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 31
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 31
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A native of Norfolk, England, Mr. Beane was twelve years of age when his parents crossed the ocean in 1840 and settled in Oswego, Ill., where for a time his father operated a grist mill. As soon as he attained his majority he came to Seward Township and bought a tract of farm land. As he prospered, he added to his hold- ings until he was one of the large land-owners of the township. Besides raising the various cereals, he devoted considerable attention to the stock business and had on his place large numbers of cattle and swine. Every year he fed large herds of cattle and shipped them to market. He was a man of such sound judg- ment that he was prospered where another might have failed.
From boyhood until his death Mr. Beane was a Republican in political principle, believing that the principles of that party are best calculated to secure the perpetuation of our institutions. Dur- ing the earlier part of his life he was a member of the Methodist Church, but later affiliated with the Presbyterians. Failing health rendered a change of climate necessary and some eight years before he died he removed to California,
in order that he might receive the benefits of that climate. There he died in December, 1895. By his marriage to Elizabeth Walley he had five children, three of whom are living, namely: Ar- thur L., of Chicago; Wallace C., of Kendall County; and Ettie E., wife of Archibald Wylie, of Waterloo, Iowa.
ALLACE COOK BEANE, a farmer resid- ing in Seward Township, is one of the en- terprising young men of Kendall County, and is carrying forward the work so well started by his father. He was born April 5, 1857, on the farm where he now resides, his parents being the late Frederick J. Beane and Elizabeth Beane, née Walley. His boyhood was passed in a com- paratively uneventful manner. Attendance at school was alternated with work on the farm, and early in life he acquired a thorough knowl- edge of every detail connected with the manage- ment of a farm. When twenty-one years of age he went to California and spent the next year with his father there, meantime giving his atten- tion to the carpenter's trade. Upon his return to Illinois he worked in Chicago for a year. His first independent venture as a farmer was in 1890, when he began the cultivation of an eighty- acre tract, upon which place he remained five years. From there he returned to the old home- stead of the family, which he took upon the divi- sion of the estate among the heirs. Since then he has devoted himself to the cultivation of the land and also to the stock business, which he has found a profitable adjunct of farming. He has a number of Shorthorn cattle and raises stock for the market, although he also does a certain amount of dairying.
The political views of Mr. Beane bring him into affiliation with the Republican party. Fra- ternally he is a member of Yorkville Lodge No. 839, I. O. O. F., and the Modern Woodmen of America at Plattville. He is one of the stock- holders of the hall at Plattville. In April, 1897, he was united in marriage with Ida, daughter of Robert Heald, of this county. They have one son, Forest Beane.
Thomas Fletcher
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
THOMAS FLETCHER.
of Iowa Falls, Iowa; Mrs. Mary Cooper, of Ford County; and Lillian, who married Charles Buch- holz, of Melvin, Il1.
HOMAS FLETCHER. For many years one of the most respected citizens of Lisbon Township, Kendall County, was Thomas Fletcher, who settled here at an early period as a After attending school for a number of years, Thomas Fletcher was industriously employed in his youthful days in farming and teaming, and later in freigliting manufactured goods from Man- chester to other towns. In October, 1840, he emigrated to America, landing in New York City, where he found employment with a dairy- man at $8 a month and board. When ready to leave him, at the end of eighteen months, he re- ceived wages at the rate of $12 per month, and on account of his faithful and satisfactory serv- would remain. Coming from there to Kendall County in the spring of 1842, he had been here but a little while when he entered forty acres of government land on section 8, and shortly after that embraced an opportunity to buy an adjoin- ing claim of eighty acres, which had logs cut and hauled to build a cabin, paying $2.50 an acre for the land. Locating on this homestead in 1844, he improved the land and engaged in general farming and stock-raising, making this a nucleus around which he gathered a fine estate. Pos- sessing a rugged physique and a remarkable en- ergy, he wasted no time nor opportunity to hon- orably advance his interests. Although he had but limited educational advantages in his youth, his native ability and fine intellectual capacity enabled him to store his mind with a vast amount of sound practical information, which he gleaned by reading and observation. Honest and con- scientious to a marked degree, he achieved a great success in his undertakings by means of laboring man, and by honest effort and good judgment accumulated a competency that enabled him to spend his closing years in leisure. Mr. Fletcher was born in Booth, Lancashire, England, April 7, 1817, and died March 27, 1889, in Mor- ris, Ill. His parents were Richard and Jane (Coop) Fletcher. When he was a child of six years the father went to London to take a gov- ernment position, and he was brought up by his