Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 155

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

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EUGENE H. GRIGGS, farmer, Plato, Kane County, born Jan. 4, 1841, in Plato, where he now resides; attended the public schools and Elgin Academy, and on Aug. 17, 1861, enlisted in Company B, Thirty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He participated in some of the most important events of the war, including Sher- man's March to the Sea, and was honorably discharged July 15, 1865. From the army he returned to the farm on which he is now living, and which he received from his father, who se- cured it direct from the Government. It is located four miles southwest of Plato Center. For ten years he has been a School Trustee, and for fifteen years a School Director. He is

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

a member of the G. A. R. Mr. Griggs was mar- ried, Dec. 5, 1877, to Miss Hattie Patterson, and they are the parents of three children: Leslie E., John G., and Jessie B.

JOHN GRIGGS, Sr. (deceased), pioneer, was born Nov 6, 1782, in Sheffield, Mass. He mar- ried Ruth Dibble in 1800, at Mt. Washington, Mass., and three years later removed to Wind- ham, Green County, N. Y., where they lived some years. In 1812 their home was at Black Rock, N. Y., where he saw service in the War of 1812. He owned a vessel plying on the Niagara River and Lake Erie, and was engaged in the transportation of Government supplies. In

1814 he went to Ohio and helped found the town of Sheffield in Ashtabula County. In 1834 he removed to Illinois, and settled in what is now Plato Township, Kane County, where he built an old-time tavern on the Galena stage line, which he kept many years in connection with his farming operation. He was one of the first Justices of the Peace in Plato Township, and held that office many years. He died in 1868.

ALEXANDER GRIMES (deceased), pioneer settler, Batavia, Ill., was born in Linden, N. Y., in 1826, and, when a boy abont ten years of age, came to McHenry County, Ill. Here he passed several years with the usual experiences of frontier life, when he returned to New York. and completed his education at Madison Uni- versity, graduating in 1852. The same year he married Miss Malvina Loveland, who had just graduated from Hamilton Female College, and the young couple at once came west to make their home in Batavia, Ill. Mr. Grimes was interested in real-estate operations, farming, contracting and many other business enter- prises, during his long and active business career. In 1864 he was commissioned Captain of Company B, One Hundred and Forty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry (a 100-day regi- ment), and served out the period of his enlist- ment. Mr. Grimes was a life-long Democrat and took an active part in politics, and was the local leader of his party for many years. HE died at Batavia in 1883. His wife died Feb. 3, 1904.

WILLIS L. GRIMES, merchant and ex-Post- master, Batavia, Ill., was born in Batavia, Aug. 20, 1854, and is a son of Alexander and Mal-

vina (Loveland) Grimes. He completed his education in the Batavia High School, and was trained to mercantile lite. He entered the railway service in his early manhood, and was appointed Postmaster at Batavia by President Cleveland. He served a little over four years under this appointment, after which he be- came Cashier of the Van, Nortwick Bank at Batavia. In 1893 he was again appointed Post- master and served a little over four and a half years, acting at the same time as cashier of the bank. In 1898 he engaged in the hard. ware business, in which he has built up a very profitable trade, and one which promises much growth in the immediate future. In municipal affairs and in the councils of the Democratic party he is prominent. He is a Mason, a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood- men of America. He was married June 1, 1881, to Miss Anne E. Shaw, daughter of Whitely Shaw of Batavia, and of this union there have been born three daughters, Rebecca M., wife of Wm. Krause: Effie Madge, and Florence L. It is worthy of note in this connection that five generations of Mrs. Grimes' family are now living in Batavia.

WILLIAM GROTE, Real Estate and Loans, Elgin, Ill., born at Winzlar, Hanover, Germany, Nov. 22, 1849; received his education in the German schools and the public schools of Cook and DuPage Counties, whither he removed in 1866. In 1871 he entered mercantile life, but turned his attention in 1882 to real estate. He is a Republican and has served four years as Assistant Supervisor and two years as Super- visor. For six years he was on the Board of Education, was elected Mayor of Elgin in 1891, and re-elected in 1893. Mr. Grote is President of the Elgin Packing Company, President of the Kane County Title & Trust Company, Secretary of the Elgin Lumber Company, Presi- dent of the Elgin Brick & Tile Company, a Director of the Home National Bank and the Home Savings Bank, Vice-President of the El- gin Academy and of North Western College. Naperville; is also Chairman of the Industrial Association of Elgin and Chairman of the Re- publican Central Committee of Kane County. He was a promoter and a stockholder of the Elgin, Carpentersville & Aurora Railway Com- pany, of which he was President from 1890 to 1901.

