History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 151

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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Not only did he secure the books, he also had them read. He organized and directed the Illinois Pupils' Reading Circle. Nearly all the children are enrolled in this and their reading is supervised by the teachers. Credit is given for every book read in a satisfactory manner. At the close of the year the pupil receives a diploma if he has read six of the books and a seal on his diploma for other books read. The number of children from the country schools re- ceiving rewards for reading average about three thousand and the books read about twenty-five thousand. This has a great influence for good in the children's lives.

To give the children the best chance the teach- ers must be able to do the best work. Mr. Hoff- man set about systematically to improve the teachers. He organized them into study clubs, directed them in reading the best teachers' books. His institutes have been so conducted that the teachers get great help from the foremost edu- cators of the land.

That the people appreciate his great work is evidenced by the fact that he has been three times elected by a large majority of their votes. The last time his majority was more than double that of the highest received by any other county offi- cers. He would have been elected the fourth time without opposition had he been a candi- date. But feeling that he had done his work in this field and that it would be placed in other more competent hands, he thought it his duty to seek other fields of labor.

PATRICK DANAHER.

Patrick Danaher is retired from active business but for many years was closely associated with farming interests and still resides upon the old homestead farm, comprising the northwest quar- ter of section 30, Richland township. He is one of La Salle county's native sons, his birth having occurred in Oglesby in 1862. His par- ents were Michael and Mary Danaher, natives of Ireland, both born in County Limerick. The mother is now living with her son Patrick and his two sisters and has reached the age of eighty- five years. The father brought the family to this county in the later '50s, stopping first in Oglesby, where his two daughters and our sub- ject were born. About thirty years ago he pur- chased the old homestead in Richland township. He was a farmer by occupation and followed that pursuit throughout the greater part of his life. His death occurred September 16. 1890, when he had reached the age of seventy-four years and

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eight months, and thus was ended an active, use- ful and honorable business career. He had nothing to begin business life with, being handi- capped, but accumulated, as the years went by, a goodly competence. In the family were three sons and two daughters, the brothers of our sub- ject being : James, a farmer residing on section 30, Richland township ; and John, who is residing in Osage township, La Salle county. He is mar- ried and also carries on farming.

The sisters, Mary and Margaret, reside with their brother Patrick and their mother upon the old home place on section 30. Richland town- ship. Here Patrick Danaher was reared and educated in . the public schools. He early be- came familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist and has always made farming his life work. The property is now well improved and under his supervision has been made a valuable place. In his political views he is a democrat with independent tenden- cies and his religious faith is indicated by the fact that he is a communicant in the Catholic church at Lostant. For many years he was active in the control of his farming interests but is now leaving much of the work of the fields to others, although he still gives to the place his personal supervision.

JOHN B. HUMBERT.

John B. Humbert is now living retired from active business cares, but owns large farming in- terests. He has been a resident of La Salle county since the fall of 1844 and thus more than six decades have come and gone, during which he has witnessed marvelous changes as the work of development and improvement has been car- ried forward. When he came here the land was largely uncultivated and the surface of the ground was broken up by sloughs. There were few roads made and scarcely a fence impeded the progress of the traveler if he wished to ride abroad over the prairies. Mr. Humbert came to Illinois with his parents, who settled in the northern part of the county. His father, John Humbert, purchased a Mexican land warrant claim from a soldier, securing one hundred and sixty acres for one hundred and sixty dollars. It was raw prairie, not a furrow having been turned or an improvement made upon the place, but he built a home and began the development of a farm, whereon the subject of this review re- sided during his earlier years. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Mary Culbe, died in 1860, at the age of forty-eight years, and later the father, John Humbert, sold his farm and re-

moved to Iowa, where he resided until his death, which occurred about twenty years ago.

