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 90
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 90
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croup March 23, 1875, aged eight months and seven days. The family are of the Methodist faith. In politics, our subject is Democratic; is one of the stanch and solid citizens of the community, and none are more highly respected than he and his faithful companion. April 13, 1887, Mr. and Mrs. Myers celebrated their golden wedding.
Mr. Myers has two brothers in Nebraska, James, a banker at Odell, Gage County, and Frederick, at Hastings, Adams County ; Martin and Dorastus B., reside in Wright County, Iowa; Andrew J., is in Monterey, Cal .; Evaline, one of his sisters, re- sides in Fond du Lac, Wis., the wife of George Shoemaker; Rebecca remains in Tioga County, N. Y., the wife of Sela Ellis; Charlotte (deceased) married James Fitzgerald, of Chemung County, N. Y .; Clarissa (deceased) married Jacob Clute, of Syracuse, N. Y., and, removing West, died at Nor- mal, this State; Mary resides in Tama County, Iowa, wife of Jacob Serrine; Elizabeth died at Princeton, wife of B. M. Crans; Almira married John Burhite, and moved to Fon du Lac, Wis., where she died. Mrs. Myers' paternal grand- father was. Luke Sanders, who married Sarah Dewey. The Sanders family upon their coming from England made their settlement in Stoning- ton, Conn. Mrs. Myers' brothers and sisters were Nathan, Fannie (Mrs. Myers being third in order of birth), Eliza, Robert, Jane, Julia, Joseph and Mary (twins), Fidelia, Hiram, Charles and Salina. All of the above grew to maturity and married. Mrs. Julia Cunningham and Mrs. Eliza Parker reside in Iroquois County, and are the only ones of the family beside Mrs. Myers that reside in Illinois.
D AVID LESTER TAYLOR, another of the many substantial and well-to-do farmers of Kendall County, Ill., is a native of Ohio, born in Concord Township, Lake County, November 1, 1826, of old pioneer stock on both the paternal and maternal sides, the grandsires having immigrated to that State prior to the Black Hawk War, taking no small part in the stirring events of those memorable days. He is the eldest child and only surviving son of Elisha and Cynthia (Kel- logg) Taylor, the former of whom, a native of
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Oneida County, N. Y., emigrated to Ohio when a young man, and there married; the latter was a daughter of Daniel Kellogg, the pioneer settler of Big Grove Township, Kendall Co., Ill., when white people were extremely sparse in this region. The locality where he settled is now known as "Kellogg's Grove." Mrs. Cynthia Taylor died in Ohio.
Elisha Taylor came to Illinois with his family when David L. was a lad of thirteen; purchased a claim in Big Grove Township soon after arrival; at once commenced farming, and here lived until the breaking out of the Civil War, at which time he removed to Fox Township, Kendall County, purchased and settled on a farm comprised of sev- eral 'different pieces of land in Section 31, and here died in 1875. He had by his wife, Cynthia (Kellogg) Taylor, three children, as follows: David L., Lucius, who died on attaining his majority, and Maria, wife of Charles West, residing in Net- tle Creek Township, Grundy Co., Ill. David L. had a half-brother named Ezra, a soldier in the War of the Rebellion, in Company D, Thirty-sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, who was shot at the battle of Chickamauga, and was buried on the field by the Confederates.
David L. Taylor was reared to man's estate on the homestead farm, in Big Grove Township, and in 1855 he married Susan McClasky, a native of Pennsylvania, and daughter of Alexander Mc- Clasky, who came west with his family and set- tled in Earlville, about the year 1836. After his marriage Mr. Taylor located on a farm in Big Grove Township, where he lived until after the decease of his father, when he moved to the home- stead of the latter, three-quarters of a mile from Millington (the estate being divided between him and his sister Maria), and here he has since re- mained. He owns in all 569 acres of land in one body. Since coming to the homestead farm he has erected a handsome residence, which is an or- nament to the neighborhood. Mrs. Taylor died in November, 1886, and in her death the husband lost an estimable wife, and the children a loving mother. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, all daughters: Nellie, Ada and Ella, of whom the first two are keeping house for their
father, and the last named is the wife of Frank Erwin, residing at Lee Station, Lee Co., Ill. Mr. Taylor is a Republican in politics.