grandparents, who early instilled into his mind those habits of industry and thrift that formed . ices was offered an interest in the business if he the basis of his character. He was the eldest of a family of six children, the record of the others being as follows: Joseph, who lived in Lisbon Township about thirteen years after coming to America, subsequently removed to Ford County, Ill., where lie died in 1874, leaving five children; Lawrence, who emigrated to this country in 1864 or 1865, spent a year in Kendall County, Ill., then removed to Zanesville, Ohio, and later re- turned to England, where he now resides; Mary was the wife of John Ashworth, of England, and is now deceased; Elizabeth, who is unmarried, has never left her early home in England; and Edward, who sailed for America, was lost at sea. The five children of Joseph Fletcher, deceased, are as follows: Thomas, a large landowner and influential citizen of Ocheyedan, Osceola County, Iowa; Jennie, who married Israel Thompson, a well-to-do business man of Melvin, Ill., and has one daughter, Katie; Anna, who married John Tidman, formerly of Ford County, Ill., but now
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straightforward methods, steady perseverance and good management, accumulating an estate of fifteen hundred acres of choice land in Lisbon Township, besides large properties in other states. In 1881 he purchased a residence in Yorkville, where he remained three years, when, on account of property and banking interests, he removed to Morris, Ill., where he resided until his demise. His widow survived him but a few weeks, dying April 22, 1889, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Somers, in Cleveland, Ohio, whence her body was brought to Illinois and laid to rest beside that of her husband in Lisbon cemetery.
In politics Mr. Fletcher was a Whig in earlier life, but from the formation of the Republican party was one of its strongest adherents. A close student of the bible, he was well versed in biblical lore, and was a faithful and consistent member of the Lisbon Center Methodist Episco- pal Church, which he assisted in organizing, and afterward served for many years as a member of the official board, a steward, a class-leader, and as teacher and superintendent of its Sunday- school. He was noted for his benevolence and generosity, being especially kind to the unfortun- ate, and contributed largely to the support of worthy institutions, among other of his liberal donations having been a bequest of $3,000 to the George Smith Colored Industrial College of Mo- berly, Mo. Mr. Fletcher was a man who rather shrank from public observation, and disliked all false show or pretension.
Mr. Fletcher was twice married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Mary Skinner, lived but a few weeks after the solemnization of their union. In October, 1849, he married Re- becca, daughter of Samuel and Martha (Milner) Naden, and a sister of John Naden, of whom a sketch may be found elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher became parents of seven children, namely: Mary, who died at the age of four years; Martha, wife of Orestes Booth, of Evanston, Ill .; Sarah, wife of Philip Clark, of Chicago; Edwin S., a prominent agriculturist of Kendall County; Fannie, wife of Horace Somers, M. D., of Chicago, a practicing physician and a
lecturer in medical colleges; Annie, who lived but two years; and Thomas, a well-known citi- zen and prosperous farmer of Lisbon Township.
HEODORE CARL GABEL. A represent- ative agriculturist of Kendall County, Mr. Gabel is a well-known resident of Lisbon Township, where his fine and well-appointed farm, lying on section 2, gives substantial evi- dence of the excellent care and skill with which it is managed. Mr. Gabel is a son of J. Henry and Annie K. (Betz) Gabel, and was born April 1, 1857, in the old log house situated on his father's homestead on section 15, Kendall Town- ship. His father, who was an honored citizen of Kendall County, settled here a half century ago and was afterward associated with the develop- ment of the country. He was born in Nassau, Germany, October 30, 1813, and in early man- hood married Annie K. Betz, who was also born in Germany, her birth having occurred March 20, 18 16. For a number of years he followed the trade of a wagonmaker. Being a man of indus- trious and persevering disposition he desired to buy a farm, but there was no land in his immediate vicinity for sale. It was for this reason that he decided to emigrate to the United States. In the fall of 1850 he crossed the ocean, arriving in New York after a voyage of three weeks. Thence he proceeded to Chicago via river, canal and the great lakes. Settling first near Somonauk, Il1., he invested most of his capital in an eighty-acre tract of land. Five years later he became the owner of a quarter section of land in Kendall Township, Kendall County. For years he en- gaged in raising grain, which he sold in the mar- kets of Joliet and Lockport. For a time he was an officer in the Mutual Insurance Company. Interested in educational matters, he held the po- sition of school director, which he filled with wisdom and fidelity. He was a member of the Lutheran Church, and died, firm in his faith, December 5, 1880; his wife passed away April 13, 1888. Of their ten children only four are
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living, those besides Theodore C. being Augus- tus C., who occupies the old homestead; Henry G., a practicing physician in Aurora; and Lewis J., a farmer of Kendall Township.
