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 22
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 22
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location of the route. His position was one of great responsibility, and including the paying of all the workmen. On his return to the States in 1883 he was employed by the Illinois Central Railroad in the construction of some of its branches in Mississippi, which work consumed four years, with the exception of a few inonths spent at home. On the completion of the work he was for one year proprietor of a meat market, which he had taken on a mortgage. In 1887 he went to New Orleans and engaged in bridge con- tracting. During his two years in that city he was sent to Central America by a syndicate of contractors to look over the Nicaragua canal. While stationed at New Orleans he received a commission from the Sanitary Commission, backed by the merchants of New Orleans, to look into the sanitary condition of those seaports having direct trade with New Orleans, in order, if possible, to have their vessels avoid the long quarantine. In 1872, while on his way to South America, he met an old friend and acquaintance, the historic Captain Fry, who was then on his way to take command of the "Virginius," and who was later executed at Santiago de Cuba.
In 1889 Mr. Tobias was sent to Cartagena, Columbia, as chief engineer of the Cartagena & Magdalena Railroad, and laid out the route, started the work of construction and continued with the enterprise until 1893, returning to the States in time to visit the Columbian Exposition. His next enterprise was a coal and lumber busi- ness at Peotone, and this he conducted until the spring of 1899, when he retired from business.
Fraternally Mr. Tobias is a charter member of Peotone Lodge No. 636, A. F. & A. M., is a Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Eastern Star Lodge No. 65. William A. Webb Post No. 657, G. A. R., numbers him among its members, as does also the John A. Smith Garrison, Knights of the Globe. For many years he was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, but resigned after retiring from the business. In pol- itics he is a Republican. He is connected with the Methodist Church, and has served his con- gregation as a trustee. His life has been an ex- ceedingly active and busy one, replete with inci-
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dent and adventure. His business has taken him into many countries, and perhaps no citizen of Peotone has a more thorough and cosmopolitan knowledge than he. After years of successful effort, it is fitting that he should spend the after- noon of his life in a pleasant and comfortable home, surrounded by family and friends, and held in the highest esteem by his acquaintances throughout the country.
G EORGE M. CAMPBELL. Of those who are connected with the stone business in Joliet, few have done more than Mr. Camp- bell to aid its development and foster its success. His name is inseparably associated with the his- tory of the Joliet Stone Company, whose re- markable success was largely due to his energy and judgment. When this property was sold to tlie Western Stone Company in 1891, he contin- ued with the latter as Joliet manager and stock- holder, but after two years sold his interest in the business and resigned his position. About the same time he formed a partnership with J. C. Dennis as Campbell & Dennis, general contrac- tors, which business he now continues alone. He is interested in the supply house of A. W. Hays & Co., which has an office on Cass street, and keeps in stock a general stock of builders' and contrac- tors' supplies. Upon the organization of the Joliet National Bank he was made a director, and two years later was elected vice-president, in both of which positions lie has since been retained. He is also a director of tlie Joliet Republican Print- ing Company; is treasurer of the Will County Abstract Company, and is interested in the Pur- ington Paving Brick Company, of Galesburg, Ill.
The Campbell family was founded in America by a Scotchman who settled in New Hampshire, and whose son, Samuel, was the grandfather of our subject. A native of New Hampshire, Sanı- uel Campbell removed to Maine and engaged in farming there until his death, at sixty-five years. His son, John B., who was born in Waldo County,
Me., went to sea in boyhood and remained for years in the merchant marine trade, meantime traveling all over Europe. On leaving the sea he became a carpenter and joiner in Belfast, Waldo County, Me., but two years after his mar- riage removed to Massachusetts. In 1857 he came west, first settling near Marion, Linn County, Iowa, and engaging in the carpenter business. In April, 1862, he came to Joliet, where he became a contractor in the building of canal boats. Subsequently he went to Iowa and established a pleasant country home, "The Pines," in Des Moines, two miles east of the capitol. His last years were devoted to art and literature, and he passed away at the home of his son, George M., in Joliet, when seventy-five years of age.
