USA > Illinois > McHenry County > History of McHenry County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 41
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of Marengo, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work; Emily M who married Charles Wicks, lived in Nevada, but died at Marengo; and Eva E., who has remained at home with her brother, Willard, is his housekeeper, neither of them having married.
David Swain, late proprietor of the Marine Engine Works at Still- water, Minn., built 268 steamboats, or the larger number of those plying on the upper Mississippi River. He had many patents on boats and steamboat machinery from the United States and Canadian govern- ments. He adopted the use of the compound condensing engines to boats and saw-mills, etc., and was a natural mechanical genius. At the time of his death, which occurred July 3, 1918, he was a resident of Still- well, although he passed away at Pittsburgh, Pa. He had taken the steamboat, Vernie Swain off the Illinois River from Peoria to Pittsburgh, and chartered it to other parties at Pittsburgh. David Swain owned three boats on the Illinois River, the Julia Belle Swain, the Vernie Swain and the Kabekona. His sons, Percy Swain of Peoria, Ill., Verne Swain, also of Peoria, Ill., and Fred Swain, of Ohio, Ill., are all captains. Mrs. David Swain survives and makes her home at Stillwater, Minn.
Willard Swain is still living on the old homestead, and has put in fifty-three years of hard work upon it, now having one of the finest rural properties in this part of the county. Although he has never been will- ing to hold office, he is one of the well-known men here, and is held in the greatest respect by those who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.
WILLIAM S. SWONGUER.
William S. Swonguer of Marengo, is engaged in handling furniture and carrying on an undertaking business, and is numbered among the leaders in both lines. He was born in Ohio, October 18, 1868, a son of Marion S. and Martha L. (Fuson) Swonguer, who had seven children, five of whom are now living. Marion S. Swonguer was born in Ohio, and after being engaged for a number of years as a farmer, he retired to Bellefontaine, Ohio, where he is now residing.
William S. Swonguer was reared in Ohio, and there attended the common and high schools, and the Nelson Business College at Spring- field, Ohio. Still later he attended the Whittenburg School, and the Barnes Undertaking School and Sanitarium, being graduated from the latter in June, 1915. He then established himself in business at Marengo,
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where he has since continued, winning the confidence and respect of his community. He carries a stock valued at $8,000, and has a beautifully · equipped store for displaying it at the corner of State and Washington streets.
Mr. Swonguer was married to Miss Annis L. Eddy, a daughter of Henry Eddy of New York, and they have two living children, namely : Charlotte H. and Wendell T., the third child, Wilfred E., having died February 23, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Swonguer are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Fraternally he belongs to the Chapter Masons, and the Odd Fellows, and he and Mrs. Swonguer belong to the Eastern Star. In politics he is an independent, preferring to choose his own candidates. Thoroughly experienced in his business, his services are called for whenever a dignified funeral is desired.
FRANK A. TANNER.
Frank A. Tanner, former president of the Federal Farm Loan Com- pany, is one of the leading men of this locality, and one who has held the confidence of his fellow citizens since the beginning of his career. In addition to other interests, he has operated quite extensively in land. He is now chairman of the board of appraisers, and resides at Harvard. Ho was born in Marengo Township, on the line between MeHenry and Boone counties, March 14, 1859, a son of Jonas C. and Jane A. (Morris) Tanner, natives of New York and Pennsylvania, respectively. Both were brought to Illinois by their parents in 1836, settling side by side. The paternal grandfather, Joseph Tanner, and the maternal grandparents, Joseph and Betsy Morris, all lived and died in MeHenry County at advanced ages. Jonas Tanner was born in 1823, and he died in 1873, and his wife, eight years his junior, died in 1902, aged seventy- one years, at the old homestead, which is still owned by her youngest son, Jonas C. Tanner, of Marengo. The children of Jonas Tanner and his wife were as follows: Ella, who is Mrs. George Pond, of Clifton, Colorado; Emma J., who married Lott Swain, a retired farmer of Marengo, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work; Mary, who is Mrs. Charles Porter, M. D., died in 1910 at the age of fifty-four years, and Doctor Porter moved from Marengo Township to North Dakota; Frank, whose name heads this review; George K., who is in a garage business at St. Charles, Ill .; Fred J., who was a farmer, furniture dealer
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and undertaker of Marengo, died in 1918; and Jonas Charles, who is a retired farmer and justice of the peace of Marengo.
