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 58
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 58
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men as far as Finley's block house, eighteen miles from Detroit, they were notified of Hull's surrender and were paroled. Afterward he and his son Abraham each had a severe attack of fever, and the latter bears to this day a scar on his neck where he was lanced.
On recovering, Peter Noel re-enlisted in the war of 1812, in which he was promoted to be a colonel, and our subject now has the sword he carried. He returned to his home at the close of the war and followed his trade, also operated a saw-mill for seventeen years. He remained in Ohio until 1850, when he came to Illinois, and in the spring of 1851 died at his son's home in Will County, aged seventy-one years. At the time that he left Ohio he owned three farms. He bought land in Will County in 1848, but did not come here until two years later. In politics he voted with the Whigs. In the year 1840 seventy- six of his name voted the Whig ticket in Scioto County, the only one who deserted the party having done so for a woman's sake. For twenty- one years he served as justice of the peace, and for a similar period was county commissioner. As long as he remained in Ohio he commanded a battalion of riflemen there. He had no desire for political positions and, though urged to ac- cept a nomination to congress, declined the honor. Had he so desired, he could have had any office within the gift of the people, for he was a man of great influence. From boyhood he was fond of hunting, an ardent and successful sports- man, and always wanted to be within easy reach of game. In 1833 he, our subject, and two oth- ers were out hunting at the time of the shoot- ing stars, which made the night as light as day, an interesting phenomenon which our subject vividly recalls; at this time, in the month of October, the same year, he shot forty-seven deer and our subject shot thirty-seven, while one was shot by both, making a total of eighty-five deer that fell beneath their unerring aim.
In Ohio, Peter Noel married Susannalı, daugh- ter of Sir Joseph DeFort, a nobleman of France, who came to America at the beginning of the Revolution, and served in the American army as sergeant. Afterward he settled in New Jersey,
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removing from there to Ohio, and making the years of age he was brought by his parents to trip in the same boat with our subject's father. Will County. For a time he worked as book- keeper in James Ducker's store at Mokena, and later was cashier in the same establishment. Afterward he had charge of the settlement of the Ducker estate, being connected with the family for twenty-four years, and until his death, April 8, 1899. . His father, Benjamin F. Long, who was a volunteer in the One Hundredth Illinois Infantry, during the Civil war, participated in many a hard fought battle, and died in a hos- pital while at the front. Two sons and three daughters comprised the family of Peter and Susannah Noel, namely: Joseph, Abraham, Mary, Sophia and Mercy, of whom our subject alone survives. He had few educational advantages when a boy, except those obtained in subscription schools; he worked early and late on the home farm. After his marriage, November 4, 1837, he bought a farm and began life for himself. In 1844 he removed to Indiana and bought a farm of which only eleven acres had been cleared. From there he came to Will Politically Mr. Long was a Republican. He united himself with the Methodist Church when nineteen years of age, and continued to hold his membership in that denomination until his death. He was a man of upright character, honest, moral and conscientious, and his death was widely mourned as a loss to the citizenship of the county. May 1, 1895, he married Melvina M. Noel, who was educated in the Joliet high school and graduated in music from the · Valpar- aiso Normal School in Indiana. She taught school for ten years, and later taught music. She is a lady whose accomplishment and culture fit her to grace any society which she may enter. County, October 14, 1848, after which he aided in the development of its agricultural resources. May 10, 1875, his wife died, aged fifty-six years. He then made a trip to Oregon with his family, but did not like the country and returned to this county, well content to spend his remaining years here. In politics he was a Republican. For several years he served as school trustee. His wife, Eveline, was a daughter of Gregory and Elizabeth (Taylor) Glasscock, the latter a cousin of Zachary Taylor. Her father, a native of Virginia, but for years a resident of Ohio, served in the first war with England. Five chil- dren were born to the union of Abraham Noel and Eveline Glasscock. All were daughters. Mary Ann is the wife of Lewis Linebarger, a banker in Iowa. Sophia, deceased, was edu- cated in the Will County schools, and was an accomplished lady whose many good qualities of head and heart endeared her to all who knew her. As a teacher she was eminently successful, and her good work and precepts will keep her mem- ory alive in a new generation. Susan married Joseph Campbell, a prosperous grain dealer of Lacon, Ill. Sarah married James Watkins, and is now deceased. Melvina.M. is the widow of Carlos F. Long, and resides with her father. Since 1850 Mr. Noel has been a director of the Desplaines Cemetery Association, in whose burial ground many pioneers and several Revolutionary soldiers are buried.
