USA > Illinois > Will County > Past and present of Will County, Illinois, V. 2 > Part 35
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Upon the old home place in Watertown, New York, on which his father had settled in 1835, C. E. Woodruff spent the days of his boyhood and youth. Passing through consecutive grades in the public schools, he was graduated from the high school in the class of 18:7. He then engaged in teaching for a time and in 1884 came to Joliet, where he engaged in the manufacture of wire, con- tinuing in that line for seven years and afterward in other business enterprises until 1896. On the 1st of May of that year the idea of building an artificial ice plant had not been conceived but in July ice was being manufactured. The Joliet Pure Ice Company was incorporated in the former month with A. J. Bates as president ; W. M. Coch- ran, vice president : C, E. Woodruff, secretary and manager ; and Thomas H. Riley, J. J. Gaskill and James G. Hlegge directors in addition to the offi- cers. The capital stock was twenty-five thousand dollars and within the almost incredibly short space of time of less than three months the plant was in operation, owing to the enterprise and keen discernment and executive force of Mr. Woodruff. From the beginning the new venture has proved profitable and the enlargement in the business is indicated by the increase in the capital stock to one hundred thousand dollars. The present mem- bers of the company are M. F. Loughran, presi- dent : J. J. Gaskill, vice president ; R. T. Kelley, treasurer ; C. E. Woodruff, secretary ; with H. Ben- jamin Smith, August Schoenstedt and T. H. Riley
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as additional directors. The company was organ- ized for the purpose of manufacturing pure ice. The capacity was originally twenty-five tons per day but this has been increased to over one hun- dred tons per day. The main building is three hundred by seventy feet and at the present time there is being erected a new building, three hun- dred by one hundred and eight feet, so that the company will have one of the most complete plants for the manufacture of artificial ice in the state. The water used is taken from a well drilled twelve hundred feet in rock and run through seven dif- ferent filters before it is used. Employment is furnished to fifty men and twenty teams are util- ized for hauling purposes. In 1897 the company extended the field of its operations to the coal trade and now handles from thirty to forty thou- sand tons each year. Mr. Woodruff is also seere- tary of the Joliet Printing Company, which he helped to organize three years ago, and is a di- rector in the Joliet Warehouse & Transfer Com- pany and in the Will County Abstract Company. which he assisted in organizing.
In 1880, in Watertown, New York, was cele- brated the marriage of Mr. Woodruff and Miss Jennie R. Robinson, a daughter of Dr. S. M. Robinson. They now have one son, Glenn C. Mr. Woodruff is prominent socially and was one of the organizers of the Union Club and assisted in fram- ing its by-laws. He has been secretary and vice president of this organization and he is also a member of the Commercial Club. the Elks and Knights of Pythias lodges, the White Cross and the Modern Woodman camp. A man of unswerv- ing integrity and business honor. having perfect appreciation of commercial ethies, he has gained and retained the confidence and respect of his fellowmen and is distinctively one of the leading residents of the thriving city of Joliet, with whose interests he has long been identified.
ANDREW PATTON.
Andrew Patton is the owner of an excellent farm of two hundred and forty acres on sections 28 and 33, Peotone township. Ile has prospered in general farming pursuits and in the raising of cattle, hogs and other stock. He is today more
than four-score years of age but still gives per- sonal supervision to his farming interests. His birth occurred in the north of Ireland in 1825. His father, Robert Patton, was also born in the north of Ireland, and in 1841 came to the United States with his family, settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where for two years he followed car- pentering. He then removed to Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, where he died in 1852, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Smith, was also born in Ireland. where their marriage was celebrated, and her death occurred in 1848, when she was seventy years of age. They were earnest Christian people. holding membership in the Presbyterian church.
Andrew Patton, the fifth in order of birth in their family of seven children, attended school in County Tyrone. Ireland, and after coming to America served an apprenticeship as a blacksmith in the Baldwin Locomotive Shops in Philadelphia for three years. Following the removal of the family to western Pennsylvania, he there aided in clearing the land and worked on the home tarm for about twenty-five years. when, in 1864, he came to Illinois and took up his residence on section 33. Peotone township, Will county. Ilere he has since lived and is today the owner of two hundred and forty acres of land, constituting an excellent farm which yields him ready response in good crops. Ile raises cattle and hogs and this branch of his business has also proven profitable.
