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 57
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 57
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
took up a claim in Yankee settlement (now Ho- mier Township) this county, where he beeamne known as the "village blacksmith." As the in- ventor of the first steel plow he gained promi- nenee among agrieulturists. By his marriage to Luey Olmstead, a native of Conueetient, he had four children, but only two survive, Mrs. Martha Warner, of Albion, Miel., and Mrs. Frazer. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Frazer consists of three children, namely: John D., a farmer in Homer Township; Mattie J., who married J. H. Corvell and resides in York, Neb .; and Mary F., wife of W. M. Nye, of Monroe County, N. Y.
OHN LANE, SR. The following account of the origin and history of the first steel plow, with which the name of Mr. Lane is indissol- ubly associated, was written by the late Dr. John F. Daggett.
At the ninth annual meeting of the old settlers of Will County, held in Joliet in September, 1890, the writer was appointed one of the committee to gather faets relating to the invention and manu- facture of the steel plow, the use of which has proved of national importance, and is essential to agricultural progress and the convenience of farming. The older members of this community ean recall the inconvenience and vexation caused by the old wooden plow. The history of the plow is interesting and important, as by its use the eiv- ilized nations of the globe are fed and nourished. A history of this implement, tracing its gradual progress from the ancient type to the. improved form of the present day, is necessarily a history of agriculture; so much is this the ease that a tolerably correet estimate of the progress of the art in any country, whether in aneient or modern times, may be formed by ascertaining the strue- ture of the plow in use at any date.
The principal objeet of this address is to do a deserved but long neglected honor to the memory of John Lane, Sr., who was the inventor and maker of the first steel plow that was ever made
in this or any other country. The value of this invention to the world cannot be overestimated. The name of Jolin Lane, Sr., should stand side by side with that of Fulton, Morse and MeCormiek, as one of the great inventors of the country. The first steel plow was made in 1835 by Mr. Lane (who was an accomplished mechanie as well as practical farmer) at his shop on seetion 20, in the town of Homer (early and commonly known as Yankee settlement), in the county of Will, state of Illinois. He was assisted in the making of the plow by Levi Hartwell, who was then quite a young man. In 1835, after years of hard labor and delay in eleaning his old wooden or east iron plow (using a wooden paddle to remove the stieky soil), Mr. Lane was inspired with the idea of making a plow of steel, which he thought would keep bright and need no eleaning. At that time there was no steel manufactory in the United States where the mould board of a plow could be constructed. Mr. Lane seeured an old utill saw from the West Loekport sawmill. The saw was eut in pieces of the required length, and the edges welded together to get the needed width for the mould board. This was then hammered or pressed into proper shape, then ground and polished to working condition. To get the best shape, Mr. Lane would test the workings of the plow in his own fields, and alter the shape as his judgment dietated. The woodwork of the plow was made by John Griswold of Loekport, as was the woodwork of hundreds of Lane plows there- after. The plow was sold to Comstoek Hanford of Loekport, and used until it wore out. The oldest steel plow made by Mr. Lane, now in ex- istenee, is in the possession of J. D. Frazer, and was made in 1849.
Mr. Lane continued to manufacture the plow for a year or more before steel was manufactured wide enougli for a mould board. The mould boards of the first two hundred plows were made of old sawmill saws, obtained in Chicago at $1 per foot. The first steel plate wide enough to use was obtained from a firm in Pittsburg, Pa. From that date he manufactured with Mr. Hartwell, but the demand was greater than the supply and in time became worldwide. Factories were es-
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
tablished and shipments made to distant points. In 1854 one hundred plows were shipped via New York and the cape to California, and were the first steel plows sent to the Pacific coast. After the death of Mr. Lane, which occurred October 5, 1857, when he was sixty-five years of age, Mr. Hartwell continued the manufacture of the plow, and John Lane, Jr., who had learned the trade in his father's shop, carried on the manufacture in Lockport for many years. He became the in- ventor and patentee of a number of important im- provements in the manufacture of plate steel for plows.
Though often advised to do so, Jolin Lane, Sr., absolutely refused to have his invention patented, saying that if others could be benefited by his ideas he was glad to be of service to them and wished no remuneration for it.
