USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > Past and present of DeKalb County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 63
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EDGAR STEVENS.
Edgar Stevens, shipping clerk for the Bradt & Shipman Glove factory of De Kalb is a native of Cayuga county, New York, born August 1, 1862. llis parents were Edgar and Charlotte A. (Plin- new) Stevens. The father died in early manhood. his death occurring a week prior to the birth of his son Edgar. The other child of the family. a
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C. W. MUZZEY.
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daughter, Carrie, is now deceased. Edgar Stevens was reared at home under his mother's care, living with relatives for three months at Waterman and then purchasing property in De Kalb, after which she removed to her new home. It was here her son was reared and acquired his odneation in at- tendance at the public schools. As early as his fourteenth year he became a wage earner and for some ten years was variously employed. He then accepted a position with Bradt & Shipman in their glove manufactory, and for the past twenty years has served them in various capacities. llis fidelity, honesty and close application were recog- nized and rewarded by promotion as opportunity offered and in 1898 he was promoted to the respon- sible position of shipping clerk, in which capacity he has since been retained, capably discharging the duties that devolve upon him in this connection. No higher testimonial of his capability and trust- worthiness could be given than the statement of the fact that he has been withione house for twenty years and that he has been advanced from time to time to positions of greater responsibility and importance.
On the 25th of June. 1887, Mr. Stevens was united in marriage to Miss Hattie May Seaman, a daughter of Henry Seaman, of De Kalb, now de- ceased. Four children grace this marriage : Howard E .. Helen L., Henry and John II. Mr. Stevens is a member of Columbus Tent, No. 57, Knights of the Maccabees. His political support is given the republican party, and, while he feels a deep interest in the vital questions and issues of the day, as every true American citizen should do, he is without aspiration for office. lle has always concentrated his time and energies upon his busi- ness duties, and whatever success he has achieved and enjoyed is due entirely to his own efforts. He has spent his entire life, from the age of nine years. in De Kalb and is widely and favorably known here.
CHARLES FOWLER SMITH.
In commercial and manufacturing circles in De Kalb the name of Charles Fowler Smith is well known. A business man of enterprise and deter- mination his ready recognition and improvement of opportunities has gained him a place among
those men who are the real founders and up- builders of a city by reason of their business activity and diligence, promoting the public good while advancing individual success. Mr. Smith is, moreover, well known as one of the native resi- dents of De Kalb, born on the 9th of December, 1866. He is the youngest of a family of four children, whose parents were Franklin W. and Sarah Elizabeth (Fowler) Smith, both of whom were natives of the Empire state. The father was a retail lumber merchant. Two of the children are now deceased.
At the usual age Charles Fowler Smith began his education in the public schools of De Kalb, passing through successive grades until he had largely mas- tered the branches of learning therein taught. He had no special assistance at the outset of his business life but has worked his way upward through close application and determined purpose. He entered the field of business activity as a clerk, which position he held for a few years, and then purchased his present business, which he has car- ried on continuously since. He has constantly enlarged the scope of his labors and is today con- ducting one of the leading commercial concerns of the city, being proprietor of a hardware and furniture store. He carries a large stock of goods in both lines and has a liberal patronage, which he has won through honorable business methods and earnest desire to please his customers. He is also the owner of a number of houses and lots in De Kalb, having thus placed a part of his means in the safest of all investments-real estate-and he is likewise connected with manufacturing hard- ware specialties. He is also one of the directors of the Commercial Trust & Savings Bank of De Kalb. His wise counsel and keen discernment have been influential factors in the successful con- trol of various business interests and his labors have been of material benefit to the city as well as a source of gratifying profit.
Mr. Smith was married in De Kalb, October 9, 1889, to Miss Eva Carter, who was born in this city. March 12, 1866, a daughter of Orlando and Huldah (White) Carter, whose family numbered seven children. Mrs. Smith being the fourth in order of birth. By her marriage she has become the mother of a daughter and son: Catherine Elizabeth. born April 4. 1895; and Franklin Or- lando, born February 4, 1898.
