USA > Illinois > Cook County > Album of genealogy and biography, Cook County, Illinois, 8th ed. > Part 28
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the town of Winnetka now stands. The land in the reservation had not then been surveyed. Mr. McDaniel deposited the price of the property witlı the Government agent until it should be surveyed and placed upon the market, which was four years later. He built a log cabin, one of the first four houses which stood between Chicago and the present site of Winnetka, and there he kept bach- elor's hall for four years. The only neighbors he had for the first year, except Erastus Patterson, were Indians, and he was the only young man in that locality. Speaking of the Indians, he said the Ouilmettes were quite enlightened and good neighbors, always being peaceable. Mr. McDan- iel purchased three forty-acre tracts of land, pay- ing the usnal price of $1.25 per acre, and forty at twenty shillings per acre. Upon this land a part of the town of Evanston now stands. When he first came to Cook County there were only three small log cabins north of Chicago, and many of the now thriving villages and cities had not sprung into existence, while the work of progress and civilization seemed hardly begun.
On the 27th of November, 1842, an important event in the life of Mr. McDaniel occurred, his marriage with Miss Emeline Huntoon. The la- dy was born in Champlain, New York, March 1 I, 1824, and is a danghter of George W. and Lucin- da (Bowler) Huntoon, whose family numbered - ten children. The father was a ship carpenter, and was born in Vermont, December 9, 1791. The mother was born January 9, 1796. With their family they came to Cook County in 1840,
189
W. R. DERBY.
settling on the present site of South Evanston. Mr. and Mrs. McDaniel became the parents of six children. Jane, who was the wife of William H. Kinney, Postmaster of Wilmette, is now de- ceased; Ellen, widow of A. B. Balcam, resides with her parents; Charles, who enlisted at the age of sixteen and served three years in the Eighth Illinois Cavalry, is now a carpenter and contractor of Wilmette; George is interested in mining in Colorado; Henry is a policeman of Wilmette; and William Grant is a fireman on the North- Western Railroad.
Mr. McDaniel exercises his right of franchise in support of the Republican party. His first vote was cast on the 4th of May, 1837, for Willian1 B. Odgen, first mayor of Chicago, and his first presidential vote supported William Henry Harri- son. Soon after the village of Wilmette was start- ed, he was appointed the first Postmaster, hold- ing the office for nineteen successive years, when he resigned in favor of Mr. Kinney, the present incumbent. He has never sought or desired po-
litical preferment, his time and attention being largely occupied by his business interests. His wife, a most estimable lady, holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and takes an active part in its work and upbuilding. For twenty-six years Mr. McDaniel has been a resi- dent of Wilmette. His first home at this place, located on Center Avenue, was the fourth house built in the town, and in it he resided for twen -. ty-three years. In 1891, he erected a more sub- stantial and modern dwelling on the same street, and there spends his declining days. He has wit- nessed almost the entire growth and development of the county, the best interests of the communi- ty ever find in him a friend, and his hearty sup- port and co-operation are given to those enter- prises which are calculated to advance the gener- al welfare. His sterling worth and strict integri- ty have made him a leading citizen of the con- munity and one well worthy of representation in this volume.
WILLIAM R. DERBY.
ILLIAM R. DERBY, who was for many years prominently identified with the his- tory of this community, was numbered among the honored pioneer settlers, having be- come a resident of Cook County in 1834. He was born in Dorset, Bennington County, Ver- mont, on the 17th of March, 1805, and was a son of Sylvester Derby, whose birth occurred in the same locality in 1780. In 1816 the father removed with his family to Genesee County, New York, where he remained until his death, which occurred at the ripe old age of ninety years.
William Derby spent the first sixteen years of his life at his parents' home, and then began to learn the trade of a wool carder and dresser, which he
followed for nine years. He later engaged in the hotel business for nearly two years, and in 1834 he emigrated westward to try his fortunes on the broad prairies of Illinois. He settled on section 34, township 37, range 11, about three iniles southeast of the village of Lemont. At that time there were only two houses between Joliet and Chicago. The latter place was a small vil- lage, and the most far-sighted could not have dreamed of the prominence and importance which were to make it the metropolis of the West and one of the important cities of the world. Mr. Derby had for neighbors a brother-in-law, Jere- miah Luther, Orange Chauncy and Joshua Smith, all natives of Vermont except Mr. Luther, who
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W. R. DERBY.
was born in New York. When Mr. Derby came to Cook County he had a span of horses, harness and wagon, some household effects and $40 in money. He disposed of his team in order to pay for his land when it. came into market, and he was thus enabled to purchase one hundred and forty acres. It was wild land, but with charac- teristic energy lie began its development, and in course of time transformed it into a fertile farm. He built a log house, in which he lived for about twenty-five years, and then erected a two-story brick residence, which he made his home until 1879, when he sold his farm (then containing two hundred acres) and removed to Lemont.
