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 50
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 50
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August 14, 1877, Mr. Durant was united in marriage with Miss Eunice M. Viles, at her native place, Elkhorn, Wis., where she was born June 1, 1853, and where she grew to womanhood. Her father, Alfred Viles, Sr., had brought his family from the Sandy River Valley in Maine, and settled at Elkhorn in 1849. Mr. Viles died July 10, 1877; his widow still resides at the old home. Mrs. Durant is directly related to some of the most prominent families in the old "Pine Tree State," and takes pardonable pride in the fact that through her veins runs some of the family blood which in the person of the venerable Hannibal Hamlin has given dignity to the chair of vice-president of the United States. From the time of the Revolution down to the great Civil War, representatives both of the Viles and Durant families were enrolled in defense
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of their country. Both Mr. and Mrs. Durant are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have one child, Lucy A., born at Jonesville, Mich., October 28, 1878. Politically, Mr. Durant is a Republican, and while a resident of St. Charles was three times elected town clerk-1883-84-85.
C HARLES H. FRISBIE. The art, and in- decd the science, of engineering is so modern, that it is, as we have it now de- veloped, a new system, and of this genera- tion. The phenomenal growth of railroad build- ing has even been surpassed in the improvements in the machinery and appliances in the lines of transportation. What an era is this in which we live! Could Fulton, in a vision of the future, have seen the wonderful railroad trains, and heard the throbbing of the flying engines, bearing the world's commerce over the broad continents; could he have seen all this as it is to-day, how difficult it would have been for him to realize that all was real and not an illusion! Yet so recent are these greatest improvements in the application of steam- power in transportation that there are those now living who have witnessed nearly every step in the marvelous progress. A great and powerful or- ganization in this country is the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, strong in numbers and powerful for good in promoting the welfare of the members of the society. It is yet so young in life that the great Brotherhood may properly claim as its foster- father Mr. Charles H. Frisbie, of Aurora, who yet walks the board, and holds the lever on one of the passenger engines of the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railroad, to-day of vigorous health and of unimpaired body and mind, with fair promise of years of useful labor at his responsible and useful position in life. He has worked his way successfully in the craft from the primitive horse power for drawing cars of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad to the magnificent passenger engine of to-day, bearing its great train load of precious life with the fleetness of the wind, and a power beyond that of the fabled gods, and yet more obedient to the touch of man's hands and will than the once fleet-footed coursers of the des-
ert and the plains. There is a wide gap from the horse power to the present perfected engine, and yet this gentleman has, as boy and man, passed over the entire ground, mastering every detail in the improvements as they have come, literally " from the ground up." Hence the experience of this man's life is much of the history of one of the world's greatest inventions in the labor-saving in- dustries.
Mr. Frisbie is a native of Cortland County, N. Y., born October 7, 1822, the son of Thaddeus and Sally (Foote) Frisbie. His progenitors on either side were of the sturdy immigrants who first peo- pled and conquered this continent in behalf of civ- ilization. Thaddeus Frisbic was one of the sol- diers of the War of 1812-15. His grandfather, Foote, served in the early Indian wars, and was captured by the savages, but was rescued before they had made a holiday sacrifice of him.
As a child and lad, youth and young man, Mr. Frisbie spent his days at the place of his birth, receiving the ordinary advantages common to the vicinity, doubtless remembering now with best sat- isfaction the precept and example he received at his mother's knee. At the age of twenty-one years he went to the city of New York with the purpose of winning his way in life. He found his first employment in driving the horses, and in pull- ing the cars on the then Auburn & Syracuse, now New York Central, Railroad. This was before the use of steam engines on that road. The diligence and industry of the young man attracted the atten- tion of his employers, and, as soon as an engine was put upon the road, he was selected to dis- charge the duties of fireman, in which capacity he worked for two years. In that timc he had mas- tered the secrets of the engine, and was fully prepared to step up to the throttle valve, and perform all the duties of engineer. He then trans- ferred his labors to the "New Jersey Transporta- tion Company," and was put in charge of an engine on their line, running from Jersey City to Phila- delphia. In 1846 he was induced to leave that employ and accept a similar post on the Michigan Central Railroad, with headquarters at Detroit, running at first between Detroit and Kalamazoo. In this position he worked for eighteen years.
C. H. Hvisbie
PHOTO BY D. C . PRATT.