D R. BALLOU. On the roll of the honored dead of Kendall County, who lived upright, worthy lives, and left behind time-honored records, stands the name of D. R. Ballou. He was born in Courtland County. N. Y., Novem- ber 29, 1837, to Rollins and Charlotte (Phelps) Bal- lou. In March, 1855, he came to Illinois, and soon after his arrival became a citizen of Sandwich, De Kalb County, for some time. He was in the em- ploy of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road Company till shortly after the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, when, deeming it his duty to take up arms in defense of his country, he enlisted in Company F, Tenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, for three months, re-enlisting, at the ex- piration of the term, for three years. Mr. Ballou was commissioned captain, and served until the last year of the war, when, on account of ill health, be resigned his commission and returned home .. He was a good officer, much esteemed in the ser- vice by all. Upon his return home he resumed his former position on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He finally located on the farm now owned by his widow, in Fox Township, and here carried on farming up to the time of his de- cease, February 14, 1884. The circumstances at- tending Mr. Ballou's death were as follows: In the capacity of county commissioner, which office he was filling at the time, he was superintending the building of the iron bridge on the river at Millington, and while so engaged, standing on one of the abutments, he tripped and fell headlong to the ground, death ensuing. Mr. Ballou was State Warehouse Commissioner, was one of the trustees of the Insane Asylum at Jacksonville, and was supervisor for several terms, proving himself a very efficient officer, true to the trust reposed in him and fearless in the discharge of his duties. He was a man of few words, but full of enthusi- asm, and was regarded as possessing good execu- tive ability, and an upright, manly character. Mr. Ballou was married to Mary L., eldest daugh-
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ter of Thomas Finnie, one of the prominent farm- ers of the county, and by this union were born two sons, Jay F. and Bert Phelps. Mrs. Ballou has 370 acres of land, which she rents.
ULIUS A. FREEMAN, one of the most pop- ular and successful practitioners of medicine and surgery in Kendall County, was born in Worcester Township, Otsego Co., N. Y., March 9, 1828, the eldest son of Rev. F. R. and Lucy R. (Beeman) Freeman. His mother's par- ent's were Rev. Julius and Asenath (Boughton) Beeman, Dr. Freeman being named for his mater- nal grandsire, who was from an old English fam- ily (originally spelled Bement, but changed in America to Beeman). His maternal grandmother, Boughton, was of an old English family belonging to the Society of Friends. The Doctor is of the seventh generation from Samuel Freeman, of De- vonshire, England, who came over with Gov. Winthrop, in 1630, and settled at Watertown, with the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dr. Freeman has in his possession several volumes giving the record of the Freeman family from Samuel Freeman, mentioned above, to the present generation.
Rev. F. R. Freeman, father of Julius A., was born October 6, 1805, on the farm on which his father, Capt. Elisha Freeman, settled shortly after the Revolutionary War, in which he took an active part. Rev. Freeman was for many years em- ployed by the Home Missionary Society, and was instrumental in doing much good in the perform- ance of his duties as an exponent of the gospel, and in establishing churches. He died in Febru- ary, 1884, at Brooklyn, N. Y., the father of eleven children, all of whom lived to be grown, save one. In the order of their birth, those of them now living are Dr. Julius A. ; James, now a retired wealthy farmer residing at Bloomington, Ill. ; John N., a physician and surgeon in Brooklyn, N. Y .; Lucy E., wife of Hon. Gideon R. Taxis; Frederick E., a railroad conductor; Julia C., wife of Levi Shoop, residing at Streator, Ill. ; Laura L., unmarried, living in Brooklyn, N. Y .; Mary J., wife of Rev. A. Boyle, residing in Rockville, Long Island. Those deceased are Mercy A., who mar-
ried Scott Armitage, by whom she had one daugh- ter; Judson, who died when aged fifteen, and one that died in infancy.
Dr. Julius A. Freeman was born on the same farm as his father, and when he was six months old his parents took him to La Grange, Lorain Co., Ohio, where he was reared and where he received his education, and at the age of fourteen commenced the study of medicine. After his graduation from the high school of the place, young Freeman engaged in teaching for several years, giving a portion of his time to the study of his chosen profession. His first course of lectures he took in Rochester, N. Y., at the "Central Medi- cal College," in 1851-52, and graduated at the American Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, Feb- ruary 3, 1855. In addition to the above, Dr. Freeman attended the first and twelfth sessions of lectures at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, and March 20, 1877, he received an hon- orary degree from the Chicago Medical College. He first began practice in Ohio with his uncle and preceptor, Dr. Julius Beeman, now of South Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1852 came to Newark, Kendall Co., Ill., where he continued in prac- tice until September, 1861. At this time he raised a cavalry company, known as Company K, Eighth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, of which he was commissioned captain, resigning, however, December 20, same year. In August, 1862, he became assistant-surgeon of the One Hundred and Sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and went out with them; but, his health failing, he was compelled in July, 1863, to resign and return home. Having recuperated, he obtained a com- mission in September, 1864, as surgeon of the One Hundred and Sixth New York Volunteer Infantry, and in January following he was assigned to take charge of the Third Division Hospital of the Sixth Corps, in which capacity he served until mustered out at Ogdensburg, N. Y., in July. 1865.
