USA > Illinois > Kendall County > Genealogical and biographical record of Kendall and Will Counties, Illinois : containing biographies of well known citizens of the past and present > Part 11
USA > Illinois > Will County > Genealogical and biographical record of Kendall and Will Counties, Illinois : containing biographies of well known citizens of the past and present > Part 11
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Having gained experience in the business and become conversant with the demands of the trade, Mr. Sears embarked in the retail hardware and implement business for himself. In 1883 he built the two-story and basement brick building, 48x104 feet in dimensions, on the corner of Main and High streets. This large, substantially built structure is devoted exclusively to his own business enterprises, which are prospering. In connection with his other flourishing concerns he established a bank here, and, for the accomnio- dation of the public, has had fine safety deposit vaults made in the building. Having increased his trade as a hardware merchant to truly remark- able proportions, he was obliged to build another storeroom on the west, and now handles a full line of carriages, wagons and farm implements, and, in addition to all this, he has conducted a coal-yard for the past fifteen years.
When Mr. Deering removed his works from Plano, in 1880, Mr. Sears was one of the organi- zers of the Plano Manufacturing Company, of which he became the superintendent. When Mr.
Deering removed, as before mentioned, Mr. Sears purchased the fine old mmanufacturing plant and the beautiful residence which had been the home of that gentleman. The shop property he turned over to the Plano Manufacturing Company upon its organization. Under his able superintenden- cy the business was extended wonderfully year by year. When the company finally removed to a new site in West Pullman, Ill., Mr. Sears com- menced manufacturing cultivators and harrows in the old steel works plant, and in 1898 he bought the factory, where he now conducts what has become known far and wide as the Sears Man- ufacturing Works. A large department of the plant is devoted to the manufacture of metal beds, and a force of fifty men is steadily employed. Mr. Sears' interests are not confined to this particular line of business, for he has become an extensive dealer in real estate, and owns at the present time twenty-five houses in Plano, besides business blocks, a farm of two hundred acres in this coun- ty, and between fifteen and twenty thousand acres of land in Nebraska, some unimproved and some in a high state of cultivation. He has been occupied in the building of many houses and stores in Plano, and to his energy and confidence in the future of this town much of its progress is unquestionably due. He takes a patriotic pride and interest in the general welfare and progress of his native town, and neglects no duty as a citizen in promoting its prosperity. Politically he is affiliated with the Republican party, though he is in no sense an office-holder or politician.
The marriage of Mr. Sears and Miss Ella Fos- ter, daughter of La Fayette and Maryetta Foster, of Plano, took place November 12, 1879. Their eldest child, Mamie, died at the age of three years; Alice M., the only one living, was born on New Year's day, 1887. Mrs. Sears' parents were numbered among the early settlers of Ken- dall County, and for many years they dwelt upon a good homestead in this township, about two miles north of Plano. The Foster family came to this locality from New York state, where for some generations they were influential and pros- perous.
Geo & Fanou
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
105
GEORGE STILES FAXON.
S EORGE STILES FAXON. From his earli- est recollections George S. Faxon, post- master at Plano, has been closely associated with Kendall County and has had its interests deeply at heart. Though the numerous demands of his various business enterprises have occupied the greater share of his time and attention, he yet has devoted many an hour and day to public affairs, and perhaps not the least important of his services on behalf of his fellow-citizens was that of raising funds and materially assisting in the organization of the present Kendall County Fair Association. He served as a member of its board of directors two terms and succeeded in placing it on a flourishing basis.
