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 56
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The first vote cast by Mr. Lambert was for Abraham Lincoln. and from that day he has acted with the Republican party. He has manifested an interest in all that will advance the real prosperity of the section and elevate the standard of morality. and in his own life has borne himself in an upright and strictly honorable manner. Hle and his esti- mable wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church at Plainfield. He has served as School Director with discretion, and none are more deeply interested in the cause of education than he.
Mr. Lambert was fortunate in his choice of a companion. gaining a true helpmate and wise coun- selor. Miss Carrie Bird became his wife on Feb- " ruary 20, 1855, and has borne him ten sons and
daughters. Of this family seven are now living, three having crossed the River of Death to await their parents on the farther shore. The survivors are Elizabeth, wife of William Walker of DuPage Township; William, now Township Clerk; Mary, wife of Harley Walker, of the same township; Frank E., an enterprising young man who carries on the farm; Enoch, Hattie and Sarah. All are intelligent and are winning reputations such as re- joice the fond hearts of their progenitors.
W ILLIAM JONES. Among the younger farmers of Florence Township, Mr. Jones occupies a leading position and is in possession of a fine body of land on section 1. Enterprising, industrious and progressive in his ideas, he has obtained a good start in life, not only as a thorough and skillful farmer but as a useful member of the community. His native place was Yorkshire, England, and the date of his birth June 10. 1861. Hlis immediate progen- itors, John and Anna (Hall) Jones. were also na- tives of Yorkshire and of pure English stock as far baek as is known.
John Jones occupied himself as a farmer in his native shire until 1870, and then not satisfied with his condition or his prospects resolved upon seeking his fortunes in America. He accordingly crossed the Atlantic with his family when William, our subject, was a lad of nine years, and coming to Illinois settled in Wilton Township, this county. lle purchased a farm upon which he made many improvements, and upon which, with his estimable wife, he still resides. He has become well-to-do, being the owner of two hundred acres of thor- oughly improved land, which with its various ap- purtenances, buildings and machinery, forms one of the most valued estates in the township. The elder Jones is now seventy-four years old, while his estimable partner is seventy-six.
Four sons were born to the parents of our sub- ject. these being named respectively, John. Will- iam, Joseph and George. They are all industrious and thrifty young men, and all occupied at farm.
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ing in this county. William, our subject. like his brothers. spent his boyhood and youth under the home roof. and acquired a practical education in the common school. He assisted his father on the farm until reaching his majority, and then com- menced operations on his own account on the land which he now owns. Ile lived prudently and economically and saved his earnings, and, in 1884, his wife received from her father's estate his pres- ent farm. which embraces eighty acres of valuable land, under a good state of cultivation and with substantial improvements.
1
About the time of removing to his present homestead Mr. Jones was married, March 30, 1880, at the bride's home in Wilton Township, to Miss Emma Holmes. The young wife survived her marriage less than a year. her death taking place December 28, 1880. On the 15th of November. 1884, Mr. Jones contracted a second marriage with Miss Emma Geiss, of Florence Township. The present wife of our subject was born in .Jack- son Township, this county, June 30, 1865, and is a daughter of Iliram E. and Malinda E. ( Whit- sen) Geiss, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Illinois, and who are now deceased. The house- hold circle now embraces three bright children, viz: John, Florence and Floyd. Mr. Jones has started in life under favorable auspices and with the best wishes of hosts of friends.
F RED PLAGGE. This gentlemen is the owner and occupant of a fine farm on sec- tion 6, Washington Township, where he is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. The estate comprises two hundred acres. all improved, and supplied with a complete line of well-built structures suitable for the various purposes and needs of his occupation. The present appearance of the farm is the best monument which could be erected to the energy and untiring perseverance of the owner who has brought it from the primitive condition of an unbroken prairie to that of culti- vated fields.
The gentleman of whom we write was born in
the Kingdom of Ilanover, Germany. June 20, 1840, and was but a few months old when brought to America by his parents. who settled in Cook County, III. There he grew to manhood, obtaining his ed- neation in the common schools and acquiring on the home farm a knowledge of agricultural pursuits. In 1863. he took possession of his present estate and began his successful career in this county. By his own efforts he has accumulated a sufficieney of this world's goods to surround himself and family with comforts and to give the promise of an ample support in declining years.
