USA > Illinois > Will County > The History of Will County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory of its real estate owners; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics.history of Illinois history of the Northwest > Part 66
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JOSEPH BRAUN, proprietor of the Apollo Hall, Joliet ; was born in Erbach, Wurtemberg, Germany, May 27, 1837; when he was 14 years old, he was appren- ticed to a tailor to learn the business; in April, 1855, he came to this country ; spent a short time in Buffalo and in Canada West, coming to Joliet the same year, and starting in his present business, in which he has been very successful ; in 1856, he went to Minnesota and remained till 1859, with the exception of a short time spent in St. Louis and Quincy ; he then went to Naperville, Ill., and remained till 1861 as clerk in Stenger's brewery; in 1865, in company with Joseph Braun (another gen- tleman of the same name, since deceased) he built the Columbia brewery, and fol- lowed the brewery business till February, 1868, when he disposed of his interest to Mr. F. Sehring, the present proprietor ; in 1874, he revisited his native country in company with Mr. John Reicherdt, and spent about four months in travel in all parts of Germany. He was married March 2, 1862, to Miss Frances C. Braun, of Joliet ; she is a native of Soulnt, France, and came to this country at the same time with Mr. Braun; they have two children -Mary M. and Willie K. Mr. Braun served as Street Commissioner in 1872.
J. E. BUSH, dealer in grain, Joliet; is a son of Stephen N. Bush, who came to Joliet from Washington Co., N. Y., in 1861; he was born in Washington Co., N. Y., Nov. 5, 1835 ; he prepared for college at Whitehall Academy in his native county, and in 1856, entered Will- iams College, Mass., graduating in 1860; he came to Joliet the same year ; spent two years in a grocery store; one year as teller of the First National Bank, and, in 1864, purchased the elevator built by Abijah Cagwin (which was the first elevator built in Will Co.), and engaged in the grain business ; this elevator has a capacity of 30,000 bushels; in 1872, he erected the elevator near the Michigan Central Depot with a capacity of 20,000 bushels ; he handles upward of half a million bushels of grain per annum. He was married in 1863 to Miss Marian C. Wood- ruff, daughter of George Woodruff, of Joliet; she died in 1876, leaving two chil- dren-George W. and Jennic C. Mr. Bush was married again in 1877 to Miss
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Bella G. Kenyon, daughter of John Ken- yon, of Wheatland, Ill .; they have one child-John K.
J. D. BROWN, druggist and chemist, Joliet ; born in Raymertown, Rensselaer Co., N. Y., March 12, 1826 ; he received his academical education in Lyman Cross Academy, Troy, N. Y., completing the course in 1842 at the age of 16; he then engaged in the drug business with his uncle at Lansingburg, N. Y., where he remained three years. He emigrated West and located in the drug trade in Joliet in 1846, since which time he has been successfully engaged in the above business during a period of upward of thirty-two years ; he is the senior member of the firm of J. H. Brown & Co., his brother, J. H., being the junior partner for the past nine years. He married in New York Sept. 10, 1846, to Adelia Brown; four children were the fruit of this union, two of whom are now living, viz., George and Mary M. Mrs. Brown died in Sep- tember, 1855. His second marriage, to Emily G. Bartle, was celebrated in Sep- tember, 1858; three children have been born to them-Eugene, Helen and Horace.
