USA > Illinois > LaSalle County > Biographical and genealogical record of La Salle County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 1
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LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
977.327 B52
v.2
Ill. Hist. Survey
NOTICE
AT LEAST ONE OF THE EDGES OF THIS MAGAZINE HAS BEEN LEFT UNTRIMMED, BECAUSE OF AN EXTREMELY NARROW MARGIN.
1
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL
RECORD
OF
LA SALLE COUNTY
ILLINOIS
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II.
CHICAGO THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1900
HETEN - FI
Theron & Baustein
977.327
BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
THERON D. BREWSTER.
THE visitor in Peru, Illinois, always has pointed out to him one of the time-honored old landmarks, a substantial and imposing brick resi- dence, two stories in height, and surrounded by well kept grounds. This is the old Brewster home, which has stood here for almost three-score years, having been erected in 1841 by the gentleman whose name heads this article, one of the honored early settlers of this place.
Coming from stanch Puritan stock, Mr. Brewster was born in Salis- bury, Litchfield county, Connecticut, February 29, 1812, being the eldest son of Daniel and Asenath (Canfield) Brewster, who were likewise natives of the same state. When he was sixteen years of age the mother of Theron D. Brewster died, and in December, 1835, the father also passed to his reward.
In his youth our subject received thorough training as a farmer, his father being a successful agriculturist. His tastes did not lie in that direc- tion, however, and when he had completed his education in the academy at Westfield, Connecticut, he concluded to try his fortune in the west, sooner or later. In 1835 he came to Peru, where he accepted a clerical position, but at the end of six months he was summoned home to his father's deathbed and remained at the old homestead until the fall of 1836, adjusting the estate. The following year he laid out Ninawa addition to Peru, and commenced dealing in real estate, and in 1843 he embarked in the mercantile business here in partnership with Herman Baldwin, with whom he was associated three years. He then began dealing in grain, and, building a large ware- house on the bank of the Illinois river, carried on an extensive and remuner- ative business as a member of the firm of Brewster & Beebe. At the end of five years he retired, and for several years thereafter was in the dry-goods business, in company with E. Higgins.
Many other local industries and enterprises received the support of Mr. Brewster. In 1856 he was the president of the stock company which owned and sank the Peru coal shaft, which was worked with good results for about seventeen years. In 1852 the firm of T. D. Brewster & Company
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
was formed, and, buying out Messrs. Tuller, Pitts & Dodge, who had been manufacturing plows on a limited scale, and had conducted a small machine shop, the Peru City Plow Factory was established. He became the manager of the concern and remained at its helm until 1882, when, on account of his advanced age, he withdrew from its management. At that time (1882) the concern was reorganized into a stock company and is now known as the Peru Plow & Wheel Company. His last years were especially devoted to the real-estate business, in which he had been interested throughout his career. He managed with great ability the sale of property which he bought of the heirs of his uncle, Lyman Brewster, a pioneer of this county, who owned much of the land upon which Peru now stands.
Remarkably successful in all of his undertakings, no man was more inti- mately associated with the development and upbuilding of Peru. He was the first mayor of the city, elected in 1851. and re-elected in 1852 and again in 1854. As early as 1838 he held the office of town trustee and for several years served as a member of the board of education. He was a prime mover in securing to Peru the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and served as one of its first directors. He was an organizer of the First National Bank of Peru and served as its president during its existence of some twenty years. Beginning the battle of life empty-handed, he amassed a fortune by his excellent business methods, pluck and enterprise. Politically he was a strong Republican after the organization of that party. Though not a member of any religious body, he was most in sympathy with the Congregational de- nomination, and was liberal in its support.
Mr. Brewster was twice married, the wife of his youth being Miss Phoebe Mann, a native of Pennsylvania. Their union was solemnized in 1844, and five years later she died, leaving a son and a daughter. For his second wife Mr. Brewster chose Miss Margaret Jones, of Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania, and four of their children-two sons and two daughters-survive. Mourned by the friends and associates of a life-time, Mr. Brewster passed away at his home in Peru, March 2, 1897.
