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 70
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 70
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He purchased a one-third interest in the Aurora Daily News, in July, 1887, and bought out his partners three months later. Under his man- agement the paper is steadily gaining friends and subscribers.
The subject of this article is a Benedict. He was married July 13, 1887, to Kate H. Hunting- ton, a native of Aurora, of old American stock, born November 21, 1864.
HOMAS MCNAIR. This well-known gen- tleman is a prominent and influential farmer of Blackberry Township, having resided there half a century. He was born in Ve- mango Township, Erie Co .. Penn., March 6, 1817, son of David and Nancy (Smith) McNair, natives of Pennsylvania, where they lived and died. [A more extended account of them is given in the sketch of Samuel McNair. ]
Thomas is the fifth in a family of twelve chil- dren. In early life he assisted his parents on the farm, and his educational advantages were conse- quently somewhat limited. In 1837, he came to Illinois, by land, with wagons and teams, in com- pany with a cousin. coming direct to Blackberry Township. He located on Section 18, having taken a claim, upon which he now resides. March 8, 1846, he married Sarah Cochran, also a native
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of Erie County, Penn., born April 8, 1825, and a daughter of Richard and Nancy (Stillman) Coch- ran, the former a native of Ireland, and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father who was a carpenter by trade, died at the age of seventy-six years, the mother died at the age of eighty-three years.
Mr. and Mrs. McNair have been blessed with three children: Frank C. proprietor of a fine stock and grain farm in Butler County, Neb., Fred G. and Fink S. at home. For two years past Fred G. has managed the farm, where he resides with his parents. Fink S. is the owner of 160 acres of land in Rooks County, Kas., purchased two years ago, when he and his father were on a trip to the West. Mr. McNair has added to his orig- inal purchase of 100 acres until he now owns 300 acres of well-improved land. It is a stock and grain farm, with a dairy in connection.
Although not members of any church, Mr. and Mrs. McNair interest themselves in all works of benevolence. Politically, he was formerly a Whig, and is now a Republican. He has been twice elected road commissioner, and has served on the school board several years. Commencing life un- der adverse circumstances, Mr. and Mrs. McNair find themselves surrounded with all that could be desired to make life happy and comfortable.
A NSEL LAKE. The representatives of the log cabin days in this part of Illinois are becoming fewer every year, and soon the faces and their existence here will be but a memory. To their descendants, to all of us, who are now reaping where they sowcd, their good names should be carefully preserved, and their brave and patient lives remembercd; the story of their dwelling here told from parent to child, and their deeds embalmed in the recollection of a grate- ful posterity. In this democratic country we have no "Blue Book" which, by authority, indicates who are the " first families." The truth is, the dwell - ers in the first and rudest cabins in the new country deserve to remain forever, as they were in fact our " first families." The time will come when men will hunt up their family genealogy with great care, and they will rate the "blue blood " by the dates
and times of the coming of their forefathers to the waste and the wilderness, and planting here our civilization. To aid in the work of this future in- vestigation we give some of the facts concerning Ansel Lake and family. He is a native of Orleans County, N. Y., born October 26, 1811, the son of Elijah and Annis (Stancliff) Lake, natives of New York and Connecticut, respectively. Ansel Lake was but nine years of age when his parents re- moved to Canada. They were farmers, plain and honest people. who worked and saved aud knew nothing of that thrift that comes of fawning. Simple and sturdy, bravery and honesty were the virtues they possessed, and to give these un- impaired to their children was the earnest am- bition of their modest and useful lives. Amid these pastoral surroundings Ansel passed his childhood and youth, chiefly learning the lessons of field work at his father's side, and at his mother's knee listening to the sublime and simple precepts that are the promptings of a mother's heart. But few of his childhood days were devoted to the schoolroom. There was but little of those facili- ties at hand at that time, and then, too, the neces- sities of the case called for his aid toward the family sustenance from the earliest hour that his young hands were able to aid at all in this respect.
In 1831 he met his future worldly fate in the pair of bright eyes that belonged to Miss Catha- rine Banham, a Canadian girl, who had grown up a not very distant neighbor to the Lake family. She was born March 16, 1806, daughter of Elam and Elizabeth Banham. They were married in due time, and to them were given seven children: Aurelia, Zelphi, David, Elizabeth, Alvira, George W. and Benjamin F. Of these children four are living, and Zelphi, David and Alvira are dead.
