USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > Past and present of DeKalb County, Illinois, Volume I > Part 77
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Albert S. Kinsloe spent his early boyhood in Huntingdon and Juniata counties, Pennsylvania, and was a youth of about fourteen years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Illi- nois. He continued his education in the publie schools of DeKalb county and in the academy at East Paw Paw, Illinois. Ile afterward engaged in clerking at Earlville, this state, being thus em- ploved at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. He was deeply interested in the study of the political situation of the county and the ques- tions involved because of the attitude of the south regarding slavery, and when war was inaugurated he offered his services as a defender of the Union, enlisting on the 26th of April, 1861, as a member of Company D, Twenty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was mnstered into the service at Chicago and in June went with his regiment to Quiney, Illinois, thence to Jefferson Barracks near
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St. Louis and afterward to Jefferson City, Mis- souri. From that point the regiment proceeded to Lexington, Missouri, and was captured by the forces under General Price, but being ill at that time Mr. Kinsloe was not taken prisoner. The regiment was released on parole and was sent to Benton Barracks, Missouri. where it was dis- charged by order of General Fremont, October S. 1861.
Mr. Kinsloe then returned to Earlville and on the 26th of November, 1861, again joined the army as a member of Company D, Fifty-third Illinois Infantry. the regiment being recruited at Ottawa, where he was elected and commissioned second lieutenant. After leaving camp at Ottawa, Ill :- nois, the Fifty-third proceeded to Camp Douglas near Chicago and in the spring of 1862 was sent to Cairo and thence to Savannah, Tennessee. From that point they moved to Pittsburg Landing, ar- riving on the second day of the battle. They aft- erward marched to Corinth and on to Memphis where for some time they were engaged in various maneuvers and in scout duty. Proceeding by way of Grand Junction, Holly Springs. LaGrange. Moscow and Germantown, the regiment arrived at Memphis in July, 1862, and on the 6th of Sep- tember marched from that place to Bolivar. On the 5th of October, 1862, they encountered the enemy under Price between Bolivar and Corinth and were later with Grant on his march through Mississippi to Oxford, that state, and after the surrender at Holly Springs they fell baek with Grant's army and went to Memphis. Later they went down the river to Young's Point, opposite Vicksburg, then up the Yazoo to Snyder's Bhitf. from which they marched to a position on the left of the lines in rear of Vicksburg, and were there engaged until the surrender, July 4, 1863. Our subject next took part in following General Johnston, and participated in the fight at Jackson, Mississippi, July 12, 1863. After this, his eom- mand returned to Vicksburg and from there went to Natehez, but again returned to Vieksburg when it entered on and took part in the Meridian cant- paign.
Subsequently returning to Vicksburg, the regi- ment veteranized, and the men were granted fur- loughs to visit their homes. At the expiration of the furlough the regiment re-united at St. Louis and there took transports for Clifton, Tennessee,
from there they marched across the country by way of Huntsville, Alabama, striking the Georgia Cen- tral Railroad at Kingston. Their next march was south to Allatoona, where they halted until the army moving on Atlanta crossed the Chattahoo- chie river. Lieutenant Kinsloc took part in all the battles in which his regiment was engaged until the fall of Atlanta. His regiment was on the left where the brave MePherson fell.
After the fall of Atlanta. Lientenant Kinsloe was detailed on the staff of General Potts. as act- ing assistant adjutant-general, First Brigade, Fourth Division, Seventeenth Army Corps, in which capacity he served until he was mustered out March 31. 1865. Enlisting as a private, he was promoted to second lieutenant, to take rank from August 6, 1863, and to captain, January 31, 1863.
When the war was over Captain Kinsloe ro- sumed the pursuits of civil life, being engaged for a time in the grocery business at Earlville and later at Neponset, Bureau county, Illinois. In the fall of 1868 he removed to Malta. Illinois, residing there until he became a resident of Sycamore in 1892. At Malta he was engaged in the produce business and was also agent for the American Express Company. In 1823 he was appointed post- master of the town and acted in that capacity for thirteen years. He was also a member of the school board for twelve years and acted as its pres- ident a part of that time. In 1886 he was elected county treasurer, serving for a term of four years and in 1890-94-98 and 1902 was elected county clerk, in which capacity he served for four suc- cessive terms, sixteen years, proving a most capable official. He received the nomination by acclama- tion for 1894 and again in 1898, thus receiving stalwart endorsement from his party. He is now living in Sycamore.