Mr. Patton was married in Pennsylvania tu Miss Barbara Morrison, who was born in Ireland in 1823. She came to the United States with her parents in 1833, the family settling in Pennsyl- vania, where she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Patton in July. 1851. Unto them were born five children : Robert, who is engaged in the real- estate business in Hartley, Iowa : William J., who is engaged in the lumber and coal business at Cleghorn, Iowa ; Charles C., who is with his father on the home farm : Armour J .. whose home is on section 28 of the old homestead property ; and Dora, the wife of George Barton, a resident farmer of Will township. There are nine grandchildren. John having five children and Mrs. Barton four children, and there is also one great-grandchild.
Mr. and Mrs. Patton are members of the United Presbyterian church and he gives his political alle- giance to the republican party. He is deeply in-
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terested in matters relating to the welfare of his church and the community at large but has never sought to figure prominently in public affairs, pre- ferring to give his attention to business interests, wherein he has met with creditable success.
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FREDERICK A. LUTHER.
At a very early period in the colonization of the new world the Luther family was established in America. The first representative of the name of whom we have authentic record was Captain John S. Luther, a sea-faring man and commander of a merchant vessel. He was of German descent but was born in Ireland and that he established his home in the new world at a very early day is indicated by the fact that his death occurred here in 1645. He was treacherously killed by Indians while trading with them on the Delaware river. He left two sons ; Samuel, born in 1630; and Heze- kiah, in 1640. The elder, Samuel Luther, married and unto him and his wife Mary were born ten children. The ancestors of our subject in the suc- ceeding generation were Samuel and Sarah Luther, natives of New England, the former born October 25, 1663. Their son, Caleb Luther, was born in 1691 and wedded Mary Cole, by whom he had six children.
The fifth in order of birth in this family was Jabez Luther, grandfather of our subject. He was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, November 26, 1776. In his boyhood he was noted for great love of learning but he had limited school privileges. He, however, obtained knowledge from every por- sible source and possessed a retentive memory. In early life he learned the carpenter's trade and ex- pected to follow it as a life occupation. About this time, however, thought of marriage and the estab- lishment of a home of his own entered his mind and his attention centered on a young lady of his acquaintance. An envious maiden, however, hinted to him that she was the recipient of atten- tions from other favored admirers and this led Jabez Luther to determine to follow the sea. He shipped on a merchant vessel for the West Indies, returning to his uncle's home after four years of sea-faring life. This was on the eve of Inde- pendence Day of 1805 and while assisting in the
firing of a cannon a premature discharge shattered both his hands. To many a man of less resolute spirit this would have seemed a difficulty too great to be endured but he possessed an independent spirit and determined not to let the disaster down him. After the amputation of both of his arms he made plans whereby "machines," as he called them, were manufactured and fitted on to the stumps of arms which remained. Thus equipped he took up the battle of life anew and not only learned to handle all kinds of machinery and tools but also to write. After teaching for a little while he embarked in merchandising. In 1805 he was married to his youthful and only choice, Miss Elizabeth Parkman, a daughter of Elias Parkman of North Brookfield, Massachusetts. She was born there. September 26. 1180. Her mother's name was Liscomb. Owing to her father's early death she lived for some years with a maternal aunt. To her husband she proved a most faithful com- panion and helpmate. She possessed rare capa- bilities and the atmosphere of the home life was one of great thoughtfulness and delicacy. In 1810 Jabez Luther purchased a tract of land in Berk- shire, Vermont, and successfully carried on the farm work. The war of 1812 came on, bringing with it distress and hardships, and Mr. Luther, like many others, was a victim of the embargo act, which caused his financial ruin. He then removed with his family to Pittsford, Vermont. He knew no such word as fail and in order to provide for his family he taught school for several successive winters. He also again took up the work of farm- ing. He was elected to offices of honor and trust. for a long time performing the duties of justice of the peace. Later he returned-to Cornish, New Ilampshire. There he began the manufacture of grain eradles and in this enterprise met with suc- cess. He was one of the world's heroes, possessing a nature that enabled him to triumph over diffi- culties and obstacles which would utterly have dis- heartened many men. He possessed much inven- tive genius and business ability, which found ex- emplification in his capable management of many interests and his adaptability to the varied condi- tions which time and fate wrought.
