Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 171

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

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JOSHUA RHODES, pioneer farmer, Big Rock Township, Kane County, was born in Oldham, Eng., in 1800, and died in Aurora in 1891. He came to the United States in 1818, and for a time was employed in a woolen mill in Boston, Mass., coming thence to Illinois, and making his home in Big Rock Township, Kane County, in 1838. Purchasing land from the Government, he converted it into the fine farm on which he lived until about 1885, when he removed to Aurora. The old farm is still in possession of his son, Joshua H. Rhodes, of Au- rora. Mr. Rhodes was Town Clerk and Post- master at Big Rock Center for many years, and was conspicuous among the pioneers of that early day for his sterling character and gen- uine worth. His wife, who was born in Wales. bore the name of Martha Powell before her marriage. She died in 1876.

RUSSELL RICHARDSON (deceased ), manu- facturer, born at Watertown, N. Y., March 20, 1835; came with his parents to Aurora, Ill., in 1843; in 1862 he enlisted in the One Hun- dred and Twenty-fourth Regiment Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, serving until the close of the war. Returning to Aurora after the close of the war, he engaged in contracting and build- ing, which had previously been his occupation. He later engaged in the lumber trade and estab- lished a sash, door and blind factory at Aurora and Little Rock, Ark. Mr. Richardson was mar- ried in 1859 to Miss Eliza Akers, and their liv- ing children are: Charles R., William A. and Harry H. Mr. Richardson died June 12, 1894; his wife still survives.

JOHN D. RICE (deceased), in his life-time a prominent merchant of Aurora, born in West- ern New York. Dec. 16, 1825, was educated in the local schools, and was trained a decorator

and painter. For twenty years he followed his trade in Kalamazoo, Mich., and for four years in Chicago; in 1869 he established the firm of J. D. Rice & Son in Aurora, a firm that is still in existence. For more than thirty years Mr.

JOHN D. RICE.

Rice was conspicuous among the business men of Aurora, where he died Nov. 2, 1902. Miss Charlotte Howland became his first wife, and died leaving one son, W. H. S. Rice, who joined his father in business after leaving school, and is now the head of the firm. In 1862 Mr. Rice married Miss Mary A. Collins, also of Kala- mazoo. The only child of this union, Helen, died when twelve and a half years old. Mrs. Mary A. Rice died Jan. 3, 1904. Mr. Rice was an elder in the Presbyterian church in Aurora for many years, and was always active in its behalf.

BRADFORD G. RICHMOND, Cashier Kane County Bank, Elburn, Ill., was born April 19, 1850, at Campton, Kane County, and educated in the home schools. He was reared a farmer but was engaged in the grocery business for two years at DeKalb, which he disposed of be- cause his wife's failing health necessitated a change of climate. They went to Southern Cal- ifornia, where he carried on a contracting and building business for two years, then returning

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

to Elburn, for the next five years he was in the coal and fuel business with G. W. Robinson. He took an active part in the inauguration of the Kane County Bank, and became its Cash- ier, a position which he still holds. He was married March 6, 1872, to Miss May L., daugh- ter of William H. and Myron Robinson. Mr. Richmond has been President of the village of Elburn for some years and was a member of the Board of Aldermen several years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity.

CAPT. JAMES F. RICHMOND, attorney, St. Charles, Ill., born at South Lee, Mass., Nov. ? , 1839; obtained his preliminary education in his native State and Appleton, Wis., and later at- tended the University of Michigan (Ann Ar- bor); admitted to the bar in July, 1868; came to St. Charles with his parents in 1856; served in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-sev- enth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War, being first elected First Lieutenant of his company, and in July, 1864, was promoted to Captain. Captain Richmond has practiced his profession since 1868. He was married Sept. 14, 1871, to Miss Ellen Ferson, of St. Charles.

