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 16

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 16
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 16

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Judge Montony was married in Chicago, in the spring of 1855, to Miss Maria L. Platt, a daughter of Theodore Platt, of Livingston County, N. Y., and a first cousin of the late Emory A. Storrs. They have two children: George P., a conductor on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, and Charlotte, wife of C. R. Meeker, now of Yaquina, Oreg., superintendent of the Oregon Pacific Rail- road Company.

D R. SAMUEL R. MILLARD is a native of Connecticut, born at Hartford February 22, 1817, his parents being John L. and Ra- chel (Booth) Millard, the latter a native of Scotland and a daughter of William Booth. John L. Millard was born in France, where he received his education; subsequently he was professor of languages in Harvard College for eighteen years.

Dr. Samuel R. Millard graduated at Harvard College in 1834, and, choosing the medical profes- sion, moved to Cincinnati, where he completed a medical course, after which he practiced two years in the hospital there. He then returned to Ro- chester, N. Y., and for the following twelve years enjoyed an extensive and lucrative practice in that city; he subsequently removed to Adrian, Mich., and there engaged in practice six years. In 1862 he entered the service of the Government, in whose employ he remained two years; then located at Aurora, Ill., from 1867 until 1869, in which year he moved to Chicago. While residing in the latter city he purchased 360 acres of land in Burlington Township, Kane County, and in 1884 he assumed the personal charge of the property. Standing on an eminence on this place, some dis- tance from the public highway, the scenery ap- pears exceedingly picturesque. Besides a large residence, the Doctor has a commodious barn, 80x48 feet, with other outbuildings, and his farm, which is thoroughly improved and highly cultivat- ed, is abundantly stocked with horses, cattle and hogs; and, being a great admirer of fine horses, he counts two noted animals among the number.

Although all his life deeply devoted to his pro- fession, it would be a great mistake to suppose that he has been unmindful of his duties as a citizen

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and a Christian husband and father. He has never been so deeply absorbed professionally as to neglect his beloved church, or to fail here in his slightest duty. He has for many years been a firm believer in the religion of Jesus Christ, and has shown his faith by his works. In early life he be- came associated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has been their chosen steward and class leader, as well as faithful Sunday-school superintendent; he served as superintendent of the Sabbath-school connected with St. John's Church at Rochester, N. Y. Politically he is a Repub. lican.

In May, 1842, the Doctor married Miss Sophia, a daughter of John and Sarah (Wormley) Anthony, resident of Geneva, N. Y., and they have had three children, only one of whom is living-Frank R., of Chicago. In 1874 death visited the Doc- tor's household and departed with his companion, who for thirty years had been the sharer of his life's vicissitudes. " The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away."

A LONZO D. CHAFFEE, a highly esteemed citizen, and a thrifty, energetic and promi- nent farmer of Campton Township, owns a highly cultivated dairy farm on Section 21, comprising 140 acres of land, and takes an interest in fine stock, with which his farm is well supplied. He originally came from Windham County, Vt., where he was born August 31, 1839. His father, Eber Chaffee, was a farmer, and a native of the same place; he married Anna Davis, and by this marriage there were twelve children, the names and dates of whose births are as follows: Sarah M., December 9, 1822; Sereno, June 20, 1826; Fernando F., November 21, 1827; Marci A., October 22, 1830; Edmond C., April 4, 1833 (he lived but a little over a year, and died August 5, 1834); Abigail, August 27, 1835 (died August 3, 1845); Edmond O., August 10, 1837 (he is sup- posed to have been murdered in the south during the war, because of his Union sentiments); Alonzo D. ; Dorr B., October 20, 1841; John D., Novem- ber 5, 1843; Simon E. [see his sketch], and Albert J., April 27, 1848. Four of the sons are living

in Los Angeles, Cal., where they have homes. In 1841 Eber Chaffee removed with his family to Illinois, and settled in Campton Township, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits, and lived un- til the time of his death, which occurred in August, 1877, he being at the advanced age of seventy- seven years; Mrs. Chaffee having preceded him to the other world in October, 1876, at the age of seventy-three years, and both are buried in Stewart's Cemetery.

