USA > Illinois > Will County > Portrait and biographical album of Will County, Illinois : containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 36
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State until 1863. when he returned to Illinois. For a twelvemonth he carried on his father's farm, and then, taking up his abode in Mokona, he began buying grain and shipping it to Chicago. During the next two years he was fairly successful, and he then opened an establishment for the sale of agri- cultural implements.
The new venture of Mr. Jones proved to be one in which his good judgment and business tact found room, and during the next twelve years he inade money. He closed out his large trade at the right time, in 1878, and going to Chicago. engaged in the commission business and secured a member- ship on the Board of Trade. So successful bave been his operations that his name has become well known to all who are interested in the working of the Board. His son and son-in-law are with him as assistants, and six other men are employed by him in his office. Ilis dwelling in Mokena is a commodious one. furnished in a style suited to his means and the cultured tasies of the occupants, and supplied with every means for the added cu !- ture and enjoyment of the family.
The lady with whom Mr. Jones was united in marriage, was born in Solon, N. Y., and bore the maiden name of Clarissa B. Farley. Her father, Benjamin Farley. was an early settler in Lockport, IN., following the trade of a carpenter and joiner. Mrs. Jones was orphaned when a young girl, and early began to make her own way as a .teacher. She was educated in Indiana. and in that State began her wedded life, her marriage rites being celebrated July 25, 1855, in the town of West Creek. She is a gifted and accomplished woman, whose charming hospitality is never forgotten by those who once enjoy it. She is the mother of six children. of whom four survive-Charles II .. the first-born, died in 1877, at the age of twenty years; Edward S. makes his home in Chicago, being with his father in business; Emma married Walter Met- calf, and their home is in Normal Park, Cook County ; Belle and Bertha are still at home. The sons and daughters have had fine advantages, and their minds and manners do credit to the care which has been bestowed upon them, and afford good ground for parental pride.
tees at Mokena for three years and then resigned the office. In 1856 he cast a Presidential ballot for John Charles Fremont, and since that date has been an active supporter of the Republican party. HIe possesses agreeable manners, a jovial and friendly nature, and is one of those fortunate men who, when business hours are over, can thoroughly enjoy the comforts and luxuries by which they are surrounded, and the many pleasures which their abundant means can procure. Mrs. Jones is a con- sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
G EORGE W. DUNLAP, the son of a pioneer of Will County. who has himself done much pioneer work in the improvement of his fine farm on section 36, Wheatland Township, may well be classed among the pioneers of this part of Illi- nois. Ile is a native of Sullivan County, N. Y., and was born April 3, 1845. He is a son of Wilson and Phoba ( Holliday ) Dunlap, natives of New York State. The father's family is of Scoteh origin.
In 1853, the parents of our subject emigrated to this county and his father farmed here as a renter for a number of years. Ile finally settled on a farm of his own in DuPage Township, and subsequently removed to Plainfield and resided there a number of years. Later he and his wife retired from active life to the home of his daughter, Mrs. Albert Tyler, of Wheatland Township, and he is still an inmate of her household and is now in his seventy-sixth year. In the month of June, 1888, his faithful wife, who had borne with him the labors of their early years and had shared with him the joys and sorrows of a long wedded life, was removed from his side by the hand of death. By that marriage he became the father of seven children, of whom the following four survive: Eugene, residing in Lockport Township; Mrs. Tyler, of Wheatland Township; Elizabeth, wife of Henry Walker, of Iroquois County, and our subject. The father is a stanch Democrat in politics.
George Dunlap, of whom we write, was a young lad when he came to this county and here he was
Mr. Jones was President of the Board of Trus- i reared to a stalwart manhood under the influences
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of pioneer life. His education was conducted in the district schools of the early days. and he gained a thorough knowledge of farming in all its branches . under the guidance of his father, and has always followed that calling.
In the month of August. 1862. Mr. Dunlap was married to Mrs. Affa Eaton, widow of Henry Eaton, of Wheatland Township, and a daughter of J. B. King, of DuPage Township, of whom a sketch ap- pears in this Aubry. Of their union four children have been born. of whom three are now living: James W .. Ida, Affa and Emma JJ. By her first mar- riage with Henry Eaton, Mrs. Dunlap had one daughter. Alice.
Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap are highly regarded in this community for their great personal worth and in their home, comfort and hospitality abides. Mr. Dunlap carries on his affairs with wisdom and in his dealings with others is honest and fair. He is sincerely religious and the Methodist Episcopal Church finds in him one of its most consistent and conscientious members. His strong temperance views shape his polities and he is identified with the Prohibition party. He has served as a School Di- rector. and all things that will in any way advance the educational interests of the township or elevate society, find favor with him.
ILLIAM BREDEMEYER. It would need but a casual glance over his estate. oven from one unacquainted with the relative value of soils and unaccustomed to farm life, to recognize the fact that the above-named gentleman is a thorough agriculturist. The one hundred and sixty acres in the southwest quarter of section 13. Washington Township, are so well improved and kept in such excellent order as to attract the atten- tion of all passers-by and lead all to agree in their verdict regarding the owner. Mr. Bredemeyer was one of the early settlers in this vicinity, but having come to stay he put forward his best efforts to make of his home one of the best farms in Northern Illinois.
Before outlining the life-history of our subject
it will not be amiss to devote a brief space to that of his ancestors. Ilis grandfather, Christopher Bredemeyer, and his father, William. Sr., were of old German stock and born in Algesdorf, Germany. There father and son were engaged in farming, and both were noted for their great strength and massive frames. William Bredemeyer was over seven feet in height and of proportionate weight. He lived to be more than four-score years oldl, while his father reached the advanced age of ninety-three years. Both were life-long members of the Lutheran Church. William Bredemeyer, Sr., married a lady who became the mother of two children, our subject and his sister Mary, who lived and died in Germany. The mother was possessed of remarkable physical strength and a disposition and character worthy of remembrance by her posterity. When in the prime of life she was stricken by a fever and after a short illness breathed her last, leaving our subject mother- less before he was eight years old.
The subject of this biograpical notice was born June 9. 1821. in Algersdorf, Germany, and passed his boyhood and youth in his native land. In Ist5. while he yet lacked some months of having reached his majority, he left Bremerhaven on a sailing ves- sel bound for New York. After a voyage of six weeks a landing was made and the young man con- tinued his journey to Chicago, Il. He spent ten years in Cook County, always engaged in farm labor. and at the expiration of that period obtained from the Government the land which he now owns and ocenpies. A. decided change has taken place in its aspect and surroundings since he took posses- sion of it in 185 1, and the change is highly credit- able to him who has made the desert blossom as the
In Cook County Mr. Bredemeyer made the ar- quaintance of Miss Sophia Reesen, an industrious and worthy young woman who was gaining a live- lihood as a domestic. Her good qualities won his regard, which was reciprocated and they became man and wife. Mrs. Bredemeyer was born in Repen. Germany, February 17, 1827, and began to earn her own living when quite young, having lost her parents. In 1816, she crossed the bring deep alone to make a home for herself in a foreign land. She is the mother of fifteen children. three of whom
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died in infaney and the son, Henry, at the age of twenty-six years. The living members of the fam- ily are William, Jr., a farmer at Barnsville, Clay County, Minn .; Jobn, who married a lady of Min- nesota and is living in Clay County ; Sophia, wife of William Hecht, a farmer of the same county ; Christoph. who is farming in the same county and in that State married a native of Saxony ; Fred, who is still at home and helps to manage the farm ; Mary, wife of John Meyer, of Crown Point, Ind., and a traveling salesman; Christ, who is unmar- ried and working in Chicago; Louisa and Herman, at home; Amelia, who is living in Chicago; and Emma, at home. All the children are self -support- ing and inherit the industrious habits and thrifty ways of their parents.
Mr. Bredemeyer is a believer in and a supporter of the principles of the Democratic party. He and his wife belong to the Lutheran Church.
