USA > Illinois > Kane County > History of Kane County, Ill. Volume II > Part 51
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John C. Mock obtained his education in a district school, attending as he could until he reached the age of seventeen. After leaving school he became his father's regular assistant on the farm, remaining at home until his marriage June 15, 1896, to Miss Mabel Walker, of Campton township, when he bought his present farm and started farming on his own account. He and his wife have two children, Lulu and Charles, both still under the parental rooftree.
Mr. Mock's farm comprises one hundred and thirty-five acres. It is well watered, abundantly supplied with fruit, yields generously to the skill- ful husbandry he bestows upon it, and is enriched with good improvements. It is one mile from a schoolhouse and three-fourths of a mile from the rail- road station. Mr. Mock cultivates it with vigor and good judgment and secures excellent returns for his industry. He also carries on a brisk and profitable dairy business, keeping fourteen good cows for the purpose. His political attachment is to the republican party, but in local affairs he looks mainly to the good of the township and seeks to promote its best interests, as he does in every other way, being a progressive and public-spirited man. He enjoys the confidence and esteem of the people, whom he has served for years as school director, and is regarded as one of the township's most useful and representative citizens.
JACOB EUGENE FISHER.
Among the enterprises which constitute an element in the commercial prosperity and progress of Aurora is the wholesale and retail confectionery and bakery establishment owned by Jacob E. Fisher, an enterprising business man whose labors have made him one of the leading representatives of trade interests in this city. He was born in Seneca Falls, New York, March 15. 1861, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth ( Schneck) Fisher, who were natives of Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather. John Fisher, was also born in the Keystone state and became a farmer, devoting his entire life to agricultural pursuits. He married Anna Hinterleiter and died at Seneca, New York, at an advanced age, while his wife was about eighty-eight years of age at the time of her death. They had five sons and four daughters, John, Jacob, Daniel, Isaac, Joshua, Esther, Mary, Sarah and Frances. Of this family Jacob Fisher was the father of our subject. He was born in Pennsylvania, was reared to the occupation of farming and in early manhood wedded Elizabeth Schneck. She was a native of Pennsylvania, as were her parents. Jacob Fisher died at a comparatively early age, passing away in February, 1861. when about thirty-five years of age. His wife survived him for only two years. They were members of the German Reformed church and were worthy people, who enjoyed the high regard of all who knew them. Their family numbered three sons and two daughters, namely: Nellie, the deceased wife of
J. E. FISHER
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Fred Jones ; Susie, the wife of Edward C. Spencer, of Aurora; Adam H. and William F., both deceased; and Jacob Eugene.
The youngest of the family, Jacob Eugene Fisher, was left an orphan at a very early age, for his father died before the son was born and he was only two years old when his mother passed away. His boyhood days were spent near Geneva, New York, and he attended the district schools, after which he started in life on his own account, securing a clerkship in a general store, where he was employed for two years. He then attended the public schools of Geneva, eight miles away, going on the train in the morning but walking back in the evening. Few people would have attempted to obtain an education under such circumstances, but realizing the value of intellectual training and discipline as a preparation for life's work Mr. Fisher was willing to make this sacrifice. At length he received a regent's certificate entitling him to teach school and he followed the profession for three terms. In 1883 Mr. Fisher came to Illinois and settled at Aurora, accepting a position in Mason Brothers bakery, where he remained for seventeen years. He then bought his present business in 1900, his previous long experience in this line well qualifying him for the work that devolved upon him when he took charge of an enterprise of his own. He started in business on a small scale, but his trade rapidly in- creased and enabled him to establish a wholesale branch. In addition to the wholesale and retail confectionery and bakery business he also added a restaurant and ice cream parlor, and all branches of his business are now proving successful.
On the 13th of July, 1886, Mr. Fisher was married to Miss Charlotte Clute, a daughter of Jacob and Clarissa (Myers) Clute. Thew have now become parents of three sons, Paul Paisley, Edward Eugene and Wilfred Balliet. The parents are members of the First Congregational church, and Mr. Fisher belongs to Ben Hur Lodge, I. O. O. F., the Knights of Pythias. the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and other fraternal societies. while his political allegiance is given to the republican party. He certainly deserves great credit for what he has accomplished, for he is a self-educated as well as a self-made man. Starting out in life empty-handed he has gradu- ally worked his way upward, achieving that success which comes from well developed powers and from ability intelligently applied. He now receives the respect of his associates and the admiration of his colleagues in the business circles of Aurora.
