USA > Illinois > Kane County > History of Kane County, Ill. Volume II > Part 43
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In 1875 Mr. Morrill was married to Miss Cora L. Shaw, who was born in Webster City, Iowa. Her parents now reside in Oklahoma, where her father is a retired capitalist. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Morrill have been born a daughter and son, Della E., wife of Jesse Omick, a resident of Denver, Colorado; and Ross R., at home.
In his political views Mr. Morrill has always been a stanch democrat. He is a liberal independent in his religious beliefs and has made practically a lifelong study of the subject. While Mr. Morrill is now numbered among the men of affluence, he did not reach his present financial condition without much hard work and persistent effort. Indeed he has labored most persistently. overcoming difficulties and obstacles by his diligence and perseverance, and at all times has followed those rules which govern strict and unswerving business integrity.
JOHN A. FREELAND.
With the farming and dairy interests of Kane county John A. Freeland has been closely identified for over forty years and is now the owner of a well improved and productive farm of eighty acres on section 25, Virgil township. His early home was on the other side of the Atlantic, for he was born in Jonkoping, Sweden, September 26, 1841, and in that country he spent the days of his boyhood and youth. His father, Carl Freeland, was a soldier in the regular army of Sweden for a number of years, but finally tiring of that monotonous life in times of peace, he resolved to try his fortune in America, having heard most favorable accounts of the resources of this country. Accordingly he crossed the Atlantic in 1869 and on the broad fertile prairies of Illinois he resolved to make his future home. For some time after locating here he worked by the day but was at length able to purchase a farm near Batavia, to the improvement and cultivation of which he devoted his energies throughout the remainder of his life. He died in 1903 in the faith of the Lutheran church, of which he was long a member, and he also held member- ship in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His wife bore the maiden name of Christina Anderson and was born in Sweden, on the 24th of March, 1839. They were the parents of six children, namely: John A., of this review ; Swin, now a resident of DeKalb, Illinois, being foreman of a barbwire factory in that city ; and Christina, Gust, Eva and Justus, all deceased.
At the usual age John A. Freeland entered the district schools of his native land, where he continued his studies until thirteen, when he started to make his own way in the world by working as a farm hand, receiving for an entire year's service only a pair of boots and twenty crowns, a crown being worth about twenty-seven cents in our money. At the age of twenty-seven years he had saved enough of his earnings to pay his passage to America and he came to this country to see if he could better his financial condition. Coming to Kane county, Illinois, he soon found employment on a farm near Kaneville, and after working for one year he was able to send for his brothers and sisters, who joined him here. He next rented a farm and so satisfactory
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were his relations with the owner that he remained thereon for thirty years. With the capital he managed to save in that time he purchased his present farm in 1905, and now owns a good farm of eighty acres, on which he has placed improvements to the value of six thousand dollars. His beautiful little home is situated three miles and a half northwest of Elburn on section 25. Virgil township, and the place is well supplied with fruit, including apples, peaches and pears, besides much small fruit. Here Mr. Freeland carries on general farming and is also extensively interested in the dairy business, keep- inw some thirty cows for that purpose. He is a very wide-awake, energetic business man and the success that has come to him is but the merited reward of unremitting labor.
At the age of twenty-nine years Mr. Freeland was married to Miss Augusta Nelson, who was also born in Sweden, May 7, 1847, and came to Illinois in 1869, and they became the parents of five daughters, namely : Edna, Mary and Clara, all now deceased; Annie, the wife of Myrt Weston, a farmer living near Elburn; and Mamie, the wife of Charles Johnson, who is employed in the electric power house at Elgin. They lost four daughters in three years, all dying of tuberculosis. Mr. Freeland traveled extensively with the last two who died recently in the hope of benefiting their health, spending much time in the west and south, but the change did not produce the desired results. He has always been a stanch supporter of the republican party and is an earnest and consistent member of the Lutheran church.
BARNEY HEISTEN.
Barney Heisten, who owns farming and dairy interests in Campton town- ship, is of French descent, having been born in Sedan, France, October 23, 1868, the son of Michael and Maggie M. (Welbes) Heisten. His father was born in Luxemburg, Germany. to which place he returned from France when our subject was quite small, and engaged in farming. Here he passed the remainder of his days and is now resting by the side of his devoted wife in the Catholic cemetery. They were both communicants of the Catholic faith. They were the parents of four children, namely: Lewis, a merchant of Luxemburg ; Lizzie, the wife of John Meder, a school teacher of Luxemburg; Anna, who married Nick Mangen, a farmer ; and Barney.
