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 5
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 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87
3
52
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
crossing in that city, September 20, 1889, which left the subject of this sketch the only remaining member of his father's family. Mr. Dibell mar- ried Sarah M., oldest child of Hon. Henry Snapp, at Joliet, August 29, 1872, and they have one child, Charles Dorrance Dibell, a graduate of the University of Chicago, who was admitted to practice law in June, 1899, and has entered upon the practice of that profession at Joliet.
Judge Dibell, as he is now familiarly called, was but six years old when his parents settled in the Prairie state, and he grew to manhood on his father's farm in New Lenox Township, attending the public schools in boyhood, and subsequently prosecuting his studies in the University of Chi- cago for about four years. After beginning his studies at the university he was a teacher in the public schools, then returned to the university, and afterward was employed as a telegraph oper- ator at Racine, Wis., and at Wheatland and De Witt, Iowa. During that time he studied law without an instructor in Racine and on his fa- ther's farm in Will County. While still engaged as a telegraph operator he studied law with Hon. John C. Polley, at De Witt, Iowa, and then, having determined to make that profession his business in life, he abandoned telegraph oper- ating, came to Joliet, and resumed the study of law with Goodspeed, Snapp & Knox, of Joliet. In 1869 he entered the law office of Parks & Hill as a law student and clerk at a small salary, barely sufficient, with rigid economy, to supply the necessaries of life. The room on Bluff street, at $3.00 a month, where he did his own house- keeping, as well as the grocery and bakery which supplied his frugal meals, are still remembered by the judge and his friends with a feeling akin to pride and pleasure. August 23, 1870, he was admitted to the bar by the supreme court of this state. During this brief period of his novitiate as a student with the firm of Parks & Hill he made himself so useful to the members of that firm, and gave such promise of future usefulness and ability as a lawyer, that he was at once offered a partnership with the junior member of the firm, which he accepted. Mr. Hill was then state's attorney of the old seventh judicial cir-
cuit, comprising the counties of Will and Grundy. The new firm of Hill & Dibell was organized September 3, 1870, and continued without inter- ruption, and with a constantly increasing busi- ness and reputation, for a period of more than fifteen years and until dissolved November 13, 1885, because of the election of Mr. Dibell No- vember 3, 1885, to the bench as judge of the ninth judicial circuit. During that time the firm enjoyed a large practice, constantly increasing in character and importance as the years went by, both members holding high positions at the bar. During these years of active practice, the founda- tions of Judge Dibell's career and usefulness as a judge were laid. He was never content to look at one side, his client's side, of a case or question presented for his consideration, however plausible or fair that side might at first appear; his mind was eminently and normally judicial in tone and character. Instinctively it turned to the other side of the question or case in hand and sought unrestingly to find the real facts of the case and the law applicable to those facts. This tone and bent of his mind was always manifest in consultations with clients and in the discussion of the case or question involved with his partner, as well as in argument in courts. When sure he was right, his conclusions of law and fact were presented with convincing force and ability. He always had a great faculty of generalizing a mass of details and of seeing the real point involved in a case. This was especially true, or seemed es- pecially true, in chancery cases, involving many questions of law and fact. His strong memory, great reasoning powers and strength of mind, seemed to guide him with apparent ease through the most involved controversies. This character- istic soon became known to bench and bar, as well as to his friends and clients, and to some extent to the public at large. During this time Mr. Dibell was also for some years a member of the city council of Joliet, carrying to that work the same fidelity of trust and earnestness of pur- pose that had characterized him as a lawyer. He was in the council when the change was made from the old special charter to incorporation under the general incorporation law of the state,
53
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
and was influential in making that and other changes of importance in the city government, and it is safe to say that from first to last during his service in the council the public good was his first consideration. No suggestion of corruption or even of unfairness was ever made against him either as a lawyer, a councilman, or as a judge. This is high praise, but nevertheless strictly true. A lifelong Republican, thoroughly schooled in the platforms and principles of thiat party, he was nevertheless first and always a patriot, command- ing alike the respect of his opponents and the admiration of his friends; and when, in 1885, the death of Judge McRoberts created a vacancy on tlie benchi of the ninth judicial circuit, then com- prising the counties of Will, Grundy, La Salle and Bureau, . many eyes were turned to Mr. Dibell to fill the place. His partner, Mr. Hill, realizing from long association his peculiar fit- ness for the position, was among the first to sug- gest it, and to urge it upon him, but Judge Dibell is as modest as he is strong and judicial, and being at that time comparatively a young man, at first declined to consider it. A conven- tion was called, and lie was nominated for the position and was elected.