Before entering more fully upon the life-history of our subject a few facts relating to his family may be of interest to his many friends here and elsewhere, and in the biography of his elder brother, the Hon. E. W .. Faxon, appearing else- where in this work, a detailed account of their ancestors is given. Thomas Faxon, the founder of the family in this country, became a resident of New England prior to 1647, as in that year the marriage of his daughter, Joanna, was cele- brated, according to the records of the town of Dedham, Mass. Thomas, Jr., and Richard, sons of Thomas and Joan Faxon, accompanied them to America when young, and Thomas, Jr., died, leaving no descendants, and thus through Rich- ard Faxon the name was handed down. Thomas Faxon, Sr., purchased four hundred and fifty acres, on a portion of which the town of Brain- tree, Mass., now stands, and later he acquired
other property and was classed among the wealthy men of the colony in those days. Rich- ard Faxon, as the records show, was born in England about 1630, and Josiah, his eldest son, one of thirteen children, was the father of Josiah, born September 8, 1660, in Braintree, Mass. He wedded Mehitable, daughter of Edward and Lydia Adams, and eight children were born to them. He was a man of influence in his com- munity, and in 1722 he served as a selectman. To his posterity he left a large estate, and Thomas, his second son, through whom this line is traced, was born in Braintree February 8, 1692, and, like his forefathers, he followed agri- cultural pursuits. Hemarried Ruth Webb, May 22, 1716, and six children blessed their union. He died March 19, 1729. His fifth child, Thomas, born February 19, 1724, was small in stature, but, as the old records testify, his patriotism was out of proportion to his size, and when the Revo- lutionary war came on he served with credit as a private in Capt. Josiah Stebbins' company, Col. David Wells being in command of the regiment. Later he was placed in a company which repre- sented the town of Deerfield, Mass., chiefly, and at that time he had reached his fifty-seventh year. He married Joanna Allen August 24, 1749, and of their eleven children the fourth, Jacob, was born in Braintree September 25, 1757. He also was a Revolutionary soldier, and in his declining days was granted a pension by the government. He was a mason by trade, and soon after his mar- riage he removed to New York. His marriage to Lydia, daughter of Capt. Henry and Ruth
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(Wells) Stiles, took place February 4, 1781. The third child of this union was Walter Stiles, born April 2, 1785. He followed his trade as a mason and also engaged in farming at Green- wich, N. Y. He served in the war of 1812. He was twice married, and of the numerous children born to him and his second wife, Mary Dyer ( whom he wedded December 10, 1810), the sec- ond bore the father's naine.
Walter Stiles Faxon, Jr., was born in Green- wich, N. Y., September 9, 1812. He learned his father's trade, and in 1843 came to Illinois, where he purchased about two hundred acres of govern- ment land. This place, situated in Little Rock Township, was improved by him until it was ranked among the best in the county. Politi- cally he was a Republican, helping to organize that party, and for several years held local offices. For decades he was numbered among the men- bers of the Baptist denomination. By his mar- riage to Mrs. Zelia M. Valentine seven children were born, namely: Edgar W., Charles G., George S., Frank E., Zelia M., Hattie B. and Leroy M. The mother died April 18, 1874, and subsequently the father married Marian Newell, who departed this life November 21, 1882.
George S. Faxon, the third of the family, was born in this township April 21, 1861, and in his youth he pursued his studies in the common country schools. He became perfectly familiar with farming in its various departments, and, after reaching maturity, he was one of the leaders in the movement to organize the Farmers' Alli- ance in this locality. He was chosen as a dele- gate from the local lodge to the state convention, was there made a member of the state committee of the same, and for two years held the position of state purchasing agent. Remaining on the old homestead and attending to its cultivation, he yet found his time well encroached upon by out- side duties. Besides running the home farm of a quarter section he generally leased one hun- dred acres or more for some years.
In March, 1897, Mr. Faxon purchased a half interest in the Kendall County News of his brother, Hon. Edgar W. Faxon, and since that time has edited the paper, which is one of the
leading journals of northern Illinois. It is an eight-page, six-column paper, devoted to the wel- fare of this town and the county, and in every respect it is a wide-awake, newsy sheet, having a circulation of fourteen or fifteen hundred. The brothers also publish the Lisbon Comet, a paper of the same size and of almost equal popularity. In October, 1898, our subject removed to Plano, where he purchased his present residence, be- sides which he owns another pleasant house on Main street. Here he has assisted in the organ- ization of numerous local enterprises, bearing his part in whatever makes for the good of the public. He is a director of the Blackhawk Club and is a great favorite in society. For two terms he has served in the capacity of junior warden of Sunbeam Lodge No. 428, A. F. & A. M., and in the local lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America he also occupies a minor office. He is a Republican of no uncertain stripe, and his in- fluence as a factor in local politics is freely con- ceded. He has faithfully labored for the good of the party as a member of the county central com- mittee, and at the time he was honored by ap- pointment to his present position-that of post- master of Plano-he was serving as secretary of the committee just mentioned. Since he entered upon his new duties as postmaster, March 9, 1898, he has made a good record, and has increased his personal popularity with the people, for he takes great pains to meet their wishes. Frequently he has been called upon to act as a delegate to local and county conventions of his party, and when his business permits he attends congressional and state conventions as well. At the time that Major Mckinley was brought forward as a can- didate for the presidential chair Mr. Faxon was a member of the renowned Marquette Club, of Chicago, which labored effectively for the man destined to become our chief executive.