Mr. Derby was married on the 28th of June, 1830, in Castile, New York, to Miss Eliza N. Luther. Together they traveled life's journey for about half a century. On the 5th of April, 1880, Mrs. Derby was called to the home beyond. She was beloved by all who knew her and her friends were many, By their marriage were born four children, of whom two are now living. Sylvester L., the elder, was born in Castile, New York, September 18, 1836, and at a very early age was brought to Lemont, where he has since made his home. He graduated from the high school of Chicago, and during his early business career followed farming, but in 1879 he disposed of his land and removed to Lemont, where he embarked in the lumber trade, and also in the manufacture of lumber in Michigan. His standing as a busi- ness man is above reproach. His systematic methods, his enterprise and his fair and lionor- able dealing have gained him the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has been brought in contact. He enjoys a liberal patronage, and has a well-equipped lumber-yard. On the 24th of September, 1855, he was married to Charlotte D. Russell, of Dover, New Hampshire, and to them were born five children, four yet living, namely: Mrs. Ida E. Brown, Sylvester O., O. R. and J. A. L. The three sons are associated with their father in the lumber trade. They are thor- ough business men, of sterling integrity, and the firm is one of prominence in the community.
Sylvester L. Derby has been honored with sev- eral offices of trust, the duties of which have ever been discharged with promptness and fidel- ity. In politics he is a Republican. In 1892 he was President of the Illinois Retail Lumber Deal- ers' Association. Although he is now nearing his sixtieth birthday, he is still hale and hearty as a young man of twenty-five, and is recognized as one of the leading citizens of Lemont.
John T. Derby, the younger son of William R. Derby, was born in Lemont, October 29, 1840, acquired his early education in a log schoolhouse at Gooding's Grove and later was graduated from Castile University. He began life as a school teacher in the town of Palos, Cook County, and for several years continued teaching in Cook and Will Counties. He studied law with Judge J. P. Atwood, of Chicago, where he was admitted to the Bar, and in 1873 was chosen Assistant County Superintendent of Schools under George D. Plant, which position he held until the close of Mr. Plant's official term. He was the first City Attorney of Lemont, and was a member of its first Board of Education. On the 7th of May, 1862, was cele- brated his marriage with Clara H. Dakin, of Millerton, Dutchess County, New York, and by their union were born three children, of whom Nettie E. and Edward D. are now living. Mrs. Derby died February 1, 1885, and in 1886 Mr. Derby married Miss Abbie E. Jones, of Du Page, Will County, Illinois. He is at present engaged in the practice of law, and is a radical temper- ance man, who supports by his ballot the Proli- bition party.
William R. Derby, whose name heads this record, was an advocate of Democratic principles and was often called to office by his fellow-towns- men. He served as Supervisor, was also Justice of the Peace for five years, was Township Treas- urer sixteen years and Township Clerk for sev- eral years. In these various offices he was ever true and faithful. All who knew him respected him for his upright life and straightforward deal- ings and for a public and private career which were alike above reproach.
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
. 191
L. A. BUDLONG.
LYMAN A. BUDLONG.
YMAN ARNOLD BUDLONG is a highly representative type of all that constitutes a well-ordered life. He is descended from an ancestry which dates back to the crucial period of American history-back to that period when the principles of liberty, involving perfect freedom of conscience-first began to crystallize and take form in the minds and hearts of a brave and reso- lute people, from whom, as a nation, has been inherited that priceless legacy of liberty which is so distinctively American.