Alonzo D. Chaffee made his home with his par- ents, attending the district school and also Mount Morris Seminary until the age of twenty, when he branched out for himself, buying a part of the old homestead, it being the fine farm upon which he now resides. October 7, 1863, he was united in marriage with Phœbe A. Padelford, a native of Elgin County, Canada, where she was born June 11. 1844, a daughter of J. F. and Prudence (Pound) Padelford, of Massachusetts and Canada, respectively. Five children have been the result of this union: Charles A., a talented Christian young man of much promise, who was drowned May 11, 1886, when nearly twenty-one years old, while attending school at Aurora; Willie E., who died December 18, 1872; Mary A. : Franklin E .; and Rosie, who died December 31, 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Chaffee and daughter are prominent members of the church. In politics he is a Re- publican, having been elected to several town offices, such as trustee of schools, and assessor, which position he holds at the present time.

S IMON E. CHAFFEE is a respected citizen of this county, and a successful farmer, re- siding on Section 21, Campton Township, where he was born November 21, 1845. [See memoir of A. D. Chaffee for full record of family. ] Simon E. was reared on a farm, being educated in the district schools, and at an early age began farming for himself on a portion of the old homestead. His possessions include 135 acres of land, well cultivated and improved, upon which he keeps an average of forty head of fine graded cattle for dairy purposes.

March 26, 1867, he was united in marriage

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with Sarah E. Woodman, a native of Grafton County, N. H., born February 28, 1848, the daughter of Joseph and Eleanor (Barnard) Wood- man, who were also early settlers in Kane County. Mr. and Mrs. Chaffee's family circle has been brightened by the advent of seven children: Anna E., Everett S., John W., Grace H., Eleanor M. (who died January 17, 1884), Earl G. and Mabel E. During the Civil War Mr. Chaffee served in the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Illinois Infantry, Company F, also about one year after the close of the war in the Freedman's Bureau. In 1875 he was elected treasurer of the school fund, which office he has held twelve years; he has also been town clerk for ten years, and five years ago was elected supervisor, which office he now ·holds. He is a Republican in politics. Mr. and Mrs. Chaffee are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which they are held in high esteem, Mr. Chaffee having been trustee and stew- ard since the erection of the present building.

H ON. SILVANUS WILCOX. The Wilcox family are of English descent, and the branch that came to America was from Wales. The date of their first arrival in this country can not be ascertained to any certainty. The authentic accounts of their first being here extend back only to 1708, the date of the birth of Ephraim Wilcox, who lived in Simsbury, Conn., where he died in 1773. His wife was a Hills, and their children were Silvanus 1st, Dijah, Willard and Rosannah. Silvanus 1st was born November 14, 1733, at Simsbury. He married Christina Curtiss, who was born January 12, 1745, and died May 12, 1816; he died July 5, 1822. They were the parents of thirteen children, of whom was Sil- vanus 2d, born May 27, 1762. He married Saralı Johnson, a native of Massachusetts. There were born to them nine children-six sons and three daughters-all but one living to be aged persons. In this family of children were Elijah and Elisha (twins), born May 10, 1812, in Montgomery County, N. Y., and of these, Elijah was the father of the present Judge Silvanus Wilcox, of Elgin, Ill. His grandfather, mentioned above, was a soldier in the

war for American independence, and was one of the guard in charge of Maj. Andre, when he was executed. He was in Gen. Ward's command in 1776, and afterward under Gen. Washington. He was a Revolutionary pensioner. Elijah Wilcox was a prominent military man, and became a gen- eral in the militia service. He married Sally Shu- ler, August 26, 1813, in Montgomery County, N. Y. He was an agriculturist, and lived on his farm until 1832, when he was appointed county commissioner and superintendent of the poor, and in 1836 he was appointed collector of canal tolls, at Fultonville, in said county, where he then resided, and continued to reside until 1842, when he came to Illinois, direct to Kane County, and here pur- chased a land claim near Elgin. Gen. Wilcox was a well-informed man, the possessor of good abilities, and prominent in this portion of the State. , He was interested, and took an active part in the ad- vancement of public enterprises and improvements. In politics he was a Democrat, and as such was, in 1846, elected State senator. He · was a strong Union man, and gave his influence and support to its maintenance. He died December 11, 1862, full of years, and honored by his fellow men. He had lived and died on his farm near Elgin, on which he located when he came to Illinois. He was the father of ten children, and the eight of these who grew to full life were born in the follow- ing order: Amelia Ann, born November 27, 1814, married John Hill, who was a prominent man in Chicago (he died in 1864; Mrs. Hill died in Elgin in October, 1868, leaving no children); Silvanus, born September 30, 1818; Daniel S., born June 23, 1823 (he married Sarah Ballard in 1848, and died in 1854, his widow surviving; they had three children); Calvin, born December 2, 1825 (he died in 1850, at Acapulco, Mexico, while on his way home from California; his widow, Emily, surviving him; no children); Ed- ward Sanford, born February 25, 1828, a resident of Kansas (he was adjutant of the Fifty-second Illinois Regiment, in the late war; he married Adelia Peck); Hannah M., born December 14, 1830 (she married Charles R. Collin, has three children, and resides in Elgin); Col. John S., born March 18, 1833, married Lois A. Conger; the

