USA > Illinois > Will County > Past and present of Will County, Illinois, V. 2 > Part 17
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On the 20th of April, 1876, Mr. Jackson was united in marriage in New Hartford, New York, to Miss Maggie E. Craig, a daughter of James Craig. She is a lady of culture and refinement, her many excellent traits of character endearing her to those with whom she has been associated and fitting her to grace the social circles in which she moves. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were born three children: George Elliott, whose birth oc- curred September 18, 1878; Clarence Mason, who was born October 20, 1880; and Cleora W., born February 4, 1884. Clarence M. was married June 28, 1905, to Miss Lottie Wertzbaugher, the only daughter of Wallace L. Wertzbaugher, of Lock- port, Illinois, and they reside on a farm five and a half miles northwest of Lockport. The daugh- ter, Cleora, was married on the 15th of January, 1907, to Leonard Bolton Hutchins, the youngest son of the late Thomas H. Hutchins and a mem- ber of an old Will county family. In 1906 Mr. Jackson was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who after a short illness passed away on
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the 8th of June and was laid to rest in Plainfield cemetery at Plainfield, Illinois, her death being deeply regretted by many friends.
Mr. Jackson gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is a stanch advocate of its principles and its policy. He held the office of township school trustee from the spring of 1902 until the spring of 1905 and was most loyal to the trust reposed in him. In 1881 he became a member of the Masonic fraternity and he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and to several other insurance societies. When fifteen years of age he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and his life has been shaped by his religious belief. In all relations he has been ever honorable and upright, never taking advan- tage of the necessities of his fellowmen in any business transactions, while in social circles he has displayed those qualities which have endeared him to many friends.
DR. FRANK E. HYATT.
Dr. Frank E. Hyatt, who located in Joliet in January, 1904, since which time he has engaged in the practice of osteopathy, but has been a resident of the county since 1890, was born in Gardner, Grundy county, Illinois, on the 11th of September, 1867. His father, Theodore Hyatt, was born July 3, 1830, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His par- ents were Frederick and Betsy ( Phillips) Hyatt, the former born December 15, 1798, in Pennsyl- vania. He was married in January, 1818, to Miss Betsy Phillips, whose birth occurred July 6, 1799. They remained residents of Philadelphia for a number of years. The father was a cabinet- maker by trade and followed that pursuit in the east until 1846, when he removed to Illinois, where the town of Gardner now stands. There he fol- lowed his trade and also engaged in farming in that district. In 1853 he removed to Red Wing, Minnesota, where he remained for a time. He then made his way to Prescott, Wisconsin, where he died in 1895, at the age of ninety-six years. He received the veneration and respect which should ever be accorded one of advanced age whose life has been worthily and honorably passed. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist
church. Mrs. Hyatt died in Prescott, Wisconsin, in August, 1857.
Theodore Hyatt was a youth of sixteen years when he came with the family to Illinois. He re- mained with his parents upon the home farm, having previously acquired a fair English educa- tion in the public schools of Philadelphia. In 1848 he entered school at Galesburg, Illinois, where he was graduated, and about 1858 he went to Mis- souri, where he engaged in teaching school until 1862. He then returned to his old home at Gardner, Illinois, and at that place enlisted as a soldier of Company D, One Hundred and Twenty- seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He joined the army as a private and was soon promoted to the rank of first: sergeant. He saw active service, participating in the siege of Vicksburg, Arkansas Post, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Kenesaw Moun- tain and other engagements until wounded at At- lanta, in August, 1864, by a gunshot in the left foot, which crippled that member. He received a medal for bravery exhibited at the second assault on Vicksburg, May 22, 1863.
Following the close of the war Theodore Hyatt became a student, in the fall of 1867, in the Chi- cago University, graduating from there and the Theological Seminary, and he subsequently was graduated from Bryant & Stratton Business Col- lege. He later entered the ministry of the Baptist church and had charge at Cordova, Rock Island and several other points in Illinois between the years 1870 and 1874. In the latter year he went to Texas and in 1875 was sent as a missionary to the Indian Territory. There he continued until .1880, when he returned to Dwight, Illinois. Re- tiring from the active work of the ministry, he remained a resident of Illinois until 1883, when he went to Missouri and in 1885 to Galveston, Texas, with a brother, acting as bookkeeper in that state. Again coming to Illinois, he located at Lockport, where he made his home until 1892. He afterward became a resident of Joliet, where he died on the 7th of May, 1900. He was a man of many excellent traits of character. Ile did signal service for his country as a soldier of the Civil war and his labors in the church were of value, his in- fluence being widely felt in the different localities where he filled pulpits.