Carlos F. Long, who married the youngest daughter of Mr. Noel, was born in Winnebago County, Ill., May 19, 1856. When but three
OHN ONDERDONK BARRETT. The peo- ple of Joliet claim that they have in their city the finest hardware store in the United States. A walk through the Barrett block, on the corner of Chicago and Clinton streets, usually causes the stranger to accept this assertion as true. The entire space of the block, four floors, 66x160, is occupied by the company, who fur- nish employment to fifty hands and have the lar- gest wholesale and retail hardware store in this section of the state. The front of the basement is utilized as a salesroom, while in the rear is the machinery for cutting and threading pipe from two and one-half to eight inches in diameter. The first floor is devoted to the display of stock and the retail business, on the second is the manu-
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facturing department, while the third is used for the storage of stock. Power, heat and light are furnished by electricity. The stock includes every variety of tinwarc, hardwarc, stoves, agricultural implements, etc., and experienced timmers, plumb- ers and gasfitters are furnished on request, to- gether with the articles necessary for their work. The success of the business is largely due to the wise judgment and tireless energy of J. O. Barrett, who, December 19, 1891, incorporated the Bar- rett Hardware Company, with himself as presi- dent, and his brother, Edward C., as secretary and treasurer. He was also one of the organizers of the Joliet National Bank, in which he has been a director from the first.
In the city where he now lives, Mr. Barrett was born March 16, 1851, a son of William F. and Clamana (Onderdonk) Barrett. When six- teen years of age he acquired his first insight into the hardware business, and for two years after- ward he clerked for his father and for Mr. Ford. I11 1872 he became a partner in business with his father. After their store burned they began in business anew, continuing together until his father died in 1876. The firm moved into the New Akin block built for them and acquired a constantly increasing stock and trade. In time the firm name was changed to Barrett & Sons, a younger son, Edward C., being admitted as a partner, and the two sons have continued together since that time. Inheriting from their father a talent for business affairs, they have added to the business which he established and to the reputa- tion which he gained. Their honorable methods, fair dealings and sagacity of judgment are uni- versally recognized. Those who come into busi- ness relations with them find them men of honor and integrity; indeed, it is from thesc qualitics and their great energy that their success lias come, and the prosperity that has rewarded their efforts in the past is a happy omen of what the future holds for them.
The demands of his business have been such that Mr. Barrett has had no leisure for public af- fairs and, aside from voting the Republican ticket, he has taken no part in politics. At different times he has bought and improved real estate in
Joliet, and is now especially interested in the Zarley tract. His marriage, in this city, united him with Miss Mary C. Warren, who was born in Shrewsbury, Mass., and at the age of twelve years came to Joliet in company with hier uncle, Calvin Knowlton, who was president of the Will County National Bank.
LFRED J. LINDGREN, deputy sheriff, is one of the well-known Swedish-American citizens of Joliet, where he has made his home since 1887. His present position as deputy he has held continuously since 1894, being under John Francis for four years, and since then, by reappointment, under Sheriff Mattinger. Dur- ing most of the time he has been court deputy as well. Ever since he became an American citi- zen he has given his allegiance to the Republican party, being in hearty accord with its principles of protection and sound money. Since the or- ganization of the Swedish-American Republican Club lie has been actively connected with it as secretary, and he is also a prominent member of the State League of Republican Clubs.
