USA > Illinois > Kane County > History of Kane County, Ill. Volume II > Part 12
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John Seidel. whose name introduces this review, attended the public schools of Elgin, passing through consecutive grades until he became a high- school student. He afterward learned the baker's trade but in 1881. when a young man of twenty-one years, went to South Dakota with his brothers, . Newton and Frank. Later their sister Natalie joined them and acted as their housekeeper. They each entered an adjoining quarter section on section 33, range 108, township 60. in Sanborn county, and had a central dwelling, all living together. They proved up their claims and secured titles thereto and were identified with the pioneer development of that section of the country.
John Seidel remained in South Dakota for ten years, after which he returned to Elgin and was agent for the Anheuser Busch Company of St. Louis at Elgin for about ten years. Since that time he has given his super- vision to real-estate interests and the management of his property has brought him gratifying success. The family is an old and prominent one of Elgin and Mr. Seidel of this review has a wide acquaintance, while his many good qualities have gained for him a large circle, of friends in the city of his nativity.
JOB LEROY HIGGINS.
Job LeRoy Higgins, deceased. was born in Wayne, Dupage county, Illinois, April 20, 1852, his parents being Orin and Betsy ( Irish) Higgins. The former was born in Ohio, while the latter's birth occurred in the Empire state. Orin Higgins served as a soldier in the Civil war for three years. loyally defending the interests of the Union during that struggle.
Job LeRoy Higgins acquired his education in the public schools of his native county and later attended Elgin Academy. On putting aside his text- books he assisted his father in the operation of the home farm, but when he had attained the age of twenty-five years he purchased one hundred and fifteen acres of land in Lily Lake, Campton township, and was there successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits until he retired in 1893 on account of ill health. In connection with the work of general farming he had made a specialty of dairying and gained a very creditable and gratifying measure of success in both branches of his business. On his retirement he took up his abode in Elgin and here made his home until his demise on the 14th of May. 1895. his passing away being deeply regretted by many friends as well as his immediate family. For seven years prior to his death he had been in ill healtil.
On the 8th of January. 1876. Mr. Higgins was united in marriage to Miss Carrie E. Plane, a daughter of Charles and Sophia (Applebee ) Plane, of Wayne. Dupage county, and to this union two children were born. Maude Lillian, whose birth occurred October 29. 1876, passed away June 7. 1894. She was a girl of a very sweet disposition and was much loved, so that her death came as a great blow to her parents as well as to her large circle of friends. Daisy Mabelle is the surviving daughter.
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In his political views Mr. Higgins was a stanch republican, though not active in party ranks. He contributed to the support of various churches, and was a genial, pleasant gentleman, who made a host of friends.
FRED W. JENCKS.
Fred W. Jencks, prominent among the enterprising, energetic and suc- cessful business men of Elgin, has developed the largest insurance business in the county and is also well known as the manager of the Elgin Opera House. In all his acts he has displayed an aptitude for successful management, com- bined with keen discernment that renders each step in his career a successful one. His success is attributable entirely to his own efforts and has gained for him the respect and admiration of his contemporaries and his colleagues as well.
Mr. Jencks is a native of Kane county, his birth having occurred in Dundee, July 6, 1861. He is a son of Dennison Jencks, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. After attending the public schools he became a student in Elgin Academy and at the age of fifteen years he became connected with the insurance business, in which line he has since operated. Few men have more intimate knowledge of the insurance business in all its varied interests and branches than has Mr. Jencks, and in the course of years he has developed the largest insurance business in the county, representing twenty-two of the most prominent and substantial insurance companies of the world. In 1906 he bought out John W. Farnham and S. E. Weld, insur- ance agents, and consolidated their business interests. He writes about as much insurance annually as all the other companies in the county combined, nor has he limited his efforts alone to this line, for in April, 1886, he leased the Elgin Opera House and has managed it continuously since, procuring excellent talent here for the entertainment of the public in theatrical and musical lines. The same year he bought out the bill posting business of the city and has since conducted this, in which connection he has one of the best plants in the state outside of Chicago, using steel boards almost exclusively. From 1894 to 1900 he was president of the Illinois State Bill Posting Asso- ciation and is still a director. He is determined and diligent and his vocabu- lary contains no such word as fail. He has been able to see and utilize oppor- tunities that others have passed by heedlessly and has become one of the foremost representatives of business activity in Elgin.