ON. AMOS SAVAGE. Few words are needed in introducing- Mr. Savage to the people of Will County, as his name has been familiar to the great portion of them for many years. He has long been identified with the best interests of this section and has fairly earned his title of Honorable by services in the Illinois Legislature, where he acquitted himself with his usual good judgment and efficiency. He is a man of fine talents and that solid strength of character which has gained him the esteem and confidence of all with whom he has had dealings. The friend of progress and education. he has carried out his ideas, especially in his own family, giving to his children the advantages which will fit them for taking their positions in life as good and use- ful members of the community. The home of Mr. Savage and his surroundings indicates in a marked manner the qualities of character which have shown conspicuously in all the relations of life.
The subject of this notice is the offspring of ex- cellent ancestry, supposed to have originated in England. His father, Deacon Levi Savage, was born in Washington County, N. Y., January 28,
1799, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Milenda Streetor, was a native of the same county as her husband and less than a month his junior, her birth taking place February 20, of the same year. They were reared in their native county and married at Granville, January 27, 1822. Soon afterward they settled in Clinton County, that State, but only remained there three years, returning then to Washington County where they resided about eight years.
In June, 1833, the parents of Mr. Savage came to this county, locating near .loliet, where they re- mained until the spring of 1834. The father then took up land on section 28, Homer Township. from which he constructed a comfortable home- stead where he sojourned until his death, which oc- curred February 14, 1885. The mother is still living and although having arrived at the advanced age of ninety-two years. retains her faculties to a remarkable degree.
Deacon Savage was a man possessing strong traits of character and was not easily turned from his convictions when he felt assured that he was right. He was a stanch Abolitionist, totally op- posed to the "peculiar institution" of slavery and for many years was a Deacon in the Congregational Church. His home was the resort of many noted characters, where his hospitality and genuine kind- ness of heart made everyone feel welcome and at home. The household cirele included eight chil- dren. five of whom lived to mature years. Han- nah W. died unmarried when about forty years of age; llelen L. was the wife of Dwight Haven, a sketch of whom will be found on another page in this volume. Emily is the wife of William II. Lanfear of Homer Township; Edward is a resident of Sioux Falls. S. D .: Amos, our subject, is the youngest born. The elder children died when quite young.
Mr. Savage of whom we write was born in what is now Homer Township, June 18, 1836, and therein he has spent his entire life. His boyhood days were unmarked by anything especially no- ticeable, hie attending the district school and as- sisting his father in the lighter labors of the farm. He chose agriculture for his vocation in life, as best suited to his tastes and capacities. being
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thoroughly imbued with the sentiment that this calling properly carried on, was second in dignity to none on the face of the earth. He remained a member of the parental household until his mar riage, which occurred at Lemont. Cook County, this State, February 25, 1861, the bride being Miss Mary L. daughter of Asahel and Catherine (Ged- des ) Slate.
After his return from the army the young pro- ple commenced their wedded life together on their own farin in llomer Township, and Mr. Savage operated successfully as a tiller of the soil while at the same time he grew in favor with his fellow citi- zens. interesting himself in the enterprises calen- lated to promote the general good of the commun- ity. His first public service was as Supervisor of Homer Township. to which he was elected in April, 1861, and which office he resigned in order to proffer his services in the preservation of the union. He enlisted as a private August 5. 1861. in Company G. Thirty-ninth Hlinois Infantry, and not long afterward was given the commission of Second Lieutenant which was succeeded July 20, 1862, by his promotion to a First Lieutenancy. Still advancing, he was presented July 11. 1861. with a Captain's commission and served in this capacity until October 28, following. when he was obliged to accept his honorable discharge on ac- count of disability. His first experience in actual service was in repelling the raid of Stonewall Jack. son upon the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, in Jan- ary, 1862. where one hundred men of the Thirty- ninth successfully resisted the attack of two rebel regiments, the Third Arkansas and Thirty seventh Virginia. Ile was also at the battle of Winchester, (Hlearnstown ) March 23. 1862. where the favorite chieftain of the rebellion was driven from the field with the loss of guns and many prisoners. He was sent with his command to join the Army of the Potomae at the time of the "seven days' fight"; was in the expedition against Charlestown and engaged in the siege of that city from April to December, of 1863, and led his company over the parapet of Ft. Wagner.