JOSEPH BARTHELME, farmer; P. O. Joliet; born in Alsace, Germany, Feb. 17, 1828, where he lived until 18 years of age, and engaged in farming; he emigrated to America at the above age, landing in New York April 27, 1846, going directly to Pennsylvania ; he engaged in the canal business until October, 1848, when he emigrated to Joliet and worked in the quarries and lime-kilns for a period of twelve years; in 1860, he engaged in farming, renting sixty acres two miles from Joliet, which he worked for seven years, when he purchased eighty acres on Sec. 6, Joliet Tp., which he has since continued to work; he owns besides his farm of eighty acres, which is located one mile from Joliet, his present residence on Bluff street, which he has owned since 1851. He married June 11, 1851, to Mary Wiles ; she was born in Alsacc, Germany, March 22, .1833 ; they have by this union ten children now living, viz., Mary Ann, Helen, Frank, Joseph, Michael, Antonette, Edward C., George, William and Alexan- der. Mr. B. has held the office of Alder- man for two years in the ward in which he lives .-
T. BURKE, livery, feed and sale stable, Joliet; born in Lowell, Mass., May 11, 1840, removing when quite young to Joliet, Ill., where he has since lived, being en- gaged in various pursuits in his youth when not attending school; his first business enterprise was in trucking, to which he lias added the livery, feed and sale stable, car- rying on the only business of the kind west of the river, and keeping a good stock of horses and carriages for rent which reccive his personal attention, and are always found in first-class order. He married July 11, 1856, in Joliet, to Mary Hennesy ; she was a native of Ireland; they have by this union eleven children now living, viz., Mary A., John R., Bernard, Helen, Katie, Anna, Thomas F., William, Sarah, Hattie and Alice.
R. S. BROWN, of the firm of Zarley & Co., publishers of the Joliet Signal; is a native of Joliet ; he was born Aug. 30, 1845 ; he is a son of R. D. Brown, who who came to Joliet from Rensselaer Co., N. Y., in 1845, and still resides here ; Mr. Brown was educated in the public schools of the city, and at the age of 17 entered the Signal office as an apprentice ; this was in 1862; he became familiar with every branch of the business, afterward becoming foreman, and in 1873, became a partner in the firm.
ALEXANDER BURDEN, merchant tailor, Joliet; born in Comrie, Perthshire, Scotland, on the 8th of April, 1832; he learned the trade of a tailor in his native country, and, when about 17 years of age, left Scotland and came to America; the first five years he worked at his trade in Lowell, Mass., Oneida Co., N. Y., Ottawa, Can. and Cincinnati, Ohio; in March, 1853, he came to Joliet and has continucd in the merchant tailoring business here ever since. He was married March 3, 1853, to Miss Elizabeth Jamieson of New York Mills, Oneida Co., N. Y,; she was a native of Loch Winnock, Scotland, and came to this country in 1849; she died Aug. 29, 1877, leaving four children- David, Jennie, Maggie and Willie.
NATHANIEL BARNS, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 34; P. O. Joliet; born in Rockland Co., N. Y., June 18, 1818, where he lived until 40 years of age, being engaged in farming and dealing in stock until he emigrated to Joliet Tp., Will Co.,
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Ill., in 1858, upon his present place, since which he has been extensively engaged in farming and has expended a great deal of time and money making improvements, such as draining, ete; he owns 160 aeres under a high state of eultivation, three and one-half miles from Joliet. He married Oct. 1, 1849, to Mary E. Thiell ; she was from the same place as Mr. Barnes ; she was born June 21, 1829; they are the parents of ten children-Emily A., Isaae and Edward, deceased; the living are George J., Rosalia, Grace, Nathaniel, Eliza, John Henry and Blanche. Mr. Barnes has held the office of School Di- reetor for more than ten years and has always taken a deep interest in the eause of education in the distriet where he lives.
LEWIS BROWN, farmer, See. 24; P. O. Joliet ; born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., June 2, 1827, where he attended school in winter and worked upon his father's farm in summer until 13 years of age, when in 1840, he removed with his fath- er's family to Will Co., Ill .; he settled upon his present farm in 1863; owns 160 aeres of well-improved land, valued at $60 per acre. He married Miss Christy Smith- ley, Oet. 19, 1871 ; she was born Oet. 13, 1839, in Westmoreland Co., Penn .; they are the parents of three children-Jennie Luella, born Oet. 21, 1872; Lydia May, born Feb. 17, 1875, died Feb. 19, 1876; Katie Bell, born June 2, 1877.
