is a cultivated 
 and refined young lady. 
 
 ^ ijfelLLIAM FORBES. There are few citi- 
 \aj// zens of Roclcford who are better known, 
 V^^ and ceitainly none are more highly es- 
 teemed, than Mr. Forbes, who occupies a pleasant 
 home at No. 1106 Rock Street, and is retired from 
 the active labors which occupied his close at- 
 tention in life's prime. Coming to this city 
 in 1854, he has since been closely identified 
 with its best interests and has watched with 
 
 keen sympathy its progress and development. 
 By industry and energy, and through years of la- 
 bor at his trade, that of a moulder, he accumu- 
 lated a goodly amount of this world's comforts 
 and is numbered among the prosperous citizens of 
 the place. 
 
 A native of Scotland, Mr. Forbes was born in 
 Perthshire, August 17, 1826, and belonged to a 
 worthy Scotch family, whose members figured ex- 
 tensively in the history of that country. His 
 father, Alex Forbes, lived and died in Perthshire, 
 his death occurring when he was about seventy 
 years old. By trade he was a weaver. He mar- 
 ried Miss Margaret Smith, who was born in the 
 Lowlands of Scotland, and who, surviving her 
 husband, emigrated to America, in company with 
 her children, in 1849. The voyage was made in 
 a sailing-vessel from Glasgow to New York City, 
 after which the family settled in New York Mills, 
 where the mother died at an advanced age. She 
 was a Presbyterian in religious convictions, and 
 her husband was also identified with that Church. 
 
 The family of which our subject is a member 
 consisted of seven sons and one daughter. The 
 last-named, the eldest in the family, makes her 
 home with our subject, and is now eighty-four 
 years old. The other children have passed away. 
 In his youth, "William Forbes served an appren- 
 ticeship to the trade of a moulder in a foundry at 
 Troy, N. Y., at the completion of which he came 
 to Rockford, and here established his permanent 
 home. He was married in New York City to Miss 
 Rebecca Henderson, who 'was born and reared in 
 Wilmington, Del., and died in Rockford in 1872, 
 at the age of fifty-two. At her demise she left 
 three children, namely : Mary, wife of Clark S. 
 Gilbert, a ranchman in California; Margaret, wife 
 of Frederick McPherson, a survej'or, who resides 
 in California ; and Alex, who is a moulder by 
 trade, and has charge of a foundry at San Fran- 
 cisco, Cal., his home being in Oakland, that State. 
 
 The second marriage of our subject took place 
 in this city, and united him with Mrs. Barbara 
 (Shaw) Barr, who was born in Argyleshiie, Scot- 
 land. She was first married to James Barr, an en- 
 gineer, who passed his entire life in Glasgow, dy- 
 ing there in the prime of life. After emigrating 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1161 
 
 •to the United States in 1871, Mrs. Barr came to 
 Rockford, and was here married to Mr. Forbes, in 
 1874. Of her first marriage one child survives, 
 James Barr, M. D., of Foley Springs, Ore. In 
 their religious connections, Mr. Forbes and his es- 
 timable wife are faithful members of the Presby- 
 terian Church, and, politically, he is a stanch ad- 
 herent of Republican principles. 
 
 For three years during the late war, Mr. Forbes 
 served in defense of the Union, enlisting as a 
 member of Company G, Second Illinois Light Artil- 
 lery, Col. Mathews commanding. For two years the 
 regiment was incorporated with the Army of the 
 Tennessee, and participated in many engagements, 
 among them those at Memphis and Vicksburg. 
 After serving with valor for three yeai-s, Mr. 
 Forbes was honorably discharged at Springfield, 
 and returned once more to his home in Rockford. 
 Since the war he has suffered greatly from rheu- 
 matism, caused by exposure on the battle-field, in 
 carap, and during long marches, and receives a 
 pension as a slight compensation for services ren- 
 dered the Government. His war record is one of 
 which his descendants and friends may justly feel 
 proud, and his conduct in affairs of civic life has 
 been characterized by equal fidelity and honor. 
 
 ^^EORGE W. WUNDER, who is now living 
 11 '^ ^ retired life in his pleasant home at No. 
 ^yi) 610 State Street, Rockford, was born on 
 the 4th of July, 1827, in Bavaria, Germany, and 
 is a son of Michael and Louisa (Karner) Wunder. 
 His father was a German farmer and died at the 
 age of sixtj'-three years. His wife died in 1886, 
 at the age of eighty-four, and up to the time of 
 lier death was bright and active. Both were 
 members of the Methodist Church. They had 
 only two sons, our subject and Martin, who is 
 six years his junior, and now owns and occupies 
 the old homestead in Bavaria. 
 
 George W. Wunder spent the days of his boy- 
 liood and youth in his native land, but at length 
 determined to try his fortune in the New World, 
 and on the 28th of August, 1854, landed in New 
 York, having crossed the Atlantic from Bremen 
 
 on a sailing-vessel, which after forty-two days 
 reached its destined port. In 1884, he returned 
 to his native land on a visit, but is well content 
 that his home is in America, for he has here met 
 with prosperity. He had only $5 in his pocket 
 when he reached Chicago to which he came imme- 
 diately after landing in the" United States, and 
 thus almost empty-handed, he began life in the 
 New World, but has worked his way up to a 
 position of affluence. 
 
 It was in December, 1859, in Chicago, that Mr. 
 Wunder formed a matrimonial alliance with Miss 
 Louisa Cattley, who was born in the Canton of 
 Berne, Switzerland, and came to the United States 
 in 1854. To her husband she had proved a true 
 helpmate and faithful companion. They have 
 one child, a daughter, Carrie, now the wife of 
 B>itz Spahr. He is also a native of the Canton of 
 Berne, Switzerland. In that country, he grew to 
 manhood and learned the trade of a jeweler. 
 When a young man, he came to America in 1877, 
 and for five years was employed in the watch 
 factories of this city, since which time he has been 
 engaged in the saloon business on East State 
 Street. Pie and his wife reside with Mrs. Spahr's 
 parents. 
 
 After residing in Chicago for two years, Mr. 
 Wunder came to Rockford in 1856, and for some 
 time was engaged in the lumber business, after 
 which he engaged in farming in Rockford Town- 
 ship on his own account. At length, he returned 
 to the city, and did business for the old lumber 
 firm, in whose employ he had formerly been, and 
 to that work devoted his energies until 1860, when 
 he went to California by way of New York and 
 the Isthmus of Panama. In that State he engaged 
 in business for some years and was quite success- 
 ful, but failing health caused him to return, and 
 in 1864 we again find him in Rockford. He then 
 rented land for some years, and with the money 
 saved during that time he began dealing m sand. 
 Two years later, he embarked in the dairy busi- 
 ness, to which he devoted his energies for four 
 years, when he sold out and for two years lived 
 retired. Subsequently, he was engaged in buying 
 and shipping horses, and in 1876 became a whole- 
 sale dealer in beer and also did a retail bottling 
 
1162 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 business, which he carried on until 1890. Ills ef- 
 forts being crowned with success, and thereby ac- 
 quiring considerable capital, lie is now enabled 
 to live a retired life, resting in the enjoyment of 
 the fruits of his former toil. In politics, he is a 
 Democrat and is a member of the German ia So- 
 ciety. 
 
 bHERON G. PIERPONT. Nowhere can 
 more beautiful farms be found than in the 
 Prairie State, and no sections of it are any 
 more attractive than Winnebago County. On 
 section 20, Rockford Township, lies a body of 
 land comprising one hundred and sixty productive 
 acres, which, under the hand of a progressive and 
 intelligent farmer, produce abundantly. 
 
 Mr. Pierpont had his birth in North Haven, 
 Conn., April 21, 1851, and his father, Guy Pier- 
 pont, who was also a native of that State and 
 place, was the son of Giles and Sallie (Bassett) 
 Pierpont. The father of our subject was reared 
 and educated in the Nutmeg State, and came West 
 to Winnebago County in 1857, where he purchased 
 a farm two miles from the Court House, and there 
 resided unlil his death. His wife, prior to her 
 marriage, was known as Jerusha Gay lord; she was 
 also a native of Connecticut and is at present 
 residing in Rockford. 
 
 The original of this sketch was six years of age 
 when he accompanied his parents on their re- 
 moval to the Prairie State, and, after receiving 
 his primary education in the district school, at- 
 tended a select school taught by Prof. Lownsbury. 
 Theron S. was reared to farm life and has, since 
 coming to Illinois, lived on the old homestead. 
 He was married, in 1878, to Helen M. Blakeman, 
 who was born in Stratford, Conn., and was the 
 daughter of Benjamin Blakeman, also a native of 
 that State. 
 
 The two children comprising the household of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Pierpont are Birdseye B. and Elea- 
 nore (twins). The parents are influential mem- 
 bers of the Second Congregational Church, and in 
 his political relations our subject votes the Re- 
 publican ticket. The father of Mi-s. Pierpont, 
 
 Benjamin Blakeman, was born in Stratford, Fair- 
 field County, Conn., and was a son of Treat and 
 Annie (Birdseye) Blakeman. Her father came to 
 Illinois in 1856, and, locating in Rockford, has 
 since been prominently identified with its busi- 
 ness interests, being now President of the Blake- 
 man & Dobson Manufacturing Company. The 
 maiden name of the mother was Caroline Fair- 
 child, who was also a native of the same State and 
 county as was her husband. Mrs. Pierpont fin- 
 ished her education at Vassar College, at Pough- 
 keepsie, after graduating at the High School of 
 Rockford. 
 
 jTU^NUT BELTING, a successful dealer in 
 '^^ veal estate, is a gentleman of thorough 
 v^ experience in that line, both as a means of 
 speculation and permanent investment. 
 He came to Rockford in 1882, established a cigar 
 store and news stand on a capital of. 120, was 
 very successful, and his valuation at the present 
 time is $10,000. He owns a fine double business 
 house with flats above, at the corner of Fourteenth 
 Avenue and Ninth Street, also some good resi- 
 dence propertj', and has in process a new business 
 building fronting on Fourteenth Street, where he 
 owns seventeen valuable lots, all in a growing- 
 part of the cit}'. Mr. Belting is a man full of en- 
 ergy and business, and his prospects for the future 
 are very bright. He owns stock in the Rockford 
 Manufacturing Company, was a promoter of the 
 Skandia Exchange, and is a public-spirited, enter- 
 prising citizen. 
 
 Mr. Belting was born near Skona, Sweden, Octo- 
 ber 26, 1854, attained his growth there, and was 
 engaged as an employe in a grain-dealing estab- 
 lishment at Helsingborg, where he remained for a 
 number of years. Subsequentl}', he went to Stock- 
 holm, where, for a number of years, he was super- 
 intendent of the largest bakery of the place, it 
 being the one that baked the bread for the royal 
 family. He was thus engaged for four years and 
 then became a commission merchant. He met with 
 much success, but the collapse came and he, with 
 others, lost all. One month later, he concluded to 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1163 
 
 try his fortune in a new country, and in 1882 he 
 sailed for the United States, landing in Philadel- 
 phia in May of that year. From there he went to 
 Chicago, III., and thence to Michigan afew months 
 later; after a short experience in lumber camps of 
 that State, he came to Rockford, where he started in 
 the tobacco and news-dealer business, as above men- 
 tioned. He is a self-made man, and all his accu- 
 mulations are the result of hard work and perse- 
 verance on his part. He is the only member of 
 Ills family now in this country, and has no rela- 
 tive here on either side. 
 
 His father, Carl Belting, died in Sweden in 
 1875, but the mother is still living on the old 
 home place in her native country, and is now over 
 sixty years of age. She has been a life-long mem- 
 ber of the State Church, and her husband was also 
 a devout member of that church. She has four 
 children in Sweden, two sons and two daughters, 
 viz.: Nils, married, and is a dry-goods merchant; 
 Rev. Eric, a preacher in the Lutheran Baptist 
 Church, single; Johanna, wife of Manges Lichtie, 
 who is Principal in the High School at Lund; and 
 Botilda, single, at home. 
 
 Our subject selected his wife in the person of 
 Miss Hilda C. Palmgren, a native of Sweden, born 
 in 1862, and their nuptials were celebrated in that 
 country. She was the only one of her ia.m'dy to 
 come to the United States. Their union has been 
 blessed by the birth of four children: Elvira V., 
 Edwin B., Knut and Harold. 
 
 Iilt»il> bi >!■ 
 
 I I ( I ( 
 
 >)HOUR MUNTHE, a successful real-estate 
 dealer and insurance agent, doing business 
 at No. 519 East State Street, Rockford, was 
 born in the province of Smoland, Sweden, January 
 14, 1847, and comes of a good family, who trace 
 their ancestry back through a long line of nobility 
 to the ninth century. His father, Victor Mun the, 
 spent his entire life in Sweden , dying at the age of 
 fifty-five years. He was a prominent citizen of 
 his native province and the owner of a large estate. 
 His father was Judge of the province of Smoland. 
 The mother of our subject is still living and makes 
 her home at the city of Stockholm, at the age of 
 
 seventy-one. She has been a life-long member of 
 the Lutheran Church, as was also her husband. 
 Two sisters of the family are still living in Sweden: 
 Hedvig, wife of Lieut. Edward Brietholtz, of Smol- 
 and, a Lieutenant in the standing army, and Ma- 
 tilda, wife of Carl Sunblade, a successful merchant 
 of Stockholm. 
 
 Our subject is the only son of the family. The 
 days of his boyhood and j'outh were spent in his 
 native land, and when a young man he sailed 
 from Gottenburg to New York City, whence 
 he came to the West. He made his first location 
 in Chicago and afterward went to Michigan, where 
 he worked for a time and then came to Rockford 
 in 1868. He was married in this city to Miss 
 Maria Peterson, who was born, reared and educated 
 in Smoland. With her parents, she came to this 
 country, the family locating in Rockford, where 
 Niles and Christina Peterson now reside. They 
 are members of the Mission Lutheran Church. Mr. 
 Peterson is a tailor and followed that business for 
 a number of years but is now living a retired life. 
 
 When a young man, Mr. Munthe had learned 
 the trade of a glove and mitten maker and to that 
 work devoted his attention for some years. For 
 twelve years after coming to Rockford he was con- 
 nected with the H. W. Price Glove and Mitten 
 Company, being foreman of the large business dur- 
 ing the latter half of the time. He then estab- 
 lished the Rockford Mitten and Hosiery Company, 
 doing business alone for two years, when a com- 
 pany was incorporated and he continued a member 
 of the firm for three years. On account of failing 
 health, he then sold out and went to Oregon, and 
 for three years engaged in business as a tanner and 
 glove maker in the city of Portland. He then re- 
 turned to Rockford and during the past two years 
 has been successfully engaged in business as a real- 
 estate and insurance agent and Notary Public. He 
 is agent for the Nelson Addition to Rockford and 
 is one of the owners of the River View Addition. 
 His business career has been a successful one and 
 he is now one of the prosperous citizens of Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Munthe have been born four 
 children: Oakey V., who is working at the machin- 
 ist trade in the Nelson machine shops ; Fritz W., 
 
1164 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ida M. and Steena M. The parents are both niem- 
 bers of the Congregational Church, and Mr. 
 Munthe is a Royal Arch Mason of Rockford. He 
 has long been a supporter of the Republican party 
 and an ardent worker in its interests and has 
 served as Alderman of the Sixth Ward for two 
 years. 
 
 \\r^ AYMER SARVER is a farmer of large ex- 
 lUir perience. great capability in managing his 
 affairs and is considered one of the most 
 ^^suceessful of the well-to-do agriculturists of 
 Dur'and, who are active in pushing forward the 
 material interests of Winnebago County. Mr. 
 Sarver is residing on section 33, and is the son of 
 Henry and Eleanor (Houk) Sarver. He was born 
 in Harrison Township, this county, December 3, 
 1849, and was reared to farm pursuits, which call- 
 ing he has made his life work. 
 
 He of whom we write and Miss Lois Campbell 
 were united in marriage December 29, 1875. The 
 latter was born in this township, March 17, 1857, 
 and is the daughter of David Samuel Campbell, 
 whose native place was Grand Isle, Lake Cham- 
 plain, Vt. and the date thereof March 24, 
 1815. He was a son of Samuel and Grace (Plum) 
 Campbell, the former of whom .was born October 8, 
 1762, and the latter March 24, 1775. Mrs. Grace 
 Campbell was a daughter of Samuel Plum and was 
 married in 1793. The Campbells are of Scotch 
 ancestry. 
 
 Our subject's maternal grandfather was a lad of 
 twelve years when his mother die<l, he being the 
 ninth in order of birth in a family of ten children, 
 his brothers and sisters being Philura, who was 
 born February 24, 1794, married John Blake and 
 died in this township, July 24, 1884; Lucinda, 
 who was born February 27, 1796, married Kinsley 
 nines and died at her home in Chicago, February 
 9, 1868; Martha, who was born February 1, 1797, 
 became the wife of a Mr. Ferguson; William, who 
 was born February 13, 1799, was drowned while 
 residing in Vermont in 1833; Samuel, who was 
 born July 6, 1801, departed this life at St. Albans, 
 Vt, September 1, 1871; Zeno, who was born March 
 
 7, 1808, died in Fairfax, Vt, December 31, 1891; 
 Zimri, who was born July 7, 1810, was residing in 
 Rock County, Wis., at the time of his death in 
 May 1860; Zeri, was born February 7, 1812, and 
 Jeremiah, who was born April 5, 1818, died in this 
 township, April 25, 1884. 
 
 After the death of his mother, David S. Camp- 
 bell went to New York State and lived with an 
 uncle, William Campbell, where he learned the 
 trade of a potter, and at odd times worked on the 
 farm. In 1836, he came to Illinois, and locating 
 one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 33, 
 Durand Township, he improved the same, and when 
 twenty-four yeai's of age returned to Vermont, 
 where, February 16, 1840, he was married. With 
 his young bride, Mr. Campbell started for his new 
 home, landing at his claim April 28, 1840. Here 
 he resided until 1885, during which time he became 
 the proprietor of three hundred broad acres and 
 then traded farms with Mr. Sarver, his son-in-law, 
 where he is residing at the present time. His wife 
 died October 31, 1891, after having become the 
 mother of six children, two of whom died when 
 young. Adelaide L. was born January 11, 1841, 
 and died October 28, 1844. Zeno A. was born 
 January. 14, 1843, and died October 31, 1891. 
 Adeline A. was born January 30, 1847, married 
 D. J. Stewart, Jr., and resides in Rockford. Arba 
 Zeri was born November 27, 1852, and makes his 
 home in Pecatonica Township. Lois I., the next 
 in order of birth, is the wife of our subject. Earl 
 D., born January 1, 1861, died eight days later. 
 
 The Republican party claims our subject as one 
 of its most active workers. He has been Assessor 
 of Durand Township since its organization and is 
 consequently the oldest Assessor in the county if 
 not in the State. He was one of the organizers of 
 the Durand Fire Insurance Company and was 
 active in all measures which tended to promote 
 the best welfare of his communitj\ Socially, he 
 is a member of the United Workmen. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Campbell are Spiritualists in belief. 
 
 After his marriage, the original of this sketcli 
 located on section 34 of this township, where 
 he owned ninty-five acres of good land, which in 
 1885 he traded for his present farm, wliich com- 
 prises two hundred and twenty broad acres. To 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1165 
 
 our subject and his wife have been granted a 
 family of six children: Milford, who was born 
 May 1, 1879, died on the 27th of that month 
 and year; Wesley Martin, bom May 15, 1880; 
 David Floyd, born August 31, 1883; Harry, Jan- 
 uary 8, 1886; Ray Vaughan, born January 30, 1887, 
 died January 17 of that year, and Carl "Walton 
 was born April 28, 1891. 
 
 Mrs. Sarver's mother, whose maiden name was 
 Erixna Barker, was born in Swanton,Vt., February 
 10, 1823 and was the daughter of Asa and MoUie 
 (Marrs) Barker, both of whom were born in 1781. 
 The parents resided in Swanton until early in 
 the '40s, then came to Illinois and made settle- 
 ment in Laona Township, where the father died 
 May 14, 1869, being preceded to the land bej'ond 
 by the mother, whose demise occurred in 1864. 
 Asa and Mollie Barker were the parents of eleven 
 children, ten of whom lived to be over sixty-five 
 years of age. They bear the respective names of 
 Nancy B., Edwin N., Harriet, Elvin, Garrard, 
 Schuyler, Arba, Miranda L., Norman D., Erixna 
 and Eliza L. 
 
 .j=i®; 
 
 !>-^<i 
 
 pjijARTON B. GATES, who at present makes 
 1^ his home in Rockton Township, Winne- 
 bago County, is largelj' interested in the 
 limekiln at Rockton, where Mr. Gates, 
 with his characteristic energy, push and fair deal- 
 ing, has built up a fine and paying business, hav- 
 ing had full eliarge of it for some years. The bed 
 of lime rock is the best of rock and seemingly inex- 
 haustible. With their present capacity of two 
 large and improved kilns, they burn from one 
 hundred and forty thousand to one hundred and 
 fifty thousand bushels of lime per year, for which 
 they have a convenient market at the paper mills 
 here and in Beloit. 
 
 A native of Macomb County, Mich., our subject, 
 who was born November 7, 1832, is the son of 
 Gideon and Lucy (Blinn)' Gates. The parents 
 were natives of Wethersfield, Conn., and soon 
 after their marriage went to Bloomfield, N. Y., 
 where they were keeping hotel at the time of the 
 Morgan (Masonic) excitement. They later came to 
 
 Michigan during the pioneer days of that State 
 and ranked among the well-to-do citizens of Ma- 
 comb County. The parental pamily included four 
 sons and three daughters, the eldest being born in 
 New York in 1812, and the remainder of the fam- 
 ily being born on a farm near Romeo, Michigan. 
 In 1843, the father moved to the village, where the 
 children were given the advantages of the com- 
 mon schools, and where Mr. Gates was one of the 
 first teachers in the school house, which he had 
 helped to erect. 
 
 In 1854 and 1855, Gideon Gates came to Rock- 
 ton, this county, where he purchased five hundred 
 acres of land, known as the Gibson farm, for 
 which he paid tl3,500. The following spring his 
 wife, with the family, which included Wilber B., 
 our subject, John B. and Hubert B., came to the 
 new home. The initial B., which accompanies the 
 names of several of the children, stood for Blinn, 
 the mother being desirous to perpetuate her 
 maiden name. Of the family, two are now de- 
 ceased: Jane, who had married Mr. L. D. Owen, 
 passed away at Romeo, Mich., in 1882, and Wilbur, 
 who was born in New York State, died in November, 
 1889, aged seventy-seven years. Hubert is living 
 retired in Owosso, Mich.; John is a farmer in Oak- 
 land County, that State. The parents died when 
 ripe in years, the father in 1864 and the mother in 
 1866. 
 
 Barton B. Gates was married when twenty-three 
 years of age in Brighton, Mich., to Miss Ellen 
 Bingham, the date of the ceremony being January 
 9, 1865. The lady was born in England, and was 
 a daughter of Allen and Johanna (McColliff) 
 Bingham. In the fall of 1867, Mr. and Mrs. Gates 
 removed to Rockton Village, this county, where 
 the mother of the latter died, February 14, 1874, 
 and the father in July, 1881, at the respective ages 
 of sixty-four and seventy-six years. 
 
 Our subject was engaged in the grocery business 
 for a time in Rockton, but later disposed of it, 
 and in company with J. W. Cowles embarked in 
 the milling business, bu3'ing the Rockton Stone 
 Mill, for which they paid $16,000. This they en- 
 larged, adding two run of stone to the four which 
 the mill already possessed, and were successfully 
 engaged in that line of business until April, 1879, 
 
1166 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 when it was destroyed by fire. While thus en- 
 gaged, Mr. Gates and his partner obtained jointly 
 a one-third interest in the limekiln then owned 
 by parties of Lanark, Carroll County. Our sub- 
 ject later bought out his partner's interest, and has 
 since continued to manage affairs in company with 
 his partners at Lanark. 
 
 He of whom we write has held the office of 
 Commissioner of Highways for the past twenty- 
 three years. His wife is a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church, but he is pledged to no religious 
 denomination. 
 
 
 
 H^RANK I. WINNE, of Belvidere, was born 
 lo!®) ^^ ^^^ town of Bethlehem, Albany County, 
 ll^ N. Y., on the 12th of April, 1832. The 
 
 family is of Dutch descent. The grandparents 
 of our subject, Henry and Sarah (Groosbeek) 
 Winne, spent their entire lives in Albany County 
 as farming people. The father of our subject, 
 John H. Winne, was also a native of- Albany 
 County. He learned the trade of a shoemaker 
 and followed that occupation some years. In 1852, 
 he left his home in the East and emigrated to 
 Boone County, 111., purchasing land in the town 
 of Spring, where he engaged in farming for some 
 years. He afterwards moved to Butler County, 
 Iowa, and purchased a farm upon which he spent 
 his last days. He married Christina Winne, who, 
 though of the same name, was uo relation. She 
 was born in the town of Bethlehem, as were her 
 father and grandfather, Francis and Adam Winne. 
 Her death occurred in Butler County, Iowa, on 
 the home farm about 1877, passing away eleven 
 j'ears before her husband was called to his final 
 rest. 
 
 We now take up the personal history of our 
 subject, who spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth under the parental roof, and was early in- 
 ured to the labors of the farm. He remained at 
 home until his marriage in August, 1862, when 
 MissKeziah Sager became his wife. She was born 
 in Greene County, N. Y., July 5, 1832, and was a 
 daughter of Garrett W. and Elizabeth (Winne) 
 Sager. Her grandparents, William and Hannah 
 
 (Brunk) Sager, spent their entire lives in Al- 
 bany County, N. Y., where Garrett W. was born 
 and reared. In the town of Bethlehem he married 
 Miss Winne, also a native of that county. They 
 removed to Athens, Greene County, where he pur- 
 chased a farm and made his home until 1852, 
 when he came with his family to Illinois, locating 
 in the town of Spring, Boone County. Purchas- 
 ing a farm, he made his home thereon for some 
 years, and on selling out came to Belvidere. He 
 spent his last days in the home of our subject, his 
 death occurring in June, 1876. His wife survived 
 him only a short time, passing away on the 8th of 
 November, 1876. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Winne began their domestic life 
 upon rented land, and then purchased a farm in 
 Belvidere Township, where they made their home 
 for two years. They then came to the city of 
 Belvidere, where they have since resided. They 
 are highly respected people of this community and 
 well deserve representation in the history of their 
 adopted county. Socially, Mr. Winne is a mem- 
 ber of Belvidere Lodge No. 152, A. O. U. W., 
 and in his political affiliations is a Democrat. 
 
 l^+^[ 
 
 Lr^ si! 
 
 [Robert SWAIL, who is extensively en- 
 gaged in ■ the cultivation of small fruits, 
 making a specialty of strawberries and 
 ^) raspberries, is residing on a pleasant farm 
 in Flora Township, Boone County. He was born at 
 Longucuil opposite Montreal, Canada, November 1) 
 1835. His father, John Swail, was born in Cumber- 
 land County, England, and the grandfather, Will- 
 iam Swail, came from Westmoreland County, Eng- 
 land. 
 
 The great-grandfather of our subject also bore 
 the name of William and like his son was born in 
 Westmoreland, England, where he was reared and 
 married. In early life, he went to the West Indies 
 and was never after heard from. His wife was 
 left in England and lived to be over one hundred 
 years of age. The grandfather of our subject was 
 the only son of his parents and was reared to man- 
 hood in Westmoreland. He was married to Mary 
 Borbeck, a daughter of very wealthy parents, who 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1167 
 
 disowned her because of her marriage with Mr. 
 Swail. The couple resided in Cumberland County 
 until 1839 and then with their three sons and two 
 daughters emigrated to America and located on a 
 farm on Mt. Royal. The grandfather was very 
 successful in all his undertakings and at the time 
 of his decease was in good circumstances. The five 
 children included in their family were named re- 
 spectively: Ann, Sarah, Rachel, John and William. 
 
 John Swail, the father of our subject, when 
 reaching mature years commanded a ferry boat 
 plying between Montreal and Longueuil. He later, 
 however, located on a farm at Mt. Royal and spent 
 the remainder of his days there. His wife bore 
 the maiden name of Esther Hannah; she was born 
 in County Monaghan, Ireland and spent her last 
 days on the home farm in Canada. Robert of this 
 sketch pursued his early studies in the public 
 schools at Longueuil and later was a student in the 
 select school at Montreal. "When nineteen years of 
 age, he coinmenced farming on his father's estate 
 and continued to be so employed until 1860, when 
 he came to Boone County. In the fall of that 
 year, he went to New Orleans, where he remained 
 until the outbreak of the Civil War. His sym- 
 pathies being with the North, Mr. Swail returned 
 to Boone County .-ind located on the farm he now 
 occupies on section 3, Flora Township. 
 
 Robert Swail was married, November 27, 1861, 
 to Harriet Feakins, who was born in Cherry Val- 
 ley, Otsego County, N. Y., May 19, 1841. Her fa- 
 ther, William Feakins, was born in London, Eng- 
 land and came to America after reacliing his ma- 
 jority. He was married in Cherry Valley, N. Y., 
 where he lived until 1856 and then, coming to 
 Boone County, located in Belvidere Township, 
 and was engaged in farming until his death. He 
 had married Catherine Allen, a native of Cherry 
 Valley, N. Y., and who now lives in Belvidere. 
 
 A family of eleven children have been granted 
 our subject and his wife, namely: Sarah, Esther, 
 Alice, Charles, William, Mabel, Frank, Archibald, 
 Bertha, Ida and Hazel. Mr. Swail is liberal in his 
 religious views, while his wife and three daughters 
 are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 He is a Democrat in politics and actively interested 
 in all township aflfairs. He was engaged in general 
 53 
 
 farming for about twenty years, then finding that 
 he could realize handsome returns from raising 
 vegetables, he has since been extensively engaged 
 in that branch of agriculture. His farm is pleas- 
 antly located three and one-half miles from Belvi- 
 dere and is improved and operated in a manner 
 which indicates the enterprise of its owner. 
 
 '^ OHN H. LARSON is a representative and 
 well-to-do farmer and stock-raiser of Win- 
 nebago County, residing on section 355 
 
 Guilford Township. That farm has been 
 
 his home for five years but his residence in this 
 county covers a period of almost twenty. Like 
 many of his fellow-townsmen, he is of Swedish 
 birth. He was born in the province of Skona, on 
 the 12th of April, 1856, and in the usual manner 
 of farmer lads was reared to manhood, no event of 
 special importance occurring during his youth. In 
 company with his brother, Peter Larson, whose 
 sketch appears elsewhere in this work, he had 
 formed a desire to seek a home in the New World 
 and together the young men crossed the Atlantic 
 to America. It was an important day for them 
 when they had thus determined, for they have here 
 met with prosperity and found pleasant homes. 
 They are active and energetic people, well deserv- 
 ing the success which has crowned their efforts. 
 
 As a companion and helpmate on life's journey 
 Mr. Larson chose Miss Anna G. Oberg, their union 
 being celebrated in Rockford. The lady was born 
 in Sweden, in 1863, and when quite young came 
 with her parents to the United States, and located 
 in Rockford. A sketch of her father, John P. 
 Oberg, is given on another page of this work. 
 Mrs. Larson is the eldest living child of the family. 
 She was reared in Rockford, acquired her educa- 
 tion in the city schools and is an intelligent and 
 estimable lady, who has indeed proved a true help- 
 mate to her husband. Their union has been 
 blessed with five children, four of whom are yet 
 living: George H., Flora 0., Grace M. R. and John. 
 Arthur A. died in childhood. 
 
 Mr. Larson began work in this country as a 
 
1168 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 miner in Marquette County, Mich., where he was 
 employed for eighteen months. At the expiration 
 of that time, he began farming in Flint County, 
 Mich., and in the spring of 1873 came toRockford. 
 Since that time, he has been a resident of Winne- 
 bago County and has made farming bis chief oc- 
 cupation in this locality. About five years ago, 
 he purchased his present farm and now owns and 
 operates one hundred and twenty' acres of valuable 
 land, which pays a golden tribute to the care and 
 cultivation he bestows upon it. His success in life 
 has all been due to his own efforts and his posses- 
 sions are as a monument to his thrift and enter- 
 prise. In connection with general farming, he 
 engages in stock-raising and is succeeding admir- 
 ablj-. Mr. Larson is recognized as a public-spir- 
 ited and progressive citizen and manifests a 
 commendable interest in all that pertains to the 
 welfare of the county and its upbuilding. In pol- 
 itics, he is a stalwart Republican, and himself and 
 wife are members of the First Lutheran Church. 
 
 V 
 
 <^ /i^ARREN H. GRAVES. Since settling upon 
 the farm ou section 15, Rockton Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, Mr. Graves has 
 devoted himself assiduously to its cultivation, with 
 so much success that the estate is now one of the 
 best in the county. At the time of its purchase 
 for $2,100, it was improved by a small house and 
 thatched shed, and comprised a quarter of the sec- 
 tion, but the residence has been enlarged until it 
 is now a commodious and conveniently arranged 
 abode, while in 1883 a barn was erected, 42x60 
 feet in dimensions. The original purchase has 
 been added to until now the farm includes two 
 hundred and thirty-three acres, and the neat ap- 
 pearance of buildings and highly-cultivated soil' 
 give evidence of the thrift and progressive spirit 
 of the owner. 
 
 Mr. Graves was born in Hoosick Falls, Rensse- 
 laer County, N. Y., October 29, 1839. There is no 
 definite record of the progenitors of this family 
 prior to David Graves, who was born of English 
 parentage, October 5, 1728, and passed his entire 
 life in New England. His grandson, Timothy 
 
 Graves, engaged as a tiller of the soil in Connec- 
 ticut, where his son, also named Timothy, was 
 born, January 1, 1754. The latter emigrated from 
 the Nutmeg State to New York in an early day, 
 and settled on a farm in Rensselaer County, where 
 his son, Timothy, Jr., was born in August, 1803. 
 
 The mother of our subject was Frances, daugh- 
 ter of William and Jerusha (Rich) Thomas, and 
 was born November 15, 1810. She died March 4, 
 1849, leaving two children, our subject and Fran- 
 ces E., the widow of Charles Piatt, and a resident 
 of Wichita, Kan. Afterward, the father of our 
 subject was a second time married, choosing as his 
 wife Miss Margaret A., daughter of Jacob and 
 Christine Stover, of Pittstown, Rensselaer County, 
 N. Y. Mrs. Margaret A. Graves was descended 
 from German ancestors on her father's side, and 
 was born February 26, 1820. She became the wife 
 of Timothy Graves, Jr., November 6, 1851, and 
 unto them were born two children: Jacob A. and 
 Hattie A., the former a farmer residing on the old 
 homestead and the latter a teacher by profession. 
 Timothy Graves, Jr., died May 31, 1881, aged sev- 
 enty-eight years. His widow resides on the old 
 homestead at Hoosick. 
 
 After gaining a good education in the academy 
 near his home, our subject left the parental roof 
 to respond to his country's call for defenders of 
 the old flag, and enlisting at Hoosick in June, 1861, 
 became a member of Company H, Thirtieth New 
 York Infantry. In the first engagement of the reg- 
 iment, which was at the second Battle of Bull 
 Run, he was incapacitated for duty for three 
 months by having his left thumb shot ofi". At tlie 
 close of the term of service, he was honorably dis- 
 charged, in June, 1863, and returned to his home 
 in the Empire State. He got a pension of $8 per 
 month from the Government. 
 
 In the fall of 1866, Mr. Graves removed to Illi- 
 nois, and for a time was employed on the farm of 
 J. P. Farnsworth. January 21, 1867, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Clara A. Farnsworth, who was born 
 in Eaton, Province of Quebec, September 27, 1832. 
 Her father, Samuel, died at the age of sixty-six 
 years, and her mother, whose maiden name was Tab- 
 itha Barlow, died in April, 1869, at the age of 
 seventy-four, leaving eight children, of whom Mrs. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1169 
 
 Graves is the youngest. Hon. John F. Farnsworth, 
 of Washington, D. C, a cousin of Mrs. Graves, 
 was a General in the late war, and ii member of 
 Congress from St. Charles, 111., for ten years. Gen. 
 E. J. Farnsworth, her second cousin, was a Briga- 
 dier-General in the Civil War, and was mortally 
 wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. 
 
 After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Graves set- 
 tled on the farm where they still reside, and to the 
 improvement of which they have devoted their 
 energies. They have two surviving children, and 
 lost two in infancy. Walter T., the only son, re- 
 ceived a good education at the academy, and is a 
 young man of sturdy integrity and unusual me- 
 chanical genius. Nettie C. is a student in tte 
 Rockton schools, and is an accomplished young 
 lady. Politically, Mr. Graves is a Republican. 
 He and his wife attend the Congregational Church, 
 although Mrs. Graves was reared in the Episcopal 
 faith. In addition to general farming, Mr. Graves 
 devoted considerable attention to stock-raising, 
 and is successful at that occupation. He usually 
 keeps fifteen or twenty cows on the place, and sells 
 the milk to the cheese factories. He is a man of 
 honor and commendable public spirit, and his posi- 
 tion is among the most progressive farmers of the 
 community. 
 
 4^ 
 
 W? AMES KELLY. To have the esteem of one's 
 fellowmen, and especially of those who know 
 you most intimately, is a worth}' ambition 
 
 in the breast of any honorable man. We 
 
 may truly say that Mr. Kelly has attained this high 
 place, as he has held the office of Assessor of Cale- 
 donia Township, Boone County, for eighteen years. 
 He is well spoken of by all who know him and has 
 attained a broad and true friendship with many. 
 He engaged in agricultural pursuits on section 15, 
 Caledonia Township, and is one whose ability, en- 
 ergy and enterprise have made him prominent and 
 prosperous. 
 
 A native of Scotland, our subject was born 
 July 17, 1826 in Argyleshire, while his father, 
 John, and his grandfather, James Kelly, were born 
 in Argyleshire. The grandfather of our subject 
 
 was a farmer and spent his entire life in his native 
 land, as also did his wife, who bore the name of 
 Euphemia McDonald. John Kelly was reared to 
 manhood in Scotland, where he was married and 
 followed farming until 1852, when he emigrated to 
 the New World and located in Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 The maiden name of his wife wa? Mary Kelly, also 
 a native of the same shire as was her husband, and 
 the daughter of Donald and Barbara Kelly. She sur- 
 vived her husband many years and departed this 
 life at the home of her son, Duncan S., in Caledonia 
 Township, this count}'. 
 
 Our subject was the fourth in order of birth of 
 a large family of children, his brothers and sis- 
 ters being Barbara, Agnes, Mary, John, Jennette, 
 Charles, Jane, Duncan and Marion. He remained 
 in his native land until 1860, when in June of that 
 year he set sail from Glasgow on the vessel "Sarah" 
 and landed in New York after a voyage of five 
 weeks and six days. He went immediately to Ohio 
 and, locating in Washington County, commenced 
 working out on farms by the month. Being eco- 
 nomical, he saved his money and purchased two 
 hundred acres in Belpre Township, which he oper- 
 ated until 1869, and then selling out came to this 
 township, and engaged in farming on his own land 
 until 1886, since which time he has resided on his 
 estate one-half mile east of the village. He is retired 
 from active work of any kind on the farm and 
 gives his attention to his official duties. 
 
 In 1857, Mr. Kelly and Miss Elizabeth Brown 
 were united in marriage. The lady, who was born 
 in Kintyre, Scotland, was the daughter of John 
 and Ellen Brown, and died January 17, 1868. 
 November 28, 1860, our subject and Miss Ellen J., 
 daughter of Joseph Potter,were united in marriage. 
 The lady was born in Belpre Township, Washing- 
 ton County, Ohio, wliile her father was born in 
 New England. Mr. Potter was a blacksmith but 
 after coming to Stark County, 111., engaged in farm- 
 ing until his decease. The maiden name of his 
 wife was Sarah Cunningham; she died March 6, 
 1884. 
 
 By our subject's union with Miss Potter four 
 
 - children were born: Elizabeth, Charles, Marj' and 
 
 Ella L. The eldest is the wife of Clement Clark, 
 
 and has one daughter named Eva Ella. The family 
 
1170 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of our subject are all members of the Willow Creek 
 Presbyterian Church. In politics, he is a Republican 
 and is well fitted to occupy the prominent positions 
 of which he has been the incumbent. 
 
 ENECA ASHTON. It is no doubt owing 
 in a great measure to Mr. A^hton 's Quaker 
 ancestors that he is indebted for his gifts 
 of frugality, industry, and uprightness, as 
 well as many other estimable qualities, which have 
 gathered around him much that makes life cnjoj'- 
 able. He was born in Livingston County, N. Y., Jan- 
 uary 29, 1830, and is one of eight children, all but 
 one no w living, born to the marriage of Sidney Ash- 
 ton, Sr., and MissEliza Downs. The father was born 
 in the Keystone State and there resided for many 
 years, but subsequentlj' moved to the Empire State 
 and from there to Illinois, where his death occurred 
 when eighty-eight years of age. He came of old 
 Quaker stock and was a man of quiet, dignified 
 habits, and one who held the esteem of all. His 
 wife was born in Vermont and moved with her 
 husband to New York, where her death occurred 
 when but fifty-six years of age. Slie was also 
 highlj' respected. 
 
 Of the children born to this worthy couple nearly 
 all selected agricultural pursuits as their occupation 
 in life. Seneca Ashton is noexception to this rule 
 and is well posted on all matters relating to tilling 
 the soil. He remained under the parental roof 
 until he had reached mature years, and on the 6th 
 of February, 1852, he was wedded to Miss Elizabeth 
 Miller, who was born in Livingston County, N. 
 Y., June 11th, 1831. Her parents, Barkley and 
 Catherine (Smith) Miller, were natives of the Jer- 
 sey State, but after marriage moved to New York 
 State, where they passed the closing scenes of their 
 lives, the father dying at the age of sixty-seven 
 and the mother when eighty-three years of age. 
 They were the parents of ten children, all of whom 
 grew to mature years, and most of whom became 
 tillers of the soil. Mrs. Ashton 's Grandfather and 
 Grandmother Smith were natives of New Jersey, 
 and there died when extremely old people. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ashton 's happy union was blessed 
 by the birth of one child, a son. Like M., whose 
 birth occurred in Livingston County, N. Y., Jan- 
 uary 15, 1854. The latter was reared in his native 
 State, received his education there, and in Boone 
 County was married to Miss Augusta P. Allen, 
 daughter of A. H. Allen (see sketch). To this union 
 has been born a son,Ray L., who was but an infant 
 wlien his mother died. Ray Ashton was born in 
 Boone County, 111., on the 13th of January, 
 1884, and is a bright, intelligent lad. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Ashton remained in New 
 York State until 1875, when he sold out and came to 
 Illinois. He bought his present farm of one hundred 
 acres with improvements, and on this he has made 
 his home up to the present time. He is ambitious 
 and enterprising and has accumulated sufficient to 
 render his future years comfortable and free from 
 all worry or care. In politics, Mr. Ashton and son 
 affiliates with the Democratic party, and his first 
 Presidential vote was cast for James Buchanan. Mr. 
 Ashton had two uncles in the War of 1812, and 
 both drew pensions until their deaths. 
 
 -^^l 
 
 ORSON TRUMAN, one of the prominent con- 
 tractors and builders of Rockford, was born 
 in the town of Wort, Allegany County, N. 
 Y., June 21, 1840, and is the son of John Truman, 
 who also hailed from the Empire State. The lat- 
 ter-named gentleman was a blacksmith by trade, 
 and later was engaged in the manufacture of edged 
 tools. After his marriage, he settled in Wirt, Al- 
 legany County, where he prosecuted his trade un- 
 til 1845, then accompanied by his wife and seven 
 children, he started for the Territory of Wisconsin. 
 On making his home in the Badger State, the 
 father of our subject purchased a tract of land in 
 Lima Township, Rock County, for which he paid 
 $3.33 per acre. Twenty broken acres and a log 
 house constituted the only improvements of the 
 place, the rest of the land, excepting a small marsh, 
 being timber. The family took up their abode m 
 the rude cabin, and the father at once set about 
 the improvement of his property. The country 
 round about was very sparsely settled, and as the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOC^RAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1171 
 
 greater portion of the land was still owned by the 
 Government, Mr. Truman entered a large tract ad- 
 joining his farm. He erected a blacksmith shop, 
 and, in addition to superintending the operations 
 of the farm, worked at his trade until 1852, when, 
 the railroad being completed, the station was placed 
 on his farm, and he appointed its agent. The 
 place was named Lima, and there Mr. Truman re- 
 sided until his decease. 
 
 Our subject's mother was known in her maiden- 
 hood as Maria Holcomb; she was also a native of 
 New York. Orson, of this sketch, was a lad of five 
 years when his parents removed to Wisconsin, 
 where he was reared and educated. He aided his 
 father in developing the home farm and in the 
 shop, and on the death of the father succeeded 
 him as station agent, in which position he con- 
 tinued until 1864. 
 
 In August of the above-named year, our subject 
 enlisted in Company G-, Thirty-eighth Wisconsin 
 Infantry. Joining his regiment before Petersburg, 
 he served in the First Brigade, First Division, 
 Ninth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, with 
 which he remained until the close of the war. Then 
 marching to Washington, D. C., he participated in 
 the Grand Review; and was honorably discharged 
 at Camp Randall, Madison, Wis. Mr. Truman at 
 once returned to Lima, and for one year was en- 
 gaged in the produce business. At the end of 
 that time he went to Muskegon, Mich., where he re- 
 mained only a few months, however. Again mak- 
 ing his home in Lima, our subject commenced work 
 at the trade of a carpenter, at which he was en- 
 gaged until March, 1869, when he went to Iowa and 
 lived until the fall of that year, thence coming to 
 Rockford, and continuing as a journeyman in that 
 city until 1873. Mr. Truman then formed a partner- 
 ship with L. H. Child; they continued as carpenters 
 and builders together for three years, since which 
 time our subject has carried on the business suc- 
 cessfully alone, and has been instrumental in erect- 
 ing some of the finest residences and business blocks 
 in Rockford. 
 
 Miss Adeline D., daughter of M. A. and Lydia 
 Child, was married to our subject, February 14, 
 1862. To them have been born six children, two 
 of whom are deceased; those living are Effie M., 
 
 Willis C, Mina E. and Harry C. A Republican in 
 politics, our subject cast his first vote for Abraham 
 Lincoln. Sociall}', he is a member of Forest City 
 Lodge No. 12, A. 0. U. W. 
 
 -» i i.> ipi^h i yt . 
 
 » I I [ t -V-^M 
 
 yi^^ELS p. NELSON, who is engaged in geu- 
 I jj eral farming on section 2, New Milford 
 i\,^ Township, Winnebago County, claims 
 Sweden as the land of his birth. He was born 
 January 25, 1851, and is a son of Nels and Ida 
 (Johnson) Parsons, who were farming people. 
 They lost three sons in childhood. The children 
 who grew to mature years were Peter, Anna, Ida, 
 Carrie, John and Andrew. 
 
 Our subject acquired a good education in his 
 native land, and was reared in the usual manner 
 of farmer lads. He left home at the age of fifteen 
 years, and began to make his own way in the 
 world. On attaining his majority, he bade good- 
 bye to his native land, and in October, 1872, 
 crossed the broad Atlantic, landing in New York, 
 whence he came at once to Rockford. In 
 this county he worked by the month on a farm 
 for Charles Shirley, and for five years was em- 
 ployed in that capacity for different farmers of 
 the neighborhood. He was then employed for two 
 years by Allen Needham. Becoming acquainted 
 with Miss Mary, the daughter of his employer, 
 their acquaintance ripened into love, and in Feb- 
 ruary, 1878, they were united in marriage. Her 
 -parents, Allen and Eunice (Lombard) Needham, 
 were natives of Massachusetts, whence they re- 
 moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where they resided 
 for about five years, when in 1856 they came to 
 Rockford. 
 
 The young couple began their domestic life 
 upon a rented farm in Boone County, where they 
 resided for two years, after which Mr. Nelson op- 
 erated a part of his father-in-law's farm. In 1881, 
 he made his first purchase of land, becoming the 
 owner of eighty acres in New Milford Township, a 
 part of his present farm. Two years later, he bought 
 an additional eighty acres, paying $8,000 for the 
 quarter section. Since that time, he has devoted 
 his entire energies to its cultivation and improve- 
 
1172 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ment. He is engaged in general farming, but sells 
 nothing except rye, feeding his crops to his cattle, 
 hogs and horses. He keeps on hand from fifteen 
 to eighteen cows, and sells the milk to Rockford 
 dealers. He is an industrious and enterprising 
 man, sagacious and economical, and by his own 
 efforts has worked his way upward to a position 
 among the substantial farmers of the community. 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have been born six 
 children, three sons and three daughters: Frances, 
 born December 18, 1878; Anna, January 6, 1881; 
 Eunice M., March 11, 1884; Roy, April 19, 1886; 
 Wilbur, April 20, 1888; and Dwight, September 
 11,1891. The daughters are all in school, and 
 are quite proficient in their studies, and Frances 
 is studying music. Mr. Nelson is a friend to edu- 
 cation, and to all that can benefit and upbuild the 
 community. In politics, he is independent, hold- 
 ing himself free to support whoever he pleases, re- 
 gardless of party alDliations, and at the last elec- 
 tion was the only man in New Milford Township 
 to vote for the Labor candidate. His life has been 
 well and worthily spent in the faithful discharge 
 of the duties devolving upon him, and he is 
 highly esteemed for his sterling worth. 
 
 •^=•^=•! 
 
 y 
 
 ♦ ♦^^^^ 
 
 "A 
 
 ALEB ALLEN STARR. This gentleman 
 ,., ^ needs little introduction to the people of 
 ^^^ Winnebago County as he has been a resi- 
 dent of the county since April, 1855. He is uni- 
 versally popular in both social and business circles 
 in Durand where he is theownerof a well-equipped 
 drug store and is possessed of the energy and 
 enterprise which seldom fail to win. He was 
 born in Decrfield, Franklin County, Mass., March 
 3, 1822, and is a son of Oliver and Lavina (Allen) 
 Starr, natives respectively of Middletown, Conn., 
 and Deerfield, Mass. 
 
 In 1632, Dr. Comfort Starr came from England, 
 and, settling in Boston, founded the Starr family 
 in the United States. The grandfather of our 
 subject, William Starr, was a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary War and in early life was a ship carpen- 
 ter and later followed the occupation of a miller. 
 
 He removed from Middletown, Conn., to Green- 
 field, Mass., and after making his home there 
 twelve years, became a resident of Deerfield, that 
 State, where his decease occurred when in his 
 seventy-fourth year. 
 
 The father of our subject was born in 1791 and 
 was three 3'ears of age when his parents removed 
 to the Bay State. He was reared to the occupation 
 of a miller by his father and later learned the 
 trade of a dyer and cloth es-presser. In 1855, he 
 came to Illinois, and in Laona Township, this 
 county, settled on a farm, where his decease occurred 
 when seventy-nine years of age; his good wife, 
 who bore him four children, was seventy-seven 
 years of age when called hence. 
 
 The brother and sisters of our subject were 
 Oliver, Eliza A. and Eunice. Eliza A. makes her 
 home in Chicago, where she is an artist and 
 also a literary character. She became a Cath- 
 olic when quite young and is recognized as a 
 noted writer in works published by that body. 
 Eunice A. became the wife of C. W. W. Wellington 
 and makes her home in Chicago with her sister. 
 Oliver died when fifteen years of age. Caleb A. 
 Starr of this sketch was reared to farm pursuits and 
 received his primary education in the district 
 schools, which was supplemented by an attendance 
 at an academj^ For five years he was engaged as 
 a sailor, at one time going to Calcutta. 
 
 On leaving the sea, Mr. Starr engaged in farming 
 in the Bay State, and in 1848 was married to 
 Susan G. Childs, the daughter of Samuel and Electa 
 (Gates) Childs, and a native of Deerfield, Mass. 
 In 1855, our subject came West and in partnership 
 with his father purchased a farm of one hundred 
 acres in Laona Township, Winnebago County, 
 which he operated for twenty-two years. He then 
 came to Durand, and engaging in the drug business, 
 has since represented that trade in this State. 
 William W. Starr, the eldest son of our subject, 
 was born in Deerfield, Mass., January 9, 1851. He 
 was four years of age when brought to the Prairie 
 State by his parents, and passed his early life in 
 Laona Township, this county, where he attended 
 the common schools. In 1870, he went to Chicago 
 and took drawing lessons under the instruction of 
 his aunt, Eliza A. Starr. Two years later, he went 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 
 
 1173 
 
 to Boston and attended the Lowell Institute of 
 Art, where he remained for about six years. He 
 then accompanied his aunt on a tour through 
 Europe, spending about one year in Rome, studying 
 the old masters. 
 
 Returning to the United States, William "W. Starr 
 became a crayon artist in Grand Rapids, Mich., 
 which business he followed for two years. In 1880, 
 he went back to Chicago, where he also prosecuted 
 that branch of his art, very soon, however, resum- 
 ing modeling, which study he began in Boston and 
 pursued in Rome. In 1889, he came to Durand, 
 since which time he has given his whole attention 
 to his work as a sculptor. He has made a bust of 
 Henry M. Wilmarth, of Chicago; a bust of Dr. N. 
 S. Davis, of that city, and reliefs of Dr. Braj'uard 
 and wife, who also make their home in the Garden 
 City. 
 
 Mary H. Starr, the second child of our subject, 
 is Mrs. Charles M. Blaisdell, of Chicopee, Mass. 
 She is also a portrait artist, and in pursuit of her 
 study has traveled over the continent of Europe, 
 spending two years in Paris. The second daughter, 
 Ellen G., is one of the founders of the Hull House, 
 a well-known benevolent institution in Chicago. 
 She has also visited Europe. The youngest child 
 of our subject, Albert C, is engaged in the cotton- 
 broking business with his brother-in-law in Chicopee, 
 Mass. He was a member of the first class that 
 passed the examination under the new pharmacy 
 law at Chicago. 
 
 Our subject in early life a Whig, now casts his 
 vote in favor of the Republican candidates. 
 
 ^OHN SCHAD, who carries on agricultural 
 pursuits in Cherry Valley Township, Win- 
 nebago County, was born on the 6th of 
 January, 1822, in Bavaria, Germany, and is 
 a son of Frederick and Catherina (Koch) Schad. 
 The family numbered eight children, five sons and 
 three daughters. The father died March 6, 1841, 
 at the age of forty-six years, and the mother was 
 called to her final rest in December, 1850. Mr. 
 Schad, our subject, was a conscript soldier in the 
 German army for fourteen years. He entered the 
 
 service at the age of twenty-two, and was suc- 
 ceeded by his son Max. His pay was ten cents per 
 day while a private, but he was promoted to the 
 rank of First Sergeant, and received thirty cents. 
 A photograph of him taken at the age of thirty- 
 three shows him to be a very j'oung-looking man. 
 His military coat bears all the badges of his pro- 
 motion from the rank of Corporal to Sergeant. He 
 never participated in war, as his service was dur- 
 ing a period of peace. 
 
 In March, 1858, Mr. Schad was united in mar- 
 riage with Paulina Schmidt, of Augsburg, daughter 
 of Powell and Johanna (Klein) Schmidt. They 
 were married on his leaving the army, and at once 
 sailed for America from Hamburg on the 1st of 
 May of that year. Their voyage was a tempestu- 
 ous one. One storm lasted from Sunday niglit to 
 the following Friday noon, and they were driven 
 back three hundred miles. After forty-two days 
 spent upon the briny deep, they arrived at New 
 York City on the 14th of June, and a week later 
 started for Rockford, where we find them on the 
 28th of the same month. They commenced keep- 
 ing house on the Cherry Valley road, now Charles 
 Street, of Rockfor ', near Second Avenue, and dur- 
 ing that j^ear Mr. Schad bought a lot on Third 
 Avenue. He built them a snug little home on 
 that lot, which is now occupied by fine brick flats, 
 and there they resided until March, 1863, when 
 they removed to a farm of eighty acres in New 
 Milford Township, Mr. Schad operating the same 
 for five years upon shares. Having in the mean- 
 time accumulated some capital, he then purchased 
 eighty acres of land in Ogle County, which he oper- 
 ated for eleven years, when he traded it for his pres- 
 ent home on-sections 4 and 5, Cherry Valley Town- 
 ship, a farm of one hundred and forty acres, highly 
 improved and cultivated. He carries on general 
 farming, and is quite successful. His wife is con- 
 sidered one of the finest butter-makers in the 
 county. They do not have a large dairy, but 
 keep on hand about six cows, and have made as 
 high as twelve hundred pounds of butter per year. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Schad have seven children, but 
 Paulina, a young lady of eighteen years, is now 
 the only one at home. One son, William, resides 
 in Rockford. They also lost one son, Frank, who 
 
1174 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 died at the age of two years. The parents are 
 members of the German Lutheran Church. Mr. 
 Schad is independent in politics, voting for the 
 man whom lie thinks best qualified for the office, 
 regardless of party affiliations. He is an intelli- 
 gent and well-informed man, a valued citizen, and 
 has the high regard of those with whom he has 
 been brought in contact. 
 
 ■^ipOHN BROOKS, who is engaged in mixed 
 farming in Spring Township, Boone County, 
 was born in Somersetshire, England, April 
 
 _ 5, 1821. His parents, James and Ann 
 (Cole) Brooks, were also natives *of that shire, 
 where they died at tiie respective ages of eighty- 
 five and seventj' years. The parental family in- 
 cluded eight children, two of whom are still living 
 in England. 
 
 Our subject was married in his native country, 
 January 22, 1857, to Eliza Price, who died in this 
 county, June 3, 1876, after having become the 
 mother of four children, two of whom are living: 
 Robert P. is married, and the father of two chil- 
 dren; the daughter, Minnie J., is married and also 
 has two children. Mr. Brooks took for his second 
 wife Mrs. M. Hathaway, their marriage being cele- 
 brated November 29, 1877; she died in 1887 in 
 her sixtieth year. 
 
 The present wife of our subject was formerly Mrs. 
 Lucena R. Sprague, a sister of Thomas Farley, in 
 whose sketch the family history will be found. Mrs. 
 Brooks' first marriage occurred in November, 1874, 
 with Mr. Austin G. Sprague, who was born in 
 Ohio. His decease occurred in 1863, while a mem- 
 ber of Company D, Twenty-fourth Iowa Infantry. 
 By that marriage she became the mother of four 
 children, namely: Charles A., Ella D., LottaL. and 
 James A. 
 
 After leaving England, our subject spent three 
 years in Australia, and in the spring of 1857 
 came to America and almost directly to Spring 
 Township, this county, where he purchased eighty 
 acres of land. His estate now includes two hun- 
 dred finely improved acres, upon which he has 
 erected some of the finest farm buildings to be 
 
 found in the county, not the least among which is 
 his comfortable residence. His wife went West in 
 an early day, and took up a quarter-section of 
 land in Ford County, Kan. Her son and daugh- 
 ter also entered land, upon which they resided one 
 year. The children born to our subject by his 
 first marriage were educated in the Lawrence 
 (Kan.) University. 
 
 Mr. Brooks has traveled extensively, and has 
 visited almost every countrj' on the globe. "With 
 his wife, he is a member of the Baptist Church, in 
 which denomination he has been Deacon for a num- 
 ber of years. In politics, he is a believer in and 
 supports the principles of the Republican party, 
 but aside from casting his vote during elections, 
 is not interested in politics. "While residing in 
 Australia, he worked in the gold mines, and specu- 
 lated in fruits. He has also visited South America 
 and made a fourteen thousand mile trip on a slow 
 sailing-vessel. 
 
 Mr. Brooks is what may be termed a self-made 
 man, as his present handsome property is the result 
 of his early years of persistent industry and wise 
 investments. Aside from carrying on his farm, he 
 owns stock in a creamery. His present beautiful 
 residence was erected in 1880, and is finished in a 
 manner which indicates its inmates to be people of 
 means and culture. 
 
 -1^+^! 
 
 SAMUEL JONES, deceased, is a native of St 
 Lawrence County, N. Y., his birth occur- 
 ring April 13, 1821. He was a son of 
 John and Nancy Jones, the former of 
 whom came from England to the United States 
 when our subject was an infant of two years. Set- 
 tling at once in Canada, he resided thereuntil emi- 
 grating to the States about 1847, at which time he 
 made his home in Rockford, where his death oc- 
 curred January 11, 1892. 
 
 The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
 was Nancy Eldridge, was a native of Rhode Island, 
 and also departed this life while residing in Rock- 
 ford. Samuel remained at home until twenty- 
 seven years of age, when, being a fine workman, he 
 was engaged in building railroad bridges. In 1841, 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORI) 
 
 1175 
 
 he entered a tract of land containing one hundred 
 and sixty acres, which he brought to a good state 
 of cultivation and made a permanent location 
 upon in 1853. , 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married, June 
 16, 1853, was Miss Adelia Campbell, and her birth 
 occurred March 31, 1827. She was the daughter 
 of David and Sarah Campbell, natives of Franklin 
 County, Vt, who, in 1836, took the trip to Indiana, 
 accompanied by his wife and eleven children. 
 There Mr. Campbell lived until 1837, when he 
 became a resident of Guilford Township, this 
 county. He had purchased a squatter's claim of 
 three hundred acres, upon which he erected a log 
 cabin, and therethe family resided for the follow- 
 ing six or seven years, and there the mother died. 
 The father of Mrs. Jones followed the occupation 
 of a farmer, and was thus enabled to reap a hand- 
 some income. He died previous to his wife. 
 
 Of the ten children born to our subject and his 
 wife, seven are living: Viola E., Mrs. R. H. Hench, 
 has four children; Almina J., who is married to 
 William Johns, has two children; George S., who 
 is married, is the father of four children ; Frank C. 
 is the next in order of birth; Delia R., Mrs. Fred 
 D. Teachout, has two children; William A. and 
 Mary, are at home. Mrs. Jones still resides on the 
 old homestead which is operated by her son, Will- 
 iam A. Two of her brothers fought in the Union 
 Army, one of whom, John, died at St. Louis. 
 Hiram, now deceased. Our subject was a firm ad- 
 lierent of the Republican party, in politics, and in 
 church matters was a devoted member of the Con- 
 gregational Church. 
 
 "\|'AMES HINKLEY, deceased, was for many 
 years a prominent resident of Rockford. 
 He was born in Posey County, Ind., Novem- 
 ber 19, 1829, and was descended from an 
 old and prominent New England family, to which 
 ex-Gov. Hinkley of Massachusetts belonged. Otis 
 Hinkley, the father of our subject, was a na- 
 tive of Cape Cod, Mass., and when a young man 
 emigrated Westward, settling in Indiana, where 
 
 he married Eliza Henderson, a southern lady. She 
 died in Posey County in middle life, and Mr. Hink- 
 ley afterward married an English lady, who sur- 
 vived him some years. She was an intelligent 
 woman of marked character, and was held in 
 high esteem by all. The father of our subject died 
 in Posey County, Ind., when well advanced in life. 
 In politics, he was a Democrat and a strong oppo- 
 nent of slavei-y. 
 
 James Hinkley, of this sketch, spent his boyhood 
 daj's upon his father's farm, and before he had 
 attained his majority, fitted out an ox-team and 
 crossed the plains to California in 1849. After 
 six months of travel, he arrived at his destination 
 and spent three years in the mines, returning by 
 way of the Isthmus with considerable experience 
 but not much gold. He then gave his attention 
 to agricultural pursuits and on the 9 th of Novem- 
 ber, 1856, was married in Posey County, near his 
 old home, to Miss Harriet Andrews, who was born 
 in that county, October 8, 1832, and is a daughter 
 of Anson and Elizabeth (Butler) Andrews, natives 
 of Connecticut and Massachusetts, respectively. 
 Their wedding, however, was celebrated in Posey 
 County, whither they had removed when young. 
 Mr. Andrews there purchased Government land 
 from which he developed a farm, making it his 
 home throughout the remainder of his life. He 
 passed away at the age of seventy years. In poli- 
 tics, he was a Whig and later an Abolitionist. His 
 wife afterward came to Rockford and died at the 
 home of her son, John Andrews, when past the age 
 of three-score years. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hinkley were born six chil- 
 dren, but two are now deceased: George, who died 
 in childhood, and Ella, a graduate of the High 
 School of this city, who died at the age of eighteen. 
 Anson, who wedded AUie W. Meech, of Rockford, 
 is now engaged in fruit growing in Washington 
 County, 111.; Arthur, who married Harriet Hinkley, 
 is operating the canning factory of this cit}'; H. 
 Otis is a successful florist of Rockford, and Ralph 
 W. is a stenographer and type-writer of this 
 
 city. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hinkley began their domestic life 
 upon a farm in Indiana, where they resided for two 
 years, when they came to Illinois. After two years 
 
1176 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 spent in Washington County, near Dubois, they 
 came to Eockfoid and purchased property in the 
 city limits. Mr. Hinkley engaged in fruit grow- 
 ing until he became connected with the Arm of 
 Upson & Skinner in the canning business. He was 
 afterward in partnership with his brother-in-law, 
 John Andrews, and subsequently became sole pro- 
 prietor. He put up goods of a superior order and 
 in this business met with splendid success. Mr. 
 Hinkley was a straightforward, upright man and 
 was recognized as one of the valued citizens of 
 Rockford. His integrity was above question and 
 he had the i-espect of all who knew him. He died 
 while on a visit to his son Anson, in Washington 
 County, January 8, 1891, at the age of sixty-two 
 years. His wife is still living at the old home. 
 She is a most estimable lady and has many 
 friends throughout this community. 
 
 ""■^"02- 
 
 
 ■if? AMES PORTER. This gentleman, though 
 born across the ocean, was one of the early 
 pioneers of Winnebago County, having been 
 
 a resident here for half a century. He has 
 
 given the best efforts of his life to agricultural 
 pursuits, and as a reward for his industry has a 
 splendid farm of two hundred and forty acres on 
 section 6. He has won his way to his present hon- 
 orable station in life without the aid of wealth or 
 influential friends, and is consequently a self-made 
 man. 
 
 Our subject was born in Banffshire, Scotland, 
 April 24, 1817, and is a son of James and Jane 
 (Gregor) Porter, natives also of Scotland. The 
 father departed this life in his native land in 1844, 
 soon after which our subject emigrated to Amer- 
 ica with his mother; she died at his home two years 
 later. Our subject was one of two children born 
 to his parents; his sister Isabella became the wife 
 of Alexander Milne, and makes her home in Bur- 
 ritt Township, this county. 
 
 James Porter was reared and educated in his na- 
 tive shire. Having heard glowing accounts of the 
 New World, he decided to emigrate hither, and set 
 sail April 15, 1843, on the steamer "Anna Mary." 
 After a tedious voyage of five weeks and one day, 
 
 he landed on American shores, and came directly 
 to Illinois via the St. Lawrence River and Lake On- 
 tario to Rochester, thence by way of the Lakes to 
 Chicago, where he procured a team which conveyed 
 him to Winnebago County. At that time this sec- 
 tion was sparsely settled, the greater portion of 
 the land being still owned by the Government. 
 Deer and other wild game were plentiful, and al- 
 though the markets were far distant, the early set- 
 tlers did not suffer for fresh meats. 
 
 Our subject made a claim to a tract of Govern- 
 ment land, which is now included in his present 
 farm. There he erected a log house and com- 
 menced to work at clearing and improving his 
 farm. There being no railroads in this vicinity 
 for years, he hauled the products of his farm to 
 market to Chicago with a team. The old log cabin 
 has since given way to a beautiful stone residence, 
 and also a stone bam, which add greatly to the 
 attractiveness of the estate. His farm is beauti- 
 fully located just five miles from Rockford, and 
 bears all the improvements which stamp it to be in 
 possession of a man of progressive ideas, and means 
 to carry them out. 
 
 Barbara Kirton became the wife of our subject 
 in 1843. She was born in Aberdeenshire, Scot- 
 land, and by her union with our subject has be- 
 come the mother of two children, James and Mar- 
 garet. In their church relations, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Porter are active and influential members of the 
 First Presbyterian Church. Our subject has been 
 very successful in his farm work, and secured a 
 competence as a product of personal industry and 
 good judgment put forth in a field wisely selected. 
 
 'I^ OBERT GRENLUND, a practical and en- 
 lUij^ terprising farmer and stock-raiser, who 
 /l\ W owns and operates sixty acres of well-im- 
 ^ proved land on section 27, Guilford Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, was born in Wester 
 Gothland, Sweden, February 26, 1849. His parents 
 never left their native land. His father, Peter 
 Anderson, there followed the occupation of farm- 
 ing until his death, which occurred at the age of 
 sixty-nine 3'ears, having survived his wife some 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1177 
 
 time. She bore the maiden name of Sarah Eysrill 
 and died at the age of fifty-two. With the Lu- 
 theran Church that worthy couple held member- 
 ship. In the family were two daughters and 
 two sons: Sophia, wife of John Lind, a farmer of 
 Pecatonica; Carrie, wife of E. Medine, a resident of 
 Moline, 111.; and John, now deceased. 
 
 In the usual manner of farmer lads our subject 
 spent his childhood days under the parental roof, 
 and when a young man of nineteen years be bade 
 good-bye to home and friends and crossed the At- 
 lantic to America. This was in the fall of 1868. 
 He sailed from Gottenburg to Hull, England, 
 thence to Liverpool, and crossing the briny deep 
 landed at New York City. He came on at once to 
 Illinois, locating in Winnebago County, joining 
 his brother John, who had pi-eviously located here. 
 For some time, he made his home in Rockford and 
 did work as a farm hand through the county. He 
 afterward worked in the furniture factories of that 
 city and after sixteen years, in 1886, purchased his 
 present farm with the capital he had saved from his 
 earnings. In connection with the cultivation of 
 his own land, he also operates other lands adjoin- 
 ing his farm. His land is under a high state of 
 cultivation and well improved with good buildings 
 such as are necessary for the care of his stock and 
 grain, and which are found upon a model farm. 
 
 Mrs. Grenlund bore the maiden name of Au- 
 gusta Bodine. She was a native of Sweden and 
 was reared in the same locality as her husband. 
 With her parents and other members of the fam- 
 ily she came to the United States in 1869, lo- 
 cating upon a farm. E. P. and Katie Bodine, her 
 father and mother, spent their last days in Rock- 
 ford, the former dying at the age of iifty-five 
 years and the mother in her seventieth year. They 
 were upright, honorable people, highly respected 
 by all and were members of the Lutheran Church. 
 The wife of our subject is the only member of the 
 family now living. Her only sister, Anna, became 
 the wife of John Grenlund and died in 1886. The 
 union of our subject and his wife has been blessed 
 with four children: August E., who aids his father 
 in the work of the farm ; Godfred L., who is clerk- 
 ing for the Union Drug Company of Rockford; and 
 Emily S. and Joseph, who are at home. The parents 
 
 are both members of the First Lutheran Church of 
 Rockford, and in politics, Mr. Grenlund is a 
 Republican. He has served as School Director for 
 his district, and is a man well and favorably 
 known in the community where he resides. 
 
 UILLIAM SLATER, who is engaged in gen- 
 eral merchandising in Cherry Vallej', was 
 \\f^ born in England, in 1824, and is a son of 
 John and Mary (Nixon) Slater. His father was a 
 manufacturer of brick. Our subject went to sea at 
 the age of fourteen years on a merchantman and 
 sailed from London to various ports in Russia, 
 Australia and the East and West Indies. He made 
 tliree voyages to the United States, two to Quebec 
 and one to St. John, New Brunswick. After four- 
 teen years spent upon the high seas, he sailed from 
 his native land at the age of twenty-seven to New 
 York, accompanied by his wife and one son. 
 
 Mr. Slater was married in 1850 to Sarah Proctor, 
 daughter of Henry Proctor. They had an event- 
 ful voyage and arrived in Rockford on May 15, 
 1853. They had no definite destination, but as the 
 railroad terminated there they stopped at that 
 place and began housekeeping at once. In that 
 city, they resided for five years, during which time 
 Mr, Slater was in the employ of the old Galena 
 Railroad as watchman. In the spring of 1858, he 
 came to Cherry Valley in the employ of the rail- 
 road company as bridge tender and built a small 
 house on railroad lands. After ten years he 
 opened a saloon, which he carried on for four 
 years, when he quit that business and converted 
 the buildings which he had erected in 1870 into a 
 grocery store. A partnership was then formed 
 with his eldest son and for twenty-two years this 
 has been the leading grocery house of Cherry Val- 
 ley. In 1880, they added a stock of dry-goods, 
 boots and shoes, hats, caps and clothing. Their 
 stock is valued at $10,000 and their annual sales 
 amount to at least $30,000. 
 
 In 1860, Mr. Slater was called upon to mourn 
 the loss of his wife, who died in the spring of that 
 3'ear, leaving two children: William J., who mar- 
 
1178 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ried Phene Hale, daughter of Squire Hale, one of 
 the pioneers of Cherry Valley, who died many years 
 ago. He is his father's partner in business and is 
 iin enterprising man. The other sod, Henry P., 
 has for the past five years resided in the West and 
 is now in Salt Lake City, Utah. One daughter died 
 in infancy in Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Slater was again married, his second union 
 being with Emma Proctor, his first wife's sister. 
 They had seven children but have lost one son, 
 Arthur, who died at the age of seven years. The 
 living are Fred, Charles; Sarah, wife of Dan 
 Packard, of Cherry Valley; Amelia, Jessie, wife of 
 Mart Fuller, of Englewood, 111.; and Emma com- 
 pletes the family. The children have all received 
 good educational advantages and the family is one 
 widely and favorably known in this community, 
 its members being held in high esteem. In poli- 
 tics, Mr. Slater has been a life-long Republican and 
 his eldest son has for nine years been the Town 
 Treasurer of the school fund. 
 
 Il®4 
 
 ^@ll 
 
 OSEPH S. DAVIS was numbered among the 
 honored pioneers of the county. He was 
 engaged in farming on section 11, Guilford 
 Township, where he owned and operated 
 eighty acres of valuable land. It was once a tim- 
 be ed tract, but tiirough the industry of the owner 
 it has been transformed into a rich and fertile farm, 
 now under a high state of cultivation, supplied 
 with a good set of farm buildings and highly im- 
 proved. 
 
 Our subject was born near London, Canada, 
 and was the sixth child of Thaddeus and Cath- 
 erine (Kirkland) Davis, whose sketch appears else- 
 where in this work. Joseph was a lad of but 
 twelve years when he came with his parents to Illi- 
 nois. He remembers well many incidents of the 
 long and tidious journey made across the country 
 with teams. The family arrived in Rockford, 
 July 6, 1839. At that time, the greater part of 
 the land was still owned b}' the Government, deer 
 and other wild game were very plentiful, and the 
 work of civilization seemed scarcely begun. With 
 the family, Mr. Davis sliared in the experiences 
 
 and hardships of frontier life. He resided with his 
 father, assisting him on the farm until he attained 
 his majority, when he began earning his own live- 
 lihood, working by the month as a farm land. For 
 four years, he devoted his energies to that occupa- 
 tion and then began learning the carpenter's trade, 
 which he followed for three years. Subsequently, 
 he purchased eighty acres of land on section 11, 
 Guilford Township, and began farming on his own 
 account. In 1863, he purchased the farm on which 
 he now resides and, as before stated, has made it 
 very valuable. He is a successful agriculturist, a 
 man of good business ability and his success is the 
 just reward of his own efforts. 
 
 Mr. Davis was married, June 1, 1870, to Mrs. 
 Almira Manning, daughter of Heman Campbell, a 
 native of Vermont, and a son of David Campbell, 
 who emigrated from the Green Mountain State to 
 Illinois in 1836, and became one of the first set- 
 tlers of Guilford Township. He secured a tract of 
 Government land on section 24, and began the 
 development of the farm, on which he made his 
 home until his death. He married Sarah Jones and 
 she also spent her last days on the old homestead. 
 The father of Mrs. Campbell was reared in Ver- 
 mont and there made his home until 1836, when 
 he removed to Indiana. A year later, he came to 
 Illinois and purchased a claim in Durand Town- 
 ship, Winnebago County, the improvements on 
 which consisted of a log cabin. That house was 
 the birthplace of Mrs. Davis. After living there 
 for a short time, Mr. Campbell traded that farm for 
 a tract of timber and prairie land in the same 
 township, from which he developed a fine farm. 
 He also erected good buildings, made many other 
 improvements, and there resided until his death on 
 the 24th of August, 1884. 
 
 Almira Campbell first became the wife of Charles 
 Manning, who was bom near London, in the Pro- 
 vince of Ontario, Canada, and was a son of Joseph 
 J. and Catherine (Swart) Manning. He came to 
 Winnebago County with his parents, and for a time 
 was engaged in the mercantile business at Cherry 
 Valley. At the time of his death in 1864, he was 
 clerking in Belvidere. Mr. and Mrs. Manning had 
 two children: Lee, who died at the age of fourteen 
 j'ears; and Mary, who is now tlie wife of Alfred 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1179 
 
 Purdy, and the mother of two children : Belle and 
 Bertha. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have one son living, 
 Elmo. Their first-born, Earl, died at the age of 
 eighteen years. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Davis was a Re- 
 publican and had~ served as Township Collector 
 and School Director. He had always talten an 
 interest in educational affairs, and was a public- 
 spirited and progressive citizen, who gave his sup- 
 port to every thing pertaining to the welfare of 
 the community. He had the confidence and high 
 regard of all with whom he had come in contact 
 and was one of the prominent early settlers of the 
 county. Mr. Davis departed this life May 20, 
 1892. 
 
 ^ I r I A^^fd.m^m 
 
 ^^EORGE STEVENS, one of the well-to-do 
 \li __ farmers, and a progressive citizen of New 
 ^^^ Milford Township, Winnebago County, re- 
 siding on section 31, is a native of Boston, Mass. 
 He was born on the 18th of March, 1856, and at 
 the age of four years was brought by his parents 
 to Illinois, the family settling near his present 
 home. In the usual manner of farmer lads, he was 
 reared to manhood, and has followed agricultural 
 pursuits almost continuously since. At the age of 
 twenty-two years, he was united in marriage to 
 Miss Abbie Rothwell, daughter of William and 
 Nancy (Bartleman) Rothwell, who was born June 
 31, 1859, and was reared in this neighborhood. 
 Her father was born in Kishwaukee, February 19, 
 1838, and was one of the first native settlers of 
 this locality; his parents came from Massachusetts 
 to Winnebago County about a year prior to his 
 birth. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stevens began their domestic life 
 upon the farm of sixty acres which is yet their 
 home, although it now comprises one hundred and 
 ninety four acres of valuable land. Many excel- 
 lent improvements have aSso been there made and 
 a comfortable residence, good barns and other out- 
 buildings have been 'erected, including a milk 
 house, ice-house, etc. While these add to the value 
 and convenience of the place, they also stand as 
 monuments to the thrift and enterprise of the 
 
 owner. In connection with general farming, Mr. 
 Stevens is engaged in dairying, keeping from 
 twelve to fifteen cows for this purpose, sending 
 the cream to a neighboring shipper. He possesses 
 considerable mechanical genius, and owns a port- 
 able engine, which he runs himself on his own 
 farm in shelling corn, grinding feed, sawing wood, 
 etc., and sometimes furnishes power for his neigh- 
 bors in manufacturing. 
 
 The home of Mr. and Mrs. Stevens has been 
 blessed with three children, and the family circle 
 yet remains unbroken. Harry was born November 
 18, 1881; Clara B., February 21, 1885; and Alma, 
 January 21, 1891. The parents are both members 
 of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. In politics, 
 JNIr. Stevens was a Republican until his views on 
 the temperance question led him to join the ranks 
 of the Prohibition party. He has ever been a 
 stanch temperance worker, and is recognized as one 
 of the best temperance singers in this locality, his 
 inspiring songs along that line doing much for the 
 work. Viewed from a financial standpoint, also, 
 his life has been a "decided success. He started 
 with very limited means, but by perseverance, in- 
 dustry and economy, and the assistance of his es- 
 timable wife, whom he recognizes as an efficient 
 helpmate, he has obtained a handsome competence, 
 his farm alone being worth at least $15,000. In 
 addition to this, for the past two years, he has 
 dealt successfully in farm machinery. The farm on 
 which he resides is owned by himself and his father. 
 
 r' 
 
 *^ »-i:l-Z >^ *{» 
 
 (?| SAAC M. McCOY, a retired farmer living in 
 Belvidere, was born in Washington County, 
 jil Ind., on the 23d of July, 1816. His father, 
 James McCoy, was a native Of Pennsylvania, and 
 a son of William McCoy. When a young man he 
 went to Kentucky, where he met and married 
 Nancy Lane, a native of that State. Subsequently, 
 he removed to the Territory of Indiana, becoming 
 a pioneer of Washington County, where he se- 
 cured a tract of Government land, and erected the 
 log cabin in which our subject was born. Clearing 
 and improving a farm, he made it his home until 
 
1180 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1832. About 1816, he was ordained a minister of 
 the Baptist Church, and preached in different 
 parts of Washington and Jackson Counties. In 
 October, 1832, he rented his farm, and removed to 
 Salem, where he engaged in teaching during the 
 week, and on Sunday attended to his ministerial 
 labors. His death occurred in July, 1833, of 
 cholera, and his wife and one son died the same 
 month. In the family were twelve children. 
 
 Isaac M. McCoy was a young man of seventeen 
 years when his parents died. He resided with his 
 brother in Marion County until December, 1835, 
 when he started on foot for Illinois, walking to 
 De Kalb County. This part of the State was then 
 in almost its primitive condition, the work of up- 
 building and progress having hardly been begun. 
 He found a family living in a log cabin near the 
 dividing line between De Kalb and Boone Coun- 
 ties, with whom he made arrangements to board 
 at $2.50 per week. He made a claim adjoining 
 that upon which his landlord was living, and in 
 the winter engaged in splitting rails at $1 per 
 hundred. The next summer he built a log house 
 upon his land, and began the improvement of a 
 farm. 
 
 On the 28th of November, 1838, Mr. McCoy 
 was united in marriage with Cynthia Ann Pen- 
 well, a native of Indiana, and a daughter of Reu- 
 ben Penwell, with whom she came to Illinois in 
 June, 1836. The young couple began their do- 
 mestic life in the cabin home before mentioned, 
 living in true frontier style. Their home was 
 blessed with a family of seven children: James 
 Vincent, Sarah, Esther, Mary, Amanda, Carrie E. 
 and Fred. All are still living, with the exception 
 of the eldest, who was born in 1840, and died in 
 1886. 
 
 Mr. McCoy continued his farming operations, 
 and ere many years had passed, had transformed 
 the wild land into rich and fertile fields. When 
 the land came into market in 1839, he entered 
 eighty acres, and by purchase afterwards extended 
 the boundaries of his farm until it now comprises 
 two hundred and thirt3'-three acres, the greater 
 part of which is under a high state of cultivation, 
 and well improved. He made it his home until 
 1863, when he came to Belvidere, where he resided 
 
 for some time. He afterwards again spent a period 
 of seven years upon his farm, but is now living 
 retired in Belvidere. In 1888, he was called upon 
 to mourn the loss of his wife, who died in the 
 month of June. They were both members of the 
 Christian Church in De Kalb County, but after 
 coming to Belvidere, joined the Baptist Church. 
 Mr. McCoy is an honored pioneer of this region, 
 and of its growth he has been an eye-witness from 
 almost the beginning. His life has been well and 
 worthily spent, and he has thereby won the high 
 regard of his many friends and acquaintances. 
 
 — * 
 
 _i=<&r? 
 
 CQv— 
 
 '\llOHN FLEMING. This gentleman, though 
 born across the ocean, was one of the early 
 pioneers of Winnebago County, having 
 been a resident here for thirty-five years 
 He makes his home at the present time on one 
 hundred and sixty acres, located on section 3, 
 Owen Township, which he cultivates in a most 
 thorough and profitable manner. Mr. Fleming was 
 born in Argyleshire, Scotland, in January, 1828, 
 and is a son of Neil and Marian Fleming, both na- 
 tives of that countrj', and who, in coming to Amer- 
 ica in 1855, located in Canada. After a residence 
 there of two years, they came to Boone County, 
 111., and lived for a short time in Caledonia, 
 whence they removed to Roscoe, and later to Owen 
 Township, this county, where they died. 
 
 The parental family of our subject included 
 nine children: James, Alexander, Flora, John, 
 Donald, Mary, Marion, Neil and Robert. James, the 
 eldest son, was married in Scotland, and, on com- 
 ing to America with his familj^, died in Argj'le, this 
 county; Alexander, who made his home with our 
 subject and a sister, died a single man ; Flora mar- 
 ried Alexander McDonigal, and departed this life 
 in Owen Township; Donald passed away in Rock- 
 ford, where he resided for many years ; Mary mar- 
 ried James Ryburn, and^t the present time resides 
 in Rockwell, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa; Marion 
 makes her home with our subject; Neil died when 
 a young man, in Winnebago County; and Robert 
 lives in Pleasant Valley Township, Cerro Gordo 
 County, Iowa. 
 
PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1181 
 
 John Heming of this sketch was given a good 
 education in his native shire, and accompanied his 
 parents, in 1855, on their removal to America, set- 
 ting sail from Glasgow in June, on the sailing-ves- 
 sel "Chieftain." The party landed at Quebec, and 
 our subject immediately found employment in a 
 harvest field, twenty miles north of Toronto. He 
 was later employed bj' the month on a farm, and 
 in 1857 came to Illinois, the following j'ear loca- 
 ting in Winnebago County. In 1864, our subject 
 purchased the farm which he now owns and occu- 
 pies, on which he has placed good and substantial 
 improvements. He has never married, and his sis- 
 ter Marion keeps house for him. They are both 
 members of the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church, 
 and are held in high esteem by all who know 
 them. 
 
 •^^E 
 
 eHARLES C. COONS. Nothing gives the 
 patriotic biographer more pleasure than to 
 tell the story of the life of one of our 
 "brave boys in blue," who sacrificed all that he 
 held dearest upon the altar of our country. The 
 gentleman whose name appears at the head of this 
 paragraph is one whose record as a soldier is of 
 interest to every one who opens the covers of this 
 Recced. 
 
 Mr. Coons is one of the prominent business men 
 of Rockton, where he is engaged in a prosperous 
 lumber and coal business in company with the 
 Keeler Lumber Company. He is a native of this 
 State, having been born June 9, 1843, in Rock- 
 ford. He is a son of Thomas M. Coons, who was 
 bom in 1814, near Culpeper, Va., where he was 
 reared to agricultural pursuits and resided until 
 his removal to Indiana. After a stay of a short 
 time in the Hoosier State, the elder Mr. Coons 
 came to Illinois at a very earl3'^ day. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Rebecca Reed. She was born in Winnebago, this 
 county, and departed this life leaving two sons 
 and one daughter, the brother and sister of our 
 subject: William M., who died at Rockton in 
 1876, and Clara C, now Mrs. A. R. Hart, of Clin- 
 ton, Iowa. Soon after the death of his mother. 
 
 our subject was taken to the home of an aunt in 
 Will County, and when eight or nine years of age 
 was brought to Rockton by his father, where he 
 has since resided. In early life, he worked on a 
 farm, and in 1861, when nineteen years of age, 
 enlisted in Company G, Forty-fourth Illinois In- 
 fantry, under Col. Knoblesdorf and Capt. L. M. 
 Sabin. 
 
