USA > Illinois > Kane County > History of Kane County, Ill. Volume II > Part 17
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Milton J. Beverly was reared at Maple Park and attended the public schools there, completing his course by graduation from the high school with the class of 1891. He then pursued a course in the Metropolitan Business College of Chicago and entered upon his business career in the general store of L. C. Clyne, of Maple Park, remaining in his employ for about eight years. He was called to public office November 20, 1900. through his appointment as deputy county clerk, and on the Ist of December, 1902, he became deputy probate clerk under Peter Klein, of Aurora, there remaining for four years. In November, 1906, he was elected probate clerk, which office he now fills. He also served as tax collector for the township of Virgil from 1897 until 1900 inclusive. He is now serving for his fifth year on the village board of trustees of Maple Park, and is likewise a member of the school board. His various official duties have been faithfully performed, as is indicated by the fact that his fellow townsmen have called him to all these different offices. It was Lincoln who said, "You can fool all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time," and in view of this fact, when a man has been again and again called to public office by the vote of his fellow townsmen it is proof that they have trust in his ability and know him to be faithful to this trust. Mr. Beverly votes with the republican party, and his official record is indeed commendable.
On the 13th of December, 1893, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Beverly and Miss Marcellia Kenyon, a daughter of Oliver and Sarah ( Dut- ton ) Kenyon. Her father was born in Illinois and her mother in Canada. Mr. Kenyon was a soldier of the Civil war and lived in Chicago until after the great fire of 1871, there following the trade of carpentering. He then removed to Blunt. North Dakota, and afterward to Billings, Missouri, whence he came to Maple Park, where his death occurred January 1, 1899. His widow still survives him. Their family numbered three children, who grew to years of maturity: Harry Kenyon, of Maple Park; Mrs. Beverly; and O. C. Kenyon, of Geneva. Mr. and Mrs. Beverly have one son, Francis Marstiller.
Mr. Beverly is a Methodist in religious faith, while his wife belongs to St. Mary's Catholic church. In Masonry he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and he belongs to the blue lodge of Aurora, to
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Sycamore chapter, R. A. M., to Aurora commandery, K. T., West Chicago council, R. & S. M., and Medinah temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is like- wise connected with the De Kalb lodge of Elks, Mystic Trial Lodge, No. 419, K. P., of Geneva, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Court of Honor, the Independent Order of Foresters and the Knights of the Globe. He is a welcome visitor in the meetings of these different organizations and is personally popular with his fellowmen.
HIRAM PERRY.
Hiram Perry, deceased, was born at Elbridge, Onondaga county, New York, June 10, 1832, his parents being George and Katherine (Schultz) Perry. The father, who was born near Syracuse, Schoharie county, New York, and a farmer by occupation, was descended from Commodore Perry. His wife's birth occurred on the Mohawk river, in Pennsylvania, and she passed away in 1864. In 1838 the family came westward, settling on a farm in Campton township, Kane county, which is now owned by John Perry, an adopted son of a brother of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. George Perry had a family of eleven children, ten sons and one daughter, all of whom were offered a college education, but only five took advantage of this offer. The father was widely recognized as a very successful agriculturist and substantial citizen, and both he and his wife passed away on the old home farm in Campton township.
Hiram Perry supplemented his preliminary education, acquired in the public schools of Campton and in Elgin Academy, by a three years' course in Charlotteville College at Walnut Hills, Ohio, of which institution several of his brothers are also graduates. He taught singing school when a young man, was very popular and made many friends. After following farming for some years he came to Elgin in 1868, and here became a pruner or tree trimmer, which line of activity he successfully followed until the time of his death, on the 30th of July, 1894. In 1861 he enlisted for service in the Civil war as a private of Company I, One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Regiment, but while in the service was taken ill and remained in the hospital most of the time. He returned home with typhoid fever, and did not rejoin his com- pany on account of his health. In fact, he never fully recovered from the effects of his military experience. Two of his brothers, however, served throughout the entire period of hostilities.
