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 35

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 35
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 35

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this way the Company's works, not very promising then, were kept where they now stand. They have steadily developed in importance and useful- ness, furnishing work at the present time to about 200 employes.

Politically Mr. Edwards was a strong anti- slavery man, and did all in his power to further the cause. Upon the organization of the Republican party he became a member of the Abolition wing of the same, advocating "Union and Freedom."

Mr. Alfred Edwards departed this life at Dun- dee in the evening of January 31, 1875, and his remains repose in the beautiful cemetery, the original grant of which was his gift to the public for burial purposes (an infant daughter of his was the first person buried in it). A beautiful granite monument marks the family plot, where he and so many of his family await the final resurrection. In his long residence in Dundee his life was one of quiet, steady work, and though most truly himself in the home circle, he was kindly disposed toward all men, and a truc friend to the poor, who found in him help, encouragement and that sympathy that comes only from a character founded upon the Christian religion, working itself out in a steady and unobtrusive manner from day to day. For many years he was a consistent member of the Congregational Church, and there, as in the community, all felt that a good man and dear friend had gone from them.

H ENRY CLAY EDWARDS is a native of New York State, born at Nashville, Chau- tauqua County, July 14, 1835. With his parents, Alfred and Lucinda (Bosworth) Edwards, he came to Chicago in 1837, and to Dun- dee in 1839. At the latter place he passed his youth, attending the public schools; after which he took a course and graduated at Bell's Commer- cial College, Chicago. When sixteen years of age he began a mercantile training as clerk in his father's store at Dundee. At the age of nineteen he became a partner with his father in a general store, in East Dundee, where he continued until the War of the Rebellion threatened the Union.

Then, believing it a duty, lie offered his serv-

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ice and life in defense of his country, sold his interest in the business, and enlisted at Dundee September 11, 1861, as private in Company I, Fifty-second Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into service at Geneva, Ill. His regiment was ordered to the front, leaving its ren- dezvous on Thanksgiving day, 1861, en route for Missouri. In the vicinity of St. Joseph, in that State, they guarded the railroads until January 16, 1862; then were ordered to Fort Holt, Ky., from thence to Fort Donelson, arriving there on the morning of its capture by " Unconditional Surren- der Grant." The regiment was given charge of the rebel, Gen. Buckner, and his late command as prisoners of war, escorting them to Chicago and Springfield. The regiment reunited at St. Louis, then proceeded by steam transport to Pittsburg Landing, arriving March 18, 1862, and was there assigned to Gen. W. H. H. Wallace's command.

Mr. Edwards was a participant in some of the most stirring scenes in the battles of the 6th and 7th of April. 1862. Soon afterward he was pros- trated by typhoid fever, and confined to the mili- tary hospital at Evansville, on the Ohio River, and at home three months. Then, rejoining his command, he took part in the battles of Corinth, October 3 and 4, 1862, and for meritorious con- duct in those engagements was made corporal, and then sergeant of his company, both promotions occurring the same day. He was promoted to quar- termaster-sergeant November 22 following, serv- ing in the latter position until honorably discharged October 24, 1864. In addition to the battles already enumerated, Mr. Edwards took part with his regiment in many other engagements, among them that at Town Creek and Bear Creek (Ala- bama), Resaca, Lays Ferry, Rome Cross Roads, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Nickajack Creek, and in the battles before Atlanta, Ga. At the expira- tion of his term of service he returned to Dundee, and resumed the occupations of peace.

Mr. Edwards was married April 19, 1866, to E. Addie Dunton, daughter of William and Mary (Taylor) Dunton, of Dundee. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have a family of four children: Alfred D., born February 18, 1867, and Florence, born Jan- uary 2, 1869, both students of Oberlin College;

Mary, born May 16, 1872; and Lucinda, born Feb- ruary 10, 1878.

Soon after returning from the war, Mr. Edwards purchased his former interest in the business with his father, which alliance existed until 1869, when they sold out their stock of mer- chandise. He then assumed charge of his father's farm of some 1,000 acres, converting it into a dairy farm, and this continued under his manage- ment until his father's death in 1875, when he pur- chased 540 acres of the homestead, which he has since operated as a model dairy farm, keeping on an average 175 cows, and shipping their product to the Chicago market. Mr. Edwards purchased in 1886, fifty acres of land adjoining Dundee Vil- lage, erecting fine buildings, and conducting it as a horse farm for breeding and raising of Percheron horses.