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Mr. Smith give his political support to the republican party but has never sought or desired ofhce, preferring to give his undivided time and attention to his business interests, in which he has met with signal -necess. He and his family belong to the Baptist church and are prominent socially in I. Kalb, where they have an extensive circle of frund -. Mr. Smith's life record is a splendid example of what may be accomplished by unfalter- ing perseverance and ready adaptation of condi- tion- to the possibilities of trade interests and unabating energy, supplemented by sound judge- ment. The great majority of successful business men are they who have planned their own advance- ment and have accomplished it in spite of ob- -tacle. difficulties and environments. Such has been the record of Mr. Smith, who is today one of the leading representatives of trade interests in De Kalb, his course exciting the admiration of his associates and winning him the respect of all who know him.
FRANK D. LOWMAN.
Frank D. Lowman, editor and proprietor of the Sandwich Free Press. Sandwich. Illinois, was born in Somonank. De Kalb county. Illinois. March 22. 1566, and is the son of John and Melissa (Davi-) Lowman. the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of New York. John Lowman was a tinner by trade. having served hi- apprenticeship at Harrisburg and at Pittsburg. Pennsylvania. He was born in Harrisburg. Penn- sylvania. December 1. 1826. Ilis father. the grandfather of our subject. died when he was but nine years of age, and he was then thrown er his own resources. In 1555 he came west, locat- ing first in Ottawa. Illinois, where he remained some five years and then moved to Somonank, where he resided until his death. October 10. 189%. He married Melissa Davis at Little Rock. Kendall county. April 26, 1865. His widow is vet living. an honored resident of Sandwich. She is a mem- ber of the Congregational church. Her parents. Joshua and Mahala Davis, both died at Somanank. the former Angust 12. 1599. and the latter No- vember 2. 1906. having each reached an advanced age. They came to Illinois in the '50, and home
the father engaged in farming until retiring in 1×90. To John and Melis-a Lowman four chil- dren were born. of whom our subject is the ell- est. The others are: Clara, wife of A. F. Kes- termeier. of South Chicago, where he is engaged in running a department store: Katherine, the wife of W. M. Hay. virenit clerk and recorder of De Kalb county : and John Earl.
The subject of this sketch was educated in the Somonauk high school. after which he entered the office of the Somonank Reveille to learn the printing trade, and there continued for four years. Hle then worked in printing offices in Sandwich for a time and later was editor of the Kendall County Nous at Plano for three years. Ile bought the Free Press of Sandwich. February 14, 1595, and has since been its editor and pro- prietor. The Free Press is one of the best local paper- in northern Illinois and ha- gained a large circulation and i- a popular and model paper. It i- published weekly and presents a neat and at- tractive appearance, and the office from which it is issued is well equipped for job printing of every kind.
Fraternally Mr. Lowman is a member of the Masonic order and Knights of Pythias, and politi- eally he is a republican. bring secretary of the De Kalb county central committee, taking great interest in political affairs. fle is a man of good business qualifications and has a practical knowl- edge of every detail of his business. Ile is a man of fine physique. of a genial and general nature. patriotic and public-spirited.
JOIN WILLISTON COOK.
John Williston Cook. president of the North- ern Illinois State Normal School at De Kalb. was born in Oncida county. New York. April 20. 1841. At the age of seven he came with his parents to Illinois. They settled on a farm in McLean county and when he was nine years old they moved to the village of Kappa. Here he spent the rest of his boyhood and youth. inch a- the other boys of the village. He attended school. clerked in a store and assisted his father. who was station agent of the railway company. For two years Lo farmed on his own account. At eighteen Mr.
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Cook entered the Illinois State Normal University at Normal as a student. He graduated in 1865 and was employed as principal of schools at Brim- field, Peoria county, Illinois. The following year he was called to take charge of the new grammar school at Normal, which had just been estab- lished in connection with the Normal School. In 1868 he was appointed to supply a temporary vacancy in the Normal School faculty, and the following year he was permanently employed to take charge of the work in reading. In 1826 he was appointed to the chair of mathematics and physics, which position he held till 1890, when he was made president of the institution. Nine years later he accepted the presidency of the Northern Illinois State Normal School at De Kalb, which position he still holds.
