History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 141

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

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Civil war. At the time of the birth of his son, Dr. Bliss, he was in charge of extensive con- struction and repair work for the United States government in the south. Because of the feeling of unrest and danger which was brought about by the approach of the Civil war the family re- moved to Vermont and on the 7th of December, 1860, located at Randolph, Orange county, that state. Professor Bliss was for eight years pres- ident of Dartmouth College, also occupying the chairs of chemistry and mathematics. He had few superiors as a civil engineer and the extent and importance of the government contracts awarded him is indicative of his pronounced ability in that direction. His wife was in the maternal line a descendant of the Winslows, whose antecedents were passengers on the May- flower. Her paternal grandfather, Abraham Nichols, was aide to General Gates in the cam- paign against Burgoyne in the Revolutionary war and other members of the family partici- pated in both the Revolution and the war of 1812. Unto Professor and Mrs. Bliss were born three children. One sister, Mrs. Emma Adelia Gilberts, now resides at Hay Springs, Nebraska, while the other sister, Mrs. M. J. Holt, died a number of years ago in Nebraska.

Dr. Bliss, during the years of the family resi- dence in the south, was instructed by private tutors and following the return of the family to New England he attended the public schools of Vermont, and was graduated from the Nor- mal School at Randolph Center, that state. He afterward became a student in Dartmouth Col- lege, from which institution he was graduated in the class of 1869. He spent altogether one year at the Vermont State Medical College at Burlington and between sessions was for six months a student in the New York State Vet- erinary College. He has four diplomas, includ- ing a clinical diploma from the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons at Burlington, Vermont. Re- moving to the middle west, he located first at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he remained for only a few months, when in 1872 he came to Earl- ville, where he has since devoted his attention to the profession of veterinary surgery, having for years enjoyed a very extensive practice in this vicinity and over an area covering a radius of from fifteen to thirty miles. He is recognized as one of the foremost representatives of his pro- fession in the state and that this position is ac- corded him by fellow practitioners is indicated by the fact that he is the president of the Illi- nois Veterinary Medical and Surgical Asso- ciation.

Dr. Bliss was married on the 28tli of June, 1876, to Miss Isabelle Rubado, a daughter of Al-

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exander and Julia (Pelca) Rubado, both of whom were reared in Burlington, Vermont, and were of French descent. Mrs. Bliss is a niece of Joseph Rubado (or Rubidioux), the founder of St. Joseph, Missouri. She was born in Earl- ville, where her parents had located at an early day, probably in the '50s. They were farming people and her father is still an active man, now residing in Earlville, but her mother has passed away. Dr. and Mrs. Bliss have one daughter, Gertrude Frances, now eighteen years of age, who is studying music and elocution.

In his political views Dr. Bliss is an earnest republican and has served in various city offi- ces, including that of alderman, the duties of which have been discharged with promptness, capability and fidelity. Socially he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while religiously the family favor the Congrega- tional and Presbyterian churches. Dr. Bliss, his wife and daughter occupy an enviable position in social circles and their friends in Earlville and other sections of the county are many.

WILLIAM CHARLES PATCHEN.

William Charles Patchen, living retired at No. 6339 Parnell avenue, Chicago, was at one time a prominent stair builder of the northern part of Illinois, but is now resting from business cares and interests, having reached the age of seventy- seven years on the 2d of May, 1906. He was born in England in 1829 and was brought to America in 1834. He came to Chicago in 1849 and resided there until 1854, when he removed to Ottawa. He is a natural mechanic and in early life learned the builder's trade, making a spe- cialty of stair building, in which pursuit he was active in various parts of the country. In fact he won a wide reputation as a stair builder and was regarded as the most capable representative of that industrial art in the state at one time.

