The Biographical record of Kane County, Illinois, Part 6

Author: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 798

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There being no white troops in reach from which to obtain the necessary skilled labor, he was compelled to pick up and hire old railroad men and mechanics wherever he could find them, and had one hundred and forty such on his pay roll, a large part of whom were returned Confederate sol- diers.

The work was prosecuted vigorously. Material procured, timber cut and hewed in the forests, fifty miles away, bridges built, rails straightened and laid, and engines soon on the track. During these later months our subject had the work of three men on his shoulders, yet every branch of the business was pushed forward with sys- tem and vigor, he often riding forty miles on horseback in the night to be present at some point where his presence was needed in the inorning. ' Thus he closed his mili- tary career, with the consciousness of hav- ing discharged every duty devolving upon him with promptness and efficiency and to the entire satisfaction of all his superiors in office, and with the warm regard of all who served under him, for he always looked after the comfort of the common soldier, often dismounting while on the march and putting a tired soldier boy in his saddle, or taking up a half dozen guns and balancing them across the saddle in front of him, to relieve the weary ones of a part of their burden, and looking after the comfort of the sick as far as possible.

He had saved over four thousand dollars from his army pay and when discharged from the military service went into the lum-

ber business, and became partner in three steam sawmills and a large body of pine timber land, his family having removed to Vicksburg near the close of the war. The business prospect was most excellent, his interest being capable of yielding him a daily net income of fifty dollars, from which he hoped soon to liquidate all his obliga- tins in Illinois. But the fates combined to crush him again at the end of the war as it had done at the beginning, and after a year of hard work and struggle, with the life of himself and family in constant peril, he gave up the contest and with funds barely suffi- cient to reach Kane county, he returned to his old home in Batavia, broken in health and penniless. The bitterness of the South against the old Yankee soldiers and the re- fusal of the railroads to ship his lumber to market, with other causes, compelled him to abandon a property worth ten thousand dollars.

After returning, to Batavia, Illinois, he engaged in map-making for a Philadelphia publishing firm, and made county atlases in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, and a state atlas of Kansas and Nebraska, which embraced a sectional map of every county in those states. He was an expert in this work. He filled the position of city engin- eer of Oil City for a time, and was assist- ant engineer at Topeka, Kansas, for a year and a half. With the exception of four years in Mississippi and twelve years in Kan- sas he has made his home in Kane county since 1837, and has been prominently iden- tified with its interests. His life has been one of checkered vicissitudes, having lost the bottom dollar six times, yet when over- whelmed and buried beneath the avalanche of misfortune has heroically kicked off the sods and commenced anew the fight, and

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although in his eighty-second year he is still very active and is now acceptably serving as city engineer of Elgin and deputy county surveyor of Kane county.

Fraternally, Mr. Mann affiliates with Veteran post, No. 49, G. A. R., and, polit- ically, has always been identified with the Republican party. His life is exemplary in inany respects, and he has ever supported those interests which are calculated to up- lift and benefit humanity, while his own high inoral worth is deserving of the high- est commendation. He has been a strictly temperate man, never using tobacco or liquor in any form, and both he and his wife are consistent members of the Congre- gational church. On the eightieth anniver- sary of his birth, the family and near rela- tives held a re-union at his home, it being a pleasant surprise to himself and wife. In memory of that occasion he penned the fol- lowing beautiful poem, being too much sur- prised and affected at the time to give ex- pression to his thoughts:

TO THE FRIENDS WHO SO PLEASANTLY SURPRISED US ON THE EIGHTI- ETH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR BIRTHDAY.

In the early morning still with dewdrops glittering, With the mists still curling and the robins twittering, While all varied nature, fresh from the couch of night, Robed in golden sunbeams, smiled with radiance bright.

In life's morning pathway, moist with the dew of youth,

I met a blushing maiden, as fair and pure as truth; She put her hand in mine with confidence and joy, We walked along together in bliss without alloy.

We roamed o'er life's meadows, through many downs and ups,

Breathing balm of roses, plucking the buttercups; Hand in hand together along life's devious way, Erst with joy or sorrow, we walked the live-long day.

But mid-day heat grew strong, our shoulder's bent with care,

And many blinding griefs and burdens hard to bear; Yet in joy or sorrow, hand in hand as ever,

Through all life's long journey we've walked along together.

Now the day is waning, the evening shades draw nigh, The hour is approaching to lay our labors by,

Yet through twilight walking, hand in hand together, We still will journey on, nearing the dark river.