That Mr. Jencks is well known and very popular in public life and in political circles of the city is indicated by the fact that when reelected alder- man he was given the largest majority ever received by a candidate in his ward. He was president of the water board for two years and is still a member of the board. He has always taken an active part in support of republican principles and believes that the platform of that party contains the best elements of good government.
Mr. Jencks was married to Miss Mary R. Ryan, of Dundee, and they have a daughter and son: Mabel V., who is now a student in the Emerson College of Oratory in Boston; and Paul T., who is secretary of the city water
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department of Elgin. The family home is one of the most beautiful resi- dences of Elgin, situated at No. 273 Dundee avenue, and its warm-hearted hospitality is a most attractive feature there. In his fraternal relations Mr. Jencks is connected with the Century Club, the Elgin Country Club, Kane Lodge, I. O. O. F., with the Modern Woodmen and with the Elks, and of the last named served as trustee for three years from its organization. He likewise belongs to Arcane Union. He has a very wide acquaintance in this his native county, and is prominent among the business men, having for years been closely identified with Elgin as a representative of some of its most important business interests. He is a man of keen discrimination and sound judgment and his executive ability and excellent management have brought to the concern with which he is connected a large degree of success.
FRANK SEIDEL.
Frank Seidel, one of Elgin's native sons, passed away February 24. 1903. when in the forty-first year of his age. He was born April 10, 1862, and belonged to an old and prominent German-American family of this city. His parents, Charles and Caroline Seidel, coming to America in 1849, took up their abode here in 1851, and Frank Seidel pursued his education as a public- school student. He always continued to make his home here save for a period of ten years, beginning in 1881, which he spent in South Dakota. He was there with two of his brothers and all three entered claims, securing adjoining tracts of one hundred and sixty acres. They then erected a dwell- ing which stood on the three claims and their sister Natalie acted as their housekeeper. Frank Seidel went to South Dakota principally for the benefit of his health, hoping that a change of climate would prove beneficial, nor was he disappointed in this hope, for he was greatly improved by the outdoor life which he there lived. He had worked at the barber's trade in Elgin before his removal to the northwest. Following his return he was identified with real-estate interests here, owning considerable property in connection with his brothers. He displayed good business discernment in its care and made judicious investments of his capital.
In May, 1893, Mr. Seidel was married to Miss Carrie B. Gault, who was born in Monticello, Jones county, lowa, September 15, 1866, a daughter of Oliver and Lorinda ( Hitchcock) Gault. The father was born in Penn- sylvania, December 8, 1826, and died in lowa, February 13, 1908, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife, who was born in New York, May 24, 1826, passed away in Michigan, October 19, 1899. She was on a visit to that state but was a resident of Iowa. In their family were six children: Mrs. Retta Ives, who is living at Iowa Falls: Albert W., deceased; Mrs. Jane Stevens, of Twining. Michigan; Mrs. Lizzie Maddock, of South Dakota: Grant, deceased ; and Mrs. Seidel. By the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Seidel there were born three sons: Charles G., Wilber F. and Newton W. In the city where most of his life was spent Frank Seidel passed his last days, his death
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being occasioned by typhoid fever. It brought deep regret to many friends who knew him as an enterprising citizen, an upright business man, a faithful friend and a devoted husband and father.
ALBERT THEODORE LEWIS.
When Albert Theodore Lewis was called to his final rest on the 9th of August, 1904, Kane county mourned the loss of one of its most prominent and successful lawyers and public-spirited citizens. He was born in Bing- hamton, New York, May 26, 1843, a son of George W. and Lavinia (Bishop) Lewis. The father was a contractor and builder and in Chicago erected the first bridge which could be turned all the way around, the bridges prior to this time turning but half-way. About 1850 he removed westward with his family, locating on a farm in Kane county but still continuing his activities as a contractor. About 1860 he left the farm and took up his abode in Elgin.