Mr. Faxon was married December 10, 1886, to Miss Jewella S. Evans, a native of Plano, and daughter of Noah and Elizabeth Maria (Swift) Evans, natives of South Carolina and New York, respectively. Mr. Evans came to Little Rock Township in 1833, and thus is the pioneer sur- viving resident of the township. His father,
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
David Evans, came with the son, the latter then being only seven years old. Mr. and Mrs. Faxon liave a son, christened Orson Evans Faxon.
D HARLES D. SOUTHWICK, a retired farmer residing on section 36, Fox Township, Ken- dall County, owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, a part of which lies in this town- ship, the remainder being in Mission Township, LaSalle County. He was born in Plattsburg, Clinton County, N. Y., April 11, 1835, the only son of Amos P. and Maria (Finch) Southwick, natives of the same county. He and his sister Juliet were the only children in the family; the latter is now the wife of Myron Reynolds, of Newark.
About 1836 the family moved to Chautauqua County, N. Y., but a year later came via team to Illinois, reaching Ottawa in the fall of 1837. The spring of the next year found them in Fox Town- ship, Kendall County, where the father rented land eight years. With the savings of these years he bought forty acres, now owned by his son. Settling upon this place, he continued to reside there until his death, March 2, 1897. Farming was his principal occupation throughout life, but in early days he also did considerable teaming, hauling produce (mostly pork and grain) to the Chicago market, and bringing mer- chandise back. In politics he was first a Whig, then a Republican. He was an early member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Newark and served upon its official board.
Being only two and one-half years of age when the family came to Kendall County, our subject recalls no other home than Fox Township. When a boy he attended the primitive schools of the day, but, as he could not often be spared from work, hiseducation has been gained principally from observation, experience and self-culture. October 7, 1857, he married Charlotte A., daugh- ter of Timothy and Phoebe (Dyer) Weeks, na- tives of New Hampshire. She was born August 18, 1839, at Tilton (then called Sandburton Bridge), N. H., and in 1855 accompanied her
parents to Illinois, settling near Newark. She was fifth among seven children, the others being Oscar S., of Newark; Mary, wife of Emerson Bar- rows, of Sandwich, Ill .; Charles A., who deals in horses, making his home at Sandwich; Thuey A., Mrs. Newell P. George, of Livingston Coun- ty, Ill .; Jolin A., who enlisted in the Ninety- sixth Illinois Infantry, and served as bugler until he died at Shepherdsville, Ky .; and George S., who is head clerk with Browning & King, of Chicago.
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Southwick com- menced housekeeping in the village of Newark, while he engaged in farming and teaming in the vicinity. He has followed a general line of team - ing until recently, but now lives retired, residing on the old homestead. A radical Republican in politics, during the early days of that party he gave his support steadfastly to its principles. His first vote was cast for the "Pathfinder," John C. Fremont. At the time of the Blaine and Logan campaign and the organization of the Prohibition party he transferred his allegiance to the new organization, being an ardent believer in the temperance cause. In 1887 he hauled from Chicago the flag pole tlfat has since stood in the village of Newark, and that, on account of its great height (one hundred and fourteen feet) , has attracted much attention. He has frequently been a delegate to county, state and congressional conventions of the Prohibition party, and has been for years a member of the county central committee.
The oldest child of Mr. and Mrs. Southwick is William D., who owns his grandfather South- wick's old homestead, adjoining his father's place. He was born November 11, 1858, and was mar- ried, at Lawrence, Mass., on Christmas day of 1882, to Ada, daugliter of Joseph G. and Mary (Chamberlain) Weeks, of that place. They have two children, Mayo P. and Belle V. In poli- tics William D. Southwick is a Republican. He is an official member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
The second son of our subject, Pliny C. South- wick, was born August 6, 1862, and married Sarah, daughter of Peter A. Misner. The name
IOS
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
of Pliny Southwick is well known as that of the inventor of the Southwick hay press, inanufac- tured by the Sandwich Manufacturing Company, and used in every hay-growing section of the United States.