The oldest of four children, of whom he and Mrs. Tulin, of Princeton, Ill., are the survivors, our subject was born in Hinerydsoken, Krono- berg, Smaland, Sweden, January 27, 1860, a son of C. G. and Stina (Magnusdotter) Lindgren. His mother died in 1883. His father, a farmer, came to America in 1869 and settled near Prince- ton, Ill., where he has since resided. For a few years our subject had the advantage of study in the public schools at Princeton, where he added to the knowledge gained in the Swedish schools. In the spring of 1873 his parents moved to Lock- port, but in the fall of the following year returned to Princeton and afterward he resided there, as- sisting his father in the cultivation of a farm.
Coming to Joliet in 1888 Mr. Lindgren became an employe in the wire mill, but soon left and accepted a clerkship in Charles Jolinson's grocery, whicre he remained until his appoint- ment as deputy sheriff. He is an enterprising
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and liberal man, thoroughly American in every- thing but birth and love for his native land, and is imbued with the spirit of American energy and progress. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of the Globe. In the work of the Swedish Mission Church he has been a valuable assistant, being clerk of the congregation and a member of the board of trustees, and at the time of the re- building of the church he served upon the com- mittee having the matter in charge.
The first wife of Mr. Lindgren was Miss Ella Johnson, who was born in Princeton, her parents having settled there as early as 1853. She died in Joliet, leaving four children, Edith, Otto, Florence and Harry. The second marriage of Mr. Lindgren also took place in Princeton, his wife being Miss Mathilda Nalean, who was born and educated in that town.
RANK HUBENET is one of the best-known Swedish-American citizens of Joliet, where he resides at No. 309 Harris avenue. He is president of the Swedish-American Republican Club, the largest organization of its kind in Joliet, and the prominence which it has gained is almost wholly due to his energy and wise leadership. As secretary of the Knights of the Globe he is identified with another local organ- ization. In the Swedish Lutheran Church he serves as secretary of the congregation1, a inem- ber of the board of trustees and president of the benefit society connected with the church. An active worker in Joliet Observatory No. 8, North Star Benefit Association, he holds the principal office (that of astronomer) in the lodge and is chief conductor of the Grand Observatory, with headquarters in Moline, Ill. In 1890 he was ap- pointed a special agent to collect statistics of manufactures in Joliet city and township, in the interests of the United States census. At this writing he is township oil inspector for Joliet.
About two hundred and fifty years ago the
Hübenette family removed from France to Norr- land, Sweden, during the reign of Gustavus Adolphus. Our subject's grandfather, who was born in Norrland, was superintendent of a large furnace there. The father, L. W. Hübenette, is a business man of that place and is now seventy- five years of age, while his wife, Ulricka Elenora (Kellberg) Hübenette, is seventy-three. Of their eight children, two sons and four daugh- ters are living, one son and two daughters being in America. Frank, who was sixth in order of birth, was born at Norrland December 30, 1862. He was educated in public schools and a gym- nasium. Coming to the United States in 1881, he settled in Joliet, Ill., where he was employed in different stone quarries for five years, after which he became manager of a branch coal office of Hunter & Curtis. In 1891 the office was dis- continued, at which time he started for himself, opening an office at No. 603 Cass street, and be- ginning in the coal and coke business. His lo- cation is convenient and a siding connects his yards with the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad. Since coming to this city he has married, his wife being Ellen Anderson, a native of Sweden. They have six children: William Waldemar, Edith Elenora, Ebba Henrietta, Blenda Linnea and two boy twins, Lief Lincoln and Grant Thorsten.
OSEPH C. BRISBANE, who is engaged in dairying and farming on section 14, New Lenox Township, was born in Cook County, Ill., in 1863, a son of James W. and Dorothy (Caldwell) Brisbane, natives respectively of Scot- land and the north of Canada. His father came to the United States in 1858 and settled in Cook County, Ill., where he followed the trades of blacksmith, wagon-maker, carpenter and cabinet- maker. About 1873 he removed to this county and later settled on a farm near New Lenox. Since 1880 he has made his home on his present farm near the village and here he has carried on general agricultural pursuits. His wife died
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March 17, 1897, leaving five children, namely: Joseph C .; Jeannette W., who has been a suc- cessful teacher for twelve years and is now con- nected with the schools at South Englewood; Dorothy, wife of Charles Cooper; Martha, wife of William Patrick; and Mary, still at home.
