USA > Illinois > Kane County > The Biographical record of Kane County, Illinois > Part 65
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81
635
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
born in Canada. By the second union were five children, as follows: Libbie, who mar- ried Oscar Davis, and resides on the home farm on section 34; Mabel married M. Le- Fevre, and lives in Iowa; Lillian married D. H. Moore, and lives in Hampshire; Emily married Alfred Moore, and lives in Genoa, and John, who died at the age of sixteen.
In 1893, our subject built an unusually neat cottage, in the village of Hampshire, which is nicely furnished, and is comforta- ble and homelike. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, Modern Woodmen of America, and Royal Neighbors. Mrs. Hasler is also a member of the latter order. In politics he is a Republican.
M 0. SOUTHWORTH, judge of the county court of Kane county, and a prac- ticing attorney of Aurora since 1870, was born in. La Salle county, Illinois, April 1, 1841, and is the son of George A. and Cornelia B. (Bowen) Southworth, both New England Pilgrim families. They came to Illinois in 1835, residing first at Aurora, then Chicago, and in 1837 removed to La Salle county, where the family resided until 1870, when they returned to Aurora, where George A. Southworth died in 1871. His widow is still living and in excellent health, spending her time alternately with her son, and a daughter, Mary, wife of A. D. Southworth, of Northfield, Minnesota, the oldest of their two children.
M. O. Southworth obtained his educa- tion in the public schools of La Salle coun- ty, at Batavia Institute, and then entered Beloit College, where, after pursuing the regular classical course, he graduated in
1863. Afterwards he took up the study of law and graduated from the law depart- ment of Michigan University. He came to Aurora in 1870 and has been in active prac- tice since that time. Was city attorney for three terms, and in 1894 was elected judge of the county court, which position he still fills, and has recently been renominated by the Republican party for a second term.
Mr. Southworth was married in 1866 to Miss Gabrielle Mills, daughter of Joel Mills, an old settler of Will county, Illinois, and they reside on Fox street, Aurora. The family has been Congregational in religious sentiment from Puritan times, and M. O. Southworth, though not a member, is a trustee of the First Congregational church of Aurora. It is fair to say that he has been a careful and successful attorney, and is re- spected by his neighbors.
I W X TALTER S. FRAZIER is one of the men who have given name and fame to the city of Aurora. He was born in the village of Tully, Onondaga county, New York, August 31, 1835. His father was William J. Frazier, a native of Saratoga county, New York, who moved at an early day to Tully, then to Fabius, conducting a profitable business in the clothing trade. William J. Frazier was one of the original old time abolitionists, way back in 1840-44, and was active in the organization of the party and in the support of its candidates when there were but little signs of success. He was a strong temperance man, and for a long time was a member of the Baptist church of Fabius, but withdrew from it be- cause the deacon who passed the commun- ion cup was a liquor dealer. The Frazier family dates back to 912, when a Bourbon
636
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
nobleinan, Julian de Berry by name, having presented some fine strawberries to King Charles of France, the latter knighted him and substituted the name Fraize, meaning strawberry, for that of de Berry. As the family spread to other countries the name was written in other forms. In Scotland, from which the branch to which the subject of this sketch belongs, the members were known as Fraser, Frasier, Frasare, Frazer, Frisel, Fresel and Frezel, which were used interchangeably according to the fancy of the writers. These varied spellings, some of them very old, are preserved in the pub- lic documents of those times, and there are instances where the same individual, a lord, appears as Simon Fraser and again as Si- mon Frizel. The French dictionaries give "Fraisier" for a strawberry plant. The Frazier family was planted in Scotland about the time of the invasion by William the Conqueror, and became a numerous and powerful clan in Inverness-shire. At this day, it is said, fully one-eighth of the total population of the town of Inverness, a city seventeen thousand, bear the name of Fraser. There is an authenic record of the family dating from 1165. The clan Fraser took part in many of the bloody wars waged on Scottish soil, and were especially active under the banner of King Charles when he led his army into England against Crom- well. At the battle of Worcester, Sep- tember 3, 1651, the Scottish army was routed, and the following year nearly five hundred of the prisoners taken by Crom- well's troops, doubtless including Frasers, were transported to Boston. At about this time, and perhaps from this event, dates the founding of the family in Amer- ica. The direct ancestor in this country of our subject was James Fraser, who, it is
