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 68

Author:
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago : Wm. Le Baron, jr. & co.
Number of Pages: 980

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 68

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VALENTINE FAHRNER, M. D., physician, Joliet ; was born in Marienbad, a watering-place of Bohemia, Dec. 9, 1803; he was educated at the Gymnasium of Egra, after which he pursued his pro- fessional studies at the University of Prague, where he graduated and received the degree of M. D. in 1833. He began practice in his native town, where he continued until 1854 ; he then eame to this country, and located in Chicago; in 1868, he returned to Bohemia, remaining one year, and on coming again to the United States, spent two years in Mokena, Ill., coming to Joliet in 1871. He was married in 1842, to

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Miss Maria Anna Tauber, of Tesehau, Bohemia ; she died May 28, 1873, leaving two children-John and Anna Catherine (now Mrs. Henry Lehner, of Troy Town- ship. John Fahrner, son of the above, was born in Marienbad, Bohemia, Feb, 11, 1854, and came with his father's family to this country, and has continued with them ever since. He received his preparatory education in the school of the Benedictine Fathers in Chicago, after which he attended medieal lectures in the University of Prague in Bohemia, and has since continued his professional studies under the instruc- tion of his father, with whom he is asso- ciated in practice.

JOSEPH FRIEDRICH, farmer and stock-raiser; P. O. Joliet; was born in Biul, Weisserberg, near Strasbourg, Alsaee, April 25, 1820 ; he was raised to the bus- iness of stock-raising and farming, and in 1840, came to the United States ; he spent about three months at work near Buffalo, N. Y .; going from there to Chicago, and shortly afterward coming to Joliet ; he worked for awhile on the dam at this place, and in the spring following went to Lock- port, and was employed for about five months on the Canal; thenee, in the fall, to Chieago. The following summer, he located in Naperville, Ill., and resided there till he settled in Joliet in May, 1847, exeept a short time spent in the South; in the spring of 1848, he purchased his present farm adjoining the eity, where he owns seventy-six acres of land. He was married Feb. 17, 1845, to Miss Sarah Weis, a native of Germany and has eight children -Joseph E., now in business in Joliet, Charles, Oswell J., Frank E., William, Sarah, Josephine and Annie.

W. D. FAY, photograph artist, Joliet ; was born in Northampton Co., Penn., May 23, 1827 ; he entered upon the business of photographing at the age of 20 years, previously to which he had followed the trade of a tailor ; he continued the photo- graph business in his native State until 1860, when he removed to Joliet, where he has resided to the present time ; he is the oldest photographer in Joliet, and one of the oldest in the State. He held the office of Street Commissioner one ycar, and in 1869, was elected City Treasurer, holding the office two years ; he is at present Township Sehool Treasurer, to | place. During the summer of 1869, he

which he was elected in June, 1877. He was married in 1858, to Miss Catharine R. Waldron, of Harford, Penn., and has two children-Alpha A. and Winnifred W.

JAMES H. FERRISS, P. O. Joliet ; of Nelson, Ferriss & Co., proprietors of the Joliet Morning News ; was born near Oswego, Kendall Co., Ill. He is a son of Wm. H. Ferriss, formerly of Clinton Co., N. Y. His mother was Eliza M. Brown, formerly of Erie Co., Penn. The subject of this sketch became a resident of Bristol Station, Ill., where he received a common school education ; at the age of 10 years he entered a store-half saloon and half groeery-and tended bar till he was 14 years of age, when he was seized with a spiritual, or no-spirit-at-all turn, and joined the Good Templars. He afterward attended a eommereial college, run a butcher- shop, lived three years as a Kansas squatter, followed the live-stoek trade, and was one of the proprietors of the Yorkville News during the Peter Cooper campaign. He also reported for the Joliet Sun, in an obscure capacity, in 1874, and with three others launched the Phoenix newspaper enterprise, in Will Co., on Jan. 1, 1877. In October, the same year, he, with his present associates, purchased the Morning News, and since then has pursued a steady and consistent course. During all his eventful eareer, he has never been mar- ried, had any bones broken, or had his life insured, but lives on in hopefulness, ete.

