USA > Illinois > Will County > Past and present of Will County, Illinois, V. 2 > Part 6
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Unto our subject and his wife have been born seven children : Adaline L. is the wife of Edward Francis, who resides on the old John Francis farm. George Albert, who is now operating his father's old homestead farm on section 27, New Lenox township, wedded Jessie Cooper, a daughter of N. P. Cooper. Florence Elizabeth pursued a course of study at Dennison College, in Ohio, and is now at home with her parents. Estella Henri- etta is a graduate of the Joliet high school. Frank H., Sadie A. and Arthur L. arc all deceased.
Mr. Walz has filled a number of public offices, having served as highway commissioner, super- visor and assessor, while for a long period he acted as school director and also trustee, the cause of education finding in him a warm and helpful friend. Mr. Walz is fond of travel and has spent two winters in Florida. He and his family are highly esteemed people, well known in Joliet, where they occupy a nice home at No. 607 Brown avenne.
JACOB J. HARTONG.
Jacob J. Hartong is one of the worthy citizens of Will county, now living retired in a pleasant home in Plainfield, where he is spending the even- ing of his days in well merited rest, for his la- bors in connection with agricultural interests in former years have placed him in possession of a fine farm in Plainfield township, from which he derives an income sufficient to supply him with all the comforts and some of the luxuries of life.
Mr. Hartong was born in Summit county, Ohio, in 1830, a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Rich) Hartong, who were natives of the Keystone state, whence they removed to Ohio at a very early day. The father was a weaver by trade, but dur- ing his later years engaged in agricultural pur- suits. Both he and his wife passed away many years ago. Their family numbered twelve chil- dren, but only four sons and one daughter now survive, the brothers of our subject being Jona- than, Levi and Frank Hartong, all of whom re-
side in Plainfield, while the sister, Liddie Thorn- ton, is a widow and resides in Indiana.
Jacob J. Hartong was reared and educated in Summit county, Ohio, and it was there that he began farming on his own account. He was mar- ried in the Buckeye state, first to Miss Mary Beard, who was likewise a native of Summit coun- ty. She died in that state in 1859, when still a young woman, leaving four children : Mary E., who is now the wife of William D. Jones, a resi- dent of Oklahoma ; Martha Almeda, the widow of George Stoner and a resident of Naperville, Illi- nois; Henry J., who died at the age of nine years; and one son, who died in infancy. Mr. Hartong was married a second time in Ohio to Magdalena Gardner, a native of Summit county. She died in Will county on Christmas day of 1902, at the age of fifty-nine years and two months. Five children were born of this marriage, but the youngest, a son, died in infancy. Those surviving are: William H., a resident of Plainfield town- ship; Elias G., who wedded Alferetta Schott, by whom he has two children, and who is now oper- ating his father's farm in Plainfield township; Charles V., who is a farmer residing near Arthur, Iowa, and who is married and has five children; and Martin F., who is married and has two chil- dren, and is in the street car service at Aurora.
It was subsequent to his second marriage that Mr. Hartong left his native state and came to Illinois, the year of his arrival in this state being 1861. He first purchased a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Plainfield township, situated on the Joliet road, and was actively engaged in its cultivation for seven years. He then sold that place and bought two hundred and six acres in Manhattan township, where he lived for thirteen years. On disposing of that property he pur- chased one hundred and seventy-four acres on the Joliet road in Plainfield township, which he still owns. He was practical and progressive in his methods of farm work, so that his labors brought to him a desirable success, thus placing him in very comfortable circumstances. Retiring from active business life, he removed to the village of Plainfield, where he has made his home for the past sixteen years. Ho still owns his farm prop- erty, which is now operated by his son Elias. He has ever been interested in advancement along agricultural lines and has not only been a wit-
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ness, but an active participant in the progress that has been made in this connection in Plainfield township. In his political affiliations Mr. Har- tong is identified with the republican party, while his religious views are indicated by his member- ship with the Evangelical Association of Plain- field.
GEORGE H. WOODRUFF.
In the annals of Will county no name is en- titled to more lasting remembrance than that of Mr. Woodruff, who was one of its pioneers and is well known as its historian. A fluent writer, he put in permanent form for the benefit of future generations, many incidents connected with the early history of the county and its brave pioneers. Among his works are "History of the Black Hawk War"; "Patriotism of Will County," a record of the men from here who took part in the war with the south; "Will County on the Pacific Slopes," which gave sketches of the men who went to Cali- fornia during the gold excitement of 1849-51; and "Woodruff's History of Will County."