DENNIS W. RIORDAN (deceased ), manufac- turer, Elburn, Kane County, Ill., born in Brad- ford, Eng., April 8, 1853, and in childhood came with his father's family to Chicago, where he received his educational training in the pub- lic schools and Jesuit College. Mr. Riordan was trained in the manufacturing business as an employe of the United States Rolling Stock Company and with Armour & Company. In 1888 he engaged in the manufacture of refrig- erator cars, continuing the business until his death, which occurred April 9, 1897. In 1883 he was married to Miss Helen Donovan, and in the same year established his home in El- burn, where Mrs. Riordan still resides.

FRANK H. ROBINSON, dental surgeon, Au- rora, Ill., born in Aurora, Dec. 6, 1851, son of James Robinson, an early settler of Kane County, was educated in Aurora and Phila- delphia schools, studied dentistry under Dr. O. Wilson as preceptor in 1869, and later in both Philadelphia and Chicago, receiving the degree of D. D. S. from Chicago Dental College, as a post-graduate student. He began his dental practice in Aurora in 1874, and has come to be a leader in his profession in Northern Illinois:

is a member of the Northern Illinois Dental Society. In 1875 he married Miss Delia L. Clayton, daughter of O. D. Clayton, an old- time jeweler of Aurora.

GEORGE W. ROBINSON, merchant, Elburn, Ill .; born in Virgil Township, Kane County, Ill., Aug. 18, 1857; educated in the public schools of Virgil Township, and began his business ca- reer in the gents' furnishing goods business; in 1884 engaged in the coal and agricultural implement trade at Elburn in partnership with B. G. Richmond, and in 1891, in partnership with L. D. Kendall, succeeded H. B. Jay & Co. in the mercantile business. He was married on Oct. 3, 1877, to Emma T. Kendall.

FRANK ROCKWELL, Postmaster and edu- cator, St. Charles, Ill., was born in Plato Town- ship, Kane County, Nov. 20, 1861, son of H. T. and Mary ( Stone) Rockwell; was brought to St. Charles by his parents when an infant. He graduated from the local High School, and was a student of the Northern Indiana Normal School, at Valparaiso, Ind. For twelve years, after leaving college in 1882, he taught school, in the meantime having purchased an interest in a drug-store in company with his father-in- law. J. S. Van Patten, which he still retains. He was appointed Postmaster at St. Charles by President Mckinley in 1898, and reappointed by President Roosevelt in 1902. Mr. Rockwell was married in March, 1885. to Mabel, daughter of J. S. and Jane Van Patten, of St. Charles.

HENRY T. ROCKWELL, insurance agent, St. Charles, 111., was born in Clarendon, Orleans County, N. Y., Sept. 13, 1835, the son of David J. and Ruth (Keeler) Rockwell, the former born in Bethel, Conn., in 1803, and the latter a native of Saratoga, N. Y., where she was reared to womanhood. Mr. Rockwell grew to man. hood in his native State, and was educated at Akron, N. Y .. after which, removing to Illinois in 1855, he there engaged in teaching for about ten years. He carried on his profession as a. teacher in conjunction with farming during a part of the year until 1862, when he turned his attention to the insurance business, which he has continued to the present time, although maintaining his interest in farming operations. At the present time he is one of the oldest and inost experienced insurance agents in Kane County. Mr. Rockwell has held a number of

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

public offices, including those of Circuit Clerk and ex-officio Recorder of Deeds for Kane County for one term (1872-76) ; Township Su- pervisor for five years, for one year of that pe- riod being Chairman of the Board, and Mayor of the city of St. Charles two terms. During Pres- ident Benjamin Harrison's administration he served as Postmaster of St. Charles. An ardent Republican in politics, for twenty years he has been the Kane County representative on the Central Committee for his Congressional Dis- triet (now the Eleventh), upon which he has served several years as Chairman, and of which he is still a member. The importance of this position is indicated by the fact that Kane County is the most populous and strongest Re- publican County in the Eleventh Congressional District. Mr. Rockwell was married in 1860 to Miss Mary Stone, who died in 1871, leaving two children, Frank and Hattie. The latter is now Mrs. Baker, while the son, Frank Rockwell. is the present Postmaster at St. Charles, Ill. In 1872 Mr. Rockwell was married to his present wife, who, previous to her marriage was Miss Emma Osgood. In his fraternal associations Mr. Rockwell is connected with the Odd Fel- lows and Masonic Order. Though not a mem- ber, he is an attendant upon the services of the Congregational church, of which he is a trustee.

