USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > Past and present of DeKalb County, Illinois, Volume I > Part 63
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JOHN A. HENDERSON.
John A. Henderson, who is one eof the active and enterprising farmers of Victor township, also engaged in the breeding of pure blooded short- horn cattle and Poland China hogs, has by his labor and diligence gained a place among the fore- most agriculturists of this part of the county. He today owns an excellent property of two hundred and forty acres, which is well improved and valu- able farming land. He was born in Victor town- ship, November 18, 1862. His father, James W. Henderson, was a native of Perry county, Pennsyl- vania, born in 1833, and there he was reared to manhood. Seeking a home in Illinois he made his way to De Kalb county about 1853 and was first employed at farm labor by the year. Here he won a companion and helpmate for the journey of life, being married to Miss Eliza ITipple, who was also a native of the Keystone state. When his labors had brought him sufficient capital Mr. ITende :- son purchased land in Victor township, becoming owner of two hundred acres, which he tilled and improved, making it a valuable place. Ile worked diligently and persistently to acquire a competence and thus provided a good living for his family, whom he reared upon the old homestead farmn. There his death occurred July 29. 1898, when he was sixty-two years of age, and the community mourned the loss of one of its representative and valued citizens. His widow still survives him. now in her seventieth year, and resides with her son, J. Frank.
The family numbered eight children, of whom seven are living, three sons and four daughters. John A. Henderson, the third in order of birth,
was reared on the old homestead farm and acquired a common-school education, after which he at- tended the high school at Paw Paw. He was early trained to the work of plowing, planting and har- vesting and gave his father the benefit of his ser- vices until after he had attained his majority. He made preparations for having a home of his own by his marriage on the 10th of December, 1884, in Adams township, La Salle county, to Miss Mary Cooper, who was born and reared in La Salle county, a daughter of T. W. Cooper, a na- tive of the state of New York, who became one of the carly settlers of Illinois. He was actively identified with its improvement in pioneer times and assisted in building some of the railroads.
Mr. Henderson started out in married life with eighty acres of the place on which he now resides. This he began to farm and as opportunity offered he bought more land from time to time until he now has two hundred and forty acres. He has erected a pleasant two-story residence and a good barn on the home place and also a barn across the road on another eighty-acre tract. He has fenced his fields with woven wire, which precludes the possibilities of the hogs getting to the crops, and he has tiled the land, thus adding greatly to its productiveness. He has a farm elevator. has a gasoline engine for furnishing power to the pump and feed mill, and upon his place is found all the modern machinery which facilitates the work of the fields. Ile also raises and feeds hogs for the market and for twelve years he has raised pure blooded shorthorn cattle and later Poland China hogs. He makes exhibits at the county fairs and has won a number of premiums. He is now well known as a breeder and dealer in pure-blooded stock and his sons also raise pure blooded Lanshang chickens and silver gray dorkings, keeping two in- cubators. His farm in its various departments is proving profitable, owing to his untiring care, labor, good management and sound judgment.
Mr. and Mrs. Henderson have four sons : Elmer J. and Frank II., who are in partnership with their father in the raising of fine stock, making a spe- cialty of sheep; and Melvin and Donald Cedric. who are at home. The parents are active and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Henderson is serving as a trustee. In politics he has been a life-long repub- lican, but has never sought or desired office, al-
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though he believes firmly in the principles of the party and endorses its policy at the polls. He stands as one of the prominent representatives of progressive farming in this county and his life has been one of activity and usefulness. crowned with a gratifying measure of success.
JOHN M. KAISER. M. D.
There is perhaps no one who comes into such close contact with humanity as does the physician, andifhe is able and honorable in his chosen calling and possesses sympathy as well as a kindly courage in the performance of his duties there is no one more uniformly respected and beloved. This is true of Dr. John M. Kaiser, now the oldest prac- ticing physician of Somonauk, where he has lived for twelve years, while for nine years he was an active practitioner in La Salle county. He dates his residence in Illinois from 1886 and his birth occurred in Ontonagon county, Michigan, on the . 28th of August, 1860. His father. John M. Kaiser. was a native of Germany and after spend- ing his boyhood and youth in that country, where he wedded Margretta Stahl, also a native of the fatherland. he emigrated to the new world about 1848, settling in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a watchmaker and jeweler and became an expert in that line. He followed his line of trade in Cleve- land. Ohio, and later removed to northern Michi- gan, taking up his abode at Rockland. There he carried on business as a watchmaker and jeweler for a number of years, after which he took up his abode in St. Joseph, Missouri, where he continued in the same line up to the time of his death. which was occasioned by an accident in 1892. His wife still survives him and makes her home in St. .Joseph.
