Commemorative portrait and biographical record of Kane and Kendall Counties, Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographicalsketches of prominent and representative citizens of Kane and Kendall Counties, together with portraits and biographies of the presidents of the United States, Part 14

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Beers, Leggett & Co.
Number of Pages: 1040

USA > Illinois > Kane County > Commemorative portrait and biographical record of Kane and Kendall Counties, Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographicalsketches of prominent and representative citizens of Kane and Kendall Counties, together with portraits and biographies of the presidents of the United States > Part 14
USA > Illinois > Kendall County > Commemorative portrait and biographical record of Kane and Kendall Counties, Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographicalsketches of prominent and representative citizens of Kane and Kendall Counties, together with portraits and biographies of the presidents of the United States > Part 14

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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 Judge 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 cc 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 pro tem. 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 Wabash 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 41,200. 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.

Kane County, LLINOIS.

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

ILLIAM VAN NORTWICK. The first pioneers in the West were, as a rule, men who were seeking homes and free lands on which to settle and follow the pur- suits of agriculture. This class followed closely upon the hunters and trappers, and those who visited and trafficked with the Indians. They preceded the merchants, the four- horse mail coaches, and the boats for water transportation, as well as the men who were to build cities and the super- structure to civilization. The movements of the trappers and hunters, and of the small farmers, were all important to the future of the country in their place; yet the complete fruition of their work and sacrifices were, in the end, to come of that later arrival of men like the Van Nortwicks, who were to construct the great highways and bridges, develop the new country's commercial resources, and take within their purview the wants of States and the vast territories that the pioneers were so rapidly filling up.

This sketch will place upon record, in some slight degree, accredited accounts of a family whose members, for three generations, have taken

a prominent part in promoting the' material and social growth and development of Kane County, and who have been leading spirits in upbuilding all those institutions that assist so much in making a prosperous and happy community. The family homestead has been at Batavia, Ill., since 1835, when the first member of the Van Nortwick family settled at that place. The name of this pioneer was William Van Nortwick, a native of New Jersey, a man of untiring energy and enterprise, who had been for years a resident of New York State, where he was widely known as a contractor on some of its most important public works, and for some years held the responsible and important position of State superintendent of canals in Northern New York. A man of his large experience and superior ability was a valuable addition to the population of the hamlet of Batavia. He soon became an im- portant factor in its improvement, bought water power privileges, constructed a dam across Fox River, erected a flouring-mill, etc., and during the balance of his life resided there, actively engaged in milling and manufacturing, always a leader in shaping the destiny of the place. At his demise he left a posterity who have kept the name of Van Nortwick foremost in the social life of Illinois, and equally prominent in its manufacturing and finan- cial circles. .

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He was married in the East to Miss Martha Flack, by whom were the following named chil- dren: John; Margaret, married to James Rockwell, and died September 11, 1847, aged thirty years; Fanny, married to Charles Ballard, and died Sep- tember 12,1842, aged thirty-five years; Jane Agnes, married to James W. Harvey; and Rachel, married to Benjamin Smith. When William Van Nort- wick first came to Batavia, he brought with him his family, with the exception of his son John, who settled there some years later.

William Van Nortwick and his wife were both sincere and devout Christians, members of the Methodist Episcopal Church from their youth, and were always active and earnest workers in the support of the church. During his last sickness, he suffered with patience and resignation to the will of God. He died of dropsy, in Batavia, Sep- tember 19, 1854, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.

Martha Flack Van Nortwick died in Chicago, at the home of her daughter, April 21, 1879, aged ninety-three years. She was a daughter of James and Margaret Flack, and her brothers and sisters were James, John, Richard, Samuel, Mrs. Nancy Crossett, Mrs. James Brown and Mrs. Martha Wilson.

J OHN VAN NORTWICK, a resident of the vil- lage of Batavia since 1846, was born in Washington County, N. Y., April 5, 1809, the only son of William and Martha (Flack) Van Nortwick.

