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 60
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 60
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D HARLES F. BLOOD, of Joliet, was elected justice of the peace in 1891 and re-elected in 1893 and 1897, having had his office in the Barber building since 1895. At different times lic has held other local offices. For three years he has served as deputy assessor. In ISSS Mayor Paige appointed him chief of police, and he filled the office for two years, meantime accomplishing much toward ridding the city of toughs and des- peradoes. The position was one of the greatest responsibility and required much night work, but . he filled it in a manner highly creditable to lıim- self. When he first came to Joliet, in 1872, he was employed as superintendent of the J. D. Paige bottling works, where he remained until 1878. He then became engineer of steamer No. 2 of thic fire department, continuing in the position for ten years, when lie resigned to accept the position of chief of police.
The Blood family originated in Scotland, but
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
was early established in Vermont. Jonathan Blood, a native of Rutland County, that state, and a soldier in the war of 1812, spent his last days in Erie County, N. Y. His son Horace, who was born in Rutland, moved to Erie County, N. Y., in an early day, and followed the harness maker's trade there. He held numerous local offices, among them those of commissioner and school treasurer. In 1869 he came west and set- tled in Remington, Ind., afterward engaging in farm pursuits near that place. He died in Rem- ington, Ind., when eighty-six years of age. During the patriot war he served as a sergeant. He married Nancy Fairbank, who was born in Rutland, Vt., of English descent, and died in Indiana at eighty-three years of age. Her father, Willard Fairbank, a farmer in Vermont, spent his last days in Aurora, Erie County, N. Y. In religion Horace Blood was a Universalist and his wife affiliated with the Baptists. They were the parents of four sons and seven daughters, of whom four of the daughters are deceased. Dorr J., who was a soldier in the One Hundred and Thirty-seventh New York Infantry, resides in Remington, Ind .; Horace W. is a retired busi- ness man of Joliet; and Anson carries on a coal business in Omaha, Neb.
The third of the sons, Charles F., was born in Aurora, N.Y., February 14, 1844. In youth he attended the public school and academy in his home town. With six other students of the academy he left school at noon one day in Sep- tember and traveled by stage fourteen miles to Buffalo for the purpose of placing his name on the recruiting list. He was mustered into Com- pany B, Tenth New York Cavalry, which was sent to Gettysburg, Pa., for the winter. By a strange coincidence, this was the first regiment
to enter Gettysburg after Lee's evacuation in 1863. In 1862 he was sent to join the army of the Potomac, and took part in a number of cav- alry dashes and skirmishes in old Virginia. Returning north for the battle of Gettysburg, after that engagement his regiment pursued Lee into Virginia, fighting in front of Petersburg and at other points. He was present at the mine ex- plosion. At Trevilian Station he was struck in the left foot by a ball, but his heavy cavalry boot protected the foot to such an extent that, although he was unable to accompany his regiment for a time, amputation was avoided. At the close of the three years of service he was taken ill with malaria, and was sent to the hospital. On account of physical disability he was honorably discharged in front of Petersburg, in October, in 1864.
Returning to his studies in the academy, Mr. Blood found in a short time that his experience in the army had rendered the confinement .of the schoolroom distasteful to him. Thereupon he left and started for the west, intending to go to California. However, reaching Plainfield, Ill., in 1865, he found his brother Horace ill, and so remained. In 1867 he went to Indiana, but four years later returned to this county, and for a year remained in Wilmington, since which time he has made Joliet his home. June 29, 1871, he mar- ried Caroline, daughter of William Foncannon, a soldier in the One Hundred and Forty-seventh Indiana Infantry during the Civil war. Six chil- dren were born of their union, three of whom are now living, Ernest, Christine and Horace. Politically Mr. Blood was a Democrat prior to the war, but since then has been a stanch Republican. Fraternally he is connected with Mount Joliet Lodge No. 42, A. F. & A. M., and Bartleson Post No. 6, G. A. R.
John Hay deve
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
491
JOHN HAYDEN.
OHN HAYDEN was born in Lincoln County, Me., August 19, 1848, and was three years of age when his father, John Hayden, came to this county, so that from his earliest recollections he has been familiar with this region, its people, its development and its agricultural interests. He remained on the home farm until his marriage. This event occurred in 1877 and united him with Bridget, daughter of Martin and Esther (Welch) Bergan, and a native of Manhattan, this county. Her parents were born in Kilkenny, Ireland, and were among the earliest settlers in Manhattan Township. Mr. and Mrs. Hayden became the parents of six chil- dren, namely: John, Daniel, William and Mar- tin, who are college students; and Anna and Ed- mund, who are attending the common schools.
