USA > Illinois > McHenry County > History of McHenry County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 14
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WILLIAM B. GILBERT.
William B. Gilbert, for many years one of the successful farmers of Nunda Township, is now living in honorable retirement at Crystal Lake. He was born June 11, 1858, a son of George and Sarah (Maek) Gilbert. George Gilbert was born in New York State in 1818, a son of Abraham Gilbert, also a native of New York. The Gilbert family is of Holland- Dutch extraction. Sarah Mack was born in New York, a daughter of Abner Mack. George Gilbert was a farmer, who came to Illinois about 1846, and settled in Nunda Township, where he bought 150 acres of land, which is now very valuable. In politics he was a Republi- can. He and his wife had the following children: Electa M., who is deceased; Edson R .; Ada L., who married Edwin Eaton; Minnie M., who married a Mr. Fink; William B .; and Martin V., who is deceased.
William B. Gilbert attended the schools of Nunda Township, and those of the town of Ringwood. For many years he was engaged in farming his 155 acres of land in Nunda Township, but since his retire- ment in 1915 has sold it.
In 1879 Mr. Gilbert was married to Charlotte A. Colby, born in McHenry County, a daughter of Allen P. Colby. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert became the parents of one daughter, Dora. She is the wife of Michael Conley of Oak Park, Ill., and they have the following children: Howard, Everett, Morton and William. Mr. Gilbert is a Republican.
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HARRY D. GILE.
llarry D. Gile, one of the worth-while men and first-class farmers of Chemung Township, is located seven and one-half miles northwest of Harvard, a portion of his farm being in Boone County just across the county line. He was born in Walworth County, Wis., five miles north- cast of Sharon, December 26, 1883, a son of Frank and Emma (Smith) Gile. Frank Gile was born in Sharon, and died there March 17, 1920, but his widow survives him and still makes her home at Sharon.
Harry D. Gile has spent his life in farming and understands its every detail. When only nineteen years old, on June 24, 1902, he was married to Hattie May Powers, born December 29, 1880, a daughter of Esco and Eva (Brown) Powers. Mrs. Powers died at Chemung where they had been residing, and Mr. Powers then went to Chicago, Ill., and died about three years later. Hattie May Powers was reared at Chemung, and attended its schools.
Following his marriage Mr. Gile rented land and continued to be a tenant for eight years, for four of them being in MeHenry Township. He then bought a portion of the old Ridge farm, located in Boone County, on which no buildings had then been erected, and in March, 1914, he exchanged it for his present farm owned by the family of Robert Pearson, comprising 217 acres, eighty acres of which are in Boone County. He has erected a new barn and a tenant house and made other improvements including the remodelling of the present buildings and the putting up of a silo. He keeps fifty head of cattle of the pure-bred Holstein strain. and carries on dairying with twenty-five cows, and he also breeds pure- bred Duroc-Jersey hogs. A very progressive man, he organized The Boys and Girls Club, of which two of his children were the first members, and he is now a leader in this movement. His Corn Club won first place in several exhibits of corn demonstration, and first place in the demonstra- tion at the State Fair at Springfield. He now has three clubs, one Corn another Pig, and a third Calf. These clubs have resulted in the develop- ment of great interest among the farmers, who encourage their children in joining them. The results are various farm betterments and a greater desire on the part of the young people to remain on the farms. During the World War, Mr. Gile was very active in war work, stimulating in a marked degree the sale of bonds and contributions to the Red Cross and other organizations.
Mr. and Mrs. Gile became the parents of the following children: Norma: Fred, who is attending the Sharon High School; Iva, Orpha,
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Helen, Wilma, Laverna and Dorothea. Mr. Gile and his family belong to Sharon Methodist church, and he is active in its work as he is in other organizations. For some time he has been a member of the Farm Bureau of the Illinois Agricultural Association. The farm of Mr. Gile is one of the best operated in this part of the state. The policy of this alert, astute business man and modern farmer, is to carry on his farming as he would a factory or mercantile establishment were his talents devoted to the running of such enterprises, and whenever he finds by his own experiments, or those of others, that a certain method or appliance will increase his efficiency and improve his property, he adopts it. His work among the young people of his neighborhood can scarcely be over- estimated in its value, not only to them but the community at large, and is entirely on a line with the best ideas of constructive citizenship advocated by the best authorities. In 1920 Mr. Gile somewhat extended the scope of his operations by buying fifty-nine aeres of land at the edge of Sharon, Wis.