And will the angels come, as we stand together By the deep dark waters, and row us safely over To the land of beauty-to the realms forever blest- Where no sorrow reaches and weary ones find rest?

Will our absent loved ones, who've passed away be- fore,

Meet with joyous greeting our landing on their shore? Will those we leave behind come to that happy land? Shall we meet together, a full, unbroken band?

God in his mercy grant this, our most earnest prayer: Guide us all and keep us, and bring us over there, Over there, over there, a blest united band,

Together over there, one in that happy land.

Elgin, Illinois, October 14, 1896.

A. MANN.

E BEN FOSS, residing at No. 631 Doug- las avenue, Elgin, is the possessor of a handsome property which now enables him to spend his years in the pleasurable enjoy- ment of his accumulations. The record of his life previous to 1885, is that of an active, enterprising, methodical and sagacious busi- ness man and farmer, who bent his energies to the honorable acquirement of a comfort- able competence for himself and family.

Mr. Foss was born in Thornton, New Hampshire, June 10, 1822, a son of Eben and Mary (Webster) Foss, also natives of that state, the former born January 9, 1785, the latter April 24, 1793. They were mar- ried November 2, 1815, at Thornton. When our subject was quite small he lost his mother, her death occurring March 24, 1826, but the father survived her many years, dying March 16, 1869. The paternal grandfather, who also bore the name of Eben Foss, was a native of New Hamp-

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shire, where throughout life he followed the occupation of farming and reared a large family of children, including John, Eben, Langdon, Carter, Jacob, Milton, Ruth, Betsy, Mrs. Robinson and Mrs. Durgin. The parents of these children were both members of the Congregational church.

The maternal grandfather of our subject was a private in the Colonial army during the Revolutionary war and late in life re- ceived a pension from the government. The great-great-grandmother, Mrs. Dustin, was at one time taken prisoner by the In- dians while they were on the warpath and held in captivity for a time. Being notified of the approach of the red men, she sent word by one of the children to her husband who was plowing in the field at the time. He came at once to the house, brought out his seven children and bidding them to run ahead he slowly retreated, keeping the Indians back with his gun; he thus brought off his little flock in safety. His wife, who was unable to escape with him, was dragged into captivity. The party who captured Mrs. Dustin marched many days through the forest, at length reached an island in the Merrimac. Several days later, while the Indians were asleep, she, with the as- sistance of her nurse and a boy, who had also been captured, killed ten of the red men and returned home with their scalps that she might prove to the settlers, beyond a doubt, what she had done.

The mother of our subject had two brothers, Betton and Bradley, and perhaps others, besides several sisters-Mrs. Sargent, Mrs. Robinson, Mrs. Chatman, and Harriet, who was twice married, her second husband being a Mr. Greely, who conducted a hotel in Thornton, New Hampshire, for many years.

Eben Foss, of this review, is the fourth in order of birth in a family of six children, as follows: Betton, born February 10, 1817, was married in May, 1841, and both he and his wife are now deceased, his death occurring August 21, 1859. Mary Ann, born August 2, 1818, married Charles Cal- don, and died in 1882, leaving four children, who live in New Hampshire. Hannah Jane, born May 11, 1820, was married in Decem- ber, 1842, to Oris Hitchcock, and died in 1891, leaving the following children-Pas- chal, Charles, Frank, Mary, wife of Charles Sharp; Mrs. Hattie Andrews, Mrs. Clara Bell Loveless, Mrs. Ella Sharp, and Ellen. Eben, our subject. Bradley V., born July 29, 1824, was married July 11, 1852, and now lives in Laporte City, Iowa. Harriet Webster, born February 8, 1826, was mar- ried May 9, 1850, to Daniel Brandon, and died in 1887. After the death of the mother of these children, the father married Char- lotte Elliott, by whom he had one son- Charles Elliott, who was born May 28, 1828, and is now living in California. His children are Alvah and Louella, who are still living; and Ida, who died in 1877, at the age of twenty years.

During his boyhood the subject of this sketch attended the district schools for three months during the winter season, while the remainder of the year was spent in assisting with the work of the home farm. When sixteen years of age he came with his par- ents to Campton township, Kane county, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of wild land at the government price of one dollar and a quarter per acre. He continued to work for his father until he at- tained his majority, and became thoroughly familiar with every department of farm work. On starting out in life for himself, he con-

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tinued to follow the pursuit to which he had been reared, and became one of the most successful farmers and stock-raisers in his locality. The land which he purchased from the government he continued to oper- ate until 1884, and to the original tract added until he had one hundred and seventy- four acres of valuable land, which he sold for nearly sixty-seven dollars per acre. He then removed to Elgin, where he has since lived retired, enjoying the fruits of his for- mer toil.