JAMES R. FLANDERS, attorney at law, firm of Hagar & Flanders, Joliet; was born Aug. 27, 1846, in Plainfield, Will Co., Ill., and is a son of Jason and Lucy Flanders. He attended the publie schools of Plainfield, and the Northwestern College, located at Plainfield, until May, 1864, working on a farm during vaeations. On the 10th of May, 1864, he enlisted in Company C, 132d I. V. I., serving un- til Oet. 17, 1864. After his discharge from the army, he returned to school, and remained in school until the spring of 1867; he then entered the law office of Randall & Fuller, in Joliet, and read law until Oet. 1867 ; he then taught school in Henry Co., Ill., until the spring of 1868; read law during the summer, and the following winter, again taught school at the same

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continued his law studies, and in Scptem- ber of that year, entered the Law Depart- ment of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he graduated in March, 1871. He was admitted to the bar in Michigan, April 4, 1871, and to the bar of Illinois, June 20, 1871, and immediately began practice in Joliet. He was elected City Attorney of Joliet in the spring of 1873, and re-elected in the spring of 1874, and again elected in the spring of 1876. In November, 1876, he was elected State's Attorney of Will County, which office he- still holds. He was married to Miss Sarah A. Arnold, April 10, 1877.

JAMES GOODSPEED, publisher and proprietor of the Joliet Republican, Jolict; was born in Tioga Co., Penn., Dec. 3, 1836; he came to Joliet in 1859; he was educated at Alfred University, N. Y., and after leaving college entered the law office of Goodspeed & McRobert in Joliet ; he was admitted to the bar in 1861, and continued in practice until 1869, when he purchased the Joliet Republican, which he has continued to publish to the present time. The Republican is the oldest Republican newspaper in the Seventh Congressional District, and has a larger circulation than any other paper published in the district; it is issued both as a weekly and semi-weekly, and has a circu- lation of fully 1,800. Mr. Goodspeed was appointed Postmaster in 1871, and still holds the office.

C. B. GARNSEY (Garnsey & Knox), attorney at law, Joliet; was born in Liv- ingston Co., N. Y., Oct. 25, 1842; he was educated at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, and in 1859 came to Will Co., spending a year or more in Wilmington ; in 1861, he entered the law department of the Chicago University, graduating July 1, 1862. On the 30th of the same month, hc enlisted in Co. A, 100th Ill. V. I .; was soon afterward transferred to the non- commissioned staff as Commissary Ser- geant of the regiment, and served as such during the war, being with his regiment from the timc it left home, until its muster out in July, 1865, when he returned to Joliet, and entered upon the practice of his profession. He was appointed Master in Chancery in 1867, and served four years, resigning in 1871. He is at present Cor- poration Counsel for the city of Joliet, to

which he was appointed Jan. 1. 1878. He was married in 1867 to Miss Mary A. Henderson, of Wilmington, Ill., and has two children.

W. D. GARDNER, stcel-blower, Jolict ; was born in Portage Co., Ohio, in 1847 ; his life was that of a farmer's son until he was 22 years of age; his father-in-law, A. S. Dunning, was for a number of years superintendent of the converting depart- ment of the Cleveland Rolling-Mills, and when in the employ of the same company in 1868 he came to Chicago. Mr. Gard- ner accompanied him, and engaged in. the manufacture of steel for the Union Rolling- Mills Company ; in December, 1872, his father-in-law took the same position in the works at Joliet, where he remained till 1877. Mr. Gardner came at the same time, and has remained ever since. He was married Dec. 27, 1868, to Anna E. Dunning, a native of Ohio; has one daughter-Emma. He is recognized as one well qualified for the very responsible position he occupies.