He was reared at his native place, in the home of his parents, and when old enough attended the public schools in the vicinity. Later he entered the academy, and took a thorough course in math- ematics, having in view making himself proficient in civil engineering. When he was nineteen years old he was employed in the engineer department on the canals of the State of New York, of which his father was then canal superintendent. He rapidly rose in the ranks, and became recog- nized as one of the ablest of the corps of engineers on the State works.

John Van Nortwick and Patty Maria Mallory

were married in Penn Yan, State of New York, February 11, 1835. Her parents, Meredith and Eleanor (Legg) Mallory, were married September 13, 1804, and their children were Barnum D., Smith L. and Patty Maria. Mr. Meredith Mallory died September 22, 1855. His parents were Meredith and Mary Mallory. Mrs. Eleanor L. Mallory died April 15, 1856. Mr. and Mrs. John Van Nortwick have four children living-two sons and two daughters -as follows: William M., born in Hammondsport, Steuben Co., N. Y .; Eliza J., born at Mt. Morris, Livingston Co., N. Y .; John S. and Mary E., both born in Batavia, Ill.

In 1836 Mr. Van Nortwick visited his father's family in Batavia, and spent a short time in that part of Illinois. He was pleased with his father's selection and investments, and, readily foreseeing something of the future that awaited the new country, became a partner in his enterprises, made some other purchases, and returned to his engineer- ing labors in New York State. In 1846 the State stopped all its system of public works, and conse- quently Mr. Van Nortwick was thrown out of employment. Gov. William L. Marcy, at that time Secretary of War, in recognition of the eminent abilities of Mr. Van Nortwick, gave him employment for the Government on the Brooklyn Dry Docks, where he remained for a period of about one year. Then the projectors of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, being in want of a chief engineer, negotiated with Mr. Van Nort- wick to come to Illinois, which he did, having accepted the position.

He came with his wife and two children in 1846, and located in Batavia, where he made his permanent home. Though a young man at that time, yet he had had seventeen years' experience as a practical civil engineer on some of the largest public works in the State of New York. He was thus brought to Illinois at the moment of the commencement of railroad building in the West, and placed in charge of the first successful enter- prise of that kind, then being built from Chicago. He laid the foundation of all the great railroad system that now so interlaces the upper Mississippi Valley. Under his care the road was built from Chicago to Freeport, and Turner Junction to

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Fulton, on the Mississippi River. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was then being con- structed from what is now Turner Junction east of Batavia to Aurora, Ill. Mr. Van Nortwick was tendered and accepted the position of consulting engineer of that road. After the extension of the road to Burlington and Quincy, he accepted the position of president, which he held for eight years. When he first became connected with that corporation it was a very insignificant affair; to- day it is one of the great railroads of the country.

Mr. Van Nortwick, on coming to Illinois, re- lieved his father in the care and management of their private business enterprises. The young man brought with him $3,000 in gold, his own earn- ings and savings, a large sum of money for a new settler to bring at that time, which he invested in the mill lands and water power at Batavia and elsewhere. While building the mill at Batavia he interested a number of Eastern capitalists, form- ing a company under the style of Barker, House & Co. On the completion of the mill they began the manufacture of flour on a large scale. For some time Chicago got its supply of flour largely from the Batavia mill. In 1842 the company was dis- solved, and the property divided. Mr. Van Nort- wick was a large stockholder, and one of the found- ers of the Batavia Paper Company, now the Van Nortwick Paper Company, of which he became sole owner in 1869. It was made a joint stock company in 1870, and is one of the largest paper manufactories in the West. In addition to the Batavia mill, the Van Nortwicks are interested and large owners in, several other paper and pulp mills and valuable water power property on Fox River, in the State of Wisconsin.

Mr. Van Nortwick is now in his seventy-ninth year, hale and vigorous, and his mental faculties evince no signs of age or impairment. He lives in the elegant residence that he built soon after he first came to Batavia, which has been added to, and such changes made as modern improve- ments have suggested. During his younger days he traveled extensively in Europe, giving much of his attention while abroad to some of the Old World's best engineering works.

