Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 158

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

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WILLIAM J. HOLLISTER, Batavia, Ill., re- tired farmer and honored veteran of the Civil War, was born in Berkshire County, Mass., Aug. 6, 1840, son of Gordon J. and Maria ( Fuller) Hollister; came with his parents to Kane County, ill., in 1846, and was educated in the common schools and in the academy at Ba- tavia. In 1862 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, for service during the Civil War. This regi- ment was under the command of Gen. John A. Logan, and Mr. Hollister served in it until the close of the war, being mustered out at Chicago in September, 1865. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg and after the fall of that rebel stronghold, his regiment was part of the garrison there for nearly six months. After

this Mr. Hollister was on detached duty for some time, and in 1865 took part in the battles at Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, which re- sulted in the fall of Mobile in the last days of the war. During the last six months of his service he was Orderly Sergeant for Gen. Eugene A. Carr. After the war he returned to Kane County, and was engaged in farming and stock-raising in Geneva Township until 1890, when he removed to Batavia and retired from active business. He has been one of the Di- rectors of the Batavia Public Library, and has held various other local positions. He is a member of the G. A. R., and has been Com- mander of Batavia Post. In 1866 he married Miss Eva R. Carpenter, daughter of Abel E. Carpenter, of Warrenville, Ill.

ROBERT C. HOLLISTER. merchant, Ba- tavia, Ill., born in Batavia Oct. 1, 1876, son of William J. and Eva ( Carpenter) Hollister, and educated in the Batavia public schools and in Allen's business college, Aurora. In 1898 he en-

ROBERT C. HOLLISTER.

gaged in the agricultural implement and feed trade, which he has continued to the present timc. In 1902 he was elected a member of the Board of Aldermen and is the nominee for re- election to the same office, being the youngest member on the Board. He belongs to the Ma-

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

sonic fraternity, the Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a Republican.

GUERDON J. HOLLISTER (deceased), pioneer farmer, Batavia, was born in Lenox, Mass., in 1802, where he was reared and edu- cated in the local schools, and in early life became a wool manufacturer at Lynn. He came to Kane County in 1846, and settling on a farm in Geneva Township, there followed farming un- til his death in 1886. He married Miss Maria Fuller, who was born and reared in Burlington, Vt. Their descendants now living in Kane County are W. J. Hollister and Mrs. N. S. Young, both of Batavia.

FRANK J. HOOKER.

FRANK J. HOOKER, Mayor, Batavia, Ill., born in South Edmeston, Otsego County, N. Y., Sept. 14, 1858, son of Charles D. and Juline (Briggs) Hooker; was reared in his native State, and received a public school education, to which was added a course at New Berlin Academy, from which he graduated in 1875. For five years thereafter he engaged in teaching dur- ing the winter months, and in butter and cheese making during the rest of the year. In 1882 he came to Batavia, where he soon became en- gaged in the building trade on an extensive

scale, in his time going as far as Atlanta, Ga .. to do business. For two terms he was a mem- ber of the Batavia Board of Aldermen; for six months was Commissioner ot Highways, and is now serving his second term on the Board of Supervisors. In the spring of 1903 he was elected Mayor of Batavia. He is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, and a Knight of Pythias. He was married April 2, 1899, to Miss Ella F. Parre, of Batavia.

SIMEON N. HOOVER, attorney, Aurora, Ill., born in Clermont County, Ohio, Dec. 27, 1867; came to Illinois in 1869 with his parents, who established their home at Bloomington; edu- cated at the Illinois Wesleyan University, grad- uating from that institution in 1887; read law at Bloomington, and in 1889 went to Colorado, where he was admitted to the bar; established his home in Aurora in 1893, where he has since practiced his profession; is identified with the manufacturing interests of Aurora as Secre- tary of the McKay-Hoover Manufacturing Co .; married in 1901 to Miss Clara Luck, of Aurora.

ALBERT J. HOPKINS, United States Sen- ator, born in De Kalb County, Ill., Aug. 15, 1846, and after graduating from Hillsdale Col- lege, Michigan, in 1870, studied law and began practice at Aurora. He rapidly attained promi- nence at the bar, and, in 1872, was elected State's Attorney for Kane County, serving in that capacity for four years. An ardent Re- publican, he was soon high in the party's coun- cils, serving as Chairman of the State Central Committee from 1878 to 1880, and as a Presi- dential Elector on the Blaine and Logan ticket in 1884. The same year he was elected to the Forty-ninth Congress from the Fifth District (now the Eighth), and was continuously re. elected until 1902, receiving a clear majority in 1898 of more than 18,000 votes over two competitors. In 1898 he was Chairman of the Select House Committee on Census, and a mem- ber of the Committees on Ways and Means and Merchant Marine and Fisheries. In 1896, and again in 1900, he was strongly supported for the Republican nomination for Governor. In 1902 he was placed in nomination for United States Senator by the Republican State Con- vention of Illinois, and at the ensuing session of the General Assembly he was elected Sen ator for the term beginning March 4, 1903.

