USA > Illinois > Whiteside County > History of Whiteside county, Illinois, from its first settlement to the present time, with numerous Biographical and Family Sketches > Part 27
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HENRY C. FELLOWS was born in the town of New Lebanon, Columbia county, New York, March 10, 1815, and came to Whiteside county in March, 1837, and settled in Fulton, being one of the very earliest settlers in the town. On the 9th of November, 1843, he married Miss Lydia Baker, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Baker, at Union Grove, in this connty. The children of this marriage have been Robert J., Augusta, Ellen H., Florence A., Mary E., William H., and Frederick A. Of these Robert J. is married and lives in Union Grove, and Florence, William H., and Frederick A., live in Fulton. Augusta, Ellen H., and Mary E., are dead. Mr. Fellows was one of the original proprietors of the present city of Fulton, and has been identified with its inter- ests from the very commencement. Together with the early pioneers he suffered all the hardships and privations incident to such a life, as well as enjoyed all the pleasures with which the people at that time were wont to season their otherwise monotonous existence. He early displayed capacities which fitted him for public position, and was consequently called upon to fill offices of honor and trust almost from the start. He was for a number of years Deputy Sheriff of the county, and a police magistrate of the city, and Justice of the Peace of the township of Fulton for fully twenty years. In 1857 he was first elected Supervisor of the township, and was re-elected at seven different times afterwards, making eight years service in all as member of the Board of Supervisors. He has also held other township offices, and was one of the first aldermen of the city. At the time when the project of connecting the lakes with the Missis- sippi river by railroads was being pushed, he took an active part in securing the
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western terminus at Fulton. In fact his influence has been felt in every project gotten up in behalf of the interests of Fulton, and we may also say of the county. By industry and prudence he has secured a large property, and bids fair to enjoy it for many years to come.
JESSIE JOHNSON was a native of Troy, N. Y., and was born April 2, 1798. He came to Fulton in June, 1838, and remained until October of that year, and then moved to the bluffs, five miles east of Fulton, where he had purchased a farm, and upon which he remained, attending strictly to its cultivation, until 1853, when he returned to Fulton and made that place his home for the rest of his days. Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Mary Webb, at Lowville, Lewis county, New York, February 8, 1822. The following are the names of the children of this marriage, according to date of birth : Mary, born July 28, 1823 ; Sarah R., October 6, 1824 ; Charles J., July 8, 1826 ; Harriet, February 10, 1828 ; John D., June 8, 1830 ; Edmund L., April 8, 1832 ; Cornelia, March 18, 1834-died when an infant ; Cornelia P., June 18, 1836 ; Henrietta, Au- gust 25, 1838 ; Anna M., September 23, 1840; Eliza N., March 22, 1842 ; Caleb C., May 23, 1844. Mary married C. L. Ware, and lives at Fulton ; Sa- rah married W. H. Knight, of Fulton, and died January 12, 1864 ; Charles J. married Mary Exley, and lives in Chicago ; Harriet married William C. Green, and lives at Fulton ; John D. married Olive Abbott, and lives at LeClaire, Iowa ; Edmund L. (deceased) married Mahala Wright, and was a resident of Fulton ; Cornelia P. married Richard Green, and lives at Fulton ; Henrietta married Charles Davidson, and lives at Bloomington, Ill .; Anna M. married William Reed (now deceased), and lives at Fulton ; Eliza N. married Samuel Dennison, and lives at Fulton ; Caleb C. married Josephine Worthington, and lives at Sterling. The three sons living, Charles J., John D., and Caleb C., are eminent lawyers. Mr. Johnson never held any public position, save that of Road Commissioner for one term in the early days of Fulton. He died at his residence in Fulton after a lingering illness, October 12, 1876.