 Our subject enlisted as a private for three years 
 and was sent with his regiment to St. Louis, Mo., 
 in which State his first engagement took place at 
 Springfield. The next battle of his regiment was 
 fought at Pea Ridge, Ark.; then followed the battle 
 of Corinth, Miss., the next conflict of note being 
 at Perryville, Ky., October 8, 1862, in which the 
 regiment lost heavily. At Murfreesboro, Tenn., 
 Mr. Coons was taken prisoner with two hundred 
 others and confined for three months in Libby 
 Prison. His confinement in prison was the hardest 
 experience of the war, and when he was exchanged 
 found he had lost eighty-eight pounds of flesh 
 during that three months. He joined his regi- 
 ment in time to participate in the battle of Chick- 
 amauga, in which conflict he was seriously wounded 
 in the left thigh and hip joint. He was taken 
 to Cumberland Hospital, at Nashville, Tenn., 
 where he remained one year less a few days. 
 During that time, he was a great sufferer from 
 rheumatism, and the following fall, his term of 
 service having expired, he was discharged, but in 
 February, 1865, re-enlisted in Company A, One 
 Hundred and Fifty-third Illinois Infantry, and in 
 September of that year was discharged, at the close 
 of the war. 
 
 Returning home to Rockton, Mr. Coons oper- 
 ated his father's farm for the following two years, 
 and June 13, 1867, was married to Miss Rebecca 
 Hunt, who was born in England in 1845. She 
 was the daughter of Robert and Jane Hunt, who, 
 on emigrating to this country, located in Con- 
 necticut, and later came to Illinois, when Mrs. 
 Coons was ten years of age. Our subject and his 
 wife have ever since their marriage made their 
 home on this place, with the exception of two years 
 spent on a farm in Minnesota. They have become 
 the parents of the following children : Winnie, who 
 died when two years of age, in 1872; Mabel, Cecil 
 
1182 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Orville. Cecil, who is now residing in Clinton, 
 Iowa, was graduated from the Rockton High School 
 in 1890, with the honors of his class. This bright 
 and promising young man has displayed a rare taste 
 for drawing and portrait painting, having pro- 
 duced some fine pictures without any instruction 
 whatever. 
 
 In their religious faith, Mr. and Mrs. Coons are 
 members of the Methodist Church. Our subject, 
 who is a Republican in politics, has been for the 
 past twelve years a comrade of Nevius Post No. 
 1, G. A. R., of Rockford. 
 
 ,AMUEL MORSE. That a lifetime spent 
 in pursuing one occupation will in the end 
 result in substantial success, where energy 
 and perseverance are applied, cannot for a moment 
 be doubted, and such is found to be the case with 
 Mr. Morse, who from boyhood has given attention 
 to agricultural pursuits. This adherence to his 
 chosen calling, coupled with strict integrity, hon- 
 esty of purpose, and liberality in directions, have 
 placed Mr. Morse among the honored and much 
 esteemed citizens of the county. 
 
 A native of New York, he was born in Ridge- 
 way Township, Orleans County, on the 21st of No- 
 vember, 1827, to the marriage of John and Han- 
 nah (Davis) Morse. The father was born in the 
 old Bay State, but seeing the advantages to be 
 derived from locating on the fertile prairies of 
 Illinois, he came to this State in 1840, and se- 
 lected a suitable location, to which he brought his 
 family the following year. He brought his family 
 overland, but shipped his household effects by the 
 Lakes. He was about a month in making the 
 journey, and after reacliing this State he erected a 
 small frame house, in which he and his thrifty and 
 industrious wife resided for twenty years. They 
 then erected a fine brick residence, and in this re- 
 ceived their final summons, the father dying at 
 the age of seventy-five, and the mother when 
 eighty-six years of age. The latter was a native 
 of New Hampshire, and a most estimable and 
 worthy lady. 
 Of the nine children born to the above-men- 
 
 tioned couple, three are now living. The Morse 
 family have followed the occupation of agricul- 
 turists for the most part, but some have been 
 prominent mechanics. This family is of English 
 origin. Samuel Morse received the rudiments of 
 an education in his native county, and received 
 the finishing touches after coming to Boone 
 County, 111. At an early age, he manifested a de- 
 sire to follow agricultural pursuits for a liveli- 
 hood, and as he had every chance to perfect him- 
 self in this pursuit on his father's farm, he 
 naturally has continued to follow this until the 
 present time. In those pioneer days, he was 
 obliged to work hard, and all his father's market- 
 ing was done in Chicago. 
 
 Our subject has remained under the parental 
 roof all his life, and after the death of his parents 
 he bought out the other heirs, and now owns one 
 hundred and-twenty acres in this township. He 
 also owns one hundred and forty acres in Bonus 
 Township, this county, and is one of the foremost 
 tillers of the soil in the community. He was mar- 
 ried in 1876 to Miss Sarah F. Cleveland, who was 
 born in Boone County, 111., and whose parents, 
 Henry W. and Sarah F. Cleveland, were early 
 settlers in this county. Her mother is still living 
 in this county, but the father died several years 
 ago. Altbough his father was a Democrat in his 
 political views, our subject's first Presidential vote 
 was cast for Abraham Lincoln. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Morse are classed among the representative citi- 
 zens of the county. 
 
 ^RANK WAGNER has for over thirty years 
 
 been a resident of this county, and since 
 coming here attained an honorable position 
 among its industrious and progressive citizens. 
 Ho is a well-known resident of Rockford, having 
 acted as Superintendent of the West Side Cemetery 
 for a period of twenty-five years. Our subject is 
 of German birth and breeding, born in March, 
 1830, in Prussia. He is a son of Adam and 
 Mary Wagner, natives also of the Fatherland, 
 wliere the elder Mr. Wagner spent his entire life. 
 The mother, however, came to America with four 
 
POETBAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 
 
 1183 
 
 of her children, and, locating in Wisconsin, resided 
 there until her death. 
 
 The brother and sisters of our subject were 
 Charles, Amanda and Christina. He was reared 
 and educated in his native land, and tliere served 
 an apprenticeship as landscape gardener. Desiring 
 to come to America, Mr. Wagner set sail from 
 Berlin in 1856, and after a voyage of eight weeks 
 landed in Vermont. Coming directly to Illinois, 
 he resided for two years in Aurora, since which 
 time he has been identified with the interests of 
 Eockford. 
 
 Anria Barbara Henry, who was born in Wurtem- 
 berg, Germany, was married to our subject in 
 August, 1863. She was the daughter of Michael 
 and Anna Maria (Schramm) Henry, also natives 
 of that place, where their decease occurred. Mrs. 
 Wagner came to America in 1860, landing in Ply- 
 mouth, Mass., where she joined the family of her 
 uncle, John Henry, with whom she made her home 
 until September, 1862, which was the date of her 
 coming to Eockford. Her union with our subject 
 has resulted in the birth of three children: Carrie 
 Anna, born in 1864, died in November, 1888; 
 Frank W., born in 1866, departed this life in Jan- 
 uary, 1888; Lizzie, the only member of the 
 family living, with her parents is a member of the 
 Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 OX. JOHN BUDLONG. The credit for a 
 *^ large share of enterprise which helps to 
 make Eockford one of the most prosper- 
 p ous of cities in the United States, belongs 
 to the gentleman whose name is at the head of 
 this sketch, and who is President of the Royal Sew- 
 ing Machine Company. He is also a stockholder 
 of the Standard Furniture Company, the Bit and 
 Tool Company, the Excelsior Furniture Company, 
 and the Eockford Manufacturing Company, in 
 which latter organization he is Director. Indeed, 
 almost every advantage that the town enjoys, from 
 a business point of view, is owing in a greater or 
 less degree to his push and energy. He is very 
 popular with the people, and has made a financial 
 success of his various undertakings. 
 54 
 
 The original of this sketch was born in Eodman, 
 Jefferson County, N. Y., February 18, 1833. He 
 is the son of Clark Budlong, who was a native of 
 Herkimer County, that State, his birth occurring 
 in 1804. His father, Green Budlong, was a native 
 of Ehode Island, and of English ancestry. The 
 latter-named gentleman removed to the Empire 
 State as early as 1800, and was one of the pioneers 
 of Herkimer County, purchasing a tract of timber 
 in Litchfield, a portion of which he brought to a 
 good degree of cultivation. At that early period 
 there were neither railroads nor canal near his home, 
 and Albany was the nearest market and depot for 
 supplies. On removing from Herkimer County, 
 which he did in 1805, he became a resident of Jeff- 
 erson County, making his home in the town of 
 Eodman, where he cultivated a tract of land which 
 had been given him by his father, and where he 
 made his home until his decease. Clark Budlong, 
 the father of our subject, was reared in Jefferson 
 County on the home farm, and when starting out 
 in life for himself, purchased a tract of timber 
 land near the old home. In addition to farming, 
 he operated a sawmill for a time, and at the time 
 of his death, which occurred in 1844, owned and 
 operated a hotel at Eodman. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Mary Lucas; she was born in Middletown, Conn., 
 in 1806, and was a daughter of John W. and Esther 
 (Stowc) Lucas, natives of the Nutmeg State. The 
 mother now resides with our subject, having at- 
 tained to her eighty-sixth year. John Budlong 
 was the only child of his parents, and was given 
 an excellent education in the Eodman Semin- 
 ary, which was later supplemented by attendance 
 at the Jefferson County Institute at Watertown, 
 and the Adams Institute, also in that county, and 
 the Falley Seminary at Fulton, Oswego County. 
 He commenced teaching school when in his eigh- 
 teenth year, and in 1853 went to North Carolina, 
 where he was engaged as a pedagogue for a twelve- 
 month at Eadington. Thence he went to Gay town, 
 where he taught for one year, thence to Texas, 
 where he was similarly engaged for the same 
 length of time in Washington County. Coming 
 North, he engaged as a teacher in Missouri, and 
 in the fall of 1860 returned to his native town, 
 
1184 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 teaching school and studying law. In 1860, he 
 was elected Justice of the Peace, and in April, 
 1861, on the outbreak of the Civil War, enlisted 
 in Company G, Thirty-fifth New Yorli Infantry, 
 being commissioned Second Lieutenant on the or- 
 ganization of the company. One year later, he was 
 promoted to be First Lieutenant, and the Captain 
 of his company, J. H. Haddock, being on detached 
 service, Lieut. Budlong was in command of the 
 company, with which he continued until the expi- 
 ration of his term of service. 
 
 On receiving his honorable discharge, our subject 
 returned home, soon after which time he purchased 
 the plant of the Northern New York Journal^ at 
 Watertown, which he edited until 1867, at which 
 time he disposed of his office, and, coming to Win- 
 nebago County, purchased a farm of one hundred 
 and eighty acres adjoining the city of Rockford. 
 
 The city grew rapidly, and in 1889 Mr. Budlong 
 platted a portion of his farm, and at the present 
 time there are upwards of forty dwellings and four 
 manufacturing institutions on his farm. Miss 
 Minnie G. Smith, who was born in Lorain, Jeffer- 
 son County, N. Y., August 7, 1840, became the 
 wife of our subject, June 14, 1865. Mrs. Budlong 
 is the daughter of Philander Smith, whose native 
 place was Worth, Jefferson County, N. Y., and his 
 father, Henry Smith, hailed from Nelson, N. H., 
 moving from that State to New York in 1808, 
 where he was one of the early settlers in the town 
 of Worth. He continued to reside there a short 
 time, when, in order to give his children better ad- 
 vantages for an education, he moved to EUisburg, 
 and when his. object was accomplished, purchased 
 a farm near Camillus, where they resided for a num- 
 ber of years. Mr. Smith departed this life at the 
 home of his daughter, Mrs. Kingsly, at Arlington 
 Heights, this State. The maiden name of his wife, 
 the grandmother of Mrs. Budlong, was Fannie 
 Wilson. She also died at the home of Mrs. 
 Kingsly. The father of Mrs. Budlong followed 
 the occupation of a farmer during the earlier part 
 of his life, his decease occurring at Oak Park, 111. 
 The maiden name of her mother was Adeline 
 Meacham; she was born in Pulaski, Oswego Coun- 
 ty, N. Y., April 20, 1820 and is the lineal descend- 
 ant of Miles Standish, who was born in England 
 
 in 1584, and married Barbara Standish in 1623, 
 and came to America in the "Mayflower" in 1620. 
 He died in 1656, leaving three sons: Alexander, 
 Miles, Joseah, and a daughter, who died young. 
 Joseah was the lineal ancestor of Mrs. Budlong. 
 His son, Samuel, was the next in line; he married 
 Deborah, daughter of George Gates, and resided 
 in Preston, Conn. The next in line was their son 
 Thomas, who was born in 1724, and married in 
 1750 to Mrs. Sarah Williams, a widow. Their 
 daughter, Lucy Standish, was the next in line. She 
 married Isaac Meacham, the great-grandfather of 
 Mrs. Budlong; he was a native of New England, 
 where he cultivated a farm, and passed from this 
 life in Pulaski, Vt. The grandfather of Mrs. Bud- 
 long, Simon Meacham, was born in Paulet, Vt., 
 whence he removed to Pulaski, Oswego County, 
 N. Y., where he was among the pioneers of that 
 locality, improving a farm, upon which he spent 
 his last years. His wife was Sarah Harmon, who 
 was born in Paulet, Vt., and died in Pulaski, 
 N.Y. The mother of Mrs. Budlong is at the present 
 time residing at Oak Park, Chicago. 
 
 Philander Smith left monej'' to be used as his 
 wife thought best for missionary purposes. She has 
 established the following schools and hospitals: 
 Philander Smith College for colored jjeople, at 
 Little Rock, Ark.; Philander Smith Hospital; a 
 hospital at Nankin, China, where she has also es- 
 tablished a home and school for girls, and a boj's' 
 boarding school in India; also the Philander Smith 
 Biblical Institute, for the purpose of training native 
 ministers. She is now building a chapel and school 
 for girls at Muttra, India, besides doing a great deal 
 in this country. 
 
 To our subject and his estimable wife have been 
 granted five children, namely: Standish S., Win- 
 thrope M., Mary A., John W. and one deceased. 
 Winthrope and Mary are students at Oberlin, Ohio, 
 while John is prosecuting his studies in the Rock- 
 ford High School. Mr. and Mrs. Budlong in 
 church affairs are connected with the Cenntenial 
 Methodist Episcopal denomination. Our subject 
 is a member of Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R., and 
 is thoroughly representative of the progressive 
 element of this section. He has given the best 
 efforts of his life to commercial pursuits, and as a 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1185 
 
 reward for his industry has a high standing in fi-. 
 nancial circles. His career has been one eminently 
 worthy and useful in the community in which he 
 resides, and his neighbors and friends unitedly 
 bear testimony to his sterling worth, integrity and 
 valuable services. Our subject has been elected 
 Supervisor of his township, and has also been a 
 member of the Legislature. 
 
 
 '^ ONAS HAKANSON, retired, was originally 
 from Sweden, his birth occurring in Wester 
 Gothland Province, on the 3d of April, 
 _ 1819. He came of a good class of Swedish 
 people, who were tillers of the soil for generations, 
 and his father, Hocken Johnson, also followed 
 that occupation. The latter came to the United 
 States one month after our subject, and two years 
 later died in St. Charles, 111., when sixty-two 
 years of age. His wife, whose maiden name was 
 Martha Brunard, came to the States two years later 
 than her husband and survived him about twenty- 
 four years, dying at the home of her son, our sub- 
 ject, in Owen Township, when eighty-four years 
 of age. Both were life-long members of the Swed- 
 ish Lutheran church. 
 
 Jonas Hakanson was reared in his native country 
 and early in youth became familiar with the ardu- 
 ous duties of the farm. He was there married to 
 Miss Mary Christianson, who came of similar an- 
 cestors, and the young couple immediately took 
 passage for the United States. They were seven 
 weeks and one day on the water, and after landing 
 came to the State of Illinois. This was in the year 
 
 1852. After coming to this State, they located for 
 a time in St. Charles and there Mrs. Hakanson 
 died of cholera two weeks later. Mr. Hakanson's 
 second marriage occurred in St. Charles, 111., in 
 
 1853, to Miss Mary Johnson, also a native of Wes- 
 ter Gothland, bom October 31, 1823. Her parents 
 died in Sweden, and in 1852 Mrs. Hakanson came 
 alone to the States and settled in St. Charles, 111. 
 Two years later, she was married to Mr. Hakanson 
 and has borne him five children : David, single, 
 died at the age of about thirty-two; Matilda 
 married August Lumberg, a farmer of Owen Town- 
 
 ship; Louisa, wife of Gust Wanstrom, a carpenter 
 and mechanic of Eockford; Albertena married 
 William Haff, a machinist in the Nelson Knitting 
 Factory, and Helna married Henry Wanstrom, a 
 carpenter of Rockford. 
 
 After his second marriage, or in 1855, Mr. Hak- 
 anson came to Winnebago County and settled on 
 a small piece of land in Owen Township. He added 
 to this from time to time until he finally became 
 the owner of one hundred and sixtj' acres of well- 
 improved land. This he sold to his son and in 
 1879 moved to Eockford, of which city he has 
 been a resident since. He built a comfortable res- 
 idence at No. 406 South Fourth Street and now en- 
 joys the comforts secured by previous years of toil 
 
 LFRED ANDERSON. In giving a history 
 of the manufacturing and business inter- 
 ests of the city of Rockford, it is neces- 
 sary that due mention should be made 
 of the Union Furniture Company, which adds so 
 much to the development and progress of the city. 
 A prominent cabinet-maker and stockholder in this 
 enterprise is Mr. Alfred Anderson who was one of 
 its promoters, and who is a gentleman of thorough 
 training. He is a stockholder in the Chair and 
 Furniture Factory, the Royal Sewing Machine 
 Company, and many other enterprises. 
 
 Like many of the representative citizens of 
 Rockford, Mr. Anderson is a Swede, his birth hav- 
 ing occurred in Wester Gothland Province, on 
 the 19th of April, 1849, and, like all his coun- 
 trymen, he is thrifty and industrious. He took 
 up the carpenter trade in youth, under his father, 
 John Wegren, who passed his entire life in Swe- 
 den, dying when sixty-five years of age. The 
 latter followed the occupation of a blacksmith, 
 carpenter and farmer. His wife is still living, is 
 in her seventy-fourth year, and now resides in 
 Sweden. She is a member of the Lutheran Church 
 and her husband also held membership in the same. 
 Of the two sons born to this union our subject is 
 the younger. His brother, John E. Anderson, is 
 now with his mother in Sweden and is a tiller of 
 the soil. John married Miss Clara Anderson. 
 
1186 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 As our subject grew to manhood, he received 
 a good practical education in the common schools 
 of his native country, and in 1872 or 1873 came 
 to the United States. For about eighteen months 
 he was in Southern and Central Illinois, but on 
 the 6th of January, 1874, he came to Rockford 
 and followed his trade here until 1876, when he 
 took up cabinet-making. He was married in 
 Rockford to Miss Ella Peterson, a native of this 
 city, born September 8, 1854, and the youngest 
 daughter and child of Peter and Mary (Brisman) 
 Peterson, natives of Wester Gothland Province, 
 Sweden. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson 
 resided on a farm in their native country until 
 six children were born, three of whom died there, 
 and then, in 1852, the family came to tlie United 
 States, landing in Boston on the 4th of July of 
 that year. They came West to Elgin, where two 
 children were born, twins, and two months later 
 came on to Rockford. The father died in Rock- 
 ford on the 25th of November, 1889, when eighty- 
 six years of age. He was quite active up to al- 
 most the last and was an intelligent and worthy 
 citizen. His wife is still living, and though 
 seventy- three years of age, time has dealt leniently 
 with her and she is still quite active. She has a 
 comfortable home with her son, P. A. Peterson 
 (see sketch). She is a member of the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 Mr. Anderson adheres strictly to the principles 
 of the Republican party in his political views, and 
 in religion he and Mrs. Anderson are worthy mem- 
 bers of the First Lutheran Church. The fruits of 
 their union have been two very bright boys: John 
 R., born June 17, 1879, and Pearl A., born May 
 21, 1881. 
 
 I ljfcn.LIAM P. BUCHAN, who is engaged in 
 \^f/ general farming on section 6, Cherry Val- 
 \^ ley Township, Winnebago County, was 
 born in Ontario County, N. Y., in 1814, and is 
 descended from an old Mai-yand family. His boy- 
 hood days were spent in his native State and there 
 he acquired his education. Hoping to better his 
 financial condition, he came to the West in 1848, 
 
 and, with the exception of a few months, has 
 since resided in this county. In Cherry Valley 
 Township, Mr. Buchan was united in marriage 
 with Mrs. Susanna J. (Stilson) Rowley, who was 
 born in Broome County, N. Y., and with her par- 
 ents came to Illinois in 1844, settling in Rockford. 
 Her father, Harley Stilsou, was a native of Conn- 
 ecticut and in New York he married Retta Burton, 
 also a native of the Nutmeg State. Subsequently, 
 they came to the West and for two years resided 
 in Rockford, where Mr. Stilson followed his trade 
 of carpentering and bridge-building, at which he 
 had worked in the East. He helped to build the 
 first bridge that spanned the Rock River at Rock- 
 ford and also the first Court House. This was in 
 1845. Later, he purchased a farm near Rockford 
 and there he and his wife spent the remainder of 
 their days. He was born January 17, 1800, and 
 died in March, 1874. Mrs. Stilson, who was born 
 February 17, 1803, passed away in April, 1876. 
 They were both members of the Methodist Church, 
 and were worthy people. Three of their children 
 are yet living, of whom Mrs. Buchan is the eldest. 
 Her brother, Nathan L., is a carpenter of Elgin 
 111., and a prominent member of the Masonic order. 
 Her sister, Mrs. Lucy L. Burt, resides in Lake City, 
 Iowa, and by her marriage has become the mother 
 of the following children: John, Jane E., Sarah, 
 deceased, Kate L., Retta, Lucy J., Frank E., Will- 
 iam, Charles and Thomas. 
 
 An uncle of Mrs. Buchan, Rev. James W. Burton, 
 came to this State with her father, and on the 18th 
 of March, 1850, started for California. He crossed 
 the plains with teams, and after engaging in min- 
 ing for some time, again began preaching. He was 
 one of the first Methodist ministers in that State, 
 and died while serving as pastor of the church of 
 Woodland, when about forty years of age, leaving 
 a wife and four children. His widow afterward 
 again married. Of his children, Retta J. died at 
 the age of twenty-six years; Thomas H. married 
 Georgia Best, of Dixon, 111.; Frank wedded Ida 
 Fowler, of California, and they live in California; 
 Eliza L. is the wife of Isaac Wicks, of Fresno, 
 Cal. 
 
 Prior to her marriage to Mr. Buchan, his wife 
 wedded Franklin Lewis, who started to California 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1187 
 
 in 1850, and died on the way in the prime of life. 
 She then married Daniel Rowley, who died a few 
 years later. By the first union she had two chil- 
 dren: Sarah A. and Philo E., and by the second 
 marriage was born one daughter, Retta J., but all 
 are now deceased. 
 
 Mr. Buchan is an enterprising and successful 
 farmer and a well-to-do citizen of this community. 
 His home farm comprises one hundred and sixty 
 acres of arable land, highly cultivated, and he also 
 owns one hundred and four acres of land near the 
 city hmits of Rockford, together with twenty- 
 flve acres of timber land in Guilford Township and 
 a ten-acre timber tract in Cherry Valley Township. 
 He is a Republican in politics, and himself and 
 wife attend the Centennial Methodist Church of 
 Rockford. 
 
 m^m 
 
 ARK DAY. This gentleman, who is resid- 
 ing one-half mile from Rockford, was born 
 in Essex, Chittenden County, Vt., Novem- 
 ber 28, 1840. He is a son of Childs Day, 
 who was bom in the above-named county and 
 town, March 29, 1794. His father, David Day, 
 was born in West Springfield, Mass., May 2, 1758, 
 and was the son of David Day, who in turn was a 
 son of John Day, who was born in Springfield, 
 July 5, 1698. His father, also named John Day, 
 was a son of Thomas Day, who, in turn, was a 
 son of Robert and Sarah (Cooper) Day. 
 
 The first ancestor of our subject to come to 
 America was Robert Day, who settled in Newton, 
 now Cambridge, Mass., in 1634. The genealogy of 
 the Day family records that he was one of the com- 
 pany of one hundred pioneers, who, with their pas- 
 tor, the Rev. Mr. Hooker, penetrated the wilderness 
 of Massachusetts in 1636. The second wife of 
 Robert Day was Editha Stebbins, sister of Deacon 
 Edward Stebbins. The great-grandfather of our 
 subject removed from Massachusetts to Essex, Vt., 
 where he was one of the earliest settlers and where 
 his death occurred in June, 1795, when in his 
 sixty-third year. The grandfather of our subject 
 was one of the pioneers of Essex, and, clearing a 
 farm from the wilderness, there spent his last days. 
 
 He served as a patriot in the Revolutionary War 
 for seven years and was very prominent during 
 the conflict and afterwards was a pensioner of 
 the Government. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Aseneth Childs; she died on the old home 
 farm in the town of Essex. 
 
 Childs Day, the father of our subject, was reared 
 and married in his native town and remembers 
 when there were no railroads in the vicinity of his 
 home, and how all the transportation was carried on 
 by means of teams, he being employed for a num- 
 ber of years to drive a team between Montreal and 
 Boston. He later purchased a farm near the old 
 home, where he spent the remaining years of his 
 life in quiet retirement. He served as a patriot in 
 the War of 1812, and was prominently connected 
 with all local affairs. The maiden name of his 
 wife was Mahala Collins; she was born in Lebanon, 
 N. H., and was the daughter of Henry and Fannie 
 (Aldrich) Collins. 
 
 The original of this sketch received his educa- 
 tion in the pioneer schools of his district and re- 
 mained with his parents assisting his father in 
 carrying on the farm until their decease. On the 
 outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted, August 19, 
 1862, in Company D, Thirteenth Vermont Infantry, 
 and in July, 1863, received his honorable discharge. 
 During his term of service, he participated in the 
 battle of Gettysburg, and was engaged in numer- 
 ous skirmishes. He continued to reside in his 
 native State until 1864, then emigrating to Win- 
 nebago County, purchased the farm which he now 
 owns and occupies. It is an excellently improved 
 tract, having thereon all the necessary buildings 
 and machinery, which make of it a first-class estate. 
 It is further made more valuable by its proximity to 
 Eockford, being only one-half mile distant. 
 
 Mary E. Winch became the wife of our subject 
 in 1874; she was born in Aurora, Cayuga County, 
 N. Y., and was a daughter of Walter Winch, who 
 was a native of Brownville, Jefferson County, that 
 State. Her grandfather, John Winch, hailed from 
 Massachusetts and oh the removal to New York, 
 located in the above-named county, where he de- 
 parted this life. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Amelia Gage. The father of Mrs. Day early 
 in life learned the trade of a tinner and later 
 
1188 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 that of a jeweler, -which business lie carried on in 
 Aurora, N. Y. He later removed to Auburn and 
 in 1875 emigrated to San Francisco, Cal., where he 
 is successfully engaged in the jewelry business. 
 He was married to Rosanna Campbell, who was born 
 in Auburn, N. Y., and is the daughter of John and 
 Amanda Campbell. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Day has been born one son, 
 Herbert W. They are both active members of the 
 Second Congregational Church, and in his politi- 
 cal relations, Mr. Day votes the straight Republi- 
 can ticket. Socially, he is connected with Nevius 
 Post No. 1, G. A. R., and is held in high esteem by 
 all his neighbors and friends. 
 
 < I < ' I 6 
 
 ■I ' ■ I * I ' t ■ ^ 
 
 f/_^ENRY CURTIS. In studying the genea- 
 
 ''^jl logical tree of the Curtis family, we find 
 
 that they came originally from England 
 
 1^ and were prominent in their different call- 
 ings in that country. The subject of this sketch 
 was born in Hampshire, England, March 30, 1813, 
 to the union of Stephen, Jr., and Elizabeth (Poor) 
 Curtis, natives of Hampshire and Lincolnshire, 
 respectively, where both received their final sum- 
 mons, the father dying at the age of eighty, and 
 the mother when about seventy-live years of age. 
 Stephen, Jr., was a farmer and had followed that 
 occupation all his life. To his marriage was born 
 a large family of children, eleven of whom lived to 
 be grown, two died in infancy, and four are now 
 living. The paternal grandfather, Stephen Curtis, 
 Sr., passed his entire life in Hampshire, England, 
 and he and his wife died there when quite aged. 
 Elizabeth Poor, mother of our subject, was one of 
 two children born to Edward Poor and his wife, 
 natives of Oxfordshire, England. Her parents 
 moved to Hampshire, England, and there engaged 
 in the nursery business, Edward Poor being 
 known as head gardener. 
 
 The subject of this sketch remained under the 
 parental roof until about ten years of age, and then 
 for three years worked for his board and clothes 
 with an uncle, James Curtis. After this he was 
 engaged in teaming for an old Quaker, with whom 
 he remained until eighteen years of age, and then 
 
 took passage on the vessel "Process," landing at 
 Quebec, Canada, six weeks later. He remained in 
 Eastern Canada, worked on a farm for about four 
 years, and after saving $200 started for the fertile 
 soil of Illinois. He came by stage and steamer to 
 Montreal, and canal to Kingston, thence by the 
 Lakes to Queenstown and by carriage to Chippewa, 
 after which he took the steamer "Thomas Jeffer- 
 son" at Buffalo to go to Detroit, but. changed on 
 to the "Michigan" and came by it to Chicago. 
 He walked from that city out to Boone County, 
 and made his first appearance in that county in 
 June, 1836. He at once settled on his present 
 farm, erected a log cabin 16x20, and in this he 
 made his home until 1876, when he moved into 
 his present fine large house. 
 
 Mr. Curtis was married in Canada in April, 
 1835, to Miss Mary Atkinson, who was born in 
 Lincolnshire, England, on the 26th of July, 1804, 
 and was the daughter of Robert and Ann (Ross) 
 Atkinson , natives also of Lincolnshire, England. 
 Her parents died in East, or Lower, Canada, when 
 extremely aged people; they were the parents of 
 seven or eight children, all now deceased, the 
 youngest having died in this county in the winter 
 of 1891. When our subject reached Chicago on 
 his way to this county, he left his wife, who had 
 accompanied him thus far, in Chicago, and he 
 started out on foot for Boone County. The coun- 
 try was almost a wilderness then and he followed 
 surveying lines and blazed trees until he came to 
 this county. Very few neighbors were here then, 
 but game abounded on all sides. After selecting 
 a suitable location and getting everything in read- 
 iness, he returned in the fall of 1836 to Chicago 
 for his wife, whom he brought to his pioneer home. 
 Of the four children born to this worthy couple, 
 three are yet living, as follows: Elizabeth, born 
 March 11, 1838, married George Williams and be- 
 came the mother of five children; William H. H., 
 born August 26, 1840, and Thomas, born June 6, 
 1843. When locating in this county, our subject 
 took up one hundred and sixty acres of land and 
 has resided on this ever since. Mr. Curtis is a 
 Republican in his political views .and his first Pres- 
 idential vote was cast for W. H. Harrison. He 
 named his son after this President. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1189 
 
 This son, William Henry Harrison Curtis, was 
 born in Spring Township, Boone County, 111., 
 on the 26th of August, 1840, as above mentioned, 
 and after attaining his growth was married to Miss 
 Maritta D. Handy, who was born in this county on 
 the 7th of November, 1847. This union has been 
 blessed by the birth of five children, as follows: Clar- 
 ence L., born in Milton, Pa., on the 28th of March, 
 1872; Lois M., born in Pennsylvania., November 25, 
 1874, attending school; Mabel M., born in this coun- 
 ty.May 31, 1878; Clyde W., born in Pennsylvania, 
 April 3, 1882, and Grace D.,born in Pennsylvania, 
 July 27, 1884. Mrs. Curtis is a daughter of John and 
 Celinda M. (Shattuck) Handy. Her father was a 
 native of Ohio and came to this county in 1835. 
 He took up Government land, but sold out late in 
 life and moved to Wisconsin, where he died on the 
 7th of March, 1850, when forty years of age. His 
 wife died in this county on the 1st of April, 1864. 
 (See sketch of C. B. Lord for further particulars 
 of Mrs. Curtis.) Mrs. Curtis' eldest sister was the 
 first female child born in Boone County. Mr. 
 Curtis, like his father, is a Republican, and his 
 first Presidential vote was cast for Lincoln. He has 
 held a number of the local offices of the county 
 and is now Supervisor. The family attend the 
 Methodist Church. William H. H. Curtis was in 
 Company B, Ninety-fifth Illinois Infantry, as a 
 private and came out with the rank of Lieutenant. 
 He was in the service three years, up to the 17th 
 of September, 1865. His brother George enlisted 
 in Company I, Ninth Illinois Cavalry, was wounded 
 at Nashville, and died from the effects of the same 
 at Louisville, Ky. 
 
 4^ 
 
 ^^EORGE PETERSON, the well-known man- 
 ll ^ ufacturer of all kinds of foundry supplies, 
 ^^1 under the title of the Union Foundry & 
 Machine Company, located at Nos. 404 and 410 Ce- 
 dar Street, is one of the most enterprising and thor- 
 ough-going business men of the city. His factory is 
 well equipped and he has been proprietor of the 
 same since August, 1887. He was formerly Presi- 
 dent of the old corporation, which was organized 
 m May, 1881, under the same name as it is now 
 
 operated. Mr. Peterson became a member of the 
 firm and its President in August, 1883, and four 
 years later sole proprietor. He is President, his 
 wife, E. Peterson, Vice-president and his daughter, 
 J. B. Peterson, Secretary and Treasurer. The busi- 
 ness has been well and successfully carried on and 
 is crowded with work, although about thirty men 
 are employed all the time. 
 
 Mr. Peterson has been a resident of Rockford 
 since 1854 and is well and favorably known in the 
 county. He learned the trade of a machinist at 
 an early age, has followed this all his life, and has 
 met with substantial results. Aside from the 
 foundry, he is interested in outside enterprises of 
 Rockford, and has a fine residence on South West 
 Street, in the Fifth Ward. 
 
 Born in New York City, Mr. Peterson came to 
 this State when a j'oung man and what he has ac- 
 cumulated in the way of this world's goods is the 
 result of his own good fighting qualities. His 
 father, John Peterson, was a native of Sweden, 
 and came to this country when but fourteen years 
 of age and in the latter part of the last century. 
 He became a ship-rigger and was killed by falling 
 from the ship's rigging which he was putting on 
 at the wharfs of New York City. He was then fifty- 
 nine years of age, and was a quiet, industrious 
 man. His death was a great blow to his wife and 
 family. He had always resided in New York City, 
 but his wife afterward followed her children to 
 Rockford, 111., where her death occurred at the home 
 of her son, Frederick Peterson, when eighty-seven 
 years of age. Her maiden name was Mary Kirfus 
 and she was born in Philadelphia in 1802. She 
 was of German ancestry and the daughter of 
 Christian Kirfus, who was a baker by trade. The 
 latter died in New York City when seventy years 
 of age. His wife had come to Rockford at an early 
 day and died here when eightj^-nine years of age. 
 Our subject was one of six children, five of 
 whom are living at the present time and all mar- 
 ried. He selected his wife in the person of Miss 
 Eliza Vibbard, a native of Rockford Township, 
 this county, and their union was solemnized in 
 Rockford. Her parents, Thomas and Phebe (Scott) 
 Vibbard, were natives of the Green Mountain State 
 and after marriage came to Rockford Township 
 
1190 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BTOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where the father cultivated the soil. Later, or in 
 1867, they moved to Iowa, Delaware County, and 
 there the mother died when sixty-nine years of 
 age. Mr. Vibb.ard subsequently returned to Rock- 
 ford and has since been domiciled with his daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Peterson. He is now eighty years of age. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Peterson are prominent society 
 people of Rockford, and Mrs. Peterson is a Meth- 
 odist in her religious belief. Mr. Peterson is a 
 stanch supporter of the principles of the Repub- 
 lican party. They have had four children, but 
 one, Gertrude, a bright little girl, died at the age 
 of ten years. Those living are: Carrie M., wife 
 of William G. Shapley, a baker of Rockford; Jen- 
 nie V>., at home, and Secretary and Treasurer of 
 her father's manufactory, and Maud, in the High 
 School. 
 
 ILLIAM NETTLETON, who is pleasantly 
 '/ located on section 36, LeRoy Township, 
 
 Boone County, is the proprietor of one 
 hundred and twenty-seven acres of land, which 
 his good judgment has placed under excellent cul- 
 tivation. He is a native of this county and town- 
 ship, his birth having occurred in 1863, while his 
 father, Danforth Nettleton, was a native of Gene- 
 see County, N. Y., and was born in 1804. 
 
 The father of our subject was left an orphan 
 when a lad of seven years, and was bound out to 
 his godfather until reaching his majority. He was 
 then married to Miss Maria Grovenberg, by whom 
 he became the father of five children. Mrs. Net- 
 tleton died, and the lady to whom the father was 
 married in LeRoy Township, March 19, 1849, was 
 Miss Margaret Postlethwaite. She was born in 
 England, September 7, 1823, being the daughter of 
 James Postlethwaite, and bore her husband four 
 children, namely: Maria; "William, our subject; 
 Ella, now Mrs. James Black, of Washington; and 
 Minnie, who married Frank Vickers, of Poplar 
 Grove. 
 
 Danforth Nettleton departed this life F'ebruary 
 13, 1891, when eighty-seven years of age. He 
 came to this locality in 1842 and took up a quarter- 
 section of Government land, which was his perma- 
 
 nent abiding-place. Our subject was married, Sept- 
 ember 15, 1875, to Rilla Nash, of Chemung, Mc- 
 Henry County, 111. The lady was the daughter of 
 Sidney and Caroline (Carpenter) Nash, natives of 
 New York, who came to Illinois early in the '40s, 
 where they were married; they have a family of six 
 children, and make their home in Mc Henry County. 
 
 The five children born to our subject and his 
 wife are as follows: Clarence B., born in 1876; 
 Frank in 1878; Mabel in 1880; Bertha in 1882 and 
 Joy in 1883. 
 
 In politics, our subject is a Republican, and in 
 social matters, a Modern Woodman. He is engaged 
 in general farming, and keeps on his place about 
 twelve dairy cows. The half-brothers and sisters 
 of our subject are Fannie, Mrs. Jonathan Leonard, 
 of Washington State; Jane S., who married John 
 Rice, of Chillicothe, this State; Densie, the wife of 
 Edwin Walker, also of Chillicothe; James A. and 
 Elias H., both of whom were soldiers in the Civil 
 War, the latter of whom died of measles when 
 in the service; James A. is a farmer in Kansas, and 
 is married to Cecil Leonard. 
 
 '^ AMES HESTED, one of the extensive farm- 
 ers of Winnebago County, residing on 
 section 27, Cherry Valley Township, claims 
 ^^ England as the land of his nativity. He 
 was born in Kent County in October, 1825, and is 
 the son of William and Sarah (Eldredge) Hested. 
 They were both born in the same locality and 
 emigrated to this country about 1830, bringing 
 with them their three sons and one daughter. 
 They settled in Rensselaer Count3', N. Y., where 
 for eighteen years Mr. Hested operated a rented 
 farm. There the mother died, leaving a family of 
 seven children. The father afterwards removed 
 to Bradford County and bought a farm, upon 
 which he spent his remaining days, dying at the 
 age of sixty-five years, in the summer of 1857. 
 
 Our subject was the third child of the family. 
 He left the parental roof at the age of fifteen 
 years, and since that time he has made his own 
 way in the world. He began as a farm hand at 
 $5 per month, and worked eight months, then 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHTCAL RECORD. 
 
 1191 
 
 worked for his board while he went to school for 
 four months, paying his own tuition. After cloth- 
 ing himself he had $20 left. His time was spent 
 in this way for seventeen years, his wages being 
 increased to $15 per month, which was considered 
 good paj' at that time. He lived with Andrew 
 Eyan in Rensselaer County for ten years, and his 
 employer being old and inflrm, he managed the 
 farm as though it was his own property. On leav- 
 ing New York in April, 1855, he came to the 
 "West, locating in Winnebago County, and was 
 employed upon the farm of J. II. Fake. He brought 
 witli him about $1,000, which he had saved from 
 his wages in the East, and this he loaned at ten 
 per cent. Other men were loaning money at 
 twenty-five per cent, and considered him a green- 
 horn, but he lost nothing by his efforts to aid others. 
 In 1859, he purchased his first farm, a one hundred 
 acre tract on section 14, Cherry Valley Township, 
 and in 1868 bought eighty acres more, selling the 
 next year, and clearing $1,800. In 1871, he pur- 
 chased one hundred and sixty acres on section 27, 
 Cherry Valley Township. 
 
 January 24, 1861, Mr. Hested was joined in 
 wedlock with Miss Mary J. Boltazer, who was born 
 in Pennsylvania, January 24, 1836. They began 
 their domestic life upon the farm in the spring of 
 1861, and to the work of developing and improv- 
 ing his land our subject devoted his entire atten- 
 tion. The small house and barn have since been 
 replaced by a commodious residence and ample 
 outbuildings. He has laid about a thousand rods 
 of tiling, and the quarter-section which he owns, 
 with its rich and fertile fields, is considered one of 
 the best farms in the community. It is worth at 
 least $60 per acre. The home is situated on an 
 elevation and commands a fine view of the sur- 
 rounding country. 
 
 In 1884, Mr. Hested was called upon to mourn 
 the loss of his wife, who died on the 23d of April, 
 leav ing a family of four children : William E., who 
 is operating a two hundred acre farm of his father's 
 in Carroll County; Minnie E., wife of William Blair, 
 of Irene, Boone County; Harry V., who aids in 
 the cultivation of the home farm, and Edwin, who 
 is attending school at Dixon. For a number of 
 years Mr. Hested was a stanch Republican in jjoli- 
 
 tics, but is now a stalwart advocate of the Prohi- 
 bition party. His life has been well and worthily 
 spent, and owing to his persistent industry, enter- 
 prise and good management, he has made a hand- 
 some competence which places him among the sub- 
 stantial citizens of Winnebago County. 
 
 -^ _ 
 
 !>-^-<^ 
 
 £"" RASTUS L. STILES, who is at present re- 
 siding in the city of Rockton, is engaged as 
 , ' Station Agent. He was born in Gibson, Sus- 
 quehanna County, Pa., August 8, 1820, and is a 
 son of George Stiles, a native of Windham, Conn., 
 where his birth occurred about 1782. The latter- 
 named gentleman was a tanner, currier and shoe- 
 maker, which difi'erent trades he followed, with 
 the exception of the time spent in the War of 1812, 
 during his entire life. He participated in the bat- 
 tle of New London, soon after which he secured a 
 substitute, and returned home. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Elizabeth Lincoln. The parents were married 
 at the old brick church in Windham, soon after 
 which they removed to Pennsylvania, where the 
 mother died February 25, 1853. The father of 
 our subject departed this life December 22, 1854, 
 when seventy-two years of age. Our subject was 
 the fifth in a family of five sons and two daugh- 
 ters, only two of whom are living, his youngest 
 brother residing at Factoryville, Pa. 
 
 Erastus L. Stiles, when fifteen years of age, left 
 home and engaged to work at the shoemaker's 
 trade, which he had learned from his father. He 
 emigrated to Pecatonica, where he remained for a 
 time, and in September, 1885, came to Rockford, 
 where he engaged to work for Lewis Holmes. In 
 October, 1856, he was given the position of Station 
 Agent on the Racine & Miss. Railroad, which oc- 
 cupation he has followed under different corpiora- 
 tions since that time. Mr. Stiles has been ill dur- 
 ing the past six weeks (April, 1892), which is the 
 longest vacation he has had for many years. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married at 
 Brooklyn, Pa., in June, 1841, was Miss Marantha 
 Capron. She was born in Hartford, Pa., and was 
 the daughter of Wheaton and Daidane (Aldrich) 
 
1192 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Capion, also natives of the Keystone State. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stiles have been born eight children, 
 tliree of whom are deceased, namely: Ella, who died 
 in infancy; George, who passed away when twenty- 
 seven years of age, atRoekton, leaving a wife and 
 one son; and Charles K., who died in December, 
 1890, in a hospital at Chicago, in his thirtieth 
 year. Those living are Arthur G., Oscar T., Cora, 
 Durand and Herbert. Arthur enlisted when 
 eighteen years of age in Company D, Fifty-first 
 Illinois Infantry, during the late war, which was 
 l<nown as the Lead Mine Regiment, it being com- 
 manded by Col. Smith, of Galena. He served for 
 a time under Sherman, and when being sent back 
 to look after Hood, was wounded at the battle of 
 Franklin, Tenn., where he was taken prisoner and 
 confined for six months in Andersonville Prison. 
 He served his country faithfully and well for four 
 years, and receives from the Government a pen- 
 sion of 88 per month. 
 
 Mr. Stiles votes for the best man during election 
 times, regardless of party, and is as free in religious 
 matters as in politics. He has been twice elected 
 Clerk of his township, and for several years was 
 Corporation Clerk. 
 
 _y 
 
 it^^^^^ENRY G. DAVIS, M. D., a practicing phj-- 
 ^j/ sician and surgeon of Rockford, claims 
 Wisconsin as the State of his nativity, his 
 birth having occurred in Rock County on 
 the 26th of December, 1860. His paternal grand- 
 father, Jeremiah Davis, is yet living in Rock 
 County, at the age of ninetj'. The father of our 
 subject, Jeremiah Davis, Jr., was born in Herkimer 
 County, N.Y., and was reared to manhood on a farm 
 in that locality. With his father, he came West, 
 and a marriage ceremony performed in Rock 
 County united his destiny with that of Miss Jane 
 Goodrich, also a native of the Empire State, who 
 came West in her girlhood days. Her father, Jo- 
 seph Goodrich, was an early settler and prominent 
 farmer and merchant of Rock County. He was also 
 the founder of Milton College, a Seventh-day 
 Baptist School, of Milton, Wis., and established the 
 
 churches of that denomination in the county. He 
 died in Milton in 1870, having reached the al- 
 lotted age of three-score j-ears and ten. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Nancy Max on, had passed 
 away some years previous. She also was a promi- 
 nent member of the Seventh-day Baptist Church. 
 As Mrs. Davis was a mere girl when her parents 
 emigrated Westward, she was reared and educated 
 in Wisconsin. In the year 1861, the parents of 
 our subject removed to Ogle County, 111., and set- 
 tled at what is now Davis Junction. When the 
 railroad was built through that locality, the father 
 establislied the town of Davis Junction and after- 
 ward improved a very large property, upon which 
 he made his home until 1881, when he came to 
 Rockford and is now living a retired life at No. 
 206 North Second Street. His wife has proved a 
 true helpmate to him, arid they are a worthy and 
 estimable couple. In their family were six chil- 
 dren, all yet living and four are now married. 
 
 Our subject is the only one who follows a pro- 
 fession. When he was only a few months old, his 
 parents removed to Ogle County, where he re- 
 sided until coming to Rockford. At length, he 
 determined to make the practice of medicine his life 
 work, and to that end entered Hahnemann Medi- 
 cal College, of Chicago, from which he was gradu- 
 ated in the Class of '83. He established practice in 
 Monroe, Ogle County ,where he continued to reside 
 until 1889, which year witnessed his arrival in this 
 city. He formed a partnership with Dr. W. A. 
 McDowell, and opened an office at No. 112 South 
 Main Street. The firm existed for about a year, 
 since which time Dr. Davis has been alone in prac- 
 tice and has removed his oflSce to the William 
 Brown Building. 
 
 The lady who bears the name of Mrs. Davis was 
 in her maidenhood Miss Georgie Hogle, a native 
 of Chicago and a daughter of George Hogle, a 
 prominent stock dealer of that city. Her parents 
 were both born in the East and are quite promi- 
 nent people in the circles of society in which 
 they move. The marriage of the Doctor and his 
 wife was celebrated in Chicago, and has been 
 blessed with one son, Harry H. They are well- 
 known and leading people of this community, who 
 hold a high social position. They attend the Sec- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1193 
 
 ond Congregational Church, and in politics the 
 Doctor is a Republican. He is already enjoying a 
 liberal patronage and has a reputation which many 
 an older physician might well envy. 
 
 
 
 PONTUS PETERSON is a stockholder in the 
 Swedish Brewery Company, which was estab- 
 lished in 1890, and does business in south- 
 \ east Rockford. A native of Sweden, he was 
 bom in Verland, May 3, 1838. His father died in 
 Sweden at the age fifty-six years, after which his 
 mother came to America and died in Rockford at 
 the home of her daughter, Mrs. Helburg, in 1891, 
 at the age of seventy-seven years. She was a most 
 estimable lady, a true wife and mother, and lived 
 a consistent Christian life. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared to manhood 
 in his native land, where he learned the trade of a 
 brewer and also served as book-keeper for a lead- 
 ing bank for some time. He received excellent 
 educational advantages, having been a student in 
 a leading conservatory of music. He possesses 
 musical talent of a high order and has devoted 
 much time to that art and its enjoyment. He was 
 the first of his family to come to this country, the 
 year 1867 witnessing his emigration. He had al- 
 ready married before leaving his native land, his 
 union being with Miss Ida E. Ekblad, who came 
 of an old Swedish family. Her father lived and 
 died in his native land, passing away at an ad- 
 vanced age. He was at one time quite wealthy 
 and was a prominent citizen of the community in 
 which he resided. His wife is now living with her 
 daughter in Indianapolis, Ind., at the advanced 
 age of eighty-one years. Like her husband, she is 
 descended from an old and well-known Swedish 
 family. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have been born nine 
 children as follows: Robert W., an engraver in the 
 Rockford Silver Plate Company; Gertrude L., who 
 is employed in the S. B. Wilkin s Knitting works; 
 Hurbert, who is also an engraver for the Rock- 
 ford Silver Plate Company; Benjamin, Agnes, El- 
 sie, Lillie, Harry and Thomas, all of whom are yet 
 at home. The family reside at No. 198 Catherine 
 
 Street, where they have a pleasant and commodi- 
 ous residence. 
 
 Mr. Peterson came to Rockford in 1867, and has 
 here made his home continuously since. For 
 twenty years he devoted bis life to the art of m usic, 
 teaching both vocal and instrumental. His talent 
 in this direction is much above the average. He 
 was a member of the Forest City Band, has been 
 connected with other musical societies and is inter- 
 ested in everything pertaining to the art. As be- 
 fore stated, since 1890 he has been connected with 
 the Swedish Brewery Company, of which he is a 
 leading stockholder, and to the promotion of that 
 industry he now gives his time and attention. 
 
 -=]. 
 
 "S] 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 r^ 
 
 OIRAM C. BURROUGHS. The magnitude 
 of the commercial interests of Rockford is 
 the subject of frequent remark on the part 
 of visitors to this progressive city, and among its 
 most prominent establishments is the firm of Bur- 
 roughs & Thomas, undertakers and burial directors, 
 located at No. 109 North Main Street. They carry a 
 full line of burial cases, and white and black hearses, 
 and by energy and enterprise have gained an en- 
 viable reputation with the public. The business 
 was established by Mr. Burroughs in January, 1882, 
 and four years later was transferred to the pi-esent 
 place of business, while the firm of Burroughs & 
 Thomas was organized in February, 1890. 
 
 Mr. Burroughs is also one of the original stocks 
 holders and at present a Director in the Rockford 
 Burial Case Company, which was established in 
 1882, and commenced business the following year. 
 This company has met with marked success and is 
 one of the representative institutions of the city, 
 its reputation being extended throughout the sur- 
 rounding country. Since Mr. Burroughs came to 
 Winnebago County in 1874, he has been closely 
 connected with its history, first as a farmer for 
 nine years, later as a confectioner for three years, 
 and afterward as a funeral director and undertaker, 
 and in these various relations has won the confi- 
 dence of the people with whom he has been brought 
 in contact. 
 
 A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Burroughs was 
 
1194 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 born in Erie County, August 21, 1839, and was only 
 five years old when he accompanied his parents to 
 McHenry County, 111. Two years afterward, the 
 family removed to Ogle County, where our subject 
 grew to manhood upon his father's farm. When 
 twenty-two years of age, he enlisted in the service 
 of the Union as a member of Company G, Seventy- 
 fourth Illinois Infantry, Capt. Bacon and Col. 
 Marsh commanding. The regiment was incorpor- 
 ated with the Army of the Cumberland and fought 
 at the battles of Perryville, Ky., Stone River and 
 in many skirmishes with the enemy. Mr. Bur- 
 roughs was detailed for special duty part of the 
 time and was for three months confined to the hos- 
 pital on account of sickness. 
 
 At the expiration of his term of service, Mr. 
 Burroughs returned to Ogle County, where he en- 
 gaged in farming for nine years. In that county 
 he was married to Miss Angeline A. Campbell, who 
 was the first "white child born in the township of 
 Linnville, Ogle County, her birth having occurred 
 in 1839. She was reared in her native township, on 
 the farm which her father improved from the raw 
 prairie. Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs are the parents 
 of one child: Lavina, wife of W. W. Sawyer, a 
 druggist of Rockford, and the mother of one child, 
 Harold. Politically, Mr. Burroughs is an indepen- 
 dent Republican, and socially belongs to the G. L. 
 Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R., at Rockford, is a 
 Master Mason, belonging to Blue Lodge No. 102, 
 at Rockford, Subordinate Lodge, No. 140, 1. 0. O. F. 
 and Knights of Pythias, No. 36. 
 
 Mr. Burroughs belongs to a very worthy family 
 whose members have been upright citizens and en- 
 terprising and successful men. His grandfather, 
 Charles Burroughs, was a native of New York State, 
 who removed to Erie County, Pa., and there fol- 
 lowed the occupation of a farmer until his death 
 at the age of fiftj'-two. Prior to his removal from 
 the Empire State he was married to Lucinda Cun- 
 ningham, who survived him some years, coming 
 West after his decease and passing away in Floyd 
 County, Iowa, at the age of seventy. 
 
 This worthy couple were identified with the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and were the parents 
 of thirteen children, most of whom were farmers. 
 The eldest, C. C, was born May 30, 1816, in New 
 
 York, and was twenty years old when his parents 
 removed to Erie County, Pa. Upon attaining to his 
 majority he started out in life for himself and for 
 a time was a teacher, and later commenced to farm, 
 being thus engaged in Pennsylvania and Ogle 
 County, 111. At the age of fifty years he retired 
 from agricultural pursuits and is passing his de- 
 clining years quietly at his home at No. 801 West 
 State Street, Rockford. In his political and relig- 
 ious views, lie is independent and liberal, and en- 
 joys splendid health notwithstanding his age. His 
 wife also survives at the age of seventy-one and 
 with him enjoys the esteem of all with whom she 
 has come in contact during a long and useful life. 
 
 I^OLLIN G. WHITMAN, Postmaster of Belvi- 
 IWr^ dere, was born in Belvidere Townshipi 
 t4iflt, Boone County, 111., January 18, 1847, and 
 is a son of Hiram and Clarinda (Hanchett) 
 Whitman, who are mentioned in connection with 
 the sketch of Dr. F. S. Whitman, on another page 
 of this work. His education was acquired in Bel- 
 videre, and when not attending school he assisted 
 in the labors of the farm, remaining under the 
 paternal roof until he had attained his majority. 
 At the age of twenty-one, Mr. Whitman bade 
 good-bye to his old home, and started for the West. 
 He went to Caldwell County, Mo., locating in 
 Hamilton, where he purchased a large tract of 
 land, and engaged in the real-estate business. He 
 also dealt in live stock, became quite a prominent 
 and influential citizen of that community, and for 
 seven years served as Postmaster of Hamilton. He 
 continued to reside in that city until 1886, when 
 he returned to Belvidere, and was employed as 
 time-keeper in the June Factory, which position 
 he continued to fill until January, 1890, when he 
 was appointed Postmaster of Belvidere by Presi- 
 dent Harrison. 
 
 A marriage ceremony performed in 1874 united 
 the destinies of Mr. Whitman and Miss Florence 
 E. Moss, and their union has been blessed with 
 two children, a son and daughter: Frank S., Jr., 
 and Mary M. The parents are leading young 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1195 
 
 people of this city, who rank high in the social 
 circles in which they move, and are held in warm 
 regard by their many friends. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Whitman is a stanch supporter 
 of Republican principles, and served as a member 
 of the Central Committee of liis party in Caldwell 
 County, Mo., and was also Delegate to the Repub- 
 lican State Convention. While residing in Ham- 
 ilton, he also served as President of the Village 
 Board, and is now proving himself an efficient 
 and popular Postmaster. Socially, he is a member 
 of Eden Lodge No. 190,1. 0. O. F., and of Hamil- 
 ton Encampment, and belongs to La Fayette Gar- 
 rison, K. G., of Belvidere. 
 
 -^^l 
 
 ^OHN ANDREW, an extensive farmer of 
 I Caledonia Township, Boone County, is a 
 ^-~, I native of this State, having been born in 
 (^^ May, 1850, in Winnebago County. He is 
 the son of John Andrew, Sr., one of the pioneers 
 of the last-named county, who was born in Kin- 
 tyre, Argyleshire, Scotland, and was the son of 
 David Andrew. The father of our subject was 
 engaged in farming on leased land in Scotland, 
 where he remained until 1840, at which time he 
 came to America, accompanied by his wife and 
 three children. The party set sail from Green- 
 ock in June, and landed in New York after a long 
 and stormy voyage of some weeks. They came 
 directly to Illinois by way of the Hudson River 
 and Lakes, and located in Winnebago County at a 
 time when this section was sparsely settled, and 
 all kinds of wild game were plentiful. The family 
 moved into a log house with the family of Mrs. 
 Andrew's sister. The father soon purchased land 
 extending on both sides of the county line, and 
 immediately began the work of improving his 
 estate, which was his home until his death, in 
 1862. 
 
 The parents of our subject were married in 
 Scotland, the maiden name of the mother being 
 Mary Brown. She was also born in Kintyre, and 
 was the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Rals- 
 ton) Brown, and is still living, residing on the 
 home farm with her son Thomas, at the advanced 
 
 age of seventy-eight years. The ten children in- 
 cluded in the family were Elizabeth, David, 
 Charles, Janet, Mary, Margaret, Hugh, John, 
 Thomas and Jane. The parents were members of 
 the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church, with 
 which they identified themselves on its organiza- 
 tion. 
 
 John Andrew was reared and educated in Har- 
 lem Township, and resided on the home farm until 
 his marriage, when he settled on the farm which is 
 his present place of residence. His estate includes 
 two hundred and sixty-nine acres, which is im- 
 proved with modern buildings, and ranks among 
 the very finest in the county. In 1876, Mr. An- 
 drew was married to Barbara McMillan, who was 
 also a native of Kintyre, Scotland, and was an 
 infant when she was brought to America by her 
 parents. Ma the w and Agnes (Kelly) McMillan, of 
 whom an extended sketch appears elsewhere in 
 this work. 
 
 Our subject and his wife have four children: 
 Mary B., Mathew J., Louis and Thomas J. They 
 are also members of the Willow Creek Presbyterian 
 Church, and are classed among the well-to-do res- 
 idents of this county. 
 
 i»ii^>fa f t f ^ 'ii ^ 
 
 ^ I ' I ' 
 
 ^^USTAVE SWEMBERG. Prominent among 
 III ^^ the successful business men of Rockford 
 ^^( stands the name that heads this sketch, a 
 first-class stone-cutter, who resides in a comforta- 
 ble home at No. 703 North Second Street. He is a 
 persevering, energetic business man, and what he 
 has accumulated in the way of this world's goods 
 is the result of hard work and good management. 
 
 Born in Wester Gothland Province, Sweden, on 
 the 13th of January, 1834, he there passed his boy- 
 hood and learned his trade. In the year 1884, he 
 bade farewell to the land of his birth and crossed the 
 ocean to the United States. He came immediately to 
 the Sucker State and located in Rockford, where he 
 has followed his trade ever since. He is one of the 
 honest, industrious citizens and is universally re- 
 spected. 
 
 Miss Johanna Samuelson, whom he married in 
 his native country,was born in the year 1836 and by 
 
1196 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 her marriage has become the mother of the follow- 
 ing children: Charles, a cabinet-maker of the Skan- 
 dia Furniture Company, of Roekford; Albert, a 
 glove cutter in Chicago; Erick works in the watch 
 factory of Roekford; Ernest, at home; Hilda, a 
 seamstress for the Roekford Clothing Company; 
 Belle, wife of Oscar Larson, a fruit dealer on Sev- 
 enth Street, and Hanna, a book-keeper for the Skan- 
 dia Furniture Company, of Roekford. Mr. Swem- 
 bergand wife are members of the First Lutheran 
 (Swedish) Church of Roekford, and are liberal con- 
 tributors to the same. In politics, Mr. Swemberg 
 closely adheres to the principles of the Republican 
 party. He is a useful citizen and a stirring busi- 
 ness man. 
 
 ^ ^ENJAMIN FRANKLIN RICHARDSON has 
 '' the honor of being a native of Roscoe, 111. 
 He lived for twenty-two years on the old 
 homestead, on section 33, Roscoe Township, 
 but has now resided on section 22 for the past 
 thirty-three years. He was born May 8, 1837, and 
 was the first male child born in Winnebago Coun- 
 ty. His father, Benjamin Richardson, was born 
 near Gloversville, N. Y., and in his youth learned 
 the trade of a blacksmith. When quite a young 
 man, he invented a machine used in pulling up 
 stumps. He afterwards engaged in blacksmith- 
 ing, possessing both mechanical and inventive 
 genius, which made him quite successful. He was 
 married at his home and thence emigrated to 
 Michigan when twenty-five years of age. Three 
 months later, he started for the Rock River Coun- 
 try of Illinois, of which he had heard glowing de- 
 scriptions, and was so favorably impressed, that he 
 immediately returned for his wife and two chil- 
 dren. Purchasing an ox-team, he started with his 
 family for Illinois, arriving in Roscoe in the autumn 
 of 1836. He made a claim of eighty acres of tim- 
 ber land and eighty acres of prairie, south of 
 where the depot now stands, and turned his atten- 
 tion to blacksmithing. He soon built up a good 
 trade and he followed that occupation for many 
 years with excellent success, his labors being much 
 
 in demand. His first dwelling was a log cabin, 
 which he built with the help of his neighbors. 
 This was buraed several years later and he built a 
 concrete house. Other settlers had tried this, but 
 failed to make a substantial house. Mr. Richard- 
 son, however, was successful and the old house is 
 yet standing. His wife died in Roscoe, in 1844, 
 leaving five song and three daughters, but the 
 youngest child, an infant, did not long survive her. 
 
 The children were Charles, Abigail, Benjamin 
 F., Emily, James, Josiah and Mary. James and 
 .Josiah were volunteers in the late war, the former 
 a member of the Nineteenth Chicago Zouaves. 
 Josiah served in the Eighth Illinois Cavalry and 
 was three times wounded. He enlisted as a private, 
 but when discharged was Captain of a colored 
 company. His last wound, which was in the thigh, 
 was received near Richmond. He returned home 
 disabled and when he rejoined his regiment, the 
 war was just over and he was mustered out, in 
 1865. He died in Pueblo, Mexico, where he went 
 for his health. James returned home at the close 
 of the war and his death occurred not long after- 
 ward. 
 
 Our subject was reared to manhood amid the 
 wild scenes of frontier life. He aided in the ard- 
 uous task of developing a farm, and his education 
 was acquired in the old pioneer schools. In Sep- 
 tember, 1862, on the day when Lincoln issued the 
 Emancipation Proclamation, he married Libbie A. 
 Gregory, of Harlem Township, who was born in 
 New York and is a daughter of Samuel and Maria 
 (Bathrick) Gregory, both of whom were natives of 
 the Empire State and came to Illinois in 1846, 
 when their daughter was a young lady. 
 
 Mrs. Richardson died at the old homestead, 
 March 28, 1887, at the age of forty-five years, 
 leaving eight children, four sons and four daugh- 
 ters, the youngest a babe of four months; one 
 daughter, Carrie, had died at the age of two 
 years. The living are Coradell, Franklin A., Fannie 
 Maria, Mary Elizabeth, Kate Anna Belle, Clifford 
 Benjamin, Walter Samuel and James Erwin. All 
 of the children are at home except Cora, who is 
 the wife of James McMickkin, of Nebraska; Frank 
 A., and Fannie M., wife of Edwin Goldthwait. 
 The last two reside in Durand, 111. The children 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1197 
 
 have all received good educational advantages, 
 thus being fitted for the practical duties of life. 
 
 Mr. Richardson voted the Republican ticliet un- 
 til 1884, since which time he has been a Prohibi- 
 tionist. He has been a life-long member of the 
 Methodist Church, to which his wife belonged, and 
 has lived worthily and well. He is recognized as 
 one of the substantial farmers of Roscoe Town- 
 ship and is one of the honored earlj' settlers. 
 
 4^ 
 
 ,,.. RCHIBALD HUTCHINSON, who resides 
 01 on section 25, Le Roy Township, Boone 
 County, by his progressiveness and natural 
 ability, has become one of the representa- 
 tive people of the township. In addition to gen- 
 eral farming, he makes a specialty of stocli-raising, 
 keeping about fifty head of horned cattle and 
 thirty-five head of horses on his place constantly, 
 being the owner of "AUego," a fine young stallion 
 which he purchased in 1887. 
 
 Our subject was born in County Armagh, Ire- 
 land, in 1813, where also his father, James Hutch- 
 inson, was born, and a well-to-do farmer. Our 
 subject's mother, prior to her marriage, was Sarah 
 Copeland, and by her union with Mr. Hutchinson 
 became the mother of six children, of whom our 
 subject was the youngest. She departed this life 
 ■at middle age, the father living to be a very old 
 man. 
 
 Archibald Hutchinson was reared on the homo 
 farm, and when reaching his majority established 
 a home for himself, and married Agnes Davidson, 
 a native of tlie county where his birth occurred. 
 They lived on the home farm until the summer of 
 1866, at which time they set sail from Liverpool 
 on the steamer " City of Baltimore," and landed 
 on the shores of the New World after a voyage of 
 two weeks. They immediately came West to 
 Boone County, where our subject purchased one 
 hundred and twenty acres of improved property 
 from Ephraim Robinson, for which he paid $25 
 per acre. 
 
 The five sons and two daughters born to our 
 subject and his wife are James, who married Mar- 
 garet Shanks, of this county, and has a family of 
 
 five children; Ann, who died in August, 1891; 
 Hannah, now Mrs. Thomas Davidson, who is the 
 mother of three children, and resides in McHenry 
 County; David, who married Martha McClure, is 
 the father of two children, and engaged in farm- 
 ing in this county; William, who is a physician of 
 Iron Mountain, Mich., being a graduate of Rush 
 Medical College, Chicago; Robert, who married 
 Minna J. Herrick, is a physician, and has two 
 children; and Archie, who remains at home with 
 his aged parents. 
 
 Mrs. Hutchinson is in good health, and has 
 reached the age of seventy-eight years, while her 
 husband is one year her senior. Our subject 
 rented his farm in 1883, and moved to Capron, 
 where he lived until 1890, and then took up his 
 abode on the farm of his son Archie, which com- 
 prises three hundred and nineteen acres. The 
 estate was purchased in 1887, and cost $50 per 
 acre. One hundred and sixty acres are given to a 
 fine burr oak pasture and live woodland, and it is a 
 model of agricultural neatness and productiveness, 
 its good features in this direction being beautified 
 b}- the taste and judgment of its owner, who finds 
 that the best methods and the latest improvements 
 in agricultural wa3's are those that bring him in 
 the largest returns. 
 
 EDWIN L. LAWRENCE, Supervisor of Bel- 
 videre, was born in Cuba, Allegany County, 
 N. Y., September 9, 1833. He is descended 
 from a New England family whose members 
 bore an important part in Colonial history, and his 
 great-grandfather participated in the famous bat- 
 tle of Bunker Hill, where two of his brothers 
 were killed. For particulars with reference to the 
 paternal grandfather of our subject, the reader is 
 referred to the sketch of E. C. Lawrence on an- 
 other page. 
 
 The father of our subject, Hon. Luther W. Law- 
 rence, was born in Chenango County, N. Y., April 
 19, 1808, and learned the trade of a tanner, cur- 
 rier and shoemaker. He was married in his na- 
 tive State, where he resided until 1837. In 1836, 
 he first visited Illinois and selected a claim to a 
 
1198 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tract of land in what is now Bonus Township, 
 and after erecting a log house there returned to 
 the Empire State. In the fall of 1837, with his 
 family and parents, he returned, making the jour- 
 ney overland with a pair of horses and a wagon, 
 and spending six weeks on the road. Tlie dimen- 
 sions of the log house which he had built were 
 18x24, and seventeen persons spent the following 
 winter in that house. He improved a farm, 
 erected frame buildings, and remained there until 
 his death, in July, 1886. 
 
 In his political belief, Mr. Lawrence was first a 
 Whig and became a Republican when that partj^ 
 was formed. In 1854, he was elected to the Legis- 
 lature and had the honor of being the first Repub- 
 lican ever elected from Boone County. He served 
 in that position for three terms, and for twelve 
 years was Judge of Boone County. In his relig- 
 ious belief, he was a Baptist and a pioneer 
 preacher in that denomination. It has often been 
 said of him that he had exerted a greater in- 
 fluence in formulating public opinion, both reli- 
 gious and political, than any other man in Boone 
 County, and the fact that since 1856 it has been 
 the banner Republican county of the United States 
 is largely due to the speeches made by him in all 
 classes of gatherings, from mass meetings to the 
 evening gatherings at rural schoolhouses. As an 
 orator, he was eloquent and concise, stating his 
 premises and forming his arguments in such a 
 manner as to produce conviction and force his 
 auditors to enthusiastically join in his conclusions. 
 His enunciation was so clear and distinct that in 
 the largest outdoor meetings not one word was 
 lost to his listeners. By actual test on a still 
 evening, the line of his argument could be fol- 
 lowed at the distance of one-half mile, yet his 
 voice never failed him and he never complained 
 of weariness. 
 
 The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
 was Elvira Chamberlin, was born in Cazenovia, 
 Madison County, N. Y., and died May 2, 1891. 
 She reared seven children : Alonzo D., Edwin L., 
 Harriet E., Sarah A., Luaia, Esther M. and Luther 
 C. Our subject was four years old when he ac- 
 companied his parents to Illinois, and at that time 
 most of the land in the northern part of the State 
 
 was owned by the Government. Deer and other 
 wild game abounded, and the country was sparsely 
 settled. He attended the first free school ever 
 taught in Boone County, and gained a common- 
 school education, which he afterward extended by 
 a careful course of reading. 
 
 When twenty years old, our subject entered the 
 employ of the Wisconsin Central Railroad Com- 
 pany, remaining for one year in the capacity of 
 a civil engineer and making the preliminar3' sur- 
 veys for a proposed road tljat was to extend from 
 Richmond, 111., to Columbus, Wis. Later, he was 
 employed by the Illinois Central Railroad Com- 
 pany in making surveys in the southern part 
 of the State until 1855, when he was elected 
 County Surveyor, and devoted his attention to 
 the duties of that office in connection with farm- 
 ing until September, 1861. 
 
 At the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Lawrence 
 enlisted in Company F, Forty-fifth Illinois In- 
 fantry, being mustered in as Second Lieutenant, and 
 was promoted to bo First Lieutenant, April 8, 1862, 
 for meritorious conduct at Pittsburg Landing. 
 Among the battles in which he participated were 
 Ft. Donelson, Shiloh and Medan Station. He 
 was slightly wounded at the battle of Shiloh and 
 was hit with a spent ball at the battle of Medan 
 Station. He served for one year, when he was 
 compelled to resign on account of ill health. Re- 
 turning home, he resumed the peaceful calling of 
 a farmer and continued thus occupied until 1871, 
 when he accepted the position of Superintendent 
 of the farm connected with the Illinois Industrial 
 College (now the State University) at Champaign, 
 111. The farm at that time contained four hun- 
 dred acres. In 1874, one hundred and eighty 
 acres, comprising the Horticultural Farm, were 
 added to the place, and one year afterward one 
 hundred and sixty acres more. Mr. Lawrence added 
 $20,000 in permanent improvements and stock to 
 the farm, and continued in its charge until 1881, 
 when he resigned, and, returning to Belvidere, 
 located at his present home, where he has since 
 engaged in raising small fruits. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Lawrence, in 1856, united 
 him with Miss Mary E., daughter of Daniel W. 
 and Precepta (Austin) Lawrence, and a native of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1199 
 
 Cuba, N. y. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence have five 
 children: Nettle E., Kate, Mamie, Gertrude and 
 Neva W. Since the formation of the Republican 
 party, Mr. Lawrence has adhered to its platform 
 and principles, and has served in various posi- 
 tions of trust and honor. He has served seven 
 years on the County Board of Supervisors, has 
 been nine times elected to the office of County 
 Surveyor, has served by appointment as City En- 
 gineer, and has been twice elected a member of the 
 City Council, holding that office at present. In 
 addition to these positions of trust, he had served 
 for eight years as a member of the Board of ¥Au- 
 cation. He is a charter member of Hurlbut Post 
 No. 164, G. A. R., and has been Quartermaster 
 since its organization. He is a man whose strict 
 probity is never questioned, whose unusual capa- 
 bilities are acknowledged by his fellowmen, and 
 whose life has exemplified the fact that industry 
 and enterprise, coupled with an honorable disposi- 
 tion and business tact, will bring success to the 
 fortunate possessor. 
 
 _y 
 
 ENRY PORTER, a retired farmer residing 
 in Belvidere, is of English birth. He first 
 opened his eyes to the light of day in Nor- 
 folk County, March 9, 1828. His father, 
 Thomas W. Porter, was born in Norfolk County, 
 December 13, 1803, and was a son of James W. 
 Tlie maiden name of his mother was Winels. He 
 learned the trade of a miller, which he followed 
 for a few years, and then engaged in farming. In 
 November, 1833, accompanied by his wife and four 
 children, he sailed from Liverpool and, after a voy- 
 age of six weeks, landed at New York. He lo- 
 cated three miles from that city and engaged in 
 farming for a year, after which he spent one year 
 in Hamburg, Erie C ounty, and then removed to 
 Buffalo, where he engaged in the grocery business 
 until July, 1838. He then made his way to Boone 
 County, 111., and made a claim of Government land 
 in what is now Bonus Township, purchasing it when 
 it came into market at Chicago. The first home 
 of the family was a log cabin, and he improved a 
 55 
 
 farm upon which he resided until 1866, when he 
 came to Belvidere, where he resided until called to 
 his final rest February 22, 1882. His wife, wliose 
 maiden name was Charlotte Lane, was born in Nor- 
 folk County, England, and died in Belvidere, No- 
 vember 20, 1873. Their family numbered nine 
 children: Thomas W., Henry, Charlotte L., Annie 
 M., Robert, James W., Elizabeth P., Washington, 
 and Fred. Robert served in Company A, One 
 Hundred and Fifty-third Illinois Infantry, from 
 February 2, 1865, to June 24 of the same year. 
 Washington enlisted in 1862 in Company B, 
 Ninety-fifth Illinois Infantry, and served until af- 
 ter the close of the war, when he was honorably 
 discharged. He participated in a number of hard- 
 fought battles, and was wounded in the engage- 
 ment before Guntown. 
 
 Our subject was a lad of only ten summers when 
 with his parents he came to Illinois. Deer and 
 other kinds of wild game roamed over the prairies 
 at will, and the greater part of the land was owned 
 by the Government. There were no schools for a 
 time, and after his father built a frame house the 
 old Porter log cabin was used as a school-room. It 
 was supplied with the usual primitive furniture, 
 and in such schools our subject acquired bis early 
 education. As soon as he was old enough he be- 
 gan to aid in the farm work and cut the grass with 
 a scythe, and the grain with a cradle. He remained 
 under the parental roof until twenty-two years of 
 age, when he came to Belvidere and entered the 
 employ of the Galena Union Railroad Company, 
 now the Northwestern. A year later he went to 
 Rockford, where he engaged in buying grain until 
 1853, and then went to California by way of the 
 Isthmus route, landing at San Francisco twenty- 
 six days later. For about four and a half years 
 he was employed on a ranch in Sacramento, and 
 then returned to his old home. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1858, Mr. Porter married 
 Annie E. Roper, who was born in Suffolk County, 
 England. Her parents, Sion and Mary Sepha 
 (Clark) Roper, were natives of Suffolk, and came 
 to America in 1854, locating in the town of Spring, 
 Boone County, where Mr. Roper purchased a farm 
 and resided until called to his final home. His 
 widow now lives with her son-in-law, T. W. Por- 
 
1200 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECOKD. 
 
 ter. Unto our subject and his wife were bom three 
 sons, who are 3'et living: Fred A., Thomas W., 
 and Leslie J. Frank, their first child, died in his 
 twenty-eighth year; and Spencer W., the second 
 son, died at the age of three years. 
 
 On his return from California, Mr. Porter bought 
 a farm at $25 per acre, upon which were a log house 
 and stable. He erected a good set of farm build- 
 ings, made other improvements, and extended the 
 boundaries of his land iintil he now owns two 
 hundred and sixty-four acres. la August, 1891, 
 he began the erection of a pleasant home at the 
 corner of Julian and South Main Streets, Belvidere, 
 which he has occupied since the following spring. 
 Himself and wife were reared in the Episcopal 
 Church, but joined the Congregational Church of 
 Garden Prairie. In politics, he is a Republican, 
 and has served as a member of the County Board 
 of Supervisors. 
 
 ^^^ILES P. RANSOM, M. D., a practicing 
 III (— -, physician of Roscoe, was born in Clarence, 
 ^^^ Oneida County, N. Y., January 13, 1824. 
 Tradition says that the family was founded in 
 America by three brothers, who emigrated to this 
 country from England. The grandfather of our 
 subject, Daniel Ransom, wasborninNew England, 
 and removed from Vermont to New York in an 
 early day. He followed farming throughout his 
 entire life, and died in Wyoming County. The 
 Doctor's father, Daniel Ransom, M. D., was born 
 in "Windham County, Vt., and in early life gave 
 his attention to the study of medicine. He 
 comraenced practice in Oneida County, N. Y., 
 whence he removed to Erie County, and later to 
 Pennsylvania, spending eight years in Union City, 
 that State. In 1844 he came to Illinois and en- 
 gaged in practice in Belvidere, until failing health 
 caused him to abandon his life work. He died at 
 the home of our subject in Roscoe, in 1870, at the 
 age of seventy-six years. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Elizabeth Willard. She was born in 
 Wethersfleld, Conn., and was a daughter of Simon 
 Willard. She, too, spent her last days at the home 
 of our subject, and was called to her final rest in 
 
 1874. In the family were six children: Erasmus 
 D., Alzina, Giles, Cynthia, Samantha E., and Lo- 
 retta M. 
 
 Our subject acquired his early education in the 
 district schools of Pennsylvania, and by private 
 instruction was fitted for teaching. When a mere 
 youth, he decided to come to the West, and in the 
 spring of 1843 joined a party of emigrants en 
 route for the Rock River Valley of Illinois. He 
 walked the greater part of the distance to Belvi- 
 dere, and after arriving at his destination secured 
 a position to teach a three-months' term of school 
 at Poplar Grove. At the close of the term, be- 
 fore he had received his pay, he went to the post- 
 ofHce, where a letter was awaiting him with the us- 
 ual twenty-five cents postage charge due upon it. 
 He had not the money, but from his friends se- 
 cured twenty-three cents and was allowed to take 
 his mail. In that way he made the acquaintance 
 of Dr. Ames, the Postmaster, and by him was soon 
 afterwards emploj'ed as Deputy Postmaster at Bel- 
 videre. During the winter, he commenced the 
 study of medicine with Dr. Ames, and in January, 
 1845, went to Roscoe, where the Doctor had pre- 
 ceded him. There he served as Postmaster, and 
 soon afterwards commenced practice. In 1850, he 
 was graduated from Rush Medical College of Chi- 
 cago, and has since devoted almost his entire at- 
 tention to the practice of medicine. In 1862, he 
 enlisted in the United States service as Assistant 
 Surgeon of the Second Illinois Light Artillery. 
 After a year he resigned, on account of ill health, 
 returning to his home in Roscoe. 
 
 The Doctor was united in marriage with Mahala 
 Jents,in March, 1860, and unto them have been bom 
 six children, five of whom are yet living: Wilmot 
 L., a practicing physician of Rockford; L. Eliza- 
 beth, wife of Penn Walker, a practicing physician 
 and the proprietor of the Sanitarium near Rock- 
 ford ; Grace married Clarence Shaw, son of Dr. 
 Shaw of this place, and lives in Nebraska; Arthur 
 L., a telegrapher, and station agent of Roscoe. 
 
 The Doctor is a Democrat in politics, and so- 
 cially is a member of Roscoe Lodge No. 75, A. F. 
 & A. M. Himself and wife are members of the 
 Methodist Church, and he also holds membership 
 with the Army and Navy Medical Association of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1201 
 
 Illinois. He is one of the oldest physicians in 
 3'ears of continuous practice in the county, and 
 ranks among the best of his professional brethren. 
 He has ever been a close student of the profession, 
 and has enjoyed a large and lucrative practice. 
 (Our subject has been called hence since the above 
 was written. His demise occurred April 22, 1892.) 
 
 yARREN C. ROWAN, late of Belvidere, 
 was born in Batavia, Genesee County, N. 
 •^ Y., March 2, 1826. He is a son of Wil- 
 liam Rowan, who was born in Washington County, 
 N. Y., and spent his last daj's in Kirkland, De 
 Kalb County, 111. The mother of our subject 
 was also a native of the Empire State and, like 
 her husband, departed this life in De Kalb County, 
 111., at the- age of forty-five years. 
 
 Our subject was one in a family of nine chil- 
 dren, six of whom are living. He remained at 
 home until eighteen years of age, and aided his 
 father in conducting the home farm. When strik- 
 ing out for himself, he purchased timber land in 
 De Kalb County, 111., from which he cut and sold 
 the timber. He was the owner of the farm until 
 thirty years of age, when he sold the place and 
 purchased property in the town of Belvidere. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married in 
 Beloit, Wis., was Miss Lavina Caswell. She was 
 born in Belvidere, and departed this life in Boone 
 County, when forty-six years of age, having be- 
 come the mother of three children, Jay and Perry, 
 deceased, and Lovina, who makes her home in this 
 township. Mr. Rowan was married again, this 
 time to Miss Rose M. lies, by whom he became the 
 father of one son, Warren C, who was born in 
 Belvidere, October 3, 1888. 
 
 The wife of our subject was born in England, 
 April 11, 1854, and was the daughter of Richard 
 and Eliza A. (Edwards) lies, who were also natives 
 of that country, and came to the United States in 
 1858. Mr. lies purchased a tract of land of one 
 hundred and twenty-seven acres in Belvidere, upon 
 which he resided until his decease, when fifty-eight 
 years of age ; the mother died at the same age. 
 
 After his marriage , our subject removed to Bel- 
 
 videre, and was engaged in the real-estate business, 
 which he found to be very profitable, and at the 
 time of his death had accumulated a handsome 
 fortune. He was a stanch adherent of Republican 
 principles, but aside from casting his vote, took 
 very little part in political affairs. He was a kind 
 and devoted husband and father, and his friends 
 were as numerous as his acquaintances. He was 
 self-made, in all that that term implies, never hav- 
 ing had a week's schooling after attaining his four- 
 teenth 3'^ear, and when eighteen years of age was 
 competent to carry on a business for himself. He 
 established a reputation for honest and fair deal- 
 ing among his fellow-men, and his loss was keenly 
 felt in the community where he had resided for so 
 many years. He was a member of the Baptist 
 Church, and departed this life at his beautiful 
 home in Belvidere, September 11, 1888. He was 
 liberal in the distribution of his means, and was a 
 cheerful contributor to all worthy objects, the de- 
 serving poor never being forgotten by him. Mr. 
 Row^an's youngest brother was a soldier during the 
 late war, and was killed at the battle of Murfrees- 
 boro. He bore the name of Perry C, and enlisted 
 when eighteen j-ears of age to fight for his 
 country's honor. 
 
 The Rowan family is of Irish ancestry, while the 
 lies were from England. Mrs. Rowan's parents 
 were six weeks in crossing the Atlantic, being pass- 
 engers on the sailing-vessel " Mayflower." 
 
 =-l^-!^l 
 
 [s~ 
 
 'RANK C. AND HENRY C. GILL constitute 
 the well-known firm of Gill Brothers, dentists 
 of Rockford, located at No. 223 East State 
 Street. H. C. Gill first came to this city and began 
 business with Dr. Noyes E. Babcock in 1875. That 
 connection was continued until March, 1878, when 
 F. C. Gill bought out Dr. Babcock and the partner- 
 ship between the two brothers was formed. Dental 
 parlors were established at their present location 
 in 1871, and dentistry has since been practiced at 
 that point. The Gill Brothers have convenient 
 and pleasant parlors and have an excellent patron- 
 age which has constantly increased from the be- 
 ginning and which is well merited, for they are 
 
1202 
 
 PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 skilled workmen. The brothers both studied under 
 Dr. Palmer, of Fitchburg, Mass., for two years, and 
 their preceptor was known as one of the best den- 
 tists in the State. They both practiced in Massa- 
 chusetts for a short time, then came West in 1869, 
 locating in Freeport, 111., whence they came to 
 Rockford. 
 
 The brothers were born in Windsor County, Vt, 
 and there received their early education. The fa- 
 ther, Charles Gill, was a Vermont farmer and his 
 sons were reared to manhood on ihe old home- 
 stead where he continued to reside until called to 
 his final rest at about the age of seventy-five years. 
 He lived a quiet, unassuming life and was well 
 and favorably known in his community. His fa- 
 ther, Amos Gill, was also a Vermont farmer, de- 
 scended from an old New England family, prob- 
 ably of English origin. He died when more than 
 eighty-four years of age. He had married Miss 
 Sarah Bates, a native of Canada, who came to the 
 United States during her maidenhood. She sur- 
 vived her husband a short time and was also about 
 eighty-four years of age at the time of her death. 
 Charles Gill married Miss Sophia Healy, who was 
 born in the Green Mountain State, of New England 
 parentage. After her husband's death, she came to 
 Illinois and spent her last days in the home of her 
 son. Dr. H. C. Gill, her death occurring in 1888, 
 at the age of eighty-five years. She died in the 
 faith of the Methodist Church, of which she had 
 long been a member. 
 
 At her death, Mrs. Gill left four children, and 
 Sophia, another daughter, had died at the age of 
 four years. Ellen L., the eldest surviving member 
 of the family, is now the wife of D. R. Judkins, a 
 resident of Chicago; F. C. married Kate A. Wallace 
 of Fitchburg, Mass., who was bom, reared and edu- 
 cated in the Bay State. Two daughters grace their 
 union: Lena K. and Grace W. Daniel O. is a 
 grocer and a well-to-do citizen of Windsor 
 County, Vt. He married Lucy J. Butterfield. H. 
 C. wedded Ida C. Bunker, their union being cele- 
 brated in Kane County, 111. Unto them were born 
 three children, but Edward died in early life. 
 Harry and Carl are still with their parents. 
 
 Another event in the life of Dr. F. C. Gill is 
 worthy of mention. After removing to Massa- 
 
 chusetts, he enlisted in the Fifty-third Infantry, 
 commanded by Col. Kimball, and was assigned to 
 Company B, under Capt. Jonas Corey. The regi- 
 ment was sent to the South, doing service mostly 
 in Louisiana. They came in contact with the 
 enemy at Port Hudson, where they kept them 
 penned up for forty-four days before they surren- 
 dered. The regiment had enlisted for nine months 
 but continued in the service for thirteen months, 
 when they were discharged. The Doctor was on 
 duty all of the time and when mustered out was 
 serving as Corporal. 
 