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Silvanus Wilcox

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youngest being William H., whose biography ap- pears elsewhere.

The son, Silvanus, was reared on his father's farm in his native Montgomery County, N. Y., until he was fifteen years of age (1834), at which time he was sent to Amsterdam Academy, in that county, where he remained until 1836, when he received the appointment of cadet at West Point, and proceeded to that academy in June, 1836. His health, however, became so seriously impaired that, upon the advice of his teachers and physi- cians, he resigned August 5, 1839. A letter, under date of December 4, 1839, from Maj. Delafield, superintendent of the military academy, gives an account of the military student, and states that in a class of fifty he stood fourth in mathematics, ninth in French, and thirteenth in drawing, and in general merit number five in his class. Among his classmates were Gen. W. T. Sherman, George H. Thomas, Stewart Van Vliet, etc., and among his room-mates were Gen. H. W. Halleck and Schuyler Hamilton. There were others at the school at the same time who became conspicuous in the army. When the Fifty-second Regiment Illinois Volunteers was organized, it was, in Decem- ber, 1861, ordered to proceed to St. Louis. Aware of his acquaintance with Gen. Halleck (then in command in the West) he, at the request of the colonel and several other officers of the regiment, among whom were three of his brothers, accom- panied the regiment to St. Louis. There he met Gen. Halleck, also Gen. Sherman and Gen. Ham- ilton, and introduced the colonel and several other officers of the regiment to them. The meeting of the West Point schoolmates was very pleasant, and much enjoyed, although marred by the crip- pled condition of Mr. Wilcox on account of a most serious injury to his knee, which he had received some time before, and which compelled him to use crutch and cane, totally disqualifying him from taking an active part in the field for the preserva- tion of the Union. Gen. Halleck there did him the honor to offer him a position upon his (Hal- leck's) staff, which, however, his disabled condition compelled him to decline. After his resignation from the military school he occupied the next two years in regaining his lost health, and, when strong

enough, he commenced the study of law in the office of Judge Heath, in Amsterdam. He was thus occupied one year. In 1844 he came with his family to Elgin, Ill., and, although still some. what a sufferer from ill health, he continued the study of law. After he had been in the State some little time, in common with so many immigrants to the new country, he suffered about six months with a severe attack of chills and fever. He was licensed to practice law in 1846, and formed a part- nership with Judge Isaac G. Wilson. This firm existed four years, and was dissolved in 1850. However, preceding this active law practice, Judge Wilcox was appointed, in 1845, postmaster at Elgin, which appointment was received at the hands of President Polk, and he remained in the office until President Taylor came into power. (A curious fam- ily coincidence may here be mentioned: All of the four Wilcox brothers now surviving were, at differ- ent times, postmasters, at Elgin, the youngest brother, William H., now filling that position under an appointment by President Cleveland).

He was elected circuit judge in 1867, the circuit then comprising Kane and Du Page Counties, to which afterward was added Kendall County; served his six-years' term, and was re-elected in 1873. He had no more than fairly resumed the duties of the office on his re-election when his health began to be seriously affected. Finally it was so completely shattered that he was compelled to resign, which he did in September, 1874. His friends and himself had become convinced that his days were substantially numbered. When he laid aside the hard work of the court-room he com- menced a systematic course of hygienic treatment, consisting of constant outdoor exercises, attending his farms, the improvement of his property, his fine herd of dairy cows, and such other cares as for the most part produced healthy open-air exercise. The results of this timely action are to be seen in his present restoration to health and physical vigor, that more than averages with men of his age, who can boast the strongest constitutions, and a life of unbroken health.