Rev. Theodore Hyatt was united in marriage to Miss Melvenia Cairns, who was born in New York
DR. FRANK E. HYATT.
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city, April 29, 1825, the wedding being celebrated at Gardner, Illinois, on the 11th of September, 1853. Mrs. Hyatt was a daughter of John and Deborah (Ferman) Cairns, the former born Au- gust 25, 1790, and the latter in New York city, January 6, 1799. Her father was a military of- ficer and trained soldiers for the war of 1812. He came of Scotch ancestry and displayed in his life many of the strong and sterling characteristics of the Scotch race. He and his wife and daugh- ters were among the nineteen charter members that organized the Bloomingdale church at the corner of Eighth avenue and Forty-third street in -New York city, on the 1st of March, 1843. In 1847 he removed with his family to Illinois, where his death occurred on the 30th of January, 1859, while his wife passed away at Sandwich, this state, .on the 2d of July, 1891. Both were members of the Baptist church. Their daughter, Mrs. Hyatt, was reared and educated in the Empire state and proved a devoted wife and mother. She, too, pos- sessed a most earnest Christian spirit and held membership in the Baptist church. Her death oc- curred on the 25th of June, 1898. The family of Rev. and Mrs. Hyatt numbered six children, of whom two died in infancy. The others were: Herbert H., who was a marine engineer on the gulf of Mexico for five years, but for the past ten years has been engineer at Rockdale with the Steel & Wire Company, while his home is on Morgan street in Joliet ; Ida M., the wife of John Lyle, living at No. 337 Hunter avenue, Joliet ; Estelle L., living at 304 Washington street, Joliet ; and Frank E.
Dr. Hyatt of this review acquired his eduea- tion largely at Avalon College, Livingston county, Missouri, and at Dwight, Illinois, where at one time he was in the employ of Dr. Keeley, the head of the Dwight Gold Cure. Dr. Hyatt, being a total abstainer all his life, was a good example for Dr. Keeley's patients. He lived there for eleven years and after determining to engage in the prac- tice of osteopathy as a life work he attended the American College of Osteopathy at Chicago in 1902 and was graduated in 1904. In the mean- time he lived in Loekport and was in the employ of the trust company there.
Dr. Hyatt was married to Miss Nettie E. Lan- fear, a daughter of W. H. Lanfear, her parents be- ing among the oldest settlers of Will county. Her
mother died July 1, 1906. Dr. and Mrs. Hyatt have one child, Clarence E., who is six years of age and who was born in Lockport, December 16, 1900. In his political views the Doetor is a re- publican and he belongs to the Modern Woodmen eamp and also to the Baptist church. He lives at No. 304 Washington street in Joliet and has a pleasantly appointed office in the Young building at Nos. 403-409 Jefferson street. Having gained a thorough knowledge of the science which he is now practicing, he has won a goodly measure of success in carrying on the work and has a liberal clientage, while the confidence of the publie in his ability and the efficacy of his labors is con- stantly increasing.
MRS. MARGARET CONROY.
Mrs. Margaret Conroy, who died at her home in Channahon township, February 22, 1907, was born in Quebec, Canada, about 1832 and was the eldest of the six childern of Barney and Mary (McGee) Feeney, both of whom were natives of Ireland. Mrs. Conroy left a brother and sister still living : John Feeney, a resident of Chicago; and Mrs. Mary Handlon, who resides in Joliet. The parents became residents of Canada on crossing the Atlantic to the new world and some time later removed to Lockport, Illinois, where they remained for a time. Then they established their home in Channahon township, where the father engaged in farming, there carrying on agricultural pur- suits until his death. He died April 3, 1876, while the mother passed away on the 16th of July, 1877.
