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 44
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 44
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to which he had hitherto been a stranger, and the following year he left school to devote his atten- tion to his widowed mother, passing two years at home, actively interested in assisting in the adjust- ment of matters pertaining to his father's estate. During that time he was called to undergo another experience of peculiarly depressing character, his twin-brother, Edward R., dying of consumption July 9, 1856. His accustomed buoyancy and natural interest in life were restored by health- giving exercise and recreation in the woods of Northern New York, and in the spring of 1857 he went to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, to become the assistant of his brother, Dr. Horatio Everett Kil- bourne, then engaged in the practice of dentistry, and in the same year he commenced the study of medicine with Selim Newell, M. D., a distin- guished surgeon of that place. He went from home with the idea of independent manhood which is in- stilled into the perception of New England boys, and he found the activity of his life in St. Johnsbury of the utmost benefit, as affording an opportunity to press his preparation for usefulness and to do so without incurring an intolerable burden of indebt- edness. He remained there until the autumn of 1858, maturing his purposes and devising means and expedients to enable him to prepare for the higher walks of the medical profession, his nature and training rendering mediocrity in any pursuit a condition to be shunned. This resulted in the es- tablishment of a branch office at Bradford, Vermont, thirty miles distant in the lovely valley of the Con- necticut. Three happy profitable years were passed in furthering the business in which he was engaged, and in lecturing there and in adjacent places on the topics in which his expanding intellect was chiefly interested, including physiology, hygiene and kindred subjects, and also temperance. At that date, no born and bred New England youth, with exalted aspirations, excluded moral questions in his challenge to the attention of the community in which he labored in any capacity. His temper- ament was naturally active, and his health becom- ing impaired through his studious habits, he ob- tained a saddle-horse and went a second time to the woods of Northern New York for the benefit of open air and sunshine. In riding and boating,
of Kilbourne
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living meanwhile among the farmers, and in sound sleep, he found renewed vigor.
The questions that agitated the Nation in his later youth and early manhood had been of ab- sorbing interest, and the spirit of the stock from which he sprung had been waxing strong within his breast as momentous events succeeded each other, and when the thunder of the echoing gun from Sumter's historic walls boomed through the mountains of his native State, he recognized and answered to the message it carried to his convic- tions of patriotism and duty to his country threat- ened with disruption. He was, at the time, a member of the Bradford Guards, a local organiza- tion, which in its perfection of military equipment and drill was the pride of the quiet little Vermont village, and with a single exception, the entire body enlisted in a practical response to the first call of President Lincoln for troops for three months. The "Guards" of Bradford was the first company to tender its services to the governor of the State, and was one of ten similar organizations in complete readiness for active service which composed the First Regiment of Vermont Volun- teers. Edwin A. Kilbourne was made Sergeant of his company on its formation, the rank and file of which were native "Green Mountain Boys" of all professions and vocations, and represented the best blood of the State. Col. John W. Phelps, commanding the regiment, formerly Captain of the 4th U. S. Artillery, was born in Vermont and was a graduate of West Point, of the class of 1836. The command passed a week in rendezvous at Rutland, Vermont, where on May 8, 1861, it was inustered into the service of the United States, re- ceiving orders from General Scott to report at Fortress Monroe, Old Point Comfort, Va., where it arrived at a somewhat critical period, May 13, and was a welcome addition to the garrison, the rebel occupation at Norfolk having taken place a · few days previously. May 17th, the regiment was quartered in the Hygeia Hotel, and ten days later, with forty rounds of ammunition and two days' rations was transported to Newport News. This movement was described by the New York Tribune at the time as " the first permanent occupation of the sacred soil of Virginia." a statement not strictly
true, as Arlington Heights had been occupied three days before. June 10th, the regiment participated in the battle of Big Bethel, the first engagement of the war of sufficient magnitude to be dignified with the name of "battle," and being the first experience of Vermont troops under rebel fire. The regiment served nearly a month beyond its term of enlistment (which dated from April 20), and was mustered out at Brattleboro, Vermont, August 16. Sergeant Kilbourne returned to Bradford, his patriotic ardor nothing cooled by his experiences, and, associated with others, he recruited a company and entered the three-years' service. On the formation of the company, he was elected First Lieutenant, and a few months later received a commission as captain. The or- ganization was assigned to the Ninth Regiment of Vermont Volunteer Infantry as Company G, Col. George J.Stannard commanding. Colonel Stannard was afterwards promoted Brigadier-General and in command of the Second Vermont Brigade, won im- perishable honors on the field of Gettysburg. In July, 1862, the regiment was sent into the Shenan- doah Valley, and through the incompetency of Gen- eral Miles, commandant of the post, was surrendered with other forces to the enemy at Harper's Ferry, September 15th. After being paroled, the com- mand went to Annapolis, Md., and thence to Camp Douglas, Chicago, where it performed guard duty until the following winter, when it was exchanged and sent to the front, and for the next two years the record of Captain Kilbourne is a part of the history of that gallant Vermont regiment's partici- pation in the bloody and cruel war. He was one of its brave and efficient officers, leading his men to posts of danger, sharing with them the hardships and perils of the camp, the heavy marches, and in the embattled lines. His abilities were recognized and utilized in other directions, and he served as Provost Marshal at various points, and as Judge Ad- vocate in important military courts. Unremitting hardship and exposure to malarial influences final- ly did their work, and he reluctantly resigned his commission just before the close of the war, re- turning to Vermont, again to take vigorous meas- ures for the restoration of his health.
