USA > Illinois > Kane County > History of Kane County, Ill. Volume II > Part 22
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Mr. Robbins supported the Congregational church and in the various relations of life was honorable and upright, his course winning him the regard and esteem of all with whom he was brought in contact.
WILLIAM ALEXANDER HOLLENBACK.
It would be superfluous in this connection to enter into any series of statements explanatory of who William A. Hollenback is or what position he occupies in the public regard. He is too well known in Kendall county to need introduction to the readers of this volume, for from an early epoch in the history of Illinois the Hollenback family has been active and prominent in the upbuilding and improvement of this part of the state. Mr. Hollenback of this review, for many years closely associated with agricultural interests, is now living retired in Aurora, his home being at No. 318 Spruce street. He was born in La Salle, now Kendall county, Illinois, November 9. 1834, his parents being George and Sophia (Sidle) Hollenback, the former born near Morgantown. West Virginia, in 1792, and the latter on the 18th of April, 1799, in New Jersey. Extended mention of the family is made in connection with the sketch of George M. Hollenback on another page of this volume.
William A. Hollenback was born in what is now known as Fox town- ship, Kendall county, when that district constituted a part of La Salle county. His parents were pioneer settlers of the state and he was reared to manhood upon the home farm amid the scenes and environments of frontier life. His father was the owner of seven hundred and sixty-two acres of rich Illinois land and William Hollenback enjoyed little leisure in his youth, for his services were continuously needed upon the farm. He there continued until he had attained his majority and attended the old-time subscription schools at a period when the neighbors used to schedule for school purposes and the teacher boarded around. He also pursued his studies alone in the old log cabin, for he was athirst for knowledge and throughout his entire life has been interested in the acquirement of knowledge that broadens one's mental ken and brings to him a more thorough appreciation of life, its meaning and its purposes. On starting out in business on his own account he operated a part of his father's farm and then purchased one hundred and forty-six and eighty-eight one hundredthis acres of land. With characteristic energy he began the development of the property and later at different times pur- chased seventy-seven and a half acres, five and ninety-six one hundredths acres, while one hundred and thirty and a half acres were allotted to him as his share of the home farm. He now owns three hundred and sixty and a third acres and from this valuable property derives a gratifying annual income. Year after year he carried on the work of the fields with excellent success, living in Kendall county until 1887, while in 1888 he removed to
W. A. HOLLENBACK
.
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Chicago, where he resided until 1891. In May of that year he returned and settled at Millbrook Station, where he remained for nearly five years.
On the IIth of January, 1866, Mr. Hollenback was married to Miss Cornelia R. Pooler, a daughter of Otis Ensign and Amy (Miller) Pooler, of Lake county, Ohio. Mrs. Hollenback died in 1898 at the age of fifty-seven years, and on the 23d of October. 1901, at Battle Creek, Michigan, Mr. Hollenback was again married, his second union being with Miss Julia V. Pooler, a sister of his first wife, who had lived with them when a little girl. She has a twin brother, George E. Pooler, and they were born at Union- ville, Lake county, Ohio, in 1854. Her father was a native of New York and her mother of Ohio. His death occurred in the Buckeye state and Mrs. Pooler afterward married again, becoming the wife of David Curtis, of Lagrange, Lorain county, Ohio. She died at that place at the age of seventy-nine years, while Mr. Curtis passed away at the age of eighty-four years. By his first marriage Mr. Pooler had five children, Cornelia ; Melissa. the wife of John Boyd; Martha, the wife of Albert Wilsie, state senator in Nebraska; George Emery ; and Julia V.
Mrs. Hollenback is a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church. Mr. Hollenback gives his political support to the republican party and was postmaster at Mansfield, Illinois, for three years. The postoffice was con- ducted in his father's home for ten years, his father having been postmaster for seven years. Few men have so intimate knowledge of the history of this part of the state as has William A. Hollenback, who has lived here continuously for almost seventy-four years. Remarkable changes have occurred during this time, for the Indian wigwam has been replaced by beautiful farm dwellings and the attractive and sometimes palatial homes of the city. The wild land has also been converted into rich farms, while at different places cities, towns and villages have sprung up and in their midst have been established industrial and commercial interests reaching out to all sections of the country. Mr. Hollenback relates many interesting incidents of the early days. His own life of activity and enterprise has been crowned with success and well merited rest and he is now living retired in Aurora, the fruits of his former labor being sufficient to enable him to enjoy all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life.