 The brothers and their wives all attend the 
 Christian Union Church, and in social circles they 
 rank high. The Doctors are supporters of the Re- 
 publican party. The senior member of the firm is 
 a Knight Templar Mason and belongs to G. L. 
 Ncvius Post No. 1, G. A. R. of Rockford, while 
 the junior member of the firm belongs to the Blue 
 Lodge. Among their professional brethren they 
 rank high and a well-deserved prosperity is theirs. 
 
 EMIL SWENSON occupies the position of 
 Secretary and Treasurer of the Star Furni- 
 H\Mi) ture Company, and is also a stockholder 
 and one of the Directors. He has made his home 
 in Rockford since 1882, at which time he came 
 with his family to America. He claims Sweden as 
 the land of his nativity, his birth having occurred 
 in Smoland, in 1864. He is the youngest child 
 born unto Swan and Fredica (Olson) Nelson, who, 
 in the year before mentioned, bade good-bye to 
 their old home, and crossed the broad Atlantic, ac- 
 companied by all of their children. They came 
 at once to Rockford, and are still residents of this 
 city. With the Swedish Lutheran Church they 
 hold membership, and are worthy and highly re- 
 spected people. Five of their children are yet 
 living, and all are married, with the exception of 
 our subject. 
 
 Mr. Swenson was a young man of sixteen years 
 at the time of his emigration to the United States. 
 His education was acquired in his native land, and 
 has been supplemented by reading and observa- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1203 
 
 tion, which has made him well informed. By trade 
 he is a cabinet-maker. He became connected with 
 the Co-operative Furniture Company as a stock- 
 holder, and was also a worker in the finishing- 
 rooms. Subsequently, he became connected with 
 the Star Furniture Company, which was organized 
 in 1890, and is now its efficient Secretary and 
 Treasurer. The factory of this company is located 
 on the corner of Eighteenth Avenue and Four- 
 teenth Street, and therein are employed one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five men. The success with which 
 the company has already met, argues well for 
 a bright future for this enterprise. It is certainly 
 deserving of success, for its members are wide- 
 awake, enterprising and experienced business men, 
 and prosperity should be the reward of their 
 efforts. 
 
 In religious belief, Mr. Swenson is a Lutheran, 
 and, in political affairs, is a Republican. He has 
 the confidence and high regard of all with whom 
 he has been brought in contact, and is a prominent 
 and well-known young man. His residence in the 
 city covers only about ten years, but during that 
 time he has made many acquaintances and gained 
 a large circle of friends. 
 
 ENRY W. CONKLIN. To have the esteem 
 of one's fellow-men, and especially of those 
 who know you most intimately, is a worthy 
 ambition in the breast of any honorable 
 man. We may truly say that the gentleman whose 
 name we place at the head of this sketch is well 
 spoken of by all who know him, and he has at- 
 tained to a broad and true friendship with many. 
 He resides on a good tract of land, located on 
 sections 28 and 20, Rockton Township, Winne- 
 bago County, where he has made a success of bee 
 culture, keeping on hand twenty-four hives, from 
 which he has made over 1300 a year. He also has 
 on his place about fifteen milch cows, and by his 
 ability and enterprise reaps a good income. 
 
 He of whom we write was born in Damascus, 
 Wayne County, Pa., June 24, 1827. He is the 
 son of Benjamin Conklin, whose birth occurred in 
 the above county, August 27,1783. The grand- 
 
 father of our subject, John Conklin, was an officer 
 in the Revolutionary War, and after that was 
 made County Judge. He was a man of wealth 
 and influence in his community, owning large 
 farms on the rich bottoms of the Susquehanna 
 River. He was the father of five children who 
 grew to adult age, of whom the father of our sub- 
 ject was the eldest. 
 
 The father of our subject was for many 3-ears 
 an inn-keeper on the Newburg Turnpike Road, 
 six miles west of Cochecton,and was also a promi- 
 nent farmer in that region. He lost a portion of 
 his property by going bondsman for a sheriff. His 
 wife, Miss Mercy Comfort, was a native of Orange 
 County, N. Y., and bore him fifteen children, all 
 but one of whom grew to adult age and, with two 
 exceptions, came to the Prairie State. The first 
 to come hither was Eliza, now Mrs. William 
 Thomas. In 1839, our subject, in company with 
 his mother and nine children, came to Winnebago 
 County, starting from home on the 4th of June, 
 and arriving in Rockford July 12. His father 
 having died about three years previously, Henry 
 W. at once secured work to aid in the support of 
 the family and received $12 a month for driving 
 a breaking team. 
 
 Mr. Conklin became the proprietor of his first 
 eighty acres of land in Harrison Township in 
 1854, for which he paid $3 per acre, which prop- 
 erty he later lost by a railroad swindle. November 
 28, 1856, Miss AlvalinaGrover, a daughter of John 
 and Sarah (Burbank) Grover, became his wife. 
 Her parents were natives of New York and came 
 West the same year, where they were engaged as 
 farmers. Her father, John Grover, was of Ger- 
 man descent. During the late war, our subject 
 endeavored to enlist in the Union army two dif- 
 ferent times, but was in each case rejected. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. and Mrs. Conklin went West to 
 Oregon, where they remained but a twelvemonth, 
 returning by way of the Isthmus. In cross- 
 ing the plains to the Western country, they had a 
 very eventful journey, it being the year of the 
 Indian hostilities. A brother of our subject lost 
 two horses on the way, but the party reached their 
 destination unharmed. Returning to Rockton, 
 Mr. Conklin located on one hundred and seventy- 
 
1204 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 nine acres of improved propert}^ wliich cost $40 
 an acre, going in debt for all but about $350. 
 In 1883, he erected his fine barn, 40x60 feet in 
 dimensions, and has besides all the sheds and out- 
 buildings which are to be found on first-class 
 estates. 
 
 The five children born to our subject and his 
 wife bear the respective names of Dorsey T., Lemi 
 H., James B., Rose E. and Eva E. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Conklin are living a retired life, the home farm 
 being operated by their son James B. The chil- 
 dren have all been given good school advantages, 
 Miss Eva having returned recently from the Rock- 
 ford Academy. Our subject has always been a 
 Republican in politics, but at the present time 
 leans toward Prohibition. Although not a mem- 
 ber of any denomination, he gives liberally to the 
 support of all churches and receives and deserves 
 the best wishes and kindest regards of his numer- 
 ous friends and acquaintances. 
 
 D 
 
 RTHUR F. LUNDY, more familiarly known 
 as Frank Lundy, was originally from Can- 
 ada, born on the 1st of July, 1860, and is 
 ,^j/ one of the wide-awake, thorough-going 
 
 young tillers of the soil in the county. Although 
 he has not as yet amassed any great amount of 
 wealth, he has tlie progressive spirit, and the push 
 and energy that cannot fail to bring success in the 
 near future. His father, "William N. Lundy, M. D., 
 was born on Grand Island, N. Y., March 4, 
 1819, and grandfather Lundy was for years a 
 farmer on Grand Island, where he settled at a 
 very early period, while it was still called the 
 Queen's Bush. William N. Lundy first came to 
 Roscoe, 111., in 1840, when only twenty-one years 
 of age, but he later returned to his native State. 
 When our subject was six years of age, the par- 
 ents came to Roscoe, where they made a perma- 
 nent settlement. 
 
 Arthur F. Lundy was the only son and young- 
 est child born to his parents, there being eight 
 children in all, and seven of whom were daugh- 
 ters. Those deceased are: Helen E., Mrs. Henry 
 
 Lampman, who died in Rockton wlien twenty- 
 four years of age: Dorcas, wife of Edwin Love- 
 see, M. D., who died in Topeka, Kan., aged nineteen 
 years, and Dora Lundy, who died in Roscoe, aged 
 twenty-two years. The living children are: Ro- 
 zelba A., now Mrs. Charles M. Trimmer, of Ovr,en 
 Township; Mary E., Mrs. John L. Sage, of Wil- 
 liamstown, N. Y.; Anna M., Mrs. Dr. Buckeridge, 
 of Beloit, Wis., and Sarah A., Mrs. F. B. Cum- 
 mings, of Roscoe. 
 
 Our subject left the parental roof when thirteen 
 years of age, and began the battle of life on his 
 own responsibility. He worked by the month on 
 the farm of Phillip Atwood, and received as com- 
 pensation $12 per month for the first year, or until 
 he broke his arm. The second year he worked for 
 John Atwood, received $16 per month, and, after 
 this, was employed for different farmers, but man- 
 aged to attend school during the winter months. 
 On the 25th of June, 1881, he was married in 
 Madison, Wis., to Miss Emma E. Grant, a na- 
 tive of Illinois, and the daughter of Thomas W. 
 and Almira (Dawson) Grant, natives, respectively, 
 of New York and Ohio, but who came West to 
 Boone County, 111., at an early day. 
 
 After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Lundy worked 
 for wages the first summer, and, in December, 
 1882, went to Kansas, where they bought a farm 
 of eighty acres in Marshall County. Two years later, 
 they sold and subsequently settled in Phillips 
 County, of that State, where they bought a relin- 
 quishment of one hundred and sixty acres. This 
 they sold four years later, and they then settled in 
 Almena, Norton County, where Mr. Lundy was 
 engaged in conducting a meat market. He bought 
 a house and some real estate in the city, but only 
 remained here one year, when he emigrated to 
 Missouri, settling twenty miles North of St. Jo- 
 seph. He rented a small farm and engaged in 
 teaming for one year, when he returned to Roscoe. 
 This was in February, 1890, and here he has made 
 his home since. He rented the A. Collier farm one 
 year, and, in 1891, he rented the L. M. Taft farm 
 of two hundred acres for five years on shares. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Lundy have two sons: J. M., born in 
 Marshall County, Kan., June 7, 1883, and Fred 
 W., born in Phillips County of that State, July 
 
POKTRAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORI) 
 
 1205 
 
 25, 1886. These bright boys are in school. Mr. 
 Lundy has been a Republican, but is not a strict 
 partisan, and will vote with the Prohibitionists. 
 He and Mrs. Lundy are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church in Roscoe. 
 
 ^^TEPHEN BLACHFORD. There is, per- 
 ■yj^^ haps, no family in Spring Township, Boone 
 
 ^^^ County, which is more highly respected 
 than the one represented at the head of this sketch, 
 and who are pioneers of this section. Our subject, 
 who had his birth in Hampshire, England, August 
 18, 1813, is the son of Francis and Elizabeth Blacli- 
 ford, also natives of the British Isle. The parents 
 emigrated from their native land in 1834 in the 
 vessel "Crocus," and, after a voyage of six weeks, 
 one of which was spent off the coast of Cape 
 Ray, where the vessel was swamped, they landed 
 in Quebec. There Mr. and Mrs. Blachford lived 
 for four years, and then came to the States by way 
 of the Lakes to Detroit, and from there with teams 
 and on foot to this county, our subject and a 
 brotlier having to walk the distance of four hun- 
 dred miles. They arrived in this vicinity nine 
 days ahead of he rest of the family, and when 
 they were all comfortably housed, Stephen and his 
 father hired out to work by the month. He of 
 whom we write, in company with his father, took 
 up a claim of four hundred and twenty acres of 
 land to prove, for which they had to borrow the 
 money and pay an interest of one hundred per 
 cent. 
 
 Mr. Blachford of this sketch was one of seven 
 children who came to Boone County with their 
 parents. March 4, 1839, he was married to Maria 
 Bump, who was born in New York, and was a 
 daughter of Thomas and Phoebe (Brewer) Bump, 
 who died in Pennsylvania. She had six brothers 
 and sisters, all of whom are living, with one excep- 
 tion. Mr. and Mrs. Blachford have become the 
 parents of five children, one of whom is deceased. 
 They are named, respectively: Caroline S., now 
 Mrs. F. Curtiss; Louisa, who married Francis H. 
 Curtiss; Thomas, the husband of Anna Lawman; 
 
 Maria, now the wife of James Wan. The children 
 are all established in homes in this county. 
 
 The father of our subject was eighty-four years 
 of age when he died, and his mother eighty years 
 old. He was a Democrat in politics, and took an 
 active interest in local affairs. Our subject's share 
 of the old homestead consists of one hundred and 
 forty-six acres, which he cultivates in a profitable 
 manner. In an early day, the farm products were 
 marketed in Chicago and Milwaukee, and at one 
 time pork sold at twenty shillings per hundred. 
 The only house in the vicinity of Belvidere, in 
 1835, was the one erected by our subject and his 
 father, on their farm. The hardships which the 
 family endured during that period are beyond the 
 comprehension of the present generation, but they 
 bravely suffered and endured to pave the way for 
 those who followed, and to make their settlement 
 in the West a pleasure. 
 
 3!gfiSJ-:>si^2 
 
 1^^ ILES S. RAY, of Belvidere, claims New 
 York as the State of his nativity. He was 
 born on the 10th of December, 1806, in 
 Amenia, Dutchess County, and his father, 
 Augustus Ray, was a native of the same town. 
 The grandfather, Stephen Ray, and four brothers 
 came to America from England. He was a farmer 
 by occupation, but spent his last years in Amenia. 
 His wife long survived him, and died in Sharon 
 Va'lley, Litchfield County, Conn. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared upon a 
 farm, and resided in Amenia until 1809, when, 
 with his wife and six children, he became a resi- 
 dent of the town of Thompson, Sullivan County, 
 and was one of its pioneers. He went there as a 
 land agent, and surveyed and sold a portion 
 of seventeen thousand acres. He erected a double 
 log house in the midst of the forest, and built six 
 sawmills in different parts of the tract. He there 
 resided until his death, in March, 1812. He mar- 
 ried Accy Crane, a native of Litchfield County, 
 Conn., who died in March, of the same year. 
 They had seven children: William, Theresa, John 
 C, Cornelius and Cornelia, twins, Miles S. and 
 Emily. 
 
1206 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Our subject was only seven years old when his 
 parents died. He found a home with Andrew 
 Comstock, a farmer of Monticello, Sullivan 
 County, with whom he remained until twenty 
 years of age, when he began to learn the carpenter 
 trade, which he followed for ten years. Witli the 
 money he had earned in that way, he then pur- 
 chased a farm in the town of Fallsburgh, Sullivan 
 Count3', and engaged in its operation until 1856, 
 when he came to Illinois and cast in his lot with 
 the early settlers of Boone County. He purchased a 
 farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Flora 
 Township, and made it his home for a few years, 
 when ho removed to Belvidere, where he is now 
 living retired. 
 
 In December, 1835, Mr. Ray was united in mar- 
 riage with Ellen E. Hardenburgh, who was born in 
 Fallsburgh, in 1812. Her father, Thomas R. Hard- 
 enburgh, was a native of New Jersey, and her 
 grandfather, Johannes Hardenburgh, who was a 
 minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, was born 
 in Holland, it is thought. They were the own- 
 ers of the Hardenburgh Patent, and Thomas in- 
 herited four thousand acres of that tract of land, 
 and engaged in farming. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ray were born seven children: Mary E., now 
 Mrs. B. Arbuckle, Thomas, Henrietta, Sarah, Hy- 
 lali, Louisa and John. The mother was called 
 to her final rest in 1873. She was a most estima- 
 ble lady, and many friends mourned her loss. 
 
 Mr. Ray cast his first Presidential vote for An- 
 drew Jackson, and has since been a stanch advo- 
 cate of Democratic principles. His life has been 
 well and worthily spent, and by his faithful per- 
 formance of duty he has won the confidence and 
 high esteem of all with whom he has come in con- 
 tact. 
 
 ^^X^ELS LARSON, a farmer and dairyman, re- 
 I jjj siding on section 12, New Milford Town- 
 \lk/ik ship, is a representative citizen of Winne- 
 bago County, where he has resided for a quarter 
 of a century. He was born in Scorney, Sweden, 
 on the 16th of September, 1841, and is a son of 
 
 Lars and Ida (Swansen) Olson, natives of Southern 
 Sweden, where they were reared and married. In 
 their native land, they made their home until 1867, 
 when, accompanied by their children, the3' bade 
 good-b3'e to Sweden, and crossed the Atlantic to 
 America, landing in New York City. Thence they 
 came Westward, reaching Rockf ord in June of that 
 year. The parents and children all began life in 
 this country as farming people. The father died 
 in New Milford Township, at the home of his son, 
 our subject, on the 11th of June, 1887, and was 
 then past eighty years of age. He was twice mar- 
 ried, and his second wife is yet living with her son, 
 at the advanced age of eighty-three years. They 
 were life-long members of the Lutheran Church, 
 and were worthy, respected people. Our subject 
 has one brother and two half brothers. The former, 
 John Larson, is a resident farmer of Ogle County. 
 The latter are Olof and Peter. The first-named is 
 a shoe-maker and the latter a tailor, and both re- 
 side in Rockford. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and 
 youth in the usual manner of farmer lads, and at 
 the age of twenty-six years, accompanied his fam- 
 ily on their emigration to the United States. In 
 Rockford, he chose as a companion and helpmate 
 on life's journey. Miss Ida Olson, who was bom in 
 Blaken, Sweden, in 1848, and is a daughter of Olfl 
 and Sarah (Manson) Owkinson. The father died 
 on his farm in Sweden at the advanced age of 
 eighty-five years, and his wife passed away at the 
 age of seventy-three. They were farming people, 
 and both were members of the Lutheran Church. 
 Unto our subject and his wife has been born one 
 son, Henry W., a promising young man, yet at 
 home. 
 
 After coming to this county, Mr. Larson worked 
 as a farm hand for a time, and then rented land 
 for some time, spending five years upon a rented 
 farm in Jo Daviess County, 111. He has resided 
 upon his present farm since 1881, where he owns 
 seventy-five acres that pay to him a golden trib- 
 ute for the care and cultivation he bestows upon 
 it. In connection with general farming, he carries 
 on the dairy business, and is meeting with good 
 success in this undertaking. He is a straightfor- 
 ward, upright business man, whose word is as good 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1207 
 
 as his bond. In polities, he is a Republican. Him- 
 self and wife were among the first members of the 
 Emanuel Lutheran Church of Rockford, and are 
 active workers for its interests. They give their 
 support to all worthy enterprises, and well deserve 
 mention among the best citizens of New Milford 
 Township. 
 
 ^ >fc>t-^ 'i ' > ^ ^ 
 
 ? I ' I I I » II 
 
 ORVILLE S. COHOON, a well-known and 
 enterprising farmer of Boone County, resid- 
 ing in Flora Township, section 12, is a 
 native of Pennsylvania, born in Green Township, 
 Erie County, October 29, 1833. His father, John 
 Cohoon, was born in the town of Milo, Yates 
 County, N. Y., March 20, 1812, and passed the 
 first eight years of his life in his father's home on 
 the banks of Seneca Lake, whence he removed 
 with his parents to Erie County, Pa. 
 
 The paternal grandparents of our subject, 
 Steward and Charity (Culver) Cohoon, were na- 
 tives respectively of Connecticut and England. 
 The grandfather moved from his birthplace to the 
 State of New York at an early day and was an 
 ofBcer in the War of 1812. He married Miss 
 Charity Culver for his second wife and in March, 
 1820, removed from Yates County, N. Y., witli 
 ox-teams and sleds, and settled with his large 
 family in Erie County, Pa., becoming one of the 
 pioneers of the highlands and dense forests of 
 that county. He remained there until his death, 
 which occurred at Gospel Hill about 1840. His 
 wife died in Columbia County, Wis., January 10, 
 1855, at the advanced age of eighty-seven. The 
 paternal great-grandfather of our subject, Na- 
 thaniel Cohoon, was born in Connecticut, and 
 tradition says that his parents were Hollanders. 
 He died and was buried in Mill Creek Township, 
 Erie County, Pa., in January, 1827. 
 
 John Cohoon, father of our subject, was married 
 February 10, 1831, to Miss Fanny Wait, and their 
 three children are all living at this date (1892): 
 Orville S., Justina M., and Arlington R. Mrs. 
 Fanny Cohoon was born July 26, 1806, and died 
 October 2, 1876. She was a faithful, devoted wife 
 and a true and loving mother. Her family and 
 
 domestic cares were the pleasure of her life and 
 she won the regard of all whom she met. Her life 
 was that of a practical Christian and during her 
 more than seventy years of life she never attended 
 a theatre or circus. 
 
 The first-born of the family is the subject of 
 this sketch, who is only a little more than twenty- 
 one years younger than his father. His early ed- 
 ucation was acquired under some difficulties, for 
 in those early days the enforcement of the School- 
 rate Bill threw the payment of the teacher's salary 
 almost entirely upon the man who had a large 
 family. He remembers the scenes of pioneer life 
 and the hardships of existence amid primitive sur- 
 roundings. Twenty-five cents postage was charged 
 on letters, which were folded instead of being 
 placed in envelopes. At the age of eighteen, he 
 taught one term of school in Erie County, Pa., and 
 then in 1852, with his father, removed to Porter 
 County, Ind., where he resided one year and 
 taught school one term. 
 
 June 17, 1853, Mr. Cohoon arrived in Belvidere, 
 Boone County, 111., and embarked in business as a 
 merchant, continuing thus engaged for about two 
 years. In the summer of 1855, he engaged in the 
 carpenter's and builder's work, during which time 
 he erected several houses in South Belvidere. He 
 built the first house, with the exception of one 
 building known as the old Otis Caswell farm 
 house, and one car shanty standing on the pres- 
 ent site of the South Baptist Church, east of Pearl 
 Street and south of Logan Avenue, and which was 
 located on the corner of Whitney and Second 
 Streets. In the spring of 1856, he took a course 
 in Bacon's Mercantile College at Madison, Wis., 
 which was among the pioneer business institutions 
 in the country. During the remainder of that 
 year, he was engaged in closing up a large amount 
 of property interests for his father. 
 
 The marriage of Orville S. Cohoon, March 16, 
 1857, united him with Miss Juliett R. Wooster, of 
 Beloit, Wis., and the young couple located on the 
 farm he now owns and occupies on the 8th of 
 April following. Mrs. Juliett Cohoon died April 
 4, 1864, and was buried at Beloit, Wis. Our sub- 
 ject continued thereafter in agricultural pursuits, 
 which had previously occupied his attention, and 
 
1208 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 followed literally the injunction given by Solomon 
 that after you have taken hold of the plow "never 
 look back." He divided and subdivided his farm 
 into fields of convenient size, suitable for the pas- 
 turage of stock and the raising of grain, and also 
 aided in opening roads and building bridges and 
 embellished his farm with substantial barns and a 
 neat residence, and notably with trees and shrub- 
 bery. 
 
 In all his labors our subject has received the ef- 
 ficient aid of his devoted wife, to whom he was 
 married January 26, 1865. She was formerly Miss 
 Anna H. Field, of Whitmore Lake, Mich., and 
 was born at Niagara Falls, N. Y., October 9, 1829. 
 Having no children of their own, they have reared 
 two children, a boy and a girl, who are now 
 married and have families of tlieir own. Their 
 farm and home is their paradise, and they have 
 ever retained their faith in the great Master Spirit 
 of the Universe as the Master of the situation, in 
 whose hands they rest their case with perfect assur- 
 ance that after the acts of this life have been 
 played, the next will be on a grander scale, filled 
 with opportunities that all may reach, and that on 
 the shores of eternitj- there will be no friction of 
 mind and heart, but all will be peace and happiness 
 forever more. 
 
 NDES F. ENGSTROM, agent for the C. W. 
 Prescott Nursery, of Marengo, 111., and 
 gardener of Rockford, has resided on a 
 small but very productive farm near the 
 city limits for the past seven years. He makes a 
 specialty of small fruits and vegetables, and is well 
 paid for his time and trouble. 
 
 Previous to coming to Rockford, Mr. Engstrom 
 had been a resident of Malta, De Kalb County, 111., 
 and was a maker and dealer in boots and shoes. 
 He came to this country in 1857, resided for a 
 short time in Geneva, this State, and then for 
 twenty-eight years was a resident of Malta. In 
 1884, he came to Rockford, where he has carried 
 on a successful business ever since. 
 
 He was born in Jonkoping, Sweden, August 17, 
 1832, and in connection with agricultural pursuits. 
 
 with which he became familiar in his youth, he was 
 taught the shoe-maker's trade. He took passage for 
 America, and, after five weeks and two days, or 
 on the 10th of October, 1857, he landed in Boston, 
 Mass. From there he came to Geneva, 111. He 
 was the first of his family to touch American soil. 
 Since then, he has been joined by a sister, Mrs. P. 
 A. Peterson, who resides at No. 1106 Second Ave- 
 nue, Rockford, and whose husband is foreman of 
 the West End Furniture Company. 
 
 The parents of our subject passed their entire 
 days in Sweden, the father, Isaac Gustavson, hav- 
 ing died when forty-six years of age, and the 
 mother, Anna E. Engstron, when considerably 
 younger. The father was a shoemaker and farmer, 
 and was twice married, his first wife being the 
 mother of our subject. The second wife is also 
 deceased. 
 
 Andes F. Engstrom joined the Swedish Evan- 
 gelical liUtheran Church the first week after com- 
 ing here, and has been Deacon in the same for the 
 past twenty years, and Trustee for many years. 
 He holds membership at De Kalb, 111., and is an 
 active worker in the church. While at Malta, he 
 was a member of the Town Board for two terms, 
 also a member of the School Board as Director for 
 years, and has held other local positions. He has 
 ever been a sound Republican in politics, and is a 
 strong advocate of the principles of that part}-. 
 
 Miss Wilhelmena C. Swasen, whom our subject 
 married in Malta, 111., was originally from Wester 
 Gothland Province, Sweden, born in 1842, and came 
 with her family to the United States in Maj-, 1852. 
 The family first settled in Chicago, but moved from 
 there to Geneva three j'ears later, and thence to 
 Malta, after a residence of about the same length 
 of time. There as a family they resided for some 
 time. Her parents, J. George and Marj' (John- 
 son) Swasen, now reside near their daughter, Mrs. 
 Engstrom, of this notice. They were both natives 
 of Wester Gothland, Sweden, and the father fol- 
 lowed the trade of a shoemaker nearly all his life. 
 Life-long members of the Evangelical Lutheran 
 Church, they are well respected, and although sev- 
 enty-seven and eighty-one years of age, respec- 
 tively, both enjoy comparatively good health. Tlie 
 father is a Republican in politics. Of the six chil- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1209 
 
 dren born to this much-esteemed couple, only Mrs. 
 Engstrora is now living. A brother, Dr. Alfred, a 
 promising young physician of Chicago, died when 
 twenty-nine years of age. The others were John, 
 Josephine, Mary and Joseph, all of whom died 
 when under ten years of age. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Engstrom are the happy parents 
 of five interesting children: Anna M., wife of Os- 
 car Hall, who is a member of the firm of Engstrom 
 & Hall, merchants, at No. 324 State Street, Rock- 
 ford; Theodore V., a partner of Mr. Hall, married 
 Miss Florence Beatty, a daughter of Rev. Robert 
 Beatty, of Rockford; Lillian C, at home; Alfred 
 A., studying law at the Northwestern Univer- 
 sity at Chicago; Ebenezer W., at home, attending 
 High School. All are intelligent, bright children. 
 
 jL GRACE O. SEARS has witnessed the great 
 [fjy change wrought by the hand of man in 
 iL^^ bringing Boone County from a state of na- 
 il^ ture to its present condition as one of the 
 richest and most highly-developed counties in 
 Northern Illinois. He is at present residing on 
 section 36, Bonus Township, and may well take 
 pride in what he has done to aid in producing this 
 wonderful result. He is what may be termed a 
 self-made man, loved and respected by all who 
 know him. 
 
 Born in Bristol, Ontario County, N. Y., October 
 1, 1819, our subject is a son of Alden and Delaney 
 (Vincent) Sears, the former of whom was born in 
 Dighton, Mass., in 1770, an.d died in the above- 
 named town and county in New York, February 
 28, 1829. The mother was a native of Rhode 
 Island, and passed away in Bonus Township, this 
 county, August 27, 1841. The first ancestor of 
 our subject who came to the United States in 1639, 
 bore the given name of Richard, and spelled his 
 name Saers. The mother of our subject came to 
 Boone County in company with her seven sons 
 and three daughters, all of whom are deceased 
 with the exception of our subject, who was the 
 youngest in the family. On coming hither, they 
 stopped for four months at Lockport, this State, 
 and on making settlement^in Boone County, bought 
 
 claims, aggregating over one thousand acres, on 
 four hundred acres of which our subject resides. 
 The brothers commenced industriously the work 
 of clearing the new farm and erecting thereon the 
 finest set of buildings in the county. It has since 
 been divided, however, each of the sons being the 
 owner of a fine estate. 
 
 Horace O. Sears remained at home with his 
 mother until her decease, when, May 12, 1842, he 
 was married to Harriet A. Ames, whose birth oc- 
 curred April 9, 1820, in Colchester, Chittenden 
 County, Vt. Mrs. Sears was the daughter of Will- 
 liam and Polly Ames, also natives of the Green 
 Mountain State, who emigrated to this county as 
 early as 1834, where they spent the remainder of 
 their lives. Mrs. Sears had twelve brothers and 
 sisters, only six of whom are living. 
 
 Mrs. Harriet A. Sears departed this life at her 
 home December 6, 1877, having become the mother 
 of four children, viz.: Henry 0., who was born 
 March 22, 1843, died wlien fourteen years of age; 
 Edward C, born March 29, 1845, married Miss 
 Jennie McGlashen, and is the father of a son and 
 daughter; Charles A., born November 27, 1846, 
 married Miss Belle Sisson, and is the father of one 
 child; Theron M., born April 7, 1849, married 
 Sarah Culbertson, and is the father of nine chil- 
 dren. 
 
 He of whom we write has been the incumbent 
 of various positions of honor and trust, having 
 held the oflSce of Supervisor for the past four 
 years. He is a Republican of the strongest type, 
 having voted for William Henry Harrison, and his 
 grandson. He is an active and earnest worker in the 
 Congregational Church, as was also his wife, which 
 denomination they joined soon after its organiza- 
 tion in this part of the county. He has worked 
 his way up to a position of competence, all through 
 his own efforts, he having been well-equipped for 
 the struggle, with energy, determination and a 
 good capacity for skillful labor, besides being a 
 man of steady habits, thorough conscientiousness 
 and unswerving integrity. He is now spending 
 the evening of his life in quiet retirement, sur- 
 rounded by the comforts which are the result of 
 his toil in former years. 
 
 A more loving and kind father, estimable neigh- 
 
1210 
 
 i-OETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 bor and honorable man than Horace 0. Sears is not 
 to be found within the confines of Boone County. 
 His great misfortune was the loss of his noble and 
 true wife who has preceded him to the land beyond, 
 her death having occurred December 6, 1877. 
 
 -=1-^+^^- 
 
 HARLES E. HALLOCK, President of the 
 village of Pecatonica, has for a number of 
 years been prominently identified with its 
 business and political affairs, and is the proprietor 
 of a large furniture establishment. He occupies a 
 leading position in his line of trade and maintains 
 a high reputation for uprightness, commercial en- 
 terprise and progress, while his success makes more 
 prominent every year the honorable policy for 
 which the establishment is conspicuous. 
 
 The father of our subject, Reuben Hallock, was 
 born near Albany, N. Y., May 20, 1804, and came 
 West to Illinois in 1836, the journey being made 
 on the Erie Canal to Buffalo, thence by the Lakes 
 to Chicago, and thence with cattle to Ogle County, 
 where he entered land from the Government and 
 engaged in its cultivation until 1872. He was 
 united in marriage with Miss Harriet A. Sperry, 
 who was born January 1, 1814, in New York, and 
 they became the parents of ten children, five of 
 whom are still living. 
 
 In 1872, Reuben Hallock traded his Ogle County 
 property for land in Pecatonica Township, "Win- 
 nebago County, which is now owned by our sub- 
 ject and comprises one hundred and forty acres. 
 At the home which he there established the father 
 died at the age of seventy-seven. He was a man 
 of the utmost probity, firm in his convictions and 
 a stanch adherent to the principles of equitj'- and 
 justice. In his politics, he was first an old-line 
 Whig and afterward voted the Republican ticket 
 until Gen. Hancock was nominated for the Presi- 
 dency, at which time he supported that famous 
 general. His wife survived him until 1890, when 
 she passed away at the home of our subject, aged 
 seventy-six. 
 
 Charles E. Hallock was born in Byron Town- 
 ship, Ogle County, 111., July 31, 1856, and is of 
 Scotch descent. He remained at home until his 
 
 father's death, after which he bought out the in- 
 terest of the other heirs in order to gain posses- 
 sion of the old homestead. The farm with all tlie 
 stock thereon was willed to Charles E., the young- 
 est son, but he was to pay the other children a 
 stipulated sum, which is now paid. His marriage, 
 May 23, 1882, united him with Miss Ella R.Ryan, 
 who was born in Pecatonica, 111., January 5, 1861, 
 the daughter of Steplien and Catherine Ryan, resi- 
 dents of Rockford. One child has been bom of 
 the union, Stephen C, who was born March 6,1891. 
 After his marriage, our subject remained on the 
 6ld homestead until August 1, 1886, when he was 
 appointed Postmaster of Pecatonica, and removed 
 to the village, where he lias since resided. He 
 served efficiently as Postmaster during the admin- 
 istration of President Cleveland, meanwhile also 
 carrying on his furniture business. He holds an 
 interest in the shoe factory at Pecatonica, and is a 
 stockholder in the Rockford Daily Star. His wife 
 is a member of the Catholic Church and he is liberal 
 in his religious views. Socially, he is identified 
 with Eureka Camp No. 50, M. W. A. 
 
 v 
 
 di^ J^ALTER TRUMBULL. This ge 
 
 who is one of the influential citizens of 
 Rockford, was born across the ocean in 
 Roxburghshire, Scotland, his natal day being May 
 22, 1815. His parents were Walter and Ellen 
 (Oliver) Trumbull, also natives of Scotland, where 
 they passed the remainder of their days. They 
 reared a family of six children, of whom our sub- 
 ject was the only one that settled in America. 
 
 Walter Trumbull was reared in his native land 
 and resided under the parental roof until reaching 
 his eighteenth year, at which time he came to Amer- 
 ica in company with a neighboring family, setting 
 sail from Liverpool and landing on the shores of 
 the New World thirty-nine days later. He located in 
 Delaware County, N. Y., and there learned the trade 
 of a carpenter. In 1838, he went South to Georgia, 
 and in Augusta followed the trade of a millwright 
 during the summer months and spent the winter 
 season in the mountains. Five years later, he re- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1211 
 
 turned to the Empire State and with the exception 
 of visiting tlie South two or three times was a con- 
 tinuous resident there until 1855, which was the 
 date of his advent into Rockford, when he pur- 
 chased the home which he has since occupied. His 
 residence is pleasantly located on the southeast 
 corner of State and Fifth Streets, and the family of 
 Mr. Trumbull ranks among the best residents of the 
 
 city. 
 
 The original of this sketch was actively engaged 
 as contractor and builder until 1889, since which 
 time he has lived in retirement, enjoying the re- 
 sults of his early toil. In 1846, he was married to 
 Elizabeth A. Chase, who was born in Delaware 
 County, N. Y., and was the daughter of Edward 
 B. and Julia (Goodrich) Chase. The maternal 
 grandfather of Mrs. Trumbull, Walter Chase, was 
 a native of New England, and a prominent citizen 
 of Delaware County, where he was elected its first 
 Sheriff. To our subject and his estimable wife 
 have been born three children: Charles, deceased; 
 Frank E. and Carrie E. The son married Julia 
 Shedd, and Carrie is now Mrs. George L. Brown 
 and the mother of two children, Arthur T. and 
 Frank H. Mr. and Mrs. Trumbull are active mem- 
 bers of the Westminister Presbyterian Church, and 
 in politics, our subject, though formerly a Whig, 
 now votes the Republican party. 
 
 j^AVID PERRY, retired, owns a comfortable 
 home at No. 1013 Charles Street, Rock- 
 ford, also a fine double flat on Eighth 
 Street, and is one of the city's prosperous 
 citizens. He was originally from New York, his 
 birth occurring in Cayuga County, of that State, 
 in 1825, and he became familiar with the duties of 
 the farm at an early age. He is a son of Ozias 
 Perry, and the grandson of Ozias Perry, Sr., the 
 latter a native of the Green Mountain State, and 
 for seven years a soldier in the Revolutionary War. 
 Mr. Perry married a Vermont lady. Miss Esther 
 Marvin, of an old New England family, and after 
 the birth of several of their children, the family 
 emigrated to Cayuga County, N. Y., where they 
 aiTived at a very early period. They opened up a 
 
 farm in the wilds of that county, and there passed 
 the closing scenes of their lives, both dying when 
 about eighty years of age. They were life-long 
 members of the Presbyterian Church. Their son, 
 Ozias Perry, Jr., was one of eleven children, all 
 now deceased, and was but a boy when his parents 
 emigrated from Vermont to New York State. He 
 grew to manhood in Cayuga County, and was 
 there united in marriage to Miss Eliza Merchant, 
 a native of New York State, and of Dutch descent. 
 
 After marriage, Ozias Perry, Jr., and his wife 
 resided in Cayuga County until all their children 
 were born, and then, in 1849, the family came to 
 Illinois, settling in Cherry Valley. Thej' opened 
 a new farm, made many improvements on it, and 
 there the parents passed the closing scenes of their 
 lives, the mother dying on the Uth of April, 1876, 
 when sixty-nine years of age, and the father in 
 1890, when eighty -nine years of age. The latter 
 was a Universalist in his belief, and both were 
 worth J' people. Of the five children born to them 
 all are living, and all are married and have fami- 
 lies. Two sons reside on farms in Iowa, and two 
 daughters are living in Belvidere, 111. 
 
 David Perry, our subject, was the eldest of this 
 family, and reached his twenty-first year in his na- 
 tive county. Two years after his parents had set- 
 tled in Winnebago County, he followed them, and 
 was married in Boone County of that State, to 
 Miss Charity Van Alstine, a native of Montgomery 
 County, N. Y., born January 7, 1832, and the 
 daughter of John N. and Jemima (Tymeson) Van 
 Alstine, natives also of the Empire State, and of 
 Dutch stock. Her parents passed their entire 
 lives in Montgomery County, and the old home is 
 still in the hands of the family. They were mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Van Alstine 
 was the son of Rev. Patriot Nicholas Van Alstine. 
 The former had one son, Cornelius Van Alstine, 
 who served in the United States Navy as Lieuten- 
 ant Commander, and was on a coasting vessel. 
 He was a West Point graduate, and served 
 his country with great bravery, winning many 
 laurels for his courage and gallant conduct. An- 
 other son, Deloss Van Alstine, was also in the 
 Civil War, enlisting in the Ninety-second Illinois 
 Infantry, and serving in many of the prominent 
 
1212 
 
 POKTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 engagements. Mrs. Perry, wife of our subject, is 
 the youngest but one of tlie four children now liv- 
 ing. 
 
 After his marriage, Mr. Perry began farming in 
 Cherry Valley, and by his industry and good man- 
 agement, soon became the owner of much valuable 
 property. He owns two hundred and eighty acres 
 in the valle}^, all well improved with two sets of 
 buildings, and he also owns six hundred and forty 
 acres of fine land in Pocahontas County, Iowa. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Perry are the parents of two children: 
 Ciark married Miss Alice Lamb, and now resides 
 on the farm in Iowa; he has five children: EUaM., 
 David R., Jessie M., Ethel and Frank. The other 
 child, a daughter, Ella F., married L. Keith, and 
 they have one child, Flora June; they reside in 
 Roekford. Mr. and Mrs. Perry are members of the 
 Christian Union Church, and Mr. Perry is a Repub- 
 lican in politics. 
 
 eHARLES W. HIZER, a retired farmer resid- 
 ing in Roekford, and one of the early set- 
 tlers of the county, was born in Oneida 
 County, N. Y., on the 13th of October, 1830, and 
 is one of five children whose parents were Adam 
 and Lucy (Shepard) Hizer, both of whom were na- 
 tives of the Empire State. The paternal grand- 
 father of our subject, Henry Hizer, was a shoe- 
 maker by trade, but during the greater part of his 
 life followed farming in Herkimer County, where 
 he died at the age of sixty years. The parents of 
 our subject emigrated to Illinois, locating in Win- 
 nebago County, where they resided for manj' 
 years. The father died in Ogle County, at an ad- 
 vanced age, and the mother, who survived him 
 twelve \'ears, died in New Milford Township, this 
 county, when about eighty years of age. They 
 were adherents of the Methodist Church, and were 
 highly-respected people. All of their children are 
 yet living and have married. 
 
 Charles W. Hizer, whose name heads this record, 
 was reared upon his father's farm, and resided in 
 the Empire State until emigrating to Illinois some 
 thirty-five jears ago. He was married in Lewis 
 
 County, N. Y., the lady of his choice being Miss 
 Mary Starkweather, a native of Lewis County, and 
 a daughter of Palmer and Anna Starkweather, who 
 were born, reared and married in New York. Mrs. 
 Hizer's parents came to Illinois and lived with 
 their daughter, Mrs. Hizer. The father died while 
 visiting in his native Stale, and the mother passed 
 away at the home of her daughter, in this county. 
 
 On coming to Illinois, Mr. Hizer located upon a 
 farm in Burritt Township, Winnebago County, 
 where he improved and developed eighty acres of 
 land. He afterward removed with his family to 
 Roekford Township, and the farm which he pur- 
 chased is still in his possession. It is a one hun- 
 dred and thirty-acre tract of valuable land under 
 a high state of cultivation, and well supplied with 
 good buildings. In addition to this, he also owns 
 fifty acres near the city. He was an enterprising 
 and successful farmer, and in the pursuit of his 
 business, acquired a valuable property, which now 
 enables him to live a retired life. After many 
 years devoted to agriculture, he came to Roekford 
 about seven years ago, and has since rested in the 
 enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil. In 
 politics, he is independent, voting for the man 
 whom he thinks best qualified to fill the office, re- 
 gardless of party affiliations. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hizer have been born six 
 children, four of whom are yet living: Willard S., 
 a successful florist and botanist, is now carrying on 
 a greenhouse; Celia, Eusebia and Charles are still 
 at home; Fred and Sarah are deceased. The fam- 
 ily is one well known in this community, and 
 worthy of the high regard in which it is held. 
 
 ^=m>^^<^ 
 
 ^^AVID ANDREW, a retired farmer, living at 
 his pleasant and beautiful home at No. 803 
 North Court Street, Roekford, was born in 
 Argyleshire, Scotland, July 2, 1837, and was 
 the second in order of birth in a family of 
 eleven children. He is of pure Scotch origin. His 
 father, John Andrew, was born in Argyleshire and 
 there wedded Miss Mary Brown, who came of a 
 good Scotch family. After the birth of three of 
 their children, they joined a number of families 
 
PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1213 
 
 ■who were emigrating to America. They sailed 
 from Greenwich in 1840, and after six weeks 
 landed at New York, whence they went by way 
 of the Lakes to Chicago, and came overland to 
 Winnebago County, where John Andrew began 
 life upon a new farm, which is still the home of 
 his family. He was then in limited circumstances, 
 but through his own efforts became well-to-do. In 
 those early days, however, he had to bear many 
 hardships and privations incident to pioneer life. 
 He hauled many a load of grain to Chicago, which 
 was then the nearest market of any importance. 
 His death occurred at the age of fifty-one years. 
 His wife is yet living at the advanced age of four- 
 score years, and is well preserved both mentally 
 and physically. She makes her home with her 
 youngest son, Thomas. Like her husband, she has 
 been a life-long member of the Presbyterian 
 Church. Of the children, one died at the age of 
 eighteen years, but the other ten are still living 
 and have all married. 
 
 Mr. Andrew, of this sketch, was brought to Illi- 
 nois when only three years of age, and upon his 
 father's farm in Harlem Township, he was reared 
 to manhood in the usual manner of fai'mer lads. 
 After attaining to mature years, he chose as a com- 
 panion and helpmate on life's journey Miss Lizzie 
 Brown, their union being celebrated in Hamilton 
 County, near Cincinnati, Ohio. The lady was 
 born in that locality of Scotch parentage, being a 
 daughter of Alex and Margaret (Brown) Brown, 
 natives of Scotland. Her parents were married in 
 that country and immediately afterward crossed 
 the Atlantic, settling near Cincinnati, where Mr. 
 Brown followed farming until his death, at the age 
 of eighty-one. His wife now lives with a son and 
 daughter, and is eighty-three years of age. 
 
 Mrs. Andrew was educated at College Hill, Ohio, 
 and is a cultured and most estimable lady. By her 
 marriage she became the mother of two children, 
 but John, the only son, died at the age of seven 
 years. The daughter, Maggie B., is still at home. 
 As before stated, they reside at No. 803 North Court 
 Street. The Andrew household is the abode of 
 hospitality, and its members rank high in social 
 circles. The parents and their daughter are mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church of this city. 
 
 When Mr. Andrew entered upon his business 
 career, he located at Argyle Station, where for 
 twent3^-five years he carried on business as a dealer 
 in grain, lumber, and coal. His surplus earnings 
 he has invested in real estate and now owns some 
 good property in Boone County, also in Eockford. 
 He was very successful in his undertakings, and 
 as the result of his enterprise met with a well- 
 deserved prosperity. He was recognized as one of 
 the leading citizens of his township, prominent in 
 all public affairs, and a leader among his fellow- 
 countrymen. Since the month of November, 1888, 
 he has lived a retired life in Rockford. 
 
 c=l 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 [S" 
 
 'RANK A. FISCHER, who from early life 
 has made his own way in the world, and 
 by his own efforts acquired a handsome 
 property, has, since 1886, dealt in wines and liqu- 
 ors at Nos. 103 and 105 East State Street, his estab- 
 lishment being one of the finest of the kind in the 
 city. His life record is as follows : He was born 
 in Saxony, Germany, July 15, 1848, and comes of 
 a wealthy and prominent family. His father and 
 grandfather, both of whom bore the name of 
 William, were successful and extensive lumbermen, 
 further mention of them being made in the sketch 
 of Berhard Fischer, on another page of this work. 
 In the family were six brothers, all of whom grew 
 to manhood and became wealthy. One died very 
 recently in New York, leaving a large estate. 
 
 Frank obtained a good education in his native 
 land, and at the age of fourteen began clerking in 
 a hardware house. Four years later he sailed for 
 America, taking passage at Hamburg, and at 
 length landed in New York. It was in 1867 that 
 he arrived in Rockford, where he has since made 
 his home, and been actively engaged in business, 
 a part of the time as a partner of his brother. Not 
 only is he a dealer in wines and liquors, but he is 
 also a stockholder in the Merchants' and Manufac- 
 turers' National Bank, and owns an interest in the 
 Electric Manufacturing Company, of Rockford. 
 He possesses good business ability, is enterprising 
 and industrious, and by his untiring efforts has 
 accumulated considerable property. 
 
1214 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In Rockford, Mr. Fischer led to the marriage 
 altar Miss Minnie Strese, who was born in Jeffer- 
 son City, Wis., and is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ludwig Strese, both natives of Germany. A short 
 time after their marriage they emigrated to this 
 country, locating in Jefferson City, where they are 
 now living. The daughter was there reared and 
 educated, remaining at home until her marriage. 
 She is one of a family of six children. After their 
 marriage, Mr. Fischer brought his wife to Rock- 
 ford, and they hold a prominent position among 
 the people of his nationality in this city, having a 
 wide circle of friends and acquaintances. 
 
 Mr. Fischer takes quite an active part in social 
 affairs, especially with the Germania Societ^^, of 
 which he is an influential and leading member. 
 He has also taken considerable interest in political 
 affairs, but is connected with no party, voting for 
 the man, regardless of party affiliations. 
 
 V. 
 
 _y 
 
 r' 
 
 I EV. GARRET R. VANHORNE, D. D., the 
 presiding elder of Dixon District, was 
 born in Franklin Township, Bergen 
 i^ County, N. J., June 30, 1841. His father, 
 John Vanhorne, was a native of the same county 
 and township, and the grandfather, Barney Van- 
 horne, was also born there, and was of early Dutch 
 ancestry. He was a farmer, and spent his entire 
 life in his native town. He was a member of the 
 Dutch Reformed Church, and reared bis children 
 in the same faith. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared upon a 
 farm, and learned the trade of a tanner, following 
 that for a time, but finally bought a farm in the 
 township of Franklin, N. J., and after that carried 
 on farming until a few years before his death, 
 when he retired from active life, and spent his 
 last days in the city of Paterson, N. J., where he 
 breathed his last October 19, 1891. The father of 
 our subject married Martha Terhune,who was a na- 
 tive of Franklin, N. J., and was born May 25, 
 1822, living until June 11, 1881. The parents of 
 our subject both joined the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church in early life, and the father served as 
 
 Steward, Trustee and Class-Leader; also as Super- 
 intendent of the Sunday-school. The children 
 who are still living are Cornelius, Catherine, our 
 subject, Sarah, Albert and Rachel. One child, John, 
 died at the age of three years. 
 
 Our subject received his early education in the 
 public schools of the town of Franklin, and at the 
 age of sixteen began to learn the trade of a brick- 
 laj^er, serving three years thereat, and then left his 
 trade, and in the fall of 1859 entered Garrett 
 Biblical Institute, at Evanston, 111., and remained 
 there until August, 1861. This young man, like 
 thousands of others, threw down his books at the 
 call of his country, and took up a musket. He 
 enlisted in Taylor's Battery of Light Artillery, of 
 Chicago, being the first student to enlist from his 
 school. He was in the battle of Frederickstown, 
 Mo., and later fought at Belmont, the first battle 
 in which Grant was commander. Receiving a 
 wound there, he was sent to the hospital at Cairo; 
 typhoid fever afterward set in, and he was for 
 eighty-two days under the surgeon's care, and 
 flnallj' received his honorable discharge on account 
 of physical disability, by order of Gen. Halleck, 
 and went home to New Jersey. 
 
 After fully recuperating, Mr. Vanhorne joined 
 the Newark Conference, and officiated as a minis- 
 ter of the Gospel until the fall of 1864, when, his 
 health again failing, he returned to Illinois in the 
 fall of 1865, when he joined the Rock River Con- 
 ference. He has been a member of that organiza- 
 tion ever since, and has preached at the following 
 places: Oregon, Minooka, Plainfleld, Rochelle, De- 
 Kalb, Dixon, on Michigan Avenue, Chicago, and 
 in Rockford. While in charge of the church in 
 the latter-named city, our subject was instru- 
 mental in erecting the present handsome edifice. 
 After serving as pastor of the Centennial Church 
 of Rockford for three years, he was appointed 
 the Presiding Elder of the Rockford District, 
 and served in that capacity for five years, when 
 he was appointed Presiding Elder of the Dixon 
 District, and is the incumbent of that position at 
 the present time, serving his third year. 
 
 Miss Jennie A. Munroe became the wife of our 
 subject in 1865. She was born in Brownville, 
 Jefferson County, N. Y., October 18, 1847, and is 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1215 
 
 a daughter of George Munroe. Her father, who 
 was born in Lanark, Scotland, was the son of 
 Daniel and Jane Munroe, also natives of that 
 country. They came to the United States in an 
 early day, and located in Watertown, N. Y., where 
 the grandmother died. Mr. Daniel Munroe came 
 West to this State in 1849, making a location in 
 Will County, where he purchased a farm near 
 Wilmington, and made that place his home the 
 remainder of his life. The father of Mrs. Van- 
 home was very young when accompanying his 
 parents to America. He was married in the Em- 
 pire State to Sarah, daughter of Henry and 
 Charity Henze, natives of New York, and of Ger- 
 man descent. 
 
 George Munroe, the father of Mrs. Van home, 
 coutinued to reside in New York until 1849, at 
 which time he came to the Prairie State, and pur- 
 chased a farm near Florence, Will County. There 
 he followed his trade of moulder for two winters, 
 and then farmed until November, 1861, when he 
 was elected Sheriff of the county, serving his full 
 term. Removing to Joliet, he opened up in the 
 grocery business, doing a large retail trade, and 
 later took in as partner his son George, the firm 
 name being George Munroe & Son. In addition 
 to the grocery business, Mr. Munroe operated ex- 
 tensively in real estate, which business netted him 
 a fine income. He was very prominent in his 
 locality, and departed this life September 5, 1890, 
 In politics, he was in early life a Democrat, but on 
 the organization of the Republican party, joined 
 its ranks. He served in the responsible position 
 of Treasurer of Will County. He was widely and 
 favorably known throughout the community, 
 where he was held in high esteem. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Vanhorne have become the parents 
 of three children, EvaM., Jennie and George. The 
 elder daughter became the wife of Oscar J. Wigell. 
 He of whom we write cast his first Presidential 
 vote for Abraham Lincoln, since which time he 
 has voted the Republican ticket. The degree of 
 Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by 
 McKendry College, of Illinois, in 1888. 
 
 The Rev. Garret R. Vanhorne was elected and 
 served as reserve delegate to the general Confer- 
 ence of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1888. 
 56 
 
 When Dr. Vincent was elected Bishop, he was 
 appointed to fill that vacancy in the conference. 
 In social matters, he is a Master Mason, and is 
 connected with the Royal Arch Masons at Oregon. 
 He is also a member of Sycamore Commandery, 
 and of the Forest City Lodge No. 12, A. O. U. W. 
 He is a Grand Army man, and holds membership 
 with Nevius Post No. 1. He is Chaplain of the 
 Third Regiment, Illinois National Guards, and is 
 the second oldest chaplain in the State. 
 
 EDMUND SNOWDON. A pleasantly located 
 and fertile tract of land on section 15, 
 ,- - Burritt Township, Winnebago County, is 
 owned and occupied by the subject of this sketch, 
 who is now giving his attention to its cultivation. 
 Born April 30, 1836, in Yorkshire, England, he is 
 a son of Daniel and Ann (Gambel) Snowdon, also 
 natives of the above-named county, where they 
 spent their entire lives as farmers. 
 
 Edmund Snowdon was the only member of the 
 parental family to come to America, prior to which 
 time he received a limited education in his native 
 country. He commenced to work out at the age 
 of nine years, and in 1855 sailed from Liverpool 
 in the vessel "Webster," landing at New York 
 after a voyage of six weeks. Going at once to 
 Fulton County, N. Y., Mr. Snowdon was employed 
 on a farm there for a year, and then came to 
 Winnebago County, where he was engaged to work 
 on a farm in Harlem Township, for three years. 
 Desiring to see something of the far West, he went 
 to California, via the Isthmus of Panama, and 
 worked on a ranch for the three succeeding years, 
 and on returning to York State was engaged as a 
 farm hand for another twelvemonth. Finally, 
 making a permanent location in Winnebago 
 County, Mr. Snowdon bought a farm, upon which 
 he is residing at the present time, and which then 
 contained eighty acres, since which time, however, 
 he has added ninety acres adjoining, all of which 
 is pleasantly located on the Trask Bridge Road. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married, 
 April 3, 1865, was Miss Path en ia Sophia Fell, and 
 to them have been granted three children: Belle A., 
 
1216 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Cora L. a,nd Millie G. Mrs. Snowdon was born 
 in Cheshire, England, where her father, William 
 Fell, was born September 6, 1806. Her grand- 
 parents, William and Sophia Hartley Fell, spent 
 their entire lives in that shire. William Fell 
 learned the trade of a hand-weaver, at which he 
 worked until ten years of age, when he entered 
 the cotton mills in Cheshire, and worked until 
 1843. Then, with his wife and three children, he 
 crossed the ocean to America in the sailing-vessel 
 " Patrick Henry," landing at Castle Garden after 
 a voyage of thirty days. Going immediately to 
 Rhode. Island, Mr. Fell made that State his home 
 for three years, and then came to Winnebago 
 County, which was at that time very sparsely set- 
 tled. He located in Durand Township, purchasing 
 a tract of forty acres, upon which he erected a log 
 house, and commenced at once to improve the 
 farm. He erected good buildings on the place, 
 and there resided until 1890, when he removed to 
 the home of our subject and his wife. The maiden 
 name of Mrs. Fell was Sarah Barningham, a native 
 of Yorkshire, England, who died on the home 
 farm in 1868. 
 
 A career honorable alike to himself and to the 
 community in which he resides, Mr. Snowdon has 
 shown those valuable traits of character without 
 which success is unattainable. 
 
 J\A OBERT BAUCH is Superintendent, Director 
 y and stockholder of the Desk and Furniture 
 ii \\\ Company of Rockford, which business is 
 ^^ located on North Second Street, at what 
 is commonly known as Knightville, where it 
 was established in 1889. Since that time, Mr. 
 Bauch has held the above-mentioned positions, and 
 through his able management the business has been 
 productive of the best results. He was formerly 
 Superintendent of the Rockford Cabinet Company, 
 of which he was the founder, and which was estab- 
 lished in 1886. He has now under him about one 
 hundred men, and the success of the business is 
 characterized by his push and energy, and good 
 judgment and executive ability. He is an old, 
 
 tried and practical workman, and has been actively 
 engaged in business for the past twenty-five years. 
 He was for some time employed as a practical 
 workman and mechanic with the large furniture 
 factory of A. D. Seam ife Co. (now the Cream City 
 Furniture Company), of Milwaukee, Wis., and it 
 was while in that city that he learned his trade. 
 Since that time, he has given his best efforts to his 
 business, and with substantial results. He invested 
 his money and takes a deep interest in the Skandia 
 Furniture Company, also the Diamond Furniture 
 Company, and is a Director and stockholder in 
 both, besides holding his present position with the 
 Desk and Furniture Companj^, to which he gives 
 his personal supervision. His whole energy and 
 time are devoted to the furniture business, and he 
 keeps well posted in all mattei'S relating to the 
 same. 
 
 Mr. Bauch comes of Teutonic stock, but was 
 born, however, in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1854. He 
 was there reared and educated, receiving a prac- 
 tical training in the city schools; he was naturally 
 a practical mechanic and designer, and had also a 
 wonderful command of languages, speaking Eng- 
 lish, German and Swedish, besides understanding 
 others. This is of great importance in his busi- 
 ness, and renders his services of much value. 
 
 He was the eldest of eight children, five sons and 
 three daughters, born to Gotlieb G. and Paulina 
 (Falke) Bauch, natives of Germany. The father was 
 reared in his native country, and there learned the 
 weaver's trade. Soon after his marriage, he came to 
 the United States and first located in Milwaukee, 
 where they had some trouble in making a living, 
 but after a time he began at his trade, and posses- 
 sing much natural ability, soon came to the front. 
 He became Superintendent and Manager for Nied- 
 ner & Co., extensive weavers for many years in the 
 Cream City, and after continuing with them for 
 some time, he began business on his own account. 
 During the Civil War, he served with a Wisconsin 
 regiment, and was in many prominent engage- 
 ments, receiving a wound in one of them that ren- 
 dered him a cripple for hfe. Subsequently, Mr. 
 Bauch took up a soldier's claim at Butternut Creek, 
 Wis., and there passed the closing scenes of his life. 
 He had been a sufferer from la grippe, and after 
 
i'ORTEAlT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1217 
 
 recovering somewhat, although still very weak, 
 took a drive behind a spirited young team, that 
 finally got beyond his control; the carriage was up- 
 set, and he so seriously injured, that he died in 
 March, 1889, when about seventy-three years of 
 age. He came of a long-lived stock, and his father, 
 who died about six years ago, was nearly one hun- 
 dred years old. The mother of our subject is still 
 living, and makes her home with a son, Oscar, a 
 dry-goods merchant of Milwaukee. She is now, 
 March 13, 1892, fifty-eight years of age. She is a 
 member of the German Lutheran Church, and her 
 husband was also connected with that church. Of 
 the children born to their marriage, all are living, 
 and four are married. 
 
 Robert Bauch, of this notice, is the only one re- 
 siding in Rockford. He was married in Rockton, 
 111., to Miss Flora E. Springer, a native of Maine, 
 born July 25, 1854, and the daughter of George 
 W. and Rosanna (Guptill) Springer, both of Ger- 
 man nativity. The father was a shoemaker by 
 trade, who is now deceased, his death having oc- 
 curred in Rockton in 1887. His widow is still 
 living, resides at Beloit, Wis., and is seventy-six 
 years of age. Of the eight cliildren born to this 
 worthy couple, Mrs. Bauch was the youngest in 
 order of birth. One son, George Springer, was a 
 soldier in the Union army, and was killed while 
 defending the Stars and Stripes. 
 
 Mr. Bauch and his wife are both working mem- 
 bers of the First Congregational Church of Rock- 
 ford. Their union has been blessed hy the birth 
 of three children, two of whom are living: Robert 
 G. and P. A. Horence died in infancy. In pol- 
 itics, Mr. Bauch is a strict Republican. 
 
 ARL O. ASPROOTH, baker and confec- 
 tioner, of Rockford, 111. One of the salient 
 features of the business men in the cities of 
 Illinois is their energy and push, or, as the Ameri- 
 cans put it, "go-aheaditiveness." Rockford is no 
 exception in this respect, but affords a striking 
 example of the truth of the assertion, and Mr. Carl 
 0. Asprooth furnishes us with a striking case in 
 point. He owns a fine business building at No. 
 
 106 Kishwaukee Street, the same being 22x80 feet, 
 with a basement, storerooms, and two flats above, 
 the whole of his building being the north half of 
 Union Block. 
 
 Mr. Asprooth, like many of the representative 
 business men of Rockford, is of foreign birth, and 
 first saw the light of day in Jonkoping, Sweden, 
 December 15, 1846. He learned his trade in his 
 native country, and when about twenty years 
 of age, came to the United States. His father, 
 Daniel Asprooth, died in his native country in 
 1891, when seventy-four years of age. He was a 
 Lieutenant in the regular army of Sweden, and 
 was a pensioner for twenty years before his death. 
 He was a prominent man. His father was a native 
 of Finland, and a Finland soldier. After the war 
 with Russia, the latter came intoSweden, where he 
 became a Swedish soldier, and where he died. The 
 mother of our subject, whose maiden name was 
 Hedwig Rosenquist, is still living in Sweden, and 
 although seventy-six years of age, is quite active 
 and spry. She and her husband were members of 
 the State Church of Sweden all their lives. 
 
 Carl 0. Asprooth was the third in ordei- of birth 
 of nine sons born to his parents, six of whom are 
 yet living. Two are in Sweden: Rev. Conrad L., 
 a Lutheran minister, married, and Martin, a rail- 
 road station agent, at Franas, that country. He 
 is also married. The other brothers are in this 
 country. Daniel B. works for our subject; Otto 
 William is now residing in the northern part of Cal- 
 ifornia, and is a wood-dealer, and Frithof is a let- 
 ter-carrier of Rockford. The latter married Miss 
 Emma Bowman. Carl O. came to Rockford in 
 1867, and followed the baker's trade for different 
 individuals until 1874, when he branched out in 
 business on his own account, on East State Street, 
 continuing there until recently, when he came to 
 his present commodious quarters. This building 
 was built especially for his purpose, and is complete 
 in every department. The stock is complete in 
 every detail, and of the best quality, which in 
 no small measure is due his extended trade. He 
 is a stockholder in the Rockford Manufacturing 
 Company, the Rockford Baking Company, and is 
 interested in other local matters. 
 
 Mr. Asprooth was married, in this city, to Miss 
 
1218 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Selma Ekblad, a native of Wester Gothland, Sweden, 
 born in 1854. She came with her sisters to the 
 United States in 1869, and has since resided in 
 Rocbford. Her father died in Sweden a number 
 of years ago, and after his death his widow came 
 to the States. Slie is now a resident of Minneap- 
 olis, Minn. Mr. and Mrs. Asprooth had born to 
 their union seven children: Ellen H., Fred T., 
 Segred L., Eksell, Oscar, John, and Mabel. 
 
 
 mm-^'mm^. 
 
 <« MLLIAM H. RANDALL, known through- 
 \/\j// out Northern Illinois as one of the prom- 
 ^^1 inent horse-dealers, has invested much 
 money in imported equines, and a lover of horse- 
 flesh would be pleased with the fine animals to be 
 seen on his place. He is ranked among the wealthy 
 citizens of Winnebago County, and is at present 
 residing in Durand, where he is held in excel- 
 lent repute. 
 
 A native of this county, our subject was born 
 in Pecatonica Township, October 24, 1855, and is 
 the son of Henry J. and Calista C. (Walker) Ran- 
 dall. His early life was passed on a farm, and his 
 education was obtained in the schools of Durand 
 and Eockford, he having been a resident of the 
 former place since seventeen years of age. The 
 father of our subject was a dealer in horses, which, 
 before the days of railroads, he drove to California, 
 and had the honor of shipping the first car-load of 
 horses over the Union Pacific Railway. 
 
 William H. Randall was thirteen years of age 
 when his father sent him alone to California in 
 charge of two car-loads of horses, which business, 
 he has been engaged in since sixteen years of age. 
 In 1875, he formed a partnership with Herbert L. 
 Norton, with whom he is still associated. The firm 
 purchases horses in various parts of Illinois and 
 Iowa, and for the last four seasons have bought 
 many horses in the St. Louis market. Their prin- 
 cipal shipments have been to the Dakotas, where 
 they have established an enviable reputation, and 
 are doing a large and lucrative business, Mr. Ran- 
 dall being engaged in buying, and his partner in 
 selling, the animals. They own some fourteen 
 hundred acres of land in Dakota, and for five years, 
 
 carried on a banking business at Hamilton, N. Dak., 
 at which place they also own a hotel and livery. 
 Messrs. Randall and Norton have a one-third 
 interest in the town site of Hamilton, which has a 
 most desirable location, and have aided materially 
 in its upbuilding. The firm are the proprietors of 
 a stock ranch on Mouse River, North Dakota, and 
 are largely interested in race, running, and trotting 
 horses, owning "Wanderoo," a famous running 
 horse. 
 
 The oiiginal of this sketch, in 1887, was married 
 to Miss Mary, daughter of Judge E. G. Allen, of 
 Sterling, this State. Mrs. Randall was born in that 
 place in 1866, and by her union with our subject, 
 has become the mother of one son, Edgar, who was 
 born in November, 1888. In social matters, our 
 subject is an Odd Fellow, being identified with 
 both the Subordinate Lodge and Encampment. In 
 addition to the numerous interests in which he is 
 engaged, he has in his possession a large stock farm, 
 near Durand. He is a man who has made his way 
 in the world, has large experience in his branch of 
 work, and is far-seeing and prudent in the manage- 
 ment of his affairs. To-daj', he is considered one 
 of the most successful and wealthy horsemen in 
 this part of the State, and we predict that in the 
 near future he is destined to reach even a higher 
 round in the ladder of fame as a horse-breeder. 
 
 Mr. Randall is President of the Durand Driving 
 Park Association. They have one of the best half- 
 mile tracks in the State. 
 
 ^,UTNAM B. DICKERMAN, a well-known 
 farmer of New Milford Township, Win- 
 nebago County, residing on section 15, 
 first opened his eyes to the light of day in 
 Jewett, Greene County, N. Y., July 7, 1840. His 
 parents, JOel and Eunice (Bailey) Dickerman, were 
 also natives of the same county. His grandfather, 
 Joel Dickerman, Sr., was born in Connecticut, and 
 died at the age of eighty years, leaving two sons 
 and two daughters: Amelia, wife of Lucius Pond; 
 Joel, father of our subject; Worcester A. and 
 Catherine, widow of Addison Ramsey, deceased. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1219 
 
 The grandmother died at the home of our subject, 
 September 6, 1866, at the age of eighty-one years. 
 
 Putnam Diekerman acquired a good English 
 education, and between the ages of eighteen and 
 twenty-one years, engaged in teaching in the win- 
 ter season, and in farming through the summer, 
 but on the 1st of August, 1862, he left the plow 
 and enlisted in the One Hundred and Twentieth 
 New York Infantry. He participated in the battles of 
 Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, 
 where two-thirds of his company were killed, while 
 after the battle but three responded to the roll- 
 call. He took part in thirteen engagements alto- 
 gether, including, besides those mentioned, the 
 battle of Mine Run, the battle of the Wilderness, 
 Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Straw- 
 berry Plains and Boydton. The engagement there 
 was short but serious. The troops were once in 
 great danger of being captured, but under cover 
 of night succeeded in making their escape. Mr. 
 Diekerman was sent by his Colonel to the hos- 
 pital, on account of ill health, and returned home 
 in February, 1865. He rejoined his regiment in 
 April, but soon afterward Lee surrendered, and he 
 was mustered out at Kingston on the 8th of June. 
 He went into the service as Fifth Sergeant and 
 came out as Second Lieutenant. He was ever a 
 faithful soldier, always at his post of duty, and 
 may well be proud of his army record. 
 
 Mr. Diekerman was married in Jewett, N. Y., 
 Sepember 12, 1865, to Emily F. Peck, of that city, 
 daughter of Munson and Mary Peck, both natives 
 of Jewett. Both her paternal and maternal grand- 
 parents were from Connecticut. The Peck family 
 were farming people, and were Presbyterians in re- 
 ligious belief. Her father died in Massachusetts 
 in December, 1883, at the age of sixty-two. Her 
 mother is still living at the age of seventy. Their 
 only son, Alfred, died in January, 1871, at the age 
 of twenty-three years. The two daughters are 
 Emily, and Martha, wife of William Hasty, of Berk- 
 shire County, Mass. 
 
 The wedding tour of Mr. and Mrs. Diekerman 
 was their journey to Roekf ord, 111. In the autumn, 
 they settled upon a farm of three hundred and 
 forty-eight acres, which he and his father had- 
 purchased at $30 per acre. Since that time, he 
 
 has made about 12,000 worth of improvements on 
 the buildings, until now his barns and other out- 
 buildings are models of convenience. He also 
 raises a good grade of stock, and the farm seems 
 complete in all its appointments. The home is a 
 pleasant residence and is surrounded by well-tilled 
 fields, which yield a golden tribute to the owner. 
 He has given almost his entire time and attention 
 to his business, yet has served as School Director 
 and Path Master, and is Steward in the New Mil- 
 ford Methodist Church, in which he is an active 
 member. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Diekerman have lost one son, 
 Frank, who died at the age of fifteen months. 
 Three children are yet living: Alfred, who was 
 educated in Rockford and Beloit, and is a resident 
 farmer of this community, wedded Fannie Hold- 
 ridge, of New Milford; Mary has been a student 
 in the Rockford Academy; and Burton, who is 
 now eighteen years of age, is a student in the 
 Rockford High School, from which he expects to 
 graduate. 
 
 —J 
 
 * -^ 
 
 fsa^ 
 
 INER W. HAYWARD. In Winnebago 
 County are to be found several farmers 
 who have reached a high degree of pros- 
 perity by the persistent pursuit of a chosen 
 calling, and the exercise of prudence and fore- 
 sight in the conduct of their affairs. Among 
 these none, deserve the notice of the biographical 
 writer more than the gentleman with whose name 
 we open this paragraph. He is at present occupy- 
 ing a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres, 
 lying on section 3, Roscoe Township, where he 
 devotes the greater portion of his time and atten- 
 tion to the growing of cereals, which, when mar- 
 keted, bring him in handsome returns. He also 
 keeps ten or twelve milch cows on his place, and 
 sends the milk to a creamery in the vicinity. 
 
 A native of Vermont, our subject was born 
 January 27, 1849, in Weybridge, and was a son of 
 Edwin and Lucy A. (Warner) Hayward. Miner 
 W. was the fifth child and third son in the paren- 
 tal family, his brothers and sisters bearing the re- 
 spective names of Azel D., Hattie F., Laura A., 
 
1220 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 Levi G-. and Susie M. The father of our subject 
 departed this life in Vermont, and the mother, 
 who is still svirviving, came West witli her children 
 in 1865, and resides with her daughter in Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 Miner W. Hay ward and Miss Lucy W., daughter 
 of Benjamin F. and Hannah (Warner) Wooster, 
 were united in marriage January 2, 1884. Her 
 parents were natives of Vermont, where they spent 
 their last days on their own fiirm, the father dying 
 in March, 1884, when sixty -nine years of age, and 
 the mother dying on March 1, 1887, when in her 
 seventy-third year. Mrs. Wooster was the mother 
 of two children by a former marriage, the eldest 
 of whom, Warner, died in his second year; Leva, 
 now Mrs. C. H. Richmond, is residing at Jay, 
 Essex County, N. Y. By her union with Mr. 
 Wooster have been born Jay W., who is a farmer 
 at Whiting, A't.; P^rank H., also residing in that 
 place, and Lucy W., now Mrs. Hayward. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born two 
 daughters and one son, viz.: Olive M., who was 
 born November 1, 1886; Charles P., who was 
 born April 18, 1888, and Marion M., who was born 
 February 18, 1890. They hold membership in the 
 Congregational Church, and in politics our sub- 
 ject is a stanch Republican. Mrs. Hayward is a 
 very intelligent and cultured lady, and is a gradu- 
 ate of the State Normal School at Castleton, Vt. 
 
 As before stated, our subject has an excellent 
 farm, which he is managing with good financial suc- 
 cess, at the same time doing what he can to pro- 
 mote the highest interests of his adopted town- 
 ship, and as a practical farmer is contributing to 
 its material prosperity. 
 
 ,AVID MITCHELL. Among the many 
 progressive and prosperous citizens of 
 Winnebago County, none is more deserv- 
 ing of representation in this volume than 
 the gentleman above named, who makes his home 
 in Pecatonica village. He was born in Genesee 
 County, N. Y., in December, 1819, being a son of 
 David, Sr., and Polly (Wooster) Mitchell, both of 
 whom were natives of the Green Mountain State, 
 
 The father died in Stephenson County, at the age 
 of seventy-four, while the mother died in this 
 county at the age of eighty-four years. The entire 
 Mitchell family, as far as is known, were natives 
 of Vermont. 
 
 David, of this sketch, was a lad of twelve years 
 when he left home and began to battle with life 
 on his own account. June 11, 1846, he was united 
 in marriage to Martha A., daughter of .John and 
 Maria Smith, a sketch of whom will be found in 
 the biography of G. W. Smith on another page of 
 this volume. Our subject was residing in Ohio at 
 the time of his marriage, and in the fall of 1851 
 came with his wife to Stephenson County, this 
 State, where he bought a tract of three hundred 
 and twenty acres of land, which cost him 1275.50 
 with a soldier's warrant. He made fine improve- 
 ments on his estate, upon which he resided for 
 twenty-one years, and in 1880 selling a portion of 
 it, removed to Pecatonica, where he is the owner 
 of considerable real estate. He still has in his 
 possession one hundred and fifty acres of his farm 
 property. 
 
 The five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell 
 are Marietta E., who was born in Seneca Countj^, 
 Ohio, March 1, 1848, is married, and has five chil- 
 dren; John P., also born in the above-named 
 county, December 25, 1850, is married, and is the 
 father of one child; Fannie F. is Mrs. Charles 
 Comly, and was born in Stephenson County, June 
 8, 1857; Nellie A. and Wallace E., born in Ste- 
 phenson County, the former September 26, 1865, 
 and the latter February 13, 1869, are both mar- 
 ried. 
 
 He of whom we write purchased one hundred 
 and sixty acres of land in Iowa, which he deeded 
 to one of his sons. He has given his children 
 good educations, two of them having taught 
 school for several terms. Mr. Mitchell for the past 
 thirteen years has dealt extensively in blooded 
 horses of the Hambletonian breed, one of which he 
 has sold for $500. 
 
 The grandparents of Mrs. Mitchell on her moth- 
 er's side were Gilbert F. and Olive (Griswold) 
 Ferris, the former of whom was born May 12, 1779, 
 and the latter February 6, the same year. They 
 were married March 16, 1798, the grandfather dying 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1221 
 
 January 15, 1834, when eighty-four years of age. 
 He participated in the War of 1812, as did also 
 the father of Mr. Mitchell, tlie latter of whom was 
 a pensioner of the Government. 
 
 n SAAC D. MILLER. "We herewith present the 
 I sketch of a prominent and retired farmer, 
 .\ whose home is in the city of Eelvidere. He 
 is a native of Burlington, Bradford County, Pa., 
 and was born December 26, 1827. He is a son of 
 Isaac and Beulah (Morley) Miller, the father born 
 in Bennington, Vt., where he was a farmer. He 
 was very prominent in local affairs, and served in 
 the responsible position of Justice of the Peace, 
 and after coming to Boone County in 1842, was 
 Supervisor for seven years. 
 
 On locating in the Prairie State, the elder Mr. 
 Miller bought three hundred and twenty acres of 
 land, for which he paid $4 per acre, and a part of 
 which is the present property of our subject. The 
 father erected all the necessary buildings on the 
 farm and removed to Belvidere in 1865, where he 
 resided until his death, April 14th, 1868, when 
 seventy-five years of age. His wife, who is a na- 
 tive of Connecticut, departed this life on the 
 home farm November 29, 1863, when in her sixty- 
 sixth year. She was the daughter of Isaac and 
 Beulah Morley, whose demise occurred in Pennsyl- 
 vania, the former having been a soldier in the 
 Revolutionary War. 
 
 Isaac D. Miller remained at home until his mar- 
 riage, January 1, 1852, at which time Miss Caroline 
 Akin, who was born in Crawford County, Pa., 
 November 5, 1833, became his wife. Mrs. Miller 
 is the daughter of Andrew and Marian (Graves) 
 Akin. Her father was born at Mt. Upton, 
 Chenango County, N. Y., March 8, 1810, and 
 spent his boyhood days in his father's home. He 
 attended school regularly until old and strong 
 enough to work on the farm, after which his attend- 
 ance was limited to the winter seasons. Like many 
 other farmer boys he " mowed and lioed and held 
 the plow and longed for one-and-twenty." The 
 winter previous to his seventeenth birthday, he 
 taught a large district school, in which at least 
 
 one-third of the pupils were older than himself, 
 but notwithstanding that fact, the youthful 
 teacher succeeded in giving satisfaction to the 
 patrons of the school. His salary was $12 per 
 month, and he boarded around among the people. 
 He continued to work on the farm during the 
 summer and teach in winter until he was of age. 
 
 At Erie, Pa., October 11, 1832, Mr. Akin was 
 married to Marian, the youngest of nine children 
 born to Deacon Amos Graves and his wife. After 
 his marriage, Mr. Akin's first undertaking was 
 building a grist and saw mill in Sparta, in the ad- 
 joining county of Crawford, Pa. The country 
 was new and sparsely settled, and the mills prov- 
 ing an unprofitable investment, he sold his inter- 
 est and began the study of law. After practicing 
 the profession about one year, he was compelled 
 to abandon it on account of inflammation of the 
 eyes. 
 
 Having concluded to come West, Mr. Akin, ac- 
 companied by his family and father and mother, 
 removed to Belvidere, 111., where he rented a new 
 house just built by Alex Neely, across the street 
 from the old "Towner Hotel." The following 
 spring he rented a farm on Bonus Prairie, known 
 as the Keith farm, and during that year raised one 
 thousand five hundred bushels of corn, which he 
 tried to dispose of, but failed to obtain an offer 
 on it even at twelve and one-half cents per bushel, 
 so he abandoned it to the rats. Later, Mr. Akin 
 removed to Pigeon Woods, Kane County, where 
 he remained two years, engaged in farming pur- 
 suits and serving as Justice of the Peace. Thence 
 he removed to Elgin, where he engaged in the 
 grocery business with success until his store was 
 burglarized by a band of Mormons, who escaped 
 with his most valuable goods. 
 
 In January, 1852, Mr. Akin removed to Chi- 
 cago, and while there acted in the capa(!ity of 
 Justice of the Peace and Police Justice. When 
 the Legislature changed the name of the latter 
 office to that of Police Magistrate, and made it 
 subject to election by the people, he was contin- 
 ued in the position for seven years in succession. 
 Having been admitted to the Bar, he entered the 
 practice of law in partnership with Hon Solon O. 
 Thacher (now of Lawrence, Kan.), and continued 
 
1222 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in practice for one year. Later, with J. P. 
 Mather, he concluded to erect a saw and grist 
 mill in Council Grove, Kan. Accordingly, he 
 bought machinery for both mills, and sent his son, 
 C. G., to Kansas to commence the. work of build- 
 ing. The mills were completed in 1862, and two 
 years later Mr. Akin removed his family to the 
 Grove. Disposing of his interest in the mills in 
 1864, he engaged in farming for a time, and after- 
 ward, with his sons, C. G. and Henry C, entered 
 into the mercantile business at the Grove. They 
 were very successful for two years, until the Union 
 Pacific Railroad was finished to a point a few miles 
 north of the Grove, which ruined the trade. 
 
 Removing to Wilson County, Kan., Mr. Akin 
 erected a steam saw mill and a water power grist- 
 mill, and about the time they were finished he was 
 appointed Registrar of the United States Land 
 Office at Augusta, Kan. His next removal was to 
 Chanute, Kan., where he bought a large steam 
 grist mill and ran it for a year and a half. Again 
 selling out, he returned to Chicago and purchased 
 a flouring mill situated at Homewood, in Cook 
 County, but when repairs had been completed and 
 business commenced, his youngest son, Charles M., 
 who was associated with him, was instantly killed 
 as he was getting off the car at Homewood. 
 Shortly afterward, Mr. Akin disposed of the busi- 
 ness and returned to the city. 
 
 In July, 1879, Mr. Akin left Chicago and went 
 to Sioux City, Iowa, where his son Henry C. was 
 residing and in business. Hoping to benefit his 
 health, he traveled extensively by steamboat up 
 the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers, and return- 
 ing to Sioux City, spent two years there. On ac- 
 count of failing health, he came to Belvidere to 
 live with his daughter, Mrs. Isaac D. Miller, with 
 whom he made his home for nine years. He is 
 now (1892) residing with his son H. C, at Omaha. 
 His wife, who was born at Sherburne, N. Y., July 27, 
 1812, departed this life at Guilford, Kan., when 
 sixty-two years old, and was buried in Topeka, that 
 State. Their children were as follows: Carlos G., 
 deceased; Eugene L., formerly of Kansas, now de- 
 ceased; Henry C, of Omaha, Neb.; Charles M., de- 
 ceased; Caroline Miller, of Belvidere; Harriet Mar- 
 vin, of Chicago; and Emma C. Singleton, of Fredon- 
 
 ia, Kan. In politics, Mr. Akin was first a Whig, 
 and when that party dissolved became a Repub- 
 lican, which party he still supports. 
 
 To our subject and his wife the following three 
 children have been born: Lillie, Mrs. Charles 
 Agor, is the mother of two children, one of whom 
 is deceased; Ida married William Bowley, and 
 Nellie became the wife of Melvin Dorn, a promi- 
 nent merchant of Belvidere, and she and her hus- 
 band reside with her parents at Belvidere. Mr. 
 Miller lived upon the old homestead until 1891, 
 when he purchased property in the village, and is 
 now enjoying the results of his industry and per- 
 severance. He and his wife are prominently iden- 
 tified with the Baptist Church. Socially, he is a 
 member of Belvidere Lodge No. 60, A. F. & A. M., 
 and Kishwaukee Chapter No. 90, R. A. M. In 
 1852, he built the Little Thunder Mills, doing all 
 of the mechanical work himself, and operated the 
 same for a period of thirty-two years with marked 
 success. Under the old process his mill stood at 
 the head, having taken the premium on flour at 
 the Boone County Fair three times in succession, 
 in competition with the mills of this count3^ 
 
 ON. DAVID HUNTER, a well-known and 
 J,, popular farmer of Guilford Township, 
 Winnebago County, residing on section 15, 
 was born in Perrj"-, Wyoming Countj^ N. Y., 
 January 15, 1836. His father, James Hunter, was 
 born six miles from Belfast, Ireland, and was of 
 Scotch descent. When a young man, he came to 
 America, and resided in Oswego, N. Y., whence he 
 removed to Perry, Wyoming County. He learned 
 the trade of hand-weaving in his native land, and 
 in Perry followed that occupation. In 1844, he 
 came to Illinois, accompanied by his wife &nd five 
 children, and settled in Guilford Township, upon 
 the farm which is now the home of our subject. 
 He developed a good farm, and here made his 
 home until his death, which occurred in 1869. His 
 wife bore the maiden name of Ann Aikens. She 
 was also a native of the Emerald Isle, and when 
 young came to this country, settling in Canada, 
 whence she removed to New York. After her 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1223 
 
 husband's death, she resided in Rockford, until 
 called to her final rest December 31, 1891. She 
 was of a charitable disposition and possessed a 
 kindly Christian character, and those who knew 
 her best loved her most. She took a deep interest 
 in public affairs, especially those calculated to up- 
 build humanity, and was a consistent member of 
 the First Congregational Church. She reared the 
 following children: David, of this sketch; Belle, 
 who is Principal of the Ellis School of Rockford ; 
 Mary J., a teacher in the public schools of St. Louis; 
 Dr. Sarah, of St. Louis; and Benjamin, a prominent 
 farmer near that city. 
 
 Our subject was eight years old, when, with his 
 parents, he came to Illinois. His educational ad- 
 vantages were limitejJ, being those of the common 
 schools, and he was reared amid the wild scenes 
 of frontier life. He remained under the parental 
 roof until May, 1861, when he enlisted in Com- 
 pany C, Fifteenth Illinois Infantry. He served 
 three years, participating in all the engagements 
 of the regiment, and was discharged in May, 1864, 
 on the expiration of his term of enlistment. He 
 then spent a few weeks at home, after which lie 
 accepted a position in the Quartermaster's De- 
 partment at Nashville, serving in that capacity 
 until July, 1865, when he returned to the North 
 and resumed farming on the old homestead. 
 
 In 1872, Mr. Hunter was united in marriage 
 with Sarah L. Gunsolus, who was born in Cherry 
 Valley Township, Winnebago County, and is a 
 daughter of James S. and Sophia Gunsolus, pio- 
 neers of this community. Their union has been 
 blessed with the following children: Benjamin, 
 Joseph, Robert, Annie, Mary, Edith, Gertrude and 
 Harriet. 
 
 Mr. Hunter cast his first Presidential vote for 
 Abraham Lincoln and has since been a stalwart 
 supporter of Republican principles. He has filled 
 various offices of trust with credit to himself and 
 satisfaction to his constituents. In 1884, he was 
 elected a representative from this district, and was 
 one of the hundred and three who voted for John 
 A. Logan for United States Senator. So well did 
 he fill the office that at the expiration of his term 
 he was re-elected, and once more, in 1890, he was 
 the people's clioice, and is the present representa- 
 
 tive of his district. This third election shows his 
 popularity, and the trust reposed in him by his 
 fellow-citizens. Socially, he is a member of Nevius 
 Post No. 1, G. A. R., and also belongs to Rockford 
 Lodge No. 102, A. F. & A. M. In addition to his 
 farming interests, he is a Director of the Third 
 National Bank. A pleasant, genial gentleman, he 
 is highly esteemed, and has many warm friends 
 throughout the community. 
 
 jT 
 
 E^S^* 
 
 5H0MAS BROWN, deceased, was born in 
 Campbellton, Scotland, February 28, 1807, 
 and died on his farm in Caledonia Town- 
 ship, Boone County, October 4, 1889, respected by 
 all who knew him. In his native land he remained 
 until twenty-five years of age, when he crossed the 
 broad Atlantic, and joined his brothers and sisters 
 who had previously come to this country, and lo- 
 cated near Cincinnati, Ohio. He there made his 
 home for fourteen years, after which he came to 
 Illinois, and purchased an unbroken tract of land 
 in Caledonia Township, Boone County, where he 
 began the development of a farm. He then re- 
 turned to Oliio for his parents, who had also located 
 in this country, and the family finally became resi- 
 dents of Boone County, where the father and 
 mother of our subject spent their last days. The 
 former, however, died just three weeks after reach- 
 ing his new home. His wife survived him some 
 years, and died at an advanced age in Boone 
 County. They were active members of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, and highly respected people. 
 They had quite a large family. 
 
