History of Kane County, Ill. Volume II, Part 54

Author: Joslyn, R. Waite (Rodolphus Waite), b. 1866
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : The Pioneer Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 958

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WALTER J. BAKER.

Walter J. Baker, of Burlington township, is a native of this county, having been born in Virgil township, August 29, 1867; and, having passed the whole of his life here, engaged in the productive activities which employ and distinguish the people, he is fitly taken as a representative man and a useful citizen of the county. He and his wife were also educated in the schools of the state, and they are, therefore, direct products of its soil and its institutions.

Mr. Baker is the son of George William and Carrie ( Lawrence ) Baker, both born in England, whence the father came to this country before the war of 1812. When that contest began he cast his lot with the country of his adoption and joined its army. In one of the severe battles of the strife he was wounded in the hand, and so carried the mark of his service until his death, which occurred when he was ninety-six years old.

The son was one of eleven children born to his parents, his brothers and sisters being: William, Mary, Jane, Elizabeth, Anna, Eliza and Thomas, all deceased ; Sarah. the wife of John Cobb. of England; Charlotte, the wife of J. Johnson; and George, a retired farmer living in Kane county. The two last named live within easy reach of him and are able to restore in some small measure, on convenient occasions, the shattered family circle.

On February 5. 1902, Mr. Baker was married to Miss Carrie String- fellow, who was born at Sycamore, DeKalb county, October 21. 1875. Mrs. Baker is a daughter of Berry F. and May H. (Barton) Stringfellow, the former of whom was a farmer in Pennsylvania and came to Illinois at the age of twenty-eight, locating in DeKalb county. He was also an ardent republican. The remains of himself and his wife were buried at Charter Grove in DeKalb county. Their offspring numbered eight, all of whom are living. Benjamin, Elizabeth and John A. live in Sycamore, where the last named is employed as a dairyman; Harry is a farmer in Iowa; Annie is the wife of H. B. Morrison, who is a blacksmith and resides in California ; May married John O'Brien, a farmer ; Mabel is the wife of C. B. Anderson, a molder: and Carrie is the wife of Mr. Baker.

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Mr. and Mrs. Baker have three children: Mary E., who was born December 23. 1902; George E., who was born July 1, 1905; and Harold D., who was born January 28, 1908. Their mother had good school advantages, attending the high school in Sycamore until she was seventeen years of age. She has borne her part well in the domestic duties of the household and is a great help to her husband in his extensive operations, which includes the cultivation of his farm of one hundred and seventy acres, and the management of his dairy of thirty-five cows.

In his farming operations Mr. Baker alternates his crops and puts in a variety each year. At the time of this writing ( 1908) he has thirty-five acres in corn, fifteen in oats, five in barley, ten in wheat and ten in good meadow bottom. In political allegiance he is an unyielding republican. and in church affiliation a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

Conducting the affairs of a large and productive farm, carrying on an active dairy business, and giving attention to the progress and develop- ment of the township. Mr. Baker has been of signal service to the section of the county in which he lives, and is well worthy of the general regard of the people, which he enjoys, and the respect of all classes, which is freely bestowed on him and his family.

THOMAS McBRIDE.

Among those who have been factors in the business circles of Elgin but have been called from their labors is numbered Thomas McBride, who for some years was connected with the coal and wood trade in this city. A native of Ireland, he was born in the year 1861. and in early boyhood was brought to the new world by his parents, Henry and Margaret (Adams) McBride, who on crossing the Atlantic to the United States established their home in Elgin, where Henry McBride engaged in business as a dealer in coal and wood.

Thomas McBride spent his early boyhood under the parental roof and at the usual age began his education in the public schools, passing through con- secutive grades as he mastered the work assigned him year after year. His life was quietly passed. but in the faithful performance of each day's duty he won the respect and confidence of those with whom he was associated. After leaving school he joined his father in business as a dealer in coal and wood and continued in that line of merchandise up to the time of his demise. He never sought to take advantage of the interests of another in a business transaction, but gained his success through the legitimate channels of trade and secured his patrons by honorable dealing and prompt and efficient service.

