USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > Past and present of DeKalb County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 18
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
116
PAST AND PRESENT OF DE KALB COUNTY.
built a log house that remained the home of the family for a number of years. He was a elothier by trade and a man of natural mechanical ability. Later in life he turned his attention to the cooper- ing business, which he followed during the winter seasons after his removal to the Empire state. While the second struggle of the colonies with Great Britain was in progress he made wooden canteens for the enemy. In 1815 his health failed and after an illness of six years' duration he died in January. 1821. His widow and her children remained residents of Madison county. New York. for a number of years, and in 1826 removed to Erie county. that state, where Mrs. West passed away December 2, 1828. at the age of forty-eight years. By her marriage she had become the mother of nine children.
This number included David West. father of our subject. who was born in Waterville. Oneida coun- ty. New York. July 16. 1806. which was the year of his parents' removal from Massachusetis to the Empire state. After the death of his father he be- came a member of the family of his brother-in-law, Daniel Hurd. of Georgetown. New York. with whom he lived until twenty years of age. He then located at Evans. Erie county, where he operated as a contractor in the forests. clearing land and lumbering. As a companion and helpmate for life's journey he chose Sarah Chapin, of George- town. whom he wedded April 29. 1829. Hler par- ents. Elias and Dimis ( Chapman ) Chapin, had re- moved from Stafford. Connecticut. to Madison county. New York. Her father was born February 15. 1151. and when the colonies attempted to throw off the yoke of British oppression. joined the American army. Ile was with Washington at the time of the evacuation of the city of New York by the British. His last days were spent in Evans. Erie county. New York, where he passed away February 4. 1839. His wife, whose birth occurred on the 15th of October. 1224. died in Woodstock. New York. October 12. 1860.
Following his marriage David West bought a tract of land which was included in the Holland purchase in Evans. He there built a house and barn and cleared forty-five acres. maintaining his residence at that place until 1843. He also con- tinued the work of clearing land and farming for others and thus brought under cultivation about three hundred and fifty acres of land. Disposing
of his farm in the Empire state he started for Illinois. accompanied by his family, making the journey with a team of horses and a wagon, bring- ing also a portion of their household goods. The family traveled across the country after the slow and primitive manner of the times. resting on Sundays, and when twenty-three days had elapsed they reached Sycamore. The succeeding winter was spent in the home of Aaron C. West. a brother of David West. on section 34. Sycamore township. The latter purchased a tract of land adjoining his brother's farm. and in the winter of 1844-45 built a small frame house for the accommodation of his family. During the same winter he entered his claim from the government. His first crop was raised on rented land in 1844. in which year he also broke twenty acres of his own farm and the following year he raised a crop thereon. At that time grain was marketed in Chicago, which was also the base of supplies for the people of this locality. and the nearest mill was at St. Charles, in Kane county. As the years passed Mr. West added modern and substantial farm buildings to his place and set out an orchard. which included some trees that he himself brought from the state of New York. He owned one hundred and seven acres of land and as the years advanced he pros- pered in his undertakings. developing an excellent property. which returned to him a good annual in- come as the result of the care and labor which he bestowed upon the fields.
The first wife of David West was born January 8. 1804. in Statford, Connecticut, and by this mar- riage eight children were born. Elias C. being the fourth. The mother died January 23, 1849, and on the 28th of May following Mr. West married Mrs. Lucinda ( Rose) Wells, the widow of Israel Wells, who died in March. 1845. leaving two chil- dren. George M. and Ruth. Mrs. Wells was born in August. 1804. in Sherburne. Chenango county. New York. and was a daughter of Joseph and Ruth (Whitney ) Rose. who were natives of Windhall. Vermont. On leaving the Green Mountain state they took up their abode at Sherburne. New York. Mr. Rose was born on Christmas day of 1:60. while his wife's birth occurred on the 28th of July. 1212. Their daughter, Mrs. West, died April 10, 1884.
David West was a typical frontiersman, for most of his life was passed amid pioneer surroundings.
111
PAST AND PRESENT OF DE KALB COUNTY.