 Alter coming to Illinois, Thomas Brown met and 
 married Miss Margaret Ralston, their" wedding 
 being celebrated in Harlem Township, Winnebago 
 County. She was born in Massachusetts, Septem- 
 ber 11, 1834, and is a daughter of William and 
 Ella (Greenlee) Ralston, natives of Scotland. Af- 
 ter the birth of four of their children, they emi- 
 grated to America in 1834, crossing the Atlantic 
 in a sailing-vessel. After some time spent in Massa- 
 chusetts, they removed to Hamilton County, Ohio, 
 and in 1848 came to Illinois, where he purchased 
 
1224 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a tract of wild land in Harlem Township, making- 
 it a fine farm, upon which he and his wife spent 
 their remaining days. His death occurred in 1870, 
 at the age of seventy-six years, and Mrs. Ralston 
 died four years later, at the age of sixty-seven. 
 They led busy and useful lives, and when quite 
 young, united with the Presbyterian Church. They 
 became prominent workers of the Willow Creek 
 Presbyterian Church, which they helped to organ- 
 ize. Their family numbered three sons and six 
 daughters, of whom two sons and three daughters 
 are yet living. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Brown were quite prominent peo- 
 ple of Boone County, and he was ver}' successful 
 in his business affairs, but afterward lost a great 
 many thousand dollars in a bank failure of Rock- 
 ford. This materially diminished his fortune, j^et 
 he left a considerable property to his widow. 
 In politics, he was a Democrat, and was honored 
 with most of the township offices. He was an earn- 
 est worker and faithful member of the Willow 
 Creek Presbyterian Church, which he served as 
 Elder, and Mrs. Brown is a faithful member of the 
 same congregation. Since her husband's deatli, 
 Mrs. Brown has come to Rockford and built a fine 
 home at No. 603 North First Street, where she is 
 now living quietly. This worthy couple reared 
 two adopted children : Edward Blowers, who mar- 
 ried Mary Bamasqua, and is now carrying on a 
 cheese factory in Capron, Boone County; and 
 Eliza Blowers, now the wife of Henry Farmers, 
 a machinist residing in Belvidere, 111. 
 
 ENRY MILLER, now deceased, is numbered 
 J\ among the early settlers of Rockford, and 
 well deserves representation in this volume. 
 ^ A native of Cayuga Count}', N. Y., he was 
 born at Union Springs, in 1814, and came of an old 
 family of that State. His parents were well-to-do 
 people, of German lineage, who lived and died on 
 a. farm in the county of his nativity. 
 
 In the usual manner of farmer lads, our subject 
 was reared to manhood, and in Cayuga County he 
 resided until his emigration to Illinois in 1856. 
 For a time after locating in Rockford, he carried 
 
 on a grocery store and eating house, then gave up 
 the latter, and devoted his entire attention to the 
 grocery business, in which he met with signal suc- 
 cess, acquiring a large property. Later in life, he 
 sold out his store and invested his money in real 
 estate, and m the banking business. He was a 
 sagacious and far-sighted business man, industrious 
 and enterprising, and by the exercise of these 
 characteristics, won prosperity, leaving at his death 
 a large property to his widow. 
 
 Mr. Miller was married in Auburn, N. Y., to 
 Miss Susan B. Rude, who was born in that citj' in 
 1820, and there spent the days of her maidenhood 
 with her parents, Amos and Phcebe (Bayles") Rude, 
 the former a native of New York, and the latter of 
 New Jersey. They both came of wealth >- and 
 highly respected families. After their marriage, 
 they resided in the Empire State, and Mr. Rude 
 died in Auburn, at the age of seventy-two years. 
 He had been connected with various enterprises, 
 and was quite a prominent politician, a stanch ad- 
 vocate of the Democracy. He was a man quite lib- 
 eral in thought, and of decided opinion when once 
 his mind was made up concerning any question. 
 After the death of her husband, Mrs. Rude came 
 West, and died three years later at the home of 
 her daughter, Mrs. Miller, in Rockford, at the age 
 of seventy-five years. In religious belief, she was 
 a Methodist. 
 
 Under the guidance of her parents, Mrs. Miller 
 was reared, becoming an intelligent and cultured 
 lady. She possesses good executive and business 
 ability, and since her .husband's death has man- 
 aged all his affairs. She is a member of the Chris- 
 tian Union Church, and a liberal thinker on relig- 
 ious questions. She has the warm esteem of many 
 friends, and the respect of all who know her. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Miller were born three chil- 
 dren, all now deceased. William H., born in 1840, 
 was the founder of the Keokuk Business College, a 
 very successful institution. His death occurred 
 December 26, 1881, in Keokuk, Iowa. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Minnie Gilbert, died just 
 exactly four years before her husband, leaving 
 three children: Frank, who resides with his grand- 
 mother, and is employed in the Winnebago Na- 
 tional Bank, of Rockford; Sarah, wife of James 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 
 
 1225 
 
 Joslyn, Assistant Cashier of theRockford National 
 Bank, and Harry, now learning the machinist 
 trade with the John Barnes Manufacturing Com- 
 pany. Sarah E., the second child in the Miller 
 family, became the wife of Horace A. Towne, and 
 died in Hannibal, Mo., January 12, 1870. Her hus- 
 band resides in Minneapolis, Minn., and is ex-Su- 
 perintendent of the Northern Pacific. Railroad. 
 May C, the youngest of the family, was the wife 
 of James T. Joslyn, and died in Greeley, Colo., Oc- 
 tober 26, 1889, leaving two sons, Burtis T. and 
 Fred M. 
 
 Mr. Miller, whose name heads this record, took 
 quite a prominent part in public affairs, and was a 
 worthy citizen. In politics, he was a Republican, 
 and was a member of the Christian Union Church. 
 After a well and worthily spent life of over three- 
 score years and ten, he passed away at his home at 
 No. 306 North Main Street, on the 13th of Novem- 
 ber, 1884. 
 
 •^^E 
 
 ^^ 
 
 OHN SEAL. We And our subject supplied 
 with all the comforts, and many of the luxu- 
 ries of life which are the result of the hab- 
 its of thrift and industry to which he was 
 trained from boyhood, and which have followed 
 him through his latter years. He was engaged in 
 farming until 1882, since which time he has resided 
 in Rockford. 
 
 A native of Hunterdon County, N. J., our sub- 
 ject, who is the son of Robert and Sarah (Force) 
 Seal, was born December 31, 1824. His parents 
 were also natives of New Jersey, and being in lim- 
 ited circumstances, John was compelled to earn his 
 own living when quite young, engaging to work 
 on a farm when eleven years of age. At the end 
 of nine months, he made a contract to remain a 
 year longer, and was to receive $3 per month for 
 the entire period. At the expiration of that time, 
 he entered the employ of Peter Yawger, a farmer, 
 and remained with him until reaching his major- 
 ity. 
 
 After his marriage, the original of this sketch 
 commenced life on a rented farm at Round Valley, 
 N. J., whence a year later he removed to Charles- 
 
 ton, same State, and lived on rented property for 
 the five succeeding years. Mr. Seal then bought 
 that farm, and was engaged in its cultivation until 
 1855, when he disposed of it, and, coming to this 
 county, purchased a partially-improved tract of 
 one hundred and twenty acres in Winnebago 
 Township. Upon this farm he made his home un- 
 til coming to Rockford, as before stated, in 1882. 
 In tlie meantime, he added to his purchase, planted 
 fruit, shade and ornamental trees, and erected a 
 good set of frame buildings. 
 
 Mr. Seal, of this sketch, was married October 31, 
 1846, to Miss Jane Belles, a native of Warren 
 County, N. J., who departed this life in 1849. Our 
 subject was again married in November of tiiat 
 year, to Elizabeth Creager, who was born in the 
 State and county of his nativity, and was the 
 daughter of George and Charity Creager. Mr. 
 Seal is the father of two children by his first mar- 
 riage: Sarah, the wife of Joseph Mitchell, of Lyon 
 County, Minn., is the mother of five children, viz: 
 Lizzie, Nellie, Lydia, Agnes and Belle. The son, 
 Peter, married Amanda Phelps, and has two chil- 
 dren, Sarah and Camilla. Mrs. Mitchell's daugh- 
 ter Lizzie is now the wife of George Pervis, and 
 is the mother of a daughter, Ada. 
 
 OGDEN HANCE. This highly-respected citi- 
 zen of Pecatonica enjoys the distinction of 
 having been the first white child born in 
 Winnebago County, his birth having occurred 
 October 21,1836, in Pecatonica Township. His 
 early home was in one of the first log cabins erected 
 in this portion of Illinois, whither his father, 
 Thomas Hance, had removed in 1834. He is 
 therefore well known throughout the county, and 
 his life has been characterized by such honor and 
 uprightness as to secure for him a high place in 
 the regard of his fellowmen. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, Adam 
 Hance, resided in the vicinity of Sandusky, Ohio, 
 where he reared his eleven children. In his family 
 was a son Thomas, who, seeking a new home in 
 the great West, visited Northern Illinois, in tlie 
 fall of 1833, and was so delighted with the splen- 
 
1226 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 did soil and pleasant climate that lie determined 
 to malie it his permanent home. Accordingly, he 
 went back to the Buckeye State for his wife and 
 child, and with them he returned in 1834 and set- 
 tled in Pecatonica Township, where he entered a 
 tract of land from the Government and spent his 
 remaining years. He departed this life at Peca- 
 tonica, July 13, 1886. His wife, whose maiden name 
 was Phcebe DeWitt, was a native of Ohio, where 
 she was married in 1831; she survived her husband 
 several years, passing away July 19, 1889. 
 
 The family of which our subject is a member 
 comprised seven children, six of whom still survive. 
 They were reared in the faith of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church, to whicli their parents belonged. 
 The sons were early initiated to bard work, aiding 
 their father in his labor of clearing and cultivat- 
 ing the farm. Those early years witnessed many 
 hardships, for upon making settlement here Mr. 
 Hance was so poor that he could not pay for his 
 claim until he had earned money by plowing fur- 
 rows around different claims, to thus gain a start 
 for himself. A few years before his demise, he re- 
 tired from active labor, and surrounded by the 
 love and tender care of his children, and in the 
 enjoyment of the competency which his arduous 
 labors had accumulated, he passed the twilight of 
 his life. Politically, he was a Democrat, and 
 served as Supervisor and Assessor for twenty 
 years. 
 
 The lady who, August 17, 1862, became the 
 wife of Ogden Hance, the ceremony being per- 
 formed by Judge Miller, at Rockford, was known 
 in maidenhood as Amanda V. Armstrong and 
 was born in Washington, Richland County, 
 Ohio, September 29, 1839. Her grandparents, 
 William and Elizabeth (Kennie) Armstrong, were 
 residents of Ohio until their death. Her parents, 
 James and Catharine (Shoup) Armstrong, removed 
 from Ohio to Stephenson County, this State, in 
 1841, and entered land from the Government. 
 Twenty-five years after making settlement there, 
 they moved to Iowa, where they died, the father, 
 May 24, 1884, aged seventy-seven j^ears, three 
 months and one day, and the mother, October 4, 
 1872, aged fifty-four years, four months and 
 thirteen days. They were the parents of eleven 
 
 children, seven of whom are still living. Mr. 
 Armstrong served as Justice of the Peace for a 
 period of more than twenty-five years, and was 
 the first school teacher, and also taught the first 
 singing school at Rock Run, this State. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hance are active in charitable 
 works, and she is especially interested in the W. C. 
 T. U., of which she is a member. They have two 
 children, Edgar L. and Myrta F. The former was 
 born August 26, 1863, and was graduated, June 
 16, 1886, from the Chicago Union Law School. 
 He now resides in Chicago, where he has been 
 practicing his profession for five years in the office 
 of Kerr & Barr. Myrta F., born in Pecatonica 
 Township, May 5, 1868, married S. B. Niles, Octo- 
 ber 16, 1885, and has one daughter. Rue V., who 
 was born May 29, 1887. 
 
 OHN STEVES, who has been a resident of 
 Winnebago County since 1846, is at present 
 residing in Durand and was born May 
 19, 1820, in Montgomery County, N. Y. 
 He is a son of Jacob and Mary (Young) Steves, 
 also natives of the Empire State, while his great- 
 grandfather, Jeremiah Steves, hailed from Eng- 
 land, coming to America in the Colonial times and 
 locating at Sing Sing, N. Y. He reared a large 
 family of children, a number of his sons being 
 soldiers in the Revolutionary War. 
 
 John Steves, the grandfather of our subject, was 
 born at Sing Sing, N. Y., and when attaining ma- 
 ture years married Margaret Miller. They resided 
 in Montgomery County, whither he had removed 
 when a young man. In early life, he followed the 
 trade of a cooper, but in 1830, removing to Onon- 
 daga County, began farming and died in his eighty- 
 fourth year. He was the father of one son and 
 three daughters, viz: Margaret, who married 
 Abram Vosburg; Mary, the wife of Henry Voor- 
 hees; Eliza, who died unmarried, and Jacob, who 
 was born in 1799, in Montgomery County, N. Y. 
 The father of our subject was reared on the 
 home farm and in after life was more than ordin- 
 arily successful in agricultural pursuits. He was 
 married in his native county, whence he removed 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1227 
 
 to Onondaga County in the spring of 1824. There 
 he made his home until his removal to Illinois in 
 1857, and on coming directly to Durand Township 
 purchased property, to the operations of which he 
 gave his personal superintendence. After making 
 his home here for some ten or twelve years, the elder 
 Mr. Steves removed to Vinton, Benton County, 
 Iowa, where his demise occurred when in his 
 eighty-fifth year; he was followed to the better 
 land by his good wife, who died a year later. 
 
 John Steves of this sketch had two brothers and 
 three sisters, namely: Sarah Ann, Catherine, Mary, 
 Fletcher and Dempster. He was four years of age 
 when his parents removed to Onondaga County, 
 N. Y., where his early years were passed on tlie 
 farm. Although the schoolhouse was a long dis- 
 tance from his home, he attended as regularly as 
 he could, and when fourteen years of age entered 
 a boarding-school, where he prosecuted his studies 
 for a few winters. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married in 
 1843 bore the name of Julia A. Paddock, and was a 
 native of Western New York. Tliree years later, the 
 young couple emigi'ated to the Prairie State and 
 made their home upon land which Mr. Steves pur- 
 chased near the city of Rock ford. He was the 
 owner of a large foundry and machine shops in 
 that city, which branch of business he managed in 
 a most successful and profitable manner. In 1849, 
 the family came to Durand, where our subject pur- 
 chased a gristmill, the only one of that kind in the 
 place S,nd which is still in his possession. Although 
 having quite a little sum of money when he came 
 to Illinois, by paying strict attention to his milling 
 operations he has acquired a handsome compe- 
 tency. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Steves have been born four 
 sons and four daughters: Cynthia J., the widow 
 of Lieut. Caperon, makes her home in this place; 
 Mary E., Mrs. Henry Bnrrell, lives in Freeport; 
 Julia E., who married Fred Miller, is a resident of 
 Woodward, Iowa; Sarah Grace, at present Mrs. Will 
 Bear, makes her home at Hot Springs, S. Dak.; 
 Jacob E., who enlisted in the late war, died at 
 White Station, near Memphis, Tenn., while in the 
 service; John H., a resident of St. Helena, Cal., is 
 conducting a successful business as a hardware 
 
 merchant and plumber; Nathan P., who is a mini- 
 ster of the Methodist Episcopal Church, resides in 
 Wisconsin, and Charles S., who died in 1888, at 
 the age of twenty-eight years, at Langdon, N. Dak. 
 
 The original of this sketch has been an active 
 worker and student all his life and is the author of 
 several articles which have been published. From 
 about the year 1880, his attention has been at- 
 tracted to the social, industrial and governmental 
 problems, on which subjects he has since studied 
 and written. In 1840, our subject, though not of 
 age, was in sympathy with the Whig party. Four 
 years later, he voted for James G. Birney, the 
 Abolition candidate, and on the organization of the 
 Republican party was an active worker in its ranks 
 until 1880, since which time he has ceased to sup- 
 port political parties. His parents were members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with which de- 
 nomination several of his children are also con- 
 nected. 
 
 As before stated, Mr. Steves still owns his mill, 
 in addition to which he has a small farm near the 
 village and a large stone store building in that place. 
 In 1862, he went to Wisconsin and while there a 
 mob gathered to discipline a man who was consid- 
 ered disloyal. Our subject talked to the people in 
 the victim's behalf, when the mob immediately sur- 
 rounded him and demanded that he should take the 
 oath of allegiance. He liad no objection to taking 
 the oath, but did not deem it necessary, as he was a 
 loyal citizen of the State of Illinois, and disputed 
 their jurisdiction. The mob then rode him on a 
 rail, and later, to vindicate himself, he had twelve 
 of the men arrested and after a trial in the United 
 States Court was awarded a verdict of $5,000. 
 
 Mr. Steves has thought and written in relation 
 to certain problems involving human welfare, in 
 which he has challenged the truthfulness of tradi- 
 tional theology; he also has questioned the 
 economy and the validity of current governments, 
 and has arrived at definite conclusions regarding 
 the cause and the remedy for the social ills so gen- 
 erally prevailing. 
 
 To make mention of some of the causes more 
 nearly fundamental, he would group with heredi- 
 tary sovereignty all official sovereignty, including 
 the legislative, the judicial, the financial or capital- 
 
1228 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 istic, as responsible for the administration of the 
 public order, or disorder, as such sovereignty in- 
 evitably involves the elements of human slavery, 
 by the grant of special privileges and franchises 
 to certain persons, corporations and classes, thus 
 creating and imposing inequitable and grievous 
 disabilities and burdens upon the disfranchised, 
 practically and in substance alienating personal 
 rights, in sheer violation of the doctrine of the 
 Declaration of American Independence. 
 
 From the foregoing noted principle of govern- 
 mental sovereignty as parental, there proceeds 
 monopoly — as of lands and other facilities, and 
 powers of extortionate taxation as tribute to the 
 favored, as involved in general trade and com- 
 merce. He charges that our S3rstem of exchange, as 
 commercial and as competitive in proceeding by 
 personal contract, is emphatically a false system, 
 in which it is impossible to trace or to execute or 
 conform to a line of equity, or to maintain justice. 
 Under it life becomes a system of special opportun- 
 ity and of chance, ignoring merit — personal suc- 
 cess, so-called, depending frequently upon personal 
 cunning and moral recklessness. 
 
 As contributive to the errors already noted and 
 specified, a most potent factor is money as a medium 
 of exchange, its use in a manner hiding or tending 
 to obscure the correct basis of valuation as pertains 
 to personal service and to propertj^, hence, perforce, 
 comes personal failure, poverty, crime and misery. 
 We give the following as Mr. Steves' remedy for 
 injustice and public misgovernment: 
 
 Let sovereignty be recognized as inherent in the 
 individual citizen, connecting therewith the obliga- 
 tion of individual, personal self-support. Let 
 society, that is the law of association, be and be- 
 come a mutuality, a conference, a division of labor 
 as a productive service; that is, a co-operation 
 upon a basis of strict equity, holding the land and 
 nature's resources entirely as a common heritage, as 
 a birthright, a life right in a title inalienable. 
 Let the social law pertain only to practical produc- 
 tion and industry, discarding entirely all dic- 
 tatorial proclamations, decrees and statutes, except 
 such as are related to industry and which are of 
 mutual benefit and universal necessity. Let the title- 
 ship of the land, the capital stock, the tools, the fixed 
 
 and surplus properties, be and remain in the people 
 collectively as one association — to be called, if you 
 so please, "The State." Let all productive service 
 be nominally chargeable to the State under such 
 equitable and economical adjustments as to be 
 in fact substantially a personal self-service, the 
 principle of self-support and of reciprocity to be 
 maintained by such methods as even to embrace 
 the support and educa,tion of the children and 
 youth, the care of the sick and aged. In the sys- 
 tem Mr. Steves proposes, individual income in the 
 law of distribution is made to depend upon pro- 
 ductive service, say nominally to the State, rend- 
 ered upon a time basis, and the amount of such 
 service, after an exacted minimum to cover, to bal- 
 ance and to answer to benefits received in a per- 
 sonal consumption due to health and civilization, 
 to be entirely optional or subject to individual per- 
 sonal election. 
 
 A system of government so radically unlike any 
 now existing or those of the j)ast, is worthy to be 
 distinguished and known by a representative and 
 a characteristic name, and as such, Mr. Steves sug- 
 gests the term Ochloo'ocy, by Webster defined "a 
 government by the multitude," qualified as a pure 
 democracy, in a personal self-government. A gov- 
 ernment organized to protect the citizen in his 
 rights, in his liberty, upon a basis of simplicity, of 
 moralitj', of economy, of humanity, aimed and 
 adapted to the development of the physical, the 
 intellectual and the moral nature and needs of man- 
 
 kind. 
 
 -^ 
 
 i>-^<^ 
 
 5H0MAS R. JACKSON, a highly respected 
 citizen of Belvidere, isanative of Portland, 
 Me. He was born October 23, 1827, and is 
 one of ei.ht children, whose parents were Charles 
 and Ann (Hager) Jackson. The father was born 
 in North Yarmouth, Mass., October 10, 1779, was 
 reared in his native State, and learned the trade 
 of paper-maker. After his marriage, he settled in 
 Portland, Me., and at one time owned two ships. 
 He resided in Portland until 1838, when he emi- 
 grated to Illinois, accompanied by his wife, and 
 entered a tract of Government land in Marengo 
 Township, McHenry County, upon which he built 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1229 
 
 a substantial log house, 18x24 feet, and two stories 
 in height, one of the best homes in this section of 
 the country at that time. He continued to reside 
 upon that farm until his death, in 1873. His wife 
 passed away the year previous. Their children were 
 Charles, Hiram, Cranston, Nathan, William, James, 
 Amos and Thomas. Cranston was the first of the 
 family to come to Illinois, whither he emigrated 
 immediately after leaving college in 1837. He 
 located in what is now Boone County, and was 
 followed by all of his brothers, who settled in 
 Boone or McHenry Counties. 
 
 It was about 1840 when Thomas Jackson came 
 to Illinois, in company with his brother Nathan. 
 At that time, this region was very sparsely settled, 
 much of the land was still owned by the Govern- 
 ment, and deer I'Oamed at will over the prairies. 
 There were no railroads, and the farm products 
 were hauled to Chicago. There was no mill nearer 
 than Pecatonica, and it required two days to make 
 the trip to and from that place. Our subject 
 remained with his parents until their deaths, and 
 continued to reside on the old homestead until 
 1883, when he went to Humboldt County, Iowa, 
 where he purchased a farm, and made his home for 
 one year. On selling out, he returned to the old 
 homestead in Marengo Township, and engaged in 
 its cultivation until 1891. He owned one hundred 
 and twenty acres of fine land, under a high state 
 of cultivation, and well improved with good build- 
 ings and the other accessories of a model farm. 
 
 On the 16th of May, 1850, Mr. Jackson led to 
 the marriage altar. Miss Sarah A. Brush, who was 
 born in Truxton, Cortland County, N. Y., Octo- 
 ber 14, 1830. Her father, Joseph Brush, was a 
 native of Danbury, Conn., and the grandfather, 
 Richard Brush, spent his entire life in the Nutmeg 
 State. The father learned the trade of shoemaker, 
 and followed it for a time, but spent his leisure 
 hours in studying. When a young man, he went 
 to New York City, where he studied law in the 
 same class with Martin Van Buren, and then began 
 the practice of the legal profession in Truxton. 
 In 1832, he went to Smithport, McKean County, 
 where he practiced for one year, after which he 
 removed to LaFayette, and engaged in keeping 
 hotel and in farming. He also served as Post- 
 
 master, and there made his home until 1846, when 
 he became a resident of Chardon, Geauga County, 
 Ohio. In 1858, he emigrated to Illinois, purchased 
 a small tract of land in Bonus Township, Boone 
 County, upon which he built a home, and there 
 resided until his death, in 1861. He had served 
 in the War of 1812, and was a prominent citizen. 
 His wife was Sarah Partlow, in her maidenhood. 
 She was born in Cayuga County, N. Y., and was 
 a daughter of Seymour and Susanna (Purdy) Part- 
 low. She spent her last years in Bonus Township, 
 and departed this life in 1882. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have a family of six 
 children; these three are living: Daniel Leone, 
 Berlin S., and Willie R. Those deceased are Har- 
 vey B., who died February 17, 1876, aged seven- 
 teen years, seven months, and twenty-one days; 
 Eugene died November 12, 1888, aged twenty-two 
 years, ten months and two days, and Jessie L., 
 wife of Franz E. Tripp, died April 18, 1891, aged 
 twenty-seven years, six months and one day. 
 The familj' continued to reside upon the farm 
 until 1891, when Mr. Jackson sold out and came 
 to Belvidere. He purchased property and built a 
 home in the locality known as Riverside, and is 
 there living a retired life. He is a consistent 
 member of the Free Methodist Church, has taken 
 an active part in its interests, and done much for 
 its upbuilding and advancement. In sentiment, 
 he is a strong Prohibitionist, but is not connected 
 with that party or any other political organization. 
 
 S)HOMAS P. KETTLEWELL, a well-known 
 citizen of Rockford, was born in the vil- 
 age of Scruten, Yorkshire, England, August 
 22, 1818. His father, Thomas Kettlewell, was 
 born in the same place, as was also the grandfather, 
 Richard. In 1835, the father came to America, 
 bringing with him his wife and nine children. 
 They set sail from Liverpool May 13, and, having 
 spent nearly two months upon the ocean in a sailing 
 vessel, "The Columbia," they landed in New York 
 July 3, later crossing Lake Erie to Port Stanley. 
 He bought a farm in Southold Township in that 
 
1230 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 part of Middlesex now included in Elgin County, 
 Canada, and resided there for a number of years, 
 after which he came to Rockford and there made 
 his home until death ended his career. 
 
 The mother of our subject was known in maiden- 
 hood as Mary Pinckney. She was born in the vil- 
 lage of Scruten, Yorkshire, England, and was a 
 daughter of Ralph and Fannie Pinckney. Her 
 life ended at the home of her son in Rockford in 
 1873. Her nine children were Mary Ann, Thomas, 
 Richard, Fanny, Margaret, Jane, Susannah, Ralph 
 and William. Thomas Kettlewell was seventeen 
 years old when he came with his parents to Amer- 
 ica, and he reVnembers well the long ocean voyage. 
 He resided with his parents in Southold until his 
 marriage, after which he rented a farm in West- 
 minster Township, Elgin County, Canada, where 
 he made his home until 1850, when he came to 
 Illinois b}- way of lake and railroad to Elgin, 
 which was then the Western terminus of the rail- 
 road. 
 
 Having reached Rockford by team from Elgin, 
 he engaged in farming for two years, and then 
 for some time can-ied on butchering and stock- 
 dealing, and has been active in this line of busi- 
 ness from that time on. He was married, July 3, 
 1844, to Susanna Horton, who was born in South- 
 old, Elgin County, Canada, April 12, 1824. Her 
 father, Peter Horton, was born in New Jersey and 
 was a son of Samuel Horton, who was also a native 
 of the same State, but migrated from there to 
 Canada, where he did thorough pioneer work, 
 clearing a tract of timber land on Talbot Street 
 and developing a farm from the wilderness, resid- 
 ing there until his death. 
 
 The mother of Mrs. Kettlewell was, before her 
 marriage, known as Margaret Ramsey, and after 
 her marriage with Mr. Horton they lived upon a 
 tract of timber land three miles from the old 
 home, residing there until 1846, when they sold 
 their property, and, coming to Winnebago County, 
 bought a tract of land in Guilford Township, 
 where Mr. Horton died in 1850. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kettlewell have reared seven chil- 
 dren, in whom they take great delight, and for 
 whose future they have true parental solicitude. 
 They bear the names of Mary, Mannie J., Eva, 
 
 Louis, William, Charles and Fannie, respectively. 
 The political views of our subject are in accord- 
 ance with the doctrines of the Republican party, 
 and lie is truly American in his sympathy with 
 our institutions. Both he and his good wife are 
 active and earnest members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
 ^, t .p i - ^ i- 
 
 ' I ' I '■ 
 
 T OEL C. KLING, a retired farmer, residing 
 near the end of Kishwaukee Street, is a good 
 example of what can be accomplished in 
 life when thorough determination to suc- 
 ceed in any calling is coupled witli energy, perse- 
 verance and close application in the directions 
 chosen. He came here in 1.868 a poor man and a 
 stranger, but by hard work and indomitable will- 
 power has amassed considerable wealth, and is now 
 classed among the substantial men of the county. 
 He is a promoter and stockholder in the Rock 
 River Planing Mill Company, and President of the 
 Swedish Brewing Company. 
 
 Our subject began life in Rockford as a carpen- 
 ter, and followed that occupation for about ten 
 years for E. Flemming, and subsequently became 
 one of the incorporators and stockholders of the 
 Co-operative Furniture Company, with which he 
 remained about eight j^ears. After this, he pur- 
 chased one hundred and fourteen acres near the 
 city, tilled the soil for six years, and sold this fine 
 farm recently for $23,500. He then invested in 
 city property. 
 
 Mr. Kling was born in Wester Gothland, Sweden, 
 November 28, 1836, and was taught the trade of a 
 watch-maker there, following that until hecam.e to 
 this country. He was the third of his family who 
 came to America, two brothers, Augustus and 
 Swan, having preceded him. The parents died in 
 Sweden, the father, Lars Kling, dying when sev- 
 enty-seven years of age. He followed the trade 
 of watch-maker all his life, and had seven sons who 
 also became watch-makers. He was the father of 
 twenty-two children by three wives, seventeen 
 sons and five daughters, all of whom lived to ma- 
 ture years, and sixteen married. His second mar- 
 riage resulted in the birth of twelve sons and one 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1231 
 
 daughter, of whom our subject was one of the 
 younger. Nine sons and the daughter arc still 
 living. 
 
 Joel C. Kling was first married in his native 
 country to Miss Mary Anderson, who accompanied 
 him to the States and died here in 1871, when forty 
 years of age. She left no children. She was a 
 working member of the Swedish Lutiieran Church. 
 Our subject's second marriage was to Charlotte 
 Johnson, who was born in Norkart Province, Swe- 
 den, on the 14th of February, 1842. Her father, 
 John P. Johnson, followed the occupation of a 
 mechanic, was a skillful workman, and died when 
 seventy-two years of age. His wife died when 
 Mrs. Kling was about twenty years of age, being 
 herself about forty-three years old. Mrs. Kling 
 was the only child, and when twenty-eight years 
 of age came unaccompanied to the United States. 
 Like her mother, she was a dress-maker by trade, 
 and followed this until her marriage to Mr. Kling. 
 
 The six children born to this union are named 
 as follows : Verna T., Ernest H., Tickla T., Beta 
 C, Herbert J., and Huldah G., all at home. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Kling are members of the Emanuel 
 Swedish Lutheran Church, and Mr. Kling is a 
 stanch supporter of the principles of the Repub- 
 lican party. 
 
 _02:>cx.i 
 
 "oJ- 
 
 
 5o" 
 
 js^ TEPHEN M. WARREN. Few people pass- 
 ing through Leroy Township fail to ob- 
 serve the valuable and well-appointed 
 homestead which is pleasantly located on 
 section 9, and denotes on all sides the hand of 
 thrift and prosperity. By a process of careful 
 cultivation and the exercise of cultivated tastes, 
 tiie farm is now conceded to be one of the most 
 desirable in this section of Boone County. The 
 Mds are conveniently laid off and enclosed with 
 neat fences, and the farm buildings, erected in 
 modern style, are all that could be reasonably re- 
 quired by the progressive agriculturist. 
 
 While Mr. Warren has devoted his energies to 
 
 the establishment of a good home and has brought 
 
 the one hundred and twenty acres on his farm to 
 
 a high cultivation, he has not been unmindful of 
 
 57 
 
 the welfare of the people around him and has aided 
 in all good works to the best of his ability. He 
 possesses excellent judgment and a good practical 
 education, and has been uniformly fortunate in 
 his investments. His residence, which was erected 
 in the fall of 1891, is one of the most commodious 
 and attractive in the vicinity, and is furnished 
 throughout in a manner indicating the refined 
 tastes of the familj'. 
 
 Matthew Warren, father of our subject, emi- 
 grated from England to America in early manhood 
 and was married, near Batavia, N. Y., to Grace, 
 daughter of William Dullum, who came to Boone 
 County about 1846, and purchased land near Pop- 
 lar Grove, where he established a permanent home. 
 His death occurred there in 1857, when he was in 
 the prime of life. He and his wife had a family 
 of four children, three daughters and one son: 
 Anna, Henrietta P., Stephen M. and Ellen. Anna 
 became Mrs. Jesse Dennis and died in Dakota in 
 1873, at the age of twenty-six, leaving one son, 
 Warren; Henrietta is the wife of W. Wilson, of 
 Flint, Mich.; and Ellen is now Mrs. George Zie- 
 gaus, of Sharon, Wis. 
 
 A native of this county, our subject was born 
 September 18, 1850. He was reared to farm life, 
 and used his excellent education in the profession 
 of a teacher, which he followed nine terms. He 
 was also engaged for nine years in making cheese 
 in factories, but has since engaged exclusively in 
 farming and stockraising. He keeps a goodly 
 number of fine cattle, his specialty being Holstein 
 cows. 
 
 Mr. Warren has received the active co-operation 
 of his wife, to whom he was married May 27, 1873. 
 She was Miss Alida B., daughter of John and Cor- 
 nelia (Walley) Prindle, natives of Massachusetts 
 and New York respectively. They came West in 
 the spring of 1842, two years after their marriage, 
 making the trip in a covered wagon drawn bN^ 
 oxen. They first stopped at Kenosha, and from 
 there came to Boone County, where he entered a 
 tract of two hundred and sixty acres from the 
 Government, to which he later added eighty acres. 
 When he died on New Year's Day, 1891, at the 
 age of seventy-five, he left his widow and four 
 children comfortably provided for. Their sor, 
 
1232 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Franklin, enlisted in the Thirteenth Wisconsin In- 
 fantry at the age of nineteen years, and had served 
 but three months when he died of pneumonia and 
 his mortal remains are now resting in the cemetery 
 at Sharon, Wis. The surviving members of the 
 family are S. W., a grain dealer at Sharon; Juni- 
 ette, the wife of W. H. Stevens, of Sharon ; Martha 
 J., who married C. S. Raymond, a commercial 
 traveler of Keokuk, Iowa, and Mrs. Warren. 
 
 Our subject and his estimable wife are the par- 
 ents of three children : Willis M., Mabel J. and 
 Jesse E., who are receiving good educations in the 
 schools of the neighborhood. Politicallj', Mr. 
 Warren is a Republican, and is serving the third 
 term both as Road Commissioner and School Di- 
 rector, in which positions he is doing effective 
 work in behalf of the people. 
 
 Wl OSIAH S. LEONARD, who is doing an ex- 
 I tensive business as a dealer in hardwood 
 ^^ I lumber, is numbered among the enterpris- 
 ^^fJ ing citizens of Rockford. He established 
 business in April, 1885, and from the beginning 
 his trade has constantly increased, until it has now 
 assumed extensive proportions. 
 
 Mr. Leonard is a native of Syracuse N. Y., and 
 was there reared and educated. His grandfather, 
 James Alex Leonard, was a native of New Jersey, 
 and descended from New England parentage of 
 English origin. After his marriage, he removed 
 with his wife to the wilds of the Empire State, 
 driving the teams overland, and settled upon a 
 farm near Auburn, N. Y., which he purchased of 
 the Government. He there made a home and de- 
 veloped a good farm, on which his daughter now 
 resides. He and his wife there spent their remain- 
 ing days, and were called to their final rest at an 
 advanced age. It was there that John A. Leon- 
 ard, the father of our subject, grew to manhood. 
 He was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Sloan, 
 who was born near Cooperstown, N. Y., and died 
 at her home near Auburn when in middle life. 
 Mr. Leonard passed away in 1873, at the age of 
 sixty-eight years. He and his wife were members 
 
 of the Congregational Church. Their family num- 
 bered four sons and five daughters, seven of whom 
 are yet living, and with one exception all are mar- 
 ried. 
 
 Josiah Leonard, whose name heads this record, 
 entered upon his business career in his native city 
 at the age of twenty-two }cars as a lumber mer- 
 chant. Subsequently, he emigrated Westward, lo- 
 cating in Chicago, where he spent some j'ears, 
 removing thence to Rockford, where he has 
 since carried on an extensive jobbing business. 
 With the exception of eighteen months spent in 
 the South, he has given his entire time and atten- 
 tion to the business which he yet follows. He buys 
 lumber by the car load, and sells chiefly to the fac- 
 tories. Mr. Leonard is recognized as a man of ex- 
 cellent business ability, sagacious and enterprising, 
 and straightforward and upright in all things. 
 
 In Onondaga County, N. Y., our subject was 
 joined in wedlock with Miss Mary M. Bostwick, 
 who was born on Otisco Hill, N. Y., and there re- 
 sided until twelve years of age. Her education 
 was acquired in Syracuse, and in Homer Academy, 
 of Homer, N. Y. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Leonard 
 have been born six children: Levi D., who now 
 assists his father in business; Hettie M., attending 
 the High School ; Anna L., Charlotte H., Anna B., 
 and Ruth, all yet at home. The parents are both 
 members of the Grace Methodist Church, and take 
 an active part in its work and upbuilding, Mr. 
 Leonard being Chairman of the Board of Trustees. 
 In politics, he is independent, not bound by party 
 ties. Himself and wife rank high in social circles, 
 and have the warm regard of all with whom they 
 have come in contact. 
 
 "^ 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 (S_ 
 
 ■jfj AMES W. SCOTT, who is successfully operat- 
 ing a choice farm in Burritt Township, 
 Winnebago County, was born on section 
 2, of that township, May 1, 1840. He is 
 a son of James Scott, who was born in Richland 
 County, Ohio, June 1, 1805, where his father, 
 Joseph Scott, was one of the first settlers. The 
 latter gentleman improved a good farm, upon 
 which lie resided for a number of years, and then 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1233 
 
 coming to Illinois spent the remainder of his life 
 with his youngest son in this township. The 
 maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Brown; 
 she died in Richland County, Ohio. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared on the 
 home farm, and on attaining mature years was 
 married, June 20, 1826, to Miss Elizabeth Fisher. 
 Purchasing forty acres of timber land twelve miles 
 east of Mansfield, he erected thereon a log house, 
 in which he lived with his family until 1836. 
 Then removing to the Territory of Michigan, he 
 located near Cassopolis, where he made his home 
 for two years, then came to the Prairie State, the 
 journey being made overland with two pairs of 
 oxen and a wagon, the party including his wife and 
 four children. The country round about Rockford 
 was sparsely settled, and Government land sold 
 Cor $1.25 per acre. Mr. Scott, with his household, 
 moved into a log cabin in company with a family 
 named Manchester, with whom they lived for a 
 short time. In the meantime, the father made a 
 claim to the northeast quarter of section 9, Bur- 
 rittTownship, on which he erected a rude log cabin, 
 and in it moved his family and resided until his 
 decease, during the late war. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Miss Elizabeth Fisher; she was born in Colum- 
 biana County, Ohio, March 26, 1810, and is the 
 daughter of Henry Fisher, a pioneer of that county, 
 but a native of Pennsylvania. He was a team- 
 ster and was engaged in hauling goods from differ- 
 ent points in Ohio to Philadelphia and Baltimore. 
 Later in life, removing to Richland County, he 
 ■ purchased a tract of timber land, which he cleared 
 and resided upon until his death. The maiden 
 name of his wife, the grandmother of our subject, 
 was Nancy Fulks, also a native of the Keystone 
 State, who, on coming to Durand, 111., died at the 
 home of her son. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Scott, the mother of our subject, 
 is still living and makes her home with her son 
 Charles, on section 6. She reared a family of eight 
 children, of whom our subject was the fourth in 
 order of birth. He was reared and educated in 
 his native town and, with the exception of one 
 year, has resided in Burritt Township all his life. 
 He remained at home assisting his father until his 
 
 marriage, when he rented property for a twelve- 
 month, and then purchased the farm where he 
 makes his home at the present time, and which is 
 located on the northeastern quarter of section 10, 
 Burritt Township. 
 
 Miss Jane Steward and James W. Scott were 
 united in marriage, October 15, 1862. The lady 
 was born in Elgin County, Province of Ontario, 
 Canada, and is the daughter of William Steward, 
 who was, as far as is known, a native of the same 
 locality. To Mr. and Mrs. Scott have been born 
 two children: Edwin L. and Ella M. The son, who 
 married Miss Clara Chapman, has two children: 
 Elmer and Grace D. Our subject is independent 
 in politics and is highly thought of by the entire 
 community. 
 
 "f HERVA JONES, Superintendent of the 
 Rockford Manufacturing Company, has 
 been a resident of this city since 1863, 
 and is numbered among the early settlers 
 of the county of 1846. He was born in Canan- 
 daigua, N. Y., August 20, 1827, and is a son of 
 J. Herva Jones, Sr., a native of Hudson City, 
 N. Y. The grandfather was a Scotchman and in 
 his native land learned tjie trade of a marble cut- 
 ter. After his marriage, he came to this country, 
 settling in Hudson City, N. Y., where he followed 
 his trade until his death in 1806. 
 
 The father of our subject spent his boyhood 
 days in the Empire State, where he learned the 
 trade of a cabinet-maker. In Canandaigua, he 
 wedded Miss Mary Doolittle, who was born in 
 Connecticut and was a descendant of Jason Doo- 
 little, an English inventor, who made one of the 
 first steam engines. It is said that on one occa- 
 sion the engine got away from him when he was 
 displaying it to some friends and completely de- 
 molished a shed. After the marriage of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Jones, they resided in New York until 1846, 
 when they emigrated Westward, locating in Byron, 
 Ogle County, 111. In the fall of 1851, Mr. Jones 
 went to Boston and took passage on board the 
 "Telegraph," for Calcutta, in hopes that a trip to 
 that country would benefit his health, but the 
 
1234 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 vessel was never afterward heard from. Mr. Jones 
 was then fifty-one years of age. He was a life-long 
 Methodist, and his wife, who survived him some 
 years, was a consistent member of the same church. 
 
 The education of our subject was acquired in 
 the schools of his native State, where he remained 
 until 1846, when, with his parents, he came to 
 Illinois. A year later, he settled in Rockton. 
 Winnebago County. With his father, he learned 
 the trade of a cabinet-maker in his 3'outh, and 
 since that time has been a practical mechanic and 
 inventor. He got out his first patent as early as 
 1854, the machine being a hand corn-planter, the 
 first of the kind patented. He came to Rockford 
 in 1863, and has since been one of the prominent 
 residents of the city. He now occupies the posi- 
 tion of Superintendent of the Rockford Manufac- 
 turing Company, which manufactures all kinds of 
 farming implements, including plows, harrows, 
 sulky rakes and mowers, and makes a specialty of 
 the famous "Farm King Sulky Plow." Mr. Jones 
 has taken out some eighty patents on farm imple- 
 ments, one of the most important of which is the 
 Standard Mower, about ten thousand of these ma- 
 chines being constructed annually by the Emer- 
 son & Talcott Manufacturing Company, of this 
 city. They use a number of his patents, which 
 have proved to be very successful and have 
 found a ready sale. For twenty-flve years, Mr. 
 Jones was Superintendent of the Emerson & Tal- 
 cott Manufacturing Company, but now gives the 
 greater part of his attention to the superintend- 
 ency of the Rockford Manufacturing Company. 
 
 Mr. Jones was married in Rockton to Miss 
 Pauline P. Austin,. who was born in Maine, Octo- 
 ber 4, 1832, and was brought to Rockton in 1838 
 by her parents, H. Sewell and Margaret (Packard) 
 Austin. Her father is numbered among the early 
 settlers of that locality and was the owner of a 
 large and well-improved farm, upon which his 
 death occurred, January 26, 1892, caused by la 
 grippe. Had he lived until the following May, 
 he would have been eighty years of age. He was 
 a prominent resident of that community, and for 
 some years had served as Supervisor of Shirland 
 Township. He had been twice married, his two 
 wives being sisters. The mother of Mrs. Jones 
 
 died when she was only a year old. By her mar- 
 riage she has had two children. The elder, Herman 
 A., a machinist in the employ of the Emerson & 
 Talcott Company, wedded Louisa Switz, and they 
 have two children, Charles and Mattie. May is 
 now the wife of Uzal C. Osborne, foreman of the 
 polishing department in the watch factory. They 
 have one son, Fred. 
 
 Mr. Jones is a well-known resident of Rock- 
 ford, prominent in public affairs, and progressive. 
 By nature he is genial and wins friends wherever 
 he goes. In politics, he is a stalwart Republican 
 and has served as Supervisor of the Fifth Ward. 
 His wife is an active member of the Christian 
 Union Church. They have now a beautiful home 
 at No. 606 North Church Street. 
 
 r 
 
 LAUS G. PETERSON has been agent for 
 the Illinois Central Railroad of East Rock, 
 ford since February, 1890, and has filled 
 the position with credit to himself and to all con- 
 cerned. He came to this city from Auburn, Neb., 
 but had formerly been a resident of this county, 
 having been reared and educated in Cherry Val- 
 ley Township. He was connected with a boot 
 and shoe firm for some time, but on account of 
 voice failure he went to California, where he re- 
 mained four years, and where he regained his 
 vocal powers. Returning to Rockford, he has made 
 this city his home ever since, with the exception 
 of two years spent in Nebraska. 
 
 Our subject is of foreign birth. Wester Gothland 
 Province, Sweden, being his native country, and 
 he was born on the 14th of May, 1849. When 
 three years of age, he was brought to the United 
 States by his parents, who landed in Boston on 
 the 4th of July, 1852. They were three months 
 in crossing the ocean and many of the passengers 
 died of cholera, but the Petersons escaped with 
 little sickness. They came on to Chicago, but 
 found cholera prevalent in that city, and they 
 then went to Elgin, 111., where they remained 
 three months. In 1852, they came to Rockford, 
 and in 1856 the family moved to Cherry Valley 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORI) 
 
 1235 
 
 and made their home there until 1863, when they 
 located in Cherry Valley Township, where they 
 remained until 1875, and then came back to 
 Eockford, where the father died in November, 
 1879, wlien eighty -six years of age. His name 
 was Peter Peterson. His wife, who is still living 
 and quite active for seventy-five years of age, re- 
 sides with her son, P. A. Peterson (see sketch). 
 Peter Peterson aild his wife were early members 
 of the First Lutheran Church of Rockford, and 
 were classed among the representative Swedish- 
 American settlers of the city. 
 
 Mr. Peterson of this notice was married in 
 Rockford and is the father of one child, a son, 
 Glaus Varro, a bright, intelligent lad, who was 
 born August 11, 1889. He and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church of this 
 city. Mr. Peterson is a strong advocate of Pro- 
 hibition, and socially is a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity, Blue Lodge. He is a hard-working, 
 industrious citizen and a man universally re- 
 spected. 
 
 <^ 
 
 «^ 
 
 /^EORGE W. FLAGG. Descended from two 
 III old New England families, this gentleman 
 ^J/J) has, in his personal affairs, manifested the 
 frugality, industry and perseverance that are 
 prominent traits in the Yankee character, acquir- 
 ing thereby a fortune that has enabled him to be- 
 stow upon his children thorough educations, and 
 to surround his family with ever}^ comfort. He 
 occupies one of the handsomest farm residences in 
 Seward Township, Winnebago County, and has 
 identified himself with various movements which 
 tend to the higher civilization and prosperity of 
 his community, gaining thereby a reputation sec- 
 ond to none as a public-spirited citizen. 
 
 Our subject was born in Heath, Franklin 
 County, Mass., September 9, 1775. He is a son of 
 Silas M. and Hannah Flagg, the former of whom 
 was a native of Worcester, Mass., but who spent 
 the greater portion of his life in Franklin County, 
 where his demise occurred when forty-seven years 
 of age. Mrs. Hannah Flagg was born in Wind- 
 ham County, Vt., and also died in the above- 
 
 named county in Massachusetts, when sixty-three 
 years of age. Her parents were natives of New 
 England. 
 
 Mr. Flagg, of this sketch, remained at home 
 until 1856, when he came to Winnebago County, 
 and lived for a time in Pecatonica. Thence he 
 came to Seward Township, and two years there- 
 after went East and settled on the old liome farm 
 in Massachusetts. Returning, however, in 1859, 
 he has since been identified with the interests of 
 Seward Township. Miss Lestina Rugg became 
 the wife of our subject, January 9, 1860. She was 
 born in Franklin County, Mass., and was the 
 daughter of Davis and Eunice Rugg, the former 
 of whom was born August 20, 1786, in Leominister, 
 Mass.; he departed this life in Seward Township, 
 February 2, 1872. Mrs. Eunice Rugg was born 
 October 17, 1790, in the same State and county as 
 was her husband, and departed this life in Winne- 
 bago County, March 13, 1874. The wife of our 
 subject was a member of a family of eleven chil- 
 dren, five of whom are living. Her grandparents 
 were also natives of the Bay State, of Irish de- 
 scent. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. George W. Flagg have been 
 born four children, two living: Henry E., who 
 was born October 17, 1850, in Heath, Mass., was 
 educated in Pecatonica College, and spent one 
 year in Nebraska. Lillian A., who was born Feb- 
 ruary 4, 1861, in Seward Township, is now Mrs. 
 W. R. Stone, and the mother of one child. Our 
 subject and his wife are members of the Congrega- 
 tional Church, and in their beautiful home enter- 
 tain their many friends, who are as numerous as 
 their acquaintances. 
 
 '\f] OHN N, PENWELL, a retired farmer, who 
 now makes his home in Belvidere, has the 
 honor of being a native citizen of Boone 
 County. He was born in Flora Township, 
 M^rch 3, 1845. His father, Luke Penwell, was 
 born near Connorsville, Fayette County, Ind., and 
 his grandfather, Reuben Penwell, was a native of 
 Indiana. He became one of the earliest settlers of 
 Indiana, where he made his home until about 
 
1236 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1840, which year witnessed his arrival in Illinois. 
 He was also one of the pioneers of Boone County. 
 He located at Blood's Point, secured a tract of 
 Government land, and improved a farm, upon 
 which he resided for some years. He spent liis 
 last days with his children, and died at the home 
 of his daughter, in Noblesville County, Ind. 
 
 The father of our subject was reared in his na- 
 tive State, and when a young man came with his 
 parents to Illinois. The removal hither was made 
 overland, with ox-teams. They found Boone 
 County to be very sparsely settled; all of the 
 land was still in the possession of the Govern- 
 ment, and deer and other wild game were verj' 
 plentiful. There were no railroads here for 
 sevcial 3ears after their arrival, and Mr. Penwell 
 used to haul his grain to Chicago with ox-teams. 
 He married Elizabeth Middleton, a native of the 
 Buckeye State, and a daughter of .John and Ruth 
 Middleton, after which he located on land which 
 his father had purchased. He made his home in 
 Boone County until about 1858, when he removed 
 to De Kalb County, and purchased a farm, to the 
 cultivation and improvement of which he devoted 
 his time and attention until 1883, when he re- 
 moved to the village of Kirkland, where he is now 
 living a retired life. 
 
 Our subject is one of a family of four children. 
 His education was acquired in the pioneer schools 
 of his native county, which he attended through 
 the winter season, while in the summer months he 
 aided his father in the labors of the farm. He re- 
 mained under the parental roof until his marriage, 
 when his father deeded him a portion of the old 
 homestead, and he engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits with excellent success until 1881, when he 
 sold his farm and came to the city of Belvidere. 
 He purchased property at the corner of Whitney 
 and Fifth Streets, and for the past eleven years 
 has spent his time in looking after his real-estate 
 interests. 
 
 On the 27th of February, 1867, Mr. Penwell led 
 to the marriage altar Miss Charlotte Leaman, who 
 was born in Flora Township, Boone County, and 
 is a daughter of George and Deborah Leaman, a 
 sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. 
 Unto our subject and his wife has been born one 
 
 son, Charles Arthur. The Penwell household is 
 the abode of hospitality, and its members rank 
 high in social circles. In his political affiliations, 
 our subject is a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Pen- 
 well were married nineteen years before their only 
 child was born. 
 
 ^<^ fi^ILLIAM M. RICHARDSON, who is en- 
 gaged in general mechanical work in the 
 village of Roscoe, Winnebago County, 
 was born in Spencer, Mass., in 1820. His parents, 
 Benjamin and Judith (Mason) Richardson, were 
 both natives of New England. The paternal 
 grandfather, Benjamin Richardson, Sr., also be- 
 longed to an old New England family. The fa- 
 ther of our subject was a blacksmith and a skilled 
 workman in edged tools. He removed from Massa- 
 chusetts to Hudson, N. Y., and there followed his 
 trade until his death in 1828. He left a family of 
 six sons and six daughters. 
 
 Our subject came to Illinois in 1846, his 
 brothers, Benjamin and Washington, having pre- 
 ceded him some eleven j^ears. He learned the 
 blacksmith's trade with his father and opened his 
 first shop in Roscoe in 1849, carrying on his 
 smithy for a number of years. However, in the 
 autumn of 1847, he returned to Massachusetts 
 with the intention of remaining there, but changed 
 his mind and again came to Illinois, bringing 
 his mother with him; she spent her last days with 
 him. 
 
 Mr. Richardson was married in Roscoe, in 
 1850, to Miss Lucy A., daughter of Walter and 
 Orry (Cheney) Warner, the former of Wethers- 
 field and the latter of Berlin, Conn. Her parents 
 came West to Rockford in 1836. Mr. Warner 
 made the journey in the early spring with an ox- 
 team, and after locating a Government claim, sent 
 for his family, who came on in company with two 
 Other families. Upon his farm, he there resided 
 until his death. In 1839, he lost his wife, who 
 died, leaving one son and four daughters: Lucy 
 Ann, Frederick, Mary Jane, Josephine and Eliza- 
 beth. Mr. Warner was again married, his second 
 union being with Miss Sarah Tucker, of Elgin, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1237 
 
 111., a native of Virginia. By this marriage were 
 born seven children, but three died in childhood. 
 Washington, Wilber, Martha and Olin grew to 
 adult age and two are now living: Wilber, of St. 
 Louis, and Olin, of Chicago. The former was a 
 soldier during the late war. The father died 
 March 26, 1863, at the age of sixty-two years. 
 His home and farm in Harlem Township still be- 
 long to his heirs. He came West with limited 
 means, but died leaving a handsome estate. 
 
 Our subject and his wife have one child yet 
 living, Alice, wife of H. B. Curtis, of Roscoe, by 
 whom she had one child, Ruble, now a student in 
 Beloit. For some time, Mr. Richardson owned 
 and operated one hundred and two acres of land 
 in Roscoe, but sold it after twenty years. He 
 then engaged in the manufacture of plows in Ros- 
 coe for thirty years. Few men of his age are as 
 youthful in appearance and in strength as he. 
 Hunting has alwaj's been a favorite sport with 
 him, and in early times after a hard day's work 
 he would often go out in the evening and bring 
 in from six to twelve prairie chickens. He still 
 enjoys a day with his rod and gun as in former 
 years. In political affiliations, he was first a Free- 
 soiler, and is now a Republican. He and his wife 
 have been members of the Methodist Church for 
 forty-four years. They have traveled life's jour- 
 ney together for forty-two years and are a most 
 worthy couple, held in high regard by all who 
 know them. 
 
 eHARLES B. LORD, one of the early set- 
 tlers of Boone County, now living retired 
 in Belvidere, was born in Sherburne, Che- 
 nango County, N. Y., June 24, 1821. His father, 
 Alfred Lord, was born and reared in Connecticut, 
 and in that State married Jerusha Carrier, a native 
 of Connecticut. They removed from the Nut- 
 meg State to Sherburne, N. Y., where they made 
 their home until 1827, when they became resi- 
 dents of Erie County, Pa. Mr. Lord bought a 
 tract of timber land and moved into a log cabin 
 which was then on the place. In 1836, he sold 
 
 that farm and took up his residence in Summit 
 County, Ohio, where he made his home until 1839, 
 when he came to Ilinois. With his wife and four 
 children, he started with a team and drove to 
 Cleveland, where he embarked on a steamer, in- 
 tending to land at Toledo, but a storm arose and 
 drove them across the lake to the Canadian shore. 
 They landed at Detroit and with a team drove to 
 Aurora, 111., where they remained until the fall. 
 During the summer, our subject and his father 
 started with a horse and buggy to seek a location, 
 and visited different parts of Northern Illinois. 
 In the autumn, the family removed to Boone 
 County, where Mr. Lord made a claim of Govern- 
 ment land in what is now Spring Township. At 
 that time there were only about sixteen acres 
 broken, and a log cabin constituted the improve- 
 ments. The father at once began the develop- 
 ment of the farm, but was called to his final rest 
 about six years later. His wife died on the home 
 farm in 1841. Their four children were Harriet, 
 Charles, Sarah and Lucius. 
 
 Our subject was eighteen years of age when 
 his parents came to Illinois. The country was 
 sparsely settled and they had to undergo many 
 of the experiences and hardships of frontier life. 
 Charles resided with his father until about the 
 time of his marriage, when he bought eighty acres 
 of Government land at $1.25 per acre, and on 
 that commenced his career as an independent and 
 successful farmer. As there were no railroads, he 
 hauled his grain to Chicago, Milwaukee and She- 
 boygan. He made other purchases as his means 
 accumulated until he was the owner of four hun- 
 dred acres of fine land, one hundred and sixty 
 acres across the line in De Kalb County. 
 
 In October, 1844, Mr. Lord wedded Clarissa 
 Shattuck, who was born in Concord, Geauga 
 County, Ohio, September 28, 1822. Her father, 
 Erastus Shattuck, who was born in Connecticut, 
 removed to New York and afterward to Ohio, be- 
 coming one of the early settlers of Concord, 
 Geauga County. He there resided until 1835, 
 when, with his wife and four children, he came to 
 Illinois, making the entire journey overland with 
 teams. He was one of the very earliest settlers 
 of Boone County. At that time the Indians were 
 
1238 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 still in possession of their homes here, and the 
 land was not surveyed. He purchased a claim, 
 however, on which was a log cabin, in the build- 
 ing of which not a particle of sawed lumber was 
 used. The roof was covered with shakes, the 
 flooring was of white ash logs, and there were 
 wooden hinges on the door, and a wooden latch. 
 Tlie chimney was made of earth and sticlvS. When 
 the land came into market, Mr. Shattuck pur- 
 chased it of the Government and upon his farm 
 resided until his death. He married Ada Sco- 
 ville, who was born in Connecticut and died on 
 the old home farm. 
 
 Mrs. Lord is one of the oldest settlers in Boone 
 County, and it is probable that no other lady has 
 so long resided here. Both our subject and his 
 wife have witnessed almost the entire growth of 
 the county and are numbered among its honored 
 pioneers. Their union has been blessed with five 
 children: Oscar, Editha, Frank, Mary and Jane. 
 The parents are now living retired, enjoying the 
 rest which they have so truly earned and richly 
 deserved. 
 
 ^' OHN BENSON, of the firm of Peterson & 
 Benson, real-estate dealers at No. 601 
 Seventh Street, is one of the successful 
 y young business men of Rockford, and has 
 real-estate interests in diffeient parts of this thriv- 
 ing city. Coming hither in 1885, he was for some 
 time engaged as clerk in a grocery store, but in 
 August, 1891, embarked in the business which he 
 has since conducted with ability and success. 
 Prior to locating in Rockford, he had for two 
 years resided in Geneva, this State, whither he had 
 proceeded after emigrating to the United States. 
 Mr. Benson is descended from pure Swedish 
 ancestry, and was born in Smoland, February 20, 
 1852. His parents. Christian and Johanna (And- 
 erson) Benson, died at the ages respectively of 
 seventy-six and seventy-two years. They were 
 industrious and honorable, and occupied a high 
 place in the regard of their acquaintances. Relig- 
 iously, they were Lutherans. Our subject was single 
 when he came to America, but was married at 
 
 Geneva, 111., in 1883, to Miss Anna Peterson, who 
 was born in Smoland, in 1853, and came to this 
 country in 1880. They are the parents of two 
 children: Oscar and Clara. Religiously, they are 
 active members of the Swedish Mission Church 
 and in all their deeds they are guided by the high 
 principles of consistent Christians. In politics, he 
 is an advocate of the cause of temperance and 
 votes the Prohibition ticket. 
 
 TEPHEN RYAN belongs to the class of 
 mechanical builders who have aided in 
 erecting the comfortable residences of 
 Rockford, and in that way have advanced 
 its interests in a material direction. Since he came 
 to this city in 1882, he has not worked as actively 
 at his trade as in former years, when he was also a 
 contractor and builder as well as mechanic. In 
 1855, he came to Pecatonica, Winnebago County, 
 and there followed his chosen occupation until he 
 removed to Rockford, where he occupies a pleasant 
 home at No. 409 North' Avon Street. 
 
 Mr. Ryan belongs to that brave class who res- 
 ponded to their country's call for men to defend 
 the Stars and Stripes and enlisted as a private in 
 Company C, One Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois 
 Infantry, Col. Dean and Capt. McGuire command- 
 ing. He served with his regiment until peace was 
 declared, being on detached service most of the 
 time and doing duty as Sergeant over the Guard 
 House of the Provost Marshal's office at Peoria 
 and Alton, 111. After serving one year in the ser- 
 vice of the Union, he was honorably discharged 
 and returned to Pecatonica, where he resided un- 
 til removing to Rockford. 
 
 One hundred and twenty-five miles east of Hali- 
 fax, in Nova Scotia, Mr. Ryan was born December 
 26, 1829. In his native town, Guysborough, he 
 learned his trade and made his home with his par- 
 ents, John and Bridget (Kelly) Ryan. They were 
 natives respectively of Counties Carroll and Kil- 
 kenny, Ireland, and emigrated to Nova Scotia 
 when young. The father, who was a farmer and an 
 honorable citizen, died in Guysborough when 
 about fifty years old. His wife afterward joined 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1239 
 
 her son Stephen in Pecatonica and there died 
 October 26, 1878, when sixty-nine years of years. 
 They had eleven children, seven of whom still 
 survive, our subject being the eldest. 
 
 The lady who became the wife of Mr. Ryan was 
 Catharine Herlihy, and was born in Cork, Ireland, 
 February 17, 1827, the daughter of Jeremiah and 
 Elizabeth (Calazahn) Herlihy, also natives of the 
 Emerald Isle. Mrs. Ryan was one of a large fam- 
 ily, four of whom came \p the United States, two 
 now living, herself and her brother John, of Bos- 
 ton. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ryan have been born 
 nine children, all but one of whom died young, 
 namely: Eliza, Johanna, John, Emma, Stephen, 
 and three that died unnamed. The only surviv- 
 ing child is Helen, wife of Charles E. Hallock, a 
 farmer and dealer in furniture in Pecatonica, who 
 is also prominent in political affairs as a Democrat 
 and is at present serving as Mayor of his munici- 
 pality. He and his wife are the parents of one 
 child, Stephen. The members of the family are 
 identified with the Catholic Church, in which they 
 are prominent and influential. 
 
 c 
 
 
 I, IRAM JUDSON SAWYER, a prominent 
 f)i} citizen of Rockford and formerly Sheriff of 
 Winnebago County, was born in Fredonia, 
 Cattaraugus County, N. Y., December 5, 
 1821. His father, Earl Sawyer, was born in Rut- 
 land, Vt., and his grandfather, Joseph Sawyer, was 
 also a native of the same State. The great-grand- 
 father of our subject. Hooker Sawyer, was a na- 
 tive of England and emigrated to America in 
 Colonial times with his brothers Joseph and Amos, 
 the former of whom settled in Vermont and the 
 latter in New Hampshire. Grandfather Sawyer 
 was a commissioned officer in the Revolution and 
 also in the War of 1812, where he served with 
 valor. 
 
 Earl Sawyer was reared in the Green Mountain 
 State, and after his marriage removed to New 
 York, making the jo.urney overland. As he had 
 no team of his own, he rode with his uncle as far 
 as Canandaigua, and from there proceeded with 
 
 James Wadsworth to Pike Village. Thence he 
 and his wife drew their goods on hand-sleds to 
 what is now Fredonia, Cattaraugus County, where 
 he purchased a tract of heavily timbered land 
 from the Holland Purchase Company. On this 
 place he erected a log cabin, and at once com- 
 menced to improve and cultivate the land. There 
 being no railroads nor canals, and consequently 
 no convenient markets, the family subsisted on 
 the products of their farm; the mother was ac- 
 customed to card and spin wool and flax, dressing 
 the children in homespun made by her own hands. 
 She was known in maidenhood as Polly Davis, and 
 prior to her marriage made her home in New 
 Hampshire. She reared thirteen children, nine 
 S'ms and four daughters, and died on the home 
 farm when past middle age. The father also spent 
 his declining years on the old homestead, where 
 he died about 1872. 
 
 Until he was twelve years old, our subject re- 
 mained at home, but at that age went to Boston 
 with his father, whom he assisted in driving 
 horses to that city. While there, he made the ac- 
 quaintance of some sailors, with whom he made 
 arrangements to go out as cabin boy. During the 
 night he slipped away from his father and went 
 aboard the vessel. His father found him there 
 soon afterward and consented to let him go to 
 New Orleans. The ship was quarantined for 
 twenty-four days after reaching that port, and 
 during the time our subject became very homesick. 
 The Captain's wife felt sorry for the lad and gave 
 him $6, with which he went ashore and soon se- 
 cured passage on a river steamer bound for St. 
 Louis. There were no railroads or canals in Illi- 
 nois at that time and not even stage connection 
 between Chicago and St. Louis. He secured a 
 ride on a wagon loaded with furs, and in that way 
 traveled to Chicago, then a military post contain- 
 ing one hotel, which was kept by a squaw. From 
 Chicago, he secured a ride to Detroit, and thence 
 on a sailing-vessel, the "Julia Palmer," to Buffalo, 
 from which place he walked home. 
 
 After remaining on the home farm until 1843, 
 Mr. Sawyer removed to Wisconsin, where he pur- 
 chased land at Geneva Lake, Walworth County. 
 He was soon elected Justice of the Peace and 
 
1240 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 served twelve years in that capacity and two years 
 as Deputy Sheriff. In 1859, he went to Darien 
 and established an opposition line of stages from 
 Darien to Racine and from Racine to Beloit. While 
 residing there, he engaged in boating on the Mis- 
 sissippi for several seasons, first as pilot and later 
 as Master of the vessel. After running the stage 
 for a few months, he sold out to the regular line, 
 and moving to Rockton kept an hotel for one 
 year, and then secured employment in the paper 
 mills, where he remained until 1865. During the 
 last-named year, he was elected Sheriff, and re- 
 moved to Rockford, where, at the expiration of 
 his term of office, he started a blacksmith shop. 
 After carrying it on for one year, he entered 
 the employ of Rhoades, Utter & Co., who were 
 then building their paper mill. He continued in 
 their employ four j'ears after the mill was built, 
 but has since devoted most of his time to his 
 official duties. [le was elected Constable in 1869 
 and has since served continuously in that position. 
 In politics, he is a Republican. 
 
 In 1843, Mr. Sawyer was married to Miss Lorilla 
 Baker, who was born in New York, and spent her 
 last years in Darien, Wis. In 1863, Mr. Sawyer 
 was again married, this union being with Elmira 
 Lippitt, who was born in Cattaraugus County, N. 
 Y., the daughter of John and Sallie Lippitt. He 
 has two sons living: William Earl and Preston 
 Denton. 
 
 [S_ 
 
 IS] 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 (S" 
 
 \J tive of I 
 W^ ous agri 
 
 <^ ^ILLIAM JOHNS. No better representa- 
 honorable manhood and prosper- 
 ricultural life could be obtained 
 within the bounds of Winnebago County than is 
 to be found in the gentleman above-named, whose 
 home is located on section 2, Rockford Township. 
 It bears all the improvements in the waj' of ma- 
 chinery and buildings which stamp its owner as a 
 man of energy and progressiveness. The home 
 farm includes one hundred and sixty acres, in ad- 
 dition to which Mr. Johns owns property in an- 
 other portion of the township, which aggregates, 
 with the tract spoken of above, five hundred and 
 fift3'-six acres. 
 
 Our subject, like many of the prominent resi- 
 dents of this county, came from England, his birth 
 occurring in Cornwall, March 3, 1832. His father, 
 Tiiomas Johns, was also a native of that county, 
 where his father, also named Thomas, as far as is 
 known, spent his entire life. The father of our 
 subject emigrated to America in 1851, and, locating 
 in Winnebago County, purchased a tract of land 
 on section 12, Rockford Township, where he was 
 engaged in farming. Remaining there for a num- 
 ber of years, he sold his estate and removed into 
 the city of Rockford, where he departed this life. 
 The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Light- 
 foot; she was also born in Cornwall County, and 
 her decease occurred in Rockford. 
 
 The parental family of our subject included the 
 following-named eight children: Jane E., Eliza- 
 beth J., Richard, Thomas, William, Priscilla, 
 Mary and Ann. They all came to America with 
 the exception of Thomas, who still resides in Eng- 
 land. William Johns of this sketch was eighteen 
 years of age when he came with his parents to the 
 New World, setting sail from Plymouth August 
 3, and landing in Quebec after a voyage of nine 
 weeks. The family came directly to Rockford, 
 traveling via railroad, river, canal and Lakes to 
 Chicago, and from that city by way of the railroad 
 to Auntley Station, which was then tlie Western 
 terminus of the road. 
 
 On his arrival in Rockford, Mr. Johns engaged 
 with his brother in the butchering business, which 
 they carried on with signal success for fifteen 
 months, and at the expiration of that time began 
 farming with his father. He was thus employed 
 until his marriage, after which event he located on 
 a farm, which is his present place of residence, and 
 the improvements on which are among the best to 
 be found in the county. As before stated, Mr. 
 Johns' landed estate comprises five hundred and 
 fifty-six acres, all of which has been accumulated 
 by his persistent industry and good management. 
 
 Miss Ann Rodd was married to our subject in 
 1860; she was born in Beverly Township, Canada, 
 and was the daughter of Joseph and Mary A. 
 Rodd, natives of Pingland. To them have been 
 born eleven cliildren, namely: Ella R., Frederick 
 W., Fannie May, George Thomas, Lewis A., Charles 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 1241 
 
 E., Lucy M., Annie E., Edward J., Herbert J., and 
 Roy C. Mr. and Mrs. Johns are actiye members of 
 the Court Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and 
 in politics, our subject votes the straight Republi- 
 can ticke^. He is widely and favorably known 
 throughout this county, where he is ranked among 
 its wealthy and prominent residents. 
 
 WJAMES W. BRYDEN is a retired farmer 
 residing at No. 1021 Mulberry Street, 
 Rockford. He was born in Aj'rshire, 
 Scotland, Julj^ 22, 1830, and at the age 
 of eighteen years bade good-bye to home and 
 friends and came to America. He took passage 
 from Liverpool, England, and after a voyage of 
 seven weeks landed in New York City. He located 
 in Delaware County, New York State, and afterward 
 went to Scran ton. Pa., whence he came to Rock- 
 ford about 1856. Here he worked by the month 
 in order to make a payment on the first land which 
 he owned, a tract of sixty acres. He has been the 
 architect of his own fortune and has builded well. 
 Wheii he came to this county he was empty-handed, 
 but by his own efforts has acquired a handsome 
 competence. 
 
 During the late war, Mr. Bryden enlisted as a 
 teamster in the commissary department in the fall 
 of 1861, and aftei' two years of such service be- 
 came a member of Company G, Eleventh Illinois 
 Cavalry, in which he remained until the close of 
 the war, being then under command of Col. Funk, 
 of Peoria. He was ever faithful to his duty and 
 was a valiant soldier. For some time he lay sick 
 in the hospital and was once crippled by being 
 thrown from a horse, but otherwise escaped unin- 
 jured. He is proud of the fact, as well he may be, 
 tliat he aided his adopted land in her struggle to 
 preserve the Union, but having experienced the 
 privations and trials of army life, has no desire 
 again to see war. 
 
 Mr. Bryden was married in Beloit, Wis., to Miss 
 Olive L. Hallstead, who was born in Luzerne 
 County, Pa., May 23, 1846. When quite young, 
 her parents, Samuel L. and Maria (Capwell) Hall- 
 stead, removed to Brown County, N. Y., and she 
 
 was only six years of age when they came West, 
 locating in Harrison Township, Winnebago County, 
 where both lier father and mother are living. 
 There he improved a good farm where he still 
 makes his home, at the age of eighty-four years. 
 He served through the Rebellion as a faithful fol- 
 lower of the Stars and Stripes. His wife, who is a 
 member of the Methodist Church, is now seventy- 
 nine years of age. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mr. Bryden have been born five 
 children: Cora B., widow of Henry Barkley; Fairy 
 M., wife of Fred Gilmore,a farmer of Owen Town- 
 ship; William J., who wedded Nellie Still well and 
 operates his father's farm ; Minnie M., wife of Fred 
 Scoonmakers, (a resident farmer of Hai-lem Town- 
 ship, and M. Eveline, who resi'des at home. In 
 politics, Mr. Bryden is a stalwart Republican, 
 and socially, is a member of G. L. Nevius Post 
 No. 1, G. A. R., of Rockford. He came to this 
 city from his farm in 1891, and is now liv- 
 ing a retired life, enjoying the rest which he has 
 so truly earned and richly deserves. He still owns 
 one hundred acres of well-improved land in Owen 
 Township. 
 
 *==*^s* 
 
 _y 
 
 ■^S^- ANIEL SCOTT, who resides on section 19, 
 Guilford Township, is numbered among the 
 honored pioneers of Winnebago County, 
 few having longer resided in this community than 
 our subject. He well deserves representation in 
 this volume, as for many years lie has been identi- 
 fied with the history of the county, its progress 
 and its upbuilding. 
 
 Mr. Scott was born in the town of Machias, 
 Cattaraugus County, N. Y., and is a son of Reuben 
 C. and Anna (Johnson) Scott, a sketch of whom 
 is given in connection with that of Sylvester Scott, 
 on another page of this work. Daniel was a lad 
 of seven summers when with his parents he came 
 to Illinois. He well remembers the incidents of 
 the journey and of pioneer life here. At the time 
 of the settlement, all the land was owned by the 
 Government. The few settlers were living in log 
 houses, there were no railroads and no conven- 
 
1242 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 iences. The nearest market was Chicago, where 
 grain sold at fifty cents per bushel, and in some 
 eases men could not get enough for their farm 
 products to pay for hauling them such a distance. 
 Mr. Scott resided with his father until the latter's 
 death and is still living upon the old homestead, 
 which also includes the claim made by the mater- 
 nal grandfather. He aided in the arduous task of 
 developing a new farm, but now lias his reward in 
 the products of rich and fertile fields. In connec- 
 tion with this, he has erected good farm buildings 
 and has all the improvements and accessories 
 found upon a model farm of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury. 
 
 In July, 1848, Mr. Scott was united in marriage 
 with Miss Nanc^ J. Hayes, a native of Canada, 
 and a daughter of Samuel B. Hayes. Their union 
 has been blessed with two children: Luther, who is 
 living on the home farm, and Anna, now the wife 
 of Harlow B. Rowley. Their pleasant home is con- 
 veniently situated a mile and a quarter east of the 
 city limits and is the abode of hospitality. This 
 worthy couple are held in the highest regard 
 throughout the community where they have so 
 long made their home. In politics, Mr. Scott is a 
 Republican but has never been an office-seeker. 
 He is numbered among the honored pioneers and 
 has ever borne his part in tlie development and 
 advancement of the county's interests. 
 
 ^ 
 
 *^ 
 
 ■^AMES A. NEWMAN. Like many of the 
 prosperous and representative citizens of 
 ^^ Boone County, 111., our subject claims New 
 ^5^^ York as his native State, and was born in 
 Onondaga County on the 24th of April, 1824. He 
 enjoys the reputation of being one of the best 
 farmers in the township, and not only that, but he 
 is an intelligent and thoroughly posted man on 
 all public affairs. 
 
 His parents, John and Chloe (Atwell) Newman, 
 were natives of the Green Mountain State, but 
 the former died in New York State, and the latter in 
 Kenosha County, Wis. They were farmers all 
 their lives. Our subject's paternal grandfatlier, 
 Enos Newman, was a Vcrmonter by birth, but 
 
 passed the closing scenes of his life in the State of 
 New York, where he was one of the pioneers. On 
 the maternal side, onr subject's grandparents were 
 Joseph and Clarissa Atwell. Of the eight children 
 bom to John and Chloe Newman, only one be- 
 side our subject is now living, Uriah, who is now 
 ninety-one years of age. 
 
 Early trained to the duties of farm life, our 
 subject became familiar with its everj' detail, and 
 upon this training his success in subsequent j'ears 
 in a great measure depended. When eighteen 
 years of age, he worked out by the month, and 
 later rented land, and on the 10th of December, 
 1846, he wedded Miss Betsey Andrews. She was 
 born in New York State, and there died when only 
 twenty-eight years of age, leaving a bereaved and 
 desolate young husband. Two children were born 
 to this union, both sons: Lloyd, born in New York 
 State, married Miss Anna Rogers, and has a 
 daughter; he is now living in Chicago. John A., 
 born in the same State, married Miss Mary Green, 
 and has two children; he is a farmer. 
 
 Our subject's second marriage occurred on the 
 23d of February, 1850, to Miss Sarah A. Cook, a 
 native of Oswego County, N. Y., born December 
 10, 1825, and the daughter of Ransom and Dolly 
 (Ward) Cook. Her paternal grandfather, William 
 Cook,was a native of Connecticut, and came to New 
 York State at an early date. He lived to a good 
 old age. Her ancestors were Revolutionary sol- 
 diers, and our subject's maternal grandfather also 
 served in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Newman 
 was one of six children, and two are now living. 
 To our subject's second union was born one child, 
 Nellie L., a native of Kenoslia County, Wis. She 
 is now the wife of William G. Bennett, a promi- 
 nent business man, and is the mother of 'one child, 
 George N. 
 
 After his second union, or in 1852, Mr. Newman 
 moved to Kenosha County, Wis., and there made 
 his home until 1867, when he sold out and moved 
 to Waukegan, 111. Two years later, he moved to 
 his present farm, which consists of three hundred 
 acres, and on this he has made many and vast im- 
 provements in the way of buildings, fences, tiling, 
 etc. He is one of the most progressive and 
 thorough farmers of the township, as a glance over 
 
PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1243 
 
 his broad acres will show. He is a Republican, 
 with Prohibition proclivities, and his first Presi- 
 dential vote was cast in 1848, for President Tay- 
 lor. Mrs. Newman is a member of the Methodist 
 Church, and is also a member of the Woman's 
 Christian Temperance Union, in which she is 
 deeply interested. Both are highly esteemed in 
 the community, and are active in all good work. 
 
 kJ, RS. MARY MORGAN, widow of Mr. 
 11 1\\ Horace S. Morgan, is one of the most 
 I ii' active and intelligent women in Boone 
 ^ County, 111. She was born in Ontario 
 
 County, N. Y., in 1843, to the marriage of James 
 and Mariah (Bourne) Westrip, the former a native 
 of England, and the latter of Albany, N. Y. 
 
 The father came to "the land of the free" 
 when a young man, and was here married. Agri- 
 culture was his occupation in life, and in this 
 he met with substantial results, being ever very 
 industrious and progressive. In 1846, he brought 
 his family to Illinois, and settled on one hun- 
 dred and eight acres of Government land, where 
 he made his home until his death, in 1851, when 
 still a comparatively young man, being only 
 about thirty-eight years of age. He left his 
 widow and a son and four daughters, all living 
 but one daughter. His wife is still living, and 
 makes her home with our subject, Mrs. Morgan. 
 She is now seventy-seven years of age. Mrs. 
 Westrip was again married, the second time to Mr. 
 Philemon Degroff, of Steuben County, N. Y., born 
 in the year 1807. His first wife, Elizabeth Mass, 
 of the same place, died in 1866, leaving five chil- 
 dren. 
 
 She of whom we write attained her growth in 
 Boone County, 111., for she was only about three 
 years of age when she was brought to this county, 
 and here received her education. Her marriage 
 took place in Beloit, Wis., in 1873, to Mr. Horace 
 S. Morgan, who was one of the successful farmers 
 of this part of the county. Mrs. Morgan had made 
 her home with the family of Mr. Morgan for two 
 years prior to her marriage, and afterwards she 
 and her husband began the struggle of life on 
 
 their own responsibility. They were favored 
 with success, and became prominently identified 
 with the agricultural interests of the county. Mr. 
 Morgan was ever public-spirited and upright, and 
 in his death, which occurred in 1884, when sev- 
 enty-two years of age, Boone County lost one of 
 its representative citizens. 
 
 Mrs. Morgan 's marriage was blessed by the birth 
 of two children: EudellaM., born in October, 1874, 
 and Wesley H., April 4, 1884. Both of her chil- 
 dren have received good educational advantages, 
 and she has trained them to be intelligent and in- 
 dependent m thought and action. The daughter 
 has taken several terms of music lessons, and 
 promises to be a fine musician. Mrs. Morgan has 
 eighty acres of good tillable land, but rents the 
 farm out. Her brother, James Westrip, is engaged 
 in tilling the soil on the old homestead in Roscoe 
 Township. 
 
 VICTOR ENGSTROM. The firm of Eng- 
 strom & Hall was organized March 1, 1888, 
 and has since been conducting a very suc- 
 cessful business at No. 324 East State Street, Rock- 
 ford. Their stock consists of a full line of 
 dry goods, the special t}' being fine dress-goods 
 and cloaks, and through courtesy and fair deal-, 
 ings all the members of the firm have become 
 widel}' and favorably known. Their place is one 
 of the oldest dry-goods houses in the city, having 
 formerly been occupied by L. Moulthrop. 
 
 When Mr. Engstrom located in Rockford in 1883, 
 he at once became connected with George H. Den- 
 nett as a clerk in a dry-goods store of the latter- 
 named gentleman and was continuously in his em- 
 ploy until March 1, 1888, when he formed his 
 present partnership. An active and energetic 
 young gentleman, with excellent judgment and 
 progressive ideas, he has gained success through 
 his unaided exertions. 
 
 Born in Malta, this State, October 2, 1865, our 
 subject is the son of A. F. Engstrom (of whom see 
 biography), and is one of the five children of the 
 parental family. He was married in Rockford to 
 Miss Florence Beatty, who was born in Waukegan, 
 
1244 
 
 i-ORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Wis., and reared in Rockford, receiving her educa- 
 tion in the female seminary here. She has the 
 rare gift of a voice of exceeding sweetness and 
 purity, and is an active member of the Mendels- 
 sohn Club, a popular ladies' society, well known 
 for musical ability. Her father, Rev. Robert 
 Beatty, was for many years a minister in the Meth- 
 odist Church, and with his wife, whose maiden 
 name was Harriet Smith, is still living in Rockford. 
 In their religious connections, Mr. and Mrs. Eng- 
 stroin are members of the Centennial Methodist 
 Episcopal Churcli of this city. In politics, he is 
 an active adherent to the principles of the Repub- 
 lican party. 
 
 AMUEL BATES. Among the prosperous 
 enterprises in Capron, Boone County, 111., 
 is that of Samuel Bates, dealer in farm 
 machinery. Mr. Bates is a thoroughly prac- 
 tical, energetic man has been a resident of this 
 county all his life, and is highly esteemed in all 
 circles. 
 
 He was born in Boone Township Boone Coun- 
 ty, of this State, in about the first log house 
 erected in this section, May 6, 1848, and here he 
 grew to manhood and received his education. He 
 is a son of Isaac and Phoebe T. (Tongue) Bates. 
 (See sketch.) Until about sixteen years of age, 
 our subject remained under the parental roof and 
 assisted his father in the management of the 
 farm. Not being particularly fascinated with the 
 arduous duties devolving upon him while tilling 
 the soil, he went to Beloit and began learning the 
 blacksmith's trade, which he continued about six 
 months. From there he went to South Bend, 
 Ind., and was engaged in following his trade there 
 for about five years, after which he located in 
 Iowa. In both places he was very successful, and 
 being a skilled workman and a reliable and 
 straightforward business man he met with encour- 
 agement on every side. 
 
 At the end of one year in Moingona of the lat- 
 ter State, our subject returned to South Bend and 
 followed his trade there for two years, after which. 
 
 in 1869, he located in Capron in the county where 
 he first saw the light of day, and here he has re- 
 mained ever since. He followed his trade in this 
 county and town until 1887, when he sold out 
 his business, and since then has been engaged as a 
 dealer in farm machinery. Although but a short 
 time has elapsed since Mr. Bates embarked in his 
 present business, he has built up a most valuable 
 trade and is prominently identified with the busi- 
 ness interests of the place. 
 
 On the 27lh of December, 1870, he was married 
 to ISIiss Jennie Willott, who was bom near Bir- 
 mingham, England, on the 4th of November, 1851, 
 and whose parents are Joseph and Maria (Geth- 
 ing) Willott, natives also of England. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Willott came to the United States in 1867 
 and settled in Indiana, where Mr. Willott engaged 
 as a mechanic. He is now manufacturing edged 
 tools at Manitowoc, Wis., and is a prosperous and 
 successful business man. 
 
 Our subject settled in Capron directly after his 
 marriage. His union has been blessed by the 
 birth of two children: Myrtle A. M., born here 
 April 15, 1874, and Vivian S., born December 27, 
 1884. This is one of the pleasantest home in 
 Boone County, and the domestic happiness found 
 in this family circle makes a bright spot and is 
 promotive of much true sociability. Mr. Bates is 
 a Republican in politics, and his first Presidential 
 vote was for U. S. Grant. He has held many local 
 offices in the township, has been Supervisor since 
 1882 and has been a member of the School Board 
 for some time. Mrs. Bates is a refined and cul- 
 tured lady. 
 
 I h a 1 1 » r i y t | i hM I ^ 
 
 ■^ IrILLIAM lee. The pioneers of Boone 
 \^// County are a class of men who for sturdy 
 W^ integrity, thorough-going industry and 
 undaunted enterprise, will compare favorably with 
 any class of men whom we may name. They did 
 not come to the West with the expectation of find- 
 ing a royal road to fortune, but they did hope, 
 however, and their hopes have been realized, to 
 make a home m the wilderness, where they might 
 place the feet of their children on the high road 
 to independence and a comfortable competency. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1245 
 
 Our subject, who is one of the oldest residents 
 in the county, is residing on section 33, Flora 
 Township. He was born in Burns ide Township, 
 Clearfleld County, Pa., December 3, 1823. His 
 father, William Lee, was born in Centre County, 
 that State, whei-e also the grandfather, Jacob, as 
 far as is known, was born and reared. The latter- 
 named gentleman removed to Clearfleld County, 
 where he purchased a tract of timber land and re- 
 sided until his decease. The maiden name of his 
 wife was Margaret Goodwin. 
 