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

JACOB GUSLER, farmer, Kaneville, Ill., born in York County, Penn., Sept. 2, 1842. In his boyhood he attended the public schools and in 1853 came with his parents to Kane County, Ill., where, having finished his education in the schools of that localitly, he began his life career as a farmer, though for twenty years he was engaged largely il. business as a car- penter, and did much contract work. He bought a farm three miles northwest of Kaneville, on which he now resides. For five years he has been Assessor of the Township. In Masonic circles Mr. Gusler stands high. He was mar- ried Dec. 25, 1872, to Miss Sa.ah Kuter, who bore him three sons. October 8, 1891, Mr. Gus- ler was married to Miss Susan M, Laschinger, as his second wife, and they are the parents of two sons.

GEORGE G. GUY, mechanical engineer and inventor, Batavia, Kane County, Ill., born at Mt. Morris, Ogle County, Ill., May 7, 1858, son of Robert and Jane ( Riggs) Guy, natives of the Isle of Wight; educated in the public schools of Ashton, Ill .; in 1875 accepted a posi- tion in the wood-working department of the United States Wind-Engine & Pump Company of Batavia, and through various promotions was advanced to the position of foreman of this department in 1887. During the years of his connection with this enterprise, he spent much of his time superintending the construction of village and railway water-works, covering ter- ritory extending from the Missouri River east- ward to the Atlantic coast. In 1897 Mr. Guy was made mechanical superintendent of the en- tire plant of the United States Wind-Engine & Pump Company, and has since filled that posi- tion. He is an inventor and patentee of various mechanical devices used on the lines with which he has been connected, and has intro- duced many improvements into the great indus- trial plant under his mechanical supervision. He is President of the Batavia Mutual Aid Association ; has served four years as a member of the Batavia Board of Aldermen, and three years as a member of the West Side School Board. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar, and a member of the order of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Elks. In 1880 he mar- ried Miss Jessie M. Brown, of Batavia.

DAVID C. HAEGER, managing executor of the estate of D. H. Haeger. Dundee, was born

in Dundee, Ill., June 5, 1879, and was educated in the public schools and Purdue University. Owing to ill-health of his father he took charge of the business Aug. 1, 1899, and since the death of that very notable man, has managed the extensive interests of the estate. Mr. Haeger is a member of the Century and Country Clubs of Elgin, and of the Congregational church, of Dundee.

DAVID H. HAEGER.

DAVID H. HAEGER (deceased ), Dundee, Ill., manufacturer, born in Mecklenburg, Ger- many, Aug. 7, 1839, died June 9, 1900. Mr Haeger came in company with his parents to the United States in 1854, and in 1859 estab- lished himself in McHenry County, where he sold farm machinery, bought grain and erected an elevator at Barrington. Removing to Dun- dee in 1871, he engaged in brick-making and opened a yard at Elgin in 1879. In 1885 he opened a second yard at Gilbert's. He owned 1,700 acres of land, and was very extensively engaged in farming and dairying. In politics he was a Republican, and in religion was prin- cipally identified with the Congregationa! church. In March, 1864, he married Miss Caro- line Reese, and one child born of this union is now living, Mrs. Frederick Estergreen. In 1870 he was again married, Miss Mary Welt- zien, who is still living, becoming his second

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

wife. To them was born a family of children, of whom Thusnelda, Edna, David C., Mary, Edmund H., and Elsa are still living.

D. H. HAEGER ESTATE, manufacturers of brick and tile, at Dundee and Gilbert's, custom millers at Dundee and dealers in coal, brick, tile and building material at Dundee and Elgin; established at Dundee in 1871. The present plant consists of the brick and tile factory at Gilbert's, Ill., where thirty men are employed, with an output in 1901 of two million brick and two million feet drain-tile; the factory at Dundee, where thirty-five men are employed. with an output in 1901 of three and a half million brick; and the mill, elevator and re- tail yards at Elgin-representing in all an in- vestment of $75,000, with eighty men on the pay-rolls.

ALBERT L. HALL, editor and publisher, Elgin, Ill., born on a farm in St. Charles, Kane County, Dec. 28, 1870, son of Gustavus and Mary ( Alexander) Hall, spent his early youth under the parental roof-tree, and secured his educa- tion in the Elgin city schools. In 1893 Mr. Hall purchased the "Leland Express," which he published for two years, when it was con- solidated with the "Earlville Gazette," the pub- lication of the combined papers being continued at Earlville, as the "La Salle County Gazette- Express." Four years later having sold the "Gazette-Express," Mr. Hall bought the "St. Charles Chronicle," which he edited and pub- lished until 1903. During that year he organ- ized the "Courier Publishing Company," which purchased the "Elgin Daily

and Weekly Courier," Mr. Hall becoming business manager and editor of both publications, a position which he still retains. In 1897 he married Miss Frances Rice, of Mediapolis, Iowa.