The marriage of John B. Campbell united him with Margaret W. Norton, who was born at Buck's Harbor, Me., January 16, 1827, and is still living. Her father was born at the same old homestead, though at the time of his birth Maine was still a part of Massachusetts. The great- grandfather Norton, an Englishman, settled at Martha's Vineyard, and afterward built the home at Buck's Harbor; later he took part in the Revo- lutionary war. John B. and Margaret W. Camp- bell had three children, two of whom are living, George M., and Mrs. Susan E. Fox, of Denver, Colo.
In Unity, Waldo County, Me., the subject of this sketch was born January 5, 1848. He ac- companied his parents in their various removals, and did considerable pioneer farming. While at a small village called Central City, twelve miles north of Marion, Iowa, under his father he learned the carpenter's trade. In1 1862 he came to Joliet. He attended the public schools of Joliet, and a private in Springfield, Mass. After leaving school he engaged with a Joliet contractor for a year or more. For a short time lie clerked for G. Munroe & Son, after which he entered the stone business, May 23, 1870, as bookkeeper and pay- master for Sanger & Steel, and remained with them until 1875. Withi George H. Munroe and Daniel C. Hays he started in the stone busi- ness. The company was incorporated in 1877
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with a capital of $30,000, under the name of the Joliet Stone Company, Mr. Munroe being presi- dent, and Mr. Campbell, secretary, treasurer and manager. The main office of the company was in Joliet, and there were five branch offices in Chicago, to which was run a fleet of boats owned by the company. Thirteen thousand cars of stone were shipped from this company's quarries the last year before it sold out.
While business matters have required his almost constant attention, " Mr. Campbell has never neglected his duties as a citizen, but has aided in enterprises for the public good. He has always been a staunch Republican, but has never been an office seeker. For many years he has been a member of the Universalist Church.
On Christmas day of 1873 Mr. Campbell mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Snapp, who was a noted attorney of Joliet and represented this district in congress. The two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are Jessie M. and Ida A.
ILLIAM JOSEPH LYONS, who is one of the leading lumber merchants of Joliet, has spent his life in this city, and owns a fine home at No. 616 Western avenue. His father, John Lyons, a native of Ireland, learned the car- penter's trade in youth, and on crossing the ocean to America settled in Joliet in 1849. For a long time he engaged in the building business here, having a number of important and profitable contracts. In 1875 he opened a lumber business on South Bluff street, adjoining the Porter brew- ery. Six years later he moved to the corner of Desplaines and Clinton streets, and continued actively engaged in business here until 1897, when he transferred the business to his son, William Joseph, and removed to Colorado Springs, his
present residence. For many years he was a member of the board of supervisors of Will County and a leader in the local Democracy. Many of the buildings which he erected are still standing, and their excellent condition testifies to his skill and reliability as a contractor. He mar- ried Susan Feeney, who was born in Channa- hon, this county, and died in Joliet in 1885, at thirty-eight years of age. She was a daughter of Barney Feeney, a native of Ireland, and one of the pioneer farmers of Channahon Township.
Three daughters and four sons comprised the family of John and Susan Lyons. Of these all are living but one daughter. William Joseph, who was next to the eldest of the family, was born at the family home in Joliet, January I, 1866. After having studied in the public schools for some years, in 1879 he left school in order to learn the lumber business under his father. He was soon made bookkeeper, and acquired a thorough knowledge of the business, of which, in 1890, he took charge. In 1897 he purchased the business, and now has entire charge of the large yards on Clinton and Desplaines streets, where he carries a full stock of lumber and building material. He buys direct from mills in Wiscon- sin and Michigan, and to some extent also from Southern mills. His entire time is devoted to the lumber business, and he is thoroughly ac- quainted with all of its details.
In 1892-93 Mr. Lyons held the office of secre- tary of the city Democratic committee. He is a member of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church and the Western Catholic Union. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, Knights of Honor, Modern Woodmen of America and Knights of Columbus, and is a member of the board of directors of the last- named order. His marriage, in Harvard, Ill., united him with Miss Hannah L. Sweeney, who was born in that city. They have three children, Horace R., Gladys Marie and William Joseph, Jr.
S.C. Baldim
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.
DAVID CLARK BALDWIN.