O. H. GILLMORE.
Page 135.
CHARLES W. GODDARD, M. D.
Charles W. Goddard, M. D., one of the leading physicians and sur- geons of McHenry County, is engaged in a general practice at Harvard, where he is held in the highest respect, and where he is now serving as city health officer. He was born at Cedarville, Ill., January 19, 1857, the only child of his parents, Fayette and Anna (Stiles) Goddard, the former of whom was a noted educator, who died in Stevenson County, Ill., in 1864.
Doctor Goddard attended the common and high schools of his native place, and then took a course at the Chicago Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1882. Immediately thereafter, he located at Rockford, Ill., where he was engaged in a general practice until IS83, when he came to MeHenry County, and established himself at Harvard. He belongs to the McHenry County Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society, and the American Medical Associa-
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tion. In addition to attending to the duties of his practice, Doctor Goddard is local surgeon for the Northwestern Railroad Company, and was elected city health officer of Harvard several years ago, on the Republican ticket, which office he still holds, rendering his community a valuable service in that capacity.
In 1882 Doctor Goddard was united in marriage with Miss Caroline Blake, a daughter of John Blake, a prominent citizen of Rockford, III. Doctor and Mrs. Goddard have the following children: Paul B., who is a manufacturer of Chicago, Ill .; Carl B., who is an attorney of Detroit, Mich .; and Dorothy, who married T. R. Strobridge, a manufacturer of Chicago. The Goddards are very prominent socially, and they are deservedly popular not only at Harvard, but throughout McHenry County.
WILLIAM V. GOODER, M. D.
William V. Gooder, M. D., one of the progressive physicians and surgeons of Marengo, was born at St. Paul, Minn., August 1, ISSI. The paternal grandfather came from Halifax, England, to the United States in the early forties, settling in Wisconsin, and his son, the father of Doctor Gooder, was born in Monroe County, Wis., later moved to St. Paul, Minn., and later to Iowa, where he died when his son, William V., was only five years old. The widowed mother took him back to the city of his nativity, and he later attended school at Tomah, Wis., being graduated from its high school at the age of seventeen years, and the subsequent year began to read medicine, beginning the regular course at the age of nineteen years, when he became a student of the medical department of the Northwestern University at Chicago, from which he was graduated in 1905. For a year thereafter he was interne at the Wesley Memorial Hospital, and then went to Lowell, Ind., where he was engaged in a general practice for eight years, but his health failing him he went to California, and upon his return to Chicago, took a post graduate course, and learning of Marengo, and realizing the possibilities of the healthful dairying region surrounding it decided to locate there permanently, which he did in 1913. Feeling it to be his duty, Doctor Gooder enlisted for service in June, 1917, and was called into the service in February, 1918, first with the rank of first lieutenant, but later being promoted to a captaincy. He was sent to Franee in October, 1918, and returned in February, 1919, having spent the greater
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part of his time in a base hospital at St. Nazaire. Doctor Gooder belongs to the county, state and national medical societies, and has done constructive work in all.
In 1907 Doctor Gooder was married to Vera Mason Smith, of Dixon, Ill., and they have one son, Jack. Doctor Gooder is a capable physician and a man of pleasing personality which wins for him many friends both in and out of his profession.
JOHN GOODKNECHT.
John Goodknecht, now deceased, was formerly one of the industrious and prosperous farmers of Chemung Township. He was born in Mechlinburg, Germany, and died in May, 1906, aged seventy-nine years, and is buried at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in MeHenry County. Upon his arrival in the United States to which he journeyed in young manhood, he came to Woodstock, then the end of the railroad. Another member of the family went to Michigan, and still another to Iowa, but he remained in MeHenry County, and worked for Austin Diggins at Harvard for several years,
In 1856 he bought from Paschal P. Stiles the present farm of his son, Ernest, comprising 130 acres of land in Chemung Township, and on it he spent practically the remainder of his life. At the time he bought it a portion of it was covered with timber, the remainder being either prairie or low land, but he set to work with characteristic industry and persistence and finally developed it into a valuable property. During his later days he retired and moved to Harvard, where he died four or five years later, his widow surviving him for about eighteen months, and then died at the age of sixty-nine years. He never entered into local affairs, his time and interest being centered on his farm and family. For many years he was a member of the Lutheran church of Sharon, but when he went to Harvard, he transferred his membership to the Lutheran church of that city. The children born to him and his wife were as follows: Amelia, who is Mrs. Charles Walters of Water- loo, Iowa; Theodore, who is a carpenter and builder of Harvard; Emma, who is Mrs. Charles Englehardt of Boone County, Ill .; Maggie, who died at the age of twenty-one years; William, who is a farmer of Parkersburg, Iowa, and Ernest, whose name heads this review.