At no time had he abandoned his purpose to
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acquire a comprehensive knowledge of medicine and as soon as he was able, he resumed his study. In the winter of 1864-65 he went to Washington, D. C., and read and attended lectures at George- town Medical College, and in the fall of 1866 he matriculated at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he attended lectures and read medi- cine and took a special course in Qualitative and Quantitative Chemistry, in which he was gradu- ated in 1867. He went immediately to New York and pursued his further studies in surgery and medicine with Dr. Willard Parker, Professor of Surgery in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of that city, from which school he was graduated in the spring of 1868. He accepted the position of Assistant Physician in the City Hospital for the Insane on Blackwell's Island, New York, which he held about one year, during which he devoted his time exclusively to the study of nervous diseases. He passed successfully a competitive examination for the position of House Surgeon in Brooklyn City Hospital, and at the close of his service there, he was appointed surgeon on one of the sailing vessels of the Black Ball line, thus securing an op- portunity to go to Europe. He walked the wards and attended the clinics in Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospitals, London, where he remained one sum- mer, going thence to Paris, passing several months in that city in attendance at the Medical School and Hospital Clinique in the "Asylum Salpétriére " and in sight-seeing.
In the winter following he returned to New York, locating soon after at Aurora, Ill., and en- gaging in the active practice of his profession. About this time, the first buildings of the Illinois Northern Hospital for the Insane at Elgin were nearing completion, and Dr. Kilbourne was solic- ited to assume charge, and entered into active connection therewith September 15, 1871, the date of his appointment, and he has since remained its Superintendent. Under his careful and efficient management it has reached a position second to none in this country among institutions of a similar character. At the date of Dr. Kilbourne's first connection with the administration of its affairs, the hospital consisted of a single wing, with accom- modations for 150 patients. At the following
session, the State Legislature made liberal appro- priations and work was immediately resumed. The edifice was completed in 1874, according to the original design, with accommodations for 500 patients, and the new additions were occupied in the spring of 1875. It is impossible to detail the development of this great charity, either in its administrative or medical work, suffice it to say, that the theories of Dr. Kilbourne in relation to the treatment of the afflicted who have been committed to his care have been fully demon- strated and proven, and stand in all their strength and efficacy unimpeached. The spacious and attractive grounds of the hospital, adorned and beautified by grottoes, arbors, greenhouses and miniature lakes, which dot the landscape here and there, have been the work of years. This arrange- ment is in accordance with the fixed belief of the Doctor that such advantages would conduce to the best interests of those over whom he has had super- vision. They are "a thing of beauty," and do credit to his taste and judgment and are the pride and boast of the people of Elgin.
Dr. Kilbourne, twin with Edward R., is the son of Dr. Ralph and Sally (Dearborn) Kilbourne. They were the youngest of a family of nine chil- dren, as follows: William P., Henry George, Hora- tio Everett, Isaac D., Mary A., Harriet, Clara A., Edward R. and Edwin A. Of this family there are now surviving, three: Dr. E. H. Kilbourne, re- tired, a resident of Aurora, Ill .; Harriet (who be- came Mrs. Frank R. Sawyer, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Edwin A .. of this sketch.