JOHN JACOB NIER.
John Jacob Nier is busily engaged in general agricultural pursuits in Kaneville township, operating a well-improved farm of eighty acres. He was born at Burr Oak, Indiana, October 1, 1876. His father, Henry Nier, was born in Ohio, and was taken to Indiana by his parents when quite young and there he engaged in truck farming after he had reached mature years. He was united in marriage to Miss Salome Friley, who was born near Ply-
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mouth, Indiana, and their union was blessed with four children, three sons and one daughter, John Jacob being one of the number. The others are: Jeanette, who is the wife of Frank Smith, a mail carrier of South Bend. In- diana ; Harry, an engineer in the employ of the Santa Fe Railroad Company, with headquarters in Los Angeles, California, and George, who is engaged in farming at Burr Oak, Indiana.
John Jacob Nier, whose name introduces this review, was reared on the farm in Indiana, assisting his father during the summer months, while in the winter seasons he pursued his studies in the schools of Marshall county. At the early age of fifteen he laid aside his text-books and sought and secured employment as a farm hand, being thus engaged for some time, while later he made his way to Illinois, where he was employed in a similar manner for five years. He then returned to the old home in Indiana, remaining in that state during the succeeding three years, after which he once more came to Kane county, where he has since made his home. He is now operating a tract of land comprising eighty acres, forty acres of which he has planted to corn and eighteen acres to oats, while the balance of the acreage is in grass.
Mr. Nier was married on the 25th of February, 1908, to Miss Abbey M. Miner, who was born in Kaneville, Illinois, and comes of one of the prominent pioneer families of that section of the state. Her mother still lives on a farm near that city. The brothers and sisters of Mrs. Nier are as follows: Glen E., who is engaged in farming ; Amos and George L., who have charge of the homestead property for their mother; Ava D., the wife of Clarence Gusler, who follows farming near Kaneville; Roy and Rose, who are at home. Her father, Malcom A. Miner, passed away February 12, 1907, his remains being interred in the Kaneville cemetery.
Mr. Nier gives his political support to the men and measures of the republican party, but has never been active as an office seeker. He is working his way up to success and he and his estimable wife are prominent among a large circle of friends.
CARL MILLER.
Being left fatherless when he was but eight years old, and one of five children left by this bereavement for the mother to support, rear and educate, Carl Miller, of Plato township, was obliged to begin the battle of life tor himself at an early age, and has ever since made his way by his own unas- sisted efforts. But he has never faltered in the fight, and can now feel the gratification of having won a substantial competence for himself and his family which places all beyond the reach of want except through some calamity or disaster.
Mr. Miller was born March 24, 1851, at New Lonschfitz, Germany, and is the son of Carl and Mollie (Miller) Miller, also natives of that country. The father served three years in the German army, as is the custom of
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young men there, and as the law requires. He was married to Miss Mollie Miller of the same part of the fatherland as himself, and they had four chil- dren : Carl; Lena, who is the wife of Fred Krohn; Mollie, who is dead; and Morris, who is a farmer in Kane county. There was also in the family a half-brother of these children, Frank Bolwahan, a son of the mother by a former marriage. The father died in 1859, and in 1886 the mother came to the United States and found a new home in Kane county, taking up her resi- dence in Plato township. She died in 1905.
Carl Miller was reared and educated in his native land, where he was married to Miss Emma Halm, also a native of Germany. He then worked seven years in a brush and broom factory in Germany, and at the end of that period emigrated to the United States. He hastened immediately to the rapidly growing interior and became a resident of Kane county, locating first at Plato Center. Here he worked as a day laborer for eighteen years, but he was frugal and economical, and out of his small wages managed to save enough to start his present home, which he has steadily made more com- fortable and enjoyable.