After his marriage John Hayden settled on a quarter section of land which had been deeded to him by his father. He now cultivates six hun- dred and forty acres. In the summer of 1893 he built the best farm house in Will County, equipped with modern conveniences, which stamp the owl1- ers as people of good taste and ample means. An important factor in his success has been his cattle business. He has devoted considerable attention to the feeding of stock and has been successful in the work. In religion he is of the Roman Catholic faith. He votes for the candidates and principles of the Democratic party. For eighteen years he held office as township commissioner, for eight years was treasurer of the town board and for twenty-two years has been a member of the school board. In 1896 he was made super-
visor of the town. So satisfactory was his service that he was returned to the office at the expira- tion of his first term in 1898; this, too, in spite of the fact that the town for years had given a Re- publican majority. Frequently he has been selected to serve as a delegate to the conventions of his party. His selection for official positions indicates his great personal popularity as well as the efficient manner in which he discharges his public duties. His life has been a busy and use- ful one, and his honorable career has gained for him the confidence of the people of Florence Township and Will County.
] OHN CONRAD. Perhaps no citizen of Peo- tone has been more actively identified with varied of its interests than has Mr. Conrad, who is now living retired in the village. A na- tive of Germany, he was born in Odenbach, Rheinpfalz, Canton Lauterecken, April 15, 1830, a son of Peter and Dorothea (Reisz) Conrad. He was one of nine sons and daughters, and the third of six now living. His brothers, Peter and Henry, are both retired from business, the former living in Peotone, and the latter in Monee. Doro- thea is the wife of John Schmidt, of Round Grove, Ill .; Catherine is the wife of S. Horning, of Peotone; and Elizabethi, the widow of Fred- erick Schroeder, lives in Peotone. The fatlier of this family was born in Odenbach, January 1,
25
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
1796. His father, who was born in France, died in Germany when the son was fifteen years of age. In youth he learned the shoemaker's trade, which he afterward followed in addition to farm- ing. He was a thoroughly upright man, the soul of honor and integrity. He died January 20, 1848, aged fifty-two years. His wife was born at Odenbach, May 26, 1803, and came to America in 1855, after which she made her home with her children, dying April 28, 1890, when eighty-seven years of age.
Under the instruction of his father our subject learned the boot and shoe trade. In 1849, dur- ing the rebellion of the people (Hecker as leader) against the laws of the king of Bavaria, on account of Mr. Conrad wearing a Hecker's hat he was taken off the street in the city of Neustadt, A. D. H., by the soldiers, and terribly mangled and misused. In the conflict he re- ceived, with a sword from the general of a reg- iment, a long deep cut on his right arm, directly above the elbow, cutting clear to the bone. This blow was directed for the head. It was only prevented by a citizen in office of that city, who saw what was going on, ran in at great risk of his own life, taking hold of the general's arm just as he was striking the blow, thereby breaking the force, which landed on Mr. Conrad's arm, and from which he nearly bled to death. The next . morning, still held as their prisoner, and being shamelessly and unmercifully handled all night by the highest officers of said regiment, Mr. Conrad received his death sentence by said offi- cers to be shot at eleven o'clock, a. m., on that day. While on the way to the place of execu- tion, more dead than alive from loss of blood, followed by thousands of soldiers and people, being only about three blocks away from the city square, where the shooting should occur, the king sent a message by wire "to release the young man, and to let him free." The gash can still be seen on Mr. Conrad's arm, showing a very plain wide scar across his arm, and even the stitches of the needle are plainly to be seen to-day, after the expiration of fifty-one years. Mr. Con- rad was nineteen years old at that time.