Benjamin D. Brewster, son of Theron D. Brewster, who was so influen- tial in the founding of Peru, was born in this place November 24, 1864. a son by his father's second marriage. He was reared and educated here and later attended Bryant & Stratton's Business College, in Chicago, Illinois. After having mastered the course of commercial training afforded him in that institution he accepted a position as a traveling salesman for the Western Clock Manufacturing Company, of LaSalle, remaining with that firm for three years. Then, going to New York city, he spent two years there with the Time Stamp Company, and in 1893 returned to Peru. For the past five years he has conducted the real-estate and loan business formerly man-
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
aged by his father, and besides is interested in the Peru Plow & Wheel Company, being a director in the same. Since this concern became a stock company it has enjoyed remarkable prosperity and growth in the volume of business transacted, and long since was found to be entitled to rank among the leading industrial enterprises in this section of the country. A branch house was established some time ago in Council Bluffs, Iowa, it being known as the Peru Plow & Implement Company, and of this Mr. Brewster holds the place of secretary. He lias inherited much of his father's business talent, and is a young man of sterling integrity of character, respected by all who know him.
BENJAMIN M. HETHERINGTON.
The only representative of his family in America, this respected citizen of LaSalle was born in Ireland fifty-eight years ago. His parents, John and Ellen (Moynahan) Hetherington, passed their entire lives in the Emerald Isle, dying when our subject was young.
Being an ambitious youth, Benjamin M. Hetherington decided to come to America, where he was confident that he would find better advantages, and in 1854 landed in Savannah, Georgia. He then spent about four years in visiting different parts of this country, and thus is a competent judge of the merits of the various localities. In 1858 he was married, in Jackson county, Wisconsin, to Mary, daughter of Michael and Kate (McDonald) Lawlor. They were natives of Ireland, who first settled in New Jersey upon their arrival in the. United States, and subsequently removed to Galena, Illinois, where Mrs. Hetherington was born.
The year after his marriage Mr. Hetherington and wife became resi- dents of LaSalle, and thus for two-score years they have been identified with the welfare of this place. During this long period our subject has been connected with the coal-mining industry, and for many years has held the responsible position of mine manager of the Union coal shaft in LaSalle. To his ingenuity and constructive ability may be ascribed the two bridges built across the Illinois river at LaSalle and Utica. Recognized as a hard worker and a thoroughly competent man in his line, he commands the respect of all who are associated with him in any manner.
For eighteen years Mr. Hetherington has been a member of the LaSalle board of aldermen, and in this office has done much effectual work toward the upbuilding and improvement of the place. In his early manhood he cast in his lot with the Democratic party, but, being one who reads, studies and thinks for himself and has the courage of his convictions, he took issue with his late political comrades in the last presidential campaign, fearlessly
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
declaring himself for sound money. He went to the state convention in Chicago as a delegate to the Democratic convention that nominated the Hon. John M. Palmer for the office of chief executive. Mr. Hetherington acted in the capacity of township supervisor for five years, and in other local offices has proved his genuine regard for the public advancement.
The marriage of our subject and wife was blessed with twelve children, eight of whom are living. In the order of their birth they are named as follows: Margaret, John. Thomas, Mary, Kittie, Nora, Benjamin W. and Lawlor. The family belong to the Catholic church, and are actively con- nected with its work and benevolences.
FREDERICK G. COOPER.
Frederick G. Cooper, engineer of the city water-works at LaSalle, 1 Illinois, was born at Lockport, this state. July 12, 1862, a son of Thomas and Christine (Bloom) Cooper and a grandson of Thomas Benton Cooper, who sprung from Quaker stock and whose place of nativity was in Penn- sylvania, about twenty miles from Philadelphia. His occupation was that of husbandry, and although a Quaker and a believer in peace yet he took up arms and fought in the war of 1812. After his marriage he moved to the state of New York, where he died in early manhood, leaving a widow, who lived to be a very old lady, dying in the summer of 1892, and an only SO11.
This son was Thomas Cooper, who was born in New York, and moved to the state of Illinois some forty years ago, settling at LaSalle and making that his headquarters while he plied his vocation of boating on the Illinois river and the canal. He was united in marriage to Miss Christine Bloom, with whom he has lived in conjugal happiness many years and who is still the presiding genius of his home in Newton, Illinois. They have three children awaiting them in the better land and three who are spared to them here, viz .: Martha, wife of Charles Heagy, of LaSalle; Frederick G. and Lydia. Mrs. Cooper was a daughter of Peter Bloom, a shoemaker in Sweden, who was a soldier in the wars that were waged in that country and finally left there for America with his family. On the voyage over they suffered shipwreck and one of his daughters was lost. With the remaining children, two sons and one daughter (now Mrs. Cooper), he made his way to the inland country and settled in Henry county, Illinois, where he lived to be more than eighty-three years of age.
