USA > Illinois > Kane County > History of Kane County, Ill. Volume II > Part 57
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Gould, also a resident of Aurora: and Ina, the wife of Ira Calkins, who is living with her mother on the old homestead.
Charles L. Bolster, the immediate subject of this writing. obtained his early education in the district school near his home, supplementing its train- ing with a four-years' course at the Oak street school in Aurora, and subse- quently pursuing a course of special instruction at Jennings' Seminary in that city, at that time the pride of northern Illinois as an educational institution and renowned in many of the neighboring states for the excellence of its discipline and teaching. After leaving that school he went to work on the farm and in time acquired the ownership of a portion of it. He now owns one hundred and forty-seven acres of superior land, well improved with good buildings and provided with all the necessary equipment of a first-class farm in this day of progress and rapid development.
Mr. Bolster was married January 2. 1890, to Miss Margaret Potter. of La Salle county, this state. She was born near Hennepin in Putnam county. and at the age of ten years moved with her parents to the neighborhood of Peru, where her father labored industriously and prospered as a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Bolster have had two children: Ralph, who was born in 1892 and died in infancy : and Clarence Lyle, who was born February 3. 1896. and is now the joy and hope of the household.
Mr. Bolster has been very successful in general farming and has also been for years an extensive breeder of choice strains of hogs. He is a genial. diligent and obliging gentleman, performing his whole duty in service to his fellowmen and doing all he can to aid in making everybody around him happy. He is now filling the office of justice of the peace in a most creditable manner.
WILLIAM A. TREADWELL.
William A. Treadwell. engaged in the milling business at Elburn. repre- sents one of the pioneer families of Kane county. His grandfather. William Treadwell, was a native of Almyr. Ontario, Canada, born July 22. 1823. He came to the west in 1840 and afterward purchased land on section 10, Elgin township, where he carried on farming for many years. His parents were Anson and Nancy ( Somers ) Treadwell, natives of Canada and New York respectively. William Treadwell married Miss Martha A. Adams, a dangh- ter of Edward and Abigail ( Padelford) Adams. There were three children born of this marriage.
William E. Treadwell. the eldest of the three children and the father of our subject. was born in Elgin. Illinois, March 15. 1851. and there lived during his boyhood, attending the common schools. He was afterward grad- uated from the Bryant & Stratton Commercial School. in Chicago, and when he had devoted a brief time to merchandizing he began a course of reading under the direction of Dr. H. K. Whitford, of Chicago. For three years he was a student of the Bennett Medical College of that city, from which institution he was graduated. He further supplemented his study by the
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broad experience gained in work in Cook County Hospital and in the Ben- nett Hospital. Following his graduation he practiced in Chicago for a time, and then removed to Maple Park, in 1872. He married Miss Ida May, daughter of B. F. Webster, of Chicago. They became parents of three chil- dren : William A., of this review ; George B., and John E.
William A. Treadwell spent his boyhood and youth in his father's home. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1874. and attended the public schools of Maple Park until seventeen years of age, when he left home and went to Dixon, Illinois, where he attended the School of Telegraphy. After com- pleting this course, he served as station agent with the Chicago & North- western Railway Company, and on leaving that employ went to DeKalb, Illinois. There he was engaged in the coal business, and subsequently he was located in Chicago in the employ of the Grand Trunk Railway for four years. He next came to Elburn, Illinois, where he is now engaged in the milling business, having a plant which was erected at the approximate cost of ten thou- sand dollars. It is the only grist and feed mill in the city and is well equipped, while the output is most satisfactory and finds a ready sale on the market.
Mr. Treadwell was married in 1898 to Miss Pearle Kennedy, whose par- ents are now deceased. Her father was at one time a practitioner of law at Maple Park. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Treadwell have been born two children : W. Hale, who is now attending school; and Gerald K., who is in his second year. Both Mr. and Mrs. Treadwell are widely known in Elburn and have many friends here. His political support is given the republican party, and in fraternal relations he is a Mason. He represents one of the old families of this part of the state-a family widely and favorably known because of the helpful parts which its members have taken in the work of general develop- ment and progress.
