Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 147

Author:
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 950

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

tees. The following year he was made a partner with his father and George M. Peck in a large mercantile enterprise at Elgin, with which he remained connected until 1875, when he engaged in banking as a member of the firm of Bos- worth, Carpenter & Co. The year following he bought a controlling interest in the First

ALFRED BOSWORTH

National Bank, became its cashier, and took active management of its affairs, a position he has since retained. For one term he has been Treasurer of the city of Elgin, and is highly regarded by the business men and the public generally. He was married in 1873 to Miss Eleanora M. Wheeler, of Bradsborough, Vt.

INCREASE C. BOSWORTH (deceased), mer- chant and banker, Elgin, Ill., born April 2, 1812, in Saratoga County, N. Y., came west to Chicago in 1838, but, remaining there only a short time, removed to Dundee, where he started a general store. There he was in busi- ness until 1867, when he removed to Elgin and continued in the same line until 1875, when he turned his attention to banking interests. The following year he bought an interest in the First National Bank of Elgin, became its President, and held that position during the remainder of his life. His investments were extensive in and around Elgin, and he was

largely interested in a number of important enterprises. As a public-spirited citizen he was always ready to serve in any usetul capacity. For years he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Northern Hospital for the Insane; was on the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago; served as an Alderman and Supervisor in Elgin, and, prior to 1875, had been Vice-President of the Home National Bank. Mr. Bosworth was married in 1844 to Miss Mary Ann Root, of Elgin, and died Jan. 12, 1888, in his own home.

HENRY I. BOSWORTH, banker, Elgin, born in Dundee, Ill., Sept. 10, 1854, son of I. C. Bos- worth, was educated in the Elgin public schools and academy, and graduated from the old University of Chicago in 1876. For about a year he was a clerk in the establishment of

HENRY I. HOSWORTH.

Bosworth Brothers & Peck, and in 1879 ac- cepted a clerkship in the First National Bank, his father being President. For several years he has been Second Vice-President of the bank, with which he has been connected continuously since his first entrance into its service. He has been Treasurer of the City of Elgin several ternis, a member of the Board of Supervisors, and is now (1903) a member of the Library Board.

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

WILLIAM E. BOSWORTH (deceased), for- mer merchant, Elgin, was born in Dundee, Ill., Oct. 5, 1848, was a student of the Dundee local schools, and a graduate of the old University of Chicago in 1869. The same year he became a member of the firm of Bosworth Brothers & Peck, a noted dry-goods house, which, by the retirement of Alfred Bosworth in 1874, became Bosworth & Peck. In 1881 Mr. Peck retired, leaving the entire business in the hands of Mr. Bosworth, who built up a large and growing trade in dry-goods and carpets. In June, 1902, he sold out to Cohen Brothers and retired from business. Mr. Bosworth was largely interested in farm lands, and owned a number of fine farms in association with his brothers. In the '80s he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Chicago, and at the time of his death was a member of the Board of Trustees of Elgin Academy and of the School

WILLAIME E. HOSWORTH.

Board of Elgin. From his University days he maintained his connection with the Phi Kappa Psi Society. He was a deacon in the Baptist Church for more than twenty years. He was married, May 12, 1874, to Miss Ida L. Wood- ruff, daughter of Cyrus H. Woodruff, of Elgin. His death occurred Oct. 30, 1903.

RICHARD N. BOTSFORD, attorney, Elgin, Ill., was born at Newtown, Fairfield County, Conn., Oct. 28, 1830; became a graduate of the Connecticut State Normal School, New Britain, Conn., in 1851, when he came to St.

RICHARD N. BOTSFORD.

Charles, Ill., in the fall of that year. For a time he was engaged in teaching and in the publication of the St. Charles "Chronicle." He studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1857 Beginning his practice the following year, Mr. Botsford soon attained a good stand- ing in his profession, and was elected County Judge in 1861, filling this position four years. In 1870 he located in Elgin. In politics a Democrat, he was nominated for Supreme Judge on the State ticket in 1897. He is attor- ney for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway and the First National Bank, and very actively assisted in promoting the construction of the Chicago & Pacific Railway Company, being both a stockholder in the company and attorney for the company before the courts.

FULLER A. BOWDISH, retired farmer, Au- rora, Ill., boin at Milford, Otsego County, N. Y., Sept. 7. 1833: came west in 1849 with his parents, who settled in Blackberry Township. Kane County; began his business career as a

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

farmer and followed that occupation in Black- berry Township until the spring of 1900, when he retired and removed to Aurora, where he has since resided. He was married to Miss Malinda Acres, and their children are Gordon A. and Elbridge S.