12 AVID CLARK BALDWIN. The life of Mr. Baldwin was inseparably associated with the history of Lockport. In fact the village owed its existence in no small measure to his efforts, for he was one of its incorporators as well as one of its first officials. During the sixty-two years of his residence here he witnessed the transformation of the place from a small and iso- lated frontier town to a populous and thriving commercial and agricultural center, whose manu- facturing interests make it one of the important towns of northeastern Illinois. It was his privilege to live to see what was during the '30s a region of almost unsettled land transformed into a finely improved country containing cities and villages of commercial importance. In all of the arduous and stirring scenes of pioneer life he was a prom- inent figure. His was the hand that helped in every forward movement, his the eye that dis- cerned a favorable opportunity and his the mind that planned, years ago, a prosperous future for his home town. There was scarcely a business measure projected in early days with which his name was not associated. To illustrate his con- nection with pioneer transactions it may be stated that some wheat he purchased went into the first flour manufactured in Lockport, and this flour was sold in Chicago, entering into the shipment of the first hundred barrels of flour sent from that market. At the time he came west Chicago was an unknown region, whose site was occupied by Fort Dearborn, with its officers' houses and bar- racks and a scattering village on Lake Michigan. As Chicago grew he kept in touch with its devel- opment and made many friends among the leading wholesale merchants of that city. For many years, and until his retirement in 1888, he engaged in
various lines of merchandising, and in this way had constant relations with wholesale dealers. With them he held a high position, and many a busy merchant left his desk on Mr. Baldwin's entrance in order to enjoy a social talk with him. His credit was the highest, and even the loss of his business block (a calamity that twice over- took him) failed to affect his credit in the least, but only served to emphasize the high confidence in which he was held, and brought him many offers of financial assistance. In the credit book of a commercial traveler, opposite Mr. Baldwin's name, were the words, "Good as gold," and this statement found echo with all of his associates in business.
The Baldwins are an old eastern family. Ben- jamin Baldwin, a native of Woburn, Mass., was a highly educated man. His son, Timothy, our subject's father, was born at Canterbury, Conn., April 15, 1775, and died in that state in 1840. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Lathrop, was born in Connecticut May 27, 1780, and died there in 1852. Their son, David C., was born at Canterbury April 23, 1810, and at an early age began to teach school, which occu- pation he followed in Connecticut, New York, Ohio and Illinois. It was in 1834 that he came to Lockport. For a time he engaged in teaching and had charge of the first school in Homer Township. Later he entered business. He proved himself to be a man of unusual business ability, keen, careful and conservative, yet ener- getic and progressive. Being the soul of honor and integrity, he retained the confidence of asso- ciates. It is rare, indeed, that a man is met in whom are combined so many noble traits as appeared in Mr. Baldwin's character. Of all the
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people in the town there was none but had a good word for him. 'Young men venerated him and children were always his friends, while those more nearly his own age were bound to him by ties of intimate and long association. During the latter years of his life he became deeply inter- ested in floriculture and devoted much time to the raising of plants. His leisure hours were spent with his flowers. He was a diligent botanical student, and understood the entire growth of plants, from the embryo leaves and roots to the mature plants with their flowers. The contrast afforded between the cares of business and the supervision of his plants seemed restful to him and afforded him one of his greatest pleasures.
May 18, 1865, occurred the marriage of Mr. Baldwin to Miss Cornelia A., daughter of Elias and Mary (Paine) Freer. Her father, a native of New York, removed to Illinois in 1836 and settled at Forked Creek, eight miles east of Wil- mington. He had been a tanner in the east, but here he engaged in farm pursuits. After a few years he settled in Plainfield. In 1861 he came to Lockport, where he died at the age of eighty years. He was a stanch Whig and an anti-sla- very man. During the latter part of the war of 1812 he enlisted in the American army, serving until the close. His father, John, served in the Revolutionary war. The family is of French- Huguenot descent. The mother of Mrs. Bald- win was born in Bennington, Vt., removed to New York in girlhood and died in Lockport in 1879, when eighty-seven years of age. Both she and her husband were active members of the Christian Church. They were the parents of nine children who reached maturity; of these Mrs. Boylan, Mrs. Baldwin and Mrs. Hanford are living.
At the time the family came west Mrs. Bald- win was a child of eight years. She was educated under private tutors at home and in the schools of Miss Carr and the Misses Whiting, where she inet many young ladies who afterward became prominent in the highest social circles of Chi- cago. For years she has been identified with the Baptist Church, and has maintained a deep interest in religious work for half a century.