When he removed to Georgetown, in 1826, he found a little hamlet in the midst of an almost un- broken wilderness and there was every evidence of frontier life in Erie county when he took up his abode there, Buffalo being at that time little more than a village. Again he met the hardships and experiences of life on the frontier in De Kalb county and aided in reclaiming the wild land for the purposes of civilization. He was interested in everything pertaining to public progress and his co-operation proved an element in the substantial development of this part of the state. As a com- missioner he assisted in the construction of the public roads and he also did effective work in the organization of school districts. lle served for eighteen consecutive years as assessor and in all public relations was found faithful and reliable. When twenty-five years of age, in the town of Col- lins, Erie county, New York, he joined the Con- gregational church, of which he remained a mem- ber until 1879, when he severed his relations there- with from conscientious scruples. In the days when Georgetown was a small town his home was always open for the entertainment of traveling ministers and the humanitarian spirit which ever existed was also manifested in the fact that it be- came a station on the underground railroad, Mr. West aiding many a poor refugee to make his way from slavery in the south to freedom in Canada. He also advocated the cause of temperance by precept and example and was so abstemious that he never used tobacco. No man was ever more loyal to a cause which he believed to be right and no man ever questioned his honesty of purpose. He voted for James G. Birney for president at the time when the anti-slavery candidate of the dis- triet for representative received but forty votes. He lived to see the abolition of slavery and the country enjoying the fruits of liberty, while in his home locality he witnessed with pride the advance- ment and progress which were made, ever bearing his full share in the work of development, so that his history became an integral chapter in the annals of this part of the state. He died in Feb- ruary, 1891, respected by all who knew him.
Elias C. West was only five years of age when brought by his parents to Illinois, and the dis- triet schools of Sycamore township afforded him his educational privileges. He was twenty-three years of age when he offered his services to the
government in defense of the Union, enlisting on the 7th of September, 1862, as a member of Com- pany A. One Hundred and Fifth Regiment of Illinois Volunteers. This command was attached to the Twentieth Army Corps and he met the usnal experiences which fall to the lot of the soldier on active duty. lle participated in the Atlanta campaign, the march through Georgia and the Carolinas and in the grand review at Washington, D. C., which has the most celebrated military pageant ever seen on the western hemisphere. The streets were lined with people eager to welcome the victorious army. and across Pennsylvania avenue was a banner bearing the inscription "The only debt which the country cannot pay is the debt which she owes her soldiers." Mr. West was three times slightly wounded. sustaining injuries at Kenesaw Mountain and at Atlanta. He served for three years and was mustered out in 1865, return- ing home with a most creditable military record.
Resuming agricultural pursuits, Mr. West for many years thereafter engaged in the tilling of the soil and the raising of fine stock and in the dairy business, being associated for sometime with his father. He continued in active life until 1901. when he retired and removed to Sycamore, where he now occupies a fine home on West Exchange street that he built. His farm is located a mile and a half east of Sycamore on section 34, Syca- more township, and comprises one hundred and sixty-seven acres of well improved land, equipped with all the accessories and conveniences of a model farm. From the property he derives a good income and this with his other financial resources enables him to live in comfortable circumstances without recourse to further labor.
On the 14th of June. 1872, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. West and Miss Ella Reese. who was born in Wisconsin and came to Sycamore in 1869, with her parents. Andrew and Mary ( Bass) Reese. Her father was a pioneer of Dodge county. Wisconsin, and in 1869 arrived in De Kalb coun- ty, Illinois, where he followed farming for some time. while later he conducted a cheese factory in Sycamore for several years. Mr. and Mrs West have become the parents of four children : May B., who died at the age of nine years: Roy (., who married Ada Sanford and lives in Milwaukee, Wis- consin, being employed as an engineer on the Chi- cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad : Gertie May,
178
PAST AND PRESENT OF DE KALB COUNTY.
who is librarian at the Sycamore public library ; and Herbert. at home.