DR. DANIEL REED is a native of Onondaga county, New York, and was born September 4, 1803. He remained in that county until he was thirty-two years of age, during which time he studied medicine, for the most of the time, in the office of Dr. Daniel T. Jones, at that time one of the ablest and most successful physicians in the interior of New York State ; and upon being ad- mitted into the brotherhood of Doctors of Medicine, commenced practice at Am- boy, in the same county. In 1835 he came West and settled in Chicago, where he remained two years, and then moved to Fulton, where he has resided ever since. Dr. Reed married Miss Lucinda F. Meigs, a native of Bethlehem, Litch- field county, Mass., May 1, 1828. The children of this marriage have been as follows : William, born May 15, 1829; Helen M., born October 28, 1831; Athalie, born December 14, 1833 ; James H., born January 26, 1836 ; Cynthia J., born March 26, 1838 ; Harriet E., born May 15, 1841. Of these Harriet died September 6, 1841 ; Helen M., November 6, 1857 ; and William, April 17, 1872. James H. is the celebrated photographic artist at Clinton, Iowa. The Doctor's services as a physician, as well as those of his wife (for it is univer- sally acknowledged by those who knew her in the early days of Fulton that she was as good a doctor as the very best of them), were called into active requisi- tion during the first years or their residence in Fulton, and especially in 1839, when almost everybody in this section of the country was sick. For days and nights together during that year neither the Doctor nor Mrs. Reed found any rest, the latter especially going from one bedside to the other in her efforts to relieve the stricken ones, and many to this day gratefully remember her care and kindness during their long and severe illness. Dr. Reed has been frequently
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elected to public offices both in the city and township of Fulton, and was Cor- oner of the county from 1856 to 1858.
EPHRAIM SUMMERS was born in Barnet, Caledonia county, Vermont, Sep- tember 4, 1812. He remained in his native State until 1836, when he came West, and first settled in Portland, Whiteside county, where he worked at bis trade, that of a blacksmith, until the fall of 1841, and then moved to Sterling. In 1848 he settled in Fulton. In 1850 he caught the gold fever and went to California, where he remained two years, taking the overland route as he went, and returning by way of the Isthmus. Mr. Summers was married to Miss Mary L. Dixon on the 4th of February, 1834. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Sum- mers have been: Clois, Sophia, Orilla, Morris, Cyrus, and Ida Morris. All are living except the latter, who died in infancy. Since his residence in Fulton, Mr. Summers has worked at his trade for part of the time, and has also been in the hardware trade. He was justice of the peace and police magistrate for a large number of years, and also held other town and city offices, and for several years was United States Internal Revenue Gauger.
DR. WILLIAM C. SNYDER was born in Haddenfield, Hunterdon county, New Jersey, July 29, 1821, and was educated as a physician and admitted. to prac- tice in his native State. In June, 1847, at the age of 26 years, he came to Whiteside county and settled in Union Grove, where he practiced his profession until June, 1854, when he moved to Fulton. During the Doctor's residence in Union Grove he represented the town in the Board of Supervisors in the years 1852-'53 and '54, being the first Supervisor of the town. From 1850 to 1853 he was Postmaster at Union Grove. In 1856 he was elected Supervisor of Fulton, and in 1858 was appointed Drainage Commissioner for the county, and held the office until 1872. This was a position of peculiar trust, and one of great interest and importance to the county. The Doctor entered upon its du- ties with the full determination of discharging them with fairness, fidelity, and to the best interests of all concerned; and that he did so is the universal ex- pression of all conversant with his official acts. In the years 1857-'58 and '59 he was Collector of the township of Fulton. In 1866 he was elected Mayor of the city of Fulton, but it being ascertained that he could not perform its func- tions by reason of holding a United States office, he resigned. In May, 1861, he was appointed Postmaster at the city of Fulton by President Lincoln, and the appointment unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. The term was for four years, and at its expiration he was re-appointed, and this has been the case at the expiration of each term up to the present time, a period of six- teen years. Previous to his appointment the Postoffice had been moved from one place to another in the city, as the convenience or opportunities of the dif- ferent postmasters seemed to dictate or demand, but upon his assuming the position he permanently located it in his own building on Base street, and fitted it up in a manner to fully answer the requirements of the public. A more con- venient or more tastily arranged and fitted up Postoffice cannot be found in this section of the country. The Doctor has always been a public-spirited citizen, and whenever any movement in behalf of the interests, growth or pros- perity of the city of his home, or of the county, was projected, he was one of the first to be consulted, and the first to act. He is at present Secretary of the Fulton Business Association and the Cemetery Association, positions which he has held from the organization of these bodies. He has also held the position of Chairman of the Republican County Committee for quite a number of years, and was for one term a member of the Republican State Central Committee.