On the 3Ist of December, 1855, Mr. Perry was united in marriage to Miss Marcia Cole, a daughter of Osman and Betsy Maria (Bostwick) Cole, of St. Charles, Kane county. Her father, who was born September 16, 1810, followed farming in Plato township, but subsequently removed to Elgin, where his demise occurred February 24, 1891. His wife, who was born in Vermont, May 11, 1810, passed away in October, 1883. The Bostwicks were of Scotch descent, but the members of the family who settled in America
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came from England. They trace their ancestry back for hundreds of years to Prince Bostwick and are a very prominent family in England.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Perry were born five children, the record of whom is as follows: Herbert F. married Emma Smales, and has seven children : Royal, who wedded Miranda Morell; Amy, who passed away at the age of two and a half years; Zetta; Mary Bertha, the wife of Eugene Rawn; Herbert; Myrtle, who died when two years of age; and Claud. Effie J. became the wife of Fred Gillett, by whom she has two children, Etoile and Charles. Bertha, whose demise occurred May 31. 1887, was the wife of George Adams, by whom she had one child. Clyde. Charles H. married Cora Alice, and has two children, Percy Ralph and Gladys Irene. Walter V. married Clara S. Schondlemeyer, who passed away February 14, 1898, leaving two children, Gail and Harold. He was afterward joined in wedlock to Miss Rose Mey Hungerford.
Mr. Perry gave his political allegiance to the republican party, and was a member of the Congregational church. He was connected with the Elgin volunteer fire department for a number of years, and was a very public- spirited citizen, giving his support to every movement or measure calculated to advance the material, political, intellectual and moral development of the community.
FRANK W. MERRILL.
The business affairs of Kaneville are well represented by Frank W. Mer- rill, who is prominently identified with a number of enterprises which have proven important factors in the upbuilding of his town and county. He is a very wide-awake, energetic business man and usually carries forward to suc- cessful completion whatever he undertakes.
Mr. Merrill was born on the 28th of February. 1853. in Grafton county, New Hampshire, and is a representative of an old and honored New England family. He has a fine collection of family photographs, dating back to remote ancestors. His father, Thomas W. Merrill, was born in Thornton. New Hampshire, February 19, 1824. and in that state was reared and educated. He was married in 1848 to Miss Harriet E. Thornton, of Thornton, which town was named in honor of her ancestors. She is a descendant of the celebrated Mathew Thornton, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and was also a colonel in the Revolutionary war. Our sub- ject has a copy of the Plymouth Record, a paper published July 13. 1897, reproducing an oration on the War of 1812 delivered by Mathew Thornton, in which he predicts a number of things which have since come to pass, includ- ing the rural delivery of mail. Thomas W. Merrill continued a resident of his native state until 1854. when he came to Illinois and located near Kane- ville in Kane county, where he continued to follow farming until his death in 1887. As a republican he took a very active part in local politics for many years and filled the offices of school director and township trustee in an able
F. W. MERRILL
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and satisfactory manner. His children were Frank W., of this review; John A., deceased; Mary E., the wife of J. S. Dauberman, a fariner of Kaneville township; and Hattie T., deceased.
Frank W. Merrill pursued his studies in the district schools near his boy- hood home and after completing his education at the age of eighteen years, he took charge of the farm, which he managed for his father. As an agriculturist he has met with good success and is now the owner of one of the best farms in Kane county, comprising two hundred and eighty acres of well improved land in Kaneville township. He has made a specialty of stock-raising, feeding over two hundred hogs and from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and seventy-five steers each year, but he has not confined his attention wholly to agricultural pursuits. He also owns and operates a creamery ; is a member of a stock company engaged in the manufacture of cement blocks employing ten men; and is now erecting a pump manufactory, which is well underway. He is president of the Elburn Coal & Lumber Company, and in all of these enterprises has displayed marked business and executive ability.
On the 26th of March, 1882, at Kaneville, Mr. Merrill married Miss Ada G. Lovell, and to them have been born two children: Grace M., who is now acting as bookkeeper for her father; and Charles W., who is associated with his father in business. Mr. Merrill is an ardent republican in politics and he takes a deep and commendable interest in public affairs, serving at the present writing, in 1908, as school director. It was through his personal efforts that Kaneville now has a beautiful cemetery and a large and elegant public-school building. Public-spirited and progressive, he gives an earnest support to every enterprise which he believes will advance the welfare of the community along any line.