After his discharge Dr. Freeman returned to Newark, and resumed practice, continuing until 1875, when he removed to Chicago, where he re- mained but two and one half years, the deleterious effects of the water upon his system compelling him to leave that city and settle in Millington,
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Kendall County, where he has built up a lucrative practice, his large experience in field and hospital having given him a reputation far and wide. He has one of the best medical libraries in the State, outside of Chicago, and he is a liberal patron of all the standard medical and scientific works.
The Doctor has been twice married; on the first occasion, September 26, 1849, at Pittsford, N. Y., to Lucy S. Spelman, daughter of John and Asenath (Wright) Spelman, and by her had eight children, three of whom are now living: Corwin A., a physician at Leland, Ill .; Vesper, a painter by trade; and Herbert H., a locomotive engineer. His present wife was Mrs. Emma Cox, daughter of Ebenezer Howe, of Manlius, N. Y., and by this second marriage there is one son, Harry E. Dr. Freeman is a member of several medical socie- ties, among them the Aurora Medical Society and La Salle County Medical Society, North Central Illinois Medical Association, Illinois State Medi- cal Society, and American Medical Association. He is a thirty-second degree F. & A. M., a mem- ber of Hesperia Lodge and Oriental Consistory, of Chicago; of the Royal Arch Chapter at Sand- wich, and the Council at Ottawa, Ill.
OHN H. TOLMAN first saw the light of day in Little Rock Township, December 15, 1858, being the second son of Alonzo and Almira (Hart) Tolman, whose biographical sketch is given on another page. At the age of twenty years John H. quitted the farm to learn the carpenter's trade. He went to Plano and put himself under the instructions of A. C. Scovel, with whom be spent his years of apprenticeship. He then com- menced business as a contractor and builder. His thoroughness and energy soon brought him abun- dance of work, and now many of the finest and largest buildings at Plano are monuments to his skill and ability. During the building season he is actively employed, and often has ten or twelve workmen under him the entire season. September 9, 1880, he was united in marriage with Amy W. Scovel. She is a daughter of A. C. and Olivia (Wightman) Scovel. Mr. Tolman's residence is
on North Plain Street. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and highly esteemed as a citizen.
OHN FAY was born July 24, 1843, in Ger- many. His father died in the old country when John was but an infant, and later, in company with his mother (who had married again) and his stepfather, our subject came to this country. They settled in Joliet, Ill., where the mother died of cholera when John was thirteen years old. Two years later he left his stepfather and came to Kendall County and hired out to George Hollenback, the pioneer, with whom he lived until entering the service of his country. August 15, 1862, he enlisted in Company K. One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, and served until the close of the war; participated in the battles of Chickasaw Bayou and Arkansas Post. On the latter battle-field he was stricken with measles and sent to the hospital, but returned to his regiment at Chattanooga, in Decem- ber of that year. Subsequently he took part in the battles of Resaca, Dallas, Big Shanty, Kene- saw Mountain, that of the 22d of July, near Atlan- ta, and of the 28th of the same month, also Jones- boro, August 31 and September 1, same year, and joined Sherman in his march to the sea, shar- ing in the engagements and skirmishes which oc- curred on that expedition across the country. He was honorably discharged June 17, 1865; returned to Kendall County and engaged in farming on his own account on rented land. December 6, 1869, he married Mrs. Mary Laufer, who was born in Baden, the daughter of Joseph and Maggie (Bau- man) Crapps. By Matthias Laufer, her first hus- band, she had six children, viz .: Josephine, Mada- line, Johnnie, Mary, Maggie and Edward. Jo- sephine resides in this township, the wife of George Whitfield; Madaline married Jacob Dreitz- ler and removed to Des Moines, Ia. ; Mary is a resi- dent of this township, and the wife of Charles Whitfield; Maggie resides in this township, the wife of James Petty; Edward resides with our subject; Johnnie, who was born at Millington, September 6, 1858, and grew up in Fox Township, died November 19, 1883, of malarial fever; he was
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a member of the Ancient Order of United Work- men; was a dutiful son, industrious, and faithful and esteemed by all who knew him. Mr. and Mrs. Fay have three children, Emma, Charles and Dora. In the fall of 1874 Mr. Fay purchased the farm he now owns, consisting of 1223 acres, ormerly owned by S. P. Rearick, and for which he paid $55 per acre, and has erected the main part of the buildings thereon. These are situated on an eminence one mile south of Millbrook, on the main road, and command a good view of the surrounding country. In connection with farm- ing Mr. Fay has for several years been engaged in running a thrasher and sheller, and is a success- ful operator of all kinds of farm machinery. He has prospered in business, and, although he com- menced poor, he has his farm all paid for and out of debt. He is a stanch Republican, and a mem- ber of the G. A. R., Post No. 522, at Yorkville.