From the best evidence extant, Francis Bud- long, the founder of his family, came to. this coun- try some time during the seventhi decade of the seventeenth century, and effected a settlement in the province of Rhode Island. Here, in 1669, he married Mrs. Rebecca Howard (née Lippit), of Warwick, Rhode Island. It was in the year 1675 that Massasoit, the renowned chieftain of the Wampanoags, died and was succeeded by his son Philip. Urged by his young warriors, Philip disregarded the treaty of his father, which had been kept by him for fifty years, and inaugurated a war for the purpose of destroying the whites and recovering his hunting grounds. For a year flame and the scalping-knife, in the hands of a merciless foe, wrought the destruction of more than six hundred houses, while nearly one thou- sand men fell in battle, and scores of women and children came under the tomahawk of the infuri- ated savages. During this struggle, known in history as King Philip's War, the family of Francis Budlong, save one, was massacred-an in- fant boy having been spared. This little one was
given a home in the family of Mr. John Lippit, its uncle, by whom it was reared, and from this rescued waif descended the numerous Budlongs widely scattered throughout the coun- try. Tradition asserts that they are of French origin, probably of Huguenot blood, as, a little previous to that time, a great number of Hugue- nots had fled from France to our shores to seek a place where they could exercise, without hind- rance, the privilege of free conscience.
Lyman A. Budlong is of the seventh generation in direct descent from Francis, the founder of the family in America. His paternal grandfather and great-grandfather bore the name of Samuel, and gallantly served in the Continental army during the war for independence, the former as a drummer boy and the latter as a private soldier. The parents of Mr. Budlong were Joseph S. (born March 1, 1804) and Mary Ann (Arnold, born April 20, 1804) Budlong, both of whom were born in Rhode Island, where their lives were passed. The father died March 14, 1887, and the mother departed this life January 5, 1894.
Mary Ann (Arnold) Budlong was of the sev- enth generation from William Arnold, a native of Cheselbourne, England, who settled in Provi- dence Plantations (now Rhode Island) in early colonial days. Her parents were Ephraim and Waity (Warner) Arnold, the former being a son of Simon and Hannah (Chapman) Arnold.
Of Joseph S. Budlong's ten children, nine grew to maturity and reared families. In order of birth, they are as follows: James Arnold (now deceased); Albert, who died in childhood; Will-
192.
L. A. BUDLONG.
iam Henry, a resident of Jersey City, New Jersey ; Lyman Arnold, the subject of this sketch; Mary Elizabeth, who became the wife of William Johnston, of Washington, Vermont, and died in 1862; Abbie Stone and Catherine Rhodes (twins), the former now the widow of Horace Bates, of Bel- lingham, Massachusetts-the latter the wife of Daniel Burlingame, of Cranston, Rhode Island; Waity Warner, who married William Tyler, of Brooklyn, New York; Joseph Arnold, a resident of Cook County, Illinois (see sketch in this work); and Simeon, who resides in Cumberland, Rhode Island.
It was in the picturesquely rural town of Cranston, Rhode Island, that Lyman A. Bud- long was born, on the 22d of December, 1829. In the public school of his native town he was taught the rudimentary branches of learning, and subsequently he attended a seminary where a wider course of study was entered upon. When he was eighteen years old he was competent to teach, and for five years he was successfully en- gaged in that work during the winter months, devoting the rest of the year to farın labor. His first school lasted for a terin of four months, for which he received twelve dollars per month, all of which he gave to his father. Subsequent to at- taining his majority he attended a few terms of school, which rounded out his education, making him highly proficient in the range of his studies- and it is to the thoroughness of his educational training that is due in large measure his success in life.
Equally painstaking had he been in acquiring a thorough knowledge, in all its details, of gar- dening. From his youth he was a connoisseur in plant-culture. He learned plant life as he learned books, by concentrated effort and intelligent ap- plication. It is in the combination of this mental and physical training, directed by a high aim, that enabled hin to overcome adverse conditions, and, eventually, to reach the goal of successful accomplishment.
His marriage with Miss Louise L. Newton, of Norwich, Vermont, was celebrated October 6, 1856. Mrs. Budlong was born in Norwich, Ver- mont, January 1, 1833, and is a daughter of
George and Orella (Snow) Newton, natives of Vermont, the former being a son of Dr. Israel Newton, who served through the Revolutionary war. To George and Orella (Snow) Newton were born two sons and four daughters, as fol- lows: Cyril C. (now deceased), who married Re- becca McConachie, by whom he had three chil- dren-Emily, George and Mary; Louise L. (Mrs. L. A. Budlong); Lucy Amelia, widow of Mr. Lewis Wilson; Mary A., widow of Orlando Tal- cott; Ellen E., wife of W. N. Spring, of Le Mars, Iowa; and George P., now deceased.
