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 38
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 38
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town of Goshen, Addison County, Vt., received a good education, and began to teach school at the age of fifteen years. She was married to Andrew M. Allen in her home town April 23, 1850, but her husband died of consumption, July 14, 1851, at the age of twenty-three years, nine months and nineteen days. Afterward for two years she taught school, making her home with her parents when not engaged in teaching Her second marriage took place October 24, 1854, and united her to Chester S. Allen, a brother of her first husband. They lived in Goshen for nine years after their marriage and then moved to Illinois, settling on their present homestead, March 10, 1864. They are the parents of two children. Their son, Delbert C., who was born in Goshen, Vt., May 19, 1858, in now a farmer at Tecumseh, Neb. Their daughter, Etta P., who was born in Lockport, September 13, 1868, is the wife of Allen T. Dille, and resides in Mitchell, Iowa.
The lives of Mr. and Mrs. Allen have been full of useful lessons of devotion to the cause of the church and humanity. They can look back on the past years and be satisfied with the view. As the shadows lengthen in life's evening, and the rough places become smoothed, the thought may dwell with them that a new generation will re- vere their memory, and their names will live in the historical records of Will County.
ATHANIEI, PAGE. The record of a use- ful life is worthy of being perpetuated in the annals of biography. In writing this me- morial of a good man, long since passed to his eternal reward, we are doing an act of simple jus- tice to one whose active life was inseparably asso- ciated with the pioneer history of our county, and one whose influence for good was felt in his home neighborhood even after he had passed from it. As an early settler he participated in the work of clearing and cultivating a portion of the county's fine farming region.
In an early day Nathaniel Page, Sr., migrated from Massachusetts to Vermont and settled in Windsor County, where he died at an advanced age. Nathaniel, Jr., was born in the latter county in 1788 and remained on a farm near his birthplace for many years, but in 1838 he removed to Will County, Ill. His first location was in Lockport, where he followed the carpenter's trade for a year. In 1839 he moved to New Lenox Township, settled upon a farm and began the clearing of land. Upon the farm which he im- proved the remainder of his life was passed, and there he died, February 4, 1866, at the age of seventy-eight years.
During his residence in Vermont Mr. Page married Nancy Gifford, a native of that state, born in the same year as himself; she died in 1865, at the age of nearly seventy-seven years. Their oldest son, Harvey, who was born in Ver- mont, came to this county in 1858 and engaged in farming here for twelve years. About 1870 he moved to Indiana, where he cultivated farm land. He died in that state in 1886, at the age of seventy-two years, leaving a widow and two children, Archie, and Catherine, who is the wid- ow of Benjamin Thomas. The second son, Seneca, who was born in Windsor County, Vt., came to Will County, Ill., in 1837, being the first of the family to remove west. Much of his after life was passed in New Lenox Township, where he cultivated a farm and was also active in local affairs. He died in 1876, at the age of sixty years, leaving a widow and three children who now reside in Joliet. The third son, Austin, was born in Vermont in 1819 and migrated to Illinois in 1839; here he spent the remaining years of his life, following the carpenter's trade and general farming until his death in 1890, at seventy-one years of age. Two daughters, Mary and Nancy, died in girlhood, and a son, Charles, born in 1826, came to Will County, Ill., in 1839, and died here in 1856, at twenty-eight years of age. The only surviving member of the family is Miss Oranda Page, who has made her home in this county since 1839; she took care of hier par- ents during their declining years, and has since continued to reside on her place of thirty acres in
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New Lenox. During her young womanhood she taught two terms of school, and she has continued to the present to be deeply interested in educa- tional and literary work. As one of the pioneers of the county she has shown great interest in its development and is justly proud of its high standing among the galaxy of the counties of the state.
EORGE B. DAVIS, one of the earliest set- tlers of Channahon Township, was born in Montgomery County, N. Y., May 7, 1821, a son of Joseph and Martha (Burlingame) Davis, of whose nine children he and his brother, Van Dyke, of Kankakee County, Ill., are the sole survivors. His father, a native of Long Island, born in 1787, removed with his parents to Albany County, N. Y., and after his marriage settled on a farm in Montgomery County. In 1824 he re- moved to Rensselaer County, and from there, in 1836, turned his face westward to Illinois. In the fall of that year he came to Channahon Township, Will County, and in the spring of the next year his family joined him here. A short. time later he purchased a tract of land. How- ever, before he had moved to his new home he was taken ill and died September 30, 1838. His parents, Ezekiel and Lois (Tripp) Davis, were probably natives of Long Island, but there are no records concerning their birth. They moved to Albany County, N. Y., and lived upon a farm there until they passed away, in advanced years. The maternal grandparents of our subject were Roger and Elizabeth (Sweet) Burlingame, the latter a native of Rhode Island. The former was a sea captain in early life, but after his mar- riage he settled down to farming in Albany County, N. Y., where he died of yellow fever a few years later.