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

JAMES B. HORNE, manufacturer, St. Charles, Ill .; born in Wolverhampton, England, Feb. 10, 1863; came to America in 1871; came to Illinois in 1887, and from 1889 to 1891 was employed in the Elgin Watch factory; located at St. Charles in 1892, when he assisted in or- ganizing the Crown Electrical Company, of which he became President; married in 1884 to Viola Rae Steil, of New Britain, Conn.

CHARLES F. HOWARD (deceased), farmer and merchant, Dundee, Ill .; born at Donald- sonville, La., July 2, 1839; came north in youth to attend the Chicago University, and when the war broke out enlisted in a cavalry regi- ment in connection with the Fifty-second Illi- nois, with which he served three years, and in 1865 enlisted in Company C, Ninth Illinois Cav- alry. After the war he engaged in farming, and in 1874 became a partner with M. T. Barrows in the hardware business. He was first elected Justice of the Peace in the '80s, and served in that capacity until his death, Feb. 17, 1902. He was married in 1864 to Miss Mary Oatman.

LEONARD HOWARD.

LEONARD HOWARD (deceased ), mason and bricklayer, St. Charles, Ill., was born Aug. 13. 1805, at Sharon, Windsor County, Vt., son of Aaron and Pamelia ( Brown) Howard, and was

taken by his parents to New York State in the fall of 1812. They were living at Hamburg, Erie County, in that State, when the father died in 1818. There were eight children in the fam- ily, and the widowed mother was compelled to bind out her children. Leonard fell into the hands of one Theodore Coburn, who treated him very harshly, and made his seven years of ap- prenticeship a period of cruelty. Leonard Howard was married Jan. 27, 1828, to Miss Car- oline Esther, daughter of Isaac and Roxy ( Mor- ton) Smith. He began business for himself as a contractor and builder in Buffalo, and con- structed the first cut-stone buildings of that city in 1828. In 1836 he went to Chicago, where he put up several notable buildings, the old Sher- man Hotel being among them, and the follow- ing year removed to St. Charles, where he ar- rived March 9, 1837, after a three days' journey. Here he was employed as depot agent for the St. Charles branch of the Galena Railroad from December, 1849, for seven years, and also did a large amount of building, having charge of the construction of some of the largest structures of the time, the old Howard House being among them. He was proprietor of the Howard House for several years. In 1839 he was elected Jus- tice of the Peace, and three years later Probate Judge. In 1848 he was appointed Deputy Sheriff, a position he held three years, and was repeatedly chosen Justice of the Peace, Town- ship Assessor, Trustee and School Director. He was the father of fourteen children, six of whom were living in 1903. He was an active and prominent member of the Masonic fratern- ity, and died at his home in St. Charles. Feb. 21. 1884.

THEODORE HOWARD, contracting mason. Aurora, Ill .; born in Hudson City, Nov. 7, 1842; began learning the mason's trade when twelve years of age, following this occupation until 1861, when lie enlisted in Company B, Sev- enteenth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry. in which he served three years, being mustered out of the service in June, 1864, when he re- turned to Aurora and has since been occupied at his trade; married Sept. 17, 1866, to Emma R. Graves, of Aurora.

WILLIAM HOWARTH, farmer, Batavia Township, Kane County, Ill .; born near Au- burn, N. Y., March 22, 1840; came with his parents to St. Charles, Ill., in 1844, but lived

HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY. 819

in various localities until 1875, when he estab- lished his home in Batavia Township, and has since resided there continuously; purchased his present farm four miles west of Batavia in 1889; married in 1871 to Miss Cordelia Walker.

ERNEST G. HOWELL, Postmaster, Geneva, Ill., was born in Geneva, Ill., Nov. 26, 1868, son of Stephen and Julia (Bassett) Howell, and was reared and educated in his native town. His first business experience was with the Fer- menich Manufacturing Company, of Marshall- town, lowa, with which he was connected some three years. In1 1892 he was appointed Assist- ant Postmaster of Geneva, and in 1897 he was put in full charge of the office as Postmaster. a position he has held to the present time (1904). For six years Mr. Howell has been a member of the Board of Education, during three of which he has been President of the Board. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias, being Chairman of the Committee on Warrants and Charters of the Illinois Grand Lodge, K. P., and Venerable Counsel of the Woodmen Camp at Geneva.

