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 66
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 66
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Mr. Williamson was but eleven years of age when he became self-supporting. His early cdu- cation was obtained in the public schools. After he commenced work his evenings were devoted to study. He also entered Taylor's Business College, Rochester, N. Y., from which institu- tion hic graduated in 1880. He is well read and keeps abreast with the times, and is well posted on all the live topics of the day.
His first employment was on a farm. After- ward he engaged in business on his own account, in the prosecution of which he traveled exten- sively in New York and northern Michigan.
In 1881 he came to Joliet, where he secured employment in the converting department of the Joliet Steel Company, now a portion of the Fed- cral Steel Company. From a very humble posi- tion he worked his way to a place of much re- sponsibility, being in charge of the steel ladles in this department. He continued with this com- pany until he was appointed deputy internal rev- enue collector.
The whole life of Mr. Williamson is a splen- did example of what pluck, honesty and energy can accomplish. Though early thrown upon his own resources, he did not sit idly by and wait for something to turn up, but while a micre boy pro- cceded to carve out his own future. He has risen rapidly, not only in his own chosen business, but also (and this he prizes more) in the estima- tion of his fellow-workmen and the citizens of WVill County. He is highly respected in this community, and during all the time he was en- gaged at the steel mills he enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-workmen and his employers. IIe was always a member of the committee to settle wages or grievances. This position required great tact and a thoroughi knowledge of local coll- ditions. His recommendations were invariably accepted and his advice sought on all important matters pertaining to the welfare of his fellow- workmen, as is evidenced by the fact that he was for four consecutive terms president of the Mu- tual Lodge No. 12, Amalgamated Association of Iron, Tin and Steel Workers, during which time lic also served as deputy vice-president of the fourth district, which included Illinois, Wiscon-
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sin and northern Indiana. This office he filled for five years. Later he was chosen vice-presi- dent of the same district and held this office at the time he was appointed deputy collector of in- ternal revenue. He is still an honorary mem- ber of the association. His advice and services are still at the disposal of his associates.
Mr. Williamson is past noble grand of the Odd Fellows' Lodge, a member of the encampment, for three terms served as captain of Joliet Canton No. 52, and is an active worker in the order of Rebekahs. He is an active Mason and a member of Joliet Chapter. He has always been active in politics and considers it a part and parcel of good citizenship to properly attend to such matters. He is a stanch Republican, and although giving willing support to his party, he steadily refused office until 1897 and 1898, when he was elected assistant supervisor of Joliet. His services and ability were recognized by appointment as deputy internal revenue collector. This position was teil- dered him without solicitation on his part and was finally accepted. This position is very responsi- ble, requiring tact, good judgment and business ability, as it brings him in contact with the dif- ferent commercial interests of Illinois and all classes of people. His friends say he is emi- nently fitted for this work and predict a rapid rise and a bright future for him.
Mr. Williamson was married, February 12, 1885, to Miss Sarah Hewlett, of Joliet. The couple have two sons, John Raymond and Elmer Harold. They now reside at their home, No. 913 Benton street, Joliet.
DWARD ETHERIDGE. After twenty years with the Illinois Steel Company as foreman in charge of bricklaying, during which time he won and retained the confidence of the officers of the company and made an en- viable record for efficiency, Mr. Etheridge in 1897 resigned his position in order to engage in con- tracting, an occupation that he had followed years
before with success. During his early connec- tion with this business he built the Centennial block, Mr. Fortune's home, the McIntyre resi- dence in Wilmington, the old post-office (now the First National Bank building,) and many other substantial blocks and houses. Since re- suming work as a contractor he has had the contracts for the Boston store, and the buildings owned by Anderson & Flint, Cudahy Packing Company and the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company.
Mr. Etheridge was born in Worcestershire, England, December 6, 1847, a son of James and Leah (Shelvock) Etheridge. His grandfather, Joseph Etheridge, engaged in the manufacture of nails in the days when they were made by hand; he died when almost eighty years of age. The maternal grandfather, Thomas Shelvock, was a brewer of stout ale. James Etheridge, who was a bricklayer, died at sixty-three years, and his wife was also about the same age at the time of her death. Of their twenty-two children, nine attained mature years, and eight are living, three sons, Eli, Felix and Edward, being in Jo- liet. Another son, William, who was also a resident of this city, was accidentally killed by falling from a buggy. One of the daughters, Fannie, resides in Joliet; another, Mrs. Amelia Phellis, makes her home in Toronto, Canada; and the third, Mrs. Mary Ann Ward, is in Eng- land, while a son, Arthur, also lives in the mother country.