ALFRED BOSWORTH.
Alfred Bosworth is a capitalist of Elgin, whom the most envious cannot grudge his success, so honorably has it been won and so worthily used. Many of the business interests with which he has been connected have been of intense benefit to the city and county and aside from any commercial or financial interest which would result to his own benefit, he has been associated with many movements that have proven an aid in the substantial growth and upbuilding of this section of the state. His father was considered the greatest financier of Kane county for years, and Alfred Bosworth has been equally prominent in business circles, while in all his career he has displayed an apti- tude for successful management and a most sound judgment in placing his investments.
His birth occurred in Dundee on the Ist of April, 1846. Extended mention is made on another page of this work of his father, Increase C. Bosworth, a pioneer merchant and banker, who did more than perhaps any other man to stimulate business conditions and lay the foundation for the present commercial and industrial development of the county. When the
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first settlers came to Kane county they staked out the land which they wished to enter and pay for it a dollar and a quarter per acre as soon as the govern- men survey was made, but this did not occur till several years later. When the government finally made the survey all of the settlers discovered that their landmarks did not coincide with the government surveys in many instances. Frequently the division lines would intersect their cabins, and as the price of land had increased from five to fifteen dollars per acre, great excitement prevailed. The difficulty was solved through a suggestion made at a public meeting, whereby the government was to deed all of the land to Increase C. Bosworth and he was to pay the original price of a dollar and a quarter per acre for it and then the residents of the district were to settle their own boundary lines. The records today show that Increase C. Bosworth entered a large part of the real estate in Dundee township, after which he deeded it to the original settlers. This fact, however, accounts for so many boundary lines around Dundee being different to the government lines. After conducting business at Dundee for some years Increase C. Bosworth sought a broader field of labor in the growing city of Elgin. Prospering in his undertakings, he provided his children with excellent educational privileges and Alfred Bosworth, after attending public and private schools, matriculated in the University of Chicago, from which he was graduated in the class of 1865.
In 1867 he engaged in the dry-goods business with I. C. Bosworth and George M. Peck, continuing actively in the enterprise until 1875, when he retired to become a partner in a private banking business conducted under the name of Bosworth, Carpenter & Company. The partners were I. C. and Alfred Bosworth and Julius A Carpenter. Alfred Bosworth. however. assumed control of the new institution. In 1876 the company purchased the controlling interest in the First National Bank of Elgin and the Elgin City Banking Company, and Alfred Bosworth assumed the management of both, becoming general manager of the largest banking business in the county. The safe, conservative policy, which he inaugurated contributed in large measure to the success of the institution, and in fact made it one of the most reliable money concerns in northern Illinois. He withdrew from the active management of the Elgin City Banking Company, however, in 1890 and from the First National Bank in 1905, although he is still a director. From time to time he has made extensive investments in farm property, and has been connected with dairy farming. At the present time. however, he is practically living retired, enjoying the pleasures which life offers through travel and in other ways. He has been a close student of agriculture and its possibilities, taking a great interest in farming and is con- sidered authority on many phases of farming and dairying.
On the 10th of September, 1872, Alfred Bosworth was married to Miss Eleanora M. B. Wheeler, and to them have been born six children : Edith E., who was born September 28, 1873, and is now Mrs. W. A. Levering, of Chicago; Neil, born May 25, 1878; Louise Marion, born July II, 1881 ; Roland Increase, born December 25, 1883: Winifred Sarah, born August 18, 1885; and Dorothy Helen, who completes the family. With the exception of Mrs. Levering all live in Elgin.
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Mr. Bosworth has a very extensive personal and business acquaintance in Kane county. He was trustee of the University of Chicago for many years and treasurer of the city of Elgin. Honored and respected by all, no man occupies a more enviable position in the public regard than he. Business men entertain for him the most thorough respect and trust, and his advice and counsel are sought by many, to whom it is freely and honestly given. He is recognized as a man of keen discernment in buiness affairs and one who will never advise a course which he would not himself follow under the same circumstances. His record reflects credit upon the family name, which has been a synonym for business activity and honesty in this county for more than seven decades. He never looks at life from any narrow or contracted standpoint, but judges his fellowmen by their real character, worth, and at all times has regarded his self-respect and the esteem of his fellow-citizens as infinitely more preferable than wealth, fame or position.
