USA > Illinois > Kane County > History of Kane County, Ill. Volume II > Part 41
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John Loser spent the first eighteen years of his life in the fatherland, and then came with the family to the United States. Here he worked at the stone- mason's trade for a number of years, but in 1874 turned his attention to the grocery and liquor business as senior partner of the firm of Loser & Eggerman. For a number of years the firm has been Loser & Dooling, his partner and asso- ciate being John Dooling, his son-in-law. Mr. Loser, however, has not con- fined his attention alone to mercantile interests, but has figured prominently in connection with other business concerns. He is now a director of the Mer- chants National Bank and was a member of the building committee which erected the magnificent new bank structure that is a most creditable example of Aurora's architecture.
Moreover, Mr. Loser has long figured prominently in community affairs, although the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him. His qualifications, however, were recognized as fitting him for a place on the board of public works, of which he has been a member for eight years, while for some years of this term he has been chairman, acting in that capacity at the present time. During his term the reservoir has been built, also the air compresser, while at the present writing the board is building a more extensive
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one at a cost of sixteen thousand dollars. The construction work is being done by a local concern, for Mr. Loser believes in patronizing home industries. He has shown talent for supervising and carrying out public works, is a prac- tical man who labors while others theorize and who accomplishes results while others are formulating plans.
On the 6th of April, 1869. Mr. Loser was married to Miss Jennie Mel- chart, a native of Prussia. They have become the parents of four children : Mary, now the wife of Dr. France; Angeline, the wife of John Dooling ; C. C. and L. L., at home.
Mr. Loser belongs to the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. His friends know him as a modest, unassuming man who takes little credit for what he has accomplished either in business or public lines, but the consensus of opinion establishes his worth and his place in the community.
JACKSON A. MAPES.
All the possessions and achievements of this enterprising farmer of Plato township are the results of his own efforts and ability. He was thrown on his own resources early in life by the death of his mother, which broke up the parental home in a measure, and drove all the children who were old enough out to work for themselves.
He is a son of Peter and Felinda (Holden) Mapes, and one of the two survivors of their five children, the others being his twin brother Perry, who is dead, Nellie and William, also deceased, and Jennie, who is the wife of Bert Wilcox. The father was born in the state of New York and became a resident of Kane county when a young man, coming hither from his native state with his parents. The family located on Rock River, where the parents became acquainted and were married, the mother being a native of Burlington in this county.
Jackson A. Mapes obtained his education in the district school of Camp- ton, which he attended until he reached the age of sixteen, meanwhile earning his own living as a hired hand on a farm much of the time. After the death of their mother, he and his brother, mere boys, erected out of their meager earnings a memorial stone to her memory because of the love they bore her.
On November 24, 1887, Mr. Mapes was married to Miss Ada Shaver, who was born in Plato township, this county, August 3, 1872. They have four children, Harold N., Ernest R., William H., and Marion G., all of whom are still dwelling with them, and those that are old enough assist in the work of the farm and the dairy. Mr. Mapes keeping twenty-seven fine cows on the farm for dairy purposes.
Politically Mr. Mapes is a republican ; fraternally is a Modern Woodman of America, and in church connection is a Methodist Episcopalian. He farms one hundred and eleven acres of land, and cultivates it with vigor and good judgment. His cattle are mainly of the Holstein breed, and his other live- stock is also of superior strains, for he is a great believer in keeping up the
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standard of stock. He raises a variety of crops, including all that are suited to the land and latitude, and alternates them from year to year in a way to keep the land in order and secure the best results. He has himself earned every dollar he has in money and property, and his career furnishes a gratifying illustration of the power of industry, thrift and capacity in a country so wide and varied in its interests and so abundant in opportunities as this. His friends and neighbors esteem him highly and all classes of the people hold him in respect for his worth and the excellence of his citizenship.
EDWARD U. BANKER, M.D.