When only seven years of age our subject be- gan to work at the nailer's trade with an uncle, remaining with him for six months and being paid only two cents per week. His next work was in a gun barrel plant, after which he worked with his father in the brick-laying trade, contin- uing with him from the time he was thirteen un- til he was eighteen. The next year he spent in Birmingham, England. After his marriage to Miss Eliza Sawyer, which took place in Hole- sowen, August 20, 1866, he worked at his trade in Staffordshire. In 1869 he went to North Lan- cashire, and continued there until 1872, when he came to the United States. March 13, 1872, he took passage from Liverpool on a steamer that
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crossed to Portland, Me., from which point lie proceeded to Chicago, arriving there April 1, and coming on to Joliet June 14. Here he worked as a bricklayer with the Joliet Steel Company until 1874, after which he was in the Braddock steel works of Pittsburg, Pa., and next assisted in the construction of the blast furnaces of the James Green iron works in St. Louis, Mo. Re- turning to Joliet, he engaged in contracting and building. In 1877 he became a bricklayer, and later foreman with the Illinois Steel Company, remaining in this position until he embarked in contraeting. In national polities he votes the Republican ticket. At one time he was identi- fied with the Knights of Pythias and now holds connection with the Sons of St. George. In re- ligious views he is a Methodist, belonging to the Irving Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Eliza Etheridge is a daughter of Zacha- riah and Sarah (Hacket) Sawyer, of whose five children Mary is in England; Henry, Thomas and Emma reside in Chicago. . The union of Mr. and Mrs. Etheridge has been blessed by four children, namely: George, a bricklayer, who since 1897 has been a member of the firm of Etheridge & Sons; James, who is also a member of the firm; Mrs. Sarah Shelbaek, of Chicago, and Mrs. Martha Sunbaum, of Joliet.
D OL. ALBERT W. BRIGGS, who has been a resident of this county during much of the time since 1852, is descended from a colo- nial family of Massachusetts. His father, Charles W., son of Richard Briggs, was born on a farm near Rutland, Vt., and in early life learned the trade of a carriage-maker, which he followed in Painesville, Ohio. In 1852 he brought liis family to Illinois and settled on a farmi near Plainfield, but later removed to Chicago and lived there in retirement until his death in 1886. He married Julia A. Jones, who was born in Rut- land County, Vt., and died in Will County, Il1. They were the parents of three sons and three
daughters, namely: Julia, Mrs. K. J. Hammond, of St. Paul, Minn .; Albert W. and Arthur R. (twins); Eliza S., wife of W. C. Goodhue, of Chicago; C. R., whose home is in Redlands, Cal .; and Tinnie H., wife of R. H. Terliune, of Salt Lake City, Utah. Our subject's twin brother, who was for some years engaged in the wholesale grocery business in Chicago, afterward went to San Francisco, where lie carried on a large trade in wholesale groceries and fruits; he is now living retired.
Colonel Briggs was born in Painesville, Olio, March 21, 1839. He was thirteen years of age when the family settled in this county, and his education was afterward carried on in the Plain- field public school and academy and the Blue Is- land schools. In 1859 he went to California via New York and the Isthmus of Panama. From San Francisco he proceeded to the mountains at Shasta, thence to Virginia City, where lie en- gaged in silver mining. While he was in Nevada he was commissioned by James W. Nye lieutenant-colonel of the First Nevada Regiment, which was raised by Charles A. Sumner, a nephew of Charles Sumner. His regiment was assigned to duty on the great plains between Utah and California, where they had many skirmishes with the Indians, and rendered faith- ful service under the leadership of Colonel Sum- ner and Lieutenant-Colonel Briggs. After two years in the army the latter resigned his com- mission in order to return east. While he was on the homeward voyage, at Panama, he learned of the assassination of President Lincoln.
