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 21
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 21
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Mr. Stevens was a member of Company G, One Hundred and Twenty-Second Regiment, New York Infantry, in which he was a corporal; he took part in a great many battles, among others. Antietam, Williamsport, Fredericksburg, Gettys- burg, Rappahannock and Wilderness. In the last mentioned battle, May 6, 1864, he received a gun- shot wound in the left forearm, causing the loss of three inches of bone, and rendering the arm forever useless, for which he receives a pension of $24 per month. He was discharged from service Jan- uary 16, 1865, after eight months' illness in the hospital. Politically, Mr. Stevens supports the Republican party, and has held the offices of road commissioner three years, and school trustee twelve years. He and his wife are members of the Bap- tist Church, in which they are held in high esteem.
F RANK FASMER. This gentleman is a native of the city of Aurora, where he was born January 7, 1860. His parents are Joseph and Theresa (Kramme) Fasmer, residents of Aurora, the former a native of Wilda, and the latter of Werne, adjacent places in the Province of Westphalia, Prussia ; they were mar- ried in their native land, and immediately left, in 1853, for the New World. Landing in New York City, they came west to Aurora, where Joseph Fasmer carried on a furniture business for many years, rearing a family of two sons and four daughters.
Frank, the second son, commenced cigar making at the age of thirteen, and after completing a thorough apprenticeship at the business here en- gaged at journey work, at which he saved enough to go into business for himself. After an expe- rience of two years in this line at Maryville, Mo., he returned to Aurora, and formed a partnership
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with his brother, George, whom he bought out July 1, 1885, since which time he has carried on a successful business alone. Mr. Fasmer was mar-^ ried in Aurora to Miss Jennie Leonard, of this county, and they have two children-one daughter Theresa, and one son Harry B. Mr. and Mrs. Fas- mer are attendants of St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church. He is a prominent member of the Aurora Leider Kranz. He belongs to that class of young men who are to-day worthy representatives of those interests already so well established. He is affable and courteous, and has gained the respect of all who know him. He has been elected alder- man of his ward by a good majority, an evidence of the people's trust in him.
OSEPH G. STOLP, one of Aurora's early settlers who has linked his name permanently and prominently with that of the city's his- tory, where he has been a resident for the past half century, was born in Marcellus, Onon- daga Co., N. Y., August 16, 1812, of German descent. His parents, George and Catherine (Stall) Stolp, were children of Peter Stolp and Joseph Stall, respectively; the latter two came with their parents from Germany when they were aged respectively twelve and six years, landing at New York in 1788. On their first arrival in America they located at Hudson, and afterward at Johnstown, N. Y., where they were farmers. George Stolp and Catherine Stall were both born on the Hudson, and in 1805 removed with their family to Marcellus, near Syracuse, N. Y., where they subsequently lived until the spring of 1842, when they removed to Aurora, Ill. George Stolp died in the spring of 1843. Catherine Stolp died in the summer of 1854.
Joseph G. Stolp lived on the farm with his parents until 1828. when he was " bound out" to learn the woolen manufacturing business, with one B. N. Parsons, of Marcellus, with whom he re- mained as an apprentice until 1833, and afterward as a journeyman until 1837. In the spring of the latter year he started for Chicago, Ill., via the Erie Canal and lakes, taking twenty-one days to make the trip, and walked from Chicago to Aurora,
where he arrived June 12, 1837, and at once com- menced erecting a building on the north end of Stolp's Island, in which to put in wool-carding and cloth dressing machinery. Before his coming to Aurora his uncle, Frederick Stolp, had by agreement taken up a claim to the land on Stolp's Island for Joseph G. in 1835, and when it came into market in 1842 he received a title in fee to it from the United States Government. In the fall of 1837 his buildings were completed, and he began business, continuing in the same location until 1849, when he erected the large woolen-mill a few doors west of the City Hall on Stolp's Island, which mill he occupied until 1887, when he leased it to be used for other purposes. During his operation of this mill they manufactured heavy woolen goods principally, carrying on an extensive business, employing from 75 to 125 hands. Nearly all the buildings on Stolp's Island at present be- long to him or his children, to whom he has given it; he donated, however, to the public the land on which the City Hall, the Memorial Building and the Young Men's Christian Association Building were erected, and in the construction of the present bridges he paid more toward their cost than any other citizen; in other ways, also, has he done much in building up the city. Mr. Stolp was one of the largest taxpayers; for many years his school tax alone was $600 per annum in East Aurora, and it still remains at the very respectable figure of $400. He was a promoter of and the largest stockholder in establishing the Aurora Silver Plate Works, and has always been president of that concern. He was also stockholder and director in establishing the First National Bank of Aurora.