At the time our subject came to this county he was sixteen years of age. After his father's death in 1838, he and his brothers carried on the farm. January 12, 1843, he married Miss Olive Comstock, a native of Tompkins County, N. Y.,
and the daughter of Alexander McGregor and Esther (Saltmarsh) Comstock. To their mar- riage eight children were born, four of whom are now living, namely: G. Henry, who for ten years has been storekeeper in the street car de- partment at Pullman, Ill .; Sadie, at home; Oliver, a practicing physician and surgeon of Joliet; and Wilbur B., a farmer of Channahon Township.
Two years after his marriage Mr. Davis pur- chased eighty acres of his present farm and set- tled thereon. He has been a progressive and energetic farmer. From time to time he added to his farm until it numbered two hundred and forty acres, but in recent years he has sold his son ninety-five acres, which leaves in his farm one hundred and forty-five acres. For years he was school director and also trustee of the school fund. He is an ardent Republican in politics. Not caring for elective offices, he has always re- fused to allow his name to be used as a candidate for any but minor offices. For forty years he has served as a trustee of the Methodist Church. He is one of the best known and most highly es- teemed men of Channahon Township, where his hospitality, genial disposition, upright life and generous nature have won him hosts of friends during the more than sixty years of his residence here.
Mrs. Davis traces her lineage to the von Kom- stohk (or Comstock) family, of Frankfort-on- the-Main in Germany. Tradition states that the family was founded in America by three brothers from Wales or England, where the family had gone from Germany owing to their connection with some political strife that rendered further residence in their native land perilous. The lin- eage is traced back to a noble ancestry prior to 1547. William, who founded this branch of the family in America, settled in Wethersfield, and thence went to New London, Conn, His son, Samuel, had a son, Samuel, who was the father of Hezediah Comstock. The latter's son, Gid- eon, moved from Rhode Island to Connecticut. Adam, son of Gideon, was born in Rhode Island. He was a man of stalwart physique, six feet in height, well proportioned and dignified, in de-
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portment grave and gentlemanly, well calculated to command the respect of all who approached him. Before the Revolution he was one of the king's justices of the peace and a major in his army. On the breaking out of the war, how- ever, he entered the American army, with the determination to use all his energies in the de- fense of his country. In the language of his biographier, " He was a soldier by nature, pow- erful in body, of undaunted courage, an enthusi- astic patriot, and a good disciplinarian. He had the confidence of Washington, who raised him to the rank of colonel in the continental line. At the brilliant victory of Red Bank he was the officer of the day; alternately with General Smith of Maryland, he commanded at the successful defense of Mud Fort (now Fort Mifflin). He also shared the various sufferings of his brave companions-in-arms at Valley Forge. After this, from a domestic affliction, he resigned his com- mission, which General Washington reluctantly accepted, giving him an honorable discharge from the army."
Soon after the close of the war Colonel Com- stock was elected to the legislature of his native state. In 1785 he moved to Schenectady, N. Y. One year later he purchased and moved to a farm in Greenfield (now Corinthi) Township, Sara- toga County, where he made his home up to the time of his death. While a citizen of New York he was for many years a member of the New York assembly and senate, in which bodies he exercised a controlling influence by reason of his recognized ability. For many years he was a judge of the court of common pleas in and for the county of Saratoga, to which office he was peculiarly adapted. He was not bred to the pro- fession of law, but his strong mind and investi- gating habits, his sound judgment and compe- tent knowledge of science, were abundantly mani- fest in his judicial opinions. He died April 10, 1819.