In 1847 Mr. Foss was united in marriage to Mrs. Emily C. (Ravlin) Cleveland, who died November 18, 1885, at the age of six- ty-six years. She was a consistent Chris- tian woman, a member of the Baptist church. By her first marriage she had one son, still living-Charles L. Cleveland, of Scranton, Greene county, Iowa, who married Weal- thy Allen and has two children, Fred and Frank. Three children blessed the second union, namely: Mary Webster, who died at the age of one year; Harriet, widow of J. A. Daniels, who died February 12, 1896, in California, aged fifty-three years, and left one son, John F., now a student in the public schools; and Mary F., wife of J. H. Williams, of Elgin, by whom she has five children-Howard, Clarence, Lloyd, Ruth and Grace.

Mr. Foss cast his first presidential vote for Zachary Taylor, but has never taken a very active part in politics aside from vot- ing. He is a worthy representative of that class of citizens who lead quiet, industrious, honest and useful lives, and constitute the best portion of a community. Wherever known he is held in high regard, and as an honored pioneer and highly-respected citi- zen he is certainly deserving of honorable mention in the history of his adopted county.

JONATHAN TEFFT, a farmer living two

and one-half miles south of Elgin City, is numbered among the earliest settlers of Kane county, the family emigrating from Madison county, New York, and locating in Kane county in the fall of 1835. The pa- ternal grandfather, Jeremiah Tefft, was a native of Rhode Island, married " Rhoda Hoxie, of Richmond, Kings county, Colony of Rhode Island," as the old marriage cer- tificate reads, which is in possession of our subject, "October 23, 1768, by Edward Perry, J. P." ¿After the close of the Revolu- tion he moved to Madison county, New York, which was then the far western fron- tier. There he spent the remainder of his life and reared his large family, one of whom, Jonathan, was the father of our subject.

Jonathan Tefft, Sr., was born in Madi- son county, New York, where he married Elizabeth Collins, born December 8, 1792, and daughter of Solomon Collins. By this union were fourteen children, six of whom are yet living: Amos, living in Nebraska; Jonathan, our subject; Thomas W., now serving as alderman of the sixth ward in Elgin; Louisa, widow of P. C. Gilbert, re- siding in Elgin; Emeline, widow of William Worden, now residing in Kansas; and Rhoda, who married Chauncey B. Halley, and now lives in Barrington, Cook county.

. On coming west, Jonathan Tefft, Sr., settled first on a farm in Cook county, ad- joining the present city of Elgin, a part of which is now Lord's Park. The year fol- lowing he bought a claim, the farm on which our subject now resides, lying in section 36, Elgin township, and section 31, Hanover township, Cook county. The first farm in Cook county he sold to his son, Dr. Joseph Tefft, the first physician in Elgin. His death occurred in Elgin, January 26, 1886, having

JONATHAN TEFFT.

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY IN 1LT + MOTS.

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almost attained his seventy-sixth year. In proved in every respect. His father's old his political views he was originally a Dem- ocrat, later a Republican, a man of great strength of character, never sought office, but served in many official positions. Jon- athan Tefft, Sr., was one of three commis- sioners to lay out and establish a road from Elgin to St. Charles on the east side of Fox river.

Jonathan Tefft, our subject, was born in the town of Lebanon, Madison county, New York, was reared on a farm, and attended the district schools until the age of eighteen, · when the family moved west. He attended school one winter after coming to Illinois in a log school house two miles south of Elgin. His first purchase of land was one hundred and ten acres lying northeast of Elgin, and in 1850 he purchased one hundred and forty- three acres in section 31, range 9, lying south of his father's homestead. . On that place he resided until March 1, 1865, when he moved to the old farmn.

Mr. Tefft was married near Elgin April 8, 1841, to Miss Delinda West, a native of Madison county, New York, and daughter of Isaac West, who first married Ruth Wil- cox, daughter of Daniel Wilcox. The Wests moved from the saine neighborhood in Madison county, New York, the year fol- lowing the emigration of the Tefft family. Of the three children of Isaac and Ruth West, Mrs. Tefft alone survives. He died in 1876 at the age of eighty-two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Tefft five children have been born, only two of whom are now living, Jenny and Frank.