JAMES ROCKWELL (deceased), pioneer set- tler, Batavia, Kane County, Ill .; born at Ridge- field, Conn., Nov. 9, 1812, and died in. Batavia, 111., July 25, 1899; received his educational training in the schools of his native village, where he also learned the cabinet-maker's trade; came to Chicago in 1834, and was one of the earliest furniture manufacturers of that city, employing a force of twelve men for a time, which was considered a large number in those days; in 1838, came to Batavia, where he was engaged in the furniture trade and merchandis- ing until 1885, when he retired from business. Mr. Rockwell assisted in organizing the first Methodist church in Chicago, and also the first church of that denomination in Batavia. He was twice married, his first union being with Miss Margaret Van Nortwick, of New York State, in 1838, and, after her death, to Miss Susan Grow, who was also a native of the Empire State

EUGENE F. ROGERS, Elgin, Circuit Clerk and journalist, was born Dec. 19, 1859, in Plato

Township, Kane County, Ill., son of Nelson and Sarah (Pruden) Rogers. The father and mother were both pioneers, the father having come from New York in 1853, and the mother in 1843. Eugene F. was reared in Elgin, where he was educated in the city schools and Elgin Academy, and became connected with the newspaper press in 1877. Since that time he has been engaged

EUGENE F. ROGERS.

on Elgin and Chicago papers. He was appointed Deputy Circuit Clerk Dec. 1, 1900, and succeeded Benjamin F. Gould as Circuit Clerk Jan. 1, 1904. Mr. Rogers is connected with the Odd Fellows. the Modern Woodmen and Archæan Union, the Elks, the Maccabees and the Knights of Pythias fraternities, and is one of the most active of the younger Republicans of Kane County. In 1895 he married Miss Josephine Mulroney, of Elgin.

THOMAS E. ROLLINS (deccased ), machinist, Carpentersville, Ill., was born in Oneida County, N. Y., where he lived until he was nine years old. When an infant he lost his mother, and his father, leaving him in New York, came on to Illinois, whither he was brought when nine years old, and lived with his father for some years in Palatine, Cook County. The fam- ily was later located in Iowa, where Thomas E.

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

Rollins enlisted in Company B, Seventh Regi- ment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, at the outbreak of the Civil War. He served four years in the Union Army, and was in at the ending of the war. At the battle of Corinth he was severely wounded. After the war he came to Carpenters- ville, and learned the machinist's trade. For more than thirty-five years thereafter, and up to the time of his death, Dec. 10, 1902, he was connected with the Illinois Iron and Bolt Com- pany. He was interested at one time in the Star Manufacturing Company, and was always a thrifty and industrious man. For four years he was a member of the Board of Trustees of Carpentersville. He was a Master Mason, and a member of the Order of Maccabees. In 1869 he married Miss Ellen Healey, a native also of Oneida County, N. Y., and only two of the nine children born to them are now living: Mrs. Jesse Juletts and Eugene B. Rollins. Mr. Rol- lins died at his home in Carpentersville.

GARRETT ROSENCRANS.