WM. GRINTON, JR., real estate and loans, Jolict; was born in the Province of Ontario March 17, 1844, but came to Plainfield, Will Co., with his parents when less than a year old, and, therefore, can almost be said to be a native of Will Co .; he is a son of William Grinton, a promi- nent citizen of the county, the founder of the village of Grinton, in Troy Tp., and the builder of the Grinton Mill, one of the old landmarks. Mr. Grinton came to Joliet in 1853; was educated in the public schools of the city and at the Lake Forest Academy, Ill., and after leaving school followed the grocery business in Jolict for two years; he afterward spent a short time in the commission business in St. Louis ; he was also engaged for two years in the grocery business in Morris, Ill., re- turning in 1868 to Joliet, and engaging in his present business ; on the organization of the Stone City Bank he became Cashier, and held that position the first two years. He was married March 24, 1864, to Miss Anna Stevens, daughter of the late Robert Stevens, one of the early settlers of Will Co .; their children are Robert W., Anna L., Jessie and Grace.

ALBERT H. GREEN, foreman of the shoe department of the Illinois State Penitentiary, Joliet; born March 10, 1855,

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in Brooklyn, N. Y., where he lived until the year 1869, when he came West and engaged in the shoe business at Marshall- town, Iowa, for one year; then returning to New York in 1870, where he remained six years, he again engaged in the manufacture of shoes; he emigrated West and to Jolict in 1876, where he has continued to work at the shoe business until the present time; has been foreman of the treeing, packing and shipping department since March, 1877. He married Aug. 2, 1877, to Miss Allie Vanderhoff, daughter of Levi Vanderhoff, of Joliet; they are the par- ents of one daughter, born Sept. 18, 1878.

JOHN GREEN, superintendent of the shoe department at the Illinois State Prison, Joliet; born in London, Eng., Dee. 27, -; edueated at the Clifton boarding school, Northamptonshire; served two years as assistant commercial traveler in London and vicinity ; in 1844, came to Brooklyn, N. Y., and learned the shoe business in all its details ; he then visited England, and, upon returning, traveled through the Eastern States, and worked in some of the Eastern factories. In 1852, he married Miss Margaret Ann Granger, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and traveled one year through the Eastern States as salesman, returning then to the shoe manufacture as foreman of a fashionable eustom business ; then traveled again three years as salesman, when he again returned to factory life, first as cutter, then as foreman and super- intendent, in which capacity he is now en- gaged, and has been for the past twenty years. His first wife died in 1870, leaving five children-Albert H. (now foreman in the shoe department, who married Miss Allie Vanderhoff, of Joliet, and has one daughter-Carrie H., now Mrs. William Henderson, of Brooklyn, N. Y.), Ida E., William and John (who died in 1871.). In 1872, Mr. G. married Miss Harriet A. Bazin, daughter of John H. Bazin, Esq., and removed to Joliet in 1874 with his family, excepting Carrie. The factory under his direction was the first ever started to make exclusively fine shoes with convict labor. Mr. Green has been a fre- quent contributor to the shoe trade journals of the country for many years, in 1872, furnishing one hundred and eighty col- umns, many of the articles being repub-

lished in the trade journals of England, France and Germany.

ALEXANDER GROSS, general super- intendent of the stone-cutting department Illinois State Penitentiary, Joliet ; born in Baden, Germany, Jan. 26, 1834, where he lived until 20 years of age, learning and working at the trade of stone-cutting in his father's quarries ; he emigrated to America in 1854, landing in New York July 26, and came to Chicago the follow- ing September, engaging at his trade for two months, when he went to Maeon Co. and worked at farming for four months; returning to Chicago, he again engaged at his trade until the panic of 1857, when he eame to Joliet, and after working one year as foreman of the stone cutting de- partment of the Illinois State Penitentiary, he was appointed general superintendent, in 1858, which position he has filled with credit since that date, a period of twenty years. Mr. Gross married in February, 1868, Margaret Vebel; she was born in Prussia; they are the parents of five children, three living, viz., Laura, Theo- dore, Rosetta; the deceased are Albert and Amelia.