OHN C. OWENS, M. D. That Dr. Owens is a man of versatile ability, his successful connection with various enterprises amply proves. It is, however, to his profession that he has been most devoted and in which he has been most deeply interested. Since 1881, the year of his graduation, he has largely given his time and attention to the highest temporal mission among men, a combat with disease and death. His efficiency, skill and signal success in his profes- sion are well known, and his practice is not lim- ited to Plainfield, his home town, but extends throughout the surrounding country. Heis also the owner of a drug store and a harness shop in Plainfield and a farm of two hundred acres in Na-au-say Township, Kendall County, all of which he personally superintends.
The Owens family was established in New York in 1832. The doctor's grandfather, Hugh Owens, was a farmer and local minister, and for some years resided near Utica, but his last days were spent in Remsen. Henry Owens, father of the doctor, was born in Wales and accompanied the family to America when only five years of
age. Six years later he left home, on account of his treatment by his stepmother. Afterward he worked on a farm. When he married he moved to a farm in the town of Ava, which he had pur- chased before his marriage. Much of his time was spent in splitting timber in the woods; this timber he used in the manufacture of oars, large sales of which he made to the government during the Civil war. At times he had six men in his employ. In 1867 he went to Vernon, Oneida County, where he carried on a large hay and dairy farm. For five years he carried on a large dairy farm near Vernon, after which he sold the place and moved to Vernon, at the same time buying a farm of one hundred and eighty-three acres in the outskirts of the town. For four years he operated that place. When advanced in years he retired from active labors and the re- mainder of his days was spent in the enjoyment of the comforts his industry rendered possible. He died in 1891, when seventy years of age. He was a stanch Republican, but not a politician, and never held office. In religious views he was a Presbyterian.
The mother of the doctor bore the maiden name of Nancy Kees and was a daughter of Alanson and Fanny Kees. She was born in Western Township, Oneida County, N. Y., and died in the same county when fifty years of age. From childhood she was connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church. She was a de- voted wife and mother and her memory is dear to the hearts of her children. Her older son, James A., is now engaged in the drug business in Rome, N. Y .; the daughter, Fannie J., is the wife of Norman Mowers, also of Rome; the youngest of the family is John C., of this sketch. He was born in Western Township, Oneida County, January 3, 1857. His education was begun in district schools, and was supplemented by careful reading and by habits of observation. When he was eighteen he left the farmand began to work in a drug store, in that way gaining his rudimentary knowledge of medicines. While there he formed a resolution to become a phy- sician, but realizing his need of a better literary education, lie entered Cazenovia Seminary, where
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
lie studied for a year. He then began to study medicine with Dr. H. C. Palmer, of Rome, N. Y., with whom he continued for six months. Next he matriculated in the medical department of the Syracuse University, where in two and one-half years lie completed the regular three years' course, graduating June 9, 1881. After a vaca- tion of three months he entered the Rochester eity hospital, where he continued until May, 1882, meantime taking a special eourse in the study of diseases of the eye. May 30, 1882, found him starting for the west, where he had decided to locate. He arrived in Joliet in August, and continued there until January 30, 1883, when he came to Plainfield. Here he lias since engaged in continuous practice. Since coming liere he has taken a warm interest in local affairs and, as a Republican, has had considerable to do with the mapping out of the party campaigns here. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodinen of America. December 5, 1883, he married Miss Mary H. Hitchcock, of Morris, Il1., and by this union three ehildren were born, one that died in infaney, and Kemeth H. and Jay C., botlı at home.
G EORGE M. PEAIRS, M. D., of Joliet, is secretary of the Will County Medieal So- ciety and, since June, 1897, secretary of the board of pension examiners, in botli of whieli lie has been a leading member. In 1894 he was ap- pointed by the Illinois Steel Company as their surgeon in Joliet and has since aeted in this capacity. He is also surgeon for the Chicago, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad and assistant surgeon for the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad, and attending physician and surgeon at St. Joseph's hospital. Among thie residents of Joliet his skill as a physician is recognized and lie is given a high place in the medical fraternity of the eity. He has his office in the Barber build- ing and gives his attention very closely to pro- fessional work. To keep in touch with every development in the medical science lias been his
aim, and for this reason he lias been a constant student of the profession. In the spring of 1899 he took a course in bacteriology and pathology under Professor Klebs in the Chicago Post-Grad- uate Medical College, and each winter he takes a course in surgery under that eminent surgeon, Dr. Senn.