Albert Theodore Lewis acquired a primary education in the schools of Binghamton, New York, and subsequently was sent to school at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in order to prevent his enlistment in the Civil war, which was then in progress. His patriotic ardor was not to be dampened, how- ever, and he enlisted from Prairie du Chien, thus becoming a Wisconsin soldier, although Illinois has also claimed him. He was but nineteen years of age when on the 5th of August, 1862, he entered the army as a private of Company A, Thirty-first Wisconsin Infantry, serving until the close of hostili- ties. He was with Sherman on his celebrated march to the sea, also partici- pated in the siege of Atlanta and fought under General Robinson. He was promoted to the rank of corporal, and after taking part in the grand review at Washington, District of Columbia, he was mustered out at Madison, Wisconsin. His military record was a most creditable and honorable one and, whether in the heat of battle or on the lonely picket line, displayed loyalty and bravery equal to that of many a man of twice his years.
When the war was over Mr. Lewis returned to Elgin and became a law student in the office of Colonel J. S. Wilcox. After mastering the principles of jurisprudence he was admitted to the bar and was continuously connected with the legal interests of Elgin until the time of his demise. He went into partnership with his former preceptor under the firm style of Wilcox & Lewis, which throughout the entire period of its existence was recognized as one of the most prominent and successful law firms of the county. When the Chicago & Pacific Railway (now the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul) was built through Elgin he drew up every deed for hundreds of miles, having secured the right of way. He was likewise attorney for this railroad until after it was absorbed by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Con .- pany. He was more of an office lawyer than a trial lawyer, his specialty being in the line of real estate and titles. From the time of its inception until his death he was attorney and an officer of the Loan & Homestead Association of Elgin, which organization has done great things for the people of this city in the way of erecting and paying for homes.
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On the 3d of February, 1876, Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Wood, a daughter of William S. and Phylena ( Smith) Wood, of Wataga, Knox county, Illinois, the former a merchant at that place. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were born two children. Dunbar Wood, a student at Amherst College; and William Bishop, who is attending the Shattuck Military School at Faribault, Minnesota.
Mr. Lewis was a prominent factor in republican politics in Kane county and for twelve years served on the board of county supervisors, while he also held the office of justice of the peace for some time. While on the board of supervisors he was a member of the almshouse committee of Kane county for a number of years. He likewise took a leading and helpful part in the build- ing up of the public library and it is largely owing to his efforts that the institution has reached its present high standard. A member of the Masonic fraternity, he served as marshal of Monitor lodge for many years, and was one of the first twelve commanders of the Grand Army of the Republic. At the time of his death very flattering resolutions of praise and condolence were passed by the Masons, the board of supervisors and the Elgin Loan & Home- stead Association, while at the beginning of his illness the board of super- visors also passed resolutions of sympathy. His life was so varied in its activity, so honorable in its purposes, so far-reaching and beneficial in its effects that it has become an integral part of the history of the city and has also left an impress upon the annals of the state. He exerted an immeasur- able influence on the city of his residence : in business life as a leading and successful lawyer ; in social circles by reason of a charming personality and unfeigned cordiality ; in politics by reason of his public spirit and devotion to the general good as well as his comprehensive understanding of the questions affecting state and national welfare; and in those departments of activity which ameliorate hard conditions of life for the unfortunate by his benevolence and his liberality.
HON. GEORGE MATHIAS HOLLENBACK.
Hon. George Mathias Hollenback is now living retired in Aurora, deriv- ing his income from valuable farming property, comprising six hundred acres of land in this section of the state. He is one of the prominent and well known citizens of this portion of Illinois, bearing the distinction of having been the first white child born in Kendall county. He has been closely asso- ciated with the work of development and progress and has been an interested witness of what has been accomplished as northern Illinois has emerged from frontier conditions and taken on all of the evidences of a modern civilization. He has not only made for himself a creditable name and place in agricultural circles, but has also figured prominently in public life, filling the office of master in chancery for twenty-seven years, while in other positions he has been equally capable and loyal. He has represented his district in the state
Ceo. MAtollenback
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legislature, and in fact his life record is closely interwoven with the progress and development of this portion of Illinois.