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During this time he brought the first railroad en- gine into Chicago that ever came from the East- the "Mayflower." In 1864 he came to Aurora to accept a position on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. In a few years he was called to the Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne Railroad, and, after working there some time, again went upon an engine for the Michigan Central Railroad. Soon after this, he ran an engine on the Galena, now Chicago & North-Western, Railroad, and for some years was on the run from Chicago to Rockford. In 1874 he returned to Aurora, and again went to work as engineer for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, a position he still holds.
This is a brief record of forty-four years of constant service in the employ of railroads. The mere dates are told in few words, but all that he has experienced and seen may never be known to any one save himself. As deeply interesting as they may be, they may never be told. The brief span of forty-four years of the average, uneventful life bears only its few and simple annals, the tell- ing of which is the one eternal round of story that repeats itself forever; but to the few it is given to see and to be a part of events that are the move- ments of civilization, which surpass the dreams of fiction or the story of poets. Of all men now liv- ing there is not one who has seen more or has been more a part of what makes this great era of fire and steam than Mr. Frisbie. From the primitive locomotive, that must have more resembled an im- mense iron grasshopper than anything else, he has seen gradually evolve the present engine. A little change here, a new screw there, an added spring. and, like the painted butterfly from the ungainly grub, it sprang forth in all its power, perfection and beauty. In this flux of the human toward the high water mark of the inflowing tide he has been the one to stand at the post of responsibility. Upon him has rested much of the fate, not only of human life, but of the success that came to this most powerful factor in the march onward of our race, because he, at an early day, mastered the secrets of the moving engine, and has been able to make some of the valuable inventions that have aided materially in making it what it is. His knowledge of its early imperfections enabled him
to study out the improvements that his experience taught him were essential. He has patented, it is understood, only one of his many inventions in the locomotive-preferring to simply put such im- provements as suggested themselves to his mind on his own engine, and when he had thus demonstra- ted their utility he gave them freely to the world.
It must not be supposed that his life has been uneventful, either in the way of exciting or dan- gerous accidents that no human foresight could avert. In his younger life there were fewer safe- guards about the engineer than now. Like all real engineers, he has loved his engine, put his faith in it, and, the greater the apparent danger, has stuck the closer to his post. He has twice, in all that time, running thousands of miles, in fair weather and in storms, been hurled, when at a high rate of speed, from the track, with such force as to reverse the position of his engine each time, and to literally roll it over the ground, until it was stripped to the bare boiler. His shoulder was broken in one of the accidents, and he was scalded considerably each time.
Charles H. Frisbie and Miss Ruth Antisdel were married in Niles, Mich. She is the daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (McIntyre) Antisdel, of Cayu- ga County, N. Y. They were early pioneers of Michigan, and a family of the highest respectabil- ity in that State. Mrs. Frisbie has been more than the gentle helpmeet to her husband; she has been the wife, the companion in life's sunshine and storms, as well as the guide and mentor where those quick intuitions of women are always so much higher and better than are those of the duller per- ceptions of man; but, above all, she has been the true and tender mother of his sons and daughters, that have come like sunshine to warm and bless their home. They have five sons and two daugh- ters, all except the youngest son now sufficiently grown to manhood and womanhood to have assumed the cares and responsibilities of their own future lives. In the exemplary lives of these devoted chil- dren are now concentrated the joys and exalted pleasures of the parents. The eldest son, Will- iam W., is a locomotive engineer in the employ of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (he is married, and has a son-Charles Wesley); the next
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in age is Charles Wesley, who is an engineer on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad; Hattie is the wife of B. F. Reynolds, a conductor on the last named railroad, and residing in Aurora (they have one son-Fred); Jennie is the wife of Engi- neer Frank Boomer, of the same railroad, and a resident of Aurora; Nelson W. has just been pro- moted to take control of an engine, and is in the employ of the same company; George W. is a me- chanic in the Aurora Watch Factory; the youngest, the lad already spoken of, is Frank W., who, whenever he gets through with his boyhood and education, will no doubt take his place, following closely in the footsteps of his father.
In conclusion, it may be stated that Mr. Fris- bie is a man highly honored in the community, and he is the head of a family, every member of which ranks in high esteem among the people generally of the city of their residence. He is one of the oldest members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, and was the first chosen representative from this section of the order to the National Council at Detroit.