In the same year, 1849, Mr. Conrad was closely
watched by two men who were opposed to his re- ligious ideas, he being a Protestant and standing firm by his faith. One evening after retiring he was followed up by these two anti-Protestants, who were partly under the influence of liquor, and at the same time being Mr. Conrad's shop- mates, came into his bed-room, each one armed with a butcher knife. There was no light in the room, but the moon shone bright. Mr. Conrad heard them approaching, and their remarks, say- ing: "He is in, he is in; see, there are his boots," whereupon Mr. Conrad silently slipped out at the rear of his bed, and gradually made his way to the door unnoticed by them, while they were in the act of striking their butcher knives down through the bed-quilts. Examination afterward was made of the bed, and fourteen holes were found in the bedding, they thinking their victim was in the bed. This, too, happened in Neu- stadt, A. D. H. Mr. Conrad also had the ex- perience of five more similar cases, but they are too much to describe. Railroad wrecks; fell twenty feet to a stone floor; was twice in burning houses in the city of New York, when he was a fireman, but was rescued nearly burned; was be- tween two canal-boats in the water, when the only way to save himself was to sink to the ground, and this he did, both boats passing over him, one to the east, the other to the west; one day his horses ran away with him, one of his feet became tangled in the lines, and lie was dragged on the ground just a quarter of a mile.
Two weeks before the time of his drafting into the army he left for America, May 23, 1850, and on the 30th of the same month he took passage on the sailing vessel " William Sturges," which anchored in Philadelphia July 19, 1850. The following day he went to New York City, where he worked at his trade for four years at a salary of $4 per month for the first six months. During all but six months of this time he was a member of the New York volunteer fire department, No. 18 engine. In September, 1854, he came west and settled at Elmhurst, Dupage County, Ill., where he opened a shoe shop. On the day of Lincoln's assassination in 1865 he discontinued the business. Later he established a general
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
mercantile business, which he conducted until January 20, 1869. He then came to Peotone and opened the New York house, which he conducted for eighteen months, then selling out and opening a general store. Two years later he retired from the business on being elected police magistrate. For eight years he devoted his entire attention to the duties of his office. During this time, in 1872, after having been a moderate beer drinker for years, he determined to reform and cease drink- ing, and from that time to this he has kept that resolve, -a fact that shows he is a man of deci- sion of purpose. In 1875, with his son-in law, August Schugman, as a partner, he embarked in the general hardware and stove business, an en- terprise that proved successful. Mr. Schugman's interest was bought in 1890 by our subject's son, John P., and the firm of J. Conrad & Son con- tinued for two years, when two other sons, Frank
, H. and Fred P., became members of the firm, and Mr. Conrad retired to private life. This firm is in existence to-day under the name of John Con- rad's Sons.
July 29, 1855, Mr. Conrad married Miss Caro- line Schaubel, who was born in Grombach, Ba- den, Germany, January 23, 1837, and was brought to America by her parents in 1850. They set- tled in Pine Grove, Pa., and in 1854 moved to Elmhurst, Ill., where C. Schaubel carried on a shoe business, although in Germany he was a forester and gardener by occupation. On Mr. Conrad's arrival in Elmhurst in the same year, he worked several months for Mr. Schaubel. In 1855 Mr. Schaubel retired from business and moved to Oak Park, Ill., where he bought prop- erty and has since made his home. Mr. Schaubel built the first church in Oak Park. It was of the Baptist denomination. He was the origina- tor of the first Sunday-school in Oak Park, and was the local preacher at that charge at certain occasions. He died in 1894, at the age of eighty- five years.
Mr. and Mrs. Conrad became the parents of twelve children, nine of whom are now living. Charlotte is the wife of Rev. William Gross, a minister of the Evangelical Church now located at Mount Carroll, Ill. John P., Frank H. and Fred
P. constitute the firm of Jolin Conrad's Sons. Harry F. is a member of the dry-goods firm of Conrad & Carson, of Peotone. Hattie is the wife of Frank A. Schlauder, a blacksmith and carriage-maker of Peotone. Jennie mar- ried Harry C. Reser, a police officer in Peotone. Charles J. and William R. are employed in the hardware store owned by their brothers.
