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 33
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 33
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and yet with such a calmness and perfect assurance, that they ignominiously retired, in the faith that he would be an ugly customer to attack. They were impressed, no doubt, as was the fellow Gen. Jackson arrested, who with his gun had stood off the sheriff and posse, but who surrendered to Jack- son, because, as he said afterward, "Boys, I saw shoot in his eye."
Mr. Sherman was married in Starkey, Yates Co., N. Y., April 15, 1836, to Jeannette S., daugh- ter of Timothy and Mabel Hurd. She was born in Yates County, September 6, 1819, her parents being of Bennington, Vt. They had ten children, she being the youngest of the daughters, and of these there are the following surviving: Polly, who married Gilbert Hathaway, and resides in Sodus, N. Y .; Rebecca, who became Mrs. John Bogert, of Independence, Iowa; Caroline, now Mrs. J. R. McLean, of Elgin; Electa, now Mrs. Goundry, of Grand Rapids, Mich .- all are wid- ows. Seymour Hurd, the only surviving son, resides in Rochester, N. Y. The parents died, the mother in March, 1842, and the father in Au- gust, 1848. Mr. and Mrs. Sherman became the parents of the following-named children: George De Forrest (who has two children: Cecil H. and Janet H., and is a resident of Elgin); Cornelia Mabel, now Mrs. R. M. Martin, of Red Cloud, Neb. (has two children: Robert M. and Mabel J.); and Henrietta Julia. The latter is in the pleas- ant home of her parents, on Villa Street, Elgin.
Mr. Sherman toiled faithfully, and now liis labors are being well rewarded. He soon became known as one of the prosperous farmers in the county, and has made first-class improvements on his 300-acre farm. In 1851 he removed to Elgin, determined to rest awhile from his severe toil, and that he might have better advantages for his chil- dren's education. At first he rented a house, and only expected to make a temporary stay in the place, but in a short time circumstances made him the owner of real estate; then in a little while he commenced making improvements on this, and in time he had built a business house; he became assignee for a drug store, and in this way found himself in the end the proprietor of the establish - ment, and in time he became interested in the
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Elgin Watch Factory; and thus, by slow but sure advances, his interests grew to their present propor- tions. In the meantime he had erected the first important butter factory built in the State. He is therefore the pioneer of one of the most impor- tant industries of Kane County, and this part of Illinois. In the matter of securing to Elgin the location of the watch factory, it is a part of the history of that institution that the name of Henry Sherman is the first on the list of four men who purchased the farm, and donated thirty-five acres to the concern; in addition, Mr. Sherman sub- scribed $5,000 of the balance of the unsold $25,000 of stock required to secure its location in the place. Without intending it, he also became one of the parties who secured the final success of the Elgin Packing Factory. The company had started up, and had about come to grief; stockholders were eager to give away their stock, and pay good figures to get out of all responsibility about it. At this critical time Mr. Sherman helped reorganize it, with a few others who took up the stock, assumed all the responsibility, and made it what it now is, one of the foremost concerns of the kind in the world. Elgin canned corn, pumpkins, tomatoes, etc., are the products. In the working season 500 to 600 hands are employed. His ready tact and sound judgment brought prosperity to himself in every one of his many affairs, as farmer, merchant and manufacturer. In the line of the latter no man in the county has contributed any more to the pros- perity of Elgin and vicinity. His liberality has kept even pace with his business prosperity. The church has had no better friend in the movement of building their edifices, he having alone built a house for superannuated ministers, and given it to the Conference as a permanent home. He is now free to say he regards this as the best money investment he has ever made. His charities here have not been limited, and so of all charities; and for many years no subscription was thought of being raised with- out his name to head the list.
And now at the age of eighty-two years he is an interesting study. He is purely what nature and himself have builded. He owes little or noth- ing to art. A most companionable man, cheerful, bright, with a dry humor that for quaint original
ity would have made the fortune of even the noted wits of the age. His shrewd judgment in large business matters was only equaled by his dry sar- casm, that would turn to an irrepressible shout of laughter the most irate or quarrelsome neighbor that ever yet attempted the folly of "picking a crow " with him. He despised cant and dishon- esty, and the quaint, imperturbable manner in which, when he found a man deserved it, he would tell him he was a thief, has, as the boys say, " para- lyzed " many a pretentious blusterer.