Barney Heisten is indebted to the public schools of Luxemburg for his education. He attended regularly to the time he was thirteen years of age when, through force of circumstances, he was compelled to leave school and aid his father in the work of the farm. He remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-four years of age, when he emigrated to America, locating in Virgil township, Kane county. Here he secured employment as a farm hand and remained in the position for five years, saving his earnings with the ultimate object of engaging in farming for himself. This he was eventually enabled to do and his progress from that time on was much more rapid than it had been hitherto. He now keeps fifty cows for dairying purposes and owns
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personal property to the value of not less than four thousand dollars-a record of which he may well be proud in consideration of the fact that at the outset of life he had no capital with which to begin excepting the innate forces that were bound up in his own nature, while adversity and hardship but served to develop and bring forth the strong qualities within him.
In 1895 occurred the marriage of Mr. Heisten and Miss Matilda Giger, who was born in Switzerland in 1870. Unto this union have been born nine children, namely: Ben J., Mary, Willie, John, Paul, Helen, Leonard, George and Nick, all of whom reside at home with their parents. In politics Mr. Heisten is a republican. Religiously he is a member of the Catholic churchi.
PHILIP JOHNS.
Coming to America at the age of seventeen years with life's opportunities before him, Philip Johns has made good use of the advantages with which he has been surrounded and through successive stages of development has worked his way upward until he is now manager of the Johns & Brown Company, manufacturers of sash, doors and blinds, and interior finish and fixture work. He was born in Bettendorf, Luxemburg, January 1, 1865. His paternal grand- parents were Philip and Elizabeth Johns, the former a stonecutter, who died in Germany when about seventy years of age. Their son, John Johns. also became a stonecutter of Luxemburg and was married there to Miss Susan Hermes, a daughter of Anton Hermes, who died in Prussia when about sixty- four years of age. He was a tailor by trade. His wife was nearly ninety years of age at the time of her demise. Their family numbered four children : Nicholas, of Aurora; Michael, of Ottawa; Susan, of Aurora; and one who is living at Wallendorf in the Rhine province of Prussia. While Mrs. Johns still survives, her husband died in Luxemburg in 1876 at the age of forty-one years. She then came to America in 1882 and makes her home with her daughter, Margaret, in Aurora. She is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church, of which John Johns was also a member. Their family numbered three children : Philip, now living in Aurora; Susan, the wife of Anton Zim- mermann; and Margaret, the wife of Lawrence Kartheiser, of this city.
Philip Johns, whose name introduces this review, lived in Luxemburg until seventeen years of age, attended the common schools and also spent two years in college and one year in a normal school. In 1882 he came to America, settling in Aurora, where he worked for Hartsburg & Hawksley. remaining in their factory for eleven years, during which time he gained a comprehensive knowledge of the business and that broad practical experience which well qualified him for carrying on a similar undertaking on his own account. In 1893 he formed a partnership with Frank R. Braun and others and began the manufacture of sash, doors, blinds and interior finish of all kinds. They employ from twenty-five to thirty people, manufacture goods of a super- ior order and are enjoying constantly increasing business. Their plant is well equipped with the latest improved machinery and everything about the factory
PHILIP JOHNS
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indicates a careful systematization and unfaltering energy on the part of those in charge.
On the IIth of January, 1894, Mr. Johns was married to Miss Margaret Kirsch, a daughter of Nicholas and Eva Kirsch. They have four children : Margaret Eva, Edith Cecelia, Marion and Anna. The parents are both members of the St. Nicholas Catholic church and Mr. Johns belongs to the Knights of Columbus, the Catholic Order of Foresters and other societies. His membership relations also connect him with St. Vincent's Society, the Knights and Ladies of Honor. the Elks Lodge, No. 705, the Germania Society and the Luxemburger Bruderbund. He speaks the French language fluently, as well as the German and English. He resides at No. 635 Indian avenue, and is well known in the city, where he has now lived for twenty-six years, and where his business enterprise and activity have brought him gratifying success.
