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 47
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 47
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Mr. Barr was born in Morris, Grundy County, Ill., June 28, 1864. His father, John, a native of County Antrim, Ireland, learned the weaver's trade in that country and in 1851 came to Amer- ica, settling in Albany, N. Y. After a short time he proceeded westward, establishing his home in Morris, Ill., where he embarked in the grain business, and became the owner of an elevator. His death occurred in that town when he was fifty-eight years of age. In personal qualities he was a man to attract and retain friends, possessing a genial nature and great energy. He did not confine his attention to the grain business, but had other interests, being a large cattle feeder and also the owner of a distillery which he oper- ated until it burned in 1871. He then erected a flour mill on its site. His success was all the re- sult of his own efforts, as he had no means when starting out for himself. In religion he is a Presbyterian. The Democratic party received his allegiance, and he was active in its support. He was several times elected treasurer of Grundy County, for two terms held the office of mayor of Morris (a town of four thousand people ) and for years served as supervisor.
The wife of John Barr was Elizabeth Smith, who was born in Fulton County, N. Y., and now makes her home in Los Angeles, Cal. She is a member of an old family whose history in the United States is traced back to the landing of the "Mayflower," being directly descended from John Howland and Daniel Wardwell. In her family there were six children. The oldest, Nel- lie G., is the wife of R. E. Mason, of Los Angeles, Cal. The second- born, Robert, died when twenty- five years of age; Charles V. was third in order of birth. Francis E. is principal of the Episcopal Seminary at Portland, Ore. Alice C. is the wife of Bert Smith, of Springfield, Mass. John C., the youngest of the family, is a letter carrier in Los Angeles, Cal.
The boyhood days of our subject were spent in Morris, and his education was obtained in the common schools. When he was thirteen he began working as a messenger and office boy with William Young, a grain dealer in Chicago, with whom he continued for several years.
When he was twenty-one he bought a member- ship in the board of trade in Chicago, where he continued as a broker until September, 1890. Then, in connection with his brother-in-law, Levi Whipple, he leased the elevator at Plain- field, which they afterward bought. They have also built and now own the elevator at Caton Farm.
In politics Mr. Barr is independent. He is connected with Plainfield Lodge No. 472, K. of P., in which he is past chancellor. His marriage, August 23, 1886, united him with Miss Kate Stone, of Morris, a well-educated lady and an active member of the Congregational Church. They are the parents of two sons, Allan Stone, born May 23, 1896, and John Raymond, born October 17, 1897.
OHN SENNITT, who has been connected with the office of postmaster of Plainfield for thirty-nine years and whose home has been in this town since 1857, is a native of Cambridge- shire, England, born January 15, 1830, a son of John Sennitt, Sr. He grew to manhood on his father's farm and received his education in the schools of the neighborhood. After some years as a farmer in Cambridgeshire he came to the United States, when twenty-four years of age. The voyage across the ocean was made on the "Palestine," which was out of sight of land for a month. Going to Ohio he spent one winter and the following summer as a farm hand there. With a desire to gain a better education he entered Hiram College in the fall of 1856 and while there became well acquainted with James A. Garfield, afterward president of the United States, but who then was comparatively unknown.
The spring of 1857 found Mr. Sennitt in Plain- field, where he secured work as a farm employe. However, the work proved injurious to his health, and he was obliged to seek another occu- pation. In the spring of 1860 he secured an ap- pointment as assistant postmaster, and since that time he has been continuously in the office, either
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
as postmaster or deputy. In July, 1869, he was point. Through his skill as a practitioner he has appointed postmaster and continued to act as such built up a flourishing practice. On account of frequent calls to Joliet he decided to open an office in the city, and in 1898 established a branch office at No. 426 Barber building, where he spends two days of each week. He also receives frequent requests for his services at the hospital, so that his time is fully taken up in pro- fessional work. until President Cleveland's first administration, after which for two terms he served as deputy. Since the inauguration of President Mckinley he has held the office in his own right, which makes a record of thirty-nine years in the office, and proves him to be a satisfactory official. He has always been stanch in his adherence to Republi- can principles and the party in Plainfield has no adherent more loyal than he. He is connected with and a liberal contributor to the Baptist Church, in which denomination his grandfather was for many years a minister. He has done much for the advancement of the village and has fostered worthy enterprises to the extent of his ability. He erected a postoffice building, which was burned in 1898, after which he built the structure, on the same site, that is now used for the office.
