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 9
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 9
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At the foot of Mount Monadnock, in the vil- lage of Jaffrey, N. H., tliere long stood a house that was large and elegant for its day and was
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known as The Ark. Opposite that residence stood the birthplace of Nehemiah Hobart Cutter, who was born March 12, 1805. The ancestry of the family was traced back to Richard Cutter, who came from Newcastle-on-the-Tyne, England, and settled at Cambridge, Mass., in 1640, after- ward engaging in copper manufacturing and be- coming a large land owner. Joseph Cutter was the first of the family to settle at Jaffrey. Capt. Joseph Cutter, Jr., who was born in New Hamp- shire, followed farmi pursuits in that state and built the property to which he gave the unique name of The Ark. He married Phoebe, daughter of Capt. Jamies and Sarah (Lamson) Gage; she attained an advanced age, being almost ninety- two at the time of her death. One of her sons, Samuel T., who came west in an early day and settled in Chicago, is now living in Joliet.
The eldest of the children was our subject. He was educated in the Jaffrey schools and Amherst Academy. For some time he taught school, during winters, in New Hampshire, Massachu- setts and New York, devoting the intervening summers to the carpenter's trade. On coming west he established his home in Joliet, with the early growth of which he was intimately identi- fied. He was a man of robust constitution and continued to work actively until he was more than eighty years of age. Besides his private in- terests, he took part in local affairs, and was elected one of the first aldermen of Joliet, serving for several terms. While serving as school in- spector he labored to advance the welfare of the public schools. He was very advanced in his opinions as to what instruction should be given in our free schools, and favored not only the ordi- nary branches, but also singing, drawing, manual training, etc. At the time of the building of the Rock Island Railroad he served as a member of the commission of appraisers and was much in- terested in the success of the road. With his mental and physical faculties preserved to a re- markable degree, he retained his health and vigor until two weeks before his death. He passed away March 17, 1897, at the age of ninety-two years and five days.
The first marriage of Mr. Cutter united him
with Rebecca Bailey, a daughter of Submit and Phœbe (Rugg) Bailey; she was born in East Hampton, Mass., and died in Joliet February 15, 1884. Four years later Mr. Cutter married Miss Eliza H. Gage, who was born in Jaffrey, N. H., a daughter of Jonathan and Hannah (Worcester) Gage, also natives of that town. Her grand- father, James Gage, was born in Amherst, Mass., in 1736, and in 1779 settled near Jaffrey, where he improved a farm. He was a man of honor and ability and filled many offices of trust. For some time he was captain of the New Hampshire militia. In religion he was a Congregationalist. His wife was Sarah, daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Briant) Lamson. He was a son of Thomas Gage, who was born in Bradford, Mass., and married Phœbe Fry. The founder of the . family in America was John Gage, who settled near Boston in 1633.
The youngest of ten children, Jonathan Gage spent many years of his life at the old Jaffrey homestead, which being at the terminus of a long lane, was known as the End of the Road. On his retirement from business cares he moved to Fitz- willianı, where lie died March 18, 1868. In religious faith he was a Universalist. He mar- ried a daughter of William and Hannah (Frost) Worcester, the former of whom, a native of Tewksbury, settled in Jaffrey in 1776. He was a son of Moses Worcester, who was born in Tewksbury and spent his entire life there. Mrs. Hannah (Worcester) Gage was next to the oldest among seven children; she was born in Jaffrey and died in Fitzwilliam, when seventy years of age. The founder of the Worcester family in America, Rev. William Worcester, from whom Mrs. Cutter is the tenth generation in descent, came from England and held the pastorate of the Salisbury church between 1638 and 1640, later being similarly engaged in other Massachusetts towns until he died. The family of which Mrs. Cutter is a member consisted originally of ten children, namely: James, who died in Charles- town, Mass .; Jonathan, who died at four years of age; William, who died during a visit in New York state; Mrs. Nancy Worcester, of Pittsfield, Mass .; Abner, who died in Fitzwilliam; Joseph,
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who died in Hartford, Conn .; Mary, who makes her home with Mrs. Cutter; J. Alonzo, who died in Bozeman, Mont., in 1897; Sarah, who resides with Mrs. Cutter; and Eliza H., Mrs. Cutter. The last named received an excellent education in Melville Academy, after which she followed educational work for many years, principally in Jaffrey, Fitzwilliam (N. H.) and Pittsfield, Mass. For a long time she was an active worker with the Good Templars and she has also been deeply interested in, and identified with, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In political senti- ment she is a stanch Prohibitionist, believing the liquor traffic to be the greatest curse of our age and country. In religion she is a member of Central Presbyterian Church.