In 1837 Mr. Lake moved to Illinois, and bought a claim in Campton Township, where he still resides, and by his labor and intelligent hus- bandry has made himself one of the comfortable and valuable homes in the county. His father had preceded him one year to the country, and through him he had purchased his claim the year before he arrived with his family to take possession of the little log-house, which was nearly all the actual
Ansel Lake
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improvement there was on the new farm. In this humble hut the family lived and labored some years, toiling and saving in the hope of some day being able to build them a more comfortable home. Success in this respect soon came, and he built a roomy and comfortable frame dwelling, adding continually improvements, until in time he came to be the possessor of one of the best farms in the county. Mr. Lake was one of the early men to see the advantages the country here afforded for dairying purposes. When age and the hour of deserved rest came to him he transferred the farm and its cares to his son, B. F. Lake, who has become one of the most prosperous of all the Kane County farmers. The farm contains 317 acres, with modern improvements, and a fine herd of graded and thoroughbred Holstein cattle are graz- ing upon its pastures. G. W. Lake built a cheese factory, situated a short distance south of the resi- dence, which has proved a profitable and success- ful enterprise.
Ansel Lake has been, through his half century residence in Kane County, a successful and enter- prising farmer, gaining the respect and confidence of his neighbors and acquaintances by an upright and industrious life. He has performed for the people the duties of school director, also road commissioner. In politics he has acted with the Republican party. His venerable and beloved wife, truly his sole companion and helpmeet, was called from earth in the spring of 1884, and was tenderly laid to rest in Campton Cemetery.
E DWIN L. MAYNARD. Prominent among the young men of Hampshire Township, noted for their sterling worth and ability, esteemed for integrity and intelligence, and respected for morality and uprightness. is this gentleman. He was born at Hampshire, Kane Co., Ill., December 29, 1854, son of Abram and Anna (Terwilliger) Maynard. He spent his early life on the farm. and received a good business education. Upon reaching his majority he still clung to the home of his childhood, and in 1882 assumed con- trol of it. The farm consists of 240 acres of rich
and fruitful land in good cultivation, well supplied with water, and drained. He has a commodious residence, with pleasant surroundings, a large barn, cribs, a granary, and other necessary buildings. On the farm are twelve horses, forty cattle and seventy hogs.
Mr. Maynard has served as school director four years, and is a hearty supporter of the Republican party. December 25, 1883, he married Helen Wright, daughter of D. C. Wright, of Elgin, and to them has been born one child, John A.
S AMUEL POULEY, a native of Nottingham - shire, England, was born April 17, 1808. He is one of the very oldest pioneers in this section of the country, there being no roads or bridges, and but two houses, between his place and Geneva, then a small cluster of but a few houses, when he settled here. His parents were Robert and Hannah (Godfrey) Pouley. His father, who followed farming, was nearly one hundred years old at the time of his death.
Samuel Pouley followed gardening while in England, and had but limited advantages for an education, such as he has being acquired by his own efforts. In 1840 he came to America, re- mained in New York one year, then moved to Illi- nois, settling in Blackberry Township, where he now resides. Here he took up a claim, and com- menced general farming. While in England, Mr. Pouley had entered the ministry of the Baptist Church, and upon coming to Illinois, held meetings in schoolhouses and dwelling houses, being one of the pioneer ministers of Kane County. At this time there were only about seventy voters in Blackberry Township.
January 1, 1844, Mr. Pouley married Almira Hitchcock, who was born in Vermont, November 9, 1810, daughter of Amos and Achisah Hitchcock, natives of Vermont, where they lived until their decease, the father being ninety-two years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Pouley have had six children: Rob- ert F., now in Florida; Martha A., now Mrs. Charles A. Baker, in Fostoria, Kas .; Eliza J., now Mrs. John Winters, of Virgil Township; Samuel E., of Blackberry Township; Emma L., now Mrs. Martin
27
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Withey, of Iowa, and one that died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Pouley are respected by all who know them, and are honored members of the Free-Will Bap- tist Church, at Elburn, having been two of its first members. They reside with their son in Black- berry Township, and, although now very old, are quite strong and active. In politics, Mr. Pouley is a Republican; he was formerly an ardent Aboli- tionist.