WALLACE B. CASWELL, proprietor St. Nicholas Hotel, Joliet; was born in Orleans Co., N. Y., in 1831 ; his father was a farmer of moderate eireumstanees, possessing a small piece of land which he tilled with his own hands; he recognized the value of an education and made every effort to sccure for his children that mental eulture which is imperishable; but Wallace was not a studious youth ; the glorious fun of fishing, hunting, " I spy," "two-old-eat" and other athletie sports, had for him a far greater eharm than the problems of his arithmetic, the puzzling intricacies of his grammar, the comprehensive knowledge contained within the pasteboard lids of his geography, or even the polysyllables of his spelling-book ; all told, his schooling amounted to less than three years of con- stant attendanee; to this day he aeknowl- edges, that it was his own fault that not even a common-school education accompa-
nied him when he embarked for himself in the struggles of life; it was in the vocation of an apple-peddler that pennies first poured into the eapaeious pockets of his "flap " trowsers; with a basket well-laden with pippins, greenings, Spitzenbergs, gillyflow- ers and rusty-coats, gathered from his father's orehard, he daily plodded to the village of Albion for several years and returned at night jubilant with suecess, or dejeeted by failure, according as good or ill luck had attended his labors among the fruit-loving denizens of the village; in those days (a matter which will be a sur- prise to the fruit-venders of this genera- tion) a "square meal" could be obtained for 3 eents, and to indulge in the extras of the season 5 eents was considered an ex- orbitant demand ; in 1844, his father eame West, purchased a small farm and grist-mill at Plainfield, nine miles north- west of Joliet; from that date till the present, the subject of this sketeh has been a resident of this State; in 1845, he en- tered the village store as elerk, owned by a Mr. Goddard, at the munificent salary of $4 per month, without board ; Mr. G. also operated stores in Elgin and St. Charles ; he continued with him at intervals, until 1858, vibrating from one point to another, as occasion and the interests of his employer might require ; in 1849, he was employed in the dry goods and carpet store of H. W. Bigelow, of Chicago; his positions and employments have been various, and fortune and mis-fortune have not been strangers to him. He was married in 1854, to Esther J. Eurn, of Plainfield. At one time we find him a prosperous business man, amassing wealth rapidly ; again we see him penniless, with a great debt upon his shoulders ; at the breaking-out of the war, he was doing a thriving grocery trade in Joliet. He en- tered the army as sutler, and, at first, money "rolled in by the bushel," and indieated that his fortune was made ; but these were uncertain days; when about thirty-five miles south of Louisville, on his way to Bardstown, John Morgan, the daring, dashing cavalryman of Southern fame, despoiled his train of six loads of sutler's goods, " cabbaged" his horses and left him with a whole skin, but not money enough to get back to Joliet ; again he replenished his stoek and the same result followed ; after having onee more purchased a
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full stock, he sold out, took notes in pay- ment, never realized a cent from them, and returned to Joliet as poor as he was five years before. In 1864, he began operating the old National Hotel on the west side of the city ; here he remained almost ten years accumulating money as if by magic ; in 1873, he furnished the Robertson House at an expense of $20,000; in one year he lost half of the amount accumulated in the preceding ten years ; he next pur- chased one-half interest in the Galt House, Chicago, and in one year shelved the bal- ance; he opened the St. Nicholas as a hotel June 17, 1875.
GEORGE M. CAMPBELL, Secretary and Treasurer of the Joliet Stone Co., Joliet ; was born in Unity, Waldo Co., Me., Jan. 5, 1848 ; in early childhood, he removed with his parents to Springfield, Mass., and lived there and in that vicinity until he was 9 years of age; the family then removed to Linn Co., Iowa, and five years later, in April, 1862, came to Joliet ; his parents resided here four years, and then returned to Massachusetts ; he was educated in the public schools of Joliet and at the Springfield, Mass., English and Classical Institute ; he followed the busi- ness of clerking and book-keeping until May, 1875, when the Joliet Stone Co. was organized, he being one of the three equal partners, and on its incorporation, Dec. 1, 1877, he became Secretary and Treasurer of the company. He was married Dec. 25, 1873, to Miss Libbie R. Snapp, daugh- ter of Hon. Henry Snapp, of Joliet, and has two children-Jessie M. and Ida A.