Mr. Miller farms a considerable body of land and keeps twenty-five cows, from the product of which he conducts a flourishing dairy business, from which he realizes good returns. His farming is general and includes all the crops usual in the neighborhood, and the land is handled with vigor and skill. Four of his seven children are still living with him and assist in the labors of the farm and the dairy. They are Henry, May, Lena and Albertine. The older children, who are no longer members of the parental household, are: Minnie, the wife of R. Daviss; Louie L., who lives in Wayne. Illinois; and Lizzie, the wife of Arthur Hill.
Mr. Miller is prosperous and he well deserves his prosperity, for it is the result of his own assiduous and continued labor and frugal living. For- tune never smiled on him with her favors and he never courted her smiles except through the channel of honest, determined and continuous industry. As he has known how to care for his own interests, so he has been diligent and serviceable in helping to care for those of the community, giving his sup- port to every worthy enterprise, and declaring always, by voice and assistance, for every undertaking in which he thought the welfare of his township was involved. His fellow citizens know his worth and appreciate it.
JOHN THOMAS McGOWAN.
John Thomas McGowan, who has extensive farming and dairy interests in Campton township, was born here January 20, 1866, the son of Lawrence and Sarah H. (Hyre) McGowan. His father was a native .of Syracuse, New York, but in early manhood he left that section and came to Illinois, locating in Campton township, where he made his home for the remainder of his days. He was a veteran of the Civil war, being a member of the Fifty-second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was with Sherman on his
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celebrated march to the sea. Politically he was identified with the republi- can party. He was an active worker for his party's interests and held the office of school director for a number of years, also served as township col- lector. Religiously he was a faithful and consistent member of the Meth- odist church. He wedded Sarah H. Hyre, a native of Kane county, whose father was a noted and prosperous farmer. Four children were born to this union, of whom Charley and Anna are deceased. Hattie is the wife of Elmer Heath, a resident of South Elgin, who is in the employ of a large packing company of that place.
John Thomas McGowan received his education in the old stone school- house of his home district, which he attended regularly throughout the winter months up to the time he was eighteen years of age when, ambitious to make a start in life for himself. he secured employment as a farm hand. He followed this line of work for seven years, ever keeping in mind the end which he desired, that of having a farm of his own. Following his marriage he rented a place, from which time on his progress was more rapid, and the experience he had gained in working for others was turned to good account for himself. He has resided on his present place the last ten years, and has it systematically divided into various tracts in order to utilize it to the best advantage for his farming and dairy interests. Eighteen acres he has established in meadow and in 1908 he seeded twelve acres to barley. fifty to corn, eighteen to oats, and the balance, with the exception of the grounds occupied by the residence, orchard. garden and feed lots, is devoted to pasturage. His dairy herd consists of thirty-eight cows.
On March 22, 1893, occurred the marriage of Mr. McGowan andl Miss Lena Hummel, who is a native of Chicago. Her father was a file cutter by trade, and removed with his family to California while she was an infant. Mr. and Mrs. McGowan have become the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters, namely: Harriet Josephine, born June 5. 1896; Law- rence John, born August 2. 1898; Harold Edward, born November 8. 1901, and Marion, born July 6. 1906.
Mr. McGowan is yet a young man and the advancement he has already made in life bids fair to continue under the same good management. thrift and industry which he has displayed in the past. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
MRS. EMMA J. RAYMOND.
Mrs. Emma J. Raymond, who is now successfully engaged in the millinery business in Elburn, has spent her life in Kane county, St. Charles being her birthplace and her natal day October 25, 1867. Her father. Richard Cook. was a native of England, born December 26, 1836. and he was, therefore, about fourteen years of age when. in 1850, he came to the United States and located in St. Charles, where he secured employment in the construction of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. By living economically he was at
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length able to purchase a farm and throughout the remainder of his life devoted his time and attention to agricultural pursuits. In 1861 he was united in marriage to Miss Jane Marshall, who was also born in England, March 5, 1844, and came to America in 1848, settling in St. Charles, Illinois, where their wedding was celebrated. Their children were Adella, who is the wife of H. C. Reed, a farmer of Elburn; Charles, deceased; Franklin, a farmer of Elburn; Addie, also a resident of Elburn; Fletcher, deceased ; May S., the wife of W. C. Gee, a contractor and builder residing in Elburn ; Walter M .; and Emma J., whose name introduces this sketch.