In 1873 he spent the winter at Springfield as clerk of the following legislative committees, viz. : Finance,- a joint committee of the Senate and House; Agriculture and Temperance, the latter a special committee; all of which positions Mr. Ed- wards filled with credit to himself. He is a stock- holder, director and vice-president of the Illinois Iron & Bolt Co., at Carpentersville. He is com- mander of Dundee Post No. 519, G. A. R. In politics he is a Republican, and is a warm advocate of temperance. Himself and family are active and useful members of the Congregational Church.

Mr. Edwards is a prominent factor in all af- fairs pertaining to the welfare of the community in which he lives, taking great interest in the pub- lic schools, having been a director for many years. Generous of nature, benevolent to the poor, he merits a prominent place in the public esteem.

P HILIP GANNON (deceased) was one of the early settlers and prominent farmers of this section of the county. He was born in Ire- land in 1825, and came to Kane County in 1847, residing in Kaneville a short time, but sub- sequently took land now owned and worked by his sons. In 1857 he married Miss Maloney, a native of Illinois, and to this union there were born Mary, in 1857, and James, in 1859. His wife dying in

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1861, Mr. Gannon, in 1862, married Bridget Hen- nigan, a native of Geneva, Ill. They were the parents of the following named children: Thomas, born June 24, 1863; Kate, born in 1865; Marga- ret, born in 1867; Ella, born in 1869; William, born in 1871; Eddie, born in 1873, and Jennie, born in 1879. Mr. Gannon was a supporter of the Democratic party; a member of the Catholic Church. He died in 1886. The farm, which is now controlled by the eldest son at home, is a fine stock and dairy farm of 220 acres on Section 20, Virgil Township.

M RS. JANE MALLORY. Jane Henderson was born in Milo, Yates Co., N. Y., June 1, 1814, her parents being natives of Pennsylvania.

She married Smith L. Mallory, who became a railroad contractor and builder, aud located at Batavia in 1852. Mr. Mallory, to whom she was married January 9, 1834, was a native of Benton, Yates Co., N. Y. He died March 29, 1864. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Mallory were seven in number, as follows: Smith H., married to Annie L. Ogden, and now residing at Chariton, Iowa; Allen married to Margaret Durfee, and residing at Creston, Iowa; Jennie M., married to Edward S. Smith, and residing at Batavia, Ill .; Eleanor A., married to John H. Harvey, and now living in Chicago; Meredith and John (deceased); and Albert D., married to Susie Kubitsheck, and now residing at Iuka, Kas. Mrs. Mallory is of Scotch descent.

H E. HUNT is widely known as one of Dun- dee's retired, influential citizens, and as a man who came to the town when it was in a primitive condition. He was born in Brandon, Vt., April 19, 1819. His father was a tanner at Bridport, Vt., from which place he re- moved to Western New York, that he might put his six sons on a farm. away from the temptations of the city. Here he made his home until his death, which occurred in 1839, when he was in his fiftieth year. His faithful wife followed him to the grave in 1865. The grandparents on both sides were

Americans, one of the grandfathers being for many years a preacher at Bridport, Vt.

H. E. Hunt remained in the State of New York ten years, obtaining there a common-school train- ing, and finished his education at Oberlin, Ohio. Having his own success to make, he came to Dun- dee, Kane Co., Ill., and made a home, settling on the very spot where he has ever since resided. This was in 1842, at which time the place had but a few inhabitants, and the township was mostly Government land. He persevered in his endeavor to advance himself, and has been blessed with abundant success. In 1871 he built a large brick store at a cost of $12,000, in which the extensive mercantile and banking business of Mr. E. C. Haw- ley, his son-in-law, is now conducted. His com- modious brick residence he erected in 1857, and for a long time it was the finest in the place. The first few years of his residence in Dundee he spent at farm labor, and in 1845 he opened a small gro- cery store, with a capital of only $250, which by fairness of dealing he steadily increased, until, at the time of his retirement from active business, it invoiced more than any similar business in the place. In connection with his other earthly pos- sessions, he owned several valuable farms, one of 100 acres lying near the corporation limits. In 1872, with true business foresight, Mr. Hunt opened a bank in connection with his store, which was, and still is, the only one in the place. He is truly a self-made man, and no one has been more prominent and deservedly so, in the history of Dundee Township. He has filled various positions of trust, first being elected constable, and in 1854 was chosen supervisor, a position he held for four- teen years, being chosen chairman two consecutive years by unanimous voice, the only occurrence of the kind in the history of the county. In 1868 he was elected by his congressional district to the important position of a member of the board of equalization, which he held four years. His ac- quaintances were the leading men of the State at that time, being a personal friend of Gov. Cullom.