To show the influence Mr. Conrad has wielded among his fellow-citizens, it is but necessary to state some of the positions he has held. For twenty-eight years he has been a notary public and still holds his commission, and for eight years he has served as a police magistrate in Peo- tone. During his residence in Dupage County he was constable for fourteen years and tax col- lector two years. For nine years he was village trustee of Peotone, and for eighteen years served as school director. During the Civil war he was for two years secretary of the Union League at Elmhurst. In this county and Dupage, alto- gether, he was for seventeen years an auctioneer. For four years he was president of the Sons of . Herman Lodge at Elmhurst, and one year its rep- resentative to the grand lodge at Chicago. Dur- ing his eleven years of service as trustee of the . village cemetery he has taken great interest in improving and beautifying this spot. In 1888, while in Will County, he gave thirty-three days of service as a juror in the United States district court. During the last twenty-eight years he executed vouchers for soldiers without any charges whatever. He also served in Elmhurst, Dupage County, as school director for six years, and in Peotone for twelve years.
At the time that Dr. A. Melville and Owen Mink had their fatal altercation in the village of Peotone, Mr. Conrad was the man who stepped in between the two men, right when the fight was the hottest, and prevented Mr. Mink from fur- ther harming Dr. Melville. Mink was about to kick out the brains of Dr. Melville, and while he was in the act, Mr. Conrad stepped in between the two men, taking hold of Mink's shoulders with both hands, and forcibly pulling him away from the doctor, who then lay on the ground half unconscious. While Mr. Conrad was struggling
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
with Mink, Dr. Melville, standing off about twenty feet, fired a shot from a 38-caliber, directly under Mr. Conrad's left arm. Mr. Con- rad and Mr. Mink being clinched, the shot killed Owen Mink almost instantly, and he died in Mr. Conrad's arms. The ball landed in Mr. Mink's heart, and passed directly under Mr. Conrad's left side close to his body. This was as narrow an escape from death as many of his other experiences previously mentioned. In 1883 he was rescued out of the fire very badly burned, when his store burned down, and his loss on building and goods was over $6,000.
A sketch of Mr. Conrad'slife would be incom- plete without some reference to his religious ac- tivity. Since he became a Christian his life has been one of great usefulness, unstained by any shadow. For twenty-two years he has been a trustee in the Evangelical Church, during all of which time he has been secretary and treasurer of the board. For twenty-eight years he has been leader of the choir in the church. Every relig- ious or philanthropic movement receives his sup- port, to the extent of his ability to give. Very justly he holds a high place in the regard of his . fellow-citizens as a man of integrity, honor and ability.
ER AUGUST ERICKSON, who is one of the most influential Swedes in Joliet, holds a position as keeper at the Illinois state penitentiary. He was born at Ekebybona soken, Ostergötland, Sweden, in February, 1858, the oldest child of L. P. and Anna Katarina Erick- son. His father, who was a farmer's son, fol- lowed agricultural pursuits and operated a distil- lery. He took the family to Elgmyra, Christ- bergs soken, when our subject was two and one- half years of age, but later settled in Stjärnorp, and finally retired to Norrköping, and in 1891 died in Motala. His first wife died in 1873, leav- ing four sons and two daughters, of whom the daughters reside in Evanston, Ill., one son, Carl E., is engaged in the hardware business at Iron-
wood, Mich., and two sons remain in Sweden, Gustav V. being a sergeant in the national army, while Hjalmar lives in Norrköping. Of the father's second marriage, three children were born, all now living in Sweden.
When a boy our subject had excellent advan- tages and studied English and other branches under a governess. At seventeen years of age he was apprenticed to the trade of a tanner and currier in Motala, but after a year went to Lin- köping and secured work there at his trade. In 1877 he became a sailor and sailed via England to Portugal, then returned to Sweden and worked at his trade. May 27, 1879, he landed in New York, from there started at once for Chicago. Through an employment office in the latter city he hired to work in the quarries at Lockport, but after eight days he secured work in the tan- nery of Houck & Brown, where he continued for years, resigning in 1897 in order to accept the position of keeper at the penitentiary.
December 13, 1890, in Joliet, Mr. Erickson married Miss Ida Charlotta Melin, who was born in Swanaholm, Sweden, and came to this city in the spring of 1890. They have four children, Carl Oscar August, Gustaf Birger August, Thorsten Fingal August and Hilding Walfred August. The family occupy the residence at No. 106 Virginia street, which Mr. Erickson built in 1892. Mrs. Erickson was one of seven children (three here), whose father, Johannes Oscar Melin, was a lifelong resident of Sweden. She is connected with the Royal Neighbors and the North Star Association. Socially, her genial manners and kind heart have won her many friends among her acquaintances in this city.