On the 8th of November. 1888. Mr. McBride was united in marriage to Miss Martha Heath, a daughter of Aaron and Mary ( Fisher) Heath, of Elgin. The marriage was blessed with three children: Waneta Margaret. who died December 2. 1903. at the age of fourteen years, only a few months after the demise of her father: Walter Henry, who was born August 22.

MR. AND MRS. THOMAS MCBRIDE

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1896; and Stanley Edmund, born July 21, 1899. The death of the husband and father occurred July 8, 1903, and thus was terminated a happy married life covering about fifteen years. He was devoted to the welfare and comfort of his wife and children and counted no personal sacrifice on his part too great that would promote their happiness.

His political support was given to the republican party and his life was in harmony with his professions as a member of the Congregational church. His associates prized his friendship, while those who knew him well enter- tained for him the respect which is everywhere accorded honorable. upright manhood.

JERRY D. PUTNAM.

Although he was the only child of his parents, Jerry D. Putnam, a prominent dairy farmer of Aurora township, did not experience the favors of fortune which are supposed to be the lot of such children. He lost his father by death when he, the son, was but five years old. His birth oc- curred June 10, 1867, on a farm about two miles west of Aurora, on which his parents, Jeremiah Page and Nancy (Downes) Putnam, were then living. His recollections of his father are not vivid or extensive, for he died when the son was very young, as has been stated. But he knows that Claremont, New Hampshire, was the place of nativity of the parent, and that his mother was born and reared near Montreal, Canada, coming into the world on June 9, 1823, and was a daughter of Abel G. and Lucinda (Loomer) Downer. She was educated in the common schools of her native land and came with her parents to Kane county, Illinois, when she was seventeen years old. The family located on a farm near Aurora, where she lived until her marriage to Mr. Putnam.

After that event they took up their residence on a farm about two miles north of Aurora, which they occupied for four years. They then moved to another farm two miles west of the city, which the father cultivated until his death, five years later, in August, 1872. The mother continued to live in the neighborhood until her death. This was the father's second marriage, his first wife having died many years previously. She also was the mother of one child, Mrs. Lucretia Angell, who now lives in Aurora and is the widow of the late David Angell of that city.

Jerry D. Putnam, notwithstanding his early orphanage, obtained a good common-school education and also attended the Oak street school in Aurora two years. He has been a tiller of the soil all his life and is now settled on a farm of sixty-one acres two miles west of Aurora on the Galena road. Here he carries on dairy farming extensively, keeping usually about twenty cows, and making the business profitable by giving it close and critical at- tention and taking every precaution to prevent every kind of loss or trouble. He has good and completely-equipped buildings for his enterprise, erected and furnished according to the most exacting sanitary requirements, and he overlooks with careful inspection every feature of the work he has laid out

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for himself. With plenty of grain and hay growing annually on his farm and extensive silos for the preservation of green food, he is well prepared to care well for his cattle and thereby secure the largest returns for his outlay in connection with them.

Mr. Putnam also makes a specialty of breeding superior Holstein cattle and has some of the finest specimens of the breed to be found anywhere. That he is an enterprising and skillful farmer and stock breeder will be mani- test to any one who may have the pleasure of a visit to his farm and a sight of his stock, with the produce of both and the manner in which it is handled and disposed of.

On July 15, 1891, Mr. Putnam was married to Miss Ida May Barnes, a daughter of Ira Crowell Barnes, who is now a resident of Aurora. She was born on her father's farm in Sugar Grove township and has passed the whole of her life so far in Kane county. She and her husband have one child, Ira J. Putnam, who was born on August 1, 1892, and lives at home, as- sisting his father in the farm work in the intervals between the sessions of the West Aurora high school, at which he is a student.

Mr. Putnam is a republican, but not an active partisan, although he has taken an active and extended part in the official life of the township, having served as school director during the last fifteen years. He and his wife are members of the West Aurora Farmers Club, of which he is vice president and she is secretary. They are also members of the Twentieth Century and the Sugar Grove Farmers Club; and he is a member and one of the board of managers of the Aurora Horse Protective Association. This organization has for its object the protection of farmers against horse-stealing. and pays for every horse that is stolen from a member two-thirds of the value of the animal up to a maximum of $150. The association has a large membership and is in a flourishing condition, doing an extensive business and giving great satisfaction to its beneficiaries and those who have dealings with it.