The marriage of Mr. Sennitt took place April 20, 1871, and united him with Emma A. Drew, a member of a pioneer family of this coun- ty. They became the parents of five children, four of whom are living, namely: Lina May, Car- rie Belle, Grace and Charles.
ERBERT S. WORTHLEY, M. D., of Elwood and Joliet, is one of the successful physicians of the county. In 1890 he began his professional studies in the medical depart- ment of the Northwestern University (then know11 as the Chicago Medical College), from which he graduated three years later at the head of his class. It was the custom in the institution to confer the position of house physician and sur- geon of Mercy Hospital, Chicago, Ill., upon the student receiving the highest grade in a compet- itive examination, and Dr. Worthley was suc- cessful in securing the highest standing, and was therefore appointed to the position, which lie filled for one year. In the spring of 1895 he came to Elwood and established an office at this
A son of Robert C. and Waity (Reynolds) Worthley, the subject of this sketch, was born in Odell, Ill., December 15, 1867. He was third among five children, the others being Eva, wife of William Shanks, a farmer at Bonfield, Ill .; Hattie, who married William Ackley, a merchant of Pon- tiac, Ill .; Wallace, a teacher at Odell; and Evans, at home. The father, who was born in Platts- burg, N. Y., in 1833, graduated from an acade- my in his home town, after which he engaged in teaching for a number of years, but later became interested in saw and grist milling. In 1865 he removed with his family to Odell, Ill., where he lias since made his home. He is one of the leading men of the town and an active worker in the Methodist Church. His parents were natives of New York. His father-in-law, Henry Reynolds, was born in Vermont, and always made his home there. While working on his farm one day he was killed by lightning. Afterward his widow removed to Illinois, but a few years later joined a son in Plattsburg, N. Y. She died at the home of a daughter in Bombay, N. Y.
The education of Dr. Worthley was acquired in the Odell high school and the state normal university at Normal, Ill. At seventeen years of age he began to teach school, which occupation he followed for six years. With the money thus earned he began the study of medicine, and for two years was under the preceptorship of Dr. T. O. Banister, of Odell, going from there to the Northwestern University for the completion of his course. He has been a constant student of his profession. The diploma granted him as an M. D. did not mean for him the conclusion of his studies; on the other hand, he has studied to keep abreast with the progress made in therapeutics and surgery, and is a thoughtful reader of medi-
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
cial literature. Through his membership in the county and state medical societies he keeps in touch with the work of his colaborers in the pro- fession. In political belief he is independent, with Democratic tendencies, but his time being closely engrossed by his profession, he takes 110 part in local politics. He is one of the trustees of the village of Elwood, among whose citizens he holds a leading place. Fraternally he is con- nected with Jackson Camp No. 3318, Modern Woodmen of America, and District Court No. 523, Supreme Court of Honor. January 9, 1895, he was united in marriage with Miss Anna E. Ball, and they are the parents of a daughter, Beatrice, born July 15, 1899.
OBERT H. HACKNEY, superintendent of the Fox Pressed Steel Company of Joliet, is one of the rising young mechanical en- gineers of this city and has shown decided ability in the discharge of his responsible duties. Much of his talent in his chosen occupation is without doubt inherited from his father, Clement Hack- ney, who is a skilled mechanic and machinist, and his grandfather, George Hackney, was also a machinist of more than ordinary ability. The latter brought his family to the United States and secured employment with the Hoe Printing Press Company in New York City, but after a time re- moved west to Milwaukee, Wis., and was em- ployed as superintendent of motive power with the St. Paul, North-Western, Q and Santa Fe roads successively. He is now living retired in Chicago.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Clem-
ent Hackney held positions with the same rail- roads and followed the same line of work. He was also engaged as superintendent of motive power for the Union Pacific Railroad at Omaha. From that work he drifted into the manufactur- ing business, and accepted a position as general . manager of the Fox Pressed Steel Company. He had charge of the building of the company's plants in Joliet and Pittsburg. In 1889 the works were started in Joliet and two years later he transferred his residence from Milwaukee to this city, where he has since had his home. He is a man whose vigor of mind and quickness of comprehension, combined with originality of ideas, have made him successful in the various interests with which he has been identified. His work has required his entire time, hence he has not been identified with public affairs nor has he sought prominence in politics, but devotes him- self closely to private interests.