During the winters Theodore C. Gabel attended the district schools of his boyhood. Early in life he began to assist in the pioneer labor of clear- ing a farm from the wilderness. Working with ambitious energy he felled trees, upturned the sod, planted the seed and in harvest time assisted in reaping the crops, in this manner becoming familiar with the various details of agriculture while yet young. But not the least important part of his home training were the lessons in honesty, thrift and industry which his worthy parents instilled into his mind both by precept and practice. At the age of twenty years he be- gan the battle of life on his own account, his father giving him a pair of horses, a wagon and harness to commence with. In company with his brother, Augustus C., he rented the home farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and there engaged in farming until the death of his father. Shortly afterward, in 1881, the estate was settled, and he and his brother, A. C., bought out the interests of the other heirs, after which they continued together until the mar- riage of Theodore C. in 1886. The latter then sold to his brother his interest in the homestead and bought eighty acres of his present farm on section 2, Lisbon Township. In 1891 he bought another eighty acres of adjoining land, this giv- ing him a good- sized farm to operate. The in- vestment was not considered a very good one, as the place had been allowed to run down through poor management.
With characteristic skill and forethought Mr. Gabel began the arduous labor of improving the place. He has put in nineteen hundred rods of tile, varying the size from three to twelve inches. In 1890 he erected his commodious and well- arranged barn. Under his able supervision the estate is now one of the most fertile, productive and attractive to be found in this locality, and its equipments are of the best. He carries on gen- eral farming, but makes a specialty of cattle-
raising. In 1883 he embarked in the breeding and raising of Shorthorn cattle in company with his brother. On the division of their interests he took the entire lot of thoroughbred cattle. In his efforts to improve his stock he has spared neither care or expense. His fine bunch of ani- mals is known as the Pine Lawn herd, taking its name from his homestead, which is called Pine Lawn farm. In the herd are the following named families: (Imported) Young Phyllis, (Im- ported) Lady Elizabeth, (Imported ) Young Mary, and others, at the head being Springdale, bred by Green Brothers, of Indianola, Ill .; Lilly Lewis and Helen Bly, bred by J. B. Cottingham & Son, Eden, Ill., all being from imported sires. Among other choice animals in his possession is the Grand Duchess of Gloster, F. 10th, bred by A. A. Francis, New Lenox, Ill.
The marriage of Mr. Gabel took place Febru- ary 22, 1886, and united him with Mary M., only child of Charles and Priscilla (Kimble) Evans. Her father died in 1860, shortly after her birth. December 15, 1875, her mother be- came the wife of N. B. Worsley, who died Janu- ary 31, 1876. Since 1887 Mrs. Worsley has made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Gabel. A native of Prince Edward Island, Mrs. Worsley was one of a family of eight children, whose par- ents were James and Priscilla (Frise) Kimble, of Dover and Plymouth, England, who led very eventful lives. They were married in Plymouth, and about two years afterward, Mr. Kimble being a stone cutter and builder, was sent by the gov- ernment to Ascension Island to build a reservoir to hold the rain water that fell only twice a year, that being the only means of supplying the in- habitants with fresh water. Two years later Mrs. Kimble followed him, leaving their oldest child with its grandparents. They lived there seven years, during which time two children were born to them; and Mr. Kimble made Na- poleon Bonapart's tombstone which was taken to St. Helena. From Ascension Island they re- turned to England, and after ten weeks they went to Prince Edward Island, where they lived fourteen years. Five children were born to them
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
while there. In 1845 they came to Chicago by steamboat and thence by wagons to Kendall County, where they bought a farm in Na-au-say Township.