Mr. Stolp, although past three score and ten, is still actively attending to his affairs; with men- tal faculties unimpaired, he takes as deep an in- terest in the enterprises of the day as formerly. He was married at Naperville, Ill., in June, 1839, to Temperance Dustin, a daughter of Ebenezer Dustin, of Plattsburg, N. Y. He lost his wife by death in June, 1855, she leaving five children as follows: Allen W .; Myron G .; Elnora O., now wife of Maj. Samuel B. Sherer; Cleora A., widow of Pliny L. Haskell ; and Caroline T., wife of J.
Joseph, S. Sloth
PHOTO BY D. C. PRATT.
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F. Johnson, of Chicago. Mr. Stolp was afterward married in the winter of 1858 to Isabella Miller, who died February 19, 1883, leaving no children.
There is an important lesson to the young men of the county in this man's life. From the day he trudged afoot from Chicago to Aurora it is now a little more than fifty years. He has not only seen all this development and growth of the val- ley of the Fox River, but he has been one of the strong influences in the grand work of patiently shaping, directing and building. In thus carry- ing out his own destiny he has advanced a State, and is one of the honored founders of this splen- did empire of the Upper Mississippi Valley. If the young men of to-day would but study the moral of the story of his life, many who are now dawdling away what should be useful lives in waiting for "eligible positions " to come to them, would set about making a place for themselves instead of depending upon others to make it for them. There is a lesson or a warning in every human life. To understand and heed them well is the best practical education that can be given to the youths of the country.
R ICHARD DALE. Among the many stal- wart Englishmen who left their island home to seek a fortune in "the land of the free, where mighty Missouri runs down to the sea." not the least worthy of mention is this successful, much-respected farmer of Big Rock Township, of whom we now propose to present a brief biography.
Mr. Dale was born in the county of Durham, England, July 28, 1824, a son of Thomas and Ann (Stoddart) Dale, natives of England, the former born at Eaglecliffe, Yorkshire, Angust 13, 1786, the latter at Houghton-le-Spring, Durham, April 19, 1794. They were married at Bishop Middlem, November 9, 1812, and had a family of fifteen children, eight of whom survive, namely, George T., married, in Chicago; Thomas S., married, in Hinckley, De Kalb Co., Ill .; Lincoln, married, in Aurora, Ill .; Ann, wife of William Griffith, in Dyer, Ind. ; Richard; Jane, wife of L. J. Lamson, in Big Rock Township; Emma, wife of E. R.
Long, also in Big Rock Township; Caroline, wife of Alfred Summers. Two of the deceased sons, Henry and William, were sea captains; Henry died in Sligo, Ireland, June 15, 1871; William sailed to the East Indies in command of a merchant ves- sel, thirty-five years ago, and was never again heard of after reaching his destination. Thomas Dale, who had been a farmer in England, came to America in 1852, bringing with him his wife and four children, purchased 150 acres of land in Big Rock Township, and at once settled down again to farm life. He died July 26, 1862, and his widow March 20, 1876.
Richard Dale received a liberal education, and, in addition to his experience on his father's farm, served an apprenticeship to mercantile business in England. Since his arrival in America he has devoted his time almost exclusively to agriculture and stock raising, and now owns 20S acres of well- improved land on Section 23. March 6, 1856, Mr. Dale was married to Ann, daughter of Joseph and Ann (Hopkins) Summers, natives of England, and by her had a family of five children: Joseph H., John R. (deceased), Martha M., Annie S. and Sydney J. Politically Mr. Dale is a Democrat; has been school director for fifteen years and com- missioner for six years. In matters of religion he is non-sectarian, though he rather inclines to the Episcopal mode of worship.
Mrs. Dale, in speaking of her early days, re- called the first house her father built, said house being made of poles, covered with twigs and hay. It answered very nicely until they were visited by a rain storm, which continued for three days. The hay thatching did not prove a success in keep- ing out the rain, and, as she expressed it, they had to go out of doors to dry themselves, and many of the goods brought from "Merrie England" were badly damaged.