Charles Luther, son of Jabez Luther, was born in Pittsford, Rutland county, Vermont, June 30, 1819, and spent the first twelve years of his life there. He was married there in 1844 and in 1848
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removed to Illinois. settling on a farm in Kanka- kee county. In 1865 he removed to Wilmington township. He had traveled westward by rail and the lakes to Chicago and by canal to Lockport, thence by team to Kankakee county, where he lo- cated one hundred and sixty acres of wild prairie land with a soldier's claim, which cost him one hundred dollars. The following year, in 1849, he returned to Vermont, for his wife and two chil- dren. In the meantime he had ent the trees and sawed the timber into lumber, with which he built a house. He broke the wild prairie with ox teams and improved the land, thus making a start in a pioneer district. He had been a school teacher in Vermont and he followed that profession in the winter months in Kankakee county. As stated, he afterward became a resident of Wilmington town- ship, Will county, where his last days were passed, dying December 31, 1890. His wife bore the maiden name of Lucy Holland and was born July 3, 1825, in the Green Mountain state. They were there married October 22, 1844, and she is now living with our subject. Mr. Luther was a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church in New England and he assisted in supporting the New Jerusalem church in Wilmington. In politics he was a Douglas democrat. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Charles Luther were born three children : Julius, who was born July ?, 1846, and died May 26, 1886 ; Charles W., who was born December 9, 1848, and died September 2 1855, and Frederick A., of this review.
Frederick A. Luther, whose name introduces this record, was born in Kankakee county, Illinois, March 28, 1855, and was therefore a lad of ten years at the time of his parents' removal to Will county. IIe was reared to farm work and through- out his entire life has carried on general agricul- tural pursuits. On the 8th of September, 1877, was celebrated his marriage to Miss Mary E. Thomas, who was born in Yorkshire England, January 10, 1856, a daughter of Henry and Mary (Lister) Thomas, who were natives of England and were there married January 14, 1847. The father, who was born March 12, 1819, died on the 22d of March, 1873. The mother, who was horn December 24, 1822, is now living in Tingley, Iowa. In their family were seven children, of whom four yet survive : Robert L., who is mar- ried and lives in Wisconsin: Mrs. Luther : Annie.
who married G. Q. Immerzeel and lives in Iowa; and Lucy, the wife of Dr. L. R. Hinsdale, of Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Thomas was a farmer and blacksmith in England and in 1865 emigrated to the new world, settling in Florence township, Will county, Illinois, where he devoted his remain- ing days to general agricultural pursuits. Both he and his wife were members of the Church of England.
Soon after his marriage Frederick A. Luther began farming on his own account, having eighty acres of land which he cultivated and improved. He is today farming two hundred acres of rich and arable soil and has an excellent farm property, equipped with modern machinery and all the appliances of a model farm. He has upon the place a fine home and substantial barns, and the farm is conveniently and pleasantly located about a mile and a half northwest of Wilmington. At one time he was engaged in the breeding of Percheron horses, but is not connected with that line of business at the present time.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Luther have been born two children : Charles J. and John H., the former born April 4, 1879, and the latter June 18, 1884. The elder son married Blanche Magrew and they have one son, Julius Magrew, born May 17, 1905.
Frederick A. Luther and his wife are members of the New Jerusalem church. In politics he is independent, voting for men and measures rather than party. Almost his entire life has been passed in this county and throughout the entire period he has been connected with farming interests, be- ing today a leading representative of agricultural life in this part of the state.
AUGUST WILLE.