Grandfather Downer, as he was familiarly called, owned at the time of his death two hundred and fifty acres of land in small parcels around the town of Aurora. as it was then The city has grown over much of this land and made it very valuable. Twenty acres of what belonged to him is now the finest residence portion of the expanding municipality, and Downer Place. which was named in his honor, is conceded to be its finest residence street.

DELL BLANCHARD MORRILL.

Dell Blanchard Morrill is identified with both agricultural and industrial interests in Kane county, where he is now engaged in carpentering and farm- ing. He was born in this county, July 18, 1857, and has spent much of his life here, now making his home in Blackberry township. His father. Frederick Stephen Morrill, was born in Strafford, Vermont, in 1825, and became one of the pioneer settlers of the northern portion of the state. purchasing five hundred acres of land from the government when this district

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was largely an unimproved and unsettled region. His land was entirely destitute of improvements when it came into his possession, but with char- acteristic energy he began converting it into rich and productive fields. In 1862 he removed to Blackberry township and became a prominent and influ- ential resident of the community, not only by reason of his activity and success in agricultural lines, but also owing to the fact that he did valuable service for the public. He filled the offices of justice of the peace and town clerk for a number of years, and for forty years acted as postmaster at Blackberry. When the draft was proclaimed at the time of the Civil war Mr. Morrill within a few days raised sixteen hundred dollars, with which he hired substitutes, securing the money by selling town bonds.

In early manhood he wedded Miss Lucinda Cleveland, who was born in Pike, Allegany county, New York, and at the age of sixteen years was brought to Illinois by her parents, who settled in Kaneville township, Kane county. Mr. and Mrs. Morrill became the parents of six children : Stephen, deceased; Bessie B., who married E. M. Butler, and after his death became the wife of H. N. Ross ; Lucy A., the wife of Robert Ross, of Bartlett, Illinois; Dell B., of this review; Blanche M., the wife of J. G. Norton, a resident of Macomb, Illinois; and Frank S., who is well known as a farmer of Blackberry township. The father died in 1897, but the mother still survives at the age of eighty years and is yet living in Blackberry township.

No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Dell B. Morrill in his boyhood and youth. He attended the graded schools until eighteen years of age, and thus acquired a good, practical English education. He then went to the west, where he remained for three years as a cowboy. He learned much of that section of the country, met many thrilling experiences and did much hard labor. He also secured many Indian relics and, indeed, has quite a valuable collection, which he has gathered from various fields on his travels. Since his return he has taken up the trade of carpentering and is showing good ability in industrial lines, being a capable artisan, whose work is proving highly satisfactory to those who employ him. He is well known as a representative of one of the old pioneer families of the county and has for half a century been a witness of its development and improvement.

JONATHAN FOWLER.

Jonathan Fowler, attorney-at-law, although he is not engaged actively in practice at the present time, was born in Mission township, La Salle county, Illinois, July 2, 1850, his birthplace being at Mission Point. He is one of the five children of Jonathan and Sarah E. (Phillips) Fowler and is of English lineage. The ancestry of the family in America is traced back to Philip Fowler, an early resident of New England, wiio was probably born in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, about 1590. He embarked with his family on the Mary and John, of London, Robert Sayers, master, and ar-

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rived in New England in May. 1634. He received a grant of land at Ips- wich. Essex county. Massachusetts, the same year, settled thereon and made the place his home until his death. It has since remained in possession of the family and is still occupied by one of his descendants.

Thomas Fowler, grandfather of Jonathan Fowler, was a native of New Hampshire and became a farmer and Baptist minister, though not regularly ordained. Removing westward to Illinois about 1845. he settled in La Salle county, where he purchased a tract of land and followed farming until old age prevented his further efforts in that direction. He died March 16. 1872, at the very venerable age of eighty-six years, having long survived his wife, Mrs. Olive ( Hale) Fowler, who was born July 14. 1790, and died April 19. 1850. They were the parents of three children: Olive B., born in 1812; Thomas Milton, in 1814, and Jonathan, in 1817.