Dr. E. U. Banker, whose liberal practice is indicative of the confidence reposed in his professional skill by the general public, has been located in Aurora since 1905. He was born February 20, 1877. His father. Conrad Banker, first opened his eyes to the light of day on a farm in Sugar Grove township, this county. He was a son of Frank Banker, who was born in Germany, but when a young man came to the United States and resided for a time in the state of New York. He came to the middle west in pioneer days, however, and lived in a log cabin in Sugar Grove township when this was a frontier region. Much of the surrounding land was wild and uncultivated and the prairies had not been transformed into rich fields bringing forth large crops. For many years he developed his farm, being numbered among the energetic agriculturists of the community. He died in 1901 at the age of seventy-eight years.
Conrad Banker was born in the log cabin home, was reared to the occu- pation of farming and always followed that pursuit as a life work. He continued to operate the old home farm until 1881, when he went to Kansas, where he remained for seven years. He then returned to Aurora, where he is now living, being employed as car inspector in the shops of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Conrad Banker was married to Miss Eva M. Slaker, a native of North Aurora and the daughter of Joseph and Mary Slaker, who were natives of Germany, whence they came to North Aurora in pioneer days, the father following the occupation of farming.
Dr. Banker, born in North Aurora, was educated in the public schools of his native city, passing through successive grades until he was graduated from the high school with the class of 1895. He afterward learned the drug busi- ness in the employ of Staudt Brothers and in due time was graduated in phar- macy. He had determined, however, to become a member of the medical fraternity and for four years studied medicine, after which he was graduated from the Rush Medical College in 1904. He added practical training to his theoretical knowledge by fifteen months' experience as interne in the St. Charles hospital and then entered upon the private practice of medicine, in which he has since engaged, meeting with good success. He is a member of the Fox River Valley, the Illinois State and the American Medical Associations, and by
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constant research and study he keeps in close touch with the progress that is continually being made in the profession.
In 1907 Dr. Banker was married to Miss Lucile Donaldson, a daughter of Swan Donaldson, a native of Norway and one of the early settlers of Aurora, who served as a veteran of the Civil war and was held as a prisoner at Libertyville.
Dr. Banker is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Jerusalem Temple Lodge, No. 90, A. F. & A. M .; and Aurora Chapter, No. 22, R. A. M. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Episcopal church. Although a young man he is meeting with good success in his practice, as he demonstrates his power to successfully cope with the intricate questions that continually confront the physician. He is a young man of strong intellectual force and keen discernment and fate seems to hold in store for him a bright future.
JOHN ASHE.
Descended from good Irish ancestry but themselves natives of this coun- try, John Ashe and his wife, prominent farming people of Sugar Grove township, have exhibited in their productive and homemaking industry and thrift the sturdy attributes of their forefathers and the enterprise and pro- gressiveness of America.
Mr. Ashe was born at Geneva, Wisconsin, June 26, 1858. His father. Gregory Ashe, came from his native Ireland to the United States in boyhood, and as he was reared and educated in this country, and here achieved the suc- cess that distinguished him, he may be said to have been almost wholly a product of our land and its institutions. His early life in America was passed in the state of Ohio, where he met and married his wife, who emi- grated also from Ireland and settled in Ohio with her parents when she was a girl. Her maiden name was Mary Leary. Soon after his marriage, about fifty-five years ago, the elder Ashe took up his residence in Wisconsin. There he and his wife reared a family of four sons: Thomas, of Geneva Lake, Wisconsin : John ; James, deceased, and Michael, of Geneva Lake, Wisconsin.
At the age of twenty John Ashe moved from his native state to Illinois and took up his residence in Sugar Grove township. Kane county, where he has since continuously resided. He worked as a farm hand for three years and during the next nineteen farmed for himself on rented land. By rigid economy he saved enough money to buy the farm of one hundred and twenty acres on which he now lives in section 31, Sugar Grove township. This place has been well developed and greatly improved under his energetic and skillful management and is now one of the choice farms in the township.