L EWIS FLETCHER, a well-known citizen and retired merchant of Elgin, was born in Wyoming County, Penn., April 9, 1824, to William and Hannah (Tuck) Fletcher, na- tives of Cambridgeshire, England, the father by trade a manufacturer of woolen goods; they came to America in about 1816, locating in Wyoming County, Penn., where they engaged in farming. William Fletcher died there when fifty-four years of age, in 1838; his widow died at her son's home in Elgin, December 7, 1866, at the age of seventy- five years.
Lewis, who is the eighth in a family of eleven children, began life for himself when fifteen years of age. In the fall of 1845 he came to Kane County, and purchased a farm in Plato Township, where he resided until 1866. He at once became one of the representative farmers of the township, and twice represented the people as supervisor, besides holding various other positions of trust and honor. In 1866 he came to Elgin, and pur- chased an interest in a planing-mill. In 1876 was organized the company of Fletcher & Burgess. dealers in lumber, building material, etc., which lasted three years. In 1880 Mr. Fletcher erected a block of stores in the city, and engaged in the drug business, at which he remained about one year, when he retired from active business life.
June 26, 1849, at Geneva, Ill., he married Miss Lydia A. Griste, a native of Wyoming County, Penn., born September 18, 1821, a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Osborn) Griste, natives of Connecticut and New Jersey, respect- ively. Her grandfather removed from Connecticut to Pennsylvania, when her father was four years of age, and settled in Wyoming County; he was one of the early settlers in the Wyoming Valley.
Her father died in 1837, at the age of fifty-four years; he was a soldier in the War of 1812. Her mother died March 4, 1862, aged seventy-five years; she had, after 1855, made her home with her children in Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher had the following named children: Theodore E. (deceased); Albert L., born December 10, 1853; Henry C., born October 19, 1855. They have also an adopted daughter, Emma, now wife of Mr. Charles Stone, a prosperous farmer of Elgin Township. Mr. and Mrs .. Fletcher are both con- nected with the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Elgin. Politically, he is a Republican.
YMAN C. STERLING, one of the active, pushing and enterprising men of Kane County, now retired and living in quiet com- fort in the city of Elgin, is by birth a native of New York State, born at Martinsburg, Lewis County, October 6, 1826. He is the son of Will- iam and Amy (Archer) Sterling, both of early New York families, who were often in the midst of the long and bitter struggles between civilized and sav- age wild life. The ancestors of the Sterlings were of Scotch origin. The grandfather of Lyman C. was brought to America in 1777 by his parents, when an infant. It is told, and it is a true inci- dent, that his mother at one time saw the Indians approaching her cabin, when she hurriedly ran with her babe and secreted him behind a log, where the little pioneer instinctively remained so quiet that he was not discovered by the Indians, although they passed within a short distance of where he was hidden.
The parents came to Illinois in 1867, and made their home with their son Lyman C., who had pre- ceded them one year, purchased his farm in Wayne, Du Page County, and engaged in farming, giving especial attention to dairying.
Prior to his removal to the West, Mr. Sterling was . married to Eliza A. Kitts, a native of Denmark, Lewis Co., N. Y., born January 11, 1835. Her parents, John and Mary (McComb) Kitts, removed to St. Lawrence County when she was quite young. To Mr. and Mrs. Sterling have been born four children, as follows; Mary A. (deceased); Kent W.,
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born June 7, 1866; Minnie, born April 16, 1869; and Dora A., born March 18, 1872. This family, in their pleasant and comfortable home, form a prominent part in the social circles of Elgin. In his boyhood Mr. Sterling had but meager school advantages, but, active of body and vigorous of in- tellect. he met the natural obstacles in his path and overcame them.
Mrs. Sterling is a communicant of the Congre- gational. Church, and is an active member of the Ladies' Social and Benevolent Societies. Mr. Sterling has acted with the Democratic party in political matters, and is a member of the I. O. O. F.
H OSEA E. PERKINS was born at Champion, Jefferson Co., N. Y., November 8, 1819. His grandfather Solomon Perkins, a na- tive of Maine, came to the State of New York in its early settlement, and participated in the French and Indian War. During the Revolu- tion he was employed by the Colonial Government in the manufacture of munitions of war; he died in 1835. Hosea Perkins, the father of Hosea E., was a native of Maine, but for several years a resi- dent of the State of New York; in 1827 he re- moved to Ohio and engaged in farming; during his life he held several public positions; he married Edith Manchester, daughter of Job Manchester, a native of Bristol, R. I., but a resident of New York; to them were born twelve children, of whom Hosea E. is the sixth. The father died in 1847, and the mother in 1863.
