USA > Illinois > Cook County > Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 2nd ed. > Part 40
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The Doctor was born in Centreville, Allegany County, N. Y., March 29, 1824, and is one of seven children, four sons and three daughters, who were born unto Joseph and Amelia (Ward) Maxson. Only two of the family are now living, the Doctor, and Caroline, who is the widow of Dr. J. W. Beardsley, of Minneapolis, Minn. The parents were both natives of Rhode Island. The father was a trader, farmer and merchant. In 1846, he removed to Bradford, Wis., where he lived for twenty-four years, his death occurring in 1864, at the age of eighty-two. His wife passed away in 1846, at the age of forty-six years. Both were members of the Universalist Church. They built the house of worship in Centreville, N. Y., and for two years paid the salary of the minister. The paternal grandfather, Joseph Max- son, was a very wealthy man. His father also bore the name of Joseph. The grandfather Ward was a farmer and had a family of fifteen
children, all of whom lived to be married, and nine of whom died in 1846.
Orrin T. Maxson was reared in Centreville, N. Y., and there acquired his early education. He afterwards attended Rush Medical College, in Chicago, for he had determined to make the prac- tice of medicine his life work, and was graduated from that institution in the Class of '49. He then established a hospital in Nevada, Colo., in connection with Dr. Clark, and was at that place one year, after which he went to the mouth of the St. Croix River, and bought out the old fur company of that place. He there platted what afterwards became the city of Prescott, Wis. He there remained for fifteen years, and during most of the time engaged in the prosecution of his pro- fession.
In 1861, the Doctor entered the service of his country, joining the boys in blue of Company A, Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry. He served until after the siege of Atlanta, when he was honorably discharged, his three-year term having expired. He held the rank of captain, yet most of the time was detailed as a surgeon. After the war he en- gaged in practice in Waukegan and Chicago for a long period, seventeen years of that time being spent in the former city. Leaving Waukegan in 1883, he removed to Evanston, where he has since made his home. He has built up a large practice, and liis success is well merited.
....
JOHN ROBERTSON
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JOHN ROBERTSON.
In December, 1846, Dr. Maxson was united in marriage with Miss Eunice McCray, daughter of William and Candace (Mckinney) McCray, na- tives of Tolland, Conn. Five children have been born unto them, three sons and two daughters, but Herrick, Orrin and Almira are now deceased. Orrin Prescott, who was the third in order of birth, is now a practicing physician of Wauke- gan. He married Miss Kittie Sherman, and they have four children, a son and three daughters: Eunora, Evelyn, Leta and Harold. Amelia, who was the youngest of the Doctor's family, is the widow of L. L. Knox, and now lives with her fa- ther in Evanston. She has two children, Orrin and Helen.
While residing in Wisconsin, Dr. Maxson served as a member of the Legislature for several years, and was chairman of the railroad commit- tee which disposed of the land grant. He was for six years State Regent of the Normal Schools
of Wisconsin, which included all the colleges and schools that had Normal classes in the State. Gov. Randall was a particular friend of the Doctor's, and, unsolicited, appointed him County Judge of Pierce County, Wis. In politics, he was in early life a Democrat, but at the breaking out of the war he joined the ranks of the Republican party and has since been one of its stanch advocates. In his official duties he has ever been found faith- ful and true, endeavoring to serve the best in- terests of the people. Both himself and wife are members of the Congregational Church, their connection covering a period of forty years The Doctor is a Knight Templar Mason and also be- longs to the Odd Fellows' Society. While in Waukegan, he was a member of the Lake Coun- ty Medical Society. The Doctor owns landed in- terests in various parts of this county, and a home property and other real estate in Evanston.
JOHN ROBERTSON.
OHN ROBERTSON, a highly respected citi- zen of Barrington, now practically living retir- ed, is numbered among the native sons of Illi- nois, his birth having occurred in Lake County, December 29, 1844. His father, John Robertson, was born in New Hampshire, October 20, 1810, and in 1837 emigrated westward to this State, settling near Deer Grove, Lake County. He was one of the honored pioneers of that locality. He married Charlotte Sutherland, who was born in Vermont, but in her girlhood came to this State with her father, an honored pioneer of Cook County. Mr. Robertson started out in life for himself with no capital save a young man's bright hope of the future and a determination to suc- ceed, but by industry and good management he worked his way upward and became a sub- stantial citizen. He was recognized as one of the leading men of Lake County. He took an active
part in local politics and held numerous official positions of honor and trust, discharging his duties with credit to himself and satisfaction to his con- stituents. He passed away September 8, 1877, at the age of sixty-seven, and his wife died two years previous, in 1875. They lie buried in Fair- field Cemetery, where a monument has been erected to their memory.