Mr. West has figured prominently in agricul- tural circles. having been elected president of the De Kalb County Farmers Institute upon its or- ganization and filling the position for five years. He also represented the northern district of Illi- nois at the Farmers National Congress at Rock Island. Ile belongs to the Grand Army post, and he and his wife are identified with the Congrega- tional church at Sycamore, in the work of which they have taken an active and helpful part. For fifteen years he served as one of its deacons and has been a member of various church committees. More than six decades have passed since he came to the county and its progress and improvement are to him matters of pride. He has given co- operation to many movements for the public good and in citizenship, in business life and in fact in all relations has commanded the esteem and good will of those with whom he has been associated.
ISAAC A. MCCOLLOM.
Isaac A. McCollom. a resident of Kingston, has been secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company since January, 1898, and is also engaged in the real-estate business. Ilis residence in Kings- ton covers a period of twenty-two years, during which time he has figured prominently as a repre- sentative and enterprising man. His birth of- curred in Mayfield township, this county. August 1. 1845. llis father. Isaac A. McCollom, came here when a young man, with his brother James. from Indiana in 1835. Hle had been liberally edu- rated for those days and was a pioncer teacher of the county. Much of the land was still unculti- vated and in possession of the government. He pre-empted a claim in Mayfield township and after making some preparation for having a home of his own he returned to Indiana and was there married to Miss Frances Taylor. a native of that state. Ile afterward brought his bride to the farm and con- tinued its cultivation until his death, which oc- curred in 1848. when he was comparatively a young man. His wife survived him and reared her family, remaining a resident of the county until
her own death on the 8th of May, 1864. In the family were three children, all of whom reached adult age. J. B. McCollom. the youngest son, was reared here and later removed to Nebraska, where he took up a homestead. dying there in October. 1883. He married Mary Jane Slater and left two children, Owen and a daughter. The other brother of our subject is JJoseph W., who was reared in this county and became a soldier of Company K, One Hundred and Fifth Linois Volunteer Infan- try, serving for about three years. He was after- ward married here to Miss McClelland and Jater removed to Iowa, taking up his residence in Boone county.
Isaac A. McCollom spent the days of his boy- hood and youth in the usual manner of farm lads upon the frontier. He attended the common schools, but was mostly self-educated. for the reason that the schools were then of a somewhat primitive character and also because his services were needed on the home farm and his opportun- mity of attending school was thereby limited. IIe was ninteen years of age when, in February. 1865, he joined the Fifteenth Illinois Volunteer Infan- try and went south to Goldsboro, North Carolina. Ile was engaged in scouting and guard duty and later joined the Western department. thus serv- ing until honorably discharged at Springfield. Illi- nois, being mustered out at Leavenworth. Kansas, on the 16th of September. 1865.
Following his return home Isaac A. MeCollom engaged in the operation of the home farm in con- nection with his older brother. The business re- lation between them was maintained for two years. when he sold out and purchased a fract of land in Mayfield township. He made preparation for hav- ing a home of his own by his marriage in 1866 to Miss Roxie Ann Taylor, who was born and reared in Mayfield township. Following his marriage he carried on farming for several years, after which he sold his property in this county and removed to Boone county. Iowa. where he bought a tract of land and carried on general agricultural pur- suits for six and a half years. He then returned te Sycamore and entered the employ of the Marsh Harvester Company, with which he continued for three years, when he went to Chicago, where he worked for five years in the employ of the MeCor- mick Harvester Company. On again going to De Kalb county he located at Kingston, where he on-
I. A. MCCOLLOM.
' JPIRULIBRARY;
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONA. 4
181
PAST AND PRESENT OF DE KALB COUNTY.
gaged in the hotel business. lle rebuilt, added to and remodeled the hotel and made it a first-class house, of which he was proprietor for twenty years. He proved a popular host and received a large share of the patronage of the traveling public at Kingston. In 1904, however, he sold out and lo- cated where he now resides. While conducting his hotel lie also engaged in handling farm implements and in January, 1898, he was elected secretary of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, in which capacity he has since served. The company now carries policies to the amount of about three mil- lion dollars upon farm property. Mr. McCollom has also engaged in real-estate operations for abont six years, owning farm property in De Kalb county. town property in Kingston and lands in South Dakota. He has made judicious invest- ments and has found this branch of his business a profitable source of income.