thought, eluded capture at the time of the defeat of King Charles and escaped to America, arriving in Boston in 1652, when he was about twenty-six years old, living at what is now called Jamaica Plain until his death. The land he acquired was in the possession of the family for one hundred years. In order to avoid arrest and per- haps execution by the emissaries of Crom- well, he changed his name to Frissell, by which some of the clan had previously been known. He died February 6, 1716, aged ninety years, leaving five sons and three daughters. It is from his second son, Sam- uel Frissell, that the Fraziers descend. The genealogy is as follows: James Frissell settled in Boston 'in 1652 and died in 1716. Samuel Frissell, his second son, born in 1663, died in 1718. Samuel Frissell, the second, born in 1700, of whom there is no record of death. Reuben Frizel, born in 1742, died in Leyden, Massachusetts, Octo- ber 31, 1822. Michael Frazier (who was the first to return to the former name), born in 1770, died in 1848. William J. Frazier, born in 1809, now in his eighty- ninth year, is living in Aurora, Illinois. Walter S. Frazier, born in 1835, now liv- ing in Aurora. The family name was re- stored to its original form of Frazier in · 1806 by Michael, who had moved from Leyden, Massachusetts, to Fulton county, New York, with his father-in-law, David, Page, Sr., of Bernardston, Massachusetts, whose wife was Sally Cunnabell. The mother of Walter S. Frazier was Matilda (Winegar) Frazier, daughter of Stephen and Sally (Tuttle) Winegar, among the early residents of Fabius. Stephen Winegar was a son of John Winegar, a mill owner of Lee, Massachusetts, a noted soldier of the Revolutionary war.
637
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
The boyhood of Walter S. Frazier was passed at Fabius, where he attended the district schools, afterward receiving an aca- demical education at the Homer and Pom- pey Hill Academies. When he was eight- een years old, he took a position as clerk in a dry-goods store at. Syracuse, New York, and served five years, being then promoted to a bookkeeper's place. In 1857 he came to Chicago, light in purse, and se- cured a clerkship in the office of the city comptroller. He was soon made the chief clerk, and retained the position about five years, when he resigned to accept the office of clerk of special assessments, to which he had been appointed by the board of public works. He was the Republican nominee in 1863 for clerk of the recorder's court of that city, but was defeated, all the candi- dates on the Democratic city ticket being elected by small majorities. In 1865 he was elected clerk of the house of represent- atives of the state of Illinois, and was given the credit by members, state officers and the press of being the most efficient clerk that branch of the legislature had ever had. On his retirement he was presented with a handsome gold watch and chain by the members of the house. See House Jour- nal, 1865, page 1202.
In 1866, being apprehensive as to his health, Mr. Frazier bought a fine farm on the river road between Batavia and Geneva, in Kane county, Illinois, and, after making ex- tensive improvements in the way of new buildings, etc., moved his family there. His brother, William Page Frazier, had moved to Chicago in 1862, and, in 1869, he also settled near Batavia, where his father had gone in 1864, with the main object of being near his sons.
Walter S. Frazier sold his farm in 1870
and located in Aurora, where he soon at- tained deserved prominence as a man of in- tegrity, ability and great executive force. He had no active business, but bred and devel- oped trotting horses, as an aid to health and a means of recreation. In this he was very successful, and one of the horses of his training, called "Brother Jonathan, " was given a fast record and sold for twelve thousand dollars. It was while thus en- gaged with horses, in 1878, that Mr. Frazier invented the road-cart, which has since given him wide-spread reputation as a man- ufacturer. He made the first one for his own use, but its merit was so quickly appre- ciated by the public, that in 1880 he secured letters patent and began to manufacture them for the market. In connection with his sons, he now has a large manufacturing establishment in which two hundred hands are employed in the manufacture of all kinds of road vehicles, and which has become one of the most prominent industries in Aurora. In 1855 Mr. Frazier was married at Syra- cuse, New York, to Miss Mary Stevens, daughter of Jacob Vanderbilt Stevens and Hannah (Tallman) Stevens. Mrs. Frazier died in 1880, leaving a family of four sons -Walter S. and Edward S., twin brothers, born in 1863; Lincoln B., born in 1870; and Floyd, born in 1873- and two daughters, Anna and Hattie. Of the sons, Edward S. married Mary Dunbar Holbrook, daughter of Rev. Doctor Holbrook, of Aurora, by whom he has two children: Walter S., Jr., married Clara Pfrangle, daughter of C. A. Pfrangle, of Aurora, and a son has been born of this union Walter S. Floyd mar- ried Maud Harris, daughter of Hon. A. B. Harris, of Aurora. Lincoln B. married Bertha Plum, daughter of the late Samuel Plumb, of Streator.