The first home of the Woodruff family in Amer- ica was in Connecticut, and later generations lived in New York. In the latter state Theor Wood- ruff was born and spent much of his life, engaging in business as a manufacturer of scythes and edged tools, but at an advanced age he came to this county, joining his son in Joliet and remaining here until his death. His son, the subject of this sketch, was born in Clinton, New York, August 16, 1814, and was one of three children, of whom the other son died in boyhood, and the daughter, Adele, wife of M. H. Demmond, died in New York.
George II. Woodruff was educated in Ilamilton College, at Clinton, from which he graduated at eighteen years. In the summer of 1834 he came to Joliet with his brother-in-law, Mr. Demmond, for whom he clerked in the general mercantile business. Prior to 1840 he established the Pio- neer drug store on Bluff, between Exchange street and Western avenne, and afterward for many years had his place of business at the corner of Bluff and Exchange, continuing there until his death. He was the first circuit clerk and recorder
of the county and also held the office of county judge at one time. He assisted in the organiza- tion of the First Presbyterian church and long held office as its treasurer. A stanch believer in republican principles, he voted with that party after its organization. After having been in poor health for three years he died November 1, 1890, fifty-six years after his arrival in the then frontier town of Joliet.
The first wife of Mr. Woodruff, Hannah (Lucas) Woodruff, was born in New York and died in Joliet, leaving three children. The son, Henry Theor Woodruff, was graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and died in Harvard, Illinois, in 1900. During the Civil war he was surgeon of the One Hundredth Illinois Infantry and remained at the front until the close of the war, with the exception of the time when he was imprisoned in Libby. The daughters are Annie Mary, now a teacher in Mary Allen Seminary, Crockett, Texas, her home being in Rochester, New York; and Julia H., teacher of mathematics in the Joliet township high school.
Mr. Woodruff's last marriage united him. in Joliet, in 1857, with, Mrs. Achsah (Wheeler) Perkins, who was born in Berkshire, Massachu- setts, and is still living at the age of eighty-three years. Her father, Harry Wheeler, a native of Massachusetts, served in the war of 1812. Late in life he moved west to Illinois and established a lumber and nursery business in Aurora, from which city he came to Joliet, and died here at the age of ninety-two. His father, Benjamin Wheeler, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war and a member of the Massachusetts legislature. The latter's wife bore the maiden name of Achsah Johnson. The mother of Mrs. Woodruff was Clarissa, daughter of Elisha and Alice ( Freeman) Ilarman, the former of whom was a native of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, and a life-long resident there. Mrs. Woodruff is one of three children, having two brothers: Henry, who died in Aurora; and Mark II., who served in a Con- necticut regiment during the Civil war until he was killed in the storming of Port Hudson. When a girl Mrs. Woodruff was a student at Mount Holyoke Seminary, graduating in 1848. Soon afterward she became the wife of Dr. John P. Perkins, a graduate of the Albany Medical Col- lege. They came to Joliet in 1856. and the Doctor
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GEORGE H. WOODRUFF.
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died in this city while still a young man. After- ward Mrs. Perkins was married to Mr. Woodruff, by whom she had two sons, namely: George F., who is associated in business with his brother; and Harry Wheeler, whose sketch follows this.
We can not more appropriately close this me- moir than with the presentation of "Israel's Prayer," by Mr. Woodruff, as it appears in "Bit- ter Sweet":
Our father's God! To Thee we come once more, With united voice and heart, to offer
Thanks and prayer. Thanks for the past, whether Of good, or seeming ill. Thanks that we weet Once more beneath the old roof! Our Father ! Forgive our sin, for sin is ours, we dare Not lay it at Thy door! Our Father, give Us humility ! May we not presume To comprehend Thee or Thy way so full Of mystery ! We only ask light enough To guide us to Thee! We ask strength that May overcome our weakness and resist Temptation, and strong grow in virtue. Give ns faith ! Faith in Thyself and in Thy Wisdom, power and love and holiness, And in Thy purposes of good to man. Father, in Thy Son, and in His sacrifice; Father in heaven and in joy eternal In store for all who Thy dear Son accept. Give us love! Love supreme and reverent To Thyself !- to each other tender and Patient, and to the world, outside Thy fold, Pitiful and helpful.