ROBERT HOWIE (deceased), farmer, Dun- dee Township, Kane County, born near Glasgow, Scotland, Sept. 4, 1818, was reared in his native land, and there learned farming from a class said to produce the best farmers in the world. In 1841 he came to Dundee, Ill., and four or five years later purchased from the Government the farm on which he now resides, three miles west of the City of Dundee. Mr. Howie soon turned his attention to sheep-raising, and for many years was one of the best known sheep- raisers in this part of the State. He was one of the few farmers in this region who con- tinued sheep-growing up to the last few years. In the earlier years he was a breeder of me- rino sheep, but in his later years gave his at- tention to the Shropshire breed as best suited for the Chicago market. For more than sixty years Mr. Howie was a patriotic and devoted citizen of his adopted country. In 1853 he mar- ried Miss Ann Hood, who was born at For- fardshire, twenty-five miles from Dundee, Scot- land. Of eleven children born to them, four are still living; John, in Chicago; and Robert, James and Anna M. on the old farm. Mr. Howie died July 3, 1903, retaining his interest in his business and the affairs of Kane County to the last.

CHARLES HOYT (deceased), pioneer, Au- rora. Ill., was born in Danbury, Mass., Dec. 3, 1797, and died in Aurora, Ill., Feb. 29, 1876. Reared in Danbury, he was given a practical business education and trained to mercantile pursuits. In his early manhood he located in Geauga County, Ohio, where he was engaged in trade until 1839, when he came to Aurora, where he built the Black Hawk Mills, and was widely known both as a miller and a mer- chant. For many years he was the leading man of affairs on the "West Side," in Aurora, and exercised much local influence. In 1817 he was first married to Temperance Perry, of South Lee, Mass., who died in 1830. In 1832 he married Susanna Foot. By his first marriage were born two sons, and by his second, one daughter.

CHARLES L. HOYT (deceased ), Aurora, Ill., was born May 10, 1324, in South Lee. Mass., son of Charles and Temperance (Perry ) Hoyt, and when three years of age was taken by his parents to Madison, Ohio, whence they removed six years later to Ohio City, where he attended the public schools up to 1839. After two years at a preparatory school at Tunisburg, Ohio, he engaged in business when seventeen years of age, being employed in his father's store at Aurora in 1840. There he remained some nine years, and in 1852 went to California, where he spent some four years trading in the mining districts. Returning to Aurora in 1856, he was engaged there in trade until 1861, when he en- tered the Commissary Department of the Army of the Cumberland, but after two years' serv- ice returned to Aurora and opened a real-estate and insurance office. Mr. Hoyt purchased in 1869 an interest in the factory known as R. L. Carter & Company. The year following he and his brother bought out Mrs. Carter, and the firm became Hoyt Brothers. In 1873 it was incorporated as the Hoyt Brothers Manufactur- ing Company, the stock being owned by the brothers, Charles L. and L. P. and Willis, a son of Charles L. The firm dealt in all kinds of woodworking machinery, and soon gained a national reputation for their products. Mr. Hoyt was President, and carried on the busi- ness very successfully until his death, June 8. 1891. Willis Hoyt succeeded him, and the sub- sequent history of the plant appears in con- nection with the sketch of that gentleman. Mr. Charles L. Hoyt was married in September,

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

1847, to Miss Mary Gray, daughter of Nicholas and Catherine Gray, of Montgomery, Kane County, their only son being Willis, already mentioned. Mr. Hoyt served as Supervisor sev- eral years, and also as Alderman of the City of Aurora; was also very active in promoting manufacturing interests and a large stockholder in the Aurora cotton-mills. He helped organize the Second National Bank of Aurora, and was one of its Directors until his death.

JACOB N. HOYT, farmer and dairyman, Kaneville Township, Kane County, was born in Concord, N. H., Dec. 15, 1831, and was quite thoroughly educated in the local schools, including a term in the Concord High School, and at Andover, Mass. He became a teacher and taught in Concord. In 1853 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1868 came to Macon County, Ill. In 1884 he removed to Kane County, where he bought a farm three miles southwest of Elburn. Here he has since made his home. In the Masonic fraternity he ranks high, having advanced to the rank of a Knight Templar degree, and being affiliated with the Commandery at Sycamore. The residence where he lives is quite a historic spot. The first school in the township was taught in the house in which he now lives, and here was lo- cated the first postoffice, known as Avon. Here Horace Greeley was a guest. Among the older settlers it is often spoken of as the "Livingston" farm, because one Livingston, who forged a check on one of the Vanderbilts for $75,000, had purchased it. Here he was arrested and taken back east.