H ORACE A. WELLS, a prominent farmer of Kaneville Township, is located on a fine tract of 122 acres of land on Section 22. He is a native of Massachusetts, born at Pitts- field, April 26, 1831, a son of Royal and Betty (Lar- kins) Wells, the former also a native of Pittsfield,
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the latter a native of Hartford, Conn. When our subject was but two years old they moved to New York State, and here Horace A. resided until 1866, and then settled in Kane County, Ill.
November 24, 1870, he married Harriet E. Graves, a native of New York, who came with her parents, Hiram and Lucinda Graves, both natives of Vermont, to Kane County, in 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Horace A. Wells have had a family of eight children: Harlow R., Emma L., Martha M., Lettie H., Blanche I., Nellie M., Elna M. and Pearl K., all living except Harlow R. In politics Mr. Wells votes with the Republican party, and by his voice and vote encourages every enterprise which tends to the benefit and advancement of his community. Mr. Wells has served his township in some local offices.
J OSEPH PULSIFER BARTLETT. There are many successful and well-to-do farmers in Kane County, and Campton Township cer- tainly has its full quota. Prominent among those who have attained success through their own energy and perseverance is the gentleman whose name heads this memoir, residing on Section 29, where he has pursued his chosen vocation as an agriculturist. Mr. Bartlett was born in Campton Township, Grafton Co., N. H., January 16, 1810. His father, Tristram B., hailed from the same place, having been born there in 1769, the son of Thomas Bartlett, who first saw the light of day in Newburyport, Mass., being a direct descendant of Richard Bartlett, who came from England, settled in Newburyport, in 1635, and became the founder of this branch of the family in the United States. He was one of the "minute men" of 1776, an- swering the call of Gen. Stark. when he went with a body of New Hampshire and Massachusetts militia to attack Col. Baum, who had been sent by Gen. Burgoyne with 500 Hessian troops and 100 Indians to take Bennington. After this date he settled in Campton Township, Grafton Co., N. H., where he successfully conducted a tannery and farm, and where he passed the remainder of his days, being accidentally killed by a fall from his horse, at the ripe age of eighty years. He had six
sons and nine daughters, all of whom lived to ma- turity.
The father of Joseph P. Bartlett grew up un- der the care of his parents at this place, continu- ing the tannery business after the death of his parents. In his native county he met and subse- quently married Hannah Pulsifer, also a native of New Hampshire, and whose forefathers were prominent among the carly settlers of that county. She was a descendant of Thomas Brown, who came from England, and settled in Newbury, Mass., in 1835. The newly married couple located on the old home, where they remained until 1820. Then disposing of their property they removed to Rumney Township, where he found new fields for the trades taught him by his father-tanning and farming. There this couple spent the remainder of their lives, the wife dying first, the husband surviving her only a short time, departing this life in 1841. To them had been given nine chil- dren-five sons and four daughters-Joseph P. being the fifth child in the order of birth.
In his native town Joseph P. Bartlett received a part of his early education, attending school only two months of the year. In 1833 he entered Phillips Academy, at Andover, Mass., remaining there until 1836, the year of the anti-slavery ex- citement, when he, together with forty other young men, wished to form an anti-slavery society, or unite with one in the town; and not being allowed by the trustees of the academy, many of them deemed it an infringement on their rights of citi- zenship, being twenty-one years of age, and left the academy. Later on he resumed his studies at Dartmouth College, remaining there, however, only one term, when, health and money both fail- ing, he was obliged to give up his studies, and pursue some vocation that was not only light work, but remunerative as well. As a teacher of the public school he found not only support, but re- gained his health, teaching for some time in Mas- sachusetts and New Hampshire. In 1838 Mr. Bartlett left his home in the East to seek one in the then far West, arriving in Chicago June 23 of the same year. Branching out from there, he went to Rockford, where he was engaged in vari- ous occupations, teaching and farming, until 1843,
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when he again removed, this time settling on the beautiful farm where he now resides, and taking up 120 acres of prairie land, and erecting a sub- stantial farmhouse, he began the life of a farmer.