LYSANDER HORD.
Lysander Hord, a leading and well known representative of the indus- trial interests of Kane county, is engaged in the grain and milling business at Montgomery and is also president of the Hord, Brodhead Company. He maintains his residence in Aurora and is well known in various sections of the county as a man whose enterprise will brook no obstacles that can be overcome by determination and energetic effort. He was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, August 21, 1847, a son of Lysander and Hannah A. (Price) Hord, both of whom were natives of Kentucky and lived at Frankfort, where Mrs. Hord was born and made her home until her death at the age of eighty-four years. Mr. Hord survived her until 1905 and died at the venerable age of eighty-seven years. His father was a native of Virginia and became one of the early settlers of Maysville, Kentucky, where he followed the occupation of farming. He served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812 and in early manhood he married Rebecca Benson. His death occurred when he was in middle life, but his wife reached the age of eighty-two years. The maternal grandfather of our subject was John Price, a native of Virginia and a large slave owner. Responding to the country's call for troops he enlisted as a captain in the war of 1812. He married Elizabeth La Faun and they became early settlers of Kentucky, living at Frankfort, where they spent their remaining days. Captain Price there died at the age of sixty, while his wife passed away at the age of eighty-four years. They were the parents of two sons and two daughters, including Hannah A. Price, who gave her hand in marriage to Lysander Hord, Sr. He was a graduate of Yale College and had studied law under the direction of Governor Morehead, of Kentucky. He then practiced law at the Frankfort bar for sixty years and gained distinction as one of the leading lawyers of Kentucky at a bar which has numbered many eminent representa- tives of the profession. He was also judge of the county court for fifteen or twenty years and was likewise chosen to aid in framing the laws of the com- monwealth, twice representing Franklin county in the state legislature. His
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last public service was as delegate to Washington under the Hayes' administra- tion to secure an appropriation for the improvement of the Kentucky river, and it was through his efforts there that an appropriation was made whereby the river was made navigable to the Cumberland mountains. His public service was also of a character to promote general improvement and progress, looking beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities and possibilities of the future. Unto him and his wife were born ten children, five sons and five daughters, of whom five are still living, namely: Bettie H., of Frankfort, Kentucky, who is the wife of Colonel Orlando Brown, who commanded a regiment in the Union army; Upshaw P., of Aurora ; Lysander, of this review ; Blandina, the wife of Thomas B. Monroe, now of Paris, Texas ; and Hanna H., wife of David C. Hardin, of Bardstown, Kentucky.
Lysander Hord was born at Frankfort. Kentucky, and there lived to the age of nineteen years, acquiring his education largely in the public schools of the community. He came to Aurora on the 22d of February, 1867, and began clerking in the Montgomery mill, which he has owned for a number of years. He operated the mill for thirty-five years and is the oldest miller today on the Fox river. The flour mill has a capacity of two hundred and fifty barrels of flour per day and the feed mill a capacity of twenty tons per day. He has been a director of the Merchants National Bank for nine or ten years and is now a director in the Aurora Trust & Savings Bank. His attention, how- ever, has chiefly been given to his milling interests, and his broad, practical experience has gained him a knowledge that has made him a most successful miller. His business interests, too, have been of a character that have con- tributed in a large measure to the development and prosperity of the con- munity, and he certainly deserves much credit for the success which he has achieved.