Rev. Alexander McGregor Comstock, M. D., was born in Greenfield Township, Saratoga County, N. Y., September 9, 1788, and was one of the seventeen children of Adam and Margaret (McGregor) Comstock. He was a Methodist
Episcopal minister, a graduate in medicine, and a farmer. During the war of 1812 he served as a surgeon. He was a man of unusual intellec- tual powers and industrious habits. His life seemed to be squared by the proverb, " Whatso- ever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might." In each of his three vocations he met with success. In 1835 he made his first trip to Illinois. The next year he brought his family to Joliet, where he practiced medicine and acted as a local minister. In 1837 he settled on a farm in Troy Township, but in 1841 returned to Joliet, where he died July 9, 1854. In politics lie was a Whig. He married Esther Saltmarsh, who was born of Holland descent, in Columbia County, N. Y., and died in Joliet in 1874. They had six children, five of whom came to Joliet, and four attained maturity: Mrs. Olive Davis; Adam; Mary, who lives in Joliet; and Grover, who died in this city. The only surviving son, Adam Comstock, is a well-known civil engineer and surveyor of Joliet. A. M. Comstock, M. D., had a brother, Rev. O. C. Comstock, M. D., who was a man of remarkable gifts and attain- ments. Besides being a minister in the Baptist Church and a practicing physician, he was a member of the New York legislature, a judge, a member of congress and the chaplain of that body for some years.
ILLIAM F. HUTCHINSON, of Joliet, came to this city in the fall of 1886 as deputy county clerk under H. H. Stossen, continuing in that capacity for two terms. In the fall of 1894, on the Republican ticket, he was elected to the office by a majority of twenty two hundred and eighty-five. Four years later lie was re-elected by a majority of over three thou- sand, which was the largest vote ever polled for a county clerk in Will County. As clerk lie lias been systematic in his work, energetic, and at- tentive to every detail, and has won the con- fidence of the voters of the county. He is also serving as clerk of the board of supervisors, and,
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under the new law, is a member of the board of review. During his residence in Monee he was for fourteen years treasurer of Monee Township, and, on the incorporation of the village of Monee, served for one term as clerk of the village board.
The Hutchinson family originated in England, but has been represented in America since Puri- tan times, and one of its most distinguished members was Governor Hutchinson, a colonial governor of Massachusetts. Rev. William Hutch- inson, our subject's father, was a son of Ebenezer Hutchinson and was born in New Hampshire, where his active life was spent in the Congrega- tional ministry. He died at Plainfield, that state, in 1842, when he was forty-eight years of age. His wife, who had died in the fall of 1835, bore the maiden name of Mary Ann Abbott and was born in New Hampshire of an old family of New England. They were the parents of three sons and one daughter, of whom the latter, Martha, died at sixteen years. Joseph, who re- sides in Waterbury, Vt., served in a Vermont cavalry during the Civil war, and was taken prisoner and confined in Libby prison until exchanged. Merrill, who was a protege of one of the early governors of Ohio, enlisted from that state in the Civil war and served as a lieutenant; he died in Burlington, Vt.
William F. was born at Dalton, Coos County, N. H., April 1, 1833. From an early age he was self-supporting, earning the money necessary for his education in the St. Johnsbury (Vt.) Academy, where he completed the regular course of study. He then taught for a year in
Columbus, Ohio. In 1855 he came to Illinois, where he first taught in Greengarden, Will County, and then at Monee, being principal of , the latter school for seven years. For two years he was connected with Fairbanks & Co., as com- mercial traveler, aad then entered the store as a bookkeeper, where he remained until 1879. Afterward he was principal of the school until 1886, the time of his removal to Joliet. Frater- nally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Mount Joliet Lodge, A. F. & A. M. During the Civil war he was chairman of the local division of the Union League. Reared in the Whig faith, he became a free soiler and, in 1856, affiliated with the Republican party upon its organization in Illinois. He is chairman of the board of deacons of the Central Presbyterian Church. While in Monee he was for fourteen years superintendent of the Union Sunday-school.
In Batavia, Ohio, Mr. Hutchinson married Miss Virginia Bryan, who was born in that city and died in Joliet in 1897. They were the parents of six children, namely: Bryan, who is a deputy county clerk; Gertrude, who died in this county; Merrill, of Chicago; Maud, who acts as one of the deputy county clerks; Edwin, who died at twenty years of age; and Bertram, who is a coal and feed merchant in Joliet. The sec- ond marriage of Mr. Hutchinson took place in Kankakee on the last day of 1898 and united him with Miss Mary L. Easterbrooks, who was born in Rhode Island, of an old New England family, and was for some years successfully engaged in educational work in this county.
a Van-Flut
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ALFRED VAN FLEET.