On the 29th of December, 1865, occurred the marriage of Captain Kinsloe and Miss Caroline W. Cook, a daughter of Nelson and Lueretia (Ives) Cook, both of whom were natives of Connecticut, where Mrs. Kinsloe was also horn. Their children were George H., now deceased, Lola, Lueretia, De- los, Caroline W., Friend N., Artie, Eliza, Adelbert and Lyman, ten of whom are yet living. Captain and Mrs. Kinsloe have a daughter, Nora B., now the wife of C. P. Underwood of Beatrice, Ne- braska, who is a wholesale cigar dealer. They have seven living children.
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Captain Kinsloe is a valued representative of various fraternal organizations. He takes delight in meeting at the Grand Army post the comrades with whom he shared the hardships and trials met- ed out to the soldier and for several terms he has been honored with the position of commander of the post. He also belongs to the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic lodges. He has ever been a stalwart republican and has frequently been chosen as a delegate to the conventions of his party, where his opinions carry weight. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and both are warmly esteemed in the community where they have now long resided. Mr. Kinsloe is as true and faithful to his country and her interests as when he followed the old flag upon southern battlefields. No man is better known and has more true an l loyal friends than Captain Kinsloe. He truly rep- resents the best of that patriotic element that were tried by fire from 1861 to 1865.
IRVIN J. HECKMAN, M. D.
Dr. Irvin J. Heckman, who is successfully en- gaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Hinckley, was born in Kingston, September 16, 1861, and has spent most of his life in northern Illinois. His parents, Philip and Sarah A. Heck- man, were natives of Morgan county, Ohio, their early home being near McConnellsville and on leaving that state they came to De Kalb county, Illinois, in 1842 and took up their residence near Kingston. In their family were nine children, five sons and four daughters. Three of the doc- for's brothers are lawyers and the other is a civil engineer.
Dr. Heckman acquired his early education in the public schools of Genoa and Belvidere, spend- ing two years at Hillsdale College in Michigan. He then took up the study of pharmacy and for two years was a druggist in the Northern Illinois In- sane Hospital at Elgin. Later he entered the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago, receiv- ing his degree of M. D. from that school in 1895. Immediately after graduation he located at Belvi- dere, Illinois, where he remained three years. On leaving that place he came to Hinckley in 1898
and as his skill and ability became recognized he built up an excellent practice, so that he now ranks with the leading physicians of the county.
In 1891 Dr. Heckman was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Hewitt, who was born in Winne- bago county, Illinois. They have a pleasant home in Hinckley and are quite prominent socially.
FRANZ G. LUNDBERG.
Franz G. Lundberg, who occupies a command- ing position in Sycamore as secretary of the H. B. Gurler Company, also as a factor in the ownership and management of the De Kalb Dairy Company, was born in Malta, Illinois, April 2, 1870. His parents, John A. and Louise Ulrica Lundberg, were both natives of Sweden. At the usual age their son entered the public schools and passed through the successive grades until he was grad- uated from the De Kalb high school with the class of 1887. Immediately after he became a factor in official duties of the city, acting as deputy postmaster from 1887 until 1889, in which year he became connected with the I. L. Ellwood Manu- facturing Company, now the American Steeel & Wire Company. His association therewith was maintained until 1895, when he became a repre- sentative of the H. B. Gurler Company, of which he is now secretary. In this connection he dis- plays good business ability and marked enter- prise, having thoroughly acquainted himself with the business and thus renders his services of value. While with the American Stecel & Wire Company he was first shipping clerk and afterward assistant bookkeeper. Every change he has made in his business life has given him a wider outlook and broader scope for the exercise of his energy, am- bition and industry, his dominant powers.