While living in Ottawa Mr. Patchen was mar- ried to Miss Mary Ann O'Kane, who was born in Montreal in 1829. She was taken to Chicago when very young and afterward to La Salle county when still a small child, being there at the time of the building of the canal. In fact she was the second white child taken into the county. She died many years ago. Nine chil- dren have been born of that marriage: William Charles, proprietor of a paper store in Chicago; Catherine E., who is living with her father ; Alice M., at one time a teacher in the schools of Ottawa and now a public-school teacher of Chi- cago; Mary Ann, the wife of Robert O'Connery,

formerly of Dayton but now a bailiff in Chi- cago; Sophia Mary, of New York; Emily Vic- toria, who is the widow of Mr. McVeney, a newspaper man and writer and now a resident of New York; Albert C., who was killed while serving in the Civil war; Arthur Douglas, who served his time as a private in the army and is now on a ranch in Mexico; and one who died in childhood.

Mr. Patchen left Ottawa about 1870 and has since traveled extensively, visiting California, Oregon, Nevada, Texas, Mexico and various por- tions of the west and south. He has a large tract of land in Mexico devoted to the raising of rub- ber, bananas, sugar cane, figs, dates, oranges, lemons and pineapples. The company in charge of the ranch deal mostly with the Aztec Indians. Mr. Patchen makes frequent trips to the planta- tion in Mexico and has a son living there. He is, however, now retired from active business and he owns a fine home in Chicago and a number of vacant lots in the city.

In politics Mr. Patchen is and for many years has been a stalwart democrat and he was the au- thor of a noted campaign poem when Hancock was presidential candidate of the party. He has been a prolific writer, being the author of various well known stories and articles, including the Inebriate's Soliloquy, The Dream, The Gambler's Wife, The Antiquities of Buffalo Rock, etc. At one time he was a member of the Knights of '76, now non-existing, and he yet belongs to the Good Templars, the Knights of Labor and the La Salle County Association of Chicago. He has had an active, useful and honorable business career crowned with success, so that in the evening of life he is in possession of extensive and valuable property interests, returning to him a splendid income.

NEALY J. HORN.

Nealy J. Horn, whose farming operations con- stitute the development and cultivation of a valu- able tract of land of two hundred and eighty acres in Otter Creek township, was born in this township, February 14, 1869, a son of John Horn. The father was born in Ohio and at an early period in the development of La Salle county cast in his lot with its early residents. For many years he was engaged in farming here and became a prosperous agriculturist, owning at the time of his death six hundred and forty acres of valuable and productive land. He was also a breeder and feeder of cattle, carrying on the business extensively and as an agriculturist and stockman had a wide acquaintance, while

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his individual operations made him a most pros- perous resident of the county. He voted with the republican party and fraternally was identi- fied with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He died at the age of sixty-nine years, while his widow, Mrs. Frances Horn, is now living with her daughter, Mrs. Albert Kuhn, at the age of seventy-five years. In their family were eight children, three sons and five daughters, of whom all are now living: William, a resi- dent of Missouri ; Mrs. Ammon Johnson ; George, of Missouri; Mary, living in Streator ; Lizzie, a resident of Grand Rapids, Illinois; Nealy J .; Kate, of Otter Creek township; and Sarah, of Missouri.

Spending his boyhood days under the parental roof, Nealy J. Horn devoted his time between farm labor and the acquirement of an education in the public schools. When twenty-two years of age he began farming on his own account on a tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres and that he has prospered as the years have gone by is indicated by the fact that he is now the owner of two hundred and eighty acres of land constituting one of the valuable farm prop- erties of the community. He has recently com- pleted a fine house, which is one of the attrac- tive country residences of this part of La Salle county. He has also built a good barn and other outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock and has his fences and all of the buildings in a state of good repair. In fact everything about his place is kept in excellent condition and the farm is a valuable property, creditable to the owner and to the agricultural interests of La Salle county as well.

On the 6th of August, 1891, Mr. Horn was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Johnson, who was born in Otter Creek township, August 19, 1870. Three children grace this union : Elgie L., Edith F. and Glenn R. Mrs. Horn is a daughter of Ole Johnson, who was an old and well known citizen of this county and was born, reared and educated in Norway. Coming to America, he re- sided for some time in Ottawa. The first land he ever owned was near Fort Dodge, Iowa, which he afterward traded for eighty acres in Otter Creek township, La Salle county. Following his marriage to Miss Martha Hill, a lady of intelli- gence and culture, who was born in Norway, he removed to his farm and spent his remaining days as an agriculturist. He died in October, 1896, at the age of seventy-four years, and his wife died in 1904, at the age of sixty-seven years. Further mention of this family is made in con- nection with the sketch of Ammon S. Johnson on another page of this work.