During the first seventeen years of her life, Mrs. Raymond attended school the greater part of the time, and she remained with her parents until she was married at Lily Lake, October 17, 1894, to George A. Raymond. He was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, August 11, 1857, and on coming to Elburn, Illinois, made his home with M. C. Gates for fifteen years. While residing at that place he served as city marshal for a time and later conducted a meat market. but on account of ill health he returned to Pennsylvania, where he passed away on the 9th of June, 1895.
After the death of her husband, Mrs. Raymond again became a resident of Elburn. Feeling the need of a business education, she subsequently en- tered a commercial college at Elgin, where she pursued her studies in the evenings, while during the day she worked in the watch factory, thus earning the money to pay her expenses. On completing the course there, she took charge of her millinery establishment in Elburn and today has a well- equipped store and enjoys a good trade which is constantly increasing. She is a woman of good business and executive ability and usually carries for- ward to successful completion whatever she undertakes. She is a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church and is held in the highest regard by all who know her.
ALBERT FAYETTE WADE.
Aurora was the home of Albert Fayette Wade for many years and he was recognized as one of the leading citizens, being prominently identified with public affairs. He was a native of New York, born in Newark Valley. Tioga county, on the 20th of July, 1834, and a son of Lewis and Harriet (Bowen) Wade, who were from Rhode Island and of English descent. The father, who was a soldier of the war of 1812, died in Newark Valley. Tioga county, New York, in 1862.
In the county of his nativity Albert F. Wade was reared and educated and he remained in the east until coming to Aurora, Illinois, in 1857. Later he went to Janesville, Wisconsin, where he was located when the Civil war broke out, and he enlisted in Company D. Second Wisconsin Volunteer In- fantry. He entered the service as orderly sergeant but was later promoted to first lieutenant of his company. On account of disability he was dis- charged March 19, 1862, and returned to Aurora, which city continued to
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KANE COUNTY HISTORY
be his home throughout the remainder of his life. In 1873 he was elected superintendent of streets and so acceptably did he fill that position that each year he was reelected and continued to serve in that capacity until 1890. The following year he was made highway commissioner and was reelected to that office in 1894, serving as such at the time of his death, which occurred at Aurora, February 20, 1896.
Mr. Wade was married on the 29th of March, IS64, to Miss Elizabeth Postle, a daughter of William and Sarah (Gandy ) Postle, of DeKalb county, Illinois. Of the six children born of this union, two died in infancy, those still living being Nellie E., now the wife of Oscar Gustason. of Elgin, by whom she has one son, Charles Wade, born September 8, 1908: Asa V., of Elgin, who married Hannah Helgeson and has three children, Albert F., Bernice and Ruth; Myrtle E., who married Edward Manning, living on a farm between Willow Hill and Newton, Illinois, and by whom she has three children, Lewis Fayette, Nellie E., and Mabel E .; and Mabel E., the wife of Charles Case, who is in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad at Aurora. In 1900 Mrs. Wade removed to Elgin, where she now makes her home, surrounded by many friends.
In his social relations Mr. Wade was an honored member of Aurora Lodge, No. 254, A. F. & A. M .; Royal Arch Chapter, No. 22, and Aurora Post, No. 20, G. A. R. He served as president of the benevolent society connected with the last named organization and was commander of the Aurora branch of the Legion of Honor. He was very popular in social as well as business circles, exerting a wide and beneficial influence among his associates, and his circle of friends was almost coextensive with his circle of acquaintances. Religiously he was a member of the People's church.
BENJAMIN F. LAKE.
Benjamin F. Lake has ever been identified with the agricultural interests of Kane county, where he was born in Campton township March 21, 1846. the son of Ansel and Christine ( Bonham) Lake. His father was a native of Orleans county, New York, and in his early days, long before the govern- ment surveys were run, he came to Illinois and entered one hundred and sixty acres of public land, on which he resided throughout the remainder of his life. He now lies at rest in the Wasco cemetery. He wedded Christine Bonham, who was a native of Canada. Seven children were born to this union, three sons and four daughters, namely: Aurela, the wife of George G. Hawley; Zylpha, the widow of Jefferson Garfield; David and George Luke, both of whom arc deceased; Elizabeth, the wife of Walter Phelps, a resident of Malta, Illinois; Alvira, the wife of F. Elliott, a farmer of Ne- vada, Towa; and Benjamin F., of this review.