December 31, 1843, he was united in marriage with Mrs. Julia Ann McQuesten, a daughter of Capt. Ephraim and Mary (Robie) Elliott, a cousin to Gov. Robie, of Maine, and a native of Grafton County, N. H., where she was born July 25, 1813; her father, Capt. Elliott, was a pri- vateer in the War of the Revolution, and was captured by a British man-of-war, and confined in the Old Mill Prison in Ireland until the close of the war, when he was exchanged. Five children were the result of this union: Alice E, born April 20, 1845, who married Llewellyn Rice, July 11, 1869, and with him went to California, where Mr. Rice was engaged in school teaching, and both died in 1871; Sarah Adelaide, born January 24, 1848; Lowell Edwin and John Edgar, twins, born September 15, 1850, and Henry Ward Beecher, born August 15, 1852, died April 18, 1872. John Edgar married Elsie Melissa Rich- mond, and has five sons: Henry Almond, born December 4, 1873; George Edwin, born June 12, 1876; Joseph Albert, born January 24, 1879; William Lester, born January 11, 1883; Walter, born January 24, 1885.
Mr. Bartlett has held many of the county and town offices, such as justice of the peace and asso- ciate justice for sixteen years; coroner, eight years; notary public, twenty years; supervisor, eleven years, having for various positions had thirteen governors' commissions. During the eleven years' service as supervisor he was never absent from any meeting of the board. He is also prominent as the person who changed the name of Campton from "Fairfield," the former name of the town- ship. He was also a conductor on the "under- ground railway," aiding thereby many fugitive slaves to a land of freedom. Mr. Bartlett is a close adherent of the Congregational Church, as was also Mrs. Bartlett until the time of her death, which took place March 22, 1876, in which church she was held in high esteem, taking an active part in Christian work. The farm upon which he settled is now managed by his son, Lowell Edwin.
and is a fine dairy farm, stocked with dairy cattle and fine Norman and Clydesdale horses. Mr. Bartlett is a Republican in politics, and takes a keen interest in public matters. He is a radical temperance man, and has been engaged in the temperance cause sixty years. He never has used tobacco in any form. He cast his first vote for President in 1832, voting for Henry Clay. In 1836 he voted for William Wirt, the anti-Masonic candi- date for President; in 1840 he voted for William Henry Harrison; in 1844, for James G. Birney; in 1848, for Van Buren and Adams, the Free-Soil candidates; in 1852, for John P. Hale; in 1856, for John C. Fremont; in 1860, for Abraham Lincoln, also in 1864; in 1868, for U. S. Grant, also in 1872; in 1876, for Rutherford B. Hayes; in 1880, for Garfield and Arthur, and in 1884, for James G. Blaine. He is strongly opposed to all secret oath- bound societies, believing them to be dangerous to our Republican institutions.
M ALCOLM A. MINER is a prosperous, enterprising citizen, residing on Section 20, Kaneville Township, where he owns a well improved and productive farm. He is a son of Amos and Amanda (Rose) Miner, old settlers, and was born December 2, 1842, at the old homestead of his parents in Kane- ville Township. January 24, 1864, he volun- teered in the War of the Rebellion, enlisting in Company A, Fifty-second Regiment, I. V. I., for the term of three years, or during the war. He was immediately placed in active service, and so continued until the surrender of the rebel forces to Gen. U. S. Grant. Mr. Miner was honorably discharged and mustered out of the United States service; he then returned to his home in Kaneville Township, and resumed his former occupation.
In 1868 he was married to Anna L., daughter of the Rev. Lovesee, a Methodist minister, who at one time preached at Kaneville, and was well known in Winnebago County, Iowa, along the Mississippi River and other places, where his ministerial duties called him. While located at Dover, Bureau Co., Ill., he and a Miss Emma Perkins, being in a buggy together, were both
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accidently killed by the cars while passing over the Chicago. Burlington & Quincy Railroad cross- ing west of Malden, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. Miner have had a family of seven children: Glen E. (born in Bureau County, Ill.), Amos, George L., Ava D., Abba M., Roy and Rose B. In politics Mr. Miner is a Republican.
ACOB M. FRACE, a farmer of Kaneville Township, is of German descent, born in Morris County, N. J., February 22, 1820, a son of Jacob and Leonora (Welsh) Frace, the former of whom was a partner in a tannery business, and after four years followed shoemaking in Morris County. Mr. Frace is entirely a self- made man, reared and educated in his native county. January 1, 1852, he arrived in Chicago, and the same year settled in Kane County, where he com- menced farming operations with a cash capital of about $300, and this business he has since suc- cessfully followed, having acquired a well-earned competency. His farm is located on the southeast part of Section 2, where he resides with his family.