In the Will County convention, upon being nominated for circuit judge, he said, "I believe in progress in the methods of legal procedure. In fact, a reform in this direction has already begun. When I came to Joliet to study law I was told that the common law docket liad not been called through in twelve years, and there were then upon the docket many cases which had been pending twelve or fifteen years. Since then much has been done to remedy this evil and to facilitate the transaction of legal business, but much remains to be done before our legal tribunals fulfill all the people have a right to de- mand of them. Courts are but public agencies for the transaction of business; they are tribunals appointed to settle business disputes; they ouglit to be conducted in a business manner and so as to secure his rights to the party who ouglit to win before time has made even success unprofit- able. If the selection you have made shall be ratified by the convention at Morris, and at the
polls in November, I assure you I shall do all in my power to increase the efficiency of the court in which I may preside and to cause business to be there prosecuted with celerity and dispatch and in a business-like manner." This promise has been faithfully kept. Promptly to the minute court opens and business proceeds "with celerity and dispatch." No unnecessary delays or unseemly wranglings are tolerated. Attorneys and litigants understand what is expected and the wheels move unceasingly and almost without a jar. The trials calendars, law, chancery and criminal, are kept under constant control. Liti- gated cases are tried and disposed of within a few montlis after their commencement. Lawyers as well as litigants have learned to appreciate this kind of work and to feel even when beaten that they have had their day in court. The court room where Judge Dibell presides is a great workship. The scenes are constantly shifting and passing. Cases come and go until both mind and body are weary with the work, but when court closes the judge's work does not end. Questions of law, cases submitted without a jury, chancery cases and other pending matters occupy liis evening and morning hours. The judge is a rapid writer as well as a great worker. As a telegraphı operator he learned to abbreviate words so that his pen follows closely upon his rapidly working mind. Cases submitted receive his care- ful consideration and often, in disposing of them, hie slieds new liglit upon questions carefully argued by able attorneys.
In 1891 Judge Dibell was re-elected by a largely increased majority. In the winter of 1897 the legislature re-arranged the circuits, and placed Will, Kankakee and Iroquois Counties in the twelfth judicial circuit. That spring Judge Dibell was nominated as one of the judges of that circuit by both political parties, and in June, 1897, he was elected by a practically unanimous vote. A few days after that election he was as- signed by the supreme court of the state to sit as one of the justices of the appellate court, second district, at Ottawa, Ill., for a term of three years, and is now serving upon that assignment. The duties of that position occupy about eight months
54
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
of each year. The rest of the time he gives to the duties of circuit judge.
Socially the judge is one of the most com- panionable of men. His extensive reading, great memory, keen interest in current topics, coupled with a rare gift of expression, combine to make an hour spent in his company an occasion to be remembered. His habits and tastes are, however, retiring, and his every-day friends and acquaint- ances best appreciate his social qualities. Rev. A. H. Laing, of Joliet, who has known the Judge intimately for over seventeen years, and who is himself widely known as a critic and scholar, writes of him: "Judge Dibell is a large brained, broad minded, generous spirited man, who com- mands the affectionate esteem and confidence of all who know him. Like most students he is not in any sense a society man, but his equable temper and amiable disposition have made him a prime favorite with his neighbors and friends. The exacting demands and large requirements of his profession have not dulled his taste for gen- eral literature. He has gathered a large and miscellaneous library not for ornament, but for his own use and enjoyment. The great poets and dramatists are represented there and the special- ties of science, philosophy and political economy have not been neglected or overlooked. Even theology is not neglected, as is too frequently the case among lawyers. In short, to legal training he adds a cultivated taste and a large store of general information." But from this it must not be gathered that the judge is in any sense a recluse or indifferent to social duties or obliga- tions. He is often seen in public, where his warm-heartedness and great conversational powers make him ever welcome. But it is at home, among his friends and books, that he is seen at his best.