C W. BAILEY, editor of the Plano Pivot, was born July 27, 1851, in the town of Cicero, Onondaga Co., N. Y., the eldest son of Charles E. and Jerusha (Eaton) Bailey, both natives of New York State. When nine years of age the subject of this memoir came west with his parents, who located in Warren County, Ill. The father at one time was an attor- ney at-law, but afterward entered the ministry, and for sixteen years, as a clergyman of the Bap- tist Church, he was a hard-working, sincere and zealous expounder of the Scriptures.
C. W. Bailey received his primary education at the common schools of his vicinity, which was sup- plemented by a course of instruction in the high school at Dowagiac, Mich. He had a brief experi. ence in school teaching, not as a matter of choice, but in supplying the places of absent teachers or in filling unexpired terms. Having a desire to learn the printer's trade, Mr. Bailey became initi- ated into the mysteries of the art in the Goodspeed book publishing house, of Chicago, where he gradu- ated in the usual course from " devil" to "jour." Afterward he for some time worked in the Daily Telegraph office at Kalamazoo, Mich., and in 1874 commenced business on his own account at Dowa-
giac, opening a neat and well-equipped job office. This, however, he only carried on for one year, and then removed to Vicksburg, Kalamazoo Co., Mich., where he published the Monitor for ten years, part of the time in connection with his brother. In 1885 Mr. Bailey sold out there and moved to Plano, Kendall Co., Ill., where, October 10, same year, he issued the first number of the Pivot. His sister, Mrs. Nellie (Bailey) Fox, then took an in- terest in the business, the firm name becoming Bailey & Fox. This lady has an active share in the management, and edits a Temperance and Home department, taking what some call "radical grounds," but interesting to readers who care to think. The Pivot has had an uphill road against two old established Republican newspapers in a strong Republican county, but it is gaining a hearing and commanding respect. It is a five- column paper, issued every Saturday, neatly gotten up and ably edited.
Mr. Bailey has been twice married. His first wife was Alice Strubble, daughter of Daniel and Susan (Barker) Strubble; she died in 1876, leav ing one son-Bruce S. Mr. Bailey afterward mar- ried, January 25, 1886, Miss Lilian G. Henning, a native of Little Rock Township, Kendall County, eldest daughter of G. D. Henning, and by this union one son, named Ernest H., has been born. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey are members of the Baptist Church.
N ATHANIEL 1. ROBBINS. This venerable pioneer reached the end of the journey of life July 5, 1886. He died in his adopted home county in Illinois, where he had spent fifty-one years of his active and useful life .. He was as sincerely mourned by all the people of Ken- dall County as has been any citizen that has passed away in its confines since its first settlement. His place of birth was Albany County, N. Y., born May 22, 1804, where he grew to manhood, and from his early youth worked on the farm. In 1835 he, with his wife and four children, started for Illinois. They came overland to Buffalo, N. Y., where the family took passage on a schooner west for Chica- go, where they arrived after a voyage of twenty-
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one days. When he reached Chicago his availa- ble wealth was $3 in cash. Leaving his family there, he walked out to Little Rock Township, and located land for a farm. Then, returning to Chi- cago, he borrowed a team, consisting of an ox and a cow, and with them hauled his family to the home he had selected in Little Rock Township, and with his own hands erected the log-cabin in which he made his home for some years. After he had cut and hewn the logs, his hybrid team was used to "snake" them to the building spot. In the solitude and the wilderness he was wholly de- pendent upon his own rosources. For some time he was compelled to go to mill as far as Joliet, and the going and coming was often the lightest part of the job, as at one time he had to wait for his grist three months, and in the meantime he had to pound corn for bread. He had only Indians for neighbors for some time, and he made friends of them. With his teams he helped move them to their new home beyond the Mississippi River, in 1835. His first marriage occurred in his native State, when he was twenty two years of age (1826), with Catharine Cookingham, who bore him nine chil- dren, seven of whom grew to full life, as follows: Eliza, Lydia, Joseph, John B., Jane, Henry and Emeline. In 1869 Mr. Robbins removed from his farm, and located in Plano, where he afterward made his home.