And now once more
We lie down to sleep, safe under Thy wing. May we wake rested and with thankful heart! And when we take our last deep sleep may we wake In heaven! We ask all in Christ's dear name. Amen !
HARRY WHEELER WOODRUFF, M. D.
Dr. Harry Wheeler Woodruff is a well known representative of professional ranks in Joliet, where he is engaged in successful practice as an oculist and aurist. He was born in this city Feb- ruary 18, 1868. His father, George H. Woodruff, was a native of Clinton, New York, born in 1814,
and in the year 1834 became a resident of Joliet when the now thriving city was a mere hamlet For several years he engaged in clerking in the general store owned by Martin H. Demmond and later he engaged in the drug business on his own account. He was for many years one of the most distinguished and honored citizens of Will county and a more fitting memorial of his life, its vir- tues and its accomplishments is given on another page of this work.
Dr. Woodruff, entering the public schools of Joliet at the usual age, passed through successive grades until he had completed the high school course by graduation with the class of 1886. Pre- paring for a business career, he was graduated from the Chicago College of Pharmacy in 1889 and from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago in the class of 1892. He acted as interne in the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in 1892-3, after which he came to Joliet, where he has since successfully engaged in practice. He belongs to the Will County Medical Society, the Illinois State Medical Society, the American Med- ical Association, the Chicago Ophthalmological Society, and the Chicago Medical Society, and is a member of the staff of the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary of Chicago and of the Chicago Eye, Ear. Nose and Throat College. In the line of his specialty he has gained considerable disinc- tion, his ability being widely acknowledged by the profession as well as the general public. He has continually kept abreast with the advanced thought of the profession, promoting his knowledge and efficiency through constant reading and investiga- tion, and he has few equals in the line of his spe- cialty in this part of the state.
Dr. Woodruff was married to Miss Jennie L. Coventry of Deerfield, New York, on the 25th of June, 1895. She is a daughter of Robert Coven- try and a great-granddaughter of Alexander Cov- entry, who was the founder of the Coventry fam- ily in this country at one time the president of the New York State Medical Society. Dr. and Mrs. Woodruff have four children: George H., Robert C., Lewis W. and Katherine, aged, respec- tively, ten, eight, five and four years.
Dr. Woodruff in his social relations is con- nected with the Union and the Commercial clubs. He is a gentleman of genial, pleasant manner, of laudable ambition and strong and earnest pur-
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pose, and has made consecutive advancement in a profession which demands strong intellectuality, close application and unfaltering zeal.
EDWARD H. FEDDE.
Edward H. Fedde is numbered among the most successful business men of Peotone, where he is en- gaged in the furniture and undertaking business, having one of the largest establishments of its kind in Will county, while he is also manager and vice-president of the Peotone Electric Light Com- pany, of which William Yung is the president, these two genltemen owning the entire stock of the company.
Mr. Fedde is a native son of Illinois and comes of German ancestry. His birth occurred in Mo- mence. Kankakee county, February 13, 1867. His father. Henry Fedde, who was born in Germany, came to America when a young man and engaged in working at his trade, that of a cabinet-maker, in Joliet. After a residence of eight years in that city he removed to Momence, Illinois, where he continued to work at his trade until 1868, when he came to Peotone and established a furniture and undertaking business. In 1883 his building and stock were destroyed by fire, but he later re- built and carried on business operation until he disposed of his stock to his sons, who conducted the store, although the father remained a silent partner in the business until the time of his death, which occurred in 1889, when he had reached the age of sixty-seven years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna IIecht, was also born in Germany, whence she came with her parents to this country. She survived her husband for a long period and passed away in a hospital at Chi- cago, September 24, 1906.