CHARLES A. SOPER.
Drawing his patronage from a large territory, Charles A. Soper is now conducting a profitable and growing business as proprietor of the Elgin Marble and Granite Works. He is a young man, possessing much of the spirit of enterprise which has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of the middle west. Elgin numbers him among her native sons, his birth having here occurred on the 5th of October, 1881. His parents are Albert N. and Althea J. (McDowell) Soper, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume.
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Coming to Elgin in the '70s, the father has since resided here and is now filling the position of superintendent of the Elgin cemeteries.
At the usual age Charles A. Soper was sent as a pupil to the public schools, wherein he passed through consecutive grades and after leaving school he entered the employ of the Elgin National Watch Company, with which he was connected for three years. He was next employed in the city light department and in 1903 he purchased from A. E. Price the Elgin Marble and Granite Works, which he has since conducted. He is now engaged in the manufacture of monuments and cemetery memorials exclusively and has a trade which covers several adjacent counties. His business is large and profitable and his location is a favorable one, being just opposite the Bluff City Cemetery.
Mr. Soper is a member of the Masonic lodge and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. He was married September 14, 1905, to Miss Grace Townsend, of Elgin, a daughter of Milton S. Townsend, and they have one child, Dorothea Jane. The parents are members of the First Baptist church and they reside at No. 610 Wright avenue, their home being a most hospitable one, its doors being ever open for the reception of their many friends.
HOWARD C. McNEIL.
Howard C. McNeil is preeminently a man of action, which fact is mani- fest in the discharge of his duties as treasurer of the Illinois Iron & Bolt Company. One is apt to think of the graduates of Harvard and other noted universities as representatives of professional life and interests, but the time has passed when the college bred man feels that he must confine his attention to a professional career, for he realizes that the field of industrial and com- mercial activity is just as great and that its successes are just as honorable.
Mr. McNeil, a Harvard graduate, is now occupying a position of admin- istrative direction in connection with one of the most important industrial concerns of Kane county, the plant being located at Carpenterville. He was born at Elgin, March 22, 1878, and is a son of John McNeil, one of the prominent wholesale grocers of Chicago. The public schools afforded him his preliminary educational opportunities and later he attended the Elgin Academy and the Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, from which he was graduated in 1897. He then entered Harvard and won the degree of S. B. upon his graduation in 1901. For five and a half years he was connected with the McNeil & Higgins Company, wholesale grocers of Chicago, and on the Ist of January, 1907, became the treasurer of the Illinois Iron & Bolt Company. This company has an extensive plant at Carpenterville and is one of the most important productive enterprises of the county. Mr. McNeil has shown himself well qualified for a position of administrative direction and executive control and has made a most creditable place in business circles.
On the 22d of September, 1903, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. McNeil and Miss Mary Elizabeth Cleveland, a daughter of Dr. E. F. Cleve-
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land, of Dundee, and a niece of Mrs. G. P. Lord, a representative of one of the old families of Elgin. They now have one daughter, Elizabeth Crichton, who was born November 29. 1906. Mr. McNeil is a member of the First Baptist church of Elgin and his wife holds membership in St. James Episcopal church of Dundee. They are widely known and prominent socially and their circle of friends in the county is most extensive. Mr. McNeil is a young man of strong individuality and indubitable probity and is winning for himself a place among those who are prominent factors in the world of trade in Kane county.
WILLIAM MOFFETT MERCER.
William Moffett Mercer is a member of the bar of Aurora and is also a representative of agricultural interests in Kane county, owning and supervis- ing valuable farming interests. He was born at Waterman, De Kalb county, Illinois, March 8, 1863. His paternal grandfather, Robert Mercer, was a native of the north of Ireland but of Scotch descent. He followed the occupa- tion of farming and spent the greater part of his life in Beaver county, Penn- sylvania, but while he passed away in middle age his wife lived to be about ninety years of age.