His second marriage was with Caroline Rex- ford, and to this union were born four children: Edward J., Frances, Caroline and Nancy.
When he quitted the farm he practically retired from the active labors of life. He had been a lead- ing prominent farmer in Kendall County, and was noted as a pure and good man, who had prospered by none but worthy methods, and the general re- spect awarded him from all in the county was the true reward of a well-spent life.
His son, John B .. now a prominent resident of Plano, was one of the four children who accom- panied their parents in their long, tedious journey from New York to Illinois, in 1835. He was born March 5, of that year, and was but an infant of a few months when he landed in this State. He grew up on his father's farm, where he learned only industry and the best of moral precepts.
When he attained his majority he commenced farming in the neighborhood, continuing thus en- gaged until 1880, when he removed to Plano and established a livery stable, and is still engaged in that business. He was married to Emily L. Moore. They have two sons and one daughter, Orrie M., Elmer and Jennie.
P ELEG JONES, in his lifetime, was not only a pioneer to Illinois, but in his young days was one of the log cabin builders in Chautauqua County, N. Y. January 4, 1830, he was married to Mercy, daughter of Nich- olas Young. She was born October 4, 1807, near Grafton, N. Y. The young couple made their wedding tour into the deep woods of Chautauqua, and with his own hands he put up his humble cabin home, consisting of one small room. He was born in Petersburg, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., March 14, 1807, a son of Zolman and Hannah (Jordan) Jones. Zolman was a soldier in the War of 1812. He was the son of Abel Jones.
Peleg Jones was a farmer, and depended solely upon his own strong arms to hew the dark old woods away. His wife and helpmeet was equally stout- hearted and brave in the allotted work, and they passed together along the great highway of all mankind in that perfect union that blesses life for fifty-four years, or from January 4, 1830, to Au- gust 28, 1884, the day of his death. His venera- ble widow, the noble mother of his children, still survives, in the serene old age of health and active faculties that are keenly interested in the welfare of the household given to her and her deceased companion.
The young pioneers, in the deep woods of Chautauqua, toiled early and late, and by their rigid economy, that was born of stern necessity, prospered fairly well. In time they replaced the log-cabin with a comfortable frame dwelling. Their joint labors had brought into existence a fine farm. This they sold out, and loading their effects into a wagon they, with their three chil- (lren, journeyed overland, and after six weeks' travel they reached what is now Little Rock Town- ship, Kendall County, in 1848, where he pur-
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chased Sylvester Nicholson's land claim, for which he gave his team, and went to Chicago and borrowed money at 75 per cent interest to make the cash payment. This indebtedness he slowly worked out and paid under the severest circumstances. Everything was cheap except money. At one time he had raised wheat and garnered it, and took three wagon loads to Chicago, he driving one team, his little son, Will, another, and a neighbor his team. On the road they encountered heavy rains, and the grain was badly wetted. The whole was sold, and, after paying his neighbor, he had enough left to buy a barrel of salt and a dollar's worth of sugar. This is but one of a thousand ex- periences of the pioneers in the days that surely tried men's pluck. But the family toiled on, meet- ing every task bravely, and paid their debts and prospered, and became the possessors of a fine farm and the abundance of the comforts of life. In 1865 he sold his farm and removed to Plano, where, in his comfortable home, and in the quiet of retired life, he spent the remainder of his days. He died in the vigor of his faculties, and in the full love and esteem of those who knew him best. He was an earnest Republican, and his hope of voting at the presidential election of 1884, even if he had "to be carried to the polls" was doomed to never be. He was noted for his genuine social qualities, where his love of the humorous world brush away the little afflictions that come in every pathway.
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