Mr. Budlong, the subject of this sketch, contin- ued to reside in his native place until 1857, when, realizing that a constant narrowing of environ- ment was taking place in the East, he decided to seek in the West a field of operations where no restraint upon ambition from cramped surround- ings existed. He selected Cook County as the most promising field for contemplated operations. His working capital was small, but that in nowise checked the ardor of his ambitious spirit, although it necessitated beginning in a small way and on leased land. To increase his revenue, he taught a country school near his home during the winter of 1858-59, and in the two following winters he taught in the neighboring county of Du Page. The balance of the time was employed in garden- ing for the Chicago market. His income, though limited, was more than enough to meet his ex- penses, and the surplus was employed in extend- ing his operations. In 1861 he located on part of the estate he now occupies-that of the late Dr. Foster-and has made market-gardening his life's work.
He is the pioneer of the West in the pickling business. His original plant was established im- mediately after his arrival in Cook County, the first output being four hundred bushels. From this modest beginning has grown his present mammoth business, the annual product of his present plant being one hundred thousand bush- els of pickles, one hundred thousand bushels of onions, and fifty thousand bushels of other kinds of market vegetables. This vast amount is grown on five hundred acres of land, which is tilled on the highest scientific principles. When
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L. A. BUDLONG.
he located upon this land, less than forty acres of a tract of six hundred was tillable. More than one hundred acres was a labyrinth of bog and quagmire, and the rest could be made arable only by an extensive system of drainage. Every acre has been reclaimed, subdued and brought to the highest state of perfection. In addition to the best drainage facilities, he has fitted up two pumping stations, with the best of modern appli- ances, to carry off the surplus water in wet sea- sons, when ordinary drainage is insufficient. One of these is located on a low tract of one hundred and twenty acres, and the other drains a quarter- section, their capacity being five thousand gallons a minute, each.
During the harvesting season-from July 15 to September 15-he employs an average of eight hundred people, and from one to two hundred during the balance of the year. All his products are justly celebrated for superior quality, his well- known brands being sufficient guaranty of their ligh excellence. A large part is sold direct to the jobbing trade in most of the states east of the Rocky Mountains, while no inconsiderable quan- tity is sold from wagons in the city to the retail trade.
Mr. Budlong's career furnishes an illustration of the results to be obtained by a clear and well- defined purpose. He is not a theorist, but a calm, practical man, who reaches conclusions through a process of reasoning peculiar to men of methods and ripe experience. His well-defined power of application is particularly noticeable, and he is the possessor of marked administrative abilities. For many years, until his sons became competent, under his tutelage, to bear a part of the burden of cares arising from a large business, he person- ally superintended the operations of the various departments, carrying in his mind the innumer- able details.
Although his life has been one of ceaseless activity, he has, withal, retained intact tliose pleasing social qualities which have made him so deservedly popular witlı all. His nature is thor- oughly democratic, and lie caters to none because of wealth or social position. The laboring man upon his estate is treated with the same kindly
consideration he would accord to a king. He is one of the most companionable of men, and, hav- ing been a close observer of passing events, and a student as well, he is an interesting and instruct- ive conversationalist.
In early life Mr. Budlong's political preferment was for the Democratic party, but, being always an adherent of the principles which gave birth to the Republican party, he cast off his fealty to the former in 1860, since which he has zealously sup- ported Republican men and measures. With local public affairs he has been prominently identified, having always taken an active and leading part in whatever, in his judgment, best subserved the public good. Upon the organization of the vill- age of Jefferson he was elected a trustee, in which capacity he has since served several times. He was also the first to be elected to the position of Mayor of the village. He held the office of school director twenty-eight consecutive years, until the village was merged in the city of Chi- cago. He is a prominent member of the Masonic order, being a charter member of Providence Lodge No. 711, of Jefferson, in which he accept- ably served many years as Worshipful Master. He is also identified with Corinthian Chapter, Apollo Commandery and Oriental Consistory, of Chicago.
Mr. and Mrs. Budlong became the parents of five children, namely: Mary L., wife of A. L. Jones, of Mokena, Illinois; Edward L .; Lyman A. (deceased); Joseph J., and Laura W., wife of H. H. Chester, of Evanston, Illinois.