GARRETT ROSENCRANS ( deceased). pio- neer, Elgin, Ill., was born in Sussex County, N. J., April 1, 1820, a son of Asa and Jane (Cole) Rosencrans, whom he accompanied on their removal to Kane County, Ill., in 1837. The father secured a tract of 300 acres near

Elgin, and when he died in 1844, Garrett Rosen- crans took charge of the farm. In 1847 he leased the farm, and later sold it. By wise and careful investments he became possessed of much property in Kane County, Southern Illi nois and the West, and in his later life became prominent in financial and commercial circles. He was a Director in the Home National Bank, served as City Surveyor, and was Assessor of the town several years. An active part in any matter that looked to the welfare of the com- munity was always taken by him, and he did much to aid the progress of the city. Frater- nally he belonged to Lodge No. 47, I. O. O. F., and was one of the leaders in the organiza- tion of the Young Men's Christian Association Library and Lecture course in 1850. Some of the most noted men in America, such as Wen- dell Phillips. Horace Greeley, and others, have appeared in Elgin on this platform. Mr. Rosen- crans was engaged in the lumber business at various times in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Chi- cago. He died in Elgin,, Sept. 10, 1890, and is now survived by one brother, Hiram D., of Mt. Carmel, Utah, and a sister, Mrs. M. W. Hawes, of Elgin.

FRED ROYSTON, merchant, Aurora, Ill .; born at Churchill, N. Y., April 3, 1854; came to Chicago in 1872, where he became connected with the well-known grocery house of Sprague. Warner & Co., remaining with that establish- ment twenty-five years; established the whole- sale grocery house of F. E. Royston & Co., in Aurora in 1894, and has since been at the head of this enterprise: has been a resident of Au- rora since 1874; married in 1876 to Miss Anna Sanford. of Churchill, N. Y.

HENRY G. RUE, real estate operator. Elgin, 111 .; born in Steuben County, N. Y., Aug. 15. 1851; came with his parents to Illinois in 1856, and grew to manhood on his father's farm in Plato Township, Kane County; in later years he purchased his father's homestead and was successfully engaged in farming in Plato Town- ship until 1898, when he disposed of his farm and engaged in the real estate and loan busi- ness in Elgin. Mr. Rue was married in 1873 to Miss Cora A. Skinner, of Plato Township.

SCHUYLER RUE (deceased), pioneer farmer, Plato Township, Kane County; born in Steu- ben County, N. Y., in 1816; married in New

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

York State to Hannah G. Roth, and came with his family to Illinois in 1856, locating on a farm in Plato Township, Kane County, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying there in 1882; his wife dying in 1881. Mr. and Mrs. Rue reared a family of eight sons and three daughters, seven of whom are living in 1903.

THOMAS J. RUSHTON, attorney-at-law, El- gin, Ill., was born April 2, 1854, in Walworth County, Wis., educated in the Sharon and Wal- worth Academies and in the law department of the University of Iowa, from which he grad- uated in 1880. Prior to his University course he was engaged in farming and in teaching, devoting his leisure hours to the study of law, in which he ranked high, and was admitted to the bar the year of his graduation at the Uni- versity. His active practice, however, did not begin until 1882, when he opened an office in Elgin and became a partner of John H. Wil- liams. For five years the two continued to- gether, since which time Mr. Rushton has been by himself. From 1890 to 1898 he served as Po- lice Magistrate at Elgin, and for one term was Assistant Supervisor. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow. Mr. Rushton is an attorney of general practice and does business in all State and Na- tional Courts. He was married in 1884 to Miss Clara Croker, of Chicago, and is the father of four interesting children. Grace, Frances Emily and John C. are students in the Elgin High School. George C., the youngest, is seven years old.