Mr. Frace was married, in October, 1857, to Sarah, daughter of Albert Vorhees, a cooper by trade, and a native of Morris County, N. J. To this union have been born three children: Elsie, married to John Congle; Albert D. and Elizabeth. Mr. Frace is recognized as a citizen of sterling worth, and commands the respect of all as a representative substantial farmer and enterprising citizen of the township. He is a Democrat.
L ORENZO J. LAMSON was born near the foot of Bunker Hill, Charlestown, Mass., September 9, 1817, son of Samuel and Sarah (Elliott) Lamson, natives of the same State. When very young he removed to the State of Maine, where he received such educational advantages as the common schools afforded until fifteen years of age, when he went to New York City, and entered a mercantile house with his brother. October 1, 1836, he removed to Illinois, purchased 160 acres of land on Section 7, Big
Rock Township, Kane County, and engaged in farming and stock raising.
In 1855 Mr. Lamson married Jane Dale, a native of England [see sketch of Richard Dale], by whom he had four children, as follows, Lo- renzo J., Dale E., Arthur W. and Lionel L., all living at home. In politics Mr. Lamson is a Republican. He assisted in the organization of his township, and was the first town clerk. He also held various town offices, such as school trustee, commissioner, etc., having served as school direct- or twenty-one years. He still resides on the land he purchased from the Government over fifty years ago, and is a highly respected and enter- prising farmer of his township.
A RCHIBALD MOODY, a native of New Brunswick, was born in the parish of Prince William, County of York, February 23, 1837, a son of Alexander and Margaret (Morris) Moody, natives of Scotland, and early set- tlers in New Brunswick, where they were married in the year 1828, and where they both died. Alex- ander Moody died September 20, 1877, at the age of seventy-seven years, and his widow died June 5, 1885, aged seventy-nine years. In his native place Archibald Moody learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, and in the winter of 1865 he came to Kane County, where he engaged in contracting, build- ing a number of large, fine houses in Campton and Blackberry Townships. He has also erected a number of schoolhouses in Kane County. In 1873 he bought the farm known as the Foss estate, to which place he has since added fifty-one acres, and has now 197 acres of well-improved farm land. In 1875 he moved to Davis Junction, Ogle County, and engaged in the lumber and building businesses, but remained there only two years. He then sold his interest in that place, and came to his farm in Campton Township, upon which he has lived to the present time, and which he has improved to the amount of $3,500. He has about forty-five head of graded cattle, and several fine blooded horses.
February 4, 1867, Mr. Moody married Flora H. Kendall, a daughter of Orson and Fannie Maria
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(Reed) Kendall, a native of Virgil Township, Kane County, where she was born October 15, 1841. Four children blessed their union: Orson A., born Novem- ber 7, 1867; Margaret M., born July 30, 1871, died May 3, 1875; Archibald A., born June 10, 1875, and Flora M., born December 23, 1881. There is also an adopted daughter, born April 5, 1867. Mr. Moody has held in his town the offices of school trustee, and is now road commissioner; he was also at one time elected councilor of his native place, the parish of Prince William, N. B., in 1865. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and takes a keen interest in the affairs of the State. Mr. and Mrs. Moody are members of the Congregational Church, in which they are held in high esteem.
P ETER CARLSON. This gentleman is favor- ably known in St. Charles city and vicinity as a manufacturer of and dealer in boots and shoes, his store being the only one in the city confined exclusively to that line of goods, of which he carries a complete assortment. Mr. Carl- son was born in Langelanda, near the city of Got- tenborg, Sweden, February 28, 1842, to Carl and Anna Pharson. He was left motherless at the age of ten years, and received limited educational advan- tages. When seventeen he was apprenticed to learn the trade of a shoemaker, which, having thoroughly mastered, he worked at for several years, 'and in 1871 immigrated to America, land- ing at New York City June 21, and a short time thereafter located at St. Charles, where he estab- lished his present business in 1873.
In 1865 Mr. Carlson was married to Magdelena Erickson, who was born April 3, 1841. They have two children, Fritz Gerhard, born March 21, 1866, in Gottenborg, Sweden, and Oscar A., born March 3, 1879, in St. Charles. Mr. and Mrs. Carlson are members of the Swedish Lutheran Church at St. Charles, of which he is deacon, trustee and
treasurer, and Mrs. Carlson is an active member of the church societies. In politics he is a Repub- lican. Although Mr. and Mrs. Carlson began life at St. Charles under adverse circumstances, finan- cially, they have by business tact and enterprise, combined with industry and a careful economy,
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