Frank A. Tanner assumed his father's duties when the latter died, . and each son remained at home until he attained his majority. The mother was an excellent business woman, and was able to give to all of her children a start in life when they married. When he was twenty-one years old, Frank A. Tanner rented a farm near that of his mother. On October 6, 1880, he was married to Miss Nellie MeDougall, of Garden Prairie, Boone County, Ill., a daughter of L. S. and Anna (Fox) MeDou- gall, both of whom are now deceased. When he was nine years old, L. S. MeDougall came to MeHenry County with his parents from Canada, and his wife was born in New York. After his marriage, Mr. Tanner returned to his mother's farm for two years, but then bought land in Boone County, selling it after about a year. In the spring of 1882 he moved to Edmunds County, S. D., homesteaded, and spent three years upon the land to prove it up, but had the misfortune to lose his erops and returned to McHenry County empty of pocket. Mr. Tanner then spent a year on a farm near Garden Prairie, Boone County, but sold it and bought another traet of land comprising 215 acres in Boone County, on which he lived for twenty-two years, going in debt to pay for all of it. Not only did he clear off this debt, but he added to his farm until he now owns 587 aeres in one body. He is also a partner of the Rockton Molding Sand Company; has a half interest in eighty acres in Boone County, his son, Lorenzo C., owning the other half; a half interest in 181 aeres in Walworth County, Wis., his son-in-law, E. B. Manley, owning the other half, and Mr. Manley is his partner in the Rockton Molding Sand Co., at Rockland, Winnebago County, Ill., with thirty- five aeres of sand, of which Mr. Tanner is president, and Mr. Manley manager, and it has been in operation for ten years. This company ships about 600 cars of sand per year, selling it to foundries for molding purposes. About ten men are employed by it.
In 1908 Mr. Tanner left the farm and moved to Harvard, and for about four years conducted a real estate office, dealing in farm lands in several states, but disposed of this business. His homestead has several sets of buildings, although the property is in one body. Ile has a herd of 130 IIereford cattle, is in the eattle business, and cattle and sheep are fed, grain being raised on the farm for that purpose. This magnificent property is known all over MeHenry, Boone and surrounding counties as the Tanner Stock Farm. When Mr. Tanner lived on it the herd was much larger, and he was in the dairy business.
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Many Illinois settlers who went to Dakota had a similar experience to Mr. Tanner, but not all of them have been able to recover from the disaster as he has. When he returned he not only had no money, but he was $1,000 in debt, but he was not discouraged, and, as his credit was good, increased his obligations by going into debt to buy land, and made it pay for itself. In 1887 Mr. Tanner organized a drainage district in Boone County, and a large territory is now redeemed by means of a five-mile dredged diteh, beginning with his farm, which was lowland. So successful was he with the operation of this first distriet, that he organized a second one in Dunham Township, this ditch being three miles long, beginning at the MeHenry County line, and thousands of aeres have been redeemed. At first he had difficulty in making people realize how important it was for this land to be drained, but after he had convinced them he made many warm friends by his publie spirit. He has put in some twenty-five miles of tile on his own farm, a portion of which is in MeHenry County, and the buildings on this side of the county line are a credit to the community. His present residence, which is finely located on Division street, Harvard, is a comfortable modern one.
Mr. and Mrs. Tanner have had three children born to them, namely: May, who married E. B. Manley, of Rockton, Ill .; Lorenzo C., who is on the old homestead, married Ila Lambert, who is active in the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church; and Jennie, who married C. M. Palmer. Mr. Palmer is operating that portion of the big farm which is in Dunham Township. While Mr. Tanner has always taken an active part in politics, he has never cared for office. A Mason, Mr. Tanner belongs to the Blue Lodge and Chapter of Harvard, the Commandery of Woodstock, and the Shrine of Rockford, Ill. He served as chairman of the building committee of the Harvard Masonic Temple, and is now its financial manager. In every respect Mr. Tanner measures up as one of the most representative men of the county, and his fellow citizens are proud of the record he has made.
FRANKLIN E. THAYER.