In 1849 Mr. Kimble went to California, where he remained about eighteen months and made about $2,000, but was robbed by a berthmate on the vessel coming home and recovered only about $500. He lived about a year on his Na-au-say farm, then sold out and went to Peoria, taking a contract to build the first railroad through Peo- ria. After five years in Peoria he returned to Kendall County and bought the farm now owned by Mr. Gable; the land was at that time (1853) a piece of prairie, out of which he made a com- fortable home. Mrs. Kimble died in 1873, aged seventy-two years. In 1876 he sold his farm, after which he lived with the families of his chil- dren as the fancy suited him. In 1888 he went to Farwell, S. Dak., where he died at the home of his son, James, Jr., in 1892, aged ninety-two. He was a finished workman at liis special trade, and was strictly honest in all dealings with his fellowmen.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Gabel has been brightened by two children, namely: Carl B., born May 26, 1889, and Hazel P., born March 9, 1891. The son is a partner of his father in the breeding of high-class Shorthorn cattle, the firm name being T. C. Gabel & Son.
A man of the greatest integrity, Mr. Gabel well merits the esteem in which he is held. He has used his best endeavors to raise the standard of education, believing that to be the only means of improving and advancing the mental and moral attainments of the race.
AMUEL COONEY. On the road from Plano to Yorkville may be seen the valuable farm owned by Mr. Cooney, who is one of the re- liable farmers of Little Rock Township. During the long period of his residence in Kendall Coun- ty he was witnessed the gradual transformation of the country from a raw prairie into one of the fine farming regions of Illinois. He remembers
the days when grain was cut with a cradle and bound by hand, and when farm implements were crude and scarce. Those days, fortunately, are long gone by, and in their stead we have fine ma- chinery and every facility for rendering farm work easy and pleasant.
Mr. Cooney was born in Cherry Valley, Perry County, Pa., May 12, 1829. His father, Daniel Cooney, a native of Pennsylvania, lived for a time in New York, and thence moved to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, settling in the midst of a wilder- ness. For four years he devoted his attention to clearing a tract of land there. In 1839 he drove through to Illinois with a team of oxen. He bought a claim of one hundred acres in Oswego and pre-empted another tract of the same size. A portion of the land was already under the plow, but far the larger part was in its primeval condi- tion, and it was his task to place the land under cultivation. At first he hauled his wheat to Chi- cago, by no means an easy task. Later, how- ever, the railroad was introduced, and shipments were made with less difficulty. He spent the balance of his life on this farm, and died there in 1868. In religion he was connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in politics a Democrat. While living in Pennsylvania he married Rebecca Faust, a native of Pennsylvania, of German descent. They had eight children, all but two of whom still survive, Samuel being the fifth of the family. His education was very limited. The residence of the family on the fron- tier, remote from good schools, rendered syste- matic attendance at school an impossibility. His time was given almost wholly to farm work. When eighteen years old he began to learn the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for three years. He then went to Na-au-say Township and bought one hundred and sixty acres, which he began to cultivate and improve. For ten years he made his home on that place, and then sold out and settled in Little Rock Township, at his present home. Besides raising farm products he has a number of Jersey cattle and makes large quantities of fine butter, for which he finds a ready market in Plano.
In Oswego Township, Kendall County, Janu-
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
ary 16, 1855, Mr. Cooney married Mary A. Ernst, whose family history appears in the sketch of her brother, George W. Ernst. They have three children, viz .: Ida E., wife of Erwin Steele, who is operating the homestead in Bristol Township; Mary Emma; and Charles E., who is on the home farm. Mr. Cooney has always voted with the Democrats and adheres faithfully to the principles of the party.
OSEPH PLATT BROWN. America justly takes pride in her citizens who have suc- ceeded in making a place of respect and influence, in spite of adverse circumstances and environments. In tracing the history of Mr. Brown it is plainly apparent that he has been one of these independent, brave souls, and too much credit cannot be paid to him.