Upon his return to Joliet, in 1865, Colonel Briggs opened a drug store on Jefferson street, opposite the court house. When the country around Manistee, Mich., began to open up he re- moved the drug business to that town and for a few years conducted it there. Later he became interested in the manufacture of lumber as a member of the firm of Green, Briggs & Co. For three years he met with success, but the dis- astrous fire in the town caused a heavy loss. Returning to Joliet he carried on a grain business witlı H. S. Carpenter for several years. Next he became a member of the grain firm of W. S.
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Johnson & Co., in Chicago, operators of elevators of the Northern Iowa division of the North- Western Railroad. In 1891 he retired from that firin and accepted a position as assistant immigra- tion agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad, a position that obliged him to travel throughout the entire country. After three years as agent he resigned in 1894 and has since acted as man- ager of Lambert & Cochrane's real-estate busi- ness in Joliet. He lias laid out three subdivis- ions in the northeastern part of the city and one in the southwest part, and has also made build- ing improvements on the property. In politics he is a Republican, but not active.
The marriage of Colonel Briggs united him with Miss Rose Cagwin, who was born in Joliet, daughter of Abijah Cagwin, deceased, of this city. They are the parents of two children. Their son, Arthur A., a graduate of a Chicago high school, has for fourteen years been connected with the First National Bank of Chicago. The daughter, Julia H., who has a soprano voice of unusual sweetness and power, is prominent in the best society in Joliet.
MOS EIB. As a representative of a pioneer family of this county Mr. Eib is well known in Jackson Township. He was born in Harrison County, W. Va., July 29, 1823. He was ten years old when the family settled in Illinois and he has ever since been identified with the farmning interests of Will County. His first purchase consisted of eighty acres of canal land, the present site of his home. In 1862 he bought an additional one hundred acres, which he still owns. Later he added more land, but of recent years has sold it, retaining only his tract of one hundred and eighty acres. Politically he is a Democrat. He has been interested in educa- tional matters and served for twelve years as a member of the school board.
March 28, 1851, Mr. Eib married Miss Catherine Gouter, who was born April 7, 1834, in Alsace, France. She was one of tlie five
children of Michael and Catherine (Arnlioldt) Gouter, and has one brother and one sister now living, viz .: Michael, of Russell County, Kans .; and Susan, wife of William Brown, of this county. In 1840 Mr. Gouter brought his family to the United States and settled three miles south of Joliet. After a few years he purchased land in Jackson Township and there remained until his death. The five children of Mr. and Mrs. Eib are named as follows: Levi H., who is en- gaged in the insurance and real-estate business in Joliet; George W., a wheat grower in Colusa County, Cal .; Albert M., a farmer in Will County; Clara E., who married Albert Cotton, of Kankakee, Ill .; and Susan, wife of Alvin Spangler, of Jackson Township, this county.
OHN A. HATCH, general merchant and grain dealer at Mokena, Frankfort Town- ship, was born in 1842 near his present place of residence. His father, John Hatch, who was born in England in 1816 and came to America in 1835, settled in Chicago and thence came to Will County, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres from the government at $1.25 an acre. In 1869 he moved from here to Linn County, Mo., and purchased a farm, where he has since made his home. He is a Republican and for several years served as road master. His wife was born in Scotland and died in Missouri in 1893, aged eighty-two, leaving seven children: Eliza, John A., William, Charlotte, Edwin, Mary, and Charles (now deceased).
In 1869 our subject went to Missouri with his parents, where he was afterward variously em- ployed until his return to Mokena in 1876. Here he was first employed in a mercantile store. After- ward he purchased the store and goods and has since carried on business for himself. Besides gen- eral merchandising, he deals in grain, feed, coal, tile, etc., and operates a feed mill and grain eleva- tor. For several years he served as justice of the peace and school director. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B, Seventy-second Illinois Infantry, as a private. Later he was appointed a lieutenant
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in Company E, Forty-seventh United States Col- ored Infantry, attached to the department of the gulf, under General Canby. He took part in various engagements of the war, some of them being among the fiercest battles of the four years, but he was not once wounded or imprisoned. He is now a member of U. S. Grant Post, G. A. R., in Chicago. In 1866 he married Nancy M., daughter of Ozias McGovney, of Mokena. They have eight children: Jane, wife of Henry Stell- wagen; Nannie E., wife of Samuel J. Fulton; John O., Grace E., Etta O., Elbert R., Lois V. and Alfred C.