-
638
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Mr. Frazier has done a great deal to beautify and improve Aurora, and his efforts in this line are recognized and appreciated by his fellow townsmen. He has erected some fine business buildings in the city, and has been active in securing many public im- provements. In political matters he is prominent and .influential, and has to a large degree directed the shaping of political events, not only in the city of Aurora, but in Kane county and the congressional dis- trict as well. For several years he was chairman of the congressional district Re- publican committee, the district being com- posed of the counties of Kane, De Kalb, Lake, McHenry and Boone. He was chosen a member of the state central committee by the state Republican convention of 1888, being one of the executive board of that body during the presidential campaign of that. year, giving to the work the full bene- fit of his ripe experience, pre-eminent sa- gacity and managerial ability. He was re- elected in 1890 and in 1892, serving three terms, six years in all. In the spring of 1891 he was asked to become a candidate for mayor of Aurora on the citizens ticket, and was elected by a large majority, serv- ing a two-years' term. His prominence in political affairs has given him a large and pleasant acquaintance with public men throughout the state. On the 16th of March, 1897, his excellency, Governor Tan- ner, appointed him one of a board of three trustees of the Northern Illinois Hospital for the Insane, at Elgin, containing some twelve hundred patients, and at the Gov- ernor's request he was chosen president of the board. The term expires in 1903. On August 21, 1891, Mr. Frazier became the owner of the "Aurora Daily News, " the oldest established daily newspaper in Au-
rora, now an influential paper of large cir- culation, a property which he still owns Soon after he purchased the paper he erected the Daily News block, in which it is domiciled. He is also a director in the Merchants' National Bank, of Aurora, and has been since its organization in 1888.
JONATHAN S. DAUBERMAN, an en- terprising and successful farmer, own- ing and operating a farm of three hundred acres, south of the village of Kaneville, has been a resident of Kane county since 1856. He was born in Center county, Pennsyl- vania, June 16, 1850. He traces his an- cestry back to Phillip Dauberman, a native of Germany, who emigrated to the United States on the ship Edinburgh, commanded by Captain Russell, and landing in Phila- delphia, September 30, 1754. From Phila- delphia he went to Centre county, Penn- sylvania, and was numbered among the pioneers of that county. His son John Dauberman was born in Center county, and George Dauberman, the father of our sub- ject and the son of John Dauberman, was also born in that county. George Dauber- man there married Matilda Spangler, also a native of Centre county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Jonathan Spangler. In 1856, they came west, and located in Kaneville township, Kane county, Illinois, where he purchased a partially improved farm of two hundred and forty acres, and to the further development of which he bent his energies, in due time erecting a fine dwelling, barns and other outbuildings, and there his death occurred in March, 1873. His good wife passed away in 1857, leaving three children: Jonathan S., our subject; Ellen, who makes her home with her brother and sister; and
$
J. S. DAUBERMAN.
LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
641
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Ira Sterling, who is the present county clerk of Marion county, Kansas, which has been his home for some years. After the death of his first wife, George Dauberman later married Anna Harter, a native of Pennyslvania, who is now deceased. She was the mother of three children-John W., a merchant of
Mr. Dauberman is a lifelong Democrat, and supports the men and measures of that party in all general elections, but on local issues gives his support to men rather than party. His business interests have always Kaneville; McClellan, who grew to man- ` been such as to demand his time and atten- hood, but is now deceased; and Mary, who died in young womanhood. McClellan Dauberman started a store in Kaneville, which he continued to run until his death, when he was succeeded by his brother, John.