Dr. Kaiser is the only son in a family of six children. He was reared in Michigan to the age of twenty years and pursued a good education in the high school and in the Christian Brothers Col- lege at St. Joseph and Bryant's Business College. His parents removed to Missouri in 1876 and the Doctor joined them there in 1880. It was in that state that he studied medicine under Drs. Geiger and Simmons, while subsequently he pursued a course of lectures at the St. Joseph Medical Col-
lege and the Ainsworth Medical College. He en- tered the institution in 1881 and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1884. He afterward served as assistant city physician for one year through an epidemic of smallpox. In January, 1886, he came to Illinois, settling first at Earl- ville. La Salle county, where he continued in the active practice of medicine until 1894. He then came to Somonauk. where he has since remained, building up a large practice here. He pursued a post-graduate course of study in St. Louis, Mis- souri, in 1884. and has always remained an earnest and discriminating student in the science of medi- cine, keeping in touch with the trend of modern thought through investigation and experiment. He is a member of the County Medical, the North Central, the State and the American Medical Asso- ciations and also the State Medical Society of Missouri.
Dr. Kaiser was married in Leland. Illinois, April 26, 1888. to Miss Emma Betting. who was born in Chicago, but was reared in Aurora and Leland, Illinois. She is a daughter of Ambrose Betting, an old settler of Illinois of German birth. who cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Aurora and built the first mill there and in other ways contributed to the substantial development and progress. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Kaiser have been born three children: Oscar A., Margretta and Karl.
In his political views Dr. Kaiser gives his sup- port to the democratic party national questions and issues are involved, but at local elections casts an independent ballot. He. however, supported President Roosevelt in 1906. He has served as mayor, as a member on the board of health, and is now a member of the school board. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to office and he has discharged his duties with a promptness and fidelity that is above question. Dr. Kaiser is prominent in Masonry, having taken degrees of the Meridian lodge at Earlville, the chapter at Sandwich, and Aurora commandery. thus becoming a Knight Templar. Ile has filled all the chairs, including that of mas- ter of the bhie lodge. and he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star lodge, in which Mrs. Kaiser has been worthy matron. Dr. Kaiser is a very progressive citizen-a typical American in his alert. enterprising spirit. always looking for-
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ward to the future for opportunities and utilizing each advantage of the present moment, not only for his own benefit, but also for the interest of the village and community in which he makes his home.
CLIFFORD SIMONDS HUNT.
1
Clifford Simonds Hunt, who is conducting a coal and elevator business in De Kalb and also deals in live stock, was born in this city, January 22, 1843. Ilis paternal grandfather was Charles Sey- mour Hunt, a native of Orleans county, New York, born September 3, 1811. He wedded Mary Ann Woodard, also a native of the same county. Their son, ITorace D. Hunt, was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, July 15, 1838 and became a farmer and stock-buyer. He was brought to Illinois by his parents when only three months old, the family home being established in Fulton county, whence he came to De Kalb county, where he has since resided. He wedded Mary J. Simonds, who was born in Vermont, February 24, 1841, and they became the parents of seven children, namely : Myrtie Minerva, born May 8, 1862 ; Mary Agnes, January 29, 1864; Seymour Merritt, August 16 1867; Willis Joel, December 31, 1869; Clifford Simonds, January 22, 1873; Edwin Stanley, Octo- ber 12, 1874 : and Roy Dayton, March 5, 1878. An uncle of our subject. Merritt James Simonds, who was a twin brother of Mrs. Hunt, was in the war of the Rebellion and died in the hospital from a wound received in active service.