AJ. JOHN M. THOMPSON, who re- sides in New Lenox Township, near the Joliet line, was born near St. Thomas, twenty miles from London, Canada, in 1832.
His father, James, a native of Salem, Mass., born in 1787, became a machinist in early life and at the age of twenty-five was made superintendent of a large cotton factory in Massachusetts. About 1820 he removed to Canada and settled on the Twenty, a large stream, where he built and be- gan the carding of wool and manufacturing of woolen cloth. Ten years later he removed to the vicinity of St. Thomas and bought a large tract of land, where he engaged in farming, besides building and operating a saw and grist mill and also a woolen factory on Beaver Creek. After the Canadian rebellion of 1837 he left his family on the homestead and went west to look up a new location. He finally selected a site for water power in Roscoe, Winnebago County, Ill. There he built a woolen factory and a few years later a grist mill. On the completion of this work he returned to Canada and brought his family to his new western home. From 1840, the date of his settlement in Illinois, until his death in 1853, at the age of sixty-five years, he was engaged in the manufacturing of woolen goods and in merchan- dising. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Snure, was born in Pennsylvania and died in Illinois in 1886, aged eighty-three years. Of their ten children seven are still living.
The eldest of the family, Clark, deceased, was for several terms a member of the assembly and for two terms a state senator in Minnesota, also served as superintendent of Indian affairs during the massacre of 1863-64. He was also president of the Southern Minnesota Railroad. . Edward, who was also a senator in Minnesota, was a mer- chant miller, owning mills at Hokah, Houston County, Minn. He is now living, retired, in California. Mary Catherine is the wife of J. W. Abbott, a dry-goods merchant of Beloit, Wis. Eliza died in 1871. John M. is the subject of this article. Agnes died soon after her gradua- tion from the Rockford Female College in 1855; Anna is the wife of Major Wagner, of Tracy, Ill .; Marie married Seely Perry; James lives in Du- luth, Minn .; Fannie is the wife of a physician in Lyons, France; and Albert died when two years old.
At the age of twenty-one our subject went to
55
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Hokah, Houston County, Minn., and acted as superintendent of a saw and grist mill owned by his brothers, Clark and Edward, who were at that time giving their attention largely to public affairs. At the same time he read law. In 1869 he returned to Roscoe, Ill., to complete his law studies. The day after Fort Sumter was fired upon he started out to raise a company of volun- teers and upon the completion of the work he tendered the services of the company to Gov- ernor Yates, but as several companies were ten- dered from his county and only one could be accepted, the choice fell upon a company raised by Stephen A. Hurlbert (afterward a major- general).
Immediately afterward, Mr. Thompson went to St. Paul, Minn., but his mind was so occupied by the national struggle that he could not apply himself to his law books nor could he concentrate his mind on business affairs; so he went to Fort Snelling and enlisted in Company K, Fourth Minnesota Infantry. Two weeks after his en- listment he was elected first lieutenant and later was selected as adjutant on Col. John B. San- born's staff. Late in 1862 he was unanimously elected and commissioned captain of Company E, Fourth Minnesota Infantry, and served at the head of the company in many hard-fought bat- tles, including the siege of Corinth, Iuka, battle of Corinth and Champion Hills. On the battle- field of Iuka he served as acting major, in the absence of the major, and was favorably men- tioned by his colonel for gallantry and recom- mended for promotion. In that battle, though in the thickest of the fight, he was not injured, though having many narrow escapes; at one time his hat band was shot off his hat. Shortly after- ward Adjutant-General Thomas, of the United States army, while on a tour of inspection in the west, offered him the rank of colonel of a colored regiment, which he accepted, but requested that he might be permitted to remain with and com- mand his company until after the siege of Vicks- burg. The request was granted and he remained with his company.