John B. Humbert of this review was born in Des Vosge, France, in 1832, and was twelve years of age when the family left their native country, making their way direct to La Salle county. There were seven children, but the greater number are now deceased. One sister, however, lives in De Kalb county, Illinois, a brother near Grinnell, Iowa, and a sister in Des Moines, Iowa. Through the days of his youth John B. Humbert remained under the parental roof and assisted in the labors of the home farm until he started out in life on his own account, at which time he purchased a tract of land in Serena township, where he successfully carried on general agricultural pursuits until his re- moval to Ottawa in the spring of 1890. He worked energetically and persistently year after year, placing his fields under a high state of cul- tivation and harvesting therefrom good crops, for which he found a ready sale on the mar- ket. Thus year by year his success grew and fol- lowing his removal to the city he built a fine home at No. 410 State street, in which he is now comfortably located. He still owns. three hun- dred and fourteen acres of valuable land in Se- rena township in addition to two farms in Fall River township comprising two hundred and sixty-seven acres, and his property holdings are thus extensive and valuable.

Mr. Humbert was married in 1856 to Miss Catherine Brignon, who was born in Des Vosge in 1833. Her parents died in that country, but she has three brothers residing in America. She came to the United States in 1855 and was mar- ried the following year. Five children have been born of this union, all natives of La Salle county, namely : John F., deceased : Jennie, who is the wife of Lester Potz, a grocer of Ottawa ; Nellie, the wife of Berth Zelig; Mrs. Mary Brown, who is living on a farm in Fall River township; and Paul, who is married and lives on his father's farm in Serena township. Mr. and Mrs. Humbert now have thirteen grand- children.

Politically he is a democrat, having always supported the party since becoming a naturalized American citizen. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church, belonging to the parish of which Rev. Father Keating has charge. In the years which have come and gone since his arrival here Mr. Humbert has noticed a marked change not only in the appearance of the country, but in the methods of farming. for the old hand machinery has been replaced by the most improved agricultural implements. In his early years he knew what it was to do much of

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the work of the farm by hand, but as time went by he secured modern farm machinery and his labors were thereby greatly reduced. Practical- in all that he did, he achieved thereby a measure of success which now enables him to live in the enjoyment of a well earned rest.

JULIUS H. HESS. M. D.

Dr. Julius H. Hess, treasurer of the La Salle County Association, in Chicago, is one of the representative citizens that Ottawa has furnished to the western metropolis, where in the broader field of business or professional service he has gained a creditable and prominent position as a specialist in the treatment of children's diseases. Born in Ottawa in 1876, he is yet a young man but has attained a degree of success resulting from his skill and ability that many an older practitioner might well envy. His parents were Amson and Caroline (Ostraicher ) Hess, both of whom were of German birth. Coming to America in early life, they located in La Salle county, where they were afterward married. They pursued their respective educations in Ger- many and in this country as well and at the age of twenty-four years the father began busi- ness as a cigar manufacturer, in which line of trade he continued throughout his entire life, conducting a large manufacturing plant under the name of A. Hess & Company, and the special brands of this company are still handled in Ottawa. Mr. Hess, however, passed away October 24, 1892, at the age of forty-nine years. while his wife is now living at No. 5226 South Park avenue, Chicago. He was a man of quiet disposition and unassuming manner, and cared little to mingle in public life. He had a brother, however, who served as alderman of Ottawa and was also a member of the library board of that city.

Dr. Hess was educated in the high school at Ottawa, from which he was graduated in 1893. and he read medicine with Dr. J. C. Hathaway. of Ottawa, prior to entering the Northwestern University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1899. He added to his theoretical train- ing by a year's practical experience in Alexian Brothers Hospital, after which he entered the