 The father of our subject was a young man 
 when he went to Clearfield County and was there 
 married. He became the owner of a tract of land 
 in Burnside Township, on which he erected a log 
 house and resided for a number of years. There 
 were no railroads in the vicinity of his home at 
 that time, and the farmers lived principally off 
 the products of their farm. In 1844, the elder Mr. 
 Lee, with his family, came to Illinois, making the 
 entire journey with teams, and after three weeks 
 and three days landed in Ogle County. There 
 they remained a few weeks and then came to Flora 
 Township, where the father of our subject entered 
 a tract of Government land, now included in the 
 estate, which our subject occupies. There was a 
 log cabin on the property, and this the family oc- 
 cupied for a few years, when a substantial resi- 
 dence was erected. There Mr. Lee departed this 
 life in 1860, while his wife, prior to her marriage 
 Miss Jane R. Gallaher, died while residing in 
 Clearfleld County, Pa. She was a daughter of 
 James and Margaret Gallaher and was a native of 
 the Keystone State. 
 
 William Lee was twenty years of age when he 
 came to Illinois, and has since that time been an 
 occupant of the home farm. His estate includes a 
 quarter section, while in DeKalb County he is the 
 owner of forty acres of land which bears good im- 
 provements. In November, 1843, he was married 
 to Rebecca McKee, who was born June 18, 1822, 
 in Blair County', Pa., and to them have been born 
 eight children, four living: Thomas M., Joseph B., 
 Millard E. and Mary C. Mrs.* Lee departed this 
 life, April 7, 1863, and the lady to whom our subject 
 was united in marriage in 1865 was Harriet Tay- 
 lor, a native of Noble County, Ohio. Three chil- 
 
 dren were born unto them: Emery U., Lillie and 
 Oscar E. The mother died in August, 1889, and 
 in February, 1891, Mr. Lee married Rosetta Per- 
 rin, also a native of the Buckej'e State. In politi- 
 cal matters, Mr. Lee votes with the Republican 
 party. 
 
 ::5o 
 
 JOANNA WELLINGTON, a most estimable 
 lady, and the widow of Sparoc Wellingtonj 
 was born in Canada in the year 1808, to the 
 union of Joseph and Jane (Chrisholm) 
 Silverthorne, the latter a native of Canada and the 
 former of the United States, although he was taken 
 to Canada when but two years of age. 
 
 Our subject passed her girlhood and youth in 
 her native country, and was married in Toronto 
 in 1830, when twenty-two years of age, to Mr. 
 Sparoc Wellington, who was just twenty-seven 
 years of age. In 1838, they determined to try 
 the fertile and productive prairies of Illinois, and 
 took passage on a vessel, coming by the Lakes to 
 Chicago. From that city they came by team to 
 Ogle County, and without means, and with a family 
 of three children, settled in Ogle County. All the 
 privations incident to pioneer life they experienced 
 in their new home, and Mr. Wellington was en- 
 gaged as a tanner, currier, harness-maker and shoe- 
 maker, also farming in that county for flve years. 
 From there they removed to De Kalb County, and 
 there resided until 1854, when they came to Man- 
 chester, Boone County. When they came to Ogle 
 County from Canada, the notorious bandit, Dave 
 Driscol, shot and killed John Campbell, who had 
 come with them and had resided in the same house 
 for some time. Mr. Campbell was Captain of the Re- 
 gulators at the time of his death. Mr. Wellington 
 took his first load of wheat from Ogle County in 
 1838, and received sixty cents a bushel in Chicago. 
 He exchanged it for groceries, etc. Later, he took 
 a load of fresh pork, and sold it for $1 per hun- 
 dred pounds, and after paying his expenses on the 
 trip, did not have enough left to pay his man for 
 one month's work. 
 
 The union of our subject and his wife was 
 blessed by the birth of ten children, seven sons 
 
1246 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and three daughters, five now deceased. Samuel 
 B. Wellington enlisted the first year of the war, 
 in Company B, Fifteenth Illinois Infantiy, under 
 Capt. Haywood, and served nearly three years. 
 He died with fever in the hospital at St. Louis, 
 July 27, 1863, aged twenty-three years; Sparoc 
 died January 6, 1892, aged thirty-six j-ears. 
 The living children are as follows: Thomas S.. a 
 farmer of Nebraska, married, and has seven chil- 
 dren; William L. M., a ranchman of Colorado, has 
 a wife and two children; Quincy Joseph, a book- 
 merchant at Colorado Springs, is married and has 
 one child; Jane married Mr. Orris Knox, a con- 
 tractor and builder of Los Angeles, Cal.; and 
 Frances, resides with her mother. 
 
 The father of these children was a hard-work- 
 ing, industrious citizen, and a man well liked and 
 respected wherever he made his home. He was 
 prominently identified with all movements re- 
 garded as worthy of consideration, and was a 
 prominent member of the Methodist Church, in 
 which he was a liberal contributor. In politics, he 
 was a strong advocate and supporter of the prin- 
 ciples of the Republican party. His death occurred 
 in 1878, when seventy-five years of age. He left 
 an estate of eightj' acres, and property at Cale- 
 donia, and deeded eighty acres to his son, William 
 L. M. He now rests with his departed children in 
 Roscoe Cemetery. Mrs. Wellington is one of the 
 pleasant, agreeable old ladies of the county, and 
 is esteemed and respected by everj'one. She enjoys 
 good health, and her mind is clear and bright as in 
 her best days. 
 
 ford, which is charmingly located on a rise 
 of ground which commands an extended 
 view up and down the river. It is in fact one of 
 the most pleasant homes in Winnebago County, 
 and our subject has brought it to its present con- 
 dition, as when he located here there were but few 
 improvements on the place. He is one of the pio- 
 neers of the count3' and has given the best efforts 
 
 of his life to agricultural pursuits, and, as a reward 
 of his industry, has a splendid estate in Rockford 
 Township. 
 
 Born February 3, 1820, in Peterboro, Hillsboro 
 County, N. H., our subject is a son of James and 
 Sarah M. Cunningham. (See sketch of Samuel 
 Cunningham.) Benjamin F. resided in his native 
 town until 1839, when he came to Illinois, start- 
 ing in the month of April and arriving in Win- 
 nebago County when Rockford contained only 
 a few buildings, the most of them constructed 
 of logs. Our subject joined his brother, Isaac N. 
 Cunningham, who resided on a claim about one mile 
 west of the town, and made his home with him 
 for a twelvemonth, when he returned to the pa- 
 rental roof and remained until two years after his 
 marriage. Mr. Cunningham then settled on his 
 farm on section 6, which he sold in 1850, and the 
 succeeding year lived on his brother's farm, dur- 
 ing which time he purchased property in what is 
 now Winnebago Township. Residing there for a 
 period of three years, our subject on account of 
 failing health moved into the city and in 1858 
 went to California via the Isthmus, the journey 
 consuming twenty-eight days from New York to 
 San Francisco. The first year, he was unable to 
 do any kind of work, and when partially regaining 
 his health, engaged in teaming from Sacramento to 
 the mines, a distance of about one hundred miles. 
 Mr. Cunningham remained in the Golden State 
 two years, and, on returning to Illinois, made 
 his home for a year in Rockford, then traded 
 his property for a farm near Pecatonica, and was 
 there engaged in cultivating the soil until the 
 spring of 1868, when he sold out and spent a few 
 months in Rockford. The following year he lo- 
 cated on the farm where he at present resides. In 
 1870, he made a second trip to California in search 
 of health, and returned a year later, somewhat im- 
 proved, but the climate here not agreeing with him, 
 in the fall of 1873 he again went West and resided 
 for six years. 
 
 March 14, 1844, the original of this sketch was 
 married to Clarissa J. Mandeville, who was born 
 in Somerset, Cayuga County, N. Y., April 1, 1822. 
 Pier father, Michael Mandeville, was a native of 
 the same count}', where his father, Jacob Mande- 
 
JfORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1247 
 
 ville, as far as is known, was also born. The 
 grandfather was a farmer and spent his last years 
 in the town of Sennett. The father of Mrs Cun- 
 ningham was married in his native State, and re- 
 sided in Cayuga County until 1824, when he re- 
 moved to Genesee County and purchased a tract 
 of timber land on a small clearing, where he made 
 his home for two years. Going to Darien, Mr. 
 Mandeville purchased property and operated a 
 gristmill, tannery and shoe factory. He lived 
 there until 1839 and then came to Illinois, being 
 accompanied by his wife and Ave children. The 
 father rented a farm one year near Rockford, then 
 bought a tract of land in the same township, on 
 which he erected a log house and lived until the 
 spring of 1841. Later removing to Rockford, he 
 lived retired until his decease. His wife, prior to 
 her marriage, was Elsie Corey, a native of Sennett, 
 N. Y., and the daughter of James and Sarah Corej'; 
 her decease occurred in Rockford. 
 
 One daughter, Jennie E., has been born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Cunningham and makes her home with 
 her parents at the present writing. 
 
 -=]. 
 
 l^+^i 
 
 ~s] 
 
 eHRIST ORTLUND. The firm of Ortlund 
 Bros, are proprietors of the Seventh Street 
 Laundry, which was established December 
 1, 1891, and has since carried on a large and suc- 
 cessful business. The members of the firm, our 
 subject and G. A., are also contractors and builders 
 of artificial stone pavements and sidewalks, an 
 enterprise which since its inception in April, 1890, 
 lias steadily increased in magnitude and impor- 
 tance. 
 
 Prior to coming to Rockford, Mr. Ortlund re- 
 sided for four years in Evanston, this State, where 
 he located immediately after emigrating to the 
 United States in 1886. He was born in Sweden, a 
 country which has furnished a large number of en- 
 terprising and successful citizens to the city of 
 Rockford, and in his native land received a com- 
 mon-school education. His parents, Andrew and 
 Augusta (Olsen) Ortlund, recently came to the 
 United States and now reside in Evanston, 111., 
 the father being seventy-two and the mother 
 58 
 
 fifty-nine years old. They are members of the 
 Swedish Lutheran Church, and are people of worth 
 and many generous impulses. Our subject takes 
 an active interest in the public enterprises of Rock- 
 ford and although he has resided here only a few 
 years, is already widely known and honored. 
 
 
 "A 
 
 ]f^ ELOS H. DENTON, dealer in sand, stone 
 I jjj and rubble, and a prominent business man 
 f^^!^ of Rockford, was born in Durand Town- 
 ship, Winnebago, County, July 31, 1840. 
 He was the only son born to his parents (for 
 further information in regard to whose history the 
 reader is referred to the sketch of Homer Denten). 
 When a mere child, he accompanied his parents to 
 Rockford, where he was reared and educated, and 
 has since made his home. Until recent years, he 
 has been engaged in farming pursuits, but now de- 
 votes his attention to the business above-mentioned, 
 in connection with which he has large real-estate 
 interests. 
 
 In 1861, Mr. Denton enlisted in Company D, 
 Eleventli Illinois Infantry, responding to the first 
 call for men to serve three years. Much of the 
 time he served in the Quartermasteris Department, 
 and was with his regiment at Ft. Henry, Ft. Donel- 
 son, Shiloh and Vicksburg. On account of disabil- 
 ity, he was honorably discharged, and, returning 
 home, commenced again the pursuits of peace. 
 
 The lady who became the wife of our subject 
 was born and reared in Canada, and came to Rock- 
 ford with her parents, who were natives of Canada, 
 of English parentage. Her mother still lives in 
 Rockford, being quite aged, but the father is de- 
 ceased. Mrs. Denton died in the prime of life, 
 leaving one child, Marj', now the wife of Ellsworth 
 Lockwood, the proprietor of the Central Book 
 Store at Rockford. 
 
 The second marriage of Mr. Denton united him 
 to Miss Ann Lambert, who was born in Prince Ed- 
 ward Island, and accompanied her parents, Henry 
 and Betty Lambert, to the States in childhood days. 
 Mr. Lambert served in the English army for about 
 seven years. He and his wife were born, reared 
 
1248 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and married in London, England, and now reside 
 in Rockford, being quite advanced in years. Mrs. 
 Ann Denton died at her home in this city in 1886, 
 when about thirty-six years old. She was a good 
 wife, devoted mother and kind neighbor. Her 
 children were named Minnie B., William, Nellie, 
 Hattie and Cora, respectively. All of them are at 
 home, and are being educated in the schools of 
 Rockford. 
 
 4^ 
 
 r^^T'RANK E. ZAHM is one of the enterprising 
 l-Hgj; young farmers of Winnebago County, and 
 li, operates a finel3^-improved farm in Shirland 
 Township. Having passed his entire life within 
 the limits of the township where he now resides, he 
 is well known by his fellow-citizens, among whom 
 he occupies a prominent place. In connection with 
 general farming, he is interested in stock-raising 
 and usually keeps a large number of horses, cattle 
 and hogs on the place. He has introduced modern 
 machinery and every improvement which will 
 conduce to success in his chosen occupation, and 
 through good judgment and excellent manage- 
 ment has become known as a prosperous and thrifty 
 farmer. 
 
 The father ,of Mr. Zahm, Nicholas by name, was 
 born in the Province of Lorraine (now included 
 in Germany, but formerly owned by France), No- 
 vember 15, 1815. He was a son of Jacob Zahm, a 
 native of the same place, and born of German an- 
 cestry. In 1828, Grandfather Zahm emigrated to 
 the United States, and carried on farming opera- 
 tions until he was too old to engage in active la- 
 bor. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Shirland 
 Township, April 22, 1856, and was the seventh in 
 order of birth among a family of eight children, 
 five sons and three daughters. On the farm which 
 his father bought and located upon shortly before 
 the railroad was built there, he grew to manhood, 
 receiving a common-school education. In October, 
 1881, he was married to Miss Mary, daughter of 
 Williston and Margaret (Miller) Beckham. Her fa- 
 ther was born in Pennsylvania, in 1835, and her 
 mother was a native of Vermont, born in October, 
 
 1840. They were married in Beloit, December 24, 
 1857, and became the parents of four children, 
 namely: Frank, who died in infancy; Mary, who 
 was born at the old homestead in Shirland Town- 
 ship, December 1, 1860; William, who married Ma- 
 bel Herrick, of Beloit; and Lewis, whose home is 
 in Rockford. Two children have been born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Zahm: Ethel B.,born March 31, 1884, 
 and Williston, a very bright and precocious child 
 of three years. In his political affiliations, Mr. 
 Zahm has identified himself with the Republican 
 party, believing its principles best adapted to the 
 welfare of the people. 
 
 OSCAR DAY. Having accumulated a com- 
 petence through the exercise of good judg- 
 Njg^ ment and tireless perseverance as a farmer, 
 Mr. Day is passing his declining years quietly at 
 his home in Rockford. He was born of English 
 descent, in the town of Essex, Chittenden County, 
 Vt., March 28, 1828. From the family genealogy 
 we glean the following: The first ancestor in this 
 county, Daniel Day, came to America in 1634, and 
 settled in Newtown, near Cambridge, Mass. He was 
 probably one of the company of one hundred pio- 
 neers who, with their pastor, the Rev. Mr. Hooker, 
 penetrated the wilderness in 1636, and founded 
 homes for themselves amid uninviting surround- 
 ings. 
 
 The second wife of Daniel Day was Editha 
 Stebbins, or Stebbing, a sister of Deacon Edward 
 Stebbing. From them the lineage is traced down 
 through successive generations to Thomas Day, the 
 great-great-great grandfather of our subject, and 
 the son of Robert and Sarah (Cooper) Day. The first 
 of the family to settle in Vermont was the great- 
 grandfather, John Day, Jr., son of John Day, Sr., 
 and he resided in the town of Essex until his death 
 in June, 1795, at the age of sixty-three years. He 
 was born in Springfield, Mass., July 5, 1698, and 
 was a man of note in his community. 
 
 Grandfather David Day was born in West Spring- 
 field, Mass., May 2, 1758, and was a farmer by oc- 
 cupation, clearing from the wilderness of the town 
 of Essex a farm which was his home until death. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1249 
 
 He served through the entire period of the Revo- 
 lutionary War, and was a pensioner during the lat- 
 ter part of his life, receiving $120 per year. The 
 maiden name of liis wife, grandmother of our 
 subject, was Aseneth Childs, and her declining 
 years were passed on the old homestead at Essex. 
 
 Childs Day, father of our subject, was born in Es- 
 sex, Vt., March 29, 1794, and was reared to agricul- 
 tural pursuits, spending his entire life in the place 
 of his birth. In-his youth there were no railroads, 
 and he was accustomed to team between Montreal 
 and Boston, the two principal markets of New 
 England. His last j'ears were quietly passed on a 
 farm which he purchased in the vicinity of his old 
 home. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and 
 a man of patriotic character and generous impulses, 
 whose position in the community was one of honor 
 and trust. 
 
 The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
 was Mahala Collins, was born in Lebanon, N. IL, 
 the daughter of Henry and Fanny (Aldrich) Col- 
 lins. She was an estimable lady, devoted to her 
 husband and children, and sincerely mourned when 
 she passed away at the old home in Essex. Oscar 
 Day was reared and educated in his native town, 
 and resided with his parents until 1848, when he 
 proceeded West to Buffalo, N. Y., and worked at 
 the trade of a carpenter for three years. In 1851, 
 he went to California via the Isthmus of Panama, 
 and landed at San Francisco, then a village of 
 about four thousand inhabitants. Seventy miles 
 distant were the mines of Eldorado, where he en- 
 gaged in mining until 1856, and then returned 
 home by the Isthmus and New York. 
 
 In June, 1856, Mr. Day came to Winnebago 
 County, where he bought one hundred and sixty 
 acres in Winnebago Township and resided until 
 1865. His next purchase was the farm he now oc- 
 cupies, which joins that portion of Rockford known 
 as the Seminary Tract. Thirty acres of the estate 
 have been laid out in city lots, while the value of 
 the place has been materially increased by its prox- 
 imity to the growing city. 
 
 The marriage of' Mr. Day, in October, 1857, 
 united him with Susan P. Mills, who was born in 
 Cayuga County, N. Y. Her father, David Mills, was 
 born in Albany County, N. Y., and her grandfather, 
 
 Abram Mills, was a native of the same county, and 
 spent his entire life in New York State. Grand- 
 mother Day was known in maidenhood as Mary 
 Foster, and was born in Ireland, of Scotch ances- 
 try. David Mills, after his marriage, which oc- 
 curred in Weedsport, N. Y., remained there for a 
 time and then removed to Winnebago County, 
 where he bought a farm in Winnebago Township 
 and resided a number of years. Then retiring to 
 Rockford, he lived quietly until called hence. His 
 wife, Parmelia (Bayless) Mills, was born in Cayuga 
 County, N. Y., the daughter of Aaron and Lydia 
 (Edmiston) Bayless, natives of New York. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Day attend tbe Congregational Church 
 at Rockford, and are active in works of philan- 
 throphy and benevolence. In political matters, he 
 is a Republican, and takes an intelligent interest 
 in all the public issues of the day. 
 
 ^m'i^^^M^^ 
 
 ] OHN A. JAMES. Among the pushing, en- 
 ergetic and successful agriculturists of 
 Manchester Township, Boone County, is 
 the subject of this biographical notice. He 
 was born in Genesee Township, Waukesha 
 County, Wis., in 1850, and is a son of Charles 
 James, a native of Wales, who came to America 
 about 1845. The mother of our subject, prior to 
 her marriage, was Miss Esther Edwards, also a na- 
 tive of Wales; she died in 1852, when twenty- 
 nine years of age, leaving two sons, our subject, 
 and an elder brother, Charles. 
 
 The original of this sketch was reared to farm- 
 ing pursuits, and March 23, 1881, was married to 
 Miss Charlotte M., daughter of Samuel and Ann 
 (Mason) Pye, both of whom were natives of Eng- 
 land. The mother came to America in 1840, 
 being preceded to the New World by her husband, 
 who set sail from his native land in 1836. He 
 remained at Geneva, N. Y., until 1840, when, in 
 the spring of that year, he came to Rockford, and 
 the same year bought a quarter-section of Govern- 
 ment land in Manchester Township, Boone 
 County. He was married here June 2, 1844, to 
 Ann Mason. Her father died in this township in 
 1843, when forty-three years of age, and the 
 
1250 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mother when in her sixty-eighth year, in 1859. 
 They were inn-keepers in England. They also 
 owned a farm of one hundred and eighty-seven 
 acres of land in Manchester Township. They were 
 married in 1821, and at their death left a family 
 of five children. Tliey came to Kockford in 1840. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Pye located in Boone County, Oc- 
 tober 31, 1844, where the father erected the second 
 frame house in this vicinity, which is still stand- 
 ing. He was reared to farm life, which occupa- 
 tion he followed until his death. Their seven 
 children bore the respective names of Joseph, 
 Sarah Ann, Joseph Samuel, Charlotte M., Idella 
 Gertrude, May Adelia and Alice Eva. Mrs. Pye 
 departed this life September 26, 1877, aged sixty- 
 two j'ears. Her husband survived her a number 
 of years, dying April 15, 1891, in his eighty-first 
 year. He left an estate of one hundred and sixty 
 acres, which was well cultivated, improved with 
 good buildings, and well stocked. Mr. Pye was 
 not interested in politics other than to cast a Re- 
 publican vote during elections. 
 
 "il'AMES SUNDQUIST is a cabinet-maker in 
 the employ of the Palace Folding Bed 
 Company, also Superintendent, and resides 
 ^_^ at No. 202 Seventh Street. A native of 
 Sweden, he was born on the 11th of April, 1841. 
 His father, Hans P. Sundquist, lived and died a 
 farmer in his native province, passing away at the 
 age of eighty years. His wife died seven years 
 previous, when about sixty years of age. Her 
 maiden name was Sarah K. Larson. This worthy 
 couple were both members of the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 Our subject spent the days of his boj^hood and 
 youth in the land of his birth, and when quite 
 young began learning the cabinet-maker's trade. 
 Since that time, he has made his own way in the 
 world. At length, he determined to try his for- 
 tune in America. A younger brother, Andrew, 
 had already come to this country, in 1867. He 
 married Miss Katie Larson, and is now a successful 
 furniture dealer of Toulon, Stark County, 111. 
 
 Mr. Sundquist, whose name heads this sketch, 
 was united in marriage with Lena Anderson, a na- 
 tive of this country, born in Durand on the 9th 
 of December, 1856. She was here reared and ed- 
 ucated, her parents being Seavert and Maria An- 
 derson, both of whom were natives of Norway. 
 After their marriage and the birth of three of 
 Iheir children, they emigrated to this country, be- 
 coming residents of Rockford, but later removed 
 to Durand, where they spent the remainder of 
 their lives. Mr. Anderson was a jeweler by trade, 
 but in this country followed various employments. 
 His death occurred at the advanced age of eighty- 
 one jrears, and his wife passed away at the age of 
 seventy-seven. He was a supporter of Republican 
 principles, and both were members of the Lutheran 
 Church. Three children of the familj' are yet 
 living: Martin A., a painter of Durand; Sophia, 
 wife of Louis Blomquist, a tailor of Rockford; and 
 the wife of our subject. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sundquist were born five 
 children, four of whom are yet living: Edith F., 
 Oscar E., Chester R. and James L. One daughter, 
 Lorena F., died in infancy. The family is well 
 and favorably known throughout this community. 
 Mr. Sundquist is an expert workman, able to com- 
 mand excellent positions. After coming to this 
 country, he resided for four years in Galesburg 
 and Chicago, and on the 23d of September, 1872, 
 arrived in Rockford. He has prospered since 
 coming to this city, and is now the owner of some 
 good property, and is interested in some of the 
 manufacturing companies of this city. 
 
 ^ SAAC N. SHIPE deserves mention among the 
 I prominent farmers of Cherry Valley Township, 
 /ll Winnegago County. He was born in Cul- 
 peper, Va., April 3, 1842, and is a son of Abraham 
 and Eliza (Reiley) Shipe, both of whom were Vir- 
 ginians by birth. His paternal grandfather was a 
 native of Pennsylvania, and when young emi- 
 grated to the Old Dominion, settling in Howes- 
 ville. He married Miss Windham, a native of 
 that State, whose ancestors were leading men of 
 the community. Col. Windham, of military fame, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 1251 
 
 was her brother. They reared a family of seven 
 sons and four daughters, one of whom, Isaac, was 
 the twin brother of the father of our subject. 
 
 Abraham Shipe married Miss Reiley, daughter of 
 John Reiley. Her father was born in Virginia and 
 was the son of John Reiley, of Revolutionary fame. 
 Mrs. Shipe was first married to William Green, and 
 unto them were born three sons and a daughter, 
 all of whom are yet living and are heads of fami- 
 lies. Bj' her second marriage, she had fourteen 
 children, four of whom died in early childhood, 
 but five sons and five daughters still abide. The 
 mother has thus had eighteen children. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Shipe removed from Virginia to Washington 
 County, Ohio, when our subject was a lad of four- 
 teen years, and there resided until the spring of 
 1866, when they came to Winnebago County, 111., 
 with their family. In the fall of 1866, they made 
 a settlement on section 19, Cherry Valley Town- 
 ship. The father died on Thanksgiving Day of 
 1878, and his remains were interred in the burial 
 ground near the Starkey Schoolhouse. The mother 
 is still living at the age of seventy-seven years 
 and makes her home in Flora, Boone County. 
 
 No event of special importance occurred during 
 the boyhood of our subject, which was spent under 
 the parental roof, but in November, 1861, in Ohio, 
 he enlisted in his country's service, and with a 
 brother and three half-brothers went to the front. 
 This was a large number for one mother to give 
 to her country, but all were spared to her and re- 
 turned uninjured. Mr. Shipe was a prisoner of 
 war for some time, being held at Charleston, S. C, 
 Castle Thunder, and at Richmond, where he was 
 parolled in March, 1865. His average weight was 
 one hundred and sixty pounds, but when he came 
 out of prison he weighed ninety-three pounds. He 
 now receives a pension of $6 per month in recogni- 
 tion of his services. He proved a faithful soldier, 
 was ever at his post of duty, and of his war record 
 he need never be ashamed. 
 
 In October, 1872, Mr. Shipe married Miss Kate 
 Hall, daughter of Thomas and Flora A. (Hunter) 
 Hall, both of whom were natives of Belfast, Ire- 
 land, who emigrated to Canada in the spring of 
 1842, whence they came to Winnebago County, 
 111., eight years later. Of their twelve chil- 
 
 dren, all grew to mature years, and only four 
 have been called to their final rest. The father 
 died April 19, 1856, and the mother is still living 
 at the age of eighty-one years, her home being 
 with her daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Shipe have one 
 child, Nellie, a maiden of sixteen summers, who is 
 attending the High School of Rockford. The fam- 
 ily have many friends throughout this community 
 and rank high in the circles of society in which 
 they move. In his political atflliations, Mr. Shipe 
 is a Republican. He is held in high regard by all 
 who know him and is recognized as a progressive 
 farmer and valued citizen of the community. 
 
 \\ OSEPH J. BRANTINGHAM. The publish- 
 ers of this volume would fail in their ob- 
 ject of presenting to their readers a review 
 of the lives of the prominent citizens of the 
 county were they to omit that of our subject, 
 formerly one of the influential business men of 
 Rockford, where he was a capitalist, money broker 
 nnd real-estate dealer, and was largely interested in 
 property in Chicago. He died in New York City, 
 August 5, 1891, while on a pleasure trip through 
 the East and his remains were brought home for 
 interment in the cemetery of this city. 
 
 He of whom we write was born in or near New 
 York City, October 28, 1834, and received an ex- 
 cellent education in his native place and in the 
 business college of Chicago, having come West 
 with his parents in 1865. Later, he removed to 
 this county, where he occupied a high rank among 
 its wealthy citizens and resided until his decease. 
 He was not interested in political affairs other 
 than to cast a Republican vote at election times. 
 The lady to whom he was married in Rockford 
 bore the name of Miss Ada Brice, and had her 
 birth in Washington, Pa. She was an infant of 
 two years when her parents came to the city, and 
 received an excellent education in the public 
 schools. Her fatiier, Capt. James Brice, was also a 
 native of the Keystone State, where he owned and 
 operated a foundry in Washington. Disposing of 
 his interests there in the latter part of the '40s, he 
 came to this section and here resided until a few 
 
1252 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL EECORD= 
 
 years prior to his decease, which occurred in 1887, 
 at the advanced age of eighty-eight j'ears. He 
 was in no sense of the word an office-seeker, pre- 
 ferring tlie quiet and happiness of liis fireside to 
 the turmoil of public life, but always voted with 
 the Eepublican party. 
 
 During the late Civil "War, Mr. Brice raised Com- 
 pany H, Ninety-second Illinois Infantry, at Eo- 
 chelle, of which he was elected Captain, and went 
 with his regiment to the South, where he was en- 
 gaged in fighting for two years. At the expira- 
 tion of that time, he received his honorable dis- 
 charge on account of physical disability and re- 
 turned home. During his entire service, he escaped 
 accident, although he was in many hard-fought 
 ougfigements, and at one time was offered a Col- 
 onel's commission, but declined to accept the honor. 
 He was an active worker in the Grand Army of 
 the Eepublic and his life record was such as to com- 
 mend him to the respect and esteem of the entire 
 community. 
 
 The maiden name of Mrs. Brantingham's mother 
 was Miss Anna Miller; she was a native < f Pennsyl- 
 vania, and died when her daughter was an infant 
 of two years. The lady whom Mr. Brice chose for 
 his second wife is still surviving and makes her 
 home in Tama, Iowa. To our subject and his wife 
 have been born four children, who have been given 
 good educations and fitted to fill honorable sta- 
 tions in life. 
 
 OETON W. SEEGENT. The highly culti- 
 vated farm owned and operated by Mr. 
 Sergent comprises one hundred and forty 
 acres on section 34, Flora Township, and is 
 numbered among the best estates in Boone County. 
 Since the present proprietor purchased the place 
 in 1869, he has devoted his attention closely to its 
 improvement, and has not only brought the soil to 
 a high state of cultivation, but has erected a first- 
 class set' of farm buildings. 
 
 The Sergent family originated in England, 
 whence the great-grandfather of our subject emi- 
 grated to America and settled in New England, 
 
 where he was engaged as a tiller of the soil. The 
 grandfather of our subject, Timothy Sergent, was 
 born in Vermont, it is thought, and was a farmer 
 b3' occupation. About 1852, he removed from the 
 Green Mountain State, and, settling in the town 
 of Franklin, DeKalb County, 111., bought a place, 
 where he made his home until called hence by 
 death. The maiden name of his wife was Abigail 
 Allen. 
 
 Eli Sergent, father of our subject, was born in 
 Mendon, Eutland County, Vt., and was reared to 
 manhood in his native place. About 1834, he re- 
 moved to New York State and settled in the town 
 of Gaines, Orleans County, where he bought a 
 tract of land partly improved, and engaged in 
 its cultivation until 1858. In April of that year, 
 he came to Illinois and located in Henry County, 
 where he operated a rented farm for three yeai-s. 
 His home was next established in Franklin Town- 
 ship, DeKalb County, where he remained a few 
 years, afterward buying the farm on which our 
 subject now resides. In 1877, he removed to Bel- 
 videre, where he now lives retired from active du- 
 ties. 
 
 The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
 was Hannah K. Hogle, was born in Ticonderoga, 
 N. Y., the daughter of Eobert and Polly (Allen) 
 Hogle, and died in May, 1880. Three of her chil- 
 dren are now living: Horton W., Ora J., and Ce- 
 linda E., wife of Thomas Lane. The first-named 
 was born in Gaines, Orleans County, N. Y., Decem- 
 ber 7, 1835. He was reared and educated in his 
 native place, and in the fall of 1856 came to Illi- 
 nois, having in his possession $20 in cash and a 
 pair of horses. It was during a time of financial 
 depression that he located in this State and fifty 
 cents per day was the highest wages received. 
 
 For a number of years, Mr. Sergent operated as 
 a renter, and in 1869 purchased his father's farm, 
 where he has since resided. His marriage, Decem- 
 ber 24, 1853, united him with Miss Mary J. Sleezer, 
 who was born in Champion, Jefferson County, 
 N. Y., and they are the parents of two children, 
 namely: Edith H., who resides at home, and 
 George Eli, who married Dora Heyward, and re- 
 sides in Flora. The eldest child. Kittle, was born 
 January 6, 1855, married Howard Shannon, and 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1253 
 
 died in April, 1876; Arrissa M. was born April 28, 
 1858, married Setli Sleezer, and died February 15, 
 1891, leaving one child, Frank W. 
 
 Martin Sleezer, grandfather of Mrs. Sergent, was 
 born in Germany, and, as far as known, was the 
 only member of 'the family who ever came to 
 America. He settled in Saratoga County, N. Y., 
 where his son George was born and reared. The 
 latter learned the trade of a mason and plasterer, 
 and was thus occupied in Jefferson Countj', for 
 a number of years. In the year 1854, he re- 
 moved to Illinois and settled in Newark, Kendall 
 County, where his death occurred in December, 
 1855. His wife, Polly (Woodward) Sleezer, was 
 born in Providence, Saratoga County, N. Y., the 
 daughter of Abraham and Susan (Van Curler) 
 Woodward, and died in Gridley, McLean County, 
 111. 
 
 In the social circles of Flora Township, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Sergent occupy a prominent position, to which 
 their hospitality, upright lives and nobility of 
 character abundantly entitle them. They have 
 not been without their sorrows and misfortunes, 
 but through them all they have retained their 
 cheerfulness of heart and faith in mankind. They 
 have won the confidence of all with whom they 
 have come in contact, and have done their share 
 in the advancement of every cause for the benefit 
 of the community. 
 
 ^m^-^ 
 
 .(3- 
 
 [^" 
 
 f,OBERT GARRETT, who is living a retired 
 life on his farm on section 15, Guilford 
 Township, Winnebago County, claims Ohio 
 as the State of his nativity. He was born 
 in Lake County, May 17, 1832, and is of English 
 descent. His grandfather, Patrick Garrett, spent 
 his entire life on the Isle of Man, where Thomas 
 Garrett, his father, was born and reared. He mar- 
 ried Margaret Kewish, and she and her parents, 
 Charles and Ann (McKnight) Kewish, were also 
 natives of the Isle of Man. After their marriage, 
 they emigrated to America, in 1827, sailing from 
 Liverpool to New York, where they arrived after 
 a voyage of nine weeks and three days. Mr. Gar- 
 rett went directly to Ohio, but soon returned to 
 
 Buffalo, N. Y., where he spent a year. He then 
 again went to the Buckeye State, and purchased 
 thirty acres of timber land at $16 per acre, upon 
 which he built a log cabin, making it his home 
 until 1838. At that time he came to Illinois. He 
 found Roekford to be a mere hamlet in the midst 
 of a sparsely settled country, most of the land 
 being owned by the Government. He opened the 
 first shoe shop in Roekford, and there followed his 
 trade for two years, when he purchased the farm 
 on which our subject now resides, and built a frame 
 house, 18x24 feet, the family becoming its occu- 
 pants in the spring of that year. He followed his 
 trade, while his sons operated the farm, upon which 
 he resided until his death, which occurred in June, 
 1873, at the age of seventy-eight years. His wife 
 had passed away in February previoiis, when sixtj^- 
 six years of age. In their family were six sons: 
 William, John, Robert, Thomas and Benjamin, all 
 residing in this county, and Charles, who died in 
 Salt Lake City, in 1891. 
 
 Robert Garrett has resided in Illinois since he 
 was a lad of six summers, and amid the wild 
 scenes of frontier life was reared to manhood. 
 After attaining his majority, he learned the trade 
 of a carpenter and builder, and carried on that 
 business until 1886, since which time he has lived 
 a retired life. In 1863, he purchased a farm on 
 section 15, Guilford Township, and it has since 
 been his home. He now owns a well-improved 
 farm, and is enjoying the rest which he has so 
 truly earned and richly deserves. 
 
 Mr. Garrett was united in marriage, in 1862, 
 with Dalla Hayes, who was born in this township, 
 and is a daughter of Samuel Baker Hayes, one of 
 the pioneer settlers of Winnebago County. He 
 was born in Connecticut, whence he removed to 
 the Province of Ontario, Canada, residing for a 
 number of years near St. Tliomas. He then emi- 
 grated to Illinois in the fall of 1838, and bought 
 a "squatter's" claim, consisting of a tract of Gov- 
 ernment land on section 17, Guilford Township. 
 When the land came into market, he purchased his 
 farm at $1.25 per acre. The log cabin wliich he 
 there erected was the birthplace of Mrs. Garrett. 
 Upon his farm Mr. Hayes resided until his death. 
 He was three times married, his second wife being 
 
1254 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the mother of Mrs. Garrett. Her maiden name 
 was Catherine Govro. She was born in Canada, 
 and was of French descent. 
 
 Two sons were born unto our subject and liis 
 wife: Dexter, the elder, married Louisa Haley, and 
 they have one daughter, Maud; Lincoln wedded 
 Alice Wilmot, and they have one child, Vera. The 
 Garrett family is one widelj- and favorably known 
 in this communit3'. Mr. Garrett is a self-made 
 man, who by his own efforts has steadily worked 
 his way upward and acquired a handsome compe- 
 tence that now enables him to live a retired life. 
 His sterling worth and strict integrit}' have won 
 him high esteem. 
 
 EVI L. CHANDLER was born in Chester, 
 Vt., November 1, 1810, the son of Thomas 
 and Isena Chandler, and was one of seven 
 children included in the family circle. His mar- 
 riage, which occurred June 24, 1869, united him 
 with Miss Phebe A. Sheldon, who was born in Me- 
 dina County, Ohio, August 13, 1821, the daughter 
 of David and Anna Sheldon. For further parti- 
 culars in regard to her family history, the reader 
 is referred to the sketch of Ira ,7. Sheldon, found 
 elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Chandler make tlieir home in a 
 pretty residence in the village of Pecatonica, and 
 are highly esteemed b}' the people of that com- 
 munity. Mrs. Chandler, in her religious convic- 
 tions, is identified with the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, of which she is an active and faithful 
 member. 
 
 V__ 
 
 fENYON REYNOLDS is now living retired 
 at his pleasant home, No. 309 North Main 
 Street, Rockford, surrounded by all the 
 comforts of life. Coming here in January, 
 1865, in order to secure good educational advan- 
 tages for his children, he has since made the city 
 his home, and is identilied with many of its inter- 
 ests. Prior to locating here, he resided in Randall 
 
 Township, Kenosha County, Wis., where he had 
 settled on Government land and improved a fine 
 farm. Later, he sold the place, and purchasing an- 
 other farm, improved a splendid estate of nearly 
 five hundred acres, which is now the property of 
 his eldest son. 
 
 In his native place, Washington County, N. Y., 
 Mr. Reynolds was reared to manhood. His father, 
 John, and his grandfather, Oliver Reynolds, were 
 both natives of Rhode Island and farmers by oc- 
 cupation. Grandfather Reynolds, accompanied by 
 his family, removed at an early day to Washing- 
 ton County, N. Y., settling in Easton Township, 
 where he cleared a farm from the thick forest 
 growths. His death occurred when he was fort3' 
 years of age, but his wife attained to a good old 
 age. John Reynolds was a successful farmer and 
 followed that occupation in Washington County, 
 where he died in July, 1864, aged seventy-two 
 years. His wife preceded him in death about six 
 months. She was a faithful member of the Baptist 
 Church, while he was a Quaker and reared in the 
 Friends' Church. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was the fourth in a 
 family of twelve children, seven of whom still sur- 
 vive. After coming to Wisconsin, Mr. Reynolds 
 met and married Miss Anna E. McCommings, who 
 was born and reared in Erie, Pa. Her father, Na- 
 than McCommings, was born in Scotland, whence 
 he emigrated to America with his parents and set- 
 tled in Erie County, Pa. There he was married to 
 Miss Mary Dewey, whose brother was the first 
 white child born in Erie County. After marriage, 
 Nathan McCommings and his wife settled in Erie 
 County, where his death occurred at the age of 
 about forty-five years. His wife afterward came 
 to Wisconsin and died at the home of Mrs. Reynolds 
 when fifty-nine years old. 
 
 Mrs. Reynolds is one of twelve children, ten of 
 whom attained to mature years. She is a true 
 friend, kind neighbor, and is ever ready to extend a 
 helping hand to those in need or trouble. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Reynolds became the parents of four children, 
 two of whom survive, Sarah died when twenty 
 years old and another child died young. John 
 Floj'd, who owns and operates the Wisconsin 
 homestead, married Carrie M. Slade, and they have 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 
 
 1255 
 
 three children: Floyd, Anna and Clarence. The 
 other son, Clarence, is a successful liveryman on 
 Thirty-third Street, Chicago. His wife, whose 
 maiden name was Kate Fellows, died leaving one 
 child, Kenyon. In political matters, Mr. Reynolds 
 is a Republican, true to the principles of that 
 party. He and his wife are attendants at the 
 Christian Union Church, of which they are promi- 
 nent members. 
 
 \ AMUEL C. WESTERLING. Rockford is a 
 well-known musical center, and among its 
 inhabitants are to be found many whose 
 tastes are correct and refined. There is, 
 therefore, a tempting field here for the musical mer- 
 chant whose stock bears the stamp of merit, and 
 whose reputation as an authority cannot be ques- 
 tioned. In Rockford there are several prominent 
 dealers in musical instruments, but foremost among 
 them is Mr. Samuel C. Westerling, who, in addition 
 to a large hne of musical instruments, pianos, or- 
 gans, etc., as fine as are manufactured in the United 
 States, he handles a large line of sewing machines 
 — a dozen different kinds. 
 
 This flourishing business is located at No. 429 
 West State Street, and he has constantly on hand 
 a full line of the best instruments. The excellence 
 of his stock has long since secured for him a name 
 second to none. Mr. Westerling began business 
 here in 1877, and he has a very extensive trade, 
 which he has built up entirely himself, and his ca- 
 reer affords an excellent example of what pluck 
 and energy can accomplish under adverse circum- 
 stances and against keen competition. He came 
 to this city from Freeport, 111., where he had been 
 in the same business for three years, and previous 
 to that he had carried on the same business for nine 
 years in Toledo, Ohio. He is a man of experience 
 in this line of business, having sold his first ma- 
 chine on the 5th of June, 1852. He had adjusted 
 the twenty-fifth sewing machine sent out by the 
 old firm of Wheeler & Wilson, and what he does 
 not know about sewing machines is not worth 
 knowing. Almost his entire life has been devoted 
 to this business. He was the chief promoter of 
 
 the Royal Sewing Machine Company, of Rock- 
 ford, and an ex-Director and stock-holder in the 
 same. Although he began at the bottom of the 
 ladder in his business, filling all the different posi- 
 tions from offlce-boy to manager, special agent and 
 dealer, he has now reached the topmost round and 
 is now in a position to enjoy life. 
 
 Our subject is another of the many prominent 
 citizens of Rockford who are of foreign birth, and, 
 like the majority of them, he claims Sweden as 
 his native country. He was born in Wester Goth- 
 land Province, but came to theUuited States when 
 a small boy, and was reared in Chautauqua County, 
 N. Y. His people left Gottenburg, Sweden, in the 
 '40s, crossed the ocean in a three-mast vessel, 
 and made the port of Boston after a number of 
 weeks on the ocean. He was married in Ohio to 
 Miss Anna E. Coder, who was born, reared and ed- 
 ucated in the Buckeye State. Her parents came 
 originally from Pennsylvania, and her mother is 
 still living and a resident of Toledo, Ohio. Mr. 
 Westerling is a Republican in his political views, 
 and he and wife, although they attend church reg- 
 ularly, are not members. They have no children. 
 The original of tliis sketch takes great -pride in 
 the fact that he never had a lawsuit in business, 
 being able to make satisfactory settlement without, 
 and that he never had to discount a dollar. 
 
 — i^ 
 
 •-yiS , 
 
 ms>'^^<i 
 
 ^^ EORGE CLINTON HUTCHINS resides on 
 (iT section 9, Harlem Township. There is 
 ^^[f probably no other resident of Winnebago 
 County who has lived so long within its borders 
 as our subject, and this work would be incomplete 
 without his sketch. He was born in Chautauqua 
 County, N. Y., March 20, 1833, and is a son of 
 Nathan and Lavina (Olmstead) Hutchins, the 
 former a native of Otsego County, N. Y., and the 
 latter of Massachusetts. His father was reared to 
 manhood upon a farm, and removed to Chautauqua 
 County when a young man, becoming one of its 
 pioneer settlers. Buying a tract of timber land 
 from the Holland Purchase, he cleared and devel- 
 oped it, making a good farm, upon which he re- 
 sided until 1833. In that year, he made a visit to 
 
1256 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 Illinois, and while here located a claim of Govern- 
 ment land in Will County. He had made the jour- 
 ney on foot and in the same way returned to New 
 York. The succeeding year, he came with his fam- 
 ily to the new home which he had provided and 
 there he continued to reside until 1838, when he 
 came to Winnebago County, locating in Harlem 
 Township. He purchased a tract of Government 
 land and entered it at the land office in Galena 
 and soon the work of development and improve- 
 ment began. All of the experiences and trials 
 of frontier life were experienced by himself and 
 family. They used to pound corn and wheat in a 
 mortar and thus secure flour, as there were no near 
 mills or markets. Their grain had to be hauled to 
 Chicago, and there their supplies were obtained. 
 The death of Mr. Hutchins occurred on the old 
 homestead in 1876, at the age of eighty-one years. 
 He had made of his land a good farm and had ac- 
 quired a considerable competence. His wife also 
 spent her last days on the old homestead and was 
 called to her final rest in 1874. In their family 
 were four children: Henry, Erastus, George and 
 Mary. 
 
 It was during the infancy of our subject that 
 his parents came to Illinois and he was reared 
 among the wild scenes of frontier life. At first 
 there was no schools, for the settlers were widely 
 scattered and many could not afford the expense 
 of hiring a teacher. Mr. Hutchins attended the 
 first school held in the neighborhood; one-half of 
 a double log house was used as a place of meeting, 
 the other portion of the building being occupied 
 by a family. The seats were made of slabs, with 
 wooden pins for legs, and similar wooden pins in- 
 serted in the wall with boards laid upon them 
 served as desks for the larger scholars to write 
 upon. As soon as he was old enough, he began 
 aiding his father in the labors of the farm, and has 
 often hauled the farm products all the waj' to Chi- 
 cago. He has made agricultural pursuits his life 
 work. He resided with his parents throughout 
 their entire lives, caring for them in their old age, 
 and now owns and occupies the old homestead 
 farm, upon which he has lived since his infancy. 
 
 On July 11, 1859, Mr. Hutchins was joined in 
 wedlock with Mary Steen, who was born near 
 
 Montreal, Canada, and is a daughter of James and 
 Mary Ann Steen. Their union has been blessed 
 with five children, four sons and a daughter: 
 Byron J., Herbert G., Minnie and Harry, and Mark, 
 deceased. The parents are both members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and their lives have 
 been in harmony with their professions. In poli- 
 tics, Mr. Hutchins is a stalwart Eepublican. These 
 worthy people have a very wide acquaintance 
 throughout the community where they have so 
 long made their home, and are held in the highest 
 regard for their sterling worth. 
 
 ^^I@^@l^l^ 
 
 \17 OVEJOY C. HALL, one of the leading 
 I (Jg) business men of New Milford, who is en- 
 jIL^ gaged in general merchandising, has spent 
 his entire life in this locality. He was born in New 
 Milford Township, Winnebago County, October 
 28, 1852, and is a son of Thomas and Anna (Hun- 
 ter) Hall, both of whom were natives of the Emer- 
 ald Isle. In that land they were married, and about 
 1842 emigrated to America, sailing from Liver- 
 pool to Canada, whence they came to Illinois. 
 
 Our subject spent his childhood days under the 
 parental roof, and at the age of fifteen began earn- 
 ing his own livelihood. Farming has been his 
 principal occupation, but in 1889 he bought an 
 interest in a New Milford store, and about the same 
 time was appointed Postmaster by President Har- 
 rison. 
 
 On March 20, 1874, Mr. Hall was joined in wed- 
 lock to Miss Emma Seek, of New Milford, daughter 
 of John and Eliza (Montgomery) Seek, who emi- 
 grated to Illinois from the East about 1857 and 
 settled upon a farm on section 29, New Milford 
 Township. The young couple began their domes- 
 tic life upon a farm of one hundred acres, a part 
 of which was the wife's property, while sixty acres 
 were purchased by Mr. Hall. He erected upon it 
 a good residence, commodious barns, put the entire 
 farm under a high state of cultivation, set out 
 evergreen and other ornamental trees, planted a 
 nice orchard and made a pleasant home and a 
 valuable and desirable farm. He there engaged in 
 general farming and stock-raising until his i-emoval 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1257 
 
 to the village, when he rented his farm and in 
 partnership with Charles A. Chase bought out the 
 general merchandise establishment of W. H. 
 Gardner. In connection with their dealings in 
 this line, they also handle farm implements, and 
 sold twenty MeCormiek harvesters and ten mowers 
 last season. Their trade in both branches of in- 
 dusti-y is constantly increasing and their liberal 
 patronage is certainly well deserved. Mr. Hall is 
 an enterprising and industrious business man and 
 by cai'eful attention to all the details of his busi- 
 ness has won a well-merited success. 
 
 Our subject and his wife have one son and two 
 daughters: Maud A., wlio was born November 25, 
 1876, is now attending the High School and 
 also studying music; Inez, born Octobfer 23, 1880; 
 and Eugene, born April 1, 1889. The parents rank 
 high in social circFes and their home is the abode 
 of hospitality. They have a wide circle of friends 
 and acquaintances in this community, and it is 
 with pleasure that we present their sketch to our 
 readers. 
 
 1*^ DWIN A. COVEY, a retired farmer resid- 
 fe) ing m Belvidere, is one of the oldest na- 
 ImL^j tive-born citizens of this count}'. He was 
 born in Boone Township, May 29, 1843. His 
 grandfather, Theodore Covey, was a native of 
 New Hampshire, and the father, Stephen Covey, 
 was born in Chester, Rockingham County, N. H., 
 November 5, 1801. When young, he accompanied 
 his parents to Vermont, and in early manhood re- 
 moved to St. Lawrence County, N. Y., becoming 
 one of the pioneer settlers of that region. He 
 engaged in cutting timber, which was burned, and 
 from the ashes was, extracted potash, or black 
 salts, as it was called. He removed from there to 
 Chautauqua County, settling near Mayville, where 
 he engaged in the manufacture of shingles until 
 1839, when, with his family, he came to Boone 
 County and spent the winter in Belvidere. He 
 then rented a farm east of the town for one year, 
 after which he purchased a tract of land near 
 Poplar Grove. Upon it was a log house, and a 
 few acres of land had been broken. He lived 
 
 upon that farm until 1850, and afterwards bought 
 and sold several farms. He was a resident of this 
 county until his death, which occurred in Caledo- 
 nia Township, August 21, 1885.- His wife was m 
 her maidenhood Miss Susan Jenner. She was 
 born in Moriah, Essex County, N. Y., July 4, 1810, 
 and is a daughter of Stephen and Betsy (Mather) 
 Jenner. She was called to her final rest in August, 
 1882. 
 
 The first school which our subject attended was 
 taught m a log house three miles from his home. 
 At an early age, he commenced to assist his father 
 in the labors of the farm, and remained with his 
 parents until their deaths. He commenced farm- 
 ing for himself at the time of his marriage, and 
 the farm upon which the young couple began their 
 domestic life continued to be their home until 
 1890, when they came to Belvidere and built the 
 home they now occupy. 
 
 On the 12th of September, 1862, Mr. Covey 
 married Elizabeth J. Dimond, who was born in 
 Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and is a daughter of 
 Richard and Sarah (Luxton) Dimond. The father 
 was born in the parish of Rexford, Devonshire, Eng- 
 land, where James Dimond, the grandfather, spent 
 his entire life. Richard learned the trade of a mason, 
 which he followed in England until after his mar- 
 riage to Miss Luxton, who was born in the same 
 locality as her husband, and was a daughter of 
 Hugh and Mary Luxton. After their marriage, 
 they emigrated to Prince Edward Island, and four 
 years later became residents of Brantford, Province 
 of Ontario, where Mr. Dimond bought a tract of 
 timber land, cleared a farm, and erected a good set 
 of frame buildings. He there made his home un- 
 til 1850, when, with his family, he came to Boone 
 County and purchased a partially improved farm 
 in Caledonia Township. His first home was a log 
 cabin, but it was afterwards replaced by a stone 
 residence. Mr. Dimond did all the work of build • 
 ing the house himself, even quarried the stone and 
 burned the lime. His death occurred at the old 
 homestead, July 27, 1886. His wife passed away 
 in 1863. They had a family of five children: 
 Mary A., Thirza, Josiah, Stephen and Elizabeth J. 
 Four children grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Covey: Fred, Frank R., Ira J. and Arthur A. 
 
1258 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Fred married Blanche Wheeler and has one child, 
 Louis Stephen. The Covey household is the abode 
 of hospitality, and its members Mnk high in social 
 circles. Mr. Cove}^ cast his first Presidential vote 
 for Abraham Lincoln, and has since been a stanch 
 supporter of the Republican party. He has led a 
 busy and useful life, and as the result of his indus- 
 try, perseverance and good management, is now 
 enabled to spend his declining days in retirement 
 from labor, enjoying the fruits of his former toil. 
 
 lEORGE MANSON. This gentleman, al- 
 though still a young man, has a fine repu- 
 tation as a member of the agricultural com- 
 munity, and a citizen of whose worth no one is in 
 doubt. He is a native of Winnebago County, 
 having been born in Shirland, November 16, 1850. 
 He is at present residing on an excellent estate in 
 Shirland Township, his father, Nicholas Manson, 
 who was born in Canada in 1811, making his home 
 with him. 
 
 The father of our subject brought his wife and 
 family of two children overland to this county in 
 1840, landing in Shirland after a voyage of six 
 weeks. His wife, Caroline Holden, was born in 
 St. Lawrence County, N. Y., in 1809, and after 
 having borne her husband three children, departed 
 this life in 1847. The lady whom he afterward 
 chose for his wife was Eliza Eddy, of Troy, N. Y., 
 and to them were born three children : Nicholas E. 
 and James E. (twins), and George, our subject. 
 The wife and mother passed to the world beyond, 
 September 31, 1890, in her seventy-seventh year. 
 
 The father of our subject remained at home un- 
 til attaining his twenty-fourth year, and when 
 starting out in life, was possessed of a strong de- 
 termination to gain a handsome competency. In 
 addition to his splendid farm, he is the owner of a 
 home in Shirland. He has been a life-long Repub- 
 litan, which is also the political faith of our sub- 
 ject, and is numbered among the leading citizens 
 of Shirland Township. On locating in this county, 
 he purchased forty acres of Government land, on 
 which he placed a good hewed log house, and added 
 from time to time to his estate, until in 1881 he 
 
 was the possessor of two hundred and forty broad 
 acres, valued at $25 per acre. His father, the 
 grandfather of our subject, bore the name of James 
 Manson, and was a native of Connecticut. He met 
 his death by a run-away team when a young man. 
 
 The original of this sketch was married in Be- 
 loit. Wis., in 1874, to Miss Nettie J., daughter of 
 Franklin S. and Elizabeth (Shrake) Hendee. Her 
 father, who was a native of Goshen County, Yt., 
 is now engaged in operating a farm in Wisconsin. 
 The mother was born in Dresden County, Ohio. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Manson have become the parents of 
 four children, one of whom, an infant son, died 
 unnamed. Mattie Belle was born January 28, 1876; 
 Alma May, May 14, 1887, and George Noble, De- 
 cember 2, 1890. 
 
 Mrs. Manson 's father, F. S. Hendee, is one of tiie 
 extensive faianers of Rock County, Wis., owning 
 three hundred acres there, besides a farm in Brule 
 County, S. Dak. He came West in 1847, when 
 seventeen years of age, and has built up a fine rep- 
 utation as a man of push and enterprise. He has 
 become the father of twelve children, one of whom 
 is deceased. 
 
 ENRY LOVESEE. In the city of Berkshire, 
 
 England, our subject was born in March, 
 
 ^ 1830, and his father, William Lovesee, and 
 
 ^ his grandfather, William Lovesee, Sr., were 
 natives of that country also. Both father and 
 grandfather were weavers by trade, the latter hav- 
 ing his own loom in his house, but during his last 
 days he was a farrier, or stock doctor. He was 
 still vigorous and active when our subject left Eng- 
 land with his parents in 1835, and could relate 
 many interesting experiences and anecdotes. Our 
 subject remembers hearing him tell about how he 
 went to Newgate to witness the hanging of nine 
 men for sheep stealing, that being the penalty in 
 those days. 
 
 William Lovesee, Jr., followed his trade in a 
 factory, manufacturing sail cloth, ropes, etc., but 
 when steam was first introduced, he, with about 
 three hundred other employes, was thrown out of 
 work. He, being the eldest son born to his parents. 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1259 
 
 inherited all his father's land, only about twenty 
 acres, valued at about $30 per acre, and he sold 
 his birthright in order to come to America. His 
 father would not consent to his disposing of his 
 property and coming to the United States unless he 
 would consent to take with him his uncle John, 
 who was a sailor, and the latter's family. This 
 company numbered fourteen and they embarked 
 from St. Catherine's Dock, London, on the "Cam- 
 brill," in the fall of 1835, reaching Pittsford, Mon- 
 roe Countj', N. Y., late in November. Tiie parish 
 in which they lived in England fitted this company 
 out for their adventurous trip, and when they 
 landed in this country their means were limited to 
 fifty cents. However, they liad come here to 
 stay and for some time they lived in an old shop, 
 so open to the weather that our subject can re- 
 member seeing the stars shining through the roof. 
 This little company remained in the Empire State 
 about four years. 
 
 Henry Lovesee, at the youthful age of nine 
 years, was obliged to begin the battle of life for 
 himself, and being possessed of a wonderful 
 amount of pluck for a little fellow, he began as a 
 driver of horses on the Erie Canal and continued 
 this for about one year. In the fall of 1837, he came 
 by way of the Lakes to Chicago, where his brother 
 John, who had located two years previously in 
 the State of Illinois, met him with a horse and 
 wagon. There were no bridges then between 
 Chicago and Roscoe, 111., where the brother lived, 
 and they followed the Atkinson Trail, then the 
 only white man's trail. They swam the Fox River 
 near Dundee anil after landing in Winnebago 
 County, our subject went to work on a farm and 
 followed this with teaming until twenty-five years 
 of age. 
 
 Our subject selected his wife in the person of 
 Miss Matilda Dodge, a native of Ohio, and the 
 daughter of Almeron and Sally (Baldwin) Dodge, 
 the parents were natives of the Buckeye State, but 
 early settlers of Roscoe, 111., coming here in the 
 '40s. Mr. and Mrs. Lovesee commenced house- 
 keeping in section 34, on thirty-two acres of land 
 that he had bought with his earnings, having 
 worked six years for Benjamin Richardson. His 
 first wife died leaving one daughter, Ellen, who 
 
 died when twelve years of age. Mr. Lovesee 's 
 second wife was Amanda Dodge, a sister of his 
 first wife; she lived but about four years, leav- 
 ing at her death one son, Francis, who grew up, 
 married, and died when twenty-nine years of age. 
 
 Mr. Lovesee's present wife, whose maiden name 
 was Amelia Lloyd, was a native of England and 
 came with her pai-ents, Thomas and Charlotte 
 (Kemp) Lloyd, to this country when but six years 
 of age. Our subject's last union resulted in the 
 birth of four children, two of whom, a son and 
 daughter, died in infancy. The two children liv- 
 ing are Ellen, now Mrs. Thomas Lovesee, her hus- 
 band being a distant relative, residing in Wisconsin, 
 and Giles Henry, who is now fifteen years of age 
 and is attending the school at home. 
 
 Agricultural pursuits have been our subject's 
 occupation in life and in this he has been fairly 
 successful. He added sixty acres to his original 
 tract, and, as time passed by, he bought other 
 tracts, seven different farms in all. About sixteen 
 years ago, he felt the need of rest after the years 
 of hard labor he had passed through, and retired, 
 having done very little since then except to collect 
 his interest. His vote is generally cast with the 
 Republican party, but he is not such a strict parti- 
 san but what he can vote for good men on the 
 other side. He is not a member of any church, 
 but generally attends the Methodist. Upright and 
 honorable in all his relations, Mr. Lovesee is one 
 of the county's best citizens. 
 
 PHRAIM WYMAN. The gentleman of 
 whom it is our pleasure and privilege to 
 here attempt a short sketch is the oldest 
 living resident in point of settlement in Rockford, 
 having come here September 20, 1835. He has 
 witnessed with interest the gradual evolution of 
 this section from its original wildness to its pres- 
 ent prosperous condition of beautiful farms and 
 thriving villages. 
 
 The original of this sketch was born in Lancas- 
 ter, Worcester County, Mass., June 26, 1809. His 
 father. Deacon Benjamin Wyman, was born on 
 
1260 
 
 POETRAIT AND BTOGRATTIICAL RECORD. 
 
 the same farm as was his son, while his father, 
 Nathaniel Wyman, hailed from Woburn, Middle- 
 sex County, Mass. The ancestors of our subject 
 ■were English, and emigrated to America in Col- 
 onial times, settling in what was then West Cam- 
 bridge, but is now "Woburn. The grandfather of 
 our subject was a farmer by occupation and de- 
 parted this life in Lancaster. 
 
 Benjamin Wyman was reared on the home 
 farm and received such advantages in an educa- 
 tional way as the district schools of his locality 
 afforded. He spent his entire life on the farm 
 where he was born. He was very prominent in 
 church circles and was Deacon in the Unitarian 
 Church at Lancaster. The maiden name of his 
 wife was Lucretia Fair, who was born in Lancas- 
 ter. Ephraim Wyman assisted his father in car- 
 rying on the home farm and attended school in 
 his district. He remained under the parental 
 roof until attaining his fifteenth year, at which 
 time he went to Keene, N. H., where he served 
 an apprenticeship at the baker's trade. Having 
 become master of that art, he engaged in that line 
 of business in Keene until June 11, 1836. 
 
 Desiring to know something more of the West- 
 ern country, Mr. Wyman emigrated to the Prai- 
 rie State via stage to Albany, where he boarded 
 a train which conveyed him to Schenectady, N. Y., 
 whence he traveled by canal to Utica, from there 
 by stage to Buffalo, by lake to Detroit and b}^ 
 stage to Chicago. In that city, he engaged to 
 work at $1.25 per day, assisting to stake out lots 
 three miles south of the Court House. He later 
 assisted in laying out the road leading from Ft. 
 Dearborn to Ft. Howard, Wis., being thus engaged 
 until September, 1835. At that time, he pur- 
 chased a horse and saddle in the Garden Citj' 
 and started for Midway, as Rockford was then 
 called. When locating in this now prominent 
 city, there were but six families in the vicinity, 
 three on either side of the river. He continued 
 to make this place his home, aiding in its devel- 
 opment, until 1850, a part of the time being en- 
 gaged in operating a bakery and boarding-house. 
 
 At the above-named date, Mr. Wj'man started 
 for the Golden State, where he remained for three 
 years. Returning to Winnebago County, he again 
 
 resided in Rockford for two years, after which 
 time he spent three years in his old home in Lan- 
 caster, Mass. Mr. Wyman has been a continuous 
 resident in Rockford with the exception of the few 
 years above recounted since 1835, and can thus 
 relate many an interesting tale of life in the 
 thinly-settled country. 
 
 In 1853, the original of this sketch was united in 
 marriage in Lancaster, Mass., to Carolina Pearce. 
 Mrs. Wyman was born in Waltham, Mass., and was 
 the daughter of William and Mary (Hager) Pearce. 
 In religious matters, our subject and his wife are 
 members of the Unitarian Church, to the support 
 of which denomination they are liberal contribu- 
 tors. Mr. Wyman has always voted the Repub- 
 lican ticket, believing that party to be in the 
 right. He has been a hard and steady worker all 
 his life, commencing with his bare hands at a 
 tender age, and the ground work of his success 
 lay in his practice of economy and thrift. 
 
 AVID ATWOOD. After years of well, 
 directed efforts as one of the farmers of 
 Winnebago County, this gentleman has 
 retired in affluence to the enjoyment of a 
 comfortable home and the society of many friends 
 in the city of Rockford. He is one of the pioneers 
 of the county and was born in Middlefield, Berk- 
 shire County, Mass., June 11, 1824. His father, 
 Phineas Atwood, was a native of Great Barrington, 
 that State, and followed the trade of a blacksmith 
 in connection with farming. He was a local Meth- 
 odist preacher in Middlefield and Washington. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject, Hezekiah At- 
 wood, was, as far as is known, born in Berkshire 
 County, Mass. In 1842, he removed to Lewis 
 County, N. Y., and, in 1845, came to Winne- 
 bago County, making his home for a twelvemonth 
 in New Milford, and then became the proprietor of 
 an estate in the town of Harlem, where his death 
 occurred in his eighty-fifth year. His wife prior 
 to her marriage was known as Huldah Hascall, a 
 native of Peru, Mass., and the daughter of Roger 
 and Mary (Webster) Hascall. Her decease oc- 
 curred on the home farm in Harlem at the ad- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1261 
 
 vanced age of ninety-four. The father of our 
 subject served in the "War of 1812, and with his 
 wife was an active and consistent member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 The following ten children were included in the 
 parental household: Phineas, Harriet N.,Mary W., 
 Patience, David, Louisa, Jonathan, Hezekiah, Brad- 
 ley S. and Sylvester. Our subject was given a 
 good education and accompanied his parents on 
 their removal to Lewis County, N. Y., and from 
 there to Illinois in 1845, making the journey by 
 way of the Lakes to Chicago, thence overland in a 
 stage to Rockford. At that time Winnebago County' 
 was sparsely settled, and, as most of the land was 
 still owned by the Government, he commenced life 
 here working out on farms by the month. Two 
 years later, however, he purchased a tract of wild 
 prairie land in Harlem Township, for whicli he 
 paid $7 per acre. Cutting the timber on his farm, 
 he drew the logs to Spafford & Gregory's Mill, at 
 Rockford, and with the lumber made from them 
 erected a frame house, 18x24 feet in dimensions, and 
 a story and a half high. In that dwelling, he and 
 his wife commenced housekeeping, moving in be- 
 fore there were either doors or windows provided, 
 and which, when completed, was the most preten- 
 tious house in the neighborhood. Mr. Atwood 
 hauled his corn to Beloit, twelve miles distant, 
 which he marketed at twenty cents a bushel, and 
 in this way made the money to pay for his farm. 
 He was very successful and continued actively en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits until 1888, when lie 
 left his sons in charge of the place and removed 
 to Rockford, where he and his wife now live re- 
 tired from active labor. 
 
 The lady to whom Mr. Atwood was married, 
 November 15, 1848, was Miss Elizabeth Crill, a 
 native of Starks, Herkimer County, N. Y., and the 
 daughter of James Crill, who hailed from that 
 county. His father, the grandfather of Mrs. At- 
 wood, bore the name of Thomas and was born in 
 Germany, coming to America as a soldier with 
 Burgoyne, during the Revolutionary War. He was 
 taken prisoner by the Colonists, with whom lie was 
 in sympathy, and later, taking the oath of allegiance, 
 became a true and loyal citizen. Thomas Crill lo- 
 cated in Herkimer County, where his death oc- 
 
 curred. The father of Mrs. Atwood was married 
 in his native county, and in 1844 accompanied by 
 his wife and nine of his ten children emigrated to 
 Illinois, spending a few months in New Milford. 
 He then went to Ogle County and purchased land 
 in what is now Monroe Township, where lie resided 
 until his decease. He was a man of excellent 
 judgment and was very successful in all his ven- 
 tures, owning at the time of his decease upward of 
 two thousand acres of land. In addition to super- 
 intending the cultivation of his various farms, he 
 was engaged quite extensively in money loaning. 
 The mother of Mrs. Atwood bore the maiden 
 name of Susan Givets, a native of Herkimer 
 County, whose decease occurred on the home farm 
 in Ogle County. Two brothers of Mrs. Atwood, 
 Isaac and John, now own fifteen hundred acres of 
 the old homestead. Another brother. Nelson, was 
 an early settler of Concordia, Cloud County, Kan., 
 where he was the proprietor of an hotel for a 
 number of years and at present is residing on his 
 tract of one thousand acres near Concordia. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Atwood have two sons, James M. and 
 Charles D. The former is the husband of Lillie 
 Tuttle and has three children, Jennie, Calla and 
 Harry D. Charles married Emma Shaul. They 
 were married iu Amsterdam, N. Y., in 1888. Mrs. 
 Atwood is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, in which body she is an active and enthu- 
 siastic worker. 
 
 
 HAUNC Y B. WILMOT. A prominent citi- 
 zen of Rockton Township, Winnebago 
 
 _ County, he whose name is at the head of 
 this sketch has the interest of the community at 
 heart and takes pride in everything that shall 
 redound to the honor of the people with whom his 
 lot is cast. His birth occurred in Oneida County, 
 N. Y., September 7, 1836, his parents being Luther 
 and Caroline (Broddock) Wilmot, also natives of 
 the Empire State, the father being born in 1800. 
 
 Ebenezcr Wilmot, the grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, was a wealthy agriculturist, who was born in 
 Greenbush, N. Y., and died in his fifty-seventh 
 year in Oneida County, that State. His wife bore 
 
1262 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the name of Clai'issa Rowley and became the mo- 
 ther of three children: Johanna, Luther R. and 
 Adeline. Johanna, who married Lorenzo White, is 
 now deceased, and Adeline, Mrs. Levi Merrill, died 
 in Orleans County, N. Y., in middle life, leaving 
 two sons: Gilford D. and Milton. Mr. Merrill was 
 a volunteer soldier during the late war and died 
 of fever while in the service. 
 
 The mother of our subject was the daughter of 
 Nicholas and Eva (Campbell) Broddock, natives 
 of Eastern New York, where they were well-to-do 
 farmers in Oneida County and reared a family of 
 six children: Julia, Chauncy B., William, Emily, 
 Adeline and Josephine. William died in Oneida 
 County, N. Y., in 1882; he had previously come to 
 Rockton and in company with our subject carried 
 on a farm. Luther R. Wilmot departed this life 
 when seventy-three years of age in New York, and 
 his wife, who still survives him, is in her seventy- 
 ninth year and makes her home with her daughter 
 Josephine near Oneida Lake. 
 
 The original of this sketch was trained in farm- 
 ing pursuits, and in the winter of 1862 came West, 
 and for one season was engaged in farming in Wis- 
 consin, soon after which he came to Winnebago 
 County and operated a farm in company with his 
 brother William. His marriage with Miss Amelia 
 Keeney occurred in the spring of 1867. She died 
 leaving a son, Lewis L., and an infant of four 
 months. 
 
 The lady whom our subject chose as his second 
 wife was Miss Fannie Darrow, of Oneida County, 
 N.Y.; she departed this life within four years after 
 her marriage. The present wife of Mr. Wilmot, to 
 whom he was married in March, 1885, was Mrs. 
 . Cordelia A. Southworth, nee Baker. Her father, 
 George Baker, was a native of New England and 
 died at an advanced age, in Erie County, leaving 
 a widow and four children. Mrs. Wilmot, by her 
 first union, is the mother of two children: Merton 
 R., now residing in Mayesville, Ark., and Frank 
 E., a farmer in Shirland Township, Winnebago 
 County. 
 
 He of whom we write purchased his present farm 
 of two hundred acres in 1867, for which he paid 
 $16 per acre. He later added forty acres more, 
 which cost him $27 per acre, all of which is under 
 
 cultivation with the exception of seven or eight 
 acres of excellent timber land. In the summer of 
 1890, he erected his fine large farm house, which 
 cost $2,000, and numerous substantial and neat 
 outbuildings stamp its owner as a man of push 
 and enterprise, with means to carry out whatever 
 he undertakes. He is thoroughly honest in all his 
 dealings and has been the architect of his own for- 
 tune, as he came to the countj' poor in this world's 
 goods. He keeps a number of milch cows on his 
 place, and he disposes of the milk at the Coon 
 Creek Cheese Factory, of which organization he is 
 a stockholder and Director. The factory, which has 
 been in operation only two years, has won a re- 
 putation for turning out the best quality of cheese, 
 and its originatoi'S have already found it be a pay- 
 ing investment. 
 
 Mr. Wilmot has been chosen to fill various local 
 positions and for several years was Commissioner 
 of Highways. Although inclining toward Demo- 
 cratic principles, he casts his vote for the best man 
 regardless of party. With his wife, he is a mem- 
 ber in good standing of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church and his personal life is an example of up- 
 rightness and straightforward, simple honor. He 
 is blessed with a good constitution and is still very 
 active, although the hard labor on the farm is car- 
 ried on by his son. 
 
 •5'='5'=* 
 
 _/ 
 
 H-^* 
 
 I^UDLEY LYFORD Esq., more familiarly 
 I jj] known in Winnebago County and North- 
 l^3i^ ern Illinois as"Dud" Lyford,is one of the 
 most jovial and genial Granger Republi- 
 cans in the State. He was originally from the 
 Granite State, born in Canterbury, November 6, 
 1835, and the son of Thomas and Eliza B. (Greelej') 
 Lyford, both typical New Englanders, the father 
 born on the 14th of February, 1807, and the 
 mother on the 8th of July, 1809, on the old 
 Greeley Farm in Gilmanton Township, thirteen 
 miles from Concord, N. H. They were married 
 in their native State and there the father fol- 
 lowed his trade, stone cutting, in connection with 
 farming until his eldest child, our subject, was 
 
PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 1263 
 
 seven years of age, when they sold the home there 
 and emigrated to Roscoe Township 111., arriv- 
 ing here in October, 1842. They came by land 
 with teams, except from Buffalo, N. Y., to In- 
 diana, and settled where Mr. Lyford now lives 
 on part of his present farm, buying out the claim 
 of one Dudley Greeley, who had come here from 
 the East six years previously. Heie Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lyford resided and reared their seven children, 
 viz; Dudley, Elizabeth, Joseph G., Alice H., Thomas, 
 Anna A. and Charles C, all of whom now sur- 
 vive, with the exception of Thomas, who died in 
 1863, when fourteen j'ears of age. The father was 
 killed by a threshing-machine on the 13th of 
 December, 1858, when fifty- three years of age. 
 His wife survived him until June, 1874, and died 
 when seventy years of age. They were honest, 
 upright citizens, and gave their hearty support to 
 all enterprises of a laudable nature. 
 
 Dudley Lyford was married in Rockton, April, 
 1862, to Miss Emma Harley, daughter of Thomas 
 and Elizabeth (Ancott) Harley, both natives of 
 England. The parents came to this country when 
 their eldest cliild, Frederick Harley, was an infant, 
 and resided in New York City for some time, 
 where the father followed the cabinet-maker's trade. 
 Later they moved from the Empire State to Spar- 
 tanburg, S. C, and still later, in 1847, to Rockton, 
 111., making the entire journey by land with a 
 horse. They started in the early spring and six 
 weeks later reached Beloit, where the father fol- 
 lowed his trade and also began dealing in furniture 
 there. In 1836, he went to South America with 
 a cargo of furniture and on the return trip en- 
 countered a heavy storm at sea and barely escaped 
 with his life. He died at Rockton in the spring 
 of 1856, when seventy-four years of age, leaving 
 his widow and eight children. The mother re- 
 ceived her final summons on the 1st of January, 
 1874. Of their children the following are now 
 living: Elizabeth, now Mrs. John Harley, of Kan- 
 sas; Benjamim M. Harley, in Kansas; William 
 Harley, a farmer of Shirland, this county. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lyford 's union was blessed by the 
 
 birth of a large family of children, four, three 
 
 sons and one daughter, being deceased. Those 
 
 living are: Helen (Nellie), Anna E., Marie, Kate, 
 
 59 
 
 Thomas W., Dudley, Custer C, and Emma A., the 
 youngest now twelve years of age. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lyford are giving their children every advantage 
 for an education, for the former realizes what it is 
 to be deprived of early advantages. His wife is 
 well educated and was a school teacher prior to 
 her marriage. Mr. Lyford 's first farm was two 
 hundred acres, part jot the old homestead, and to 
 this he has added until he has about twelve 
 hundred acres, a large and commodious residence, 
 and ample barns and outbuildings. In connec- 
 tion with farming, he is quite extensively en- 
 gaged in stock-raising, feeding cattle for the mar- 
 ket. He also raises some blooded stock in sheep, 
 cattle, hogs and horses, and in cattle he likes 
 tbe Durham stock very much. Our subject takes 
 much interest in elections and is one of the lead- 
 ing spirits in the Republican ranks of the country. 
 He has held no office, but has assisted his party in 
 every way and is a member of the Central Repub- 
 lican Committee of the township. Mr. Lyford has 
 resided on his farm for forty-nine years, and if a 
 sunny, genial disposition has anything to do with 
 longevity, he will live there forty-nine years longer. 
 
 '^ 
 
 11^ ANIEL WITTER, who came to Boone County 
 I Jjj in 1841, was actively interested in the up- 
 J^ building of Manchester Township, until his 
 decease, March 2, 1868. He was born in Madison 
 County, N. Y., about 1819, and was the son of 
 John Witter, also a native of that county, his birth 
 occurring in March, 1781. The father died in 
 February, 1855, in Jefferson County, N. Y., having 
 been married to Prudence Colgrove, by whom he 
 became the father of ten children. 
 
 Our subject's share of his father's estate was 
 $150, and on coming West when a young man, he 
 entered a claim of forty acres and purchased other 
 claims to the amount of two hundred and forty 
 acres. In January, 1849, he was married to Miss 
 Sallie A., daughter of A. C. and Ciatherine (Eells) 
 Adams, of New York. Mrs. Witter was the eldest 
 in the family of three daughters, and was born in 
 Delaware County, N. Y. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Witter on coming West em- 
 
1264 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 igrated from Oxford, N. Y., and located four miles 
 west of Beloit, soon after which the father rented 
 property in Le Roy, this county. A year or two 
 later, he entered a claim, but did not live upon it. 
 He subsequently purchased forty acres in Man- 
 chester Township, and departed this life in 1872, 
 leaving a widow and three daughters, viz: Sallie 
 A., Polly, the widow of Joseph Stiles, and Ellen, 
 Mrs. Horace Graham. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Witter became the parents of five 
 sons and one daughter, of whom three are deceased: 
 Albert, who died in 1885, leaving a wife and three 
 children; John, who departed this life in 1882, and 
 Ulysses Sherman John Adams, wiio passed away in 
 his twentieth year. Those living are Adelaide, 
 Mrs. W. Mayberry; Lafayette, at home, and Addis 
 A., a traveling salesman of Madison, Wis.; the 
 latter married Minnie Isham, of Delavan, that 
 State. 
 
 The mother of Mrs. Witter is still living at Clin- 
 ton Juncton, Wis., at the advanced age of eighty 
 years. The church home of our subject's wife is 
 the Methodist Episcopal, in which denomination 
 she is an active member. In company with her 
 son, Lafayette, she is conducting a portion of the 
 home farm in an intelligent and profitable manner. 
 
 i>^^<i 
 
 ^- 
 
 f ^ ON. CHARLES E. FULLER, of Belvidere, 
 who represents the Eighth Senatorial IMs- 
 
 trict in the Illinois Legislature, was born in 
 W) Flora Township, Boone County. His father, 
 Seymour Fuller, was born in Shaftsbury, Vt. The 
 great-grandfather, Elijah Fuller, was a farmer and 
 spent his last years in Shaftsbury. Solomon, the 
 grandfather, was also a native of the Green Moun- 
 tain State and a farmer by occupation. He re- 
 moved to New York and spent his last days in 
 Wyoming County. 
 
 Seymour Fuller was married in the Empire State 
 to Eliza A. Mordoflf, a native of Wyoming County, 
 N. Y., and with his wife and one child he emigrated 
 to Illinois in 1844, coming by the Lakes to Chi- 
 cago and thence with teams to Boone County. He 
 settled in what is now Flora Township and se- 
 cured a tract of Government land, which he de- 
 
 veloped into a fine farm, upon which he still 
 makes his home. In 1882, his wife was called to 
 her final rest. 
 
 Our subject acquired his early education in the 
 district schools, afterward was a student in the 
 High school of Belvidere and spent one term in 
 Wheaton College. In 1869, he commenced the 
 study of law with Jesse S. Hildrufe, of Belvidere, 
 was admitted to the Bar in 1870, and at once com- 
 menced practice. He married Sarah Mackey, daugh- 
 ter of Hugh Mackey, of Cherry Valley. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Fuller is a member of Belvidere 
 Lodge No. 90,A. F. & A. M.; the American Legion 
 of Honor, and La Fayette Garrison, K. G. In pol- 
 itics, he has always been a stanch Republican. His 
 first office was that of City Attorney, and in 1876 
 he was elected State Attorney of Boone County. 
 Two years later, he was elected State Senator for 
 the District composed of Winnebago and Boone 
 Counties. In 1882, a new Senatorial District was 
 formed, composed of Boone, McHenry and Lake 
 Counties. This District had a holdover Senator, 
 and in 1882 Mr. Fuller was elected Representa- 
 tive and re-elected in 1884. In 1888, he was 
 elected Senator from the Eighth District for four 
 years and is still holding the office. In 1884, he 
 was a delegate to the National Convention and 
 supported Gen. Logan for the Presidency until it 
 was seen that he could not secure the nomination, 
 when he voted for James G. Blaine. From a work 
 entitled "Politics and Politicians of Illinois; A Suc- 
 cinct History of the State Covering a Period from 
 1808 until 1887," by D. W. Lusk, we quote the 
 following from the account of the Thirty-fourth 
 General Assembly: 
 
 "In point of ability, the Legislature compared 
 very favorably with its predecessors in both the 
 Senate and the House. In the Senate, the Dem- 
 ocrats were particularly fortunate in having an 
 array of able minds, and in some respects the re- 
 mark is true of them in the House, but in neither 
 body did any one man develop as their leader, .as 
 was the case on the Republican side. While there 
 were many men of ability on the latter side, yet the 
 leadership was conceded to Charles E. Fuller, and it 
 is no flattery to him to say that he sustained him- 
 self ably and well in every conflict with the oppos- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1266 
 
 ing forces, and after the seating of Mr. Weaver 
 and the election of Gen. Logan, the Republicans 
 being in the majority in the House, he would have 
 been chosen Speaker but for his own advice in op- 
 position to making any change in the organization 
 of the House. Mr. Haines, however, recognized the 
 right of the Republicans to control, and volun- 
 tarily yielded the chair to Mr. Fuller whenever the 
 Republicans desired or requested it, so that during 
 the contests over the passage of the election bills 
 and the greater portion of the time during the last 
 weeks of the session, when most of the real Legis- 
 lative work was accomplished, Mr. Fuller occupied 
 the chair and was the virtual Speaker of the 
 House. At the close of the session, Mr. Graham, 
 Democrat, of Macon, presented the following reso- 
 lution, which was unanimously adopted: 
 
 '■'■ '■Resolved, That members of the Thirtj'-fourth 
 General Assembly return to Mr. Charles E. Fuller 
 our hearty thanks for his courtesy while acting as 
 Speaker and for the successful dispatch of the bus- 
 iness of this House.' " 
 
 From the same work, we also take the following 
 extract: "Mr. Fuller was Senator in the Thirty- 
 first and Thirty-second General Assemblies and 
 Representative in the Thirty-tliird and Thirty- 
 fourth; was Chairman of the Committee on Rail- 
 roads and member of the Committees on Judiciary, 
 Retrenchment, Libraries, Civil Service and Rules, 
 and Chairman of the Committee on the Governor's 
 Message. Mr. Fuller was no less a leader in this 
 Assembly than in the Thirty-fourth, and early man- 
 ifested a disposition to legislate in the interests of 
 the many by introducing House Bill No. 1, to re- 
 duce the contract rate of interest from eight to 
 six per cent. The Committee on Judiciary recom- 
 mended that it 'do pass,' but finding on second 
 reading that it would be defeated, he amended it 
 so as to make the legal rate seven per cent., and in 
 this form it passed the House but failed in the 
 Senate. He secured the passage of a bill to abolish 
 judgment votes, but it fared in the Senate the fate 
 of the interest bill. The bill appropriating $50,000 
 for a monument for Gen. John A.Logan was intro- 
 duced by him. The act giving cities or villages 
 power to license, tax or prohibit Cheap-John venders 
 was his. He drafted House Bill No. 701, one of the 
 
 most important of all the bills which became laws. 
 He championed the Savings Bank Bill of the 
 House and the General Banking Bill of the Senate, 
 and secured important amendments to each, both 
 of which became laws. The Farmers' Insurance 
 Bill, which originated in the Senate, was called up 
 by him in the House, out of its regular order at 
 each reading, and became a law. He had charge of 
 Senator Crabtree's Anti-Bucket-shop Bill in the 
 House and secured its passage; he advocated the 
 submission to a vote of the people the question of 
 Prohibition; he voted for and supported with his 
 power of eloquence Merritt's Conspiracy Bill and 
 Collins' Anti-Dynamite Bill, and no member of 
 the Thirty-fifth General Assembly exercised a more 
 potent influence in the Legislature in the interests 
 of the masses of the people than did Mr. Fuller. " 
 In the last session of the Senate, Mr. Fuller was 
 Chairman of the Republican Senate Caucus, of the 
 Joint Caucus and of the Republican Steering Com- 
 mittee. He was Chairman of the Senate Railroad 
 Committee and introduced the Savings Bank Bill, 
 which passed the Senate but met defeat in the 
 House. He is one of the best-known men in the 
 State, popular at home and abroad, and his posi- 
 tion has been reached through his own ability. 
 His fellow-citizens are justly proud of him and 
 higher honors surely await him. 
 
 E. GOODWIN, M. D., for many years a 
 leading physician of Rockford, was a na- 
 tive of Vermont, having been born in Chel- 
 sea, August 11, 1827. Under great difficul- 
 ties and despite poverty, he succeeded in obtaining 
 an education, being urged forward by an earnest 
 desire for knowledge. It was no easy matter 
 then to obtain even a crude education, and it was 
 with great difficulty that the obstacles in his path 
 were overcome. As he grew to manhood, his 
 thoughts turned toward medicine and he resolved 
 to follow that profession. 
 
 Without means or influence, our subject set 
 about obtaining a professional education. He 
 studied at Johnson, Vt., sawing wood and teach- 
 ing school to gain a livelihood. His course was 
 
1266 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 frequently interrupted by want of money, and it 
 required some time to attain the desired end, but 
 finally the course of study was completed and he 
 was graduated with honors. He worked his way 
 through the Berkshire Medical College, Pittsfleld, 
 Mass., and then devoted himself to the practice of 
 medicine, opening an office at Clintonville, N. Y., 
 where from the first he was successful. 
 
 At Clintonville, July 8, 1852, Dr. Goodwin was 
 married to Miss Adelia E. Field, who survives him. 
 In 1854, he removed to Rockford and ever after- 
 ward resided in the house on Jefferson street where 
 he died. Coming here a stranger, his ability soon 
 brought him a good practice and his conscientious 
 attention to his business held his patients after he 
 won them. During the Civil War, he enlisted as 
 Surgeon in the Eleventh Illinois Infantry and was 
 afterward appointed Surgeon of the One Hundred 
 and eighth Illinois. He was wounded in the stomach 
 at Vicksburg and in after years suffered greatly 
 from this wound. He was a stanch Democrat and 
 an earnest temperance advocate. At the last 
 municipal election held in his life time, he was con- 
 veyed to the polls in a hack to vote for anti-license, 
 and that was the last time he ever left his home. 
 The immediate cause of his death, which occurred 
 at Rockford May 14, 1889, was Bright's Disease. 
 