M. B. CAMPBELL, M. D., physician and surgeon, Joliet, was born in Williston, Vt., Nov. 29, 1843; he received his pre- paratory education at the Williston Acade- my, after which he studied medicine in the office of Dr. E. A. Pond, of Rutland, Vt., who has since become famous as the inventor of the American Sphygmograph, for measuring and tracing the pulsations of the heart ; from his office he entered the medical department of Harvard Uni- versity, where he graduated and received his degree, March 7, 1866; during his course of studies he served one year as medical cadet in the regular army ; after graduating, he spent one year in practice with Dr. Pond, in Rutland, and then came West, and located in Wilmington, Ill .; he
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practiced medicine there until 1874, when he removed to Joliet; Dr. Campbell was thoroughly educated as an allopathic physician, but, in 1872, having become fully convinced of the superiority of the law of "Similia similibus curantur," or so-called homeopathy, after thorough prep- aration he joined the Illinois State Homeo- pathic Medical Association, and, in 1874, was elected a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy.
ROMAINE J. CURTISS, M. D., pliy- sician and surgeon, Joliet; was born in Ricliland Co., Ohio, Oct. 1, 1840 ; at the age of 16 years, he entered Hillsdale Col- lege, Mich., and after leaving there at- tended one course of medical lectures at Buffalo Medical College ; in 1862, he en- tered the Union army as Hospital Steward of the 123d Ohio Vols., and in April, 1863, was appointed a Medical Cadet in the reg- ular army ; served on the hospital-boat which, during the siege of Vicksburg. con- veyed the wounded up the river to Meni- phis and St. Louis, and was afterward trans- ferred to the General Hospital at Cincin- nati ; in 1864, he graduated and received his degree of M. D. from the Ohio Med- ical College, and was appointed Assistant Surgeon in the U. S. Navy, serving till the close of the war; he then located in Eric Co., N. Y., where he practiced medicine seven years, during which time he pursued a medical course at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, graduating from that in- stitution in March, 1868; from Erie Co. he came to Joliet in 1873 ; he is a mem- ber of the Erie County Medical Society, of the Will County Medical Society, and also a corresponding member of the Bos- ton Gynecological Society. He was mar- ried Nov. 29, 1870, to Miss Sarah A. Beal, of Erie Co., N. Y.
H. S. CARPENTER, of the firm of Carpenter & Marsh, grain merchants and proprietors of the Union Transfer Eleva- tor, Joliet ; was born in Orleans Co., N. Y., Nov. 25, 1826 ; he resided there until he was nearly 20 years of age; he received an academic education in Rochester and Albion, N. Y., and in 1846, came to Jol- iet ; he taught school ninc quarters in Troy Tp., and then engaged in speculating, buying and selling property, etc .; about twenty-five years ago,he engaged in the grain business, being now the oldest grain mer-
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chant in Joliet ; in the Spring of 1874, the firm of Carpenter & Marsh was established and the Union Transfer Elevator erected, at a cost, including the mill and dock in con- nection therewith, of some $15,000 ; they now do a yearly business of $1,500,000, and handle about five millions of bushels of grain per annum. Mr. Carpenter was married Jan. 22, 1850, to Miss Henrietta Spencer, of Troy Tp., and has three chil- dren-Charles H., George and Sarah F.
CHARLES CLEMENT, retired, Jol- iet ; has been a permanent resident of Joliet since 1834, and is the oldest living inhabitant of the city ; he was born in Windsor, Vt., Jan. 13, 1810 ; after receiv- ing a common-school education, he spent some time in an academy at Atkinson, N. H .; in 1833, he came West, and passed through Joliet (then containing but two log cabins), on his way to Peoria ; the fol- lowing spring, he returned and made his home here, where he has continued to re- side ever since ; he soon afterward engaged in mercantile business, which he continued most of the time until his retirement from active business, about 1865 ; in the spring of 1839, he, with others, established the first newspaper in Will Co., the Joliet Courier, which afterward became the Jol- iet Signal ; he has served three years as a member of the Board of Supervisors, be- ing the first Supervisor upon the organiza- tion of the township ; he has held tlie offi- ces of Alderman, School Inspector, etc. He was married Aug. 5, 1844, to Miss Cordelia Wilcox, of Elbridge, N. Y., and has two children.