JON. JOHN W. ARNOLD, one of the count- ty's pioneers, was born in White Creek, Washington County, N. Y., February 14, - 1842. His father, John H. Arnold, was born in Bennington, Vt., in 1808, and in young manhood went to New York state, where he was engaged as farmer, merchant and hotel-keeper. Under President Pierce he served as postmaster of Schaghticoke, an office near Troy, N. Y. In 1855 he came to Illinois and settled at Lockport, where he opened a general store. He continued in business until 1868, when he retired from active
cares. During the Civil war he assisted in raising the One Hundredth Illinois Regiment. An influ- ential Democrat, he served as supervisor and jus- tice of the peace for several years, and was a leader among the people of his day. His life was prolonged to the age of eighty-nine years. He was a son of John Arnold, who was born in Rhode Island and served in the Revolutionary war. The family history dates in this country back to the early part of the seventeenth century, when the first of the name came from England.
The mother of our subject was Lucretia ( Vail) Arnold, a native of Vermont, of Irish extraction, her grandfather, Jonathan Vail, a Quaker, hav-
ing come from Ireland in an early day. She lived to be about seventy-five years of age, and, with her husband, was for years a faithful mem- ber of the Congregational Church of Lockport. Of their seven children, George, the eldest, came to Lockport in. 1854 and for twenty years engaged in the mercantile business. For some years he also served as sheriff of this county. At the time the family settled in Lockport our subject was a boy of thirteen years. In September, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Fourth Illinois Cavalry, and served for a year in that regiment. Next he joined the Chicago Mercantile Battery, in which he served for three years. Among the battles in which he took part were those of Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, Cedar, Oxford, Vicksburg, Haines' Bluff, Arkansas Post, Port Gibson, Black River Bridge, Champion Hills, the charge on Vicksburg and the siege of that city. At the battle of Sabine Cross Roads, La., April 8, 1864, he was taken prisoner, and sent to Camp Ford, Tex., where he remained for fourteen months. During that time he once escaped from prison, but was recaptured after thirty days and taken back. In May, 1865, he was released from prison, and the following month was mustered out at New Orleans and honorably discharged. The only injury that he received while in the army was a gunshot wound in the right cheek, the marks of which he will carry to the grave; this was at the charge upon Vicksburg.
After returning home Mr. Arnold carried on a mercantile business for several years. December 22, 1869, he married Miss Abbie L. Mathewson, who was born in Chicago, June 14, 1845, a daughter of Artemus J. and Julia A. (Miner) Mathewson. Her father was born in Walworth, Wayne County, N. Y., July 25, 1816, and spent his boyhood days on a farmi. After studying civil engineering for some years, in 1837 he went to Chicago and secured employment at his chosen occupation. He was one of the engineers on tlie Illinois and Michigan canal. Later he assisted in surveying the railroad from Omaha to Salt Lake. In 1844 he established his home in Lock- port. During later years he acted as county sur- veyor and was also connected with the canal
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until its completion, being auditor of the board for some time. His marriage, in 1844, united him with Julia A. Miner, who was born in Bris- tol, Ontario County, N. Y., July 6, 1823, a daughter of Enoch W. and Lorinda (Guild) Miner, whom she accompanied to Chicago in 1837. Her father later was one of the contractors on the Illinois and Michigan canal and after the completion of his work on the canal he moved to Burlington, Wis., where his wife died. After her death he came to Lockport to make his home and here died at seventy-six years of age. His father, Amos Miner, who was a member of a pioneer New England family, served in the Revo- lutionary war and was wounded in the shoulder, which disabled him for further service. Mrs. Ar- nold was one of three daughters, of whom the second, Isabella, died in infancy; and the third, Dora A., is the wife of William J. Gooding, of Chicago, a member of an old Lockport family.