GEORGE S. BOWEN, retired merchant, man- ufacturer and capitalist, Elgin, Ill., born al . Ingham's Mills, Herkimer County, N. Y., Nov. 30, 1829; was educated in the public schools, and obtained his first business experience in the office of the Wool-Growers' Manufacturing Company, of Little Falls, N. Y., where he was employed six years. He came to Chicago in 1849, and soon after entered into the employ- ment of N. H. Wood, a leading dry-goods mer- chant of that period. In 1853, in company with his brother, Chauncey T. Bowen, and others, he purchased the establishment of his employer, Mr. Wood, and founded the firm of Mills, Bowen, Dillenbeck & Co., which three years later was changed to Bowen Brothers, the latter for many years conducting one of the leading wholesale dry-goods and notion houses of Chicago. Col. J. H. Bowen, another brother, became a member of the concern in . relations with South American States. He is 1857, the firm some time before the fire of 1871 becoming Bowen, Whitman & Winslow, and still later Bowen, Hunt & Winslow. After the fire, in which Mr. Bowen was a heavy loser, having retired from trade, he removed to Elgin. which has since been his home, in the mean- time maintaining his connection with business and financial affairs in Chicago. While a resi- dent of Chicago Mr. Bowen was active in the advancement of many enterprises calculated to promote the commercial, manufacturing and educational interests of the city. Among these may be mentioned the Woolen Manufacturers' Association of the Northwest, of which he was the President for many years, and under whose auspices a number of expositions of woolen goods were held in Chicago, Cincinnati, Indian- apolis. St. Louis and other cities. He also inaugurated the movement which resulted in the organization of the Chicago Manufacturers' CAPT. FRANCIS H. BOWMAN, retired mer- chant and banker, St. Charles, Kane County, Ill., born in Binghamton, N. Y., May 9, 1816, son of Ebenezer and Sylvia ( Barnaby) Bow- man, of English ancestry; was educated in the schools of his native place, and in 1834 went to Ithaca, N. Y., where he entered upon a course of training for mercantile pursuits in the gen- Association and the Chicago Exposition, which was carried on successfully for a number of years, and in support of which, by his personal efforts, he succeeded in raising $150,000 for the erection of the Exposition buildings. In 1861 he was chosen President of the Chicago Library Board, and after the fire of 1871 organized the

movement which resulted in the founding of the present Public Library. In 1871 he took part in the organization of the Chicago & Pacific Railway Company, serving as Treasurer, Vice- President and President, and after his removal to Elgin was an active factor in promoting the construction of this line, now a part of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system. His connection with this enterprise continued dur- ing the life of the original corporation, and he negotiated the sale which resulted in the transfer of the property to the St. Paul line. Mr. Bowen has since represented various finan- cial interests and railroad enterprises, and has spent much time in Europe in negotiation with capitalists and investors. He has been largely interested in the introduction of the tower system of electric lighting, establishing plants in New Orleans, Detroit, Evansville, Ind .; Macon and Savannah, Ga .; La Crosse, Wis .; Fargo, N. D .; the City of Mexico, Elgin and other cities. In 1879 he conducted a manufac- turers' excursion to Mexico, the results of which have been apparent in the increase of trade with that country, and has also been active in promoting more intimate commercial now the President of the North Pacific Trading Company of Chicago and Tokio, importers and exporters of Japanese and American goods. Mr. Bowen was one of the founders of the Elgin Board of Trade, and served as Mayor of that city two years (1872-3), his administration being remembered as one of the most business- like and progressive in the history of the city. In 1896 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in opposition to present United States Senator A. J. Hopkins. His long and active business career and his interest in public af fairs have brought him in contact with many leading men in public life, financiers and men of affairs, and few men now living in the West have had more interesting and varied exper- iences. Mr. Bowen was married in 1854 to Miss Julia E. Byington, at Salisbury Center, N. Y.