 Besides his wife, the Doctor left one daughter, 
 Nellie T., wife of Robert Rew, the well-known 
 attorney of Rockford. Another daughter, Carrio 
 died during childhood. Dr. Goodwin was an able 
 physician, a thoughtful man and a good citizen. 
 He filled many important offices of a public char- 
 acter, serving on the Board of Education for a 
 number of years, as a member of the Library Board 
 for two years, and in other positions of trust. He 
 represented the District Medical Association at 
 various places in the State, and the American 
 Medical Association at St. Louis, Philadelphia, St. 
 Paul, Chicago and Washington. At the time of 
 his death, he was President of the Winnebago 
 County Medical Society. He was tireless in his 
 profession, reading extensively and keeping 
 abreast the times. He paid the closest attention to 
 his cases and neglected no precaution, however 
 slight, to further the interests of his patients. 
 Years ago. Dr. Goodwin took a trip abroad and 
 
 increased his medical knowledge by visiting the 
 hospitals of Europe, as well as broadened his 
 knowledge by sight-seeing and travel. He was the 
 physician of many of Rockford 's oldest families, 
 and possessed their confidence to a marked degree 
 The close personal attention which he gave his 
 cases made him a great favorite. As a man he was 
 well posted on current events and was a compan- 
 ionable and genial gentleman. As husband and 
 father, physician and trusted friend, he was highly 
 regarded in life, and in death was mourned by all 
 who knew him. 
 
 USAAC C. TUTTLE, now living retired in 
 I Pecatouica village was born in Antrim, Hills- 
 Jl boro County, N. H., September 11, 1820. His 
 parents, Jacob and Betsey (Cummings) Tuttle, 
 were natives of Massachusetts, the father being 
 born February 6, 1767, and his wife May 25, 1778. 
 They both died in Antrim, N. H., at an advanced 
 age. The paternal grandfather, who was born 
 August 29, 1738, died when seventy-seven years 
 of age; his wife, who was, previous to her mar- 
 riage. Miss Submit Warren, died when flftj'-five 
 years of age, having been born March 12, 1742. 
 
 The mother of our subject was the daughter of 
 Isaac and Elizabeth (Trowbridge) Cummings. His 
 marriage occurred November 11, 1846, at which 
 time Miss Louisa I., daughter of Daniel and Han- 
 nah (Kidder) Lowe, became his wife. The father 
 was born in Greenfield, N. H., and died at Antrim, 
 aged seventy years. His wife, who was also a na- 
 tive of the Granite State, was seventy-two years of 
 age at her death. 
 
 Mrs. Louisa Tuttle was born in Antrim in the 
 above-named State, November 21, 1821. Her 
 union with our subject has resulted in the birth of 
 ten children, six of whom are living: Henry C, 
 who was born August 9, 1847, is married and the 
 father of two children; Jacob E., who was bom 
 April 11, 1851, is also married and has five chil- 
 dren; Harriet L., whose birth occurred January 5, 
 1853, married Fred Elson and has a family of three 
 children; Daniel P., born February 27, 1856, is un- 
 married; Frank S., born February 10, 1867, is mar- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1267 
 
 ried and has four children; George I., who was 
 born October 29, 1858, is married and the father of 
 one child. 
 
 Mr. Tuttle remained at home until his marriage, 
 when he went to live on a portion of his father's 
 farm. He has given his children excellent edu- 
 cations, thus fitting them to become good and use- 
 ful citizens. In March, 1862, he left New Hampshire 
 during a terrible storm and coming to Illinois pur- 
 chased a farm of sixty-four acres in Pecatonica 
 Township, to which he later added eighty acres 
 and there resided until removing into the village, 
 in May, 1889. He is the owner of considerable 
 real estate in Pecatonica and is enjoying to the 
 fullest extent the fruits of his early toil and in- 
 dustry. 
 
 The gi-andfather of Mrs. Tuttle, Simon Lowe, 
 was a soldier in the Revolutionary War for seven 
 years. The father of our subject was very promi- 
 nent in public affairs and was elected to the State 
 Legislature on the Democratic ticket in 1836, being 
 the incumbent of that position for a period of six- 
 teen years. He held many local township ofHces, 
 and was otherwise interested in all measures which 
 tend toward the upbuilding of his community. 
 Socially, he of whom we write is an Odd Fellow 
 belonging to Lodge No. 173, in which he held all the 
 chairs. Mrs. Tuttle is a member of the Woman's 
 Christian Temperance Union and a lady highly re- 
 spected for her many good works. 
 
 ^^>^^<^ 
 
 z^EORGE TROXELL. Few of the citizens 
 (if <W/ ^^ Rockford have been more prominently 
 ^^1 identified with its progress, and perhaps 
 none have been more deeply interested in its wel- 
 fare, than the gentleman above named. He was 
 instrumental in securing the watch factory in its 
 present location, and labored indefatigably to se- 
 cure the many railroads now here, as well as the 
 various manufacturing interests of the city. 
 
 Mr. Troxell was born in Easton, Northampton 
 County, Pa., August 18, 1803, of which place his 
 father, also named George, was a native. The 
 grandfather of our subject was born in Germany, 
 whence he emigrated to America, and settled in 
 
 the village of Easton. He had learned the trade 
 of a baker, and established himself in business at 
 Easton, where he spent the remainder of his days. 
 George Troxell, Sr., learned the trade of a mill- 
 wright, which he followed many years, and spent 
 his entire life in Easton. His wife, Catherine, was 
 there born, of German ancestry, and in the village 
 where she was born, closed her eyes to the scenes 
 of earth. 
 
 At the age of sixteen, our subject commenced 
 to learn the trade of a millwright, and worked 
 under his father as an apprentice until he was 
 twenty-one, after which he continued in business 
 with him. The work proving too hard for him, 
 he formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, 
 Mr. Hummel, and engaged in the mercantile busi- 
 ness, at Easton for two years. Afterward he estab- 
 lished the same business at Mt. Bethel, where he 
 built up an extensive trade, and carried a general 
 line of dry-goods, groceries, hardware, cutlery, 
 drugs, paints, and, in fact, almost anything in daily 
 use. In addition to this, he erected a tannery, and 
 carried on farming operations. 
 
 In 1854, Mr. Troxell sold his interests there and 
 came to Illinois the spring of tlie next year, locat- 
 ing in East Rockford, and investing extensively 
 in real estate. At that time, there was but one 
 railroad in Rockford, and he turned his attention 
 to securing another line, his efforts being rewarded 
 in due course of time. It is largely due to the ex- 
 ertions of Mr. Troxell and his co-workers that 
 Rockford has grown from a village of three or four 
 thousand to a city of about thirty thousand. 
 
 In September, 1827, Mr. Troxell was married to 
 Maria Yohe, who was born in Easton, Pa, the 
 daughter of John and Rebecca Yohe; she died 
 March 23, 1851. The second marriage of our sub- 
 ject united him, June 23, 1852, with Mary A. 
 Smith, who w.as born in Mt. Bethel, Pa. Her father, 
 Samuel Smith, was also born in Northampton 
 County, Pa., whence he removed to Illinois in 
 1856, and purchased a farm in Stephenson County, 
 where he resided until his death. Of the first mar- 
 riage of Mr. Troxell, five children were reared, 
 namely: Edwin Y., Carrie (Mrs. Robert Angel- 
 man), Edwin A., Emma and Sylvanus. Two chil- 
 dren blessed the second marriage: Willis S. and 
 
1268 
 
 i-ORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 George A. In his political belief, Mr. Troxell 
 joined the Republican party at the time of its or- 
 ganization, but is now a Prohibitionist. He and 
 his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, in which they are active workers. 
 
 
 
 'LEXANDER SARVER. Two and one- 
 half miles northwest of the City of Rock- 
 ford lies a farm of one hundred and 
 forty-seven acres, the property of the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. Here he engaged in general 
 farming and stock-raising, in which he has been 
 more than usually successful, and is now numbered 
 among the most progressive agriculturists of 
 Winnebago County. His entire life has been passed 
 in this county, wliere he was born, in Harrison 
 Township, September 30, 1847. 
 
 It is thought tliat the paternal grandfather of 
 our subject was born in Germany. For manj- 
 years he resided in Pennsylvania, removing thence 
 to Illinois, and spending his last days in Harrison 
 Township. Henry Sarver, father of our subject, 
 was born in Pennsylvania, and removed from Bed- 
 ford County, that State, to Illinois in 1845, settling 
 in Harrison Township, and entering a tract of 
 three hundred and twenty acres of Government 
 land. For a time, he made his home with the fam- 
 ily of Mr. McCoy, then resided in a building that 
 had been erected for a schoolhouse. Later, he 
 put up a log house on his land, which in time was 
 replaced by a more substantial frame residence, in 
 which he remained until his death. For some 
 years after lie settled on the place, there were no 
 railroads near, and Chicago being the nearest mar- 
 ket, the farmers were accustomed to drive to that 
 town with ox-teams. 
 
 Until he was twenty-one, our subject remained 
 in the paternal home, but at that age commenced 
 life for himself on a rented farm. After operating 
 for one year as a renter, he bought eighty acres in 
 Owen Township, upon which he began his career 
 as a successful farmer. Seven years after purchas- 
 ing the place, he sold it, and bought one hundred 
 and sixty-eight acres in Burritt Township. He 
 added to the acreage of the farm, where he carried 
 
 on agricultural pursuits until 1889, and then pur- 
 chased the farm he now occupies. He still owns 
 the estate in Burritt Township, and gives his per- 
 sonal attention to the management of both places. 
 In January, 1869, Mr. Sarver was married to 
 Miss Sarah A. Fell. Her grandparents, William 
 and Elizabeth P^ell, spent their entire lives in Eng- 
 land. Her father was there born in Lancashire, 
 August 6, 1806, and was the only member of the 
 family who ever came to America. In his native 
 land he learned the trade of a cloth-dresser, and 
 in 1842 set sail from Liverpool, landing at New 
 York City, and proceeding thence to Rhode Island. 
 He worked at his trade in that State and Massa- 
 chusetts for two years, and then came to Winne- 
 bago County and settled in what is now Durand 
 Township, of which he was a pioneer. Securing a 
 tract of Government land, he built the log house 
 in which Mrs. Sarver was born. He still has a 
 home upon the farm which he has improved, al- 
 though most of his time is spent with his children. 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Barning- 
 ham, was born in Yorkshire, England, the daughter 
 of Job'and Elizabeth (Flint) Barningham; she 
 died in 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Sarver are the parents 
 of three children: Nellie, William and Edith. Nel- 
 lie married Theodore Dickerson, and tliey have 
 one child. Vera. William married Dora Allen. 
 
 ♦=:S»: 
 
 y 
 
 ER A. PETERSON. The city of Rockford 
 can certainly be congratulated upon the 
 ^ high standard of enterprise and ability 
 displayed by its leading business men, 
 prominent among whom is the gentleman whose 
 name heads this sketch. As Superintendent of the 
 West End Furniture Factory and as a stockholder 
 and Director in that enterprise since its organiza- 
 tion in July, 1890, Mr. Peterson has bent all his 
 energies to advance its interests and is well quali- 
 fied for the position he now holds. 
 
 This factory, which is one of the flourishing in- 
 stitutions of the city, has a capacity of one hun- 
 dred or more, and gives employment to about 
 seventy-five men. The President, Austin Colton, 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1269 
 
 Vice-president, Frank Hoagland,aiid Secretary and 
 Treasurer, Herman Lind, are popular in leading 
 business and financial circles, and are very widelj'- 
 and favorably known. Tiie establishment has all 
 the modern improvements and turns out first-class 
 work. 
 
 Mr. Peterson claims Sweden as his native coun- 
 try and first saw the light of day in Smoland 
 Province, June 17, 1845. There his youth was 
 passed and there, when but a small boy, he began 
 learning his trade, having from an early age been 
 master of tools as a cabinet-maker. Thinking that 
 greater inducements were afforded in America, he 
 took passage for this country in 1868, and after 
 following his trade in Chicago and other cities, he 
 finally came to the thriving city of Roekford, of 
 which he has since been a resident. He has pros- 
 pered in all his business ventures since living 
 here, and is interested in a number of the promi- 
 nent enterprises of the city. He is a stockholder 
 andDirector in the Mechanics' Furniture Company, 
 which employs one hundred men, and owns real 
 estate in the city. He has a tasty and neat resi- 
 dence at No. 1106 Second Avenue, and most of 
 the time since 1875, when lie first settled here, he 
 has followed the trade of a cabinet-maker. His 
 parents, P. M. and Eliza (Monson) Peterson, 
 worthy and much-esteemed citizens of their native 
 province in Sweden, passed their entire lives 
 there, the father engaged as a tiller of the soil. 
 They lived to be quite old people, both about 
 eighty years of age, and all their lives were mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran Church. An elder son, 
 Adolph Peterson, who had also been filled with a 
 great desire to settle in the broad, free land of 
 America, came here previous to our subject, and is 
 now engaged as a mason in De Kalb, HI. 
 
 The original of this sketch selected his wife in 
 the person of Miss Anna Engstrom, who was born 
 in Jonkoping Lan, Smoland Province, Sweden, 
 January 5, 1850. She remained in her native 
 country until eighteen years of age and then 
 crossed the ocean to this country to join her 
 brother, A. F. Engstrom, who made his advent into 
 this country a number of years previously. (See 
 sketch.) 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Peterson are the happy parents of 
 
 two bright children : Jennie V., and Herbert T., 
 both now at home. Worthy and exemplary mem- 
 bers of the First Lutheran Church, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Peterson are popular young people of the city, and 
 have a wide circle of friends. Mr. Peterson is an 
 ardent supporter of the principles of the Republi- 
 can party. 
 
 — ® 
 
 ORACE D. HOPKINS is an intelligent 
 and enterprising man, very popular in 
 Rockton, in the best circles of which place 
 his family moves. At the present time he 
 occupies the honored position of Alderman of the 
 Fourth Ward and for a number of years has served 
 in the capacity of School Director. He became a 
 resident of this place in 1883, since which time he 
 has been engaged as foreman in the coal, wood 
 and lumber yards of Pcet & Keeler. 
 
 Born April 9, 1841, in Orleans County, N. Y., 
 our subject is a son of Luke and Eunice (Hinman) 
 Hopkins, the latter of whom was born on the Mo- 
 hawk Flats in 1801. The father was a native of 
 Vermont, but removed to Eastern New York, 
 where his marriage took place in 1830. He was in 
 early life a Custom House officer on Lake Cham- 
 plain, and when our subject was a lad removed to 
 Lenawee County, Mich., where the family were 
 residents for two years, and in 1855 came to Ros- 
 coe, Winnebago County. They made this place 
 their home for several years and then returned to 
 the Wolverine State, leaving their son, our subject, 
 in this county. 
 
 December 22, 1869, the original of this sketch 
 and Miss Hannah Moore were united in marriage. 
 The lady was a native of England, and the daugh- 
 ter of Stephen and Sarah (Wait) Moore. Mr. 
 Hopkins is the youngest child of his parents, hav- 
 ing two sisters, Martha, Mrs. Isaac Lapp, of New 
 York, and Helen, Mrs. James Lowe, of Hudson, 
 Mich., with whom the mother resides at the age of 
 ninety-one years. She is well preserved in body 
 and mind and has done some fine needle work re- 
 cently. Her husband died in Hudson, Mich., in 
 1887, in his ninety-fourth year, three years prior to 
 his decease being totally blind. 
 
1270 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Our subject learned the trade of a carpenter 
 when about twenty-three years of age, but on 
 moving to Rockton abandoned that line of work. 
 His home is one of culture and refinement and 
 with his wife he is held in high esteem by those to 
 whom his character and attainments are known. 
 They are the parents of four children: Guy M., 
 Luther B., Helen M. and Mary B., and all remain at 
 home with their parents. Our subject is a member 
 of the Masonic order, and is a stalwart Republican. 
 
 0' 
 
 mil 
 
 l^^ 
 
 ,.^., RS. PATIENCE (AT WOOD) LYMAN, 
 /// iV ^^'"^ resides on section 30, Harlem Town- 
 lA ship, Winnebago County, was born in the 
 town of Peru, in Massachusetts, on the 
 5th of August, 1822, and comes of an old and 
 highly respected family of New England. Her 
 grandparents were Hezekiah and Lydia (Heth) 
 Atwood. Her father, Phineas Atwood, was born, 
 in Great Barrington, Mass. He learned the trade 
 of a blacksmith, and in addition to farming fol- 
 lowed that occupation in the Bay State until 1842, 
 when he removed to New York, where he spent 
 three 3'ears. He then came with his family to Ill- 
 inois, making the journey by the way of the Lakes 
 to Chicago, where he purchased a team and then 
 came on overland to Winnebago County, where 
 his sons, David and Jonathan, had located the 
 previous year. He spent three years in New Mil- 
 ford, and then made a settlement in the town of 
 Harlem, where he bought a tract of land and im- 
 proved a farm, upon which he resided until called 
 to the home beyond. He was a soldier in the War 
 of 1812, and married Hulda Haskell, who was 
 born in Peru, Mass., and was a daughter of Roger 
 and Mary (Webster) Haskell. She died on the 
 home farm at the advanced age of ninety-four years 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Atwood were consistent mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Church and were highly re- 
 spected people, who had the confidence and esteem 
 of all with whom they came in contact. 
 
 Mrs.. Lyman spent the days of her maidenhood 
 in Massachusetts, and acquired her education in 
 the public schools of her native State. She was a 
 j'oung lady of twenty-three years when she came 
 
 to Illinois in company with her father and mother. 
 She always resided with her parents and cared for 
 them in their old age. In November, 1877, she 
 became the wife of Joseph Allen Lyman, also a 
 native of the Bay State, born in April, 1808. His 
 parents were Joseph and Caroline (Atwood) Lyman. 
 He was reared to agricultural pursuits, and en- 
 gaged in farming in Hinsdale and Becket, Mass., 
 for many years. At length he came to Illinois, in 
 1877, settling in Winnebago County, and spent the 
 remainder of his days on the Atwood homestead. 
 By a former marriage he had two sons: Edwin and 
 Sheldon. He died on the 7th of April, 1885, re- 
 spected by all who knew him. 
 
 Mrs. Lyman still owns and occupies the old 
 homestead, upon which she has resided for about 
 forty-six years. She has witnessed the growth 
 and development of this count}' since a very early 
 day and well deserves mention among its pioneer 
 settlers. At the age of fifteen years, she united 
 with the Methodist Church and has since been 
 one of its faithful and consistent members, an 
 earnest worker in the Master's vineyard. She was 
 also for many years a teacher in the Sunday-school 
 and is a life member of the missionarj' society of 
 her church. 
 
 ^^N SCAR HALL. Among the prominent mer- 
 it J) cantile establishments of Rockford may be 
 ^^' mentioned the firm of Engstrom & Hall, 
 dealers in a fine line of dry goods, at No. 324 East 
 State Street. Since the inception of the business 
 in March, 1889, the firm has built up a large trade 
 and gained a good reputation for reliable dealings 
 and courtesy to their customers. Mr. Hall has 
 been a resident of Rockford since 1874, and was 
 one of the original stockholders in the Central 
 Furniture Company, with which he was connected 
 as assistant foreman and salesman, and for a time 
 was commercial agent. 
 
 Mr. Hall was born in the Province of Smoland, 
 Sweden, December 2, 1855, and there grew toman- 
 hood, meanwhile learning the trade of a cabinet- 
 maker and receiving a practical education in the 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1271 
 
 public schools. In 1874, bo emigrated to America, 
 embarking on a vessel at Gottenburg, touching 
 some of the ports of England, and landing at New 
 York City. His parents, John P. and Caroline 
 Hall, still reside in Sweden, and, although ad- 
 vanced in years, are hale and active. The father 
 was a Swedish soldier, and served in the regular 
 army. A sister of our subject, Matilda, resides in 
 Eockford; another sister, Laura, is now living in 
 Oo'le County, and is the wife of Alfred Peterson. 
 A brother, August N., formerly of Rockford, is now 
 a clerk for Wanamaker & Brown, of Chicago. 
 
 The lady who became the wife of our subject 
 was formerly Miss Anna M. Engstrom, who was 
 born in Malta, DeKalb County, 111., March 15, 
 1853. She is a graduate of both the schools of 
 Malta and Rockford, and completed her education 
 in Chicago, where she was graduated in music un- 
 der the German Professor Conrade. She has since 
 devoted her time largely to that art, and is a 
 skilled musician and successful instructor. In pol- 
 ities, Mr. Hall is a Republican. He and his wife 
 are members of the First Swedish Lutheran Church, 
 and are prominent in the social, circles of Rock- 
 ford. 
 
 ^ OHN NIDO. Since coming to Rockford in 
 1867, Mr. Nido has probably been the best- 
 known machinist of the city. Possessing re- 
 markable ability as a mechanic and machin- 
 ist pattern-maker, he has gained success in that 
 occupation, and his skill is universally recognized. 
 Some time after locating in this city, he became 
 connected with Mr. Nelson in the knitting-machine 
 business, and has for several years been at the head 
 of the machine shops of the Nelson Knitting Ma- 
 chine Company, as well as the maker of the ma- 
 chines. 
 
 Bom in Stockholm, Sweden, June 26, 1834, Mr. 
 Nido was reared and educated in the city of his 
 birth, and received there his early training as a 
 mechanic. From early boyhood, he worked as a 
 pattern and model maker, in which he soon ac- 
 quired great skill. He was the only one of the 
 parental family who emigrated to the United 
 Stanes, and it was in 1 865 that he crossed the At- 
 
 lantic and commenced to work in Dunkirk, N. Y. 
 He also resided in Chicago for a time before he 
 came to Rockford, where, as above stated, he ar- 
 rived in 1867. 
 
 In this city Mr. Nido was married to Miss Clara 
 Johnson, a native of Sweden, who emigrated to 
 America in her young womanhood. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Nido have two children: Blanda and Herman, who 
 are at home. In the public affairs of the day, Mr. 
 Nido takes an intelligent interest, and is a stanch 
 adherent of the principles of the Republican party. 
 
 LLEN RICE. Through the exercise of 
 unflagging industry and judicious invest- 
 (fi ments, Mr. Rice has become prosperous and 
 ^ now lives retired at No. 305^ Mulberry 
 
 street, where he is surrounded by all the comforts 
 which contribute to happiness. His home has been 
 in Winnebago County since 1856 and during the 
 first eight years of his residence here he cultivated 
 a farm in Harrison Township, later located near 
 Rockford, and finally removed to this city about 
 twenty years ago. 
 
 The early home of Mr. Rice was in Washington 
 County, N. Y., where he was born April 3, 1817. 
 After attending school there when opportunity 
 offered, he removed at the age of fourteen to 
 Genesee County, which remained his home until 
 he came West to Illinois. His father, Jonathan 
 Rice, was born in the same county as himself, like- 
 wise his grandfather, Abraham. The last-named 
 served in the War of 1812 when a young man. 
 He married Miss Eda Deuell, a native of Washing- 
 ton County, one of whose brothers was a soldier 
 during the War of 1812. The worthy couple 
 passed their entire lives in Washington County, 
 and among their children was Jonathan, father of 
 our subject. 
 
 Jonathan Rice removed to Genesee County and 
 there died at the age of fifty-two years. His chil- 
 dren were twelve in number and six still survive, 
 all of whom married and reared families of their 
 own. In Genesee County, N. Y., our subject was 
 married to Miss Lydia Mead, who was born in 
 Northampton Township, Fulton County, N. Y., 
 
1272 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 August 17, 1835. She was reared and received 
 her education in Genesee Countj', which was for 
 many years the home of her parents, Charles and 
 Polly (Peirce) Mead, natives of Fulton County. 
 Mrs. Mead died in Fulton County in the prime of 
 life and her husband passed away at the age of 
 sixty years. They were sincere Christians and 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 They were the parents of six children, four of 
 whom are now living. 
 
 For thirty-live years Mr. and Mrs. Rice have 
 lived and labored together for their common wel- 
 fare and prosperity, and have reaped the reward 
 of their labors in the possession of a competency 
 and the universal esteem of the community. Their 
 only child, Harris H., married Fannie Ncarmen, 
 and lives in Rockford. By a former marriage, Mr. 
 Rice became the father of two sons: Charles E., 
 who is a farmer in Storm Lake, Iowa ; and James 
 A., who is a speculator in Chicago. During his 
 residence in Harrison Township, Mr. Rice served as 
 Supervisor and Justice of the Peace, and in his 
 political adherence is independent, casting his 
 ballot for the candidates whom he deems best 
 qualified to represent the people. 
 
 C. BURPEE is the senior member of the 
 firm of Burpee & Son. They have the 
 1*1 largest retail furniture and undertaking 
 establishment in Illinois outside of Chi- 
 cago. The business was founded by our subject in 
 1856, at Nos. 108 and 110 West State Street, where 
 he is still located. The first year he was alone and 
 then he admitted to partnership William Werner. 
 After three years, that connection was discontinued 
 and the firm of Burpee & Groneman did business 
 from 1869 until 1871, after which Mr. Burpee was 
 alone for fifteen years, when the present company 
 was established. The store which thej' occupy is for- 
 ty-four feet front and is two hundred feet deep and 
 has a five story front. At night it is lighted with 
 electricity. There are passenger and freight ele- 
 vators and all the appointments of a modern fur- 
 niture store, and the stock which they carry is both 
 
 extensive and of fine make. As before stated, they 
 have a very large trade and their establishment is 
 one of the leading ones in the city. In connec- 
 tion with the furniture department, they also carry 
 on the undertaking business, having large supplies 
 in this line, together with a fine hearse. A. C. 
 Burpee is a stockholder in the Rockford Burial 
 Case Company, of which he has been a Director 
 for five years. He is also a stockholder of the 
 Rockford Silver Plate Company, a stockholder 
 and Director of the Rockford Cattle Companj^, and 
 is also interested in other corporations. 
 
 Mr. Burpee came to Rockford from Lima, N. Y., 
 where his birth occurred August 10, 1822. His 
 father, Samuel Burpee, was a native of Charles- 
 town, Mass., where he was partially reared; he also 
 lived in Worcester County. In Sterling, he learned 
 the furniture business and on the 16th of June, 
 1816, removed to Lima, N. Y., where for forty-two 
 years he was proprietor of a furniture store. Sub- 
 sequently, he became a resident of Beloit, Wis., 
 where he died ten years later, at the age of eighty- 
 three. He was well known in the East as an 
 anti-slavery and temperance worker, and was an 
 Abolitionist when there were only five others in 
 Livingston County, N. Y. He signed the first tem- 
 perance pledge which he saw, and never broke it. 
 The church once took up his case on account of 
 his slavery and temperance principles. He debated 
 those questions throughout Livingston County, 
 N. Y., and was once threatened by a mob, but 
 strong in the right, he bravely stood and neither 
 fear nor favor could alter his belief or course. He 
 afterward became identified with the Republican 
 party. In religious belief, he was a Presbyterian. 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Esther Crosby, 
 died in Lima, N. Y., at the age of sixty-eight. She 
 was born m New Hampshire and was a daughter 
 of Capt. Alpheus Crosby, a commissioned oflScer 
 and brave soldier of the Revolution, who died on 
 his farm amid the hills of the Granite State. Two 
 of his sons, Alpheus and Asa, came to Rockford 
 in 1849, and were prominently connected with the 
 early history of this city. 
 
 In Lima, N. Y., Mr. Burpee of this sketch learned 
 the trade and business of a furniture dealer and 
 undertaker and was engaged in that line for three 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1273 
 
 years in LeRoy, N. Y., prior to coming to Rockford. 
 He was married in Monroe County, N. Y., to Miss 
 Harriet M. Baldwin, the accomplished daughter of 
 Gordon and Lydia (Fitch) Baldwin. Her fatlier 
 was a prominent and well-to-do farmer of Monroe 
 County, who, in 1857, came to Illinois, dying in 
 Iroquois County when past the age of sixty years. 
 His wife was born in Hinsdale, Mass., and died in 
 Iroquois County at an advanced age. Both were 
 active and consistent members of the Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Burpee have taken an active part 
 in all public affairs, are prominent members of so- 
 ciety and are faithful workers in the Second Con- 
 gregational Church. In politics, Mr. Burpee is a 
 Republican. Their union has been blessed with 
 five children: Minnie, at home; Harry B., who 
 graduated from the Rockford High School and 
 spent a year in Europe, studying in the colleges 
 of London and Paris, married Delia C. Trufan, of 
 Rockford, and is now his father's partner; Herman 
 N., of Seattle, Wash., is State Agent for a type- 
 writing company, also for the Holly Water Works 
 ManufactuTing Company and in the works in 
 Seattle; Florence is the wife of McGregor Huff- 
 man, who is employed in the Winnebago National 
 Bank, of Rockford; and Stanton is a book-keeper 
 in the Rockford National Bank. The family is one 
 of prominence in this community. Mr. Burpee is 
 one of the leading and progressive business men 
 of the city, sagacious and far-sighted, and has done 
 much for the upbuilding and growth of Rockford, 
 where he has so long made his home. 
 
 ■^f OHN R. WELLS. In the ranks of the sub- 
 stantial farmers of Winnebago County this 
 gentleman is worthy of prominent consid- 
 eration, having by economical living and 
 frugal management acquired a fine property, which 
 brings him a comfortable income. He is at pres- 
 ent residing on section 1, Seward Township, and 
 has by his good conduct acquired an honored po- 
 sition among his fellow-townsmen. 
 
 The town of Mesina, St. Lawrence County, N. Y'., 
 was the birthplace of our subject, his natal 
 
 day being February' 20, 1837. His parents were 
 Reuben and Jane Wells, the former of whom was 
 a son of Reuben, Sr., a native of Vermont, and an 
 old Revolutionary soldier. Tradition has it that 
 two brothers of the Wells family came to the 
 United States from Wales, but just at what date is 
 not known. The father of our subject was born 
 in Middleboro, Vt.; and came West with his wife 
 and eight children in 1841. He had been mar- 
 ried in 1818 to Jane Roberts, who was born in 
 Plattsburg, N. Y., and was the daughter of Abram 
 Roberts, who died in this county at the home of 
 his daughter, Mrs. Jane Wells, when in his eighty- 
 first year ; his wife departed this life in New York. 
 
 The Wells family in Winnebago County are 
 prosperous agriculturists. Our subject had an 
 uncle, Levi Roberts, who was Aide-de-camp to John 
 McDonald at the battle of Plattsburg, and drew a 
 pension from the Government, having been 
 wounded by a horse falling upon him. The mother 
 of our subject passed away in this county, March 
 20, 1886, She bore her husband ten children, five 
 of whom are living. The father of our subject 
 died on the old home farm in this county, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1850. His tract was a "squatter's" claim, 
 thirty acres of which were broken, and erected 
 thereon was a log cabin. One hundred and sixty 
 acres were included in the farm, for which he paid 
 $200. The father went from Vermont to New 
 York with no earthly possessions other tlian the 
 clothes he wore and an axe, and his possessions on 
 coming to this county were two horses and a 
 wagon. 
 
 After the death of his father, our subject re- 
 mained at home until sixteen years of age, when 
 he worked out by the month for two years, and 
 then went to Iowa, where he was engaged in break- 
 ing prairie lands. Returning home, he remained 
 until 1861, when he crossed the plains to Califor- 
 nia, and was engaged eight years in mining and 
 market-gardening. Coming again to the Prairie 
 State, Mr. Wells purchased a farm, upon which he 
 makes his home at the present time, and has been 
 successfully engaged in cultivating the soil since 
 that time. 
 
 Miss Adel E., daughter of Roswell and Mary 
 Clark, became the wife of our subject in March, 
 
1274 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1870. The lady was born in New York, December 
 30, 1851, and died at her home in this county, 
 March 1, 1889. She had become the mother of 
 three children: Ernest E., who was born December 
 8, 1870, and is attending the business college at 
 Rockford; Gertrude R., born September 1, 1873, 
 is a very charming and accomplished young 
 lady, being a graduate of the Winnebago High 
 School, and Bernice M., who died in infancy. 
 
 A Republican in politics, our subject cast his 
 first vote for Abraham Lincoln. His wife was a 
 prominent member of the Women's Relief Corps, 
 and is otherwise interested in many ennobling and 
 elevating works. Mr. Wells is a self-made man in 
 the truest sense of that term, as he started out in 
 life empty-handed, and is now one of the well-to- 
 do farmers of the county. 
 
 Roswell Clark, the father of Mrs. Wells, was 
 born in Andover, Vt., where he was reared on a 
 farm, and accompanied his parents on their re- 
 moval to New York State in 1831. Settling in 
 Wyoming County, he purchased a tract of timber 
 land, cleared a farm from the wilderness, and re- 
 sided there until 1857, when became tolllinois, and 
 two years later purchased a farm at Twelve Mile 
 Grove, Seward Township. Here his decease oc- 
 curred in 1884. His wife, prior to her marriage, 
 was May Walton, a native of Massachusetts, and 
 the daughter of John Walton. She is now living 
 near Pecatonica, liaving become the mother of four 
 children: Amelia H., Alonzo W., Elbert J., and 
 Dell E. 
 
 ^p^UST FLODELL, of Rockford City, III., fol- 
 (l[ s=i lows the business of a news-dealer, than 
 ^^^ which in the wide range of industrial pur- 
 suits there is not a more interesting occupation, 
 for upon him the education of the masses and 
 the enlightenment of the citizens of this country 
 in a large manner depend. Mr. Flodell, the suc- 
 cessful Swedish news-dealer located at No. 310 
 East State Street, has been in business in this city, 
 in his present line, for ten years and carries a fine 
 stock of ttie very best class of Swedish literature. 
 He is a gentleman of energetic and accomplished 
 
 business habits, and is prompt and reliable in all 
 transactions. He came to Rockford in 1869, and 
 in 1874 opened a meat market on East State Street 
 which he carried on for six years. After this, he 
 was in one of the furniture factories of the town, 
 but subsequently opened a book store, and in 1888 
 he was associated with W. T. May in the jewelry 
 business in the same room he had occupied as a 
 book-seller. He is the leading steamship ticket 
 agent of the city and represents all the leading 
 trans- Atlantic steamship lines. Aside from this, he 
 is a promoter of the Skandia Furniture Company, 
 a stockholder of the same, and at present holds the 
 position of Vice-president of that organization. He 
 is also interested in the Union Grocery Company 
 and is a promoter of the Central Furniture Com- 
 pany, also the Mantel and Furniture Company, and 
 the Skandia Brick Company, of which he is Presi- 
 dent. He is a stockholder in the Brown Brick Com- 
 pany and a stockholder and promoter in a number 
 of other enterprises. Mr. Flodell has been one of the 
 leading business men in this city since his residence 
 here, and has ever taken a decided interest in local 
 matters. In politics he is a sound Republican. 
 In religion he is an active member of the First 
 Lutheran Church, of which he has been an official 
 member. He has been very successful as a business 
 man, and owns, beside his various interests in the 
 city, a good home at No. 903 Third Avenue. 
 
 Mr. Flodell is a native of Sweden, born in Wester 
 Gothland Province on the 12th of March, 1845, and 
 was the first of his family to come to the United 
 States. His father, Gustave Flodell, was born in 
 1808 and was a tiller of the soil until his death in 
 1857. The latter 's wife survived him until 1872, 
 and at the time of her death was quite aged. Both 
 were members of the Swedish Lutheran Church. 
 Two of their daughters are residing in the old 
 country, Mrs. Anna Anderson and Mrs. E. Johnson. 
 
 Gust Flodell selected as his companion in life 
 Miss Eva Peterson, a native of the same province 
 as her husband, her birth occurring in 1838, and 
 their nuptials were celebrated in Rockford on the 
 1st of April, 1870. She came to the United States 
 in 1869, and became a resident of Rockford. Her 
 parents died in Sweden, the mother. Bertha Peter- 
 son, in 1880 and the father, Peter Peterson, the fol- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1275 
 
 lowing year, the latter when just eighty years of 
 age. They were Swedish Lutherans in their relig- 
 ious belief. The father had always followed the 
 occupation of a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Flodell 
 have no children. Both are well respected in the 
 city, and are intelligent, worthy people. 
 
 bOUIS SANDINE of Rockford, like many of 
 the leading furniture men of this city, was 
 born in Sweden, his birth occurring in the 
 southern part of the country on the 22d of October, 
 1858. His father,Peter Pearson, was born in 1823, 
 and is yet living, a hale and hearty old gentleman, 
 who throughout life has followed the occupation 
 of farming. He has also been a life-long member 
 of the Lutheran Church, to which Mrs. Pearson 
 also belonged. The death of his wife occurred in 
 September, 1891. She was born in 1831, and bore 
 the maiden name of Kjersti. Our subject was the 
 first of the family to come to this country, but has 
 been followed by three brothers: Nels, John and 
 Mangnes. None are yet married and all are em- 
 ployed by the Rockford Mantel and Furniture 
 Company of this city. 
 
 In the land of his nativity, Mr. Sandine spent 
 the days of his boyhood and youth and acquired 
 a good education in the city schools of Stockholm. 
 Believing that this country offered better advan- 
 tages to young men just starting out in life than 
 the old countries, he determined to seek a home in 
 America, and crossed the briny deep in 1881. He 
 did not tarry long in the East but came at once to 
 Rockford, 111., and has since been connected with 
 the practical work of different furniture companies, 
 giving to the different branches his special atten- 
 tion. He therefore became well acquainted with 
 the business in all its details and is well qualified 
 for the responsible position of trust he now holds, 
 that of Secretary and Treasurer of the Mantel and 
 Furniture Company. The company was organized 
 in 1890, and he has since held his present office and 
 is also one of its Directors and a stockholder. When 
 the new additions to the factory are completed, it 
 will contain over 150,000 square feet and will furn- 
 ish employment to at least three hundred men. 
 
 It will be one of the largest manufactories of the 
 city and now does a more extensive business in the 
 manufacture of mantels than any other corpora- 
 tion in the country. Their mantels, of which they 
 make a specialty, are adjustable and thus can be 
 used in any place. 
 
 A marriage ceremony performed in Rockford 
 united the lives of Mr. Sandine and Mrs. Amanda 
 Sahllin, who was born in Central Sweden and 
 was reared and educated in the city of Stockholm. 
 The year 1880 witnessed her arrival in the United 
 States, since which time she has made her home in 
 Rockford. By her former marriage she became the 
 mother of two children : George and El vera. By 
 her second marriage an interesting family of four 
 children have been born: Esther E., Louis A., 
 Charles Otto and Agnes I. The parents are 
 both members of the Zion Lutheran Church, of 
 which Mr. Sandine is Secretary and one of the 
 Trustees. In politics, he is independent. He is a 
 straightforward business man, energetic and indus- 
 trious, and has become well-to-do. 
 
 r 
 
 •5*='5*='5* 
 
 ILS T. THOMPSON is carrying on a suc- 
 cessful business as a merchant tailor at No. 
 \^//L 113 West State Street in Rockford. He 
 opened this establishmennt in January, 1887. He 
 carries an excellent line of goods, and his work is 
 always first-class, so that he is able to retain his 
 patrons and secure many others. His trade has 
 constantly increased and he is now doing a flour- 
 ishing business. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was born near Chrestenaham 
 Laen, Sweden, April 22, 1834, and is a son of 
 Jonas Hoe, who was a carpenter by trade, and in 
 connection with that occupation also followed 
 farming in Sweden. He came to this country late 
 in life and spent seven years in the home of our 
 subject, where his death occurred at the age of 
 seventy-four. His wife died in Sweden when 
 about sixty-two years of age. In the family were 
 three sons and a daughter, our subject being the 
 eldest; Louisa is the wife of Gustaf Gustafson, a 
 cabinet-maker and stockholder in the Chair and 
 
1276 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 P\irniture Factory of this city; John is married 
 and is a sldlled cabinet-maker employed by the 
 Forest City Furniture Conipan}'; and Olof is a 
 cabinet-maker with the Standard J'urniture Com- 
 pany. He married Mollie Swenson. 
 
 Our subject is a self-made man. He began life 
 .it the early age of ten years, when he commenced 
 learning the tailor's trade, working as a journey- 
 man until he came to this country. He took pas- 
 sage on board the three-mast sailing-vessel "Mer- 
 rimac," which left Gottenburg in March, 1854, and 
 after forty-nine days dropped anchor in the harbor 
 of Quebec, Canada, whence Mr. Thompson came 
 at once to Illinois, making his first settlement in 
 Chicago, where he spent four 3'ears. At the expi- 
 ration of that time, he came to Rockford, in 1859, 
 and has since made his home in this city. He did 
 journeyman work as a tailor here until 1878, when 
 he began business as one of the principal stock- 
 holders in the Merchant Tailor Stock Company, 
 with which he was officially connected for some 
 time as Secretary and Treasurer. He later with- 
 drew from that concern and has since been alone 
 in business as a merchant tailor at No. 113 "West 
 State Street. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was married in Chicago to 
 Johanna Wall in October, 1858, but she died of 
 consumption in Rockford in 1873. There are no 
 living children from this union. He was again 
 married in this city to Miss Emma Peterson, a na- 
 tive of Sweden, born in 1844. "When a young 
 lady, she came to this country, to which her par- 
 ents had emigrated in 1853. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thompson have been born seven children: George 
 "W., agTaduate of the Business College of Rock- 
 ford, now employed as book-keeper for the Union 
 Furniture Company; Laura, engaged in the mil- 
 linery business; "William, a graduate of the Rock- 
 ford Business College and book-keeper for the 
 Mantel and Furniture Company; Fannie, Mary, 
 Hattic and Blanche, all yet at home. 
 
 In his political affiliations, Mr. Thompson is a 
 Republican, and, socially, is a member of the Ma- 
 sonic lodge of this city. He is also a stockholder 
 in the Peterson Land Syndicate, having an ad- 
 dition of three hundred and eleven acres near 
 Rockford, and is interested in the Rockford Mantel 
 
 and Furniture Company, the Ro3'al Sewing Ma- 
 chine Company, the Rockford Planing Mill Com- 
 pany and other corporations. Although he started 
 out in life so young, and has had many difficulties 
 to overcome, he has steadily worked his way upward 
 to a position of affluence. He resides at his pleas- 
 ant home at No. 709 Elm Street. 
 
 =-l^+^i 
 
 ^^EORGE H. BALD"WIN. There is in the 
 development of every successful life a 
 principle which is a lesson to every man 
 following in its footsteps, a lesson leading to a 
 higher and more honorable position than the ordi- 
 nary. Let a man be industriously ambitious, and 
 honorable in his ambitions, and he will rise, whether 
 having the prestige of family or the obscurity of 
 poverty. These reflections are called forth by the 
 study of the life of Mr. George H. Baldwin, whose 
 reputation as an honorable, upright citizen is not 
 merely local, but extends over a wide scope of 
 couiitry. 
 
 Mr. Baldwin is a native of the Empire State, 
 born near Rochester in 1836, and was but a year 
 old when he was brought to Illinois by his parents. 
 His father, Thomas Baldwin, followed the life of a 
 mechanic, and our subject's youthful days were div- 
 ided between assisting on the farm and in attend- 
 ing the common schools, in which he received a 
 fairly good education for that earlj^ day. In con- 
 nection with his farming operations, the father also 
 followed the trade of a carpenter and under his 
 supervision our subject became quite proficient 
 with the tools. 
 
 In 1859, and in Roscoe, 111., our subject was 
 married to Miss Jane Kerr, a native of Roscoe and 
 the daughter of Charles and Ann F. (Meas) Kerr, 
 the former a native of Scotland and the latter of 
 England. Her parents were married in Canada 
 and came thence to Illinois about 1839. The father 
 was a heavy contractor on the Illinois Canal and 
 was situated at Lockport, near Joliet. His wife 
 died near Roscoe about 1879, when fifty-five years 
 of age, and three months later he followed her to 
 the grave, dying at the same place when seventy- 
 two years of age. They were the parents of eleven 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1277 
 
 children, three sons and eight daughters, all of 
 
 ■whom are living and the heads of families. They are 
 
 scattered through four States. The eldest of this 
 
 family is flfty-six years of age and the youngest 
 
 twenty -nine. Four of the children reside in Roscoe. 
 
 Our subject and wife have resided in Roscoe 
 
 since their marriage, and in that town all their 
 
 children were born. They buried two infants, and 
 
 now have six sons and one daughter living, viz: 
 
 George E., now twenty-nine years of age, married 
 
 Miss .Tean Sands, and resides on the old homestead; 
 
 he has two children. Fred Baldwin, a butcher of 
 
 Rockford, married Miss Cora Frost; Giles II., 
 
 single, is a machinist at Beloit; Willis C, single, 
 
 also a butcher; Glenn C, single, is engaged in the 
 
 dairy business; Grace A., is attending school and 
 
 James R., a bright schoolboy. 
 
 Mr. Baldwin has just been elected Assessor, in 
 which capacity he served twenty-one years and has 
 been School Director since his majority, also for 
 some time Trustee in the church of his choice, the 
 Methodist. Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin removed from 
 their farm where they had a most charming and 
 pleasant rural home in 1889, and purchased a good 
 house and lot in Roscoe. They are well known 
 and respected in this county and are prominent in 
 all public enterprises. Mr. Baldwin is a member 
 of the Modern Woodmen, and is an earnest advo- 
 cate of the principles of the Republican party. 
 
 'jf OHN T. SAVAGE is a member of the well- 
 known and prosperous firm of Savage & 
 j^ Love, successful jobbing manufacturers, pat- 
 ^^fJ tern and model makers, making a specialty of 
 pulleys, shafting, etc. This firm threw its doors open 
 in June, 1874, at No. 640 South Main Street, and 
 have scored a success beyond their most sanguine 
 expectations. The business was originally started 
 in a small part of the large building they now oc- 
 cupy, but from the first they met with success. 
 Energetic, reliable, conducting their business on 
 the most elevated plane of mercantile honor, and 
 practically conversant with it in all its details, 
 their firm has become the representative one in its 
 line in the city. From fifteen to twenty men are 
 
 employed all the time, and a large amount of first- 
 class work is turned out daily. Messrs. Savage and 
 Love are skilled mechanics and machinists, and 
 the latter became familiar with his trade, as a 
 pattern and model maker and millwright in this 
 city during his boyhood. 
 
 Mr. Savage was born in Quebec, Canada, but 
 when nineteen years of age came to the States, 
 where, on the 1st of January, 1864, he enlisted in 
 the Seventh Maine Battery, and served as artificer 
 most of the time until the close of the war. He 
 was in the Army of the Potomac and participated in 
 the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvan ia, and 
 other prominent engagements. He was honorably 
 discharged at Augusta on the 25th of June, 1865. 
 One year after returning from the war, he came 
 to Rockford and has since been joined by two sis- 
 sters, both now married: Annett, wife of D. A. K. 
 Andrus, a book dealer of Rockford, and Jane, wife 
 of C. G. Smith, a house painter and decorator. 
 
 The parents, Joseph and Sophronia (Shepherd) 
 Savage, were natives of Canada and were of Scotch- 
 Irish descent. They passed their entire days in 
 Canada, the father engaged as a tiller of the soil, 
 the latter dying at the age of seventy-two, and the 
 mother at the age of fifty -seven. They w^ore mem- 
 bers of the Episcopal and Baptist Churches, respec- 
 tively. 
 
 When he first entered the United States, Mr. 
 Savage, our subject, located at Portland, Me., but 
 on the 24th of May, 1866, he came to Rockford, 
 111. He had learned the carpenter and the joiner 
 trade and was thus engaged until the present firm 
 was established. Since then he has developed 
 other branches of business as a pattern and model 
 maker. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was married in his 
 native country to Miss Sarah J. Wallace, who was 
 born and reared in the Province of Quebec and 
 who is of English descent, her father. Job Wal- 
 lace, being a native of Newcastle, England, and a 
 farmer by occupation. The latter came to Canada 
 when a single man and there married Miss Eleanor 
 Wormwood, a native of Canada. They were 
 Methodists in their religious views. 
 
 Seven children have blessed Mr. and Mrs. Sa- 
 vage's union, viz.: Fred A., a clerk with his father; 
 
1278 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Percy A., a paper lianger and decorator of Mason 
 City, Iowa; Bruce W. A., a paper hanger and deco- 
 rator, resides at lionie; Max, Carl, Kenneth and 
 Rex, the four last also at home. Socially, Mr. Sav- 
 age is a member of G. L. Nevius Post No. 1, 
 G. A. R., and has filled most of the offices in the 
 same. He is also a member of the Woodmen, Worli- 
 men and other orders. In politics, he is a Repub- 
 lican. He and Mrs. Savage attend the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, and the latter holds membership 
 in the same. 
 
 ylLLIAM H. GILMAN, deceased, who was 
 well known as a teacher, lawyer and 
 banker, was born in Bristol, N. II., Febru- 
 ary 4, 1807, and was a son of Nicholas and Nancy 
 (Holt) Gilman. He was reared and educated in 
 his native State, where he engaged in teaching for 
 a time. When a young man, he went to Canada, 
 there studied law, was admitted to the Bar and 
 commenced practice in the town of Sherbrooke, 
 Province of Quebec, where he remained until 
 1837. He then came to Illinois, accompanied by 
 his wife. 
 
 They came by way of the St. Lawrence River, 
 canals and Lakes to Chicago, where a horse and 
 buggy were purchased, and they drove on to Bel- 
 videre. At that time, there was not a bridge 
 across any of the streams, and the land in North- 
 ern Illinois was all owned by the Government. 
 Mr. Gilman made a claim and erected a log cabin, 
 in which he and his wife began life in the West in 
 true pioneer style. For some years deer and other 
 wild game were plentifiil. When the land came 
 into market, he went to Galena and entered his 
 claim at the land office. For two years, he resided 
 upon his farm and then came to Belvidere, where 
 he embarked in the practice of law. A few years 
 later, he went to Chicago, purchased property and 
 built a home. He then took a contract to build a 
 portion of two railroads then in process of con- 
 struction. The family resided in Chicago for two 
 years, then returned to Belvidere, where our subject 
 resumed the practice of the legal profession and 
 
 later engaged in banking until his death, which 
 occurred on the 7th of October, 1877. 
 
 Mrs. Gilman bore the maiden name of Juliet Walk- 
 er. Their union was celebrated December 11, 1834, 
 in Peacham, Vt. The lady was born at that place, 
 April 15, 1808, and is a daughter of Joel and 
 Alice (Houghton) Walker, the former a native of 
 Massachusetts and the latter of Keene, N. H. Her fa- 
 ther was a pioneer preacher and there engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits for some years, and was also 
 Postmaster at that place. He came to Illinois in 
 1839, and, purchasing land in Boone County, en- 
 gaged in farming for some years, after which he 
 came to Belvidere and lived retired throughout 
 the remainder of liis life. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gilman were born six chil- 
 dren, three of whom are yet living, a son and two 
 daughters: Helen A., wife of H. P. Peck, a resident 
 of Beloit, Wis.; William H., who married Sarah E. 
 Williams, and is living in Chicago, and Kate M., 
 widow of Winnie J. Sager, who now resides with 
 her mother at the old home. The family are all 
 Presbyterians. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Gilman was a Democrat. He 
 always took an active interest in public affairs and 
 extended a helping, hand to any enterprise calcu- 
 lated to benefit the city. He was instrumental in 
 securing the location of the Northwestern Rail- 
 road to Belvidere, to which he donated five acres 
 of land in the city. He was a liberal contributor 
 to the various churches and was a public-spirited 
 and progressive citizen, widel}' and favorably 
 known in this community. 
 
 r^ 
 
 fcz«»* r^P5= 
 
 =^> 
 
 ■^AMES R. BARTLETT, who is at present 
 residing in the city of Rockford, was born 
 at Marlboro, Yt., August 24, 1819, and 
 while an infant his parents removed to 
 Cheshire County, N. H. His father, Jonas Bartlett, 
 was also born at Marlboro, the date of his birth 
 being December 25, 1798. He was a farmer by 
 occupation and descended from a sturdy race of 
 New Englanders. 
 
 Jonas Bartlett in 1818 was married to Miss E. 
 Robertson, daughter of James Robertson, who was 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 1279 
 
 reared in Cheshire County, N. H. The ancestors 
 of Mrs. Bartlett, both paternal and maternal, were 
 very prominent in educational and public affairs, 
 some of them beingjegislators and statesmen. The 
 parents of our subject in the spring of 1835 re- 
 moved to Le Roy, Genesee County, N. Y., where 
 they purchased a farm near a popular academy, in 
 order that their children might have the best edu- 
 cational advantages. 
 
 He of whom we write is one in a family of seven 
 children, all of whom are living, with the exception 
 of E. L., who died in Chicago in the autumn of 
 1890, aged sixty-nine years. Those living are 
 James R., Elias L., Lucy W., Nathaniel, Susan K., 
 and Jonas. Our subject was a lad of sixteen years 
 when he went to Le Roy, N. Y., where he worked 
 on a farm during the summers and attended school 
 in the winter seasons in the old academy which 
 was known as the Old Round House. Prior to 
 reaching his majority, he taught school for two 
 years in Bergen Township, and after attaining 
 the age of twenty-one, he followed the occupa- 
 tion of a teacher for some time. For four years 
 he served as School Commissioner, during which 
 time he introduced the first Webster's Unabridged 
 Dictionary ever used in school. His father was a 
 zealous Methodist, and although young Bartlett 
 was strongly inclined to the Presbyterian faith, he 
 worshipped with his parents and when quite young . 
 was a Class-leader. 
 
 September 19, 1841, Mr. Bartlett of this sketch 
 and Miss Julia Ann, daughter of Lucius and Eliza- 
 beth Parks, were united in marriage. Her parents 
 were natives of Rutland, Vt., and later locating in 
 LeRoy, N. Y., resided there for some twenty 
 years, where they were engaged in farming during 
 the greater portion of the time. They came to 
 Illinois in November, 1854, and settled in Rock- 
 ford, where they have since made their home, with 
 the exception of a few years spent in New Milford. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett have three children who 
 are deceased, namely: George Lincoln, James R. 
 and Mrs. Mary H. H. Talcott. The members of 
 their family who are living bear the respective 
 names of Franklin P., Frances E., Charles M., Cor- 
 delia J., now Mrs. C. N. Anderson, and Nellie C, 
 a maiden lady who resides at Marshalltown, Iowa. 
 60 
 
 Mrs. Bartlett departed this life in December, 1882, 
 mourned by a large circle of friends. Our subject 
 has been connected with the First Congregational 
 Church of Rockford for many years, and in his 
 political relations is a zealous Republican. 
 
 ^h^>ifa y i i p fc j i ! ■ I ^ 
 
 ^ I I I ( 
 
 eAPT. JOHN B. NASH, a highly esteemed 
 citizen of Rockford, is a veteran of the 
 late war, where he won a good record for 
 faithful service, though he sacrificed his health for 
 his country. A native of Maine, our subject was 
 born in Parkman, Piscataquis County, February 
 14, 1831, and is the son of John Nash, who was 
 also a native of the Pine Tree State. The grand- 
 father of our subject, Jonathan Nash, hailed from 
 Massachusetts, whence he removed to Maine, being 
 one of the pioneers of the town of Minot. Thence 
 he removed to Auburn, Me., where he purchased a 
 farm and resided until his decease, which occurred 
 at the advanced age of ninety-three years. He 
 served as a patriot in the Revolutionarj' War. 
 
 The direct progenitor of our subject was reared 
 on the home farm, and after his marriage resided 
 in the town of Parkman a few years, when he re- 
 moved to Auburn and made that place his home 
 until 1855, which was the date of his advent into 
 Illinois. On coming hither, he located in De Kalb 
 County, where he purchased a farm and resided 
 for a number of years, thence removed to Rockford, 
 where his death occurred at the age of eighty-eight 
 years. Rachael C. Banks, the mother of our sub- 
 ject, was also born in Maine, and departed this life 
 in Rockford. 
 
 John B. Nash was reared and educated in the 
 Pine Tree State and there resided until 1851, when, 
 like so many others afflicted with the gold fever, 
 he went to California via the Isthmus of Panama. 
 He was there engaged in mining and resided for 
 four years, when he returned to Maine and soon 
 after came to Illinois. He resided for a time in 
 DeKalb County, and in 1862, on the outbreak of 
 the late war, raised a company, and in the fall of 
 that year was elected its Captain, the same being 
 known as Company G, One Hundred and Fifth lUi. 
 nois Infantry. He was mustered in at Dixon on Sept- 
 
1280 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL KECOED, 
 
 ember 2, and served with his regiment until July, 
 1864, when his resignation was accepted on ac- 
 count of disability. Capt. Nash spent the follow- 
 ing winter in Belvidere and then came to Eock- 
 ford, which has since been his home. 
 
 Mary A. Williamson and oursubject were united 
 in marriage in 1868, and to them have been born 
 three children: Earl L., Jay B., and Guy H., the 
 first-born, who died in his thirtieth year. Capt. 
 Nash is a prominent member of Nevius Post 
 No. 1, G. A. E., and in politics votes the straight Ee- 
 publican ticket. For fifteen years he served as 
 Assessor of Eockford, and for six years was the 
 incumbent of the responsible office of Deputy- 
 Sheriflf. He is prominent in social matters, being a 
 member of Eockford Lodge No. 102, A. F. & A. M., 
 of which society he has been Secretai-y for four- 
 teen years. He has also occupied that position for 
 six years in the Winnebago Chapter No. 24, E. A. 
 M., and for six years was Eecorder in Crusader 
 Commandery No. 17, K. T. 
 
 ~J 
 
 eYEUS B. JUDD, an extensive farmer and 
 stock-raiser of Pecatonica Township, Win- 
 nebago County, has been a very prominent 
 factor in its development in an agricultural way, 
 and is the proprietor of a beautiful estate compris- 
 ing two hundred and sixty-eight acres, of which 
 one hundred and twenty-five were left to him by 
 his father. 
 
 Mr. Judd of this sketch was born in St. Lawrence 
 County,N. Y., June 11, 1839, and is the son of John 
 B. and Louisa S. (Judd) .Judd. John B. was resid- 
 ing at home at the time of his marriage, and on his 
 father's death fell heir to the estate, to which he 
 later added until he had one of the finest farms in 
 the township. His father had been married in 
 Messina, N. Y., and at the time of his removal to 
 Blinois in 1854, he was accompanied by Cyrus B., 
 who was an only child. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married De- 
 cember 26, 1860, was Miss Maria N. Kellogg, who 
 was born in St. Lawrence County, N. Y., April 14, 
 1837. She was the daughter of Albert and Nancy 
 
 (McDonald) Kellogg, the former of whom was 
 born in New Hampshire and died in the above- 
 named county in New York. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Judd have been born two children: Laura B., 
 whose birth occurred August 14, 1872, was gradu- 
 ated from the Pecatonica schools, and is now en- 
 gaged in teaching in this township.; Lucius J. was 
 born June 17, 1879, and is prosecuting his studies 
 in the district schools. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Judd attend the Congregational 
 Church, of which they are members and active 
 workers. He is a Eepublican in politics, having 
 cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. Mrs. Judd 
 is a very intelligent lady and while residing in 
 New York taught school for seven years and was 
 similarly employed for two terms in Burritt Town- 
 ship. 
 
 -oi 
 
 JAMES BLISS, an extensive farmer and stock- 
 raiser of Owen Township, has been a very 
 prominent factor in developing and extend- 
 ing the large agricultural interests of Win- 
 nebago County. He was born in Troy, N. Y., 
 January 22, 1822, and is the son of Christopher 
 Bliss, who was born and reared in New England. 
 Later, he went to New York State, where he served 
 as Captain on a river steamer for some time, after 
 which he engaged in the mercantile business in 
 Savoy, Berkshire County, Mass., whither he bad 
 removed in 1822. 
 
 The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
 Achsah Demming; she was a native of Weth- 
 ersfield. Conn., and was the daughter of Capt. 
 John and Elizabeth Demming. Her father was 
 commander of a vessel for some time, and when 
 abandoning that line of work engaged in farming 
 in Savoy, Mass., where he spent his last years. The 
 father of our subject departed this life in 1827, and 
 his widow, after again marrying, died in Westfield, 
 Mass. 
 
 James Bliss of this sketch was an infant when 
 his parents removed to Massachusetts, where he 
 was reared to the age of fifteen years in Savo}^ 
 Then starting out in life for himself, he worked on 
 a favm for a time, when he found employment as 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1281 
 
 clerk in a store for one year. Later, however, learn- 
 ing the carpenter's trade, he followed that line of 
 work until his marriage, when he again began farm- 
 ing, purchasing a tract of one hundred acres in the 
 town of Adams, Mass., which he cultivated success- 
 fully until 1863, the date of his advent into Win- 
 nebago County. He had visited this section in 
 1850, at which time he entered one hundred and 
 sixty acres of land with a soldier's land warrant, 
 for which he paid $110. He now has one of the 
 finest and best-improved farms in the county, 
 which comprises two hundred and thirty-two acres. 
 The lady to whom Mr. Bliss was married bore 
 the maiden name of Lydia Fife. She was bom 
 in Berkshire County, Mass., and died on the 
 farm in Owen Township in 1863. Our subject was 
 then married to Miss Annie M. Colton, who was 
 born in Westfield, Mass., and departed this life in 
 1882. The present wife of Mr. Bliss, prior to her 
 marriage, was Miss Amanda Henderson. In religi- 
 ous affairs, our subject is a member of the Baptist 
 Churcli, and occupies a prominent position among 
 the wealthy farmers of this section. 
 
 'MORY HAMILTON ALLEN, one of the 
 extensive land-owners of Boone County, 
 residing in Belvidere, claims Maine as the 
 State of his nativity. He was born on the 
 16th of May, 1816, in that part of Cumberland 
 County which is now included in Androscoggin 
 County. The family is of English origin and was 
 founded in America by Samuel Allen, of Bridge- 
 water, Somersetshire, who came to America, accom- 
 panied by his wife, Ann, in 1620, and settled in 
 Braintree, Mass. Their son Samuel was born in 
 1632, and became a large land-owner in Braintree 
 and Bridgewater. He married Sarah Partridge and 
 unto them was born Josiah Allen in 1677. He 
 wedded Mary Reed and their son William was 
 next in the line of descent. He was born in 1726, 
 and was the great-grandfather of our subject. His 
 wife bore the maiden name of Susanna Packard. 
 Abel Allen, the grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in Bridgewater, Mass., in 1760, and removed 
 thence to what is now the town of Auburn, 
 
 Androscoggin County, Me., becoming a pioneer of 
 that locality. Throughout the remainder of his 
 life, he there engaged in farming. His wife was 
 Mary Dillingham, who was born in Massachusetts, 
 and was of English descent. 
 
 The father of our subject, Lebbeus Allen, was 
 born in Cumberland County, Me., July 4, 1792, and 
 learned the trade of a carpenter following it in 
 connection with farming. He married Joannah B. 
 Nash, who was bom in the same town as her hus- 
 band in 1794, and was a daughter of Jonathan 
 and Anna (Bird) Nash, natives of Worcester and 
 Dorchester, Mass., respectively. He was a Revolu- 
 tionary soldier and participated in the famous 
 battle of Bunker Hill. For a few years after their 
 marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Allen resided in the town 
 of Auburn and in 1822 removed to the town of 
 Hebron. Upon the farm which was there pur- 
 chased, they both spent the remainder of their 
 days. The father died September 8, 1872, and the 
 mother in November, 1873. They had eight chil- 
 dren: Amory H., Mary, Lebbeus, William N., 
 John H., Charles A., Bernard B. and Melvin A. 
 
 The boyhood days of our subject were spent in 
 the town of Hebron. He seemed to possess a na- 
 tural taste for mechanics but remained at home 
 and assisted his father in the farm work until 
 twenty years of age, when he served a short ap- 
 prenticeship to the carriage-making trade and then 
 began business for himself in Buckfield, Oxford 
 County, Me., where he continued to operate until 
 1846. He then sold out and engaged in the manu- 
 facture of rakes for three years, after which he en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of powder for about 
 four years. We next find him engaged in general 
 merchandising, which he carried on in connection 
 with the manufacture of boots, shoes and clothing 
 until 1866, when he disposed of his business inter- 
 ests in the East. 
 
 Mr. Allen has been twice married. On the 18th 
 of May, 1839, Zilpha Cushman became his wife. 
 She was born in Buckfield, Me., was a daughter of 
 Caleb and Mary Cushman, and was a lineal descend- 
 ant of Rev. Mr. Cushman, the Pilgrim. She died 
 November 17, 1865, leaving four children, who 
 are yet living: William Wallace, Joanna B., Walter 
 F, and A. Hamilton. Frances had died at the age 
 
1282 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of seven and a half years and Augusta became the 
 wife of L. Ashtou and died at the age of twenty- 
 five years, leaving one son, Ray. Mr. Allen was 
 again married, February 8, 1870, his second union 
 being with Abigail Sampson, who was born in An- 
 droscoggin County, Me., and is a daughter of Seth 
 and Deborah (Record) Sampson, both natives of 
 Maine. Her paternal grandfather, Abel Sampson, 
 was a native of Massach^Isetts, but her maternal 
 grandparents, Daniel and Abigail (Damon) Record, 
 spent their entire lives in the Pine Tree State. The 
 father of Mrs. Allen was for many years Justice of 
 the Peace and served in other offices. He spent 
 his entire life in Maine and died at the age of 
 eighty-four years. •' 
 
 In 1866, Mr. Allen came with his family to 
 Belvidere, and purchased a farm in the town of 
 Flora about five miles from the city. He there en- 
 gaged in farming and dairying and introduced the 
 first Jersey stock into this section of the country'. 
 In 1886, however, he rented his farm and, remov- 
 ing to Belvidere, has since lived a retired life. In 
 politics, he is independent. Within the past two 
 years, he has devoted much of his time and atten- 
 tion to art and has painted many beautiful pictures 
 of landscapes, flowers, animals, etc. It is a pleas- 
 ant way in which to spend his leisure time and he 
 thereby also furnishes beautiful adornment for his 
 home. Although he began life in limited circum- 
 stances, he has worked his way upward and has ac- 
 quired a competence which now enables him to 
 enjoy a well-earned rest. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 OSCAR BERGQUIST, who is now living a re- 
 tired life at his pleasant home on the cor- 
 ner of Fifth Street and Fourth Avenue in 
 Rockford, is numbered among the early settlers of 
 this city of 1865. He has witnessed almost the 
 entire growth of the place, and has been promi- 
 nently connected with its business interests. As 
 he is widely and favorably known in this commu- 
 nity, we feel assured that this record of his life 
 will prove of interest to many of our readers. 
 
 Mr. Bergquist was born in Vermland, Sweden, 
 August 6, 1826, and is a son of Cap t. Carl Axil 
 
 Naucler, who came of French descent. For many 
 years, he was connected with the army, and for his 
 services and bravery received prominent recogni- 
 tion from the Swedish Government, being given a 
 star and two gold medals. He died at the advanced 
 age of seventy years. His wife, who bore the 
 maiden name of Katie Anderson, was a Swedish 
 lady, and was called to her final rest at the ad- 
 vanced age of eighty years. The^' were both Luth- 
 erans in religious belief. 
 
 Mr. Bergquist, whose name lieads this record, 
 spent the days of his b03'hood and jouth in his 
 native province, and there learned the painter's 
 trade. Desiring to try his fortune in America, he 
 crossed the Atlantic in 1854, being the first of his 
 family to come to this country. He sailed from 
 Christiana, Norway, and, after a voyage of eleven 
 weeks and three days, landed in Quebec, Canada, 
 whence he made his way to Chicago, where he 
 spent one j^ear working at his trade. The fol- 
 lowing year, he came to Rockford and began busi- 
 ness as a painter. As he was a good workman and 
 straightforward in business, he received a liberal 
 patronage from the beginning, which constantly 
 increased until he had acquired a handsome com- 
 petence. 
 
 Mr. Bergquist was married in this city in 1855, 
 to Miss Anna B. Mork, who was born in Smoland, 
 Sweden, May 26, 1828, and is a daughter of Lar- 
 son Mork, a private soldier in the regular Swedish 
 Army, who after some years of active service, re- 
 tired on a pension and died at an advanced age, 
 in 1855. His wife survived him until 1857. 
 Their daughter came to this country in 1853, land- 
 ing on the 21st of October in Boston, where she 
 made her home for a year. The vessel in which 
 she sailed was nine weeks upon the bosom of the 
 Atlantic, and on the voyage sixty of its two hun- 
 dred and fifty passengers died of cholera. Her 
 brother, John Larson, had come to the United 
 States a few months previous. 
 
 For thirty-seven years, Mr. and Mrs. Bergquist 
 have lived and labored together, and their upright 
 lives and sterling worth have won them the high 
 regard of all they have come in contact. They 
 now have a pleasant home on Fifth Street and 
 Fourth Avenue, and he also owns one other good 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1283 
 
 residence on the same block. Mrs. Bergquisl was 
 formerly a member of the Lutheran Church, but 
 now belongs to the Methodist Church. They were 
 parents of nine children, five of whom died in 
 early infancy, and C. Gustave, William E., Ebba 
 J. and Ebba W., all died in childhood. 
 
 RS. MINERVA LEWIS, relict of Alfred 
 Lewis, who was a successful tiller of the 
 soil in Illinois for many years, was origin- 
 ally from the Empire State, born in Mon- 
 roe County, near Rochester, in 1803. She is a lady 
 in every sense of the term, and one whose refined 
 presence and noble qualities of mind and heart 
 have endeared her to a large circle of friends. Her 
 parents, Philander and Wealthy (Parks) Barret, 
 were natives of New England, and came when 
 young married people to Monroe County, N. Y., 
 when the country was wild and unsettled. Mrs. 
 Lewis remembers that they said they saw leeks six 
 inches high on the 16th of March. They came in a 
 one-horse wagon and brought Mrs. Barret's par- 
 ents with them, Christopher and Sarah (Mansfield) 
 Parks, both natives of New Hampshire, where Mr. 
 Parks had followed farming until quite aged. 
 They died in New York State, the father when 
 sixty years of age, and the mother at the very un- 
 usual age of over four-score, her grandmother liv- 
 ing to the age of ninety-nine. She retained her 
 faculties to the last, and when dying said to her 
 son Christopher, "I am going," immediately after- 
 ward expiring; the grandfather Parks died at the 
 age of sixty years. They were the parents of a 
 large family of children. 
 
 Mrs. Lewis is one of fourteen children, and her 
 father died on the farm he had taken up in New- 
 York State in 1814, when forty-four years of age. 
 His wife survived him many years and died in 
 1849, an octogenarian. Mrs. Lewis was married 
 January 25, 1827, in Monroe County, N. Y., on the 
 farm where she was born. Her husband, Alfred 
 Lewis, was nearly three years younger than her- 
 self, and was a blacksmith in his earlier days. 
 He learned his trade when seventeen years of age, 
 
 but only worked at this seven years, when he 
 moved to Huron (now Erie) County, Ohio, and 
 purchased a farm of one hundred acres of prairie 
 land. To this he added from time to time until 
 at the end of twelve years he owned a section of 
 land. This he then sold and took in part payment 
 a small farm in Wisconsin, near Clinton, but he 
 located in the northwest corner of Roscoe Town- 
 ship in 1844, making a claim of several hundred 
 acres. He immediately went to work improving 
 this and put one hundred acres in wheat. Many 
 of Mrs. Lewis' neighbors' farms were part of this 
 claim, and when Mr. Lewis died, in 1874, he owned 
 but forty acres, on which Mrs. Lewis is now resid- 
 ing, and ten acres of timber three miles east of Ros- 
 coe. He erected many buildings, and the cobble- 
 stone house in which his wife is now living witli 
 her daughter, Mrs. Helen Enos, was erected by him 
 in 1854. He was an honest, upright, worthy citi- 
 zen and was universally respected. His death oc- 
 curred on February 14, 1874, when sixt3'-eight 
 years of age. 
 
 Of the thirteen children born to this respected 
 couple, eight died in infancy. Those who reached 
 mature years were Maj. Alfred Lewis, who was born 
 in 1828, married in Roscoe Miss Diana Brown, and 
 in 1850 went to California during the gold fever 
 excitement, going overland. He remained in that 
 State until 1865, although he had visited his aged 
 parents in the East, and then volunteered in the 
 army. He served as bugler and died the victim of 
 camp fever, with eleven of his comrades. He is 
 buried in Arizona. The other children arc Min- 
 erva Jane, now Mrs. J. J. Mosher, of Nebraska; 
 Martha Ann, now Mrs. Kendrick Scovill, of Ne- 
 braska; Emily P., Mrs. Sherwood Moss, with whom 
 our subject is now living; and Helen, now Mrs. 
 Leonard Enos. Mr. Moss was a cavalryman and 
 served through the entire war. 
 
 Mrs. Lewis has been a member of the Baptist 
 Cliurch since a young girl, and her husband, the 
 principal part of his life, was a Deacon in this 
 church. In politics, he was an Abolitionist and a 
 Republican. Although quite aged, time has dealt 
 leniently with Mrs. Lewis, and she bids fair to live 
 many years longer. She is an excellent lady in 
 every respect, and has passed her days in following 
 
1284 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the precepts of the Golden Rule, and may the sun- 
 set of her life be peaceful and happy, as it has every 
 prospect of being. This venerable lady has six- 
 teen grandchildren and several great-grandchil- 
 dren. Mrs. Enos has three daughters: Cora M., 
 Cicely W., and Alice B., aged sixteen, fourteen 
 and five j'ears, respectively. Miss Cora is a junior 
 in the High School. 
 
 -h 
 
 -m- 
 
 -^ 
 
 ^ANIEL SILLARS owns and operates one 
 hundred and seventy-nine acres of land 
 on section 25, Harlem Township, and is 
 one of the representative farmers of Win- 
 nebago County. He claims Scotland as his native 
 land, his birth having occurred in Kin tyre, Argj-le- 
 shire, in April, 1833. His father, Ducan Sillars, 
 was born in the same locality and was reared to 
 agricultural pursuits. He wedded Mary McWill- 
 iams, daughter of Alexander McWilliams, and unto 
 them were born six children: Alexander, Archi- 
 bald, Agnes, Ducan, Daniel and Mary. Archibald 
 resides in New Zealand, and the other members of 
 the family are now living in America. The mother 
 died in her native land and there the father re- 
 mained until 1854, when he crossed the broad 
 Atlantic to America, taking passage on board the 
 "John Hamilton," which sailed from Greenwich 
 on the 17th of June. He was accompanied by three 
 of his children. He landed at Quebec after a voy- 
 age of seven weeks and thence came directly to 
 Illinois, settling in Guilford Township, Winne- 
 bago County, where he rented land and engaged 
 in farming. His death occurred in 1869. 
 
 The subject of this sketch spent the days of his 
 boyhood, and youth in the county of his nativity 
 and acquired his education in its public schools. 
 He was a young man of twenty-one years when, in 
 1854, he accompanied his father on his emigration 
 to America. On locating in this county, he com- 
 menced life for himself, working as a farm hand 
 by the month. As the result of his industr}' and 
 economy, he was soon enabled to lease a farm, and 
 for thirteen years he operated rented land. Hav- 
 ing acquired some capital during that time, he, in 
 1869, purchased the farm which he now owns and 
 
 occupies. Within its boundaries are comprised 
 one hundred and seventy-nine acres of arable land. 
 His home, a comfortable residence, is in the midst 
 of good outbuildings, such as are found on a model 
 farm, and these in turn are surrounded by well- 
 tilled fields, whose neat appearance indicates the 
 thrift and enterprise of the owner. 
 
 As a companion and helpmate on life's journey, 
 Mr. Sillars chose Miss Janet Andrews, a native of 
 Argyleshire, Scotland, and a daughter of David 
 and Janet (Howie) Andrews. Mrs. Sillars came 
 to America in 1852; after living six months in 
 Ohio, she removed to Illinois, and located in Guil- 
 ford Township. The parents are both dead. They 
 were the parents of thirteen children, of whom 
 ten are still living. Our subject's marriage was 
 celebrated January 28, 1869, and their union has 
 been blessed with five children, two deceased. 
 The three daughters are Nettie, Agnes and Eliza- 
 abeth. The parents and their eldest daughter are 
 members of the Willow Creek Presbyterian Church. 
 The Sillars household is the abode of hospitalitjr 
 and the members rank high in social circles. 
 
 
 eHARLES E. BENGTSON is a member of 
 the firm of Bengtson Brothers, dealers in 
 cigars, tobacco, snuff, sporting goods, etc. 
 They have a fine and well-arranged store located 
 at No. 619 Seventh Street, where thej' have been 
 engaged in business for some time. They started 
 on a small scale, but as their trade increased they 
 have had to enlarge their capacity, and are now 
 doing an extensive business, being wholesale deal- 
 ers in snuff. Their's was the first business of the 
 kind started on the famous " Phcenix " Street. 
 For five years, they have carried on operations un- 
 der the title of Bengtson Brothers, Fred Bengtson 
 being the partner of our subject. 
 
 The Bengtson family came to Rockford in 1866. 
 Charles E. was born in Sweden on the 9th of Jan- 
 uary, 1863, and was therefore quite small when 
 with his parents he crossed the Atlantic to Amer- 
 ica, the family coming on at once to Rockford. 
 The father, Andrew Bengtson, died in this city 
 when little past middle life. His wife still makes 
 
PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1285 
 
 her home with her sons in Rockford, at the age 
 of sixty years. She is a member of the Swedish 
 Lutheran Church, to which Mr. Bengtson also be- 
 longed. 
 
 Our subject has spent almost his entire life in 
 this city. He was here reared to manhood and 
 acquired his education in the public schools. 
 Since attaining liis majority, he has voted with the 
 Republican party, of which he is a stalwart sup- 
 porter, and socially he is a member of the Knights 
 of Pythias Society on the East Side. On embark- 
 ing in business, he chose the enterprise to which 
 he yet devotes his energies. The Bengtson Broth- 
 ers are wide-awake and industrious young men, 
 ambitious and persevering, and are already win- 
 ning a well-deserved prosperity. Their trade 
 yields them a good income and is constantly in- 
 creasing. In connection with their other interests, 
 they also own seventeen furnished rooms in a flat 
 immediately over their store. They are also 
 stockholders in the Royal Sewing Machine Com- 
 pany in this city, and have interests in other local 
 enterprises, and in real estate. Mr. Bengtson, who 
 has so long resided in this city, is well known, 
 and among his wide circle of friends are many 
 who have been his acquaintances since boyhood. 
 
 W EREMIAH CAMPBELL. This well-known 
 I pioneer of Winnebago County was identi- 
 ^f^ I fled with its most progressive measures, and 
 'f^fi was one of the influential citizens of Du- 
 rand Township. He was a worthy representative 
 of a patriotic and honored family, some of whom 
 early founded homes in America. His paternal 
 ancestors originated in Scotland and were promi- 
 nent in many of the wars during the early history 
 of this country, one member of the family having 
 been a noted Captain in the War of 1812. 
 
 The parents of our subject, Samuel and Grace 
 (Plumb) Campbell, were natives of St. Albans, Vt., 
 where the last-named entered into her final rest. 
 About 1838, Samuel Campbell moved to Winne- 
 bago County (whither he had been preceded by a 
 son) and here spent the twilight of his life, pass- 
 ing away in 1844 at the age of eighty-two. His 
 
 son Jeremiah was born April 5, 1818, in Grand 
 Isle, Vt., and came to Illinois in 1837, entering 
 one hundred and sixty acres of Government land 
 and engaging in clearing and cultivating the 
 place. 
 
 The first marriage of our subject united him 
 with Miss Lois B. Hoyt, June 30, 1839, and one 
 child was born of the union, a son, Edward, who 
 married Kate Smith; he resides in Durand Town- 
 ship, and is the father of three children. October 19, 
 1843, Jeremiah Campbell was again married, choos- 
 ing as his wife Miss Cynthia E. Hoyt, a sister of 
 his first wife. This lady was born in St. Albans, 
 Vt., November 11, 1828, a daughter of Heman and 
 Susan (Franklin) Hoyt. Her grandparents, Jona- 
 than and Lois (Bradley) Hoyt, were natives of 
 Connecticut, and were pioneers of St. Albans, Vt., 
 where they spent the closing years of their lives. 
 Heman Hoyt came to Winnebago County January 
 3, 1837, his family having arrived here the preced- 
 ing October. He died in this county near the place 
 of his first settlement, at the age of seventy-three, 
 and his wife died at the same place when fifty-six 
 years old. 
 
 When Jeremiah Campbell left St. Albans, Vt., he 
 went to Wayne County, N. Y., where he remained 
 some time with a sister, and after her death ac- 
 companied his brother-in-law to Michigan. He 
 came to Winnebago County with his father some 
 time later, the journey being made with a one- 
 horse wagon. As he had no capital, he was obliged 
 to operate Government land, but as soon as he had 
 accumulated sufficient money he purchased a farm 
 and constantly increased his landed possessions 
 until he acquired a large property. During the 
 early days of his residence in this county, Chicago 
 was the nearest market and post-office, and the in- 
 tervening country was sparsely settled. Mr. Camp- 
 bell was a Republican, but not a partisan politician, 
 and his place in the esteem of his fellow -men was 
 so high that his death, April 25, 1884, was widely 
 mourned. 
 
 The family of our subject consisted of four chil- 
 dren: Romeo H., born September 15, 1844, is married 
 and has five children; Eva M., born December 21, 
 1854, married Louis Goodrich, and they reside in 
 Nebraska. One child is deceased. Frank B. was 
 
1286 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born July 25, 1846. He was married December 
 29, 1870, to Miss Belle Adams, who was born in 
 Livingston County, N. Y., October 31, 1852. They 
 have three children living, as follows: Lula A., 
 born April 11, 1881; Ralph E., March 2, 1885; 
 and Roy, April 19, 1888. The mother of this 
 family, Mrs. Cj'nthia Campbell, still survives 
 in the enjoyment of good health, and makes her 
 home in Durand Township. The members of the 
 family enjoy the respect of their large number of 
 acquaintances, and their position in the commu- 
 nity is among the best people. 
 
 , LE R. Tn.LER.SON. No one is to be more 
 complimented on the perfect method and 
 order with which their agricultural affairs 
 are conducted, tlian he whose name is given above. 
 He is a farmer, one of the most successful ones of 
 the county, and, although of foreign birth, he 
 has ever taken a deep interest in the progress and 
 development of his adopted country. Mr. Tiller- 
 son was born near Vosbergen, Norway, on the 29th 
 of August, 1823, and his father, Trond Tillerson, 
 who was a carpenter by trade, was also a native of 
 that country. The elder Mr. Tillerson was married 
 in Norway to Miss Tilda Tillerson, and they became 
 the parents of six children, one daughter dying in 
 Norway when a small child. Three sons and two 
 daughters grew to adult years and came to Amer- 
 ica. In 1848, two years after our subject came to 
 America, the parents crossed the ocean and died on 
 this side of the Atlantic, with their son, Ole Til- 
 lerson, both when about seventy-three years of 
 age. All these children are now deceased except 
 our subject. 
 
 After his marriage, which occurred in Norway, to 
 Miss Martiia Myra Tillerson, in 1845, our subject, 
 with his bride, took passage on a sailing-vessel at 
 Bergen, and, after an ocean voyage of forty-six 
 days reached New York City. From there they went 
 to Milwaukee, by river, canal, and the Lakes, and 
 were about two weeks in making the trip. After 
 reaching that city, they went with ox-teams to their 
 present home, and the following year Mr. Tiller- 
 son bought one hundred and twenty acres of Gov- 
 
 ernment land. He had but $80 in money and one 
 cow, and, his claim costing him $160, he had to 
 borrow, paying fifty per cent, interest. (We might 
 mention here that the man who charged this high 
 rate of interest died in the poor-house.) Mr. Til- 
 lerson erected a rude log house and resided in it 
 for about two years, when he was joined by his 
 parents, and he and his father bought forty acres, 
 upon which both resided for some time. Our sub- 
 ject lost his wife on the 9th of July, 1863. Their 
 union had been blessed by the birth of eleven 
 children, five daughters and six sons. One son 
 died in infancy, and in the fall of 1853 they 
 buried two little girls, Carrie and Emeline, both 
 dying inside of two weeks, of typhoid fever. 
 There were six persons prostrated in the house at 
 one time with this disease. 
 
 On the 15th of September, 1868, Mr. Tillerson 
 married Miss Christe Sleen, from Vos, Norway, 
 who came over in 1866, and the fruits of this union 
 have been nine children. They lost one daugh- 
 ter, Emma, a student of Rockford Seminary and a 
 very promising young lady. Her death occurred 
 on the 26th of January, 1892, and she would soon 
 have graduated at the Seminary. She was a j'oung 
 lady of more than usual promise, and her sunny, 
 pleasant disposition won her many friends. The 
 living children are as follows: Ceril, now an 
 invalid in Chicago; Martin, Andrew, Ella, An- 
 nie, Sarah, Kanut, and Dena, all at home. Mr. 
 Tillerson has eight children living by his first wife: 
 Henry, a hardware merchant of Chicago; Tilda, in 
 Ciiicago; Thomas N. runs a stock ranch in New 
 Mexico; Lewis is a merchant in Dakota; Martha 
 married Mr. O. Olonson, a painter of Chicago; 
 Ellis owns a sheep ranch in Dakota; Betsy is in 
 Chicago; and Frank, a carpenter of Chicago. All 
 but Frank are married and doing well in business. 
 
 Mr. Tillerson has now four hundred and forty 
 acres of land and forty acres of second-growth tim- 
 ber. He raises all the small kinds of grain ; raises or- 
 dinary stock, and milks from twenty-five to thirty- 
 five cows, sending the milk and cream to the fac- 
 tory. Mr. Tillerson has always voted the Republican 
 ticket, and was elected Supervisor, but did not 
 qualify. He has been administrator for estates 
 reaching many thousands of dollars, and guardian 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1287 
 
 for six minors in one estate and two in another. 
 He is highly esteemed in the community, and his 
 honesty and uprightness are unquestioned. Honor- 
 able and upright in all his dealing, he has been en- 
 trusted with the finances of several estates, and is 
 in every way worthy of the trust reposed in him. 
 He and Mrs. Tillerson and their children are mem- 
 bers of the Norwegian Lutheran Church, and are 
 the founders of this church in the northern part of 
 the township. Although they brought but little of 
 this world's goods to this country, they respect the 
 word of God and place their faith and trust in 
 God, and have become prosperous and happy. Mrs. 
 Tillerson 's aged mother, now seventy-three years 
 of age, has been with her on a visit since June, 
 1891, and, as much as she loves her daughter, her 
 only child, and her grandchildren, she sighs and 
 longs for her mountain home in Norway. 
 
 Although Mrs. Tillerson is not what one would 
 call an educated lady, she is still more intelligent 
 than many college-bred ladies, and has taught her 
 children the Norwegian tongue, besides instruct- 
 ing them in many other useful ways. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Tillerson 's greatest and most earnest wish is 
 that their children will alwaj's respect the word of 
 God, and be considerate of the poor and suffer- 
 ing. While the early death of their daughter was 
 a sad blow, and a trouble that seems hard, very 
 hard, to bear, they still think that the cloud has its 
 silver lining, and that " a good God reigns over 
 all." Her funeral was one long to be remembered 
 on account of the large concourse of friends who 
 paid their last respects to the dear departed one. 
 