MICHAEL JAMES KELLEY.
Michael James Kelley, deceased, was born in Ireland on the 4th of August. 1832, his parents being James and Mary Kelley, the latter of Scotch descent. The father was a tailor by trade. When seven years of age Michael James Kelley accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United States, who after landing at New York city made their way to Boston, Massachusetts, where our subject was educated. He also learned the tailor's trade in that city, and when twenty-eight years of age came westward, settling at Freeport, Illinois, and subsequently at Huntley, McHenry county, follow- ing his trade at both places. In September, 1861, he enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of Company I, Eighth Illinois Cavalry, and par- ticipated in all the principal engagements in Virginia and Maryland and in the battles of the Wilderness, Malvern Hill and Gettysburg. He was pro- moted to sergeant, and his three years' term of service was characterized by unfaltering loyalty and the faithful performance of every task assigned him. After returning from the war Mr. Kelley again engaged in the merchant tailoring business in Huntley, and was thus successfully connected with the commercial interests of the city until his death, which occurred on the 28th of January, 1896.
On the 12th of September, 1859, Mr. Kelley was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. White, a daughter of Isaac and Polly (Edmunds) White, who resided near Huntley, Illinois. Two children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. Kelley. Ernest Edmunds, born in 1866, was married in 1890 to Miss Alberta Tobin, a daughter of William and Margaret (Egan) Tobin, of Elgin, by whom he has one child, Marian Fern. Earl Raymond Kelley, born Novem- ber 15, 1871, wedded Alice Todd, a daughter of Thomas and Anna ( McNeil) Todd.
In his political views Mr. Kelley was originally a republican, but when Grant vetoed the bill authorizing that soldiers be paid the difference between
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script and money worth one hundred cents on the dollar, he became a demo- crat, and thereafter voted that ticket. Fraternally he was connected with the Masons, and throughout his life exemplified the teachings of the craft as regards mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness.
DR. J. J. SCHAEFER.
Dr. J. J. Schaefer, an eye specialist of Elgin, whose capability is winning for him a large patronage in Elgin, is a native of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred in Jefferson, September 29, 1862. His parents were William and Helen Schaefer, natives of Germany, and the father was a merchant. The removal of the family from Wisconsin to Illinois enabled Dr. Schaefer to pursue his education as a public-school student in Johnsburg and he began traveling at an early age for the purpose of educating himself. Subsequently he entered the Northern Illinois College of Chicago and was graduated in 1896 with the degree of Doctor of Ophthalmology. He began the practice of his profession in Chicago and there continued until September, 1907, when he removed to Elgin, where he has since made his home. Although he is one of the more recent additions to professional circles here, he is already building up a nice practice, for he is giving demonstration of his ability to those who patronize him, his services being eminently satisfactory. He is a member of the Illinois Optical Society and in more specifically social lines is connected with the Royal League.
Dr. Schaefer was married in November, 1903, to Miss Adele Leone George, of Evanston, Illinois, and they are communicants of the Roman Catholic church.
THOMAS J. JUZEK.
The enterprising city of Elgin has many successful business men who are conducting establishments that would be a credit to a city of much larger size. This number includes Mr. Juzek, proprietor of a well appointed jewelry store. He was born in Fredericksburg. Virginia, August 2, 1857, and is a son of Thomas John and Mary ( Morits) Juzek, both of whom were natives of Vienna, Austria. Coming to this country in 1850, they settled in Virginia and the father, who was a watchmaker and jeweler in that state, lost every- thing he had through the fortunes of war when hostilities were being carried on between the north and the south. He afterward removed to Baltimore, Maryland, obtaining a pass from General Lee that enabled him to cross the Potomac river. In Baltimore he secured work at the jeweler's trade, and there resided until his death, which occurred when he was seventy-four years of age.