John Robertson is the second in order of birth in their family of four sons and five daughters. Lydia, the eldest, is the wife of William Hicks, of Palatine; Silas is living retired in Barrington; Cordelia is the wife of Edward Clark, of Barring- ton; Persis is the wife of James Diamond, of Nor- mal Park; Joseph died at the age of nineteen years; Mary is the wife of Charles Patten, of Palatine; Elmer resides in Palatine; and Lida died at the age of twenty-one.
In his parents' home, John Robertson spent the
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G. W. WATERMAN.
days of his boyhood and youth, and the schools of Lake County afforded him his educational priv- ileges. After arriving at mature years he turned his attention to farming, which he followed in Lake County for twenty years. He owned and operated four hundred acres of valuable land and was a successful agriculturist. In 1887 he rented his farm, purchased a residence in Barrington, and has since made his home in this place. He owns a large and valuable farm at Lake Zurich, where he has a nice summer residence, and each year he and his family there spend about four months. He is also one of the stockholders and directors in the Barrington Bank, and is President of that institution, which is one of the solid finan- cial concerns of the county. He is a man of good business and executive ability, who by careful at- tention to the details of his business and well-di- rected efforts has won a success which is the just reward of his labors.
On the 3d of October, 1866, in Lake County, Mr. Robertson married Julia E., daughter of
David Parker, who removed from Vermont to Lake County in an early day, and there spent the remainder of his life. His daughter was born in Erie County, N. Y., but was reared in this State. Our subject and his wife have five children: Cora, wife of A. J. Leonard, of Rockefeller, Ill .; Albert L., who is Casliier of the Barrington Bank; Emma, at home; Frank, a successful teacher of Cook County; and Lydia, who is attending school in Mayfair.
Since casting his first Presidential vote for Gen. Grant in 1868, Mr. Robertson has been a stalwart advocate of the Republican party and its princi- ples, and has frequently served as a delegate to its conventions. He is a member of the Barring- ton Lodge of Modern Woodmen, and is a chari- table and benevolent man, who contributes liber- ally to churches and worthy enterprises, and does all in his power to advance the best interests of the community. His sterling worth and many excellencies of character have made him a highly respected citizen.
GEORGE W. WATERMAN.
EORGE W. WATERMAN, a retired farmer residing in Barrington, is one of the worthy cit- izens that Massachusetts hasfurnished toCook County. He was born in the town of North Ad- ams, Berkshire County, on November 17, 1826, and is descended from good old Revolutionary stock, his grandfather, Thomas Waterman, hav- ing been a soldier in the War for Independence. His father, Capt. George T. Waterman, was a native of Berkshire County, and in North Adams married Eunice Hoskins, who was born in the Bay State. He followed farming, and also en- gaged in teaming. He served in the War of 1812, with the rank of Captain, and afterwards received a pension in recognition of his services. He hield a number of local offices of honor and trust, and was ever a valued citizen. In 1842, he emigrated westward, and cast in his lot among the early set-
tlers of Barrington Township, Cook County, where he purchased eighty acres of raw land, but in a short time the unbroken prairie was fenced and transformed into rich and fertile fields. He there carried on agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining days. His death occurred in 1875, and he was laid by the side of his wife in Barring- ton Cemetery, where a substantial monument has been erected to their memory. Mrs. Waterman had passed away a few years previous.
In the family were three sons and four daugh- ters: Waitay, wife of S. W. Kingsley, of Bar- rington; Nancy, deceased; Ann, wife of Charles Hawley, of Barrington; Susan, deceased, wife of Henry Hawley, of Barrington; G. W., of this sketch; J. M., a carpenter of Elgin, Ill .; and Charles H., who resides in Petersburg, Il1.