From the above chronological outline it will be seen that Mr. Cook is fundamentally a normal school man. Coming to the institution in youth, he responded readily to its high standard of schol- arship and in turn has materially helped to raise that standard as professor and president. Mr. Cook stands as a constant refutation to the un- warranted wholesale charge that normal schools dabble a little in pedagogy and in ",Fim-crack" methods of subjects about which they know but little. Those who have had the good fortune to be members of his classes know how great demands he makes upon definite knowledge. As a teacher he is unsurpassed. Each recitation has its defi- nite aim and he drives straight toward it. There is no side stepping. His thorough comprehen- sion of the whole subject enables him to corre- late the separate lessons into one organic whole. His work not only relates to life. it is life, for Mr. Cook is more than a clever manipulator of pedagogical devices to advance his students in knowledge of things. He is all the time search- ing and setting his students to search, for the fundamental meaning of things. In other words. he is a philosopher. He has a very wholesome optimistic "view of the world" and in this lies the secret of his power of inspiration.
But Mr. Cook's achievements are not confined within the walls of the normal school. Fully to understand his great capacity for hard work, his natural ability, and his general open-mindedness, what he has done over and beyond climbing to the top of the normal school ladder, must be taken
into account. He early trained himself in public speaking, and he was soon in demand as a lec- turer. This demand has so increased that he is able to supply only a small part of it. He edited and published Illinois school journals for more than six years. Instead of taking a vacation in the summer he taught in teachers' institutes, and so helped to recruit students for the Normal School. Ile was generally sent to Springfield to set forth the needs of the Normal School before the legislative committee on appropriations. Ile always kept in close touch with business men and the business interests of the community in which he lived. He found time to go regularly to church and to sing in the choir. IIe did not neglect the social life of the community. And as a matter of course, he was always an attendant and an active participant at all important educational gatherings. While this does not cover all the ground of his interests, yet it serves to show how wide the range is.
But Mr. Cook is more than an intellectual dynamo. He knows how to be gracious, kind. lovable. Constantly dealing with young people has furnished him ample opportunity for the cul- tivation of these qualities. Many a student would have been unable to pursue his course of study but for his generous help.
Mr. Cook is very ambitions for the best. His motto might well be, "Only the best is good enough." When he had risen to the presidency of Normal School at Normal, one of the best schools in the United States, he might have settled down and left well enough alone. But he saw in the new Normal School at De Kalb a fine opportunity to build a normal school according to his own ideals, entirely untrammeled by tradition. He was given a free hand in all matters educa- tional by the board of trustees and he is working out the normal school problem in a way that com- mands the attention of educators the world over.
GARDNER W. THOMPSON.
Gardner W. Thompson, a farmer residing on section 30. Paw Paw township, where he is suc- cessfully engaged in the work of tilling the soil and cultivating crops, was a son of Isaac and
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Marie ( Wilcox ) Thompson. His father was born in the Wyoming valley of Pennsylvania in 1196. while the mother's birth occurred in Dutchess county, New York, in 1999. They were married in 1818 and unto this union were born fifteen children : Matilda, Jane, Alva, Grandle. David. Almon, Ezekiel. Isaac Henry, John. Frank. George, Elizabeth, Rhoda and Gardner. The sub- jeet of this review is the youngest of the family. The parents spent their active lives in Pennsyl- vania and retiring from business in 1866. Isaac Thompson and his wife came to Illinois to live with their son Gardner, who was then located in Alto township. Lee county. Isaac Thompson cast hi- first presidential vote for John Quincy Adams and his last for Major William M. Kinley. He vas a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for eighty-two years and lived a life in consis- tent harmony with his profession -. He was Sun- day school superintendent for twenty-five consecu- tive year- and did much for the growth and devel- opment of the church. He died in 1900 at the age of one hundred and four years, while his wife passed away in lass.