His qualities of head and heart have drawn about him a strong circle of warm friends, and even those who have felt the keen shafts of his sarcasm have had to laugh at his dry humor when among his friends. He has never meddled seriously in politics, but has been an influential member of the Republican party. He was for several years su- pervisor of Elgin Township, and was the first assessor after Elgin was organized as a town. He was appointed one of the trustees of the Illinois Northern Hospital for the Insane, at Elgin, by Gov. Palmer, and was one of the active members in super- intending the building of the asylum, making all contracts and supervising the work and adjusting all bills. Mr. Sherman was the resident trustee, and the main responsibility rested upon him.
D AVID W. SNYDER, a farmer of Kaneville Township, residing on Section 31, is a native of Lancaster County, Penn., born November 9, 1825. His father, David Snyder, was also a native of Lancaster County, Penn., where he learned the trade of saddle and harness maker, which he followed several years. He came west with his family in 1846, and located at Maple Park, Kane Co., Ill., where he worked at his trade until his death, in 1877. He was buried in Pierce, De Kalb Co., Ill. He was a member of the Evangelical Church. Fourteen children were born to him, as follows: Leonard, Jacob, Abraham, Weidler, Samuel, Israel and Reuben (deceased), and David W., Isaac, Henry, Catherine, Adam, Mary and Cyrus (living); all natives of Pennsylvania.
David W. Snyder came to Illinois with his
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father in 1846, and in 1850 married Mary Flisher, of Naperville, Du Page Co., Ill., who also came with her parents from Western Pennsylvania in 1844. Her father was born in the State of New York, and her mother in Lancaster County, Penn. She (Mrs. Snyder) was born in Dauphin County, Penn., August 4, 1830. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder were both living at Naperville at the time of marriage, but in 1856 moved to Kaneville, where they have resided for the last thirty-two years. To them were born eight children, as follows: Mil- ton H. (deceased), Mahlon D. (married to Lena L. Keeler), Emma S. (who died in 1867), Ida M., E. Nora (married to Fred. A. Ames), Lincoln F., Jennie M. and Mamie A. The survivors all live at Kaneville. In politics Mr. Snyder was formerly a Republican, but has of late years sided with the Prohibitionists. Both Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Kaneville.
M ARIA WHITNEY was born June 28, 1812, in Tompkins County, N. Y., and is the daughter of Moses and Dolly (Winslow) Blood, natives of Massachusetts, former of whom was a soldier in the War of 1812-15. Maria Blood lived with her parents until she was twenty-seven years of age, when she married John Whitney, a native of the town of Orange, Frank- lin Co., Mass., born August 18, 1804. He had been in the West two years previous to his mar- riage, and took up a claim in Campton Township, whither he brought his wife in the year 1839. Mr. Whitney died in November, 1854, and was buried in Campton Cemetery. The management of the farm then fell to Mrs. Whitney, and she conducted it successfully, making a great many improvements on it, -building an addition to the house, and also several new outhouses. The farm of 175 acres is a fine one, and is well stocked with fine cattle; keeping an average of twenty-five cows.
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Whitney, as follows: Daniel, born January 3, 1840; Rachel, born July 3, 1841; Mary Ann, born April 9, 1844; John, born February 23, 1846; Maria, born June 23, 1848, died in March, 1869; Melvin, born February 20, 1851; and Charlotte,
born December 4, 1852, died August 18, 1869. Mr. Whitney was a member of the Baptist Church , at the time of his death, which church Mrs. Whit- ney now attends. In politics he was one of the few Democrats found in this section of the country, and was a man who took a keen interest in the affairs of State.
H ON. JULIUS ANGELO CARPENTER is a name inseparably linked with the history of Kane County, especially in the devel- opment of its natural resources. He was born in Uxbridge, Mass., August 19, 1827, of a long line of ancestors who had come to America from the old world, in search of a land where hu- man liberty prevailed, and where men's rights con- sisted in something far higher and better than the accidents of birth. When he was ten years of age his parents moved to Illinois, locating on Fox River, where is now Carpentersville, and were farmers and pioneers in this part of the State. The youth was reared on his father's farm, and his surroundings were only those experienced by boys, who, in after life, may be truly said to be self-made men. We are told, by those who know, that this youth was, perhaps, more than compensated by the deprivations incident to his young pioneer life in the lessons learned at the knee of his mother, a woman of un- usual gifts of mind and heart, who gave her life in oy to her family. He was most fortunate in his home life, in that parental care and training tended to form his future course. He was fortunate in- deed, in his play-fellows and child associates, a part of every child's life that is not fully appreci- ated generally, and even if it were it is a matter of circumstances over which the best parent can exercise only a limited influence. Such were some of the fortunate influences that surrounded the pioneer boy; and that happily were the con- trolling influences in shaping his after life, as they brought him those blessings money cannot buy. To these surroundings the lad grew to young manhood on his father's farm. He was en- gaged in that labor until he had reached the age of twenty-two years, when he made his first small venture in his own behalf.