Ralph Kilbourne was born August 29, 1796, at Berlin, Conn., and was reared to the busi- ness of a clothier, and when quite young, es- tablished himself in Chelsea, Vermont. He pur- sued his vocation with marked success until the spring of 1828, when a freshet swept away a por- tion of his mill property. He rebuilt and was again on the high tide of prosperity when, in May, 1833, a disaster of overwhelming character in the shape of an irresistible New England freshet again overtook him, and he witnessed the entire destruc- tion of the property he had accumulated in frugal- ity, industry and indomitable perseverance. At this time, the uncertainties attending all manufactur-
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ing industries, and especially that of woolen cloths, were aggravated by party wrangles over the tariff, and as there was an extreme probability that the advocates of free trade would be succes- ful, which meant adverse and perhaps fatal leg- islation, the industry was for a time seriously hampered. Mr. Kilbourne, seeing no prospect of immediate recovery from the effects of the disas- ter, thus complicated, took occasion to visit a brother in Ohio and to investigate the boasted resources of the West. He passed some time in prospecting and in the study of dentistry and went to Georgia and Louisiana, passing some years in the practice of his profession in those States. He returned to Chelsea, and in the spring of 1842, removed to Montpelier, where he passed the remainder of his life. He died March 19, 1854. Dr. Ralph Kilbourne was an earnest Christian man, active in every benevolent enter- prise that bore a promise of permanent good to either Church or State. He was a prominent member of the old Liberty Party of Vermont; was one of the State Committee and was a frequent guide and leader in the management of political conventions. His wife was a daughter of Asa and Anna (Emerson) Dearborn. She was born Sep- tember 27, 1798, at Chester, N. H., and came to the West with her children in 1859. She died at the home of Dr. E. A. Kilbourne, at Elgin, Feb- ruary 26, 1884, and lies buried in Green Mount Cemetery, at Montpelier, Vermont, beside her hus- band and children.
Asa Dearborn, maternal grandfather of Dr. Kilbourne, was born in 1756, and died Oct. 16, 1831, at Chelsea, Vermont. His wife was born in Chester, N. H., in 1763, and died Sep. 10, 1852. She was the daughter of Samuel and Dorothy (Sanborn) Emerson, of Chester. Asa Dearborn and one of his brothers served in the Revolu- tionary Army. They were of stock that made its mark in the annals of the country in its formative period, to which General Henry Dearborn also a Revolutionary patriot belonged, and who was Sec- retary of War during the eight years of the admin- istration of President Jefferson. In his honor "Fort Checaugo" one of the most historic spots in our modern history was named "Fort Dearborn,"
in 1804. Dr. Kilbourne is the possessor of a valu- able relic, being no less than the old-fashioned powder-horn, of the style used in Revolutionary times, made of a cow's horn, and which his grand- father, Asa Dearborn, carried while a soldier in the war for Independence. Inscribed on it in letters cut with a pocket-knife, is the record of some of the service in which it was carried.
William Kilbourne, paternal grandfather of Dr. E. A. Kilbourne, was born in New Britain, Conn., Jan. 12, 1758, and died at Chelsea, Ver- mont, in June, 1816. His brother, Col. James Kilbourne, was the first Representative in Congress from Ohio. William Kilbourne and a brother, Captain Josiah, entered the Revolutionary Army in April, 1775, at the respective ages of eighteen and nineteen, and were participants in all the fight- ing in the vicinity of Boston. They were also in the actions at Flatbush, Harlem Heights, White Plains, Monmouth and many others, and William Kilbourne returned to his home with shattered health caused by wounds received in action, and was incapacitated for labor for six years sub- sequent. In August, 1786, he married Sarah, daughter of Jedediah Sage, of New Britain, Conn. She died at Chelsea, Vermont, April 1, 1860, at the advanced age of nearly one hundred years. It will be noted as an interesting historical inci- dent that both the grandfathers of Dr. Kilbourne participated in the Revolutionary War, and that each had a brother engaged in active service in that struggle.