Thomas J. Juzek was reared and educated in Baltimore, attending the Catholic schools of that city. He learned the jeweler's trade under the direc-
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tion of his father there, and seeking the opportunities of the middle west he came to Elgin in 1880 and was employed by the Elgin National Watch Company for about eighteen months. He then went to Kansas, where he remained for three and a half years, after which he returned to this city in 1888, and worked again in watch factories for some time. Later he estab- lished the Elgin Horological School, in which he is still interested as its president. In 1893 he established a wholesale and retail jewelry store in this city at No. 23 Grove avenue, and has since built up an excellent business. He has a large and well appointed store, carries an attractive line of goods and the tasteful arrangement is noticed by all who enter the establishment. His prices, too, are reasonable, his methods strictly fair and honorable and thus he is winning a trade which is gratifying.
In 1891, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Mr. Juzek was married to Miss Nettie M. Moore, and unto them have been born a son and daughter. Mr. Juzek is a member of the Masonic lodge and the Elks. He is a public-spirited man whose devotion to the welfare of the city is manifest in many tangible ways. Aside from his business interests as a jeweler, he was for a number of years on the board of directors of the Home and Loan Association. The safe, conservative policy which he inaugurated when he established his store com- mends itself to the judgment of all, and has made the volume of trade transacted over his counters of considerable importance and magnitude.
LEONARD LASHER.
Leonard Lasher, whose name is on the roll of Elgin's honored dead, was a widely known and popular citizen who bore the reputation of being one of the most genial and entertaining hotel men of the country. He was also a representative of that class of Americans who are never too busy to be cordial and never too cordial to be busy, and in the control of his com- mercial interests he met with merited success. He was born at Red Hook, New York, January 25, 1834, and in his native city acquired a liberal edu- cation. When a young man he removed to New York city, where for a number of years he was employed in the Leland Hotel. He was a son of the late Stephen Lasher, and they came west together, engaging in the hotel business for a short time at Galena, Illinois.
In 1861 they removed to Elgin and for a period resided on the farm that is now owned by Hammond brothers. Later they took up their abode in the city, purchasing a home on Douglas avenue and Kimball street and engaged in the hay-press business, filling large contracts in that line. Soon after the close of the Civil war they purchased the Waverly House, and under the management of Leonard Lasher it became one of the leading hostelries in this section of the country, being famous for its excellent meals and for the social events which took place there. After the erection of the Nolting House in this city, Mr. Lasher became the landlord and proved as popular a host as he had at the Waverly. Later he disposed of his hotel
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interests here and became manager of the well known Race Brothers' restau- rant in Chicago, while subsequently he occupied the position of clerk in the Sherman House of that city.
In the 'Sos he returned to Elgin and became landlord of the Kelley Hotel, which he managed up to the time of his death on the 9th of August, 1900. His demise was the occasion of deep regret and sorrow to many friends, both in Elgin and in Chicago, where he was widely known, being held in the highest esteem. He left a widow, who still resides in Elgin, and two sons. Walter and Frank M .. the former a business man of Chicago, and the latter of Elgin. The memory of Leonard Lasher is yet cherished by many who knew him, for he belonged to that class of men who shed around them much of the sunshine of life.
ALBERT N. SOPER.
Evidences of the skill and ability of Albert N. Soper in landscape gar- dening are seen in the Elgin cemeteries. He occupies the position of super- intendent of cemeteries here and in this connection has done much toward improvement in the silent cities of the dead. He was born in Laporte county, Indiana. December 7, 1857. his parents being Samuel H. and Sarah V. ( Eaheart) Soper, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. The father is a painter by trade and for many years followed that pursuit, both he and his wife still surviving and now living with the subject of this review.
Albert N. Soper was educated in the high school of Michigan City, Indiana, and in 1871 became a resident of Elgin. For a short time he was employed on the Chicago & Pacific Railroad and subsequently learned the trade of marble and granite cutting, under the direction of A. E. Price, with whom he continued for six years. During that time he carefully saved his earnings and embarked in business on his own account at Woodstock, Illinois, where he remained for five years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Elgin and bought out his former employer. A. E. Price. He then con- tinued in the marble and granite business until May, 1907, when he was appointed superintendent of cemeteries, having charge of the Bluff City, Elgin and Mount Hope cemeteries. His previous experience as a maker of monuments and grave stones had well qualified him for his present position, as it gave to him an understanding of what was needed in improving and beautifying the graveyards of the country.
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