FRANK LORANG.
This well known farmer and esteemed citizen of Blackberry township was born in Germany, in the province of Luxemburg, August 9, 1876, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Lenert) Lorang, natives of the same country as himself, and descended from long lines of ancestors native to the soil there. The family emigrated to the United States in 1890 and took up its residence in Kane county, Illinois, locating at Aurora. There the father died in 1896. He was a stone-cutter and worked industriously at his trade during the whole of his mature life. In church membership he was a Catholic, but as he was never naturalized in this country. he belonged to no political party here. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, the six brothers and sisters of Frank being : Joseph, a well-to-do farmer in South Dakota; Annie, the wife of J. Binsfield, who is in the employ of the McCormick Harvester Company ; Nicholas, who lives in Aurora and is employed in the shops of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad; Matthew, an enterprising Minnesota farmer ; and Elizabeth, the wife of Matthew Weber, who is a painter in Chicago.
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Frank Lorang passed six years in school in his native land. and after his arrival in this country attended a graded school in Aurora. After leav- ing school he worked for some years by the month on a farm. Believing that he could do better if working for himself, he rented a farm for four years, and found his venture profitable, bringing him in good returns for ยท his labor and enabling him to accumulate some $3.500 worth of personal property, which he now owns.
In 1903 Mr. Lorang was married to Miss Rose R. Bertrang. They have two children: John P., who was born February 19. 1904, and Nicholas M., whose life began June 16, 1906. Mr. Lorang has lived in Kane county continuously since he first located here with his parents and has endeared himself to his friends and neighbors, and won the esteem of the people in general by his sterling integrity, enterprising spirit and fidelity to every duty. No undertaking involving the improvement or advancement of the commu- nity, or the welfare, comfort and convenience of its people, fails to command his ready and helpful support, and no claim that may justly rest on a good citizen is ever unrecognized or undischarged by him. He is a Catholic in religion and an active member of St. Joseph's Society in his church. His political faith is with the republican party, in whose campaigns he stands loyally by his convictions although never seeking honor or place for himself.
MRS. ANTOINETTE E. HARDY.
When the husband of this resolute and resourceful lady died October 18, 1896, leaving her with a family of children to rear and educate and a farm that required active and vigorous management to look after, she accepted her responsibilities with resignation and fortitude, and that she has met them with courage and capacity all who know her and the circumstances will cheer- fully bear witness.
Mrs. Hardy was born at Honeoye Falls, near Rochester, New York. May 7. 1843. a daughter of Rev. Oliver and Melinda ( Griffin) Barr, the former born in Connecticut, July 13, 1800, and the latter in Seneca county, New York. April 6. 1803. They were married about 1822, and in the fall of 1844 came to Kane county and bought a farm three and one-half miles southeast of Aurora, on which they lived for one year. The father was an ordained clergy- man of the Christian church and preached many years in the state of New York. He was widely known to the early residents of Kane county as a forceful and earnest preacher of the gospel and a good man who practiced what he preached. When he became a resident of this county the settlement of this part of the state was sparse and the places for religious worship were few and widely separated. He was obliged to travel long distances to meet his appointments and was therefore not only absent from his home a large portion of the time, but also much exposed to the rigor of the seasons. But he never faltered in the discharge of his duty and rendered great service to the people in his ministrations.
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SANFORD HARDY
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In 1848, in obedience to the commands of the church authorities, he took charge of an appointment in the city of New York and moved his family there, remaining three years actively engaged in the work of the ministry. In 1851 he returned to Aurora with his family, but soon afterward took up the work of the Biblical School of Antioch, Ohio, of which Horace Mann was then president. In the interest of this institution he traveled far and wide and dis- played great energy and zeal, but the duties brought him to an untimely death in the midst of his usefulness. He was killed in a railroad accident at Nor- walk, Connecticut, May 6, 1853, the train in which he was riding plunging off a bridge into the river. His remains were brought to this county and buried in the West Aurora cemetery. His widow died May 6, 1871, and all that was mortal of her was laid to rest in a grave by the side of his. Rev. Mr. Barr's parents were John and Mary Barr, the father a native of Scotland and the mother of Connecticut, where both passed to their final rest after long years of usefulness.