The subject of this sketch grew to man- hood on the farm, and was educated in the schools of Kaneville. He remained with his father and assisted in carrying on the farm until the latter's death, when he took full charge of the place, and later purchased the interest of the other heirs, since which time he has materially improved the place, remodeled the house, and built three good barns, erected a windmill pump, with feed- mill attachment, on which lie is now placing an engine for more power, and has made the farm one of the best in the township. His success as a farmer has been good, and he has not only engaged in general farming, but in dairying and stock raising as well.
In March, 1873, Mr. Dauberman was united in marriage with Miss Mary Merrill, a native of New Hampshire, who came to Illinois when a child, with her father, Thomas Merrill, who was one of the settlers of 1855. By this union there are three children-George, Bertha and Clarence. The first named is assisting his father in management of the home farm. Bertha is a well-educated young lady, who received her education in the Kaneville public school and graduated in the class of 1896, review- 31
ing her studies in the Normal School of Val- paraiso, Indiana.
tion, and he has therefore never held office, save that of being a member of the school board. In her religious faith, Mrs. Dauber- man is a Baptist, holding membership in the church of that denomination at Kaneville.
Coming to Kane county when but six years of age, Mr. Dauberman has here spent almost his entire life, and in the develop- ment of his township has done as much as almost any other man. He is industrious and energetic, and no man'stands higher in the estimation of his fellow men.
JOHN W. GOODALE, who is engaged in farming on section 30, Aurora town- ship, came to Kane county, Illinois, in 1844. He was born in Washington county, New York, June 28, 1822. The family are of English descent and were among the early settlers of Massachusetts, of which state Josiah Goodale, the grandfather of our subject, was born. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and fought for the American independence. From Massa- chusetts he moved to Vermont, and subse- quently to Washington county, New York, where he remained some years engaged in farming and later returned to Vermont, . . where his death occurred. His son, David Goodale, was born in Vermont, and from there went to Washington county, New York, where he married Betsy Welsh, a na-
642
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
tive of Washington county, New York, and a daughter of John Welsh, who was born in Ireland, and came to the new world when a child and here married a German lady. David Goodale was by trade a mason, which occupation he followed in New York. After his family were grown, and some of them had come west, he also followed them and located on the farm of his son Josiah, in Sugar Grove township, where his iast days were spent. Of his family of five sons and two daughters, all grew to mature years. Maria married Luke Nichols, one of the first settlers of Aurora, and both are now deceased. Josiah came to Kane coun- ty in 1844, and located a tract of one hun- dred and sixty acres in Sugar Grove town- ship, where he engaged in farming for some years, then returned to New York, and there died. John W. is the subject of this sketch. Lockwood resides at Bristol Station, where he was engaged in the hotel business. Eliza- beth, the widow of William Yeldham, re- sides in Aurora. George is a farmer resid- ing in Oklahoma.
John W. Goodale was reared upon the farm in Washington county, New York, and received a limited education in its pub- lic schools. He came to Kane county in 1844, and here joined Mr. Nichols, his brother-in-law. He soon purchased a small tract of land in Sugar Grove township, which he sold at an advance, and then en- tered eighty acres in Big Rock township. On that tract he located and began its im- provement. From time to time he bought and sold other tracts in Big Rock township and there resided a number of years. Sell- ing his original farm, he bought one hundred and sixty acres in De Kalb county, and there spent the winter; selling the same at one thousand dollars advance, he re-
turned to Big Rock township and purchased the old Gardner Mill property, which in- cluded seventy acres of land, and engaged in milling, continuing in that business for eight or ten years. During that time he bought the place where he now resides, comprising one hundred acres, on which some improvements had been made. He has since built a good residence, large barn,; and made other valuable improvements. Mr. Goodale was united in marriage in Big Rock township, March 1, 1849, with Miss Elizabeth Brackett, a native of Vermont, and a daughter of Cyrus Brackett, who lo- cated in Big Rock township about 1847. By this union there are ten children, six sons and four daughters, as follows: Frank, married and engaged in business in Aurora; Fred, deceased; Don, married and engaged in farming in Sugar Grove township; Ella, wife of Orin Robbins, a livery man of Plano, Illinois; Lizzie, wife of George F. Hadden, of Aurora; Cyrus, married and residing near Fort Scott, Kansas; Webb, who is assisting in carrying on the hoine farm; Emma, at home; Katie, residing in Aurora, and Bert, at home.