Ernest Goodknecht has owned the farm for seventeen years, and since
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then has made many improvements, including the erection of a silo. Ile carries on dairying and has from twelve to fifteen cows. His opera- tions are carried on very efficiently, and he is known as one of the pro- gressive men of his calling. A Republican, he contents himself with giving an intelligent support to the candidates of his party, his private affairs being too heavy to permit of his taking office.
In February, 1909, he was united in marriage with Mildred Barrows, a daughter of D. A. Barrows, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Goodknecht have one son, John, who is eight years old. Mr. Goodknecht is a native of the county, and has been educated in it. His interests are naturally centered in the development of this region, and he is a friend of the public schools and the good roads movement. Such men as he are a credit to their communities, and too much praise cannot be accorded them, for it is now an accepted fact that the farmers are the mainspring of the nation's prosperity.
EDGAR E. GOODRICH.
Edgar E. Goodrich, proprietor of the Marengo Steam Laundry and Dry Cleaning Works, is one of the substantial men of Marengo. He was born at Marengo, February 14, 1873, a son of Elias J. and Lucia (Morrill) Goodrich. Elias J. Goodrich was in a furniture and under- taking business at Marengo, with branches at Woodstock and Harvard, at the time 'of his son's birth, but about 1881 or 1SS2 he sold and went into a hotel and restaurant business, continuing it for some years, and becoming very well known in the county. In 1894 he moved to De Kalb, Ill., and spent five years, and then returned to Marengo, where he died in 1910, aged seventy-six years. His widow survives him. Their chil- dren were as follows: Ella, who is the widow of a Mr. Pettibone, lives at Council Bluffs, Iowa; Walter, who is a hotel man at Council Bluffs, Iowa; Estelle, who is Mrs. George Bates of Marengo; Edgar E., whose name heads this review; Mrs. Bessie Meehan, who lives at Chicago; Ernest W., who lives at Rockford; and Ruth, who is Mrs. I. O. Hunger- ford of Brooklyn, N. Y. Mr. Hungerford is superintendent of the eastern branch of Borden's Milk Co. Ilis first job was secured for him by E. E. Goodrich with Borden's, and he proved so capable that he was made superintendent of the Borden plant at MeHenry, later becom- ing county superintendent for the company. He was then transferred
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to Chicago, then to Montreal, and finally was made general superin- tendent of all the eastern business of the company with headquarters at Brooklyn, N. Y.
In 1891 the Marengo Steam Laundry was founded by W. H. Fisher, and in 1895 Edgar E. Goodrich bought it and he has improved it until it is now thoroughly modern and equipped with the latest machinery and devices for the conduct of the business. Realizing the need for a reliable dry cleaning establishment, Mr. Goodrich organized this branch of his business over twelve years ago and enjoys a fine trade in both branches. He gives constant employment to five persons.
At the age of twenty-one Mr. Goodrich was married to Maud Winegar of Marengo, who died in April, 1906, leaving two children, namely: Fern, who is Mrs. Harry C. Gilkerson of Marengo; and Pauline, who died in childhood. In 1910, Mr. Goodrich was married (second) to Frances Fisk of Detroit, Mich., and they have no children. Several years ago Mr. Goodrich built his present brick residence, which is very modern and convenient.
A Republican, he has served as a member of the city council, and while holding that office was instrumental in securing for Marengo its present ornamental lights. At present he is worshipful master of Marengo Lodge No. 138, A. F. & A. M. Always interested in civic matters, he finds the Community Club an effective channel through which to achieve improvements, and is a forceful member of it.
EPHRIAM R. GOODROW.