Mr. Van Nortwick has lived to see the effects of

the greatest labors of his young and active life, and, while he has amassed a fortune, the country around him has grown and flourished beyond all precedent in history, and much of this is due to his thought, foresight, labor, public spirit and liberality. He built the present Episcopal Church on Batavia Avenue, and donated it to the society. About two years ago he and Mrs. Van Nortwick united with this church, of which he and his family are now communicants.

S ILAS REYNOLDS. The ancestors of the subject of this sketch were of American birth for several generations. A family tradition says the first of the family in this country was a boy on board the ship seized by Kidd when he turned pirate. Young Reynolds soon after made his escape to Long Island, N. Y., but afterward made his way to Westchester County, in that State, where the family took root, some of the descendants afterward going to Orange County, adjoining, where the grandfather of Silas was born in 1743. The said grandfather was a patriot, and was twice hung up by the Tories, but was each time cut down by a thirteen-year old daughter, and his life saved on both occasions. This heroic girl afterward became the wife of a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, the celebrated English naval offi- cer, and raised a large family of children. The father of Silas Reynolds, named Daniel, was one of a family of fourteen, all of whom, saved one, lived to maturity, the average age of the fourteen being over sixty years. Daniel Reynolds, at the age of fourteen, went to Neversink, N. Y., where he lived until a few years before his death, which occurred at Apalachin, Tioga Co., N. Y., when he was eighty-seven years old. He was three times married, his first wife, Rebecca French, being the mother of Silas.

Silas Reynolds remained at the home in Never- sink until he was seventeen, when he went to Ul- ster County, N. Y., whence, in 1836, he came West, settling on the farm in Sugar Grove Town- ship, Kane County, which has ever since been his home. He is truly one of the pioneers of the township, but fourteen families having preceded him here. He has done much for the advance-

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ment and development of this region, and was one of the first to subscribe means for the building of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. In 1835 he was married to Jane Wandover, a native of Dutchess County, N. Y., who died in 1885. They had seven children, all now living, as follows: Jane, wife of George N. Crego, of Grouse, Kane County; Joseph, living at Glenwood Springs, Colo .; Elizabeth, wife of A. T. Judd, of Sugar Grove township, this county; Isaac, living in Chicago; Olive, wife of W. S. Hess, of Plainfield, Will Co., Ill .; Grace, living with her father, and Minnie, wife of Evan Owens, of Sugar Grove Township. Mr. Reynolds was for three years commissioner of Kane County, but has never sought office. He has been a life-long voter on the ticket of the Democratic party.

OHN BURNHAM. Kane County is indebted to the Green Mountain State for many of its successful farmers, prominent manufacturers and eminent professional men, and, in the fore rank of the class mentioned second, stands John Burnham. A native of Vermont, he was born March 16, 1816, in Brattleboro, a son of John and Rachel (Rossiter) Burnham, natives of Connecticut. His paternal great-grandfather came from England and settled in Hartford, Conn., prior to the Revolution. The subject of this memoir received a common-school education, and early developed a fondness for the study of philo- sophical works, but his inclination in that respect was circumscribed by being compelled to assist his father, who was a worker in gold and silver, also a brass founder and coppersmith. While so en- gaged he invented a truss which he traveled with and sold in the Eastern States. On his return home he found that his father had gone into the manufacture of pumps, and in this line of enterprise forthwith he decided to embark also; so, engaging a partner, he soon thereafter began the sale of the well-known hydraulic ram. At the age of thirty he conceived the idea of utilizing wind force as a pumping power, but, feeling that his advantages for prosecuting a scheme bound to attain a wide- spread popularity were insufficient, he laid his