Mr. Goodale relates some hard experi- ences of pioneer life. During the first years in Kane county, he suffered very much with the ague, which was very prevalent at that time. He has seen many large herds of · deer, and flocks of wild pigeon, and other game. Politically Mr. Goodale is a life- long Republican, and his sons follow in his footsteps. He is well known and respected, having many friends throughout Kane and adjoining counties." Coming to this county a poor man, by his industry and thrifty habits he has acquired a valuable property, and has contributed his full share toward the development of Kane county.
643
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
G AIL BORDEN, whose fame is world- wide, stands pre-eminent as one of the benefactors of mankind. While naturally of a modest and retiring disposition, his in- ventions have been such as to bring him prominently before the people, and those the highest honor and esteem. A native of New York, he was born in Norwich Novem- ber 6, 1801, and was descended from New England ancestry. Being the eldest of seven children, he was at an early age made to realize the nature and necessity of hard work, and assisted his father in the cultiva- tion of the home. farm. His educational advantages were limited, but he profited by those within his reach, and by self-study and the reading of the better class of liter- ature became a well-informed man.
In December, 1814, the father emigrated with his family from New York to Coving- ton, Kentucky, and upon the site of the present city hall in that place our subject cultivated a field of corn. In the spring of 1816 they removed to the territory of Indi- ana, locating on the banks of the Ohio river, ten miles below Madison, where Mr. Borden resided until 1822. On account of impaired health, he then went to Missis- sippi, where he engaged in teaching school, and also filled the position of county sur- veyor and United States deputy surveyor. In 1829 he went to Texas, where he en- gaged in farming and stock raising. His ability was soon recognized by the citizens of that country, and in 1833 he was elected a delegate from the Lavaca district to the convention in San Felipe to define the posi- tion of the colonies and to petition the Mexican government for separation from the state of Coahuila. He was also in charge' of the official survey of the colony, com-
piling the topographical map of Texas, and had charge of the land office at San Felipe up to the time of the Mexican intervention.
In' 1835, with his brother, Thomas H. Borden, he established a newspaper called the "Telegraph and Texas Land Register," who knew him best in this life hold him in -at San Felipe, which was later transferred
to Houston, and was the first and only newspaper issued in Texas during the war for the independence of that colony. He had its chief management and directed his efforts toward resisting the establishment of the central government by Santa Anna. From this time on Mr. Borden was promi- nently identified with the history of the Lone Star state, and was an important fac- tor in its development and progress. Upon the establishment of the republic of Texas he was appointed by President Houston as the first collector of the port of Galveston. This was in 1837 and the city had not been laid out, and the first surveys were made by Mr. Borden. His first dwelling there was a rough board structure located on the bay shore and erected by two carpenters in half a day, and his office was in a room in what was known as the Mexican custom house.
During the exciting events attending the establishment of the republic of Texas and its subsequent annexation as one of the states of the American Union, Mr. Borden was quietly making investigations which led to one of the most important and beneficial discoveries of the present century of great discoveries. In 1849 his attention was drawn to the need of a more suitable supply of nourishment for emigrants crossing the plains, which then required several months, and after some experiments produced the pemmican, which Dr. Kane carried with him on his Arctic expedition. . The meat biscuit, an efficient form of portable concentrated
644
THE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
food, was also invented by him. This arti- cle gained for him the "great council medal " at the London fair in 1851, and he was elected an honorary member of the London Society of Arts.
In the manufacture of this food he was unsuccessful, in consequence of the opposi- tion of army contractors, and therefore dis- continued its production in 1853, having sacrificed in it his entire fortune. He then removed to the north and turned his atten- tion to the study of a method for preserving milk. The result of his investigation and labors is known in the condensed milk so widely used to-day. He applied for a patent for "producing concentrated sweet milk by evaporation of same," but it was three years after his application was first made before it was granted him. His first patent bears date of August 18, 1856, while other pat- ents were granted him May 13, 1862; Feb- ruary 10, 1863; November 14, 1865, and April 17, 1866.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.