The only child of the marriage of Clement and Mary (Stuart) Hackney is Robert H. Hackney. He was born in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1870, and was well and liberally educated, attending schools in the various cities where his father re- sided. He prepared for college in Milwaukee Academy. In 1889 he entered the University of Wisconsin, where he took a complete course in mechanical engineering, and graduated in 1893, witlı the degree of M. E. Coming to Joliet he at once connected himself with the company of which his father was the manager, and, begin- ning in a less important position, he worked his way up until in 1898 he was made superintendent, a position that he fills acceptably to the company and with credit to himself. He is a member of the Alumni Association and the Phi Delta Theta of the University of Wisconsin.
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Д. П. Эмиф. М. )
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
401
DAVID W. JUMP.
AVID W. JUMP, M. D. There are few pro- fessions that require the amount of diligent study and general information that is essen- tial to the science of medicine. Among the phy- sicians who realize the full importance of their responsibilities and who add dignity to the pro- fession, is Dr. Jump, who has been engaged in continuous practice in Plainfield since his gradua- tion in March, 1872. In addition to his practice, for some ten years he has conducted the leading drug store of the city, and this he still owns. He aims to keep up with the times in matters of re- search and discovery in the medical world, and to that end reads the leading medical journals and remains to this day a student of his profession.
In what is now Chicago Junction, Huron County, Ohio, Dr. Jump was born August 24, 1847, a son of William H. and Margaret (Rich- ards) Jump, natives respectively of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Herkimer County, N. Y. His grandfather, Robert Jump, was reared on a plantation near Easton, Md., but in early man- hood moved to Virginia. At his father's death he inherited four slaves, but these he freed, being opposed to the institution of slavery. After a short time in Virginia lie settled in Ohio across the river from Wheeling. Two years later he moved to Richland County, Ohio, where he pur- chased a heavily-timbered tract, and this he cleared and improved. The remainder of his life of eighty-four years was spent on that place. While he moved from Virginia to get away from slavery influences and environments, yet when the Civil war came, his sympathies were wholly with the South, which he believed was not treated justly by the North.
When the family settled in Ohio our subject's father was seven years of age. His health being poor, he was prevented from enjoying the pleas- ures and advantages of youth to a large extent. However, he secured a good education and for a time taught school, but his delicate health pre- vented him from achieving the success in life he would otherwise have gained. He died when fifty-three years of age. After the disintegration of the Whig party he affiliated with the Repub- licans. His wife survived him for twenty years, dying at the age of sixty-three. They were the parents of six sons and three daughters, namely. David W .; Alemby, now mayor. of Chicago Junction, Ohio; Winfield Scott, also a resident of Ohio; Amos, of Norwalk, Ohio, who served as treasurer of his county for two terms; Robert, Marietta, Helen and Charles, who remain on the old homestead; and Lucy, deceased.
In order to gain the money for his medical education our subject taught school, meantime giving his leisure days to the reading of medicine with Dr. Buckingham, of Chicago Junction. In March, 1872, he graduated from the medical department of the University of Michigan, since which he has built up a large practice in Plain- field. He is connected with Plainfield Lodge No. 536, A. F. & A. M. While he refuses official positions (except that of school director), he is firm in his allegiance to the Republican party and takes a lively interest in public matters. He was married in Plainfield to Miss Alice Watkins, who was born and educated in this city, her father having been a pioneer farmer of the county. The older son of Dr. and Mrs. Jump is Clyde W., who is a student in the literary and medical
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
departments of the University of Michigan. The his industry he evolved a valuable farm from the younger son, Charles Floyd, is a graduate of the Joliet high school, and now clerks in his father's drug store.