At the time the family settled in this county our subject was ten years of age. He grew to manhood in the township of Crete, one and one- half miles from the village of that name. His education was received in common schools, under the supervision mainly of William H. Evans. For some years he carried on farming in con- nection with his father, but in 1885 he settled on his present farm, which he purchased in 1889. He is now the owner of one hundred and eight acres, devoted principally to the pasturage of milch cows, and carries ou a large and profitable dairy business. Thoroughly familiar with prac- tical dairying, in all of its phases, he is qualified to carry on a business satisfactory to others and remunerative to himself.
On the Republican ticket Mr. Brisbane was elected township collector, which office he filled for one year. The office of school director he filled for ten years, during a part of which time he was clerk of the board. In the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which heis a member, he has served as trustee and steward for some time, and is also secretary of the building committee now in course of erection. His marriage, in 1885, united him with Emma J., danghter of John J. Willis, of New Lenox Township; and they have one child, Vernice E.
RANCIS NICHOLSON, deceased, was one of the early settlers of Joliet, having come here in 1836. He was born in New Hart- ford, Oneida County, N. Y., a son of Jared Nich- olson, and a member of an old and honored American family whose ancestry is traced back to Governor Nicholson of Connecticut. His father was born in Connecticut, but at an early
age settled in Oneida County, N. Y., and thence, when Francis was six years old, removed to Chautauqua County, the same state. There the boy grew to manhood. Reared on a farm amid frontier surroundings he had no educational ad- vantages, and even if schools had been numerous his health would have interfered with his attend- ance. Not being strong enough for manual labor on a farm he took up the tailor's trade, which he followed. A few years after his marriage in West- field, N. Y., he started for Illinois, driving across the country with his wife in a covered wagon. The trip was safely made, although at one time he was followed by robbers for a whole day, but reached a settlement by night and so escaped from them. When he arrived in Joliet the town contained forty buildings, including stores, barns and residences. His first meal in the county was in the Yankee Settlement. Settling about seven miles north of Joliet on the road west of the river he spent a short time there. In 1837 he opened a tavern on Bluff street, and was there when the first stage drove through to Joliet. He saw the first canal boat on the Illinois and Michigan canal and the first railroad train ever run into Joliet. Later he resumed his trade, which he followed for some time. For seven years he clerked for Mr. Wilcox. Prior to 1860 he started in the grocery business with his son, but not finding the enterprise profitable he took up tail- oring again, and at this he continued until he was past eighty years of age. In politics he was a strong Democrat. For years he served as ves- tryman and warden of the Episcopal Church, in the work of which he was quite active. His life was protracted to a great age, for he was ninety- three when he died in February, 1896. During the long period of his residence in Joliet he wit- messed its steady growth and took pleasure in noting its progress. Personally he was a man of quiet and retiring disposition.
The first wife of Mr. Nicholson died when she was a young woman. Afterward he married Mary Ann Burdge, member of a Holland-Dutch family of New Jersey. Mrs. Nicholson was a woman of ability, energy, great kindliness of heart, and an excellent conversationalist. She
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was fond of reading and kept well posted in the progress of current events and in politics. Pos- sessing a deeply religious nature she did all within her power for the advancement of Chris- tianity, and was instrumental in the upbuilding of the Episcopal Church. In homes where sick- ness came her presence brought comfort, and her careful nursing did much to restore the ·sick one to health; indeed she had quite a local reputation as a nurse.
Four children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson, three of whom attained maturity. Both of the sons are now deceased. The older, Frank, went to California in 1850 and engaged in prospecting and mining there. He married there and reared a family of eight chil- dren. The younger son, Harman, enlisted in the second Michigan Cavalry immediately after the first battle of Bull Run. Entering as a private he was promoted successively to second and first lieutenant and captain, and at the close of the war was commissioned major in recogni- tion of gallant service. Much of his service was under Sheridan in Virginia and Tennessee. At his death he left four children.