Their son, Smith Mercer, followed the occupation of farming and on removing from the east came to Illinois in 1854, settling on a tract of land near Waterman, De Kalb county, where seven of his children were born. After successfully carrying on general agricultural pursuits for a long period he retired from business life and lived in Sandwich for ten years in the enjoy- ment of well earned rest. He was then called to his final rest in 1904, passing away at the age of seventy-six years. In early manhood he wedded Margaret Thornburg, a daughter of David Thornburg, who was a native of Pennsyl- vania and of Scotch lineage. He married a Miss Veasey and removed westward to Leavenworth, Kansas, about 1875, his death there occurring when he had reached the age of eighty-nine years. His wife died in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, when more than sixty years of age. They had a large family, including Margaret Thornburg, who became the wife of Smith Mercer and passed away upon the home farm in De Kalb county, Illinois, in 1888. at the age of fifty-six years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith Mercer were faithful members of the United Presbyterian church and in community affairs he was active, holding various town offices.
Their family numbered nine children, seven sons and two daughters, as follows: Robert, who makes his home in Chicago; Joseph, a resident of Aurora; Thomas, who is living in Sandwich, Illinois; John, a resident of Waterman, this state; Alwin, of Aurora; William M., whose name introduces this review; Wallace, who died in 1886 at the age of twenty-two years; Ida, the wife of A. J. Tuttle, who resides in Los Angeles, California ; and Jennie, the wife of James E. Landen, also of that city.
William Moffett Mercer was reared upon his father's farm in the county of his nativity and supplemented his district school education by study in East
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Paw Paw Seminary, where he won the degree of Bachelor of Science. He manifested such aptitude in his studies that he was enabled to procure a teacher's certificate and for several years engaged in teaching in De Kalb county, beginning when seventeen years of age. He was graduated from the seminary at the age of twenty years and then went to Nebraska, where he secured a situation as bookkeeper and assistant cashier in a bank at Franklin. He filled that position for two years and subsequently was manager of a lumber yard there owned by the T. W. Harvey Lumber Company, which company had yards in a number of places in western states. Mr. Mercer managed their business at Ravenna and at Shickley. Nebraska, his time being thus occupied until 1892, when he embarked in the grain, lumber and coal business at Shabbona, Illinois, giving his time and attention to that enterprise until 1899. He then came to Aurora and made this his home, but entered the Northwestern University Law School at Chicago, from which he was gradu- ated in 1901. The same year he was admitted to the bar and practiced in Chicago from May until December as assistant to A. C. Barnes, who was first assistant in the office of Governor Charles S. Deneen, then state's attorney. Mr. Barnes is now one of the judges of the circuit and superior courts of Cook county.
Returning to Aurora, Mr. Moffett opened an office and has practiced here continuously since. He has secured a good clientage and his patronage is thus plainly indicated. He was first in partnership with F. R. Reid and later the firm was Goodwin, Mercer & Reid. Subsequently it became Goodwin & Mercer, Judge Goodwin retiring in 1905 to become assistant United States attorney general of the postoffice department. Mr. Mercer is now alone in practice and is recognized as an able lawyer of keen discernment and of marked analytical power. He has made steady advancement in his business career, as his constantly expanded powers have enabled him to successfully cope with the intricate problems that are continually being presented in business life.
On the 4th day of December. 1884, Mr. Mercer was married to Miss Ella Lattin, who was born in Dutchess county, New York, a daughter of Edom and Ruth ( Mosher ) Lattin, who were also natives of the Empire state. Her father was of Holland Dutch lineage, while the mother came of Quaker stock. They were the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters, namely : Stephen A., who makes his home in Minnesota: George W., of De Smet. South Dakota; Alma, the wife of Samuel Criswell, who resides in Buffalo. Oklahoma; and Ella, now Mrs. Mercer. The father of these children was a miller in the east and died in Dutchess county, New York, in middle life. while his wife passed away at Franklin, Nebraska, in 1890. when about fifty- eight years of age.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mercer have been born two sons and four daughters : Maude, the wife of Henry A. Brown, formerly of Poughkeepsie, New York. but now of Aurora, by whom she has a son, Horace A. ; Ivan Harrison, who graduated from the East Aurora high school and is now operating a farmi belonging to his father in Aurora township: Christel, who, like her brother. is a graduate of the East Aurora high school; William Mark. Monna and Leona. all still under the parental roof.