Mr. Savage, in 1864. was in the campaign against Richmond, in the Army of the James. leaving the front only when disabled and when his regiment . mer and has invested a large portion of his cap-
had been reduced by the casualties of battle and by disease, from a total of seven hundred and fifty. to about one hundred and fifty men in the short space of two months. Upon receiving his discharge he returned to his farming interests in Homer Town- ship, but has never laid aside any of his patriotism or his activity in assisting the projeets set on foot for the benefit of the people. He has taken an active part in political affairs and it is hardly nee- essary to state is a stanch supporter of the Repub- lican party. Ile has been for many years a prom- inent member of Gooding Post, No. 101, .G. A. R. and was once elected to the commandership, but deelined. He is independent in his religious views, a man who does his own thinking, who seeks to force his opinions upon none, but who abides by his convictions with the natural tenacity and strength of his character.
For over a quarter of a century and since No- vember. 1864, Mr. Savage has served continuously as Township Treasurer. His leisure hours have been employed with instructive reading, and few men not following the profession of law are bet- ter acquainted with its underlying principles. Ilis council is frequently sought in matters of impor- tance and largely in the settlement of estates with which he is often entrusted. In 1860, he took the stump for Abraham Lincoln, in Will and DuPage Counties, rendering signal service in behalf of the Republican candidate for President. In 1867, he was appointed to fill a vacancy as Supervisor of Homer Township, and from that time was contin- uously elected to the office until 1872, when he withdrew to take his seat in the legislature. He was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for two years and otherwise rendered efficient service in the various matters which were constantly coming up for consideration. Mr. Savage has taken an active part in every Presidential cam- paign since 1864. During his eight separate elec- tions as Township Supervisor, he was placed in office five times withont a single dissenting voice. Hle was elected to the State Board of Equaliza- tion in 1876, and served eight years.
Notwithstanding his public services, Mr. Sav- age has distinguished himself as a progressive far-
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ital in valuable lands, owning three hundred and sixty-four acres in this county. besides land in Dakota. He makes a specialty of live stock. buy- ing and selling extensively and utilizing a large portion of his farm in Homer Township for feed- ing purposes. He is a prominent member of the Old Settlers Association of this county. His domes- tic life furnishes a picture pleasant to contemplate, with his family of intelligent children growing up around him and occupying honored positions in society. The eldest daughter. Helen E., was born December 8, 1861, and is the wife of Frank A. Rowley. of Homer Township; Frank M., was born July 19. 1867. and married Miss Emma Haley of lomer Township; John 11., was born June 25, 1870, and is pursuing his studies in the Englewood High School: Williard A., was born September ti, 1872, and Mary A .. May 13, 1871. The two younger children are at home with their parents.
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The parents of Mrs. Savage died in South Car- ofina when she was quite young. Her father was born in New England and her mother in New York State. Mrs. Savage was born near George- town, S. C., June 22, 1837, and came to Illinois in 1851.
D ANIEL FIDDYMENT. It is a pleasure to gaze upon the varied landscape that com- prises the beautiful farm of this gentleman, and to note the care with which every detail of its management is overseen. the natural features of hill and valley being unmarred by neglected build- ings, tumble-down fences or unsightly fields. The estate comprise- one hundred and ninety-two acres of land that is well adapted for stock-raising, and in that branch of agriculture Mr. Fiddyment is quite extensively engaged.
The parents of our subject, William and Hannah (Knivett) Fiddyment. were natives of "Merrie England, and there their son was also born, his na- tal day being October 6. 1838. The parental family consisted of three sons and one daughter, and they were reared upon a farm. the father being a tiller of the soil. In 1859 they determined to cross the briny deep and seek a better opening for their en-
ergies in the I'nited States. Bidding adieu to the land of their birth, they reached New York after an ocean voyage of seven weeks, and came to Lock- port. Ill .. by water, traversing the Hudson River, Erie Canal, Great Lakes, and Illinois and Michigan Canal.