In tracing the ancestral history, the first of whom there was authentic record was George Hollenback, or Hollebaugh, as he was called by his neigh- bors, who died July 28, 1736, at Faulkner Schwamm, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania. His son, John Hollenback, was born in the kingdom of Wur- temberg, Germany, in 1719, but prior to 1720 came to America with his parents. About the year 1740 he was living in Jonestown, Pennsylvania, where he married Eleanor Jones, of Welsh descent. He died in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in 1793. Of his sons, Mathias Hollenback became prominent in the history of the state and was one of the few who survived the massacre at Wyoming. For many years he served as associate judge of Luzerne county and was prominent in the public life of the community.
George Hollenback, the eldest son of John Hollenback, was born about 1744, and in his youth was apprenticed to the carpenter's trade, serving until twenty-one years of age. He was married in 1772 to Hannah Barton and subsequently removed to Martinsburg, West Virginia, where his family remained while he did valiant duty at the front in the Revolutionary war, being with General Charles Lee in the Jersey campaigns. Later he became a resident of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and when General Washington visited that place in 1784 he left many relics he had gathered from the field of Braddock's defeat. About 1792 George Hollenback located near Prickett's Fort in what is now West Virginia, where he remained until 1807, and then removed to Muskingum county, Ohio. He died June 28, 1824. His son, George Hollenback II., was the ninth of eleven children. He was born in Marion county, West Virginia, in the year 1792, and was a very vigorous man physically, and of resolute will,- qualities which enabled him to cope with the vicissitudes of pioneer life. He served his country as a soldier of the war of 1812, and in recognition of his aid was granted a land warrant, where- with he secured one hundred and sixty acres in later life. On the 15th of June, 1817, he married Sophia Sidle, a daughter of John and Mary (Reid) Sidle. The mother was a sister of John Reid, the grandfather of General Q. A. Gillmore, a distinguished Union officer who conducted the bombard- ment of Fort Sumter and the city of Charleston. After his marriage Mr. Hollenback conducted his father-in-law's mill and also engaged in farming, but the west attracted him and with his wife and five children he started for the Mississippi valley in the fall of 1829, journeying in a covered wagon and bringing with him his household possessions and several cows. Their way lay through a wilderness in which the road was ofttimes little more than a trail, but eventually they reached Danville, Illinois, where friends had located some months before and where they passed the winter. In the spring of 1830 they again resumed their travels and located a few miles from Peru, on the south side of the Illinois river, but believing that the Fox river country offered better advantages, Mr. Hollenback spent the months of February and March, 1831, in investigating this district, journeying as far as Oswego. He made a claim in what is now Fox township, Kendall county, returned for his family and with them arrived at his future home April 18, 1831. The first
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dwelling of the family was very primitive. They hastened to make a little clearing in order to put in some crops, and then began to build a more sub- stantial log house to replace the first shanty, but before the new structure was completed the original dwelling was destroyed in a severe storm on the 20th of September. 1831, a falling tree being hurled against it. When his crop was harvested the grain was threshed by treading it out on the clay floor and then Mr. Hollenback and a young daughter took the grist to a mill, which was operated by horse power, it requiring six weeks to make the trip. On the Ist of December. 1831, the family circle was increased by the arrival of twins, George M. and .Amelia, the former being the first white child born in Kendall county.