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He opened a store in the small hamlet of Car- pentersville, and here he gave evidence of those sterling traits of character, strong judgment, and keen penetration in the affairs of life, that soon won the admiration and profound confidence of all with whom he came in contact. His uncles had built a large mill to utilize the water power in the place, and in time it met with misfortune so great that it began to appear that the whole investment would be lost. The young man was given a quarter interest by his uncle, conditioned he would man- age it, and he eventually became the sole owner. His success of converting disaster to complete success was almost phenomenal; and from the day he opened his little store to the last his business affairs grew and expanded. He founded institu- tions, and started them on the highway of prosper- ity, institutions that are now being operated, and are growing yearly in importance, and will no doubt continue to do so for generations to come.
The genius of this man is to be seen in his pow- er of organizing and systematizing permanent con- cerns, great beehives of human industry that are to- day and will continue to be operated, and that exist solely upon the fundamental ideas that were coined in his brain. He did far more than build up a great fortune, like that of the merchant prince of the me- tropolis, or the speculator and money changers in the great marts of trade. He worked in a field where there was little or nothing-neither great capital nor great institutions. He had to create and organize. And here was his supreme triumph, that victory of mind over matter that can only come to genius of a high order. The briefest enumeration is all that we can here give of the many valuable indus- tries of which he was the founder and organizer, as well as the master and ruling spirit. And one strong mark of the man is his rare talent of organ- izing these institutions upon such a basis of busi- ness principles that when the master architect had ceased from further care or labor, the great work went on, almost self-operating.
He platted and laid out the village of Carpen- tersville, about 1850, having become nearly the sole owner of the fine water privileges of the place, and the same year, at his own expense, he con- structed a bridge across the river. What there is
of the town practically he built. In 1866 he erected in that place the Valley Woolen Mills, or- ganizing a stock company, of which he was one of the principal subscribers, and during the remain- der of his life the controlling manager. In 1868 he became interested in the Illinois Iron Bolt Coin- pany, at that time a small and insignificant affair. He became manager, secretary and treasurer of the company, and he made it one of the great and im- portant concerns of the State, as well as one of the strongest establishments in this part of Illinois, adding from time to time improvements in machi- nery and additional buildings, until now it is one of the largest and wealthiest concerns of the kind in the world. He brought into existence the Star Manufacturing Company, for the manufacture of agricultural implements; he established a large planing-mill and lumber yard; built the large two- story store in the village and filled it with goods; and made the flourmill one of the finest in the State. In 1878 he induced the Chicago & North- Western Railroad to extend its track from Dundee, so as to pass through Carpentersville. He owned at the time of his death, adjoining Carpentersville, a tract of land of 1,000 acres, and 320 acres of land in Champaign County, as well as large tracts in Kansas and Nebraska. He was a subscriber to the stock of the National Watch Factory.
Mr. Carpenter removed to Elgin in 1875, and purchased the splendid residence on Chicago Street; became a member of the banking house of Bosworth, Carpenter & Co., and, when their pri- vate bank became the First National Bank, he was one of the chief establishers and managers. He was also president of the Elgin City (Savings) Banking Company; in 1877 he was made treasurer of the Illinois Northern Hospital for the Insane, and held this position during the remainder of his life. While a resident of Dundee Township he had served the people as postmaster at Carpenters- ville, and was several times elected, and served the township as supervisor At the November election, in 1870, he was chosen to represent his district in the Illinois House of Representatives. The new constitution had just gone into effect, and impor- tant laws were to be enacted by the Legislature, in conforming with the constitution. Here his serv-
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ices were of the greatest value to the State. He was re-elected the following term, 1872. The es- timate in which he was held by his fellow members is indicated by his service as chairman of the fol- lowing committees in that body: Finance, manu- facturing, and a special committee created on the subject of temperance. He was a radical only on the latter subject, and to his efforts we owe the law in reference to the present bonds required of vendors of liquor.