Mrs. Conroy spent her girlhood days in her par- ents' home and assisted in the duties of the house- hold, gaining an intimate knowledge of all the housework, so that she was well qualified to take charge of a home of her own at her marriage. In 1849, when seventeen years of age, she became the wife of James Hayes, who arrived in Channahon township at the age of seven years with his par- ents. Three children were born of that marriage: Mrs. Edward Collins, who is living in Wilming- ton township; Mrs. Mary Tierney, a resident of the same township; and Robert Hayes, who is al- so living in Wilmington township. In 1860 Mrs. Hayes became the wife of Patrick Conroy. There
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were seven children of this marriage, six of whom are living : Mrs. William Larkin, a resident of Will county ; John Conroy, whose home is in Par- sons, Kansas; Mrs. John Dempsey, of Joliet; James, who is living in Channahon township; and Bridgie and Helen, at home.
Mr. Conroy came from Ireland with his mother at the age of twenty years, becoming a resident of Channahon township in 1850. He followed farm- ing and was a successful business man, carefully conducting the work of the fields and managing his farm so that he acquired a comfortable com- petence. He passed away June 7, 1900, at the age of about seventy-six years. Mr. and Mrs. Conroy, by carnest and persistent etforts accumulated a considerable tract of land and established a valu- ble estate in Channahon township. Mrs. Conroy was a member of St. Mary's Catholic church at Minooka and was well known in the locality where she resided, making her home here from ler girl- hood days to the time of her demise.
HENRY AMMANN.
Henry Ammann, displaying a spirit of business enterprise and perseverance which enables him to overcome difficulties and obstacles, is now a pros- perous merchant of Peotone. Ile was born in Germany in 1850 and when only about four years of age was brought to the United States by his par- ents, John and Frederika ( Langude) Ammann, both of whom were natives of Germany, in which country they were reared and married. As stated, they crossed the Atlantic in 1854 and settled upon a farm in Cook county, Illinois, where they lived for six years, the place being located about four- teen miles west of Chicago.
On his arrival in the new world JJohn Ammann had a capital of only three hundred dollars. Act- ing on the advice of a friend. Adam Glass, he pur- chased eighty acres of prairie in Kankakee county, his home being twelve miles from any other habi- tation. The countryside was overrun with deer and there was also many other kinds of wild ani- mals. All the evidences of pioneer existence were here to be seen and the unsettled condition of the district is indicated by the fact that he only had to pay two dollars and a half per acre for his land.
He brought with him to America a family of eight. children, and though it was with difficulty he pro- vided for them in the earlier years of his residence lere, he nevertheless lived frugally and industri- ously and in the course of time became prosper- ous. He was an ideal pioneer settler, bravely meet- ing the hardships and dangers of pioneer life and aiding in making the county what it is today. In 1860 be removed to a farm of eighty aeres in Kan- kakee county, about three miles from Peotone, which he had rented. He lived thereon for two years and then removed to his own farm of eighty acres, which he improved, breaking the wild prairie and transforming the tract into richly culti- vated fields. There he continued his residence, and as the years passed by he met with success. so that he was enabled to spend his last days in comfort. He held membership in the German Lutheran church and his life was characterized by an honest, Christian purpose and by unfaltering fidelity to principle. H's political allegiance was given to the republican party .. He passed away in 1891, at the age of eighty years, having for some time survived his wife, who died in 1887 at the age of seventy-four years. She was also a member of the German Lutheran church. In their family were seven children, as follows: Kate, the deceased wife of Will Snyder, a pioneer blacksmith of Pe- otone: Margaret, the wife of Jacob Triem, a re- tired farmer living in Monee : Charlotte, the wife of Frank Vatler, a retired famer, of Sherburne, Minnesota ; John, a retired farmer, of Triumph, Minnesota ; Henry, of this review ; Phoebe, de- ceased ; and Ellen, the wife of Lewis Snyder, a farmer of Kankakee county.
Ilenry Ammann was reared to agricultural life. His educational privileges were meager, for there were no public schools at that early day on the prairie. He, however, had the privilege of at- tending the schools of Peotone for two years and in the school of experience he has learned many valuable and practical lessons. He worked upon the home farm until 1880, carrying on the place on his own account for three years. Ile then came to Peotone and established a hardware business in connection with Frederick Walls, under the firm style of Wahls & Ammann. This relation was continued for six months, when the store was de- stroyed by fire. Mr. Wahls then sold his interest in the building site to Fred Hasenmeyer, with
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whom Mr. Ammann again rebuilt and secured a stock of hardware. The store was opened and that firm continued for a year and a half, when Mr. Ammann purchased his partner's interest and conducted the business alone until January, 1906, when he admitted his two sons, Albert and Harry, to a partnership. He has been very successful and now has a large and well appointed store, in which a liberal patronage has been accorded him. He also owns good real estate in Peotone, together with one hundred and sixty acres of valuable farm- ing land in Will county and two hundred and forty acres in Kankakee county. from which farms he derives a good income.