Johns Hopkins University. devoting three months to study in that institution. Subse- quently he spent sixteen months in Europe, pur- suing post-graduate work in Berlin and Vienna and attending many clinics of the old world, where he investigated the methods of medical and surgical practice, of which the most eminent

physicians and surgeons of the old world were exponents. In his practice he makes a specialty of the diseases of children and in that line is connected with various hospitals. He is the phy- sician in the children's department of the Engle- wood Hospital and the Jackson Park Sanitarium. To some extent he engages in general practice but his attention is largely confined to his spe- cialty and he has attained a degree of proficiency and skill therein that makes him one of the ablest representatives of this department of the medical science. He has been a frequent and valuable contributor to medical journals on the subject of children's diseases, has prepared a public work on intussusception in infancy and childhood, with collection of one thousand and twenty-eight cases, with statistics, and has now in preparation a work on premature birth. Dr. Hess is very thorough in all that he undertakes. is a close and discriminating student and is sel- dom if ever at error in the diagnosis of a case and the prediction of its outcome. In the line of his profession he is a member of the American Medical, Illinois, Chicago and Northwestern Medical Societies and other organizations for the promulgation of knowledge of benefit to the med- ical and surgical practitioner. His office is lo- cated at No. 830 West Sixty-third street, and he has now a large and lucrative practice.

Dr. Hess was married to Miss Clara E. Merri- field, a daughter of Albert H. Merrifield, one of Ottawa's most prominent men, and they have one child, Jean M .. born in 1903. Mrs. Hess is a granddaughter of Mrs. Sarah Tooker. who camped on the present site of Lincoln Park in Chicago, when there were no buildings for miles around. The family residence is at No. 5501 Indiana avenue. Dr. Hess is a man of genial nature, gentle and kindly disposition and strong intellectual force, and these qualities combine to make him popular with many friends and add to his success in the practice of medicine.

. HENRY J. SHMITZ.

Henry J. Shmitz is a retired farmer living on section 17, Troy Grove township, and that he is now enabled to rest from active business cares is due to lis energy and enterprise in for- mer years. He is truly a self-made man and deserves much credit for what he has accom- plished. He was born near Cologne, Prussia, on the River Rhine seventy-three years ago. His father was a farmer by occupation and owned land in Prussia, where he spent his entire life. Henry J. Shmitz and a sister came to the United

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States in 1867, being thirteen days in crossing the water in a sailing vessel. They landed at New York and made their way by rail to Chi- cago, it requiring five days to cover the dis- tance between the two cities. Two days later they arrived in Peru, La Salle county, and here began an arduous struggle for a good living. They were unacquainted with the English tongue and they had no near relatives here. Their financial resources, too, were limited and it was a difficult task to acquaint themselves with the conditions of the new world and to gain a start in business. Mr. Shmitz secured work near Peru, being employed by the month as a farm hand. He thus labored for fourteen years, during which time through his frugality and economy he was enabled to save the money. which allowed him to purchase eighty acres of land on section 17. Troy Grove township, where he now resides. He made this purchase in 1880 and took up his abode upon the farm in 1881.

The place was much run down when it came into his possession. The land, too, was swampy and was considered of little use for farming, but Mr. Shmitz resolutely undertook the task of clearing away the brush, draining the land by tiling and otherwise improving it until he now has rich fields which are well cultivated. He has carried on the work so ably that today he has one of the best farms in his locality. His attention has mostly been given to the raising of grain rather than to stock and he has annually harvested large crops. About two years ago he retired from the more difficult work of the farm, leaving the active duties of the fields to others. He rented his land but still resides upon the farm and now is enjoying the fruits of his former toil, being enabled to surround himself with all of the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. He has overcome difficulties and obstacles in his path and has worked his way steadily upward to success. He is highly respected in the com- munity on account of what he has accomplished and all through his business career he has made for himself an honorable name, his fellow towns- men recognizing his genuine worth and his ability.

E. J. McCORMICK.

E. J. McCormick, a native son of La Salle county, was born on the 16th of October, 1860, and throughout his entire life has been engaged in general farming, his home being on section 14. Grand Rapids township. He is descended from Irish ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Patrick McCormick, was a native of Ireland,