The older daughter of Mr. Southwick is Phoebe M., who was born April 4, 1868, and is now the wife of Ellery Barber, of Sandwich, Ill. The younger daughter, Lottie, was born August 31, 1874, and died March 2, 1891, while a student at Dixon College.
OUIS WEEKS. One of the principal in- dustries of Kendall County is the live-stock business, which many farmers have found to be a profitable adjunct to the raising of cereals. Mr. Weeks has for some years been engaged in stock-raising, in addition to general farming, and operates a farm adjoining the village of Newark. In the fall of 1898 he assisted in tlie organization of the Millington Live Stock Company, of which he is now a member, his partners being Samuel Naden and W. A. Manchester, both of Newark. Its success and high standing are due to the fact that its members are practical, experienced and reliable stockmen, who have a thorough knowl- edge of the business, and buy over a large terri- tory.
A son of Samuel and Sarah (Fosse) Weeks, natives of Massachusetts and residents of New- ark, Ill., Louis Weeks was born in Geneseo, Ill., November 17, 1861. The family came to Ken- dall County when he was four years of age and settled in Big Grove Township, but soon removed to the village of Newark, where he attended the public schools until he was sixteen. Later he spent two years in Lake Forest high school. On his return to Newark he took up farm work, which he followed for two years and then accepted a clerkship with a business house in Newark, remaining there for a year. November 19, 1882, he married Miss Carrie Ruble, daughter of John
and Lydia (Courtriglit) Ruble, natives respec- tively of Indiana and Pennsylvania and now res- idents of South Dakota, having gone there from Kendall County.
For a year after his marriage Mr. Weeks was employed in the machine shops at Plano, I11. He and his wife then joined Mr. Ruble in Han- son County, S. Dak. There he bought one hun- dred and sixty acres and engaged in farming. His experience in that region was most discour- aging. During the five years he spent there he succeeded in raising only one crop. The outlook was dark. He had no money and could not dis- pose of his property for anything like the sum he had invested in it. Finally, however, he man- aged to sell out for enough to pay his own ex- penses back to Illinois. This unfortunate expe- rience might have discouraged and disheartened a man less brave than Mr. Weeks, but he refused to permit it to daunt his determination to suc- ceed. Bravely he set himself to the task of get- ting a second start. For eighteen months he worked for wages, as a farm hand, after which he spent a similar period with Mr. Van Duser in a store, and then rented the farm of two hundred and thirty acres owned by Mrs. Courtwright, and on this place, by good management, he has retrieved his losses in South Dakota and gained a foothold in the business world. His indomitable energy has enabled him to sur- mount obstacles that would have discouraged many a man.
On the Republican ticket, Mr. Weeks has been elected a member of the village board. He has also been deputy assessor of his township, and in 1900 served as census enumerator. He is a charter member of the local camp, Modern Woodmen of America, in which he has filled several offices. For some time he has been steward of the Methodist Episcopal Church and superintendent of and a teacher in the Sunday- school.
Mr. Weeks is the only member of his father's family remaining in Kendall County.
Si Johurry.
Photo by Benensohn, Yorkville, I11.
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
1II
SHELDON WHEELER JOHNSON.
HELDON WHEELER JOHNSON, mana- ger of the Kendall Co-operative Creamery Company and a well-known stockman of Na au-say Township, was born December II, 1855, and is a son of the late Oliver C. Johnson. His education was begun in the public schools and has since been carried on throughi observa- tion, habits of thoughtful reading and experience in the business world. While he was still young, his father needing his help, he took up the over- sight of the home place and carried it on until 1880. He then removed to a tract just east of his present farm and there remained ten years, in 1899 selling the eastern half and buying the eighty acres where he now resides. The land was very rich, but so marshy that it could not be plowed. He tiled it and made a fine farm of the land, increasing its value in about eight years from $40 to $80 per acre, selling it at the last- named price, although there was no building on that part of the property. This improvement in value is the result of the use of four thousand rods of tiling. In 1890 he was lauglied at for buying the place, but subsequent events have proved the wisdom of his judgment, and his ten years of experience here have proved most profitable to him. His specialty has been the raising of standard-bred horses, cattle and hogs, and the grain raised on the farm is used wholly for feed.