In 1876 Mr. Ammann was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Smith, who was born in Maywood. Cook county, Illinois, in 1859, a daughter of John and Dorothy (Conrad) Smith, the latter a sister of John Conrad. The parents came from Ger- many in 1854, settling in Cook county, and Mr. Smith was employed at railroading. Unto him and his wife were born ten children, of whom the following reached adult age, namely: Lizzie, the wife of Fred Ilasenmeyer, who is engaged in painting at Kensington, Illinois: Mrs. Ammann : John, now deceased; Will, who is connected with the American Steel & Wire Nail Company, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania: Harry, who is engaged in merchandising in Whiteside county; Albert, who is with his mother in Whiteside county, his father having died in 1901, at the age of seventy- three years, while the mother is now seventy-five years of age; and Tillie, the wife of Clarence Haviland, station agent at North Aurora, Illinois.
Mr. and Mrs. Ammann have become the parents of a daughter and two sons: Alice, the wife of Chester Melville, who is in the office of the Illi- nois Central Railroad Company, at Chicago; and, Albert and Harry, who are in partnership with their father. The former married Agnes McMann, a daughter of James and Anna (Thurston) Mc- Mann.
In his political views Henry Ammann has al- ways been a stalwart republican and has served as trustee of the village but has preferred to con- eentrate his energies upon his business affairs rather than upon political activity. He and his family are attendants at the German Lutheran church, to the support of which he contributes. For more than half a century he has lived in
Illinois and the greater part of his life has been passed in Will county, so that he has been a wit- ness of its growth and development, and in Peo- tone has taken an active part in those interests which have led to the upbuilding and improve- ment of the village. He manifests in his life many of the sterling characteristics of his German ancestry, being a worthy representative of that portion of the Teutonic race who have taken so active and helpful a part in the colonization of Illinois and the promotion of its material pros- perity.
J. D. LELAND.
J. D. Leland, who is steward at the Illinois pen- itentiary. at Joilet, has been a resident of Will county since 1866. He is a native of Niagara county, New York, but has spent the greater part of his life in Joliet. Thirty-five years ago he was appointed by the state as purchasing agent for the prison. a position he still holds.
Mr. Leland was married in New York, in 1853 to Miss Helen Fuller, a native of Orleans county, New York. They have become the parents of four children : Homer, who is a banker of Iowa ; Clara, now Mrs. Goodhue, of California; Frank, a lawyer practicing in Ohio; and May, the wife of Frank Whitgrove. The family occupy a fine residence of ten rooms on Cass street, which was built by Mr. Leland. His business and social con- nections have brought to him a wide acquaintance and he has the favorable regard of the great ma- jority of those with whom he has come in contact.
DUANE DIBBLE.
With the farming interests of Troy township Duane Dibble has been identified since reaching man's estate and is today the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and thirty acres on section 23. He was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, June 5. 1861, his parents being Edmond and Celia (Sam- mons) Dibble, who were natives of Michigan and New York respectively. The father came to this state about 1859 and first located in Kankakee,
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where he followed farming for two years. At the outbreak of the Civil war he joined the boys in bhie and served for three years as a member of the One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. At the close of the war he removed to Will county and located in Troy township, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout the remainder of his life, dying February 19, 1904. As a loyal and patriotic citizen, he took an active interest in public affairs and served as assessor of his township for one year. In relig- ious faith he was a Universalist, to which church his widow also belongs. She now makes her home in Joilet. They had two children : Duane, of this review ; and Helen, wife of Edwin Fargo, a resi- dent of Gilmore City, lowa.
During his boyhood and youth Duane Dibble attended the district schools and early became familiar with the work of the farm in its various departments. He has followed farming with good success and now has a well improved and nignly cultivated place, the buildings being neat and sub- stantial. Mr. Dibble was married on the 8th of February, 1888, to Miss Florence Pinneo, a daughter of John B. and Katharine (Conklin) Pinneo, the former a native of Nova Scotia and the latter of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Dibble have the following children, namely: Lottie E., born November 2, 1888; Eugene, June 8, 1890; Ethel G., February 20, 1892 : Ruth M., June 5, 1897 ; and Duane, April 23, 1900. The family is one of prominence in the community where they reside and Mrs. Dibble is an earnest member of the Methodist church. Mr. Dibble takes an active interest in the community affairs and is serving his fifth year as township trustee. He is widely and favorbly known throughout the locality in which he makes his home, having resided here for over forty years.