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

eral store of his uncle, Hiram Heath; later spent some nine years as clerk in a hardware store at Auburn, N. Y., when in 1845 he came to St. Charles, Kane County, Ill., where he had previously been interested in business with a former fellow-employe, and soon after engaged in the hardware trade there, becoming head of the firm of Bowman & Lloyd, in the mean- time also operating an iron foundry. Having disposed of a part of his business interests in 1861, he took part in the organization of the Fifty-second Regiment Illinois Volunteer In- fantry, in which he was commissioned Captain of Company G, receiving his "baptism of fire" at the battle of Shiloh in April, 1862. Having resigned his commission during this year, he returned to St. Charles and there resumed his connection with the hardware and manufactur- ing business, and later helped to organize the Kane County National Bank, of which he was chosen a Director, serving in this capacity during its entire existence. The Kane County National Bank having been dissolved, he be- came a stockholder in its successor, the banking house of J. C. Baird & Co., after the death of Mr. Baird becoming manager of the latter con- cern, which finally took the name of Bowman, Warne & Steward, and of which he continued to be the head until 1898, when he retired front business. Captain Bowman has been a mem- ber of the Republican party since its organiza- tion, and has represented his party in many State and County Conventions. He was a member of the first Kane County Board of Supervisors for St. Charles Township, has served as Village Trustee, and is at present (1903) Township Treasurer. For sixty-three years he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has frequently served as delegate to the Grand Lodge and Grand Encampments. In addition to his banking and mercantile interests, he has been a stockholder

in the St. Charles Milk Condensing Company, the Crown Electric Manufacturing Company, and has done much to promote manufacturing interests in Kane County. Captain Bowman was married in 1849 to Miss Helen M. Smith, who was born and reared in Elmira, N. Y. She died in 1891.

FREEMAN H. BOWRON, retired farmer and veteran of the Civil War, was born in Cham- plain, Clinton County, N. Y., May 31, 1839, where he was reared on a farm and was educated in the

public schools and a local academy. On March 5, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Eleventh New York Volunteer Cavalry, being mustered into the service on Staten Island shortly after- ward. His first year of military life was spent with his command in and around Washington; the second year the regiment was sent to New Orleans, and spent the rest of the period of the Civil War in the Department of the Gulf. Mr. Bowron was mustered out March 5, 1865, at Memphis, Tenn., having served twenty-six months as Orderly Sergeant and later as Sec. ond Lieutenant. After revisiting New York. he came to Aurora, Ill., where for twelve years he was in the employ of the Chicago, Burling- ton & Quincy Railroad Company. In 1877 he purchased a farm on the edge of Geneva, Kane County, 111., where he was entirely engaged in farming and dairying until 1896, when he re- moved to Aurora, where he has maintained his home to the present time. Mr. Bowron is d Knight Templar Mason and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1870 he mar- ried Miss Clara A. Earle, daughter of Charles C. Earle, whose name appears elsewhere in this work.

EDWARD A. BRADLEY.

EDWARD A. BRADLEY, banker, Aurora, Ill., was born in Lee, Mass., Sept. 5, 1830, son of Eli Bradley, who came of an old New England

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

family. Reared as a farmer and given an aca- demic education, he began his business career as a clerk in a dry-goods store, but soon after became connected with a bank in his native town, where he received that training that fitted him for his subsequent career. In 1857 he came to Aurora, Ill., to take a position in the private banking house of Albert Jencks & Co. This institution was succeeded by Brady, Hawkins & Allen, of which Mr. Bradley became Cashier and Manager. Later Mr. Bradley, in company with these gentlemen, organized the First Na- tional Bank of Aurora, of which he became Cashier-a position which he held until the death of Mr. Hawkins, when he succeeded to the Presidency, continuing in the latter position up to the time of his death, Oct. 4, 1899. Mr. Bradley's career as a banker in Aurora covered a period of more than forty years, in which he was noted alike for his financial ability and his personal integrity. The only surviving member of his family in Aurora is Mrs. Brad- ley, born Elizabeth Abell, in Norwich, Conn. Her marriage with Mr. Bradley occurred in 1876, she being at that time the widow of Edward D. Griffin, to whom she was married in Ohio, removing with him to Illinois in 1858. Mr. Griffin was one of the pioneer insurance men of Illinois, and died in 1875. Mrs. Bradley has resided in Aurora continuously since 1858.

MYRON BRACKETT, retired farmer, Sugar Grove, Ill., born at Williston, Vt., Oct. 17, 1833; came west in 1844, locating with his parents in Aurora; removed to Big Rock Township the following year and settled on a farm, where the father and mother spent the remainder of their days. Myron Brackett followed agricul- tural pursuits until 1901, when he removed to Sugar Grove, which has since been his home. He married, in 1858, Miss Susan Hadley, and they reared a family of twelve children, all of whom were living in 1903.