In his political views Mr. McCollom has been a stalwart republican since casting his first presiden- tial ballot for U. S. Grant in 1868. He has never failed to vote at a presidential election since that time. He was elected and served as township co !- lector for three years and filled the office of justice of the peace for ten years. He has likewise been a delegate to county conventions and is accounted one of the stalwart republicans of this district.
In 1903 Mr. McCollom was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife, who died on the 24th of April of that year. They had two daugh- ters: Tlattie L., now the wife of flenry Landis, a business man of Kingston, by whom she has two children, Eva HI. and Marie; and Ada Effie, the wife of L. C. Shaffer, whose sketch appears else- where in this work. Both daughters were well educated and prior to their marriage were success- ful teachers. Mr. McCollom was again married on the 4th of May, 1904, when in Rockford, Illi- nois. he wedded Emily M. Wyllys, the widow of Amos N. Wyllys, who was a native of New York, but was reared in this county. She was married on the 6th of October, 1820, to Amos N. Wyllys. who was a blacksmith by trade and followed that pursuit in South Grove and later in Kingston. He died here in 1901. By her first marriage Mrs. Mc- Collom had two children: Alta, who is now the wife of James Gross, a farmer of South Grove township, by whom she has two children, Wyllys and Eva; and Dr. Henry Wyllys, of Wyoming,
Stark county, Illinois, who is married and has two children. Garner and Welodene.
Mr. and Mrs. McCollom attend the Methodist Episcopal church, contribute liberally to its sup- port and take an active interest in church and Sunday school work. Mr. MeCollom belongs to the Masonic lodge at Kingston and is thoroughly in sympathy with the principles of the organization. Both Mr. and Mrs. McCollom are well known in the county, where they have many friends.
E. F. BOLAND.
E. F. Boland, who is successfully engaged in general farming and in raising fine horses and cattle, was born in Afton township, this county, May 24. 1864. His parents, John and Ann Bo- land, were natives of Ireland but came to America in childhood days. The mother died at the com- paratively early age of thirty-three years and the father is still living, his home being in Chicago. They were the parents of two sons and a daughter, but the latter is now deceased, and the brother of our subject lives in Chicago with his father. Mr. Boland, Sr., owns three hundred and twenty acres of land in Afton township, and three fine resi- dences in the city of Chicago. He is a self-made man whose prosperity is attributable entirely to his own labors, his careful management and keen busi- ness discernment.
E. F. Boland was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, dividing his time between the duties of the schoolroom. the pleasures of the playground and the work of the fields. After mastering the conimon branches of English learning, he attended a business college in Chicago for one year. On the 4th of April, 1894, he was married to Miss Margaret Powers. daughter of John and Anora Powers, who are now living retired in the city of De Kalb. In this family were seven children, five sons and two daughters. The young couple hegan their domestie life upon his father's farmn. where they have since lived. Mr. Boland having continuously cultivated the fields, with the result that he has prospered in his undertakings. He annually gathers rich harvests and in addition to general farming, he makes a specialty of raising coach and Percheron houses and also shorthorn
182
PAST AND PRESENT OF DE KALB COUNTY.
cattle. His live-stock interests are to him a good source of revenue and he is known as one of the leading stockmen of the country.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Boland has been blessed with three sons and a daughter: John L .. born April 24. 1895: Anna, born February 2, 1894: Edward, born August 30, 1902; and Syl- vester B., born June 14. 1904. The parents are communicants of the St. Mary's Catholic church of De Kalb. and Mr. Boland belongs to the Mod- ern Woodmen camp at Elva and the Knights of Columbus lodge at De Kalb. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. he has supported the democracy and his fellow townsmen have called him to some local offices. For two years he has served as tax collector of Afton township, and was school director for four years. He is a public- spirited citizen, interested in all that pertains to the general welfare, and his aid and co-operation can be counted upon to further any movement for the public good.
DANIEL DELOS HUNT.