JOHN GREENWOOD, farmer, Sec. 25; P. O. Joliet; born in Herefordshire, England, Sept. 29, 1813; came to this country when 18 years of age, living in New York State eight years, following farming; removed to Will Co., Ill., in 1840, where he has continued the occupa- tion of farming; he owns 240 acres of land, worth $60 per aere. Married Mary Ann Brown, of New York State, June 1, 1836; they had thirteen children by this union-George, born Aug 5, 1838; Mary, May 11, 1840; John W., June 27, 1842, deceased ; Harvey B., Dee. 26,1844, deceased; William, Nov. 27, 1846; Jane, April 11, 1848, deceased; Llewellyn, November, 1850, deceased ; Bennett, Oct. 23, 1852, deceased; Sarah, April 11, 1854, deceased ; John Fletcher, Sept. 2, 1856, deceased ; and three children who died in infaney. Mrs. Greenwood died Aug. 27, 1874. Mr. Greenwood mar- ried for his second wife Sarah A. Houston on Jan. 23, 1875 ; she was born in Huron Co., Ohio; they have one child by this un- ion-Charles Albert, born April 7, 1877. Mr. Greenwood has held the office of School Director for more than twenty years.

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FRANK HAVILAND, proprietor of livery, sale and boarding stable, Joliet ; was born in Ithaca, Tompkins Co., N. Y., March 15, 1842. Early in 1862, he en- listed in the 109th N. Y. Vols., and was appointed.a Sergeant in Company A ; he served in the Army of the Potomac, and participated in all the engagements of that army until the battle of Petersburg, where he was wonnded June 17, 1864; he received three wounds, one in the left hand, by a fragment of a shell, which car- ried away one of his fingers, and at the same time two wounds in the right leg; on his re- covery, he was sent on detached duty to An- napolis, Md., where he remained till his discharge in August, 1865, just previous to which he received an unsolicited and unexpected commission as First Lieuten- ant. He came to Joliet in the fall of 1865, and the next spring engaged in his present business ; he has served one year as City Marshal and one term as a member of the Board of Aldermen of Joliet. He was married Dee. 3, 1874, to Miss Merrion Millar, of the town of Troy, Will Co., Ill.

H. HENRY HAYEN, blacksmith, Joliet; born in Germany in 1845, where he lived until 21 years of age, where he learned and worked at the trade of black- smith until he emigrated to America, landing in New York, Oct. 29, 1866; came directly to Joliet, Will Co., Ill., and engaged in blacksmithing, wagon- making and general repairing, and

manufacturing all

kinds of stone- cutters' and marble-workers'tools, which business he has sinee successfully followed. He was married July 16, 1872, and has two children now living, viz., Francis and Mary. Mr. Hayen owns his place of busi- ness and residence located at No. 91 Bluff street, which he has made by his own hard labor.

EDWARD C. HAGAR, attorney at law (firm of Hagar & Flanders), Joliet ; was born in Plainfield, Will Co., Ill., April 19, 1846 ; he is the son of Jonathan and Catharine (Goodhue) Hagar ; his father came from Cleveland, Ohio, and settled in Plainfield in 1835; he was the first merchant in that town; his mother is a daughter of Deacon Ezra Goodhue, and came to Plainfield with her fathers's fam- ily in 1834. Mr. Hagar was educated at

the Northwestern Evangelieal College in his native town, graduating in 1867; in 1870, he entered the Law Department of the University of Michigan, completing his course and graduating in the spring of 1872; he was admitted to the bar in Michigan in April, 1872, and by the Supreme Court of Illinois in June of the same year. In November, 1872, he was elected State's Attorney, and in December following, he formed a law partnership with James R. Flanders, which still con- tinues ; he held the office of State's At- torney four years. He was married Mareh 24, 1875, to Miss Hattie C. Gager, a native of Warren, Ohio, and has one child- Elmer G.