S TEVENS S. JONES, for many years a prom- inent citizen and leading attorney of St. Charles, was born in Barre, Washington Co., Vt., July 22, 1813. Here he began the study of law, reading with Judge Smith. His parents, Amos and Polly (Sanborn) Jones, were both worthy people of New Hampshire, from which State, at an early day, they removed to Vermont.
In 1838, at Hyde Park, Vt., Mr. Jones married Miss Lavinia M. Camp, who was born in Stowe, Lamoille Co., Vt., November 15, 1815. Immedi- ately following their marriage they came west, ar- riving in St. Charles in May, 1838. Here Mr. Jones engaged in the practice of the legal profes- sion, and held various positions of trust and honor, among others that of probate judge. He died March 15, 1877. He was the founder, and for many years the publisher of the Religio-Philosoph- ical Journal. Up to the time of the war he was a Democrat, but after that he supported the Repub- lican party.
Four children, one son and three daughters,
were born to them, as follows: Mary E., now Mrs. John C. Bundy, of Chicago; George H. (deceased); Lavinia (deceased); Clara M., Mrs. Robert B. Far- son, now at home in St. Charles. Mrs. Jones is the daughter of Philo and Huldah (Robinson) Camp, of Vermont. Philo Camp was a prominent citizen in his county, for many years he was ell- gaged in mercantile pursuits, and, later, served as clerk of Lamoille County.
C HARLES JOHN SCHULTS was born near Schneidemuhl, in the Province of Posen, Prussia, February 4, 1836, and was reared and educated under the guardianship of a foster parent, John Profki, an architect and civil engineer; receiving a good literary training in the college at Bromberg. Through the plans of Mr. Profki, who had resolved to come to America, he was induced to forego a complete classical course at college, in order to accompany him in a voyage to the New World. This project Mr. Profki failed to carry out, but the boy's interest had been awakened, and he resolved to make, and did make, the journey alone.
He landed in New York City in his sixteenth year (1851), and, with only a few dollars in his pocket, started for Chicago, where he arrived safely, but without money or friends, as well as being a stranger to the language of the country, and the manners of the people. Having the will and perseverance, he sought for work of any kind, no matter how laborious, with only a knowledge of the general meaning of the word "work." He succeeded, and applied himself diligently to hard manual labor for a year, besides attending school for ten weeks at Elmhurst (formerly Cot- tage Hill). Subsequently he became engaged as a clerk with the dry goods firm of Ross & Foster, of Chicago, with whom he spent about three years, and afterward was for five years with Potter Palmer. The latter he left to embark in business for himself, under the firm name of D. F. Deibert & Co., at Bloomingdale, Du Page County. In 1869 he sold out there, and came to Elgin, where he has since carried on business successfully.
Mr. Schults married Emma Sedgwick, of
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Bloomingdale, Ill., who has blessed their union with one son and seven daughters, of whom the son and five daughters are yet living: Jessie E., wife of I. D. Yingling, of Elgin; Bertha, Mabel, Elsie, Edna and Charles B., still under the parental roof. Emma became the wife of Frank Griffin, and died at the age of twenty-six years. Esther was buried at the age of seventeen. The family attend worship at the First Baptist Church. Mr. Schults is a member of the A. O. U. W., of which institution he is receiver here. When the war threatened the dismemberment of the Union Mr. Schults volunteered his services, but was rejected on account of defective vision. He is a public-spirited and progressive citizen. He has made a success of what once seemed a discourag- ing outlook, is in the possession of a handsome competency, and an honored name.
A N. STONE, D. D. S., a prominent member of the fraternity of dentists in Kane County, was born in Bakersfield, Vt., September 20, 1843. When he was nine years of age his family migrated to the West, selected Elgin as the best location they could find, in which place the son grew to manhood. The removal was made in 1852, and soon after the lad commenced attending the public schools. When he had reached his eight- eenth year the great Rebellion broke out in the land, and the Government called for troops. In response to the first call the youth enlisted, becoming a member of Company A, Seventh Illinois Infantry Regiment. The next three years and nine months of his life he gave to his country's cause in its battles, sieges and heavy marches, receiving his honorable discharge April 10, 1865. When he was young, and attending school, he devel- oped a strong taste for the study of dentistry, and when he left the army he proceeded about the gratifying of his inclinations in this direction, passed through a complete course of preparation, and commenced practice in 1867.