The only surviving member of the family is Mr. Nicholson's daughter, Katherine Sophia. She was born in a house that stood on North Hickory street, Joliet. Her earliest years were associated with pioneer events and experiences in the rapidly growing frontier town. For fifty- six years she made her home in the family resi- dence on Exchange street, but during some of that time she was employed in other cities, although always considering Joliet her home. In order to aid the family she took up teaching, which occupation she followed for eleven years in California and Illinois. For six years she was employed as bookkeeper in a store in Muskegon, Mich., after which she held the position of libra- rian of the Joliet public library for eleven years. In 1870 she went to California, where she taught for two years. In 1880 she started a greenhouse in Joliet, and this she conducted successfully until her retirement from business in 1898. The property she has since rented. She owns and occupies a residence which she erected in 1898,
and in which she has as a companion a young girl whom she is rearing, Mary Adele Nicholson. She is a woman of excellent business ability, and at the same time, has genial, kindly ways that win and retain warm friends.
ENRY ALEXANDER. Through his active participation in enterprises for the benefit of his city and county and his progressive spirit as a citizen, Mr. Alexander has become one of the influential men of Joliet. No one has taken a deeper interest than he in measures calculated to benefit the people or to develop the material resources of the county, and he has been gen- erous to the point of self-sacrifice in his gifts of time and means to promote projects of undoubted value. The position of supervisor which he held gave him an opportunity for aiding public move- ments. While acting in that capacity he was in- strumental in securing the erection of the sheriff's residence, the rebuilding of the county jail, the making of many improvements in the court house and county poor farm, and the general improve- ment of county roads and bridges, and in each of these instances he served upon the special com- mittee appointed by the board of supervisors. While he usually encountered no opposition in his desire to secure improvements, occasionally he had to hold his own against heavy odds, and this was especially the case at the time of the bill in- troduced to secure an elevator in the court house; after a hard struggle he was successful and the building now has a fine elevator. During the severe depression that followed the panic of 1893 he acted as superintendent of the poor, the posi- tion taking almost his entire time; he discharged its duties efficiently, and no worthy man who applied for help suffered from hunger and cold.
A resident of Joliet since 1881, Mr. Alexander was born in Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Germany, a son of Isaac and Theresa (Neumann) Alexander. His maternal grandfather, Solomon Neumann, was a hardware merchant, and his paternal
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grandfather, Simon Alexander, a farmer, was one of the few soldiers that returned with Napoleon from the ill-fated expedition to Moscow. Isaac Alexander was a dealer in antiquities and an au- thority in that line He died while visiting a daughter in Bavaria. His wife died in Germany. Of their children, five are living, three being in the old country, and Henry and Robert in Amer- ica.
In Stuttgart, where he was born January 12, 1849, our subject was educated in a private school. In 1866 he took passage at Havre for New York, and on arriving in this country pro- ceeded to Alexandria, Va., where he clerked in a mercantile store until 1868. Afterward he had stores successively in Front Royal, Edenburg and Shenandoah, that state. Selling out in 1870, he returned to Germany and entered the commissary department of the German army, serving through the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. Afterward he engaged in the live- stock business. Returning to the United States i11 1880, he was for a short time interested in the stock business in Syracuse and Ithaca, N. Y., and in September, 1881, came to Joliet, where he began a wholesale meat business that he has continued to the present time. In 1892 he was elected assistant supervisor and two years later was chosen supervisor, which position, together with that of superintendent of the poor, he held for two years. Largely through his efforts, in 1895, a bill passed the legislature authorizing the establishment of an asylum for the incurable in- sane of Illinois. In August of that year Gov- ernor Altgeld appointed him one of the commis- sioners to locate the institution, notwithstanding the fact that he is a stanch Republican in politics. He served as secretary of the board of commis- sioners and took an active part in securing the location of the asylum in Peoria. March 17, 1897, Governor Tanner reappointed him to the same office and he was made chairman of the board and assisted actively in planning for and starting the construction of the building. In February, 1898, he resigned from the board and in April of the same year he was appointed special agent for the quartermaster's department of the
United States army, to buy horses and mules for the army, which position he has since filled. He has frequently served as a member of the county central committee and in other ways has pro- moted the welfare of the Republican party in his vicinity.
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