The subject of this commemorative record was reared on the farm, receiving a good education, and for seven years taught school during winter, working on the farm in summer. In 1841 he came to Illinois, and settled in Elgin Township, where he bought an interest in a quarter section of land in Section 26, a part of which he still owns. He has added to it, until he now has 300 acres, his residence being in Section 34. For several years Mr. Perkins was engaged in raising grain, then turned his attention to breeding horses, but now is keeping a dairy, for which his farm is well adapted; it is thoroughly drained. He has a good
dwelling-house and four commodious barns, pleas- antly located near Clintonville. Mr. Perkins has the reputation of standing high in the estimation of the public. He takes a deep interest in general affairs, and has held the position of supervisor, assistant supervisor, road commissioner, and has been school trustee, eighteen years. In politics, he was at first a Democrat, later a Free-Soiler, but now supports the Republican party.
December 11, 1850, he married Mary Bishop, daughter of Nathaniel Bishop. Mrs. Perkins died January 28, 1853, and May 18, 1854, he married Elizabeth Hale, daughter of Isaac Hale, of Elgin; to them were born six children: Edson A., Harvey W., William M., Zilpha E., Albert G. and Mary E. The mother of these children died January 11, 1868, and June 8, 1869, Mr. Perkins married Anna J. Marshall, of Elgin; to them were born seven children: Louis A., Charles F., Anna E., Frederick E., Harry B., Chester M. and Eugene R.
M RS. NANCY PLATT, widow of Samuel Platt, and a resident of Blackberry Town- ship, is a native of Erie County, Penn., born September 14, 1812. Her parents were David and Nancy (Smith) McNair, the former of whom, a native of Scotland, came to America in an early day. [A sketch of them is given else- where in this volume. ] Mrs. Platt is a sister of Dr. McNair, whose biography is also to be found in this work. March 24. 1834, she married Samuel Platt, a native of the State of New York, and a son of Nehemiah and Anna (Platt) Platt. They were cultured people, the founders of Plattsburg, N. Y.
September 30, 1836, is the date of the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Platt in this county, when they settled upon a farm of 324 acres which he pur- chased on Blackberry Creek; the house they lived in was a log-cabin, and they consequently expe- rienced the hardships of pioneer life. Mr. Platt was the first justice of the peace in Blackberry Township, serving as such several years. He was also elected the first supervisor of that township, but before the first meeting of the board he died, April 13, 1850; he was born August 28, 1805, He
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was a citizen of great influence, interested in all movements for the public welfare, and was recog- nized as a leader in all public affairs. He was especially interested in educational matters, and endeavored to make Kane County equal in this re- spect to his former home in the East. He was a respected member of the Presbyterian Church. In his family were six children, all born on the old homestead in Blackberry Township, namely: A daughter (deceased in infancy); James Whitehill (deceased). Sophia (now Mrs. John W. Swain, of Elburn, Ill.), Nancy Anna (now Mrs. H. S. White, also of Elburn), Martha (deceased), Mary (now wife of George N. Outhouse, of Elburn).
Mrs. Platt is now living in Elburn, in the seventy-fifth year of her age, an honored member of the Presbyterian Church. After her husband's death she conducted the home farm several years. with her three daughters, and in 1876 she moved into Elburn, after having resided on the old home- stead forty years. She is now enjoying the fruits of her life-long labors, passing her declining years surrounded by her children, all of whom reside here; and it is to be hoped that she will yet be spared many years of these blessings.