The Indian outbreak in May, 1832, caused much distress to the first settlers here. Mr. Hollenback took his family to Fort Beggs, which was named in honor of Elder Beggs, the pioneer preacher, and which stood on the site of the city of Plainfield. He had been warned of the approaching outbreak by an Indian to whom he and his family had shown some kindness. From Fort Beggs they went to Fort Dearborn, returning in the fall to Ohio, where the family spent a year, but Mr. Hollenback again returned to Illinois in the spring and put in a crop. In the summer he again went to Ohio and when he once more journeyed to Illinois he brought his family with him. Even then evidences of the onward march of progress were seen, in that new roads had been constructed and various settlements had been established. The Kendall county homestead consisted of seven hundred acres on sections 14, 15, 22 and 23, Fox township, and of the claim one hundred and twenty- five acres was covered with fine timber. The land was not surveyed north of. the Indian boundary until 1837, in which year the commission was appointed to establish the state road from Ottawa to Naperville, the commissioners while thus engaged making their stay at the Hollenback home. It was located on a road where for nearly twenty years the daily stages passed. While Mr. Hollenback did not pretend to keep an inn and hotel he notwithstanding kept open house for all coming and going. His wife died February 26, 1861, and he passed away November 23, 1863. He was a man of unfaltering integrity. firm in support of his honest convictions, strong in the uprightness of his character anad a generous friend to the poor and needy and helpless. His early political allegiance was given to the democracy but he supported Fremont in 1856 and thenceforward was a republican. Mrs. Hollenback possessed in an eminent degree all those good qualities that radiate from an amiable mind and heart. As wife, mother and friend, the remembrance of her will be fondly cherished to the last survivor of those who knew her in any of these sacred and hallowed relations. Mr. Hollenback survived his wife for more than two years: Their hospitality was unbounded and their home was always open for the reception of their friends, while any destitute boy or girl could always come to them with confidence for advice, certain to find sympathy and substantial help. Their children were: John S., now deceased; Clark; Mrs. Sarah A. Boyd: David S .; Mary and Philip, both deceased; George, and his twin sister, Mrs. Amelia Davis; William A .; Mrs. Mary J. Moulton; Nelson K. ; and Mrs. Hannah Elizabeth LaSure.
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The descendants of John Hollenback, who came from Wurtemberg, num- bering those in the lineal and collateral branches with the living and the dead, number more than one thousand.
The boyhood days of George M. Hollenback were passed on the old homestead on the northeast quarter of section 22, Fox township. There he assisted in the work of the fields from the time of early spring planting until crops were harvested in the late autumn and he also engaged in teaching school in early manhood. It was his desire, however, to become a member of the bar, and to this end he devoted his leisure moments to study in that direction. He has in the course of an active, busy and useful career been again and again called to office. In November, 1856, he was elected clerk of the circuit court and entered upon eight years' service in that position, being reelected in 1860. On his retirement from the office he purchased a farm on section 21, Fox township, where he took up his abode in March. 1865. In 1873 he rebuilt the residence and conducted a model farm until his removal to Yorkville in 1888. In all of his agricultural interests he was progressive, practical and enterprising and he is today the owner of much valuable land, his holdings embracing over six hundred acres.
While active and successful in business he has also been recognized as a republican leader in this part of the state and has labored effectively to promote the interests of the party. In 1868 he was admitted to the bar and in the same year was appointed master in chancery, which office he filled continuously until 1896, with the exception of two years. During the war he was appointed enrolling officer by Governor Yates. In 1872 he was elected a member of the twenty-eighth general assembly, and for years he has served as justice of the peace, while for two terms he was supervisor. Whether in local or state office he has been equally loyal to the trust reposed in him and his official record is indeed commendable and worthy of emulation.
On the 5th of May. 1859, Mr. Hollenback was married to Julia A. Woodworth, a native of Ashtabula county, Ohio, and a daughter of Daniel and Roxanna (Heath) Woodworth, who were natives of New England and for many years resided in Lake county, Ohio, where their last days were passed. Mr. and Mrs. Hollenback had one daughter, Stella Louisa, who is a graduate of the West Aurora high school and the wife of Edward Welles, of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania. In 1886 Mr. Hollenback was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 23d of August of that year, her death being regretted by a most extensive circle of warm friends. On the 24th of July, 1888, Mr. Hollenback wedded Frances F. Houghman, a daughter of William Henry Lewis and Amelia (Brooks) Lewis, who were of German extraction and were natives of the state of New York. They lived in the Empire state and in Pennsylvania for some years and about 1856 became residents of Kendall county, Illinois, settling near Oswego. Later they took up their abode in Madison, Wisconsin, where their daughter Frances met and married Dr. Charles E. Houghman, who was appointed by the governor state oculist and aurist of Wisconsin.
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