Mrs. Hardy had three sisters and one brother. The sisters were: Mary V., who became the wife of Marshall Sherwin, both of whom have been dead a number of years; Adaline, who married James Miller, and they also have died; and Abbie, now the widow of George Lindsey and living in Aurora. Her husband was a valiant soldier in the Civil war. The one son born in the family was James Griffin Barr, for many years one of the leading lawyers of Kane county. He was born in New York state, July 8, 1825, and died in Aurora, January 30, 1871.
Mrs. Hardy acquired a good education in the East Aurora schools. On May 7, 1868, she was married to Sanford Hardy, who was then a teacher at Montgomery, this county. In 1870 he embarked in the coal business in Aurora, but seven years later he sought a more congenial occupation and. selling his business, he bought the farm of fifty acres in section 25, Sugar Grove township, on which his widow now resides. He was born at Contoocook, New Hampshire, July 13, 1836, and became a resident of Kane county in 1857. School teaching was his profession, and he devoted nearly all his time to it un- til the beginning of the Civil war. He then enlisted in defense of the Union as a member of the Sixty-fifth Illinois Volunteers. Mr. Hardy was a devout Christian, holding active membership in the Methodist Episcopal church in Aurora. In company with Charles Douglas he founded and started on its career of usefulness the Aurora branch of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation. His parents were Ozias and Lavina Hardy, natives of New Hamp- shire.
Mr. and Mrs. Hardy became the parents of six children : Edna E., now the wife of H. J. Goodale, of Aurora ; Bertha, who died at the age of one year ; Louis E., who is now managing the home farm; Anna M., the wife of Charles Voss, of Ekalaka, Montana; Elwyn B., who is living in Aurora; and Charles, who is engaged in farming near that city.
The mother is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Aurora. She and those of her sons who are living at home are members of the Twentieth Century Farmers Club, and she also belongs to the Neighborly Improvement Circle, which she, with six other ladies, organized twelve years
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ago for purposes of social and literary entertainment. The circle holds fort- nightly meetings and at the close of every year gives an elaborate banquet, to which the husbands, sons and brothers of the members are invited. Mr. Hardy was a republican in politics, and a member of Aurora Post No. 20, Grand Army of the Republic.
JOHN C. MURPHY.
In the history of the legal profession in Aurora it is imperative that specific consideration be paid John C. Murphy, because of the prominence which he has attained as a member of the Kane county bar, and also by reason of his activity in public affairs bearing upon the welfare and upbuild- ing of the city. He was born in Grundy county, Illinois, February 27. 1858. His father, James Murphy, was a native of Ireland and when eleven years of age accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United States. the family home being established in Utica, New York. He arrived in Illinois in 1849. settling first in Grundy county, where he lived for about fifteen years, and then in 1864 came to Aurora, where his remaining days were passed. his death occurring in 1900. when he was seventy-seven years of age. He was a most highly respected man and an active republican, un- faltering in his allegiance to the party and its interests. He married Anne Corlett, who was born on the Isle of Man and came to the United States during her girlhood days. She was married to Mr. Murphy in Utica, New York.
John C. Murphy pursued his education in the public schools of Aurora and was graduated from the high school. He afterward took up the study of law with M. O. Southworth as his preceptor and in 1882, after passing the required examination, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in this city. Two years later he was appointed assistant United States attorney in Dakota and shortly afterward was appointed United States attorney, re- maining in Dakota in that capacity until 1890. He then returned to Aurora and here entered into partnership with Samuel Alschuler, under the firm style of Alschuler & Murphy. In 1900 the senior member of the firm re- moved to Chicago and was succeeded by his brother, B. P. Alschuler, the firm now being Murphy & Alschuler. Mr. Murphy has continued in the practice of law in Aurora since 1890 and is recognized as an attorney of brilliant mind, of keen perception and logical deductions. He is careful and thorough in the preparation of his cases, and in the presentation of his cause presents his points with due relative importance.