J. J. CULVER, Joliet ; dealer in live stock, and proprietor of Bluff Street Mar- ket ; was born in Montgomery County, N. Y., Dec. 5, 1828; at the age of 14 years, he entered a store as clerk, and at the age of 20, engaged in general mer- chandising for himself, which he continued till 1857 ; when, being in poor health he came West, bringing with him a stock of goods, which he traded off for a farm in Channahon Tp; he followed farming there seven years, and then removed to Joliet and engaged in his present business, which is quite extensive, as he retails an average of forty cattle per month. During the war he did a large and successful business in buying and shipping stock. He has a farm of nearly 200 acres south of the city,
and also rents some 300 acres more. on which he usually fceds 100 head of cattle, or 1,000 sheep. For the past four years, has confined his attention mainly to sheep raising, shipping stock, and attending to his business in town. He was married Oct. 21, 1853, to Miss Lydia A. Knox, of Montgomery Co., N. Y., and has four children-Willie K., Aggie C., Edward E. and Charles S.
ABIJAH CAGWIN, dealer in grain ; Joliet ; was born in Oneida Co. N. Y., May 19, 1807; in 1824, he removed with his parents to Brockport, Monroe Co., and there began business as a tanner and cur- rier, owning an extensive tannery which burned down in 1834; he was also en- gaged in shoe manufacturing. He came to Will Co., in 1835, and settled about two miles from Joliet-then Juliet-where he built a saw-mill, in which he sawed the lumber used in building the first grain warehouse in Will Co., which Mr. Cagwin erected a few years later. Here he was elected Justice of the Peace, serving.eight years; in 1839, he was elected County Judge, and moved into the city ; at the expiration of his four years' service as County Judge, he engaged in merchandis- ing, afterward associating with him his brother, Francis L. Cagwin ; in 1856, he with others, established the Will County Bank, the firm being Cagwin, Higinbo- tham & Co .; a few years afterward, he en- gaged in the grain and produce business, which he has continued to the present time. He has served three terms as City Treasurer ; one term on the Board of Supervisors, and four years as Supt. of the Will County Alms-house and Poor Farm. He was married in 1827, to Miss Hannah Scriber, of Brockport, N. Y., but formerly from Rutland Co., Vt., and has eight children-Merritt O., of Elwood, Ill., Helen A. (Mrs. Elvis Harwood, of Joliet), Sarah A. (Mrs. Barritt, of Joliet), Thomas P., of Joliet, Hamden A., of Joliet, Nancy A., of Joliet, Rose L. (Mrs. A. R. Briggs, of Joliet), and Abijah S., of Joliet.
GEORGE N. CHAMBERLIN, of the firm of S. S. Chamberlin & Son, under- takers and dealers in furniture ; Joliet ; was born in Lockport, Will Co., Ill., Dec. 20, 1851 ; he is a son of S. S. Chamberlin, who came to Will Co. at an early day, frequent reference to whom will be found
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JOLIET TOWNSHIP.
in other parts of this work. Mr. Cham- berlin was educated in the High School in his native town, and when about 20 years of age, entered the employ of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern R. R. Co., in Chicago, in the telegraph department, re- maining with them two years; he then spent some three years in the office of Norton & Co., of Lockport, and in 1876, engaged in his present business with his father, who is the oldest undertaker and furniture dealer in Will Co. He was mar- ried Dec. 5, 1876, to Miss Ella E. Munger, daughter of Charles E. Munger, of Chicago, for twenty-five years a resident of Joliet ; they have one child-Fred M.