The Peairs family is of English and Welsh de- scent. Henry Peairs, a native of New England, engaged in farming in Pennsylvania and from there removed to Ohio, settling on a farm at Dunean's Falls, near Zanesville, where he died at eiglity-nine years of age. His wife, whose family name was Robinson, died at the age of eighty-seven. Their son, H. R., a native of Ohio, graduated from Washington College, Pitts- burg, and entered the ministry of the Presby- terian Chureh. While he was holding a pastorate at Kenton, Hardin County, Olio, his son, George M., was born December 18, 1866. Later he was stationed at Harrison, Ohio. In 1871 he ac- eepted a call to Heyworth, MeLean County, Ill., where he remained for ten years, and afterward was for four years at Normal, in the same county. Next he went to Clayton, Adams County, I11., where ill health foreed liim to relinquish minis- terial work. He returned to Normal, Il1., where lie died in 1895. His wife, who was Sarah A. Hope, was born in Pittsburg, Pa., and is now living in Normal, Ill. She was a daughter of Edward Hope, a contractor in Pittsburg.
'The family of Rev. H. R. and Sarah A. Peairs numbered six children, of whom four are living, Mary, George M., Harry J. and Ralph. The oldest son, who forms the subject of this sketch, was reared in Illinois and received his education in the Heyworth and Normal schools, preparing for college in the high school department of tlie Illinois University at Normal. However, in- stead of entering college, lie at once turned liis attention to the study of medicine, reading with Dr. J. N. Black, of Clayton, Il1. In 1888 he en1- tered Rush Medical College, from which he grad- uated in 1891, with the degree of M. D. While tliere lie took special courses in gynecology and diseases of the eye. In 1891 lie accepted an ap- pointment as surgeon in the Illinois Steel Con-
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
pany's hospital at South Chicago. The follow- ing year he removed to Morris, Ill., where he remained for two years, meantime holding the office of county physician. Since 1894 he has engaged in practice in Joliet. He is a member of the Illinois State Medical Society and the Inter- national Association of Railway Surgeons, and attended the convention of the latter organiza- tion in Richmond in 1899. While he is not act- ive in politics he has a thorough knowledge of national issues and affiliates with the Republi- can party. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Knights of Pythias of Joliet, and Cedar Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at Morris.
December 10, 1894, Dr. Peairs married Miss Jessie Hayes, who was born in Ohio and is a graduate of the Oberlin conservatory of music. Her father, Gen. P. C. Hayes, a journalist of great brilliancy, held the rank of general during the Civil war and won lustre through his skilled leadership of Union forces. Afterward coming to Illinois he held the position of editor of the Morris Herald and later was at the head of the Joliet Republican, but is now living in retire- ment in this city. He has been prominent in the Loyal Legion. Dr. and Mrs. Peairs are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Joliet and are prominent in the city's best so- ciety. They are the parents of one child living, Muriel Lucile.
ETER STAUFFENBERG. When a child of three years Mr. Stauffenberg was brought by his parents to Will County, and here he has since made his home. He is thoroughly con- versant with the history of the county and has assisted in the development of its agricultural re- sources, having from an early age engaged act- ively in general farm pursuits. In 1883 lie
settled on section 13, Manhattan Township, where he had previously purchased one hundred and sixty acres of farm land. He has since re- sided on this place, meantime giving his attention to its cultivation and to making improvements that will increase its value. His landed posses- sions aggregate four hundred and eighty acres, which represents his industrious efforts in past years.
Mr. Stauffenberg is the son of a German bear- ing the same Christian name as his own and who came to the United States in 1840, settling in Pennsylvania. In 1846, three years after the birth of his son, our subject, he came west to Illinois and bought a farm in Frankfort Town- ship, this county, where he afterward engaged extensively in farming. He died in Greengarden Township when seventy-five years of age. By his marriage to Catherine Stauffenberg, of Ger- many, he had three children, Henry, a farmer in Greengarden Township; Margaret and Peter. The last-named was educated in common schools. In childhood he acquired a thorough knowledge of agricultural pursuits. As soon as he was large enough to do so, he began to plough and sow. When he came to the time that it was necessary to select a life occupation, he chose the one with which he was most familiar and from which he might reasonably hope to secure the best returns. The energy with which he has carried on his work proves that his choice was an excellent one and that he is fitted for agricultural pursuits. He takes an interest in maintaining a high class of improvements on his place and is anxious that his farm shall compare favorably with the best in the township. For ten years he served as school director of his district, a position that he filled with fidelity and intelligence.