Benjamin F. Lake received his education in the Gray Willow school, which he attended regularly throughout the school year while in the pri-
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mary grades, but later when he reached an age to be of assistance to his father on the farm his attendance was necessarily somewhat irregular, being confined to those months of the year when farming operations were sus- pended. He made the most of his opportunities, however, and persisted in his school attendance until nineteen years of age, during which time he re- ceived a good, practical education which served as a ground-work for his success in later years. At the age of nineteen he began renting farms and operating them in his own interest and the spirit of independence and self- reliance which he displayed at that early age have been manifested through- out his busy life and have been the prime elements of his success. He now conducts a dairy of eighty-six cows and in addition to his farming and dairy interests he also makes a specialty of dealing in milk cows, buying and selling them for the market and dairy purposes. He is recognized as an authority on the quality and grade of dairy stock.
Mr. Lake wedded Phylantha Vanderhoof and three children have been born to their union, namely: Frank B., who resides at home; Fred B., who married Jane Crystal; and Zylpha, the wife of B. Brown, a prosperous farmer residing near Wasco.
Politically Mr. Lake is identified with the republican party. He has held the office of school trustee for a number of years and is at present super- visor of his township, an office which he is most creditably and satisfactorily filling. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
IRBIN R. GRAMLY.
With the farming and dairy interests of Kaneville township Irbin R. Gramly has been identified since reaching man's estate. He was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, on the 12th of May, 1871, a son of B. F. and Margaret (Spangler) Gramly. The mother is now deceased. Their other children were: Abner, also deceased; Uriah, who is now engaged in the fruit business in California; Charles, a farmer of Kaneville township; Ira, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Kansas; Dinah, the wife of Jerry Lutz, a farmer of Kaneville township; and Katy, the wife of Thomas Fuller, of the same township.
Irbin R. Gramly was quite young when brought by his parents to this county and he obtained his education in the Flanders district school, in which district he still resides. He attended school during the winter months until twenty years of age, while throughout the summer he assisted in the work of the home farm.
In 1891 Mr. Gramly was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Coryell, a native of Illinois, whose mother is now deceased, but her father is still living and makes his home in Kaneville township. Mr. and Mrs. Gramly have two children: Howard U. and Merritt M., both at home.
After his marriage Mr. Gramly entered a farm of one hundred and ninety-six acres from his father. This farm consists of some of the best land
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found in this section of the state, is well watered and highly improved, and is pleasantly located two and a quarter miles west of the village of Kane- ville. Mr. Gramly makes a specialty of stock raising. He annually ships two or three carloads of stock to Chicago and keeps twenty cows for dairy purposes. He is a very energetic and enterprising farmer and is meeting with well-deserved success in his labors as he thoroughly understands the occupation he has chosen as a life work. He is an honored member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Mystic Workers and his religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church, while his political sup- port is given the democratic party.
FRANK R. BRAUN.
Frank R. Braun, president of the Johns & Braun Company, manufac- turers of sash, doors and blinds, is a self-made man who has gained his present standing in the business world by his close application and unfaltering diligence. He was born in Luxemburg, Germany, November 10th, 1857. the son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Reinhardt) Braun. The father was engaged in garden farming and was also a veterinary in Germany. He came to America with his family in 1871 and settled in Aurora, where for many years he lived retired. He continued a resident of this city until his death, which occurred when he was seventy-two years of age. His wife sur- vived him and died in the 'gos, when she was seventy-three years of age. Both were members of the German Catholic church. Their family numbered ten children, six sons and four daughters, of whom six are yet living, namely : Anna, the wife of Joseph Kellar, of Liebern, Belgium; Susan, the wife of Martin Schleater, a lumber merchant of Chicago; Elizabeth, the wife of Barney Welter, a tobacco merchant of Chicago; Frank, who is living in Aurora, Illinois; Frank R., of this review ; and Harry, of Aurora.
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