H. HOWK, retired merchant and miller, Joliet ; the subject of this sketeh was born in Watertown, Jefferson Co., N. Y., Feb. 23, 1806 ; in his early life he engaged ex- tensively in lumbering in his native State; in 1851, he came west, and located in Jol- ict, and in connection with Joel A. Matte- son, afterward Governor of the State, took a contract on the R. I. & P. R. R., extend- ing from Blue Island to within ten miles of Joliet; they graded and put in the culverts a distance of thirty-four miles. His- son subsequently built a store-room on the West Side, near the lock, and engaged in supplying boats on the Canal. Mr. Howk built the Joliet Mills, on the lock, with six runs of stone, and in company with Mr. Hyde, his nephew, and now sole proprietor, operated them seven years; he contraeted all the machinery in Watertown, N. Y .; sinee retiring from the mill, he has not been actively engaged in business pursuits, but is leading a quiet, retired life, enjoying the fruits of honest toil and the compe- teney gained by a well-directed and well- spent early manhood.

H. D. HIGINBOTHAM, deceased, for- merly of Joliet, whose portrait appears in this work, was born in Worcester, Otsego Co., N: Y., Jan. 10, 1806; he was brought up upon a farm, and had such advantages of educa- tion as were offered at the district school of his neighborhood; his father's aneestors were English, and settled in Barbadoes in the early settlement of the American Col- onies ; his grandfather lived in Rhode Island, and married a Miss Lippit, of Providence ; he followed the sea for some time, as captain of a whaler from Newport ;

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Charles Higinbotham, the father of H. D., was born in Rhode Island, and came to Ot- sego Co., N. Y., with his parents, about the year 1800 ; he married Miss Gertrude Du- mont, of Westford, N. Y .; from this mar- riage the subject of this sketch was born, and in 1831, married Miss Rebecca Wheeler, of Westford, N. Y .; she was born in Ca- naan, Columbia Co., N. Y .; soon after their marriage they moved to Oneida, N. Y .; there he engaged in the blacksmith business, and in June, 1834, moved to Illinois, and settled on Hickory Creek, in the now town of Joliet, and purchased a farm of 160 acres; here he engaged in farming and blacksmithing, and was very successful in his business; in 1854, and for some time after, he was engaged in a saw-mill and planing-mill, at what is now called the Red Mills of Hickory Creek. Here on Hickory Creek all their children were born, except Albert H., the eldest, who was born in New Lenox, Madison Co., N. Y., Nov. 5, 1831; Ambrosia R. was born Oct. 1, 1834; Ann Eliza, Dec. 2, 1836; Harlow N., Oct. 10, 1838; Gertrude D., July 6, 1842 ; Mary Ellen, Sept. 27, 1845, and Charles S., Dec. 24, 1848. Of these, Albert H. married Elizabeth Ella White, of Chicago, and are now living in Joliet; Ambrosia R. married M. O. Cagwin, of Joliet ; Ann Eliza married M. G. Dem- mond, of Joliet ; Harlow N. married Rachael Davidson, of Joliet ; he is in the mercantile house of Field, Leiter & Co., Chicago; Gertrude D. married Thomas Leddy, of Joliet, both deceased ; Mary Ellen married R. C. Darwin, of Joliet; she is now de- ceased ; Charles S. married Cynthia L. Kemp, of New Lenox, now residing in Kansas. H. D. Higinbotham and family moved to Joliet in the fall of 1854; he built a fine residence on Cass st., where he resided until his death ; with his energy and perseverance, he aided very much in making the city of Joliet what it is to-day. He held several prominent offices under the city government. He died March 13, 1865, leaving a widow and children and a large circle of friends to mourn his loss. His widow, Rebecca Higinbotliam, in 1871, married C. H. Sutphen, a prominent citi- zen of La Salle Co., Ill., and a cousin of the late H. D. Higinbotham ; Mr. and Mrs. Sutplien now reside at the old Hig- inbotham homestead, on Cass st., Joliet.

