USA > Illinois > Kane County > History of Kane County, Ill. Volume II > Part 61
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FRANCIS W. WRIGHT
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On the 24th of February, 1847, Mr. Wright was united in marriage to Miss Asintha L. Lester, a daughter of Edward and Hannah ( Newton) Lester. Her father removed to DuPage county, Illinois, in 1835, locating on a farm, which he successfully operated until the time of his retirement from active business life, subsequently making his home in Elgin. At the time of his demise he still owned the farm which he had purchased in 1835. His wife died in 1846. Mrs. Wright attended school at Elgin between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years and was afterward engaged in teaching in this city.
In his political views Mr. Wright was a stanch republican but neither sought nor desired office, preferring to devote his attention to his private interests. He and his wife were formerly identified with the Methodist Epis- copal church but during the last few years of his life he attended the Uni- versalist church. He was a resident of this county for fifty-seven years and throughout the entire period had ever maintained an unassailable reputation as a man of unfaltering integrity and honesty, whose word was as good as his bond. Generous and public-spirited, his aid and influence were ever given on the side of right, truth and progress, and his cooperation could always be counted upon to further any movement instituted for the general welfare.
WILLIAM BOSSELER.
Among the worthy citizens that Germany has furnished to Kane county is numbered William Bosseler, who was born in Luxemburg, on the 12th of March, 1873. He remained in his native land until he attained his majority and was a student in the public schools until twelve years of age. He then began earning his own living by working as a farm hand at $2 per month, but his wages were gradually increased until, at the age of twenty-one, he received $5 per month. He still has two sisters living in Luxemburg; Bar- bara, the wife of John Altman, who is manager of a distillery; and Mary, the wife of John Decker, a forest commissioner.
Hoping to improve his financial condition, Mr. Bosseler came to Amer- ica in 1894 and finally landed in Aurora, Illinois. His cash capital at that time consisted of but ten dollars, and immediate employment being a neces- sity he soon found work as a farm hand, in which capacity he continued for nine years. During that time he saved his earnings and was at length enabled to engage in farming on his own account. Industrious and economical, he has since saved and by judicious investments has accumulated over $3,000 worth of personal property. For seven years he has now resided upon his present farm on section 27. Blackberry township, and is meeting with good success in its cultivation.
Mr. Bosseler was married in 1900 to Miss Angeline Konen, who was born in Sugar Grove township, May 1, 1875, a daughter of Philip and Susan Konen, now residents of Aurora. Her father was also a native of Luxem- burg, Germany, and it was in 1865 that he emigrated to the new world. For
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inany years he engaged in farming with good success and has accumulated considerable property. He is now serving as road commissioner in West Aurora. Mr. and Mrs. Bosseler have two interesting children : Lena Jennie, who was born March 9. 1901, and is now attending school in the home dis- trict : and William Phillip. born March 2, 1906.
NELSON B. COOLEY.
For a period of thirty years this now prosperous and progressive farmer accepted the hazards and enjoyed the excitement of life as a locomotive fire- man and engineer in the service of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. When he had his fill of this, and desired a more settled and quiet life, he retired to the farm on which he now lives and to which he has since devoted his attention and energies.
Mr. Cooley was born November 14, 1839. in Chemung county. New York, and is a son of Hiram and Hannah (Corey) Cooley, the former a native of Tioga county, New York, and the latter of Rutland county. Vermont. They were the parents of six children, all but two of whom, Nelson and his brother Jerome, of Aurora, are dead. Those who died were: Minerva, the late wife of Walter Seavey; Floretta, the late wife of Washington Fuller : Floyd and White.
Nelson B. Cooley attended the public schools until he was twenty years of age. Then, starting out to make his own way in the world, he secured employment as a clerk in a hotel at Painted Post, Steuben county. New York, a position which he filled acceptably for five years. In March, 1866, he came to Kane county, Illinois, and entered the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company as a fireman, from which post he rose to that of engineer on one of the busy locomotives of that busy company. While he was thus engaged his family lived on a farm in Aurora township, which he rented to his brother Floyd for ten years.