Mr. Murphy is not alone known in legal circles, for he has gained wide recognition as a progressive and public-spirited citizen. He was elected mayor of the city in 1893 and served for a term of two years, during which period much work of the nature of public improvements was carried on. His administration was altogether businesslike, practical and progressive. He
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put in seventy-three miles of sewers in that time at a cost of $360,000 and he made other necessary improvements which have benefited the city.
In 1891 occurred the marriage of Mr. Murphy and Miss Jessie Mc- Arthur, a daughter of Dr. Robert M. McArthur, of Ottawa, Illinois. Mr. Murphy belongs to the Masonic fraternity, having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and the Knight Templar degree of the York Rite. He is also connected with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks and the Modern Woodmen. He is a past master of Aurora Lodge, No. 254, A. F. & A. M., and a past commander of Aurora Commandery, No. 22. K. T. Such, in brief, is the life history of one of the ablest lawyers of the Kane county bar, a man who is true to his ideals, firm in support of his honest convictions and stalwart in his championship in all that he believes to be right or for the interests of the community at large.
H. A. BOWLES.
H. A. Bowles, a prominent farmer and dairyman of Elgin township. was born in Dewitt county, Illinois, October 5, 1870, his parents being Robert and Martha (Welch) Bowles. of English and Irish parentage respectively. Representatives of the Bowles family emigrated from Eng- land to Virginia at a very early day, afterward located in Kentucky and subsequently settled in Dewitt county, Illinois, among its earliest residents. Anderson Bowles, the grandfather of H. A. Bowles, was the first of the name who took up his abode in this state, making the journey from Ken- tucky with ox-teams. . During the trip the family carried fire with them from one camping place to another until they finally located in Dewitt county and for thirty years this fire was kept going, as it was prior to the time when matches came into general use. Anderson Bowles reared a family of fourteen children, including the father of our subject. Robert Bowles, who, in his younger days, was also a farmer and stockdealer. In 1888 he located in Chicago, where he is still engaged in the live stock com- mission business under the firm name of Clark, Bowles & Company. He and his wife reared a family of six children, namely : Ethel; Stella, the wife of Rev. J. H. Odgers, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church at Joliet ; Herman A .; Enid; Charles, who wedded Etta Barnes of Chi- cago; and Bertie, who has passed away. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bowles reside in the metropolis, the former having for a long period been actively connected with its business interests.
H. A. Bowles attended the common schools of Clinton and Blooming- ton, Illinois, until the age of fourteen or fifteen years, and then pursued a course in a business college at Bloomington. At the age of eighteen years he started out in life for himself, and remained in Montana and Wyoming between the years 1892 and 1899. working each year during a season of nine months. In 1899. however, he returned to Chicago and thence came almost immediately to Elgin. settling on the farm of two hundred and fifty-
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four acres, on which he has since resided and which he has brought under a high state of cultivation. He is a lover of fine stock and makes a specialty of breeding high grade cows and horses. He is recognized as a substantial and enterprising agriculturist and dairyman of the county and has met with a creditable and gratifying measure of success in the conduct of his business interests.
In 1899 Mr. Bowles was united in marriage to Miss Bessie Kirby, of Chicago, a daughter of T. B. and Annie E. (Anderson) Kirby. Her father is engaged in the railway supply business, and she is one of a family of three children, the others being: Daisy, the wife of W. W. Teal, of Oak Park; and Charlotte. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bowles has been born one son, Thomas K. They are people of genuine personal worth and sterling traits of character and have gained an extensive circle of friends during the period of their residence in this county.
CHARLES B. ATKYNS.
A market gardener of pronounced skill and success and a musician of eminent capacity and merit, Charles B. Atkyns, of Aurora township. has at his command two sources of high enjoyment not given to many men, and he makes good use of both. He is successful in his gardening because to his natural taste and bent for the business he adds the information gained from a reflective study of the thoughts of others and that acquired in his own careful and intelligent investigations, and he is eminent in his musical abilities largely for the same reasons.