Frederick G. Cooper received a public-school education, but early in life developed a fondness for machinery which culminated in a mastery of the trade to which he is devoted. When seventeen or eighteen years of age,
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
he began his apprenticeship as an engineer, and it was not long before he could take charge of an engine. For nine or more years he has been em- ployed in the water-works and electric-light plants of the city and takes a pardonable pride in his work. He was married August 23, 1888, to Miss Nellie Williams, a daughter of Captain E. L. and Lydia A. (Hyers) Williams. Three children, Thomas, Edwin and Lydia, have blessed their home. Mr. Cooper is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he does not incline to either party, being entirely independent of party influence and in all local elections voting for the candidate whom he thinks will best serve the interests of the people.
Captain Edwin Lewis Williams, the father of Mrs. F. G. Cooper, was born in Darien, Connecticut, at which place his parents died after attaining an advanced age. The father, William Williams, was a native of Limerick, Ireland, while the mother, Phoebe, came from Holland. When a lad of about sixteen years, Edwin L. Williams came west and learned the trade of painter, at Toulon, Stark county, Illinois. He enlisted in Company F, Eighth Illinois Volunteers, at Pekin, and served four years, doing duty at Fort Donelson, Fort Henry and the siege of Vicksburg, and taking part in many skirmishes. He returned to his home in Pekin, on account of poor health, but his patriotic ardor was in no way dampened, and as soon as he recovered somewhat he raised another company, Company K, One Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois, of which he was chosen captain. They were sent to Springfield, Illinois, where they did state service, and he was one of the body guards of the body of our martyr president, Lincoln, as it lay in state. After receiving his discharge he went to Iowa, having previ- ously served as postmaster of Pekin, Illinois, and located at Mt. Ayr, where he filled the offices of deputy sheriff and city marshal from the year 1872 to 1883. He was united in wedlock to Miss Lydia Hyers, a native of West Point, Lee county, Iowa, and a daughter of William B. and Eleanor (Waggoner) Hyers, a carpenter and cabinet-maker of that place. She was of Scotch descent, and one of seven children. After leaving Mt. Ayr, Mr. Williams took his family to Tazewell county, Illinois, locating in Spring Lake township, where he was scale master and assessor for several years, and where he died, in his fifty-ninth year, in 1893, loved and respected by all.
JOSEPH ERTEL.
Joseph Ertel, proprietor of the Eagle Mills and dealer in flour and all kinds of feed, Mendota, Illinois, is a young man who has worked his way to the front and who occupies a representative position among the business
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
men of his town. Mr. Ertel was born in Austria, March 5, 1865, and was reared in his native land, learning there the miller's trade. In 1891 he took to himself a wife and on the same day of his marriage bade good-by to home and friends and native land and with his bride started for America. Upon his arrival in this country he came directly west to Iowa. After four weeks spent in Iowa City he located in Tomberg, Keokuk county, Iowa, and was there for two years engaged in railroading, as a section hand. In 1893 he came to Mendota and secured employment in the Eagle Mills, then operated by Mr. Meisenbach, and remained with him one year. The next two years he was engaged in farming in Minnesota. Returning at the end of that time to Mendota, he took charge of the mills in which he had formerly been employed, and has since run them successfully.
Mr. Ertel was married in the old country, as already stated, in 1891, the lady of his choice being Mary Pesibel, and they are the parents of four children. Fraternally Mr. Ertel is identified with the A. O. U. W.
CLYDE M. SNOW.
Clyde M. Snow, one of the younger business men of Earlville, Illinois, is a son of Simeon Edward Snow, who was born in Shaftsbury, Vermont, October 15, 1849. Mr. Snow's paternal grandparents were Reuben Russell Snow and Sarah (Mason) Snow. In tracing the genealogy of the family, we observe that Reuben R. Snow was a son of Simeon Snow, son of Reuben Snow, son of Eleazar Snow, son of William Snow, son of William Snow, Sr., who was the parent tree of the family in America, coming from Lon- don, England, his native city, to New England, in 1635. He was then in his youth and was brought to this country as an apprentice. Reaching his majority, he married and settled in Massachusetts. Many have been his descendants, and they have been scattered to many of the states of the Union. Among them have numbered prominent professional and business men. Longevity is remarkable in the Snow family. Not a male descendant in direct line, reaching maturity, save one, has died under the age of eighty years. One died at the age of seventy-seven years. The paternal grand- father of our subject came from Vermont to Illinois in 1857 and located in Earlville, and here died in 1898, aged eighty-seven years. His occupa- tion was not confined to one vocation of life. Various pursuits he followed. In early life he was a tanner and in later life a druggist, and to-day is best remembered in Earlville as a druggist. He was a member of the Vermont legislature in 1851. Only three of his children lived to a mature age, they
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL RECORD.