The lady who has been Mr. Plagge's efficient helpmate for a number of years was known in her maidenhood as Miss Christina Kerning. She was born in the Kingdom of Hanover, July 16. 1839, and was sixteen years old when she came alone to America and began making her livelihood as a do- mestie in Cook County. After a few years she was followed by her parents, who settled in that county. dying there when past sixty years of age. They were members of the Lutheran Church. The happy union of Mr. and Mrs. Plagge has been blest by the birth of eight children, all at home except two. These are Augusta, wife of Henry Withkening, a farmer in Washington Township, Will County, and Emma, the wife of William Nar- gers, who lives in the village of Beecher. The other members of the family are William, who as- sists his father on the farm; Louis, Gustaf, Fred, Bertha and Herman. Mr. Plagge is a Republican in politics. The family attend the Lutheran Church.
The ancestral line from which our subject derives his descent was a respectable one and the blood pure Hanoverian German. His father, William Plagge, was reared to farm work and pursued it in his native kingdom until late in the year 1810. Ile then with his wife and two sons-Charles and Fred, -sailed for America, taking passage at Bremer- haven. After some weeks they landed in New York City, coming thence to Chicago by the Hud- son River, Erie Canal and great lakes. They set- tled at Elmhurst, Cook County, fifteen miles west of Chicago, securing a small piece of land there. About two years later the mother died in the prime of life when less than fifty years old. The father survived until 1875, breathing his last when sixty-
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five years of age. Ile had married a second time; his wife is still living in Cook County and is now seventy-three years old. He had no children by this marriage. The parents of our subject, as well as the stepmother to whom he owes his early train- ing, belonged to the Lutheran Church.
OHN II. WHITSON. It is a pleasure to in- corporate in this volume the biography of a gallant soldier, worthy citizen and enter- prising farmer. to whom the town of Man- hattan owes its existence and its name. The home of Mr. Whitson is on one hundred and ten acres of fine land on section 20. the buildings being within the corporation limits of Manhattan. The place has been thoroughly improved with a complete line of buildings, orchards, groves and fences, and is under complete and careful tillage. Grain and stock-raising are carried on by the owner, who op- erates some one hundred and sixty acres in all, and he also deals in real estate.
Mr. Whitson is of English ancestry, his grand- father having removed from the mother country to Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in distilling. In that State, Benjamin Whitson, the father of our subject, was born and reared. From Lancaster County he removed to the vicinity of Reading. Ohio, but after sojourning there a few years only. continued his journey westward, locating in Law- rence County. Ill., about 1810. Paying $500 for eighty acres of land. he operated it until 1852 when he sold for $1,100. Ilis purchase money had been secured principally by making apple butter and selling at from thirty-five to fifty cents per gallon.
After selling his estate Benjamin Whitson re- moved to Iowa. but a year later returned to his former location. and after a short sojourn came to Will County. Ilis new home was near Plainfield, where he continued his agricultural labors on one hundred and sixty aeres of land for a number of years. Ile finally removed to Joliet, abandoned active pursuits and, enjoying the comforts of life, is still living there, aged seventy-seven years. He is a member of the Evangelical Methodist Church.
His wife, who died in 1875, was a native of the Keystone State, and bore the maiden name of Leah Dudmore. Iler father, Philip Dudmore, was an early settler in Lawrence County, III., whence he removed to Plainfield, and in which place he breathed his last.
The parental family comprised nine children, of whom our subject is the third in order of birth; William is now living in Chicago; Mrs. Rebecca Cook in Joliet; David and Jacob in Manhattan Township; Mrs. Mary Fouser at Ringgold, Iowa; Jackson, in Frankfort Township ; Libby is deceased; Benjamin lives in Frankfort Township; William was a Sergeant in the company to which our subject belonged and served the same length of time during the Civil War; David was a Corporal in the same regiment, enlisted for the same length of time and was wounded at the siege of Ft. Blakely.
The subject of this sketch was born March 24, 1839, in Reading, Ohio. He was twelve months old when his parents journeyed westward by means of horses and a wagon, and his boyhood was spent in Lawrence County, Ill. He enjoyed the advant- ages of the free schools and acquired a good prae- tieal education in Lawrence and Will Counties. Ile was about fourteen years old when the removal to the latter took place and the family settled upon the wild prairie. In the intervals of study he was employed upon his father's farm, becoming thor- oughly skilled in the details of agricultural labor and competent to judge of the relative value of lands and the best means of insuring good crops.