Aside from his professional and official life, Judge Wilcox has been and is one of the valued citizens of Elgin, and Kane County, in giving aid

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to the public improvements, and in developing the most important industries of the city and vicinity. When the vital question arose of securing for Elgin the location of its great watch factory, and when, after several ineffectual efforts by the actions of the town meetings, to secure the certain tract of land-the Dexter farm-and $25,000 of the stock subscribed for, that were required by Mr. Ray- mond and his company, then it was that Judge S. Wilcox, Henry Sherman, Benj. F. Lawrence and Walter L. Pease determined they would do what the public had demonstrated it could not do. They bought the farm, each furnishing one-quarter of the price ($8,577.48), donated thirty-five acres to the company, and subscribed for the balance of the $25,000 stock; and thus the question was settled. When the effort was put on foot to bring the Elgin Packing Company to the place, one of the strong supporters of that movement was Judge Wilcox, on whose land it was finally located. He subscribed for a large block of the stock, gave his influence, and was chief legal adviser to the board. When his health became so seriously impaired as to en- danger his life he resigned as a director in the concern, and closed out his stock at a sacrifice to himself, but to the benefit of the institution, which he wished to continue and prosper. He was one of the efficient aids in establishing the present Elgin Butter and Cheese Factory. Judge Wilcox was one of the promoters of the Northwestern Dairyman's Association, of which body he was president three years. He is now, and has been for twenty years, one of the trustees of the Elgin Academy, the im- portant educational institution of Kane County. He took an active part in the movement, in the fall of 1887, to establish another milk condensing fac- tory, was one of the commissioners to procure subscriptions for the stock, and aided in organiz- ing the company which is called the "Elgin Con- densed Milk Company." The company liave pur- chased the old Waverly Hotel for their building. Judge Wilcox has taken some considerable stock and much interest in the progress of the new factory, and it is expected the coming season, 1888, it will be in full operation.

In political matters the Judge has never been a partisan. He was reared a Democrat, and was a

warm admirer of Douglas, and with him became a " War Democrat " in 1861, voted for Mr. Lincoln at his second election, acted with the Republican party until after Gen. Grant's election, and has since, as a rule, voted the Democratic ticket. For the past forty-five years he has been a member of the Universalist Church, and for the most of the time has held some official position in that society.

Returning now to resume the chronological order of events: August 27, 1840, Hon. Silvanus Wilcox and Jane Mallery, were united in the bonds of wedlock. She was born September 29, 1819, and was the daughter of Henry and Mary Bent Mallery, former born December 8, 1781, in Ver- mont, and latter born October 27, 1785. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox a son, Silvanus, was born, Sep- tember 30, 1852. In the family, as children, are adopted one daughter and one son-Harriet Mc- Comb Wilcox, born July 20, 1875, and Henry Mallery Wilcox, born May 25, 1882-children of a niece of Mrs. Wilcox. Mrs. Wilcox departed this life April 24, 1884. From the testimony of those who speak by authority she was, in all that adorns life and home, the perfect woman; of gentle blood and gentle manners, affectionate, bright and cheerful, no shade of a shadow ever came from an unkind word from her to her life-companion in the forty-three years that they passed along life's great highway, hand-in-hand together.

R EV. LEONARD CLIFFORD, a retired min- ister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was born in Erie County, N. Y., in 1819. His parents were Americans by birth but of English extraction. The paternal grandfather, Edward Clifford, came to America about the year 1750, and served with the colonies in the French- Indian War of 1755, and later bore arms against his native land in the cause of liberty, during the Revolution, until he was taken prisoner and con - fined in the West Indies; for five years he was separated from his people. After liis return he gathered together his family, which during his absence circumstances had scattered, and removed to Rutland, Vt., whence Calvin Clifford, father of Leonard, removed to Western New York. Leon-

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ard's paternal grandmother was a Winslow, a de- scendant of one of the "Mayflower" families.