Edward II. Fedde is the eldest of the three chil- dren of his father's family. One son died in in- fancy. while John, who was a partner of our sub- ject. passed away Devember 4, 1900. Edward H. Fedde was only a year old when he was brought to Peotone by his parents, and here the days of his boyhood and youth were passed, while in the public schools he acquired his education. He also spent one year in the Metropolitan Business College, in Chicago, where he received the training
which fitted him to enter the business world, at which time he engaged in the furniture and under- taking business with his brother John, while upon the death of the latter he became sole owner and proprietor. He carries a complete line of furni- ture and undertaking goods, having the largest store of its kind in Peotone. By his courteous manner, strict business methods and reasonable prices he has won a large patronage, not only in Peotone, but in the surrounding districts as well. He is popular in business circles and is numbered among the leading merchants of Will county. Mr. Fedde has also found time and opportunity for the development of other business enterprises, hav- ing in 1894 been instrumental in the organiza- tion of the Electric Light Company of Peotone, in which he became a large stockholder, while in 1902 the entire stock was purchased by Mr. Fedde and William Yung, who is acting as president, while Mr. Fedde is vice-president and manager. They have a contract for lighting the city, the business houses and many private residences and employ an expert electrician. C. A. Stewart. who has charge of the working of the plant.
In 1889 occurred the marriage of Mr. Fedde and Miss Lizzie Conrad, a daughter of Peter Conrad, one of Peotone's pioneer business men. Their home has been blessed with one son and two daughters: Harry, Ruth and Catherine. The par- ents are members of the Emanuel Lutheran church. Mr. Fedde gives his political support to the repub- lican party, but has never been an aspirant for public office, preferring to concentrate his time and energies upon his private business interests. His fraternal relations are with the Masonic fra- ternity, the Knights of Pythias and the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. The family oc- cupy a beautiful residence and their home is noted for its warm-hearted and gracious hospitality.
CHARLES F. GOODSPEED.
Charles F. Goodspeed, manager of the Will County Abstract Company at Joliet, his native city, was born August 26, 1860, and was a son of Judge Francis and Lucretia I. (Knox) Good- speed. He was educated in the schools of Joliet, in Chicago University and in Knox College, at
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Galesburg, Illinois, and when his more specifically literary education was completed he pursued a course in Bloomington Law School, from which he was graduated in 1882. He was admitted to the bar on the 15th of June of that year and has since practiced his profession, paying particular atten- tion at the present time to probate business and land titles. For several years, however, he con- tinued in the general practice of law and on aban- doning it he became the manager of the Will County Abstract Company in 1900, purchasing the controlling interest in the business. He has full charge of the business, which was established in 1893. The company occupies offices at No. 120 North Ottawa street, in the Commercial Club building, which is a modern structure, thoroughly up-to-date. Mr. Goodspeed employs eight people to take charge of the office business, which is stead- ily growing, being the leading abstract business of the county.
On the 24th of October, 1883, was celebrated the marriage of Charles F. Goodspeed and Miss Hes- ter A. Beedy, of Peotone, Illinois, and they have two sons: Frank, born September 2, 1884; and Nathan Lee, born January 1, 1887.
Mr. Goodspeed has taken an active interest in politics as an earnest and unfaltering republican. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree, and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise identified with the Union League Club and with the Commercial Club, and his contempo- raries acknowledge him one of the leading business men of the city, having a wide and favorable ac- quaintance in professional and financial circles, his name being an honored one on commercial paper.
HUGH E. CORBETT.
Hugh E. Corbett, attorney-at-law of Joliet, was born on a farm in Livingston county, Illinois, in 1871, his parents being Thomas and Ellen (Kane) Corbett. The father was a farmer by occupation and is now living in Chatsworth, Illinois. In the family were eight children, of whom four are liv- ing: Julia. who resides with her parents; John C., who is engaged in the grain, coal and lumber trade at Chatsworth and is vice president of the
Commercial National Bank there; Hugh E., of this review ; and James A., who is located at Philo, Illinois, being manager of three banks-one at Philo, one at Fairland and one at Tolono, Illi- nois.