CHARLES F. HALL, merchant, Dundee, born in Dundee, Ill., Feb. 27, 1846, son of George E. and Helen (Carpenter) Hall, secured his education in the Dundee public school, Clark's Seminary, Aurora, and Oberlin College. In May, 1864, he enlisted in the One Hundred Fiftieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until the fall of that year, when he was mus- tered out. In 1868 he established himself as a merchant in Dundee, and has been continu- ously in trade to the present time (1903). He is a member of the Congregational church, and

of the Order of Maccabees, the Modern Wood- men, the Knights of the Globe and the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1870 he married Miss Julia Fairchild, of Berea, Madison County, Ky.

FRANK H. HALL, noted educator and author, Aurora, 111., was born in Mechanic Falls, Me., Feb. 9, 1841, and educated in the home schools and in Bates College, Maine. He enlisted in the Twenty-third Regiment Maine Volunteer In- fantry in the summer of 1862, and accompany- ing his regiment to the front in Virginia, rendered a soldier's duty until mustered out July 15, 1863. For a year he was engaged in college work at Bates, and then became Prin- cipal of Towle Academy, where he remained until 1866, when for two years he was Principal at Earlville, Ill. From 1868 until 1875 he was Principal of the West Side Schools in Aurora, and then took a similar position at Sugar Grove, which he held until 1887, when he was called to Petersburg in the same capacity, but the year following he resumed his old position in Aurora on the West Side. From 1890 to 1893 he was Superintendent of the School for the Blind at Jacksonville, and again from 1897 to July 1902. From 1893 to 1897 he was Superin- tendent of Schools in Waukegan, Ill. Since his last retirement from the Jacksonville institu- tion he has devoted his time to Farmers' as well as Teachers' Institutes. His series of arith- metics has been extensively introduced into the schools of more than half the States of the Union, and his mechanical ingenuity is shown in his invention of the Braile-writer, and the stereotype-maker, which are in use in many schools for the blind, not only in this country but in Europe and Australia as well. The stereotype-maker was perfected by him in asso- ciation with Harrison and Seifried.

JERRY HALL, retired merchant, Elburn, 111., born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 23, 1821: edu- cated in Chicago, and attended the first public school of that city; came to Elburn, Ill., and was employed as a clerk in several mercantile establishments until 1888, when he retired from active business life; married on March 17, 1850, Harriet M. Hotchkiss, who died Jan. 5, 1891. Mr. Hall is at the present time (1903) the oldest male settler living in Blackberry Town- ship, Kane County,

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

JOHN H. HALL, farmer, Campton Township. Kane County, Ill., born in Virgil Township. Kane County, Jan. 12, 1868; educated in the district schools of Campton and Elburn; com- menced farming on his own account in 1891, and in 1901 purchased his present farm, where he conducts an extensive dairy; married Rosie Crosby, daughter of James and Susan (Shaw) Crosby.

LYSANDER B. HAMLIN.

LYSANDER B. HAMLIN, Elgin, was born in Morgan County, Ohio, Jan. 26, 1839, son of Dr. W. S. and Eliza ( Welch ) Hamlin, and brought up in his native State, where he se- cured his education in the local schools. As a boy he was trained to farming, but in his earlier manhood joined his older brother, John A. Hamlin, who had engaged in the manufac- ture and sale of various proprietary medicines at Cincinnati. In 1861 they removed to Chi- cago, where they became famous for their Wizard Oil, the sale of which was extended throughout the United States and Canada. The business grew to large proportions, and is still owned and conducted by the original proprie- tors, though the first partnership has given way to an incorporation, of which L. B. Hamlin is now Vice-President. His home was in Chicago until 1886, when he removed to Elgin, where he has since resided. In later years Mr. and

Mrs. Hamlin have spent their winters in Flor- ida, where he has become interested in orange and pine-apple growing. In 1868 he was mar- ried to Miss Ella L., daughter of Morris C. Town, the widely known banker of Elgin, Ill. The members of Mr. Hamlin's family are: Maud L. ( Mrs. M. M. Cloudman), Morris Clinton, Lawrence B., and Harold S .- all of Elgin, Ill.