JOHN A. RUSSELL, lawyer, Elgin, Ill., was born in St. Charles, Ill., Oct. 4, 1854, of Scotch parentage. Being left an orphan in early child- hood, he was brought up by relatives in Kane County and received his educational training in the public schools and Elgin Academy. He read law in the office of Botsford & Barry, El- gin, and was admitted to the bar in the Su- preme Court of Illinois in 1879. He began prac- ticing his profession in Elgin, and except a brief interval, when he was in the service of the United States Government in Porto Rico, he has been continuously engaged in practice in that city, where he has taken rank among the leading attorneys of Northern Illinois and has been identified with much of the most im- portant litigation which has occupied the at- tention of the courts of Kane County in later years. For three years he was City Attorney

of Elgin, and for four years State's Attorney of Kane County. After the Spanish-American War he was appointed Attorney General of Porto Rico and filled that position with credit to himself and the Insular Government until climatic conditions became injurious to his health and private business interests at home caused him to tender his resignation. Prom- inent in the councils of the Republican party, he has been officially identified with the con- duct of many campaigns and has gained much more than local distinction as an eloquent and effective public speaker. He is a Scottish Rite Mason and affiliates with the subordinate Ma- sonic orders. He is identified with the manu- facturing interests of Kane County as Presi- dent of the W. II. Howell Company, an impor- tant industry at Geneva, Ill. In 1888 he was married to Clara Mair, daughter of James Mair, one of the pioneer merchants of Batavia, Ill.

HENRY RYAN, merchant and manufacturer, Aurora, Ill., born at Dorset, Vt., Jan. 25, 1843, was reared in his native town, educated in its schools, and trained to the hardware business and the tinner's trade while still a boy. In 1867 he came west to Aurora, and entered the hardware store of R. T. Hurd & Company, with which he was connected until 1870, when he established himself in the hardware trade as the junior member of the firm of Stoddard & Ryan. Some years later Mr. Ryan purchased his partner's interest and the business is still continued on River Street, where it has been carried on for a third of a century. Mr. Ryan was the original maker of the "Aurora dinner pail," which is used all over the country. He is still the largest manufacturer and wholesale dealer in this specialty. In 1873 he married Miss Susan Sheffler, of Plainfield, Ill.

GEORGE E. SAWYER (deceased ), pioneer farmer, Dundee Township, Kane County, Ill., was born in Orford, N. H., Oct. 16, 1815, and reared at Bradford, Vt., coming from there to Kane County, Ill., in 1837. He began the jour- ney in April by wagon, and reached the pres- ent site of Elgin the following October. Shortly after he bought a farm near the present loca- tion of Dundee, being numbered among the very first settlers of Dundee Township. He followed agricultural pursuits until he retired from act- ive business life, and was one of the most pros- perous of the pioneer dairy farmers. He spent

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

the later years of his life in Carpentersville, where he died May 22, 1894. Mr. Sawyer mar- ried Abigail P. Blake, who was born and reared in New Hampshire. She died Aug. 31, 1891. Their only living children are: William G., now of Elgin, 111., and Henry G., of Carpenters- ville.

HENRY G. SAWYER, manufacturer, Carpen- tersville, Ill., was born in Elgin, Ill., March 21, 1844, son of George E. and Abigail ( Blake) Sawyer, grew to manhood on his father's farm near Carpentersville, and obtained his educa- tion in the public schools of that place and at the Elgin Academy. In 1866, in connection with his brother, William G., he bought a gen- eral store in Carpentersville, which they con- ducted successfully for several years. In 1873 he organized the Star Manufacturing Company, and at first engaged in a small way in the man- ufacture of agricultural implements. This plant has since been expanded into one of the lead- ing industries of the Fox River Valley. Mr. Sawyer has been general manager of the fac- tory almost continuously from the beginning, and has been President of the corporation since 1892. He is also interested in other manufac- turing enterprises, and in a cattle ranch in Nebraska. Fraternally he belongs to the I. O. O. F., the K. O. T. M., the M. W. A., and the K. O. T. G. Nov. 7, 1867, he married Miss Ella Brown, daughter of True Brown. She died Nov. 10, 1868, and in 1871 he was married to Miss Mary Kingsley, daughter of S. W. Kings- ley, of Barrington, Ill. Mr. Sawyer's second wife died March 25, 1879, and he married Miss Lillian M. Burkill, of Dundee, Dec. 25, 1880. Five children were born of the first marriage, and three of the last. Three sons and three daughters were living in 1903. Lora, the oldest daughter, is now Mrs. Charles F. Harvey, Su- perintendent of the Borden Condensed Milk Factory, at Auburn, Washington: Clara is now Mrs. Henry J. Mickelson, of Los Angeles, Cal .; George K. has charge of the stock ranch owned by himself and brother in Nebraska; Clarence E. is in the office of the Star Manufacturing Company; Ethel M. and Howard C. are at home; Bertha E. married Robert Nightengale, of Barrington, Ill., and died Dec. 7, 1894; Addie K. died in infancy. Mr. Sawyer, together with his brother, W. G., owns a 285-acre dufry farm two miles northwest of Carpentersville, where they keep from 90 to 100 cows each year.