Dr. E. A. Kilbourne was married Jan. 3, 1860, to Sarah Jane Hardy, of Vermont, and their only child-Charles Jarvis-died in infancy, the de- mise of the young mother occurring soon after. Dr. Kilbourne was again united in marriage Jan. 17, 1872, to Louisa Bowler, daughter of the late Edward Kilbourne, Esq., of Keokuk, Iowa. Their children are :- Jennie Louise, born, May 18, 1873; Walter Foote, born, October 10, 1874, and Edwin Dearborn, born, June 6, 1877.
Dr. and Mrs. Kilbourne represent diverging lines of the same family, leading back to a common ancestor, Thomas Kilbourne, of Wood Ditton, Cambridgeshire, England, who settled in America in 1635. Their patronymic was known in heraldry
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and represented by a blazon with the motto, " VIN- CIT VERITAS," still prized as a family inheritance by the present generations. Mrs. Kilbourne and the daughter are communicants in the Church of the Redecmer at Elgin, of which the doctor is an attendant, and whose interests he has served as vestryman and in other capacities. He and his wife aided substantially in the erection of the church cdificc, and Mrs. Kilbourne is active as a member of several societies and guilds connected with the Episcopal Church, such as the " Woman's Auxil- iary," "St. Martha's Guild," etc.
Dr. Kilbourne is a member of the Fox River Medical Society, of the Illinois State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Medico-Legal Society of New York, and the Asso- ciation of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane. He is frequently called to the criminal and other courts of Illinois and elsewhere as an expert in important cases. He is a Republican in political principles, and represents the strains of intelligence, culture and ambition which the East has sent to the West, and on which is founded the stability, progress and position of the latter. Every man is worth to his own generation and to those immediately succeeding him, precisely what he has accom- plished from the standpoint of manhood, honor and probity. In the work to which the life of Dr. Kilbourne has been chiefly devoted, he has his best memorial.
S AMUEL C. EVERTS* was born in Waslı- ington, Berkshire Co., Mass., July 5, 1805. His parents were natives of New England, and highly respected; his father, Samuel Everts, having been at one time sheriff of a county in Vermont. Samuel C. remained at home, in Washington, Mass., and on a farm near Pittsfield, until he was ten years of age, when, owing to the large family dependent upon his parents, and wishing to relieve them of the expense of his edu- cation, he engaged his services to an uncle at
$4 per month, and attended school whenever opportunity offered. At the age of eighteen, he obtained board with Judge Walker, of Lenox, paying his way by his own unaided efforts, and attending the Lenox Academy. He married Miss Ruth, daughter of Col. Nathan Barrett, who was for years one of the selectmen of Lenox. Mr. Everts resided upon a farm in that town until 1834, when with his family, he immigrated to Cattarau- gus County, N. Y., settling on land purchased of the "Holland Land Company," and situated in the town of Otto. His energies were here devoted to cutting away the timber from his purchase- then but a compact forest-and in providing for his young family. The hardships and exposures, the journey to Buffalo with an ox team, and many other trials incident to early settlements, are familiar to the pioneers of that day, and can not be recounted in so brief a sketch as this must of necessity be; we can not forbear saying, however, that he borc the toil, the trials and hardships with patience and fortitude, seconded by his faithful companion, who, by her Christian example and resignation to the inconveniences of the wilderness, proved herself a worthy daughter of estimable parents, and an honor to him whom she had followed to the wilds of Western New York.
The original tract upon which he first located was subsequently sold, and the Wilcox farm pur- chased; on the latter Mr. Everts engaged in the dairy business, and spent his last years in Otto-a kind, industrious, and respected citizen. During his residence in Cattaraugus County he organized the Presbyterian Church, and served as one of its deacons for seventeen successive years, and as its Sabbath-school superintendent for twelve years. He also held the office of school commissioner for the period of twelve years. Of his connection with church interests, an Otto correspondent of the Franklinville Argus, speaking of the early settlers says:
"Deacon Samuel C. Everts came into town at a later date, yet while it was so new that the wolves prowled about his door. He was a man of in- fluence, zealous in all good works, the life of his church and the Sabbath-school, and, when he went
* Prepared by J. P. Snell, of Philadelphia, formerly chief clerk of Second Division, Sixteenth Army Corps.
REA
Samuel & Events
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West, the Presbyterian Church lost its head; it flickered for a time in its socket, and gradually went out."