In taking up the personal history of C. S. Hunt we present to our readers the life record of one . who is widely and favorably known in De Kalb. He was educated in the city schools and after passing through consecutive grades was graduated from the high school in the year 1891. Later he worked upon a farm and subsequently was em- ployed in the office of the American Express Com- pany for thirteen months. He was for nine months with the I. L. Ellwood Manufacturing Company, after which he engaged in farming and also bought stock for several years or until Au- gust, 1902, when he entered the grain and coal business. In this line he still continues. He owns forty-five acres of choice land in the city and
he has an elevator and a coalyard in De Kalb. IIe also continues to buy horses and other live stock and is an excellent judge of the value of domestic animals, so that he is able to make judicious pur- chases and profitable sales. He has an extensive patronage in coal and grain, operating largely in those lines and thus meeting with well deserved success.
Mr. Hunt was married at De Kalb on the 9th of May. 1894, to Miss Jennie E. Wright, who was born near the city, October 12, 1875. Her parents were Carlton W. and Velna (Balis) Wright, the former born in St. Charles, Illinois, in 1845, and the latter a native of Vermont. Mr. Wright is a farmer by occupation. Mr. and Mrs. Ilunt have become the parents of four children. all born in De Kalb, namely: Horace Wright, born July 30, 1899: Helen Velna, September 8. 1901; Charles Carlton May 25, 1904; and Harriet Easton, July 18, 1906. The family home is pleasantly located on East Main street, De Kalb, and its hospitality is one of its most attractive features. The family have many friends and Mr. and Mrs. Hunt are much esteemed throughout the community.
In politics Mr. IIunt is an earnest republican and served for one term as township collector, but has never been anxious to hold office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business affairs, which are industriously, honorably and therefore successfully conducted. He is a Mason, belonging to lodge No. 144, A. F. & A. M., and he also holds membership relations with the Knights of Pythias lodge at De Kalb, the Modern Woodmen camp and with the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOHN C. JAKES.
John C. Jakes is well known in industrial circles in De Kalb, being foreman of the cooperage de- partment of the American Wire & Steel Company. It was in Leicestershire. England, on the 3d of September. 1872, that he first opened his eyes to the light of day. his parents being George and Mary (Chapman) Jakes. The subject of this re- view is the only member of the family now liv- ing in the United States. He was reared in his native country and was educated in the common schools. He began business life in the ticket office
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of the London & Northwestern Railroad at East Norton, England. remaining in the employ of that company for about four years.
Attracted by the broader business opportunities of the new world, he came to the United States in 1892. Ile had an uncle, John Jakes, living in Henry, Marshall county, Illinois, and for about three years the nephew made his home with his unele, working on a farm for one year. He after- ward visited the western country and in 1896 came to De Kalb, where he secured a position with the Crescent Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of nail kegs. Two years later he was transferred to Sterling as manager of the Sterling plant and - in July, 1901, returned to De Kalb to take charge of the De Kalb plant. of which he was superin- tendent until 1902, when this plant was sold to the American Steel & Wire Company. Mr. Jakes was retained as manager, which position he is now fill- ing. He possesses excellent mechanical ability and inegenuity, is firm yet considerate of the men employed under him, and thus is well qualified for the position he is now filling. Ile belongs to tl.e Modern Woodman camp of Sterling and in his political views is a republican.
On Christmas day, 1895, was celebrated the mar- riage of John C. Jakes and Etta R. Swaney, of Clear Creek, Putnam county, Illinois. They have become the parents of five children: Clinton, Harold, Maurice, Marie and Elsie. Mr. and Mrs. Jakes have many friends in De Kalb and he i- widely recognized as one of the skilled mechanics of the city.
CHARLES O. BOYNTON.
Charles O. Boynton, of Sycamore, Illinois, is a self-made man in the best sense of the term. The family are of English descent but were prob- ably descendants of the Norman-French in earlier generations. The earliest member of the family known in England was Bartholomew de Boynton, of Boynton, lord of the manor, in 1607. As the name would indicate Norman-French origin, it is more than likely that some of the ancestors came over with William the Conqueror. The family is extensive in England, where some of its members for many generations have held positions of honor
and trust. The first of the name in America were William and John Boynton, who came from York- shire, England, in 1638, one settling in Massa- chusetts and the other in Vermont. Our subject is a descendant of the latter.