LYMAN BLAKE is a native of Chichester, Merrimac county, New Hampshire, and came first to Whiteside county in the summer of 1839, and bought a claim
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in the Precinct of Fulton, now known as Blake's Addition to the city of Fulton. After purchasing the claim he went back to New Hampshire and remained two years, and then went to Boston, staying there over a year; thence to Buffalo, New York, and from there to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he lived twelve years. In 1854 he returned to Fulton, where he has remained ever since. In 1855 he sold a large part of his land to the Railroad Company, and in 1856 his addition was laid out into lots. The Addition originally covered seventy-five acres of land, and was the fractional 80 of section 28, township 22. Mr. Blake was Alderman of the city during the years 1859-'60. He has always been averse to holding public positions, preferring to devote his time to his private interests. Mr. Blake is a bachelor.
WILLIAM Y. WETZELL was born in the city of Washington, and first came to Illinois in May, 1836, locating first in La Salle county, and afterwards near Oregon City, Ogle county. In 1848 he cameto Whiteside, and settled in Alba- ny, and afterwards in Newton township, and in 1865 came to Fulton. He was Postmaster at Albany from 1848 to 1851, and Supervisor of that town in 1853. In 1875 and '76, he was Mayor of the City of Fulton, and in 1876 was elected Supervisor of the town, and re-elected in 1877. Mr. Wetzell is a merchant, and an enterprising, thorough, business man.
DR. C. A. GRISWOLD was born in Saybrook, Connecticut, November 24, 1830, and graduated at Yale College in the class of 1852. He took the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in the city of New York, in the session of 1855 and '56. In September, 1856, he located in Fulton, and has since resided there, practicing his profession. The Doctor served three years in the army, as surgeon of the 93d Illinois Volunteers, dur- ing the War of the Rebellion. Since that time he has been Examining Sur- geon for pensions. He was for two years a Director of the Public Schools of Fulton, and Mayor of the city in 1868. The Doctor has also driven the edito- rial quill, having been for a time one of the editors of the Fulton Courier. He was one of the victims of the Ashtabula horror, and came very near losing his life. As a physician he ranks among the very best in this section of the State.
RICRARD GREEN came to Fulton from Bono, Lawrence county, Indiana, on the 29th of September, 1849, and engaged in business as a merchant, opening first in the old store building of Chenery & Phelps, just above the present Pot- tery, where he remained for two years and then sold out to Martin Knox. After that he moved into a new brick store built expressly for him. This building stood next to the present residence of Mr. W. P. Hall. He sold goods there for four years, and then moved his store into his present dwelling house, and con- tinued business there for over three years, and closed out in 1860 to enter into the grain trade, in which he remained until 1870. The store, however, was again opened in 1866 in his dwelling house, and remained there for a year in charge of his son, Wm. C. Green, 2d, and then moved to the present corner, his son continuing in charge until 1870, the firm being R. Green & Son. This firm continued until 1877, when another son, Nathaniel, entered the partnership, and the firm became R. Green & Sons. The store now occupied by the firm is a fine, substantial brick one, seventy-five feet deep, twenty-four wide, two stor- ies in height with cellar under the whole building, and was built by the firm in 1877. The largest stock of dry goods in Fulton is kept in this store. Mr. Green has been one of the leading business men in Fulton ever since he became a resident, and among other public positions has been Supervisor and Collector of the town. He was also Postmaster at Bono, Indiana, before he came to Whiteside.
JOHN PHELPS is a native of Greenfield, Franklin county, Massachusetts,
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and at the age of 17 went to Hartford, Connecticut, where he remained for eight years as clerk in a store, and in 1844 came to Whiteside county, and settled in Fulton. He at first entered the store of Augustin Phelps as clerk, and after- wards became a partner, the firm name being A. & J. Phelps. The firm contin- ued to do business until the death of the senior partner, when Mr. Phelps com- menced as a merchant upon his own account. In 1855 he disposed of his store to Patrick & Hollinshed, and since that time has not engaged in business. Mr. Phelps at an early day took an active part in behalf of the interests of Fulton, and has been frequently called upon by his fellow citizens to hold public posi- tions, having been School Director, Township School Treasurer, Supervisor and Assessor of the town, Alderman of the city, etc. He still resides on his old homestead near the river.
DAVID E. DODGE is a native of Poughkeepsie, Dutchess county, New York, and in the spring of 1856 came to Fulton from Syracuse, New York, and has made Fulton his home ever since. He was a merchant in Fulton for a long time, and then retired, but commenced business again about two years ago, his present store being on the corner of Cherry and River streets. He was a Trus- tee and Street Commissioner during the time Fulton was a village, and after it became a city was Alderman in 1859 and '60, and again in 1868 and '69. In 1863 he was Mayor of the city. He has also held township offices at various times, and in 1874 was elected Coroner of the county.