Mr. Atkyns was born at Salt Lake City, Utah, on January 12, 1868, the son of Reuben and Eliza ( Polton) Atkyns, both natives of England, the for- mer of Coventry and the latter of Lenington. The mother came to the United States in 1857 and the father in 1858. The mother crossed the plains to the new Zion with an emigrant train in 1858, while the father was follow- ing in her wake with all his worldly goods bestowed in a push-cart, which, with heroic patience and prodigious labor, he urged through the trackless wilds of that day toward the altar of his glowing faith. They mnet in Salt Lake City and were married there on Christmas day, 1859. Later, making their way east as far as Illinois, they located at Plano, Kendall county, where the father plied his trade as a shoemaker and the mother kept his house and made his home. She had early in life learned the trade of a milliner in Lon- don and acquired great skill in it. She knew every step of the craft, from weaving the hat or bonnet from the straw to trimming it in the most tasteful and artistic style. To aid her husband in providing for the needs of the family she worked at her trade in this state, and with such success that she became known far and wide as the "London milliner," and to have a head covered from her shop was the ambition of every lady in the communities in which she worked. She died at Sandwich, DeKalb county, at the age of sixty-three years. The father, who was born December 20, 1832, now makes
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his home with his son Charles. The grandfather of Charles Atkyns was also named Charles, and his great-grandfather was known as "Cocker" Atkyns, so called of his extensive breeding of fighting cocks. Mr. Atkyns has two brothers: Reuben, who lives at Independence, Missouri ; and Henry J., who is a photographer in Aurora.
At the age of eight years Charles Atkyns removed with his parents to Sandwich, Illinois, where he obtained a good education. When he was twenty-two he took up his residence in Aurora and there worked as a machinist for three years. Impressed by the rapidity of Aurora's growth, he conceived the idea of starting a market garden in the neighborhood, and to this end purchased six acres of land south of the city. This tract he has improved with the necessary equipment for the enterprise, enriching the soil with good fertilizing material and cultivating it with studious care, until he now has the best garden and fruit farm in Kane county. Being both a prac- tical and a scientific gardener he has achieved unusual success. He studies the needs of the soil and supplies it with what it requires for his purposes, and having a good knowledge of chemistry, he knows just what chemicals to use to make the ground responsive to his utmost wishes. He has also made a scientific study of the injuries wrought upon fruits and vegetables by vari- ous insects and found many preparations to prevent or remedy the damage done in this way. Many years' experience in the use of hand tools has given him great control of them and skill in working with them. Through this capacity he has been able to make a number of unusual implements for use in his gardening and thus acquire an advantage of moment over other persons in the business who do not possess this facility. This enabled him also to do most of the work in building his own house, whereby he was able to construct it exactly as he wished. His farm is in section 33. Aurora town- ship, one mile and three-quarters from the city.
On New Year's day, 1894, Mr. Atkyns was married to Miss Alma J. Larson, who was born in Chicago, September 16, 1870. Her father, Lars Larson, was born and reared in Norway, and her mother, whose maiden name was Mary Hansen, was a native of Sweden. They were married in the old country and came to the United States in 1869. The father was killed in a well in 1878. The mother is still living and has her home in Aurora.
Mr. and Mrs. Atkyns have two children: May M., who was born July 30, 1895, and Alfred C., who was born February 5, 1897. Both are now stu- dents at a school in Montgomery. The father is a republican and takes an active part in public affairs. He is also wide-awake and resourceful with ref- erence to anything that he thinks will benefit the township. In 1904 he made successful efforts to have Rural Free Delivery Route No. 4 established, and found his activity in this regard justified in 1908 when it was disclosed that this route was handling more mail matter than any other out of Aurora. For a number of years he solicited subscriptions for the Aurora Daily Beacon. In this work he was successful, as he has been in everything else he has turned his hand to, largely increasing the circulation of the paper. Mr. Atkyns is also an accomplished musician, playing the double bass violin with great skill and expression. His services in this line are in continual demand, and he is
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always connected with some good orchestra. In his religious affiliation he is connected with the Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints. The sect has a church edifice at Plano. Mr. Atkyns is a regular attendant of the services and is prominent in the work of the church. He is faithful in all his duties as a citizen and wields a forceful influence in his community, in all parts of which he is highly respected.
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