was a farmer by occupation and remained a resi- dent of the Emerald isle until called to his final rest. He married Elizabeth Cummings, likewise a native of Ireland, and among their children was C. McCormick, the father of our subject. He was reared and educated in his native country and having arrived at years of maturity wedded Miss Mary Jones, who was born in Ireland and was brought to the United States by her parents when quite young, the family landing at New York. The children of this marriage were: Eliza, Edward, Kate, Will, Frank, Margaret, Jim and John. It was on Friday, the 21st of May, 1852, that C. McCormick landed at New York, having resolved to try his fortune in the new world, for favorable reports had reached him concerning its advantages and privileges. He first secured employment in New Jersey, but afterward sought a home in the middle west. He journeyed by way of the canal to Ottawa and followed farming in Grand Rapids town- ship. He began work here at fourteen dollars per month, while in New Jersey he had only re- ceived six dollars per month. That he has pros- pered as the years have gone by is indicated by the fact that he is now the owner of two hun- dred and seventy acres of good land. He paid fifty dollars per acre for some of this land and in 1865 he purchased a tract for twenty-five dollars per acre. Earnest, persistent, indefati- gable work has been the basis of his prosperity and he is now one of the substantial and promi- nent agriculturists of his community. He has served as school director and in politics is inde- pendent, while in his religious faith he is a Catholic.

E. J. McCormick was reared under the paren- tal roof, no event of special importance occurring to vary the routine of farm life for him in his boyhood days. He acquired a public-school edu- cation and as the years went on gained a good knowledge of farm labor, so that he brought to the business practical experiences and sound judgment when he started out in life on his own account. He began farming for himself in 1888 on section 10, Grand Rapids township, and is now living on the old home place on section 14 of the same township, where he is cultivating a good tract of land, the rich fields bringing to to him bounteous harvests.

In 1888 Mr. McCormick was united in mar- riage to Miss Ellen Fenton, a native of this county and a daughter of Timothy and Mary Fenton. The father was born in Ireland and. coming to America, began work in New York as a carpenter. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. McCormick has been blessed with six daughters and two sons. Mary, Irene, Bessie, Christie,

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Helen, Hilda, Esther and Thomas. The parents are communicants of the Catholic church and Mr. McCormick is a democrat, with firm faith in the principles of the party. He served for four years as justice of the peace and in the spring of 1906 was re-elected for another term of four years, so that he is the present incumbent in the office. He has never sought office as a re- ward for party allegiance, preferring to give his attention to his business affairs, and in an active and useful career he has met with a merited measure of prosperity. He has always lived in La Salle county and the uprightness of his life is indicated by the fact that many of his warmest friends are those who have known him from his boyhood days to the present.

LOUIS M. HARVEY.

Louis M. Harvey, proprietor of the Columbia. "the best kept hotel in La Salle county" and one of the most prominent residents of Streator, has from early youth depended upon his own re- sources and from a humble capacity has worked his way upward, attaining a gratifying measure of success for one of his years. He was born in Streator, January 11, 1880, and was educated in the public and high schools of the city. He is a son of Edward L. and Sarah (Garmon) Harvey. The father was born in Prince Ed- ward county, Virginia, July 4, 1848, while his mother's birth occurred in Botetourt county, Virginia, November 4, 1847. They were married in Roanoke county, Virginia, July 22, 1868, and in 1869 they removed to Big Springs, that state, where the father was engaged in railroad service for several years. In 1873 he went with his family to Parsons, Kansas, thence to Topeka, Kansas, and in 1875 settled in Grundy county, Illinois, whence on the 7th of November, 1876, he came to Streator, where he is now living. A blacksmith by trade, he followed that pursuit here for twenty years but for the past ten years has been engaged in the liquor business. He holds membership in Streator lodge, No. 602, I.O.O.F., in which he has passed through all of the chairs and has served as noble grand, also as a dele- gate to the grand lodge of the state. He belongs to Streator encampment, No. 157, I. O. O. F., F., has likewise filled all of its offices, has been a delegate to the grand encampment and has been treasurer of the order for the past twenty-one years, holding the office in encampment No. 157 at the present time. For the past three years he has been chairman of the board of trustees of his lodge and he belongs to Finley lodge, No. 182, K.

P. His political allegiance is given to the de- mocracy. Unto him and his wife have been born six children. William E., the eldest, is a con -- ductor on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Charles A., a conductor on the same road, lost his life through an accident August 30, 1902. Ida V. and Emma J. were twins and the latter died in infancy. John F. is engaged in the teaming business at Streator. Louis M. is the youngest of the family.