Mr. Waterman of this sketch acquired a good
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H. B. HURD.
common-school education in his native State, and at the age of seventeen years came to Illinois. He aided in clearing and developing a farm in Bar- rington Township, and afterwards assumed its management. He also bought more land, and thus extended its boundaries. As a companion and helpmate on life's journey, he chose Miss Al- vira, daughter of Gilbert Applebee, who resides in Barrington, at the advanced age of ninety-four years. Their union was celebrated in Barrington June 2, 1853, and six months later they removed to a farm of one hundred and twenty acres ad- joining the old homestead. Subsequently Mr. Waterman made other purchases, until his farm comprised two hundred acres of good land. He built upon it a substantial residence and large barns, together with good outbuildings, and made it one of the model farms of the community. He also owns another good farm of one hundred and twenty acres. He commenced life empty-handed, with no capital, but has steadily worked his way upward, and by his enterprise and industry has become the owner of two valuable farms and a fine residence property in Barrington.
In 1885, Mr. Waterman was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife. They had three chil- dren: Susan, wife of A. D. Church, of Barring-
ton; J. W., a substantial farmer of Barrington Township; and F. L., who resides in the vil- lage. All are married and have families. Mr. Waterman was married in Barrington, in the spring of 1888, to Mrs. Rhoda Ann Richardson, a widow and a sister of his former wife. She had two children by her first husband: Laura, wife of C. P. Hawley, of Barrington; and Dr. H. D. H. Richardson, of this place.
Mr. Waterman has been identified with the Re- publican party since becoming a voter, and is a warm advocate of its principles. His fellow-towns- men, appreciating his worth and ability, have fre- quently called upon him to serve in positions of public trust. He has been Supervisor, and is now President, of the Barrington Mntual Fire and Tornado Insurance Company. He has also been School Trustee for a number of years, and he gives his hearty support and co-operation to all enterprises which he believes calculated to prove of public benefit. He and his wife are faithful members and active workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Waterman is a man of upright character and sterling worth, and his honorable career has won for him a large circle of warm friends.
HARVEY B. HURD.
ARVEY B. HURD has been prominently identified with the advancement of Chicago and its interests for many years. For nearly half a century he has resided in the city, or in its beautiful suburb of Evanston, and during this long period he has been a powerful factor in molding not only the destiny of this metropolis, but of the entire West as well. He was born in Hunting- ton, Fairfield County, Conn., February 14, 1828, and is a son of Alanson Hurd, who was of Eng- lish descent. His mother was of both Dutch and Irish lineage. If ever it could be said of any one
that he made his own way in life from poverty to a high and honorable station, it is true of Harvey B. Hurd. It is said that when he left home to seek a fortune for himself, he carried all his possessions in a handkerchief, and when he arrived in Chi- cago, some years later, his capital was only half a dollar; yet this poor youth was in subsequent years to play a part which has influenced the ca- reer of the State, and aided in molding the pre- liminary studies of a generation of young Ameri- can lawyers. Until he was fifteen years of age he spent the summer months in work upon his
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H. B. HURD.
father's farmi, while in the winter season he at- tended school.
On the Ist of May, 1842, Mr. Hurd bade adieu to his parents and journeyed on foot to Bridge- port, where he became an apprentice in the office of the Bridgeport Standard, a Whig newspaper. With a company of ten young men, in the autumn of 1844, he emigrated to Illinois, and became a student in Jubilee College, of Peoria County, then presided over by Rev. Samuel Chase. A dis- agreement arose between him and the Principal after he had been in college for about a year, and Mr. Hurd then went to Peoria, where he sought employment, but unsuccessfully. He therefore took passage on a baggage stage for Chicago, where, in the office of the Evening Journal, he soon secured work. This paper was then pub- lished by Wilson & Geer. He afterwards worked on the Prairie Farmer, and in the fall of 1847 began studying law in the office of Calvin De- Wolf. In 1848 he was admitted to the Bar, and formed a partnership with Carlos Haven, who was afterwards State's Attorney. His next part- ner was Henry Snapp, who later represented the Joliet District in Congress, and from r850 until 1854 he was a partner of Andrew J. Brown. This latter firm had large transactions in real estate, and owned two hundred and forty acres of land, which was platted as a part of the village of Evanston. Mr. Hurd was one of the first to build in this place. He began the erection of the home which is still his place of residence in the summer of 1854, and moved into it in the following summer. It is one of the finest homes in this beautiful sub- urb, and at the time of its erection it stood alone on a block of ground. Its owner enjoys the dis- tinction of having been the first President of the Village Board.