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The parents are members of the Congregational church, in which Mr. Mercer is serving as a deacon. Politically he is a republican. He is a very strong Deneen man and one of the first Deneen supporters. In matters of public moment he has taken an active and helpful interest. He is now chair- man of the agricultural committee of the Chamber of Commerce and is chair- man of the building committee of the Young Men's Christian Association. which is now erecting a new building at a cost of one hundred thousand dol- lars. He is also a stockholder in the German-American National Bank of Aurora. He owns a fine farm of one hundred and forty acres two miles south of the city known as Maple Lawn Farm and there gives particular attention to the breeding of Chester White hogs and to dairying. His city residence is at No. 210 La Salle street. Mr. Mercer takes an active and helpful interest in all that pertains to the general welfare and his labors along many lines have been effective working forces in its behalf.
HENRY ALMOND BARTLETT.
Henry Almond Bartlett, who is successfully engaged in farming in Camp- ton township, is one of Kane county's native sons, for he was born in Black- berry township, December 4, 1873. His father, John E. Bartlett, was born September 15. 1850, in Campton and died on the 15th of November. 1889. He is still survived by his wife, who bore the maiden name of Elsie M. Rich- mond and is yet a resident of Kane county. In politics John E. Bartlett was a stanch republican, inheriting those principles from his illustrious father, Joseph P. Bartlett, who was very actively associated with the operation of the famous underground railroad in antebellum days, whereby many a poor negro was assisted on his way to Canada and freedom. Our subject's father held the office of school director for many years. The other children of the family are George E., also a farmer of Campton township: Joseph A., a farmer of Blackberry township; William Lester, who is teaching in the mute school at Berkeley, California ; and Walter E., a teacher at Big Rock, Kane county.
Henry A. Bartlett pursued his studies in the district schools of this county until he had attained the age of fifteen years, and then gave his mother the benefit of his labors in the operation of the home farm until he reached his majority, when he removed to Elburn and was engaged in the feed, coal and implement business for several years. He next took charge of his uncle's farm and is now operating one of the largest and best dairy farms in Kane county with excellent success, being a progressive agriculturist and a man of good business ability and sound judgment.
As a companion and helpmate on life's journey Mr. Bartlett chose Miss Thursa Aylward, who was born in Kaneville, and by their marriage they have become the parents of two children: Ralph A., born May 21. 1903; and Charles Maynard, born October 15, 1907. Mrs. Bartlett's father, Charles Aylward, now makes his home in Elburn, but her mother is deceased, dying in 1902. She has one sister, Emma, who is a resident of Chicago and is super-
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intendent of the Presbyterian training school for nurses. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett are faithful members of the Congregational church and are most estimable people, who have many friends throughout the county. Being a strong temperance man, Mr. Bartlett is an active prohibitionist in politics.
THADDEUS J. MERRILL.
Thaddeus J. Merrill is one of the more recent additions to the Kane county bar, but has already gained a good clientage as a general law practitioner of Aurora. He was born at Hinckley, Illinois, December 18, 1877, and is a representative of one of the old families of this city, his paternal grandfather having located here when Aurora was little more than a village. He engaged in the lumber and coal business as one of the early merchants and died here in middle life. His wife, Mrs. Marian Merrill, has also long since passed away.