On the 25th of April. 1893, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Lundberg and Stella Gurler, danghter of H. B. and Salena ( Rolfe) Gnrler, the former a native of Chesterfield. New Hampshire, and the latter of Buckingham, England. The fa- ther is extensively engaged in the dairy business, being at the head of the H. B. Gurler Company. In his family are three daughters, of whom Mrs. Lundberg is the oldest. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children: Brnce Gurler. born October 4, 1895: and Henry B., born Feb- ruary 23. 1896.
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Mr. Lundberg exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the re- publican party. but has never sought or desired office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon hi- business affairs. He belongs to that class of representative young men who rapidly discern op- portunities of improvement and who are rapidly forging to the front. Brooking no obstacles that can be overcome by honorable and determined of- fort, he is working his way upward and is already favorably known in business eireles because of his capability and laud able ambition.
EDWARD C. LOTT.
In these days of great thing -. when fortunes are amissed in a few years. there are remark- able opportunities for deserving men. Every great achievement calls for the development of -ome grand character. That a working man may deserve fame, as well as hi- employer -. is demnon- strated in the life record of Edward C. Lott, who for thirty year- was a wage earner connected with the De Kalb wire mills. Commencing with a salary of forty dollars per month, he improved his time, and not only did the work oyjected. but mastered all the intricate details of wire manu- facture. As the business developed. Mr. Lott grew in usefulness. Without ever asking a raise in salary from his employers he was advanced in wages and work until I. lecame manager. com- manding a salary equal to that of a cabinet min- ister of the government. During his adminis- tration the output of the shops was gradually in- creased from two hundred thousand dollars to three million dollar- per annum. For twenty- three years he was actively at the head of the The Kalb office and the value of the manufactured product amounted to more than thirty million dollars.
Edward C. Lott was born June 29. 1846. in Lehman township. Luzerne county. Pennsylvania. He was the son of Denison and Eunice (Camp) Lott. The father was born in Luzerne county. Pennsylvania, and was the son of Stephen and Betsy (Ellis) Lott. Denison Lott was a sturdy farmer. but had considerable mechanical skill and for many years wa- the county black-mith of the
community. The maternal grandfather of our subject was Joseph Camp, who served as an offi- ver in the war of 1812. He was a man of affairs in the city in which he lived, was a captain on a sailing vessel and for years was engaged in ship building. Denison Lott, the father of our sub- ject, had three brothers and four sisters. and unto humm and his wife were horn the following named : Edwin, who died in childhood: Joseph, who passed away when about sixteen years of age; Edward C .. the subject of this review: Morris. of San Francisco, California: William L., of To- peka. Kansas: Bruce Il., whose death was oe- casioned by a falling tree when he was about twenty-one years old : James D .. who passed away ยท when about sixteen years old : Virginia, who died . a child : and Mary, whose death occurred when She was twenty-four years of age.
Mr. Lott. like many self-made men, received his education in the active -chool of life. A few terms in the country district school gave him the start and he absorbed the rest by reading and com- mg in contact with cultured people in social and business ways. lle worked on the farm and at the forge and when fifteen years of age left home In battle with life- realities. He became a rail- road brakeman and served in that capacity until he joined the Thirty-fifth Pennsylvania militia. Later he enlisted in the Sixth Pennsylvania Car- alry as a private and was promoted to the position of sergeant.
At the close of the war he came west and set- tled in De Kalb county in 1866. He worked in the hardware store of R. E. Tucker & Company of Sycamore for a year. In 1867 he went overland 11 a prairie schooner to Helena. Montana, where he worked as a blacksmith on a ranch and also followed mining for eight years. He was em- ployed one year in the Black Hills. He won quite a reputation as a prospector and owned several mining propertice that afterward became very valuable, and had he remained in the west he might have won fame in the mining world.