In May, 1853, Mr. Hurd married Miss Cor- nelia A., daughter of the late Capt. James Hilli- ard, of Middletown, Conn. Three daughters were born unto them: Eda, wife of George S. Lord; Hettie, who died in 1884; and Nellie, wife of John A. Comstock. On the Ist of November, 1860, Mr. Hurd wedded Mrs. Sarah Collins, widow of the late George Collins. She died in 1890, and in July, 1892, he married Miss Susanna
Van Wyck, a lady highly esteemed in social circles in Chicago and Evanston.
Mr. Hurd was an ardent Abolitionist, and took an active part in the stirring events which occur- red in Chicago before and after the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. The result of this meas- ure of Congress was to make Kansas a prize for which both the free and slave States contended. The slave-holders of western Missouri crossed the border, driving out many of the free State set- tlers and killing others, pre-empted lands, and opposed the passage of emigrants from the North- ern States through Missouri, compelling the latter to take a more circuitous route through Iowa and Nebraska. Kansas was the scene of continued conflict between these parties during the spring and summer of 1855, the border ruffians of Mis- souri seeking to drive out the free State settlers by murder and arson, and the free State settlers retaliating. The cry of "bleeding Kansas" echoed through the North, and emigration societies were formed in the free States to aid, arm and protect the Northern settlers in Kansas. A convention was held in Buffalo, N. Y., at which a national Kansas committee was formed and Mr. Hurd, who was a member of the convention, became secretary of its executive committee, with head- quarters in Chicago. His assistant secretary was Horace White, afterwards editor of the Chicago Tribune, and now of New York City. In 1856, Kansas crops proved a failure, owing to the dep- redations of the contending factions. In antici- pation of a lack of seeds for the planting in the coming spring, the committee in New York in February, 1857, passed a resolution instructing the executive committee in Chicago to purchase and forward the necessary seeds, and at the same time appropriated $5,000 to aid John Brown in the organization and equipment of the free-soil settlers into companies for self-protection. Mr. Hurd found, on returning to Chicago, that the funds in the hands of the treasurer were not suffi- cient to meet both requirements. He therefore decided to buy and send on the seeds. One hun- dred tons, including spring wheat, barley, corn, potatoes and other seeds, were purchased and for- warded. When Brown applied for the money
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H. B. HURD.
appropriated to him, he found the treasury of the committee empty. At first Gerritt Smith and other friends of Brown were inclined to find fault with the action of Mr. Hurd, but in the mean time the free settlers had been waiting anxiously at Lawrence, Kan., for the seeds. They had been forwarded by a small steamer, which was to ascend the Kansas River to Lawrence, where the settlers assembled to receive them. The steamer was delayed two weeks by low water, and when at last it did arrive, the settlers were overjoyed, and the wisdom of Mr. Hurd's course was amply vindicated. The settlers would have been obliged to leave Kansas had not this timely provision for a crop been made. As it was, the tide of emigra- tion from the free States kept on increasing, and the pro-slavery men, finding that they could not win in the contest, soon abandoned it.
In 1862, Mr. Hurd formed a partnership with Hon. Henry Booth, and at the same time accepted the position of lecturer in the law department of the University of Chicago, which Mr. Booth had aided in organizing three years previous, and of which he was Principal. In 1868 the partner- ship was dissolved, Mr. Hurd retiring from active practice. In April, 1869, he was appointed by Gov. Palmer one of three commissioners to re- vise and re-write the General Statutes of the State of Illinois. His colleagues were William E. Nelson, of Decatur, and Michael Shaeffer, of Salem, both of whom withdrew in a short time, leaving the burden of the work upon Mr. Hurd. He completed his task with the adjournment of the Twenty-eighth General Assembly in April, 1874, and was appointed by that body to edit and supervise the publication, which he accomplished to the entire satisfaction of the general public. The labor which he performed in this revision is such as only lawyers can fully appreciate. He had not only to compile into one homogeneous whole the various laws which from time to time had been enacted at the biennial meetings of the Legislature, but to adapt them to the new State Constitution of 1870, discarding old provisions which were in conflict with it, and constructing new ones in conformity with it. The success of his work was immediate, and " Hurd's Revised Stat-
utes" is an indispensable work in every law office throughout the State, and in many public offices. The State edition of 1874 of fifteen thousand copies was soon exhausted, and Mr. Hurd has been called upon to edit eight editions since, all of which have received the unqualified commen- dation of the Bar.