The last named was born and reared in New Hampshire and followed agricultural pursuits as a life work. He arrived in this state in the '40S and purchased government land in Mission township. La Salle county. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made upon the place but with characteristic energy he began its development and transformed it into a productive farm. He wedded Sarah E. Phillips, a native of New Hampshire. where also occurred the birth of her parents. Ebenezer and Hannah ( Eager) Phillips. Both of her parents died in the east, her father at the age of seventy-five years and her mother when eighty-one years of age. His birth occurring August 1I, 1766, and his death on the 14th of April. 1851. while Mrs. Phillips was born June 9. 1778, and died December 16. 1859. They were the parents of seven children, all now deceased. Mr. Phillips devoted his life to farming and served his country as a soldier of the war of 1812. He, too. was of English lineage.

The married life of Jonathan Fowler and Sarah E. Phillips was of comparatively short duration, for the former died in 1850 when about thirty- three years of age. He was a man of considerable local prominence and in- fluence and held various township offices, including that of justice of the peace, in which position he served for several years. His decisions were strictly fair and impartial and he won the respect and honor of all with whom he came in contact. His widow survived him, remaining upon the old home farm, and later she became the wife of Edmund S. Fowler. who, though of the same family name, was not a relative of her first husband. She died November 4. 1896. at the age of seventy-nine years and two months. Her second husband passed away in Florida. There were no children by that union, but by her first marriage she had five children, all sons, of whom three are now living: Chase N., a lawyer of Ottawa. Illinois: Albert J., a farmer residing near Sheridan: and Jonathan, of Aurora.

The last named was reared upon the old homestead farm in La Salle county and after acquainting himself with the primary branches of learning he attended the Fowler Institute at Newark, Illinois, and subsequently was graduated from the old Battle Ground Collegiate Institute, of Battle Ground, Indiana. Later he engaged in teaching in various places for about eight years and in the meantime was devoting his leisure hours to the study of law,

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finishing his reading in Ottawa. He was then admitted to the bar there in 1880 and practiced for a short time in that city, whence he removed to Ne- braska, becoming a member of the bar of Dakota county. There he con- tinued in active practice until 1899. when he returned to Illinois and made his home in Aurora, although he had no office here. for a few years. He afterward engaged in practice at Ottawa until 1906, when he returned to Aurora. but on account of ill health did not open an office.

On the 24th of March, 1891, Mr. Fowler was married to Miss Mary E. Barnard, a daughter of Joseph and Maria ( Gerrish) Barnard and a native of Hopkinton. New Hampshire. Her parents were also natives of that state. Her paternal grandfather was born at Hopkinton. May 6. 1795, and always resided there. He became noted for his enterprise in the cultivation of im- proved cattle and sheep and was also an extensive owner of real estate. In community affairs he took an active and helpful part. serving as selectman of his town in 1837-38. while in 1839 and 1840 he was a representative to the general court. In June, 1816. he married Miss Miriam Jackman, a daughter of William Eastman and Phoebe ( Elliot) Jackman, of Concord. Mr. and Mrs. Barnard had five children. The father died March 15. 1870, while his wife passed away September 17, 1869.

In the maternal line Mrs. Fowler traces her ancestry back to Hon. Abiel Foster, who was her great-great-grandfather. He was a resident of Canterbury. New Hampshire. and represented his district in the first. fourth fifth, sixth and seventh congresses of the United States, being a member of the national law-making body for the greater part of the time during twenty- one years. He died in 1806. Abiel Foster Gerrish, the grandfather of Mrs. Fowler, was born at Boscawen. New Hampshire. March 7. 1806. and died at West Creek, Indiana. June 10. 1884. He was married January 18. 1830, to Eliza Dodge, who was born in Boscawen. January 12. 1806. and passed away in Salina, Illinois, September 19. 1881. He lived at West Creek, Lake county. Indiana. from 1856 until the time of his death. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gerrish were born five children. all of whom came to the West to live except Mrs. Maria Barnard, who remained in the East. She traced her ancestry back to John Rogers, the first Christian martyr, who was burned at the stake at Smithfield. England. February 14. 1555. in Queen Mary's reign.