In 1840 Mr. Hunt was married to Miss Ester A. Edwards, the daughter of Truman and Eliza Edwards, both of New England descent. Two years after his marriage Mr. Hunt left his bride,

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and, as before stated, came to Dundee. He made the journey of four weeks all alone, in an open wagon, doing his own cooking on the way. Three months later he returned for his wife, and together they shared life's toils and triumphs until July 17, 1887, when she sank into the long, last sleep, a victim of the dread disease, consumption. She had been a faithful wife and mother, and her sixty-eight years had not been spent in vain. Nine children were born to them, four of whom survive; as follows: Ellen, wife of 'A. B. Brinkerhoff, local freight agent, East Chicago, of Chicago & North- Western Railroad; Lydia, wife of J. Brinkerhoff, superintendent of the Union Pacific Railroad at Kansas City; Esther, Mrs. E. C. Hawley, of Dun- dee, and Henrietta, Mrs. Irving Cobb, of Bowdle, Dakota. Mr. Hunt also adopted a daughter when she was but five years of age, and who lived with them as an own child; she is now the wife of C. M. Confer, and is living with her adopted father, cheering and aiding him in his failing health. On December 31, 1886, Mr. Hunt was stricken with paralysis, from which he has never fully recovered. Being disqualified for business, he transferred the entire stock of merchandise and banking to his son-in-law, E. C. Hawley, who conducts it at the same stand.

OHN EASTMAN was born in Vershire, Orange Co., Vt., September 23, 1816, a son of David and Patty (Fletcher) Eastman, natives of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, respectively. The father's death occurred in 1865, and that of the mother in 1861. John Eastman lived with his parents until he was twenty-four years old, during which time he received a good education. In 1840 he bought seventy-five acres of land, on which he lived four years, settling in Plato Township, Kane Co., Ill., in 1845, where he bought 160 acres, and on which he has since resided. He has a choice piece of land under thorough cultivation, amply drained, and well stocked with cattle and horses. Mr. Eastman has been a resident of Plato since its organization, at which time he was elected high- way commissioner; he has also served as school director for thirty years, and has always taken a lively interest in the general affairs of his com-

munity. He is a hearty supporter of the Repub- lican party, a conscientious Christian, and a deacon in the Baptist Church.

April 7, 1840, he married Esther W., daughter of Joshua and Polly (Sissons) Alexander. They have had ten children, two ofwhom died in early childhood. Those living are Edison B., of Kansas; Elmina S., who became the wife of Edgar Peck (deceased); Maria, now Mrs. Sylvester Pease, of Elgin; Hiram, of Kansas; Angusta, now Mrs. Ed- ward Campbell, of Kansas; Helen P., of Elgin; Orinda, now Mrs. John Wilkins, of Dakota; and Willie, of Plato.

E BENEZER S. BRADLEY, one of the pros- perous and well-known farmers of Geneva Township, and owner of 113 acres of well improved land, located on Section 12 and the county line, is a native of Massachusetts, born at Lee, in 1835. He came with his parents to Illinois when eleven years of age, and received a fair education. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged after two years' service, on account of disease contracted in the army. In 1867 he mar- ried Miss Margaret Waddell, who was born in War- ren County, N. Y., in 1846. Mr. and Mrs. Brad- ley have had born to them the following named children: Julia, Elizabeth and Robert. Mr. Brad. ley is a supporter of the Republican party, and has served as highway commissioner, and presi- dent of the school board. He is a member of the G. A. R., and is a stockholder and one of the directors of the Geneva Rock Spring Creamery Company.

His parents, Ebenezer C. and Abigail (Sturgis) Bradley, are among the old settlers of this part of the State. The mother, a native of Lee, Mass., was born in 1798. They were married February 25, 1819, and came to Illinois in 1846, settling on the farm now owned by Ebenezer S. Ebenezer C. Bradley is a native of Stockbridge, Mass., born in 1796, and when three years of age his parents moved to Lee, Mass., where he grew to manhood. They are one of the oldest married couples in Kane County, having lived happily together for sixty-

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eight years. They now reside with their son, Ebenezer S., respected by all who know them. They are both members of the Congregational Church, in which Mr. Bradley has been a deacon for more than thirty years. He comes of a long- lived race, his father attaining the age of eighty- three, and his mother the age of ninety-one years. He has always been a temperate man, using neither tobacco nor stimulants of any kind, and, although now ninety-one years have passed over his head, he is quite strong and active, and his mental fac- ulties seem unimpaired by his advanced age.