OHN FAHRNER, M. D., who has been engaged in the general practice of medi- cine in Joliet since 1882, is a descend- ant of an old German family, and was born in Marienbad, Bohemia, Austria, February II, 1854, a son of Dr. Valentine and Mary A. (Tauber) Fahrner, natives of the same country. His father received excellent advantages in his native land, and after graduating from the University of Prague with the degree of M. D., lie engaged in practice in Marienbad. From there, in 1854, lie came to the United States, establishing an office in Chicago, where he made his home until 1868. After a year in Europe, in 1869 he settled in Mokena Township, this county, and two years later came to Joliet, where he built up a general practice. He died in this city in July, 1879, when seventy-five years of age. His wife preceded him in death some years, pass- ing away in Joliet May 28, 1873. They were the parents of one son and two daughters, but one of the daughters died at twelve years of age: the other, Mrs. Catharine Leliner, makes her home in Joliet Township. The earliest recollections of the subject of this sketch are associated with Chi- cago, which he remembers as a small city, widely differing from the present metropolis. His pri- mary education was obtained in parochial schools, after which he took a classical course in St. Joseph's College. In 1868 lie returned to Europe
with his parents, and a year later settled with them in this county. Under his father's instructions he gained his first knowledge of the medical science, with whom he studied and whom he also assisted in practice for a num- ber of years. Possessing a talent for the pro- fession and a genuine love for it, he readily acquired a knowledge of its intricacies. In 1879 he matriculated in Bennett Medical College of Chicago, from which he graduated in 1882, after a three years' course. Returning to his home county he opened an office in Joliet, and has since established a large and growing office practice. He has his office on the corner of Center and Oneida streets. Movements relating to the pro- fession receive his attention and assistance, and he is actively connected with the Illinois Eclectic Medical Society. In national politics he supports Democratic principles, but in local affairs believes in supporting the men best calculated to represent the people. When he finds enterprises are cal- culated to promote the prosperity of the city he gives them his unqualified support. He is con- nected with St. John's Roman Catholic Church and St. Aloysius Branch No. 21, of the Western Catholic Union.
December 28, 1875, in Joliet, Dr. Fahrner and Miss Magdalena Kachelhoffer were united in marriage. Mrs. Fahrner was born in this city, to which her father, F. X. Kachellioffer, came in an early day from Alsace and engaged in the mer- cantile business here. The doctor's children are Jolın, Pius, Angela, Walter, Alphonse, Char- lotte, Frederick, Esther, Arthur, Julius and Elsie.
HOMAS DIXON. Prominent among the successful farmers of Florence Township may be mentioned Mr. Dixon, who, after years of active and arduous labor, has retired from farming cares and is passing his declining day's quietly at his home in the suburbs of Sym- erton. For years he has occupied a position of influence in the affairs of his community. Al.
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GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
though he has refused all public offices except one, he has nevertheless been foremost in move- ments for tlie public good and lias won the es- teem of his associates. For eighteen years he served as road commissioner, and during that time became recognized as a steadfast champion of good roads.
Of English birth and parentage, Mr. Dixon was born in Nottinghamshire, February 19, 1826, a son of John and Hannah (Dickerson) Dixon, who lived and died in England, the former being almost ninety at the time of his death. In the family there were seven children, viz .: Sarah, who is in England; Thomas; John, of Wilming- ton, this county; William, deceased; Ann, who is the wife of William Connors; George, of Sym- erton; and Hannah, who remains in England. When a boy our subject had no chance to attend school, for, the family being poor, he was obliged to support himself from an early age. He worked as a day laborer until twenty-eight years of age, when, in 1858, he came to America, accompanied by his sister Anna, sailing from Liverpool May 2 on the sailer "Excelsior," and landing in New York June 14. From New York he proceeded direct to Chicago and thence to Lockport, where he met some English acquaintances. For five years he worked on the old John Lane farm in Homer Township, where the first steel plow was made. Next he rented a farm in Felix Township, Grundy County, and this he operated for four years. Returning to Will County in 1869, he bought one hundred and eighty-five acres in Florence Township, and at once began the task of clearing, improving and cultivating a farm. He became.especially interested in stock-raising, and made a : specialty of Durham cattle and Clydesdale horses, dealing exclusively in fine stock. In 1891 he rented the farm to a son and built a new house on his land near the village. His life is an example of what may be acconi- plished when the spirit of determination is exer- cised in connection with the everyday affairs of existence. His farming operations have resulted satisfactorily, and he is now in a position to enjoy the comforts of life in his declining years. While he is not active in politics, he is a pronounced
Democrat, strongly in sympathy with his party. His wife is a member of the German Evangelical Church, in which he has been treasurer of the Sunday-school.