Joseph Barnard. the father of Mrs. Fowler, was born at Hopkinton, New Hampshire. and always resided there with the exception of a period of three years spent in Massachusetts. He learned the stone cutter's trade there. after which he returned to his old home and engaged in clerking in a store for several years. He afterward turned his attention to the lumber business, which he followed in Hopkinton and also carried on farming for a number of years. For a considerable period he resided in Contoocook. where he was for a time associated in business with Abram Brown and John Burn- ham. After the death of his father he resided on the okl Barnard homestead. which he greatly improved. As an agriculturist he was much interested in raising cattle, keeping a herd of Guernsey cattle that had been bred upon the place for more than forty years. He was also building agent of the Con- toocook Valley Railroad from Contoocook to Hillsboro. During the open-

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ing year of the Civil war he served as enrolling officer of the twentieth dis- trict of New Hampshire and in 1870-71 was representative to the general court, in 1882 was appointed commissioner of forestry of Merrimack county and in 1889 was elected a member of the constitutional convention of his state. On the 26th of October. 1849. he married Maria Gerrish, of Bosca- wen, and unto them were born nine children. His death occurred upon a farm in Hopkinton. Both his father and his grandfather bore the name of Joseph Barnard and the latter married the widow of Captain John Hale, who fought throughout the Revolutionary war.

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Fowler has been blessed with one daugh- ter, Marion Edna. The mother is a member of the First Congregational church, while Mr. Fowler believes more strongly in the Methodist faith. His political allegiance is given the democracy but he has never been a poli- tician in the sense of office seeking. He is well known in Aurora, where he now makes his home and has an extensive circle of warm friends here.

ASHEL T. JUDD.

Aslıel T. Judd. one of the progressive and successful farmers of Kane county. was born March 21, 1844, in Warren county. New York, on the shore of the most beautiful sheet of water in this country-historic Lake George-on which and around which have waged some of "the big wars that make ambition virtue." And although he left the region in his child- hood, it is by no means too remote an inference that what he saw of it while he was under the witchery of its beauty and suggestiveness, and what he read of it afterward, made a deep and lasting impression on his mind, and did something to determine his subsequent course in life. He came to Illi- nois with his parents in 1850. when he was six years of age. and grew to manhood in this state, obtaining his education in its public schools. He is the son of Dexter C. and Eliza (Brown) Judd, also natives of the state of New York. In 1851 the father settled on land in section 21, Sugar Grove township, Kane county, building a house which is still standing. although since remodeled and improved.

When Ashel T. Judd grew to manhood, or near it. he yielded to the call of President Lincoln for volunteers to save the Union from armed resist- ance which threatened its continuance, and enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Illinois Infantry. He went through the great civil conflict without injury, and was mustered out of the service on Sep- tember 11. 1865. having beer, on active duty more than three years. and faced death on many a hard-fought and gory field. He was in the siege of Vicks- burg and many other important engagements, and bore himself ever, even in the front of unrolling columns, with a gallantry consistent with his lineage and the lessons of his birthplace. The memories of the war have abided with him, and he has kept them alive by active membership in the Grand Army of the Republic, belonging to Post No. 20 at Aurora. He has also

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been a member of the Masonic order since 1865, and in politics has been a lifelong and zealous republican. He has acceptably served as school commis- sioner.

In 1868 Mr. Judd was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Reynolds, who was born in a log cabin which her father built when he settled in this county in 1835. They have one child, Ira Judd, who is now a resident of Aurora. Ever since the Civil war Mr. Judd has been a successful farmer, and for a number of years he was an extensive feeder of live stock. In all his undertakings he has prospered, now owning a fine farm of five hundred and twenty-five acres and by his upright life, elevated citizenship and fair dealing with all men, as well as by his earnest and serviceable interest in public affairs and intelligent cooperation in every undertaking for the im- provement of his community, he has firmly established himself in the regard and good will of his fellowmen. The evening of life is approaching for him and his estimable wife, and it is their good fortune to welcome it amid the scenes and the people which have surrounded them from childhood, and where they have not only all the material comforts of existence, but are universally respected and esteemed.

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History of Kane County, Ill. Volume II, Part 54

Author: Joslyn, R. Waite (Rodolphus Waite), b. 1866 Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago : The Pioneer Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 958

Author: Joslyn, R. Waite (Rodolphus Waite), b. 1866
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : The Pioneer Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 958