Mr. Ashe was married, May 10, 1881, at DeKalb, Illinois, to Miss Catharine Finley, who was born in Corning, New York, in 1855, and whose parents were natives of Ireland. One child has been born unto them, their daughter, Kathryn A., whose birth occurred February 9, 1882, and who was
. JOHN ASHE
1
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graduated from the Sugar Grove Normal and Industrial school in 1901. She is living at home with her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Ashe have won a substantial success in life wholly through their own efforts and proper living. Fortune has never smiled on them with any of her special benefactions but has left them to work out their own ad- vancement in their own way. They are comfortably fixed on a good farm with all the elements of material enjoyment around them, and they stand well in the esteem of all who know them, being regarded as upright and true in all the relations of life and worthy of commendation for the sterling quali- ties of manhood and womanhood which they have displayed in all conditions and under all circumstances.
JOHN H. KELLY.
John H. Kelly, a retired agriculturist residing on section 15, Elgin town- ship, was born in Rutland, Illinois, his parents being John and Eliza ( Mans- field ) Kelly, natives of Schenectady county, New York. They removed to Illinois in 1845, settling in Rutland township, Kane county, where the father purchased and entered land. He paid but a dollar and a quarter per acre for the land which he entered from the government, but the purchased land cost from eight to ten dollars per acre more. He was one of the early agriculturists of this county and was also a pioneer justice of the peace here. The Indians had left this part of the country, but there were still evidences of their former habi- tation in the trails which they left through the prairies. John Kelly departed this life in 1891 at the age of eighty-five years, while his wife passed away in 1884. Of the ten children born unto them, six grew to years of maturity : Alford, who makes his home in St. Charles; Sarah, the widow of Stiles Mansfield, residing in New Haven, Connecticut; Elizabeth, the widow of O. B. Weld, of Elgin; Leverett M., who is in the pension department at Washington, D. C .; Linn A., a practicing physician of Winona, Minnesota ; and John H., of this review.
The last named acquired his preliminary education in the country schools and afterward attended Beloit College for two terms. After putting aside his text-books he returned home and engaged in farming under the direction of his father, which was the occupation to which he had been reared. The management of the home farm, however, devolved almost entirely upon him, for his father was a carpenter by trade and gave much of his time to that pur- suit. John H. Kelly therefore successfully conducted the work of the place until his father's death, when he became the owner of the old homestead, pur- chasing the interest of the other heirs therein. The place comprises three hundred and sixty-one acres, originally purchased for the prices above men- tioned, but owing to the improvements which had been placed upon it, was worth sixty-five dollars per acre at the time our subject bought it. He gained a creditable and gratifying measure of success in its cultivation and in addi- tion to the work of tilling the soil also made a specialty of raising fine Hol-
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stein cattle for many years. He likewise raised horses, and at one time made a specialty of thoroughbreds, besides other fine stock. In 1892 he retired from the farm and removed to Elgin, purchasing a lot of two acres, on which he and his wife erected a commodious and substantial residence. Here they are now enjoying the fruits of their former toil in well earned ease, being enabled to enjoy all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. They are widely known and highly respected throughout the community and have gained the warm esteem and regard of an extensive circle of friends. Besides the prop- erty mentioned, Mr. Kelly owns two lots in Pingree Grove and a blacksmith shop there, three lots in Columbia Park, and two lots in Franklin Park, Chi- cago.
On the 18th of October, 1871, John H. Kelly was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. McLean, of Kane county, and a daughter of J. R. and Caroline (Hurd) McLean, natives of Dresden, New York. They came to this county in 1846, settling in Elgin township on the edge of the town of Elgin, the father being one of the earliest settlers here. He purchased one hundred acres from a Mr. Kimball at a dollar and a quarter per acre, and most of this land is still in the possession of the family. He served for many years as justice of the peace and highway commissioner and was also one of the founders of the board of trade of Elgin. He was likewise one of the originators of the Elgin butter industry and to his zeal the city of Elgin is much indebted for the development of its butter and milk industry, to which it owes a great deal of its wealth and prosperity. He was the first secretary of the Dairymen's Convention, the secretary of the first Elgin fair, and in many other ways contributed to the substantial upbuilding of the community, being one of the most public-spirited and enterprising citizens of this section of Kane county. He passed away in 1882 at the age of seventy-nine years, while his wife sur- vived him until 1892, her demise occurring when she had attained the age of eighty-one. Their family numbered three children: Jennie, the widow of Darius Hewitt, who makes her home in Elgin; Mrs. Kelly; and John T., of Elgin township. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kelly have been born five children, namely : Howard, Lynn, Maud J. and Dwight, all residing in this county ; and Mabel J., the wife of William Anderson, of Freeport.