Franklin E. Thayer, who is living on the old farm on the township line, in Hebron Township, four miles south of the village of Hebron, and eight miles north of Woodstock, was born in his present house, May 21, 1869, a son of Crandall H. and Mary Ann (Howley) Thayer,
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both born at Rochester, N. Y., she August 12, 1836. The two families were related. When she was two years old, her father, Roswell Howley came to Illinois, and after first stopping at Bloomington for a year, came on to MeHenry County and located on Hebron Prairie, two miles southwest of the village of Hebron, where both he and his wife died in old age.
Crandall Thayer was twenty-one years old when he came to MeHenry County. A carpenter by trade, he worked at his calling all his life, but also engaged in farming on eighty acres of land he secured in Hebron Township, on the Nippersink, within two miles of the Howley farm, and later he bought eighty acres of his son's present farm, increasing it subsequently to 100 acres. It was covered with timber, and he began the hard work of clearing his land, putting about seventy acres of it into cultivation, and erected the present buildings. About fifteen years prior to his death he retired, but continued to live on the farm where he died in 1896. His widow moved to Hebron soon afterwards, and has continued to reside there ever since. In politics he was a Republican, and the Methodist Episcopal church held his membership, and during his later life he was active in church affairs. He and his wife had three children, namely: Elmer Ellsworth; Philena C., who married Robert J. Beatty and lives at Woodstock, where Mr. Beatty is engaged in handling stock and land; and Franklin Ellery, whose name heads this review.
Franklin Ellery spent his boyhood on the farm and attended the local and Hebron high schools. When he was nineteen years old he began teaching in Alden Township, and had other schools in the county, remaining in the educational field for twelve years. On February 11,. 1891, he was married to Catherine Smith, a daughter of Dwight and Mary (Cowdreg) Smith, born in Greenwood Township. Mr. Smith died January 24, 1901, and she May 25, 1884. For the first three years following his marriage, Mr. Thayer was on the Smith farm, and then resumed his teaching. In 1902 he took charge of the home farm, which had been rented, and later bought out the interests of the other heirs. He rebuilt and enlarged the barn, erected a silo and other outbuildings, and generally improved the place. Dairying is his main feature, and he has about twenty cows of the Holstein strain. He also bred Chester- White hogs for four or five years, and used to exhibit at the county fairs. Ilis product was in demand for breeding purposes, and he was very successful until his drove was wiped out by hog cholera from which he lost several very valuable brood sows. While he has not desired office, he has been township committeeman, and a delegate to conven- tions of his party. Believing in the county fair he has served as super-
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intendent of different departments and borne his part in making these exhibitions a success, and he belongs to the Soil Improvement Associa- tion and the Milk Producers Association. Mr. and Mrs. Thayer have two children, namely: John Hoffman, who is on an adjoining farm; and Harold Smith, who is at home. Mr. Thayer is a leader in the Greenwood Methodist Episcopal church, which he serves as trustee and class leader, and he is superintendent of the Sunday School. The Masonie lodge at Hebron holds his membership.
DR. FRANK J. THEOBOLD.
Dr. Frank J. Theobold, one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Cary Station, is conveniently located on Main street. He was born July 30, 1882, one of the fourteen children of John and Mary (Emmerich) Theobold. John Theobold was born in Germany, but after he came to the United States, he became one of its citizens, and from 1850, when he received his naturalization papers, until his death November 5, 1912, he was a loyal American. His wife died October 22, 1912.
Doctor Theobold attended St. Joseph's College, from which he was graduated in 1902. He then took a course in the medical department of the University of Illinois, from which he was graduated in 1906, and after two years spent in extensive travel and hospital work, he entered upon a general practice at Cary Station in 1908. He belongs to the MeHenry County Medical Society, and the Illinois State Medical Society. Fraternally he belongs to the Woodmen of the World. He is a Republican.
Doctor Theobold was married to Miss Erene Hoffman, a daughter of Jacob Hoffman, and they have two children, namely: Francis I., who was born January 2, 1910; and John C., who was born January 2, 1911. Dr. and Mrs. Theobold are members of the Catholic church. A public-spirited man, Doctor Theobold takes a live and effective interest in local matters, and he is a well known man not only in Cary and its vicinity, but throughout a wide territory, where his services are in demand, for his skill and knowledge are generally recognized.
CHARLES ALBERTUS THOMPSON.