Mr. Horn is well known in Otter Creek town- ship, where his entire life has been spent and is respected as a man of genuine personal worth, whose value as a citizen is acknowledged, while his position in business circles is an honorable one. From- the age of twenty-one years he has served as school director and the cause of educa- tion finds in him a warm and stalwart friend. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America.

WILLIAM H. BALLARD.

William H. Ballard, who for a number of years was classed with the representative and reliable business men of Earlville, where he con- ducted a meat market, was born in Fort Ed- ward, Washington county, New York, March 12, 1833. He was brought to Illinois in 1835 by his parents, Charles and Fannie (Van Nort- wick) Ballard, who settled in Kane county, be- ing early residents of this portion of the state. There they lived in pioneer times and in 1852 they removed to La Salle county. In their fam- ily were seven children, as follows: Charles, who died in California some years ago; Mrs. Orra Jane Winslow, deceased ; William H., of this review ; Mrs. Frances Burnett, who has also passed away; John, who is residing in Batavia, Illinois ; Mrs. Hulda Andrews, who died in Wisconsin ; and James, also living in Batavia, Illinois.

Their son William was only three years of age at the time the family came to this state and here he was reared amid pioneer environments and surroundings. He accompanied his parents on their removal to La Salle county in 1852 and three years later he made preparation for having a home of his own by his marriage on the Ist of January, 1855, to Miss Frances Ellen Brown, a daughter of Allen Brown, deceased, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. She was born in Cheshire, Massachusetts, in 1835, and by her marriage became the mother of two children, but the son, Clyde W., died at the early age of eight months. The daughter, Nina May, is now the wife of E. G. Davisson, a farmer and business man of Earlville, and they had two children, one of whom died in infancy, while Jerome Edgar is now ten years of age.

Mr. Ballard entered business life when a youth of but seventeen years, working for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Com- pany, first as surveyor on the road and afterward

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as superintendent of bridges, culverts, etc. Eventually he became an inspector and was in the company's employ for thirty years, being a most trusted and capable representative of that corporation. He was an active factor in busi- ness circles in Earlville for about twelve years, establishing a meat market, which he conducted successfully, securing a liberal patronage which brought to him a gratifying financial return. His hearing became impaired through an accident on the road, but he was always a well informed man, being a great reader, interested in the cur- rent topics of the day and in all matters relating to the country's progress and welfare. He con- tinued to engage in the conduct of his meat mar- ket in Earlville until about four years prior to his death, when he sold out and spent his re- maining days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. He had been thoroughly reliable in all of his business transactions, was energetic and in- dustrious and as the years passed by he accumu- lated a comfortable competence. He was, more- over, a strict temperance man and was a de- vout member of the Episcopalian church. His interest in all that pertained to the uplifting of humanity found tangible evidence in the co- operation which he gave to the measures and movements instituted in behalf of moral progress. He passed away April 29, 1898, after a residence of about forty-three years in the county. He had a very wide acquaintance and he was familiar with much of the history of this section of the state, having been a witness of many changes which occurred and events which left their im- press upon the development and progress of the community. He held friendship inviolable and was ever devoted to the welfare and happiness of his wife and daughter.

STEPHEN D. ELWELL:

Upon a farm on section 16, Serena township, resides Stephen D. Elwell, and a glance at his place indicates his careful supervision and thor- oughly up-to-date methods. He is a breeder and dealer in fine Jersey and Aberdeen cattle and owns and operates a farm of two hundred and twenty acres. This is the old Elwell home- stead and in addition to this property he culti- vates another tract of one hundred acres, which he rents.