gun shot through the left lung and was left on the field to die, as was supposed. In a few days all the wounded were removed for whose recov- ery the slightest hope was entertained, but as he had been given up, he with many others was left to fall into the hands of the Confederates. He was taken prisoner and the rebel surgeons also reported him mortally wounded; but, on account of his strong constitution and good habits, his wound did not prove fatal. After six months he was exchanged and ordered to report at the St. Louis barracks. From there he was sent to Fort Snelling, on the way visiting his mother at Ros- coe, Ill. He remained at Fort Snelling and St. Paul until his marriage, which took place at Joliet, Ill., January 14, 1864. On the day he was made a Benedict he received a telegram an- nouncing his promotion to be first major of the Second Minnesota Cavalry. With his regiment he took part in the Indian warfare of 1864, and in the fall of the same year was ordered to report to and take command of Fort Ripley, on the head waters of the Mississippi. Later he was trans- ferred to St. Paul as president of court martial, where he remained until mustered out of service, May 5, 1865.
Coming to this county the same month, Major Thompson built what was at the time one of the finest residences in the county and probably the finest farm house in the state. In 1867, acconi- panied by his wife, he went to Europe and spent eight months, visiting Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and the British Isles. On his return he gave his attention to the raising of high-grade horses and cattle. During the war he was a Re- publican, afterward became independent and dur- ing Cleveland's first term he supported the Den- ocratic party, believing it to be more favorable to the farmer in its tariff platform. From ISS7 to IS93 he was master of the state grange, during which time he traveled over the entire state, speaking in almost every county. He also trav- eled in the interest of the Grange in the United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He was a member of the thirty-ninth General Assembly. At the close of his term the Chicago Herald
At Champion Hills, May 16, 1863, Major Thompson was reported mortally wounded by a placed his name on a roll of honor with the
56
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
names of seventeen others, stating that every vote these gentlemen cast was in the interests of agriculture and labor. In 1897 the Democratic party nominated him to represent the twelfth dis- trict in congress, but he declined the nomination in the convention. However, in response to the appeal of the district committee and leading mem- bers of the party, he withdrew his resignation and reluctantly consented to represent the party during the fall campaign. Although he was not elected, yet he reduced the majorities formerly given his opponent, J. G. Cannon, of Danville, who had represented his district for twenty years.
The marriage of Major Thompson united him with Miss Mary Jane Davidson, daughter of Judge John J. Davidson, a pioneer of 1834. They have had four daughters and one son, viz .: Jen- nie Marie, John D., Helen E. (Mrs. Charles Fish), Agnes (deceased) and Vera.
OHN FEIL, member of the board of super- visors, is a well-known merchant of Frank- fort Station. He is a man of good business ability, enterprising and persevering, and by his well-directed efforts has won prosperity. Since he began in business, in the fall of 1880, he has enjoyed a steady growth in his trade and now has in his store a stock that, for size and quality, is not surpassed by any establishment for miles around. Three clerks assist him in attending to the wants of customers. By his reliability, courtesy and well-known integrity he has gained and held the patronage of people throughout his section of the county.
The entire life of Mr. Feil has been passed in this county. He was born April 20, 1854, in Greengarden Township, to which his father, John, had come two years before. The latter was born in Codweilen, Prussia, Germany, in 1822, and in 1847 accompanied his parents, George and Elizabeth (Scheer) Feil, to America, settling in Frankfort Township, this county, but
in 1852 removed to Greengarden Township, where he bought sixty acres of land and made his home for twelve years. In 1864 he moved a mile west, settling on section 8, where he devoted his re- maining years to general farm pursuits. He was a successful farmer and owned two hundred and forty acres of land. Personally, he was quiet and reserved, but those who knew him well found him to be a man possessing many noble qualities of heart. At the time of his death, October 6, 1871, he was forty-nine years of age. His father, George, spent his life, after 1847, in this county, his closing years being passed in Mokena.