~ LFRED VAN FLEET, president of the Van Fleet Manufacturing Company of Joliet, was born near Fairview, Fulton County, Ill., January 14, 1843. He is a descendant of a family that emigrated from Holland in an early day and settled in New York and New Jersey. His grandfather, Henry Van Fleet, was born in the latter state, near Flemington, in 1763, and followed agricultural pursuits in his native lo- cality. David Van Fleet, who was born on the family homestead in 1813, came west about 1834 and settled in Fulton County, Ill., of which he was among the earliest settlers. Later he re- moved to the vicinity of Aurora, where he was a pioneer farmer. For many years he served as township supervisor. Besides his farm he also had a blacksmith's shop. His last years were spent near Sandwich, Ill., where he died.
The wife of David Van Fleet was Maria, daughter of Capt. Henry Dolliver, and a sister of Rev. James Dolliver, whose son, Hon. Prentice Dolliver, is a congressman from Iowa. She was born in New Jersey and died in Kansas. Her fatlier, who always followed the sea, during the war of 1812 tendered the cotton on his vessels to General Jackson at the time of the battle of New Orleans. Later, while on his way to New York, he was captured by the British and held a prisoner in Dartmore prison, England, until the close of the war, his papers meantime having been taken from him so that he could not prove his property. The family of David and Maria Van Fleet con- sisted of five children, of whom three sons and one daughter survive, namely: W. H., a ma- chinist, connected with the Van Fleet Manu-
facturing Company; V. D., who is also a ma- chinist in Joliet; Alfred; and Mrs. Cornelia Gruder, of Kansas.
Reared upon a farm in Dekalb County, the subject of this sketch received public-school ad- vantages. In July, 1861, he enlisted in Com- pany K, Eighth Illinois Cavalry, and was mus- tered in at St. Charles, Ill., and assigned to the army of the Potomac. He took part in all the engagements of his regiment during the penin- sular campaign, including Antietam, Fredericks- burg, Wilderness, Gettysburg, Spottsylvania and the siege of Petersburg. During the battle of Frederick City he was struck by a shell and slightly wounded, and at the same time his horse was killed. For bravery in the service he was commissioned sergeant. After the grand review, in which he took part, he was ordered to Mexico, but when on the frontier the trouble subsided, and his regiment was mustered out in St. Louis August 22, 1865. On returning home he bought a farm in Dekalb County and continued to cul- tivate the place until 1868. He then removed to Ames, Story County, Iowa, and bought one hundred and sixty acres, which he farmed for six years. Afterward he worked at the car- penter's trade in Kelley, the same county, and also carried on a wagon and blacksmith's shop, and operated a threshing machine.
During the winter of 1876-77 Mr. Van Fleet became interested in the barb wire business. A man in Ames made barb wire by twisting the wire and putting on the barbs by hand. Con- cluding it could be done by machine, our subject began to work, and succeeded in devising a ma-
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chine that answered the purpose, and by which eight to ten spools could be made a day. This was the first machine ever made by which the wire could be manufactured. He patented the invention, but did not develop it. In 1878 he came to Joliet to engage in the manufacture of barb wire, and for several years had charge of the Lock Stitch Company. Later he was super- intendent under Paul Smith and also was super- intendent of the Joliet Manufacturing Company. While in the latter position he formed the firm of Van Fleet & Shreffler. Heimproved a machine, which he patented about 1880, and then sold the patent to Washburn & Moen. In 1885 he re- signed as superintendent of the Joliet Manu- facturing Company and started a machine shop on Desplaines street. When the drainage canal came through in 1898, he bought his present lo- cation, 50x130 feet, and put in a forty horse- power engine. At this place, No. 513-515 Second avenue, he has since engaged in the manufacture of wire machinery and wire goods of all kinds. The products of the factory are shipped to all parts of the world. The plant is owned by him and his son, Elon J., jointly, he being president and his son secretary and treasurer of the com- pany.
In political views Mr. Van Fleet is a Republi- can, and in religion is connected with Central Presbyterian Church. The local post of the Grand Army has his name enrolled among its members. While living in Aurora he married Miss Emma Bullock, who was born in New York state and died in Joliet in 1885. Of the five children born to their union, three are living, a son, Elon J., and two daughters, Grace, and Mrs. Mary Hunt, of South Dakota.