As a practical farmer, Mr. Tefft is ex- celled by few. He has a large dairy farm, which consists of two hundred and eighty acres, fifty-two acres lying in Kane county and the rest in Cook county, and is well im-

house is still standing on the farın, but he resides in a house erected by himself in 1888, which cost nearly five thousand dollars. On the place are one hundred head of cat- tle, eighty of which are milch cows. He has a large cattle barn, thirty-six by one hundred and forty-six feet, horse barn forty by forty feet, and tool shed thirty-two by thirty-six feet. The entire farm is under a high state of cultivation, and everything about the place shows a thrift of the owner.

In politics Mr. Tefft is a Republican, with which party he has acted since its or- ganization. He has been honored by his townsmen with a number of official posi- tions. He was inade a Master Mason in the Elgin lodge, No. 117, in 1854, and was one of the charter members of South Elgin lodge in 1865. On the surrender of its charter he again united with Elgin lodge, No. 117. He was a member of Fox River chapter at St. Charles, and of Bethel com- mandery at Elgin. He was formerly a mem- ber of the Sycamore commandery at Syca- niore. At one time he was a meniber of the Board of Trade of Elgin.

Mr. Tefft is one of the few men yet liv- ing who saw almost this entire country in its virgin state, and has done as much as any other one man to develop its resources and make it the garden spot of the west. On his arrival here there were but few cab- ins on the east side of the river at Elgin and but three on the west side. He has hunted deer on the present site of the city, and as- sisted in breaking the prairie on its present site. He remembers when the Indians came from the northwest to spear fish in the Fox river. Nearly all of his long and useful life has been spent in Elgin township, and- few inen are better known in Kane county.

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JOHN L. HEALY, a representative inem- ber of the bar of Elgin and a native of the city, was born August 3, 1861, his par- ents being Bernard and Catherine (Laugh- lin) Healy. His father was born in Dublin, Ireland, and was a son of Joseph Healy, an officer in the English arıny. The latter mar- ried Margaret Morgan and both he and his wife spent their entire lives in the old world. Bernard Healy was the only one of their family that ever crossed the Atlantic to America. He made the voyage in 1842 and soon after took up his residence in Elgin, where he embarked in the harness and a saddlery business, engaging longer in active and uninterrupted business than any other in the county. He aided in laying out the town of Elgin in connection with James T. Gifford and named two streets in honor of his favorite authors, William E. Channing and Joseph Addison. He was a man of ex- tensive reading and broad general culture and his memory was remarkably retentive. In all matters of business his word was as good as his bond and he had the respect and confidence of all who knew him. He was a man of remarkable purity of character, of record forms an indispensable part of the history of the county. In politics he was a Democrat, and in religious belief was a Cath- olic. His death occurred November 6, 1894, but his widow is still living in Dundee, Illi- nois. They had a family of six children: Bernard; John Leander, of this sketch; Richard, who died in infancy; Walter E., who was a graduate of Ann Arbor Univer- sity and now a student in Mr. Healy's law office; May E. and Charles, all residents of Kane county. The father of this family was twice married, and the children of the other union are Joseph and Rosann. Their

mother bore the maiden name of Winifred Anderson, and their marriage was celebrated in Manchester, England. Her son, Joseph, was a graduate of Notre Dame and the Uni- versity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and stud- ied law with Judge Silvanus Wilcox. He afterward became a partner of Botsford & Barry, and died in 1871, at the age of twen- ty-six years. He was a young man of splen- did mental attainments and brilliant pros- pects. His sister died at St. Mary's College, while pursuing her studies there.

The public schools of Elgin afforded our subject his preliminary educational ad- . vantages, which were supplemented by a course in the high school of Dundee. He next entered St. Joseph's College, of Bards- town. He further continued his studies in Notre Dame University, and was graduated in 1879, after which he studied law in the office and under the direction of Botsford & Barry, of Elgin. He was admitted to the bar in Chicago, in 1884, passing an exam- ination before the appellate court, and then spent one year traveling in Europe. He did some post-graduate work in Heidelburg and spent some time in Frankfort-on-the- earnest purpose and upright life, and his life . Main and in other European cities, and, with a mind broadened by travel and the knowledge and culture which only travel can bring, he returned to his native land.