) HARLES E. WOODRUFF, secretary and manager of the Joliet Pure Ice Company, and a director of the Will County Abstract Company, also the Joliet Warehouse and Trans- fer Company, is one of the influential business men of Joliet, where he has resided since 1884. The business with which his name is most closely associated was established by him in 1896, when a plant was built on Cass street, connected by a switch with the Rock Island Railroad. A large wholesale and retail business is transacted, which extends throughout central Illinois and is not lim- ited to ice, but also includes all kinds of coal. Ice is manufactured from distilled water by means of the Empire ice machine, operated by two engines of one hundred and twenty horse power each. The plant has a capacity of forty tons a day, the busi- ness being the largest of its kind in Joliet. The members of the company are A. J. Bates, presi- dent, and C. E. Woodruff, secretary and man- ager, the former being the principal owner, while the latter has the entire supervision of the plant, and to him its success is largely due.
The Woodruff family originated in England, whence John (or Jack) Woodruff crossed the ocean in the "Mayflower," settling in Massachu- setts, thence going to Connecticut, where subse- quent generations were identified with the world's activities. The grandfather, Simeon Woodruff, who was the son of a Revolutionary soldier, was born in Rutland, Vt., and married Rosa Adams, a great-niece of John Adams, second president of the United States; she lived to be one hundred years of age. About 1799 Simeon Woodruff re- moved to Jefferson County, N. Y., and settled on land now included in the city of Watertown. His oldest daughter was the first white girl baby born in the county. He was a typical pioneer, ener- getic, hard-working and hospitable, and through
wilderness. One of his sons, Theodore T., a man of great ability, was the first patentee of sleeping cars, but sold the patent to George M. Pullman. He became very wealthy through his inventions and manufactures. When his mother was a very aged woman she made her first trip out of Jefferson County, for seventy-two years, on which occasion she came west in a palace car owned by her son. This was, indeed, the only journey she ever made in all of her long life with the exception of the trip from Vermont to New York, when she traveled in a mud sleigh drawn by oxen.
The ownership of the homestead at Watertown descended to Simeon's son, Charles T., who was born there, and who, through his active years, superintended farm property and also engaged in carpentering and the manufacture of brick. He died in 1894, when eighty years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Ann Clark, was born in Ellisburg, Jefferson County, N. Y., and died in 1885. She was a daughter of John Clark, a farmer of that county. Of her five chil- dren all but one are living. John holds a gov- ernment position in Watertown; Rose Adams, Mrs. Henderson, is a widow living in Joliet; and Abba is the wife of Edward Irwin, of Chicago. The subject of this sketch was born October 9, 1859, at the old homestead in Watertown, which he how owns. In 1877 he graduated from the Watertown high school, after which he taught school for one year and then for two years read law in the office of Winslow & Smith. He re- ceived the appointment of chief clerk in the state treasurer's office at Albany, N. Y., from which he was transferred to the state insurance depart- ment in New York City, remaining in office until the Democrats came into power, when he re- signed. In 1880 he married Jennie C., daughter of S. M. Robinson, M. D., one of the oldest and most prominent physicians of Watertown. After his marriage he engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods in Watertown until 1884, when he came west to Illinois and became interested with H. B. Scott & Co. in the manufacture of wire, establishing an office in Chicago, but maintain-
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ing his residence in Joliet. He continued with the company until he embarked in the ice busi- less.
In Illinois, as in New York, Mr. Woodruff con- tintes his active support of Republican principles, and, as a member of the Will County central committee, he has been able .to materially ad- vance the interests of his party in this section. He is a charter member of the Union Club, of which he was elected the first secretary and for many years has been a member of its board of directors. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica and Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His wife is a member of Central Presbyterian Church, to the work of which he has contributed. They are the parents of one son, Glen C., who is being educated in the Military School at Knox- ville, Il1.
OSHUA BUSH. Among the leading citizens of Jackson Township the name of Mr. Bush is one which deserves mention in a work of this character. He is an active and enterprising farmer and stock-dealer; a man of intelligent idcas, liberal views and strict moral worth; while the confidence reposcd in him by his fellow- citizens is manifested by his selection to serve in various positions of trust and honor. His politi- cal opinions bring him into affiliation with the Republican party, whose county conventions he has attended as a delegate. In1 1890 lie was chosen census enumerator of the township, and at another time lie served as township collector. The appointment of postmaster at Elwood was conferred upon him in December, 1898, and he has since filled the position, displaying in it the samic energy, efficiency and wise judgment char- acteristic of him in every relation of life.