 ••^^ 
 
 E^ 
 
 eHARLES MAYER. Among the prosperous 
 citizens of Rockford, who have here accu- 
 mulated a goodljr fortune, may be men- 
 tioned the subject of this sketch. He was born on 
 the river Rhine, at Nierstein, Hesse-Darmstadt, 
 March 8, 1851. In his native land he grew to man- 
 hood, and, when eighteen years old, in 1869, en- 
 listed in the Hessian Pioneer Company, Ninth 
 Army Corps, his division general being Prince Lud- 
 wig, now Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt. He 
 served throughout the Franco-Prussian War, and 
 
 was honorably discharged, January 6, 1872, as Cor- 
 poral of his company. Mr. Mayer participated in 
 the battle of Carzellio, August 14, 1870, and four 
 days afterward took part in the battle of Grave- 
 lotte, the greatest engagement of that well-known 
 war. He was also present at Metz, Orleans, Soutli 
 of Paris, and Le Mans, including several minor en- 
 gagements, making fourteen in all. He was par- 
 ticularly fortunate, for he was neither wounded 
 nor taken prisoner, and was always on duty. For 
 four months he served as advance guard, and is 
 justly proud of his military record, having served 
 his country with fidelity and valor. 
 
 At the close of the war, Mr. Mayer returned to 
 his home, and at once commenced making prepar- 
 ations to emigrate to America. March 10, 1872, 
 he left his home and took passage from Hamburg on 
 the steamer "Harmonia," Capt. Meyer command- 
 ing, and landed in New York City on the 28th of 
 March, after a voyage of eighteen days. Two sis- 
 ters and two brothers had preceded him to the 
 United States. The younger brother, Ferdinand, 
 lives in Wisconsin and is a grain-buyer; Albert is 
 a barber in Rockford; a sister, Mrs. Baumgartner, 
 is the wife of a baker of New York City. The 
 father of this family, Cornelius Mayer, was a 
 miller and wine-maker on the Rhine, and died in 
 his native place when forty-six years old. 
 
 The grandfather of our subject, Jacob Mayer, 
 served under the first Napoleon, and participated 
 in the battles of I^eipsic and Austerlitz, as 
 well as other prominent places. He died in the 
 '40s, when quite full of years. He had married a 
 Miss Zeigler, whose brother Henry fought with 
 Napoleon at the battle of Moscow and in other en- 
 gagements. The mother of our subject, who was 
 formerly Miss Eva Schmitt, was born, reared, and 
 passed her entire life in Hesse-Darmstadt, dying in 
 1859, at the age of forty-four. In her religion 
 she was a Catholic, while her husband was a Pro- 
 testant. The maternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject, Jacob Schmitt, was a member of the Hessian 
 parliament for years, and was a prominent citizen 
 of Nierstein. 
 
 When Mr. Mayer came to Rockford in 1873, he 
 had only $6.50, but by prudence and energy has 
 become well-to-do. He is the owner of a fine prop- 
 
1288 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 erty of two acres, with two houses, his business 
 property, a valuable lot at No. 108 East State 
 Street, and a two-story residence at No. 712^ 
 Elm Street. The business in which he is success- 
 fully engaged is that of a wholesale dealer in beer 
 and a retail bottler of the same, at Nos. 1310 and 
 1312Charles Street. He is a stockholder in theMer- 
 chants' and Manufacturers' Bank, the Nelson Hotel, 
 and the Rockford Driving Park. 
 
 The lady who became the wife of oiir subject in 
 Rockford was Louisa Strieker, a native of Wur- 
 temberg, who accompanied her parents to the 
 United States and settled in Belvidere. Her father 
 died in 1872, -when sixty-eight years old; his wife 
 died January 9, 1881, in her seventj'-first year. 
 They were members of the Lutheian Church. Mrs. 
 Mayer is a loving wife, and devoted to her three 
 children: Carl H., Amelia R., and Harry G. So- 
 cially, Mr. Maj-er is identified with the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows. For the past 
 seven years he has served as President of the 
 Rockford Germania Singing Society. He is a pub- 
 lic-spirited man, alwa3S interested in the welfare 
 of the city, and contributes liberally to the poor 
 and needy. 
 
 eLAUS H. ANDERSON is engaged in general 
 farming on section 9, Cherr}^ Valley Town- 
 ship, where he operates three hundred and 
 sixty-five acres of good land. Throughout his en- 
 tire life, he has engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
 He claims Sweden as his native land, his birth 
 having occurred on the 7th of July, 1851. Men- 
 tion is made of his family in the sketch of A. J. 
 Anderson on another page of this work. The days 
 of his boyhood and youth were spent in the land 
 of his nativity, no event of special importance oc- 
 curring during that time. In 1875, he came with 
 his parents to this country. They sailed from Got- 
 tenburg to Liverpool, England, whence they 
 crossed the Atlantic to Boston, Mass., and thence 
 came to Rockford, where the father and step- 
 mother of our subject are now living, both being 
 well advanced in years. 
 
 Mr. Anderson, of this sketch, since locating in 
 this county, some seventeen years ago, has followed 
 farming. For eleven years, he was engaged in that 
 pursuit in New Milford Township and is now a 
 leading agriculturist of Cherry Valley Township. 
 He has been quite successful in his business career 
 and has steadily worked his way upward, overcom- 
 ing the obstacles in his path, until he is now well- 
 to-do. He may well be termed a self-made man, 
 for his prosperity is the result of his own efforts, 
 good management and close application to business. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was married in the city of Rock- 
 ford, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary Farb, 
 who was born in Smoland, Sweden, in 1853, and 
 came to this country when a maiden of about six- 
 teen summers. She took up her I'csidence in Rock- 
 ford, and her parents afterward crossed the Atlan- 
 tic, becoming residents of Winnebago County. 
 They purchased a farm in Rockford Township, 
 where they are now living, both being well ad- 
 vanced in 3'ears. Mr. Farb had served in the 
 standing army of Sweden a good many years before 
 he came to America. 
 
 The union of Mr. Anderson and Miss Farb has 
 been blessed with five children, and the family cir- 
 cle yet remains unbroken. They are as follows: 
 Alma J., Edward H., Charles G., Otto H. and Edna 
 J. The parents are both members of the First Lu- 
 theran Church of Rockford and are enterpiising 
 and industrious citizens, well and favorably known 
 in this community. They take an active interest 
 in all that pertains to the general welfare and the 
 upbuilding of the county. In politics, Mr. Ander- 
 son is a Republican but has never sought or desired 
 official preferment. 
 
 -4- 
 
 -^^ 
 
 -5- 
 
 ylLLIAM NELSON. If in the city of 
 Rockford there is one business more suc- 
 cessful than all others, and attracting 
 wider notices from other cities, it is the Nelson 
 Knitting Company, of which the subject of this 
 sketch is Director, and Superintendent of the Ma- 
 chine Department. The company furnishes steady 
 employment to five hundred persons, and such is 
 the demand for their goods that the full capacity 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1289 
 
 of the plant is run night and day. The five thou- 
 sand dozen pair of hose, wluch is the daily aver- 
 age find a ready sale in every part of the United 
 States, and have a reputation which is excelled 
 by the products of no other manufactory. 
 
 This enterprise, which has been steadily and 
 rapidly increasing in magnitude since 1870, is 
 the outgrowth of the genius of the inventor, 
 John Nelson (of whom see biography), the father 
 of our subject. "With reference to the Nelson 
 Knitting Machines, it may be truthfully said that no 
 invention of the kind equals them. In addition to 
 his interests in this manufactory, Mr. Nelson is a 
 Director in the Rockford Folding Bed Manufactur- 
 ing Company, and in the Manufacturers' National 
 Bank. He is also Vice-president of the Forest City 
 Knitting Company, another prominent factory, lo- 
 cated on the east side of the Rock River and 
 employing about three hundred men. This is a 
 successful industry and a valuable acquisition to 
 the manufactories of Rockford. 
 
 Among the noteworthy additions to the city 
 of Rockford, and one which is looked upon with 
 special pride by the people, is the elegant new 
 hotel, containing five hundred rooms, erected in 
 a modern style of architecture and complete in 
 every appointment. The house, which is called 
 the Nelson House, in honor of its chief promoter, 
 is unexcelled by any other hotel in the State out- 
 side of Chicago, and is probably one of the best 
 throughout the entire Northwest. 
 
 These and other enterprises, including landed 
 additions to the city and their improvement, 
 have received the hearty support and active en- 
 couragement of Mr. Nelson, besides his iinancial 
 assistance. The shrewd and careful way in which 
 he has conducted his business affairs proves him 
 to be a man of much natural tact and ability, and 
 he is likewise the inheritor of some of his father's 
 mechanical ingenuity, which enables him to con- 
 duct and manage the great machinery developed 
 by his father. A stranger is impressed with the 
 accuracy and perfection of the complicated ma- 
 chines, as well as by the skill which oversees and 
 guides the whole. 
 
 William Nelson was bom in Rockford, October 
 29, 1857. He received his education in the com- 
 
 mon schools and made the best use of his advan- 
 tages in that direction. Not many years ago, he 
 returned to his father's native land, Sweden, and 
 there took for a wife one of the fair daughters of 
 that country. Miss Oleva Olson, who was born 
 and reared there. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have a 
 beautiful home in the best residence portion of 
 Rockford, and with their two children, Louisa 
 and Elsie, are surrounded by all the comforts 
 which increase the pleasures of life. 
 
 Being of a social nature, Mr. Nelson has taken 
 especial interest in the order of Masonry and is a 
 Royal Arch Mason; a member of the Knights 
 Templar, or Commandery Degree, of this city; the 
 Scottish Rites Consistory, of Freeport, 111., and the 
 Shrine of Chicago, making him a Thirty-second 
 Degree member of the order. 
 
 ^n^ 
 
 <* MLLIAM J. COX. On a fertile and well- 
 \/\/// cle'^^loped farm, consisting of one hun- 
 ^y dred and sixty-five acres on section 15, 
 Burritt Township, Winnebago County, Mr. Cox 
 pursues the even tenor of his way, gaining the 
 good-will of his fellows and winning maintenance 
 from the soil. He was born in New Jersey, March 
 16, 1843, and is the son of Williain Cox, a native 
 of Hampshire, England, where the grandparents of 
 our subject spent their entire lives. 
 
 William Cox was reared and married in Eng- 
 land, setting sail from Liverpool with his young 
 bride November 3, 1841, and landing in New 
 York December 24, of that year. They made their 
 home in New Jersey for five years, at the end of 
 which time the father of our subject removed to 
 Genesee County, N. Y., and in 1851 came by way 
 of the Lakes to Chicago, thence by team to Rock- 
 ford, in which city he lived for a few months. He 
 later came to Burritt Township, where he pur- 
 chased forty acres on section 14, only six of which 
 were broken. Mr. Cox soon entered forty acres 
 more from the Government and again added to his 
 estate eighty acres, upon which he resided until 
 1876, when he moved into the city of Rockford 
 and departed this life April 10, 1891. 
 
 November 3, 1841, the parents of our subject 
 
1290 
 
 PORTRAIT ANT) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were married in England, tlie mother being Ann 
 Radford, daughter of James Radford. Her father 
 came to the New World and lived with his chil- 
 dren until his decease. The mother of our subject 
 still resides in Rockford and has reared the follow- 
 ing ten children: William J., Mary A., Alfred, 
 Charles, Maria, Alonzo, Carrie, Frank, Joseph and 
 Vern. Alfred sewed during the late war as a 
 member of the Twelfth Illinois Cavalry and died 
 in the service. 
 
 Our subject was nine years of age when he ac- 
 companied his parents on their removal to the 
 Prairie State and here he assisted his father in de- 
 veloping a new farm until reaching his twenty- 
 second year. During that time, however, he had 
 become the owner of eighty acres which are included 
 in his present farm and to which he has since added 
 until his estate comprises one hundred and sixty- 
 five acres. It is well improved with good build- 
 ings, and besides that tract Mr. Cox owns con- 
 siderable timber land. 
 
 The date which united the fortunes of Miss 
 Annie Smith to those of our subject was March 16, 
 1870. The lady was born November 23, 1845, in 
 Bedfordshire, England, where her father, James 
 Smith, the son of Mark and Elizabeth Smith, was 
 born. The father was married in Bedfordshire to 
 a lady who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth 
 Bettle, a daughter of William Bettle. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Smith had the following children: William, Mark, 
 Susan, Thomas, George, Sarah, Alfred, James, Eliz- 
 abeth, and Mrs. Cox. The latter, together with 
 William and Mark, are the only members of the 
 family who came to America. Our subject and his 
 wife have one son, William G. 
 
 ^^EORGE R. ATKINSON, a well-known 
 [|[ (— ^ merchant tailor in Rockford, has his fine 
 ^^/^ "parlors located over the Golden Eagle 
 Clothing Store, on the corner of West State and 
 North Main Streets. He has been engaged in 
 this branch of work since January 1, 1871, and 
 does the most extensive trade in the city, giving 
 employment to from eighteen to twenty men. Mr. 
 Atkinson came to this city September 10, 1864, 
 
 when he engaged to work for David Wallock & 
 Co., who are retired business men, now residing in 
 Chicago. Our subject acted as cutter for that 
 company for seven years, and during the last two 
 seasons of his service received the largest salary 
 ever paid to a cutter in the Western country. 
 
 As before stated, in 1871 our subject launched 
 out in the merchant tailoring business on his own 
 account, and beside numbering among his cus- 
 tomers the best citizens of Rockford, he receives 
 orders for work in the different States from Maine 
 to California, which fact in itself indicates his 
 ability as a skilled workman and business man. 
 George R. Atkinson was born in Cumberland 
 County, in the North of England, September 19, 
 1835, and was a lad of eleven years when he was 
 bound out as a tailor's apprentice until reaching 
 his majority. When seventeen years of age, how- 
 ever, he decided to leave his master, and his 
 mother borrowing the money to pay his passage to 
 the United States, he, in September, 1853, boarded 
 a sailer at Liverpool, which landed him in the city 
 of New York six weeks later, where he engaged 
 to work at his trade. He was the eldest of three 
 children born to his parents, and is the only mem- 
 ber who makes his home in America. His father, 
 Joseph Atkinson, was a wool-weaver by trade, 
 and died in the prime of life, when our subject 
 was three years of age. His wife, who survived 
 him a number of years, died at the old home in 
 Cumberland, England, in July, 1881. She was a 
 very estimable lady and an active worker in the 
 Dissenters' Church. Mary A., the only sister of 
 our subject, died when only three weeks old, and 
 his brother Thomas, who is one of the four oldest 
 engineers on the London & Northwestern Rail- 
 road in England, will soon receive a pension from 
 the company which he has served so many years 
 with never an accident. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married in 
 Boston, Mass., was Miss Julia A., daughter of Col. 
 J. C. Harper, who was a well-known and promi- 
 nent Mason in Wilson, Franklin County, Me., 
 where he was born. Mrs. Atkinson was only two 
 years of age when her mother died, and when 
 ready to enter school received an excellent educa- 
 tion, and is now one of the intelligent and cul- 
 
PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1291 
 
 tured ladies of Rockford. She has become the 
 mother of two children, George and Julia, who 
 are both deceased. 
 
 Mr. Atkinson, of this sketch, is prominent in 
 Masonic circles, having taken tlie Thirty-second 
 Degree. He is also a member of the Shrine of Me- 
 dina Temple in Chicago, is connected with tlie 
 Scottish Rites of Freeport, also with the Crusaders' 
 Commandery No. 17, "Winnebago Chapter No. 24, 
 and Blue Lodge Eastern Star No. 116. He is also 
 connected with the Independent Order of Odd 
 Fellows, in which order he holds a high place. 
 
 OHN S. BATE has been identified with the 
 interests of Rockford for the past six years, 
 where he is carrying on his trade of carpen- 
 i^^ ter and contractor. He makes his home at 
 No. 1001 Ashland Avenue, where he owns valua- 
 ble property and has erected a comfortable resi- 
 dence. He came to this section from Cherokee 
 County, Iowa, where he had been engaged as a 
 farmer for four years. 
 
 The original of this sketch was born in Wayne 
 Count}', Pa., April 27, 1853, and was there reared 
 to man's estate. His father, Robert Bate, was born 
 in Cornwall County, England, where, on attaining 
 manhood, he followed the occupation of a farmer. 
 He was married in his native country to Miss Pru- 
 dence Arthur, who was also born in the same 
 county as was her husband, and who accompanied 
 him soon after their union to the United States 
 in the latter part of the '30s. They arrived in 
 New York City after a tedious voyage of seven 
 weeks, and going at once to Pennsylvania located 
 on a farm in Wayne County, where the father is 
 still living, being in his sixty-eighth year. His 
 wife departed this life in 1866, leaving a family of 
 ten children, of whom our subject is the sixth in 
 order of birth, and the only one who makes his 
 home in Illinois. The parents of our subject, who 
 were Episcopalians in religion, were known and re- 
 spected for the honesty and sincerity of their char- 
 arcter, and possessed the friendship of the best cit- 
 izens in their community. 
 Young Bate, of this sketch, came to Illinois in 
 
 1876, and was later married to Miss Lucretia Kapp, 
 who was born and reared in Burritt Township, Win- 
 nebago County. She was the daughter of Ashley 
 Kapp, a well-to-do farmer of the above-named 
 township, and departed this life at her home in 
 the city of Rockford, July 16, 1890. She was a 
 devoted member of the Baptist Church, and left at 
 her decease one child, Robert Ashley. A daughter, 
 Lucretia L., died when fourteen months old. 
 
 The lady whom Mr. Bate chose as his second 
 wife was Anna A. B. Seegert, who was born in Chi- 
 cago, July 2, 1870. Her early life was passed in 
 the Garden City, where she received an excellent 
 education in the public schools. Her father, Mor- 
 ris Seegert, was a native of Mechlenburg, Ger- 
 many, and came to America in the '50s. He is 
 at present living in Chicago, where he is a retired 
 boot and shoe merchant. His wife was also a na- 
 tive of the Fatherland, and was about twenty-one 
 years of age when she came to this country, being 
 the first of her family to make her home in the 
 New World. She was a working member of the 
 Congi-egational Church, and reared a family of 
 seven children. Mr. Bate stands well with his fel- 
 low-citizens, and is a sound Republican in politics. 
 With his wife, he is connected with the Baptist 
 Church, of which he has been a member for fifteen 
 j^ears, and a Deacon for the past two years. 
 
 '^-'^— *al 
 
 E^M^ 
 
 ^ OHN Z. RYDBERG. The varied experiences 
 which have fallen to the lot of this promi- 
 nent citizen of Rockford entitles him to more 
 
 than passing notice. As a sailor before the 
 
 mast, and, in later life, a soldier in defense of the 
 Stars and Stripes, he gained a wide knowledge of 
 of men and things, which makes him a pleasant 
 companion and entertaining conversationalist. A 
 Swede by birth and parentage, he is nevertheless 
 intensely American in his ideas, and has cherished 
 a fond affection for the flag of our country since, 
 when a boy of ten, he first saw it at his home in 
 Gottenburg. 
 
 Mr. Rydberg was born in Sweden, September 
 22, 1833. He emigrated to the United States in 
 1852, and was a sailor on a merchant vessel out of 
 
1292 
 
 POETEAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL EECOED. 
 
 the port of Boston, from which city the ship sailed 
 on the waters of the Atlantic and through the 
 Southern Ocean, passing the equator four times and 
 touching the South American ports. In the 
 course of the voyage, Mr. Eydberg also sailed 
 on the Mediterranean Sea, and anchored at 
 Palermo, Sicily, besides other ports. At the re- 
 quest of his mother, he withdrew from the marine 
 service after being thus engaged two or throe 
 years, and coming to the States located in Chicago, 
 where he remained for a short time. 
 
 Coming to Eockford in 1857, Mr. Eydberg has 
 since made this city his home. When the Eebellion 
 broke out, he enlisted in the Seventy-fourth Illinois 
 Infantry, as a member of Company K, and in the 
 fall of 1862 accompanied his regiment to the Army 
 of the Cumberland, Sheridan's Division, Fourth 
 Army Corps. He participated in the battles of 
 Pen-yville, Ky., Stone Eiver, Missionary Eidge, 
 Eesaca, Buzzard's Boost, and other miner engage- 
 ments. At New Hope Church, he was wounded in 
 the right ankle from the bursting of a shell, and 
 was saved from what would have been a fatal 
 wound by his ammunition box, which stayed the 
 enemy's ball. Enlisting as a private, he was pro- 
 moted to Corporal, in which capacity he was dis- 
 charged at Nashville, Tenn, in the fall of 1865, 
 after three years' service. 
 
 Eeturning to Eockford, Mr. Eydberg lias since 
 been connected with the progress of this city and 
 has been identified with its foremost interests. He 
 has served for some time as City and Town Col- 
 lector, and is now Notary Public, besides which he 
 holds the position of Secretary of the Swedish 
 Mutual Fire Insurance Company. In politics, he 
 is a Eepublican. For some years, he has served as 
 Deacon in the Swedish Lutheran Church and is at 
 present Superintendent of the Sunday-school. 
 
 In Chicago our subject was married to Miss Ma- 
 tilda Blom, a native of Sweden, who accompanied 
 her parents to the United States in 1853 and with 
 them settled in Chicago. Her father, who was a life 
 guard to King Charles Oscar, died in Chicago, when 
 more than fifty years old, and her mother also 
 passed away in that city. Mr. and Mrs. Eydberg 
 have had eight children, three of whom are de- 
 ceased, namely: Lydia, Charlotte and Benjamin. 
 
 Charles, who married Laura Nelson, of Eockford, 
 resides in Chicago ; Olive is the wife of Paul Bat- 
 tenstron, a business man of Chicago ; Emma mar- 
 ried L. W. Keil, a jeweler of East State Street, 
 Eockford ; Joseph, who resides at home, is an 
 engraver in a silver plate company ; and Ebon is 
 clerking for his brother-in-law in Chicago. 
 
 '\fp^ OBEET H. FAEEANT. A farm of moder- 
 ate extent, but well-improved and man- 
 aged, and located in Eoscoe Township, 
 \!^ Winnebago County, is the home of the 
 subject of this notice. The estate is supplied with 
 a full line of well-built edifices, which afford ade- 
 quate shelter for stock, and storage for the products 
 which are yielded by the land, or manufactured 
 upon it. The owner of this comfortable home is 
 of English lineage and birth, his parents being 
 William and Caroline (Hutchings) Farrant, wealthy 
 farmers in England, the former of whom died when 
 our subject was an infant of three months. 
 
 He of whom we write was born in Devonshire, 
 England, September 29, 1822, and is the youngest 
 of seven children born to his parents. The eldest 
 son, Mark, died when young; the next son was Will- 
 iam, the heir to his father's vast estate. Mrs. William 
 Farrant died in her native land in 1864, at the ad- 
 vancedage of ninety-six years. Eobert H., of this 
 sketch, left home when ten years of age, and went 
 to Dublin with a brother-in-law to attend school, 
 and there learned the upholsterer's trade. In the 
 spring of 1839, he embarked on a sailing-vessel, 
 "The New York," from Liverpool, and after a pleas- 
 ant voyage of thirty days, landed on the American 
 shore, in company with his brother-in-law, Robert 
 Conner. 
 
 The original of this sketch made his home in 
 Salem, Mass., for some twelve years, where he was 
 engaged at his trade, and in 1854 came West to 
 Gallipolis, Ohio. In December of 1863, he was 
 married in Janesville, Wis., to Miss Almira, daugh- 
 ter of Daniel Goldthwait, whose birth occurred in 
 Danvers, Essex County, Mass., and who was a potter 
 by trade, which was the calling of his father before 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1293 
 
 him. The family trace their ancestry back four 
 o-enerations, to John, Daniel and David Goldth- 
 wait, who came to tliis country in an early day. 
 The father of Mrs. Farrant emigrated to Cleveland, 
 Ohio, in 1834, but soon returned to his native 
 State, where his decease occurred at sixty-four 
 years of age. He was followed to the better land 
 fourteen years later by his good wife, who bore the 
 maiden name of Susan Curtis. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Farrant has been born one son, 
 his natal day being March 12, 1866. They located 
 in Roscoe Township, this county, in May of that 
 year, where tliey purchased sixty acres of improved 
 farm land, to which they have since added seventy 
 acres. The former tract was purchased 4!rom Will- 
 iam and David Randall, who emigrated from Eng- 
 land, and entered the land from the Government in 
 1844. Our subject has been engaged in the up- 
 holstering business at Beloit, Wis., much of the 
 time since locating here, during which time he 
 rented liis property. He is now managing affairs 
 himself, and cultivates the soil in a most intelligent 
 and profitable manner. In early life an old-line 
 Whig, Mr. Farrant became a Democrat at the time 
 Stephen A. Douglas was nominated for the Presi- 
 dency. His son, Henry Ross, was a student at 
 Beloit for a number of years, but was compelled 
 to abandon his studies on account of his health, 
 and is now at home cultivating the farm. 
 
 -M- 
 
 ■S^DGAR N. LINCOLN, who was the owner 
 |U) and occupant of a fine farm on section 3, 
 jlL^j Flora Township, Boone County, was born 
 in Bonus Township, July 12, 1842. His father, 
 Jedediah Lincoln, was born in Middletown,Conn., 
 where he was reared and educated, and on leaving 
 his native Slate went to Pennsylvania and made 
 his home for two years in Erie County. In 1839, 
 he came West to Illinois, locating in what is now 
 Bonus Township, this county, and entered a tract 
 of Government land. There he resided for three 
 years,when, disposing of that property, he purchased 
 land in Flora Township, where his death occurred 
 October 26, 1888. 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 
 was Marion Nichols, a native of Chautauqua 
 County, N. Y., and the daughter of Phineas Nich- 
 ols. Her father, who was also a native of the 
 Empire State, when reaching mature years removed 
 to Ohio, and later came to Boone County, where 
 he was classed among the pioneers. He was a man 
 of considerable means, and invested his money in 
 Government land in Bonus, Caledonia and Flora 
 Townships. He only resided here a few years, 
 however, and, returning to the Buckeye State, there 
 passed his remaining years. The maiden name of 
 his wife was Esther Gore. The mother of our sub- 
 ject died* at the home of her daughter in Iowa, 
 October 17, 1889. She reared a family of five 
 children, viz.: Phoebe E., Oscar J., Edgar N., Alice 
 M. and William P. 
 
 Edgar N. Lincoln attended the pioneer schools, 
 and assisted in conducting the farm until Septem- 
 ber 4, 1862, when he enlisted in Company G, 
 Ninety-fifth Illinois Infantry, and served in the 
 Union ranks until February, 1863, when he was 
 honorably discharged b}- special act of Congress. 
 He re-enlisted the same day, however, in Company 
 D, Mississippi River Marine Brigade, and served 
 with that command until January 22, 1865, when 
 the command was disbanded. 
 
 November 15, 1866, when our subject was mar- 
 ried to Ellen H. Moss, he located upon a portion 
 of the old home which he now owns and occupies. 
 He has made excellent improvements upon the 
 place and has the pleasure of knowing that his 
 farm is one of the best cultivated in the county. 
 Mrs. Lincoln was born in Spring Township, this 
 county, while her father, Asa Moss, was born in 
 1818, in Washington County, N. Y. His father, 
 who also bore the name of Asa, removed from 
 Washington to Chautauqua County in 1820, and 
 resided there until 1836, at which time he came 
 to Boone County, and made one of the first set- 
 tlers in Belvidere Township. He secured a tract 
 of Government land, improved his farm and made 
 it his home until his decease. The maiden name 
 of his wife was Sally Shirwood. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Lincoln was reared in Chau- 
 tauqua County, and when a youth of eighteen 
 years, came to Illinois with his parents, and secured 
 a tract of Government laud in Spring Township. 
 
1294 
 
 PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 After his marriage, he sold his propert}^, and, re- 
 moving to Belvidere Township, purchased a farm 
 which he occupied some years, and then lived re- 
 tired in the city of that name until his decease, 
 November 1, 1888. His wife was known in her 
 maidenhood as Alvira Stewart. She was born 
 in Erie County, N. Y., and was the daughter of 
 Hoseaand Phcebe (Aldrich) Stewart, natives also of 
 the Empire State, where tlieir decease occurred. 
 Mrs. Moss came to Illinois with her brother Mathew, 
 in 1843. She now makes her home with Mrs. 
 Lincoln. 
 
 The following are the four children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lincoln: Carrie A., wife of Fred McCoy; Rosa 
 N., Gracie E. and Walter E. The parents are 
 both members of the South Side Baptist Church, 
 and, in politics, Mr. Lincoln is a Republican. 
 
 
 W; EROY L. KIDDER, who was born in Me- 
 I (JS) dina County, Ohio, February 12, 1832, is 
 jIU^ the son of Benjamin and Jane A. (Palmer) 
 Kidder. The father was born in New Hampshire 
 and died in Pecatonica when sevent3'-four years of 
 age. While a resident of Oliio, he was engaged in 
 the lumber business,which he sold out in 1854, and 
 coming to Illinois purchased a farm in Seward 
 Townsliip, Winnebago County. In politics, he 
 was in early life a Free-soiler and later joined the 
 ranks of the Republican party. Religiously, he was 
 a Congregationalist. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, Joseph 
 Kidder, also hailed from New Hampshire and came 
 West to Ohio in 1816, where he died when seventy 
 years of age. The grandmother also died in the 
 Buckeye State in her seventy-second year. Ben- 
 jamin Kidder at one time walked from New 
 Hampshire to Ohio on a pleasure trip. Mrs. Jane 
 A. Kidder was born March 5, 1810 at Glens Falls, 
 N. Y., and was a daughter of Hamner and Deborah 
 (Lewis) Palmer. Her father came to Ohio in 1814, 
 where he combined the occupation of a merchant 
 and farmer and passed his last years, dj'ing at the 
 age of ninety-four years. His wife also died in 
 Ohio in her fifty-fiftli year. Mrs. Kidder departed 
 this life at Akron after having become the mother 
 
 of nine children, three of whom died in infancy 
 and four are now living. An uncle, Joseph Kidder, 
 was a patriot in the War of 1812, and a brother of 
 our subject, Benjamin Franklin, during the late 
 war, was a member of Company K, Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Infantry. 
 
 Le Roy L. Kidder attended the schools taught in 
 the old log cabin and remained at home until 
 eighteen years of age. He then went West and en- 
 gaged in mining in the Sierre Nevada Mountains, 
 also in transferring goods from one camp to an- 
 other. Later, he became a large cattle dealer in 
 the West and in 1861, returning to Pecatonica, rode 
 a mule the entire distance. Purchasing land in 
 Seward and Pecatonica Townships, he added to his 
 tract until he became the owner of four hundred 
 acres of excellent land. 
 
 January 1, 1868, Mr. Kidder was united in mar- 
 riage to Miss Celia Searls, who was boi'n April 17, 
 1843 at Hinckley, Ohio, and is the daughter of 
 Gilbert and Elizabeth (Halsted) Searls. The father 
 was a native of New York, and on coming to Se- 
 ward Township in 1858, here passed his last days, 
 dying when forty-nine years of age. His wife, 
 who was also born in the Empire State, is still liv- 
 ing and makes her home in Pecatonica. 
 
 Mrs. C. Kidder is one in a family of eight chil- 
 dren, seven of whom are living. By her union 
 with our subject six children have been born, three 
 of whom are deceased. Those living are: Nellie 
 E., who was born June 25, 1868, is a graduate of 
 the Pecatonica schools, and at the present time is 
 conducting one of the best millinery stores in the 
 place. Ernest R. was born July 10, 1876, and 
 Lewis L., July 27, 1878. After his marriage, our 
 subject removed to the village of Pecatonica, where 
 he was engaged in the hardware business for two 
 years, at the end of which time he resided for four 
 years on his farm. He then returned to the vil- 
 lage, took in as partner a Mr. Marston, and con- 
 ducted a general store under the name of Kidder 
 & Marston for two years, when our subject pur- 
 chased the interest of his partner and operated the 
 business alone for ten and one-half years. The 
 firm style then became Kidder & Swartz and his 
 present fine store building was erected. He of 
 whom we write is interested in the shoe factory in 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPtnCAL RECORD. 
 
 1295 
 
 this place and gives liberally of bis means to the 
 furtherance of all good objects. 
 
 Our subject and his wife attend the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church. Mrs. Kidder is connected with 
 the Woman's Relief Corps and Legion of Honor. 
 He of whom we write is a member of the Masonic 
 fraternity in Pecatonica, in which lodge he has 
 tilled the positions of Secretary and Warden. He is 
 also a member of Lodge No. 173, 1. O. O. F., and 
 has filled the principal chairs in that body three or 
 four times. The Ancient Order of United Work- 
 men claims him as one of its active members, as also 
 does the Legion of Honor. In politics, our sub- 
 ject is a Republican. He was Assessor of his town- 
 ship for a number of years, for ten years served as 
 President of the School Board, and was President 
 of the Village Board for one term. 
 
 The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Kidder were 
 Daniel and Phoebe (Fisher) Searls. Her father was 
 bom June 3, 1811, in Greene County, N. Y., where 
 also the mother's birth occurred, March 19 of the 
 same year. She was the daughter of James and 
 Phoebe (Jameson) Halsted, her father born March 
 24, 1775, on Long Island, and died August 28, 
 1854, in Hinckley, Medina County, Ohio, when 
 seventy-nine years of age. Daniel Searls was 
 born in April, 1775, and also passed away in Hinck- 
 ley, Ohio, in his seventy-ninth year,while his wife, 
 whose demise occurred in the above State, was 
 eighty years of age at the time of her death. Our 
 subject's maternal great-grandfather was held a 
 prisoner by the Indians for a number of months 
 and on making his escape was nearly starved to 
 death. 
 
 THOMAS W. COLE. The high standard of 
 excellence which marks the popularity of 
 any business house is maintained by the 
 firm of Cole & Day, dealers in all kinds of fancy 
 and staple groceries, located at No. 307 West 
 State Street, Rockford. The present firm was es- 
 tablished in November, 1879, and carries one of the 
 largest stocks in the city and is rapidly increasing 
 its business beyond its previous scope by honest 
 treatment of patrons and strict integrity. 
 Since 1865, Mr. Cole has been identified with 
 61 
 
 the business interests of Rockford, and for some 
 years was a tobacco dealer, later served as County 
 Treasurer for six years and was Township Col- 
 lector for two years. At present, he is Alderman 
 of the Seventh Ward and as a strong Republican 
 takes an active part in political matters and is 
 prominent in public affairs. His fellow-citizens 
 have repeatedly called him to official positions of 
 honor and trust, which he has invariably filled 
 with credit to himself and satisfaction to all con- 
 cerned, and has been especially active in all mat- 
 ters pertaining to the growth of the city. 
 
 Mr. Cole is a native of New York City and was 
 born November 9, 1838, but has been a resident of 
 Rockford since he was eighteen months old and 
 has seen this citj' grow from a straggling village 
 with a small population to a prominent position 
 among the best cities of the State. When the Civil 
 War broke out, he enlisted for three months in the 
 early part of 1861 and served during the period 
 of his enlistment as a member of Company D, 
 Eleventh Illinois Infantry. In July, 1862, he re- 
 enlisted in the Seventy-fourth Illinois Infantry as 
 a private in Company D, Capt. Douglas and Col. 
 Marsh, commanding. 
 
 After organization, the regiment marched at 
 once to the South and was assigned to the Twen- 
 tieth Army corps, in the Army of the Cumberland. 
 Among the engagements in which Mr. Cole partic- 
 ipated were the battles of Perry ville, Ky.; Stone 
 River (after which he was made First Sergeant), 
 Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Dalton, Buzzard's 
 Roost and Resaca. At tlie last-named place, the 
 Seventy-fourth took a very prominent part, and 
 Mr. Cole, in the thickest of the fight, was wounded 
 in the right elbow by a ball from the enemy's 
 guns, which confined him to the hospital for six 
 months. Meanwhile, he was sent back to Rock- 
 ford, where his arm was amputated in November, 
 
 1864. 
 
 April 3, 1872, Mr. Cole was united in marriage 
 with Miss Alice Mentzer, who was born in Rock- 
 ford, January 11, 1849. She was reared and edu- 
 cated in this city, of which her parents were early 
 settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Cole are the parents of three 
 children, Frank C, William J. and Lulu, all of 
 whom are at home. Mrs. Cole takes an active in- 
 
1296 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 
 
 terest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of 
 the women of the city, and has for many years 
 been a prominent member of the Woman's Relief 
 Corps. Mr. Cole is a member of G. L. Nevius 
 Post No. 1, G. A. R., of Rockford, and has occu- 
 pied the Chair of Quartermaster of the post. 
 
 '* M. SOUTHGATE, a retired business man 
 of Rockford, occupies a pleasant home at 
 No. 310 South Second Street. He has been 
 a resident of this city since 1853, and has 
 therefore been a witness of much of its develop- 
 ment, aiding materially in its growth through his 
 exertions. In his youth, he learned the trade of a 
 tinner, and was thus engaged for some years, but 
 in 1862 embarked in the grocery business, in part- 
 nership with his father-in-law, C. A. Shaw. After- 
 ward, he carried on the business under the title of 
 Southgate (feHodson, following which he was alone 
 for three years, and then for ten years the firm was 
 known as Southgate Bros., J. M. and V. M. being 
 associated together. After many years spent suc- 
 cessfully as a merchant, our subject retired from 
 active business life in 1891, and is now enjoying 
 the fruits of the toil of former years. 
 
 Mr. Southgate was born in Bridgewater, Windsor 
 County, Vt., and belongs to a substantial New 
 England family. His father, Thomas, a native of 
 the Green Mountain State, died when forty-four 
 years old, leaving his wife with four little children 
 to care for. He was a farmer by occupation, and 
 a man of upright principles and the utmost probity. 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Delcena Marsh, 
 was born in Vermont, of worthy parents, and was 
 reared to womanhood in her native State. After 
 the deatli of Mr. Southgate, she was married to 
 Samuel Harwood, a native of New York, and after- 
 ward made her home on a farm in Orleans Countj' 
 until her death, when about four-score years old. 
 In Rockford, Mr. Southgate of this sketch was 
 married to Miss C. Jennie Shaw, who was born in 
 Lapeer Countj', Mich. Her parents, Calvin A. and 
 Clara M. Shaw, were natives, respectively, of Rut- 
 land and Middlebury, Vt., and after their marriage 
 in the Green Mountain State, removed to Michigan, 
 
 settling in Lapeer County, and improving a good 
 farm there. Afterward, Mr. Shaw became a mer- 
 chant, and in 1857 came to Illinois, engaging in 
 business at Rockford, in partnership with Mr. 
 Brockway, whom our subject succeeded. Mr. Shaw, 
 later, sold his interest in the store to Mr. Hodson, 
 and lived retired until his death, in. 1879, at the 
 age of seventy years. He was prominent in the 
 politics of the city, and a strong adherent of the 
 Republican party. He was an active member of 
 the Presbyterian Church, and served as Elder. His 
 wife, who was a noble woman and a faithful mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian Church, died in 1887, when 
 seventy years old. 
 
 The family of which Mrs. Southgate is a member 
 consisted of three children, the others being C. 
 Adel, wife of William H. Worthington, of whom 
 see biographj'; and L. Kate, whose husband is a 
 clerg3'man in the Presbyterian Church at Vin- 
 cennes, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Southgate have two 
 sons: Harry, married Edith Wettstein, of Rochelle, 
 111., and is book-keeper in the Rockford Shoe Com- 
 pany; Clate R. married Daisy Harbough, and they 
 reside in Rockford. In their religious connections, 
 our subject and his wife are members of the First 
 Congregational Church, of which he is a Trustee, 
 and also Assistant Superintendent of the Sunday- 
 school. Politically, Mr. Southgate is a Prohibi- 
 tionist, and a believer in reform along temperance 
 lines. 
 
 ON. SELDEN M. CHURCH, who is one of 
 tlie prominent citizens of Rockford, was 
 born in East Haddam, Middlesex Countj-, 
 ^ Conn., March 4, 1804, and is the son of 
 Lazarus Church, who, as far as is known, was also 
 a native of Connecticut. His father, the grand- 
 father of our subject, bore the name of Ira Church, 
 and emigrated from the above-named State to New 
 York in 1804, where he spent his last years in Mon- 
 roe County. 
 
 Lazarus Church was reared to man's estate and 
 married in Connecticut, whence he removed the 
 same year as did his father to New York making 
 the journey overland with his wife and family. 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1297 
 
 He located in what is now Monroe County, -where 
 he purchased a tract of . heavy timber land about 
 twelve miles from the present site of Rochester. 
 Residing there a few years, he later took up his 
 ahode in Avon, Tiivingston County, where he car- 
 ried on his trade of a blacksmith. He was living 
 in that place during the War of 1812, and on one 
 occasion joined an independent company and went 
 to the rescue of the city of Buffalo. The father of 
 our subject resided in the Empire State until 
 1847, when he came West and, locating in this 
 city, here spent his last days, dying August 8, 
 1852, when seventy-four years of age. 
 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Miss Catherine Brockway, and like her husband, 
 she was a native of Connecticut. She was the daugh- 
 ter of Abner and Catherine (Marvin) Brockway, 
 and departed this life in Rockford. She reared a 
 family of four sons, namely: Selden M., Ulysses 
 F., Ira and William L. He of whom we write was 
 an infant when his parents removed to New York, 
 and, when old enough to attend school, received 
 his education in the pioneer log schoolhouse near 
 his boyhood's home. He commenced when quite 
 young to make his own way in the world, being 
 variously employed in New York until January, 
 1835, when he came West with a team, stopping 
 for a while at the then village of Chicago. From 
 there he went to Geneva, now the county seat of 
 Kane County, where he was employed as clerk in 
 the store of a Mr. Herrington, who was one of the 
 first settlers in that place. During that summer, 
 he visited Rockford, his business being to subpoena 
 a witness, the journey being made on horseback. 
 In that early day, Winnebago County was not or- 
 ganized, and the now prosperous and wealty city 
 of Rockford contained but two buildings. 
 
 Mr. Church, of this sketch, remained in Geneva 
 until the fall of 1836, when he came to this city, 
 and for many years was one of the most active 
 and influential citizens, until the infirmities of 
 old age compelled him to retire from business and 
 public life. He was one of the originators and 
 organizers of the Rockford Water Power Company, 
 and for some time served as President of the 
 Rockford Insurance Company, and as Director of 
 the Winnebago National Bank. He was elected 
 
 County Clerk in 1840, being the third incumbent 
 of that position, and in 1849 was elected County 
 Judge, in which capacity he served for eight 
 years. He was a member of the Constitutional 
 Convention of 1847, and was made a member of 
 the General Assembly in 1862. He was appointed 
 a member of the State Board of Public Charities 
 in 1868, and was one of the Commissioners desig- 
 nated by the Government to locate the bridge at 
 Rock Island. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married, in 
 1831, was Pamelia Stevens. She died in 1832, 
 and the lady whom Mr. Church chose as his second 
 wife, in 1845, was Mary (Turner) Preston, who 
 was born in Cumberland County, Me., and was 
 the daughter of James and Nancy (Tombs) 
 Turner, and widow of Samuel D. Preston. Our 
 subject has one daughter living by his first mar- 
 riage, Katherine, now tiie widow of Theodore A. 
 Keeler. She is the mother of two children: Jennie 
 and Katherine. Mrs. Church had one daughter by 
 her union with Mr. Preston, who bears the name 
 of Mary. 
 
 _^) 
 
 ■"SJ 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 [S_ 
 
 [S" 
 
 WILLIAM L. HARBISON. Prominent 
 among the citizens of Rockford stands the 
 name of Mr. Harbison, who has for years 
 been closely identified with the progress of the 
 city, and especially of the Fifth Ward, which he is 
 serving as Alderman. In October, 1881, he estab- 
 lished a mercantile business at No. 816 South Main 
 Street, where he has a large store, stocked with a 
 full line of goods. Among the public-spirited 
 citizens, stanch Republicans, and successful busi- 
 ness men of the city, he occupies a prominent place, 
 and is deserving of representation in this volume. 
 A native of the North of Ireland, and of Scotch- 
 Irish parentage, our subject was early orphaned by 
 the death of his mother. His father, Mathew Har- 
 bison, afterward came to America, in 1849, and 
 engaged for some years as a miner in California. 
 He made his home in the Golden State until his 
 death, at Valley Ford, in 1888, aged eighty-five 
 years. Our subject, after his mother's death, was 
 taken into the home of his uncle, James Harbison, 
 
1298 
 
 POKTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 with whom he came to America in 1850, when 
 fourteen years old. He remained for some time in 
 New Yorli City, and served an apprenticeship as 
 clerk for six years. His Uncle James removed 
 West to Ohio, and died in that State in middle 
 life. 
 
 In the spring of 1856, Mr. Harbison came to 
 Rockf ord, where for some years he was engaged in 
 business as a contractor. Since he organized his 
 present business, in 1881, he has been the sole 
 proprietor, and has erected the substantial store- 
 building he now owns and occupies. He was mar- 
 ried in this city to Miss Anna A. Raymond, who 
 was born in Vermont, and came to Illinois when 
 quite young, accompanying her parents, Lemuel 
 and Laura (Wilkinson) Raymond. They settled 
 on a farm in Winnebago County, and after bring- 
 ing it to a high state of cultivation, retired to 
 Rockford, where Mr. Raymond died at the age of 
 seventy-six years. 
 
 Mrs. Harbison was reared in the parental home 
 and was for some years a teacher, following that 
 profession with success. Six children were born 
 to her, four of whom are deceased, three dying in 
 infancy, and Frank L., when a promising young 
 man of about twenty-one years. Omer A. is at 
 present clerking in his father's store; Howard W. 
 married Susan I. Tisdale, who was educated in 
 Rockford, and was engaged as a teacher prior to 
 her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Harbison are attend- 
 ants at the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are 
 highly esteemed throughout the community. 
 
 *^^1 
 
 ^ OEL BURBANK, the efficient and popular 
 Sheriff of Winnebago County, was elected to 
 office in the fall of 1890, and in the dis. 
 charge of his duties he has proved himself 
 worthy of the trust reposed in him. His entire life 
 has been spent in this community. He was born in 
 Harrison Township on the 12th of May, 1845, and 
 is a son of Eli Burbank, one of the early set- 
 tlers. His father was a native of Massachusetts and 
 was descended from an old New England family. 
 When a youth, he removed to Cattaraugus County, 
 N. Y., where he grew to manhood upon a farm and 
 
 married Miss Amanda Grover. They came West 
 in 1835, and secured a tract of Government land 
 in Harrison Township, whereon Mr. Burbank made 
 his home until the early part of 1891, when he 
 came to Rockford to live with his son, and his 
 death occurred at Sheriff Burbank's home on the 
 17th of April. He lived the quiet, unassuming 
 life of a farmer, was a worthy and valued citizen 
 and had the respect of all who knew him. In pol- 
 itics, he was a Republican, and was a member of 
 the United Brethren Church. His first wife died 
 in Harrison Township of a fever that was prevalent 
 in an early day. In Wisconsin, Mr. Burbank was 
 again married, his second union being with Mrs. 
 Anna Woodle, nee Smith, who was born in Kent 
 County, Del., December 26, 1809. Her first hus- 
 band died in Pennsylvania in the prime of life, 
 and when a young widow she came to tlie West. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Burbank lived together as man and 
 wife for fifty years. She is yet living and makes 
 her home with her son. She retains her memory 
 to a remarkable degree, but is now suffering from a 
 broken hip and the infirmities which declining years 
 bring. She is a member of the Free-will Baptist 
 Church, and a lady held in the highest regard by 
 all who know her. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Burbank were parents of ten 
 children, some born of the first and some of their 
 second marriage. There are three children of the 
 Burbank family yet living, two sous and a daugh- 
 ter: Amanda, now the wife of D. H. Ellis, of Rock- 
 ford; Joel, of this sketch, and Thomas, who wedded 
 Mary Hulett and is a member of the fire depart- 
 ment of Rockford. 
 
 Our subject has spent his entire life in this 
 county. Under the parental roof, he was reared 
 to manhood, the days of his youth being passed in 
 the usual manner of farmer lads, attending the 
 district schools in the winter season and working 
 at home through the summer months. He has also 
 followed agricultural pursuits during the greater 
 part of his life, in fact, until his removal to Rock- 
 ford in 1891. He still owns his fine farm, which 
 is under a high state of cultivation and well im- 
 proved. He has been an influential and worthy 
 citizen of the community in which he has resided, 
 and for some years served his township as Col- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1299 
 
 lector. He was also Constable for fifteen years 
 and Deputy Sheriff for six years. On questions of 
 national importance, he always supports the Re- 
 publican party, but at local elections votes inde- 
 pendent and as an independent candidate ran for 
 Sheriff in the fall of 1891. 
 
 In Green County, "Wis., Mr. Burbank led to the 
 marriage altar Miss Charlotte Davis, who was born 
 June 4, 1859, in Spring Grove Township, that 
 county. Her parents were David M. and Frances 
 (Houghton) Davis, natives of Pennsylvania and 
 New York, respectively. When young people, 
 they came West and were married in Green County, 
 Wis., beginning their domestic life on a farm in 
 Spring Grove Township, where the father is still 
 living at the age of sixtj'-two years. His wife died 
 in November, 1881, at the age of forty-four. He 
 is a Republican in politics, and a member of the 
 Baptist Church, to which Mrs. Davis also belonged. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Burbank are now residents of the 
 city of Rockford. They are genial, whole-souled 
 people and have many friends throughout the 
 community where they have so long resided. Mr. 
 Burbank is proving a capable officer. 
 
 JOEL E. CRONK, a retired farmer of Belvi- 
 dere, is a native of Dutchess County, N. Y. 
 He was bom September 17, 1830, and is a 
 _^ ' son of Enoch Cronk, who was born in New 
 Yovk, March 11, 1804. The father was reared in 
 Dutchess County, and wedded Mary Denney, who 
 was born in that county, June 28, 1806. They 
 removed to Tioga County in 1837, and Mr. Cronk 
 purchased a tract of land in company with John 
 Thorne. He made his home in that locality until 
 1845, when he sold out, and bidding good-bye to 
 the East, came by the way of the Erie Canal and 
 the Great Lakes to Boone County, 111., being 
 one of its early settlers. Here he lived for a 
 year, and then purchased a tract of wild land 
 in Bonus Township, at $2.25 per acre, and also 
 bought some of the Government land at the 
 same time, at $1.25 per acre. On the latter, 
 he built a frame house, 12x20 feet, and made it his 
 
 home until 1868, when he sold, and purchased a 
 farm on Squaw Prairie. He afterward bought a 
 home in Belvidere, where he resided until his death, 
 on the 1st of November, 1884. His wife died in 
 November, 1887. They reared a family of tliree 
 children: Abbie J., Richard, and Joel E. 
 
 As soon as old enough, our subject began to aid 
 his father in the farm labors, and, on coming to 
 Illinois, assisted in the arduous task of developing 
 the wild land. In 1852, however, he left home, 
 and made an overland journey to California. He 
 started on the 10th of April, and on the 21st of 
 September reached his destination. For a time, 
 he engaged in mining, and then went to Scott 
 Valley, where he carried on a ranch, in connection 
 with his brother Richard, until January, 1853. 
 He then went to Etna Mills, where he was employed 
 in a sawmill until autumn, when he returned home 
 by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New York. 
 Here he at once began to buy stock for a return 
 trip across the plains, and started on the 11th of 
 April, 1854. For five years, he engaged in farm- 
 ing and stock-raising in Siskiyou County, after 
 which he made a visit of a few months to his old 
 home. In January, 1860, he once more went to 
 California by way of the Isthmus route, and con- 
 tinued to engage in agricultural pursuits and in 
 stock-raising for six years, when he returned to 
 Illinois and settled on the homestead in Bonus 
 Township. Upon that farm, he resided until 1881, 
 when he purchased his present farm, a portion of 
 which is within the city limits of Belvidere. 
 
 On the 19th of May, 1866, Mr. Cronk was mar- 
 ried to Miss Lottie Boomer, who was born in Ellis- 
 burgh, Jefferson County, N. Y., and is a daughter of 
 Allen Boomer, also a native of EUisburgh. The lat- 
 ter became a sailor when quite young, and after- 
 wards was Captain of a lake vessel, which he sailed 
 for seven years. During that time, he visited Chi- 
 cago, then known as Ft. Dearborn, a small hamlet, 
 containing only a few log houses. He was offered 
 eighty acres of land, which is now in the heart of 
 thl city, at a nominal price, but, thinking it too 
 swampy to become valuable, would not purchase 
 it. In 1841, he became one of the early settlers of 
 Stephenson County, where he resided for two years, 
 when he purchased a claim on Garden Prairie, 
 
1300 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Boone Countj^ The farm which he there made 
 continued to be his home until 1869, when he 
 came to Belvidere,and lived retired until his death, 
 in 1875. In the War of 1812, he had served as a 
 drummer-boy. He married Niobe Franklin, a na- 
 tive of Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., and a daughter of 
 Abel Franklin, a second cousin of Benjamin Frank- 
 lin. Mrs. Boomer is still living, and makes her 
 home in Austin, 111. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cronk are members of the Free 
 Methodist Church, and are highly esteemed citi- 
 zens of this community. They have a family of 
 ten children : Florence J., Eugene, Wakeman H., 
 Niobe M., Castellio, Lottie E., Mittie E., Benjamin 
 B., Louis A., and Ruby W. 
 
 <^- 
 
 =^> 
 
 SILAS B. MERCHANT belongs to that 
 sturdy, honest and independent class, the 
 farmers of Illinois, and is now engaged in 
 cultivating an estate comprising one hundred and 
 twenty acres of land — twenty acres of timber, and 
 the balance well adapted to the purposes of general 
 farming. He was born in Tompkins County, N. 
 Y., in 1836, but his father, Arlo J. Merchant, was 
 a native of Connecticut. The elder Mr. Merchant 
 worked at his trade, that of blacksmith, all his life, 
 and also followed agricultural pursuits on a lim- 
 ited scale. His father, Enoch Merchant, was also 
 a blacksmith b}* trade, and moved to Tompkins 
 County, N. Y., with his family of three sons 
 and two daughters, at an early date, there passing 
 the remainder of his days. 
 
 Arlo J. Merchant married Miss Eliza Olmstead 
 of Tompkins County, N. Y., and after residing 
 there until 1854 they sold out and came to Illinois, 
 locating in Rockford in the fall of that year. They 
 came By rail and brought fifteen of their seventeen 
 children with them, two remaining in New York 
 State. They subsequently settled in the village 
 of Winnebago and there the father passed away 
 within a year afterward, being only forty-six years 
 of age. His widow afterward married M. J. Upriorht 
 who received his final summons a few years pre- 
 vious to her death. They had moved to Rockford, 
 Iowa, and there her death occurred on the 27th 
 
 of June, 1890, when in her eightj^-fifth year. She 
 was qi]ite aptive and vigorous until within a short 
 time of her death. Of the seventeen children born 
 to this much esteemed and respected lady, ten are 
 still living and heads of families. Mrs. Upright, 
 formerly Mrs. Merchant, sent ten sons to the vol- 
 unteer army during the war for the Union, and one 
 son to the regular army after the close of the war. 
 One of the ten sons serving in the Union army died 
 in service, one was killed in action, one was killed 
 by the accidental discharge of a cannon, two were 
 promoted from privates to commissioned officers, 
 and these, with five others, were honorably dis- 
 charged at the close of the war. This is an extraor- 
 dinary record, and the more notable because neither 
 the mother nor her sons sought either notoriety 
 or recognition from the Government. However, 
 her case was brought to the notice of Congress 
 in February, 1879, by the following letter from 
 the Hon. George W. McCrary, then Secretary 
 of War. 
 
 War Department, Washington, Feb. 11, 1879. 
 To Hon. N. C. Deering, House of Repts. 
 
 Sir: — I have considered the petition of 
 Mrs. Eliza Upright, of Butler County, Iowa, pray- 
 ing for the discharge from military service of her 
 son, Norman M. Merchant, Battery B, Fourth Ar- 
 tillery, which petition was presented by you, and 
 is concurred in by numerous citizens. The dis- 
 charge of this soldier is asked by the petitioner, 
 who says that she is seventy-four years old, on the 
 ground that she had ten sons in the Union army 
 during the Rebellion, and the one above named, her 
 eleventh and youngest son, has served for over five 
 years in the regular army. She furnishes the napes 
 of her sons and a statement of the organizations in 
 which they served : Enoch Merchant was Corporal 
 Company F,One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Illinois 
 Volunteers, and was honorably discharged Septem- 
 ber 20, 1865, died in Sycamore, 111., January 19, 
 1892; Aaron Merchant was private in Companj' 
 G, Fifteenth Wisconsin Volunteers, and was killed 
 at Island No. 10, December 26, 1862, by the ac- 
 cidental discharge of a cannon; George W. Mer- 
 chant was a private in Company C, Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Volunteers, afterwards a Lieutenant, and 
 was honorably discharged September 26, 1865. 
 He resides in South Dakota. DeWitt C. Merchant 
 was a private in Company C, Fifteenth Illinois 
 Volunteers, and was killed in action July 22, 1864, 
 at Atlanta; Silas B. Merchant was a private in 
 Company G, Forty-fifth Illinois Volunteers, was 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1301 
 
 promoted to First Lieutentant, and resigned Sep- 
 tember 25, 1864. He lives iu Manchester, Boone 
 County, III. Abel L. Merchant was a piivate in 
 Company C, Fifteenth Illinois Volunteers, came 
 home on a furlough and died in Winnebago, 111.; 
 David 0. Merchant was a private in Company C, 
 Seventy-fourth Illinois Volunteers, and was hon- 
 orably discharged June 10, 1865. He lives in 
 Le Mars, Iowa. Lewis H. Merchant was a private 
 in Company G, Forty-fifth Illinois Volunteers, 
 and was honorably discharged September 26,1864. 
 He lives in Kansas. Arlo J. Merchant was a private 
 in Company G, P''orty-fourth Illinois Volunteers, 
 and was honorably discharged September 25,1865. 
 He lives in Rockford, Iowa. James B. Merchant 
 was a teamster in the employ of the Quartermaster's 
 Department. He lives in Lanark, 111. Norman M. 
 Merchant enlisted March 3, 1873, as a private in 
 Company B, United States Cavalry, and was dis- 
 charged March 11, 1878, by reason of expiration 
 of term of service. He again enlisted May 4, 1878, 
 and was assigned to Battery B, Fourth Artillery, 
 and was discharged in accordance with his mother's 
 request. 
 
 On the last week of the third session of the 
 Forty-sixth Congress, a bill was passed to pay to 
 Mrs. Eliza Upright, of Rockford, Iowa, a pension 
 at the rate per month allowed to parents for the 
 loss of children upon whom such parents were de- 
 pendent. The action in bringing her before Con- 
 gress seems to have been prompted by a desire to 
 do her honor, as well as to testify in a substantial 
 manner the appreciation of the Government. 
 
 Silas B. Merchant was the eighth child and sev- 
 enth son born to this worthy mother of many 
 worthy sons. He was reared on the farm until 
 eighteen years of age, after which he began for 
 himself and learned the carpenter and joiner's 
 trade. He followed this until the breaking out of 
 the Civil War, when, in August, 1861, he enlisted 
 in the Forty-fourth Illinois Infantry, Company 
 G, and served all through the war. He enlisted 
 as a private and returned to his home bearing the 
 rank of First Lieutenant. He was wounded in the 
 arm and breast at the battle of Chickamauga and 
 was home for eighty days, after which he returned 
 to his regiment. He served three years and four 
 months and on the whole rather enjoyed army 
 life. He lives over those days in memory. 
 
 Returning to his home, Mr. Merchant purchased 
 eighty acres of land for $1,800, going in debt 
 
 about $800. He was married in September, 1866, 
 to Miss Maggie Gray, of Manchester, and they 
 settled at once in their present kome. To the 
 original tract they have added forty acres and now 
 have a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres, 
 on which are ample barns and out-buildings, as 
 well as a comfortable and pleasant dwelling. Mr. 
 Merchant raises all the ordinary crops of the sec- 
 tion, has some good stock, and keeps a small 
 dairy of six or ten cows. In the month of Octo- 
 ber, 1880, Mrs. Merchant died, leaving him with 
 four children, two sons and two daughters. They 
 had buried one infant son. Those now living are: 
 Ida M., now Mrs Henry Westrip, who resides on a 
 farm in Murray County, Minn.; Fred S. married 
 Miss Beatrice Ellsworth and is engaged in farming 
 in this county; Delia E., a young lady at home, 
 and Hayes B., who was bOm the day Rutherford B. 
 Hayes was elected President. 
 
 Our subject was again married, September 15, 
 1886, this time to Mrs. Mary L. Lovesee, nee De 
 Graff, of Roscoe, and this union has been blessed 
 by the birth of two daughters, the joy and pride 
 of the household: Cora Belle, born April 2, 1888, 
 and Edna May, born January 11, 1890. This is 
 one of the pleasantest rural homes in the township, 
 and Mrs. Merchant makes a model step-mother. 
 By her former marriage she became the mother of 
 two children: Fanny, who died in her fifth year, 
 and a son, Charles A., who is now fourteen years 
 of age. Mr. Merchant has been Road Commissioner 
 for twelve years, and belongs to Nevius Post 
 No. 1, G. A. R., at Rockford. He is a representa- 
 tive citizen and an honorable, upright man. 
 
 eURTIS R. BRIGGS, one of the prominent 
 citizens of the village of Winnebafgo, was 
 born in Sardinia, Erie County, N. Y., 
 March 14, 1823, and is the son of Albert Briggs, 
 who was born in the town of North Greenwich, 
 Kent County, R. L, in which State his father, 
 Ephraim Briggs, was also born. The grandfather 
 later in life went to Western New York, where he 
 purchased land for each of his sons in the town of 
 Sardinia, and there spent the remainder of his life 
 
1302 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 with his children. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Miss Nancy Burlingame, also a native of 
 Rhode Island. The father of our subject was one 
 in a family of nine children and was reared and 
 educated in his native State. He began teaching 
 school when a very young man, and on going to 
 Chenango County, N. Y.,was married in Sherburne, 
 after which he removed to Erie County, where he 
 was one of the pioneers of Sardinia. He made his 
 home upon the tract of land which had been given 
 him by his father and erected a log house, in which 
 he established his family until a more suitable 
 structure could be built. There were no railroads 
 in the vicinity at that time and as the markets 
 were fnr distant, the inhabitants lived mostly 
 off tlie products of their land. Residing there 
 until the year 1838, the parents of our subject 
 started for the State of Illinois with their family of 
 six children, making the entire journey overland, 
 and July 2, of that year, arrived in Dixon, which 
 at that time was little more than a hamlet. The 
 following day, they went to Grand Detour and 
 occupied a vacant log cabin which they found for 
 a {qw weeks, during which time the father was en- 
 gaged in seeking a suitable location. Visiting this 
 county, he purchased a "squatter's" claim to two 
 hundred and forty acres of land in what is now 
 Winnebago Township and for which he paid $750. 
 The maiden name of the mother of our subject 
 was Zaviah Jewell, who was born in Dudley, Wor- 
 cester County, Mass., and was the daughter of 
 Jesse Jewell. She reared a family of seven children, 
 namely: Paulina, our subject, Gleason, Irena, Irvin, 
 May A. and Byron W. She was a most worthy lady 
 and departed this life jit the home of her youngest 
 son. He of whom we write was a lad of fifteen when 
 he came to Illinois with his parents, and remem- 
 bers well the incidents of the overland journey and 
 the mahy incidents and inconveniences to which 
 they were subjected in their new home. He hauled 
 the first load of wheat to Chicago ever taken from 
 Winnebago Township and was given thorough 
 training in farm pursuits. The lady to whom he 
 was married bore the maiden name of Rachael 
 Wood, of New York. She was the daughter of 
 Joshua Wood, who was born in Massachusetts, and 
 after many years of happy married life, died June 
 
 8, 1874. The lady who became the second wife of 
 Mr. Briggs was Mrs. Narcissa (Folsom) Moore. Our 
 subject joined the Methodist Episcopal Church 
 when eighteen years of age, and in politics votes 
 with the Republican party. 
 
 \^ County, and a gentleman highly respected 
 alike for his business qualifications and upright 
 character. He was born in Erie County, N. Y., 
 October 5, 1842, and is the son of Erastus and 
 Nancy (Spaulding) Morgan, for a further sketch 
 of whom the reader is referred to the biography 
 of Jacob Mabie, on another page in this volume. 
 
 Russell W. remained at home on the farm until 
 reaching his majority, when he went to Oil Cieek 
 and worked out by the day or month for three 
 years. Coming to this section in 1866, he purchased 
 one hundred and ten acres of land to which he later 
 added three hundred and ten acres and is now one 
 of the solid and influential agriculturists of the 
 county. He was married, in December, 1869, to 
 Sarah A. Bogardus, who was born in Cortland 
 County, N. Y., and was the daughter of Israel 
 R. and Irene (Brown) Bogardus. To them have 
 been born three children, namely: Fred B., who 
 was born April 17, 1874, was educated in the Bel- 
 videre schools, and resides at home; Frank R. and 
 Glenn, the former of whom was born in August, 
 1879, and the latter, June 30, 1882. 
 
 He whose name heads this sketch has always 
 been a Republican in politics and cast his first vote 
 for Abraham Lincoln for his second term as Pres- 
 ident. He has been honored with the offices of 
 Road Commissioner and School Trustee, the duties 
 of which he has filled in a creditable manner. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Morgan are members in good standing of 
 the Baptist Church, and in the Woman's Christian 
 Temperance Union, Mrs. Morgan is an active 
 worker. 
 
 Mr. Morgan is a self-made man in the true sense 
 of that term and has now one of the finest farms 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1303 
 
 in the county and devotes his attention to mixed 
 agriculture. His wife's father, Israel Bogardus, 
 was born in Cortland County, N. Y., and is still 
 living, making his home with his children. He 
 came to Boone County in 1848, in company with 
 his wife and four children. His wife, who was also 
 a native of the Empire State, died in this county 
 when thirty-nine years of age. 
 
 ?RANK G. MORGAN is a wholesale dealer 
 in flour, feed, pressed hay and all kinds of 
 seeds at No. 502 West State Street. He has 
 carried on business for himself since November 1, 
 1886, the last four years of that time being 
 located at the above address. From the begin- 
 nmg his trade has constantly increased, and by 
 his industry, perseverance and fair and lionest 
 dealing he has worked up an excellent business. 
 
 Mr. Morgan has the honor of being a native of 
 Winnebago County, where his birth occurred Jan- 
 uary 24, 1857. His paternal grandfather, John 
 Morgan, a native of Livingston County, N. Y., 
 followed the trade of a wagon-maker throughout 
 his life. He married a Connecticut lady. Miss 
 Betsy Hazen. His death occurred in Livingston 
 County, but his wife passed away in Rockton, 111. 
 J. George Morgan, father of our subject, was a 
 native of Livingston County, N. Y., and there 
 wedded Miss Mary Doolittle, who was born in 
 Ontario County. Soon afterward he emigrated 
 with his young wife to Illinois, locating in Winne- 
 bago County in 1855, and was engaged as a suc- 
 cessful farmer until his death. He was also an ex- 
 tensive railroad contractor, both before and after 
 coming to the West. His death occurred in Shir- 
 land, in 1872. Mr. Morgan belonged to the Meth- 
 odist Church, and in politics was a Republican. 
 His wife is still living in Rockford at the age of 
 fifty-seven years, and is a member of the Baptist 
 Cliurch. This worthy couple were the parents of 
 six children who are yet living, three being now 
 married. 
 
 Our subject received the educational advantages 
 afforded by the common schools and Rockford 
 Business College, after which he engaged in teach- 
 
 ing for some time. He was joined in wedlock in 
 this city ^ith Miss Carrie Case, who was born in 
 Chautauqua County, N. Y., April 19, 1857, and 
 when quite young came with her mother to Illinois. 
 Her father, Charles Case, died in Chautauqua 
 County. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah 
 Fitch, is yet living in Shirland Township, and is 
 now the wife of Sebastian Fickes, a farmer of that 
 community. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have been born two 
 children: Mae C, and Clara F. The parents are 
 both members of the Court Street Methodist Church 
 and are held in high esteem for their many excel- 
 lencies of character. At local elections, Mr. Mor- 
 gan votes with the Prohibition party and on ques- 
 tions of National importance supports the Repub- 
 lican party. He has made his home in Rockford 
 since 1877, and the property which he now owns 
 has all been acquired since that time. For eight 
 years, he was in the employ of J. G. Chick, a flour 
 and feed dealer, after which he began business on 
 his own account and has since successfully curried 
 on trade in that line. He ranks high in business 
 circle and is regarded as one of the valued citizens 
 of the community. 
 
 i>^^<i 
 
 GILBERT F. SMITH, who is at present resid- 
 ing in the village of Pecatonica, was born in 
 .^_^^ Geauga County, Ohio, April 8, 1827, and is 
 the son of John P. and Maria (Ferriss) Smith. The 
 father, who was born in Massachusetts, died in 
 Ohio when seventy -seven years of age. He was a 
 pioneer farmer in tlie Western Reserve, where his 
 father located in an early day. The maternal 
 uncle of our subject, Edwin J. Ferriss, was a prom- 
 inent man in Ohio, making his home near Cleve- 
 land. 
 
 Gilbert F. Smith, of this sketch, remained under 
 the parental roof until reaching his majority, 
 when, in 1848, he came to Stephenson County, this 
 State, and purchased land with a soldier's land 
 warrant; the land cost him only seventy-five cents 
 per acre. The lady to whom he was married, Sep- 
 tember 27, 1849, was born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, 
 and bore the maiden name of Helen M. Shaw. 
 
1304 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 She was the daughter of Joseph Shaw, who was 
 born in Manchester, England, on Easter Sunday, 
 in 1793. He emigrated to America wlien about 
 twenty-five years of age, and was employed as a 
 workman in a cotton factory in Massachusetts un- 
 til 1829, when he went to Ohio and engaged in a 
 woolen-mill. Thence, in 1853, he came to Illinois 
 and became a farmer in Stephenson County, where 
 he was residing at the time of his decease in his 
 seventj'-flrst year. 
 
 He of whom we write was one of a family of 
 nine children, five of whom are living. By liis 
 union with Miss Shaw were born tlie following 
 children, viz.: Devoisan A., who was born in Ohio, 
 October 25, 1851; Alice G., who was born in 
 Stephenson County, this State, February 11, 1853, 
 is married, and has one daughter; Herbert S., who 
 is also a native of the above county, was born No- 
 vember 23, 1855, and makes his home in Texas; 
 Ella M., likewise born in Stephenson County, as 
 was also Flora R., who is engaged in teaching 
 school in Pecatonica. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Smith are not connected with any 
 religious denomination, but contribute of their 
 means to the support of all. In politics, our sub- 
 ject is a Republican, casting his first vote for J. C. 
 Freemont. He has been prominent in local affairs, 
 and served for some years as an efficient member 
 of the School Board. 
 
 
 i.«^ai£2a_^ 
 
 .:;^^c5cr 
 
 .J 
 
 /^^ J- HEDLUND, a successful and popular 
 fl( mei-chant tailor at Rockford, was born in 
 
 ^^j/j the Province of Wester Gothland, Sweden, 
 September 22, 1852. When he was eleven years 
 old, he commenced to learn the trade of a tailor, at 
 which he was employed prior to emigrating to this 
 country. His parents, Andrew and Clara (Ander- 
 son) Hedlund, were born in Wester Gothland, Swe- 
 den, and belonged to good old families of that 
 province. After the birth of seven children, the 
 parents emigrated to America and proceeded to 
 Rockford, whither they were followed by our sub- 
 ject in 1869. The father pursued various avoca- 
 tions until his death in 1885, at the age of sixty- 
 one years. His wife still makes her home in Rock- 
 
 ford, where she is highly respected, and a valued 
 member of the Swedish .Lutheran Church, to which 
 her husband also belonged. 
 
 In a family of eight children, our subject was 
 the eldest son, and was reared in the parental home. 
 He was married to Miss Christina Johnson, who 
 was born in Sweden February 9, 1850. In the 
 spring of 1870, she emigrated to the United States 
 and settled in Rockford, whither her parents and 
 the other members of the family had removed the 
 year before. She is the daughter of John and 
 Anna (Larson) Swanson, who are now living on a 
 farm in Jackson County, Minn., and are in pros- 
 perous circumstances. They are adherents of the 
 Lutheran Church and are worthy people, esteemed 
 by all who know them. Their family consists of 
 four children, two sons and two daughters. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hedlund are the parents of four 
 living children, and have lost one by death. The 
 surviving children are named: Julia, Arthur E., 
 Ellen G., and Anna C. In politics, Mr. Hedlund 
 is a Republican, and socially is an active member 
 of the Ancient Order of Modern Woodmen. He 
 is a stockholder in what was formerly known as the 
 Merchant Tailor Stock Company, but is now oper- 
 ated under the title of Marsales & Holmin. 
 
 ENRY HARRISON CUSHMAN was born 
 in Paris Township, Oxford County, Me., 
 August 23, 1813. His parents, Caleb and 
 g/ Thankful (Spaulding) Cushman, were also 
 natives of the Pine Tree State, and died at Paris, 
 Oxford County, the father at the age of seventy- 
 six, and the mother when eighty-three years old. 
 Three children comprise the parental familj-^, 
 namely: Henry Harrison, of this sketch; Cynthia 
 E., who married Charles F. Cummings;and Clemen- 
 tine A. 
 
 The paternal grandparents of our subject, Caleb 
 and Sylvia (Sampson) Cushman, were born in 
 Maine, and in that State spent their entire lives, 
 engaged in agricultural pursuits, the grandfather 
 passing hence at the advanced age of eighty-three 
 and his wife when forty-five j^ears old. There were 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1305 
 
 several branches of the Cushman family, some of 
 whom took an active part in tlie Revolutionary 
 "War, and were among the early settlers of Paris, 
 Oxford County, Me. They traced their "title 
 clear" to Robert, who came to Plymouth in the 
 ship "Fortune" in 1621, but did not remain in 
 this country, returning to England as agent for 
 the Plymouth Colony, and dying while in that 
 service. While in Plymouth, he preached the noted 
 lay sermon on "The Sin and Danger of Self Love." 
 The maternal grandfather of our subject, Benja- 
 min Spaulding, married Miss Polly Carrot, No- 
 vember 29, 1764, and died October 14, 1811. 
 His wife was born Januarj^ 31, 1740, and died 
 October 4, 1819. The children born of this mar- 
 riage were as follows: Patty, born September 14, 
 1765, married Joseph Robinson; Rebecca, born 
 November 10, 1766, married Benjamin Heald; 
 Benjamin, born August 15, 1768; Leonard, born 
 February 13, 1770, married Margaret Warren; 
 Elizabeth, born January 18, 1772, became the wife 
 of John Fletcher; Abel, born October 15, 1777, 
 chose as his wife Phebe Prosten; Esther, born Oc- 
 tober 28, 1779, became the wife of Alexander 
 Thayer; Stephen, born August 13, 1782, and 
 Thankful, born August 16, 1787, married Caleb 
 Cushman December 26, 1808. Caleb Cushman 
 passed from earth February 7, 1863, and his wife 
 departed this life June 14, 1870. 
 
 Our subject was the seventh generation from the 
 famous Robert. He passed his youth in his native 
 State, and at the age of twenty-four, in company 
 with several young men from Paris, Me, (one of 
 whom was Bam bridge Dean, who settled in De Kalb 
 County), decided to go West, and, bidding fare- 
 well to the New England States, home and friends, 
 theyjourneyed toward the setting sun in 1837. The 
 trip was made partly by water, and after landing 
 at Ottawa, 111., he purchased four yoke of oxen, 
 two wagons and two cows, after which he pushed 
 onto DeKalb County. 
 
 After searching for some time for a suitable lo- 
 cation, Mr. Cushman finally purchased four hun- 
 dred acres of productive land in De Kalb County, 
 where he made his home until the fall of 1837. 
 He then bought land of the Government, in Flora, 
 Boone County, on which he erected a dwelling 
 
 house, barns, and made other improvements. There 
 he and his wife reared their family and made their 
 home until the death of the wife, about fifty 
 years after coming hither. He made many im- 
 provements on the place, and on looking over 
 the well-cultivated fields and good buildings, one 
 could scai-cely realize th3,t it was a wild, uncul- 
 tivated tract of land destitute of buildings when 
 he first settled on it. He still owns part of the old 
 farm in De Kalb County. 
 
 A man of very generous impulses and strictest 
 honor, Mr. Cushman is most esteemed by those 
 who knew him best. Before stricken with disease, he 
 possessed great physical vigor, strength and activ- 
 ity. The companion who cheerfully assisted him 
 in the struggle for a livelihood, and who stood 
 faithfully by his side in adversity and disap- 
 pointments, was known in maidenhood as Sarah 
 Bateman, and became his wife in Rockford, May 
 10, 1840. She was the daughter of Jonathan and 
 Polly (Russell) Bateman, and was born in Yates, 
 Niagara County, N. Y., December 1, 1818, her an^ 
 cestors being of English birth. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Cushman were natives of 
 Vermont, the father born in 1762 and the mother 
 twenty years later. Their marriage was blessed by 
 the birth of seven children, namely: Stephen, who 
 married Lydla Shaver; Lovina, Mrs. Michael Sha- 
 ver; Joana, who married Samuel S. Gregory; Tru- 
 man; Sarah, wife of Henry H. Cushman; and two 
 children who died in infancy. Mr. Bateman was 
 a merchant, and engaged in buying and selling 
 horses. In 1815, the family removed from Vermont 
 to New York, where the mother died at the age of 
 forty-four and the father when sixty-seven years 
 old, leaving their daughter Sarah an orphan at the 
 age of eleven. Subsequently siie came West with 
 her sister, Mrs. Samuel Gregory, and settled in their 
 pioneer home at Rockford in 1836, when she was 
 eighteen. Many are the incidents she would after- 
 ward relate of their wild prairie home in the little 
 log cabin, which at times accommodated as many 
 as thirty persons, and was situated on what is now 
 known as Woodruff's Addition to Rockford. 
 
 After her marriage, Mrs. Cushman removed to 
 Flora, Boope County, where she remained uutil 
 her death, April 18, 1889. She was the mother of 
 
1306 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 four children, namely: Edna C, born February 15, 
 1841, married Walter S. Lucas, of Flora, Boone 
 County; Mariette, born November 22, 1845, 
 married Quiney Jones, of Waverly, Iowa ; Sarah 
 Jane, whose birth occurred December 9, 1848, be- 
 came the wife of Isaac N. Witt, of Spring Town- 
 ship, Boone County ; and James, born in 1853, 
 died in infancy. There was also an adopted 
 daughter, Helen Chase, who was born December 5, 
 1858, and was married to Frank J. Anderson, of 
 Herndon, Guthrie County, Iowa. The daughters 
 were reared and educated in Boone County, and 
 all reside in the vicinity of the old homestead. 
 
 _E3 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 [^ 
 
 EDMUND WHITTLESEY, who has always 
 been engaged in agricultural pursuits, is at 
 the present time making a specialty of bee 
 culture on bis splendid farm on sections 5 and 8, 
 Seward Township, Winnebago County. He is a 
 native of Stockbi-idgc, Berkshire County, Mass., 
 his birth occurring June 17, 1814. His father, 
 Solomon Whittlesey, was born April 30, 1786, in 
 the above-named eountj'^, where also his father, 
 Eliphalet, was born in 1772. The latter-named gen- 
 tleman married Comfort Waller, by whom he had 
 eleven children; he spent his last days in Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 The first of the name of Whittlesey known to 
 have come to America was John W., who crossed 
 the ocean in 1650, and was engaged as a tanner at 
 Saybrook, N. Y. The father of our subject came 
 West to Ohio in 1817, and, locating in Lorain 
 County, cleared a tract of land, upon which he re- 
 sided until his decease, which occurred when eighty 
 years of age. Eldmund was one of the four chil- 
 dren born to Jiis mother, but his father, by a sec- 
 ond marriage^ became the parent of seven children. 
 
 He of whom we write resided at home until 
 reaching his majority, and in 1835 came to Rock- 
 ford, where he resided for a twelvemonth, and in 
 October of the following year removed to Seward 
 Township, where he was in the employ of his pros- 
 pective father-in-law for two years. Later, he took 
 up a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of Gov- 
 ernment land, and May 6, 1839, was married to 
 
 Miss Susan Vance, who was a native of South 
 Charlestown, Clark County, Ohio, her birth occur- 
 ring February 17, 1820. Mrs. Whittlesey was the 
 daughter of Joseph C. and Jane E. Vance, the 
 former born November 13, 1780, in Kentucky, and 
 the latter July 26, 1785, in the same State. Mr. 
 Vance died in Winnebago County, September 11, 
 1841, while his good wife, who survived him a 
 number of years, departed this life in Ohio, in 
 April, 1882. 
 
 Mrs. Susan Whittlesey departed this life at her 
 home March 26, 1885. The family is very promi- 
 nent in public life, there being many professional 
 men in the family. Our subject had a half-brother 
 in the late war, and his father participated in the 
 War of 1812. To Mr. and Mrs. Whittlesey have 
 been born three children: Mary O., born July 29, 
 1845; Edmund V., November 5, 1869; and Joseph 
 H., June 6, 1848. Our subject has five grandchil- 
 dren: Susan E., Walter E., Olive, Derwenth and 
 H. R. Crane. With his wife, he is a member of the 
 Congregational Church, and in township affairs 
 has been Justice of the Peace for a period of forty- 
 three years. He has also held the office of Super- 
 visor for twenty-one j'ears, and of Assessor and 
 Treasurer of the township for thirty-nine years. 
 
 RS. ELSEY WYMAN, who is at present re- 
 siding on section 31, Manchester Town- 
 ship, Boone County, was born in Ben- 
 nington, Vt., where also her father, Will- 
 iam Potten, was born. Her mother, who bore the 
 name of Cynthia Burgess, was a native of Hoosick, 
 N. Y., and died in 1844, when sixty-one years of 
 age. The father departed this life in 1826, when 
 in his thirty-ninth year, leaving his widow with 
 six sons and three daughters, of whom Mrs. Wy- 
 man and her brother Washington, who makes his 
 home in South Haven, Mich., are the only survi- 
 vors. * 
 
 The original of this sketch came from New Eng- 
 land to Manchester Township in 1851, making the 
 journey to Cliicago by water, and from that city 
 walked to this county, this part of the journey 
 consuming two days. She was married when sev- 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1307 
 
 enteen years of age, in Bennington, Vt., and the 
 journey to this county above described was made 
 in company with her husband and four chil- 
 dren. Mr. and Mrs. Wyman first located upon 
 a rented farm, and two years later purchased 
 eighty acres of land, for which they paid $7 per 
 acre. After various removals they, in 1884, pur- 
 chased the present estate upon which our subject 
 is residing, and which includes a quarter-section 
 of excellent land. The place is improved with ail 
 the necessary buildings and farm machinery, and 
 is well cultivated by its owner. 
 
 Mr. Wyman departed this life in December, 
 1886, when in his seventy-fourth year. The four 
 children who are deceased are: Orson, who at his 
 death, in 1860, left a wife and three children, as 
 did also Calvin, who died in 1876. Jeanette de- 
 parted this life in 1849, when nine years of age, 
 and George died in 1842, at the age of five years. 
 Those living are Jane, Mrs. Sherwood Ellsworth, 
 now living in Manchester, and Charles, a farmer in 
 Iowa. Mrs. Wyman has ten grandchildren and 
 twelve great-grandchildren. Her son Charles was 
 a volunteer soldier in the late Civil War, enlisting 
 from Rockford in 1861, and becoming a member of 
 the Ninety-flfth Illinois Infantry. He served faith- 
 fully and well during the entii-e struggle and par- 
 ticipated in many important battles, among which 
 was Gettysburg, where he had the index finger of 
 his right hand shot off. 
 
 Miss Carrie Wyman, an adopted daughter of our 
 subject, married Edwin Fallow, who assists Mrs. 
 Wj-man in conducting the farm. 
 
 eHARLES A. LINDERMAN. The farm 
 which Mr. Linderman now owns and con- 
 ducts in such an enterprising and indus- 
 trious manner embraces one hundred and thirty -two 
 acres, forming one of the neat, comfortable home- 
 steads of this township. The improvements on it 
 are convenient and complete, and, no doubt, one 
 reason of his success in this calling is the fact that 
 from his earliest youth he has been familiar with 
 the duties of farm labor. He was born in Erie 
 
 County, N. Y., May 8, 1833, and his father, Henry 
 Linderman, was also a native of the Empire State, 
 born in Tompkins County in 1800. The grand- 
 father of our subject, Cornelius L. Linderman, was 
 born in Germany, March 29, 1756, and his parents 
 were also natives of that country. Cornelius L. 
 Linderman came to America at an early date and 
 followed farming in Tompkins County, N. Y., 
 where he was one of the pioneers. He married 
 Miss Anna Young, and they became the parents of 
 fifteen children, seven sous and eight daughters, 
 of whom but one died young, fourteen becoming 
 the heads of families. The mother of these chil- 
 dren died in Erie County at a ripe old age and her 
 husband, too, lived to be extremely old, dying 
 when in the nineties. 
 
 The father of our subject, Henry Linderman, 
 was the thirteenth in order of birth of the above 
 mentioned children, and after reaching mature 
 years, he selected as his companion in life Miss Di- 
 ana Hamel, a native of New Jersey, of German de- 
 scent, and their nuptials were celebrated in Erie 
 County, N. Y., about 1823. They commenced life 
 on a farm there, but sold this when coming to Illi- 
 nois, in November, 1843. Their children were all 
 born in New York State and accompanied them to 
 the Far West. They were six weeks in making the 
 journey and had a very rough trip, encountering 
 many storms and much cold, disagreeable weather, 
 which made it very unpleasant for them, as they 
 went with a team of horses. After reaching Illi- 
 nois, they bought eighty acres of land from Mr. 
 Linderman 's brother, William, who had preceded 
 him about six years, and as it was covered with a 
 thick growth of timber our subject immediately 
 set to work clearing it. In this he was assisted 
 very much by his sons, who had become large 
 enough to do considerable work. On this farm 
 the father died February 26, 1876, when in his 
 seventy-sixth year, leaving his widow and five 
 children an estate of one hundred and forty acres 
 in cultivation, all well stocked, and good buildings. 
 The mother passed away on the 8th of March, 
 1881, when seventy-five years of age. Their chil- 
 dren were named as follows : William, born March 
 1, 1824, a farmer in Iowa ; Elizabeth A., born De- 
 cember 11, 1826, married William L. Adams, a 
 
1308 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 farmer in Iowa; Cornelia, born September 13, 
 1830, Mrs. Nelson Hill, is now a resident of Be- 
 loit, having retired from a fine farm in Manchester 
 Township; Charles A. (our subject); Cornelius, 
 born March 20, 1836, died in Manchester Township, 
 when twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, 
 and George W., born May 4, 1838, married, and 
 resides in California. He purchased one thousand 
 four hundred acres in the Sacramento Valley. 
 