The only child born to her marriage, Alice Louise, died when in her sixth year. Afterward Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin adopted a daughter, Edith, who is now the wife of O. F. Russell and makes her home with her mother.
After an active and useful life Mr. Baldwin entered into eternal rest, December 19, 1896.
ORATIO N. MARSH. Of the many thou- sands of men now living in Joliet no one has been a resident of the city for so long a period as has Mr. Marsh. During the entire period of his connection with local history he has maintained a deep interest in the development of the city's resources and has aided in its advance- ment. No one is better posted than he concern- ing incidents connected with the history of Joliet, and many of these he has written up, thereby giving them a permanent value. One of the local matters in which he has been interested has been the pronunciation of Joliet, and it was largely through his influence that an ordinance was passed by the city council, April 22, 1895, declar- ing the proper pronunciation of the word to be Jo'-li-et. To stir public sentiment on the subject he read a poem at one of the schools February 27, 1894, which was afterward published and widely distributed, and which accomplished not a little toward the end sought. We quote from it the following lines:
If by some other name the fair rose that we greet, Has a beauty as rare, and a fragrance as sweet, Does it follow of course that its friends should not claim For their favorite flower its own beautiful name? So our city, misnamed, may appear just as fair, And its crown of achievement as royally wear, Yet who would not wish it might ever be known By the name it was christened, and that name alone?
As one reaches our city, ere brakes can be set, The brakeman officially cries: Jol-ly-yet! And at the hotel, asked the name of the place, Of the gem-bedecked clerk, with the rubicund face, "Can I tell you the name sir," he answers: "You bet! What else could you call it but straight Jo-li-ette." But the clerk with the register does not agree; Printed Jo-li-et plainly as any may see!
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But pronouncing so badly, though only a fad, Has led to a spelling as wretchedly bad.
In warehouse and store, and abroad on our streets, And on missives by mail, what strange spelling one meets.
We have Joliette and Joilet and quaint Jolleyette, And scores of strange "spells" we would gladly forget! But a truce to bad spelling; we sadly deplore, As practiced too oft, its orthoepy more; And marvel that people of culture proclaim, Their own lack of taste, rispronouncing the name; And more, that such errors in usage abound When a uniform standard is readily found!
If we turn to the library, kind Mrs. Mack, To the goal we are seeking will show us the track; And as lexicons modern and musty we turn Our search to reward we this lesson shall learn: - That in spelling and accent the standards agree; And the name of our city must Jo-li-et be! True, the Frenchinan will sound the first syllable Zho, While the Saxon, less musical, calls it plain Jo, But he it was named for would never have known His name as oft heard in this city of stone.
With the right and the wrong so distinctly in view, What, as people of culture and taste, shall we do? To the wrong tamely yield, or continue the fight Till the wrong dies ignobly, and triumph the right! With our schools may our pulpits and platforms unite, To drive these misnomers from hearing and sight; The speaker who slights such grammatical laws, Should be greeted with hisses instead of applause; The teacher who would not correctly pronounce The name of his Patron deserves the grand bounce; And the pupil so stupid, a vigorous whack Of the pedagogue's rule on the end of his back!
And brakeman, oh! brakeman, in pity forbear With uncouth Jolley-yet to encumber the air; And far prettier Jo-li-et give to the ear Of the traveler waiting your message to hear; Do this and we'll honor you living, and dead A Jo-liet marble will place at your head.
Mass., where were born Jonathan Marsh, his son Quartus, and grandson, Horatio N. In 1835 Quartus Marsh came to Illinois and settled on a farm near Crete, where he died in 1850. He married Sallie- Holt, who was born near Deer- field, of English descent, and died in this county. Of their six children, Mary A. and Jonathan died in this county and Francis in Piatt County; Edwin lives in Chicago and Henry in Kansas.