By the marriage of John Feil, Sr., to Catherine Klose, a native of Germany, thirteen children were born. The nine now living are as follows: John, of this sketch; Louis, who makes his home in Englewood, Chicago; Jacob, who occupies the old homestead; Charles C., who lives in Charles City, Iowa; Henry, of Joliet; Valentine, of Man- hattan; Caroline, wife of Jacob Felton, of Hunt- ington County, Ind .; Lizzie, who married Arnold Funstein, of Manhattan; and Lena, Mrs. Chris- tian Hauck, of Joliet. The subject of this sketch grew to manhood in Greengarden Township. When he was twenty-five he moved to Frankfort Township, and entered upon the life of a farmer here. In 1880 he traded his farm for a stock of merchandise, and, with Charles Deist as a part- ner, began his present business. In the spring of 1893 he bought his partner's interest and has since carried on the business alone.
In politics Mr. Feil is a Republican. For four- teen years he has served as police magistrate of the village. During President Mckinley's ad- ministration, in 1897, he received the appoint- ment of postmaster at Frankfort Station. In 1898 he was elected supervisor for a term of two years. In this office, as in every position he has held, it has been his aim to advance the interests of the people and the welfare of the county. No laud- able movement is allowed to fail for want of sup- port on his part. Such citizens as he are a credit to the community. He is a member of the Ger- man Evangelical Church and in it served as a trustee for several years. Fraternally he is con- nected with the Court of Honor in his home
57
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
town. February 20, 1879, he was united in marriage with Miss Christina Deist, by whom he has had four children. Only two are now living. The son, Edward J., is a student in the Chicago Business College; the daughter, Esther E., is at home.
A LBERT PHELPS. Notwithstanding the many years that have elapsed since the death of Mr. Phelps, lie still lives in the memory of his acquaintances in this county and especially in the hearts of his former associates in Dupage Township. His life was not a long one as we count time, for it covered little more than twenty- six years; yet it was a busy and useful existence, passed in the quiet routine of farm work. and in the faithful discharge of every duty, as citizen, neighbor, friend, husband and father.
Mr. Phelps was born in Willsboro, Essex County, N. Y., December 12, 1846. He was reared upon a farm in that county and received his education in its common schools. When a young man, with the future stretching before him, full of opportunities and openings, he de- cided to come west, where the rewards of toil were greater than in the more thickly settled east. He had a sister living in Will County and joined her here. From that time until his death he was engaged in farm pursuits in Dupage Township. In connection with the raising of farm products he carried on a dairy business, which proved a profitable source of revenue. His attention was given closely to his chosen occupation. He did not take an active part in politics, although he never failed to vote the Democratic ticket. Fra- ternally he was connected with the blue lodge of Masonry in Naperville. He aided in the support of the Presbyterian Church, with the work of which he was in sympathy. When he died March 6, 1873, he was followed to his last rest- ing place by his neighbors and friends, all of whom realized that in his death the township had lost one of its most honorable men and substan- tial farmers.
His wife and two sons survive Mr. Phelps. He was married, November 5, 1869, to Miss Harriet L., daughter of Thomas J. Sprague, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. She was born in this township December 8, 1850, and received her education in local schools and at Lockport. Among the people in whose midst her life has been passed she is honored and es- teemed for her many worthy traits of character and for her devotion to her family. She is justly proud of her sons, both of whom are exceptional- ly capable young men. The older, Herbert Reuben, makes his home with his mother and has charge of the farm, maintaining an intelligent supervision of its interests. The younger, Al- bert C., graduated from the Illinois State Uni- versity and afterward took a special course of study in Munich, Germany. He is now instruc- tor in architecture at Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
HE FRANCIS FAMILY. For years the representatives of this family have been inseparably associated with the growth of Will County. The first of the name to settle here was Abraham Francis, who was born in County Cavan, Ireland, September 29, 1808. He was a descendant of ancestors who, during the religious persecution of 1696, fled from Scot- land to Ireland, where subsequent generations made their home. In 1816 William Francis, a farmer, emigrated from County Cavan and settled in Brown County, Ohio. He was a hardworking man, whose life and surroundings offered few op- portunities for education or advancement. At the time of his death his son, Abraliam, was a youth of fifteen years, and he afterward con- tinued in Brown County for some years. In the spring of 1831 he and a young German left Ohio and rode on horseback to Shawnee Mound, Tip- pecanoe County, Ind. From there they walked, carrying knapsacks and axes, to Illinois, explor- ing the region around the headquarters of tlie Kan- kakee River. With canoes they had constructed,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.