He married Jane Mallory, of Amsterdam, N. Y., and to them was born one son-Mark C .- who died in his eighth year. Mr. Stone is a Sir Knight in Bethel Commandery, F. & A. M., a member of
the K. of P. and also of the A. O. U. W. His services to his country have been acknowledged by his Government, he having been given official posi- tions under it, as well as similar honors at the hands of his neighbors. While never a partisan, but always seeking by his vote the best for the general good, he has acted with the Democratic party, as a rule, in national affairs. He has fairly and justly earned an honorable position in life.
E B. WATSON is one of the most prominent residents in Kane County, of that class of men who are in the responsible employment of the country's great railroads. He is a native of Springfield, Bradford Co., Penn., and was born September 6, 1838, a son of Charles and Jane (Remington) Watson, the father a carpenter by trade, and a native of Connecticut, the mother a native of Massachusetts, both being descendants of old families of the New England States. Charles Watson came to the West in 1849, first locating in St. Charles, and afterward residing in Turner Junction, Du Page County.
In the latter place the son, E. B., was reared, and here gained a substantial English education in the public schools. When he had reached his legal majority, and following the strong bent of his nature, he sought and obtained employment on the railroad, which has been the chief vocation of his life, interrupted only by the nearly three years' service given the Union, when, in 1862, he enlisted in Company K, Eighty-ninth Regiment, Illinois Volunteers, commonly designated the "Railroad Regiment." He was in the army two years and ten months, mostly on detached service during the latter part of the time. For nearly fifteen years he was in the employ of the railroad, located at Turner Junction, a large part of the time in the capacity of cashier. In 1874 he was transferred to Elgin, and given the important place of general agent, which position he has maintained to the present.
July 18, 1861, Mr. Watson was united in mar- riage with Lina, daughter of Alfred Woodward, a native of Vermont, now of Kendall, Wis. To this union have been given seven children: Flora,
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Delia, Allie, Clara, Lucy, March and Earl. The family arc attendants of the Baptist Church, much esteemed and respected in society. Mr. Watson is a F. & A. M., and is a member of the G. A. R.
M OSES W. COLTON, a farmer of St. Charles Township, is a native of Rutland County, Vt., born March 18, 1827. His parents, Lorenzo and Permclia (Walker) Colton, came to Illinois, and in 1848 located on Section 31, St. Charles Township, Kanc Co. Two years later they moved to De Kalb County, where his father died.
Moscs W. Colton is the seventh in a family of eleven children. His advantages for an education were limited, and at the age of thirteen he began life for himself. Afterward he worked in a boot and shoe factory in Worcester, remaining there cleven years. He came to Illinois in 1857, and remained one year, thence moved to Marshall, Mich., where he engaged as a manufacturer of and dealer in boots and shoes, and later engaged as a blacksmith. In 1863 he returned to St. Charles and purchased the farm on which he now resides. He is a member of St. Charles Lodge, No. 14, I. O. O. F. ; in politics a Republican.
July 27, 1853, at Castleton, Vt., Mr. Colton married Miss Betsey J. Perry, born at Castle- ton, July 20, 1827, daughter of Beers and Sarah (Johnson) Perry. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Colton were Carroll (deceased), Lizzie, born July 5, 1867, at home, and Tinnie (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Colton and daughter are members of the Congregational Church. Mr. Colton is a sub- stantial farmer and representative citizen of St. Charles.
C HARLES A. STONE, M. D., a native Illi- noisan, born in Belvidere, September 20, 1849, is a son of Albert and Elizabeth (Ellis) Stone, natives of Massachusetts, and respectable well-to-do farmer settlers of Boone County. They reared their children in advan- tageous surroundings, and liberally educated them.
Charles A. was rcared in the place where he was born, and after passing the public schools,
was sent two years to Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio. He then taught school and read medicine, and thus earned his way to attend a medical course at the Chicago Homœopathic Med- ical College, from which institution he was gradu- ated in the class of 1877. Hc at once located in Elgin, and entered upon the practice. In 1883, in partnership with his brother, he opened a drug store in Elgin, which soon grew to be one of the prosperous concerns of the place. Dr. Stone is a diligent student in his profession, with a marked taste for general literature and the sciences. His reading and study of medical publications keep him well abreast of the advancing movements of the times, and he stands high in the school of medicine of which he is a member.