LORENZO D. BRADY (deceased), pioneer banker, Aurora, Ill., born at New Castle, West- chester County, N. Y., Jan. 19, 1810, son of John B. and Lydia (Kipp) Brady; was reared and educated principally in New York City, where he became proprietor of a grocery store when nineteen years of age, and later engaged in the wholesale paint and oil trade in that city; came to Kane County, Ill., in 1837, and estab- lished his home on a 700-acre tract of land in

Big Rock Township. From 1840 to 1842 he was associated with George E. Peck in the conduct of a general store at Little Rock, Ill., and after Mr. Peck's death, in the latter year, he continued to conduct the business until 1848, when he removed to Aurora, where he engaged in merchandising as a partner of E. R. Allen, but after a few years conducted this enterprise alone until 1871. Mr. Brady was a Representa- tive in the State Legislature from Kendall County, and secured the charter for the Aurora Branch Railroad (parent of the present Bur- lington System), which was built from Aurora to Turner Junction. He was the organizer of the Aurora Fire Insurance Company and served as President of the same during its existence; was also one of the founders of the pioneer banking house of Hawkins, Brady & Allen, and of its successor, the Old First National Bank, and was a bank director for many years. He was President of the association that erected the Soldiers' Memorial Building, and his in- terest in building up the Aurora public school system has been fittingly commemorated by the city in naming one of its principal schools ("The Brady School") in his honor. He was President of the Aurora Board of Trustees while the place was still a village, and later served as Alderman and Mayor. A member of the Republican party from its organization, he acted as Chairman of the first Republican Con- gressional Convention held in Illinois, which met at Aurora in 1854. In 1845 he was married to Miss Caroline Kennon, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who died in Aurora in 1883. Mr. Brady died Feb. 27, 1892. The surviving members of this pioneer family in Aurora are: Mrs. Sue ( Brady ) Fishburn, Mrs. Julia ( Brady ) Beau- pre, Mrs. Lydia ( Brady) Smith, Mrs. Marion ( Brady) Haring and John L. Brady. The lat- ter, the only surviving son, is a resident of San Francisco, Cal.

BENJAMIN BRANFORD, retired, Batavia, born in Yarmouth, England, July 5. 1849, son of Richard Branford, came with his parents to the United States in 1853. They settled at Batavia, and there the son was reared and educated. The father was a tarmer, and Ben- jamin Branford became the owner of the farm on which his father settled, and was engaged in its cultivation until 1902, when he removed to a home in Batavia, and has since devoted his attention to the care of his real-estate in-

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

terests. He has laid out an addition to the city of Batavia which presents promising fea- tures. He was the first man to start the dairy business in Batavia, and for twenty-eight years supplied its people with milk, in all that time

BENJAMIN BRANFORD.

missing only seven days. He belongs to the 1. O. O. F. In 1896 he married Miss Mary, daughter of James McMasters, who was post- master of Batavia for many years. She died in 1899.

WILLIAM C. BRIDGE, M. D., physician and surgeon, Elgin, Ill., born in Cook County, Ill .. Jan. 18, 1856; was educated in public schools and in Elgin Academy; read medicine at Elgin and Dundee; graduated from the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College in 1886; for a year and a half was an interne in the Cook County Hospital, and subsequently took a course at the New York Post-Graduate College. In the fall of 1887 he began his private practice in Elgin, and has there followed his profession up to the present time (1903). For two years he was Lecturer on Surgical Pathology at the Chicago Homeopathic College. Dr. Bridge was married in January, 1888, to Miss Clara Barrows, daughter of Martin T. Barrows, of Dundee, Ill.

CHARLES R. BRIGGS, Assistant Postmaster, Batavia, Ill., was born in Batavia, Sept. 6, 1860, son of J. H. and Maria (Hopkins) Briggs, re- ceived his aducation in the home schools, and as a boy he learned the iron-molder's trade. In 1889 he was appointed Assistant Postmaster of Batavia, and served four years under that ap- pointment. In 1897 he was again appointed to the same position, which he is now filling. He is a member of the Masonic Order and is Master of Batavia Lodge, No. 404.

LEONARD R. BRIGHAM, M. D. (deceased ), born in Lake County, Ohio, was educated in Farmington Institute, Ohio, and began practice at Thompson, Ohio, in 1843. From 1847 to 1850 he practiced his profession at Painesville. Ohio, and in 1860 removed to Aurora, Ill., where he pursued his profession until his death, becoming widely known by his lectures on Anatomy, Physiology. Hygiene and kindred topics.