Of the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold, the twins, Julius and Julia, were born July 22, 1874; the daughter died July 13, 1888, and the son, March 4, 1895. The only living child, John William, Jr., was born December 29, 1870, and is engaged in the real-estate and insurance business in Chicago. Mrs. Arnold has been con- nected with the Congregational Church since 1868 and has been warmly interested in religious work.
From 1865 to 1895 Mr. Arnold carried on a mercantile business. During that time he held the office of supervisor for one term, resigning as postmaster (a position that he held from 1888 to 1890) in order to accept the office of supervisor. Shortly afterward he was elected to the state sen- ate, where, as in his other positions, he advocated measures for the benefit of the people. Among the measures he supported were the truck store bill and gross weight coal bill for the miners of Illinois. He was chairman of the military, waterways and drainage committees, which ma- terially aided the fruition of the Drainage canal. February 20, 1894, during the second administra- tion of President Cleveland, he was appointed United States marshal of the northern district of Illinois, and held that position at the time of the
Debs strike in Chicago. After four years of serv- ice he retired from the office. At this writing he is engaged in the real-estate and loan business at No. 90 Washington street, Chicago, but still makes his home in Lockport. He is a charter member of the Grand Army post at this place, and has been its commander.
OHN HIBNER. Jackson Township has won an enviable reputation as a prosperous farm- ing community, and this reputation has been established through the energy of such farmers as Mr. Hibner. For years he has been prominently connected with the development of the township and with its advancement as a farming region. Coming here in August, 1848, he purchased an eighty-acre tract where he has since made his home. During his first winter in this locality he lived in a log shanty, about IOXI2 feet, but in the spring he built a comfortable house. After he had paid for his land and for a cow he had but fifty cents left. However, deer and other game abounded, and thus the family were supplied with all the meat necessary, while the other necessaries were raised on the land. As the years passed by Mr. Hibner prospered. He kept adding to his farm until his place numbered some- thing more than one thousand acres, but he has given his children considerable property and has in that way reduced his holdings to over seven hundred acres. Although he had few advantages other than those he made for himself, he met with remarkable success, and is now one of the well- to-do farmers of the county, while at the same time he is one of the most highly respected as well.
The sole survivor of the eight children of John and Jane (Caldwell) Hibner, the subject of this sketch was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, Sep- tember 14, 1804. His father, who was born in Peekskill, N. Y., about 1768, grew to manhood there, then went to Ohio and worked as a farm hand in the Miami bottoms. Next, settling in Guernsey County, he took up a claim of one hun-
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dred and sixty acres, and shortly after was mar- ried. At the breaking out of the war of 1812 he enlisted in the service and took part in the famous thirteen-days' siege of Forts Meigs, Defiance and Wayne. When the troops marched away from the fort he was ill with camp fever and was left behind. Later, recovering somewhat, he started for home; for days he wandered through the for- ests and over the prairies without food; he asked for something to eat at an Indian camp, but was refused. However, at last he reached home in safety.
In 1814 our subject's father removed to Rich- land County, where he remained until 1847, meantime acquiring about seven hundred acres of land. During the last-named year he removed to St. Francis County, Mo. In the spring of 1848 he came to Illinois, and after spending the summer on a farm ten miles up the river from Wilmington, he bought three eighty-acre tracts in Jackson Township and settled on one of these, four miles southwest of Joliet. There he resided until his death, September 23, 1865, at which time he owned more than six hundred acres of land. In some respects he was eccentric. One of his peculiarities was his distrust of banks. He always kept his money in a safe at home. At one time he was robbed of $50,000 and was so seriously wounded by the robbers that he died from the effects of the shock and the wounds one month afterward. His father, who was a native of Germany, died in early manhood, and his mother, who was Sarah Jones, afterward married Abraham Williams, a brother of David Williams, one of the men who captured Major Andre. Two of her brothers, James and Ben Jones, enlisted in the Revolutionary war and went to the front. They were never afterward heard of, and it was supposed that they fell in battle. Her father, Philip Jones, was a wealthy man and owned one hundred and sixty acres in what is now the heart of New York City, besides numerous other pieces of property. When the war with England broke out a tory falsely reported that he was furnishing supplies to the English army; for this reason his farms were taken from him and never afterward restored.