When he had reached his majority, Mr. Whitson rented land at Rockville, Kankakee County, and there labored for his own advancement until the Civil War broke ont. Ilis heart was thrilled with patriotic fervor and. finding that the struggle was likely to be a more protracted one than was at first supposed, he and his brother David, who was his associate in business, enlisted in Company 1, Sev- enty-sixth Illinois Infantry. They were mustered into the service at Kankakee, in August, 1862, and and sent to the Department of the Southwest, their duties for some time consisting chietly of skirmishes throughout Tennessee and Mississippi and later in Missouri. They then took part in the siege of Vicks- burg, the battles of JJackson, Holly Springs, and
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the others of that campaign, from which they re- turned to Vieksburg.
The tedious and dangerous duties which de- volved upon the soldiers during the Yazoo expedi- tion and Bank's expedition up the Red River, were assisted in by our subject, who under all the trying circumstances by which he was surrounded, dis- played the utmost devotion to the cause for which he was willing to risk his life. Having joined Far- ragut's expedition to Mobile, he and his comrades had a weary march to that city and to Ft. Blakely, where they lost more men than at any other place where they had been engaged. Subsequently they were sent to Galveston. Tex .. where they spent three weeks doing guard duty. After this they returned to the North and were mustered out of service and honorably discharged at Chicago. At Holly Springs Mr. Whitson had been taken pris- oner by the rebels, but was in the hands of his captors only one day when the prisoners were left by the retreating Confederate force.
When his services were no longer needed to up- hold the Government, Mr. Whitson returned to Will County and, with his brother David, bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Manhattan Township. Ile operated his own share of the farm, improving it and making it his home until 1880. lle then sold it and bought one hundred and twenty acres where he is now living, and lo. eating here began its systematic improvement, which he had continued but one year when the Wabash Railroad came through. lle at once laid out about ten acres on the east side of the railroad. which is called J. Whitson's sub-addition. When the subject of a name for the village which sprung up was being agitated, he suggested Manhattan, and thus it was christened.
An important step in the life of any man is his choice of a companion, and Mr. Whitson displayed good judgment in his selection. He won for his wife Miss Lucinda Etter, who was born in Cumber land County. Pa., November 5, 1842. She was educated in Ohio and Illinois, Richland Seminary having been her Alma Mater, and when eighteen years old began school teaching. Her professional labors were principally at Plainfield, Ill., where she enjoys an enviable reputation as an instructor,
and was considered a valuable addition to society by reason of her fine education and pleasing traits of character. Her marriage to our subject took place in that town February 1, 1866, and has been blessed by the birth of five children. The first- born. George, attended Aurora College and spent one year as a teacher, but is now engaged in Beech's general store in Joliet; the second child. Nettie, is the wife of George Steele, of Chicago; .Jessie, Walter and Edna are at home with their parents.
The parents of Mrs. Whitson are Lewis and Mary ( North ) Etter, natives of Pennsylvania, the one of German and the other of Scotch descent. The father was a shoemaker in his native State, whence he removed to Stark County, Ohio, where he was engaged in farming a number of years. He then came to Plainfield, III., where he is now liv- ing, his age being four-score. He belongs to the Evangelieal Methodist Church. The surviving brothers and sisters of Mrs. Whitson are Louis, Ezra, Jacob, Mrs. Elizabeth Wirtzbower, and Mrs. Mariah Smith. The deceased are Samuel, and Mary, wife of David Whitson.
Mr. Whitson has served as School Director. In politics he is a Republican. lle belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church of which he is a most active member, being Trustee, Steward. Class- Leader. and Superintendent of the Sunday-school, and bearing a part in every movement in which the congregation is interested. Ile gave an acre of ground upon which to erect the house of worship and served on the building committee while it was being constructed.
ENRY J. SCHMUIIL. Although quite young, this gentleman is becoming well known in New Lenox Township as a farmer of ability and a citizen of the most honorable character. He owns one hundred and twenty acres of good land on sections 22 and 23, where he is industriously and successfully prosecut- ing the career to which his taste led him, and where good buildings and other improvements are to be
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seen. lle is the second of five children born to Henry and Mary ( Kitzerow ) Schmuhl, who came to this neighborhood in the spring of 1854. Both were natives of Germany, the one having been born July 6, and the other August 13. in the year 1826. Beside our subject their family includes Ida M., Charles, William and Emma.