The Republican party has a firm advocate in Mr. Erickson. He is a charter member of the Swedish Republican Club, in which he has offici- ated as vice-president. He is also actively con- nected with the Swedish-American Republican League of Illinois. The Modern Woodmen of America and Fraternal Alliance of Milwaukee have his name enrolled among their members, and at one time he was connected with the Knights of Pythias. He is a charter member and recorder of the North Star Benefit Association in
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Joliet. In the organization of the Swedish Lu- theran Church he took an active part, and at the time of the building of a house of worship he as- sisted, as a member of the building committee. In the offices of trustee and treasurer he has proved a helpful member of the church, and has promoted its welfare constantly since he first be- came identified with it.
ON. EDWARD C. AKIN, attorney-general, was born in Will County, July 19, 1852, and was educated in the public schools of Joliet, and at Ann Arbor, Mich. For four years he was paying and receiving teller in the First National Bank of Joliet, where he acquired an extensive acquaintance throughout Will County. He was admitted to the bar of Illinois in the fall of 1878, and has continued in active practice ever since. He began his political career in 1887, when he was nominated as the Republican candidate for city attorney of Joliet, and although the city was at the time Democratic from five to six hundred, he defeated the Democratic nominee by a majority of over seven hundred. In 1888 he was nomi- nated for state's attorney of Will County, and at the ensuing election led the entire state and county ticket by eight hundred votes. In 1892 he was renominated for that office and again led his ticket by hundreds of votes, and is credited by the leaders of both political parties with having saved the county ticket from defeat. His most brilliant political victory was achieved in the spring of 1895, when he ran as the Republican candidate for mayor of the city of Joliet. Although op- posed by a citizen's ticket, led by a Republican, lie defeated the Democratic nominee by a ma- jority of over two hundred, receiving nearly as many votes as both his opponents combined. As a lawyer he stands among the leaders of the Will County bar. As a public prosecutor lie lias 110 superior in the state, and liis conduct of munici- pal affairs has won for him the admiration of all good citizens, regardless of party affiliations.
He is a man of high character and sterling in- tegrity, and although he has been prominently before the people of this county for the past ten years, no breath of suspicion has ever been cast upon his private life or official acts. He is a man of fine appearance and pleasing address, and has won an enviable reputation throughout the state as a public speaker .- Chicago Inter Ocean, 1896.
A public official, and especially one who holds a responsible and important position, no matter whether he is or is not a candidate for re-election, as a servant of the people, should be able to give a good account of his stewartship. Those whom he serves have the right to know in what manner he has performed the duties of his office, although they may not always insist upon knowing. To show conclusively that an officer has administered his trust ably, impartially, conscientiously, fear- lessly and economically is the best argument in favor of his renomination for a second term that can be presented, and is also a sufficient reason for his re-election.
That no opinion rendered by Mr. Akin has been overruled is as gratifying to his friends as it is flattering to himself as a lawyer, and is evi- dence that his legal ability and judicial acumen are of the highest order. It is all the more creditable to Mr. Akin from the fact that a num- ber of these opinions were in connection with the construction of the new laws, such as the revenue law of 1898, the amended statute in relation to loan and building associations, and others of equal importance. The large increase in the work of the department is ascertained by com- paring the figures of the past three years with those for the full term of Mr. Akin's predecessor, which was considered at the time, and justly so, a record-breaker. Mr. Akin has lost 110 cases except in the supreme court, and of the twenty- eight there decided against him, as will be noted, twenty-seven were criminal cases, which were lost because of errors in the trial courts. It may be fairly claimed, therefore, that he has, in reality, lost but one case.
Particular attention is called to his efforts to secure the enforcement of the anti-trust law. This was not done for the purpose of bleeding
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
the corporations, nor on account of any unreason- able prejudice against, or hostility to, the cor- porations, but because the law requires him to proceed in the manner he did. In the decision of the inheritance tax cases by the United States supreme court in favor of the constitutionality of the law, Mr. Akin won a great legal victory, and the state has been benefited to the amount of nearly $1,000,000 of taxes from this source. All these combine to make up a record of which Mr. Akin may well be proud. His friends are proud of it, and they believe that upon this record alone he should be renominated and re-elected. In placing him on the ticket for a second term, the Republican convention will do a creditable act and one that will be indorsed by the people at the polls in November next .- Joliet Republican, February 2, 1900.
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