JOHN S. HALL (deceased ), pioneer, Aurora, Ill., was born in Sutton, Mass., Aug. 4, 1818, son of John and Persis (Cummins) Hall, and was reared to manhood in that State, where he re- ceived a public school education, and training as a practical millwright. Later in life he engaged in building in Massachusetts. In 1855 he came to Illinois, spending his first winter in the State in Batavia. In 1856 he located in Aurora, and became connected with the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy car shops, remaining in the employ of the company until he retired from active life more than thirty years later. While there he built the first mail-car sent out of Aurora. His death occurred in Aurora, March 7, 1901. In 1841 he married Miss Abbie B.

Hastings, daughter of Nahum Hastings, of Ber- lin, Mass. She survives her husband, still liv- ing in Aurora. Their living children are: Mrs. Abbie R. Brundage, of Aurora; Mrs. Mary Wheadon, of Indiana; Marcus M., of Cedar Rapids, lowa; and Mrs. Susie M. Barth, of Chicago. The eldest son, George S., was killed at the battle of Stone River.

FRANCIS G. HANCHETT, lawyer, Aurora, Ill., born Kaneville, Kane County, Oct. 2, 1865, was educated in the public schools, graduated from the old University of Chicago in 1882 and from the law department of the University of Iowa in 1883, and began the practice of law in Aurora in 1884 as junior partner of the firm of Winslow & Hanchett, which became Hopkins, Hanchett & Dolph, A. J. Hopkins, the head of the firm being the present United States Sena- tor from Illinois. When this firm dissolved, Mr. Hanchett began business alone, which he has since continued. For eight years he was Chairman of the Republican County Committee, and for several years served as a member of the West Aurora Board of Education. In 1883 he was married to Miss Lillian L. Scott, daugh- ter of John H. Scott, a Kaneville farmer. David Hanchett, father of Francis G., was an early settler in Kaneville, and his grandfather on

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

the maternal side, Alfred Churchill, who was one of the early settlers of Kane County, was a member of the Illinois Constitutional Con- vention of 1847.

SAMUEL H. HANECY, brick manufacturer, Carpentersville, Kane County, born in Bangor, Me., Aug. 1, 1822, son of James P. Hanecy, a sea-captain and a merchant. In 1833 the father took the son to New Orleans with the intention of rearing him to a sea-faring life, but while there the father was stricken with yellow fever and black vomit, and although he recovered, was left a cripple for life. On the homeward voyage his father's ship was caught in a storm, and was fourteen days making the trip to Charleston, S. C., where he was compelled to stop for extensive repairs. Three months later the son was sent to Boston and from there to Bangor. In 1836 Captain Hanecy came with his family to Illinois, settling in Rock Island County, where Samuel H. completed his school- ing, and learned the brickmaking trade, in which he established himself in Chicago in 1848, and in which he was very successfully engaged until 1860. Afterward he operated with partners and for the city of Chicago at the Bridewell, and for twelve years was engaged in merchandising in Wisconsin. In 1880 he established his home in Chicago, but continued to do business in Chicago for several years thereafter. Retiring from active business, he has since lived in Carpentersville, where he is now serving his fourth term as Justice of the Peace. He has aiso acted as local representa- tive of the Ætna Fire Insurance Co. In 1849 Mr. Hanecy married Miss Martha A. Piney, of Bristol, and has reared a family of seven sons and one daughter. His oldest son, Edward, who was connected for twenty seven years with the Bridewell Prison of Chicago, is now Deputy Warden of the Wisconsin State Prison at Wau- puni. His second son, Jerome, is in business at Pullman, Ill .; Frank, the third son, is super- intendent of a factory in Oshkosh, Wis .; Wil- liam, the fourth son, is superintendent and chief engineer of the United States Appraisers' building in Chicago; Arthur, the fifth son ,is an expert iron moulder at Harvard, Ill .; Joseph, the sixtli son, is engineer at the silver plate factory at Elgin; and Charles, the youngest son, is superintendent of the Borden Condensed Milk Factory, at Auburn, Wash. The daughter married L. J. Wright, who is connected with

the Borden Condensed Milk Factory at Carpen- tersville.

EZRA HANSON (deceased), pioneer farmer, Elgin, 111., was born April 22, 1806, in Lebanon, Me., then an integral part of Massachusetts, and was a son of John B. and Dorcas (Libby ) Hanson. In his early life in the East he operated a tanning and currier business, but when he came west in 1837, located on a farm in Ohio Grove, DeKalb County, where he acquired a large tract of land. In 1844 he sold his land and removed to a farm in Burlington Township. This farm he increased by subse- quent purchases until, at one time, he owned over 1,400 acres of land in one body. For years he devoted his attention to raising grain, and was one of the few who never engaged in dairy-farming. In 1856 he left the farm and removed to Elgin, but continued his agricul- tural labors as long as he lived. Mr. Hanson was married Sept. 5, 1833, to Miss Katharine Kimball Upton, of Danvers, Mass., who died in Elgin, March 28, 1876, and there Mr. Han- son also died, June 15, 1890. Only two of their children reached maturity, Of these Joseph Haven Hanson, who was born Oct. 16. 1835, became a lawyer and died Aug. 14, 1892, and Mary Upton Hanson, born Jan 10, 1839, is still living in Elgin.