The gentleman of whom we write has been a life resident of New Lenox Township, in which he was born October 10, 1859. He enjoyed the school privileges by which a good practical educa- tion is insured to all who desire to learn, and in the public schools became well informed in the ordinary branches. He remained with his father until his marriage, when he established his own household on the farm which he still occupies. Among the natives of his own township, Mr. Schmubl knew many estimable ladies, but none who were so attractive to him as Miss Henrietta Schoop. His regard for this young lady being re- ciprocated they were united in marriage February 8, 1883. Mrs. Schmuhl was born December 15, 1863, and is the elder of two children comprising the family of Christoph and Caroline (Stricher) Schoop. Her parents were born in Germany and her father died in this township May 9, 1882. The happy union of our subject and his estimable wife has been blessed by the birth of three children -Alma C., Elsa I, and Erwin C. Both Mr. and Mrs. Schmuhl belong to the German Lutheran Church. He is a stanch Republican.
S IDNEY B. PEASE. To the architectural skill and reliable workmanship of S. B. Pease, Joliet owes many of her most beautiful and substantial edifices, among these being the I'nion Block, the residences of Charles Thayer, E. M. Bray, and others too numerous to mention. No citizen of this flourishing city stands higher in the respect of the community than he, and by his own efforts he has risen to this position and a good financial standing.
Mr. Pease was born in Lawrence. N. Y., June 9, 1839, to Samuel and Irene ( Hamlin) Pease who
were natives of the Green Mountain State. The father was born July 4. 1811, and died in 1887 ; the mother was born in 1810, and breathed her last in 1883. Their son of whom we write was educated in the common schools and remained in the place of his birth until he was seventeen years old. He then in 1856, came west and locating at Dwight, Ill., embarked in the vocation of a farmer. In that occupation he continued until the spring of 1861, when the call for troops to put down the rebellion fired his spirit and he determined to give his strength to the service of his country.
Going to Springfield young Pease was soon en- rolled as a member of Company B, Twelfth Illinois Infantry, and under the command of Capt. T. D. Moffat, of Chicago, and Col. MeArthur, he went to the front. He first smelled the smoke of battle at Belmont, after which he took part in the contest at Ft. Donelson, where he was wounded on the bloody field of Shiloh and at Corinth. Beside the minor skirmishes that fell to the lot of all soldiers in a greater or less degree, he was in all the engage- ments in and around Chattanooga until Gen. Sher- man started on the famous march to the sea. HIe accompanied the forces to Savannah and back through the Carolinas, taking part in the last battle in the campaign, that at Bentonville. At Resaca he had been wounded and also before Atlanta. After the surrender of Lee he took his place at the Grand Review, did some service at Louisville, Ky., and was finally mustered out at Springfield. He had been promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant for meritorious conduct.
Upon resuming the peaceful arts of civil life Mr. Pease took up the pursuit of a contractor and builder in which he has been actively engaged from that time. Success has crowned his efforts and he has become known as one who fulfills his contracts in an honorable manner and performs his duties to society and his family, as an upright and kind- hearted man should. fle is a member of the Congregational Chnich, and belongs to Bartleson Post, No. 6, G. A. R.
The lady whom Mr. Pease chose as his compan- ion in life and with whom he was united in mar- riage in New York State in 1867, bore the maiden name of Jennie Eggleston. She was born in Ver-
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mont whence she had removed to the Empire State prior to her marriage. She has borne him five children-William II., Mary, Bertie, Carrie and Marion. Mary and Bertie died in infancy ; the survivors are a handsome and particularly interest- ing trio.
OSEPH F. NACHIBOUR. The sons of the Fatherland, upon the first settlement of this country, hastened hither in large numbers and are to be found in all the ranks of life. Their perseverance. energy and industry are pro- verbial and they have been no unimportant factors in developing the resources of the New World and especially the great West. They are looked upon as forming a portion of the bone and sinew of America. While the fathers have passed away they have transmitted to their sons the qualities of which they were so admirably possessed, and thus we find the latter occupying positions of honor in all the channels of business and of so- cial life.