C HARLES E. SMILEY is a son of Abraham and Agnes (Stevenson) Smiley, a native of Orange County, N. Y., born October 3, 1843. When he was a lad of fourteen years (1857) he came with his parents to Illinois, and they located on their farm in Kaneville Town- ship, Kane County. Afterward the family moved to Maple Park (formerly called Lodi), where the father died in 1881, aged seventy-five years; and two years thereafter, in 1883, he was joined in the silent city of the dead by his wife, and life com- panion, at the time of her death aged seventy- four years. This family consisted of seven chil- (iren, Charles E. being the youngest. He was reared in the home of his parents, and attended the public schools during the winter months, labor- ing on the farm during the spring and summer months. In 1861, when he was but seventeen years of age, the country called for troops to de-
fend the integrity of the Union, and, fired with the patriotic spirit of his fathers, he volunteered, en- listing in Company I, Forty-second Illinois Infan - try, and marched to the front. At the end of a long term of service in the ranks, the country was still wanting troops to keep unbroken the line of the Union defenders, and he re-enlisted, or, as the soldiers name it, veteranized. During the long war he was an active participant in many of the battles and sieges, and the long and heavy marches through the enemy's country. He par- ticipated in the battles of Stone River, Chicka- manga, Mission Ridge, Nashville, and was in the celebrated Atlanta campaign, besides many other similar engagements, sieges and skirmishes. For his efficient services as a soldier he was promoted first lieutenant, and was in this office at the close of the war when mustered out of service. When the great army was disbanded he returned to his home, and engaged in merchandising at Maple Park, carrying on the business successfully until 1886, when the people, in part recompense for his gallant services in behalf of the Union, and because of his great personal popularity, tendered him the nom- ination to the office of county treasurer. He was triumphantly elected, and is now in the discharge of the duties of that responsible office. Previous to his election to this office he had held other public positions, and in these had given assurance of being the official who, either in public or private life, filled to the best the Jeffersonian requirement of capability and honesty. He is a Republican in political sympathies, but in his friendship he in- cludes all those who know and understand him the best.
January 20. 1869, Mr. Smiley and Emeline A. Brown were united in the bonds of matrimony. She is a native of Forfar, Scotland, born in 1840, and is a daughter of David and Ellen (Shepard) Brown, who immigrated to America when she was an infant. They came directly to Kane County, Ill., purchased land, and commenced farming in Virgil Township. They now reside in the village of Maple Park, where they are known and re- spected as well-to-do and excellent people. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Smiley have been born the following named children: Clyde C., born
CE Smiley
PHOTO BY' D. C. PRATT.
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November 10, 1869, a graduate of Geneva High School, and Gay E., born August 4, 1871.
Mr. Smiley, on the maternal side of the family, is of Irish descent, the grandfather being a native of Ireland. He is, as is indicated by his political popularity, one of the most affable and genial of men, ever kind and considerate to all, and to his friends as true as steel. Withal, a man of strong, earnest convictions, and, especially in political matters, he is one who possesses the courage of his convictions. He is, as a business and public man, on the threshold of life, and this is full of future promise.
W ILLIAM W. MORRISON, residing on his farm, east of St. Charles, is a native of Cumberland County, Tenn., where he was born December 11, 1831. His par- ents, Wilson W. and Mary (Laughlin) Morrison, who were from Virginia, came to Coles County, Ill., when William W. was but eighteen months old. This being in 1833 makes them pioneers of that county. William W. Morrison was reared amid the privations of a frontier life, and since seven- teen years of age he has been his own bread win- ner. In 1849 he came to Kane County, where he engaged as a farm hand, and in 1865 he purchased the farm on which he has since resided.
December 11, 1862, he married Miss Emeline G. Knok, who was born in Pennsylvania, January 4, 1833. Seven children have been born to them, five now living: Emily M., Martha O., Charles A., Jennie C. and Zorelda A. Mr. and Mrs. Morrison are members of the Free Methodist Church, and Mr. Morrison has officiated as local minister for twenty years. He is a Republican-Prohibitionist.
C HRISTOPH KRUSE, born May 28, 1840, spent his early life on a farm, receiving a practical education. In 1869 he came to America, and for four years worked among the farmers of Dundee Township; then for five years he rented land. In 1878 he bought eighty acres on Section 29, Elgin Township, where he still resides. He has a very neat res- idence, one large barn, 100x30 feet, and another
30x16 feet, as well as other buildings, all well put up and very neat in appearance, and his farm is in good condition. being well tiled. Mr. Kruse is at present engaged in dairying, and his farm supports a herd of about twenty-five cows. He is an enterprising man, of keen observation. He has served three years as school director. He is a consistent member of the German Lutheran Church; politically, a Republican.
October 26, 1864, he married Reka Dethloff, daughter of Charles Dethloff, and born December 22, 1841. By this union were ten children, three of whom died in early childhood. The names and dates of birth of those living are as follows: Will- iam, March 31, 1866; Minnie, October 15, 1868; Carrie, November 21, 1870; Mary, November 7, 1874; Charles, September 6, 1878; Lizzie, March 13, 1883, and George, February 5, 1886.
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