ABNER HARD (deceased), physician and surgeon, Aurora, Ill., was born at Geneva, N. Y., Dec. 3, 1821; spent his early boyhood in his native State, coming from there to Unadilla, Mich., in 1832; educated at a seminary at Ypsi- lanti, Mich., and began the study of medicine in that State; graduated from Keokuk Medi- cal College, Keokuk, lowa, and later from Rush Medical College, Chicago. He began the prac- tice of medicine in Aurora about 1848, and soon became one of the leading members of his profession. He died in Aurora in 1885. He was married in 1844 to Miss Laura E. Vreeland. whose home was then at Flat Rock, Mich., but whose birthplace was Geneva, N. Y. Mrs. Hard comes of an old Pennsylvania family which was almost exterminated at the Wyoming Mas- sacre, which occurred during the Revolutionary War. She survives her husband and still lives in Aurora. The living children of Dr. and Mrs. Hard are: Mrs. W. H. Van Arsdale, Mrs. W. T. Murphy and Mrs. Charles C. Shepard. Mrs. Florence Todisneau, another daughter, died leav-

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

ing two sons who were adopted by Dr. and Mrs. Hard and are his living descendants bearing the name. They are Malcolm Hard, of Cleve- land, Ohio, and A. Perry Hard, of Chicago, Ill.

HIRAM T. HARDY, physician and surgeon, Kaneville, Ill., was born in North Groton, Graf- ton County, N. H., March 12, 1838, and early acquired his education in the schools of his

HIRAM T. HARDY.

native place and in the academies of Franklin, N. H., and Thetford, Vt. He took a course of medical lectures and instruction in Dartmouth College and began the practice of medicine at Strafford, Vt., in 1866. In 1871 he removed from that point to Illinois, and settled at Kane- ville in 1873, where he has since remained. He is an adept in Masonic lore, belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, and is a member of the Congregational church. Mr. Hardy was married March 12, 1868, to Miss Sophia E. Buzzell, a native of Vermont. They have had three children: one son and two daughters, one of the latter being deceased. Dr. Hardy is a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted in 1862 in the Seventh Squadron of Rhode Island, for three months' service, re-enlisting in the Third Vermont Battery, and serving until the close of the war. He participated in

some of the fiercest engagements of the Eastern Army and escaped unhurt.

HENRY HARMAN, retired farmer, Batavia, Ill., was born in Westmoreland County, Penn., Jan. 29, 1834, and came to Illinois when he was thirteen years old, making his home for a time near Quincy, and then removing to Kane County, where he has since lived. In 1861 he enlisted in the Fifty-second Illinois Volunteer Intantry and served during the Civil War. He was mustered out in August, 1865, as Second Sergeant, after three years and eight months of hard and honorable service. His regiment did service in the Western Army, and he took part in numerous battles, including those of Shiloh, Corinth, Kenesaw Mountain, and all the engagements of the Atlanta campaign. He was severely wounded at Columbia, S. C., being in the hospital, however, only once during his entire service. He returned to Kane County after the war, and lived on a farm near Batavia until 1892, when he removed to the city. Mr. Harman was married in 1864 to Miss Mary Perry, of Batavia.

J. F. HARRAL, coal merchant, Aurora, 1}]., born in Leeds, England, Aug. 3, 1840; came to America with his parents in November, 1852; enlisted in Company E, Thirty-sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry in August, 1861, re- maining in the service three years; returned to Aurora in June, 1869, entering the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company; engaged in the coal business in Aurora in 1875, which he has since conducted successfully. Mr. Harral was married June 30, 1875, to Clara W. Hitchcock, of Aurora.

BLEXTON HARRIS, physician, Aurora, Ill., born near Newark, Licking County, Ohio, Sept. 11, 1824, son of William and Rebecca (Comas) Harris; in 1830 came to Illinois with his par- ents, whose home was made in LaSalle County, later removing to Kendall' County, where they bought land near Yorkville, and where Dr. Har- ris grew to manhood with distinct memories of the Blackhawk War. He was a student in the pioneer schools and in Prof. Stuart's school in Chicago, then began reading medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. Buck, of Chicago, graduated from Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1859, when he began practice at Yorkville, Kendall County. After the outbreak of the

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 155

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