Charles Albertus Thompson, one of the best known men of MeHenry County, is one of the extensive farmers of Coral Township. He was
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born in his present house, December 1, 1850, a son of Ahira Thompson, whose death occurred at Marengo, where he had been a resident sinee 1883, on March 12, 1907. Ahira Thompson came to Illinois at the age of nineteen years, in company with other members of his family. In addition to him, there were the following children in the family of his parents: Fanny, who married a Mr. Brown, and moved to Knox County, Ill .; Sarah, who married a Mr. Warner, and after he was lost on a trip overland to California, she went with the rest to Knox County, and died at Mendota, Ill .; Mary, who married Walter Warner, died in MeHenry County as did her husband; Lucy, who married a Mr. Vanvleet, moved to Union, this county, at an early day; Leman, who went to Kan- sas after the close of the Civil War, and died in that state; Clark, who served in the Ninety-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and died in the service. The parents of these children lived to an advanced age, he passing away when eighty-three years of age.
In 1844 Ahira Thompson bought the farm now owned by his son, and settled upon it. He was married in Coral Township, to Charlotte Morris, a daughter of S. R. and Sallie (Bowley) Morris, who had come to McHenry County from Bureau County, Ill., where they had lived for a short period. They both spent the remainder of their lives in this county and died after reaching the age of eighty years. Mr. Morris was a great Methodist and donated the land for the Harmony church and cemetery of that denomination, and was elass leader of the church as well as its main supporter. His old home is still in the family, now being owned by the widow of his son, Edwin Morris. Ahira Thompson and his wife had the following children: William M., who served in the same company as his father during the Civil War, after the termination of hostilities, was married to Phebe Nutting, and later to Anna Schultz, his death occurring in Coral Township, July 10, 1889; Esther N., who died at the age of thirty-five years, unmarried, was one of the teachers of the county, whose record shows that she taught thirty-six terms; Charles Albertus, whose name appears at the head of this review; Laura M., who married Lewis S. Brown a teacher, moved to Centerville, S. Dak., where both died, she also having been a teacher in her youth; and Herbert R., who also went to South Dakota, where he died on July 22, 1883. The present house was built in 1856 or 1857, but included in it is the original house, erected in 1844. Ahira Thompson also built the first barn, which has since been rebuilt by his son. On his 200 acres of land Ahira Thompson bred Durham cattle, and was so successful with them that he exhibited them at the county fairs. He was also interested
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in the first milk and cheese factories in the county, and was noted for his excellent butter, to the making of which he gave his personal atten- tion. After he had retired from the farm and gone to Marengo to live, he dealt in feed and manufactured butter until his death.
Charles Albertus Thompson remained at home and attended the Marengo schools. About 1880 he took charge of the farm, and the following year, on May 24, 1881, he was married to Ruth Teeple, a daughter of Pelham C. and Mary A. (Gleason) Teeple, born at Wood- stock, Ontario, Canada, November 29, 1852. As a child she was brought to Woodstock, MeHenry County, Ill., where her father worked as a carpenter and had a farm near Woodstock, but when he retired ho went to Marengo to live. Mrs. Thompson attended school at Wood- stock, Aurora and the Elgin Academy. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson spent two years not long after their marriage at Marengo, conducting a small farm, and then returned to their present farm, which he bought from the other heirs, adding to it until he now has 240 acres in his home farm and also owns 120 acres on the north, having separate buildings for each farm. Dairying is his specialty, and he milks from twenty to thirty cows, all of them being of a high-grade Holstein strain. Ile has a silo and his buildings have all been rebuilt and modernized. Several windmills draw an ample supply of water for all purposes. Mr. Thomp- son has concentrated his interests on his farm, and has never wanted an office, but votes for the Republican candidates. The Harmony Methodist church holds his membership, and receives his generous support.
Mr. and Mrs. Thompson became the parents of the following chil- dren: Mabel, who is a dressmaker and milliner, who lives at home; Gleason M., who married Pearl Dorr, has two children, Lester Clement and Ina Lucille, operates his father's second farm; Emory Ahira, who lives at Marengo, married Rosanna Knapp, and they have no children; Venelle A., who is at home, registered under the Selective Draft, but was not called into the service; and Grace, who is Mrs. John W. Boyer of Marengo, has no children.
FRANK O. THOMPSON.