E K. ISBELL is one of the several gentlemen of the city of Aurora who have practically retired from active duties, and are ration- ally enjoying the fruits of former years of patient gathering. Born and bred amid the stony hills of New England, a farmer's son, who early and late labored afield, extracting from an unwill- ing soil the family bread-in a land where at one time it was said that the farmers' boys always had to pick stones when they were "resting" at the nooning hour and other odd times. At all events, there is not much doubt but it was the necessities of the New England farmers that taught many of the youths of that section the economy of time that gave them in after life most useful lessons in patient industry that seldom fails to bring success.
Mr. Isbell was born in Lenox, Mass., October 17, 1833, son of Chauncey and Jane Hutton Isbell, natives of the last named place. The parents were of the class of respectable New England farmers who give every advantage of education and improvement to their families that they are able to command-stern but just in their precept and example, and careful to the last degree in the moral influences about them. The lad worked and played, visited and received visits, and, after the fashion of his day, attended the district schools, and received the benefits that are supposed to come to the young in these institutions.
E16, Isbell
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At the age of twenty years he came to Illinois, and fixed his future place of residence in Aurora. On his arrival in this, the new world to him, his possessions, in the way of a fortune, consisted almost solely of a stout heart and willing hands, and he found employment as a fireman on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. His faithful and intelligent discharge of his duties secured him early promotion, and he was put in charge of a locomotive as engineer, at which re- sponsible post he stood for twenty-five years. This long term of service plainly indicated that he was a faithful servant, never remiss in his duty per- formed. From his engine and the employ of the railroad he retired to quiet life in 1884. .
Mr. Isbell was married to Miss Alice Hitchcock, daughter of the late Sheldon Hitchcock, whose biographical sketch appears elsewhere in this vol- ume. In public, financial and social affairs Mr. Isbell is favorably known to all the people of Aurora and vicinity. In promoting the welfare of the city he has been liberal and enterprising. He has an interest in the Aurora Cotton Mill, the Aurora Watch Factory, and also in the Aurora National Bank.
S HELDON HITCHCOCK. This former well- known business man of Aurora (now de- ceased) was born in West Springfield, Mass., October 27, 1818. His parents were agriculturists, and his first experience in life was gained on the farm. He, however, developed a decided bent for mercantile pursuits, which was encouraged, and he became in later years a suc- cessful merchant. He finally relinquished his business to engage in that of insurance, in which he gained a decidedly good reputation both here and in Chicago, where he had lived the latter part of his life.
In 1838 Mr. Hitchcock married Miss Fidelia Allen, of Northampton, Mass., and soon removed to Suffield, Conn. While residing there three children were born to them: Anna (now deceased), Alice (now the wife of E. K. Isbell, with whom her mother makes her home) and Clara (wife of J. F. Harral). Mr. Hitchcock removed from New York City, and located in Aurora in 1855, and here
died December 22, 1864. Mr. Hitchcock was a recognized leader in business circles in Aurora, and was greatly respected for his sterling worth and integrity. As a man he was kind, genial and generous, a loving husband and father, and for his social qualities he was known and admired far and wide. His death was mourned by a host of friends.
HARLES NIMMO is the descendant of a long line of ancestors of Glasgow and Pais- ley, Scotland, nativity. He is the son of Charles and Mary (Hunter) Nimmo, farmers of the better class, who were able to rear their families in comfort, and give their children good educations. In his native place Charles learned the shoemaker's trade, and worked at the same in Glasgow and Paisley. At the age of thirty he immigrated to America, stopping first in the city of New York, and while there he married Sarah Cummings, a native of Cork, Ireland. With his family Mr. Nimmo left New York for Buffalo, thence in time removed to Toledo, Ohio, then in a few years came to Elgin, Ill., arriving here June 12, 1854, and has made it his permanent hoine. By faithful labor at his trade Mr. Nimmo has become one of the prominent and well-to-do busi- ness men of the city, and has gathered about his family the comforts of life, and a competency for the future. The children in this family are John, who is with his father in business; Charles A., an engineer, baker and cheese maker, and William C., in the employ of the United States Express Com- pany. Mr. Nimmo is the proprietor of an exten- sive boot and shoe store, and is favored with a large trade.
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