Calvin Clifford, who was born at Worcester, Mass., in the year 1772, settled in New York just previous to the breaking out of the War of 1812, during which he rendered his country some valuable service. He was married three times, and by his first union had one son and two daugh- ters; by a second marriage, one son and one daughter; and by his third marriage, in 1818, with Mrs. Martin (a widow who had five children by her first husband), he had one son, Leonard (sub- ject of this memoir), and one daughter. In 1834 the family came to Illinois, and settled about twenty-five miles southwest of Chicago, where, in 1849, the father died aged seventy-seven years, at the home of his son, Leonard. His widow sur- vived until 1872, in which year at the advanced age of ninety-two years she passed from earth at the home of a daughter.

Leonard Clifford came to Illinois with his parents, and in 1843 was married to Jeannette Boreland, a lady of Scotch extraction, and a native of Otsego County, N. Y., daughter of Mathew and Jeannette (Wilson) Boreland, who came to Illinois in 1837, but soon thereafter died. For thirteen years Mr. and Mrs. Clifford labored together on the farm, and then, feeling called to labor in the cause of the Master, Mr. Clifford left the farm, and entered school at Evanston, Ill., where for two years he prosecuted his theological studies. He joined the Rock River Conference, of which he is now a member, in 1858, and for twenty years he labored on various circuits and stations, his service having been rendered in the counties of Will, Du Page, Cook, Lake, McHenry, Boone and Kane. He was a hard and zealous worker in the good cause, and has been spared to see some of the fruits of his labor. In 1866 he was sent to the Dundee charge, and his home has since been made in that township. Not only did he sow the good seed abroad, but made an effort, with abundant success, to make his home a refuge for the friend- less, and several homeless and orphaned children have found shelter there, one, an adopted daugh- ter, being the wife of Robert Crichton. Being wearied with the duties of life, and the years now

advancing on him, Mr. Clifford has chosen Dundee village as his home, and there he and his faithful wife are calmly awaiting the final summons which shall call them to their reward.

L YMAN GERMAN. No greater pleasure can be enjoyed by the aged than to look back on a life usefully spent for the good of others as well as themselves. Such a happiness can be enjoyed in an eminent degree by the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. One of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of Geneva, Mr. German has done much for its advancement, and has contributed liberally of his time and means toward that end. He was born in Montgomery County, N. Y., October 3, 1808. His parents removed to Tompkins County, N. Y., and there he lived until the years of manhood. His father was Enoch German, a farmer, of the Empire State, and his mother Annice (Strong) German.

Lyman was reared amid the privations of pioneer life, and had but meager educational advantages, receiving but three months' tuition during the year, and that in the poorly taught dis- trict schools of those early times. At the age of seventeen he began working in a cotton mill, where he remained seven years, and then, in order to regain his health, which had become greatly impaired by close confinement, he began working as a farm laborer. In 1836 he came west, locat- ing at Geneva, where, however, he remained but a short time. Going farther west, he settled upon a claim near the now pleasant village of Maple Park, Kane County, where he built a small log cabin, one of the first dwellings erected in that locality. In about one year and a half he returned to Geneva, settling on a farm there, for which he had exchanged his claim. Mr. German has done considerable contract work since coming to the West. He graded seven miles of the Chicago & North- Western Railway, and also had the contract for furnishing all the material for the old Geneva and St. Charles Railroad, one of the first lines built in Kane County. He constructed the dam across the Fox River, and was one of the firm who erected the Geneva Mills, and in company with Capt.

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C. B. Dodson built the piers for the bridge across Rock River, at Sterling, Ill. In addition to these enterprises he has been engaged in the lumber and grain trade in Geneva, and lias erccted several fine residences there, doing much in every direc- tion for the advancement of the place.

In 1836 Mr. German was united in marriage with Elizabeth McKinney, who was born in Mont- gomery County, N. Y., September 8, 1817, her par- ents being Richard and Deborah (Rose) Mckinney. When Elizabeth was twelve years old her mother died, and her father married again, came to Illi- nois in 1836, settling just east of Geneva, and was among the pioneers of that region. Mr. and Mrs. German liad nine children, those now living are Chester, a resident of Geneva; Louisa, wife of E. Outhouse; and Ann, wife of Rev. S. C. Aldrich, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Erie County, Penn. On September 7, 1886, Mrs. Ger- man died, mourned by a large circle of friends. She had been a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for fifty-three years, and was active in all works of benevolence.

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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 16

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