Mr. Bushi was born in New York state Septe111- ber 12, 1845, a son of William and Emily (Bentley) Buslı, and a grandson of Joshua Bent- ley, Sr., an agriculturist of New York, and a Presbyterian in religious belief. His father,
who was a native of Pennsylvania, was reared in New York and engaged in farming there for some years. In 1847 he came to Illinois and bought a farm in Will County. For thirty years he was actively engaged in the improvement of the land. His industry was great, and he was classed among the best farmers of the county. Devoting his time closely to his private affairs, he had little leisure for participation in politics, and no desire to serve in official capacities. However, he has always taken a warm interest in matters pertaining to the welfare of the people, and even now, when ninety years of age, he still retains much of his mental vigor and his hearty interest in national issues. Until recent years he was a Democrat, but now gives his influence for the Prohibition party. While serving as highway commissioner it was his aim to im- prove the condition of the roads in his township. In 1879 he retired from his farm and settled in Elwood, where he has since made his home. He is a member of the Methodist Church of that place.
By the marriage of William Bush to Miss Bent- ley, of New York, four children were born, namely: Eli, a farmer living near Wilmington, this county; Rliulof, of Ackley, Iowa; Mathew; and Joshua. Rhulof and Mathew were soldiers in the Civil war, and the former, who was a member of the Twentieth Illinois Infantry, was disabled by a wound at Shiloh; while the latter was killed in the battle of Chickamauga, in Scp- tember, 1863. Mrs. Emily (Bentley) Bush was born in New York state about 1820. Slie was a lady of great strength of character, a devoted Christian, a good mother, friend and neighbor. Her death occurred January 16, ISSS.
When less than seventeen years of age the sub- ject of this sketch enlisted, July 26, 1862, ill Company G, One Hundredtli Illinois Infantry, and with his regiment went to the front, where he took a part in the various battles of liis division. He participated in the battles of Stone River and Chickamauga and the Atlanta campaign. At the battle of Franklin, November 30, 1863, lic was wounded, and from there sent to the hospital at Nashville, where lie remained for two months,
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then returned to his regiment. He was in East Tennessee at the time of Lee's surrender in April, 1865, and was then sent back to Nashville, later being ordered to Chicago, where he was mus- tered out in June, 1865.
On his return home at the close of the war Mr. Bush began farming, an occupation in which he has met with success; he has been engaged in raising horses, cattle and hogs, and has made a specialty of buying horses in connection with Mr. Stoddard, of New York. His prosperity is to be attributed to his energy and industry, backed by a good share of common sense. In his manners he is plain and straightforward, genial in his in- tercourse with friends, and of a generous, kindly spirit. His army life is held in remembrance and the old associations are perpetuated through his connection with the Grand Army Post.
On New Year's day of 1867 Mr. Bush mar- ried Margaret R., daughter of John Grant, a pioneer of 1834, in Will County. Mr. Grant was born in Scotland, and after settling in this county became a large farmer, as well as a prominent man of affairs. He was a son of John Grant, Sr., a farmer of Scotland, and a member of an old Scotch Presbyterian family. He was the first of the family to seek a home in America, although about 1850 three of his brothers joined him in Will County. At the time of immigrating, in 1834, he was eighteen years of age. For a few months he traveled in search of a location. Com- ing to Illinois, he was employed as a sub-contrac- tor on the Illinois and Michigan canal. In 1838 he bought property at Reed's Grove, purchasing the first farm opened in Jackson Township. On that place he began farming and stock-raising. Subsequently he became the owner of several farms, and at the time of his death was well-to- do. He held a number of local offices, including that of justice of the peace. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1854 he died of the cholera, aged thirty-eight years and six months. By his first wife he had a son, William C., now living in Elwood, this county. For his second wife he married Adaline, daugh- ter of Thomas Frazier, and a native of Green- brier County, W. Va. After the death of her
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