On the 14th of October, 1874. Mr. Hord was united in marriage to Miss Bessie Gillispie, of Oswego, Kendall county, Illinois, a daughter of David and Letitia (Cooke) Gillispie. Mrs. Hord was born in Chicago and her father was a native of Ohio, while her mother was a native of England. They were married in Cleveland and her father belonged to that branch of the Gillispie family of Berks county, of which James G. Blaine and Judge Ewing were also members. David, who had traveled for many years, made his home in Cleve- land the greater part of his life. There he died in 1857, leaving three children : Newton; Letitia, the wife of F. O. Hawley, of Aurora; and Mrs. Lysander Hord. The mother of these children long survived her first husband, passing away in 1888, at the age of sixty-six years. She had married again, her second husband being M. J. Richards, one of the old settlers of Kendall county, Illi- nois. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Hord was Richard E. Cooke, who was born in Worcestershire, England, and on coming to America settled in Cleveland, being noted among the capitalists of that city. He afterwards went to Chicago at an early day and was the owner of considerable property there. He died in Oswego, Illinois, at the age of seventy-six years, while his wife, Mrs. Esther (Bird) Cooke, was about seventy-four years of age at the time of her death. They were the parents of three children, Richard. Edward and Letitia. The mother of Richard E. Cooke was, prior to her marriage, a Miss
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Hill and was a member of the eminent family of Sir Roland Hill, while the celebrated poetess, Eliza Cooke, was an own cousin of Richard E. Cooke.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hord was blessed with one child, Hardin G., who married Miss Edith Lawrence, and is a salesman of Chicago. Mr. Hord belongs to Aurora Lodge, No. 254, A. F. & A. M. In politics he is a democrat, somewhat prominent in the local ranks of his party, and he served as treasurer of the city of Aurora for two years, while at one time hie was assistant supervisor. For forty-one years he has been continuously engaged in the grain, flour and feed business in Kane county and has dealt with many of the pioneers of this locality, as well as with the more recent arrivals. Through his business associations he has become widely known and his many good qualities have gained for him the friendship of the majority of those with whom he has been brought in contact. He now owns several properties in Montgomery in addition to his mill, but he makes his home in Aurora.
CLARK C. BURR.
Clark C. Burr, a retired farmer residing in St. Charles township, was born March 1, 1842, his parents being James O. and Mary (Lee) Burr, the former born in Cazenovia, New York, May 20, 1818, and the latter in Bing- hamton, New York, October 20, 1822. The father came to Illinois in 1836, purchasing three hundred and forty-two acres of land from the government at a dollar and a quarter per acre. In 1850 he offered to sell one hundred acres of this farm to J. W. Wilcox for seven and a half dollars per acre, but the latter declined to make the purchase. Thirty-six years later Mr. Wilcox bought this same one hundred acre tract at fifty dollars per acre. James O. Burr passed away at Dansville, New York, June 17, 1872, and his remains were interred in the Garfield cemetery at Campton. His wife, who had cele- brated her marriage in 1841, died February 14, 1869, at St. Charles, Illinois, and was also buried in the Garfield cemetery at Campton. The record of their children, in addition to the subject of this review, is as follows: Grace I., who was born in St. Charles, August 18, 1844, was married in 1882 to Mr. Avery, a salesman of Minnesota. The latter passed away in 1884, and his widow now resides in Elgin. Algernon A., born in St. Charles, August II, 1846, wedded Miss Cornelia L. Bartlett, of Connecticut, on the 30th of Octo- ber, 1872. He was a farmer by occupation, and died April 23, 1903, at his home in St. Charles township, being buried in Campton cemetery. His widow still resides on the farm. Elma I., whose birth occurred in St. Charles town- ship, April 9, 1848, became the wife of J. K. Lowry, of Aurora, Illinois. She makes her home at La Crosse, Wisconsin, where her husband is a painter foreman in the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy shops.
With the exception of about two years spent on the Atwell Burr farm in Campton, Clark C. Burr has resided continuously on the place where he was born. The property consists of two hundred and forty acres of rich land which is beautifully located and well watered by two running streams, and
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there is also plenty of timber. On the 17th of August, 1893, his barns were burned down and his hay destroyed, but he has since erected another commo- dious and substantial structure for the shelter of grain and stock. He keeps a fine herd of forty-five cows, also some young cattle and about one hundred and twenty-five Buff Rock chickens. His property is valued at thirty thou- sand dollars, and he is widely recognized as one of the prosperous and pro- gressive residents of the county, whose success has come to him as the well merited reward of his indefatigable industry and excellent business ability.
On the IIth of January, 1871, in St. Charles township, Mr. Burr was united in marriage to Miss Ellen L. Bartlett, of Connecticut, whose birth occurred November 4, 1842. They have become the parents of two children, one of whom is deceased : James Henry, whose birth occurred in St. Charles township, January 31. 1874, is a graduate of the Elgin Academy and of the law school at Dixon, Illinois. On the Ist of January, 1908, he wedded Miss Nettie Kittell, of Chicago, and is now engaged in the practice of law in that city. Charles Clark, who was born in St. Charles, June 24. 1876, passed away January 6. 1894.