In his boyhood days, after completing his cducition, Louis M. Harvey began work as criand boy in the employ of Fred Eades, a mer- chant of Streator. He afterward worked for Daniel Heeran, under whose direction he learned the carpet cutting business and subsequently he

occured a position in Republic Hotel. In 1901 he entered the employ of Mr. Miller, who in that year purchased the new Columbia Hotel, and on the 11th of May, 1904, Mr. Harvey leased this hotel and began business on his own account. In April, 1905, he also leased what was known as the Arlington Hotel and which is at present the annex of the Columbia. It is spoken of as the best kept hotel in La Salle county and is known by traveling men as a hostelry thor- oughly worthy of their support and furnishing excellent entertainment according to modern ideas. . \ glance at its menu shows that all of the delicacies of the season are afforded and particular attention is paid to the cuisine as well as to the comfort of the sleeping apartments.

On the 11th of February, 1902. Mr. Harvey was married to Miss Bae C. Hanlon, who was born in the city of La Salle, September 5. 1879. a daughter of John and Mary M. ( Tynan) Han- lon. Her father was born in County Wexford. Ireland, June 10, 1848, and coming to America when but three years of age was married in La Salle in November, 1876, to Miss Mary Tynan. whose birth occurred in Pennsylvania, January 11, 1857. He has always engaged in mining and for a number of years has been pit boss. Until 1898 he resided with his family in La Salle and then came to Streator, where he is now living. He was a member of the Sons of Temperance and the Catholic Forresters in La Salle and like- wise held membership in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church there. He and his family are now members of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic church in Streator and he and his wife belong to the Court of Honor. His political support is given the republican party. In the family were two daughters and a son : Alice 1 .. Mrs. Harvey and John D. Hanlon.

Mr. Harvey belongs to Streator lodge. No. 591, B. P. O. E., and his wife is a member of the Woman's Club of Streator. Both hold

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membership in the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic church and have a wide and favorable acquaintance in Streator. where Mr. Harvey has made a splendid record as a young business man. Alert and enterprising, he has steadily worked his way upward, brooking no obstacles that can be overcome by determined purpose, and his labors have been effective forces in winning success.

J. H. AUBRY.

J. H. Aubry, living on section 9, Brookfield township. is a native son of Ottawa, where he was born in 1850. His father, Joseph Aubry, was born in France and was the pioneer in the soda water industry in Ottawa. In the year 1849 he wedded Miss Mary Agatha Piergue, who was a daughter of Florent and Mary Piergue, and was born January 27, 1822, in the village of Lutzelhausen, France. In 1847 she came with her parents to America, settling in Ottawa, and in the year 1849 gave her hand in marriage to Joseph Aubry. After a few years they took up their abcde in the township of Waltham and Mr. Aubry devoted his time and energies to general farming until. retiring from active life, he set- tled in Ottawa. Mrs. Aubry died in 1906, at the very advanced age of eighty-four years. She was a lady of quiet and unassuming dis- position, a patient and loving wife, a kind and indulgent mother, a good neighbor and true friend. She was moreover an earnest Christian woman. In the family were four children : John H., of Brookfield: Mrs. E. Perrott, of Ottawa : Emiel A .. who is living in Waltham township : and Dennis A., deceased.

J. H. Aubry was reared under the paternal roof and attended the common schools, while in his youth he largely acquired a practical knowl- edge of general farming. He started out in life on his own account when twenty-four years of age and for a year he operated one of his fa- ther's farms. He afterward removed to South Ottawa. his home being in Fall River township. where he carried on general agricultural pur- suits for twenty-five years. On the expiration of that period he came to his present home about 1900. settling on section 9. Brookfield township. where he has a well improved farm property comprising three hundred and twenty acres. He has brought his land under a high state of culti- vation and everything about the place is kept in first class condition.

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History of La Salle County, Illinois, Part 151

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