In 1867 Mr. Stauffenberg married Miss Minnie Hansen, who was born in Germany and died in this county in 1879. They were the parents of three children, namely: Edward, John and Katie, wife of John Bankow.
Austin Godfrey
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
473
AUSTIN GODFREY.
A USTIN GODFREY. As an example of the helpful lives which men of character and perseverance may live, mention may justly be made of Austin Godfrey, the prominent farmer and dairyman of Lockport Township. He is a member of a pioneer family of this county, and has himself made his home here from a very early age. He was born in Erie County, N. Y., August 31, 1822. His father, Henry, a native of Vermont, was left an orphan at three years of age. With but few advantages in youth, he nevertheless became a man of fine character and excellent standing. Settling in Erie County, N. Y., he took up a tract of timber land twenty-five miles from Buffalo, and this he cleared and cultivated. During the war of 1812 he served as quartermaster, and was in Buffalo at the time it was burned. While living in New York he married Candace Warren, by whom he had four sons and two daughters, Austin being the youngest and the only one now living.
Candace Warren was a daughter of Jabez and Hannalı (Sumner) Warren, the latter of an old family who fought in the Revolutionary war. Jabez Warren's mother married a second time, hier husband being an Englishman who was ever loyal to King George, and in his daily prayers prayed for the success of the English. This was more than the patriotic spirit of young Jabez could brook, and he ran away from home at the age of sixteen, enlisting in the colonial army, and fighting in many of the battles of the Revo- lution. Finally lie settled in Vermont and reared his family. From there he moved to Aurora, Erie County, N. Y. By occupation lie is a sur- veyor.
When our subject was a boy of eleven, Octo- ber 1, 1833, the family came west and settled in
Will County, Il1. The father and the oldest son took up one hundred and sixty acres each, a part of which is in what is now Dupage Town- ship, Will County (then Cook). When Austin was fourteen the land was divided, and he and the brother next in age to him conducted, to- gether, what was known as the Godfrey farm, on the stage line from Chicago to Ottawa. They had charge not only of the farm, but also of the tavern and stage horses. The partnership con- tinued until our subject was twenty-five, when the property was divided, he continuing on the same place. In 1874 he went to Joliet for the purpose of giving his children educational ad- vantages. There he built a residence and spent two years. On his return to the farm lie re- sumed its management. In 1886 he bought two hundred and forty-seven acres, comprising the old Hawley farm. Here he built a residence, granary and an addition to the barn. The old part of the barn, which is still standing, was the first frame barn of any size built in Will County. Besides this place, on which lie lives, he owns four other farms, which he rents. Since coming to his present location lie has given liis attention more especially to the dairy business, in which lie has been notably successful. On his place hie has between fifty and sixty head of milch cows, all of the Holstein breed. In order that the cattle may go to either side of the main road, without necessitating the opening of gates, he built a passage way under the road, an idea that has proved an excellent one. The grain raised on the farm is almost wholly used for feed. All the improvements on the place are modern and indicate that the owner is a man of intelligence and progressive spirit.
As a Republican, Mr. Godfrey has been active
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
in local politics. He has served as supervisor, highway commissioner, school director and trustee, filling each office with the intelligence and energy noticeable in his conduct of private affairs. His accumulations are the result of en- ergy and industry, intelligently applied. His enterprise and ability have won for him a popu2 larity that is a permanent tribute to his merit. During the long years spent in this county he has seen the country bloom and blossom as the rose, and has taken a deep interest in its prog- ress. As a citizen he has always been public- spirited, and as a farmer and dairyman thrifty and energetic.