JOHN R. CASEY, M. D., physician and surgeon, Joliet ; has been a resident and a practicing physician of Joliet, since 1858; he is a native of Illinois, and was born in Jefferson Co. Jan. 28, 1835; at 16 years of age, he entered McKendree College, Lebanon, Ill., where he remained three years ; leaving College, he entered upon the study of medicine under the in- struction of Dr. Charles A. Pope, at that time one of the most prominent surgeons in the West. He attended medical lectures in the St. Louis Medical College where he graduated and received his degree in 1857. After practicing medicine one year in Ol- ney, Richland Co., Ill., he located in Joliet, as above stated. In May of the same year (1858), he was appointed physician in charge of the State Penitentiary' Hos- pital in this city, occupying that position ten years. He is at present President of the Will County Medical Society, and also holds the office of City and County Phy- sician, to which he was elected several years ago ; he has also served one year on the Board of Aldermen. He was mar- ried in June, 1863, to Miss Ada Vander- pool, of Joliet; a native of New York City, and has four children -- Florida, Wil- lis W. Dwight and Laura.
CHARLES W. CLEGHORN, proprie- tor Joliet Soap Works, Joilet; was born in the Province of Ontario Aug. 16, 1853. He is a son of Rev. Thomas, a Methodist clergyman, and who was a brother of Edward Cleghorn, of this city. His father was a native of New York State, but lived in Canada from the age of 5 years until 1870, when he removed to Michigan, and resided there until his death, which occurred in
February, 1878. After his father's death, his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth (Williams) Cleghorn, removed with her family to Joliet, where they now reside. Charles W. came to Joliet in 1870, and learned the tanner's trade with Messrs. Mack, Cleghorn & Co., and continued till July, 1876, when he engaged in his present business. He manu- factures three brands of soap; the "Granite," he considers his finest soap ; is of his own invention, and unexcelled for either toilet or laundry purposes ; his two other brands, the " Standard " and " Boss," are both ex- cellent articles, and are furnished at prices which should induce the people of Will Co. to patronize home industries, and ask their grocers for Cleghorn's soaps.
WILLIAM P. CATON, retired, Joliet ; one of the pioneers of Will Co .; was born in Orange Co., N. Y., March 28, 1815; he lived in Oneida Co., N. Y., until 18 years of age, being engaged in mercantile pursuits and attending school ; at the above age, he removed to Ann Arbor, Mich., where he remained three years, clerking in a general store ; he then came to Chicago in 1836, clerking for a short time ; then to Milwaukee, clerking until the following year; he then returned to Illinois and took up 2,000 acres of Government land in Cook Co., sixteen miles northwest of Chicago; here he lived until 1848, when he removed to Chicago, being engaged in mercantile pursuits and inspector of canal-boats until 1856, when he removed to Plainfield, Will Co., and engaged in farming until 1871, when on account of ill health he was obliged to give up farming, since which time he has lived in Joliet, but not engaged in active business. He owns his residence and the one adjoining on Oneida st., Joliet. He married Nov. 28, 1844, to Elizabeth Steele ; they are the parents of five chil- dren now living-William E., Hannah E., Charles A., Albert R. and Minnie E.
JOHN CLARKSON, retired mill- wright, Joliet; born in Lancashire, England, Oct. 25, 1809, where he learned and worked at the millwright trade until 28 years of age, when he emigrated to America, land- ing in New York July 3, 1837 ; remaining there three months, then to Rochester four months ; then to Black Rock Dam during the winter of 1837-38, returning to Roches- ter for the summer following; then to Rome, Mich., for eighteen months ; from
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there to Chieago, and to Joliet by stage, where he located May 20, 1840 ; he first engaged here in building Jones' Steam Flour- Mill, the first of the kind in Jolict ; upon its completion, he with Thomas Keegan, went to Marseilles and built the first flour mill at that place ; from there he went to Chieago and built the first elevator erected in that eity. His reputation as a work- man of superior skill at his trade having become generally established, he has been extensively employed in building mills and elevators in all the neighboring towns around Joliet up to the time of his retiring from aetive labor. He owns a fine resi- dence on the west side of the river, where he resides. He married in England April 12, 1837, to Alicc Hodson ; she was born in Lancashire, England, May 1, 1816 ; they are the parents of three children now living, viz., Ellen J., Margaret A. and Mary Ann. Mr. C.'s mother emigrated to America and Joliet in 1844, being then upward of 80 years of age, where she lived until her death in 1848. Mr. C. has filled different offices of trust, among them Sehool Trustee for eight years and School Director for three years.
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