Gardner W. Thompson of this review was born Inly 11. 1811. in the Wyoming valley of Penn- -ylvania, and was educated in the select school- of Pittston. Pennsylvania. When twenty-four years of age he sought a home in the middle west and came to Alto township. Lee county. Illinois. where he bought one hundred and sixty acres of land. lle later purchased eighty acres more ad- joining and remained upon this farm for forty years. On the expiration of that period he moved across the line into Paw Paw township. De Kath county, where he has since made his home, an l he now owns and operates two hundred and sixty acres, which is a well developed tract brought under a high state of cultivation by hi- care, labor and supervision.
On the 26th of April, 1523. Mr. Thompson was imited in marriage to Mis- Mary E. Howell. a daughter of William and Sarah Howell. carly pioneer settlers of Lee county. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are most highly esteemed people and hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church at Steward, Illinois. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp at that place and in busi- ness. social, fraternal and political relations is much esteemed for his genuine worth. He cast
his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln and has since supported the republican party. While in Lee county he held the office of super- visor for fifteen years and he has also served as assessor. school trustee and justice of the peace, discharging the duties of all of these positions with fairne --. promptness and capability.
THOMAS STEPHEN MURRAY.
Thomas Stephen Murray, chief of the De Kalb fire department, was born in Chicago on the 11th of October, Usar, and is one of five children whose parents were Patrick and Eliza B. (Donovan) Murray. The father is a native of County Mayo, Ireland, born about Isflor 1stb. While still a -mall lad he came to the United States with his father. Patrick Murray. Sr. and one brother. Michael Murray, the mother following later. The family home was established in Columbus, Ohio, but after a brief period they removed to Batavia. Illinois, and thener came to De Kalb county, et- thing in Afton township, where Patrick Murray, sr .. purchased a prairie farm from the original attler. There be resided until within five or six wear- of his death, when he rented his land and removed to the city of De Kalb, where hi- remain- ing day- wege passed in the enjoyment of a well earned rest.
Patrick Murray, father of our subject. wa- reared under the parental roof and became one of the early settlers of this county. At the time of the Civil war le offered his services to the govern- ment. enh-ting in an Illinois regiment, but on ac- count of his youth his father caused him to return home. Later, however, he ran away and joined an Ohio regiment at Cincinnati. He was in the service for two years before his parents learned of his whereabouts, and at Vicksburg he was wounded from the explosion of artillery in the intrench- ment, there. Anb-equently he was captured and incarcerated in the Santa Rose prison. After the close of the Civil war he enlisted in the regular army. serving for three years and then returned home to De Kalb. After a brief period he was married and removed to Chicago, where he secured employment in the city dock department. His strenuon- and arduous service in the army. how-
THOMAS S. MURRAY.
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ever, had undermined his health and from the ef- fects of his military experience he died in 1884. His wife, Mrs. Eliza B. Murray, was born in the city of Cork, Ireland, in 1852, and during her infancy was brought to the United States by her mother, who located in Connecticut. Later the family removed to Virginia and eventually to Batavia, Illinois. The removal from Virginia was occasioned by the deep feeling aroused in Mrs. Donovan by witnessing a sale of slaves in Lisburg, where the children were torn from the mother's arms and sold to different masters. Mrs. Donovan could not stand the sight and the family imme- diately prepared for removal to a district where human beings were not held in bondage. The grandfather Donovan and two sons were black- smiths. The two sons had preceded the parents to Batavia, Illinois, and later the father, mother and younger children followed. Soon afterward Mr. Donovan, grandfather of our subject, passed away, his death occurring in 1859. His daughter, Mrs. Murray, is still living and resides with her family in De Kalb. She had five children : Agnes, the wife of Thomas Clark, of De Kalb; William Richard, now deceased : Thomas S., of this review ; John Francis and Anna Laura, both al home. The latter, however, is a student in the Normal School.
Thomas S. Murray was reared under the parental roof and was a student in the public schools of De Kalb until he reached the age of fifteen years, when he entered business life as an employe in the office of the De Kalb Review. A printing office has been aptly termed the poor man's college. At all events it was an excellent training school for Mr. Murray, who largely sup- plemented his education by wide and varied as well as practical knowledge during his three years connection with the Review office. He afterward worked in the Chronicle office for a year and later spent some time in the cooperage shop of Reable Brothers in De Kalb.