In 1876 he came to De Kalb, Illinois, and en- tered the employ of I. L. Ellwood & Company, manufacturer- of harbed wire. the factory being located along the railroad track between Second and Third streets. When the enlarged shops were located between Fourth and Sixth streets he as- -uned the general management. In 1550 the busi-
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ness was purchased by Washburn, Moen & Com- menced keeping house on the corner of Second pany, and Mr. Lott was retained as manager. So and Pine streeets in De Kalb. where they resided until 1894, when they completed their spacious home opposite the residence of I. L. Ellwood. They have no children, but Mrs. Lott's niece, Miss Cora Fiscus, made her home with them for about twenty years. In 1903 she was married to E. B. Fraser, manager of the Scientific American of New York. great was the confidence in him that although they were doing a business of over a million dollars a year, the owners at Worcester, Massachusetts, never came to De Kalb to check up the affairs of the factory. After two and a half years Mr. Ellwood bought back the property and Mr. Lott maintained the active management until it was sold to the American Steecl & Wire Company in Mr. Lott is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Masonic blue lodge, commandery and Mystic Shrine. Politically he has always af- filiated with the republican party and his counsel and influence have been sought in local, county and state political matters. He has always taken great pride in the growth and development of De Kalb and largely through his efforts new indus- tries have been located in his home city. He has never sought political honors, but in 1895, when De Kalb needed the advantage of business administration, Mr. Lott was elected mayor. As the result of his persistent energy many improve- ments were inaugurated. The uniform cement walks and water works, that have added so much to the appearance and comfort of De Kalb, were largely the results of his efforts. 1899. He entered the employ of the new owners, opened an office in Chicago and became the gen- eral sales agent. When the company was char- tered under the laws of New Jersey in 1900 he became manager of the western district and one of the directors, in which capacity he served until April 1, 1905. The De Kalb factory made a very favorable showing and was one of the most profit- able industries on its investment of the Ameri- man Steel & Wire Company. It was the policy of the company to fill orders from the plant where the freight rate and cost of production would show the greatest profit. The De Kalb factories were so skillfully managed and the cost of production kept so low that it has been of a decided advant- age to De Kalb. In the past five years the output of De Kalb has been doubled.
Having materially assisted in carning millions for his employers in thirty years of faithful serv- ice, Mr. Lott branched out for himself in 1905. His strenuous experience had developed great capabilities for handling large business and he was elected president of the Great Lakes & St. Law- rence Transportation Company, a corporation that owns ten modern iron steamships on the Great Lakes. The gross earnings of the business amount to six hundred thousand dollars per year. In ad- dition to this Mr. Lott is one of the executive officers of the Dominion Lumber Company of the province of Quebec. This corporation owns five hundred and seventeen square miles of valuable timber land in Canada and cuts between forty and fifty millions of feet of lumber per year. He is vice president of the Railway Exchange build- ing of Chicago, in which he has his Chicago offices.
In 1873 Mr. Lott was united in marriage to Mrs. Nancy A. Knapp, at Baileyville, Illinois. She is the daughter of Adam and Priscilla Wilson and was born at Ottawa. Illinois. They com-
Mr. Lott's life is an example of the highest type of self-made men. For thirty years he belonged to the working class, and kept steadily advancing, each year demonstrating that he was of greater service to his various employers. As a gentle- man of commanding presence, self-educated, suave and companionable, quick to catch an idea, stren- uous in activity, a lover of the horse and out-of- door sports, with no pull except true worth, he became a man among men, with capabilities along his chosen line second to none in this great county.
CHARLES ENG.
Charles Eng, now foreman of the wire drawing department for the American Wire & Steel Com- pany at De Kalb, came to the United States in 1887, prior to his eighteenth birthday, and is to- day recognized as one of the leading Swedish- American residents of this county. He was born in Sweden, March 22, 1869, and is a son of John and Louise Erickson, of whose family of eight
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children three are now in this country. the broth- ers of our subject being August and Frank. who are wire drawers with the American Wire & Steel Company.
In his native land Charles Eng was reared and the public schools of Sweden afforded him his wIncational privileges. The favorable reports which he heard concerning America and her op- portunities led him to seek a home in the new world, and in 1882. prior to his eighteenth year, he emigrated to the United States. For several months he worked in a wire mill in New York city and then went to Riddlesburg. Bedford coun- ty. Pennsylvania, where for about a year he was employed in a blast furnace. Ile next went to Braddock, Pennsylvania, and was employed there in the wire mills of Braddock & Rankin for five years. In 1893 he came to De Kalb and secured a position in the wire drawing department of the mill- owned by Colonel I. L. Ellwood. Two years later he was made might foreman of the department and served in that capacity for seven years, while in 1902 he was promoted to the posi- tion of day foreman of the shops. in which capa- city he is now serving, proving most competent and capable in thi- position. Ho ha- worked his way gradually upward by successive steps and has thoroughly mastered every branch of the business that has come under his supervision.