Coming of the sturdy, loyal Vermont pioneer stock, the noble principles of his ancestors are inherent in his nature. His parents, Charles and Nancy Jane ( Ames) Brown, were married in their native state, Vermont, and to them eight sons and one daughter were born. After carrying on a farm in the Green Mountain state for sev- eral years, the father went to Albany, N. Y., where he was engaged in the grocery business for a period. Later he located in the heavily timbered district of St. Lawrence County, same state, and, after clearing a fifty-acre tract of land which he had bought there he purchased and cleared another fifty acres. His busy and useful career was brought to a close at his old home in the Empire state, and both he and his faithful wife died as they had lived, firm in the Lutheran faith.
father in the arduous task of clearing away the timber on the home farm. When he arrived at majority he concluded to try his fortunes in Illi- nois, and, proceeding by the St. Lawrence river to Buffalo, he there embarked in a boat bound for his destination. During the ensuing three years he worked at lumbering and farming, and by extreme economy and industry managed to save about $1,000 from his earnings.
In 1853 young Brown invested a portion of his funds in eighty acres of land in Na-au-say Township. The land was unbroken prairie, and after plowing a tract of twenty-seven acres lie sowed wheat and was fortunate in raising seven hundred bushels. He entered into a contract with Mr. Norton, of Lockport, to deliver this product at the rate of $1 a bushel, and when he had turned over half of the crop to the purchaser he was informed that as the market price had fallen to ninety cents, he would have to deliver the rest at that rate, which he was obliged to do. From time to time he bought more land until the boundaries of his homestead included three hundred and forty acres, and one hundred acres of this he has bestowed upon his two daughters. For many winters he made a business of feeding cattle, and also has been successful in fattening sheep. He has instituted numerous substantial improvements and the fine condition of every rod of fence on the place is especially noticeable. He was the first man on this ridge to commence placing tiling for draining land, and his wisdom in this direction is beyond question. With his accustomed thoroughness, he procured fine kiln- dried lumber for his house, which he erected in 1875, and to-day it is in an excellent condition.
Politically Mr. Brown is a Republican. For ten years he served as a trustee of the Congrega- tional Church, but resigned in 1899. He had served as a member of the building committee and was of material aid in the erection of the church edifice. For thirteen years he officiated on the local school board, and in various ways has borne his full share in the affairs of this com- munity for more than two-score ycars.
The birth of Joseph P. Brown occurred on the old parental homestead in Morristown, St. Law- rence County, N. Y., September 23, IS31. His educational facilities, as may be inferred, were of a limited description, and the primitive school house where he attended was built of logs and furnished with puncheon benches and floor. He learned to wield an axe in the forest when lie was In October, 1857, Mr. Brown married Mary quite young and was of great assistance to his Jane Bronk, a daughter of Ephraim Bronk, one
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of the pioneers of this locality, elsewhere men- tioned in this volume. Joseph Ira, only son of our subject and wife, now has the chief manage- ment of the old homestead, and is a valued citizen of this township. Cecelia, who is the wife of George Bennett, lives in this district; and Hattie, Mrs. Sidney Morgan, resides in Elwood Town- ship, Will County.
ELSON D. SWEETLAND, M. D. In the list of pioneers of Kendall County conspicu- ous mention belongs to Dr. Sweetland, who was one of the very earliest settlers of Newark. While few now living remember him (for it has been many years since his death), yet the influ- ence of his life has not perished. A man of great energy and determination, the possession of these qualities fitted him for the conduct of his practice in the midst of a frontier existence of hardships and dangers. He took an active part in the af- fairs of his community and filled various local offices, to which he was elected by his party, the Democratic. Though not a member of any de- nomination, he was a believer in and a supporter of the Gospel, and was a man universally beloved and respected.
Born and reared in Dryden, Tompkins County, N. Y., Dr. Sweetland early took up the study of medicine and graduated from Fairfield Medical College, the institution which is the alma mater of the eminent Dr. N. S. Davis, of Chicago. After graduating he practiced for a few years in west- ern New York. In 1839 he came to Illinois and settled in LaSalle County, where his father, Col. Bowen Sweetland, had purchased land. After a stay of one year in that county he returned to his native county and married Huldah A. Laning, a cousin of Franklin Pierce and a daughter of Rev. Ralph and Anna (Pierce) Laning. Her father was a pioneer minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, belonging to the Oneida conference in New York. Her brother, Albert P. Laning, an able attorney, was senior member of the law firm of Laning, Folsom & Cleveland, of Buffalo, N. Y., which firm became widely known through Grover Cleveland's connection with it. In the war of
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