Dr. JOHN EDDY is a native of Whitestown, Oneida county, New York; and was born July 29, 1800. He came to Illinois in June, 1849, and first settled at Naperville, Du Page county, and in 1855 came to Fulton. The Doctor was elected Coroner of Whiteside county in 1860. and held the office two years. He was made a Master Mason in 1823, making him one of the oldest Masons in the country. He has also been a Knight Templar since 1848, and has held the office of Chaplain in the Royal Arch Chapter for several years. On the 24th of January, 1874, Doctor and Mrs. Eddy called around them their friends at their golden wedding, an event which very few married couples in this western country, or, indeed, in any other, are permitted to celebrate.
C. S. LUNT first came to Illinois in May, 1836, from Boston, Massachu- setts, making his way by canal, stages and lake, and settled first in Chicago, where he remained until the spring of 1838, when he came to Dixon, and started down Rock river in a small boat, in company with Mr. J. Thompson, landing at Rock Island in due time. Not being satisfied with the place, he embarked on an up river Mississippi steamer and landed at New York, now Clinton, and then walked to Lyons, crossing the river at that place in a large canoe, the only ferry then running, to Fulton. In 1839 he bought the claim in Jordan where Dr. Pennington's farm is now situated, and built a log house upon it, and in 1840 moved to Fulton, and purchased a house and several lots of Mr. Church, the lots being situated where the college grounds are now. Here he continued to reside until the fall of 1852, when he purchased his present farm in Fulton township, to which he gave the name of "Cottage Grove Farm." Mr. Lunt has seen a good deal of pioneer life, and his reminiscences of the early times are very in- teresting. Being of a naturally quiet disposition, he never entered into political life, preferring to attend strictly to his private business, and devote his leisure moments to literature. He is a man of broad culture, being well versed in both the ancient and modern classics. The later years of his life have been passed rather secludedly at his beautiful home on Cottage Grove Farm.
COL. SAMUEL JOHNSTON was a native of Johnstown, Montgomery county, New York, and came to Illinois in 1834, settling first in Dixon, where he re- mained until 1840, when he came to Sterling, and opened the second public
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house in that place. In 1842 he settled in Fulton, and engaged in the hotel and merchandising business. Col. Johnston was married to his first wife, Miss Hannah Watrous, on the 2d of April, 1799, the following being the children of that union: Styres W., Mary Ann, Hannah, S. Watrous, and Elizabeth. Of these, Mary Ann and Elizabeth are dead. Elizabeth married Dr. John Nash, and moved with her husband to California, and both died there. Styres W., lives near Council Bluffs, Iowa. Hanmah married Dr. A. Benton, of Fulton, and after her husband's death moved to Chicago, where she still resides. S. Watrous, or as he is more familiarly known among his friends and acquaintances, " Wat.", lives near Fort. Scott, Kansas. Col. Johnston's first wife died October 4, 1818, and on February 28, 1823, he married Miss Rebecca Crawford at Betts- burg, Broome county, New York. The only child of this marriage is Mrs. Re- becca S. Sayre, the popular proprietress of the Revere House, in Morrison. Mrs. Sayre has been twice married, first to Augustin Phelps, one of the earliest of Fulton's merchants, and after his death, to Geo. W. Sayre. During his life- time Col. Johnston was an active, thorough-going business man, and was one of the best known hotel keepers of his day. His hotel in Fulton, called the Ful- ton House, was widely and extensively patronized. While a resident of Dixon he materially aided in the organization of the first Masonic Lodge at that place, and was also one of the first to organize a Masonic Lodge at Fulton. He was enthusiastic in all that pertained to Masonic matters, and never missed attend- ing a communication of his own Lodge, or of a sister Lodge, whenever he was within reaching distance. He died in September, 185, at South Bend, Indiana, and his wife at Fulton on the 23d of December, 1864.