 On the farm in Manchester Township our sub- 
 ject grew to manhood, and on the 28tli of Decem- 
 ber, 1857, he was married to Miss Mary Jane Grout, 
 daughter of Theodore and Ann (Little) Grout, the 
 father born in Addison Count}', Vt., in 1799, and 
 the mother in Cumberland County, England, Jan- 
 uary 15, 1813. In 1849, Mi-, and Mre. Grout came 
 to Illinois from Ohio, where Mrs. Linderman was 
 born in Perry, Lalce County, October 13, 1839, set- 
 tled in Winnebago County, and here the father 
 died in June, 1874, when seventy-five years of 
 age, leaving a wife and a son and daughter. 
 The son, John D. Grout, was born at Saybrook, 
 Ashtabula County, Ohio, January 9, 1843, and was 
 a soldier in the Civil War, serving the entire time. 
 He never received a wound, but his health was 
 never so good afterward, on account of exposure, 
 etc. He enlisted in Company H, Twelfth Illinois 
 Cavalry, and came out an Orderly. The daughter 
 is now Mrs. Linderman. The mother of these 
 children is now seventy-nine years of age, and her 
 mind is clear as of old and she enjoys compara- 
 tively good health. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Linderman settled on sixty acres 
 soon after marriage and have since added to this 
 until they now have one hundred and thirty-two 
 acres of excellent land. They built a large and 
 commodious barn, in 1873, 76x50 and 60x24 with 
 basement, and in 1890, their fln'e large house was 
 erected. Mr. Linderman is engaged in general 
 farming, raising all the cereals, and is also engaged 
 to some extent in raising horses, having at the 
 present time about fifteen head of fine animals. 
 His marriage resulted in the following children : 
 Cornelius A., born July 9, 1860, married Miss 
 Tina Wright, and is now an employe on the rail- 
 road at Beloit; Carrie I., born February 20, 1864, 
 attended the Seminary at Roeltford; Fred S., born 
 
 May 10, 1877, is at home on the farm, and Maggie 
 Ann, born July 2, 1881, is a very bright, intelligent 
 little girl. They have lost four children, a daugh- 
 ter, Cora D., died February 17, 1883, when not 
 five years of age, and a son, H. Irving, died on the 
 20th of February, 1883, when twenty-one years of 
 age, both of scarlet fever. Two children died 
 in infancy. 
 
 Our subject is a strong advocate of Republican 
 principles, and belongs to the Masonic order of 
 Beloit, Wis. 
 
 EYMOUR A. BLAKE. This gentleman 
 who is one of the prominent farmers of 
 Durand Township, Winnebago County, is 
 also President of the Bank of Durand. He 
 is one of the old and honored pioneers of this sec- 
 tion, having been born in Georgia, Franklin 
 County, Vt., March 12, 1832, and came to Winne- 
 bago County when fourteen years of age. His pa- 
 rents, John and Philura (Campbell) Blake, were 
 also natives of New England, and in 1846 came to 
 Illinois and located in Durand Township. There 
 the father entered a tract of land, which he later 
 traded for improved property, and pursued farming 
 until his decease at three-score and ten years of 
 age. His good wife died in her ninetieth year. 
 
 The ten children included in the parental 
 family are John, Sarah Ann, Samuel, Philura, 
 Stephen, William, Phidelia Abigail, our subject 
 and Hester A. Seymour A. was reared on the home 
 farm and resided under the parental roof until his 
 marriage. The lady to whom he was married in 
 1858 bore the name of Cordelia Hoyt, the daugh- 
 ter of Hiram Hoyt. She was born in Georgia, Vt., 
 ill 1832, and after her marriage located with her 
 husband on the old homestead, which Mr. Blake 
 carried on in the interest of his' father. He later 
 purchased the'property and made it his home un- 
 til 1886, when, in order to get nearer town and 
 church, he sold out and purchased his present 
 place, which adjoins the village of Durand. His 
 estate includes two hundred and forty acres of 
 land, all in one body, and is excellently improved 
 with first-class and substantial buildings. 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1309 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Blake have had no children of 
 their own, but have performed the part of parents 
 to several whom they have adopted. In his polit- 
 ical belief, he is a Prohibitionist and an advocate 
 of woman's rights. He formerly supported the 
 Republican ticket. In religious affairs, he is a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which 
 denomination he was instrumental in organizing 
 in this township, and for the past quarter of a 
 century has been Sunday-school Superintendent, 
 and at the present time is the incumbent of the 
 positions of Trustee and Steward. 
 
 »-' < I I 
 
 ■ < < 1 <i < > 
 
 eHARLES A. NORTON, cashier of the bank 
 of Durand, is a man of unquestioned busi- 
 ness ability, and in years is still on tlie 
 sunny side of thirty, having been born May 2, 
 1863, in Durand. He acquired a good practical 
 education in the common schools, which was later 
 supplemented by attendance at the Rock River 
 Seminary at Mt. Morris, this State. He is the son 
 of Oscar Norton, one of the well-to-do merchants 
 and progressive citizens of the village, and whose 
 sketch will be found on another page in this vol- 
 ume. 
 
 When eight years old our subject bought a small 
 box of jewelry and started out as a pedlar through 
 the surrounding country, and, being successful in 
 that kind of work, continued to be so employed for 
 the next iive years, when not in school. During the 
 last two seasons, he had a team and wagon, and be- 
 sides carrying jewelry had a stock of notions which 
 he gave in exchange for rags, etc. He met with more 
 than ordinary success in his undertaking, and thus 
 early in life became well versed in business prin- 
 ciples. He later began clerking for his father and 
 in one corner of the store had a stock of his own, 
 consisting of books and stationery. In 1884, he 
 purchased the hardware business of Mr. Morey and 
 combining the same with his books and stationery 
 has since continued in the hardware trade, and has 
 to-day a fine building, which is stocked with a 
 complete line of shelf and heavy hardware. 
 
 In December, 1891, the Bank of Durand was or- 
 ganized with the following-named gentlemen as 
 
 officers: Seymour A. Blake, President; Oscar Nor- 
 ton, Vice-president, and Charles A. Norton, Cash- 
 ier. The bank has a capital of $40,000, and since 
 its establishment our subject has acted in the ca- 
 pacity of Cashier and Manager. January 17, 1883, 
 he was united in marriage to Alice L., daughter of 
 Seymour A. and Cordelia (Hoyt) Blake, who was 
 born in this county, January 28, 1863. 
 
 In politics, the original of this sketch votes with 
 the Prohibition party. He has been the incumbent 
 of various positions of trust, having held the offices 
 of Township Clerk, Village Treasurer, and is the 
 present School Treasurer and also Notary Public. 
 He is a member of Durand Lodge, A. F. & A. M., 
 and in religious matters in identified with the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, in which denomina- 
 tion he is Steward, Secretary, a teacher in the Sun- 
 day-school and President of the Epworth League. 
 
 ypILLIAM H. OILL, the owner of a finely- 
 improved farm of one hundred and sixtj"^ 
 acres in Cherry Valley Township, and one 
 of the prominent citizens of Winnebago County, 
 has resided upon the place which lie still owns and 
 occupies since 1855, having purchased the land the 
 year prior to his removal hither. He was born 
 twelve miles west of Niagara Falls, in the province 
 of Ontario, August 2, 1820, and w'as reared to 
 farming pursuits. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of our subject, Nich- 
 olas Oill, was born in Germany, an'd when a young 
 man came to America, he and a brother being 
 among the Hessian troops who were hired for ser- 
 vice in the Revolutionary War. After the con- 
 test was over, he settled in Canada, wheVe he died 
 upon a farm in Ontario. John N. Oill, father of 
 our subject, was a native of the above-named 
 province, and there spent his entire life, dying 
 upon the old homestead where the family had lived 
 for years. A man of honor and enterprise, and a 
 believer of reform in politics, his death at the age 
 of sixty-four years was mourned by all who knew 
 him. 
 
 The mother of our subject, Margaret (Johnson) 
 
1310 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Oill, was born and reared near the old Oill home- 
 stead. Her father, .James Johnson, was a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and at an early day removed from 
 that State to Canada, where he died when past the 
 years allotted to man. Mrs. Margaret Oill was a 
 good and kind woman, and lived to be more than 
 eighty years old. She was the mother of five sons 
 and three daughters, all of whom still survive. 
 
 In his native province, our subject was married 
 to Miss Hester A. Snure. This lady is the grand- 
 daughter of John Snure, who came to America 
 from Germany prior to the Revolutionary War 
 and improved a farm from the heavy timber in On- 
 tario. He died of injuries received by being 
 thrown from a horse. He was a member of the 
 Dunkard Church, and a true Christian, known as 
 a noble man and a hero in the battlefield of life. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Oill was John Snure, Jr., 
 whose entire life was passed on the old Snure 
 homestead, in the province of Ontario. His wife, 
 whose maidea name was Lydia Clark, was born in 
 New York, and survived her husband for some 
 years, coming to Rockford after his demise, and 
 spending her remaining days with Mrs. Oill, in 
 Cherry Valley Township. She was an active mem- 
 ber of the Christian Church, to which her husband 
 also belonged, and died in that faith at the age of 
 seventy-six years, in 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Oill 
 have no children of their own, but have reared five 
 children, all of whom are married. Mrs. Oill is a 
 prominent member of the Christian Church at 
 Rockford, and has been identified with that de- 
 nomination since 1844. In his political affiliations, 
 Mr. Oill is a Republican, and ardently devoted to 
 the principles of the party. 
 
 j****4 
 
 I***** 
 
 
 i AMUEL B. MEREDITH, who resides in the 
 city of Rockford, has made farming his 
 life occupation and since 1852 has been 
 one of the leading agriculturists of Winnebago 
 County. As he is well and favorably known 
 throughout this community, we feel assured that 
 this sketch will prove of interest to many of our 
 readers. He was born in MiUerstown, Juniata 
 
 County, Pa., on the 18th of June, 1819, and is a 
 son of David Meredith, who was born in Lancaster 
 County, Pa., and is of Welsh descent. The father 
 learned the trade of a blacksmith, and when a 
 young man removed to MiUerstown of his native 
 State, where he followed that occupation for some 
 years. He then purchased a farm in the Rock 
 River Valley, four miles from MiUerstown, and 
 turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which 
 he tliere carried on until 1862. In that year, he 
 came to Illinois and spent his last dajs in the 
 home of his son Thomas. His wife bore the maiden 
 name of Jane Black and she spent her entire life 
 in the Keystone State. 
 
 No event of special importance occurred during 
 the childhood of our subject which was passed in 
 Pennsylvania and under the parental roof. It 
 was in 1852 that he decided to seek a home in the 
 West, hoping to better his financial condition by 
 so doing. He came at once to Illinois, locating at 
 Rockford, which was then the Western terminus of 
 the railroad. After a few weeks spent in the city, 
 he purchased forty acres of land in the town of 
 Byron, Ogle County, for which he paid $800. He 
 sold it, however, about ten months later and pur- 
 chased ninety in Winnebago Township, this county 
 for $2,500. He made a number of improvements 
 during the few years of his residence on that place, 
 and then sold it, soon afterwards becoming owner 
 of a one hundred and eighty-two aci;e farm in the 
 same township, upon which he made his home un- 
 til 1866, when he came to Rockford Township and 
 bought his present home, althougli he did not sell 
 his farm in Winnebago Township until a few years 
 later. He also bought a farm in Leaf River Town- 
 ship, which is still in his possession. 
 
 Mr. Meredith has been twice married. In the 
 Keystone State, at the age of twenty-three, he was 
 joined in wedlock with Margaret Donley, who was 
 born in Pennsylvania and died on January 6, 1865. 
 In 1867, he led to the marriage altar Mrs. Mary 
 Johnson, nee Harmon, a native of Suffleld, Conn, 
 born on the 3d of June, 1818. Her father, Jehiel 
 Harmon, was also born in Connecticut and there 
 resided until 1846, when he, accompanied by his 
 family, came to Illinois. They started with a 
 team and drove to Westfield, Mass., whence they 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1311 
 
 went by railroad to Albany and by the Erie 
 Canal to Bufifalo, where they took a Lake steamer 
 for Chicago. The journey from there to Winne- 
 bago County was completed by wagons, and in 
 Winnebago Township Mr. Harmon joined his son 
 Simeon, one of the earl3' settlers of the county. 
 His death occurred here the following year. His 
 wife survived him some time and departed this 
 life in Centreville. 
 
 Unto Mr. and Mrs. Meredith has been born one 
 daughter, Nancy, now the widow of Henry Roberts 
 of Winnebago Township. She has four children: 
 Jessie, Blanche, Samuel and Ethel. The family is 
 one favorably known throughout this community 
 where they have so long resided and the Meredith 
 household is the abode of hospitality. Our subject 
 has led a busy and useful life, and his industry 
 has met with a well-deserved reward in the shape 
 of a good competence. Mr. Meredith afliliates 
 with the Democratic party. 
 
 m>-^<m=^ 
 
 -5— 
 
 S. CHARN, stockholder. Director and cus- 
 tom cutter of the Globe Clothing Man- 
 ufacturing Company, of Rockford, one of 
 the most valuable and profitable enter- 
 prises of the city, was one of the promoters of the 
 business and is noted for his ability, both technical 
 and practical. He has been the custom cutter since 
 the organization of the business in 1890, and is 
 proficient and skillful in his work. This company 
 has prospered in every way since starting, employs 
 thirty to forty men, has five commercial men on 
 the road all the time, and now stands on a solid 
 • foundation. 
 
 In Sweden, his native country, where his birth 
 occurred in Wester Gothland Province, March 7, 
 1854, Mr. Cham received a good practical educa- 
 tion and was married to Miss Sophia Anderson, 
 who is also a native of that province. After the 
 birth of two children, or in 1880, he brought his 
 f?imily to the States and settled in Rockford, where 
 he subsequently learned his trade. Since their res- 
 idence here four more children have blessed their 
 union: Simon A. works in the Union Furniture 
 Factory, of Rockford, as carver; Mary E., Esther 
 2 
 
 D., Hannah L., Huldah "V. and Victor E., all at 
 home. After learning his trade, Mr. Charn carried 
 on a successful business on his own account until 
 the present company was organized. When he 
 brought his family to this country, his brother 
 Benjamin came with him and settled in Rockford. 
 The latter married Miss Jennie Landen, of Jon- 
 koping, Sweden, who came to this country at the 
 same time. 
 
 The father of our subject, A. J. Kjern, came to 
 this country a year after his sons and has since 
 been a resident of Rockford. He is engaged as 
 tailor in the factory above mentioned but was 
 formerly with the old and well-known firm of 
 Johnson & Wanstron. His first wife, and the mo- 
 ther of our subject, died in the spring of 1891i 
 when seventy-nine years of age, and he has since 
 taken a second wife. 
 
 Mrs. Charn 's parents died in Sweden; since her 
 residence in Rockford she has been joined by 
 two brothers, Gus and Samuel Floberg, the latter 
 now a farmer of Minnesota. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Charn are domiciled at No. 1702 
 Seventh Street, corner of Sixteenth Avenue, and are 
 surrounded by all the comforts of life. Both are 
 members of the Lutheran Mission Church, and he 
 leans towards the Prohibition party in his political 
 preference. 
 
 l%M AJ. GEORGE S. ROPER, of Rockford, 
 I \\\ was born in Worcester County, Mass., 
 j 1* January 28, 1832. When seven years 
 * old, he accompanied his parents, Joseph 
 
 and Maria L. (Mendell) Roper, to Western Penn- 
 sylvania, where he received his education in the 
 common schools. In 1848, he attended a select 
 school taught by George Clark, and at the age of 
 eighteen commenced to teach, being thus engaged 
 for two years, and later clerking in a store for 
 two years. While residing in Westmoreland 
 County, Pa., he was married to Miss Louisa B. 
 George, who was there born and reared. 
 
 In 1854, accompanied by his family, our sub- 
 ject came to Illinois and settled in Springfield, 
 where for one year he clerked in a dry-goods 
 
1312 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 store and for the same period was book-keeper for 
 S. M. Tinsley. Afterward, he formed a business 
 connection with Edward R. Ulrick & Co., lumber 
 dealers, and later was admitted to the firm, his 
 headquarters being at Alton, where the business 
 was carried on under the firm name of Ulrick & 
 Roper. In 1859, he returned to Springfield and 
 commenced in business as a boot and shoe dealer. 
 In the following year, he organized the first Re- 
 publican Glee Club, which sang the first glee 
 songs in that part of the State. 
 
 At the commencement of the Civil War, our 
 subject entered the Commissary Department under 
 Col. John Williams, and when the Government 
 relieved that gentleman, he was assigned to a place 
 in the Quartermaster's Department under Gen. 
 Wood. At the time Gen. Grant took command of 
 the Twenty-first Illinois Infantry, our subject ac- 
 companied him to the old Fair Grounds at Spring- 
 field, and thereafter enjoyed the friendship of the 
 hero of Vicksburg. By special request of Gen. 
 Grant, our subject was given a position in the 
 Commissary Department with the rank of Captain, 
 and was ordered to join Gen. W. T. Sherman at 
 Louisville, Ky. Thence he was sent to the staff 
 department of Gen. George H. Thomas, where he 
 continued until after the battle of Stone River. 
 
 Immediately following the battle of Mill Spring, 
 Ky., our subject was promoted to Major and re- 
 ceived a commendation from Gen. Thomas which 
 was decidedly complimentary, for while the great 
 General gave all the oflScers and men special credit 
 for doing their duty he said: "If one was en- 
 titled to credit more than another for the success 
 of the Northern troops, it was Capt. Roper." The 
 newly-appointed Major continued on the staff of 
 Gen. Thomas until he became connected with the 
 First Division of the Fourteenth Army Corps, 
 under the command of Gen. Spry, of Kentucky. 
 
 In the re-organization of the army after the 
 battle of Chickamauga considerable change was 
 made, and the Third Division of the Fourteenth 
 Army Corps opened the charge, it being the duty 
 of Maj. Roper to arrange the positions. Novem- 
 ber 24, 1863, he was sent to Nashville to inspect 
 the horses, and was afterward appointed overseer 
 and inspector of the military railroads of the 
 
 Northwest. May 24, 1864, he was appointed on 
 the staff of Gen. McCuUom, with headquarters at 
 Washington, and remained in that capacity until 
 February 6, 1866, when he was mustered out with 
 the rank of Colonel. 
 
 His military duties ended, Maj. Roper located 
 in St. Louis, whence he soon removed to Alton in 
 1867, i nd for twenty j'ears made that city his 
 home, engaging in the insurance and real-estate 
 business. His first wife died in Springfield, leav- 
 ing three sons, viz: Mahon F., who died, leaving 
 a wife and two children; George P., who married 
 Kate Butterworth and resides in Rockford, where 
 he is manager of the Van Wie Gas Stove Com- 
 pany; and Edward N., who married Miss Martha 
 J. Robin, of Chicago, and is now manager of the 
 Central Map, Survey & Inspection Company, of 
 Chicago. The second wife of the Major, whose 
 maiden name was Almira S. Bangs, and who was 
 formerly principal of the schools of Springfield, 
 died in Alton five months after marriage. The 
 present wife of our subject was formerly Miss 
 Roxy G. Conklin, of Jackson County, Mich., and 
 is a leader in the social circles of Rockford, being 
 especially prominent in the Woman's Relief Corps. 
 Religiously, she is identified with the Christian 
 Union Church as one of its devoted members. The 
 only child born of this union, Charles S., died 
 when five months old. 
 
 Maj. Roper is President of the Van Wie Gas 
 Stove Company, of Rockford, which was organ- 
 ized in 1890, and is numbered among the most 
 flourishing enterprises of the city. For more than 
 ten years he has been Secretary of the Manufac- 
 turers' and Merchants' Mutual Insurance Com- 
 pany, which was organized February 11, 1881, by 
 James Ferguson, and does an extensive business 
 in this part of Illinois. Socially, Maj. Roper is a 
 Master Mason, a Knight Templar, belonging to 
 Rockford Crusader Commandery No. 17, the Su- 
 preme Council, Freeport Consistory and Medina 
 Temple, of Chicago. He is also identified with 
 the Illinois Commandery of Loyal Legions and 
 has been present at many of the National Assem- 
 blies. As might be expected, he is a prominent 
 worker in the G. L. Nevius Post No. 1, G. A. R., 
 at Rockford, He holds membership in the Chris- 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 1313 
 
 tian Union Churcli and is active in aiding relig- 
 ious causes. 
 
 A siancli supporter of the Republican party, 
 Maj. Roper has for years been closely connected 
 with local and State politics) and is a member of 
 the State Central Committee, and was Chairman of 
 the County Committee during the last Presidential 
 campaign, that of 1888. For more than twenty- 
 five years he has not been absent from any of the 
 State Conventions, excepting those held while he 
 was in the service of his country, and he has also 
 frequently attended National Conventions. A 
 man of great vigor of thought and firmness of 
 purpose, he has at all times the courage of his con- 
 victions and is ready to defend to the last the 
 principles of justice and right. 
 
 '<l OHN BOYD. This well-known citizen of 
 Rockford passed away January 26, 1892. 
 He was a pioneer of the city, having come 
 ,^^ hither in 1843, and for a time clerked for 
 Mr. Marsh. He then left the city, but returned in 
 1848, and entered the employ of Mr. Horseman, a 
 dry-goods dealer. In 1856, he resigned that posi- 
 tion, and in September of that year embarked in 
 business for himself as a merchant, under the firm 
 name of Boyd & Baxter. 
 
 Some six years later, Mr. Boyd commenced to 
 travel for a lamp supply company of Chicago, in 
 which position he remained for more than twenty 
 years, enjoying the unlimited confidence of his 
 house and becoming well known throughout a 
 wide scope of country. On account of ill health, 
 he resigned his position in 1888 and retired from 
 active business. He was intimately associated with 
 Rockford and its people and not only maintained 
 a deep interest in the development of the city, but 
 contributed untiringly to the promotion of its wel- 
 fare. 
 
 Mr. Boyd was born in Chatham, Columbia 
 County, N. Y., September 16, 1828, and was reared 
 in his native place, receiving his education there 
 and in Catskill and Erie Counties. He was the 
 son of George Boyd, a native of Belfast, Ireland, 
 
 who in turn was the son of Thomas Boyd, whose 
 death occurred near Belfast, Ireland, when he was 
 quite old. By occupation, he wa,s a farmer, and 
 was descended from Scotch-Irish ancestry. His wife 
 was of a similar lineage and was the daughter of 
 an officer in the British navy, who served during 
 the Revolutionary War and was at Charleston, 
 Mass., when the tea was thrown overboard into the 
 Boston Harbor by the Colonists. 
 
 In the Emerald Isle, George Boyd grew to a 
 vigorous manhood and became familiar with farm- 
 ing ^pursuits. In his native county he was married 
 to Miss Sarah Russell, an intelligent lady and a 
 native of the Nortli of Ireland, her ancestors hav- 
 ing been prominent citizens of Belfast. After the 
 birth of their first child Thomas (now deceased), 
 George and Sarah Boyd emigrated to the United 
 States in the early '30s and settled in Columbia 
 County, N. Y., where the father followed his trade of 
 a saddler. After living in New York State for some 
 years, they came in 1846 to Rockford, where Mrs. 
 Boyd died July 5, 1852, at the age of fifty-six 
 years. Her husband survived until the fall of 1860, 
 when he departed this life at the age of seventy 
 years. After the death of his first wife, he was 
 again married to a Rockford lady who is now de- 
 ceased. 
 
 In his religious convictions, Mr. Boyd was a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, 
 politically, adhered to the principles of the Demo- 
 cratic party. Only two of his children are now 
 living: Col. Wesley, of Kokomo, Colo., and Mrs. 
 John A. Davis, of Chicago. Col. Wesley Boyd 
 served throughout the Rebellion and at its close 
 was honorably discharged as Colonel of the Fifty- 
 second Illinois Infantry. A brother-in-law of our 
 subject, Maj. Samuel Pearson, of Chicago, also 
 served throughout the Civil War as a member of an 
 Iowa regiment. 
 
 In Fredonia, N. Y., October 3, 1851, the mar- 
 riage of John Boyd and Miss Elizabeth A. Moore 
 took .place. Mrs. Boyd was born in Monroe County, 
 N. Y., November 14,1831, and received an aca- 
 demic education in Fredonia. Her parents, Josiah 
 and Elizabeth (Roots) Moore, were natives re- 
 spectively of Fabius and Hamilton, N. Y., and 
 were married in the former village. Mr. Moore 
 
1314 
 
 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 followed the occupation of a farmer until his 
 death, which occurred in Fredonia in 1860, at the 
 age of sixty-three j'ears. In his political belief, he 
 was a Whig, and religiously, was identified with 
 the Baptist Church. After his death, his widow 
 came to Wisconsin, where she died at the age of 
 four-score years. She was an active member of the 
 Baptist Church and the daughter of Rev. P. P. 
 Roots, a prominent Baptist minister and an evan- 
 gelist of fame. He was born in 1766, and died in 
 New Yorli State, September 26, 1828. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Elizabeth Keep, died some 
 years afterward at the age of eighty-four years. 
 
 The grandfather of Mrs. Boyd, Josiah Moore, 
 Sr., was born in Connecticut in 1765, and married 
 Miss Abigail Dewey, their union being solemnized 
 at Harrington, Conn. They became early settlers 
 of Fabius, Onondaga County, N. Y., and their son, 
 Josiah, Jr., was the first white child born there. 
 Mrs. Boyd is tlie fourth among six children, all of 
 whom survive but the eldest son. She is a lady of 
 prominence in Rockford, takes an active interest 
 in all charitable measures, and is highly esteemed 
 in social circles. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd became the 
 parents of four children, only one of whom is liv- 
 ing. Mary E., Eva J., and Addie died when small. 
 John M. is a commercial traveler for the Rockford 
 Watch Company, with headquarters in this city. 
 He married Julia R. Berg, whose former home was 
 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mrs. Boyd sympathizes 
 with the progressive views of the Rev. Dr. Kerr, 
 and is .identified with his church, the Christian 
 Union, at Rockford. 
 
 _=] 
 
 -s] 
 
 ^+^ 
 
 [=_ 
 
 [=^ 
 
 ■jy] OHN BROWN takes a leading part in the 
 agricultural interests of Cherry Valley 
 Township, Winnebago County, where he 
 has a good estate on section 12. He was 
 born in Ohio, October 11, 1832, and is the son of 
 Jacob and Mary (Keith) Brown, natives respect- 
 ively of New Jersey and Ohio. His maternal 
 grandparents, Peter and Maria Keith, were born 
 in Germany, and, on coming to the United States, 
 died in this township when very old. 
 
 He of whom we write was two years of age 
 
 when his parents came to Illinois, the journey 
 being made overland to Ogle County, where they 
 resided for one year, and then took up their abode 
 in Winnebago County, where the father died in 
 the spring of 1868, and the mother three years 
 later. Our subject was one in a large family of 
 children and received his education in the schools 
 of that early day. When ready to establish a 
 home of his own, he was married to Miss Hannah 
 M., daughter of William P. and Sarah (Fowler) 
 Packard, natives of New York, who came to Illi- 
 nois when she was eleven years of age. Locating 
 in Cherry Valley Township, Winnebago County, 
 in the spring of 1847, Mr. and Mrs. Packard here 
 made their home until their decease, the father 
 dying in May, 189L The mother, who preceded 
 him to the better land by a number of years, left 
 at her death nine children. 
 
 To our subject and his wife have been born 
 twelve children, all of whom are living with the 
 exception of Clifford S., who died in 1878, when 
 two and one-half years old. Mr. Brown when 
 starting out in life for himself purchased a quarter- 
 section of prairie land in Boone County, which he 
 later sold, and, in 1867, purchased his present es- 
 tate of nine hundred and twenty-two acres, for 
 which he paid $40 per acre. With the exception 
 of one hundred acres in timber, this vast amount 
 of property is under good cultivation, and with 
 its handsome farm residence and comfortable out- 
 buildings, is one of the finest in the county. Mr. 
 Brown gives the greater part of his attention to 
 stock-raising, and from the year 1878 to 1888, 
 in partnership with B. S. Sanborn, made large ship- 
 ments to the city markets. He is now, however, 
 conducting his affairs alone, and raises and feeds 
 annually about one hundred head ofcattle, two 
 hundred head^ of hogs, and keeps constantly 
 on his place from twenty-five to forty of the 
 finest horses. He has the distinction of ship- 
 ping the first load of cattle from Cherry Val- 
 ley Station in the fall of 1853, which sold in 
 Chicago markets for two and one-half cents per 
 pound. He cuts about one hundred and fifty 
 tons of hay from his place, and has large crops of 
 cereals. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, in the spring of 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1315 
 
 1850, went across the plains to California, the 
 journey consuming five months and eight days. 
 After remaining there for two years with fair suc- 
 cess, he returned home, and has since been identi- 
 fied with the interests of Winnebago County, 
 being one of its most prominent and wealthy 
 farmers. In politics, he votes independently, re- 
 serving his right to vote for the man who, in his 
 judgment, will best fill the office. 
 
 JOSEPH GARDNER. This gentleman rep- 
 resents one of the oldest living pioneers in 
 Winnebago County, having come to this 
 region as early as 1838. The long years 
 which he has spent here have given him an ex- 
 tended acquaintance throughout the county, where 
 he is well known as one whose years have been 
 spent in industry and good citizenship. 
 
 Born across the water, in Warwickshire, EngLind, 
 our subject is the son of John P. Gardner, a native 
 of that shire, as was also his father, John P., Sr. 
 The grandfather was a farmer and spent his entire 
 life in his native place. John P. Gardner, Jr., 
 learned the trade of a baker, which he followed in 
 the village of Ox Hill, Warwickshire, and there 
 departed his life. The maiden name of his wife 
 was Charlotte Roddis; she was a native of England, 
 where her death occurred in the village of Ratley. 
 The original of this sketch and his brother 
 William were the only members of the family to 
 come to America. The brother located near Hot 
 Springs, Ark., where he resided till his death. 
 Joseph learned the trade of a tailor in Newbold, 
 Worcestershire, at which he served an apprentice- 
 ship of three and one-half years. In 1834, he set 
 sail from Liverpool on the vessel "Inez" and 
 landed in New York after a voyage of six weeks. He 
 was engaged as a "jour" in Rome, N. Y., for a time, 
 then goings to Rochester was similarly engaged for 
 a year. In 1837, our subject went to Michigan 
 and was one of the early settlers in Schoolcraft, 
 Kalamazoo County, where he began business at his 
 trade. In the fall of the following year, however, 
 accompanied by Horatio Blakeman, he came to Ill- 
 inois, Mr. Blakeman owning the horse which con- 
 
 veyed them hither, and our subject the wagon. 
 He located in Rockton, Winnebago County, and a 
 couple of months after coming down to Roe'iford, 
 was engaged as a journeyman tailor for some time 
 and later established in business for himself, hav- 
 ing one of the first shops of that kind in the place. 
 A few years later, he retired from active work. 
 
 The lady to whom our subject was married was 
 Mrs. Catherine Weyl, nee Courtwnght. She was 
 a native of Pennsylvania and departed tliis life in 
 Rockford. Mr. Gardner was again married in this 
 city, this time to Mary A. (Riches) Smith, a native 
 of Friesenfield, England, and tlie daughter of James 
 and Mary (Upcraft) Riches and widow of George 
 Smith, to whom she was married in England, com- 
 ing to America in 1853. Locating in New Jersey 
 first, Mrs. Gardner afterward came to Winnebago 
 County, and made her home in New Milford, 
 where her husband died November 23, 1865. By 
 that union she became the mother of two chil- 
 dren, who died in infancy; by the former union 
 of Mr. Gardner he was the father of one son, 
 Henry, who died when a young man of twenty- 
 three years. 
 
 ETER J. HOLMQUIST. Now living in re- 
 tirement at his pleasant home at No. 409 
 Catlin Street, Rockford, this gentleman is 
 surrounded by the comforts which he 
 accumulated by the exertions of former years. 
 Since 1868, when he located in this city, he has been 
 recognized as one of its most prominent Swedish 
 citizens, and has a wide acquaintance throughout 
 this section of country. After coming hither, he en- 
 tered the employ of N. G. Thompson, and for sev- 
 enteen years was engaged in the painting depart- 
 ment. Since severing his connection with the 
 manufactory, he has not engaged in active work. 
 In Sweden, where he was born March 6, 1833, 
 Mr. Holmquist was reared and married. Accom- 
 panied by his wife and their three children, he 
 emigrated to America, embarking on a ship at Got- 
 tenburg and landing in Quebec, Canada. Thence 
 he proceeded to Rockford, where he arrived June 
 
1316 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3, 1868. Since coining here, he has been joined 
 by two brothers: John, who resides on Kishwaukee 
 Street, and Gust, whose home is also in Rockford. 
 The parents, John and Carrie (Johnson) Larson, 
 spent their entire lives in Sweden, where a sister 
 of our subject, Mrs. Andrew Swenson, is j'et living. 
 The lady who became the wife of our subject 
 was born in Sweden, July 27, 1827, the daughter 
 of John and Carrie (Larson) Peterson. Her father, 
 who was a farmer, died when fort3r-four years old, 
 and the mother at the age of sixty-seven years. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Holmquist had three children, only 
 one of whom survives, Minnie, the wife of John 
 A. Stenvall, and the mother of five children. The 
 deceased are Gust, who died in Rockford, July 6, 
 1887, aged twenty-seven years and seven months, 
 leaving a wife (now deceased) and a son Frank; 
 and John P., whose death occurred May 31, 1881, 
 aged twenty years and seven months. 
 
 r^ 
 
 ^=««« t^*i= 
 
 ^ 
 
 W^EXTER A. K. ANDRUS. The book and 
 I jjj stationery store located at No. 107 North 
 (^3^ Court Street, Rockford, is one of the suc- 
 cessful business houses of the city, and 
 was established by Mr. Andrus in June, 1884. 
 Prior to its inception, he had been engaged for 
 three years as editor of the Daily News, but ow- 
 ing to his sickness during a portion of the time, he 
 lost heavily on account of the bad management of 
 the business. For a few years, he also published a 
 monthly periodical called Our Home and became 
 quite well known in literary circles. 
 
 The father of our subject, Isaac Andrus, was 
 born in Vermont in 1796, and when five years old, 
 was orphaned by the death of his father, Isaac 
 Andrus, Sr. He grew to manhood in New York 
 and enlisted in the War of 1812, serving until its 
 close as a member of the New York Regiment, 
 which fought the British bravely atLundy's Lane. 
 After the close of the war, he was married to Miss 
 Sophronia Knowlton, who was born and reared in 
 Chautauqua County, N. Y. In 1842, he removed 
 to Illinois and settled in the then little hamlet of 
 Rockford, where he established a general store in 
 connection with his son-in-law, William Van Ar- 
 
 man. In 1857, the partnership was dissolved, and 
 Mr. Andrus afterward embarked in the boot and 
 shoe business, in which he was engaged for some 
 years, until he retired from active labors. He was 
 an Alderman, and took an active part in local pol- 
 itics. For a time, he was a member of the Baptist 
 Church, but upon the organization of the Chris- 
 tian Union Church he became identified therewith, 
 as did also bis wife. 
 
 Our subject was reared to manhood in Rockford, 
 where he was married to Miss Carrie E. Hazelteen, 
 who was born in Luzerne County, Pa., and died 
 three years after her marriage. The second union 
 of Mr. Andrus united him with Mrs. Annette 
 (Savage) Downes, an accomplished lady, who 
 was born and reared in the East. They are the 
 parents of two children. Dexter E. and Annette S. 
 In polities, Mr. Andrus is independent. During 
 the late war, he enlisted in response to the call for 
 one-hundred day volunteers. Socially, he belongs 
 to the Order of Red Men, of which he is Past Great 
 Sachem; he is also identified with the Order of 
 Chosen Friends, the Knights of Honor and the 
 Modern Woodmen of America. 
 
 tp» W.W ^I- 
 
 f " I I I \ L. 
 
 LVIN A. WELLS. It gives us pleasure to 
 include in tliis volume a biographical 
 notice of one whose life has been spent in 
 ^§g/ the quiet performance of duty, and who, 
 
 without filling any prominent position in public 
 affairs, has gained the esteem and confidence of 
 his neighbors and friends. Mr. Wells is a native 
 of this county, and is the possessor of a comfort- 
 able, neat and pleasant home on section 3, Seward 
 Township. 
 
 The original of this sketch was born October 15, 
 1844, and is the brother of John R. Wells, a prom- 
 inent agriculturist of this county, whose sketch 
 will be found on another page of this work. He is 
 a son of Reuben and Jane Wells, the former of 
 whom was born in Middleboro, Vt., in 1775, and 
 in 1841, desiring to try his fortunes in the Western 
 country, came to Illinois with his wife and eight 
 children. The mother of our subject was known 
 in her maidenhood as Jane Roberts, the daughter 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1317 
 
 of Abram Roberts, who died at her home, after 
 having attained the age of eighty-one years. 
 
 On August 30, 1864, Alvin A. Wells enlisted in 
 the late war by joining Company C, One Hun- 
 dred and Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry. He served 
 his country faithfully and well for nearly a year, 
 and on receiving his honorable discharge, July 8, 
 1865, returned home and engaged in the peaceful 
 pursuits of agriculture. The lady who became his 
 wife March 12, 1868, was known as Miss Alice 
 Holcomb, the daughter of Hiram and Mary Hol- 
 comb. She was a native of Winnebago County, 
 and departed this life June 27, 1870. 
 
 October 6, 1884, Mr. Wells and Miss Sarah E. 
 Branan, who was born January 8, 1854, in this 
 county, were united in marriage. The lady is the 
 daughter of George and Paulina Brannon, who 
 came from Ohio to this county in 1842. The 
 father was born May 29, 1817, and departed this 
 life October 26, 1891, in this county. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Paulina Gates, was born 
 April 18, 1823, and is still living. He of whom we 
 write is a Republican in politics, and is a prominent 
 member of Ellis Post No. 320, G. A. R., at Pec- 
 atonica. Mr. and Mrs Wells are the parents of one 
 child, a daughter, whom they have named Alice. 
 
 '^ C. GARVER. The firm of Garver & 
 Fisher, attorneys-at-law at Rockford, was 
 established in 1890, and the members are 
 already recognized as among the most ex- 
 tensive and successful practitioners of Winne- 
 bago County. Mr. Garver was admitted to the 
 Bar in 1871, and five years afterward was elected 
 to the office of State's Attorney, holding the po- 
 sition for eight years. He was well qualified to 
 discharge the duties of the office with tact and 
 ability, as he possessed unusual legal erudition 
 and had the advantage of carrying on his studies 
 with Gen. Keifer, of Springfield, Ohio. 
 
 Born in Winnebago County, Mr. Garver was 
 here reared and educated, his home being with his 
 father until he attained manhood. He then es- 
 tablished a home of his own, and now, with his 
 
 wife and the five children that have been born 
 to them, occupies a warm place in the regard of 
 the people of Rockford. Politically, he is a Repub- 
 lican, and is interested in all public enterprises 
 which he believes calculated to promote the prog- 
 ress of the community. 
 
 \i^'REDERICK LUND. Our sketch of the differ- 
 Mg] ent enterprises of Rockford would be man- 
 /il ifestly incomplete without some brief notice 
 of one of its most prominent jewelers. We refer 
 to the emporium of Frederick Lund, of No. 311 
 East State Street, which has been in operation 
 for a number of years, and to-day one of the 
 most important houses of the kind on State Street, 
 in point of value of its stock and its varied and 
 comprehensive character. Mr. Lund is one of the 
 representative business men of the city and now 
 resides in his handsome residence at No. 306 South 
 Fourth Street. He owns valuable property in the 
 city, is a stockholder and Director in the Union 
 Grocery Company, and is prominently identified 
 with the business interests of Rockford. 
 
 Mr. Lund's native country is Norway and he 
 was born on the 31st of May, 1830. As he grew 
 to manhood, he learned the jewelry trade, and for 
 some time was engaged in business in Tromsoe, 
 Norway. Thinking that broader fields were open 
 for him in America, he left the land of his birth 
 and sailed for this country, landing first in Quebec, 
 Canada. Four months later, he came to Rockford, 
 and has been a resident of this city for the past 
 quarter of a century. He worked for two years 
 and a half as jeweler for a State Street firm and 
 then began on his own account. Although the first 
 of his family to come to the States, he has since 
 been joined by two sisters, both now residents of 
 Chicago. They are Mrs. Anna Olson, a widow, and 
 Mrs. Oveda Oberg. The father, Ole Lund, was a 
 merchant tailor of Norway, and died in that coun- 
 try in middle age. The mother, whose maiden 
 name was Magdalene Boyson, received her final 
 summons in Norway in 1886, when eighty-two 
 years of age. 
 
 When about thirty years of age, our subject was 
 
1318 
 
 PORTEAIT AND BIOGEAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 married in liis native country to Miss Hannah 
 Bohmer, whose birth occurred in Tromsoe, Norway, 
 in June, 1843, and wiio after coming to this country 
 was followed by laer father and mother, her brother 
 coming two years before. The mother died in 
 Chicago in 1890, when sixty-six years of age. 
 The father, Fred Bohmer, is a shoe-maker and 
 dealer in Chicago, and is sixty-eight j^ears of age. 
 Mrs. Lund's brother, Olof Hanson, is foreman for 
 the well-known jewelry mercliant, Spaulding, of 
 Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Lund's marriage has resulted in the birth of 
 nine children, two of whom died when young. 
 Those living are Mary, wife of Martin Christo- 
 plicrson, who resides in Rockfordand iier husband 
 works in the Rockford Desk and Furniture Com- 
 pany, of wliich he is a stockholder and Director. 
 Fred, Jr., was engaged in the office of the 
 Waltham Watch Company, Chicago, and is now in 
 the jewelry business at Missoula, Mont.; Henry, 
 book-keeper with Holland, Ferguson & Co., ab- 
 stractors; Clarence clerks in his father's store and 
 Leila is at home. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Lund is a strong advocate of the 
 Prohibition principles .and is not at all averse to 
 speaking his sentiments. He is a member of dif- 
 ferent local social orders, and he and Mrs. Lund 
 are active members of the Swedish Methodist Epis- 
 copal Church. For many years, Mr. Lund has been 
 the Swedisli Cemetery Committeeman. 
 
 m>-^<B 
 
 s^*^ 
 
 Jfj OHN A. R. JOHNSON. Among the well- 
 I known Swedish citizens of Rockford is this 
 l| gentleman, who for some time was a farmer 
 ^_j^ in New Milford Township, but since 1891 
 has resided in this city. He was born in Smoland, 
 Sweden, December 17, 1835, and is the only mem- 
 ber of the parental family who has ever emigrated 
 to America. He took passage at Gottenburg, July 
 10, 1854, on a three-mast schooner, which landed 
 him at Quebec, Canada, after a voj'age of thirteen 
 weeks and four daj-s. The trip was uneventful 
 and tedious, and our subject was not sorry when 
 the ship dropped anchor at Quebec. 
 
 From that city Mr. Johnson came to St. Charles, 
 
 111., and there resided until he came to Rockford 
 in 1857, meanwhile following his trade of wagon- 
 maker. After coming to this city, he was married 
 to Miss Clara Anderson, who was born in Wester 
 Gothland, June 3, 1840, the daughter of John and 
 Mary Anderson, natives of Sweden. After all their 
 children were bom, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson emi- 
 grated to the United States, taking passage at 
 Gottenburg, in 1852, on a two-mast sailer, land- 
 ing in New York City after a monotonous voyage 
 of seven weeks. The family came as far West as 
 Buffalo, where they resided two years, coming 
 from that city to Pecatonica, where they re- 
 mained for a time in the village, and afterward 
 bought land in the townsiiip of the same name. 
 The father died in October, 1882, when more than 
 three-score years old. His wife, who is now eighty, 
 makes her home in Pecatonica. 
 
 Mrs. Johnson is the second of three children, 
 the eldest of whom, Charlotte, is the wife of P. G. 
 Hollen, of Rockford. The youngest, John, is a 
 farmer in Pecatonica. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are 
 the parents of four children, two of whom are de- 
 ceased. Ida R. died when an accomplished young 
 lady of twenty years, and Hattie C. passed away 
 when thirteen years old. Fred G., an intelligent 
 and popular young gentleman, is connected with 
 the Rockford Burial Case Company. Elmer R. is 
 at home. For thirty-five years Mr. and Mrs. 
 Johnson have been members of the First Lutheran 
 Church, in which the former served as Trustee 
 for eight years, and as organist for fifteen years. 
 In his political belief, he is a strong Republican. 
 
 At present. Mr. Johnson is engaged at his trade 
 of wagon-maker, in the Peter Sames Wagon and 
 Buggy Factory. He was one of the promoters of, 
 and is now a. stockholder in, the Skandia Plow 
 Company, having served for some years as Vice- 
 president and Treasurer. After his removal 
 hither in 1857, he worked at his trade for some 
 time, then removed to his farm in New Milford 
 Township, and there remained engaged in culti- 
 vating its eighty acres until he again came to 
 Rockford, in the spring of 1891. Although of 
 foreign birth, be loved the country of his adop- 
 tion, and during the Civil War enlisted in Com- 
 pany H, First Illinois Infantry. With his regi- 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1319 
 
 ment, he participated in a number of engage- 
 ments, including Shiloli, and other battles of less 
 importance. After serving about one year, he was 
 taken ill, and confined to the field hospital for 
 two months, after which he was honorably dis- 
 charged on account of disability. 
 
 AMUEL I. CHURCH, who departed this 
 life in 1886 in Rockford, was born in 
 Monroe County, N. Y., June 11, 1815- 
 His parents were Lazarus and Catherine 
 (Brockway) Church, for a further sketch of whom 
 the reader is referred to the biography of the Hon. 
 S. M. Church. Prior to coming to Illinois, which 
 he did in 1848, our subject was married to Miss 
 Silence Richmond, who was born in Camillus, 
 Onondaga County, N. Y. Her father, Sylvester 
 Richmond, was a native of Herkimer County, that 
 State, and removed about 1856 to Ripon, Fond du 
 Lac County, Wis. He spent his last years at the 
 home of a daughter, passing away September 7, 
 1886, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. He 
 married Electa Bell, who was born in Chester, Mass. 
 Her father, Aaron Bell, removed from the Bay State 
 to New York in 1810, where he was one of the 
 pioneers in the town of Camillus, and died in 1845. 
 The grandmother of Mrs. Church was prior to her 
 marriage Miss Abby Eggleston,of Chester, Mass. 
 
 The wife of our subject resided with her parents 
 until her marriage, and in 1848 accompanied him 
 on his removal to Illinois, the journey being made 
 by way of the Lakes to Chicago and by teams to 
 Rockford. There was no Government land for a 
 radius of ten miles around Rockford, but the school 
 section near by being vacant, when it came into 
 market Mr. Church secured a quarter-section and 
 engaged in farming. He made his home for many 
 years in the city but later removed to the farm, 
 where his decease occurred in 1886. The place is 
 embellished with good farm buildings, the most 
 noticeable among which is the commodious frame 
 house, which contains all the conveniences of the 
 modern style of building. Mrs. Church still re- 
 sides upon the old place. 
 
 The five children born to our subject and his 
 
 wife are Alice Emmagene, Sylvester Richmond, 
 Samuel I., William Arthur, and Theodore Bell. 
 Alice E. married A. E. Paul, of Chicago, in which 
 city Sylvester R. makes his home. The youngest 
 son, who was born January 5, 1855, was a student 
 in Rush Medical College and would have graduated 
 with the Class of '81, but his ambition was cut 
 short by his death in September, 1880. Samuel I. 
 and William A. died in infancy. Our subject in 
 early life was a Whig, but has voted the Republican 
 ticket since the formation of that party, and in pub- 
 lic life served his fellow-townsmen as Sheriff of the 
 county for two years. The daughter, A. Em- 
 magene, is a graduate of the Ontario Female Semi- 
 nary, of Canandaigua, N. Y.; Sylvester R. is a 
 graduate of the National Business College, of 
 Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
 
 ^^l AHLON PIPER, whose very productive 
 ///iV ^^'"^ ^* located on section 13, Le Roy 
 I Is Township, Boone County, where he has 
 * resided for the past eighteen years, was 
 
 born September 12, 1839, where Rockford now 
 stands. His father, Daniel Piper, was a native of 
 Ohio, from which State he emigrated to La Salle 
 County, 111., and located on what is the present site 
 of Ottawa. The trip was made overland in 1827, 
 at which time he was accompanied by his young 
 bride, who was born in 1810, near Richmond, Va., 
 and bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Jones. 
 
 The father of our subject, on locating in this 
 State, made claim to a tract of land on the bot- 
 toms of Willow Creek, and for a number of years 
 was engaged in buying and selling claims in La 
 Salle, Boone and Winnebago Counties. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Piper came to Rockford about 1835, and lo- 
 cated where our subject was born. During their 
 residence there "Long John" Wentworth was a 
 boarder in the family, and was a firm friend of 
 Daniel Piper. The father was engaged for some 
 time in hauling goods from Chicago to Galena, 
 and in 1844 located on his claim, which consisted 
 of one-half section, where he was residing at the 
 time of his decease. 
 
1320 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECOED. 
 
 Eight of the ten children born to the parents 
 of our subject are still living, namely: Sarah, Mrs. 
 Mallory, of Iowa; Eleazer, a retired farmer at 
 Capron; Mahlon, our subject; Elizabeth, Mrs. 
 Charles Burton; Amanda, Mrs. Ward; Ellen, Mrs. 
 David Groesbeck; Harriet, Mrs. Andrew Ander- 
 son, and Benton. He of whom we write enlisted, 
 August 18, 1862, in Company C, Ninety-fifth Ill- 
 inois Infantiy. His father, who was then sixty- 
 two years of age, was mustered into Company E, 
 of the same regiment, and served his country for 
 six mouths. He was then sent to Overton Hos- 
 pital at Memphis, Tenn., and later, reaching home, 
 died within four days, in his sixty-third year. His 
 widow is still surviving and makes her home in 
 McHenry County, being in her eighty-second year. 
 Our subject served two years and eight months, 
 and obtained a leave of absence to return home 
 and vote for Lincoln during his second term, in 
 1864. He was never wounded, but was confined 
 in the hospital for a short time with sore eyes. He 
 was an active participant in many engagements, 
 among them the siege of Vicksburg, which lasted 
 more than forty days; the Red River expedition, 
 at which time the regiment marched out on thirty 
 daj's' rations and was absent ninety days; also 
 the Guntown raid, and numerous battles of minor 
 importance. 
 
 Returning home March 20, 1865, our subject 
 was married, in June of the following year, to 
 Mahala Burton, of McHenry County. She is the 
 daughter of Billings and Harriet (Sweazey) Bur- 
 ton, natives of New York State. Three children 
 have been born to our subject, of whom the eldest 
 child, Minnie, died in her third year; Clara, who 
 was born in 1871, is the wife of Conrad Engle- 
 hardt, a farmer in this vicinity; and Fred, who 
 was born June 17, 1882, is at home with his 
 parents. 
 
 In 1866, our subject purchased twenty acres of 
 the old home farm, to which he added thirty-three 
 more, and tliere made his home for three years. 
 Then, in company with three other gentlemen, he 
 proceeded overland with teams to Iowa and Ne- 
 braska. Returning to Illinois in 1871, he pur- 
 chased his present farm of forty acres, for which 
 he paid $1,200. He has resided here since, with 
 
 the exception of two years spent on his father-in- 
 law's farm. He has filled many positions of trust 
 in the township, for eleven years was Highway 
 Commissioner, and in politics casts a straight Re- 
 publican vote. 
 
 Mr. Piper is an extensive apiarist, having about 
 one hundred swarms of bees, in the raising of 
 which he has been successful in the past seven or 
 eight years. Mrs. Piper's grandmother, Nancy 
 Burton, is ninety-one years of age, and still en- 
 joys good health. She was born in Schoharie 
 County, N. Y., and reared a family of sixteen 
 children. 
 
 -^i. 
 
 "S] 
 
 ^H^ 
 
 [S" 
 
 ON AS R. ANDERSON, Vice-president, 
 stockholder and Director of the Central 
 Furniture Company, of Rockford, is ac- 
 tively connected with one of the most 
 prominent concerns of the city, the other oflScers 
 being: President, S. A. Johnson; Secretary and 
 Treasurer, August Peterson; Superintendent, J. 
 Gust Johnson. After coming to Rockford, in 
 1854, Mr. Anderson was for eighteen years con- 
 nected with F. H. Manning, and later was a pro- 
 moter of the Central Furniture Company, with 
 which he has since been identified. 
 
 Our subject was born in Smoland, Sweden, June 
 22, 1833, and when ten months old was orphaned 
 by the death of his father, Andrew Pearson. His 
 mother survived many years and was about sev- 
 enty-five years old at the time of her demise. The 
 first member of the family to leave Sweden was 
 Jonas R., who took passage at Gottenburg and 
 landed at Quebec, Canada, proceeding thence to 
 the States. Since locating in Rockford, he has 
 been joined by a brother, Charles, who died here; 
 also a sister, Martha, wife of John Johnson, who 
 died about ten years ago. 
 
 In Rockford, Mr. Anderson was married to 
 Helen Stockenburg, who was born in Smoland, 
 Sweden, in May, 1829, and was the first member 
 of her father's family who emigrated to this coun- 
 try, coming hither in 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Ander- 
 son are influential members of the First Swedish 
 Lutheran Church at Rockford, and for some years 
 
POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1321 
 
 he served as Trustee and Deacon. They were the 
 parents of five children, two of whom are de- 
 ceased. Jennie died when a small child, and Jen- 
 nie (second) passed away when eighteen years old. 
 She was a skilled musician and a graduate of the 
 city High School. Marah C. is the wife of the Rev. 
 John Endston, a Swedish Lutheran clergyman of 
 Minneapolis; Andrew J. is represented elsewhere 
 in this volume; Amanda is at present part owner 
 of a store in Wakefield, Neb. 
 
 I &ILLIAM S. P. HITCHCOCK. The excel- 
 
 \/\l// l^'^"^ ^^ *^® ^*^i^ °^ Winnebago County 
 ^^ for the uses of agriculture has been dem- 
 onstrated by the pioneers, who cleared the land 
 of its primeval forest growth, turned the first 
 furrows in the soil, and gradually brought the 
 land to a high state of improvement, until to-day 
 this county ranks second to none in the quantity 
 and quality of its products. Mr. Hitchcock de- 
 votes especial attention to the raising of small 
 fruits and vegetables, a department of agriculture 
 to which little attention has been paid until quite 
 recently; he is also carrying on a general farm- 
 ing business in Seward Township. 
 
 In noting the ancestry of our subject, we find 
 that his paternal grandfather, Ira Hitchcock, was 
 a native of Connecticut and a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary War. He married Miss Hannah Hotch- 
 kiss, and among their ten children was Ebenezer, 
 who was born in Vermont, November 23, 1787. 
 He grew to maturity in the Green Mountain State 
 and was married to Miss Abi Button, a native of 
 New Hampshire. They became the parents of ten 
 children, all of whom have passed from earth ex- 
 cept our subject and one sister. The parents are 
 deceased, the father having died in Ogle County, 
 111., and the mother in Winnebago County. They 
 were pioneers of this section of country, having 
 removed hither in 1847 and purchased forty acres 
 of school land, which they afterward traded for 
 the farm where our subject resides. The place had 
 been originally entered from the Government by 
 an older brother some ten years prior to the set- 
 tlement of the father thereon. 
 
 Our subject was born in Massena Township, St. 
 Lawrence County, N. Y., October 25, 1817. He 
 grew to manhood in the Empire State, and on at- 
 taining to his majority commenced to work by the 
 month on a farm, continuing in that occupation 
 for six years. On Christmas Day, 1845, he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Martha Hudson, who 
 was born in Montreal, Canada, March 12, 1820. 
 Her father, Samuel Hudson, died in Massena, 
 N. y., at the age of seventy-five, and her mother, 
 whose maiden name was Polly Abbott, died in 
 Winnebago County when about seventy-five. 
 They were the parents of eleven children, five of 
 whom survive. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock have six children, as 
 follow: Louisa M., born December 14, 1846, mar- 
 ried Alonson Wells, and they have five children, 
 reside near Pecatonica: Julia S.,born September 
 4, 1849, is the wife of C. T. Simpson and resides 
 in Cedar Falls, Iowa; Sophronia, born March 9, 
 1852, was united with George Wright, and they 
 are the parents of five children, reside in Pecato- 
 nica: George, born August 25, 1854, is married 
 and the father of two children and resides in Los 
 Angeles, Cal.: Eva, born January 11, 1858, is at 
 home with her parents; Amanda, born March 20, 
 1861, became the wife of Orlando Hall, and 
 they have two children, resides in Linn County, 
 Iowa. The children have all received excellent 
 educations and are highly esteemed throughout 
 the communities where they reside. In his poli- 
 tical belief, Mr. Hitchcock was an old-line Whig, 
 casting his first ballot for William H. Harrison for 
 President, and has been a Republican since the 
 organization of the party. 
 
 OSCAR G. WELLS, who has been a resident of 
 Pecatonica Village since 1857, is one of the 
 prominent and influential men of this sec- 
 tion. He is the owner of a pleasant home in 
 the village, where he is greatly respected for 
 his honest and upright life. A native of Sew- 
 ard Township, Winnebago County, 111., our sub- 
 ject is the son of Jesse and Lavina (Everett) 
 
1322 
 
 J^OETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Wells. The father was an old settler in this region 
 and died at his home in Seward Township, July 21, 
 1891, when over ninety-one years of age. 
 
 Mr. Wells of this sketch on reaching his major- 
 ity was married, March 2, 1879, to Mary Patter- 
 son, who was also a native of this county, having 
 been born March 26, 1860. She was the daughter 
 of William and Sarah A. (Dean) Patterson, whose 
 sketch the readet will find on another page of this 
 volume. The three children born to our subject 
 and his wife are Claud W., born August 15, 1880; 
 Maud S., August 29, 1883, and Bernice M., April 
 11, 1885. He is an extensive hay merchant in the 
 village and also the proprietor of two farms, one 
 containing forty acres and the other one hundred 
 acres of land. Mr. and Mrs. Wells are Universal- 
 ists in their religion, and our subject belongs to the 
 I. O. O. F. Lodge No. 173 and also to the Modern 
 Woodmen of America. In politics, he is a true- 
 blue Republican, and has served for a number of 
 terms on the School Board. 
 
 William R. Patterson, the father of Mrs. Wells, 
 was born November 11, 1822, in Finnis, County 
 Down, Ireland, and is the son of John and Jane 
 (Roan) Patterson, the former of whom died when 
 about thirty-five years of age and the latter in her 
 forty-seventh year. He came to America in 1846 
 and at Oriskany, Oneida County, N. Y., worked at 
 the mason's trade, but in his own country was a 
 linen weaver. 
 
 The lady to whom Mr. Patterson was married 
 June 25, 1848, was Miss Sarah A. Dean, whose birth 
 occurred February 27, 1819, in Otsego County, 
 N. Y. She was the daughter of Amos and Jane 
 (Chatterton) Dean, and was a cousin of Jay Gould. 
 The Chattertons were Quakers and lived and died 
 in the Empire State. The Dean family were com- 
 mercial and professional men, and a sister of Amos 
 married a (Jould and Jay Gould is supposed to be 
 a grandson or a son of that lady. Mrs. Wells is 
 one in a family of seven children, three of whom 
 are living: Jane D., who is married and has two 
 children; Isabella P., who is married and the mo- 
 ther of six children. 
 
 The father of Mrs. Wells in 1856 came to Win- 
 nebago County, where he has since resided, engaged 
 at his trade of a mas(m. He purchased a farm. 
 
 which he later disposed of at a good profit. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Patterson are Episcopalians in religious 
 matters. The father cast his first vote for Gen. 
 Scott and has since that time voted with the Re- 
 publican party. While residing in New York, he 
 was a member of the Odd Fellows' lodge. Mr. 
 Patterson, when en route to the New World, was 
 nearly seven weeks sailing from Belfast to New 
 York and on that trip passed through one of the 
 greatest storms known to those days. For a period 
 of three days and nights, he with over three hun- 
 dred passengers was kept in the hold of the vessel 
 with the hatch nailed down and not a morsel to 
 eat. At the end of that time, when they were per- 
 mitted to come out, it was found the vessel was 
 leaking and Mr. Patterson with other passengers was 
 forced to pump water for over ten days. He was 
 accompanied to this country by a brother, from 
 whom he was never separated until the latter was 
 called hence. 
 
 "Another old settler gone" was heard through- 
 out Winnebago County when Jesse Wells, the fa- 
 ther of our subject, breathed his last. It might be 
 truly said of him that he lived in the hearts of 
 men while on earth and his memory will forever 
 remain fresh in the hearts of the countless hun- 
 dreds who knew and loved him dearly. His name 
 was synonymous with all that was good, pure, no- 
 ble and honest, and he was as much a stranger to 
 corrupt methods of doing business as purity is a 
 stranger to impurity. He stood out among his fel- 
 low-men as one absolutely self-made, and his mem- 
 ory must forever stand as a silent witness as to 
 what straightforwardness and an honorable career 
 can do for a man. 
 
 Jesse Wells was born in New York, June 2, 1800 
 and when a lad of ten years his father died, thus 
 throwing him on his own resources. He went out 
 to work to help support his mother and brothers 
 and sisters. Small indeed was the salary a boy 
 could earn in those days, but this boy, no matter 
 how small his income or salary, managed to live 
 within it. He proved that labor and merit could 
 and would be rewarded, as in 1825 he was married 
 to Miss Aseneth Bennett. To them were born a 
 family of nine children, all of whom are deceased, 
 with the exception of one son who is an extensive 
 
PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1323 
 
 farmer in Iowa. The partner of his early joys 
 and sorrows died at Ridott, this State, in 1844. 
 
 The father of our subject was a pioneer in two 
 Western States, as he first came to Ohio in 1834 
 and there fanned successfully until 1842, when he 
 removed to Stephenson County, this State. In the 
 town of Ridott, he entered an immense tract of 
 land and later bought and in other trades acquired 
 a large property in Winnebago County, which is 
 located in Seward and Pecatoniea Townships. In 
 1854, he removed to the farm in the former place, 
 where his decease occurred when ninety-one years 
 of age. 
 
 The second marriage of the elder Mr. Wells oc- 
 curred in 1846, at which time Miss Lavina Everett, 
 a native of Pennsylvania, became his wife. They 
 became the parents of eight children, two of whom 
 are deceased. That Jesse Wells was a grand suc- 
 cess must be conceded when it is known that with- 
 out any schooling and not a dollar of assistance 
 from any one, he left an estate valued at over 
 1100,000. That fortune was made by a strict in- 
 tegrity, and a thorough knowledge of economical 
 principles. 
 
 r(,-^^ENRY H. HOVEY. There is not within 
 ^'^ the city of Rockford or vicinity a more 
 cozy and conveniently-arranged home than 
 that of Mr. Hovey, who is well known as 
 one of the prominent citizens of the county. He 
 was born in Warsaw, Wyoming County, N. Y., 
 January 29, 1824, and is the son of David Hovey, 
 whose birth occurred in Tolland County, Conn., 
 March 19, 1783. So far as known, the paternal 
 grandfather of our subject was a resident of Con- 
 necticut during his entire life, and he was at one 
 time Sheriff of Tolland County. 
 
 David Hovey was reared in his native State, and 
 after his marriage removed to Western New York, 
 accompanied by his family, the removal being 
 made with teams. He drove an ox-team with the 
 household goods, while his wife, with her twin 
 daughters, drove a one-horse buggy. Locating in 
 Warsaw, he bought a tract of timber land of the 
 Holland Purchase Company, and thereon erected 
 a log cabin, in which our subject was born. This 
 
 contained an unfinished loft, and one of the first 
 recollections of Henry H. is that of climbing a 
 ladder to his bed in the loft, where in the winter 
 season he would often find snow on the bed 
 covers. 
 
 At that early day railroads and canals were un- 
 known, and the nearest market was at Rochester, 
 forty miles distant. On the farm which he cleared, 
 Mr. Hovey, Sr., remained until his death. The 
 mother of our subject, whose maiden name was 
 Wealthy Palmer, was born in Mansfield, Conn., 
 April 26, 1785. Her father, Ellas Palmer, was born 
 in Connecticut, and was a descendant of one of 
 two brothers who emigrated from England, and 
 were numbered among the first settlers of Stoning- 
 ton. Conn. The maternal grandfather of our sub- 
 ject was a farmer and spent his entire life in the 
 State of his birth. Mrs. Wealthy Hovey survived 
 her husband many years, spending the closing 
 days of her life at Warsaw. She reared six chil- 
 dren, namely: Martha and Mary (twins), Lucius 
 A., V. R., Henry H. and Julia M. 
 
 At the time of his father's death, our subject 
 was quite young, and he afterward assisted his 
 brothers in cultivating the farm until he was four- 
 teen. At that age he commenced to work in a 
 woolen mill, where he served an apprenticeship of 
 four years and then did "jour" work for two years. 
 In company with his brother V. R., he later bought 
 a sawmill in Allegany County, and this they op- 
 erated for a time. Returning to WyoTning County, 
 he cultivated the home farm and resided there 
 until 1867, when he removed to Marengo, McHenry 
 County, 111., and for ten years thereafter traveled 
 in the interest of the Union Mutual Life Insurance 
 Company, receiving a salary of $2,500 and expenses 
 per year. 
 
 Resigning his position, Mr. Hovey built a hay- 
 press at Hinckley and engaged in buying and ship- 
 ping hay for two years, and then, selling out, re- 
 turned to Marengo. During the same j-ear (1877) 
 he exchanged his property there for a farm close 
 to the city of Rockford, and here he has since re- 
 sided. In 1889, he sold all but thirteen acres of 
 the place to the "boomers," and upon the property 
 still in his possession has erected a comfortable 
 residence, where he lives retired. 
 
1324 
 
 POETRAIT AND BIOGEArHICAL RECOED. 
 
 December 16, 1844, Mr. Hove}^ was married to 
 Nancy S. Wille\', who was born in Vermont, and 
 they are the parents of two children: Frances M 
 and Lucius A., Jr. Frances married George "Wilson 
 and they have one child, Henry H. Lucius mar- 
 ried Salina Blacltman, and they, with their three 
 children, Lucia A., Julia N. and Vine R., reside in 
 St. Charles, Kane County. Mr. and Mrs. Hovey 
 are active members of the Baptist Church. Politi- 
 cally, he is a stanch Republican. During the time 
 that he was traveling, he purchased a farm in Kane 
 County, beside land in Iowa and Minnesota, and 
 still has in his possession a large tract in the last- 
 named State. 
 
 AMUEL C. WITHROW. In the line of 
 fine carpets, draperies, brass goods, etc., etc., 
 the city of Rockford stands second to 
 none, a fact in which its citizens may well 
 take pride in these days of intense competitive 
 effort. In this age of refinement, wealth, and 
 enterprise, the demands of all classes for artistic 
 productions are more exacting than ever before, 
 and in no branch of trade is this more evident 
 than that in which the firm of Withrow, Baird & 
 Co. is engaged. This firm make a specialty of 
 interior decorating, the same introduced latelj--, 
 and are located in the Stewart Block, where they 
 have a fine room, 135x44 feet. Withrow & Baird 
 have been in business together since April, 1889, 
 and have, until quite recently, been located at No. 
 122 South Main Street, where, besides doing a de- 
 corating business, they carried a large and full line 
 of dry goods Seeing the need of a house in Rock- 
 ford that would make a specialty of interior de- 
 corating, they established themselves in the most 
 favorable location for the business, and have been 
 rewarded by the signal success they have achieved. 
 Mr. Withrow has been actively engaged in busi- 
 ness in this city for many years, while Mr. J. N. 
 Baird, who came here from McGregor, Iowa, 
 where he was engaged for a number of years as a 
 dry-goods merchant, has only resided here since 
 1889. During that time, however, he has impressed 
 
 the people as a man of sound judgment, excellent 
 taste, and much energy. Mr. Withrow came to 
 Rockford in June, 1861, and engaged in the dry- 
 goods business on his own account, but at the end 
 of ten years, having a true artist's eye for harmony 
 of colors and beautiful effects, he connected with 
 his business a line of house decorations, which he 
 carried on jointly and successfully with his former 
 business until 1892. Since that time, the firm has 
 establislied the latter line of business entirely. 
 With the exception of a Mr. Dennett, who is still 
 in business in this city, Mr. Withrow is the- oldest 
 dry-goods merchant in Rockford. The honorable 
 and equitable methods of this gentleman and his 
 partner inspire the utmost confidence, and their 
 energy and enterprise are reaping a well-merited 
 reward. 
 
 Our subject came to this city from Cincinnati, 
 Ohio, where he had a thorough training as a seller 
 of dry-goods, in both the retail and wholesale de- 
 partments, being connected for some time with the 
 old dry-goods firm of Shaw, Buel, Barber & Co., 
 and having a natural aptitude for that business, he 
 has been unusually successful. He was born in 
 London, Madison County, Ohio, and there passed 
 his boyhood and received his education. At an 
 early age, he began clerking in a dry-goods store 
 in his native town and subsequently went to Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio, where he remained, actively engaged 
 in business, until coming to this city. 
 
 Prominent in all enterprises of a laudable na- 
 ture, Mr. Withrow is particularly so in educa- 
 tional and religious matters, having been one of 
 the greatest, if not the greatest, Sunday-school 
 worker in the county. Out of the thirty years he 
 has been a resident of this city, twenty years have 
 been spent as Superintendent of the Court Street 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, and he has been an 
 official member of the same for years. He has been 
 a delegate to the State Sunday-school Convention 
 a number of times, and when the National Conven- 
 tion met at Newark, N. J., he was one of the del- 
 egates from this State. He has been an energetic 
 worker in thi? direction, and has been in every 
 church and schoolhouse in the county. He gives 
 new impetus and life to old Sunday-schools, and 
 organizes new ones: he seems never to tire, and 
 
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1325 
 
 still the good work goes on. A stanch Republican 
 in his political views, Mr. Withrow works hard 
 for his party, and is a live man in all local affairs. 
 The parents of our subject, Robert and Ann 
 (Carr) Withrow, were natives of Madison County, 
 Ohio, and there passed their entire days. The 
 father was a prominent farmer of his native county, 
 but the last twenty years of his life were spent as 
 a shipper of cattle. He died when seventy-seven 
 years of age. His father was a Virginian, of Eng- 
 lish descent, and became an early settler of London 
 Township, Madison County, Ohio, where he took 
 up and improved Government land. He assisted 
 in building the old National Road, and was a 
 prominent man in his day. The wife of Robert 
 Withrow died when seventy-two years of age. 
 Her parents had come to Ohio from the Old 
 Dominion at an early day, improved Government 
 land, and were well known to the people of that 
 county. Both the Withrow and Carr families 
 
 T 
 
 were Methodists in their religious views, and were 
 Whigs and Republicans in politics. 
 
 Samuel Withrow was married in Peoria, 111., to 
 Mrs. Sallie Irwin, nee McFarland, a native of Pitts- 
 burg, Pa., who came of Scotch-Irish ancestors, in- 
 heriting her thrift and industry from the former, 
 and her wit and sociability from the latter. She 
 was reared and educated in her native city, and was 
 there married to Maj. S. C. Irwin, who was in an 
 Ohio Regiment, and who was killed at the battle 
 of Lookout Mountain, when in the prime of life. 
 He received his regular promotions, was a brave 
 and gallant officer, and fought bravel^^ in defense 
 of the Union. He left no children. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Withrow are without children of 
 their own, but they have adopted one son, christ- 
 ened Fritz, who is now in the fruit business in 
 Gait, Cal., and who is a promising young man. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Withrow are prominent in social 
 and religious matters, and are pleasantly located 
 on Remington Bluff, south of the city. 
 
BIOGI^p^^iafllx. 
 
 Adams, Hon. D. B 1086 
 
 Adams, John 23 
 
 Adams, John Q 39 
 
 AckerIy,W. F 1034 
 
 Albert, James 762 
 
 Alexander, E. S 384 
 
 Allen, A. H 1281 
 
 Allen, D. W 369 
 
 Allen, John 229 
 
 Alneer, Charles G 261 
 
 Anderson, Alexander 869 
 
 Anderson, Alfred 1185 
 
 Anderson, A. J , . 640 
 
 Anderson, A. J 414 
 
 Anderson, A. J 700 
 
 Anderson, B. F 907 
 
 Anderson, C. F 503 
 
 Anderson, C. 11 1288 
 
 Anderson, D. J 672 
 
 Anderson, James M 556 
 
 Anderson, J. N 525 
 
 Anderson, Lewis P 599 
 
 Anderson, J. E 1320 
 
 Andrew, John 1195 
 
 Andrew, David 1212 
 
 Andrews, I. L., M. D 419 
 
 Andrews, John 304 
 
 Andrews , Warren 744 
 
 Andrus, D. A. K 1316 
 
 Andrus, Capt. W. D. E 771 
 
 Ardery,B. F 228 
 
 Arthur, Chester A 99 
 
 Asbton, Seneca 1170 
 
 Asprooth, CO 1217 
 
 Atkinson, B. C 567 
 
 Atkinson, George K 1290 
 
 Atkinson, William 704 
 
 Atwood, David 1260 
 
 Atwood, Joseph B 957 
 
 Atwood, Philip 1029 
 
 Atwood, Sylvester G 347 
 
 Atwood, T.J 577 
 
 Avery, Eev. H. W 471 
 
 B 
 
 Backus, John 278 
 
 Baldwin, George H 1276 
 
 Ball, E. B 522 
 
 Ball, J. B 468 
 
 Banks, B. F 1091 
 
 Barber, George H 533 
 
 Barber, Nolton 459 
 
 Barnard, D. A 741 
 
 Barnes, John 1092 
 
 Barnes, R.W 1144 
 
 Barningham, A. J 790 
 
 Barningham, Joseph 790 
 
 Barnum, Daniel 718 
 
 Bartholomew, E. S 580 
 
 Bartlett, J. R 1278 
 
 Bate, John S 1291 
 
 Bates, Isaac 549 
 
 Bates, Samuel 1244 
 
 Bauch, Robert. . .'. 1216 
 
 Bauder, Peter G 1154 
 
 Baxter, A. F 857 
 
 Baxter, F. A 1081 
 
 Beamer, C. H 965 
 
 Beatson, J. W 886 
 
 Beattie, John 885 
 
 Beckstrand, O. A 930 
 
 Beecher, Ransom 261 
 
 Beers, Daniel 699 
 
 Belting, Knut 1162 
 
 Bengston, C. E 1284 
 
 Benham, A.J 562 
 
 Bennett, J. A 875 
 
 Bennett, J. H 1161 
 
 Benoit.N. E 431 
 
 Bensley , John 580 
 
 Benson, John 1238 
 
 Benson, L. B 662 
 
 Bergquist, Gust 818 
 
 Bergquist, Oscar 99S 
 
 Bergquist, Oscar 1282 
 
 Best, S. P 967 
 
 Beveridge, John L 171 
 
 Billings, W.S 856 
 
 Billmyer, B. T., M. D .902 
 
 Bissell, William H J61 
 
 Blachford, Francis 52S 
 
 Blachford, Stephen 1205 
 
 Black, Alexander 1008 
 
 Blackinton, Mrs. Louisa 288 
 
 Blacklaws, James 1165 
 
 Blair, Matthew 450 
 
 Blair.S.A 466 
 
 Blake, George M 979 
 
 Blake, John Ull 
 
 Blake, L. C 765 
 
 Blake, Mrs. Susan 460 
 
 Blake, S. A ...1308 
 
 Blake, Thatcher 539 
 
 Blewfleld , Jacob 816 
 
 Bliss, James 1280 
 
 Blodgett, S. K 272 
 
 Blomberg, August 1125 
 
 Blomberg, C. F 631 
 
 Bond, Shadrach Ill 
 
 Bonney, J. H 643 
 
 Borg, Andrew 198 
 
 Bowen, H. L 341 
 
 Bower, Andrew 942 
 
 Bowman, John A 392 
 
 Bowman, P. G 1046 
 
 Boyd, John 1313 
 
 Boyd, William A., M. D 1109 
 
 Bradley, George 356 
 
 Brady, C. P 800 
 
 Brandstrom, John A 490 
 
 Brantingham , J. J 1251 
 
 Brantingham, E. M 706 
 
 Briggs,C. C 1031 
 
 Brlggs, C. R 1301 
 
 Briggs,Korah 310 
 
 Brockman, Francis 746 
 
 Brogunier, U. D 400 
 
 BroIin.W. A 671 
 
 Brooks, John 1174 
 
 Brown, Charles E 851 
 
 Brown , George S 846 
 
 Brown, Henry 6.34 
 
 Brown, Horace 883 
 
 Brown, Hugh 961 
 
 Brown , John 1314 
 
 Brown, John A 588 
 
 Brown, M. A 356 
 
 Brown, R. B 695 
 
 Brown, Thomas 1223 
 
 Brown, Hon. William Ill 
 
 Browne, Hon. J. S 316 
 
 Bruner, Capt. M. L 984 
 
 Bryden, James W 1241 
 
 Buchan, W. P 1186 
 
 Buchanan, James 75 
 
 Buchanan, Thomas 720 
 
 Buck, Truman 340 
 
 Buckbee, Jesse 943 
 
 Buokland, John J 350 
 
 Budlong, Hon. John 1183 
 
 Bunt, L. L., D. S 1040 
 
 Burbank, Joel 1298 
 
 Burcb, Joljn 659 
 
 Burlingame, J. J 231 
 
 Burpee, A. C It72 
 
 Burr, W. L 415 
 
 Burritt, G. A 66fi 
 
 Burroughs, N. 1193 
 
 Burton, Hiram 987 
 
 Buske, William 684 
 
 Cady.D. C 863 
 
 Cameron, Alexander 587 
 
 Campbell, A. Z 303 
 
 Campbell, Jeremiah 1285 
 
 Campbell, Z. A 1107 
 
 Cannitord, William E 645 
 
 Carleton, Hon. 1 217 
 
 Carlin, Thomas 135 
 
 Carlson, C. E 893 
 
 Carlson, David 1033 
 
 Carlson, John A 734 
 
 Carman, George W 967 
 
 Carney, Daniel 302 
 
 Carpenter, David 1142 
 
 Carpenter, J. S 541 
 
 Carrico, T. W 1123 
 
 Castle, John W 194 
 
 Cate, George S 693 
 
 Catlin, A. M., M. D 243 
 
 Chafee, George 1092 
 
 Chamberlain, L. E 574 
 
 Chamberlain, Mrs. J 1002 
 
 Champion, Abram 862 
 
 Chandler, L. L 1254 
 
 Chapman, W. C 667 
 
 Cham, A. S 1311 
 
 Chester, Mrs. Anna 590 
 
 Church, S.I 1319 
 
 Church, Hon. S. M 1296 
 
 Clark, C. E 608 
 
 Clark, F. H 802 
 
 Clark, John 1044 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Clark, Mrs. Mary A 121 
 
 Clark, W. D 972 
 
 Cleveland, George C 656 
 
 Cleveland, S. Grover 103 
 
 Cleveland,!. L 289 
 
 Cleveland, W. J 484 
 
 Clikeman, Miner 817 
 
 Coffin, Fletcher 869 
 
 Coffin, S.B 321 
 
 Cohoon, O. S 1207 
 
 Colby, N. L 1037 
 
 Colby, T.I 993 
 
 Cole, Mrs. Horace 296 
 
 Cole, Thomas W 1295 
 
 Coleman, E. B 651 
 
 Coles, Edward 115 
 
 Colton, Austin 1052 
 
 Colton, Robert 627 
 
 Comings, Sherman 428 
 
 Comly, Charles 266 
 
 Compton, J. H 746 
 
 Compton, Wortman 1157 
 
 Conklin, H. W 1203 
 
 Convers, "Willard 655 
 
 Cook, Elisha A 918 
 
 Cook, Samuel 896 
 
 Cooke, Henry M 605 
 
 Coons, Charles C 1181 
 
 Copeland, Philander, M. D.. .682 
 
 Corlett, James 974 
 
 Cormack, G. H 506 
 
 Cornell, I. A 023 
 
 Cornwell, W. D 210 
 
 Cotton, Robert H 404 
 
 Covey, Edwin A 1267 
 
 Covey,S. L 312 
 
 Cowan, D. C 1124 
 
 Cox, William J 1289 
 
 Coy, Mrs. Isabell 795 
 
 Crandell.Hon. W. H 251 
 
 Cronk, Joel E 1299 
 
 Cronwell, Otto 1101 
 
 Crosby, C. A 24B 
 
 Crowe, Ira E 403 
 
 Cullom, Shelby M 175 
 
 Cummings, O. J 778 
 
 Cunningham, B. F 1246 
 
 Cunningham, Samuel 362 
 
 Curtis, Henry 1188 
 
 Curtis, J. P 455 
 
 Cushman, Henry H 1304 
 
 D 
 
 Dahlquist, Axel lllo 
 
 Daniel, David 546 
 
 Davis, E. H 274 
 
 Davis, H. G.,M. D 1192 
 
 Davis, J. S 1178 
 
 Davis, Thaddeus 195 
 
 Day, Judson 616 
 
 Day, Mark 1187 
 
 Day, Oscar 1248 
 
 Dean, Edwin 467 
 
 Decker, T. C 807 
 
 De Munn, H. C 877 
 
 Denton, D. H 1247 
 
 Denton, Homer 710 
 
 Derstine, Samuel 288 
 
 Derwent, T. J 444 
 
 Deuel, Gideon, 1061 
 
 De Wolf, William C, Sr 1063 
 
 Dickerman, P. B 1218 
 
 Dickinson, Albert 482 
 
 Dickinson, William 540 
 
 Dodd, Jacob S 233 
 
 Doolittle, Harry 331 
 
 Doolittle, P. S 879 
 
 Dow, Daniel 487 
 
 Drake, Oliver N 711 
 
 Duncan, Joseph 131 
 
 Dunkley, Thomas 488 
 
 Dunn.E. C, M. D 649 
 
 Dutcher, E. A 551 
 
 E 
 
 Ebbesen, C. L. C 1093 
 
 Eddy, Otis 709 
 
 Edwards, Ninian 119 
 
 Einor, J. G 283 
 
 Ekback, 6. Alfred 230 
 
 Eksell, Levin 432 
 
 Elliott, Giles 429 
 
 Ellis, George S 864 
 
 Ellsworth, J. B 693 
 
 Elmore, D. A 671 
 
 Emerson, C. 323 
 
 Emerson, Q. E 328 
 
 Engstrom, A. F 1208 
 
 Engstrom, T. V 1243 
 
 Eriander, John 774 
 
 Evans, D. W 719 
 
 Evans,T. W i]20 
 
 Ewing, William L. D 127 
 
 Fairfield, W. W 1006 
 
 Fake,J.H 353 
 
 Falconer, Alexander 693 
 
 Farley, Thomas 934 
 
 Farrant, R. H 1292 
 
 Fassett, L. H 45s 
 
 Faulkner, J. W 028 
 
 Favor, Oscar 337 
 
 Ferguson, Alexander 560 
 
 Fickes, Sebastian 275 
 
 Fifer, Joseph W 183 
 
 Fillmore, Millard 67 
 
 Fischer, Bernhard 988 
 
 Fischer, F. A 1213 
 
 Fish, Henry 224 
 
 Fish , Wells glO 
 
 Fisher, Henry 629 
 
 Fitch, W. H., M. D 426 
 
 Flagg, George W 1235 
 
 Fleming, Peter 106I 
 
 Fleming, John 1180 
 
 Fletcher, Charles 734 
 
 Floberg, A. P 994 
 
 Flodell, Gust 1274 
 
 Foote, Daniel E., M. D 281 
 
 Foote, Horace 209 
 
 Foote, Hon. John J 493 
 
 Forbes, William IKiO 
 
 Ford, Thomas . 139 
 
 Forsberg, Charles A 818 
 
 Fox, CD 317 
 
 Fredrlksen, O. L 394 
 
 French, Augustus C 143 
 
 Frohning, William ,378 
 
 Fuller, Hon. A. C 516 
 
 Fuller, Hon. Charles E 12(>4 
 
 Fuller, L. B 615 
 
 Fuller, Lemuel 766 
 
 Fuller, Seymour 840 
 
 Fyler, Lorenzo S 956 
 
 Fyler, W. E 276 
 
 G 
 
 Gable, Henry 89^ 
 
 Gage, Sylvester 386 
 
 Gallup, L. N 498 
 
 Gardner, .Joseph 1315 
 
 Gardner, Richard 543 
 
 Garfleld, James A 95 
 
 Garrett, Benjamin F 874 
 
 Garrett, Robert 125.1 
 
 Garver, J. C 1.317 
 
 Gates, B. B 1165 
 
 Gent, William 9S0 
 
 Gieldseth, H. S 706 
 
 Gill, Frank C 1201 
 
 Gill.H.C 1201 
 
 Oilman, W. H 1278 
 
 Gilmore, Frank 344 
 
 Gleasman, George 365 
 
 Gleason, A. C 413 
 
 Godfrey, S. R 473 
 
 Goldman, Louis 369 
 
 Goodhue, Sarah E 693 
 
 Goodwin, A. E., M. D 1265 
 
 Gordon, William C 919 
 
 Gorham, O. R 392 
 
 Goss, Giles R , 951 
 
 Gould, J. B 461 
 
 Graham, Hon. Freeman 1071 
 
 Graham, Henry 941 
 
 Grant, Ulysses S 87 
 
 Graves. George H 545 
 
 Graves, R. W 878 
 
 Graves, W. H 1168 
 
 Green, James M 89'8 
 
 Greenlee, George 495 
 
 Greenlee, John 1062 
 
 Greenlee, Mrs. Marion .364 
 
 Gregory, J. 1108 
 
 Gregory, L. B 327 
 
 Gregory, S. D 325 
 
 Qrenlund, Robert 1176 
 
 Qretton, Sampson 778 
 
 Qrippen.D, W ,,,,.,.,,.,262 
 
 Groneman, W. L 892 
 
 Grummon, George H 652 
 
 H 
 
 Haegg, August 226 
 
 Haegg, O. W II35 
 
 Haegg, Carl F 414 
 
 Haight , W. S 299 
 
 Haines, Anthony 435 
 
 Haines, George M.,M. D .596 
 
 Hakanson, Jonas 1185 
 
 Hale, A. D 837 
 
 Han,L.C 1256 
 
 Hall, J.H 441 
 
 Hall, Oscar 1270 
 
 Hall, Riley 1096 
 
 Hall, Thomas 824 
 
 Halley, William 315 
 
 Halley, William 1137 
 
 Hallock, C. E 1210 
 
 Halsey,0. F 626 
 
 Halsted, J. H 568 
 
 Hamilton, J. M 520 
 
 Hamilton, John M 179 
 
 Hance, Eugene C 677 
 
 Hance, Ogden 1225 
 
 Hance, Royal 700 
 
 Hankinson, Reuben 465 
 
 Hanson, N. J 639 
 
 Harbison, W. L 1297 
 
 Harding, O. B 677 
 
 Hardy, Mrs. Augusta 921 
 
 Harris, A. C 383 
 
 Harris, H. E 662 
 
 Harrison, Benjamin 107 
 
 Harrison, William Henry 51 
 
 Hart, J. D 920 
 
 Haskell, George S 408 
 
 Haskin, Charles 1119 
 
 Haskins, Alonzo 194 
 
 Hayes, Rutherford B 91 
 
 Hayward, L. G 1104 
 
 Hayward, M. W 1219 
 
 Hazlett, Jacob 532 
 
 Hedlund,C. J I304 
 
 Helm, Clinton, M. D 277 
 
 Henderson, Robert 686 
 
 Henry, C. F 952 
 
 Hested, James 1190 
 
 Highbarger, Isaiah 1046 
 
 Hilliard, Martin 809 
 
 Hilton, H. 892 
 
 Hinkley , James 1175 
 
 Hitchcock, William S. P. . . . 1321 
 
 Hizer, C. W 1212 
 
 Hodgson, J. W 612 
 
 Hogland, F. G 326 
 
 Hoisington, H. E 303 
 
 Hoisington.S. E 299 
 
 Hollem, Albert 789 
 
 Hollem, Gideon 787 
 
 Holm, Gust 419 
 
 Holmes, E. M 978 
 
 Holmes, Frank E TJt