Miss Mary Ann Taylor, who became Mr. Dixon's wife in 1852, was born in the same shire as himself and was a friend of his in their child- hood days. They are the parents of eight chil- dren, seven now living, as follows: Harriet, wife of William Blood; Joseph, who makes his home in Joliet; Fannie, wife of Timothy Badgley, of Chicago; Sarah, Mrs. John Singleton; Thomas, who superintends the old homestead; John, living in Iowa; and Rosie, who is the wife of Frederick Behrn, of Joliet.
AMES W. LOVE, who is engaged in jobbing and repairing, and in the manufacture of store and office fixtures, is one of the reli- able business men of Joliet, and lias a shop at No. 212 North Ottawa street that is provided with electric power and other modern improve- ments. His grandfather, Thomas Love, was gamekeeper on the estate of a nobleman near London. For many years he was an officer in the English army, much of his service being in Canada, where he finally retired to private life, engaging in farming and stock-raising in Ontario County, Ontario. Among the offices which he held were those of magistrate and township supervisor. In religion he was a member of the Church of England.
The father of our subject, James Love, was born near London, England, and for years carried on a farm near Seaforth, Huron County, On- tario, but later succeeded to the ownership of the homestead near Greenbank. He was a mem- ber of the Canadian Presbyterian Church and a man of upright Christian character. Our sub- ject, James W. Love, was born in Whitby, Can- ada, March 17, 1855, and was reared on his grandfather's farm, which he assisted in clearing and improving. At seventeen years of age he began to learn the carpenter's trade, being with
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the same employer for five years. In the fall of 1877 he came to the States and settled in Joliet, Ill., where he was employed by Mr. Burlingame for three years and by Mr. Van Fleet for six years. Later he was in charge of a gang of laborers in the bridge department of the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad. In 1894 he began jobbing, opening a shop in the old Republican Sun building near the river. Two years later he moved to North Joliet street, and after a year located at his present place.
Fraternally Mr. Love is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in re- ligion he is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. The Republican party has always received his support since he came to the United States, and, while not desiring political offices, he has been willing to aid his party by serving on committees and as a delegate to conventions, etc. In Seaforth, Ontario, March 24, 1885, he was united in marriage with Miss Essie Ward, of Canada, by whom he has one son, Harry Ward Love.
] OSEPH ROSE. The farmers of this county have a good representative in Mr. Rose, who for years diligently and successfully culti- vated a farm in Manhattan Township, but who since 1891 has been living retired from active cares and in the enjoyment of the comforts earned by his former industry, is quietly passing the twilight of his life in Manhattan. The period of his connection with the history of this county covers a half century. It was on the 19th of June, 1850, that he arrived in Lockport, a stran- ger in a strange land, with whose customs and people he was wholly unfamiliar. He was with- out means and was glad to secure work at fifty cents a day and his board. In the years that have since come and gone he has labored to such good purpose that he now owns two hundred and forty acres of improved land besides his property in town.
A son of John and Sarah (Whitely) Rose, the
subject of this sketch was born in Nottingham- shire, England, March 1, 1825. He was reared on a farm and remained in the vicinity of his birthplace until he crossed the ocean to the United States. After a voyage of nearly six weeks from Liverpool on the good sailing ship " Manhattan," Captain Mulligan, he arrived in New York City, where he spent a few days. He then proceeded to Albany and from there pur- sued his way to Chicago, at that time an insig- nificant village in the midst of a dense swamp. From Chicago he came via canal boat to Lock- port, where he secured employment. Later, for three years, he worked on a farm for D. C. Young, and while in his employ he helped to clear up the land now occupied by Oakwood cemetery.
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