By his first wife, Lavinia Warren, Mr. God- frey had two children, one now living, Emma A., wife of George W. Potter, of Joliet. After his first wife's death Mr. Godfrey married Miss Lucy Denton, who was born in Henryville, Can- ada, December 3, 1837, a daughter of Capt. John and Sylvina (Harrington) Denton. The latter's mother was a sister of Rev. Hosea Ballou, the noted Universalist divine, and who was of French-Huguenot descent; her grandfather was state surveyor in Vermont, and belonged to a noted family in which were many professional men. Capt. John Denton, who was a son of William Denton, a Revolutionary soldier, was born in Massachusetts, and became an exhorter and local preacher in the Methodist Church. He spent many years in Canada, during which time he took part in the Canadian war of 1837, as a captain in the British army. From Canada he moved to Dupage County, Ill., in 1847, and set- tled on a farm near Naperville, where he died two years afterward, at the age of sixty. His wife, a native of Vermont and a member of an old and influential family of that state, died in Lockport when almost eighty-two years of age. They were the parents of eight children who reached maturity and married, and of these five are living. Miriam is the widow of Samuel Wil- son, of Lockport; William J., a resident of Lock- port for years, died there at the age of sixty-six; Leonora married Edward Welch and lives in Iowa; James L. is a retired farmer in this town- ship; Lury (a twin of Mrs. Godfrey) is the wife years he lived the busy life of a farmer, plough-
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of Jonas Beach, of Lockport; and Abigail, who married George Besse, died when thirty-five years of age. When Mrs. Godfrey was nine years of age, in 1847, she moved with her parents to Dupage County, Ill. Much of the time since then she has made her home in Will County. After completing her schooling she taught for three years. In religion she is a Congregation- alist, to which faith all of her children also ad- here. Her second son, Howard, is deceased. The others are named as follows: Herbert A., a farmer of this township; Daisy C., wife of Arthur Jones, living in Michigan; Carrie, Mrs. William Monro, also of Michigan; Arthur M., who assists in the management of the home place; Guy R. and Roy S., both of whom are with their parents.
BRAHAM G. NOEL, who is living re- tired at No. 304 North Eastern avenue, Joliet, is one of the pioneers of this county, having come here with a brother in 1848. Shortly after his arrival he bought land three and one- half miles south of Joliet, on the Wilmington road, but soon afterward he sold his interest to his brother. In 1850 he brought his family to this county from Carroll County, Ind., arriving in Joliet October 14, and purchasing a tract ad- joining his brother's land. With a team of oxen he broke the sod, turning the first furrows in the soil. His method of planting corn was primi- tive; with an axe he cut a hole in the sod, into which he dropped the corn, then lightly covered the seed with dirt, a method of working which would be considered extremely slow in this pro- gressive age. The years that followed were filled with cares; yet they were happy times, and he looks back upon the pioneer days as the most delightful of his life. The increase in prices of land affected him favorably, making him well- to-do, a result which his industry and energy had contributed to secure. For nearly forty
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ing, sowing, reaping, harvesting, each day bringing its special duty, each night bringing a well-earned repose. Finally, in the fall of 1886, he sold his farm and removed to Joliet, where he has since made his home.
Mr. Noel was born in Scioto County, Ohio, January 29, 1809. Two miles from his early home was the site of a long-abandond military post, no record of which was kept in that local- ity. However, the presence of bullets in the walls indicated that the fort had been used during the days of firearms. When a boy he used to ex- plore the remains of this fort. He found an em- bankment four feet high, enclosing about one hundred acres, in which was a passage of about forty rods to a spring, this passage being enclosed by an embankment eight feet high, enclosing two acres. There was also a passage to what was probably the arsenal, enclosing about one-fourth of an acre.
When a boy our subject's grandfather, Peter Noel, came to America from Holland. He set- tled in Virginia, where he learned the weaver's trade. At the opening of the Revolutionary war he and his brother enlisted, remaining at the front until peace was declared. Afterward he followed his trade and cultivated a farm. In 1793 he removed to Ohio, where he died. By his marriage to Sophia Good he had thirtcen children, all of whom attained mature years and married. The third of these, Peter, was four- teen years of age when the family settled in Ohio. He assisted in clearing the home farm, which was heavily timbered. In youth he learned the trade of a gunsmith, which he fol- lowed throughout much of his life. Indians were very troublesome, but annoyed them very little except in stealing horses. The men of the family were known to be good shots, hence were avoided by the savages. On the breaking out of the war of 18 12 he was sent as a scout and guide with the riflemen who were ordered to Hull to bring up the cattle and ammunition to Detroit. For this work of guide he was well adapted, for he was a thorough woodsman and could tell the points of the compass at night by feeling the bark of the trees. When he had taken the rifle-
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