case before Mr. Daniel Halliday, proprietor of a machine shop, whom he ultimately succeeded in getting interested in the matter. Mr. Halliday then set to work to invent a self-regulating wind- mill, and the two entered into partnership for the manufacture of the mills at South Coventry, Conn., Mr. Halliday being superintendent and Mr. Burn- ham general agent. The mill was entered at their first exhibition at a State fair, under the head of " Miscellaneous," no such article having at any time before been entered. The growth of the in- dustry has been phenomenal, and there are now thousands of them at work throughout the country. In 1856 the firm came to Chicago, where they formed the acquaintance of John Van Nortwick, who, becoming interested in the invention, induced some of his friends to form a stock company known as the "U. S. Wind-Engine & Pump Com- pany," with Mr. Van Nortwick as president and general manager; Mr. Halliday as superintendent, and Mr. Burnbam as general agent; the latter is now president of the company. Up to the present time $4,000,000 worth of the Halliday Standard Mills have been sold. Mr. Burnham is also the inventor of the frost-proof tanks used on railroads, the introduction of which was attended with so much discouragement at the hands of prominent engineers, but which invention has saved the rail- road companies millions of dollars.

In 1846 Mr. John Burnham married Delia A., daughter of David Damon, a Unitarian clergyman in what is now Arlington, Mass., and to this union were born two children: William H., now general agent for the wind engine and pump company, and Julia (deceased).

J HOMAS SNOW. The list of prominent manufacturers would indeed be incomplete were the name of Mr. Snow omitted. A native of Devonshire, England, he was born January 14, 1851. His parents sailed with him for America when he was but two years of age, and his mother died on the voyage, being buried in the deep Atlantic. His father located at Orange, N. J., where he followed his trade, that of a car- penter, and afterward, in 1856, came to Batavia, Ill.

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KANE COUNTY.

One year after coming to America Thomas was taken back to England, and made his home with his grandmother. Here he received a good education, and on returning to America, in 1865, he entered the public schools of Aurora, later taking a course at Jennings Seminary. In 1882, at the organization of the Challenge Wind Mill and Feed Mill Company, he was elected their secretary and treasurer, which position he still holds. The company gives employment to eighty-five ` men, and the product of the concern is shipped to all parts of the world. Two thousand wind mills, be- sides horse-power, feed-grinders, corn-shellers, pumps, etc., are turned out annually. January 9, 1878, Mr. Snow married Mary Tomle, a lady of Norwegian extraction, born in Batavia in 1856, and five children have blessed this union, one dying in infancy. The names of those living are Thomas A., Ralph L., Frank and Albert E. Mr. Snow is a member of Lodge 404, F. & A. M., Batavia. In politics he is a Republican.

T HOMAS W. MERRILL (deceased). The Merrill family, of whom the subject of this sketchi was a descendant, were of pure En- glish origin, numbering among the early colonial settlers of New Hampshire. William T. Merrill, the father of Thomas W., and a native of Hollis, N. H., carried on the coopering business, and subsequently followed farming.

Thomas W. Merrill was born at Thornton, N. H., in 1825, and in November, 1848, he there married Harriet Thornton, a member of the fam- ily for whom the town was named. Five years after marriage the young couple came to Illinois, bringing three children: John M., Mary E. and Frank W., and soon thereafter located on land purchased in Kaneville Township, where they hap- pily lived for upward of thirty-three years. Three more children were born to them after coming to Kaneville Township, named Hattie T., Bessie E., and Lizzie S., and of the six, John M., Lizzie S. and Bessie E. are deceased.

Mr. Merrill died in January, 1887, universally respected for his many excellent qualities of mind and heart. He was one of the most prosperous

and enterprising citizens of his township, and was frequently called upon to serve in various local offices of honor and trust. For several years he was school director, township trustee, etc., and at the time of his demise was acting as trustee of the township. Politically he was affiliated with the Republican party. In religion he was a mem- ber of the Baptist Church.

His widow, who still lives at the homestead near Kaneville, was born at Thornton, N. H., in 1828, her ancestors having been people of sub- stance in the New England colony days, dating back to an early period, one of them having been prominent in shaping the destinies of the Repub- lic, Matthew Thornton, her great-great-grandfa- ther, and a native of Ireland, who was at one time president of the New Hampshire Provincial Con- vention held at Exeter, a member of the Conti- nental Congress, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He subsequently became judge of the court of common pleas, and judge of the superior court of New Hampshire. He was a colonel in the militia at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and, in addition to his ac- knowledged services as a patriot and statesman, he was also known as a skillful physician, and the author of many important essays (some of them, and also a book, being written after he was eighty years old) upon medical subjects. At his death Judge Thornton left two sons and several daugh- ters. James, his eldest son, was a representative for several years to the general court, and died at Merrimack, N. H., in July, 1817, aged fifty-three years; the other son, Matthew, a lawyer by profes- sion, who graduated at Dartmouth College in 1797, died at Merrimack, December 5, 1804, aged thirty-three years.