August Wille, living retired in Crete, is the owner of one hundred and ninety acres of rich and productive land, from which he derives a good income. He is a native son of Crete town- ship, having been born in 1868. His father, Philip Wille, was born in Hesse, Germany, and came to the United States in 1847. After a brief stay in Chicago, where he worked in a brickyard, he made his way to Crete township, Will county, and pur- chased eighty acres of wild government land, which he improved and to which he later added
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a tract of seventy acies on an adjoining section and afterward purchased forty acres more, so that at the time of his death he owned one hun- dred and ninety acres of improved land. His first home here was a log house, but it was subse- quently replaced by a frame residence. When he located in Crete township there were very few settlers there and most of the land was still in its primitive condition. He made his home upon his farm until his death, which occurred in 1896, when he was seventy-eight years of age. He was one of the men of affluence of his township, at- taining a goodly measure of prosperity through his close and unremitting attention to business. He was regarded as a good neighbor, faithful and unselfish in his counsels and upright in all of his relations with his fellowmen. He voted with the republican party and held membership in the Lutheran church. During the early period of his residence in Crete township he wedded Mary Tagt- mayer, also a native of Germany. She came to America in 1846, and they were married in Crete township. Her father died in Germany and her mother joined her in this country. Her brother Henry came in 1852 and settled in Chicago, where he remained for two years, after which he resided on a farm in Crete township. Other men- bers of the family were John Tagtmayer, now in Washington township; Mary, the wife of Conrad Wilkening, of Washington township; and Engle, the wife of Henry Dunsen, of Chicago. The other member of the family, Mrs. Wille, died in 1902, at the age of seventy-seven years, having for six years survived her husband.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wille were born eight chil- dren : Sophie, the wife of John Schraeder, liv- ing in Washington township; John, a farmer at Beecher: Philip, who is living retired in Crete township: Mary, who became the wife of Henry Duensing and died in 1892; Emma and Henry, both deceased ; Lena, who is living with her brother Angust, the youngest of the family.
Upon the home farm in Crete township Aug- ust Wille was reared and attended the country schools,. pursuing his education through the win- ter months, while in the summer seasons he aided in the work of plowing, planting and harvesting His time and energies were largely given to farm- ing in Crete township until 1903, when he re- moved to the village of Crete and now he gives
his supervision merely to his farming interests He owns one hundred and ninety acres of land which is valuable and returns to him a good in- come.
On the 17th of February, 1907, Mr. Wille was united in marriage to Miss Helen Lorenze, of Crete township, who was born in Holstein, Ger- many. Her father, Nicholas Lorenze, was also a native of Holstein and came to the United States in 1894, making his home in Crete town- ship, this county, until his death, which occurred in 1903, when he had reached the age of sixty-sev- en years and eight months. Mr. Wille is a mem- ber of the Lutheran church and in his political views is a republican.
WILLIAM H. MEIER.
William H. Meier, engaged in general agricul- tural pursuits on section 15, Crete township, was born May 16, 1856, in the house in which he now lives, his parents being J. O. and Anne Meier, who are mentioned in connection with the sketch of Henry E. Meier, on another page of this work.
William H. Meier was reared to farm labor and when not busy with the duties of the fields pur- sued his education in the common schools. He was early taught the value of industry and per- severance as effective factors in a business life and the lessons which he learned in youth along this line have borne fruit in his later years. When he was thirty years of age he was given two hun- dred and forty acres of choice land, which had been his father's old homestead. He has greatly improved the property since that time. IIe has built two large barns upon the place, one of which is a brick structure, and in the tilling of the soil he has brought forth rich crops. He continued to operate the homestead place until some time ago, when he sold eighty acres to the Indiana Southern Railroad, built by John R. Walsh. The remainder of the farm he cultivates and has recently pur- chased one hundred and sixty acres on section It, Crete township, from J. O. Piepenbrink. He also owns two hundred and sixty acres near St. James, Minnesota, and a section of land in As- sinniboia, Canada. His time and energies are de- voted to general farming and in his business he
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has met with gratifying success. His fields have been brought under a high state of cultivation and everything about the place is in keeping with the ideas of progressive agriculture.
In 1884 Mr. Meier was married to Miss Caroline Tatge, who was born in Crete township and is a daughter of II. H. Tatge, an early settler. Mr. and Mrs. Meier have become the parents of eight children: Otto, who is exchange clerk in the Chi- cago City Bank ; Amelia, William T., Walter A., Emma, Linda, Edna and Paul, all yet at home.