In 1876 he bought a farm of one hundred and forty acres in section 26. Sugar Grove township. After conducting the operations of this farm for eleven years, he rented it and moved his family to Aurora, and during the next seventeen years he was again employed as an engineer by the railroad company. In the spring of 1904 he once more returned to the farm, and he and his son have ever since been active and enterprising in the management and cultivation of it. It now contains one hundred and ninety acres, and is one of the best farms in Sugar Grove township.
Mr. Cooley was married December 31. 1867. being united with Miss Phoebe Bailey, a daughter of Squire Bailey, of Steuben county. New York. where she was born and reared. They have one child. Francis Edward, who was born December 15, 1868. Like his father, he had a taste for railroading. and for eleven years was employed by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, as an engineer in charge of one of its locomotives. He is now, however, connected with his father in the management of the farm.
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On May 21, 1897, his son married Miss Nellie Cadogan, a native of Van Buren county, Michigan, where she was born in 1868, and a daughter of Walter and Lavina ( Bradshaw) Cadogan. At the age of sixteen she came with her parents to Chicago, where a few years later she became acquainted with and married Francis Edward Cooley. They have one child, Letha Marguerite, who was born February 17. 1905.
Mr. Cooley and his son are republicans in political allegiance, and fra- ternally the father is a Modern Woodman. He and his wife are members of Park Place Baptist church in Aurora, and they also belong to the Sugar Grove Farmers Club. He served as school trustee of the township three years, and in other ways has rendered his fellow citizens good service in the pro- motion of their best interests and those of the township. His friends and acquaintances esteem him and his family as among their best citizens.
JOHN FRANKLIN GARVER.
John Franklin Garver, chief engineer for the Bowman Dairy Company of Elburn, Illinois, was born in Marshall county, Indiana, December 22, 1862, and the family is widely and prominently known throughout the Hoosier state. His brothers and sisters are as follows : Charles, an agriculturist of Plymouth, Indiana; Edward, residing in Blue Island, Illinois, who is a railroad em- ploye; H. Walter, likewise a railroad employe, who makes his home at Dixon, Illinois ; Warren, also of Blue Island, Illinois, who is likewise employed by the railroad company; Marietta, the wife of J. Overlesse, of Elkhart, Indiana.
When three years of age John Franklin Garver accompanied his parents on their removal to Dixon, Illinois, and subsequently the family home was established in Marion, Iowa, where our subject mastered the various branches of learning taught in the public schools. At the age of twenty years he went to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in railroad work, sub- sequently returning to Elburn, Illinois. Since 1891 he has here held the position of chief engineer for the Bowman Dairy Company, his long retention in the position being incontrovertible proof of his capability and faithfulness in the discharge of his duties. Thrown upon his own resources in early childhood, he has worked perseveringly and persistently and has gained the success which is always the reward of well-directed and untiring effort.
At Elburn, Illinois, on the 22d of May, 1892, Mr. Garver was united in marriage to Miss Anna Amelia Hull, who was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, May 2, 1868. There is one son by this union. Homer H., whose birth occurred March 9, 1894. .
During the years 1897 and 1898 Mr. Garver served as city marshal of Elburn, and is widely recognized as a public-spirited citizen whose aid and influence are ever given on the side of right, truth and progress. He holds membership with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Mystic Workers of America and the Foresters, holding the office of court deputy in the last-
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named fraternity. His wife is a member of the Methodist church, is con- nected with the Ladies' Aid Society and also belongs to the Mystic Workers of America. Both Mr. and Mrs. Garver are highly esteemed throughout the community as people of genuine personal worth and sterling traits of character and the circle of their friends is almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintances.
ALFRED BOYER.
Having worked in the employment of one railroad company for a con- tinuous period of twenty-seven years, and during that time having never missed receiving his pay check, which means that he lost no time and gave his employer no cause for complaint, Alfred Boyer, of Aurora, has a record of fidelity to duty to his credit that can not be surpassed and is seldom equaled.
Mr. Boyer is a native of Kane county, born on a farm four miles north- east of Aurora. August 24. 1857, and is a son of Anthony and Elenor ( Para- dise) Boyer, who were born in Montreal, Canada, and came to Kane county about 1850. Here the mother died on December 28, 1887, and the father on March 1I, 1888. They became the parents of twelve children, but only three are now living, namely: Alfred, Anthony and Dennis B. Boyer. An- thony is engaged in farming near Guthrie, Oklahoma, and Dennis lives in Aurora.