T HOMAS BURNIDGE, a native of Market Harbor, England, was born December 27, 1821, his parents being Edward and Eliza- beth (Wells) Burnidge. The father was a weaver by trade, but spent seven years on a British man-of-war. He came to America in 1835, and, after spending five years in the eastern States, settled in Plato Township, Kane County, Ill., in 1840, where he bought eighty acres of land. In 1861 he moved to Washington, Ill., where he engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 1863. Thomas Burnidge received a good edu- cation, partly in England, but chiefly in the United States, and chose farming as an occupation, his first purchase being eighty acres on Section 22, in Plato Township, where he still resides, enjoying the fruits of his labor in a pleasant home. In 1884 he engaged in mercantile business at Plato Centre, where he has a general merchandise store, and does a good trade. The confidence that the people of Plato repose in Mr. Burnidge, and the esteem in which he is held by the community, are shown by the fact, that he has held nearly every position in the gift of the people, in his township, having served as school trustee ten years; collector, three years; road commissioner, one year; and magistrate, twenty-two years; he also served as supervisor, two years, and town clerk, one year.

May 21. 1845, Mr. Burnidge was united in marriage with Miss Nancy Field, a daughter of John and Charity (Demmon) Field, and who was born in Bristol, Ontario Co., N. Y., September 12, 1823. She spent her early life with her parents,

who came to Chicago in 1835, living in that city until 1839, where their daughter received the advantages of the schools. Returning to Plato Township, Kane County, the daughter was there engaged in teaching for a short time. Mr. and Mrs. Burnidge have been blessed with nine chil- dren, as follows: Mary E., now Mrs. William Carroll, of Campton Township; Joseph E., of Nebraska; Sarah Jane, wife of Charles Landon, of Pike County, Ind .; Esther J., married to Walter A. Merefield, of Elgin; Miranda, now of Iowa; Martha, now Mrs. Hiram Van Nostrand, of Romulus, N. Y .; Alvare C., of Plato; Adelbert L. and Charles G. A. Mr. Burnidge is a Republican in politics, and a member of the I. O. O. F. In religion he is a Methodist. During the late war he was enrolling officer in Plato Township.

ORNELIUS HANSON. This well-known citizen of Sugar Grove Township is a native of Kendall County, Ill., where he was born June 19, 1848, and where he lived the first twenty years of his life. He is a son of William H. and Nancy C. (Young) Hanson, both of whom were natives of Montgomery County, N. Y., where the former was for many years engaged in farming before removing to the West. They have four children, all of whom are now living in this State: Clara, wife of G. W. Ernst, of Kendall County; Libbie, wife of Frederick Rider, also of Kendall County; Daniel W., a farmer in Bureau County; and Cornelius. The elder Hanson came to Ken- dall County in 1845, and carried on farming there for many years, but is now living retired.

In 1873 Cornelius Hanson came to Sugar Grove Township, and has since made it his home, owning, on Section 21, sixty acres of valuable land with fine improvements. He was married October 23, 1872, to Anna I. Gordon, who was born in Madison County, N. Y., November 13, 1851, and is a daughter of James P. and Sarah E. (Foster) Gordon, who settled in Kane County, March 26, 1868. Mr. Gordon, a farmer by occupation, is a native of Oneida County, N. Y., and is a son of Samuel Gordon, who was born in New Hampshire in 1779, and died in 1864; his wife, who was also

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a native of New Hampshire, born in 1782, died in 1867. Both are buried at Stockbridge, N. Y. Mrs. Sarah E. Gordon was a daughter of Michael H. and Betsy A. (Wolsworth) Foster, the former of whom was born in Massachusetts in 1786, died in 1855, and was buried at Stockbridge, N. Y .; the latter died in 1881, and is buried in Sugar Grove Township.

Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Hanson have four chil- dren: Clara M., Frankie I., Minnie and James Gordon. Since locating in the township Mr. Hanson has become a leading citizen, and is active in promoting all enterprises tending to the welfare of the community. He has filled the office of township clerk since 1883, was appointed a notary public by Gov. Hamilton, April 4, 1884, and elected justice of the peace in 1885, holding both offices to the present time, 1887. His commission as notary public was the first one ever granted to a resident of Sugar Grove Township. In political affairs he acts with the Republicau party, and is influential in its councils in this vicinity.