Mr. Kelly is a member of the Mystic Workers of Elgin. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of Kane county, and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and cooperation to any movement calculated to benefit this section of the country or advance its wonderful development.
ALBERT SCHMITZ.
Albert Schmitz, deceased, was one of the worthy citizens that Germany has furnished to Elgin. He was born on the 6th of October, 1854, and was a boy of nine years when he came to America with his parents, Charles and Carolina ( Weiscotten) Schmitz. Deciding to locate in the middle west, the father settled on a farm near Evansville, Indiana, where he made his home
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throughout the remainder of his life, dying in 1869, at the age of sixty-one years. The mother passed away in 1888 at Germantown, seven miles from Evansville, at the age of seventy-two.
Upon the home farm in Indiana, Albert Schmitz grew to manhood and he continued to make his home in that state until his removal to Elgin in 1893. During the first year of his residence in this city he lost most of his capital in an air-brake manufacturing company, and was afterward employed in Ackerman's department store until his death, which occurred on the 7th of December, 1898.
Mr. Schmitz was married February 26, 1877, to Miss Louise Baeke, a laughter of Henry and Caroline ( Sauerlinder) Baeke, of Germantown, In- liana. Of the eight children born of this union two died in infancy and Lizzie lied August 10, 1897, at the age of twelve years and three months. Those still living are Caroline, now the wife of Julius Heyn, of Chicago; Herman, who married Ellen Moynat, and resides in Elgin; Martha, who is a graduate of the Elgin high school and is now at Milton College, Wisconsin; Albert, who is now employed in the tin shop of the Borden Condensed Milk Company ; and Esther.
By his ballot Mr. Schmitz supported the men and measures of the republi- can party, and he took a very active and prominent part in church work as a member of the German Baptist denomination. He did much toward establish- ng that church in Elgin, now known as the First German Baptist, and while a resident of Indiana, his home was always the stopping place for the visiting ministers. Upright and honorable in all the relations of life he had the confidence and respect of the entire community in which he lived and he was a man honored and esteemed wherever known.
AUGUST RABE.
August Rabe, beginning to work out his own destiny at an early age, and fighting for every step of his advancement against odds but with persistent and determined spirit, is one of the prosperous and progressive farmers and lairymen of Plato township. Kane county. He has earned every dollar he as accumulated and all his achievements are the results of his own industry. frugality and ability.
He was born in Hanover, Germany, November 7, 1868, and is the son of Chris and Anna (Frecking) Rabe, also of German nativity, but now leceased. They died in Germany and never came to the United States. The other children born in the family are all living. They are: Frederick, Henry and William, farmers in Germany; Charles, a farmer in the state of New York; Louis, a farmer in DuPage county, Illinois; Herman, a farmer in Virgil township, this county; and Louisa, who married and lived in Germany but is now deceased.
August Rabe attended the state schools in Germany until he was fifteen years of age, then came alone to this country. His first Illinois residence was
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in DuPage county, where he worked on a farm until he attained his majority. Soon after this he was married to Anna Weise, who was born in Germany and came to this country with her parents when she was twelve years old. They located in Kane county, where she has ever since lived. She and her husband have had seven children: Emma, Freddie. Herman. Huldah. Rosa and Walter, who are living and still at home : and Arthur, who has died. The father farms one hundred and sixty acres of land in mixed crops and keeps thirty cows to supply his active dairy business. He is a member of the Lutheran church, and a republican in politics. All who know him appreciate his industry and respect his character.