The oldest son in the family, Horatio N., was born November 15, 1812. He distinctly remem- bers the dedication of Bunker Hill monument and Lafayette's visit to the United States. In 1827 he accompanied his parents to western New York, settling near Rochester. Soon afterward he was apprenticed to the cabinet-maker's trade, which he followed for some years. In Novem- ber, 1835, he came to Illinois, making the trip by packet to Buffalo, thence by steamer to Detroit, from there across Michigan by wagon and on to Joliet. All of those whom he accompanied settled in eastern Will County, then a part of Cook County. In 1836 Will County was organized, and the same year a bill was passed for the con- struction of the canal. On account of lack of funds the work was temporarily suspended, but some years later the state obtained a loan from England and work was resumed, the canal being completed in 1849. Its completion enabled the people of Will County to board a packet and be in Chicago in ten or twelve hours, which they considered very satisfactory. With the building of the Rock Island road in 1852 the distance was covered in less than two hours.
After working for a short time as a journeyman cabinet-maker Mr. Marsh opened a shop of his own on the east side, but later moved to Bluff street. He continued in the business until hand work was superseded by machinery products when he quit. In 1852 he entered the employ of the Rock Island Railroad, being the first agent ap- pointed on the new road, and he continued to be their agent, with the exception of three years (1863-66), when he was postmaster, until 1883, when he resigned on account of age. During the last years of his connection with the railroad
Genealogical records show that the Marslı fam- ily accompanied William the Conqueror from Normandy to England, settling in the Marsh country, from which fact their name was derived. The family in America descends from two broth- ers and a cousin who came from England, two settling in Massachusetts and one in Connecticut. This branch descends from John Marsh, who settled in Hartford, Conn., in 1635. In 1711 his descendants settled on a farm in the town of Montagua, near Deerfield, Franklin County, its business here aggregated $500,000 annually,
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and his responsibilities as freight and passenger agent constantly increased. After resigning as agent he engaged in the insurance and real-estate business, continuing ten years, when he retired from business. Fifty years ago he built a resi- dence on what is now Broadway and here he has since made his home.
Possessing literary ability, Mr. Marsh has always been interested in newspaper work and has been a constant reader of local and general history. From 1847 to 1852 he was editor of the old Whig paper, which was called the Joliet True Democrat and which had the largest circu- lation of any paper for miles around. This paper has since been merged into the Joliet Republican. In 1848 Mr. Marsh advocated the nomination of General Taylor. In 1850 he took the census of Will County. He was interested in the effort to build a road from Joliet to Valparaiso, Ind., to connect with the Grand Trunk Railroad, but on account of the building of the Michigan Central road, the other road never materialized. During his service as alderman he was chairman of the committee on claims. For some years he was a member of the school board and during that time, with others, he began the building of the fine schoolhouses in which Joliet now excels. He was one of the organizers of the First Presbyte- rian Church, and has since been an active mem- ber and ruling elder, also a participant in Sunday- school work. In 1836 he voted for William Henry Harrison and afterward continued a Whig until the dissolution of the party, since which he has been a stanch Republican. For many years he was a member of the Tippecanoe Club of Chicago.
In Monroe County, N. Y., Mr. Marsh was married, in 1835, to Miss Mary Kile, who died leaving an only child, William H. The latter enlisted in the Third Illinois Infantry and was fatally wounded at Vicksburg, where he died. The second marriage of Mr. Marsh united him with Miss Mary L. Pond, now deceased, of Mon- roe County, N. Y. Their only child, Frank E., who is engaged in the grain business in Joliet, married Miss Kate Richmond, of Joliet, and has two sons, both graduates of the Illinois State
University, the older of whom is engaged in med- ical missionary work in Point Barrow, Alaska, and the younger is an electrician in Minneapolis. Mr. Marsh was married again, February 9, 1870, to Miss Jennie R. Foster, of Delavan, Wis. She was born October 3, 1831, and died September 7, 1896.
As is commonly known, the city of Joliet is named in honor of Monsieur Joliet, a man of many remarkable qualities, whose self-sacrificing labors left their impress upon the subsequent history of the county. He was a companion of Father Marquette. In 1672, when he and Mar- quette were returning from an expedition on the Mississippi, they traveled up the Illinois and Desplaines rivers and discovered Mount Joliet, which was named in his honor. When the town of Joliet was laid out in 1834 it was recorded Juliet by an ignorant man, who was unfamiliar with the origin of the name; hence for some time it was often called Juliet or Juliette, but by act of legislature the name was changed to Joliet.
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