Ephriam R. Goodrow, senior member of the firm of Goodrow & Son, is one of the substantial business men of Woodstock, and one who stands unusually high in public esteem throughout McHenry County. He was born in Wisconsin, July 12, 1861, a son of Eli and Hannah (Penwell) Goodrow, who had eight children. Eli Goodrow was born in France, but came to the United States in 1840, and located in Jeffer- son County, Wis., where he was engaged very successfully in farming until his death, in 1882. His widow survived him until 1915.
Ephriam R. Goodrow attended the common and high schools of his native state, and came to McHenry County in 1901, establishing what was known as the Ilitch Harness Company, which in 1916 was expanded into an automobile business, and the name changed to Good-
-
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row & Son. The firm carries farm implements, milking machines, buggies, wagons, oils, gasoline, whips, blankets, robes and automobiles, and carry on a first-class garage, and employment is given three people. Mr. Goodrow has the exclusive agency of the Overland car for his neighborhood, and carries a stock valued at $10,000.
Mr. Goodrow was united in marriage with Miss Mary Cook, a daughter of Albert Cook, and a member of a prominent family of Wis- consin. Mr. and Mrs. Goodrow became the parents of the following children: Frank J., who is in business with his father; Eva, who is Mrs. William Orms of Chicago; Etta, who is Mrs. John Hayes; Tessie M., who is Mrs. Howard Cos of Wisconsin; and Loraine, who is com- pleting her studies at the University of Wisconsin. Mr. Goodrow and his family are consistent members of the Roman Catholic church. In polities he is a Republican. A man of unusual business energy, he has forged ahead, and has honestly earned his present prestige.
FRANK J. GOODROW.
Frank J. Goodrow, junior member of the well known garage and implement firm of Goodrow & Son, is one of the alert young business men of Woodstock. He was born in Wisconsin, January S, 1889, a son of Ephraim and Mary (Cook) Goodrow, also natives of Wisconsin, and grandson of Eli and Hannah (Penwell) Goodrow and Albert Cook, all of whom are well known and universally respected.
Frank J. Goodrow was educated in the schools of Wisconsin and Woodstock, being about twelve years of age when his father established himself in business at the latter place, so that practically he has been reared in MeHenry County, and naturally his interests are centered here. In 1916, Mr. Goodrow was taken into partnership by his father, and has participated actively in the business ever since. A complete line of agricultural implements, wagons, buggies and automobile accesso- ries is carried to the amount of $10,000 and the firm is sole agent for the Overland cars in McHenry County.
Mr. Goodrow was united in marriage with Miss Helen Goff, a daughter of Fred Goff. In politics, like his father, Mr. Goodrow is a staunch Republican. He belongs to the Roman Catholic church. A young man of progressive ideas, he has thrown himself into his busi- ness, and while achieving material success, is also gaining the confidence
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of those with whom he does business because of his high principles and honorable methods.
MUNSON SMITH GOODSELL.
Munson Smith Goodsell, now deceased, was in former years one of the substantial men of MeHenry County and was the first merchant of Hebron. He was born at Cooperstown, N. Y., November 23, 1826, and died April 21, 1910, aged seventy-three years. On January 10, 1858, he was married to Annie Marie Arnold, at Elkton, Wis. She was born February 9, 1839, a daughter of Giles and Iris Welton (Hickox) Arnold, of Vietor, Ontario County, N. Y., where Mrs. Goodsell was born. Prior to 1844, Giles Arnold came west to Wisconsin and securing a home, returned to New York for his family, who made the trip in 1844.
Munson Smith Goodsell attended Beloit College, and when his father died in 1861, took charge of his store, later selling it and moving to Hebron, where in June of that year he erected a building and in it established the first store and post office of the village. At that time there were but two frame houses in the settlement. Mr. Goodsell con- tinued to operate the store until about 1880. He was also interested in a lumber yard conducted by him and his partner Henry Mcad. Mr. Goodsell was the first postmaster of Hebron, and held that office for a quarter of a century, and he was township clerk for twenty-three years. For thirty years he served as township assessor, and was holding that office at the time of his death. He was a specially capable business man, reliable and upright. Not a talker, he carried out his ideas in deeds, and had the welfare of his community at heart. Politically he was a Republican. He was made a Mason at Richmond, soon after coming to the county, and was a charter member of the Hebron Lodge, his funeral being in charge of his brothers in the lodge.