The military spirit burned brightly within him, however, and when this country became involved with Spain over the Cuban question he enlisted on the 3d of June. 1898, as a member of Company M. Third Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He went with General Miles on the expedition to Porto Rico and was mustered out with his regiment on the 19th of January, 1899. Immediately after- ward, however, the regiment was re-organized as
a state militia regiment and Mr. Murray was elected and commissioned first lieutenant of Com- pany A. Third Illinois National Guard. On the expiration of his three years' term in that rank he was recommissioned first lieutenant and three months later, on the death of the captain, he was chosen to fill the vacant position. He served in that capacity for three years, being the youngest captain in the regiment and one of the youngest in the state. Prior to the war with Spain he had been commissioned first lieutenant of Company H of the Sons of Veterans Provisional Regiment, hav- ing been one of the organizers of the company. In 1905 he resigned his position in military cir- cles, for his duties as commander of the company occupied too much of his time. Notwithstanding the fact that he loved a military life and was un- usually well qualified for leadership he refused a position on the staff, the office of major being tendered him, and withdrew in favor of a friend.
In 1904, when the paid fire department was es- tablished at De Kalb, Mr. Murray was selected as its chief, which position he has since filled. His qualities of leadership are here again manifest and he has proven a most capable officer in the position which he is now filling. Hle belongs to De Kalb lodge, No. 215, K. P .; to De Kalb camp, No. 69, Sons of Veterans; to William H. O'Neil camp, No. 83, Spanish War Veterans ; and to De Kalb camp of the Modern Woodmen. He is a democrat in mis political allegiance and is regarded as one of De Kalb county's leading and representative young men, popular with a large circle of friends and warmly esteemed by all with whom he has been brought in contact.
GIRARD HAMMOND.
An excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres, all under a high state of cultivation, is the property of Girard Hammond, of De Kalb town- ship. He is a son of A. P. and Malena (Howe) Hammond, who were natives of Monroe county, New York, the former of English and the latter of Scotch descent. The father was born in 1830 and the mother in 1832. She died, however, when her son Girard was only four years of age. At the outbreak of the Civil war the father offered
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his services to the government in defense of the old flag, enlisting in the Thirty-first Indiana In- fantry, with which he served faithfully for three years. He then re-enlisted and was honorably dis- charged in 1865 after hostilities had been brought to a close. He was indeed a loyal soldier, faithful to every duty that devolved upon him, and he never faltered when on the firing line or on the lonely picket line.
Girard Hammond was born in Penfield, New York, in 1855. and there remained until seven years of age. when he went to Indiana, living with an aunt until ten years of age. From that time forward he has depended upon his own resources. Hle has indeed been the architect and builder of his own fortunes and he deserves much credit for what he has accomplished.
On the 24th of June. 1880. Mr Hammond was united in marriage to Miss Hattie A. McGee. a resident of Macon county, Illinois, and unto them have been born six children: Edna. James. Al- bert. Jennie B .. Jessie. Jerome and Helen.
Following his marriage Mr. Hammond engaged in the manufacture of tile at La Harpe, Illinois.
where he remained for three years, when he bought a dray line in Macon and continued in that busi- ness for two years. He was afterward in the liv- ery business at Blue Mound, Illinois, and subse- quently came to De Kalb county, where he turned his attention to farming, purchasing one hundred and sixty aeres of land in De Kalb township. which he still operates. He also rents and oper- ates another farm of two hundred and twelve aeres. It is all tillable land, well improved, and he an- nually harvests good crops. He is practical in all of his farm methods and uses the latest improved machinery in carrying on the work.
Mr. Hammond has always voted the republican ticket but has not been active in political circles. He has, however, served as school director for eight years. He and his wife are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church of De Kalb and for the past four years Mr. Hammond has been a trustee thereof. He has belonged to the Masonie fra- ternity for twenty years and his membership is now in De Kalb lodge, while he is also connected with the Court of Honor at Cortland.
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