LYMAN A. HOYT (deceased), was born in Aurora, Il1., June 12, 1859, the son of Lyman A. Hoyt, and grandson of Charles Hoyt, a pioneer settler of the county. His youth was passed on his father's farm, just west of the Aurora city limits, where he attended both the public schools and Jennings Academy, and was trained to a farming life, which he followed on the old homestead until his death, Oct. 13, 1894. A successful farmer and stock-raiser, and a capable man of affairs, he was highly esteemed by those among whom he lived, and filled vari- ous positions of trust and responsibility. In 1885 he was married to Miss Sophronia J. Smith, daughter of George F. Sinith, of Ba- tavia, III. Miss Smith was born in Wisconsin but descended from an old Vermont family, her

fatber coming to Wisconsin in 1847. In 1864 he removed to Illinois, where he died on his farm near Batavia in 1878. After March, 1895, Mrs. Hoyt lived in Aurora. In November, 1903, she became the wife of Mr. A. W. Harbour.

OTIS HOYT.

CAPTAIN OTIS HOYT (deceased). Elgin, was born in Amesbury, Mass., April 8, 1838, son of Enoch and Elizabeth ( Williams) Hoyt, where he was reared to manhood and educated in the local schools. In his early manhood lie entered the employ of the Waltham Watch Fac- tory, remaining with that concern until 1861. In April of that year he enlisted as Sergeant in Company H, Sixteenth Massachusetts Volun- teer Infantry, and departed for the front to do battle for the Union. He rose to the rank of Captain and was mustered out in 1864 with the expiration of his term of enlistment. He par- ticipated in all the great actions of the Army of the Potomac, numbering thirty-seven battles and skirmishes fought while he was in the service, and was severely wounded at the second battle of Bull Run. In October, 1864, he came west and established his home in Elgin, connecting himself with the Elgin National Watch Com- pany, then in process of development, retain- ing his connection until 1868, when he went to California, and spent the following year on the

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

Coast. Coming back to Illinois, he joined the working forces of the Springfield Watch Com- pany, making that city his home for eight years. At the end of this time he became foreman of one of the departments of the National Watch Company, and returning to Elgin, made that city his home until his death, June 2, 1885. He was one of the directors of the Elgin Loan and Homestead Association, belonged to the G. A. R., and was a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, He was married in 1863 to Miss Mary E. Britton, daughter of Joel and Sarah ( West) Britton, of Waltham, Mass. Mrs. Hoyt, and one son, Otis West, are at this date (1903) the surviving members of the family. Another son, William Britton, died in 1889.

ROLAND C. HOYT, retired farmer, Elburn, Ill .; born at Kaneville, Ill., Nov. 6, 1854; began his business career as a farmer in 1872, fol- lowing that occupation until 1892, being in- terested in various enterprises for nine years since the latter date, but in 1901 he again turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He was married Feb. 15, 1887, to Emma Watson.

WILLIS HOYT, manufacturer, Aurora, Ill., was born Aug. 25, 1848, in Aurora, and was there reared to manhood, receiving his educa- tion in the local schools and at the Military Academy, Fulton, Ill., from which he graduated about 1866. In 1864 he enlisted in the 100-day service, but was rejected at Cairo. Entering a drug store while still a youth, he worked his way up from a clerkship to the management of the establishment. In 1871 he secured an in- terest in the wood-working machinery plant of Hoyt & Brother, and the following year the company was incorporated under the name of "The Hoyt & Brother Manufacturing Company," Willis Hoyt being named as Secretary and Treasurer. In 1887 the style of the firm was changed to "Hoyt & Bro. Company," Mr. Hoyt still retaining his former position. When his father died in 1893 he became President of the Company, and continued in that position until 1897. The plant was then taken into the Ameri- can Wood-working Machinery Company of New Jersey, but has since been reincorporated un- der the laws of Pennsylvania, Mr. Hoyt being advisory man for the Aurora branch. He is an active Mason, as he is also in the Knights of Pythias Order. In 1874 he married Miss Jennie L. Budlong, of Oswego, Ill.