His birth occurred upon the old home place, November 4, 1859. His father, Samuel Elwell, was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts, July 24, 1821, and later removed to Michigan, where he was reared to the age of twenty years, coming to Illinois in 1841. He was therefore one of the ter of Henry Wiley, of Freedom township. They

early settlers of La Salle county, establishing his home near Sandwich. In 1843 he settled upon an improved farm, upon which his son Stephen now resides, and for many years thereafter his time and attention were given to the development and cultivation of the land and the farm yielded him a good living in return for his care and la- bor. He died at the ripe old age of eighty- three years, respected and honored by all who knew him. In La Salle county, on the Ist of January, 1846, he had married Miss Elizabeth Dolph, whose father, Orson Dolph, came from Crawford county, Pennsylvania, to La Salle county. Mrs. Elwell passed away at the age of sixty-six years. Three of the five children of this marriage are now living : Mila is a practicing physician and the wife of Dr. P. H. Sharp, of Madison, Wisconsin; Adeline is the wife of Lord Portman, of Washington, D. C., and she is also a physician, her specialty being diseases of the eye and ear.

Stephen D. Elwell, reared to manhood upon his father's farm, received both a common-school and college education, spending two years as a student in Sugar Grove Normal School. As his age and strength increased he more and more largely aided in the work of the farm and re- mained with his father, relieving him to a large degree of the care and labor of the farm. He also bought one hundred and twenty acres more land, built a barn, corn crib, hay shed and granary. He laid many rods of tiling and fenced the place. He also cleared forty-five acres of land and transformed the entire tract into a valuable farm property. He owned and operated a threshing machine for twenty-eight seasons at first using horse power and later steam power. He threshed through the whole countryside and became well known in La Salle county in this way. He is now engaged in breeding fine cattle and hogs and has a herd of pure blooded Aberdeen cattle and also pure blooded Jersey cattle. He likewise raises Duroc Jersey hogs and his stock is among the best that can be found in Illinois. He is thoroughly practical in his methods, has comprehensive un- derstanding of the business of stock-raising as well as of general farming and in his undertak- ings is meeting with very gratifying success.

Mr. Elwell was married on the 6th of Oc- tober, 1879, when twenty years of age, to Miss Minnie McInturf, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Adolph McInturf, who were early settlers of Serena township, coming to Illinois from Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Elwell have become the parents of seven children. Jed F., who is a farmer of La Salle county, wedded Mary Wiley, a daugh-

MR. AND MRS. S. D. ELWELL.

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have two children, Wiley and Lela Elwell. Grace is the wife of Jesse Merrill, of Serena township. Fred H. is at home. Maud, who pursued a course in the high school at Ottawa, is now en- gaged in teaching in La Salle county. Delvert, Myra and Clare are at home. The parents at- tend the Unitarian church.

Mr. Elwell holds membership with the Mod- ern Woodmen of America at Serena. In poli- tics he is a true blue republican, never faltering in his allegiance to the party and upon its ticket he was elected township trustee. He has also served as assessor, collector, commissioner and a member of the school board, and for twenty- four years while on the school board he acted as clerk of his district. He possesses considerable local reputation as a musician and some years ago organized an orchestra of stringed instru- ments, which attained widespread notoriety and was in frequent demand in surrounding towns. That he is thoroughly progressive is shown by the fact that he owns one of the two automo- biles in the township. It is a Rambler, for

which motor car he is agent. His business in- terests are now extensive and important and he has continually enlarged the scope of his activi- ties as the years have gone by, each forward step in his career bringing him a wider outlook and greater opportunities of which he has availed himself in the achievement of a competence which is as honorable as is desirable.

RALPH O. DUPEE.

Ralph O. Dupee, whose qualities of heart and mind commanded respect in the business world and endeared him to friends and family, was so widely and favorably known in Earlville and La Salle county that his demise, which occurred in the spring of 1895, was the occasion of deep and wide-spread regret. His memory is cher- ished by all who knew him and well might one say of him

"His life was gentle and the elements So mixed in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world : 'This was a man.'"

The Dupee family is one of the oldest in Amer- ica of whom authentic ancestral records can be obtained. Early representatives of the name, crossing the Atlantic to New England, settled in Boston. It was in 1685 that Jean Dupuis (for such was the original orthography) fled from La Rochelle, France, his native land, to America because of the persecution of the Huguenots.