In the summer of 1876, Mr. Hurd was again elected to a chair in the law school, which had become the Union College of Law of the Univer- sity of Chicago and the Northwestern University, and he is now Professor of Pleading, Practice and Statutory Law in that institution, it now being the law department of the Northwestern Univer- sity. He has here an occupation which is thor- oughly congenial to him. He has always been a careful student, and his arguments of cases before the higher courts were always models of clear and accurate statement of legal propositions and logi- cal reasoning. In his academic work he displays the same invaluable qualities, imparting to his class a thorough understanding of principles, and training them to systematic and methodical hab- its. At the special election for a Judge of the Su- preme Court of Illinois, December 11, 1875, Mr. Hurd was nominated by the Republicans, but was opposed by T. L. Dickey, who was then Cor- poration Counsel of the city of Chicago. Mr. Dickey was a Democrat, and had the entire sup- port of that party; he had, moreover, the whole influence of the city administration, and, to crown all, he had the backing of the railroad cor- porations, who were disposed to revenge them- selves upon him for the stringent measures of railroad legislation which the General Assembly had enacted, which were contained in "Hurd's Revised Statutes," and with the framing of which he had much to do. By the aid of this powerful combination he was defeated. Just before the election a defamatory pamphlet was published against him by a member of the same church to which he belongs, and, though it was of too slight importance to influence the result, it was not a matter to be overlooked by Mr. Hurd, who had always borne an irreproachable character. The author was tried and convicted of slander and unchristian conduct by a church court, and
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H. B. HURD.
received its formal censure, while Mr. Hurd made many friends by his forbearing and Christian conduct toward his defamer. Since that time he has not appeared before the public as a candidate for any office, but seems to prefer tlie honorable retirement which he has so well earned, finding sufficient occupation in his academic duties, and employing his leisure in the pursuits of a scliolar.
Mr. Hurd was one of six gentlemen selected to fill the vacancy on the Board of County Commis- sioners of Cook County created by the conviction of members of that board for defrauding the county. He has the credit of being the father of the new drainage system of Chicago, by which the sewerage of the city, instead of being, as 110w, discharged into Lake Michigan, the source of the water supply, is to be carried into the Illinois River, by means of a channel across what is known as the Chicago Divide. While he does 11ot claim the credit of having first suggested such a channel (indeed it has been long talked of ), he is, without doubt, the author of the plan of creating a municipal district of the city of Chicago -the Chicago Sanitary District-and getting it adopted. Until he suggested this plan it was generally conceded that there was no way of raising the necessary money to construct the channel without an amendment to the constitu- tion, the city of Chicago having reached the limit of its borrowing and taxing power. It was through Mr. Hurd's suggesting of this plan to Mayor Harrison that the drainage and water supply commission known as the Herring Com- mission was raised. He was the friend and ad- viser of that commission, and was the author of the first bill on the subject introduced into the Legislature in 1886, known as the Hurd Bill, which resulted in a legislative commission to fur- ther investigate the subject and present a bill. The bill reported by that commission, passed in 1887, although it differed in some respects from the original Hurd Bill, was in the main the same, and was supported before the Legislature by him and his friends. He conducted the pro- ceedings for its adoption by the people of the dis- trict, and it was adopted at the November election in 1887 by an almost unanimous vote. His resi-
dence outside of the district, in Evanston, although not a legal disqualification, has in the minds of politicians ruled him out as a candidate for Trustee; still he has not ceased to devote his energies to its success. The plan as outlined is now in a fair way of being accomplished, as the channel is ac- tually being constructed upon that plan, and when it is done it will no doubt be regarded as one of the grandest accomplishments of the age. It will at once give to Chicago an excellent system of drainage, pure water and a magnificent water- way, connecting the Great Lakes with the Mis- sissippi and tributaries and the Gulf of Mexico.
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