CHARLES N. WHEELER is a native of Sharon, Litchfield county, Connecti- cut, and was born December 27, 1827. He moved from the " Land of Steady Habits" in 1846, and located at Union, Broome county, New York, where he remained until December, 1853, when he came to Fulton. In 1856 he, in com- pany with Charles B. Mercercau, built the brick store on the southwest corner of Cherry and River streets, now owned and occupied by ex-Mayor William Y. Wetzell, where the firm, then known as Mercereau & Wheeler, carried on the grocery business. In 1865 Mr. Wheeler purchased the interest of Mr. Merce- rean, and continued the business about a year, and then sold to Mr. Wetzell. The following year he remained out of business, and in 1868 purchased the hardware business of C. F. Welles, situated on Base street, and conducted the business at that place until the building burned down in November, 1871. Not dismayed by this disaster, he opened another store at the corner of Base street and Broadway, now occupied by A. Volkman as a tailoring establishment, and remained there until he built his present brick store, on the site of the burned building, next door south of the bank. This building is 76 by 24 feet in size, and two stories high, the first story being used as the hardware store, and the second as a tinshop and storage room. Mr. Wheeler carries a very large stock of all kinds of goods in his line, and has an extensive trade. In 1856 he built the residence he now occupies. Mr. Wheeler has been an Alderman of the city of Fulton, and was Mayor for two terms, being elected first in 1867 and again in 1869. In 1858 he was Supervisor of the township. At present he is Treas- urer of the Fulton Business Association. This Association has for its object the encouragement of all business enterprises in the city. Mr. Wheeler is one of the leading business men of the county, public spirited, a good citizen, and bears an excellent reputation.
JOHN DYER was born in the town of Orleans, Jefferson county, New York, March 6, 1824, and upon coming west stayed in Wisconsin from May 1856, un- til November of that year, when he went to Clinton, Iowa, where he remained
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until October 5, 1857, when he premanently settled in Fulton. He engaged in the boot and shoe trade at first in Fulton in company with George S. Phelps, the store standing on the site of Ald. A. D. Mitchell's present store. The part- nership existed about six months when Mr. Dyer went into business for himself, afterwards in partnership with W. W. Curtis, and so remained until 1861, when Mr. Curtis secured a government position at Washington. In September, 1861, Mr. Dyer enlisted in what was then known as the Lincoln Regiment, and be- came Second Lieutenant of Company F-a company raised mainly through his efforts, and was mustered into service in November of the same year. The Reg- iment was afterwards known as the 52d Illinois Volunteers. He was with this Regiment in all of its duties until March 1862, when he was prostrated by severe sickness brought on by an unusually heavy cold taken during the previous winter in northwestern Missouri, and compelled by reason of it to resign and come home. He could not willingly, however, remain at home when his country de- manded the services of its loyal citizens in the field, and when the President issued the call for more troops in July, 1862, although not fully recovered from his late illness, again enlisted, this time being connected with the 93d Illinois Volunteers. Company F. of that Regiment, was raised by him, and Captain Knight, of Albany, and he again had the position of the Second Lieutenantcy conferred upon him. The Regiment went to the front in November, 1862, and was with Gen. Sherman at Tallahatchie, expecting to do some severe fighting, but when the rebels made the raid on Holly Springs, were ordered back to that point, so that during the time Lieut. Dyer belonged to the Regiment, it did not take part in any heavy battle. Sickness again overtook him in the spring of 1863, or in fact never had left him since his attack the year before, and in April he resigned and came home. He was prostrated during the following summer and fall; and did not resume business until December 1863, when he again be- came engaged in the boot and shoe trade, and has so remained, with exception of a few months, until the present time. Mr. Dyer has been honored by his fel- low citizens with various offices since his residence in Fulton, having been elected Collector of the township in 1860; Supervisor in 1868 and 1874, and Justice of the Peace in 1871, serving four years. He was Alderman of the city for the second ward in 1869 and 1870, and in the spring of 1877 was elected Police Magistrate of the city. To each of these offices he brought a faithful and intelligent discharge of its duties.
ORLANDO SPRAGUE was one of the earlier settlers of Fulton, and for sev- eral years was engaged in business in the city, but retired some time ago. WM. H. KNIGHT, now a farmer in the township, was one of the first settlers of what is now Ustick township, a biographical sketch of whom appears in the history of Ustick. His brothers, JOHN P., and CHARLES C. KNIGHT came sometime after him, and are still residents of Fulton. CARLOS N. WARE, now a resident of the township, was also one of the earlier settlers of the city. CALEB CLARK came at an early day, and was quite prominently connected with the ferry, and hotel business at that time. For quite a number of years he has not been en- gaged in business in the city, although retaining his residence in it.
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