GEORGE J. SCHNEIDER, physician and surgeon, Elgin, Ill .; born in Germany, March 10, 1866; came to America with his parents in 1867. locating first in Woodstock, Ill., where he was reared and educated; graduated from the medical department of the University of Michigan in 1889, and held the position of Resident Physician of that institution for one year thereafter; located in Elgin in 1890. The Doctor was married in 1892 to Miss Eva L. Schryver, of Woodstock, Ill.

REV. GEORGE SCHORB, familiarly known as the Blind Orator, Author and Philosopher, was born on a farm in the great woods of Wis- consin in 1850. He was born blind, and at the age of eleven years was placed in the Wis- consin School for the Blind, where he was un- der the tuition of Thomas H. Little, an accom- plished scholar and thorough educator from Bowdoin, and Mrs. Little, a graduate of Ober- lin. Here he studied all the branches taught in the school, read all the best books, besides taking private instruction in rhetoric, Latin and philosophy. He finally became a teacher in the school, but later resigned his position to take a special course of study at Evanston, Ill., where he was the only blind student, but by employing a reader was enabled to recite in class with seeing men, and graduated from that institution with high honor and won some im- portant prizes. He has maintained himself by lecturing, preaching and writing for the past twenty-six years, and has traveled without a guide eastward to Boston and westward to the plains. Mr. Schorb is the author of several books, the most successful of them being "Poems and Proverbs," "Nuts to Crack, or Four Hundred Riddles," and "The Golden Rule and the Rule of Gold." He was married Dec. 24, 1901, to Mrs. Ann Gray Dennison, of Aurora, and has since made his home in that city.

JOHN H. SCOTT, retired merchant, Aurora, was born in Oneida County, N. Y., Oct. 26, 1834, son of John and Mary ( Atkinson) Scott; his father being born in County Derry, Ireland, and his mother in Leeds, Eng., the latter coming with her parents to Chicago, Ill., where her father was employed in 1837 on the Illinois and Michigan Canal. January 1, 1838, the family removed to Kane County, and the following spring lived in St. Charles. In 1839 they set- tled on a 400-acre tract in Virgil Township, and

897

HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

there lohn H. Scott obtained his education in the public schools, in a select school at St. Charles and in Miss Lord's Academy at Elgin. He was trained as a farmer until 1856, when he engaged in merchandising with his father at what was then Blackberry Station, now Elburn, their store being the third in that place. In 1858 John H. Scott became the sole owner, but a year later he traded the store for a farm in Kaneville Township, the ownership of which he has since retained. From 1859 to 1867 he was engaged in farming and stock-raising in Kaneville, where he continued to reside until 1896, when he removed to Aurora, which has since been his home. For many years he was a merchant at Kaneville, and for sixteen Post- master; for eight years was a Magistrate, and has also served as Town Treasurer, Assessor and member of the School Board at various times. His first vote was cast for John C. Fre- mont for President and he has been a Repub- lican to date. In 1838 he married Miss Martha J. Astracher, born in Erie County, Penn., who died in Kaneville, in 1896. Their children are: Lizzie (Mrs. Hanchett), and Robert R., the latter, like his brother-in-law, a prominent at- torney.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 171

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