Mr. Eng is a republican who give- unfaltering allegiance to the principles of the party. and in 1903 he was elected a member of the board of al- dermen of De Kalb, serving with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents for two years. Mr. Eng is a member of the Order of Viking -. he- longing to Balder lodge, No. 12. He has a wide acquaintance among the Swedish-American citi- zens of De Kalb and exercises considerable influ- ence among his fellow countrymen. He possesses a deep and strong attachment for the land of his adoption and no native born sons of America are more loyal to its interests and institutions.
RYAN BROTHERS.
This well known livery firm of Sycamore is com- posed of J. H. and John Ryan, sons of John and Elizabeth (Dalbridge) Ryan. The father was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, and in that coun-
try was reared, being a young man of eighteen years when he emigrated to America and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. While residing there he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Dal- bridge, who was also born on the other side of the Atlantic, being a native of Berlin, Germany. Mr. Ryan engaged in steamboating on the Mississippi, holding the position of first mate for ten years, and for five years he was similarly employed on the Great Lakes, but finally turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. Imving eighty acres of government land in Mayfield township, De Kalb county, which is now owned by his sons.
JJ. IT. Ryan studied veterinary surgery and at- tended a course of lectures in Chicago, being graduated from the Chicago Veterinary College in the class of 1891. He is now successfully en- Haged in the practice of his profession. with office in Sycamore, and while he gives his attention principally to that business his brother John con- duets the livery stable and they now enjoy a large and liberal patronage which is constantly increasing. They have a well equipped barn and well merit the -necess that has come to them.
J. Il. Rvan was united in marriage to Miss Mary Rutledge, and they have two children. John Ryan wedded Miss Mary Hart, a daughter of Edwin Hart. and they have become the parents of five children. Both families are widely and favorably known and the brothers stand high in business circle -.
C. B. BROWN. M. D.
Dr. C. B. Brown was born early on the Christ- mas morning of 1842, at Drummondville, Welland county. Canada West, near Niagara Falls. There were in his family two brothers and five sisters. His eldest brother was a surgeon in the Civil war. who died a few years after his discharge. The other brother died a few years ago and one sister i- also deceased. The father and mother have also gone the way of all the earth.
Dr. Brown attended school in his native village until he was fifteen. At the age of sixteen he left home for Buffalo. New York, where he studied dentistry and medicine for a period of ten years and was graduated from the medical department
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of the University of Buffalo, February 23, 1826. The degree of M. D. S. was also granted him under the dental laws of New York at that time. After practicing medieine for two years in western New York, he came to Sycamore, Illinois, in September, 1878, at the solicitation of his old time friend, the Jate Dr. G. W. Nesbitt, and was associated with him for one year. Since that time he has resided in Sycamore (nearly thirty years). There are but two other physicians who have practiced medicine as long as Dr. Brown in DeKalb county. He has been for many years surgeon of the Chicago & Great Western Railroad and for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and has been pension ex- aminer for about fifteen years.
If there is any one thing of which the Doctor feels more proud than another it is the esteem in which he is held by his fellow practitioners. He is a member of the De Kalb Medical Society, the Mississippi Valley Medical Association, the Illinois State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. A very enthusiastic Mason, he has been a master of Sycamore lodge, No. 134, A. F. & A. M. He has twice been eminent commander of Sycamore commandery, No. 15, K. T., and has for quite a number of years and is now its prelate.
Dr. Brown married Miss Annette A. Bacon, of Rochester, New York, in June, 1877. Five children have been born to them, three of whom gently sleep in beautiful "Elinwood" of this city. Two daugh- ters, Marguerite, who is a professional nurse and has charge of Sycamore Hospital, and Gertrude, who is attending school at the Normal in DeKalb, still live with the Doctor and his wife.
Dr. Brown takes just pride in speaking of his obstetrical record and of his surgical work. He is a man of culture and sense, generous to friend or foe, and his life of industry has brought a rich reward in the high estimate his acquaintances place upon him as a physician and a man.
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