For some time the elder Mr. Fiddyment was en- gaged in the business of distilling, but he finally settled on the homestead now occupied by his widow and her son Daniel. He of whom we write began his personal career as a farmer. and has ever continued in the vocation to which his early sur- roundings and tastes led him. That it is one to which he is adapted by nature, no one will doubt who visits his pleasant and remunerative farm. The reputation that he bears among the tillers of the soil of this vicinity is that of an able agriculturist and an honest man, and this is agreed to by all who know him.
An important step in the life of Mr. Fiddyment was his marriage, in 1861, to Miss Margaret Wads- worth, a native of Vermont. This lady possesses the strict integrity and regard for duty that char- asterize the New England women, and with it the housewifely skill and kindliness to those in need of attention that are also prominent traits in their character. The union has been blessed by the birth of five children, but three have been removed by the Angel of Death. The survivors-Olive and Daniel-yet linger at the family fireside.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature in a life marked by uprightness and strict attention to his personal affairs, is the fact that Mr. Fiddyment has never been engaged in a lawsuit, either as princi- pal or witness. His wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. at Lockport, and is numbered among the reliable members. .
A fine view of the home of our subject and its surroundings, will be found on the opposite page.
OSEPH KAPS. Among the citizens of for- eign birth, residents of Plainfield Township, who have been factors in promoting its farming interests and by sheer force of per- sistent and intelligent labor have placed themselves
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RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH KAPS , SEC.28. PLAINFIELD TP. WILL CO. ILL ..
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RESIDENCE OF MRS. HANNAH FIDDYMENT, SEC.1. LOCKPORTTP. WILL CO.ILL.
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among the most substantial members of the com- munity, is the subject of this biographical review. and his farm is one of the finest and best managed in this vicinity. He was born in Shleisien. Germany. near the boundary line between that kingdom and Poland, his birth taking place October 1. 1831. Ilis father. Christopher Kaps, was a native of the same place, while his father, whose given name was Jobn Michael, was born in Austria. After at- taining manhood the latter crossed the border and became a citizen of Germany, and there married and reared a family, spending the rest of his days there as a farmer. The father of our subject learned the trade of a weaver and followed that occupation besides tilling the little plot of eight acres of land that he owned. Hle resided in his native place until 1854, and in that year with his wife and two sons started for this land of promise. setting sail November 19, from Bremen in the sail- ing vessel " Alfred" and landing December 25, on the shores of America. He located in Cleveland. O-wego County. N. Y., and was a resident of that place till July. 1:55. In that month he came to Ilinois and located in Aurora. Kane County. and lived there ten years. At the expiration of that time he came to Wil! County and spent his last Years in the town of Troy. dying there in 1875. The mother of our subject departed this life in 1872. The father was twice married and reared two daughters by his first marriage, Mary coming to America and dying here subsequently unmar- ried. There were four children of the second marriage, two of whom were reared to years of maturity. our subject and his brother John. The latter settled in Troy and later in Plainfield. where he died unmarried.
Joseph Kaps attended school steadily until four- teen years of age and acquired a sound education. Hle then took up farming as his life work, carrying it on in the land of his birth till 1851. That year marked a turning point in his life as it was then he emigrated to this country. He started out in a foreign land with no other capital than with which nature provided him and he first made money by working for others. He was thus engaged for four years. and then rented land and in 1867 made his first purchase of eighty acres of wild prairie int
Troy, this county. He greatly improved the land and tilled the soil there until ISSO, when he sold it at a good advance and purchased his present place of residence on section 28, Plainfield Township, three miles from the village, seven and one-half miles from Joliet, the farm being beautifully lo- cated on the banks of the Dul'age River. It com- prises two hundred and fifty-one acres of land of misurpassed fertility and productiveness. He has it under the best of cultivation and has erected commodious buildings and has it amply provided with all the conveniences for carrying on agricul- ture to the best advantage.
The prosperity of our subject is due in a measure to the fact that he has been assisted in his labors by the active co-operation of a capable wife to whom he was united in marriage in 1865. Her maiden name was Mary Seipolt and she was born in Ger- many, and came to America with her parents, Jo soph and Mary M. Seipolt. Their pleasant home circle is completed by the seven children born to them: Matilda. Mary, Francis, Henry, Joseph, Clara and John. The family are members in high standing of St. John's Catholic Church.
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