Judge Matthew Thornton, during his young manhood, resided in Londonderry, N. H., subse- quently moving to Exeter, and at both places prac- ticing his profession of physician and surgeon; later he took up his residence at Merrimack, N. H., where in 1781 he purchased a large tract of land. At this place he continued to reside, occupying his time with public and professional duties, literary labor, and attending to his large real estate inter- ests, until his death, which occurred at Newbury-

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port, Mass., June 24, 1803. William Thornton, the grandfather of Mrs. Harriet Merrill, and a son of William Thornton, died October 26, 1814, and his widow died December 25, 1849, both being buried at Thornton. The parents of Mrs. Harriet Merrill were William and Harriet (Elliott) Thorn- ton, also natives of Thornton, the former of whom was a prominent business man of that place, where he always lived; he died there December 22, 1854. aged seventy-one years.

M C CARTY. Two brothers, Joseph and Samuel McCarty, were founders of the city of Aurora, a city that in her queenly beauty is their fitting and perpetual monu-

ment. They were splendid types of the hardy and adventurous pioneers, whose achievements in the cause of civilization will surpass in interest the fairy tales of the poet. They were born respect- ively in 1808 and March 9, 1810, at Morristown, Morris Co., N. J., the sons of Charles and Mary (Scudder) McCarty, who were descended from old Protestant families that had been for genera- tions natives of that State, dating back prior to the Revolutionary War, and were of Scotch and English extraction. In 1812 they went with their family to near Elmira, N. Y., where Charles Mc- Carty bought land, on which he moved his family, and there they resided for years.

The brothers, Joseph and Samuel, followed the occupation of farming until they grew to young manhood, receiving a good education in the schools of the vicinity. They had learned the trade of millwrights at and in the neighborhood of Elmira. The young men, at this time hearing many glowing accounts of the then far West, and the fertility of the soil of Illinois, especially of certain points at the head of navigation on the Illinois River, and its excellent water power priv- ileges, both began to turn their vision in this direction. November 25, 1833, Joseph, in com- pany with Jeffry Beardslee, his apprentice, left his home to seek his fortune in the West, with the well-defined plan of laying claim to some of the water privileges on the Illinois River. Proceeding across the country to the headwaters of the Alle-

gheny River, they constructed a rude craft of suit- able dimensions to convey thiem and a small chest of tools. They launched this small craft, and floated leisurely toward the river's mouth. Their journey to Pittsburgh was exceedingly arduous, owing to its frequent interruptions from rapids and milldams, where they were obliged to land, unload the boat, and drag it over the ground to a point below the obstruction. They at length arrived at Pittsburgh without serious accident. and here they disposed of their craft and took pas- sage on a small steamer; but on arriving at Cairo it was decided, on account of the near approach of cold weather, to defer their journey to the Illi- nois until the opening of spring, and so they went into winter quarters at Cape Girardeau, where, from entries in McCarty's account book, it would seem they worked at odd jobs sufficient to pay for their board. On the opening of spring they con- tinned their journey toward the headwaters of the Illinois, and on arriving at the point, to find which they had journeyed so far, they discovered that the privilege was not as desirable as repre- sented, and that it had already been claimed by a party who had preceded them but a few weeks.

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Commemorative portrait and biographical record of Kane and Kendall Counties, Ill. : containing full page portraits and biographicalsketches of prominent and representative citizens of Kane and Kendall Counties, together with portraits and biographies of the presidents of the United States, Part 14

Author: Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Beers, Leggett & Co. Number of Pages: 1040

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Beers, Leggett & Co.
Number of Pages: 1040