Of the immediate ancestors, Abraham Boynton, grandfather of our subject, is the earliest of whom anything definitely is known. He was probably born in Vermont, where it is known that most of his life was spent. In 1828 he moved with his son JJohn to Tompkins county, New York, and there died at an advanced age. He married a Miss Marsh and became the father of twelve children, of whom John, the father of our subject, was born in the town of Rockingham, Windham county, Vermont. a short distance above Bellows Falls, July 2, 1798. Hle there lived until 1828, when he removed to Tompkins county. New York. In early life he was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and although his school advantages were meager, he was possessed of a clear, strong mind, and was a great reader and student. Being of a thrifty dis- position, he accumulated enough from the pro- ceeds of his trade to enter upon mercantile pursuits in MeLean, New York. Success crowned him in that work and from his profits he purchased land and at the time of his death was possessed of large farming interests. By William H. Seward, who was then governor of New York, he was appointed judge of the circuit court and served with distine- tion. He was a man whose opinions had great weight with all who came in contact with him. Ilis death occurred April 28. 1869, at his home in Tompkins county. New York. He was twice mar- ried, his first union being with Elizabeth Davis, of Rockingham, Vermont, who was of a family known for their mental and bodily vigor. many of them being distinguished in professional and busi- ness life. She was one of twelve children. One of the number served two terms as mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. Betsey Davis, as she was called. was born in 1797, and died in 1834, in the prime of life. leaving six children, two of whom are yet living : Laura, Carr, of Jersey City: and Lydia Jarvis, of Elgin. Illi- nois. The father married a second time, Miss Inn Fitts. by whom two children were born, one surviving, Edward, now engaged in business in Sycamore.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX THEEN FOUNDATIONS.
COBorular
Questa & Boynton
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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Charles O. Boynton was born in the town of Rockingham, Windham county, Vermont, July 19, 1826, and was but two years of age when his parents removed to Tompkins county, New York. He there grew to manhood and attended the district schools and the Homer Academy until the age of sixteen years. He remained at home, assisting in the work of the farm, and also in the store at McLean, until he attained his majority. In September. 1847, he came west to Chicago, where he engaged in the mercantile business in his own name, although the store was partly owned by another person. Clos- ing out his interests there, in February. 1849, he came to Sycamore, where he opened a general store and continued for three years. Seeing a better op- portunity in financial fields, he secured funds in the east at the low rate of interest prevailing there and loaned in the west at a higher rate. He con- tinued in that business for some twenty years and by good management prospered beyond the usual success of men. In 1871 he engaged in the bank- ing business, as a junior member of the firm of Divine & Boynton, but after one year sold his in- terest and has since been interested in land specu- lations. He now owns some six thousand acres, of fine timber land in Arkansas, covered with hard- wood timber, mnuch of it being walnut. On his land. among other large trees, there is a black walnut tree eight feet in diameter. On the prop- erty he has lately erected a large mill. with the capacity of about twenty thousand feet, the lumber from which he sends to the best markets in the south and west. He also owns about fifteen thous- and acres in Iowa, Minnesota. North and South Dakota and Kansas. He also owns some two thousand acres of farming land in northern Illi- nois, the garden spot of the great central valley.
Mr. Boynton was married in Ledvard, New York, November 26. 1861, to Miss Lucetta P. Stark. To Mr. and Mrs. Boynton have been born four children, one of whom died in infancy. Charles Douglas resides in St. Louis, and has charge of a large lumber interest in the state of Arkansas. Mary is the wife of Frederick B. Town- send. Elmer resides in Sycamore. Mr. Boynton was formerly a Mason and Odd Fellow but has been demitted from each order. In politics he is a democrat but independent of party lash, always refusing to give support to candidates not credit-
able to party. Under the old organization he served as chairman of the city board, and has been a member of the board of supervisors. He never received a dollar from his parents, although he was given the help of his father's credit in starting in business. All that he has was acquired by his own brain and energy, and his success has been marvelous when compared with others who have started out in life well equipped with funds and given many opportunities. Few attain his success in material wealth. Mr. Boynton has one of the best residences and grounds in De Kalb county. He also built and presented to his daughter the house adjoining the one in which he lives, and both together make a desirable addition to any community.