HRISTOPHER J. SMITH, township com- missioner of highways, and a resident of Joliet since 1867, was born in Fallsburg, Sullivan County, N. Y., September 23, 1847, a son of James and Mary (Flood) Smith, natives
of Ireland. His parents, after the birth of one son, emigrated to the United States and settled in New York state, where the mother died in Ellensville. Of their eleven children, all but two attained ma- ture years. The oldest son, John, now living in Warren, Pa., enlisted in the Union army as a member of a New York regiment of cavalry and served until its close. Three sons, Christopher J., Philip and Michael, are residents of Joliet, and William is at home.
The early years of our subject's life were passed in Fallsburg, where he was educated in the public schools. He was engaged as a team- ster connected with a tannery. After his mar- riage he came to the west, arriving in Joliet in 1867, and securing employment with the Joliet Gas Company. Later he was employed in the building of the first rolling-mill in this city, and after its completion he secured work in the mill, continuing there for twelve years. On the erec- tion of the steel mill he became a hooker in it, and so helped to roll the first iron and first steel rails. He assisted in organizing the Roll Hands' Union, which became connected with the Amal- gamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, and he continued an active member of the same until he quit the business.
The next enterprise with which Mr. Smith was connected was the bottling business, which he conducted on Collins street for six years, mean- time building up a good trade. He then turned the business over to his son, who has since car- ried it on. During the last term of Mayor Kelly he received the appointment of superintendent of streets, which position he held for two years. He then turned his attention to general contracting, and built a number of sewers on Stone, Ruby, Jackson and Marion streets, having the contract for four and one-half miles of water-mains; also for many streets, grading, etc.
The Democratic party has always received the allegiance of Mr. Smith, who is a thorough be- liever in the principles which it represents. On the party ticket, in the spring of 1898, he was elected township highway commissioner for a term of three years, and is now president of the board. The position consumes his time and at-
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tention, to the exclusion of outside interests. He is filling the office in a manner highly satisfactory to all concerned, and is proving a reliable, trust- worthy public official. Twice he was elected alderman from the First ward, filling the office for four years, and he also served as assistant su- pervisor for one term. For many years he has been treasurer of the Ancient Order of Hiber- nians, and he is also receiver in the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is connected with St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, in the building of which he took an active part, and he also aided generously in the erection of the academy.
Mr. Smith was one of the first to build on Col- lins street, and still resides at No. 801, where he has a neat and comfortable home. He was mar- ried in Ellensville, N. Y., to Miss Bridget Moran, who came from Ireland to America with her father, Conner Moran, and settled at Neversink, N. Y. Four children were born of their mar- riage, namely: John C., who has charge of the bottling business established by his father; Thomas V., who is connected with the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad; Ellen M., a graduate of St. Mary's Academy and Normal School; and now a teacher in the Chicago public schools; and George P., a plumber employed with the Federal Steel Company.
OSEPH PEART. Those who are reared in mining districts almost invariably follow the occupation of the people around them. Mr. Peart has been no exception to this rule. A min- er's son, and born in the mining regions of Coun- ty Durham, England, April 15, 1830, he was employed in boyhood as a digger in the coal mines of his native place. September 25, 1854, he landed in Boston, and from there proceeded to Zanesville, Ohio, where he was employed in mines for eighteen months. The year 1856 found him in Illinois. For two years he worked in the lead- ing mines of La Salle County. He then went to Felix Township, Grundy County, and secured
work in the mines there. When he came to Will County, in 1868, he decided to enter a different occupation, and so purchased one hundred and twenty acres in Wilmington Township and em- barked in farming and stock-raising. However, after eight years of farm life he sold his place and came to Braidwood, which was then a new and small mining camp .. From that time until 1887 he was connected with the mines of the Chi- cago & Wilmington Coal Company, a part of the time acting as foreman of the gang. After fifty years, that were almost wholly devoted to mining pursuits, he retired from active labors in 1887. He had entered the mines of England, a child of seven years, in a very humble position. He left the mines of Braidwood, a man of fifty-seven years, after having worked his way to a respon- sible and remunerative position. He had early in life showed a determination to make his way in the world; and, although his education was limited and his advantages few, lie acquired val- uable information in the school of experience and became a well-informed man. During these long years of labor he gained a competency, and in 1883 he built a two-story residence on Round- house avenue, where he is now enjoying a rest from his former cares.
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