In his political views Mr. Burr is independent, supporting the best man regardless of party affiliation. His wife is a member of the Congregational church at St. Charles. Having resided in this county throughout his entire life, or for a period of sixty-six years, Mr. Burr is well and favorably known here, and has witnessed the remarkable transformation that has taken place in this part of the country as pioneer conditions and environments have given way before the onward march of civilization.
EBEN F. BEAUPRÉ.
Eben F. Beaupré, one of the leading citizens of Aurora, was born in Ottawa, Illinois, on the 12th of November. 1857, and is a son of Mathias Beaupré, of whom more extended mention is made in the sketch of W. S. Beaupré on another page of this volume. Our subject was educated in the public schools of Aurora and De Kalb. Returning to Aurora in 1875, he entered the office of the collector of internal revenue, where he remained until 1877. He then became chief clerk under D. C. Cooley, of the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railroad, and when that gentleman left the service Mr. Beaupré entered the office of the auditor of expenditure of the same road at Chicago, whichi position he held until 1884. He then purchased the Aurora Daily News, which he sold in 1887. having won distinction through his edi- torial writing. In 1887 he became deputy county clerk at Geneva, holding that position until 1895. when he entered the employ of the Aurora Cotton Mills Company, of which he is now secretary.
On the 22d of March, 1887. Mr. Beaupré married Miss Ruth C. Shepard. a daughter of Jeremiah and Ellen Theodosia Shepard. He was admitted to the bar in June, 1896, and he had the distinction of being the first person in the second district appellate court to pass a perfect examination, having one hundred points to his credit. One of the Aurora papers said of him at the
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time : "The unusual distinction won by Mr. Beaupré was not by accident. He has a gifted mind and is a close student and observer. In addition to his legal attainments, Mr. Beaupré is an expert accountant, is one of the best read men in the city, is an amateur horticulturist, with a rose garden which is the admiration of the entire neighborhood, and has won some success in litera- ture. He probably has other accomplishments but he is a quiet man and keeps them to himself." The Chicago Inter Ocean also made some comment on his high standing.
Mr. Beaupré has served very efficiently for several years as a member of the park board in Aurora, and is still a member of the same. He has written many poems and bright sketches, and after one of the latter had been pub- lished, the following appeared in the Geneva Patrol :
"Eben F. Beaupré is known to the people of this county as deputy county clerk, and as competent, faithful and courteous a deputy as this or any other county ever had, but the time will come, we believe, when he will be widely known as one of the brightest sketch writers of Illinois. Some time ago the writer of this paragraph read an unpublished sketch from Mr. Beaupré's pen and showed the manuscript to the editor of the largest literary syndicate in the west, who immediately paid handsomely for it, notwithstanding the fact that the syndicate was full of manuscripts and accepting almost nothing. The sketch has since been published and has drawn the following appreciative notice from the pen of Illinois' greatest novelist, Mrs. Catherwood, author of 'The Romance of Dollard,' 'The Story of Tonti,' 'Stephen Guthrie' and other stories, which have made her an international reputation. She writes: 'Your little sketch of Lazarus, "The story of a yellow dog," is natural and human and full of nice appreciation. Some people affect an indiscriminate sympathy with animals bordering on untruthful sentimentality, but your sketch seemed a clear, nice little picture by a sensitive hand. Sincerely yours, Mary H. Cather- wood.' It is but fair to Mr. Beaupré to say that he is entirely ignorant that Mrs. Catherwood's letter will go beyond the writer, but we know his other friends will be equally glad to know of his literary success, therefore we take the liberty to publish without his knowledge. We hope he will do much more writing."
FREDERICK E. WESTOVER.
Frederick E. Westover, engaged in business as a brick-mason of Aurora, is also numbered the veterans of the Civil war, and that he is prominent and popular with his old army comrades is indicated by the fact that he is now commander of the Grand Army Post at this city. A native of New York, he was born in Jefferson county, March 31, 1848, his parents being Stephen and Harriet (French) Westover, natives of Massachusetts and Vermont respec- tively. The former was a son of Abijah Westover, also a native of Massachu- setts, who removed to Jefferson county, New York, in 1822 and died soon afterward in middle age. His wife lived to an advanced age and reared their
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