Mrs. Boynton is a daughter of Paul and Paulina (Billings) Stark, both of Tunkhannock, Penn- sylvania, the latter being one of a family of ten children. Paul Stark was born in 1802, and died in 1873, in Ledyard, New York, to which place he had moved on retiring from active life. The first American ancestor was Aaron Stark, who re- sided near the head of Mystic river, and whose death occurred in New London, Connecticut, in 1685. He was elected freeman in 1666, at Ston- ington. Connecticut. His son William died in 1:30. William's son, Christopher, removed to Wyoming valley in 1769, and died in 1771. His son William moved from Dutchess county and lo- cated on Tunkhannock creek, where he died in 1:95. His son, Nathan Stark, served in the war of the Revolution.
Samuel Billings, the great-grandfather of Mrs. Boynton, served in the Revolutionary war in Cap- tain Ransom's Company and was in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. Samuel Billings had a son in the fort at Wilkesbarre, during the Wyoming massacre of 1778. Another ancestor of Mrs. Boynton, Marshall Dixon, was a private in Colonel Crane's regiment under Captain Lawrence, of Hornellsville, in Steuben county, New York. He was wounded in the right hip, June 24. 1779. at Georgetown, fought in the battle of Brandywine and Yorktown and was under fire eleven days in the vicinity of the Delaware in 1777, in the army under Washington. was made a prisoner and after- ward was exchanged. Ile also served in the war of 1812 and was at the battle of Lundy's Lane. Another ancestor was also a soldier in the war of
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Independence, Nathan Stark, who served under Captain David Hicock and in Captain James Vandeburg's regiment.
Mrs. Boynton was educated at Wyoming Semi- nary, in Wilkesbarre, and removed with her parents to Ledyard, New York. Mrs. Boynton was the first regent of Sycamore chapter of the Daughters of the Revolution, and is prominent in the Order of the Eastern Star. She is a member of the Epis- copal church and donated Guild Hall to that so- ciety.
Mrs. Boynton has traveled extensively and in company with Mrs. Eleanor Townsend visited the British Isles ; later in company with her daughter, Mrs. F. B. Townsend, visited the West Indies. spending a greater portion of the winter. Again she went abroad. visiting the Holy Land, Italy and the Mediterranean countries. She has just returned from an extensive visit to eastern Asia, spending the last winter in Japan and China. The Boynton home has been a social center and many are the brilliant functions held under the direc- tion of Mr. and Mrs. Boynton.
JOHN EDWARD JOHNSON.
John Edward Johnson, of De Kalb, a traveling salesman, representing in northern Illinois and central Iowa the shoe firm of R. P. Smith & Sons Company, was born in Sweden, October 15, 1859. His father, Charles J. Johnson, is also a native of that country. born August 25. 1827. and having arrived at years of maturity he wedded Marie C. Anderson who was born in Sweden, January 13, 1828. They became the parents of seven children, of whom J. E. Johnson is the third in order of birth. In the year 1869 the father, leaving his native country, sought a home in the new world and when he had made preparations for the recep- tion of his family he was joined by his wife and children in 1870. He is still a resident of De Kalb-a venerable and honored citizen-but his wife passed away in June, 1899.
John Edward Johnson began his education in the common schools of Sweden and continued his studies in the public schools of De Kalb after the arrival of the family in the new world. he being
at the time about eleven years of age. When he left school he entered the factory of Jacob Haish in the manufacture of barb wire, being thus en- gaged for some time. In 1815 he went to Iowa, where he remained from March until October, when he returned to Illinois, settling at Sterling. There he continued until April. 1826, when he once more came to De Kalb and again secured em- ployment in the Haish wire factory, where he con- tinued until 1881. He afterward spent one year in the barb wire factory of I. L. Ellwood, and in 1882 he entered the employ of S. L. Graham, con- tinuing with Mr. Graham and afterward with C. 1. Reed & Company until 1892. In that year he went upon the road as a traveling salesman for the Leonard Atkinson Company. dealers in shoes, representing that house until its retirement from business in 1896. In the latter year he entered the employ of the R. P. Smith & Sons Company, shoe merchants, as a traveling salesman, and is still connected with that house, his district being north- ern Illinois and central Iowa. He is well known to the trade in the designated portions of the two states and has worked up a liberal patronage, which makes him one of the valuable salesmen of the firm which he represents. Whatever success he has achieved is attributable to his own labors, for he started out in life empty-handed and his in- dividual worth and determination have been the qualities which have gained him recognition and won him a goodly measure of success.
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