The one surviving daughter of Mr. Goodsell is Annie West Snitz, who lives at St. Petersburg, Fla., her husband having been a prominent real estate dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. The other daughter, Iris, married on March 14, 1887, Charles Q. Albertson, and died within a year, being then but twenty years of age. She was a lovely girl, bright and capable, and her loss was mourned by her family and her host of friends. The only son, Lewis Burr Goodsell, was killed at Fox River Station, on the Northwestern Railroad, while coupling cars in his capacity of brakeman, December 7, 1881, being then twenty-three years old. Fannie G. died
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at the age of one year. Mrs. Goodsell has lived in her present house since 1862, and has lived to bury her husband and three children, who lie in the local cemetery. Both she and Mr. Goodsell early connected themselves with the Episcopal church at Lake Geneva, but when they came to Hebron they interested themselves in the Methodist Presby- terian and Baptist denominations as there was no church of their own faith here. They were very liberal in their views, and sought only to further the spiritual welfare of their community. For some years since her husband's death, Mrs. Goodsell has spent the winters with her daughter in Florida, but retains her property and interest in Hebron. During the late war she was active in Red Cross work, and all her life has always done more than her share of church and community work, and her many benefactions and unselfish efforts have endeared her to all who have the honor of her acquaintance.
WILLIAM A. GOODWIN.
William A. Goodwin, director of the United States Bank of Crystal Lake, one of the substantial and representative men of MeHenry County, is also prominent politically. Ile was born in Mellenry County, August 5, 1857, one of the four children born to John and Sarah C. (Chase) Goodwin. John Goodwin was born in Pennsylvania, but in 1850 came to MeHenry County, and was engaged in farming and man- ufacturing pickles in Algonquin Township, where he died in 1892, his wife passing away in 1908.
William A. Goodwin attended the common and high schools of his native county, completing his studies at the Elgin Academy and the Indiana State Normal School. For the subsequent two years, Mr. Goodwin was engaged in farming, but then came to Crystal Lake, and embarked in a flour, feed and lumber business, and built a feed and flour mill which he still operates. He is also interested in handling stock, and owns considerable farm land, including 131 acres in Algonquin Township, and he also owns his residence at Crystal Lake.
Mr. Goodwin was married to Miss Mary M. Rainthorp, and they have one living child, Benjamin S., the other child, Lora, having died. Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a very prominent Republican and served two terms in the city council, his record as an alderman making him the logical candidate for
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mayor, to which office he was first elected on the Citizens ticket in 1907. He has also rendered efficient service on the school board, and has done much to bring about improvements in the school system in his city. Fraternally he is a Mason, and Odd Fellow and is active in both lodges. A man of unusual capabilities, he has exerted himself to make good in whatever he has undertaken, and his success is self-earned, and well merited.
HENRY GORHAM.
IIenry Gorham, now deceased, was formerly one of the most repre- sentative men of Dorr Township, and a man widely and favorably known. Ile was born at St. Isaacs, on the St. Lawrence River, within thirty miles of Montreal, Canada, in December, 1855. His educational training ceased when he was fourteen years old, at which time he went to Vermont, and was engaged in farming near Fairfield until 1855, when, with a cousin, George La Chance, he came to Illinois, by railroad as far as Chicago, and thence to Kane County, where he continued to work at farming, being employed by George Sawyer of Dundee for three years. He then joined a party and crossed the plains to California, the trip consuming nearly five and one-half months. After about five years of varied experiences, during which period he met. with varying success, Mr. Gorham returned to Dundee by way of San Francisco and the Isthmus of Panama.
On December 26 of the year of his return home, he was married to Judith Helen Sawyer, and they located on the old Sawyer homestead in Dorr Township, where they continued to reside until the death of Mr. Gorham on January 1, 1902, with the exception of fourteen months, when Mr. Gorham was in Kansas, homesteading 160 acres of land, and freighting to Emporia, Humboldt and other points. Returning home, he resumed his agricultural activities in Dorr Township.
Mr. Gorham was a Republican of a stalwart type, but did not seek political preferment. He and his wife had the following children: Elmer S., who is engaged in farming in the vicinity of Crystal Lake, married Mary Myers and they have one son, Henry; William Henry, who lives at Woodstock; George F., who married Laura Thayer, has four children-George H., Edith, Helen and Hazel, and who is operating the old homestead; and Bertha, who married Richard Reed, a farmer living near Ridgefield, III., and they have the following children-Pearl Marie, Clarence Edward and Dorothy.
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