All the children reside near their father, in pleasant homes, all worthily reflecting much credit upon their parents by the correctness of their lives. Mr. Budlong is essentially domestic, and derives much pleasure from the associations of the home circle, which has been enlarged by the arrival of thirteen grandchildren. His modern, well-appointed home is replete with all that a cultivated taste can suggest, and here he is spend- ing the evening of his days in the quiet content- ment of a successful and well-ordered life. His three-score and seven years rest lightly on his com- pact frame, time having made but slight impres- sion upon his rugged constitution.
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REV. C. F. EBINGER.
REV. CHRISTIAN F. EBINGER.
EV. CHRISTIAN FREDERICK EBIN- GER, the first minister of the Evangelical As- sociation ordained in Illinois, was numbered among the first permanent settlers of Cook Coun- ty. He took up his home in what is now the town of Niles in 1834. He was the youngest son of John and Katharine Ebinger, and was born February 8, 1812, near the city of Stuttgart, Germany. He was well educated in his native place, and reared to the occupation of florist and gardener. For a number of years he had charge of a flower garden of King William of Wurtem- berg.
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In 1831, John Ebinger, with his wife and three sons and one daughter, came to the United States and located at Detroit, Michigan. Early in 1834 he set out for Chicago, and in May of that year he pre-empted eighty acres of land on the Indian trail leading to Milwaukee, whichi was subsequently occupied by a plank road. He built a one-story log cabin, twenty-four by four- teen feet in ground dimension, and began life in true pioneer style. His children were: Frederick, John, Elizabeth (who became the wife of John Plank), and Christian F., all of whom are now deceased.
Christian F. Ebinger had just attained his majority when he came with his parents to the United States. February 12, 1834, at Ann Ar- bor, Michigan, he was married to Miss Barbara Ruehle, who was born August 11, 1812, in Indebach, near Stuttgart, Germany. Her par- ents were Joseph and Barbara (Schwegler) Ruehle. Her mother died when Mrs. Ebinger
was eight years of age, and after her death her father married Eva Magdaline Allmendinger. Mrs. Ebinger came to America in 1832, with her father and stepmother. They settled at Anın Arbor, Michigan, where the father died only six weeks after their arrival. She continued to re- side with her stepmother until her marriage, and then set out with her husband to accompany the latter's parents to Chicago. All their belongings were placed in a light wagon, in which the old people rode, while the young couple made their honeymoon trip on foot, the journey consuming three weeks. They camped at night, with the blue canopy of heaven for a cover, and father and son took turns in guarding their resting-place against possible surprises by Indians or wild beasts.
Christian F. Ebinger was reared in the Luth- eran Church, but in 1840 he became identified with the Evangelical Association, The follow- ing year he was ordained as a preacher, and acted in that capacity until his death. He oc- casionally supplied the pulpit for other ministers, but never became an itinerant. He followed farming, and was industrious and careful in his business methods, and was successful. He took a lively interest in public affairs, and was a friend to education. He served as school trustee for many years, and held nearly all the offices of the township, being its first assessor and overseer of the poor, and was many years supervisor. He died in 1879, after a useful career, and his funeral was one of the most notable in the community where he was the pioneer settler.
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ADOLPH ARNDT.
His family included thirteen children, of whom ten reached maturity, namely: Christian, a resi- dent of Niles; Mary, who became the wife of Henry Giffert, and died in 1860. (Her husband was a Union soldier, and died from injuries re- ceived in the Civil War. He was the father of William Giffert, now assessor of the West Town of Chicago.) Henry, now deceased; Eliza- beth, who was the wife of William Neff, and is deceased; Margaret, wife of Louis Grafius, of Chicago; Daniel, who died at the age of fifteen; Sarah, widow of William Weathers, 110w resid- ing with Mrs. Ebinger; Louise, wife of William Grafius, of Chicago; Caroline, Mrs. M. J. Good, of the same city; and William R., a resident of Aurora, Illinois.
From the inception of the Republican party in 1856, Mr. Ebinger was one of its stanchest sup- porters. In the early years of his residence in Niles he dispensed a generous, open-handed hospitality to all comers, although he did not keep a hotel. The aboriginal inhabitants of the country were his friends, because he treated thein with uniform kindness, and were often enter- tained at his home. He was intimately ac-
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