Our subject's mother was born in County Ty- rone, Ireland, of Scotch ancestry. She grew to womanhood in her native county and afterward accompanied her mother and three other children to America. Our subject was wholly without educational advantages when he was young. His entire attendance at school was limited to eighteen evenings spent at a night school. From his earliest recollections he was obliged to work hard for his support, and his youth was one round of toil, unlivened by the usual sports of boyhood. He remained at home until his marriage, which event united him, April 6, 1837, with Miss Nancy A. Kurtz, a daughter of Christopher and Nancy (Lowe) Kurtz, of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry, and residents of York County, Pa., where she was born.
After his marriage Mr. Hibner bought eighty acres in Richland County from his father. Upon it he settled and there remained until 1847, when he moved to St. Francis County, Mo. In the spring of 1848 he started north with his family and brother Francis, going as far as Winnebago Lake, where he bought land. Two months later his brother died. Our subject entered two quar- ter-sections of land about midway between Green Bay and Oshkosh. Later the county seat of Appleton was located on his farm and he sold his land, but was cheated out of his money. In August, 1848, he came to Will County and pur- chased an eighty-acre tract, which forms the nucleus of the large possessions he has since ac- quired. He has proved himself to be an excellent manager, and although his life has been spared far beyond the usual allotment of years, he still preserves his interest in affairs and shows the keen business traits that characterized him years ago. He is remarkably well preserved, and a stranger to whom his real age was unknown would easily mistake him for a man not more than seventy-five or eighty. In politics he is a Democrat.
After a happy wedded life of sixty-two years Mr. Hibner suffered a deep bereavement in the death of his wife, who passed away October 13, 1899, aged eighty-two years, eleven months and thirteen days. She was a faithful member of the
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Methodist Episcopal Church and a lady of sin- cere Christian character. Fourteen children had been born of their union, and all but two are still living. Elizabeth is the wife of James Ralph, a farmer of this county; George W. and Francis A. are farmers, the former in Grundy County, the latter in Will County; Jane is the wife of E. Price, a machinist of Joliet; James C., David and Martin E. are farmers in Grundy County; Nancy A. is the widow of T. S. Shimmin and keeps house for her father; Sarah A. married Peter Christensen, a farmer of Will County; John W. and William A. are farmers in this county; and Lucinda A. is the wife of James A. Hemphill, a farmer of this county.
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RANK W. SEARLES, M. D., a successful practicing physician and surgeon of New Lenox, was born in Homer Township, this county, March 14, 1852. His father, Franklin Searles, was born in New York, of German de- scent, went from the east to California at the time of the gold excitement in 1849, and for one and one-half years he remained on the Pacific coast successfully engaged in mining. On his return east in 1851 he invested the money he had made by mining in the purchase of a farm in New Lenox Township, Will County, Ill., where he devoted himself to farm pursuits and the man- agement of an apiary. He was a practical man in the raising and breeding of bees, and was so successful that often he shipped as much as one ton of honey in a single shipment. His death occurred on his homestead May 12, 1887, when he was fifty-nine years of age. Two children, our subject and Agnes, deceased, were born of
his marriage to Emily White, of Ohio, who is still living and makes her home with her son. The history of her family is traced back to Pere- grine White, the first white child born in Massa- chusetts, and a member of good old Puritan stock. In the possession of the family is a hand loom that was brought over in the "Mayflower." During the war of 1812, when Indians were dan- gerous and imperiled the lives of the white set- tlers, her grandmother was hidden for safety in a hollow tree, which was so large that she had her spinning wheel put in it and spun yarn while hiding.
The education of Dr. Searles was obtained in the Englewood high school, Illinois State Uni- versity and the Chicago Medical College (now the Northwestern University Medical School). In 1877 he graduated with the degree of M. D. Returning to his native county, he opened an office in New Lenox, where he has since engaged in practice, with the exception of one year in Wisconsin. In his profession he has been quite successful, and is recognized as a skillful physi- cian, who is accurate in the diagnosis of disease and successful in its treatment. Politically he is a believer in Republican principles. In 1878 he was elected county coroner, and he has also served as a member of the school board for several years. While he is interested in local political mat- ters, he does not desire office, preferring to give his attention exclusively to professional duties. He is a member of the Will County Medical As- sociation. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and Lockport Lodge No. 534, A. F. & A. M., in which he is past master. By his marriage in 1878, to Etta Morse, he has two children now living, Ella A. and Howard W., and has lost two sons, William Lloyd, who died at the age of nine years, and Frank, who died at six months.