being Emery and Zerina, who are now deceased, and S. E. Snow, the father of the immediate subject of this sketch.
S. E. Snow was about seven years of age when his father came to Earlville, Illinois, in which place he has always made his home. For more than thirty years he has been continuously engaged in the manufacture of carriages, in blacksmithing and dealing in farm implements. His place of business was burned out in 1875, but he rebuilt and to-day has a fine brick structure for a business house, and is a prosperous business man. He com- menced his business career with a limited capital, has worked out his own success, and won his way to a position among the substantial and leading citizens of Earlville. In politics he is a Democrat, and fraternally a Master Mason. In 1867 S. E. Snow married Arabelle Warren, a native of Paw Paw, Illinois, and the subject of this biography, Clyde M. Snow, is their only child.
Clyde M. Snow was born in Earlville, Illinois, March 9, 1868. He attended the public schools of Earlville, spent six months in a military academy at Oxford, Maryland, and took a commercial course in Bryant & Stratton's Business College at Chicago. From boyhood he worked more or less with his father, and was devoting his time to the interest of his father's business when he was commissioned postmaster of Earlville, May 1, 1894. For four years he acted in that capacity, rendering satisfactory service to the public. June 15, 1898, he became a member of the drug firm of Pool & Snow, of Earlville, and at this writing is engaged in the drug business. In politics Mr. Snow has been active as a Democrat. He is a Master Mason and also belongs to the Knights of the Globe.
HARRY W. TODD. 1
Harry W. Todd, the prosperous and well known grocer of LaSalle, was born on the Vermilion river, at Todd's Mills, near Vermilion, July 9, 1856. He is a son of Ira and Mary W. (Cushman) Todd. The family are of Scotch extraction, and the great-grandfather fought in the war of the Revolution. The grandfather, also named Ira Todd, came west in 1832 and bought the mill at Todd's Mills. Previous to this he conducted mills at Jersey City, New Jersey; Cooperstown, New York; Northampton, Massa- chusetts; and Hartford, Connecticut. He was at the head of the milling company in St. Louis, a company which he helped to organize and which had formerly had its headquarters at Jersey City and Detroit. He died at Winona in his eighty-sixth year.
Ira Todd, the father, was one of ten children, eight sons and two
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daughters, of whom but one is now living. That one is George Todd, of St. Louis, who is now in his eighty-fourth year and has resided in that city since 1835. He was an extensive manufacturer of mill machinery. Ira Todd remained at Todd's Mills until 1857, when he came to LaSalle and conducted a wholesale grocery house, at the same time operating a mill in Peru which was known as that of W. & I. Todd & Company. He was the victim of the "wildcat" currency and failed in business during the war as a result of that policy. He then opened a retail grocery in this city in company with J. S. Roberts, Calvin Wilson and Dr. J. C. Brown. Later he had charge of the books in the glass factory and the Oglesby Coal Com- pany's offices. After his son Harry opened his grocery store he assisted in that, retiring from active life a few years prior to his death. He was a man of robust constitution and great endurance. He was a great reader in all lines of importance to the public and a close Bible student. A man of decided views, he formed his opinions after mature deliberation, and was not easily moved to change them. He was a Republican in former times and a great friend of Alexander Campbell, of LaSalle. He was also a friend and admirer of Abraham Lincoln. He later became a strong Pro- hibitionist. The mill first operated by him was the one his father purchased in 1832. Farmers used to bring their grist a distance of fifty miles and wait until it had been converted into flour or meal.