The subject of this notice, who is the senior member of the firm of Nachbour & Nicolaus, the leading dealers in dry goods in Joliet, is a son of Lewis Nachbour, who was born in Germany and came to America in 1847. The latter upon reach- this country proceeded from New Orleans, where he landed. up the Mississippi to Davenport, lowa, and thereafter followed his trade of a stonemason. Ile was married in Germany to Miss Amelia Wohl ganaut. a native of his own country and there were born to them seven sons, three of whom are living. viz: Frank, the Sheriff of Cedar County, lowa; William, a farmer residing near Atalissa, that State. and Joseph F. our subject. The parents are still living and residents of Atalissa.
Mr. Nachbour was born in the city of Daven- port, lowa. January 15. 1856.and acquired his early education in the common schools. He commenced his business career in the dry goods store of A. D. Dyer at Atalissa and remained with him for a period of six years in that place. He then came with Mr. Dyer to Joliet and continued with him another six years. In the meantime he had been
prudent and saved what he could of his salary and on the 13th of February, 1882, associated himself in partnership with a dry-goods firm of Joliet and they commenced business under the firm name of Dinet, Nachbour & Co.
Ten months later there was a change in the bus- iness and the firm assumed its present style. It has been steadily gaining ground and at the pres- ent time transacts a business of $175,000 annually. The firm started with a capital of $2,000. The business now occupies the lower floor of the Bar- ber Building, the most elegant business block in the city. The firm carries a full line of all the articles pertaining to this branch of trade. The store is fitted up with all the modern conveniences and the courteous treatment of its customers is made a specialty. By fair dealing and a thor- ough understanding of the business in all its de- tails, this firm is rapidly gaining prominence in the county and securing the patronage of its lead- ing people. Mr. Nachbour and his partner are also interested in fine horses and own some first- class equines. principally roadsters.
Politically, Mr. Nachboor is a sound Republi- can and is justifiably proud of the fact that he cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. Grant. Socially he belongs to the Union Club and the Irish- American Club, at doliet, also the Sunset Club, of Chicago.
AMES II. FERRIS, President of the Joliet News Printing Company, is worthily filling the responsible position, to which he brings a large amount of experience and practical knowledge. The News was established in April. 1877, by a rambling printer. named Charles F. Dutcher, and published in the Phirnis office, then under the editorial control of Mr. Ferris. Oeto- ber 1. of that year, a firm composed of R. W. Nel- son, James II. Ferris and II. E. Baldwin, bought the little Ners plant for a " song." and continued the publication. The last two above-named part- ners have continued the business to this date, ex-
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cepting the years 1881-82, when Mr. Ferris pub- lished a paper in Maine.
The politics of the Daily News, with its four thousand circulation, has been Greenback-Labor over since the fall of 1877, and the weekly edition ten years after that turned its forces in with the Prohibition party. Its circulation is two thou- sand.
Mr. Ferris was born in the town of Oswego. Kendall County, Ill., in 1849. His father, William Il. Ferris, removed from Clinton County. N. Y., in the '40's. and now resides at Bristol. Kendall County, this State. Ilis wife's maiden name was Eliza M. Brown, and her native home, Erie County. Pa.
The subject of this sketch began his newspaper career at Yorkville, IH., where he and Frank HI. Ilall published a Peter Cooper Greenback paper a year or two, both finally coming to Joliet in 1876. Mr. Ferris married Miss Olive E. Hunt, of Hunts. ville, Canaan County. Conn., in July. 1880.
ERRY KENISTON, whose title of "Honor- able" was gained as a member of the State Legislature, but applies equally well to his private life, owns a fine estate in Wilton Township, where he has lived since 1854. A fine tract of land is the farm upon which he devotes his attention to farming and the stock business, and its accumulation has resulted mainly from his own good management and industry, as he had but a small eapital upon which to begin life. The fer- tile and improved estate comprises two hundred and thirty-five acres on seetion 16, and is excelled hy few, if any, in the vicinity. For several years Mr. Keniston has given the raising of Short-horn cattle considerable attention. Well read in a broad sense, more than ordinarily intelligent, and full of enterprise and publie spirit, it is not to be won- dered at that this gentleman commands the re speet of all who enjoy his acquaintance and that he is pointed out as a worthy exponent of the Chris- tian faith and practice.
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