October 3, 1894, the Kendall Co-operative Creamery Company was chartered, one of its organizers and stockholders being Mr. Johnson. For the first six months he had no particular
connection with the running of the creamery, but he was then urged to take its management, and agreed to do so. He devotes all his time to the creamery and has made it a great success. Il1 1898 the company bought the Plattville creamery and has since operated the two in connection. At the Na-au-say creamery, which manufactures butter for both, they made two hundred and fifty thousand pounds of butter in 1899, using for the purpose over five and one-half million pounds of milk. They employ twenty-four men, most of them being engaged in collecting the milk. The butter is sold mostly to one company in Aurora and afterwards is known as Elgin creamery. The quality is so unusually fine that prizes have been awarded the company both at state and na- tional bntter-makers' meetings. Mr. Johnson has supervision of the entire business and has proved himself the right man in the right place; being an unusually efficient and reliable man- ager.
Mr. Johnson has been the nominee of the Pro- hibition party for the state legislature and United States congress, and at the congressional election he had the honor of receiving the largest vote of any of the party's candidates in Illinois. For nine years he has served as road commissioner, and for twenty years has been school trustee. In the Presbyterian Church he is serving as an elder and also as a Sunday-school officer, and for twenty years has been either president or treas- urer of the Kendall County Sunday-school Asso- ciation.
February 19, 1879, Mr. Johnson married Mag-
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
gie, daughter of Silas F. Wagner, who early in the '50s, came to Illinois from Ohio, where he was reared. He accompanied his parents, who settled in Oswego Township, but later bought land in Kendall Township, where for years lie engaged in buying live stock. Politically he was a Republican. With the exception of the posi- tion of road commissioner he refused to accept offices. By his marriage to Ella Jane Hopkins he had seven children, of whom Mrs. Johnson is the second. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have had five children, namely: Mabel, deceased; Ruth, Theodore, Sarah and Ellen. About 1890 Mr. Johnson erected the commodious residence where he and his family have since made their home, on section 20, Na-au-say Township.
LIVER CLEVELAND JOHNSON, a pio- neer of 1843 in Kendall County, was born at Castleton, Vt., December 28, 1818, liis parents being Endearing and Nancy Johnson, of New England. His ancestry is traced back to the famous Stuart family through his mother. Late in life she came to Illinois. Her death was caused by burns resulting from the catching on fire of her clothes. She was then a little more than one hundred years of age. "Her body was the first interred in the Sable' Grove Cem- etery.
The trip from Vermont to Illinois our subject made via the lakes and from Michigan overland with a team. He took up one hundred and sixty acres in the northwest corner of section 20, Na-au-say Township, and a part of the southeast quarter. The prairie land he broke with oxen. Wolves were numerous; the surroundings were those of the frontier. Grain was hauled to Chi- cago with wagons. From the first he prospered. He added to his land until he had four hundred acres at the time of his death. Not long before he died he built a fine residence that still stands on the homestead. His death, which occurred February 25, 1885, was caused directly by lung fever, but indirectly resulted from a fracture of his thigh bone, which weakened his constitution. Politically a Republican, he was one of the local
leaders of his party. He served in all of the local offices and during the war was a recruiting officer. From 1862 to 1864 he held the office of state representative from this senatorial district. He officiated as an elder in the Presbyterian Church from the first election up to the time of his demise, and he aided in the erection of the house of worship here, being a member of the building committee and contributing liberally of his means to its construction.
At Castleton, Vt., February 2, 1843, Mr. Johnson married Mary Ann Wheeler, a sister of Sheldon H. Wheeler, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume. She died October 10, 1895. Of the two sons and five daughters born to their union, only three are living, namely: Sarah, who married Carey A. Hopkins, and re- sides in Aurora; Sheldon W .; and Oliver C., who is pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Morris; Il1.
ALMAR BROWN, who is living retired in Big Grove Township, Kendall County, was born in Decatur, Otsego County, N. Y., January 9, 1823, a son of Nathaniel and Orpha (Seward) Brown, both of Puritan ancestry. His father spent his entire life in New York state, whither his father had migrated from Connecti- cut, with two brothers, making the journey with ox-sleds.
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