An enumeration of those men of the present gen- eration who have won honor and public recognition for themselves and at the same time have honored the state to which they belong would be incomplete and unsatisfactory were there failure to make prominent reference to the one whose name ini- tiates this paragraph. In publie life he has borne himself with such signal dignity and honor as to gain the respect of all. He has been and is dis- tinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence. A strong mentality an invincible courage, a most determined individuality have $0 entered into his makeup as to render him a natural leader of men and a director of opinion, and while he has now retired from publie life he is still a force in the community and numbers among his friends many of the distinguished men of the state, with whom he has been associated in formu- lating legislation.
ITon. Daniel Delos Hunt was born in Wyoming county, New York. September 19, 1835. His father. Isaac Ilunt, also a native of the Empire state, was a farmer by occupation. He married Miss Martha Ludington, also of that state, and in
February, 1857. he brought his family to Ilinois. settling in De Kalb county, but he was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, his death occur- ring in January. 1858. His widow survived until April 12, 1865. They were the parents of thir- teen children, of whom Daniel was the seventh in order of birth. Three of the sons served in the war of the Rebellion as soldiers of the Union Army and all veteranized, but none are now living.
Daniel D. Hunt was in his twenty-second year when he accompanied his parents to De Kalb county. He had been educated in the common schools of his native state and in the village school at Java Lake, New York. After the ro- moval westward he engaged in farming and after the death of the father became the support of his widowed mother. It was this which prevented his entering the army. although he greatly desired to do it. but three of his brothers were at the front and he had to remain home to support the family. In the year 1863-4 he conducted a hotel in the city of De Kalb, after which he resumed farming and has since figured prominently in agricultural circles in this part of the state. He owns two hundred and forty acres of land about a mile from the city of De Kalb. and the many improvements made upon the place and the excellent condition of the fields make this one of the most valuable and attractive farming properties of the county. Hle raises and feeds stock on an extensive scale and although his son has charge of the actual work on the farm. Mr. Hunt is yet the manager. and in his business interests displays the vigor. enterprise and activity of a much younger man. He is presi- dent of the Illinois State Milk Producers' Insti- tute and is vice president and a director of Eaton & Company. publishers of college and school text- books in Chicago.
His success, based as it is upon his individual labor and ability, would alone entitle him to repre- sentation in this volume, but aside from his busi- ness interests which have brought him upward from a humble financial position to one of wealth, he has rendered public service of the utmost value to the commonwealth. He was called to public office in early manhood, serving for three years as supervisor. He was also trustee of the township schools for eighteen years and was a stalwart cham- pion of the cause of education. Still higher polit- ical honors awaited him, however, for he was made
2. D. Heart
RY
ASTA F OX
- ON8.
185
PAST AND PRESENT OF DE KALB COUNTY.
the nominee of the republican party for the state legislature and served in the lower house for four years. He was elected to represent his district in the senate, where he remained for twelve years, so that his legislative career covered sixteen years and was markd by the utmost fidelity to duty. Hle in- troduced a bill for the establishment of a northern Illinois State Normal School, which passed both the house and senate and was signed by the gov- ernor and the school was finally located in his home city of De Kalb, which has become one of the leading educational centers of the state. Mr. Ilunt also aided in securing the passage of many impor- tant measures and left the impress of his individu- ality upon many of the laws enacted. To enit- merate these would be to infringe on the province of history, but it is a well known fact that he was a prominent working member of both houses and was active in committee rooms, where the work of constructive legislation is done, and in the lobbies, where the influence is put forth that has turned the tide in favor of many measures or has caused their defeat, as the case might be. On the political stage such was his personal popularity and such his personal magnetism that his appearance to ad- dress the people was the signal of enthusiastic greet- ¿ ing. Ilis is a sturdy American character and a stalwart patriotism, and he has the strongest at- tachment for our free institutions and is ever will- ing to make any peronal sacrifice for their pres- ervation.
Mr. Hunt was married in the state of New York, October 28, 1856. to Miss Eveline L. Preston. a native of the Empire state and a daughter of Eli and Belinda Preston, both now deceased. In their family were six children, of whom Mrs. Hunt is the eldest. By her marriage she has become the mother of one son, Earl Henry Hunt. born July 24, 1857, and now carrying on the business inter- ests of the home farm.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.