Mr. Meier and his family are members of the Lutheran church, in the work of which he takes a helpful and active part. He has served for five years as trustee of the church and since 1897 has been treasurer of the German school in his district. while for many years he has been a di- rector of the public schools. In politics he is an earnest and unfaltering republican, though he has never aspired to office, preferring to devote his time and attention to farming interests, in which connection he has made a creditable name for him- self and has won a goodly measure of success.
THOMAS TRAINER.
AAmong the representative and enterprising ag- riculturists of Custer township may be classed Thomas Trainer, who at the present time is operat- ing one hundred and eighty-one acres of well im- proved land. He was born on the Isle of Man. July 18, 1842, a son of William and Margaret ( Moore) Trainer. The former was born in Whit- tle. Scotland, while the latter was born on the Isle of Man. In 1853 the father and his family took passage from England on the sailing ship, William Tafscott. During the voyage they en- countered a severe storm, and another ship, which had on board eight hundred passengers, lost her masts, so that she was unable to continue the voy- age, the passengers being taken on board the William Tafscott, making in all a company of thirteen hundred. The passengers which were res- ened from the second steamer were suffering from cholera, so that the disease soon became prevalent and during the voyage to New York city from seven to eight people died each day. Mrs. Trainer
died of that dread disease while on shipboard and was buried at sea in September. 1853, being at that time forty-five years of age. The father and his family of children, numbering four sons and one daughter, safely reached the harbor of New York, although they lost all their clothing, having only the garments they wore. They made their way at once to Cleveland, Ohio, where he left his children while he continued to Illinois, spend- ing about one month in Wilmington in looking around for a permanent location. He finally pur- chased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Custer township, situated three miles from the village of Wilmington, for which he paid eight dollars per acre in English gold. He then returned to Ohio for his children and upon again arriving in Custer township settled on his farm. During his residence in the old country he was engaged in farming and in breeding horses, cattle and sheep but never engaged in the latter pursuit in this state. He was a member of the Church of Eng- land and died in Custer township in the eightieth year of his age.
Thomas Trainer was a youth of eleven years when he accompanied the family on their emi- gration to the new world. He assisted his father in the development and cultivation of the new farm, so that he was well trained in all the duties connected with carrying on farm work. He re- mained with his father until he reached man's estate, when he started out in life on his own ac- count and established a home of his own my his marriage March 5, 1844. to Miss Elizabeth MeDon- ald, who was born in Ireland, December 2, 1832, a daughter of John and Mary ( Laven ) McDonald. both of whom were likewise natives of the Emerald isle. They emigrated to the new world in the carly 30s and settled in Amsterdam, New York where the father died. His widow afterward came to Will county, Illinois, and her death occurred here in 1886, when she was seventy-four years of age. Their family numbered five sons and three daughters, of whom five still survive, namely : Mrs. Trainer : Maria, the wife of Charles Shippy, a resi- dent of Wilmington ; John, a resident of Joliet ; Edward, who makes his home in Lockport: and Anna, who became the wife of William Pike and is now a resident of Plainfield, Illinois. The father of this family followed farming in the east and gave his political support to the whig party.
THOMAS TRAINER.
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Mr. Trainer is now operating a fine farm of one hundred and eighty-one acres in Custer township, and he was formerly engaged in breeding Clydes- dale horses, South Down and Cotswold sheep and Poland China and Chester White hogs, but of late years he has abandoned his stock-breeding interests and now gives his entire time and attention to his farming. He is progressive in all that he does, keeping abreast of the most modern methods of carrying on agricultural pursuits, so that he is meeting with good success in his labors.
Mr. Trainer gives his political support to the men and measures of the republican party but has never been active as an office seeker. He is num- bered among the oldest settlers of Custer township, for he has resided here continuously since his emi- gration to America, covering a period of fifty-three years, and he has a very wide and favorable ac- quaintance. Both he and his wife are a most excellent and worthy couple, having gained the confidence and good will of all with whom they have been associated.
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