In April, 1852, Julius Angelo Carpenter and Mary Edwards were joined in the sacred bonds of matrimony; the playmates and companions of childhood had joined hands. To this happy union were born three children-two girls of rare promise, one dying at the age of six years, and the other taken away when three years of age, and a boy who died in infancy. Eminent as he was in the business and society circles at large, he was by far at his best in his home in the bosom of his family. Here he was the perfect man, the tenderest hus- band and the most affectionate and always genial companion. In 1867, accompanied by his wife, he made an extensive tour of Europe and the Conti- nent. While abroad he visited many of the great marts of trade, studying the different systems of labor in those large organized industries. His so cial qualities were of a high order, and his keen observation, his judgment of men, his travels, much reading and fine natural powers of conversa- tion, made him a most interesting companion.
The Elgin Advocate of Saturday, April 3, 1880, contained a well-written obituary notice, from which we extract the following account of the clos- ing scenes in the life of Mr. Carpenter:
Our citizens were surprised to hear on Sunday that Hon. Julius A. Carpenter was seriously ill at his residence in this city. On Saturday last we briefly mentioned that on Saturday, March 20, in stepping from the train at the Chicago Street crossing, he sprained an ankle, and since then had been confined to the house, and that in addition to this injury he was suffering from an attack of inflam- matory rheumatism. At the time of the publication of the paragraph, no one who read it, not even liis most in- timate friends, thought for a moment that death was hovering so near him. But, added to the other difficul- ties, camc an entire derangement of his system, followed by a stoppage of the bowels. So rapidly did the disease do its work that on Sunday it became evident that he was
in a most critical condition, and at times suffering intense pain, which continued until 10:45 Tuesday morning, March 30, 1880, when death relieved him from all earthly pain, and his spirit winged its flight to the mansions above. The news of his death spread rapidly, and wherever men- tioned the deepest sorrow was manifested, for all felt that a good and honored citizen had fallen.
Speaking in general terms of the estimation.of the man by his friends and neighbors, it says:
In social life he was pleasant and genial, greatly attach- ed to his wife and home, and especially a friend of young people, always delighting in their enjoyment. To those about his household, and those in his employ, he always had a kind word, and took great interest in their welfare, and this endcared him to the men he had gathered about him in his great manufacturing establishments, in which lie devoted so much of his time; and, could the secrets of the heart be known, they would prove that many a poor family, if deserving, had had their wants supplied from his stores. He was generous, yet careful that his gener- osity was not unworthily bestowed. He was temperate in all things, and on the question of temperance he was radical, and to these views and his firm convictions, Car- pentersville owes much of its prosperty, and the employes under him, their neat, comfortable and happy homes,
In politics Mr. Carpenter was a Republican, and a strong Union man. He was Congregational in belief, a member of the Union Church when liv- ing at Carpentersville, and, after removing to this city, he took an active part in church and Sunday school work. His near relatives who survive him are his widow, whom he fondly cherished; a niece, Mrs. G. F. Arvedson, of Carpentersville; an uncle, Joseph Carpenter, and the latter's three daughters, of Providence, Rhode Island. The funeral was at his late residence in Elgin, Friday, April 2, 1880, and his remains were taken to Dundee, and laid to rest by the side of his little children and his own parents, in the cemetery he had done so much to improve and beautify.
E LIAS S. BOYCE. New England has sent many of her sons to become citizens of Illi- nois, among them the subject of this brief memoir, who settled in Big Rock, Kane Coun- ty, in the year 1855. He was born in Springfield, N. H., November 26, 1819, descended from good patriotic stock. He is a son of Adam and Mary (Loverin) Boyce, the former a native of Wendall, N. H., where he followed farming; the latter born at
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Croydon, N. H., February 1, 1792, a daughter of John and Betty Loverin, born, respectively, April 7, 1762, in New Hampshire, and July 5, 1768, in Springfield, N. H. Adam Boyce was a soldier in the War of 1812, for which service he received a pension during the latter years of his life. He was a son of Robert Boyce, who was for a long time a resident of Springfield.