He was married to Mary W. Cushman, a sister of the late Colonel Cushman, of Ottawa, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Todd were honored members of the Congregational church, in which he held the office of deacon for about twenty-five years. He was a native of Hartford, Connecticut, while his wife was from the state of Massachusetts. Three children were born to them, of whom two are living: George I. and Harry W., both of LaSalle. The father died January 25, 1899, after passing his seventy-sixth year. His wife died November 7, 1894, when in her seventieth year. The father of Mrs. Todd was Hercules Cushman, a native of the state of Massachusetts and of English descent. His grandfather came to America about the time the Mayflower brought the early Pilgrims. Hercules was a lawyer in his native state, where he died in middle life. He was twice married. the ladies being sisters named Washburn. He had three children, two daughters and one son.
Harry W. Todd has made his home in LaSalle from the time he was brought here by his parents in 1857. Here he received his education. He was with E. B. Treat seven years, quitting his employment once to open a hardware store of his own. This was conducted but a short time when he returned to his former employer. He also engaged for a time in the wholesale and retail butter and egg business. In 1883 he opened his
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL RECORD. 409
grocery store at 545 Marquette street, where he has since conducted it. He has a growing and prosperous business and endeavors to satisfy the wants of his many patrons. He is a Republican in politics and is a member of the Congregational church society. He is also a member of the Knights and Ladies' Security. He has traveled extensively in the states and is a man of pleasing address and an intelligent converser. It has been forty-three years since he first made his home in LaSalle, and thirty-five years of the time have been spent in the old home at No. 1007 Marquette street. In November, 1899, Mr. Todd married Miss Neva L. Dimmitt, of Kansas City, Kansas.
WILLIAM HARTH.
The German-American citizens of the United States have always been numbered among her most loyal sons, and to their industry and energy and sound business enterprise much of the prosperity which this great nation enjoys may be justly attributed. One of the old and honored resi- dents of LaSalle county was William Harth, who lived his last years in retirement from active labors and cares, and for the last eleven years of his life made his home in Peru. He enjoyed the respect of the friends and neighbors who knew him for years, some for almost half a century.
The parents of the above named gentleman were Theodore and Ger- trude (Pfeld) Harth, both natives of Germany, their occupation being that of tillers of the soil. The father died when about sixty-three years of age, in 1831, and the mother, whose death took place in 1844, was then in her sixty- fourth year. They were both identified with the Catholic church. Both of the grandfathers of our subject were agriculturists and passed their whole lives in Germany. Grandfather Pfeld died suddenly, when in the full vigor of life, while engaged in plowing a field. His children were three in number. Christian Harth, a brother of our subject, is the only survivor of the parental family, as one by one their six sons and four daughters passed into the silent land.
William Harth was born in the town of Kull, on the banks of the river Rhine, in Germany, March 12, 1821. His boyhood was quietly spent in the usual vocations of a farm and in attendance at the common schools. He continued to live at home until he reached man's estate, and in 1846 he decided to try his fortune in the United States. Almost immediately after his arrival in this country he settled in LaSalle county, Illinois, and, having purchased a quarter section of land in Eagle township, he proceeded to cultivate and improve his property. As the years rolled by he prospered and from time to time he added more land to his possessions until he owned five
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hundred and forty acres. In 1888 he left the homestead, and thereafter resided in Peru. As good opportunities presented themselves he disposed of his farms, and with abundant means for old age spent his days in well deserved rest and retirement. Thrift and industry were the secrets of his success, for he early learned the lesson that honest toil is the only safe and sure method of earning a livelihood and competence. In political affairs he was always an ally of the Democratic party.
The marriage of William Harth and Katherine Henn, a daughter of Philip and Helena (June) Henn, was solemnized October 17, 1847. They have had four sons and six daughters, namely: John, Joseph, Elizabeth, Henry, Mary, Christina, Anna, Peter. Minnie and Sibella. John and Joseph live in Kansas. The latter chose for his wife Mary Shetzer and the former is also married. Elizabeth became the wife of William Laufenberg and they live in Little Rock, Arkansas. Henry married Louisa Genter and is a resident of Nebraska. Mary, who wedded John Smith, also lives in Nebraska, her home being in Hartwell. Anna, Mrs. Frank Schinzel, is living in Leonora, Illinois. Peter married Ella Clampler and makes his home in Spring Valley, Illinois. Minnie is the wife of Peter Meisen, of Leonore, this state. Miss Sibella, unmarried. took care of her parents during their last days. William Harth and wife were devout members of the Catholic church, as were their ancestors before them for many gener- ations.
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