Frank E. Merrill, father of our subject, was born in Plessis, New York, and was reared to farm life, but in early manhood went to New York city, where he accepted a clerkship in a banking house. He had been thus engaged for several years, when he was offered a position in the government printing office under the administration of Abraham Lincoln and became head of the bank note printing department. He remained there during the succeeding administration of President Johnson and on his retirement from office came to the middle west and settled in Aurora, Illinois, where he engaged in the coal and lumber business under the firm name of Merrill & Dickinson. For several years he was thus associated with the trade, after which he removed to Hinckley, Illinois, where for twenty-three years he conducted a general mercantile and banking business. He was for twenty-three years a factor in the business life of that town and then disposing of his banking and mercan- tile interests to H. D. Wagner he returned to Aurora, where he lived retired. He married Miss Frances Elizabeth Costler, a native of Covington, Kentucky, and they reared a family of one son and two daughters: Thaddeus J .; Nellie E., the wife of William Henderson, of Aurora; and Marian A., who is living with her mother in this city. The death of Mr. Merrill occurred in 1893. when he was about fifty-six years of age. He was a Unitarian in religious faith and his wife is connected with the same church. At one time he was candidate for the state senate on the democratic ticket, but was defeated, and later a change in his political views led him to endorse the republican party. He filled a number of local offices in Hinckley, serving as postmaster, as jus- tice of the peace and as town clerk, and for several terms he capably adminis- tered municipal affairs as mayor. He left the impress of his individuality for good upon the locality in which he resides and yet occupies a prominent place in the memory of those who knew him in life.
Thaddeus J. Merrill was reared in Hinckley, Illinois, and attended the grammar schools there. When fourteen years of age he came to Aurora and. continuing his education here, was graduated from the West Aurora high
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school in 1897. He afterward engaged in teaching school for a year at Hinck- ley and subsequently entered Dartmouth College at Hanover, New Hampshire, where he pursued his studies until the fall of 1900, when he became a student in the University of Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1902. He afterward studied law in the University of Chicago, completing the course in 1904, and then put his theoretical knowledge to the test in the office of Scanlan & Fell, of Chicago. He next opened an office in Aurora, where he has remained in practice continuously since, having been admitted to the bar on the 13th of October, 1904. Although one of the younger representatives of the profession, he has already secured a good clientage here and is making substantial advancement in his chosen calling. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association.
On the 24th of October, 1905, Mr. Merrill was married to Miss Meribah T. Willis, a daughter of Judge Henry B. and Lucy (Wait) Willis, of Elgin. Mr. Merrill belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the Odd Fellows lodge and the Modern Woodmen camp, and politically has always been a republican. He lives at No. 89 Highland avenue, in the old homestead which was erected by his father.
O. A. HOLCOMB.
Among Aurora's native sons who have gained distinction in the lines of business to which they have given their energies is numbered O. A. Holcomb, now an able and representative lawyer, who was born in Aurora on the 8th of August, 1858. His father, Osborne Holcomb, was a native of Connecticut, born near Hartford. He came to Aurora in the early '50s and engaged in contracting, doing much toward the upbuilding of the city. He erected many houses and other structures here and thus contributed in substantial measure to the welfare and improvement of Aurora. His political allegiance was un- falteringly given to the republican party. He died in December, 1902, at the age of seventy-four years, and is still survived by his wife at the age of seventy- five years. She bore the maiden name of Mary Ann Higby and was born near Elmira, New York. She came to Illinois with her father, who on his removal westward gave his attention to farming in the early '50S.
O. A. Holcomb acquired his literary education through the medium of the public schools of Aurora and then, determining upon the practice of law as a life work, he began studying with the late A. E. Searls as his preceptor. After thorough preliminary reading he was admitted to the bar in 1889 and has since been engaged in practice. However, he has devoted much time to other interests, being the owner of valuable farming property and also making farm loans. He does an extensive land business in all the surrounding states, handling much valuable property and placing many investments. He also owns real estate in the city and has built several houses here, the rental thereof bringing him a gratifying annual income.
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On the 15th of March. 1888. Mr. Holcomb was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Keck, daughter of Daniel and Mary E. ( Ellis) Keck, and a native of Illinois. Unto them have been born a daughter and son : Ethel, who is now attending Wheaton College : and Glen, who is a student in the public schools of this city. Mr. Holcomb votes with the republican party, but has never been an office seeker, preferring to devote his time and attention to his professional and business duties, which leave him little leisure but which bring to him gratifying annual success.
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