Elias S. Boyce has, since residing in Big Rock Township, been successfully engaged in farming, sustaining a reputation as a good and respected member of society. He has been three times mar- ried: First, March 8, 1842, to Chloe A. Bacon, by whom there were five children-Ellen (deceased), Marshall S., Sylvanus E., Milo G. and Willie L .: Second, in 1876, to I. I. Dodge: Third, in 1887, to Harriet Westover. In politics Mr. Boyce is a Democrat, and has on several occasions acceptably served his township.
M ELVIN TARBLE was born in Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., August 14, 1830, and is a son of Joy and Harriet (Cox) Tarble, the former a native of Pepper Hill, N. H., in which place his ancestors had long resided. A brother of Joy Tarble, Amos, still lives, a pen- sioner of the War of 1812. Joy Tarble was a mason, and Melvin learned that trade of him. In 1846 Joy Tarble with his family, consisting of wife, two sons and one daughter, came west and located in Aurora, Ill., where with his son he car- ried on mason contracting. The father retired from business after an active experience of many years, leaving many evidences of his handicraft in public and private buildings in Aurora.
In August, 1863, Melvin Tarble enlisted in the Union army, Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteers. He was, how- ever, soon after transferred to detail service, and subsequently appointed by the Secretary of War as hospital steward in the regular service, a posi- tion he creditably filled until June, 1866, when he was mustered out and honorably discharged. Re- turning home, he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Chicago, from which he retired, and soon after accepted the position of conductor in the service
of the Pullman Car Company. After several years he resigned, September 30, 1885, and on the following day entered upon his present duties of cashier for the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, at West Aurora Station.
Mr. Tarble was married in Memphis, Tenn., while in the United States regular service, to Lib- bie A. Skeer, of Butler County, Penn., a sister to Dr. J. D. Skeer, now of Chicago, but then a United States army surgeon. Mr. Tarble is a member of Post No. 20, G. A. R., also of the chapter and council F. & A. M. He is a public- spirited and progressive citizen, and contributes liberally to all measures tending to the city's wel- fare. In railroad circles he is very popular.
F FREDERICK THIES was born in Nienburg, Germany, December 4, 1822, the son of Henry and Dora (Dowl) Thies, and is the seventh in a family of eight children. Henry Thies was a farmer, who came to America in 1853, and resided with his daughter, Mrs. Sophia Scharlinghausen, of Cook County, Ill. He died in 1867, at the advanced age of ninety years.
Frederick Thies attended school until fourteen years of age, when he hired out among the farm- ers. In 1854 he came to this country, settling in Cook County, where he purchased eighty acres of land, subsequently adding forty acres. In 1874 he removed to Plato Township, where he bought 360 acres, upon which he still resides. He has a beautiful residence, surrounded by a grove, chiefly of evergreen trees, and a commodious barn, 50x56 feet, with a basement. The barn is surmounted by a large windmill that furnishes power to shell corn, grind grain, cut feed, as well as pump water. He has also another barn set apart for horses. The character of improvements made on this place, the natural wealth of the soil, its excellent water, all being tile drained, have made it one of the finest places in the township. It is well stocked with horses, draft and roadsters, and twenty-five high- grade Holstein cows. Mr. Thies is in cordial sympathy with the Republican party, a director of the North Plato Cemetery Association, and a de- voted member of the Lutheran Church. December
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1, 1848, he married Louisa, daughter of Philip Ragas, and by her is the father of three children: Frederick H., of Plato; Herman, who is still at home; and Emma (now Mrs. Frederick Rohsen, of Plato). .
UREDERICK H. THIES, a native of Han- over, Germany, was born March 10, 1851, his parents being Frederick and Louisa (Ragas) Thies. He was reared on the farm, and educated at the district school. He lived with his parents, who had settled in Cook County, Ill., until 1873, when he came to Plato Township, and bought eighty acres on Section 8. His father's family soon came to Plato, and for six years Mr. Thies made his home with his parents. In 1881 he located on his present farm of 175 acres, where he conducts mixed farming. His place is under good cultivation, provided with a large residence and ample outbuildings, in good repair. His farm is well stocked with horses and Holstein cattle of a good grade. Mr. Thies has been highway com- missioner three years, and a school director nine years. He is a Republican in politics; a member of the Lutheran Church.
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