Frank O. Thompson, mayor of Harvard, and one of the prominent business men of McHenry County, is manager of the implement depart-
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ment of Marshall Brothers. He was born in MeHenry County, July 2, 1865, a son of Orlando H. and Elizabeth (Marwell) Thompson, who had nine children, four of whom survive. Orlando H. Thompson was born in Madison County, Ohio, but came to McHenry County in 1841, locating at Cold Springs, from whence he moved to Harvard in 1873, and lived there until his death, in 1906, all of his active years being engaged in farming. His wife died in 1906.
Frank O. Thompson attended the common and high schools of his native county, and his first business experience was gained in the electric light plant at Harvard, where he proved himself so efficient that three years later Marshall Brothers placed him in charge of the implement department of their large establishment, and here he has since remained. A staunch Republican, Mr. Thompson has often been called upon to hold offiec, having been town clerk and collector from 1897 to 1898, and alderman of Harvard for sixteen years. He was appointed mayor of Harvard to fill out the unexpired term of the late C. J. Hendricks.
Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Marietta Blanchard Dexter, of Wisconsin, and they have the following children: Elmer B., who was born in September, 1891; Ralph M., who was born in April, 1894; and two daughters, Claretta S. and Emily E., both of whom served as nurses in the United States hospital service. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal and Presbyterian churches. Mr. Thompson is a Mason. His business experience, combined with his public spirit, especially fit him for the office of mayor, and under his wise and able conduet of affairs Harvard will no doubt prosper exceedingly.
HERBERT N. THOMPSON.
Herbert N. Thompson, one of the leading farmers and stoekmen of MeHenry County, owns a large farm in Greenwood Township. He was born in MeHenry County, December 15, 1849, a son of A. C. Thompson, a native of Vermont, and grandson of Paul Thompson, also a native of ·Vermont. A. C. Thompson was married to Mary G. Neeley, born in Massachusetts, coming of one of the Colonial families of the country. A. C. Thompson was reared in Ohio, and came to Illinois at an early day, and was married in this state. For thirty years after locating in McHenry County, he served as a justice of the peacc. His children were as follows: Edwin H., who lives at Woodstock; Dr. Merritt
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Thompson, who was a prominent physician of Chicago; Frank G., who lives in California ; George and Eugene, who are ice cream manufacturers of Chicago; Mary M., who is Mrs. Carr, of Idaho; and Herbert N.
Herbert N. Thompson attended the country schools of MeHenry County. On December 17, 1874, he was married to Cora B. Carr, born in MeHenry County, April 18, 1856, a daughter of Thomas Carr, a native of England. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson have five living children : Clifford, who lives in Wisconsin; Lester H., who lives in Montana; Fred E., who lives in Nebraska; Susie, who is the wife of Fred Charles, of Greenwood Township; and George L., who lives on the homestead. Another, Clyde, is deceased. Mr. Thompson's farm contains 240 acres, and he owns another farm cast of his homestead that contains 103 acres. He raises full-blooded Hereford cattle and other fine stoek, and carries on general farming. In polities he is a Republican. All of his life has been spent in MeHenry County, and he naturally takes a deep interest in its progress, and not only is a successful man, but one who is highly respected as well.
HARRY C. THON, M. D.
Harry C. Thon, M. D., is one of the leading physicians and surgeons of MeHenry County, and is engaged in a general medical and surgical practice at Woodstock, where his abilities receive the appreciation due to a man of his skill and experience. He was born at Chicago, January 8, 1878, one of the three children born to Henry L. and Louisa (Glos) Thon. Henry L. Thon was born in Germany, but was brought to the United States at the age of three years. IIe was reared in this country, and after living in various places where he worked at his trade of cabinet- maker, he died at Lake Geneva, Wis., August 30, 1916.
Doctor Thon attended the public schools of Chicago, and completed the high school course. Resolving upon a medical career, he obtained . his professional education at Bennett Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1899. Immediately thereafter he located at Wood- stock, and here he has become very prominent. A strong Republican, he was elected city physician on his party ticket in 1916, and served for one year in that office, or until May, 1917. Professionally he maintains membership with the MeHenry Medical Society, and the Illinois State Medical Society. Fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both as a man and physician Doctor Thon is very popular,
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and he deserves all the more credit in that he has won his way in life through his own efforts.
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