GEORGE HOUCK, of the firm of Houck & Brown, tanners and curriers, wholesale and retail dealers in sole-leather and shoe findings, etc., Joliet ; was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, Dec. 13, 1827 ; when he was about 12 years of age, his parents came to this country, and pur- chased a farm in Erie Co., N. Y .; Mr. Houck remained on the farm until 1846, when he went to Buffalo, and entered the employ of ex-President Millard Fillmore, where he continued one year; he then served three years at the tanner and cur- rier's trade, learning thoroughly every branch of the business ; in 1850, he came to Chicago, living there until 1853, when he came to Joliet, and entered the employ of Mack & Cleghorn ; in 1863 the firm of Mack, Cleghorn & Co. was formed, Mr. Houck becoming partner ; the same year, they built the Joliet Tannery; the present firm of Houck & Brown was formed in 1876; they give employment to twenty men. Mr. Houck was married in 1853, to Miss Anna Hohman, of Chicago, a native of Hess Cassel, Germany ; they have three children living-Mary, now Mrs. William Grassley, of Chicago; Lizzie, wife of Fred- erick Steinburn, of Joliet, and Annie S.

HON. HUGH HENDERSON, Joliet ; deceased ; was born on the 9th day of June, 1809, in Norway, Herkimer Co., N. Y .; he received his education at Fair- field Seminary, in his native county ; after which he read law in the office of George Feeter, Esq., a prominent lawyer of Little Falls, Herkimer Co .; in 1836, he came to Joliet, and shortly after his arrival was admitted to the bar, and at once took high rank among the members of the legal pro- fession. He was married Dec. 23, 1837, to Miss Helen A. Myers of Herkimer Co., who came to Joliet in the fall of 1836, and who still survives him, living in the same house which he built in 1838. In 1837, he was elected County Judge, hold- ing the office one year; he was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1845 ; in 1849, he was elected Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, and held the office until his death, which occurred on the 19th of October, 1854, while on his first visit to his old home in Norway, N. Y. We quote the following from the re- marks of the late Hon. Uri Osgood, on the occasion of presenting to the Circuit

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JOLIET TOWNSHIP.

Court, the proceedings of the Will County Bar, upon the death of Judge Henderson : " By his knowledge of the law, his un- remitting attention to the duties of his office, his urbanity, his sterling integrity, and accommodating business habits, he acquired the affections and respect of the members of the bar, and the people of the circuit ; he had attained a high position as a lawyer and a judge; he was firm but courteous, honorable and irreproachable in morals, and in all the relations of private life ; he was respected and honored, and highly esteemed as a useful member of society." He left four children-Sarah Margaret, who was born Oet. 21, 1839, and is now the wife of Capt. John A. Kelly, of Lyons, Mich .; Daniel C., who was born May 31, 1845, learned the print- er's trade in Joliet, and in 1866, went to Chieago, and entered the employ of Hor- ton & Leonard ; in 1870, he returned to Joliet, and in 1871, established the Joliet Record, a Democratie weekly newspaper, which has steadily increased in cireulation and influcnee, and has a eireulation of 850 copies ; James E., the second son, was born May 23, 1848, learned the printing busi- ness, and is now associated with his brothers on the Record; John D., the youngest son, was born Oet. 16, 1851, en- tered the telegraph office of the C., A. & St. L. R. R. Co., about ten years ago, re- inaining until some five years ago, at which time he joined his brothers in the publication of the Record.

DR. M. F. HAND, dental surgeon ; Joliet ; has been a practicing dentist in this city for the past twenty-two years ; he was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., May 5, 1834 ; he received an academie education, and at about the age of 18 years, began the study of dentistry ; in 1856, he eamc to Joliet, and began the practice of his profession. In 1862, he enlisted in Co. H, 100th Ill: Vols., serving in the army of the Cumber- land, and afterward in the Quartermaster's Department of the Army of the Tennessce, under Capt. Alexander McIntosh, of this city ; returning in July, 1865, he resumed practice in Joliet. He was married Jan. 14, 1874, to Miss Harriet E. Specr, of Joliet.

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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 68

Author: Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Chicago : Wm. Le Baron, jr. & co. Number of Pages: 980

Author:
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago : Wm. Le Baron, jr. & co.
Number of Pages: 980