AUGUSTINE H. HUBBARD, Mayor, Elgin, Ill., was born in Salem, Washtenaw County, Mich., March 17, 1843, son of Harvey and Emily ( Hamilton ) Hubbard. In 1855 he went with his father to Minnesota, where that gentleman had laid out part of Winona, and

A. H. HUHBARD.

was an extensive real-estate operator in that State. He graduated from the Minnesota Nor- mal School at Winona, and in 1861 went to St. Paul to enlist in the Union army, but was per- suaded by General Sibley to enter his service as special messenger to carry communications between the military posts and forts of the Northwest during the Indian troubles of that period. For three years he was engaged in this service. almost day and night in the saddle, and facing every kind of danger. In 1864 he went to Chicago, and after a full course of study was graduated from Eastman's Business Col- lege, and for the next three years was engaged in dairy-farming in English Prairie, McHenry County, Ill. In 1871 he came to Elgin and en- tered the office of R. W. Padelford, City Clerk, and Clerk of the Court, forming a partnership with him in the insurance business; in 1877 was elected Magistrate, and has held that office continuously for twenty-six years. In April, 1903, he was elected Mayor of Elgin. His first

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

marriage occurred in 1870, with Miss Martha L. Hatch, of English Prairie. After her death he married, in 1900, Miss Clara Pettis, of El- gin.

SPENCER B. HULS, St. Charles, merchant, was born in Seneca County, N. Y., June 16. 1828, and educated in the schools of his native county. In 1843 he arrived in St. Charles in company with his parents, and was there en gaged in farming until 1866, in the meantime taking a trip to California in 1850 during the gold-mining period, and remaining there four years. In 1868 he established the retail gro- cery in which he is still engaged. Mr. Huls was the first City Treasurer, and has served as Alderman four terms. In 1854 he was married to Miss Mary J. Mallory, daughter of B. D. and Ann (Henderson) Mallory, both natives of Yates County, N. Y. One son, S. S. Huls, is a partner with his father in the grocery busi- ness.

CLARK M. HUMISTON (deceased), farmer. Kaneville, Kane County, was born in Connecti- cut in 1822, and came to Illinois in 1853, set- tling in De Kalb County, where he remained for twenty years, when he bought a farm in Kane County, on which he lived until his death, which occurred in November, 1884. For a num- ber of years he was Supervisor of the town of Pierce, De Kalb County. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity. About 1851 he married Elizabeth Price, who bore him thirteen chil- dren, and died in the fall of 1898.

MAJ. B. T. HUNT, retired merchant, St. Charles, 111 .; born at Abington. Mass., Oct. 19, 1812; came to St. Charles, Ill., in 1836, where he engaged in the mercantile business in 1838 which he conducted until 1850, when he built a tannery. Mr. Hunt's tannery was destroyed by fire in 1861, and he then established a hard- ware store, which he conducted until 1890, when he retired from active business life. He was married Oct. 2, 1842, to Harriet H. Lathrop, and they have one son, F. B., who is now Mayor of St. Charles.

EDWARD L. HUNT, retired merchant, Ba tavia, was born in Princeton, N. J., July 22, 1817, son of William and Eleanor ( Schenck) Hunt, both of whom came of Revolutionary an- cestors. He was educated in the public schools

of Princeton and trained to mercantile pursuits as a boy. In 1853 he came west and estab- lished his home in Batavia, Ill. He was en- gaged in merchandising there until 1837, when he sold out and removed to Sangamon County, Ill., where he farmed for five years thereafter. While there he became acquainted with some of the distinguished Illinoisans of that period, the most noted of whom was Abraham Lin- coln. In 1862 he returned to Batavia and soon afterward enlisted in the Union Army for service in the War of the Rebellion. He was mustered into Company B, of the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment and was mustered out in 1865, at the end of three full years of active service. In the course of this service he participated in the battles at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills, the siege of Vicksburg, the siege of Spanish Fort, and two other sieges, and fourteen other engagements and skir- mishes. In all he was under the fire of the enemy eighty-two days and sixty nights. At the close of the war he returned to Batavia and in 1871 became head of the mercantile firm of Hunt & Davis, with which he was identified until 1891, when he retired from business. Since then he has been called upon to settle a number of bankrupt. estates in addition to looking after his property interests. He mar- ried in 1841 Miss Catherine F. Ross, daugh- ter of Robert R. Ross. of Princeton, N. J.

F. B. HUNT, merchant, St. Charles, Ill .: born in the city where he now resides, June 1, 1848; educated in the public schools of St. Charles and Fulton Military Academy; engaged in the hardware business with his father in early manhood, and in the spring of 1886 removed to Iowa, where he purchased a ranch and raised horses; returned to St. Charles in 1897, where he has since been engaged in the hardware business. Mr. Hunt has served his city as School Director, Police Magistrate and Mayor. He married Miss Barritt Flint, and they have four children-F. C., Bertha L., Eva May and Effie W.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 158

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