At the age of four years Alfred Boyer moved with his parents to the state of New York, where his father farmed for six years on the shore of Lake Champlain. The family then returned to Illinois and located in Aurora. There the son attended the public schools until he reached the age of fourteen, then wishing to begin making his own way in the world, he hired out as a farm hand and continued working in that capacity until he attained his majority.
On August 11, 1878, he was married to Miss Emily DeFoe, a native of Kane county. The young couple passed the first year of their married life in Aurora, and the next two on a farm in DeKalb county. Returning to Aurora at the end of the third year after his marriage, he accepted employ- ment for a short time as a roundhouse hand for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company. His skill and fidelity in the performance of the work assigned to him soon won him promotion to the position of hostler in the engine house, and this position he still occupies.
Mr. Boyer has given the company excellent service and won high com- mendation from the officials of the company. He is capable and knowing. and conscientiously attentive to every requirement. His long tenure of the same position for twenty-seven years, and the fact that in all that period he never missed receiving his pay check on time, embody a high tribute to his worth as an employe. But this is not all. His worth has been recognized by those for whom he works, and set down in the records of the company, where it will ever stand to his advantage.
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Mr. Boyer suffered the great bereavement of his life in the death of his wife on January II, 1900. They were the parents of three children: Alfred Anthony, who is now a railroad engineer and lives in Aurora; Selina Elenor McVicker, wife of Samuel McVicker, who resides on a farm near Aurora, and a sketch of whom appears on another page of this volume, and Mary Elenor Boyer, who has taken her mother's place in the domestic establish- ment and keeps house for her father. There is also one grandchild in the family. Cornelius Alfred Boyer, who was born on August 14. 1907.
In politics Mr. Boyer adheres to the democratic party. In religious affiliation he belongs to the Holy Angels Catholic church of Aurora. Frater- nally he is a member of the Burlington Relief association. His father and his grandfather were soldiers in the Canadian revolution and, although his life has been passed in peaceful pursuits. he is not without the martial spirit of his ancestors and would go to war in defense of his country if he were not too old for service.
DEWITT C. WAITE.
When the pioneers of the western part of the great state of New York and the central part too, had reduced nature to subjection in those regions, and tamed and fructified the wilderness there, they or their descendants began to look out toward the setting sun for new realms to conquer, and they found them in this and the adjoining states. Numbers of them settled in Kane county, bringing with them the enterprise, fortitude and adaptability to cir- cumstances and conditions through which they had made their own state great and prosperous, and put those qualities in service here to work out the same results. Among these early arrivals from the Empire state were the parents of Dewitt C. Waite, one of the substantial and progressive farmers of Big Rock township.
They were Hiram and Lucy ( Bishop) Waite, natives of New York and farmers in that state. Their son Dewitt was born there, December 1. 1850, and when he was but four years old accompanied his parents to Michigan, where they lived and farmed for six years. At the age of ten he accompanied them to DeKalb county, Illinois, and located with them on a farm near Water- man, on which he lived seven years, attending the country school near at hand and obtaining in it all the education of the kind he ever received, going to school in the winter months and assisting on the farm at all times. But he was diligent at his studies, as he was at his work, and both were of advantage to him as training for a career of usefulness and prosperity.
When Mr. Waite reached the age of twenty-three he hired himself out as a farm hand and continued as such for a few years, but he had other and better things in view for himself and longed to be working on his own account instead of for others. In obedience to this longing he rented land and estab- lished a home of his own. In most respects he found his venture a good one
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and he continued it twenty years with profit to himself and benefit to the township.
On November 17. 1873. Mr. Waite was joined in marriage to Miss Mar- garet A. Houston, who was born in Brantford, province of Ontario, Canada, March 16, 1852, and after her removal to Illinois lived at Aurora a number of years. She obtained her education in the public schools and at Jennings Semi- mary. Her parents were of Scotch ancestry on the father's side and on the mother's they were Pennsylvania Dutch. Mr. and Mrs. Waite have one child. Paull, who attends the district school and helps his father on the farm.