In the spring of 1851, through the influence of neighbors and friends who had preceded him, Deacon Everts, accompanied by his family, moved to Kane County, Ill., settling on the Sitterly farm, in the township of Geneva, near its beautiful vil- lage of the same name. Here, at the age of eighty- two, he still resides. During his residence of thirty-seven years in Geneva his life has been almost a counterpart of the years passed in Otto, and the same interest has also been manifested in religious matters and in the welfare of the church. Upon his advent in Geneva the Congregational Church had no organization. He at once inter- ested himself, with his Cattaraugus neighbors and a few others, in organizing a society of that faith, and by zealous and persevering efforts succeeded in erecting a church edifice. For more than thirty years he has been its deacon, and for thir- teen years its Sabbath-school superintendent. As a result of his initial efforts and subsequent labors the church at present ranks as the leading denom- ination of that village.
The companion of his early manhood, who shared his labors with a faith sublime, died at the age of fifty-one years. Her remains rest in the Geneva Cemetery, along with those of Lucinda, a second wife, and two sons and two daughters: Charles, Carlos, Cornelia and Frances. This fam- ily had been spared affliction while in their native State, contending with obstacles which a pioneer life unavoidably presents; but when transplanted to the home of their adoption in the West, and subjected to the sudden changes of its climate, early graves claimed many of its loved ones, and this Christian parent received the chasten- ing with unbroken faith. He was united in marriage to Lucinda Buck, April 14, 1857; she died in the year 1859, and in 1861 ( June 4) he married Mrs. Lucretia Van Sickle, who still survives.
It may not be said of any man that he never had an enemy, but it may truthfully be stated of Deacon Everts that he knows no enemies, and that in his western as well as in his eastern home his
life has been without blemish. Industrious, retir- ing, honest and generous, beloved of the young and respected by all, no meed of praise is required. He can well afford to be known and judged by his works.
Seven children were reared by Deacon Everts, a brief record of whom may not be out of place. Charles N. was born at Lenox, Mass., October 5, 1828, and died at Wyandotte, Kas., February 28, 1862, while in the service of his country. His lot was cast in Kansas during its most turbulent era, but with unflinching courage he maintained him- self and family until his country called him. His remains were removed to Geneva and interred in the village cemetery. Carlos, born at Lenox, Mass., March 31, 1831, died at Geneva, Ill., June 28, 1853; Cornelia R., born at Lenox, May 14, 1833, died at Geneva, September 12, 1853; Frances M., born at Otto, N. Y., June 11, 1841, died July 28, 1863. There are but three children living: Louis H., born at Otto, April 14, 1836; James S., born in Otto, March 25, 1844 ; and Edward Arthur (by his second wife ), born at Geneva, April 1, 1858.
Maj. L. H. Everts, the eldest of those living, entered the service at the beginning of the war, leaving a position of trust in the mercantile house of Potter Palmer, Chicago. He assisted in raising a regiment in Kanė County, Ill., and accompanied it to the field as lieutenant. He served in the cam- paigns of Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing and Corinth; was detailed as aide-de-camp to Gen. Hackleman, just before the battles of Iuka and Corinth, in the fall of 1862, in the latter of which engagements his general was killed, and the divis- ion lost more than one-third of its fighting force in killed and wounded. Soon after he was commis- sioned by the President as adjutant-general of volun - teers, with the rank of captain, and assigned to duty with Gen. T. W. Sweeney, as assistant adjutant- general of the Second Division, Sixteenth Army Corps .* He served through Sherman's campaigns, and finally, with the victorious army, rested at Washington. While in camp at the last named place, the field officers of his division united in the following testimonial and request to the war de-
*Afterward Fourth Division of the Fifteenth Army Corps.
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partment, presenting Capt. Everts with a copy of the same:
HEADQUARTERS 50TII ILL. INF. VOLS., NEAR WASHIINGTON CITY, D. C., May 31, 1865. §
Capt. L. II. Everts, Assistant Adjutant-General, Fourth Division Fifteenth Army Corps,
SIR :- To assure you of the high regard in which your services as assistant adjutant-general of the Fourth Divis- ion, Fifteenth Army Corps, are held, I have the honor to transinit herewith a copy of the petition which has this day been forwarded to the adjutant-general of the army by the field officers of said division, requesting your ap- pointment as assistant adjutant-general of the army, with the rank of major.
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