His descendants continued to dwell in the new world and in the opening year of the nineteenth century Jacob Dupee was born in Boston. In early manhood he learned the tailor's trade. which he followed for many years, and during the last years of his life he dwelt in Earlville and Chicago with his children, four of his sons having lived to maturity. He died in this town in 1879, when nearly four score years of age. His wife was of Scotch-English extraction, the an- cestry of one branch of the family being traced back to the Mayflower.

Ralph Oscar Dupee, of this family, claimed West Brookfield, Massachusetts, as the place of his nativity, the date of his birth being April 23, 1846. His brothers were Charles A., long a distinguished lawyer of Chicago: Jacob A., of Earlville, with whom he was engaged in busi- ness for more than twenty years; and Henry H., for a long period a resident of Paola, Florida. Ralph O. Dupee, the youngest of the family, was reared in his native state and is indebted to the public-school system for the educational privi- leges he enjoyed in his youth. He watched with interest the progress of events which antedated the outbreak of the Civil war and while he was still in his teens he offered his services to the government and for four months was with the Army of the Potomac as a member of the Forty- second Massachusetts Infantry during the clos- ing period of hostilities between the north and the south.

Ralph O. Dupee then came to the west, one of his brothers having already made his way to Illinois as early as 1854. Mr. Dupee of this re- view resided for a time in Augusta, Illinois, and in 1867 came to Earlville, where he joined his brothers. Jacob and Henry, in the conduct of a store. This relation was maintained until 1871, when Henry Dupee withdrew on account of his health. The other brothers continued success- fully in the same enterprise until the death of Ralph O. Dupee, February 24, 1895. As a mer- chant he was enterprising, watchful of detail. readily recognizing opportunities for advance- ment and success. He was also the vice pres- ident of the Earlville Bank for several years and was well known in business and financial cir- cles, where he sustained an unassailable reputa- tion, his name standing as a synonym for unim- peachable business integrity.

In 1873 Mr. Dupee was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Cone, who is still a resident of Earlville. She was born in Rhode Island, is of Scotch-English descent and à daughter of the Rev. William Cone, who was a native of New Hampshire and became a minister of the Methi- odist Episcopal church. At a very early day

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PAST AND PRESENT OF LA SALLE COUNTY.

he came to Illinois and was one of the pioneer ministers of the state, continuing in the active work of the gospel until well advanced in years. He died in Earlville, leaving three children to mourn their loss.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dupee were born four chil- dren : Ella, Walter R., Frank W. and John. Mrs. Dupee is interested in church work and soon after her marriage she joined the Congregational church, of which she has since been a faithful adherent. Mr. Dupee was also a member of the Congregational church, with which his family had been allied through various generations. He took a most active and helpful part in church work and served at different times as church clerk, treasurer, trustee and superintendent. He was likewise an active and helpful member of the Grand Army of the Republic and thus main- tained pleasant relations with his old army com- rades, with whom he had served upon the tented fields of the south. The same spirit of loyalty permeated his entire life and he always stood for good citizenship and for high ideals. Na- tional progress and local advancement were both causes dear to his heart and he realized the value of man's tri-fold nature and worked for physical, moral and intellectual development. He regarded business not as an end but as a means to an end. He did not care for the accumulation of wealth for wealth's sake but for what he might accom- plish thereby. He delighted to surround his family with the comforts of life and he was gen- erous in his contributions to the poor and needy, to the church and to various public movements. His name in Earlville became synonymous with good citizenship and his endorsement of any measure was a guarantee of its trustworthiness and its right to the public support.

CLIFTON T. WARD.

Clifton T. Ward, engaged in the railway mail service between Chicago and Omaha on the Chi- cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, has lo- cal interests in Lowell, where he makes his home, being a stockholder in the Lowell Pottery Company. A native of Massachusetts, he was born at Shelburne Falls in Franklin county, on the 15th of December, 1869, and is a son of Ashmun S. and Fannie E. (Trask) Ward, who came to Illinois in 1876 and after residing for five years at Farm Ridge took up their abode in Lowell in 1881. The father was born in Massa- chusetts, April 20, 1832, and is descended from ancestors who went to that state in 1636. The

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History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 141

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855 Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Hoffman, U. J. (Urias John), b. 1855
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1286