Hugh E. Corbett attended the country schools and is a graduate of the Chatsworth high school. He remained upon the home farm until 1889, in which year the family removed to Chatsworth, and after completing his studies there he pursued a business, teacher's and scientific course at Valpa- raiso, Indiana. He afterward taught for three years and then returned to Valparaiso, being graduated from that school. He likewise spent a year in the office of A. C. Norton, a leading at- torney of Pontiac, Illinois, and later located for practice at Elkhart, Indiana, where he formed a partnership with Charles F. Waltz, remaining a member of the bar at that place for six years. He was chairman of the democratic county committee and of the democratic central committee while in Elkhart, and was prominent and influential in public life and in professional circles. In a pro- fession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit he made steady progress. The favorable judgment which the world passed upon him at the outset of his career has in no degree been set aside or modified, but, on the contrary, has been strengthened as the years have gone by. and he has demonstrated in the courts his strong and cogent reasoning and his familiarity with law and precedent. His position in public regard in Elkhart was indicated by the following, which appeared in a republican paper when he decided to leave that city :
"Hugh E. Corbett has decided to leave Elkhart. This will be unpleasant news to those who know Mr. Corbett and who appreciate the value to a community of men of such character and purposes. Mr. Corbett has proved himself a young man of ability, honor, public spirit and high character. Such young men are necessary in all cities, and the more of them a city has the better its standing in the state. Mr. Corbett will go to Joliet, Illi- nois, to practice his profession and has what seems to his friends an exceptionally good oppor- tunity."
In 1904 Mr. Corbett came to Joliet and formed a law partnership with E. Meers. He soon won recognition here as an able member of the bar and
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much important litigation has been entrusted to him, the clientage of the firm being large and of a distinctively representative character. He has al- ways figured prominently in political circles and in 1906 was a candidate of his party for the office of county judge of Will county.
On the 14th of August, 1900, Mr. Corbett was married to Miss Agnes M. Murdock, of Elkhart, Indiana, and they have two children, Louise and George. He owns his own home and other prop- erty in the city of Joliet and fraternally he is connected with the Elks and the Knights of Co- lumbus here. He manifests a publie-spirited in- terest in citizenship and stands for progress in municipal and national affairs. The greater part of his time and attention, however, are given to his profession, and in the trial of a case he mani- fests definite thought, clear conception and logical reasoning-qualities which are essential to the con- duct of successful litigation.
FRED W. WALTER.
Fred W. Walter, attorney at law with offices at No. 317 Jefferson street, Joliet, was born in Lockport in 1870, so that he is a native son of Will county. He has found within its borders good business opportunities and in a profession where success depends entirely upon individual merit has gained a creditable name and place.
His father, M. Walter, an old-time resident of Will county, who for many years was engaged in the grocery business here, came to Illinois about 1854, locating for a time at St. Charles. About 1860 he removed to Lockport and while living there enlisted in the Mercantile Battery as a de- fender of the Union cause, serving until the fall of 1864. He then returned to Lemont, where he worked for Charles Boyer. About 1870 he em- barked in the grocery business on his own account at Lockport, where he has since conducted his store, being now one of the old merchants of the town and one of its most successful and reliable business men. He was born in Germany sixty- eight years ago. Ilis first wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret Pitts, died about six- teen years ago. Her father was a great hunter at an early day as was his son, Nicholas Pitts, now
deceased. and his grandsons have followed in his footsteps in this direction, one of them, John Pitts, being now well known as a hunter. Mr. and Mrs. Walter had four sons and five daughters : Fred W .; John, who is now postmaster of Lock- port ; Frank and Robert, who are also residents of Lockport; Mrs. C. N. Ladd, of Auburn Park, Chi- cago : Mrs. C. W. Kiplinger, of Vicksburg, Missis- sippi; Mrs. Howard Norton, of Lockport; and two sisters who died in recent years. All of the children were born at Lockport.
Fred W. Walter was reared in his native town and at the usual age entered the public schools, passing through successive grades until he had completed the high school course. Later he spent two years in pursuing a special course of study in Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, after which he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he pursued a law course in the State University being gradu- ated in 1893. He was then admitted to the bar of Illinois and immediately opened an office for prac- tice in Joliet. In 1896 he became associated as a partner with Messrs. Higgins and Akin. On the election of Mr. Akin to the position of attorney general of the state of Illinois the firm dissolved and Mr. Walter has since been associated with Mr. Higgins as general practitioners of law under the firm style of Higgins & Walter. They have been accorded a distinctively representative clien- tage and have been connected with much impor- tant litigation tried in the courts of this district. In 1905 Mr. Walter was elected city attorney of Lockport for a two years' term. Prior to that time he served for seven years as village attorney and when Lockport became a city he was elected the first city attorney.
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