ALBERT M. BROWN ( deceased ), merchant, Aurora, born in Van Etten, Chemung County, N. Y., Sept. 22, 1837, son of Hiram and Polly (Meeker) Brown, both of New England lin- eage: received a public school education and a training for the mercantile trade in a general store at Freemansburg, N. Y .; in 1856 came west and established his home in Aurora, where he was connected with the hardware house of Titsworth & Son. Enlisting in the Union Army in April, 1861, he was mustered into Company C, Seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, for three months. Then, returning to Aurora, he was employed as clerk for a few months by his former employer, Mr. Titsworth. In 1862 he went into the creamery business, still later was again a clerk, but in 1874 engaged in farming, which he followed several years. In 1879 he became a partner in the shoe-store of J. H. Thompson, of Aurora, and in 1883 became sole owner of the establishment. He soon had a large boot and shoe trade, which he retained until his retirement. In a small way he had an interest in the grocery trade. For many years he was Secretary and Treasurer of the Edison Incandescent Electric Light Company of Aurora, and was associated with other en- terprises of a semi-public character. He was a member of the Board of Aldermen and belonged to the G. A. R., the I. O. O. F. and other frater- nal organizations. Mr. Brown died May 28,

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

1900. The surviving members of his family are his widow ( Mrs. Brown) and children- Fay W., Anna G. and Ray A. Mrs. Brown was born at Naperville, Ill., daughter of Urbin and Octavia (Crampton) Stanley, who were among the earliest settlers of DuPage County.

CORNELL H. BROWN, postmaster, Batavia, 111., born in Batavia May 24, 1853, son of Rufus J. and Aurelia (McDaniels) Brown, pioneer settlers of Kane County; was educated in the local schools, and became a clerk in the Batavia postoffice when he was about fourteen years of age, a position which he held until about 1878. He was later in the Railway Mail Service, but retired in 1882 to accept a position with the Van Nortwick Paper Company, remaining with that concern until 1896. As trustee of the Van Nortwick estate he spent five years in settling its affairs. For a time he was Cashier of the Citizens' Bank of Batavia, and was one of the reorganizers of the bank prior to its consoli- dation with the First National Bank of Batavia. For two terms he served as Mayor of Batavia, beginning in 1897. In 1900 President Mc- Kinley appointed him Postmaster at Batavia, and he is still (1903) holding that position. Mr. Brown is a member of the I. O. O. F., the K. P., and the M. W. of A. In 1879 he married Miss Florence S. Starkey, of Batavia.

FREDERICK BROWN, Justice of the Peace, Aurora, Ill., born at Hudson, Ohio, Jan. 10, 1828; came to Illinois in 1855, locating in Aurora in 1873; practiced law for a time, and was elected Justice of the Peace in 1881, having held that office continuously since. Mr. Brown was married in 1855 to Jane M. Groat, who died in 1876. Two of their children are still living, viz., Mrs. Jennie W. Otis and Mrs. Hattie L. Lougee, both of Minneapolis, Minlì.

JOHN BROWN, lawyer, Elgin, Ill., born in Genoa, DeKalb County, Ill., Jan. 1, 1849; edu- cated in the public schools of Sycamore, Ill., and at Hillsdale . College ( Hillsdale, Mich. ) ; graduated from the Union College of Law, Chicago, in 1877; practiced his profession in DeKalb County until 1893, when he became a member of the Elgin bar and has since practiced in that city. He was married in 1871 to Miss Juliet Strong, who died in 1898, leaving the following named children: Sarah Juliet, John Lincoln and Agnes.

JULIUS G. BROWN, manufacturer, Batavia. Ill., born at Wysox, Bradford County, Pa., April 26, 1827; grew to manhood in the Keystone State, where he also received his educational training; came to Illinois in 1857, locating first at DeKalb, where he was engaged in the Iumber trade and interested in the manufacture of sash, blinds and doors; removed to Batavia in 1860, and continued the same line of manufac- turing until 1862, when he suspended business operations and enlisted in the Union Army. He enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served until 1865, being mustered out at Vicks- burg, Miss. Returning from the war, he was interested in the manufacture of sash, blinds and doors at North Aurora until 1901, when he retired from active business. He married, in 1850, Mary I. Griswold, who died in 1900, and their only living child is Miss Amelia F. Brown, who has long been connected with the public schools of Batavia.

CHARLES O. BRYANT (deceased), under- taker, Elburn, 111., born in Wayne County, N. Y., Dec, 7, 1812, and coming to Illinois at an early day; for five years conducted business as a carpenter and builder; also bought a farm near Elburn, on which he was engaged for ten years or more. He then moved to Elburn, where he began wagon-making, and opened the pioneer undertaking establishment in that re. gion, which he conducted until his death. Oct. 24, 1874. He was married Aug. 23, 1845, to Miss Esther E., daughter of Harry C. and Hannah ( Richards) Hotchkiss. He was an active member of the Methodist Church and helped build the first church in Elgin.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 147

Author: Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 950

Author:
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 950