A MOS D. SCOTT, a native of Lycoming County, Penn., was born January 15, 1841. His parents were Joseph and Catharine A. (Regal) Scott, who settled in 1848 in Plato, Ill., where Mr. Scott died in 1850; his widow died October 29, 1887. They were the parents of nine children, of whom Amos D. is the eighth. He spent his early life on the farm, and received a good education. He worked by the month until 1861, when he enlisted in Company B, Thirty- sixth Illinois Infantry, but was transferred to the Fifteenth Illinois Cavalry, serving three years and participating in the following named battles: Pea Ridge, Ark., March 6, 7 and 8. 1862; Chaplain Hills, Ky., October 8, 1862; Stone River, Tenn., December 30 and 31, 1862, and January 1, 2 and 3, 1863; Chickamauga, Ga., September 19 and 20, 1863; Mission Ridge, Tenn., March 25, 26 and 27, 1863; Atlanta, Ga., September 2, 1864; also the battles of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., Perryville, Peach Tree Creek, and Resaca, Ga.

After his return from the war, in 1866, he went to California, and worked on a dairy ranch five

years. He then bought a large farm of 500 acres, which he kept but one year, and, having sold it, returned to Illinois, where he bought 120 acres on Section 13, Plato Township, Kane Co., and here he still lives. Mr. Scott has a fine farm, under high cultivation, well watered with living springs, and well drained by 1,000 rods of tile. He has a large dairy, and his farm is well stocked with graded horses and cattle. His commodious barn, 76x36 and 18 feet high, with basement over eight feet deep, was built at a cost of $2,000. Mr. Scott is esteemed as one of the substantial farmers of Plato Township. He is in sympathy with the Republican party, and has served as school director six years. February 5, 1868, he married Miss Emma M., daughter of Harvey and Sophronia (Butler) Gage of Plato. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have two children: Ella May, born July 15, 1874, and Ada Dell, born June 6, 1877.

OHN W. SEAPY. Prominent among the early settlers and practical farmers of Kane County was John K. Seapy, a native of Eng- land, who came to America in early life, and located in Canada. After a time he was in- duced to try the "wilds" of the "States," and immigrated to Illinois, settling in Plato Township, Kane County, where he bought eighty acres of land, adding to it from time to time until he be- came the owner of 425 acres. He lived in Plato un- til 1874, when he retired to Elgin, and here he resided until his death December 6, 1883. Early in life he had chosen as his companion Dorcas Sher- wood, daughter of John Sherwood, of Canada; and to them were born seven children, all of whom are residents of Kane County. Mrs. Seapy died February 12, 1885.

John W., the fifth child of the late Mr. and Mrs. John K. Seapy, was born in Plato, Kane Co., Ill., January 2, 1852, spending his early life on the farm, and receiving the usual common-school education of a farmer's son at that time. Two years after quitting school he attended the academy at Elgin for a time, and, upon reaching his ma- jority, at once entered into business for himself, renting land for a period of three years. In 1877

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he bought 120 acres, and has now a fine farm of 360 acres under good cultivation, with extensive improvements in farm buildings. Mr. Seapy has for several years been engaged in buying and feed- ing cattle, and shipping them by the car load. He is not a politician, though a hearty supporter of the Republican party, taking an interest in public affairs, and has served his district three years as school director.

January 1, 1874, he was united in marriage with Miss Clara, daughter of Aaron Heath; she was born in Elgin Township, November, 27, 1851, was reared on the farm, and received a good edu- cation; she is a lady of culture and pleasing address, and of a high social position. They have had five children, four sons and one daughter named and born as follows: John A., November 2, 1874; Elmer S., September 29, 1876; Walter I., March 22, 1879; Maud M., July 27, 1882; and Harvey H., January 20, 1884.

E DWIN LELAND LAMSON. The city of Aurora is the home of many of the locomo- tive engineers in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. These men, holding as they do most responsible positions, are necessarily, as a class, thoughtful, careful and conscientious in the discharge of their duties. To none does this character apply with more direct force than to Edwin L. Lamson, a trusted engi- neer for many years of the above corporation, and who rose from the ranks by merit. He was born in Windsor, Vt., December 16, 1842. His parents were Aaron Leland and Susan Worcester (Blanch- ard) Lamson, the former of whom belongs to the pioneer stock of Massachusetts, reckoning among their number many well-known people of the " Old Bay State." Samuel Lamson, grandfather of our subject, a Baptist minister and farmer, is the pio- neer of the name in Vermont. He settled at Wind- sor, where he passed a useful life, and left a family. The Blanchards were of Scotch ancestry, and lo- cated originally at Guildhall, Vt.

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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 35

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