Mr. Waite bought the farm on which he now lives in 1893. when his son was but two years old, the latter having been born on June 30, 1891. This farm is in section 25. Big Rock township. It is well improved, well stocked and well cultivated, and is generally considered one of the most productive and valuable of its size in the township. Mr. Waite is careful and judicious in managing it and gets good returns for the time and labor he devotes to its cultivation. His aged mother, Mrs. Lucy Waite, who was born in 1830, makes her home with him, while Mrs. Hannah Houston, mother of his wife, lives at 208 South Broadway, Aurora, the town in which she has made her home ever since she came to Kane county from her birthplace in Canada in 1854. She is now eighty years old. Mr. Waite belongs to the republican party, and gives earnest attention to local and general politics for the common good.
JEREMIAH CUMMINGS HALL.
Jeremiah Cummings Hall. deceased, was born in Orford, New Hamp- shire, on the 4th of January. 1833. his parents being Alvah and Clarissa ( Cum- mings ) Hall, who came west to Udina. Kane county, Illinois, in 1845. They located on a farm and there spent the remainder of their lives.
Jeremiah Cummings Hall accompanied his parents on their removal west- ward and acquired his education in the country schools. He then carried on agricultural pursuits on the home farm in connection with his father until the outbreak of the Civil war, when in 1861 he enlisted as a member of Com- pany A. Thirty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to the rank of corporal and served for three years, during which time he partici- pated in many important and hotly contested engagements, including the battle of Gettysburg. After the close of hostilities he returned home and once more took up the work of the farm. being thus successfully engaged until he retired to Elgin a few months before his demise, which occurred on the 12th of March, 1900. He had for many years been connected with the agricultural interests of this county and was well known and widely recog- nized as a substantial and enterprising citizen.
Mr. Hall was twice married. His first wife bore the maiden name of Sedate Harger, who passed away in 1884 and by whom he had two children. Eva and Minnie. On the 11th of May. 1885. he wedded Miss Katherine A.
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Dougherty, a daughter of Michael and Mary ( McKee) Dougherty, of Udina, the former born September 27, 1810, and the latter on the 28th of March, 1808. The father, who was an agriculturist by occupation, operated a farm near Udina. He was a republican in his political views and served for several terms as county supervisor. His demise occurred on the 30th of April, 1886, while his wife was called to her final rest May 23. 1896.
In his political views Mr. Hall was a stanch republican, while his religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Congregational church. His widow now resides in Elgin and is held in high esteem and regard throughout the community in which she has so long made her home.
MATT FREELAND.
Norway has furnished to the United States many enterprising men who have left their native land to enter the business circles of this country, with its more progressive methods and excellent advantages. Mr. Free- land is now engaged as a farmer and dairyman, buying a fine farm prop- erty of two hundred and twenty-six acres, located in Virgil township. He was born in Norway, January 16, 1865, a son of Mads Freeland, who was likewise a native of Norway, where he served in the regular army. He was a member of the Lutheran church. He wedded Ele J. Nerem, likewise a native of that country, now living with our subject, and to their union were born the following named children: Volborg M., the wife of Thomas Nelson, a farmer of Kendall county, Illinois; Bertha, the wife of Chris- topher Malde, a salesman of Norway; Matt, of this review; Martha, the wife of Gunder Frette, who is a farmer residing in Ford county, Illinois ; Johannas, deceased; Omund, who is engaged in farming in Minnesota; Bronla, the wife of Peter Oxland, also of Minnesota; Lois, who lives near Mapie Park, Illinois; and Stine, who resides in Chicago.