Locating in Elgin, Mr. Healy entered into partnership with Judge Henry B. Willis, under the firm name of Willis & Healy, a connection that was maintained for four years with excellent success. It was then dissolved by mutual consent and Mr. Healy has since been alone. He is en- gaged in general practice and is well versed in many departments of jurisprudence. He has a splendidly equipped office in the building which he owns, and enjoys a large

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clientele. He also has other real-estate in- terests, including two store buildings ad- joining the Spurling block, and has some valuable realty in Chicago.

In politics Mr. Healy is a Republican; socially, and is a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity and other or- - hoff was also born in the township of Ley- ganizations. He has attained a well-merit- ed success at the bar and in his other busi- ness enterprises, and Elgin regards him as one of her substantial and reliable citizens.

H ERMAN H. AND GUSTAVE F. KIRCHHOFF, Hampshire, Illinois, doing business under the firm name of Kirch- hoff Brothers, are dealers in lumber, grain, flour, feed, coal and wood. They carry a good stock of all things in their line and are doing a large and fairly prosperous business. They are well known throughout the north- ern part of Kane county and the adjoining portions of McHenry and De Kalb counties as young men of good business ability, and who can be depended upon in every busi- ness transaction. Henry Kirchhoff, their father, was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1833, and emigrated to America in 1845 with his father, John Henry Kirchhoff, who was a soldier against Napoleon, at Water- loo, and who died in Cook county, Illinois, at the age of seventy-nine years. Henry Kirchhoff married Mary Franzen, a daugh- ter of Henry Franzen, who was an early settler of DuPage county. They became the parents of ten sons and two daughters, all of whom are living in Cook county, save Herman H. and Gustave K., of whom we write.

Herman H. Kirchhoff was born in the township of Leyden, Cook county, Illinois, January 27, 1862, and there made his home

until 1887, in the meantime attending the public schools and assisting upon the home farm. In company with C. A. Franzen he then went to Pingree Grove and opened a lumber, wool and coal yard, which they con- ducted for eleven years. Gustave F. Kirch- den, Cook county, Illinois, his birth occur- ring November 11, 1869. He also received his education in the public schools of the township and assisted upon the home farm. On the Ist of January, 1898, the two brothers moved to Hampshire and purchased the feed store of Werthwein & Zimmer, and in February following, the lumber yard of McClure & Struckman, a business in which, as already stated, they are meeting with success, being accommodating and popular.

Herman H. Kirchhoff was married De- cember 21, 1892, in Elgin, Illinois, to Miss Margaret J. Shedden, of Plato township, and a daughter of John Shedden, who is now living a retired life in the city of Elgin. To them have been born one daugh- ter, Florence Alice. Mr. and Mrs. Kirch- hoff are members of the Presbyterian church and are active in all church and benevolent work. Fraternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and Knights of the Maccabees. In social circles they occupy a prominent place.

ROBERT ARCHIBALD, a successful and progressive farmer residing at No. 434 Chicago street, Elgin, is a native of Kane county, born in Dundee, March 11, 1852, and is the only child born of the union of Abram and Jane (Crichton) Archibald. The parents were both natives of Scotland, where they were married in 1847, and the following year they left their old home near

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Glasgow and crossed the Atlantic to Amer- Kane county. In connection with general ica. The father purchased a farm two miles and a half northwest of Dundee in Kane county, and here followed agricultural pursuits, although in his native land he had served as foreman in a colliery. On laying aside business cares, he moved to Elgin, where he died June 23, 1897, aged eighty- four years and one month. He was a worthy and highly respected citizen, ever kind and accommodating to hisneighbors and friends, and just and honorable in all his dealings. His whole life was characterized by honesty, industry and those qualities essential to good citizenship. He was first a Republican in politics and later a Dem- ocrat, while in religious belief he was a Pres- byterian, to which church his wife also be- longed. She died April 8, 1893, at the age of eighty-one years. By a former marriage he had one son, Abram Archibald, Jr., now living near Los Angeles, California. The mother of our subject was also previously married, her first husband being Daniel McNeal, by whom she had three children: Malc m and John, members of the firm of McNeal & Higgins, wholesale grocers on Market street, Chicago; and Anna, wife of Thomas Todd, of 136 South State street, Elgin. They came to the United States during childhood.

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The Biographical record of Kane County, Illinois, Part 6

Author: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Number of Pages: 798

Author: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke
Number of Pages: 798