Der MKalbutank
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Photo by Benensohn, Yorkville, Il1.
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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HON. GEORGE MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK.
ON. GEORGE MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK, now of Aurora, bears the distinction of having been the first white child born in what is now Kendall County. His father, George, born in Marion County, W. Va., in the year 1792, was a son of George, whose father, John, was born in the kingdom of Wurtemberg, Ger- many, in 1719. John Hollenback was the sec- ond son of George Hollenback (or Hollebaugh, as he was called by his neighbors), who died July 28, 1736, in New Hanover, Montgomery County, Pa. Prior to 1720 he came to America, with his parents, and about the year 1740 he was living in Jonestown, Pa., where he married Eleanor Jones, of Welsh descent. He died in Martinsburg, Va., in 1793. Of his sons, Mat- thias became prominent in the history of the state, and was a survivor of the Wyoming mas- sacre. For many years lie was associate judge of Luzerne County.
George, the eldest son, was born about 1744, and when a youth was apprenticed to a carpen- ter, with whom he served until twenty-one years old. In 1772 lie married Hannah Barton. After his marriage he removed to Martinsburg, Va., and there his family remained while he was serv- ing in the Revolutionary war, he being under Gen. Charles Lee in the Jersey campaigns. Later he became a resident of Uniontown, Pa., and when General Washington visited that place in 1784 lie left many relics he had gathered from the field of Braddock's defeat. About 1792 lie located near Prickett's Fort, iu Virginia, where he remained until 1807, then removing to Musk- ingum County, Ohio. He died June 28, 1824.
The ninth of eleven children, George Hollen- back (2d) was very vigorous physically and of
very resolute will, well able to cope with the vicissitudes of pioneer life. He served in the war of 1812, for which he received one hundred and sixty acres of land in later life. June 15, 1817, he married Sophia, daughter of John and Mary (Reid) Sidle. John Reid, a brother of Mary, was grandfather of Gen. Q. A. Gillmore, a dis- tinguislied Union officer, who conducted the bom- bardment of Fort Sumter and the city of Charles- ton. After his marriage Mr. Hollenback con- ducted his father-in-law's mill and also engaged in farming. In the fall of 1829 he started west, accompanied by his wife and five children. They traveled in a covered wagon, taking with them several cows and their limited household pos- sessions. Their way lay through an almost track - less country. After several weeks of trial and privation they arrived at Danville, Ill., where friends had located some months before, and with them they passed the winter. In the spring of 1830 they again started out, this time going to the south side of the Illinois River, a few miles from Peru. After a year there Mr. Hollenback concluded that the Fox River country offered bet- ter opportunities, sò he spent the months of February and March, 1831, in investigating, and came up as far as Oswego. After locating some land in what is now Fox Township he returned for his family, and with them arrived at his future home April 18, 1831. He built a small shanty and made a clearing to get in some crops, then began to put up a log house. Before the house was completed, during a severe storul, September 20, a falling tree demolished the frail shanty. His crop was harvested, the grain being threshed by treading it on the floor, and he and a young daughter took the grist to a mill run by
5
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horse power, the trip taking six weeks. De- cember 1, 1831, his family was increased by the birth of twin children, George M. and Amelia, the former being the first white child born in Kendall County.
The Indian outbreak in May, 1832, caused much distress to the few settlers here. Mr. Hol- lenback took his family to Fort Beggs (named after the pioneer preacher, Elder Beggs), now the city of Plainfield. He had been warned of the approaching outbreak by an Indian to whom he and his family had showed some kindness. From Fort Beggs they went to Fort Dearborn, returning in the fall to Ohio, where the family spent a year, but Mr. Hollenback came back in the spring to his land and put in a crop. In the summer he again went to Ohio, this time re- turning with his family. This trip was less exhausting and difficult than the first, as new roads had been constructed and settlers were lo- cated all along the line.
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