Matt Freeland was educated in the schools of his native country, pur- suing his studies to the age of fourteen years. He then began work as a farm hand, being employed in this manner until he had reached the age of twenty-two. Foreseeing that Norway offered no future for him and having heard a great deal about the freedom and the opportunity for advancement in this country, he then decided to emigrate to the United States. He accordingly set sail for America and upon reaching its shores made his way at once to Grundy county, Illinois. where he was employed as a farm hand for two years. He then located in Aurora, where he learned the molder's trade, which he followed for ten years He then disposed of his effects and removed to Alabama, where he was engaged in farming during the suc- ceeding two years. The south not proving congenial to him, he once more returned to Illinois and resumed the work of a molder, working at the same in DeKalb for five years. On the expiration of that period he took up farm- ing, operating rented land for five years. During the time that passed he lived frugally and economically, acquiring a competence that enabled him to
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invest in land. becoming owner of two hundred and sixty-six acres, situated in Virgil township. The land is slightly rolling, giving it proper drainage, and with the exception of forty acres of pasturage the entire tract has been placed under a high state of cultivation. On the farm stands a fine country residence, supplied with all modern conveniences and accessories, and con- veniently situated near the school and two churches. In addition to general farming Mr. Freeland is also engaged in dairying, and in this branch of business is meeting with good success.
Mr. Freeland was married to Carrie Peterson Male, who was likewise born in Norway, and by her marriage has become the mother of six children : Martha R. : and Marcus, Emma, Jessie, Peter and Mary, all of whom are at home.
Mr. Freeland gives his political support to the men and measures of the republican party. He is a man of excellent business ability and sound judg- ment, and no foreign born citizen of Kane county is more highly respected than is Mr. Freeland.
AUGUST HEITSCHMIDT.
Among those who have left the fatherland to identify themselves with American life and institutions, who have pushed their way to the front and who are a credit alike to the land of their birth and that of their adoption is August Heitschmidt, now living retired in Elburn, Blackberry township. He was born in Pries, Province of Pomerania. Germany, June 8. 1836, his parents being Carl H. and Anna (Schmid) Heitschmidt, also natives of that country, the former born in 1793 and the latter in 1802. The father of our subject, who was a shipper, came to America to see his son and died on his way to Chicago. His wife died in Cook county. Illinois. In their family were nine children but only two are now living: August. of this review: and Carl, a resident of Minnesota. Those deceased are Martin, Johann. Johanna, Fredericka. Christoph. Mary and William H.
August Heitschmidt had the advantage of a good common-school educa- tion in his native land, and after leaving school at the age of fourteen years he served a five years' apprenticeship to the miller's trade. In company with a brother and sister he then came to the United States and first located in Chicago, where for twenty years he conducted a flour and feed store but during the great fire which swept over that city in October. 1871. he lost all his property, and only by the greatest exertion was he able to save his family, consisting of six children, from the flames. At length they managed to reach Laporte, Indiana, where they had friends living who furnished them temporary relief. The railroad company out of Chicago provided Mr. Heitschmidt with passes for his family. as they did all the stricken ones, and Cook county voted seventy-five dollars to each property owner with which to purchase timber that they might begin anew. With this sum he again secured a start but in 1873 he traded his Chicago property for four hundred
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acres of land near Woodstock, Illinois. Through the failure of crops he was forced to sell his entire farm in order to secure feed for the large amount of stock he owned at that time and as the price of stock remained very low he was forced into bankruptcy. Nothing daunted, however, he returned to Chicago and secured work as a laborer and in this way accumulated a sum sufficient to again embark in farming. He then purchased two hundred and forty acres of land near Elburn in Kaneville township and in the cultivation of that property he met with excellent success, so that he is now able to live retired, enjoying the fruits of his former labor.
Mr. Heitschmidt was married in Chicago, October 26, 1863, to Miss Julia Clamann, who was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, on the 20th of August, 1841, and this union was blessed with the following children : Henry, born February 2, 1864, is now a resident of Milford, Indiana ; August, born January 28, 1865, is a contractor and miller living in Michigan City. Indiana; Matilda, born October 14, 1866, is the wife of Martin Hanson, a farmer of Elburn; Charles, born October 22, 1870, is a farmer of California ; John, born December 30, 1872, is a farmer of Sycamore, Illinois; Julius, born August 25, 1880, is a farmer of Elburn; and Annie, born April 17, 1884, is the wife of Charles Lauer, a cartoonist, of Chicago. Mrs. Heitschmidt has in her possession many interesting curios and heirlooms, including a pair of gold earrings which belonged to her great-great-grandmother and are at least two hundred and twenty-five years old.
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