A. A. WILMARTH.
A. A. Wilmarth is the secretary of the Home Building & Loan Asso- ciation, of Aurora, in which connection he has developed a business of large proportions, bringing to the stockholders gratifying dividends annually. He was born in Linden, Vermont, August 26, 1852, his parents being George H. and Rosline (Green) Wilmarth. He represents an old family of the Green Mountain state. His grandfather was a prominent citizen there and at one time served as a member of the Vermont legislature. He married Florinda Meigs and died in middle life, while his wife passed away when more than sixty years of age, her death occurring in Batavia. Their family numbered four children. including George H. Wilmarth, who was born in Linden. Ver- mont. and became a farmer by occupation. In 1854 he removed west to Wisconsin, settling in Janesville, where he engaged in the grain business at a time when grain was taken by wagon over the old plank road to the city market. After the outbreak of the Civil war he became a private of the Twelfth Wis- consin Battery and served until the close of hostilities, participating in many important engagements and also going with Sherman on his celebrated marchi to the sea. After the war he settled in Aurora and was engaged in merchan- dising until 1870, when he removed to Batavia, where he also owned and conducted a store. He made good use of his opportunities and carefully directed his business affairs, while the qualities which he displayed in other relations of life were also such as gained for him the respect and confidence of those with whom he was associated. In early manhood he married Rosline Green, also a native of Linden, Vermont, and a daughter of Orrin Green, who was likewise born in that state. He was twice married and has five children by his first wife, who died in early womanhood. She was the grandmother of our subject. His death occurred when he had reached an advanced age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. George H. Wilmarth were born five sons and a daughter. but only two are now living. the younger son being Frank C. Wilmarth, of St. Paul, Minnesota. The father died in Batavia and the mother survived him three or four years, passing away at the home of her son in Aurora. In religious faith they were Methodists and their lives were in harmony with their professions.
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A. A. Wilmarth, whose name introduces this review, was about two years of age when the family removed to Wisconsin, and was a young man of eighteen when the family home was established in Batavia. He lived there for three years, but had largely acquired his education in the schools of Aurora while the family were residents of this city. He afterwards learned the machinist's trade, which he followed until 1890. In 1875 he removed from Kane county, Illinois, to Jackson county, Michigan, where he lived until 1881, when he returned to Kane county and settled in Aurora. He there worked in the locomotive works of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company until 1890, when he became connected with the Home Building & Loan Asso- tion as assistant secretary, and since 1896 has been its secretary. This change proved a most profitable one, for his business has been attended with a grati- fying measure of success since he has entered his present field. He is careful in formulating plans, is determined in their execution, and displays keen fore- sight in managing the interests of the company.
In 1875 Mr. Wilmarth was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Winslow, a daughter of Robert Hoyt and Mercy (McDole) Winslow, who were early settlers of Kane county. Her father was born in Massachusetts and her mother in the state of New York. They had six children, four sons and two daughters, and all are now living except Jesse. Mrs. Wilmarth was born in Sugar Grove township, this county, November 21, 1853, and by her marriage has become the mother of five children : George Henry, an electrical engineer of Bloomington, Illinois, who married Miss Alma Warrick, by whom he has two children, Jeannie and Marion ; Raymond Hoyt, Alice H. and Rosaline L., who are at home ; and one that died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Wilmarth hold membership in the Congregational church and are highly esteemed for their many good qualities, which have gained for them the regard and sincere friendship of many with whom they have come in contact. Mr. Wilmarth belongs to Ben Hur Lodge, I. O. O. F., and has been identified with the order for a quarter of a century. Much of his life has been spent in Aurora, and his fellow townsmen have learned to appreciate and value him as a citizen of genuine worth whose business record has at all times been creditable. Embracing his opportunities for judicious investment, he is now the owner of several pieces of city property.
MRS. HATTIE (MARSHALL) MCINTYRE.
This lady occupies the unusual if not unique position for a woman of station agent at one of the busy stations of a railroad that crosses this county, the station of Bowes in Plato township, and that she performs the duties of the position well and wisely is attested by all who have knowledge of the facts in the case.
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