JOHN B. MECHAM, D. C. L.
Mr. Mecham, an able lawyer of Joliet, came to this city in the autumn of 1888 and was later associated with Judge Benjamin Olin. In Oc- tober, 1889, he formed a partnership with Ed- ward B. Crawford, which connection continued until 1891, when Mr. Crawford retired from the
practice of law to enter the ministry. Since then Mr. Mecham has been alone, with offices at No. 203 Cutting building. He has been accorded a foremost place among the legal representatives of this part of the state.
The Mecham family was first represented in America by Scotch and English ancestry who settled in New Hampshire in an early day. Caleb Mecham, a native of Vermont, migrated to Mer- cer county, Pennsylvania. In 1850 he brought his family to Grundy county, Illinois, and be- came a pioneer of Mazon township, where he died in 1855. His son, John C., was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and was the eldest child in the family. At the time of coming to Illinois he was eighteen years of age. He made farming his principal occupation and was very successful. lle was a member of the Union Leagne in the early days of its organization. He is a man highly esteemed for honesty and integrity, and in poli- tics always votes with the republican party. In religion he is a Methodist. In 1904 he moved to Kenesaw, Nebraska, where he makes his home. The lady whom he married bore the maiden name of Eliza Ann Hartford and was born in Muskin- gum county, Ohio, daughter of John and Jane Hartford, the father being a native of New York state and the mother of Virginia. After the death of her father she, together with her mother and family, in 1844 came to Illinois and settled in Kendall county, where two of her uneles, George and Clarke Hollenback, had settled in 1829, and who were pioneers of that county. She was twice married and by her first union three children were born, of whom a daughter, Mrs. J. C. Keltner of Mazon, alone survives. Of the second union, three sons were born, namely : Ma- tion, of Moorhead, Minnesota ; John B. ; and El- mer E., who graduated from the Illinois Wes- leyan University and is now a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church of Central Illinois conference.
In Mazon, on the old homestead, in Grundy county, Illinois, the subject of this sketch was born. As is the common lot of American youths born on a farm, he was carly taught to work. Passing from the district school, he prepared for college at the Morris Normal and Scientific School, and afterward taught for a year prior to entering the Illinois Wesleyan University at
Yours Truly John Barton Micham
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Bloomington. After completing his university course he again took up the profession of teach- ing. For one year he was principal of the Mazon high school and for a similar period held the principalship of the Ashton (Iowa) schools. In 1888 he graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan. While in that school he also pursued a course in political sci- ence. He was one of the charter members of Michigan Alpha fraternity of Phi Delta Theta and has always been a loyal frat.
A constant student of his profession and im- bued with the firm belief that to be learned in the law one must know the history of the real civi- lization of nations, he pursued a thorough course in the civil law and the German classics and com- pleted a course of graduate work in jurisprudence at the Chicago Law School, from which he re- ceived the degree of Doctor of Civil Law. Mr. Mecham is classed as a student of the School of Philosophical Jurists. He became a member of the faculty of the Chicago Law School, which po- sition he held for four years. As a teacher of law and kindred sciences he is thoroughly informed, and his lectures are clear and forceful, enlisting the deepest interest of students and making a last- ing impression upon their minds.
His keen discrimination and excellent memory enable him to deal skillfully with questions of fact and apply them to disputed points of law. In argument, where an accurate acquaintance with the principles of law is absolutely necessary, he has been signally successful. He is a member of the alumni association of the University of Mich- igan ; a member of the Hamilton Club of Chicago and of the Joliet Commercial Club ; was a delegate to the rivers and harbors congress, which convened in the city of Washington, December 6 and 7, 1906. Fraternally he is identified with Matteson lodge, No. 175, A. F. & A. M .; is a stanch republican of the Roosevelt type, who believes in a square deal and common honesty with all mankind. The county committee and conventions of the repub- lican party have always received his support. In 1899 he was elected on the republican ticket to represent the fifth ward in the city council, his election being especially noteworthy from the fact that the ward usually gives a democratic majority. In the council he served ably as chairman of the judiciary committee and member of other com-
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